Top World News
German Approval Sparks Security Concerns Over French Russian Nuclear Project
The planned joint venture by a subsidiary of French company Framatome and Russia's state-owned nuclear power agency Rosatom is aimed at producing fuel rods used in Russian-designed reactors.
Alarms sound after 'nightmare of the future' scenario comes to life: 'This is wild!'
An OpenAI test model reportedly hacked its way into another company, sparking major concerns among the tech community, CNN reported on Wednesday.CNN anchor Brianna Keilar spoke with CNN AI correspondent Hadas Gold about why this breach was so troubling."This is wild. This is like the nightmare of the future," Keilar said."And not only does it sound like a sci-fi movie, but it is something that AI and cybersecurity experts have been warning about for some time," Gold said. "As these agentic AI models get better and better. Agentic, meaning that these AI models take actions on their own independently. They might be given sort of a task, and then they make these decisions on what to do by themselves."OpenAI said that it was testing models on an offensive cybersecurity test to see if it could hack something — but by removing some of the safeguards to do the experiment — it put the models in what's referred to as a "sandbox," Gold explained."Think of a biocontainment lab when you're testing out viruses," Gold said. "It's supposed to be a protected environment. But this model with no human intervention hacked OpenAI's own internal systems to gain access to the internet. It wasn't supposed to have access to the internet."The model then decided — on its own and without human interaction — to access Hugging Face, a popular repository for open-source AI models and datasets, which it ultimately hacked into."Now, what's fascinating is that Hugging Face actually noticed the hack, and they actually went to law enforcement," Gold said. "They were saying, 'Hey, police, we've been hacked. Help us here.'"But it took some time to stop the hack, she added. "And then OpenAI actually reached out to them as well," Gold said. "And they figured out this was actually OpenAI's test model that had hacked into their systems."OpenAI released a statement following the hack:"We consider this incident to be an unprecedented cyber incident involving state-of-the-art cyber capabilities, and are responding accordingly. We are sharing preliminary findings at this stage to help defenders understand what happened and to help calibrate on what models are now capable of." Editor's note: In 2024, Raw Story, America’s largest independent progressive news site, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for using thousands of Raw Story’s news articles to train ChatGPT in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Trump trade envoy grilled about ‘tariff spree’ and price rises for Americans in Senate hearing – US politics live
Jamieson Greer faces senators’ questions about latest round of tariffs and impacts on cost of living of Trump policiesSign up for the Breaking News US emailA reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog.Donald Trump took to Truth Social a short while and noted that the US will destroy one bridge or power plant, including those near Tehran, “any time” that Iran “shoots a ship” in the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...
Iran warns of ‘eye for an eye’ response if US follows through on Trump’s threats to destroy infrastructure – Middle East crisis live
US president vows to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for each strait of Hormuz attack; Iran’s military says it will stop Gulf oil flow and target regional infrastructure if US acts on threats, state tv reports The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday with two additional missile falling in an open area, AFP reports.The two missiles that the army did not intercept fell in “two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage” the army said in a statement. Continue reading...
Election deniers win Republican primaries in Arizona
Andy Biggs wins nomination to challenge Katie Hobbs as Alex Kolodin won party’s primary for secretary of stateDonald Trump-backed candidates in Arizona prevailed in key primary contests on Tuesday, setting up a fall campaign that will test whether Republicans can reverse some of their recent losses in the presidential battleground state.Andy Biggs, the hard-right congressman endorsed by Donald Trump, easily won the Republican nomination to challenge the incumbent Democrat, Governor Katie Hobbs. Continue reading...
US trade chief defends tariffs as Democrats say Trump ‘in denial’ over price hikes
Jamieson Greer denies tariffs have pushed up prices during grilling from lawmakers over cost-of-living concernsDonald Trump’s chief trade official denied the president’s sweeping tariffs have increased prices for US families, as lawmakers challenged him over cost-of-living concerns across much of the country.US inflation surged to a three-year high earlier this year. During a heated exchange before US senators on Wednesday, however, US trade representative Jamieson Greer appeared to claim Trump’s controversial economic agenda had not driven prices higher. Continue reading...
Woman, 70, charged with murder of British expat Karen Carter in France
Public prosecutor for the region said suspect had been initially arrested shortly after the murder on 29 April last yearA 70-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of Karen Carter, the British expat found dead in south-western France last year.The woman was charged on 2 July with Carter’s murder in Trémolat, in the Dordogne, and is “under judicial supervision”. Continue reading...
Tories ask HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage owes tax on £5m gift
Party chair queries status of funds Reform leader received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne The Conservatives have asked HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage should have paid tax on the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.The party chair, Kevin Hollinrake, wrote to the tax authorities questioning whether it was a payment to compensate him for running to be an MP. Continue reading...
Bulgaria Approves US Use Of Bezmer Air Base For Middle East Support
Up to eight US tanker aircraft and 250 personnel will be stationed at Bezmer Air Base from Friday to October without further approvals.
Disagreements rage as White House contemplates risky strikes in country with Russian ties
Already mired in a war with Iran that has cost him support with the Republican Party and his most avid base of voters, President Donald Trump is being pressured internally towards a military intervention in Mali.The administration is preparing plans to strike an al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group operating across West Africa, according to current and former U.S. officials, The Washington Post is reportingIf approved, Mali would become the eighth nation where Trump has authorized military operations since taking office—a stark contradiction of his campaign promises of ending America's endless wars.The proposal has sparked internal debate among senior officials. National Security Council counterterrorism director Sebastian Gorka is pushing hard for military action, while others within the administration urge caution.The target is JNIM, or Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaeda-aligned group that has transformed into the region's most formidable militant force. Operating from Mali, JNIM has expanded its reach across coastal West African nations, establishing itself as one of the world's most heavily armed insurgent organizations.Mali, a landlocked nation of nearly 25 million, has "in recent years been plagued by violence by Islamist militant groups — and by Mali’s own junta government and the Russian mercenaries whom it hired to get the situation under control," the report notes.According to the Post, "Any direct U.S. military involvement in Mali runs the risk of hostilities with Russian forces in the region. It also could require deconfliction efforts between Washington and Moscow akin to ones that existed in Syria during that country’s civil war."The timing is catastrophic for Trump politically. His Iran war has already fractured his base. Adding an eighth military engagement while Americans struggle with inflation and rising costs could accelerate the political erosion already evident in recent polling.
Prosecutors argue D4vd had financial motivation to kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez
Details emerge about how much Interscope Records paid the singer at hearing to determine if there is probable cause for murder case to proceed to trialSinger D4vd had a multimillion-dollar recording deal, an executive at his former label testified on Wednesday, as prosecutors sought to establish the musician had a financial motivation to kill Celeste Rivas Hernandez.Details emerged of how much Interscope Records was paying the singer, who was born David Anthony Burke, on the second day of a hearing to determine if there is probable cause for him to stand trial for the murder and sexual abuse of Rivas Hernandez. Continue reading...
Charles Gaines, whose book Pumping Iron helped to popularize bodybuilding, dies at 84
1974 book led to making of seminal documentary and introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger to the worldCharles Gaines, the author whose book and documentary Pumping Iron helped bring professional bodybuilding into the mainstream and introduce Arnold Schwarzenegger to the world, has died. He was 84.Gaines died on Tuesday, according to Greta Gaines, the author’s daughter. She did not reveal a cause. Continue reading...
