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Child marriage ban bill defeated in West Virginia House

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A bill that would have prohibited minors from getting married in West Virginia was defeated Wednesday night in a legislative committee.The Republican-dominated Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill on a 9-8 vote, a week after it passed the House of Delegates.The vote came shortly after the bill’s main sponsor, Democratic Del. Kayla Young of Kanawha County, testified briefly before the committee. She said that since 2000 there have been more than 3,600 marriages in the state involving one or more children.Currently, children can marry as young as 16 in West Virginia with parental consent. Anyone younger than that also must get a judge’s waiver.“For now, there will be no floor for the age of marriage in WV, endangering our kids,” Young wrote on Twitter after the vote.In a rebuke, Cabell County Democratic Sen. Mike Woelfel reminded the committee after the vote that Wednesday was International Women’s Day. Some of the bill’s opponents have arg...

From marketing to design, brands adopt AI tools despite risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

Even if you haven’t tried artificial intelligence tools that can write essays and poems or conjure new images on command, chances are the companies that make your household products are already starting to do so. Mattel has put the AI image generator DALL-E to work by having it come up with ideas for new Hot Wheels toy cars. Used vehicle seller CarMax is summarizing thousands of customer reviews with the same “generative” AI technology that powers the popular chatbot ChatGPT.Meanwhile, Snapchat is bringing a chatbot to its messaging service. And the grocery delivery company Instacart is integrating ChatGPT to answer customers’ food questions.Coca-Cola plans to use generative AI to help create new marketing content. And while the company hasn’t detailed exactly how it plans to deploy the technology, the move reflects the growing pressure on businesses to harness tools that many of their employees and consumers are already trying on their own.“We must embrace the risks,” said Co...

Ministro de Educación de Perú debió disculparse tras comentarios despectivos contra mujeres aymaras en el Día Internacional de la Mujer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

(CNN) — El ministro de Educación de Perú, Oscar Becerra, tuvo que disculparse por los comentarios despectivos que hizo contra las mujeres aymaras en el Día Internacional de la Mujer.“No quiero terminar sin ofrecer una disculpa por unas palabras desafortunadas que fueron malinterpretadas y generaron críticas. Quiero decirles que si alguna afirmación mía fue equivocada, ofrezco mis más sinceras disculpas”, dijo Becerra al final de su discurso dedicado a las mujeres este miércoles.Mujeres ganan espacios de decisión en medio de aumento de feminicidios en PerúEste lunes, después de que apareciera en redes sociales un video que mostraba a policías lanzando gases lacrimógenos a mujeres aymaras mientras protestaban vestidas con sus trajes tradicionales y con sus hijos amarrados al cuerpo en las calles de Lima, el ministro de Educación las criticó al decir que “ni los animales expondrían a sus hijos (así)… ¿pueden llamarse madres si exponen a sus hijos a esa violencia?”.Becerra f...

McNeese State fires basketball coach John Aiken

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — McNeese State fired basketball coach John Aiken on Wednesday after the Cowboys went 22-45 the past two seasons.“This is a really hard day for me personally,” said athletic director Heath Schroyer, who hired Aiken. “John is a dear friend and a damn good basketball coach. I know John extremely well and I have no doubt he will bounce back, get another opportunity and be successful as a head coach in the future.Schroyer, a former basketball coach, had Aiken on his staffs at UT Martin and at McNeese from 2018 to 2021. When Schroyer left coaching to become McNeese’s athletic director in 2021, he named Aiken as his replacement.The Cowboys went 11-23 this season, recording the most losses in a season in program history. Aiken had one year left on his contract.Now Schroyer, deputy athletic director Bridget Martin and senior associate athletic director for external affairs Todd Butler will form a search committee to find a new coach, the university announced.“I ...

Frustran audaz atraco a los tiros en el aeropuerto de Santiago de Chile; hay dos muertos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

SANTIAGO DE CHILE – Unidades de Seguridad frustraron este miércoles un millonario atraco de película en el aeropuerto internacional de Santiago de Chile tras un tiroteo en plena pista de aterrizaje y despegue en el que murieron dos personas, un presunto ladrón y un funcionario de la Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC), a cargo de la seguridad del recinto.Según el director de la citada institución, general Raúl Jorquera, un grupo de unos doce hombres, fuertemente armados y con entrenamiento profesional, “lograron traspasar la primera línea, pero no la segunda, que es decisiva” en el marco de un plan bien definido con el que pretendían apropiarse de más de $32 millones.Los delincuentes penetraron el perímetro de las pistas tras arremeter en vehículos contra una de las rejas y maniataron al guardia de seguridad que se encontraba en el lugar, quien sin embargo “logró zafarse para dar aviso al segundo control de acceso, quienes enfrentaron a los delincue...

Wyclef Jean launches Attucks Apex AP0, electric supercar to be made in Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

Wyclef Jean has made an indelible impact on hip-hop history. Now the rapper is steering his career in a new direction, from superstar to supercar. Deco’s Alex Miranda met the legend at Supercar Rooms Miami in Wynwood.Call Wyclef the apex of electric … supercars, because that’s actually the name of his hot new brand, Apex. We’re going zero to 60 in 2.3 seconds to tell you the story.Wyclef Jean…Wyclef Jean (singing): “I’ll be gone ’til November, I’ll be gone ’til November.”You know, from one of the greatest hip-hop groups of all time, The Fugees.Lauryn Hill (rapping): “Ready or not, here I come. You can’t hide.”Wyclef Jean: “You honestly can’t hide in this car, because this car is making a statement. You literally feel like you’re in a cockpit, brotha, and you ready to go.”Alex Miranda: “Yeah, I know.”In the new Attucks Apex AP0, an electric supercar the superstar just launched....

At Florida climate change summit, Harris stresses optimism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday there is renewed cause for optimism given major U.S. laws enacted recently to tackle the global problem of climate change on multiple fronts.Harris was the star attraction at the Aspen Ideas: Climate conference, now in its second year in Miami Beach. The event drew about 2,300 participants including other politicians, corporate CEOs, climate activists, entrepreneurs, artists and many others. Harris appeared with Miami singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan in an interview setting on stage.The thrust of the conversation revolved around the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022. Despite its name, the measure is considered the biggest climate change legislation ever passed in the U.S. with some $370 billion directed to tackling the problem over 10 years. A major infrastructure bill also has numerous climate-related provisions.The overarching goal is for a 50% reduction in greenhou...

Man at large after armed robbery at Farm Store in Hialeah

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

Police are asking for the public’s help in their search for a man who, they said, robbed a convenience store at in Hialeah at gunpoint.According to Hialeah Police, the subject entered the Farm Store in the area of West 29th Street and Sixth Avenue, at around 9:30 p.m., Tuesday.Once inside, police said, the subject was captured on surveillance video as he pointed a gun at the sales clerk and demanded money. The subject, seen wearing a black hoodie, also demanded that the employee hand over her cellphone.Detectives said the clerk complied with the robber’s demands and placed the money in a plastic bag.The subject exited the business and fled eastbound on West 29th Street.No one was hurt.If you have any information on this robbery or the subject’s whereabouts, call Hialeah Police at 305-687-2525 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

Boston City Council approves rent control proposal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

Efforts to institute rent control in Boston cleared a hurdle Wednesday as the City Council approved a bill to cap annual rent hikes. The bill, which is part of a key campaign promise by Mayor Michelle Wu, passed 11-2. The measure won’t go into effect yet, though, as it now needs approval from state leaders. “This is affecting everything from how our businesses and economy can recover to our school enrollment and the stability of every part of our neighborhoods,” Wu said. The bill caps rent increases as six percent, plus the consumer price index to account for inflation, with an overall cap of 10 percent in high inflation years. Wu has said the legislation will protect families from rent gouging and displacement. “We need to keep it up until Boston is a place where people from every income level know they can not just survive here but thrive here,” she said. Not everyone is on board. “We’re disappointed, but we’re not surprised,” Greg Va...

Hundreds gather for International Women’s Day breakfast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:50:31 GMT

Hundreds of women came together in Boston Wednesday morning to celebrate International Women’s Day. The event was held at Simmons University, marking the 25th annual breakfast to ring in the day. Different organizations partnered to host the event with the goal to celebrate the past and plan for the future.During the event, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a former city councilor and the city’s first woman elected mayor, took the microphone. “When I first started coming to these events early on as a young councilor, there weren’t that many shoutouts to give to women in elected office and women leading institutions in various spaces,” Wu said. “Today, we are nowhere near where we need to be, but we’ve come a long way as a city and as a commonwealth.”This year’s event was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that this breakfast group met in person.