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South Koreans protest Japan’s plans to release treated wastewater from damaged Fukushima plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hundreds of people marched in South Korea’s capital on Saturday demanding Japan scrap its plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, as the head of the U.N. nuclear agency met with senior officials to discuss public concerns over foods safety.The protests came a day after South Korea’s government formally endorsed the safety of the Japanese plans, saying that the contamination levels of water pumped out from the plant would be within acceptable standards and wouldn’t meaningfully affect South Korean seas as long as the plant’s treatment systems work as designed.The announcement aligned with the views of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which greenlit the Japanese discharge plans this week, saying the treated wastewater would meet international safety standards and pose negligible environmental and health impacts.Braving blistering summer heat and closely watched by police, the protesters walked in long l...

The rain returns to Wimbledon on Day 6 of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The rain returned to Wimbledon on Day 6 of the grass-court tournament, with only one match completed Saturday before play was suspended on all outside courts.Beatriz Haddad Maia, a 13th-seeded Brazilian who reached the semifinals at this year’s French Open, beat Sorana Cirstea 6-2, 6-2 in the third round on No. 3 Court.Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova nearly made it in time, leading Natalija Stevanovic 6-3, 4-6 on No. 2 Court when the rain started.Only Centre Court and No. 1 Court have roofs at the All England Club. Play in those two stadiums is expected to get started as scheduled.Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz will be first on Centre Court against Nicolas Jarry in the third round. Sixth-seeded Ons Jabeur, who reached the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals last year, is then scheduled to meet Bianca Andreescu and defending champion Elena Rybakina will face Katie Boulter.On No. 1 Court, third-seeded Daniil Medvedev will be first against Marton Fucsovi...

Saturday morning showers, good air quality in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

Saturday: Some AM rain/thunderstorms. Slow gradual PM clearing. Air quality is Good. N 10-15 mph. Highs mid 70s, cooler lakesideSaturday Night: A few clouds & comfortable. NNW 5-15 mph. Low 60-65Sunday: Warmer & sunnier. NNW/E 5-10 mph. Highs near 80. A bit cooler lakeside. Chicago Area Radar | WGN TVExtended outlook has Mother Nature turning up the heat again for Mon/Tue with highs near 90 and it'll get pretty muggy too. Chance of strong to severe thunderstorms returns Tue afternoon and evening. Rain and thunderstorms look likely for Wednesday with temps in the upper 70s. Chance of sun and afternoon thunderstorms for Thu/Fri with highs in the mid to low 80s. 

Rattlesnakes are more social than we thought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

(The Hill) -- A new discovery suggests reptiles may be far more social than we thought.Place a rattlesnake in a bucket and shake it, and the result will be predictable: The stressed-out reptile will begin rattling its tail to warn off the enemies outside. But place two rattlesnakes in a bucket and something entirely different happens, according to findings published Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Ethology.In the presence of a comrade — even a stranger — the jostled rattlesnakes' heart rates stayed lower than when the snakes were alone.That finding is potentially revolutionary, as it represents the first peer-reviewed discovery of reptiles that draw emotional support from each other's presence.The phenomenon the researchers were studying is called "social buffering," and it has been widely documented across the bird and mammal families — as well as being a nearly universal human experience.Anyone who has felt a stressful situation eased by the presence of a frien...

Heating up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The area had two days with highs at or below normal. Thursday's high was 92°, 3° below normal. Yesterday's maximum was 95°. That is the normal for July 7. Highs will be warmer than normal for at least the next seven days. In fact, many locations will return to highs reaching 100° and higher starting today and going out to at least Friday.Afternoon highs back to triple digits starting todayThis means, of course, that heat index values will be rising with maximums today likely to average around 102° to 106°.Higher heat index readings this afternoonBoth the high temperatures and the heat indices will be increasing through the week. While there won't be any record highs set (today's is 106° in 2009) there may be some records tied or set for the warmest lows.There is no rain forecast (10% or higher) today, but a spot shower over Fayette County from the sea breeze this afternoon is possible. The center of the upper-level high is southwest of El Paso. It's going to move ve...

Man accused of lewd act near children at Collinsville water park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

MADISON COUNTY, Ill. - A 32-year-old faces criminal charges after being accused of masturbating near children at a Collinsville water park. The Madison County State’s Attorney's Office has charged Chad A. Green, 32, with sexual exploitation of a child and disorderly conduct over alleged actions at the Collinsville Aqua Park.Investigators say Green was engaged in an act of masturbation Thursday while in the presence of children. Suspect found beaten and bloody in field, police involvement investigated Green is jailed in Madison County as of Friday afternoon on a $50,000. A judge also granted a prosecution request that, in the event Green is released on bond, he would be prohibited from having contact with anyone younger than 18The Madison County State’s Attorney's Office asks anyone with additional information relevant to this case contact Collinsville Police at 618-344-2131.

AI may someday work medical miracles. For now, it helps do paperwork.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

Dr. Matthew Hitchcock, a family physician in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has an AI helper.It records patient visits on his smartphone and summarizes them for treatment plans and billing. He does some light editing of what the AI produces, and is done with his daily patient visit documentation in 20 minutes or so.Hitchcock used to spend up to two hours typing up these medical notes after his four children went to bed. “That’s a thing of the past,” he said. “It’s quite awesome.”ChatGPT-style artificial intelligence is coming to health care, and the grand vision of what it could bring is inspiring. Every doctor, enthusiasts predict, will have a superintelligent sidekick, dispensing suggestions to improve care.But first will come more mundane applications of artificial intelligence. A prime target will be to ease the crushing burden of digital paperwork that physicians must produce, typing lengthy notes into electronic medical records required for treatment, billing and administrative purpo...

Denver top in nation for rent gains, outstripping income gains since Great Recession

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

Metro Denver apartment rent inflation has outstripped income gains by a higher margin than in any other major city in the U.S. since 2009, according to a study from Clever Real Estate subsidiary Real Estate Witch.From 2009 to 2021, rent growth outpaced income growth in 46 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, with only Providence, R.I.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Cleveland and Pittsburgh able to keep housing costs in line with wage gains.Nationally, median monthly rents went from $817 in 2009 to $1,163 in 2021, a gain of 42%. Denver’s gain was 82%, going from $856 a month to $1,554. That jump, almost double the pace experienced nationally, was second to only San Jose, the hub of California’s Silicon Valley, where monthly rents went up 85%, from $1,360 to $2,511.Seattle; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Nashville; and Austin, Texas, were other heated rental housing markets. Rounding out the top 10 were Salt Lake City, San Diego, and Los Angeles.A big difference between Denver and San Jose, ho...

New study bolsters room-temperature superconductor claim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

A magical material that could effortlessly conduct electricity at room temperatures would probably transform civilization, reclaiming energy otherwise lost to electrical resistance and opening possibilities for novel technologies.Yet, a claim of such a room-temperature superconductor published in March in the prestigious journal Nature, drew doubts, even suspicion by some that the results had been fabricated.But now, a group of researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago reports that it has verified a critical measurement: the apparent vanishing of electrical resistance.This result does not prove that the material is a room-temperature superconductor, but it may motivate other scientists to take a closer look.Ranga Dias, a professor of mechanical engineering and physics at the University of Rochester in New York and a key figure in the original research, had reported that the material appeared to be a superconductor at temperatures as warm as 70 degrees Fahrenheit — much...

Uncensored chatbots provoke a fracas over free speech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:51:34 GMT

Artificial intelligence chatbots have lied about notable figures, pushed partisan messages, spewed misinformation or even advised users on how to commit suicide.To mitigate the tools’ most obvious dangers, companies such as Google and OpenAI have carefully added controls that limit what the tools can say.Now, a new wave of chatbots, developed far from the epicenter of the AI boom, are coming online without many of those guardrails — setting off a polarizing free-speech debate over whether chatbots should be moderated, and who should decide.“This is about ownership and control,” Eric Hartford, a developer behind WizardLM-Uncensored, an unmoderated chatbot, wrote in a blog post. “If I ask my model a question, I want an answer, I do not want it arguing with me.”Several uncensored and loosely moderated chatbots have sprung to life in recent months under names such as GPT4All and FreedomGPT. Many were created for little or no money by independent programmers or teams of volunteers,...