Author: KnowledgeHippo

China’s BYD was a battery maker that tried to make cars when it introduced its newest model in 2007. American executives at the Guangzhou auto show noticed the car’s patchy purple paint and poorly fitting doors.”It was the laughing stock of the industry,” said Michael Dunne, an analyst of the Chinese auto industry.Nobody’s laughing at BYD now.The company overtook Tesla in global sales of all-electric cars late last year. BYD builds assembly lines in Brazil, Hungary, Thailand and Uzbekistan and is preparing to do so in Indonesia and Mexico. It is rapidly expanding its exports to Europe. And the company…

An academic journal publisher this week retracted two studies cited by a federal judge in Texas last year when he ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone should be pulled from the market.Most of the study’s authors are doctors and researchers associated with anti-abortion groups, and their reports indicate that medical abortion causes dangerous complications, contrary to widespread evidence that abortion pills are safe.The lawsuit in which the studies were referred to will be heard by the Supreme Court in March. The high court’s ruling could have major implications for access to medical abortion, which is now the most common method…

Long before Donald J. Trump threatened over the weekend that he was willing to let Russia “do whatever the hell it wants” against NATO allies that do not contribute enough to collective defense, European leaders have been quietly discussing how they might prepare for a world in which America removes itself as the centerpiece of the 75-year-old alliance.Even allowing for the usual blowout of one of his campaign rallies, where he made his announcement on Saturday, Mr Trump can now force the Europe debate into a much more public phase.So far the debate in the European media has focused on…

With Jordan KisnerProduced by Adrienne Hurst and Aaron EspositoEdited by John WOriginal music by Aaron EspositoMade by Rowan Niemisto and Andrea VancouraListen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | SpotifyThe first death occurred before the start of the academic year. In July 2021, an undergraduate student at Worcester Polytechnic University was reported dead. The administration sent an email notification, with the familiar, well-tested phrases and the attached resources. Katherine Foo, an assistant professor in the department of integrated and global studies, was particularly devastated by the news. Teach this student. She was Chinese and felt connected to the particular pressures she…

Before he was known as the father of artificial Christmas trees, Si Spiegel was a brave army aviator. In the final days of World War II, he piloted his B-17 Flying Fortress into an armada of 1,500 Allied bombers that pounded Berlin. Hit by a flak, two of the plane’s four engines lost power as Mr Spiegel turned around to return to England.Instead of bailing out for Germany and risking capture as a prisoner of war – especially given that he was Jewish – Mr Spiegel managed to land in Soviet-occupied Poland. After being stuck there for weeks, he improvised…

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, spent the country’s election campaign in jail, barred from taking part in what experts described as one of the least credible general elections in the country’s 76-year history.But behind bars, he has been rallying supporters in recent months with speeches that use artificial intelligence to reproduce his voice, part of a tech-savvy strategy his party has used to circumvent a crackdown by the military.And on Saturday, as official counts showed candidates aligned with his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, won the most seats in a surprise result that threw the country’s political system…

A lengthy Justice Department report on President Biden’s handling of classified documents contained some startling assessments of his well-being and mental health.Mr. Biden, 81, was an “elderly man with a poor memory” and “reduced abilities” who “didn’t remember when he was vice president,” said special counsel Robert K. Hurr.In conversations recorded in 2017, Mr. Biden was “often painfully slow” and “struggled to recall events and struggled at times to read and communicate his own notebook entries.” Mr. Biden was so weakened that a jury was unlikely to convict him, Mr. Hurr said.Republicans were quick to pounce, some calling the president…

Finns will elect a new president on Sunday in the first national election since the country joined NATO, choosing a leader who will be critical to shaping the country’s role in the alliance at a time of increasingly strained relations with Russia.The election may typically receive little attention beyond the borders of the sparsely populated northern European country of 5.6 million people. But Finland, NATO’s newest member, shares the longest border with Russia — about 830 miles — and its policy has drawn particular interest to its European and American allies as the geopolitical order shifts.US power is being challenged…

But Ms Juszczyk, whose website says she is self-taught and started her business after making Halloween costumes for herself and her husband, doesn’t just have the endorsements of Ms Swift and other celebrities.The fact that Nike was first credited with making Ms. Swift’s jacket reflects the fact that Ms. Juszczyk has, consciously or not, placed herself at the center of a series of macro fashion trends. To say: the buzz around upcycling; the desire to adapt; the transformation of streetwear into luxury. and the increasing convergence of sport and fashion. As one of her followers posted under a photo of…

Listen and Follow “Hard Fork”Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTubeTwitter spinoff Bluesky is now open for public listings. Can her dreams of decentralization fix social media? We speak with the company’s CEO, Jay Graber. Next, New York Times reporter Erin Griffith on how Adobe’s failure to acquire Figma has spooked tech companies and disrupted Silicon Valley’s startup pipeline. And finally, updates on ancient scrolls and artificial intelligence, Google’s chatbots and the battle between record companies and TikTok.Credits“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Rouse and Casey Newton and are produced by Davis Land and Rachel Conn. This episode has been…