Author: KnowledgeHippo

On a stormy afternoon in Bentonville, Ark., a Walmart regional manager told a story about a moment when his humanity got the best of him.He was a 24-year-old store manager anxiously trying to convince his workers to set up Halloween merchandise displays. Instead, workers were clustered around televisions in the electronics department. It was the morning of September 11, 2001.“Why are we here and not having Halloween? Why hasn’t it been done yet?’ he remembered saying. He didn’t fully understand what was happening until a worker broke into him in tears, explaining that she had relatives in New York.”I didn’t…

House Republican leaders are moving this week to pass legislation that would force TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell the platform or face a U.S. ban, even as former President Donald J. vowed to forbid.Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and the majority leader, said Monday that the House would try to speed up passage of the bill under special procedures reserved for uncontested legislation, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass. The approach reflects the bill’s growing momentum on Capitol Hill during an election year in which members of both political parties are eager to show a willingness to get…

Moose, the largest member of the deer family, are probably most closely associated in popular culture with the diminutive but benevolent cartoon character Bullwinkle.But that light-hearted image took a darker turn last week after an Iditarod sled dog runner in Alaska made headlines for shooting and killing a moose to protect himself and his dogs, one of which was injured in the encounter. (He was also punished for badly eviscerating the carcass.)Moose attacks on humans are uncommon, but do occur in states with large moose populations. In Alaska, for example, as many as 10 are reported each year. And in…

A German court on Monday convicted an American of raping and murdering a woman and attempting to kill her partner near Neuschwanstein Castle, one of the country’s most famous tourist destinations.A nearby bridge known for its panoramic views of the fairytale castle became a crime scene in June when the 31-year-old man attacked two young American women who were on a trip to Europe after graduating from college.In imposing a life sentence, the court found “the particular gravity of the guilt”, a court spokesman said, adding that the man was charged with murder and rape resulting in death in relation…

The University of Texas at Austin said Monday it will again require standardized tests for admissions, becoming the latest selective university to reinstate requirements for SAT or ACT scores abandoned during the pandemic.A few years ago, about 2,000 colleges across the country began moving away from requiring test scores, at least temporarily, amid concerns that they helped fuel inequality. However, a growing number of these schools have reversed those policies, including Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, MIT, Georgetown and Purdue, with several announcing the changes in recent months. UT Austin, which accepts a cross-section of high-achieving Texas students as part of a…

Deadspin, the sports news website, has been sold to a European digital media company, its owner, G/O Media, said Monday.G/O Media, which is owned by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, manages a number of digital media brands, including Gizmodo, Kotaku and The Onion. Jim Spanfeller, the chief executive, told staff members in an email Monday afternoon that the company had recently been approached about a deal by “a digital media startup” called Lineup Publishing.Mr. Spanfeller said the board accepted the offer because of “the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, stiff competition in the sports journalism space and a…

Companies like OpenAI and Midjourney build chatbots, image generators, and other AI tools that work in the digital world.Now, a start-up founded by three former OpenAI researchers is using the technology development methods behind chatbots to create AI technology that can navigate the physical world.Covariant, an Emeryville, California-based robotics company, creates ways for robots to pick, move and sort items as they move through warehouses and distribution centers. Its goal is to help robots understand what is happening around them and decide what to do next.The technology also gives the bots a broad understanding of the English language, allowing people…

Faye Martin said her son, Ryan, a commercial electrician, was prescribed opioid painkillers for a work-related injury. When he became dependent on them, a doctor stopped his prescription. Ryan turned to heroin. Eventually, he entered treatment and stayed sober for a while. But, ashamed of his history of addiction, he kept to himself and gradually started using drugs again. Believing he was buying Xanax, he died from taking a fentanyl-tainted pill in 2021, the day after his 29th birthday.Although he, like thousands of victims, died from a fake pill, his grieving mother feels like others are looking down on her.”When…

Biden and Netanyahu clashed over the war in GazaPresident Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded barbs as the public dispute over Israel’s tactics in Gaza intensified.Biden said in an interview that Netanyahu “should pay more attention to the innocent lives that are being lost” and that he is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel.”Netanyahu responded in a later interview that if Biden believed that Netanyahu was going against the wishes of the majority of Israelis and that it harmed Israel’s interests, then he was wrong on both counts.The fight comes as the UN and aid agencies warned of…

Virginia will end legacy admissions at public universities after Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill Friday banning the practice that gives applicants with family ties to graduates a boost. Under House Bill 48, the state’s public universities would be prohibited from giving preferential treatment to applicants based on their connections not only to alumni but also to donors. This means that universities can no longer give an advantage to applicants whose relatives donate to the school. Critics of such preferences have said for years that the centuries-old practice perpetuates privilege.The ban would particularly affect the University of Virginia and William…