Retired tennis legend Roger Federer, who helped Europe win three Laver Cups, hinted he might one day want to take on the...

A flow of recent data from the U.S. government has made one thing strikingly clear: A surge in consumer spending is fueling strong growth, demonstrating a resilience that has confounded economists, Federal Reserve officials and even the sour sentiments that Americans themselves have expressed in opinion polls

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has arrived in Beijing in the highest level visit between the two countries in years, amid heightened tensions that have kept the world on edge. Mr Blinken is the highest-level US official to visit China in since Joe Biden took office and first US secretary of state to do so in five years, as he is tasked to open communication with Beijing on an array of highly crucial issues like trade with Taiwan, Chinese surveillance and the Ukraine war. The US secretary of state arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning for the two-day, visit where he is set to meet senior Chinese officials. He will be meeting Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, top diplomat Wang Yi, and possibly president Xi Jinping on Monday, according to US officials. Mr Biden and Mr Xi agreed to Mr Blinken‘s trip early at a meeting last year in Bali. The discussions are expected to cover a wide range of contentious issues that have strained bilateral ties and have significant implications for global security and stability. Among the topics on the agenda are trade relations with Taiwan, human rights concerns in China, the situation in Hong Kong, Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea, and Russia’s actions in Ukraine. US officials have said on Friday before Mr Blinken’s visit that would raise each one of these concerns. However, chances of a breakthrough remain slim as both sides have not shown any flexibility on changing their stands. But there have been hints about reducing tensions from both sides. In a meeting with Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates on Friday, Mr Xi said the US and China can cooperate to “benefit our two countries”. “I believe that the foundation of Sino-US relations lies in the people,” Mr Xi said to Mr Gates. “Under the current world situation, we can carry out various activities that benefit our two countries, the people of our countries, and the entire human race.” China also hosted Elon Musk recently in what was seen as a bid by China to improve business relations with the US. Mr Biden told White House reporters on Saturday he was “hoping that over the next several months, I’ll be meeting with Xi again and talking about legitimate differences we have, but also how ... to get along”. The two leaders are likely to attend the next G20 summit, in September in New Delhi, and Mr Xi has been also invited to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping in San Francisco this year. Ahead of the visit, Mr Blinken emphasised the importance of the US and China establishing and maintaining better lines of communication. The US wants to make sure “that the competition we have with China doesn’t veer into conflict” due to avoidable misunderstandings, he told reporters. Mr Biden and Mr Xi had made commitments to improve communications “precisely so that we can make sure we are communicating as clearly as possible to avoid possible misunderstandings and miscommunications,” Mr Blinken said on Friday. The much-anticipated trip comes after a series of hiccups and delays. The trip was initially planned for February but faced delays due to escalated tensions between the US and China over the surveillance balloons. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Biden calls spy balloon ‘embarrassing’ for China ahead of Blinken talks in Beijing China calls hacking report 'far-fetched' and accuses the US of targeting the cybersecurity industry Biden criticised for suggesting bridge ‘across the Indian Ocean’ China condemns EU Parliament's resolution on Hong Kong's shrinking freedoms Taiwanese foreign minister asks for support from European countries to maintain peace, stability China's foreign minister airs concerns in phone call with Blinken ahead of planned visit

TL;DR: As of August 13, get the Kodak Slide N Scan Film & Slide Scanner

The crackdown on stand-up comedy unleashed by a joke is now hurting Beijing's vibrant live music scene.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 6, 2023--

After the New Orleans City Council voted to allow the use of facial recognition software to identify criminals more readily and accurately, reports indicate that the technology was ineffective and erroneous. This system went into effect in the summer of 2022, and Politico obtained records of the year’s worth of results. The outlet found that not only was the facial recognition tool vastly incapable of identifying suspects, but it was also disproportionately used on Black people. And from October 2022 to August 2023, almost every facial recognition request regarded a Black suspect. Politico reported that in total, the department made 19 requests. However, two of them were thrown out because police had identified the suspect before the system’s results came back, while two others were rejected because the program’s application didn’t extend to those crimes. So, of the 15 requests made by the New Orleans Police Department, 14 concerned Black suspects, the outlet wrote. On top of this, only six of these requests turned up with matches — and half of those were erroneous — while the remaining nine did not pull up a match. Facial recognition technology has long been controversial. The city of New Orleans previously had banned the use of facial recognition software, which went into effect in 2020 following the death of George Floyd. Then, in 2022, the city reversed course, allowing it to be used. In the wake of the reversal, the ACLU of Louisiana Advocacy Director Chris Kaiser called the new ordinance “deeply flawed.” He not only pointed out research that indicated that “racial and gender bias” affected the program’s accuracy but also highlighted privacy concerns around the data that the program relies on when identifying potential suspects. A previous investigation by The Independent revealed that at least six people around the US have been falsely arrested using facial ID technology; all of them are Black. One such arrest occurred in Louisiana, where the use of facial recognition technology led to the wrongful arrest of a Georgia man for a string of purse thefts. Regardless of the false arrests, at least half of federal law enforcement agencies with officers and a quarter of state and local agencies are using it. At least one council member acknowledged the shortcomings of this technology. “This department hung their hat on this,” New Orleans Councilmember At-Large JP Morrell told Politico. Mr Morrell voted against using facial recognition last year. After seeing the police department’s data and usage, he said the tool is “wholly ineffective and pretty obviously racist.” “The data has pretty much proven that advocates were mostly correct,” Mr Morell continued. “It’s primarily targeted towards African Americans and it doesn’t actually lead to many, if any, arrests.” City councillor Eugene Green, who introduced the measure to lift the ban, holds a different view. He told Politico that he still supports the agency’s use of facial recognition. “If we have it for 10 years and it only solves one crime, but there’s no abuse, then that’s a victory for the citizens of New Orleans.” It is important to note that despite hiccups with the system’s results, the agency’s use has led to any known false arrests. “We needed to have significant accountability on this controversial technology,” council member Helena Moreno, who co-authored the initial ban, told the outlet. New Orleans has a system in place in which the police department is required to provide details of how the tool was used to the City Council on a monthly basis; although Politico disclosed that the department agreed with the council that it could share the data quarterly. When asking about the potential flaws with the facial recognition tool, as outlined by Politico’s reporting, a New Orleans Police Department spokesperson told The Independent that “race and ethnicity are not a determining factor for which images and crimes are suitable for Facial Recognition review. However, a description of the perpetrator, including race, is a logical part of any search for a suspect and is always a criterion in any investigation.” The department spokesperson also emphasised that its investigators do not rely solely on facial recognition, “but it is one of multiple tools that can be used to aid in investigations,” like evidence and/or forensics, adding that officers are trained to conduct “bias-free investigations.” “The lack of arrests in which Facial Recognition Technology was used as a tool, is evidence that NOPD investigators are being thorough in their investigations,” the statement concluded. Read More Cousins may have Achilles tendon injury; Stafford, Pickett, Taylor also hurt on rough day for QBs Four tracts of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are designated for wind power development A salty problem for people near the mouth of the Mississippi is a wakeup call for New Orleans Gulf oil lease sale postponed by court amid litigation over endangered whale protections What is super fog? The mix of smoke and dense fog caused a deadly pileup in Louisiana What is super fog? Weather phenomenon causes fatal Louisiana pile-up

You're about to see a lot more about Tesla.

Jacob Birn noticed the man taking off the posters from two blocks away until he was confronted by Paulie on the corner of 67th Drive and 109th Street in Queens

Russia's latest missile attack on Odesa left two dead Sunday, wounded many and badly damaged a UNESCO-listed Orthodox cathedral, drawing a vow...

China’s prolonged housing slump means the real-estate sector is driving less growth and contributing to the economic slowdown,

War-time president Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed the areas where Ukraine’s forces are facing a “challenging” time repelling Russian troops as air bombardments intensified over a strategic city in the east. Ukrainian forces repelled a total of eight attacks on the battered, strategic city of Avdiivka by Vladimir Putin’s troops in the past 24 hours, said Ukraine’s military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun. It was earlier reported that Mr Putin was going to make a third attempt at capturing the city known for its large coking plant after failing twice before. “Fighting is still going on. Over the last two days, the occupiers have increased the number of air strikes using guided bombs from Su-35 aircraft,” said Mr Shtupun. “The enemy is also bringing in more and more infantry. But when they tried to deploy armoured vehicles the day before yesterday two tanks and 14 other vehicles were burned out,” he said. Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, also revealed Russia’s losses in its current drive for Avdiivka. A minimum 3,000-4,000 Russian troops were killed and a further 7,000-8,000 were wounded, he told state news agency Ukrinform. Russia has not commented on the claims of the casualties made by Kyiv. “Quite simply, Avdiivka and its strategic position is geographically located on heights and you can see Donetsk... from here,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian area occupied by Russia. He said Mr Putin’s troops “need” Avdiivka. “Not a single building” was intact in the city that now has just over 1,500 people remaining from its pre-war population of 32,000, Mr Barabash said. Some of the remaining civilians in Avdiivka include doctors and nurses. The town still has a shop and functioning hospital operating under every day shelling. In an evening update on the frontline on Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces said its troops repelled 15 Russian attacks near the long-contested town of Maryinka, east of Avdiivka. Kyiv said its troops also repelled another 11 strikes near Bakhmut to the northeast and six near Kupiansk in the northeast. Mr Zelensky, in a speech on Monday, said fighting along the frontline has been “challenging”. He named Avdiivka, Maryinka, Bakhmut front, Lyman front, Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as the areas where fighting has been the fiercest. He said he was grateful “for the fact that Ukraine knows and will know the enemy’s plans and how to respond to them – properly and powerfully”. “Both on the ground and in the Black Sea,” he said, referring to the area where Russia has concentrated its naval fleet. This was further corroborated by Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, who said Avdiivka, Kupiansk, and Maryinka fronts remain the “most intense”. “The situation is complicated, but remains under control,” he said. The top commander spoke with his American counterpart, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown, on Monday. He discussed Ukraine’s plans for the winter and urgent needs of the Ukrainian troops, such as ammunition, air defence and drones. In an interview earlier this month, Mr Zaluzhnyi said the war was entering a phase of attrition, leading to Mr Zelensky dismissing any notion that the conflict was headed towards a stalemate. Russian accounts said Moscow’s forces had repulsed five Ukrainian attempts to advance on villages outside Bakhmut that was captured by Moscow’s troops in May after months of fighting. Read More South Korea and members of the US-led UN command warn North Korea over its nuclear threat Russia-Ukraine war: Mystery as Putin’s state media removes update on forces - live South Korea's Yoon will warn APEC leaders about the risks of a Russia-North Korea arms deal Russian UN envoys shoot back at Western criticism of its Ukraine war and crackdown on dissidents From Gaza to Ukraine, China to the EU: The major issues facing Cameron in new role What has David Cameron been doing since resigning from government?