Police in Atlanta said multiple department motorcycles were set on fire at a training facility early on Saturday. The fire comes amid a high-profile battle over another planned police training facility in a forest on the outskirts of the Georgia city that environmental and racial justice activists have dubbed “Cop City”, though the fire set on Saturday was at a different police training site. The fire was first reported by WANF-TV. Investigators have not yet identified any suspect or motive in the case. They do, however, believe the fire was set intentionally. Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department firefighters who responded to the scene of the fire around 2.20am on Saturday morning found “incendiary devices” used to start the flames. According to an Atlanta Police statement provided to the Associated Press, the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. Governor Brian Kemp, a strong supporter of the “Cop City” project, said in a statement that the fire was “outrageous”. “Those are the tactics of organized criminals, not protesters, and their supporters should ask themselves if they truly want to be associated with such radical and violent people,” Mr Kemp said. “Working with state, local, and federal law enforcement partners, we will find these criminals and bring them to justice.” Mr Kemp did not specify which “protesters” he was referring to, nor did he provide any context for linking protesters to the fire before any arrests in the case have been made. Tensions in Atlanta continue to run high over the construction of the training centre, which is expected to cost $90m and is being financed in part by the city. Opponents of the project argue that it will have disastrous environmental effects and lead to more militarised, racist policing in what is already the most-surveilled city in the country. The movement against the construction of the facility has grown following the law enforcement killing of activist Manuel Esteban Paez Terán at the site in January. Police said they fired on Terán in self-defence, though other protesters have rejected that claim. The investigation into that shooting also remains open. Read More Atlanta police training center opponents sue over delays in approving referendum Atlanta clerk sued for denying 'Stop Cop City' petition lets effort move forward

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In a move that may soon be replicated elsewhere, the Gila River Indian Community recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to put solar panels over a stretch of irrigation canal on their land south of Phoenix

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After losing J.K. Dobbins to a ruptured Achilles, the Baltimore Ravens have potentially lost Marcus Williams to a season-ending injury too.

WASHINGTON A top U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission official on Wednesday said the SEC will turn to courts

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 27, 2023--

Deontay Wilder ducks his head, cramping his 6ft 6in frame under the vent in a seemingly endless, narrow green hallway in Wembley Arena, and howling as he marches towards his dressing room. Across the corridor – three steps for you or me, one for the American – is Anthony Joshua’s dressing room. Once inside his own, Wilder hurries to the bathroom, where he belts out the refrain of “This Is How We Do It” repeatedly, for about 90 seconds. When he emerges, the “Bronze Bomber” is ready to get down to brass tacks. Wilder soon declares that he has been metaphorically “knocking on Joshua’s door for years”, but what if he were to take the short trip across the hall and knock literally? “At this moment in time, I’d tell him it’s good to see him,” the 38-year-old tells The Independent and a small group of reporters. “I’d tell him it has been a long time coming, and I wish him nothing but the best.” Moments later, in Joshua’s dressing room, I ask the Briton the same question. “I’d probably do more listening than talking,” the 34-year-old replies. “I don’t have much to say to these guys. I don’t have much to say. These heavyweights, man...” But these two particular heavyweights are not here for a press conference promoting a long, long, long-awaited fight between them. On this November evening in Wembley, the former world champions share a stage, and on 23 December, they will share a ring in Riyadh – just not at the same time. Joshua will box Otto Wallin, after Wilder fights Joseph Parker. Yet inevitably, our conversation in Joshua’s dressing room revolves almost entirely around Wilder, and vice versa once we cross the hall, with December’s event intended to pave the way to one of the most hotly anticipated fights in history. And while Wilder’s hypothetical message to Joshua is a polite one, it is not necessarily in keeping with his overall thoughts on “AJ” this evening. That’s OK, though, because Joshua has no intention of pleasantries tonight. The Briton’s first issue is with Wilder questioning his identity. Wilder, sitting beside his manager Malik Scott, his arms stretching almost the entire length of their purple, velvet sofa, has this to say: “I worry about every fight Joshua is in. Eddie Hearn built Anthony Joshua; he wasn’t born a champion, he was made a champion. I think they did a f***ing amazing job of promoting him and getting him to the top. I am happy for him as a fellow fighter, I am proud of him and happy for him. But I would have been the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight world champion many years ago, for many years, if I had the opportunities he was given. “If you have a company with only one moneymaker, you will never risk him against the best, you will put him in with mediocre guys. I don’t want to call guys mediocre, I’m not downplaying them, but they’re not at the top of the competition. “Man, Joshua better get ready. That’s all I can say. It’s that time.” Ten minutes later, we hear Joshua’s response. “Who the f*** is he? He’s a boxer, not a psychologist.” The Olympic gold medalist is reclining on a sofa beside Hearn, and sporting a grey tracksuit and a black beanie hat. It is a less ostentatious get-up than Wilder’s tuxedo-and-varsity-jacket combination, and similarly, the dim, grey walls around Joshua are a world away from the flowered wallpaper in Wilder’s room – if just a few steps away in reality. “I’ve stood 10 toes on what I represent, I’ve been two-time champion of the world, defended, fought X amount of world champions,” Joshua continues. “The boy has had 50 fights, and he fought Jason Gavern in his 30-somethingth fight; I fought him in my 11th. We are different; my identity is strong. If they’re looking for weaknesses and gaps, then they need to stop looking over here, because I’m solid. I don’t know what he’s talking about if I’m honest.” Joshua, it must be said, seems to be in a somewhat prickly mood. It’s apparent later, in his back-and-forth on stage with Jarell Miller (understandably, after the American’s failed drug tests derailed their planned clash in 2019, leading to Joshua’s stoppage loss to Andy Ruiz Jr) and his dismissal of host Dev Sahni. Joshua would prefer that Hearn ask him questions, not Sahni, who is employed by Hearn’s rival Frank Warren. It is also evident in his response to a question about Ben Davison, who worked with Tyson Fury and is – in a sense – Joshua’s fourth coach in two years. “I don’t want to talk about trainers,” Joshua says, before pretending not to know about Davison’s past with Fury. Wilder, meanwhile, is in a more playful mood, but he picks his moments to be cutting. After questioning Joshua’s identity, he questions the Briton’s grit. “I don’t want you to get in the ring [with me] because the money’s right; I want you to get into the ring because you feel like you can beat Wilder, in your heart,” he says. “When you get in that ring, you’re going to put on a great performance and not lay down the first time you get hit.” Then, he questions Joshua’s courage, to a degree. “The fight is closing in, and Joshua has nowhere to run. I don’t think he’s scared of me, but the people around him are. Maybe there is some fear in him, but we are in a business where we all risk our lives. The sport and the dangers get under your skin, so I understand that side, [but] everyone will get in the ring for the right price, especially when there is over $50m (£40m) on the table. Everything is going in the right direction now, and the fight will happen. The time is finally here, and people are going to get what they have wanted for years. “There have been a lot of lies and manipulation going on, there have been a lot of years I have been waiting. I have never been the hold-up, and I could say a lot of things. All of these guys – promoters, managers – they don’t want me to say certain things, because it exposes them. But, at the end of the year, we are here now.” Joshua, for his part, says: “We’ve stayed around long enough to see the changes happen, and just the timing factor. It was either going to happen now or 10 years from now, we were just lucky enough to be in the driving seat at this present time.” Yet, again, it is worth remembering: Joshua and Wilder are not fighting each other on 23 December. Instead, their respective bouts will top an admittedly remarkable card involving the likes of Daniel Dubois, Dmitry Bivol, Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller. The event – the likes of which the boxing world has never seen before – marks a sudden, stupefying collaboration between Hearn’s Matchroom, Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, and various other companies. “In terms of Frank and Eddie, you’d have to ask [Eddie],” Joshua says, “but me and Wilder, we’re fighters; we were going to fight each other one day. It was either going to be on his card or someone else’s card. To have us all working together, it’s unbelievable.” But Joshua and Hearn repeatedly stress that Wilder may not even be next for AJ after 23 December. “I want to go for the title – we might fight [Oleksandr] Usyk,” Joshua says of the man who dethroned him in 2021 and outpointed him again in 2022. “It’s better to plan for everything than to plan for nothing. This might happen, this may not. I fought a tall guy, [Robert] Helenius – that’s leading me towards Wilder; I fight a southpaw [Wallin] – that’s leading me towards Usyk. Either way, I’m going down a positive route. “Do you know what’s good? I’ve got opportunities. That’s what I think is the best thing right now. I feel like the fight with Wilder is massive, it will happen, but I have options. I don’t aim to be a part of the circus, I aim to own the circus.” Right now, boxing is certainly a circus. But how could you take your eyes off it? Read More Anthony Joshua sees Otto Wallin as stepping stone on way to title fight Joshua vs Wallin and Wilder vs Parker official for 23 December Boxing’s heavyweight saga sees biggest plot twist yet Joshua and Wilder in line to fight on same Saudi card – but not against each other Eddie Hearn makes surprising revelation about Anthony Joshua coach Anthony Joshua and Louis Theroux break into freestyle rap battle: ‘Fire in the booth’

Grimes, who described herself as an "AI popstar" recently on social media, is reportedly one of the people to have signed a statement warning of its risks to humanity. The singer signed the message from Center For AI Safety (CAIS) delving into the potential dangers of AI, according to Ars Technica. OpenAI and DeepMind’s executives also signed the message, which read: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” A CAIS press release also stated that it wanted to “put guardrails in place and set up institutions so that AI risks don’t catch us off guard.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “We need to be having the conversations that nuclear scientists were having before the creation of the atomic bomb,” Dan Hendrycks, CAIS’ director, also said. Grimes has been vocal in her support for the use of AI among her fan base recently, even sharing a how-to guide that helps people use her voice to create AI songs. The singer, real name Claire Elise Boucher, offered fans a chance to not only create their own music but to earn 50/50 royalties by distributing it. Writing on the singer said: “Grimes is now open source and self replicating.” Her Twitter bio also currently reads: “Self-replicating A.I. Popstar for the Martian Ministry of Propaganda.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Bluesky has hit a new milestone as it has passed over one million registered users. The social media platform, created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has surged in popularity as an alternative to X after users sought to leave the Elon Musk-owned app. Under Mr Musk, Twitter has been rebranded as X. Bluesky hit the milestone on Tuesday, with Rose Wang, who works on strategy and operations at the platform, sharing a screenshot of the moment it gained over a million users. Bluesky still seems to be in its early stages, taking a careful approach and growing slowly as it caters to its cohort of initial adopters. Choosing this cautious approach, access to the app is extended via a waitlist and through invitations from existing users. The app was first announced by Mr Dorsey when he was still in charge of Twitter, tasking developers to build a “decentralised standard” for social media. “The biggest and long-term goal is to build a durable and open protocol for public conversation. That it not be owned by any one organisation but contributed by as many as possible. And that it is born and evolved on the internet with the same principles,” Mr Dorsey wrote on the app in 2020. Bluesky has seen upticks in requests for signups following Mr Musk’s takeover of X, as the Tesla titan brought about sweeping changes to his platform, including initiating mass layoffs, the removal of blue checkmarks for non-paying users and modifications to content rules. At one point in July, Bluesky had to halt sign-ups due to a huge surge in demand, following Mr Musk imposing limits on the number of tweets people could read on X – a move that was later reversed. Bluesky’s approach to carefully onboard users is also in contrast to Meta’s Threads platform, which has emerged as another one of Twitter’s competitors in recent times. Meta’s decision to cross-promote Threads to existing Instagram users led to the app racking up close to 30 million signups in less than 24 hours, and over 100 million users within the first five days. But even with the recent roll-out of a web app – a much-anticipated feature – Threads’ traffic appears to be on a worrying dip, with its number of daily active users much lower than during its heyday just after it launched. Read More Elon Musk’s Twitter slows down access to rival websites $44 billion and eight months later. It’s finally all over for Elon Musk Musk, Zuckerberg and the bitter battle for the future of social media Volcano discovery could power electric cars for decades, scientists say New invention will lead to ‘battery revolution’, scientists say Putin praises Musk days after report Tesla boss stopped Ukrainian attack