October 6, 2021 By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A threat by Democrats to do away with the U.S. Senate’s filibuster rule colored Wednesday’s behind-the-scene efforts to avert a looming federal debt default, which economic analysts say could upend the global financial system. President Joe Biden, a former senator who has long defended the filibuster […]
WHO backs malaria vaccine rollout for Africa’s children in major breakthrough
October 6, 2021 By Maggie Fick and Aaron Ross NAIROBI (Reuters) -The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually. The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S – […]
Greece’s fire-ravaged island now racing to build flood defences
October 6, 2021 By Vassilis Triandafyllou and Angeliki Koutantou LIMNI, Greece (Reuters) – In a scorched landscape on the Greek island of Evia, crews of workers chop burnt pine trees, all that’s left from devastating summer wildfires, to set up wooden flood barriers. Walking on a thick carpet of ash and with the smell of […]
U.S. to tell critical rail, air companies to report hacks, name cyber chiefs
October 6, 2021 By Christopher Bing (Reuters) -The Transportation Security Administration will introduce regulations that compel the most important U.S. railroad and airport operators to improve their cybersecurity procedures, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Wednesday. The upcoming changes will make it mandatory for “higher-risk” rail transit companies and “critical” U.S. airport and aircraft […]
IMF chief Georgieva says she was misled by law firm on World Bank probe
October 6, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday said the law firm WilmerHale mischaracterized her actions while serving as CEO of the World Bank, and assured her that her participation in its investigation was confidential. In a detailed statement to the IMF executive board, a copy of which was […]
GM aims to double revenues by 2030 as it drives to pass Tesla
October 6, 2021 By Joseph White and Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) -General Motors Co Chief Executive Mary Barra told investors on Wednesday that the automaker plans to double revenue by 2030, expanding profits from combustion vehicles even as it rolls out new electric vehicles and new digitally powered services to catch up with Tesla Inc. […]
GM’s ambitious agenda to show investors it can out-Tesla Tesla
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) -General Motors Co laid out an ambitious agenda on Wednesday aimed at convincing investors it is refashioning itself into a more profitable, software-driven company that will challenge Tesla for electric vehicle leadership by 2030. Among the initiatives, GM: * Outlined a new “dual platform” strategy for Ultium-branded electric vehicle components and […]
Prince Andrew can review 2009 Jeffrey Epstein settlement
October 6, 2021 By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Prince Andrew will have a chance to review a 2009 settlement agreement that he hopes will shield him from a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a woman two decades ago, when she was underage. In an order on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Loretta […]
NATO expels eight ‘intelligence officers’ from Russian mission to alliance
October 6, 2021 By Robin Emmott and Andrew Osborn BRUSSELS/MOSCOW (Reuters) -NATO has expelled eight members of Russia’s mission to the alliance who were “undeclared Russian intelligence officers”, a NATO official said on Wednesday, the latest deterioration in East-West ties that are already at post-Cold War lows. The expulsion of the Russians was reported earlier […]
Twitter is selling MoPub to AppLovin for $1.05 billion
Twitter announced Wednesday that it would offload MoPub, the mobile ad platform it bought back in 2013, selling the company to mobile game and marketing software maker AppLovin. Twitter paid around $350 million for MoPub back in 2013 and will sell the company for $1.05 billion in cash. MoPub helped Twitter bring in around $188 […]
Daily Crunch: Leaker releases huge cache of Twitch data, promises more to come
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for October 6, 2021. We have an absolutely packed newsletter for you today. So no jokes up top from us, just a note that we’ve put […]
Posts Spread Baseless Claims About Cause of Cargo Ship Backups
Quick Take U.S. ports slowed by pandemic-induced labor and equipment shortages cannot keep up with Americans’ demand for imported goods, resulting in cargo ship backups on both coasts. But social media posts, without citing evidence, falsely claim the Biden administration is purposely “orchestrating” product shortages. Full Story Cargo ships are backed up in record numbers at U.S. ports, […]
Right-wing merger aims to form Brazil’s largest political party
October 6, 2021 BRASILIA (Reuters) – Two right-wing political parties in Brazil decided on Wednesday to join forces to become the country’s largest political party, with plans to field an alternative to President Jair Bolsonaro in next year’s elections. The Democratas (DEM) and the Social Liberal Party (PSL), which Bolsonaro joined ahead of his 2018 […]
Simulated AI creatures demonstrate how mind and body evolve and succeed together
Artificial intelligence is often thought of as disembodied: a mind like a program, floating in a digital void. But human minds are deeply intertwined with our bodies — and an experiment with virtual creatures performing tasks in simulated environments suggests that AI may benefit from having a mind-body setup. Stanford scientists were curious about the […]
Soccer-Spain end Italy’s unbeaten run to reach Nations League final
October 6, 2021 By Simon Evans MILAN (Reuters) – Spain ended European champions Italy’s world record 37-match unbeaten run as Ferran Torres scored twice in a 2-1 win at the San Siro stadium in their Nations League semi-final on Wednesday. Spain will face the winners of Thursday’s other semi-final between France and Belgium, in Sunday’s […]
White House says reforms should happen given concerns about Facebook
October 6, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said more needs to be done and reforms should happen given privacy and trust concerns raised about Facebook Inc. White House press secretary Jen Psaki made the comments a day after former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testified before Congress about concerns that the social media […]
‘The Harder They Fall’ opens London Film Festival with glam red carpet
October 6, 2021 By Sarah Mills LONDON (Reuters) – Netflix Western “The Harder They Fall” opened the London Film Festival on Wednesday, with an all-star red carpet kicking off the return to glitzy in-person premieres at the annual event following a mainly virtual 2020 version. Oscar winner Regina King, “Luther” star Idris Elba and “Da […]
White House declines to comment on Granholm remark on possible crude oil export
October 6, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House press spokesperson Jen Psaki declined to comment on U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s remarks on Wednesday that a ban on U.S. crude exports is a possible tool to calm oil prices. “I would defer to the energy secretary, but I don’t have anything new to report on […]
GM is upping its investment in charging infrastructure to increase confidence in EVs
General Motors will be upping its investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure by nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars, in a bid to lure drivers who may otherwise be leery of charging availability to EVs. The automaker said it would spend nearly $750,000,000 through 2025 in order to create more access to public, home and […]
Tennis-Murray has no qualms about taking wildcards
October 6, 2021 (Reuters) – Andy Murray does not feel bad taking wildcards away from younger players given all he achieved in tennis before missing time due to hip surgeries, he said on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Critics suggest wildcards are better suited to up-and-coming players but Briton Murray, a […]
