Author: Reporter

A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was upending stock markets on January 27 and fueling debates over the economic and geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in developing AI technology. DeepSeek’s AI assistant became the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple’s iPhone store on January 27, propelled by curiosity about the ChatGPT competitor. Part of what is worrying some U.S. tech industry observers is the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost. That,...

Wall Street’s superstars tumbled on January 27 as a competitor from China threatened to upend the artificial intelligence frenzy they have been feasting on. The S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, dragged down in large part by a 16.9% fall for Nvidia. Other Big Tech stocks also took heavy losses, and they pulled the Nasdaq composite down 3.1% for its worst loss in more than a month. The damage was focused on AI-related stocks, while the rest of the market held up much better. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 289 points, or 0.7%, and the majority of U.S. stocks climbed....

The world’s focus will be on the remaining survivors of Nazi Germany’s atrocities on January 27 as world leaders and royalty join them for commemorations on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The main observances take place at the site in southern Poland where Nazi Germany murdered over a million people, most of them Jews, but also Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people, and others targeted for elimination in Adolf Hitler’s racial ideology. The anniversary has taken on added poignancy due to the advanced age of the survivors, and an awareness that they...

Right-wing extremists have been celebrating Elon Musk’s straight-arm gesture during a speech on January 20, although his intention was not totally clear. “I just want to say thank you for making it happen,” Musk said during a speech at Capital One Arena, referring to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Then he pounded his hand on his chest, and extended his arm straight outward and upward with his palm facing downwards. He turned around and made a similar gesture facing the other way. “My heart goes out to you,” he said. Many social media users noticed that the...

President Donald Trump on January 22 demanded an apology from the Episcopal bishop of Washington after she made a direct appeal to him during a prayer service marking his inauguration to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers who are in the United States illegally. Referencing Trump’s belief that he was saved by God from assassination, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde said, “You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” After he returned...