Author: Newyorki

Thousands of revelers in New York City welcomed the New Year on Sunday night with the traditional ceremony of the descending crystal-clad ball in Times Square. After standing in the square for over a dozen hours, many celebrants had arrived early in the morning to secure a spot in barricaded pens set up by the New York Police Department. The festivities included musical performances by Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J before the final countdown to midnight. Nadja Sjostrom, 44, expressed her excitement, saying, “This is my first time celebrating the New Year in Times Square.” She had traveled…

On Thursday, a large number of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through the streets of New York, organizing a symbolic funeral to protest against Israel’s ongoing intense bombardment of the blockaded Gaza Strip. Carrying signs calling for an urgent ceasefire, the activists assembled in Bryant Park in Manhattan, and a few briefly positioned themselves in the midst of the bustling Sixth Avenue in the heart of New York’s Midtown district. Numerous women veiled in black attire carried baby dolls wrapped in white cloths to symbolize the impact of the conflict on children in the besieged coastal area. The simulated funeral procession proceeded…

The New York Times has initiated legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft, filing a copyright infringement lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court. The lawsuit alleges that the companies, while compiling information from various sources to train their generative AI and large-language model systems, disproportionately used content from The New York Times. The lawsuit contends that this “unlawful use” of the paper’s copyrighted materials, including news articles, investigations, opinion pieces, reviews, and guides, jeopardizes The Times’s ability to provide its services by enabling the creation of competing products without permission or compensation. Damages sought in the lawsuit could amount to billions…

Apple announced on Tuesday that it plans to challenge a US ban on its latest smartwatch models after the Biden administration chose not to intervene in a ruling on patent infringements. The ban on Apple’s newest smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, went into effect on Tuesday, making them unavailable for purchase in stores or online. This prohibition is the latest legal dispute involving major technology companies over valuable patents, with Google also engaged in a court battle against Sonos over speaker technology. The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) decided in October to prohibit…

The United States expressed profound concern on Monday regarding the detention of prominent Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who has been moved to an Arctic prison, and urged Moscow to cease its “escalating repression” of dissidents. The State Department welcomed reports confirming Navalny’s location after over two weeks of uncertainty but continued to express deep apprehension for his well-being and the unjust conditions of his detention. The US officials condemned the “malicious targeting” of the 47-year-old. Washington joined Navalny’s family and supporters in demanding his immediate release without conditions and called on the Russian government to halt its increasing repression…

An Indian-flagged crude oil tanker in the Red Sea reported that it was hit by an attack drone fired by Huthi militants, sending out a distress call to a US warship in the area, the US military said Saturday. The Gabon-owned tanker MV Saibaba reported no injuries from the strike, Central Command said in a social media post. According to the US military, two ships in the Southern Red Sea reported being under attack. The USS Laboon received distress signals from a Norwegian-operated chemical/oil tanker, Blaamanen, and a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, Saibaba. The Norwegian tanker reported a near…

Conspiracy theorists, who subscribe to the idea of a clandestine group involved in child sex trafficking, have directed their attention toward another online marketplace: Etsy, a platform recognized for selling handmade goods. Some social media users claim to identify “suspicious listings” on Etsy, such as high-priced downloadable images of pizza, using them as supposed evidence that the platform is engaged in the trafficking of children for abuse. Amid the holiday shopping season, a QAnon supporter shared screenshots from the website on X (formerly known as Twitter), urging others not to be deceived by misinformation. These rumors are rooted in the…

Japanese automaker Toyota has announced a recall of approximately one million Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the United States due to concerns about their airbag systems. The recall includes popular models such as Camry, Corolla, and Highlander, with the issue related to sensors in the front passenger seat. Toyota cited the possibility of improperly manufactured sensors causing a short circuit, which could lead to the airbag system not properly classifying the occupant’s weight and potentially not deploying as designed in certain crashes, increasing the risk of injury. Affected customers will be contacted by mid-February, and the inspection and replacement, if…

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced criticism online after she left without responding to a reporter’s question about President Biden’s potential involvement in his son Hunter’s foreign business deals. The allegations of Biden’s connection to his son’s business dealings were a major focus during Wednesday’s press briefing, especially after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s announcement of a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. Despite Jean-Pierre’s repeated assertions that House Republicans presented “no evidence” linking the president to these matters, New York Post correspondent Steven Nelson highlighted polls indicating that a significant number of voters hold a different belief. Nelson questioned,…

Jonathan Majors was convicted on Monday of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, a trial he had hoped would clear his name and revive his standing in Hollywood. However, the outcome was quite the opposite: Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. swiftly severed ties with him following the verdict. The Manhattan jury found the 34-year-old Majors guilty of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation related to a March incident with his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari. According to Jabbari, Majors attacked her in a car, causing her “excruciating” pain, while his defense argued that Jabbari was the aggressor. Upon hearing the verdict,…