IT & software, Crime & justice, Technology, Health, AI
693 storiesWHO says risk low as US presses Russia for transparency on plague lab death
The U.S. State Department is monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called on Moscow to be more transparent about the death of a 28-year-ol…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Texas set to execute Jamaal Howard for 2000 killing of store clerk
Texas is set to execute Jamaal Howard, 46, by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2000 fatal shooting of convenience store clerk Vickie Swartout, 42, during a robbery in Silsbee. It would be the 30th execution in the U.S. this year and th…
Case opened in Russia’s Syzran over reported beating of children at camp
Russian authorities opened a criminal case after reports that children were beaten at a camp in Syzran, official outlets reported. Social media posts cited by TASS said a counselor beat two brothers with autism. A State Duma deputy from the…
Apple and LG co-develop smart home devices including doorbell, lock and thermostat
Bloomberg reports that Apple and LG have co-developed a line of smart home devices, including a video doorbell, thermostat, smart deadbolt lock, indoor and outdoor security cameras and a floodlight camera. The products are expected to carry…
Pennsylvania measles cases pass 1,000, largest state outbreak in decades
Pennsylvania has reported 1,004 measles cases in 2026, the state Department of Health said Monday, including at least 198 hospitalizations and five deaths. State health officials say it is the largest outbreak in any U.S. state in more than…
Nvidia-backed Reflection AI unveils Beam, open-weight model to rival Chinese models
Reflection AI unveiled Beam, a 501-billion-parameter open-weight AI model that the New York-based startup says matches leading Chinese open models like Z.ai’s GLM-5.2 at lower compute cost. The Nvidia-backed company says Beam is in final sa…
California couple charged with child abuse in surrogacy case involving 21 children
Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, were arrested Tuesday at their Arcadia, California, home and charged with child abuse, conspiracy to commit child abuse, accessory after the fact and dissuading a witness, Los Angeles County District A…
Cornell protests grow; faculty push no-confidence vote over rape case handling
Students at Cornell University protested Monday and Tuesday over the school's handling of an alleged 2024 gang rape at the Chi Phi fraternity, after activists vandalized the Day Hall administration building with red-painted messages and a s…
Seoul appeals court to rule in ex-President Yoon's free opinion poll case
A Seoul appeals court is due to deliver its verdict on Oct 7 in the political funds case against former President Yoon Suk Yeol, accused of receiving 58 free opinion polls from political broker Myung Tae-kyun. The first trial sentenced Yoon…
Appeal rejected: 1 year 6 months for driver who dragged police officer 200m
A South Korean appeals court upheld a 1 year 6 month prison sentence for a 53-year-old driver who dragged a police officer on his car for more than 200m during a drunk-driving stop in Jeonju. The Gwangju High Court's Jeonju bench dismissed …
WHO says Russia reported no plague case in Irkutsk as US tracks lab worker's death
The World Health Organization said Russian authorities reported no plague case had been recorded in the Irkutsk region, while the cause of a 28-year-old anti-plague laboratory worker's death remained unconfirmed. The US State Department sai…
Couple in their 60s found dead in Naju house; police seek suspect
A couple in their 60s were found dead at a house in Naju, in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region, according to police reports carried by several South Korean outlets on Oct 6. Local reports described the bodies as bound and said police believe the c…
Four former Sanko Seika executives indicted over 2022 fire that killed six
Niigata District Public Prosecutors Office indicted four former executives of rice-cracker maker Sanko Seika, including former CEO Motoyasu Sato (56), on charges of professional negligence resulting in death over a February 2022 fire at its…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
Pianist Kyohei Sorita indicted over 144 km/h speeding; admits charge, verdict 29 Oct
Pianist Kyohei Sorita, 32, has been indicted on-home for driving at 144 km/h on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo on 20 December last year, 84 km/h over the 60 km/h limit. At a first hearing at the Tokyo District Court on 6 October, prosecutors…
Times Car data leak class action sign-ups top 40,000
Registrations on a website set up to prepare a class action over the Times Car personal data leak passed 40,000 by 2 pm on Oct 5, Livedoor News reported. Lawyer Hiroki Makino opened the site on Sept 30 to seek damages over the handling of p…
Tennessee Republicans weigh new execution methods after botched lethal injection
Some of Tennessee's top Republicans said they want to explore alternative ways of executing condemned prisoners after the failed execution of Christa Pike on Sept. 30, in which a large dose of pentobarbital did not kill her. Gov. Bill Lee h…
Former German BND chief August Hanning arrested on espionage suspicion
August Hanning, the former president of Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND), was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of treasonous espionage, spying out state secrets, attempted treason and espionage, the federal prosecutor's office s…
Christa Pike conscious and speaking after failed Tennessee execution, lawyers say
Christa Pike, 50, is conscious and speaking and receiving critical medical care nearly a week after Tennessee's attempt to execute her with the drug pentobarbital failed, her attorneys said Tuesday. They said her prognosis remains unclear, …