Daily Archives: December 24, 2023

As 2023 Draws to Close, Notre Dame’s Reconstruction Offers Light

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Paris — With bleak December weather gripping the French capital and world attention dominated by the bloody conflict in Gaza, the slow reemergence of Paris’ fire-battered Notre Dame cathedral is a welcome Christmas present. A golden rooster — a potent symbol of light in Christianity and of France — once again sits atop the cathedral’s reconstructed spire, replacing one that fell into the 2019 blaze which nearly demolished the edifice. By December 8, 2024, authorities pledge, Notre Dame will reopen to the public. “It’s extraordinary when you see it up over …

Bionic Prostheses Empower Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers

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KYIV, Ukraine — When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees. The 26-year-old is delighted with his sleek black robotic arm — he described it as “love at first sight” — and realizes how lucky he was to get one. “There are fewer (bionic) arms available than …

US Investors See Value in Israeli Tech Firms Despite War

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HERZLIYA, Israel — Nearly 7,000 miles away in Portland, Oregon, venture capitalist George Djuric said he was compelled to visit Israel during the country’s war with Palestinian militant group Hamas and to pledge support for the high-tech sector. Djuric, chief technology officer at yVentures who arrived in the United States as a 3-year-old refugee from Bosnia during the Bosnian war in the mid-1990s, this week joined some 70 other U.S. tech executives and investors on a trip to Israel. “Coming here is a chance to stand in solidarity with Israel and …

Artists Use Tech Weapons Against AI Copycats

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NEW YORK — Artists under siege by artificial intelligence that studies their work and then replicates their styles, have teamed with university researchers to stymie such copycat activity. U.S. illustrator Paloma McClain went into defense mode after learning that several AI models had been trained using her art, with no credit or compensation sent her way. “It bothered me,” McClain told AFP. “I believe truly meaningful technological advancement is done ethically and elevates all people instead of functioning at the expense of others,” she said. The artist turned to free software …

Contrary to Politicians’ Claims, Offshore Wind Farms Don’t Kill Whales

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PORTLAND, Maine — Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable energy. In recent months, conservatives including former President Donald Trump have claimed construction of offshore wind turbines is killing the giant animals. Scientists say there is no credible evidence linking offshore wind farms to whale deaths. But that hasn’t stopped conservative groups and ad hoc “not in my back yard”-style anti-development groups from making the connection. The Associated Press sorts fact from fiction when it comes to whales …

A 400-Year-Old Mexican Tradition, Pinatas Are Not Child’s Play

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ACOLMAN, Mexico — Maria de Lourdes Ortiz Zacarias swiftly cuts hundreds of strips of newsprint and colored crepe paper needed to make a pinata, soothed by Norteno music on the radio while measuring pieces by feel. “The measurement is already in my fingers,” Ortiz Zacarias says with a laugh. She has been doing this since she was a child, in the family-run business alongside her late mother, who learned the craft from her father. Pinatas haven’t been displaced by more modern customs, and her family has been making a living off …