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Pentagon Joins Elon Musk’s War Against Plane Tracking

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

A technology wish list circulated by the U.S. military’s elite Joint Special Operations Command suggests the country’s most secretive war-fighting component shares an anxiety with the world’s richest man: Too many people can see where they’re flying their planes.The Joint Special Operations Air Component, responsible for ferrying commandos and their gear around the world, is seeking help keeping these flights out of the public eye through a “‘Big Data’ Analysis & Feedback Tool,” according to a procurement document obtained by The Intercept. The document is one of a series of periodic releases of lists of technologies that special operations units would like to see created by the private sector. Join Our Newsletter Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you. I'm in The listing specifically calls out the risk of social media “tail watchers” and other onli...

1 killed in Highlands Ranch shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — One person was killed and another was taken into custody after a shooting in Highlands Ranch.Deputies responded around 8:25 a.m. Tuesday to a reported shooting at a home on Timber Hawk Circle, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Detectives were on the scene into the morning to investigate.One person was killed, the sheriff's office said. A second person was taken into custody, but no further details were released, including whether they face charges.The sheriff's office said there was no danger to the public.

Trump notified he's target of criminal probe into efforts to overturn 2020 election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department's investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication he could soon be charged by U.S. prosecutors.New federal charges, on top of existing state and federal counts in New York and Florida and a separate election-interference investigation nearing conclusion in Georgia, would add to the list of legal problems for Trump as he pursues the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Trump disclosed the existence of a target letter in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he received it Sunday night and that he anticipates being indicted. Such a letter often precedes an indictment and is used to advise individuals under investigation that prosecutors have gathered evidence linking them to a crime; Trump himself received one soon before being charged last month in a separate investigation into t...

What happens to unclaimed lottery tickets in Colorado?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- With the Powerball jackpot hitting an eye-watering $1 billion after Monday's drawing, people across the country are crossing their fingers and hoping their lucky numbers are lucky enough.Coloradans are no exception. No Powerball winner yet, jackpot hits $1 billion Even though no one won the big prize in Monday's drawing, there were a few people across the state that won a decent chunk of change, including one $200,000 winner, a $50,000 winner, and 71 people who won $400 or more.But what happens if you win and lose your ticket or just forget about it altogether?What happens to unclaimed lottery tickets?As soon as the numbers are drawn, the clock starts ticking.Coloradans have 180 days after a drawing to claim their winnings. This is true for all games, including Powerball and Mega Millions. These are the best, worst states to win the lottery in After 30 days, the amount won and the store the winning ticket was sold at is posted on the Colorado Lottery website unt...

Colorado cities among best for first-time homebuyers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- For all the state's housing expensiveness, some Colorado cities are among the best in the country for first-time homebuyers, according to a new report. Colorado has shot to the top of the nation's expense in recent years, and its housing market's tightness is likely cramping first-time homebuyers in a country where they are already being squeezed. Nationally, 26% of home purchases made in 2022 were made by first-time buyers, down from 34% the previous year. Castle Rock teen accused of terrorist ties To shed light on where the best deals are, financial adviser site WalletHub compared 300 cities of varying sizes across 22 key indicators of market attractiveness, affordability and quality of life. These include housing affordability relative to area income, the health of the local real estate market, the area's education, transportation, economy and crime.Several Colorado cities rank highly on the list, including Thornton, Greeley, Arvada and Longmont. Ma...

Hialeah man sentenced to over 11 years for 2019 armed bank robbery

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

A Hialeah man was sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison stemming from a 2019 bank robbery in which he managed to get away with over $30,000. According to a press release by the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida, the incident took place on December 26, 2019, when now 45-year-old Ariel Valero entered a Wells Fargo bank in Miramar. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit and wore a ski mask. Once inside the bank, Valero brandished a black firearm, leaped onto the teller counter, and threatened the bank employees. FILE: Surveillance photo of armed robbery at Miramar Wells Fargo Bank. 2019FILE: Surveillance photo of armed robbery at Miramar Wells Fargo Bank. 2019Valero was able to escape with $30,959.99 in cash.The robbery was captured by surveillance cameras, which showed Valero fleeing the scene on a bicycle. He was seen pedaling for a short distance before abandoning the bicycle in a nearby plaza. Forensic analysis of the bicycle seat unc...

After devastating 2022 hurricane season, AAA not renewing some insurance policies in Florida

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — AAA won’t renew “a very small percentage” of homeowners and auto insurance policies in hurricane-wracked Florida, joining other insurers in limiting their exposure in the Sunshine State despite efforts by lawmakers to calm the volatile insurance market, the company said Tuesday.AAA said in a statement that it wasn’t leaving Florida, but that last year’s devastating hurricane season had led to an “unprecedented” rise in reinsurance rates, making it more costly to operate.Officials with the company refused to say how many policies in Florida wouldn’t be renewed but said that they were “higher exposure” package policies which bundle homeowners and auto policies and were underwritten by Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida. An AAA spokesman wouldn’t explain how the company defined “higher exposure,” when asked.“This is a decision we do not take lightly,” the AAA statement said. “We acknowledge that this is a difficult time for those a...

Facebook parent Meta makes public its ChatGPT rival LLaMA

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has built an artificial intelligence system that rivals the likes of ChatGPT and Google’s Bard but it’s taking a different approach: releasing it for free.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the company is partnering with Microsoft to introduce the next generation of its AI large language model and making the technology, known as LLaMA 2, free for research and commercial use.Much like tech peers Google and Microsoft, the social media company has long had a big research team of computer scientists devoted to advancing AI technology. But it’s been overshadowed as the release of ChatGPT sparked a rush to profit off of “generative AI” tools that can create new prose, images and other media.Meta has also tried to distinguish itself by being more open than some of its Big Tech rivals about offering a peek at the data and code it uses to build AI systems. It has argued that such openness makes it easi...

EU plans €20B fund to stock Ukraine’s military for years

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

The EU will propose a dedicated fund to keep Ukraine’s military stocked for the next four years at a cost of up to €20 billion, according to five diplomats familiar with the plan. The proposal would not involve the EU directly paying for Ukraine’s weapons. Instead, Brussels would help countries cover their own costs of purchasing and donating items such as ammunition, missiles and tanks. It also would help pay to train Ukrainian soldiers. It’s an approach the EU adopted shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. But the new proposal, drafted by the EU’s diplomatic service, would effectively turbocharge the strategy.To start, the price tag would be a major commitment for the EU, potentially increasing by nearly five times the €4 billion the bloc has allocated thus far for similar efforts over the last year-plus. It also would cement an ideological sea change for the EU, a self-described peace project. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, the concept...

Russian command structure ‘confusing at best’ after Wagner mutiny, says top US general

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:30:37 GMT

The Russian military’s command structure is “confusing at best” after last month’s failed rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group, a top U.S. general said on Tuesday.Thousands of Prigozhin’s soldiers have been deeply involved in the Ukraine conflict. But those troops are now handing over their weapons to the Russian military, in an apparent end to their operations in Ukraine.The failed mutiny that ended with Prigozhin’s exile has thrown Russia’s military command structure into disarray, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley told reporters at the Pentagon.“The command-and-control apparatus at the strategic level is certainly confusing at best and probably challenging,” Milley said.The fallout from the rebellion, in addition to logistics problems, “significant” officer casualties and poor training, have contributed to eroding morale among Russian forces, Milley said.Russian troops have had several months to boost their defenses in Ukraine, including layin...