Important Takeaways:
- A fast-moving storm traveling through the Northeast with a ‘dangerous’ combination of snow and sleet has forced hundreds of flights to be canceled as thousands go without power.
- The wild weather kicked off Saturday evening across portions of the Upper Great Lakes and intensified as it moved east – covering major cities including Boston and New York in white.
- More than 3,300 flights to, from or within the US were delayed and at least 300 were canceled on Saturday, according to Flight Aware.
- About 68 million people from the Midwest to the Northeast are under severe winter weather warnings, CNN reported.
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Important Takeaways:
- “The DOGE team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants,”
- Musk explained, “Sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” adding, “That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!”
- However, a December report revealed that NYC politicians spent $220 million in a sweetheart deal with Pakistan to lease the prestigious Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan for illegal alien housing. The most alarming issue was that NYC paid a foreign government to house illegals.
- “So let me get this straight; places like North Carolina and Maui get a pittance because FEMA says they lack funds, so we have to send our Military there to do work that could be put into the local economies. Meanwhile FEMA blows its budget on housing illegal immigrants?”
- Many of these folks in North Carolina had limited to no FEMA assistance under the Biden-Harris regime.
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Important Takeaways:
- If you were hoping the U.S. had turned a corner and more springlike weather was on the way, you’re going to have to hold on a bit longer as the FOX Forecast Center tracks what is shaping up to be an incredibly active week for winter weather across the nation.
- This renewed threat comes just as millions of people across the Northeast and New England clean up in the wake of a winter storm over the weekend that dumped several inches of snow across the region.
- …at least three separate winter storms are expected to sweep across a large portion of the U.S. during the week ahead, bringing the threat of widespread snow and ice to tens, if not hundreds, of millions of Americans from coast to coast.
- Portions of eastern Colorado, southern Nebraska, most of Kansas, central and northern Missouri, southeastern Iowa and western Illinois are all under a Winter Storm Watch.
- This includes cities like Wichita and Topeka in Kansas and Kansas City and St. Joseph in Missouri.
- With some snowfall rates of around an inch per hour that could allow about 5 inches of snow accumulation for much of central Kansas along the Interstate 70 corridor.
- After impacting the Plains, the storm is expected to move into the Ohio Valley, and then slam the mid-Atlantic and portions of the Northeast into Wednesday morning before the system pushes offshore.
- Richmond, Virginia, Washington and Baltimore are under Winter Storm Watches through Wednesday. Heavy snow is possible, with totals between 4 and 6 inches. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for portions of northwestern North Carolina, central and western Virginia and eastern West Virginia.
- As that first storm begins to wind down over the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Wednesday, the second storm will already be developing over the Plains.
- The last storm, for now, is expected to take shape late this week and continue into the weekend, bringing yet another round of winter weather to cities from the Plains to New England.
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Important Takeaways:
- Since January 31, a series of undersea tremors have been recorded between Santorini and the neighboring islands of Amorgos, Anafi, and Ios, with the strongest- a 5.2-magnitude quake – striking on Wednesday night.
- The near-constant tremors have left residents and tourists terrified, with authorities shutting schools, cordoning off cliff-top towns, and warning of landslides.
- Locals have been urged to stay away from ports and avoid gathering indoors, as emergency crews – including the army, fire service, and police – have been deployed across the island.
- More than 11,000 people have now fled Santorini as the island remains gripped by the relentless earthquakes, with tremors now being recorded minute by minute.
- Experts have warned that the island is facing a ‘seismic crisis’ with no clear end in sight, raising fears of a larger, more destructive quake in the days ahead.
- So far, no injuries or major damage have been reported, but emergency teams are preparing for the worst.
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Important Takeaways:
- “Although some industries will change very little, scientific progress will likely be much faster than it is today; this impact of AGI may surpass everything else,” he noted
- “The price of many goods will eventually fall dramatically (right now, the cost of intelligence and the cost of energy constrain a lot of things), and the price of luxury goods and a few inherently limited resources like land may rise even more dramatically,” he wrote.
- “AI will seep into all areas of the economy and society; we will expect everything to be smart. Many of us expect to need to give people more control over the technology than we have historically, including open-sourcing more, and accept that there is a balance between safety and individual empowerment that will require trade-offs,” he wrote.
- “While we never want to be reckless and there will likely be some major decisions and limitations related to AGI safety that will be unpopular, directionally, as we get closer to achieving AGI, we believe that trending more towards individual empowerment is important; the other likely path we can see is AI being used by authoritarian governments to control their population through mass surveillance and loss of autonomy.”
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Important Takeaways:
- The company erased the 2018 pledge on Tuesday which stated the tech giant ‘would not use AI for weapons or surveillance’.
- The revised policy now shows that Google will only develop AI ‘responsibly’ and in line with ‘widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.’
- Google’s change has sparked internal backlash as employees called the move ‘deeply concerning’ and that the company should not be involved in ‘the business of war.’
- Matt Mahmoudi, Amnesty adviser on AI and human rights, shamed Google for the move, saying the tech giant set a ‘dangerous precedent.’
- ‘AI-powered technologies could fuel surveillance and lethal killing systems at a vast scale, potentially leading to mass violations and infringing on the fundamental right to privacy,’ he added.
- The move comes nearly seven years after Google was also involved in a military project with the US Department of Defense’s Project Maven that uses AI to help the military detect objects in images and identify potential targets.
- The updated AI principles now focus on three core tenets, the first being ‘Bold Innovation.’
- ‘We develop AI to assist, empower, and inspire people in almost every field of human endeavor, drive economic progress and improve lives, enable scientific breakthroughs, and help address humanity’s biggest challenges,’ the post reads.
- The second is ‘Responsible Development and Deployment.
- ‘Because we understand that AI, as a still-emerging transformative technology, poses new complexities and risks, we consider it imperative to pursue AI responsibly throughout the development and deployment lifecycle — from design to testing to deployment to iteration — learning as AI advances and uses evolve,’ shared the executives.
- And the third is ‘Collaborative Progress, Together.’
- ‘We learn from others, and build technology that empowers others to harness AI positively,’ the blog states.
- Michael Horowitz, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Post: Google’s [2025] announcement is more evidence that the relationship between the U.S. technology sector and [Defense Department] continues to get closer, including leading AI companies.
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Important Takeaways:
- A river in a suburb of Buenos Aires in Argentina has turned red, sparking concern among residents.
- Footage and images of the Sarandi watercourse – which flows into the Rio de la Plata estuary – show the sudden change in color.
- It is not the first time it has changed color, according to local media reports, with residents raising fears of contamination.
- “I have lived here all my life. Today, we have this red water. It has been grey, it has been green, it has been violet, bluish… very brown,” one resident told La Nacion.
- “On other days we have a thick yellow layer that left the top hard and had an acidic smell,” another local told Pagina 12.
- Officials have been to the site to take away samples of the red water for testing
- The region’s environment ministry told La Nacion samples of the water would be analyzed to find out what “is causing the discoloration”.
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Important Takeaways:
- A series of earthquakes in the Aegean Sea has raised concerns in Greece and Israel, and officials and experts are taking action to address potential risks.
- Santorini and Amorgos have experienced thousands of tremors since late January. The strongest earthquakes have reached magnitudes of 5.2 to 5.3.
- Experts warn that these tremors could be part of a foreshock sequence, increasing the risk of a stronger earthquake.
- Greek authorities report that more than 7,850 earthquakes have hit the Santorini-Amorgos seismic zone since Jan. 26. The continuous seismic activity has increased the risk of landslides on Santorini’s steep slopes.
- Limited landslides have already hit tourist areas such as Red Beach and the Old Port. Authorities are worried about further rockfalls.
- A state of emergency will remain in effect on the island until March 1.
- Ariel Heimann, a senior geologist at the Institute for National Security Studies… noted that although Israel is over 1,200 kilometers from Santorini, a significant offshore earthquake could still trigger a tsunami capable of reaching Israel’s Mediterranean coast
- Israeli officials are reviewing safety measures, including evacuation plans for coastal cities like Haifa.
- The ongoing tremors keep scientists and authorities on high alert. No one can confirm if a major earthquake or tsunami will strike, but preparedness efforts in Israel and Greece continue to increase to reduce risks.
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Important Takeaways:
- Forget Europe or the hotspots of East Asia and the Middle East, Marco Rubio’s first foreign trip as secretary of state took him to one Caribbean and four Central American states. The tour tells us that the Trump foreign policy is focusing on the region closest to the American homeland.
- It is not clear when China first started collecting signals intelligence, commonly termed SIGINT, in Cuba, but it was evident that the effort began more than a decade before 2019.
- The CSIS study identifies four likely Chinese listening posts in Cuba. There are two from the Soviet era…
- China wants to do more than just collect SIGINT. “China and Cuba are negotiating to establish a new joint military training facility on the island, sparking alarm in Washington that it could lead to the stationing of Chinese troops and other security and intelligence operations just 100 miles off Florida’s coast,” reported the Wall Street Journal in June 2023.
- Cuba provides the Chinese one an ideal location to surveil America. “Sitting less than 100 miles south of Florida, Cuba is well-positioned to keep watch on sensitive communications and activities, including those of the U.S. military,” the CSIS report states. “The southeastern seaboard of the United States brims with military bases, combatant command headquarters, space launch centers, and military testing sites.”
- China denied the Wall Street Journal reporting, calling it “totally mendacious and unfounded.” In any event, since the paper’s article, there has been no confirmation that the Chinese military has actually built or obtained access to such a site.
- Perhaps one explanation is that the Biden administration pressured both Havana and Beijing to back off.
- At the moment, Cuba needs Chinese cash and might therefore accede to granting China greater access to the island. The Cuban regime, after all, is enduring its worst economic crisis since at least the Soviet collapse. Russia, its old patron, is tied down by the war in Ukraine and troubled by recent setbacks in the Middle East. Vladimir Putin, therefore, is not able to help much.
- It is not clear, therefore, how far the Chinese friends will go in rescuing their Cuban comrades.
- China made great strides in the Caribbean when the United States was not paying attention.
- Rubio, however, is focused on the Caribbean basin, as the itinerary for his first trip shows. Moreover, the new secretary of state is apparently willing to use raw American power to strong-arm countries.
- The United States is unlikely to use force against Cuba over listening posts, but President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are not about to let the Chinese military take control of a country so close to the American homeland. Cuba should expect intense pressure, so China is probably at high tide in that country.
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Important Takeaways:
- EV Fiasco: Ford Lost $5.1 Billion on Electric Vehicles in 2024
- The Verge reports that on Wednesday, Ford Motor Company announced its fourth quarter and full-year earnings for 2024, surpassing Wall Street expectations. However, the automaker also reported substantial losses in its electric vehicle (EV) and software division, known as Model e. The company lost $5.1 billion in this segment in 2024, a significant increase from the $4.7 billion lost in the previous year. Furthermore, Ford predicts that losses will continue to mount, potentially reaching $5.5 billion in 2025.
- Despite these setbacks in the EV business, Ford’s traditional gas-powered vehicles continue to perform well, generating sufficient revenue to keep the company profitable overall. The automaker reported a full-year net income of $5.9 billion and adjusted earnings of $10.2 billion.
- To address these challenges, Ford plans to introduce a range of powertrains, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid, and extended-range EVs that use small gas engines to recharge the battery, offering up to 700 miles of range. Farley mentioned that these new models will be built on flexible body-on-frame and unit-body platforms designed specifically for multi-energy powertrains.
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