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EU aims for seven AI gigafactories with €10 billion plan in race with US, China

The European Union will fund seven artificial intelligence gigafactories across the bloc with €10 billion ($11.5 billion), the European Commission said on Thursday, as the EU steps up efforts to close the technology gap with the U.S. and China.The Commission said it aims to attract at least €20 billion in private investments for the projects. The total was increased from five planned gigafactories to seven following strong interest from EU countries.The facilities will combine advanced AI processors, software, cloud technology, high-speed connectivity and data centres. They will come on t

L'Oreal to launch first Gucci beauty products as early as 2028, CEO says

China's Communist Party to hold conclave on internal governance in October

Business|Economy|Europe|Finance|World

Italy's economy weathering Iran war better than expected, data suggests

The Italian economy grew by 0.2% in the second quarter from the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Thursday, a slightly stronger reading than expected that supports the outlook for this year.On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product in the euro zone's third largest economy was up 1.0% between April and June, national statistics bureau ISTAT said, more significantly above expectations. A Reuters survey of 26 economists had forecast a 0.1% rise quarter-on-quarter and a 0.7% increase year-on-year.The data suggests Italy is holding up better than many forecasters feared in th

China protests over New Zealand foreign minister's jibe at Chinese-born lawmaker

Asia stock-picking hedge funds set for record monthly loss, Goldman says

Economy|Europe|World

Inflation accelerates in four German states in July, pointing to national rise

Inflation rose in four key German states in July, according to preliminary data published on Thursday, suggesting the national inflation rate could also increase this month.• In Bavaria, the inflation rate accelerated to 2.8% in July from 2.5% in June. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, it rose to 2.7% from 2.1%, while in Baden-Wuerttemberg, it rose to 2.5% from 2.1%. In Lower Saxony, it ticked up to 2.7% from 2.5%.• The war in Iran had pushed up energy and raw material prices in previous months, and the German government now expects inflation to accelerate to 2.7%

Opulent brides are funding India’s global fashion play

Philippines' Marcos approves release of VP Duterte's tax records to impeachment trial

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Interview|Opinion|US|World

Who is Elon Musk calling a ‘traitor’?

Elon Musk recently sat for a wide-ranging interview with The Economist editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes, who challenged him over his support for Europe’s far right, his anti-Muslim rhetoric and his cuts to humanitarian aid during his stint in the Trump administration.Afterwards, on his own social media network that he routinely uses to amplify his personal views, Musk lashed out against his interviewer. “She is a traitor to the West, plain and simple,” he wrote.By Musk’s assessment, society is full of “traitors.” As he declared over the weekend, “anyone who opposes remigratio

Crime|Education|Lifestyle|US

His son was just sentenced to life without parole for a school shooting. Today, Colin Gray learns his own fate

Days after teenage school shooter Colt Gray was sentenced to life in prison, his father is set to appear in the same courtroom for his own sentencing in a landmark case that pushes the limits of who is responsible for a mass shooting.Colin Gray, whose son killed four people at Apalachee High School in 2024, was convicted of murder and manslaughter earlier this year after buying his son an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas gift and leaving it unsecured – despite warnings his son was a danger to others.His trial was part of a broader push to hold accountable the parents of juvenile mass shooter

Epstein accuser’s family blasts former Obama White House lawyer who said her assertions ‘lacked inherent credibility’

Police: Bullets that killed 2 bystanders at Seattle festival weren't from teen shooter's gun

Business|Economy|Finance|Stock Markets|US

Even though the Fed just held rates steady, savers can still lock in healthy returns

As it has done at every meeting this year, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee on Wednesday decided to leave the central bank’s key overnight lending rate unchanged.The fed funds rate normally influences – directly or indirectly – movement in the interest rates consumers earn on their savings and pay on their debts.But in good news for savers, even though the Fed rate hasn’t budged in seven months, other factors have pushed interest rates higher on some low-risk vehicles that can provide healthy returns for your cash.For those with loans or seeking them, the Fed standing pat may

MidEast|Political|US|World

US launches strikes on Iranian targets a day after it foiled missile attack on American forces

The U.S. military said early Thursday it had completed “a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan. The latest barrage came after the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iran-backed militias in neighboring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers. Central Command said in a social media post that over two hours the U.S. struck “dozens” of targets belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, including military command centers as well as missile and drone facilities

Watch Dr. Anthony Fauci plead the Fifth at Capitol Hill hearing

Key committee vote for Todd Blanche postponed in major blow to his nomination as Trump’s attorney general

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Europe|Political|World

Poland blames Russia for firing missile into its territory as Moscow unleashes deadly attack on Ukraine

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said a missile apparently fired by Russia landed deep inside its territory early Thursday, as Moscow launched deadly long-range attacks across Ukraine that killed at least eight people.The missile landed and exploded about 90 kilometers (55 miles) into Polish territory early Thursday, leaving a massive crater in the middle of a field, local authorities said.“We were prepared to shoot down the missile if it had continued its flight,” Tusk told an emergency government meeting, according to his office on X. “All indications suggest that it was a Russian

Crime|Health|Political|World

A Black teen was fatally shot after reporting a possibly armed person. His death prompts calls for police accountability

The 911 call placed from the teenager’s phone last week reported a young person who may be brandishing a gun in an Austin, Texas, parking lot.When officers arrived at a community park early Friday morning, they found 17-year-old Anthoneil Williams II, who suddenly appeared to lift his shirt and reach toward his waistband as officers told him to keep his hands up, body camera footage released by police shows.Williams then raised both hands and extended them, with “his hands positioned together in front of him as if he was pointing a weapon at the officers,” police said in a statement Wedn

'There's nothing left': French wildfire survivors return to burnt homes

Man convicted in terrorism trial over the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie

World

Secretive terrorist removal court set for first hearing in Afghan woman’s case

The Trump administration is testing a secretive, never-before-used deportation court for alleged alien terrorists with a case concerning the Afghan mother of a convicted terrorist, with the Justice Department accusing the Texas-based woman of having ISIS sympathies.The Alien Terrorist Removal Court will have its first ever hearing Thursday at 11 a.m.ET, court documents made public Wednesday night revealed. The Justice Department is asking the court — which has lain dormant since it was created 30 years ago — to deport Nazira Haji Zada, whose son was convicted last year for an ISIS-aligned

Food|Health|Science|World

Cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan surpass 10,000 in ongoing outbreak

Michigan health officials reported 10,077 cases of cyclosporiasis on Wednesday, an increase of 397 cases since their last update a day earlier.An investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has linked the outbreak to iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants sourced from privately held Taylor Farms operations in central Mexico, but authorities are still looking for other potential sources given the size of the outbreak. Consumers in the U.S. have been steering clear of some restaurant chains and buying less lettuce in grocery stores as a multistate outbreak of a parasitic

Rescuers search for survivors after a quake kills 18 in southwestern Japan

US weapons stockpiles continue to dwindle with permanent end to Iran war nowhere in sight

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Arts|Business|Political|Technology|Travel

Trump unveils another project as polling shows his DC construction is unpopular

Europe|Political|World

Poland blames Russia for firing missile into its territory as Moscow unleashes deadly attack on Ukraine

Arts|Environment|Political|Science|Technology

The Trump admin wants to test paint patches on an iconic DC building this week. Preservationists are trying to stop it.

Crime|Health|Political

Why Anthony Fauci might not be safe after pleading the Fifth

Business|Crime|Political

New Secret Service emails reveal how case was built against James Comey

Business|Economy|Finance

Warsh-led Fed leaves rates on hold and a bond market scratching its head

By Ann Saphir and Michael S.

Economy|Europe|Interview|Lifestyle|Travel

‘I have a lot more life here’: She couldn’t afford retirement in the US, so she relocated from California to Portugal

Business|Finance|Science|Technology|World

Employees at the world’s biggest AI companies are calling for a slowdown in AI development

Business|Entertainment|Political|World

Ross Douthat joins ‘60 Minutes’ as CBS races to rebuild the show

Health|Political|Science|US|World

Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment at Rand Paul-led US Senate COVID hearing

Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, declined to answer questions at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, invoking his

California & Local

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Local

From LA to Scottsdale: The Founder Behind AdDynamix Is Building the Bridge Between AI and Business Tools

An LA digital advertising veteran of 28 years has moved to Scottsdale and is building what he calls the missing piece between business software and the AI assistants people now use every day. SCOTTSDALE, AZ. When Benoit Pecqueur talks about his latest company, he sounds less like a founder pitching a product and more like an operator who got tired of watching the same problem repeat itself. “Most small business owners are watching the AI revolution from the sidelines,” he says. “Not because they don’t want it. Because their tools don’t talk to ChatGPT or Claude. Their accountant still pulls