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TOP STORY
TOP STORY
Trump will face Harris in debate, says ex-aid
Donald Trump’s former debate coach predicted Sunday that the ex-president would accept CNN’s invitation to a debate.
Chris Christie appeared as part of the political panel on ABC’s This Week on Sunday where the former New Jersey governor explained that Trump “needs” another go at debating Democratic rival Kamala Harris given her successful performance against him at the September presidential debate in Philadelphia.
Democratic campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said earlier, “It would be unprecedented in modern history for there to just be one general election debate.”
Harris has already accepted the October 23 debate proposal, while Trump has said it is “too late” for another match-up. Christie said: “He will convince himself that if she gets in the ring with him again, that he’ll knock her out. That will be his mindset.”
On Sunday, the release of a new NBC News national poll showed Harris leads her opponent by five percentage points.
Running Stories
WORLD
WORLD
Dissanayake wins Sri Lanka election
Anura Kumara Dissanayake won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, the country's Election Commission announced Sunday.
Dissanayake, 55, whose pro-working class and anti-political elite campaigning made him popular among youth, secured victory over opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Under Wickremesinghe, inflation has dropped, and foreign reserves and the local currency have strengthened. This year's economic growth is predicted to be 2% after a 7% contraction in 2022. However, Sri Lankans are struggling with taxes and living costs.
Dissanayake’s immediate challenge would be to steady the economy “in the face of anxieties felt by business and financial groups about his Marxist and revolutionary background,” said political analyst Jehan Perera.
Dissanayake’s National People’s Power coalition, led by the People’s Liberation Front, partly comprises academics, artists, lawyers and students.
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HEALTH
HEALTH
Americans can order free Covid tests
Starting this month, Americans can order up to four free Covid nasal swab test kits mailed to their homes.
An agency spokesperson said the tests will detect current virus strains and can be ordered before the holiday season when families and friends gather for celebrations.
Last month, US regulators approved an updated Covid vaccine to combat recent virus strains. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already recommended this fall’s shot for everyone six months and older.
Last fall’s shots targeted a different part of the coronavirus family tree, a strain no longer circulating. The exact date when the kits can be ordered has not yet been given.
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
AI’s future is learning to think like humans
A review in a scientific journal shows AI is capable of self-correction and new conclusions through “learning by thinking.”
Tania Lombrozo, co-director of the Natural and Artificial Minds initiative at Princeton University, identified four learning modes by thinking in humans and AI: explanation, simulation, analogy, and reasoning.
“Sometimes ChatGPT will correct itself without being explicitly told. That's similar to what happens when people are engaged in learning by thinking,” Lombrozo says.
Prompting AI to engage in step-by-step reasoning can lead it to answers it would fail to reach with a direct query. Lombrozo suggests this “on-demand learning" allows natural and artificial minds to adapt knowledge to new contexts and challenges, which is crucial for responding efficiently to unforeseen problems.
Lombrozo plans to explore whether AI systems are “thinking” or mimicking the outputs of such processes. “We can learn important things about human cognition through AI and improve AI by comparing it to natural minds.”
ENERGY
ENERGY
Growth of solar continues to defy predictions
Global installations will see a third more solar capacity in 2024 than last year, surpassing forecasts by industry experts.
China is driving the growth. In the first half of this year, China installed more solar panels than in 2022, helping it maintain its status as the world leader in renewable energy.
China will account for more than half of all solar added globally for the second year. Through May, India installed more solar capacity than it did in the whole of last year, and in the US, new tax breaks are giving the industry a significant boost.
Energy think tank Ember says the world is on track to triple renewable capacity by 2030, so long as countries have grid capacity to transport power to where it is needed and develop battery storage for use “outside of the sunniest hours.”
OTHER NEWS
OTHER NEWS
Mine blast in Iran kills at least 34 workers
An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 34 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday.
The blast struck the mine in Tabas, about 335 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran, on Saturday night. By Sunday, mine cars brought up the bodies covered in coal dust.
Authorities blamed the blast on a leak of methane gas. Such gases are common in mining, though modern safety measures call for ventilation and other measures to protect workers.
Disasters have struck Iran’s mining industry. In 2017, a coal mine explosion killed 42. In 2013, two mining incidents claimed 11 lives. In 2009, several incidents took 20 lives. Lax safety and inadequate emergency services were blamed for the fatalities.
OFFBEAT
OFFBEAT
Abducted boy found 7 decades later
A boy reported missing over 70 years ago was reunited with his family as a father and grandfather.
Luis Armando Albino (pictured with his late elder brother) was abducted in 1951 at age six from an Oakland park and raised on the East Coast. A woman had lured him with the promise of candy and flew him across the country.
His niece, Alida Alequin, played a crucial role in locating him, with help from authorities and a DNA test. She said her uncle “hugged me and said, ‘Thank you for finding me’ and gave me a kiss on the cheek.”
Albino, a retired firefighter and Vietnam veteran reunited with his California family in June and visited again in July. His first reunion included emotional meetings with his siblings.
The kidnapping remains an open investigation, even though his missing persons case has been closed by Oakland police. Authorities continue to seek answers surrounding his abduction.
Alequin hopes that sharing their story will inspire other families to persist in their searches for missing loved ones. She emphasizes the significance of never giving up hope.
Otherweb Editorial Staff
Alex FinkTechie in Chief
David WilliamsEditor in Chief
Angela PalmerContent Manager
Dan KriegerTechnical Director