Google is updating its ubiquitous search engine with the next generation of its artificial intelligence technology as part of an effort to provide instant expertise amid intensifying competition from smaller competitors. The company announced Wednesday that it will feed its Gemini 2.0 AI model into its search engine so it can field more complex questions involving subjects such as computer coding and math. As has been the case since last May, the AI-generated overviews will be placed above the traditional web links that have become the lifeblood of online publishers dependent on traffic referrals from Google’s dominant search engine. Google is broadening the audience for AI overviews in the U.S. by making them available to teenage searchers without requiring them to go through a special sign-in process to see them. The stage is also being set for what could turn out to be one of the most dramatic changes to the search engine’s interface since Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin started the company in a Silicon Valley garage during the late 1990s. Google is going to begin a gradual rollout of an “AI mode” option that will result in the search engine generating even more AI overviews. When search is in AI mode, Google is warning the overviews are likely to become more conversational and sometimes head down online corridors that result in falsehoods that the tech industry euphemistically calls “hallucinations.” “As with any early-stage AI product, we won’t always get it right,” Google product vice president Robby Stein wrote in a blog post that also acknowledged the possibility “that some responses may unintentionally appear to take on a persona or reflect a particular opinion.” More stringent guardrails are supposed to be in place to prevent AI mode from steering people in the wrong direction for queries involving health and finance. The need for additional fine tuning is one reason Google is initially only offering AI mode in its experimental Labs section, and only subscribers to its $20-per-month Google One AI Premium will be allowed to test it out at first. But these tests almost always result in the technology being released to all comers — a goal that Google is pursuing in response to AI-powered search engines from ChatGPT and Perplexity. Google’s amped-up usage of more sophisticated AI overviews is likely to amplify worries that the summaries will make web surfers even less likely to click on links to take them to sites with useful information on the topic. Those traffic referrals are one of the main ways that online publishers attract the clicks needed to sell the digital ads that help finance their operations. Google executives insist AI overviews are still driving traffic to other sites by driving up people’s curiosity so they engage in more queries to learn more, resulting in more clicks to other publishers. But those reassurances haven’t placated publishers who believe that Google will be the main beneficiary of AI overviews, further enriching an internet empire that already generates more than $260 billion in annual ad revenue. The expanded use of AI overviews also could expose Google to more allegations that it is abusing the power of a search engine that a federal judge last year found to be an illegal monopoly in attempt to maintain its position as the internet’s main […]
The Chinese government unveiled an annual economic growth target of “around 5%” on Wednesday, despite the possible negative impact of a looming trade war with the United States, and pledged to address what it called “sluggish” consumer spending at home. The target was announced at the opening session of the annual meeting of China’s legislature. It’s the same as for the last two years but will likely be more difficult to achieve because of the new, higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese products and other economic headwinds. The use of “around” gives the government some room if growth falls short. The target signals the government’s intention to try to stabilize growth in challenging economic times but hold back on more dramatic action that some economists say is needed to supercharge it. The government also said in a draft budget released Wednesday that defense spending would rise 7.2% this year to 1.78 trillion yuan ($245 billion), second only to the United States. It released the growth target in a separate report, parts of which were presented to the nearly 3,000 members of the National People’s Congress by Premier Li Qiang. It acknowledged both international and domestic challenges. “An increasingly complex and severe external environment may exert a greater impact on China in areas such as trade, science, and technology,” the report said, without specifics. “Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise.” It added: “Domestically, the foundation for China’s sustained economic recovery and growth is not strong enough. Effective demand is weak, and consumption, in particular, is sluggish.” The International Monetary Fund has projected that China’s economy will grow 4.6% this year, down from 5% in 2024, according to Chinese government statistics. The new report placed more emphasis on reviving domestic demand and consumption than last year’s, echoing a shift by the ruling Communist Party at meetings in December. It said the government should “make domestic demand the main engine and anchor of economic growth.” The report added that “achieving this year’s targets will not be easy, and we must make arduous efforts to meet them.” Across-the-board 20% tariffs imposed this week on Chinese products by U.S. President Donald Trump pose the latest threat to an economy already weighed down by a prolonged real estate slump and sluggish consumer spending and private business investment. The tariffs could crimp sales to one of China’s major export markets, making the need to boost domestic demand more urgent. The new report offered some details on the party’s plans for a “more proactive fiscal policy,” including a rise in the government budget deficit from 3% to 4% of GDP, or the size of the overall economy. It also reiterated the party’s announcement in December that the central bank would shift its monetary policy from “prudent” to “moderately loose” for the first time in more than a decade. The government will issue 1.3 trillion yuan ($180 billion) in ultra-long term bonds, up from 1 trillion yuan last year, the report said. Of that, 300 billion yuan would go toward a program launched last year that offers rebates to consumers who trade in automobiles or appliances for new ones, doubling central government support for the program. Economists expressed doubts over whether the policies will do enough, noting that the government reduced its inflation target to 2% from 3% last […]
In a significant and unprecedented move, the medicaid insurance company WellPoint has announced its support for the Refuah B’Halacha Center, an organization that provides urgent Halachic- medical guidance to thousands of families in critical situations. The announcement was made at a recent inaugural event for the organization, attended by leading Rabbonim and prominent medical professionals who emphasized the invaluable contribution of the Refuah B’Halacha Center to the community. The recognition and support from such a major healthcare provider marks an important milestone, acknowledging the vital role of Halachic guidance alongside modern medical services. To learn more about the Refuah B’Halacha Center CLICK HERE: Refuah B’Halacha Center was established by Rabbi Avrohom Yaged, R Yakov Domb, and R Yaakov Cohen to meet a pressing need for clear, reliable, and readily available Halachic guidance on urgent medical matters, especially regarding Shabbos and Yom Tov. In many critical cases, individuals and families face complex questions that require immediate answers—ranging from life-saving interventions on Shabbos to the permissibility of specific medications and medical devices. Often, uncertainty in Halacha leads to delays in treatment or medical actions taken without proper halachic guidance. This is where the Refuah B’Halacha Center steps in, providing immediate and clear responses from expert Rabbonim and Halachic authorities with deep knowledge of medical issues. The organization operates under the esteemed guidance of Rabbi Yaakov E. Forchheimer and Rabbi Noach Isaac Oelbaum, renowned authorities in halachic-medical rulings, and is led by Rabbi Avraham Yaged, author of the well-known book A Guide to Refuah on Shabbos. The organization works closely with expert physicians to ensure that every Halachic response is grounded in the most up-to-date medical knowledge. This seamless collaboration between leading Poskim and medical professionals allows the Refuah B’Halacha Center to provide precise Halachic rulings while considering the latest medical advancements and realities. To learn more about the Refuah B’Halacha Center CLICK HERE: One of the defining characteristics of Refuah B’Halacha Center is its high availability, particularly on Friday afternoons, when many people find themselves facing urgent medical dilemmas requiring immediate Halachic guidance. Imagine a family whose child suffers a deep cut just minutes before candle lighting. Can they apply a bandage? Is antibiotic ointment permitted? How should they properly dress the wound while adhering to halacha? Without clear and accessible halachic guidance, families may experience unnecessary confusion or stress. Thanks to Rabbi Yaged and R Domb, Refuah B’Halacha Center exists to provide exactly that—instant, authoritative answers that eliminate doubt and enable families to act according to Halacha with confidence and peace of mind. To learn more about the Refuah B’Halacha Center CLICK HERE:
The IDF was shocked by part of the Shin Bet report published on Tuesday that revealed an exceptional operational incident that according to them, was completely unknown to them, Army Radio reported. The Shin Bet’s internal report on its failure to predict or prevent the October 7 massacre stated that in the days following the massacre, “The Shin Bet sent a dedicated force to the north in preparation for a possible Radwan Force infiltration. This force encountered terrorists and Shin Bet personnel were also injured there.” Senior officials in the IDF and the Northern Command responded to the report by saying: “We are not familiar with this event. The IDF is not aware of any encounter between Hezbollah terrorists and Shin Bet personnel in the first days of the war.” It should be noted that after the publication of the investigation, the IDF contacted the Shin Bet requesting clarification. Many media outlets and politicians excoriated the Shin Bet investigation which pointed fingers at other entities and tried to place the blame for the colossal failure on others. Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh wrote that the “Shin Bet made good use of being a secret organization to publish a document of ‘main points of investigation,’ most of which blames other factors. It is noticeable that an effort was made to extract one bottom line: ‘We failed, but…’ We failed but the political echelon is more to blame because it led a policy of containment towards the Gaza Strip. We failed but the political echelon did not listen to us all these years when we pushed to carry out targeted killings in the Strip.” Kadosh noted that important details are missing in the report regarding the organization’s conduct on the fateful night of the attack. “If the Shin Bet believed that this was such important information that required a change in preparation – why did its two representatives in the command’s situational assessment not add a single word to the statements of the intelligence officers from the Southern Command and Gaza Division and challenge them even slightly? And why did the Shin Bet refrain from mentioning this?” In addition, he noted the contradiction between what the Shin Bet claimed were its positions over the years and its actual actions: “How can the unbelievable gap between so many ‘correct’ and ‘sober’ perceptions presented by the Shin Bet and the fact that the organization supported the moves of the political echelon in the Gaza Strip in recent years be explained? [The Shin Bet chief supported civilian measures for the Gaza Strip, supported the ‘understandings’ that were reached shortly before 7/10, and also supported the entry of Gazan workers].” Kadosh also criticized the fact that the investigation ignores the central issue of the Gazan workers who entered Israel in the years before the massacre: “Did the workers who entered Israel help Hamas and collect intelligence? Did these workers, under the nose, and with the approval of the Shin Bet, become Hamas agents in Israeli territory?” “After 16 long months of waiting, the Shin Bet, which failed, could have provided the Israeli public with a more incisive, fairer investigation, which takes full accountability, and without ‘but’. Unfortunately, this was not done,” Kadosh emphasized. The Shin Bet’s report on the October 7 massacre revealed that if […]
A 17-year-old girl, critically injured in a horrific car-ramming and stabbing attack near Pardes Chana-Karkur last week, tragically passed away today. The teenager, identified as Yahli Gur hy”d from Kibbutz Maagan Michael, died early Wednesday morning at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Chadera, where she had been fighting for her life since last Thursday’s assault at Karkur Junction. The attack, confirmed by Israeli authorities as an act of terrorism, unfolded on a busy Thursday afternoon when a 53-year-old Palestinian man, Jamil Ziyud Abu Jaab, deliberately drove his vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians at a bus stop on Highway 65. Abu Jaab, a resident of a village near Jenin who had been living illegally in Israel with his Arab-Israeli wife, struck multiple victims before exiting his car and stabbing others with a screwdriver. The rampage left 14 people injured, including Yahli, who suffered severe head and limb injuries. She was sedated and placed on a ventilator upon arrival at the hospital, where medical staff battled to stabilize her condition over the past six days. The assailant’s spree ended when police intercepted his vehicle near Gan Shmuel, near the initial attack site. After ramming a police car and charging at officers with the screwdriver, Abu Jaab was shot and killed by responding forces. Among the other victims were a 60-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, both seriously injured, and a police officer wounded during the attack. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
It was a punishment for mutiny in colonial times, a way to discourage desertion during the Civil War and a dose of frontier justice in the Old West. In modern times, some consider it a more humane alternative to lethal injection. The firing squad has a long and thorny history in the U.S. South Carolina on Friday is scheduled to put the first person to death by firing squad in the U.S. in 15 years. Brad Sigmon, who was convicted of killing a couple in 2001, chose it over the two other methods in South Carolina — the electric chair and lethal injection. Since 1608, at least 144 civilian prisoners have been executed by shooting in America, nearly all in Utah. Only three have occurred since 1977, when the use of capital punishment resumed after a 10-year pause. The first of those, Gary Gilmore, caused a media sensation in part because he waived his appeals and volunteered to be executed. When asked for his last words, Gilmore replied, “Let’s do it.” Five states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah — authorize the use of firing squads in certain circumstances. Here’s a look at the history behind the death penalty method. 1608-1865: Jamestown, George Washington and the Civil War The earliest recorded execution by shooting came in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608. Capt. George Kendall came to be suspected of mutiny — and possibly of conspiring with Spain. Centuries later, in 1996, archaeologists discovered a bullet-ridden body buried in the fort’s walls that many suspect was Kendall. In the American Revolution, public executions by firing squad were sometimes used to punish desertion. In 1776, then-Gen. George Washington spared a Connecticut soldier, Ebenezer Leffingwell, who was sentenced to die after fighting with a superior, the Journal of the American Revolution recounted. Leffingwell had been bound, blindfolded and forced to kneel in front of a crowd when a chaplain involved in the proceedings announced he would live. Mark Smith, a history professor at the University of South Carolina, said firing squads were used — not often — by both sides during the Civil War to create a “public spectacle, a vision of terror” to keep soldiers in line. “A man could be sitting on his own coffin at times or blindfolded, shot by six or seven men, one of whom has a blank,” the professor said. “These were gatherings designed to shock and it worked.” At least 185 men were executed by firing squad during the Civil War, according to Christopher Q. Cutler in a Cleveland State Law Review article. 1860s to 1915: Executions in the Old West Firing squads were primarily used only in Utah, where the lawmakers in 1851 designated three possible punishments for murder: shooting, hanging or beheading. The first firing squad execution was carried out in a courthouse enclosure, disappointing a crowd waiting outside to see it. Only one other state since 1900 has executed someone by shooting: Nevada, which in 1913 built a contraption that fired three guns by pulling strings because it had trouble finding volunteers to serve on a firing squad. An 1877 sentencing in Utah gave rise to the first U.S. Supreme Court case challenging a specific execution method. Wallace Wilkerson, who shot a man to death during a heated game of cribbage, challenged authorities’ plans to kill him by firing […]
BREAKING: Rep Anna Luna says she’s referring mayors of sanctuary cities to the DOJ for criminal prosecution. “As soon as I leave here, these will be going over to [AG] Pam Bondi.”
WH PRESS SEC: “I gave a quote to one of the media outlets in this room yesterday that Democrats behaving like children would be the least surprising thing of the night. And unfortunately, that quote did turn out to be true.”
The Trump administration on Tuesday published a list of more than 440 federal properties it had identified to close or sell, including the FBI headquarters and the main Department of Justice building, after deeming them “not core to government operations.” Hours later, however, the administration issued a revised list with only 320 entries — none in Washington, D.C. And by Wednesday morning, the list was gone entirely. “Non-core property list (Coming soon)” the page read. The General Services Administration, which published the lists, did not immediately respond to questions about the changes or why the properties that had been listed had been removed. The initial list had included some of the country’s most recognizable buildings, along with courthouses, offices and even parking garage and spanned nearly every state. In Washington, D.C., it included the J. Edgar Hoover Building, which serves as FBI headquarters, the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the Old Post Office building, where President Donald Trump once ran a hotel, and the American Red Cross headquarters. The headquarters of numerous agencies, including Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, were listed as well. Elsewhere in the country, the administration targeted the enormous Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indiana, the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center, the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building in San Francisco and the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York. Roughly 80% of the country’s 2.4 million federal workers are based outside of metropolitan Washington, D.C. “We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal,” the GSA said of the initial list of 443 properties. Selling the properties “ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal space,” it said, and “helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.” Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have been engaged in an unprecedented effort to slash the size of the federal workforce and shrink government spending. Selling the designated buildings could save the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars, they claim, while also dramatically reshaping how major Cabinet agencies funded by Congress operate. The Trump administration has also demanded that federal workers report to the office every day. Several of the buildings on the initial chopping block house agencies that Trump has long criticized and targeted, notably the FBI and Justice Department. The FBI and HUD headquarters are also prime examples of the brutalist architectural style that Trump has tried for years to eliminate, preferring traditional, neo-classical architecture instead. Eliminating federal office space has been a top priority of the new administration. Last month, GSA regional managers received a message from the agency’s Washington headquarters ordering them to begin terminating leases on all of the roughly 7,500 federal offices nationwide. In a follow-up meeting, GSA regional managers were told that their goal is to terminate as many as 300 leases per day, according to the employee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has listed scores of canceled office leases on DOGE’s official website, raising questions around the country about what will happen to services provided from those offices. Among the properties on the list released […]
Defense Minister Katz and the IDF’s new Chief of Staff, Lt. General Zamir, met with the General Staff Forum today. “We are doing everything to bring back the hostages. In the end, Hamas can’t be in Gaza,” said the Defense Minister.
Russia on Wednesday asked how Ukraine could attend potential talks on ending their three-year war when a Ukrainian decree from 2022 rules out negotiations with President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “is still legally prohibited from negotiating with the Russian side,” Dmitry Peskov noted during a daily call with reporters. Zelenskyy expressed readiness Tuesday to negotiate peace with Russia as soon as possible, and Peskov called that “positive.” However, “the details have not changed yet,” the Russian spokesman added, apparently referring to the decree. Ukraine’s government did not immediately comment. Neither Ukrainian nor Western officials have mentioned the presidential decree, signed seven months after Russia’s full-scale invasion, in the context of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to stop the fighting in a war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of soldiers and over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. The United States seeks to pressure Zelenskyy into negotiating an end to the war. The Trump administration on Monday suspended its crucial military aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, U.S. officials said Washington has also paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv. However, Trump administration officials said that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean the suspension may not last long. In the war’s early months, Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Putin but was rebuffed. After the Kremlin’s decision in September 2022 to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — Zelenskyy enacted a decree declaring that holding negotiations with Putin had become impossible. The Kremlin at the time said it would wait for Ukraine to sit down for talks on ending the conflict, noting it may not happen until a new Ukrainian president took office. Ukrainian forces are now toiling to slow advances by the bigger Russian army along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian onslaught, costly for its troops, hasn’t brought a strategically significant breakthrough for the Kremlin. As European leaders scramble to adapt to the sharply changing U.S. position on Ukraine under Trump, the French government on Wednesday said Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could travel together to Washington “eventually.” Spokesperson Sophie Primas did not elaborate. Macron’s office later said no trip to Washington was being planned. The reason for the discrepancy between the statements was not immediately clear. The three leaders traveled separately to Washington last week for meetings with Trump. Zelenskyy’s turned into the extraordinary scene of an open dispute with Trump in the Oval Office. The U.K.’s Starmer didn’t comment on the possibility of a joint trip when he appeared in Parliament on Wednesday. His spokesman, Dave Pares, would not confirm such a trip. Meanwhile, a Russian court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a British national captured last year while fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk border region of Russia, according to court officials. James Scott Rhys Anderson was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities during an armed conflict and sentenced to 19 years in prison. The case was heard behind closed doors. According to media reports at the time of his capture in November, the 22-year-old Anderson said he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed shortly after Russia’s invasion. […]
During operations in the West Bank town of Rafat today, the IDF says it demolished the home of a Palestinian assailant who killed a soldier in car-ramming attack in September.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem arrives at a Coast Guard Cutter in New York City to discuss immigration enforcement in the city with ICE, the Coast Guard and local officials.
A group of former hostages are in Washington, D.C. to meet with the Trump administration. Pictured are Doron Steinbrecher, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Naama Levy, and Iair Horn.
BREAKING: The US Supreme Court just denied President Trump‘s bid to cancel $2 billion in USAID spending in a 5-4 vote. Justices Roberts & Barrett sided with Democrat appointed justices. Trump appointed Barrett.
Vice President J.D. Vance is headed to the southern border, where he’ll see the results of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration
