Author: ovieoftoronto

Climate change poses major challenges for agriculture, with Italian government officials growing increasingly concerned about declining food production. what's happening? As Reuters explained earlier this month, Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) said agricultural production contracted in 2023 as “wine, fruit and olive oil production were all affected by extreme weather events linked to climate change.” To make matters worse, the scorching heat across Europe shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Last year was reported to be Europe's hottest summer in the past 2,000 years, with Reuters reporting that temperatures in parts of the continent already reached 40 degrees…

Sacramento — The California Senate on Thursday passed a bill aimed at helping the news industry by imposing new taxes on some of the world's largest technology companies.Senate Bill 1327 would tax Amazon, Meta and Google on the data they collect from users, and funnel money from this “data extraction mitigation fee” to news organizations by giving them tax credits to hire full-time journalists.”Just as we fund the film tax credit with no state input into the content, the same should be true for this journalism tax credit,” said Sen. Steve Glaser (D-Orinda), who introduced the bill on the Senate…

Digital transformation is not just about leveraging technology, but also about equipping people with the human skills to adapt to new innovations. That was the message echoed across two panels on attracting and retaining digital talent at GovInsider's flagship event this year, the Festival of Innovation (FOI), held in Singapore in April. As technology and AI continue to disrupt industries and the workforce, government and higher education leaders noted the increasing importance of soft skills such as adaptability, problem-solving, critical thinking and communication. They also need their employees to continually develop new skills to stay relevant. The public sector focuses…

The Louisiana Tech basketball team has another player in the NBA.Bulldogs guard Isaiah Crawford signed with the Sacramento Kings as an undrafted free agent after the NBA draft.Crawford leaves Ruston as one of the most decorated players in recent franchise history and could be a valuable contributor to the Kings if he can stay healthy.What Isaiah Crawford brings to the 2024 NBA DraftCrawford has been known for his defensive prowess throughout his career, which peaked in his final season in 2023-24 when he averaged 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game and was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the…

PHOENIX — The Twins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-6 on Thursday afternoon to halfway through their season.They came into the game on Thursday's win seven games behind the Cleveland Guardians for second place despite playing on a 90-win pace after a tumultuous first half.”I think we're in a good position going forward,” coach Rocco Baldelli said. “We've done everything we wanted to do up to this point.”The first half of the season was marked by their string of consecutive wins, the longest of which saw the Twins (45-36) bond over a sausage wrapper, creating one of major league's stranger stories.The…

Regarding the June 19 online news article, “Louisiana to require Ten Commandments to be displayed in public classrooms”:Those who act as if America was founded as a Christian nation are wrong. Our founding document, the Constitution, mentions religion only twice, and both times make it clear that the country is secular. The first mention of religion is in the body of the Constitution, in Article 6, which says, “No religious test shall be required as a qualification to any office or office under the United States.” The second mention is in the First Amendment, which says, “Congress shall make no…

The budget hotel operator's first-quarter revenue fell 7.1% as profits from its core hotel business were wiped out by a restructuring of its new restaurant business. Key takeaways: GreenTree Hospitality's hotel revenue rose 8.8% in the first quarter, much of it due to the addition of new hotels. The company's sales fell 4.6% for the quarter as China's year-long travel recovery began to lose steam. Doug Young The budget hotel market in China's many smaller cities is huge and profitable, but it also lacks investor respect — a reality reflected in the latest valuation of GreenTree Hospitality Group (GHG.US), the…

On the Fourth of July, many people will be going to barbecues. But NBC 5 Food Guy Steve Dolinsky says hold on a second. 'Barbecue' means slow smoking, but many weekend barbecuers also 'grill'. A proper barbecue takes a bit more skill and time, so this week we're highlighting some of the best spots in the southwest suburbs. Like many professional pitmasters, this story begins with a previous job and a life-changing trip to Texas. Fast forward a few years and now the former heavy equipment operator is slow smoking five days a week. The smell hits you even before…

During the first semester, Eagle County School District’s AI Think Tank focused on building literacy and creating guidelines for subsequent technology use by staff and students.Vail Daily Archives As artificial intelligence tools make their way into classrooms, the Eagle County School District launched an AI think tank this year to better understand the benefits and pitfalls of the technology. Led by the district's education technology team, the think tank initially aimed to develop recommendations for AI-related policies and strategies, but once the team got underway, members decided to first focus on education and building AI literacy. The shift comes as…

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — With just a week to go before Independence Day on July 4th, officials are expecting record numbers of travelers. The TSA plans to screen more than 32 million passengers from Thursday through next weekend. Travel is expected to peak on Friday, when the TSA expects to screen more than 3 million people. Multiple road closures in Arlington for 4th of July festivities and fireworks This figure surpasses the previous record of just under 3 million people tested in a single day, set last Sunday. “You can never get bored of traveling,” said Ramon Rodriguez, who…