The 37-page report reveals previously undisclosed aspects of the recent hacking spree powered by OpenAI’s most advanced models

International News via Reuters:

AI agents spun up by OpenAI broke into its own networks during tests gone wrong, the company said in a report published Wednesday.

The 37-page report reveals previously undisclosed aspects of the recent hacking spree powered by OpenAI’s most advanced models.

Some of the rogue behavior, which culminated in the highly publicized breach of the open source repository Hugging Face last month, has been disclosed or alluded to previously.

But many details are being revealed by the company for the first time. Some of them raised concern from at least one AI safety researcher, who said they pointed to potentially deeper problems with the technology at OpenAI and maybe beyond.

Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Her charitable efforts were informed by an upbringing in profound poverty in rural Tennessee, which later became as central to her public legacy as the songs that made her famous

International News via Reuters:

Dolly Parton, the trailblazing country music icon, songwriter and actress who died on Tuesday at age 80, was so much more to millions around the world.

She was a symbol of generosity, whose philanthropic work spanned literacy, disaster relief, medical research and support for marginalized communities and racial justice, transcending the political and cultural divides that reshaped the world around her. 

Her charitable efforts were informed by an upbringing in profound poverty in rural Tennessee, which later became as central to her public legacy as the songs that made her famous.

LITERACY CHAMPION

Parton’s philanthropic work included the Dollywood Foundation, established in 1988, to provide scholarships for students in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee.

In 1995, she launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a literacy program that grew from a local initiative in East Tennessee into an international effort providing free books to children from birth to age 5.

“When I was growing up in the hills of East Tennessee, I knew my dreams would come true. I know there are children in your community with their own dreams,” Parton wrote on the program’s website.

The literacy initiative became one of the most visible expressions of Parton’s charitable legacy. The program has gifted more than 304 million books to children in the United States, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia, according to the program’s website.

Her philanthropy also included donations to COVID-19 research, the American Red Cross, wildfire and hurricane relief efforts, hospitals and animal welfare causes.

LGBTQ+ RIGHTS

Beyond her music, Parton was a cultural figure embraced by generations of LGBTQ+ fans and communities, earning a reputation for inclusiveness and acceptance. She supported same-sex marriage, criticized restrictions on transgender rights and brought those themes into her work, including the Academy Award-nominated song “Travelin’ Thru” for the 2005 film “Transamerica.”

“Parton’s warm spirit, kindheartedness and joie de vivre deeply resonated with the LGBTQ community,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a Tuesday statement.

RACIAL JUSTICE

Throughout her career, Parton rarely waded publicly into politics or social issues.

But in 2018, Parton removed “Dixie” from the name of her Civil War-themed dinner attraction, renaming it Dolly Parton’s Stampede, after receiving criticism for its association with the Confederacy.

“As soon as you realize that something is a problem, you should fix it,” Parton told Billboard in 2020.

During the 2020 global protests over the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans, Parton notably voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement, joining the ranks of towering music figures willing to engage publicly on the topic.

“Of course Black lives matter,” she told Billboard. “Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”

Parton said on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live” program in 2021 that she had used some of the royalties from Whitney Houston’s recording of “I Will Always Love You” to purchase a strip mall in a predominantly Black Nashville neighborhood, describing it as a tribute to Houston’s legacy.

Among her final major collaborations, Parton worked with Beyoncé on the Grammy-winning 2024 album “Cowboy Carter”, which highlighted the rich legacy of Black musicians in country music and touched on race and identity in America.

Beyoncé’s reinterpretation of Parton’s hit “Jolene” sparked both praise and criticism. Parton, who appeared on the album’s interlude “Dolly P” and the song “Tyrant,” endorsed the version, saying Beyoncé was “giving that girl (Jolene) some trouble and she deserves it!”

Beyoncé paid tribute to Parton on Tuesday, saying she was “the barometer” and “The North Star.”

“You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself,” she wrote on her website. “I’m honored I had the privilege to work with you. I will treasure that forever.”

Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Kat Stafford and Bill Berkrot

In a still-unfolding disaster, verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction

International News via Reuters:

A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and China’s Tibet on Wednesday, triggering catastrophic flooding on the Nepali side that killed at least 95 people and left hundreds of tourists missing.

In a still-unfolding disaster, verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides fearing far higher casualties and massive destruction.

Houses, roads and power projects were swept away in Nepal, while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties”, with some people missing in the county of Gyirong after a mudslide hit a border land crossing.

Initial reports suggested an earthquake in the area could have triggered an avalanche and caused the floods, Nepal’s foreign minister, Shisir Khanal, told the country’s parliament on Wednesday, local media reported.

FIXED CAMERA FOOTAGE SHOWS PEOPLE FLEEING

Security footage captured on the Chinese side of the Nepal-Tibet border showed many people fleeing before a torrent of rock, mud and water destroyed buildings, vehicles and took many lives.

With the deluge of muddy water sweeping down from an estimated nearly 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) above sea level, flood alerts were issued in the populous northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which border Nepal and where several rivers flow down the mountains into the plains.

Authorities in Bihar said they had evacuated about 5,000 people from six districts and planned to evacuate a total of 10,000 to 12,000 people.

At least 341 foreign travellers were missing from the region, including more than 100 Indians, three U.S. citizens and 12 British nationals, Nepal’s tourism ministry said. Dozens of local people were also missing.

Rescue teams in Nepal had recovered 95 bodies so far, police said. Local media reported 65 people were being treated in hospitals in the area and in the capital Kathmandu.

South Korea separately said that eight of its nationals working on a hydropower plant were missing.

EXPERT FEARS A SECOND FLOOD

The exact cause of the mudslide could not be immediately determined, but the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said there was a 4.4 magnitude quake approximately seven minutes before the time shown on the security footage time-stamp.

An initial study of Planet Labs satellite imagery indicated that a landslide of snow and rock triggered a debris-laden flood in the Lhende river, about 20 km (12 miles) northeast of the Nepal-China Rasuwagadhi border crossing, Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said on X.

Before and after images from Planet Labs appeared to show a wide swathe of destruction on either side of the usual river course.

Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said the cause of the ice-rock avalanche into the Lhende Khola river on the Nepali side was yet to be confirmed.

“With a blockage still lodged upstream on the Nepal-China border river, authorities warn a second flood may occur,” Zhang said.

Rescue helicopters could not land in Nepal’s affected areas of Syapru Besi and Timure in the mountainous district of Rasuwa, with a population of about 50,000, officials said, with the river flowing above its normal course.

Television images showed collapsed homes, floating cars and a metal bridge being washed away, while witnesses told Reuters the waters engulfed entire villages.

“There could be heavy casualties or loss of property,” said district administrator Narendra Pariyar, who urged dwellers on the banks of the Bhote Koshi river — into which the Lhende Khola empties — to move to higher ground.

“There is devastation everywhere we look,” Tula Bahadur BK, a health worker in Rasuwa, told Reuters. “The settlements next to the river have been completely swept away. Five of my own relatives are missing.”

CHINA SAYS GYIRONG PORT AFFECTED

China’s official Xinhua news agency said the mudslide hit the Gyirong port, cutting roads, communications and power links in the Shigatse region near the border, but did not elaborate.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said authorities had deployed 601 personnel and 113 vehicles, along with search dogs and rescue equipment, to conduct emergency operations.

A rescuer interviewed by CCTV said they had been trying to establish contact with the Gyirong border port but “so far there haven’t been any results”. All roads leading to the border crossing had been “completely destroyed” after a preliminary inspection with a drone, the rescuer added.

“The mudslide situation is indeed quite severe,” he said. “The mud is very thick, and the weather is a major concern — it’s been raining continuously, so water levels could rise at any time.”

President Xi Jinping urged “all-out” search efforts for the missing, as well as stronger monitoring and early warning systems to prevent secondary disasters.

From its origins in Tibet, the Bhote Koshi river empties into Nepal’s Trishuli river, which eventually flows into India as the Gandak river.

Last year’s Bhote Koshi flood killed nine people, with 24 missing, as it washed away a “Friendship Bridge” linking Nepal and China, disrupting trade and transport for months. That flood was triggered by the draining of a supraglacial lake in Tibet, a regional climate monitor said.

Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Sahana Bajracharya, Aftab Ahmed, Liz Lee, Yukun Zhang, Xiuhao Chen, Shi Bu, Sakshi Dayal, Kanjyik Ghosh, and Jatindra Dash; Writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar and YP Rajesh; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Alex Richardson

The all-clear for Uganda follows a declaration on July 28 from the Ugandan government that it was free of the disease, which caused 20 cases and two deaths in the country

International News via Reuters:

The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in Uganda is over but it is not under control in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, a World Health Organization official told a briefing on Wednesday.

The all-clear for Uganda follows a declaration on July 28 from the Ugandan government that it was free of the disease, which caused 20 cases and two deaths in the country.

The WHO monitored the situation until this week to ensure that no chains of transmission had been missed. 

But Dr Marie Roseline Belizaire, director of emergency preparedness for the WHO African region, told a WHO regional meeting that cases in Democratic Republic of Congo continued to rise despite some progress. The outbreak there is the second-deadliest in history, and outpacing containment efforts.

According to the Congolese government, as of Tuesday there have been more than 2,700 deaths and more than 5,600 cases. 

“Transmission remains very active,” said Belizaire. “We have slowed the acceleration, but we have not yet bent this curve.” 

She said there are improvements in contact tracing and testing, and also that analyses of the Bundibugyo virus have not shown any signs of mutation despite the rapid spread.

While she described that as good news, she also flagged an immediate $30 million funding gap for logistical operations to deliver medical and personal protective equipment in the worst-hit areas of Congo.

“Without this immediate investment, we risk stalling the momentum we have built,” she said.

Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Barbara Lewis

The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial that had been one of the highest-profile tests of allegations that social media companies harm children

International News via Reuters:

Meta Platforms agreed to make major changes to Facebook and Instagram and pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims by most U.S. states that it designed those platforms to addict children and misled consumers about their safety.

The settlements announced on Wednesday end a federal trial that had been one of the highest-profile tests of allegations that social media companies harm children.

While Meta will not undergo a fundamental overhaul, the accords represent a sweeping effort to define how it serves young users.

“The focus of this case was to protect our kids,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “The relief we are getting in this settlement is very meaningful and well beyond what any court has ordered or is likely to order.”

Meta agreed for the next decade to restrict teenagers’ use of Facebook and Instagram to two hours a day and block all usage from midnight to 6 a.m., absent parental consent.

These limits could be tightened if other social media companies adopt similar terms. Meta will also enhance measures to prevent children from accessing age-restricted content.

The settlement does not require Meta, which denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising. The total payout represents about three to four months of profit for the Menlo Park, California-based company.

“Ensuring teens have a safe and productive experience on our platforms is an absolute imperative for Meta,” the company said in a blog post. “We want to get this right for parents and teens.”

CHANGING THE ONLINE EXPERIENCE

The settlements include more than $17.6 billion of payments to 48 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Meta will also pay $459 million to resolve states’ privacy claims related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the British consulting firm collected personal data of millions of Facebook users.

California would receive the highest payout, $2.2 billion, and New York and Texas would each receive more than $1 billion.

Some of the payout is contingent on whether Alphabet’s YouTube and ByteDance’s TikTok impose similar protections for children. Neither of those companies was immediately available for comment.

“This is a big deal,” said James Speta, a Northwestern University law professor who specializes in telecommunications and internet policy.

” Meta and other companies were facing pressure to change business practices whether or not they lost the lawsuits, from the public and from Congress and state legislatures,” he continued. “These restrictions will change the experience on Instagram and Facebook, and they are designed to reduce engagement.”

The settlement requires approval by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who oversaw the trial that began on August 18.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri had begun testifying, and Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg had been expected to testify.

Shares of Meta rose 1.4% in morning trading.

MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

Social media companies face a broad wave of litigation by states, local governments, school districts and individuals accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis, causing such harms as anxiety, depression and suicide.

Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap Inc’s Snapchat still face thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts claiming they knowingly tried to addict children to their platforms.

The Meta trial included claims by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey that the company violated state consumer protection laws. It also included claims by 29 states that Meta ⁠violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by knowingly collecting personal data from children without parental consent and using the data to train generative AI.

Meta had long argued that it could not have misled consumers because “social media addiction” was not a recognized psychiatric condition.

Before the trial began, Meta said California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were seeking up to $1.4 trillion in penalties. The states suggested the figure was closer to $200 billion.

THOUSANDS OF LAWSUITS STILL PENDING

Gonzalez Rogers still oversees thousands of lawsuits by individuals, school districts, and state and local governments accusing social media companies of harming children.

Meta itself still faces thousands of lawsuits by individuals, school districts and municipalities. The next trials are slated for October in Los Angeles.

Earlier this year, Meta lost both phases of a landmark lawsuit where New Mexico accused it of misleading consumers about its platforms’ safety. A jury in March ordered Meta to pay $375 million, and a judge on August 6 ordered it to pay an additional $567 million and implement youth-safety measures, finding that Meta created a public nuisance.

Also in March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta ​and Alphabet’s Google negligent in designing their platforms, and ordered them to pay $6 million to a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to Instagram and YouTube as a child and suffered from anxiety and depression.

Meta and Google have said they will appeal those verdicts.

New Mexico and Florida were not part of Wednesday’s settlements.

“The payouts to the states are peanuts compared to the profound harms Meta’s profit-driven addictive features have inflicted on our children,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. “We’ll see them at trial.”

Reporting by Diana Novak Jones in Chicago and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Nishara Karuvalli Pathikkal and Jaspreeth Singh in Bengaluru, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Jamie Freed and Mark Porter