The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to ban marketers from using fake reviews, like those generated with AI technology, and other misleading practices to promote their products and services. All five FTC commissioners voted to adopt the final rule, which will go into effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register, the government’s official catalog of rules and notices. Typically, rules ...
It appears to have taken a few weeks for current homeowners to realize mortgage rates had dropped dramatically. And when they did, they acted. Applications to refinance a home loan surged 35% last week, compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. They were up a whopping 118% when compared with the same week one year ...
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says he is optimistic about Boeing’s recovery after meeting with the manufacturer’s new chief executive. It’s an upbeat change of tune from the head of United, a top Boeing customer that has been among the most publicly frustrated about the plane maker’s problems, which have led to delayed deliveries of dozens of aircraft. Kirby and Boeing’s new CEO, Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, had ...
Trader Joe’s is recalling 653,000 scented candles because they pose an elevated fire hazard. In a release on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website posted Thursday, Trader Joe’s said the flame on its Mango Tangerine candles can spread from the wick to the wax, causing a larger than expected flame. The products were sold in June. Trader Joe’s said it ...
A German military base near the western city of Cologne was temporarily closed on Wednesday as authorities investigated the possible sabotage of water supplies. The Cologne-Wahn barracks employs around 5,500 people, including 4,300 soldiers and 1,200 civilians, according to German newspaper Der Spiegel. A military spokesman, Ulrich Fonrobert, said that a hole was discovered in a fence leading to waterworks ...
Toomaj Salehi, the Iranian dissident rapper who escaped the death penalty earlier this summer has been cleared entirely of the original charges by a lower court in Isfahan, central Iran. Salehi became a key voice of anti-government dissent in Iran during the 2022 ‘Woman, Life Freedom’ protests, with lyrics that galvanized protesters and urged them to unite. He was sentenced to death after ...
People in Kiribati went to the polls on Wednesday for the first round of voting in a national election expected to serve as a referendum on rising living costs and the government’s stronger ties with China. A second round of voting is scheduled on Aug. 19 for all parliamentary seats that are not won by a majority vote on Wednesday. ...
As Kyiv’s forces advance farther into Russia following their surprise incursion last week, Ukrainians living near the border are watching with mixed feelings: a sense of justice combined with fear of what could come next. “We entered their territory not because we wanted to, but because they came to our home and took away our peaceful life. Now they have to ...
Conflict between elephants and humans is a growing, and potentially deadly, problem in some parts of India. Now, the state of Assam, a northeastern region famous for its rolling tea plantations, has launched a mobile app that alerts villagers of approaching herds in an effort to reduce the risk of catastrophic encounters. While estimates vary, such conflicts in the state ...
Japanese railways and airlines are canceling services as Typhoon Ampil gathers strength in the western Pacific, with the storm expected to hit on Friday during the peak summer travel season. As of early Thursday local time, Typhoon Ampil was recording sustained winds of 140 kph (85 mph), according to the latest advisory from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). That ...