2024 - Page 60 of 75

Hydeia Broadbent, H.I.V. and AIDS Activist, Dies at 39

Feb

Hydeia Broadbent, H.I.V. and AIDS Activist, Dies at 39

Hydeia Broadbent, who was born with H.I.V. and as a child became a leading voice in raising awareness about the virus and AIDS, died on Tuesday at her home in Las Vegas. She was 39.Her father, Loren Broadbent, confirmed the death. He did not cite the cause.Ms. Broadbent was 6 years old when she began telling of her struggle with H.I.V. on television, aiming to educate the public amid an epidemic that produced panic and stigma. Even when new treatments dramatically improved the long-term outcomes for people with H.I.V., she stressed that there was no cure and that infection was…

China’s Hacker Network: What to Know About the I-Soon Document Leak

Feb

By Jean Thompson

Science and Technology

China’s Hacker Network: What to Know About the I-Soon Document Leak

Leaked documents posted online last week show how the Chinese government is working with private hackers to obtain sensitive information from foreign governments and companies.The hackers worked for a security firm called I-Soon, part of a network of spies for hire working closely with Beijing.The leak showed how China’s top surveillance agency, the Ministry of Public Security, has increasingly recruited contractors to attack government targets and private companies as part of a cyberespionage campaign in Asia. The leak is likely to stoke fears among leaders in Washington who have warned against such attacks in the United States.What information was revealed?I-Soon…

New Freighters Could Ease Red Sea Cargo Disruptions

Feb

By Jean Thompson

Investments and Business

New Freighters Could Ease Red Sea Cargo Disruptions

After the Houthi militia started attacking container ships in the Red Sea last year, the cost of shipping goods from Asia soared by over 300 percent, prompting fears that supply chain disruptions might once again roil the global economy.The Houthis, who are backed by Iran and control northern Yemen, continue to threaten ships, forcing many to take a much longer route around Africa’s southern tip. But there are signs that the world will probably avoid a drawn-out shipping crisis.One reason for the optimism is that a huge number of container ships, ordered two to three years ago, are entering service.…

War and Illness Could Kill 85,000 Gazans in 6 Months

Feb

By Jean Thompson

Health

War and Illness Could Kill 85,000 Gazans in 6 Months

An escalation of the war in Gaza could lead to the deaths of 85,000 Palestinians from injuries and disease over the next six months, in the worst of three scenarios that prominent epidemiologists have modeled in an effort to understand the potential future death toll of the conflict.These fatalities would be in addition to the more than 29,000 deaths in Gaza that local authorities have attributed to the conflict since it began in October. The estimate represents “excess deaths,” above what would have been expected had there been no war.In a second scenario, assuming no change in the current level…

Volkswagen Sees Electric Vehicles as a Way to Grow in the U.S.

Feb

By Jean Thompson

Science and Technology

Volkswagen Sees Electric Vehicles as a Way to Grow in the U.S.

Probably only Americans of a certain age remember when the Volkswagen Beetle was the best-selling imported car in the United States and the hippest ride to a Grateful Dead concert was a Volkswagen Microbus.Volkswagen is trying to tap some of that nostalgia in its latest push to regain the status and sales it enjoyed in the United States during the Beetle’s and Microbus’s heydays in the 1960s. But this time it hopes its top models will be electric.The German carmaker is second only to Toyota globally but is a niche player in the United States. Part of its plan to…

Walmart’s Earnings Rise on Holiday Sales and Surging E-Commerce

Feb

By Jean Thompson

Investments and Business

Walmart’s Earnings Rise on Holiday Sales and Surging E-Commerce

The NumbersWalmart said its comparable store sales were up 4 percent in the three months that ended in late January compared with the year before. The number of transactions at Walmart rose 4.3 percent, but the average ticket price slightly decreased 0.3 percent, a sign that shoppers spent a little less on shopping trips. The retailer’s online U.S. sales increased 17 percent, and its online global sales jumped 23 percent, surpassing $100 billion. Losses for the e-commerce business were slowing as the company spent less on fulfillment costs, John David Rainey, Walmart’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. He…