WASHINGTON — A House panel on Wednesday tried to get its hands around the slippery issue of when inventions or artistic works developed with artificial intelligence should receive intellectual property rights. Intellectual property normally refers to patents for inventions or copyrights for literary, musical or artistic compositions. It gives the owners exclusive rights ... Read More

As political attacks on environmental, social and governance initiatives increase, misconceptions about these important corporate practices continue to abound. A vocal minority of political actors continue to advance an agenda intended to discredit and malign ESG and related initiatives. Companies may be communicating about the work differently, but ESG practices are not ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Many studies have been done on the detrimental effects of technology on American life, with social media in particular being named a major cause of psychological distress. One social researcher says there’s a reason the youngest generation is getting hit harder by the ills of technology than those that came ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Monday blasted Republicans’ effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over his refusal to turn over unredacted materials related to the special counsel probe into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, ... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Children who question their gender identity are being let down by lack of evidence and a toxic political debate, according to a report Wednesday from a senior doctor in England. Dr. Hilary Cass said there is “no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related ... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Allen Weisselberg, a retired executive in Donald Trump’s real estate empire, was sentenced on Wednesday to five months in jail for lying under oath during his testimony in the civil fraud lawsuit brought against the former president by New York’s attorney general. Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty ... Read More

PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court held Tuesday that with Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion it once recognized now null and void, there’s no reason Arizona can’t enforce a 160-year-old law that bans nearly all abortions. The 4-2 decision upheld a law adopted in 1864 — nearly 50 years ... Read More

When Darryl Aldrich from Virginia was looking to invest in real estate, he didn’t realize he was entering one of the most predatory cybercrime environments that exist today. By using the accurate down payment amount and his title company’s name, a scammer was able to exploit his trust. After realizing ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The heads of the House and Senate Commerce committees reached an agreement on a data privacy bill this week that would override state laws limiting what information corporations can gather on private individuals. It also would give consumers a right to delete their private information from corporate databases and to sue ... Read More

The federal program that helps pay for groceries for millions of low-income mothers, babies and young kids will soon emphasize more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, as well as provide a wider choice of foods from different cultures. The final rule changes for the program known as WIC were ... Read More

When an illustrated edition of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was released in 2019, educators in Clayton, Missouri needed little debate before deciding to keep copies in high school libraries. The book is widely regarded as a classic work of dystopian literature about the oppression of women, and a graphic novel ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 200 chemical plants nationwide will be required to reduce toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer under a new rule issued Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The rule advances President Joe Biden’s commitment to environmental justice by delivering critical health protections for communities burdened by ... Read More

WASHINGTON — When you wake up in the morning, do you crave the smell of freshly brewed coffee? A daily cup of coffee or caffeinated tea can boost your mood, enhance focus, reduce fatigue and even improve exercise performance. But, too much of anything can be harmful, so finding the balance is important. ... Read More

WASHINGTON — You likely know that exercise is a healthy habit that can boost overall health and physical fitness. There are many types of exercise, such as resistance training, aerobic or cardio, flexibility and balance.  Within each category, the options multiply, and we’re going to zero in on the concepts of ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is considering legislation to stop judge shopping after a Texas federal judge rejected pleas to revise his jurisdiction’s method for assigning cases. The threat to use legislation to force federal judges to follow a case assignment procedure recommended by the Judicial Conference of the United States ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is awarding up to $6.6 billion in grants to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the largest maker of the most advanced microchips in the world, to help support construction of the company’s first major hub in the United States. The announcement comes nearly 18 months after Biden toured the ... Read More

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Monday declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan for human life. The Vatican’s doctrine office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is traveling to Wisconsin to announce details of a new plan to ease student loan debt for millions, a trip that comes a week after primary voting in the Midwest battleground highlighted weaknesses for the Democratic president and Donald Trump, his Republican ... Read More

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval program is meant to give patients early access to promising drugs. But how often do these drugs actually improve or extend patients’ lives? In a new study, researchers found that most cancer drugs granted accelerated approval do not demonstrate such ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday announced new safeguards intended to bolster job protections for career civil servants. The new rule was issued through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which said on its website the measure both “clarifies and reinforces long-standing protections and merit system principles for career civil servants.” ... Read More

Few geopolitical partnerships are more enduring, mutually beneficial and personal than the one between the Unites States and South Korea. Last year, the two countries celebrated the 70th anniversary of their relationship, which began as a military alliance and has expanded to become an economic and strategic partnership. At the same time, ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Several agricultural groups representing hundreds of thousands of farmers are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to swiftly grant the biofuel sector an emergency waiver for E15 sales. In a March 26 letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, the groups contend that new and ongoing conflicts across the globe “continue to pose ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Maritime experts told a congressional panel Friday that the March 26 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge served as an example of potentially devastating risks confronting U.S. ports. The collapse after collision with a cargo ship temporarily shut down the nation’s ninth largest port and biggest maritime transfer ... Read More

LEBANON, N.J. — A 4.7 magnitude earthquake shook New York City and much of New Jersey on Friday, with anecdotal reports suggesting the shaking was felt as far away as Boston, Philadelphia and Stamford, Connecticut. The quake, which occurred at 10:23 a.m. was centered about eight miles northwest of Bridgewater, New Jersey. Initially ... Read More

BINGHAM COUNTY, Idaho — The Clearway Energy Group, an independent clean energy company based in San Francisco, announced Thursday that its first project in Idaho, Cedar Creek Wind, has begun commercial operations. The 152 MW wind farm, for which there will be an official ribbon-cutting in June, is expected to generate enough electricity to ... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will visit the site of the Baltimore bridge that collapsed after it was rammed by a fully loaded cargo ship and is expected to reaffirm his commitment to rebuild the structure and reopen the Port of Baltimore as quickly as possible. As readers of The Well News surely ... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has called him a “threat to democracy.” Former national security adviser John Bolton has declared him “unfit to be president.” And former Vice President Mike Pence has declined to endorse him, citing “profound differences.” As Donald Trump seeks the presidency ... Read More

General Electric, long a symbol of American manufacturing and steeped in a rich history, is officially moving on from its existence as a sprawling conglomerate. The Boston company, known for everything from light bulbs to jet engines, has completed its split into three separate companies, as its aerospace and energy businesses start ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Like many Americans, Richard Bidon says he’d like to see the U.S. government “go back to its original design” — a system of checks and balances developed nearly 240 years ago to prevent any branch, especially the presidency, from becoming too powerful. But that’s mainly when Republicans ... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to swiftly implement new steps to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza or face the curtailment of U.S. support for Israel’s ongoing war effort against Hamas. Speaking to reporters in the White House press room, National Security ... Read More