Author: Warren Wong

Wars are fought in many ways. In trenches, behind the wheel of tank, at the trigger of an artillery piece, in the rear supporting the troops. But the war in the Ukraine also fights with guile and disguise, deceit, surprise and humor. No intelligence, cold warriors, or secrecy but the unmistaken conviction of bringing the fight to the Russian regime. The team is led by a quirky former academic, a housewife, a gifted arty-farty guy, an editor, some journalists and a few volunteers. There is a cat-lady, a Thor of thunder, a bunch of nerds working out the quirks, and…

America’s best-selling vehicle rolls off the assembly line every 53 seconds at Ford’s Dearborn truck plant in Michigan. More than 41 million F-150s have been sold since the truck was introduced 76 years ago. “The F series has been the best-selling truck in the U.S. for 47 years, the best-selling vehicle of any kind in the U.S. for 42 years,” says John Emmert, general manager of Ford North America, Trucks. What makes the truck so popular generation after generation? Vaux Adams, a city employee in Sterling Heights, Michigan, says his father-in-law introduced him to the Ford F-150, and Adams liked…

More than 2.1 million Florida drivers use specialty license plates to support their favorite causes or show off their loyalty to their favorite sports teams, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Data from the past 10 years shows that specialty plates are becoming more popular for drivers. Since 2013, the total number of specialty plate registrations has increased by 500,000. The most popular specialty plate in Florida is the “Endless Summer” plate. FLHSMV said 132,651 vehicles are registered with the plate. Rival schools University of Florida and Florida State University both made it into the…

Peaches, plums and nectarines distributed by HMC Farms and sold nationwide are being recalled due to an outbreak of listeria that has resulted in 11 illnesses, including one death and 10 hospitalizations, federal safety regulators said. Kingsburg, California-based HMC Farms is recalling peaches, plums and nectarines sold between May 1 and November 15 of this year as well as as during the same period in 2022, the company said in a notice posted earlier in November by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA found listeria in testing a sample of HMC Farms peaches in late October, the CDC said. Sold around…

Canada’s economy is flirting with recession and the downturn could worsen now that a period of rapid growth in the United States is expected to end, raising bets on the Bank of Canada shifting to interest rate cuts sooner than previously thought. The Canadian central bank expects that the economy will avoid a recession, and last month forecast growth of 0.8% for both the third and fourth quarters. Since then, preliminary data has indicted a shallow economic contraction for a second straight quarter in the third quarter. Analysts say that if U.S. activity slows, then the Canadian economy could shrink…

Canada on Monday warned of a “Spamouflage” disinformation campaign linked to China that used waves of online posts and deepfake videos manipulated to try to disparage and discredit Canadian lawmakers. The Global Affairs department said in a statement it had “detected a ‘Spamouflage’ campaign connected to the People’s Republic of China.” The bot network, according to the government ministry, left thousands of messages on the social media accounts of dozens of members of Parliament, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, accusing them of criminal and ethical violations. It started in early August and scaled up in…

Frankfurt (11/09 – 20) Two international human rights organizations have called on the Tajikistan government to immediately release jailed lawyer and human rights activist Manuchehr Kholiknazarov, as well as other activists and journalists. The International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and the international non-profit organization CIVICUS, which bills itself as “a global alliance aimed at strengthening the action of citizens and civil society around the world,” in their message published specially on the eve of Independence Day, September 8, focus on the fact that Tajik human rights activist and civil society activist Manuchehr Kholiknazarov was falsely sentenced to a long…

Alphabet’s Google has agreed to invest up to $2 billion in the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, a spokesperson for the startup said on Friday. The company has invested $500 million upfront into the OpenAI rival and agreed to add $1.5 billion more over time, the spokesperson said. Google is already an investor in Anthropic, and the fresh investment would underscore a ramp-up in its efforts to better compete with Microsoft, a major backer of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, as Big Tech companies race to infuse AI into their applications. Amazon.com also said last month it would invest up to $4 billion…

Buying a home is tough right now. With home prices still inflated, inventory still low and mortgage rates near 8%, housing affordability is the lowest it has been in decades. But there are also some opportunities for buying a great deal — if you look in the right places. We asked real estate agents about the Florida housing market and whether they thought buying right now is a good idea. Their responses were a resounding “yes.” Here are a few of their top reasons to buy property in Florida right now. No State Income Tax Florida is one of nine states in the…

The Biden administration announced Wednesday the expansion of a form of humanitarian relief to Venezuelans already in the United States, making hundreds of thousands more people eligible for work permits and likely appeasing calls by New York City officials to provide work authorization to certain migrants. The arrival of migrants, many of whom are Venezuelan, to New York City has driven a wedge in President Joe Biden’s relationship with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has been a fierce critic of the administration’s handling of the migrant crisis. Adams repeatedly urged the White House to expedite work authorizations for migrants arriving to…