Author: Gulf News Week

ROME (news agencies) — The co-sponsors of a new bipartisan U.S. sanctions package targeting Russia briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation Thursday, in an effort to show continued resolve to help Kyiv and force Moscow to the negotiating table through what they describe as a “game-changer” bill.The bill backed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations like China and India, which account for roughly 70% of Russia’s energy trade and bankroll…

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (news agencies) — Jake Knapp is loving links golf so much he’d like to extend his stay another week, and he took a step toward that Thursday with a 6-under 64 that put him in a four-way share of the lead after the opening round of the Scottish Open.The blustery conditions at The Renaissance Club were not enough to keep more than half of the 156-man field at par or better, although Rory McIlroy had to birdie his last three holes — and make a 25-foot bogey putt on the 15th hole — for a 68.Sepp Straka…

DENVER (news agencies) — A Denver museum known for its dinosaur displays has made a fossil bone find closer to home than anyone ever expected, under its own parking lot.It came from a hole drilled more than 750 feet (230 meters) deep to study geothermal heating potential for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.The museum is popular with dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages. Full-size dinosaur skeletons amaze kiddos barely knee-high to a parent, much less to a Tyrannosaurus.This latest find is not so visually impressive. Even so, the odds of finding the hockey-puck-shaped piece of rock were impressively small.With…

RIO DE JANEIRO (news agencies) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that he will impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump follows through on a pledge to boost import taxes by 50% over the South American country’s criminal trial against his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.Lula said he will trigger Brazil’s reciprocity law approved by Congress earlier this year if negotiations with the U.S. fail.“If there’s no negotiation, the reciprocity law will be put to work. If he charges 50 (% tariffs) from us, we will charge 50 from them,” Lula told TV Record…

The new agency in charge of regulating name, image, likeness deals in college sports sent a letter to schools Thursday saying it had rejected deals between players and donor-backed collectives formed over the past several years to funnel money to athletes or their schools. Those arrangements hold no “valid business purpose,” the memo said, and don’t adhere to rules that call for outside NIL deals to be between players and companies that provide goods or services to the general public for profit. The letter to Division I athletic directors could be the next step in shuttering today’s version of the…

A new federal estimate shows a rise in prediabetes among American adolescents, a finding that is spurring concerns about the health of U.S. children — and the way Trump administration health officials are conducting research and communicating information, experts said.In 2023, nearly 1 in 3 U.S. youngsters ages 12 to 17 had prediabetes, according to recently released data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is far higher than a previous estimate that the condition affects about 1 in 5 kids.There’s no question that prediabetes in U.S. youth is a serious concern. The condition puts them at…

LOS ANGELES (news agencies) — Larry David will bring his grumbly sensibility to U.S. history in a team-up with Barack and Michelle Obama for an HBO sketch show, the network announced Thursday. The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator and “Seinfeld” co-creator will act as executive producer, writer and star of the limited series consisting of six half-hour episodes, produced by the Obamas’ company, Higher Ground. The show marks the 78-year-old David’s return to HBO just over a year after the end of the 12th and final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” His “Curb” showrunner Jeff Schaffer will co-write and direct episodes.…

Over just two hours, the Guadalupe River at Comfort, Texas, rose from hip-height to three stories tall, sending water weighing as much as the Empire State building downstream roughly every minute it remained at its crest.The force of floodwater is often more powerful and surprising than people imagine. Comfort offers a good lens to consider the terrible force of a flash flood’s wall of water because it’s downstream of where the river’s rain-engorged branches met. The crest was among the highest ever recorded at the spot — flash flooding that appears so fast it can “warp our brains,” said James…

A secretive competition to pioneer a new way of communicating with artificial intelligence chatbots is getting a messy public airing as OpenAI fights a trademark dispute over its stealth hardware collaboration with legendary iPhone designer Jony Ive.In the latest twist, tech startup iyO Inc., which already sued Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for trademark infringement, is now suing one of its own former employees for allegedly leaking a confidential drawing of iyO’s unreleased product.At the heart of this bitter legal wrangling is a big idea: we shouldn’t need to stare at computer or phone screens or talk to a…

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (news agencies) — Athletics slugger Brent Rooker is adding his name to the list of Home Run Derby participants.Rooker announced Thursday that he’s participating in the event, which takes place Monday in Atlanta. He will become the first Athletics player in the Home Run Derby since Matt Olson in 2021.“Competing in the Home Run Derby has always been a dream of mine,” Rooker said in an Instagram post. “Can’t wait to make it happen next week in Atlanta! See ya there!”Rooker, 30, entered Thursday with a .270 batting average, 19 homers and 50 RBIs, putting him on…