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People in Britain were amazed by the unusual and spectacular display of the Northern Lights on Friday evening, the result of a strong solar storm that was brewing and expected to continue over the next few days.The Northern Lights, also known as the Northern Lights, do not usually reach this far south. They are seen more often at higher latitudes, closer to the North Pole. People in other European countries, including Denmark and Germany, have also reported seeing the lights.Viewers marveled at the sight, posting their surprise, delight and sometimes shock on social media. As one user wrote: “Aurora Borealis? This time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Located entirely in Edinburgh?”Another viewer wrote: "It's really gorgeous though."The Northern Lights ...

Utility regulators in California on Thursday changed how most residents will pay for energy by adding a new flat monthly fee and lowering the rates applicable to energy consumption. Officials said the change would reduce the monthly bills of millions of residents and support the use of electric vehicles and appliances that run on electricity, rather than fossil fuels.The California Public Utilities Commission's decision will apply to rates charged by investor-owned utilities, which provide power to about 70% of the state. Starting next year, most customers of these companies will be required to pay a monthly fee of $24.15. Low-income customers will pay $6 to $12 a month.Regulators said revenue from the flat rate would be matched by a roughly 20% reduction in rates, assessed by the n...

The Biden administration believes Israel most likely violated international standards by failing to protect civilians in Gaza, but has found no specific cases that justify withholding military aid, the State Department told Congress on Friday.In the administration's most detailed assessment of Israel's conduct in Gaza, the State Department said in a written report that Israel "has the knowledge, experience, and tools to implement best practices to mitigate civilian harm in its operations military".But he added that “the findings on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” about whether the Israel Defense Forces are making sufficient use of such tools.Even so, the report – which at some points seemed at odds with itself – claimed that th...

Nancy Neveloff Dubler, a medical ethicist who pioneered the use of hospital bedside mediation to navigate the complex dynamics between stubborn doctors, anguished family members, and patients in their final days, died April 14 at her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was 82 years old.The cause was heart and lung disease, his family said.A Harvard-educated lawyer who won the presidency as an undergraduate by campaigning to disband student government, Ms. Dubler was a revolutionary figure in health care who sought, in her words, to "level the playing field" and “amplify non-medical voices” in complex medical situations, especially when deciding next steps for the sickest patients.In 1978, Dubler founded the Bioethics Consultation Service at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx...

Ukraine sent reinforcements to its northern border on Friday after Russian forces attempted to break through Ukrainian lines along several sections, putting new pressure on forces already stretched along a 600-mile front.The Russian assaults began around 5 a.m. Friday with massive aerial bombardments of Ukrainian positions followed by armored columns trying to break through at several points along the border, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.“To date, these attacks have been repelled and battles of varying intensity are ongoing,” the ministry said. “To strengthen the defense in this sector of the front, reserve units have been deployed.”The scope and purpose of Russian border incursions remained unclear. Military analysts have said Russia may be trying to forc...

Early last year Apple's top software executives decided that Siri, the company's virtual assistant, needed a brain transplant.The decision came after executives Craig Federighi and John Giannandrea spent weeks testing OpenAI's new chatbot, ChatGPT. The product's use of generative artificial intelligence, which can write poetry, create computer code and answer complex questions, made Siri seem antiquated, said two people familiar with the company's work, and who didn't they were allowed to speak publicly.Introduced in 2011 as the original virtual assistant of every iPhone, Siri was limited to individual requests for years and was never able to follow a conversation. Questions are often misunderstood. ChatGPT, on the other hand, knew that if someone asked the weath...

The main United Nations agency helping Palestinians, known as UNRWA, said Thursday it would temporarily close its headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem for the safety of its staff after parts of the compound were set on fire following weeks of attacks.“This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” said the agency's leader, Philippe Lazzarini, on social media. The fire caused extensive damage to the complex's outdoor areas, Lazzarini said, but there were no injuries to workers from UNRWA or other United Nations agencies. He added that some workers "had to put out the fire themselves as it took some time for the Israeli fire extinguishers and police to arrive."On Friday, Israeli police said in a statement tha...

Several large-scale human-caused changes to the planet, including climate change, biodiversity loss and the spread of invasive species, are making infectious diseases more dangerous to people, animals and plants, according to a new study. .Scientists have already documented these effects in more targeted studies that have focused on specific diseases and ecosystems. For example, they found that a warmer climate could help the expansion of malaria in Africa, and that a decline in wildlife diversity could increase cases of Lyme disease in North America.But the new research, a meta-analysis of nearly 1,000 previous studies, suggests that these patterns are relatively consistent across the globe and across the tree of life.“It's a big step forward in science,” said Colin Carlson, a biolog...

This article is part of our special Design section on water as a source of creativity.On May 3, Zeyrek Cinili Hamam, a 500-year-old public bathhouse, reopened in Istanbul after a 13-year restoration costing more than $15 million. Named for its original cobalt and turquoise cladding (cinili is the Turkish word for "tiled"), the hamam is the jewel of the Zeyrek district, a historic district of Istanbul now a UNESCO world heritage site.Visitors can enjoy a traditional Turkish bath under soaring domes pierced by star-shaped skylights that send twinkling rays into the rooms. A typical one-hour bath costs 95 euros (about $101) and includes an exfoliating scrub and massage accompanied by the soothing sound of water splashing in the marble tubs.Just as in Ottoman times, anyone who can afford the...

Listen and follow 'Hard Fork'Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YoutubeKevin recounts his month-long experiment cultivating relationships with 18 AI-generated companions. He explains how he developed their characters, what happened in their group chats, and why you might want to create one yourself. Then, Casey has a conversation with Turing, one of Kevin's chatbot friends, who has an interest in Stoic philosophy and has one of the sexiest voices we've ever heard. And finally, we talk to Nomi founder and CEO Alex Cardinell about the business behind AI companions and whether the company is ready for the future we're headed for.Guests:Turing, Kevin's AI friend created with Kindroid.Alex Cardinell, CEO and founder of Nomi.Additional reading:Credits“Hard Fork” is hosted b...