The Walt Disney Company has pulled the plug on a $1bn office complex in Orlando, following a warning from Disney leadership that billions of dollars in projects were on the line after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his feud with the company. The development scheduled for construction in the Orlando area was set to bring 2,000 jobs to the region, with 1,000 employees expected to be relocated from southern California. In an email to employees on 18 May, Disney’s theme park and consumer products chair Josh D’Amaro pointed to “changing business conditions” for the cancellation of the 60-acre Lake Nona Town Center project, according to The New York Times, which first reported the move. “I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business,” he added, noting that the company has still planned $17bn in projects over the next decade its Disney World campus. “I hope we’re able to,” he said. For years, Florida legislators and the governor’s office enjoyed a close relationship with the state’s largest taxpayers, among the state’s largest employers, which has wielded enormous political influence while bringing in billions of dollars to the state each year. Now, the company and DeSantis allies are suing one another, following a year-long feud over opposition to what opponents have called Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law that boiled over into political and legal battles that could shape the company’s business in the state. Moments after board appointed by Mr DeSantis voted to strip the company’s control of its Florida park, Disney filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and state officials alleging a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” for “expressing a political viewpoint.” The lawsuit follows the governor’s state takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, made up of conservative activists and DeSantis loyalists, a move that followed Florida Republicans’ punitive measures against the company after its public opposition to the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Days later, the board voted to sue Disney in state court. In March, Disney slammed the governor’s “anti-business” approach to the company, which Mr DeSantis has accused of advancing a “woke agenda” while his administration targets LGBT+ people and their families with sweeping laws to control public school education, healthcare access and speech. The governor dissolved a decades-old municipal district that allowed Disney to control its own land use, zoning rules and public services, without putting a tax burden on Florida residents. In effect, Disney taxed itself to foot the district’s bill for its municipal needs. “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people, and pay more taxes, or not?” Disney CEO Bob Iger said on a conference call with analysts last week. A statement from Disney said the company has decided to pull out of the new campus construction “given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions.” The “Parental Rights in Education Act” – what opponents have called “Don’t Say Gay” – prohibits instruction of “sexual orientation or gender identity” from kindergarten through the third grade and any such discussion “that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students” in other grades. The governor recently expanded the law to explicitly extend such restrictions to all grades. Critics have warned that the broadly written law threatens to freeze classroom speech involving LGBT+ people and issues, from civil rights history lessons to discussion of LGBT+ students, school staff and their families. Following passage of the Florida law, lawmakers across the US and in Congress have introduced similar legislation, including more than two dozen measures in current legislative sessions. Read More DeSantis v Disney: Why Florida’s governor is at war with the Mouse ‘We will not be erased’: Critics slam Ron DeSantis for unprecedented bills attacking LGBTQ+ people Penguin Random House sues Florida school district over ‘unconstitutional’ book bans Florida teacher under investigation for showing Disney movie with LGBT+ character speaks out

Apple is seeking the exclusive image rights of apples in Switzerland, according to a Swiss fruit growers association. Fruit Union Suisse, an 111-year-old organisation that promotes the interests of fruit farmers in the country, may be forced to change its logo if the US tech giant succeeds in its legal bid. The association’s logo features a red apple with a white cross on it, having been slightly revised in 2011 in order to celebrate the organisation’s centenary. “We have a hard time understanding this, because it’s not like they’re trying to protect their bitten apple.” Fruit Union Suisse director Jimmy Mariethoz told Wired. “Their objective here is really to own the rights to an actual apple, which, for us, is something that is really almost universal... that should be free for everyone to use.” It is one of several attempts by Apple to gain intellectual property rights over the eponymous fruit, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Countries that have acquiesced to Apple’s demands include Armenia, Israel, Japan and Turkey. Separate records from the Tech Transparency Project show that Apple filed more trademark applications than Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft combined between 2019 and 2021. Apple first applied to the Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property for the trademark of a depiction of a Granny Smith apple in 2017, covering electronic, digital and audiovisual consumer goods. The request was only partially granted, leading Apple to submit an appeal earlier this year. “We’re concerned that any visual representation of an apple – so anything that’s audiovisual or linked to new technologies or to media – could be potentially impacted,” said Mariethoz. “Theoretically, we could be entering slippery territory every time we advertise with an apple.” The Independent has reached out to Apple for a response, though the company typically does not comment on ongoing legal matters. Read More Can Apple make us love virtual reality? | You Ask The Questions

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The personal computer and printer company laid out both a long-term growth forecast and fiscal 2024 estimates that met or beat Street estimates.

NASA lifted the lid on its unidentified anomalous phenomena study on Thursday (14 September) which aimed to identify "how data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources can potentially be analysed to shed light on UAPs." While the report was "not a review or assessment of previous unidentifiable observations," the briefing prompted a video of 'GoFast UFO' to resurface. The clip from 2014 was released by the pilots "to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real or whether or not there is more to the videos." The statement on the Department of Defense further went on to say at the time: "After a thorough review, the department has determined that the authorized release of these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena." The clip also got a mention in the recent 36-page report, published on the NASA website. "A well-known UAP event is the “GoFast” video, recorded by navy aviators from the USS Theodore Roosevelt," it read. @uapbrand GOFAST UAP - better known as the 'Tic Tac' UFO. ? #UAP #UnidentifiedAerialPhenomena #UAPs #OVNI #OVNIs #UFO #UFOs #UFOvideo #UFOvideos "A still frame from this video is shown in the Figure below, where the infrared camera has locked onto a small object in the center. The video gives an impression of an object skimming above the ocean at a great velocity. But analysis of the numerical information on the display reveals a less extraordinary interpretation." Elsewhere, while the report disclaimed the galaxy "does not stop at the outskirts of the solar system," it stressed there is "no reason to conclude" that UFO sightings are alien. "Many of NASA's science missions are, at least in part, focused on answering the question of whether life exists beyond Earth," it read. "Those investigations include missions looking for biosignatures, perhaps on Mars or the icy moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn - as well as farther afield, in the ratios of molecules present in exoplanet atmospheres. "Searching for signs of alien technology is a natural extension of those investigations." It added: "If we recognise the plausibility of any of these, then we should recognise that all are at least plausible." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 24, 2023--

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The King has hailed artificial intelligence (AI) as “one of the greatest technological leaps in the history of human endeavour” but warned of the urgent need to work together to combat its “significant risks”. In a video message for the opening session of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, the King stressed the need to make sure the technology remained “safe and secure”, and said the speed of its advancement could surpass even human understanding. He likened the “rapid rise of powerful artificial intelligence” to the world’s greatest scientific breakthroughs including the discovery of electricity and the splitting of the atom – and even the harnessing of fire. And he spoke of its potential to “transform life as we know it” for the better, possibly leading to cures for cancer and other diseases, and helping to create green energy. Charles, in footage recorded at Buckingham Palace before he left for his state visit to Kenya, said: “We are witnessing one of the greatest technological leaps in the history of human endeavour. “The rapid rise of powerful artificial intelligence is considered by many of the greatest thinkers of our age to be no less significant, no less important, than the discovery of electricity, the splitting of the atom, the creation of the world wide web, or even the harnessing of fire.” He added: “AI holds the potential to completely transform life as we know it to help us better treat, and perhaps even cure, conditions like cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s; to hasten our journey towards net zero and realise a new era of potentially limitless clean, green energy – even just to help us make our everyday lives a bit easier. “However, if we are to realise the untold benefits of AI, then we must work together on combating its significant risks too.” The AI summit sees representatives of nearly 30 countries, including the US, France and China, meeting with leading AI companies and civic society groups to discuss the risks of the emerging technology. Delegates have already agreed on a world-first statement – the “Bletchley declaration on AI safety” – it was announced on Wednesday. The King thanked those attending for laying the foundation for a consensus to ensure “this immensely powerful technology is, indeed, a force for good in this world”. Highlighting the need to keep on top of the technology, the King said: “AI continues to advance with ever greater speed towards models that some predict could surpass human abilities, even human understanding. “There is a clear imperative to ensure that this rapidly evolving technology remains safe and secure.” He said transitions such as AI always presented “profound challenges, especially in preparing for unintended consequences”. But Charles said: “It is incumbent on those with responsibility to meet these challenges: to protect people’s privacy and livelihoods, which are essential to both our economic and psychological well-being, to secure our democracies from harm, and to ensure the benefits of new technology are shared by all.” Describing the international community’s co-operation on climate change, the King added: “We must similarly address the risks presented by AI with a sense of urgency, unity and collective strength.” Read More Kamala Harris arrives in the UK ahead of AI safety summit Study finds ‘deepfakes’ from Ukraine war undermining trust in conflict footage More than 500 potential cyber attacks logged every second, BT says AI being used to create child abuse imagery, watchdog warns ChatGPT and other chatbots ‘can be tricked into making code for cyber attacks’ Tinder adds Matchmaker feature to let friends recommend potential dates

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Staten Island’s Freshkills was once the world’s largest dump. In 2001, New York City shut it down and

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on the West Coast opened a docket on Thursday on the U.S. Federal Trade