Vitalik Buterin Discusses Ethereum's Upcoming 'Merge' and 'Surge' at EthCC in Paris

Associated Press
Powerful storms bring tornadoes to Oklahoma, large hail to Kansas. Forecasts warn more is to come
Powerful storms have erupted in the central United States, bringing tornadoes to rural Oklahoma and large hail in parts of Kansas, with forecasters warning that the dangerous weather could stretch into the early hours of Tuesday amid a rare high-risk weather warning for the two states. “You can’t rely on waiting to see tornadoes before sheltering tonight,” the National Weather Service said Monday. Gusty winds and heavy rains began Monday afternoon, while tornadoes were spotted after dark skirting northern Oklahoma, including one that touched down about a 45-minute drive north of Tulsa.
AFP
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest outside the Met Gala
Protesters in New York converged near the Met Gala on Monday in a rally against the ongoing war in Gaza, leading to several arrests, police said.Among the rallying points were the gates of Columbia University, which has been the center of spreading demonstrations, before protesters marched through Manhattan to American fashion's biggest night -- or at least as close as police would let them.
Associated Press
North Macedonia holds presidential and parliamentary elections Wednesday
Voters in Northern Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. The office of prime minister wields the real power, and the president is largely ceremonial, so the parliamentary election is the more important of the two contests. The election for the unicameral parliament takes place in a single round, while the presidential election is the runoff of a two-round contest that began in April with the center-right candidate scoring a large lead over the center-left incumbent.
Associated Press
China's Xi begins Serbia visit on the 25th anniversary of NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy
U.S. jets dropped five bombs on the Chinese Embassy compound in the Serbian capital on May 7, 1999, setting it ablaze and killing three Chinese nationals. Twenty other people were injured in the incident, which has burdened relations between the two powers ever since.
AFP
Boeing Starliner crewed mission postponed shortly before launch
The first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner spaceship was dramatically called off just two hours before launch after a new safety issue was identified, officials said Monday, pushing back a high-stakes test mission to the International Space Station.Their new mission will see them put Starliner through its paces, piloting the craft manually to test its capabilities.
Reuters
Apple working on AI chips for data centers, WSJ reports
Apple, which has been falling behind its competitors on AI, has been evading questions about its plans for the technology. "We continue to feel very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI and we're making significant investments," CEO Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview. The project, internally codenamed as Project ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center), aims to leverage Apple's chip design expertise for its server infrastructure, the report said.
Associated Press
Putin is starting his 5th term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin begins his fifth term as Russian president in an opulent Kremlin inauguration Tuesday, after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and consolidating all power in his hands. Already in office for nearly a quarter-century and the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, Putin’s new term doesn’t expire until 2030, when he is constitutionally eligible to run for another six years. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that has become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, Russia has been heavily sanctioned by the West and is turning other regimes like China, Iran and North Korea for support.
Associated Press
Ukraine-born House member who opposed aiding her native country defends her seat in Indiana primary
A Ukrainian-born congresswoman who recently opposed sending aid to her war-torn country is defending her seat Tuesday against a fellow Republican who has outpaced her in spending and fundraising. U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz is the first and only Ukrainian-born House member and previously backed support for the country. More broadly, the race is a barometer of whether support for Ukraine is a powerful issue among GOP voters.
Associated Press
Pro-Palestinian protesters retake MIT encampment, occupy building at Rhode Island School of Design
A Monday deadline for pro-Palestinian protesters to leave an encampment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology cleared many demonstrators only to have the site retaken while protesters at the Rhode Island School of Design began occupying a building in the ongoing protest movement connected to the Israel-Hamas war. At MIT, protesters were given an afternoon deadline in which to voluntarily leave the protest site or face suspension. Many left, according to an MIT spokesperson, who said protesters breached fencing after the arrival of demonstrators from outside the university.
Associated Press
Bernie Sanders says Gaza may be Joe Biden's Vietnam. But he's ready to battle for Biden over Trump
In April, Bernie Sanders repeatedly stood shoulder to shoulder with President Joe Biden, promoting their joint accomplishments on health care and climate at formal White House events while eviscerating Donald Trump in a widely viewed campaign TikTok video. Then just last week, Sanders was bluntly warning that the crisis in Gaza could be Biden's “Vietnam" and invoking President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision not to run for reelection as the nation was in an uproar over his support of that war. Such is the political dichotomy of Bernie Sanders when it comes to Joe Biden.
Associated Press
Why voters in southern India are more resistant to Modi's Hindu-centric politics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wielded near-total control over Indian politics since coming to power 10 years ago, with one exception: He has failed to win over the country’s wealthier southern region. Not one of them is controlled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party — a stark rejection of its Hindu-nationalist agenda that enjoys wide support in northern India. The BJP is expected to win India's election when results are announced in June, delivering Modi another five years as prime minister.
Politico
Australia accuses China of unsafe behavior involving fighter jet
The jet endangered an Australian navy helicopter with flares over international waters.
Associated Press
Minnesota ethics panel to consider how to deal with senator charged with burglary
A Minnesota Senate ethics panel on Tuesday is expected to begin considering what to do with a lawmaker who's charged with burglary for allegedly breaking into her estranged stepmother's house. Democratic Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of Woodbury, told police she broke in last month because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to the felony complaint. Mitchell's status has posed a dilemma for her fellow Democrats because they hold a one-seat majority in the Senate, so they need her vote to pass anything that lacks bipartisan support.
Associated Press
Trump faces jail threat over gag order as prosecutors zero in on transactions at heart of the case
Donald Trump returns to his hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses in the final weeks of the case. Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump, and Michael Cohen, the former Trump lawyer and personal fixer who prosecutors say paid her to keep silent in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, are among those who have yet to take the stand but are expected to in the coming weeks. The jury on Monday heard from two witnesses, including a former Trump Organization controller who provided a mechanical but vital recitation of how the company reimbursed payments that were allegedly meant to suppress embarrassing stories from surfacing and then logged them as legal expenses in a manner that Manhattan prosecutors say broke the law.
CNN
Eurovision braces for its most tense contest yet, as protesters and artists bristle at Israel’s presence
Malmo, the Swedish city hosting this year’s song contest, is increasingly divided by Eurovision, as protesters prepare to demonstrate over Israel’s war in Gaza.
CNN
Biden faces widening partisan split over Israel
President Joe Biden is facing more critical moments this week that will test his fraught relationship with his base over Israel’s war in Gaza and potentially widen the partisan split about the Jewish state that has been building for years.
CNN
Judge’s warning provides dilemma for Trump over whether he will risk jail for a political point
Donald Trump and the judge presiding over his hush money trial are staring each other down with profound implications for the former president, the coming election and the rule of law in the United States.
AFP
Chinese mill blamed for turning Serbia village red with pollution
In the eight years since Chinese company HBIS bought a steel mill near the eastern Serbian city of Smederevo, locals say they have been plagued by heavy air pollution and thick red dust.- Cancer cases quadrupled - The Serbian Environmental Protection Agency has ranked Smederevo repeatedly among the country's most polluted cities, classified as having "excessively polluted air".
CNN
Chinese warplane fired flares, put Australian Navy helicopter in danger, Canberra says
Australia has accused a Chinese fighter jet of firing flares into the path of a naval helicopter last weekend over international waters of the Yellow Sea, an action that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blasted as “completely unacceptable.”
AFP
PM Modi votes as India's marathon election heats up
Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his ballot Tuesday in India's ongoing general election after giving several inflammatory campaign speeches accused of targeting minority Muslims.Modi's brand of Hindu-nationalist politics has in turn made India's 220-million-plus Muslim population increasingly anxious about their future in the country.

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