AP

Social media and duct tape are helping people make DIY air purifiers that filter out wildfire smoke

  • By BEATRICE DUPUY - Associated Press
  • Updated

West Coast social media users are sharing their DIY tips for building an air purifier at home as smoke from Canada wildfires are cloaking much of the East Coast. In videos online, social media users are sharing their instructions on building a Corsi-Rosenthal air purifier. The relatively inexpensive air purifier relies on four air filters and one box fan. Angel Robertson's TikTok video on her DIY purifier has amassed more than 600,000 views. Robertson shared her video after seeing New Yorkers share their experiences with the smoke on TikTok and wanted to share her tips.

AP

A Tony Awards like no other, really. Strike leaves Broadway stars to rely on their 'live' muscles

  • By MARK KENNEDY - AP Entertainment Writer
  • Updated

There are a lot of questions surrounding this year’s Tony Awards and not just about who might win. The Hollywood writers’ strike has left much of Sunday’s telecast with unknowns. There will be performances from the nominated musicals, pre-recorded montages of the plays and acceptance speeches. Everything else seems up in the air. But if any group of people are best equipped to handle the electricity from a really live event, it’s the Broadway community. Going live without a net just doesn’t scare them. There’s plenty of time to eat up: A 2 1/2-hour pre-show on Pluto TV and then the three-hour main event on CBS and Paramount+.

AP

Car-obsessed California seeks to follow New York's lead and save public transit

  • By JEFF McMURRAY and ADAM BEAM - Associated Press
  • Updated

California's transit agencies are asking Democrats who control the state's government to rescue them like Democrats in New York recently did. It's proving to be a much tougher sell in California. The nation's most populous state is far more automobile-reliant than much of the Northeast. The state is projected to have a $31.5 billion budget deficit. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also proposed slashing another $2 billion from transit infrastructure funding to help balance the books. Bay Area Rapid Transit has warned that they could be forced to stop running after 9 p.m. and on weekends without additional funding.

AP

Lawyers blame ChatGPT for tricking them into citing bogus case law

  • By LARRY NEUMEISTER - Associated Press
  • Updated

A judge is deciding whether to sanction two lawyers who blamed ChatGPT for tricking them into including fictitious legal research in a court filing. The lawyers apologized at a hearing Thursday in Manhattan federal court for their roles in written submissions that seemed to leave Judge P. Kevin Castel both baffled and disturbed at what happened. The filing was in a lawsuit against an airline and included references to past court cases that Steven A. Schwartz thought were real. They were actually invented by the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot. Castel repeatedly expressed his dismay as he questioned Schwartz about his decision to use ChatGPT. He did not immediately rule.

AP

New York lawmakers pass bill that considers reparations for slavery

  • By MAYSOON KHAN - Associated Press/Report for America
  • Updated

New York would create a commission to consider reparations to address the lingering, negative effects of slavery under a bill passed by the state Legislature. The measure passed Thursday will be sent to New York Governor Kathy Hochul for consideration. New York is following the lead of California, which became the first state to form a reparations task force in 2020. State Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages says "this is about beginning the process of healing our communities." The New York legislation would create a nine-member commission that would address persistent economic, political and educational disparities experienced by Black people in the state today.

AP

Here are the other investigations Trump has to worry about

  • By The Associated Press
  • Updated

Donald Trump’s legal problems appear to have escalated significantly with federal charges over the retention of top secret documents, but investigators aren’t done yet. The former president faces a string of inquiries in various states and venues as he campaigns for a second term in the White House. He’s already been charged in a 34-count indictment in New York in a hush money case. The others include federal and state investigations into his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election and a civil case that threatens his ability to ever again do business in New York. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted by Democrats.

AP

Under house arrest, fake heiress Anna 'Delvey' Sorokin launches podcast to rehab public image

  • By JOHN CARUCCI - Associated Press
  • Updated

While under house arrest in New York, Anna Sorokin has launched the podcast, “The Anna Delvey Show.” From her East Village apartment, she tells the Associated Press: “I’m on 24/7 house arrest. I’m only allowed to leave for my parole check-ins, my ICE check-ins, and for medical emergencies.” Arrested in late 2017, she was convicted in 2019 of bilking banks, hotels and wealthy New Yorkers out of $275,000. After serving three years in prison, partly at Riker’s Island jail complex, Sorokin, a German citizen, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and then released after posting a $10,000 bond in the fall to home confinement.

AP

Biden picks longtime transportation official as acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration

  • AP
  • Updated

The Federal Aviation Administration has another acting leader at the controls. The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden picked longtime government official Polly Trottenberg to run the FAA. She replaces another acting administrator, Billy Nolen, who announced in April that he would leave soon. Trottenberg held a high-ranking job in the Transportation Department in the Obama administration. Most recently, she has been deputy to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Before that, she headed the New York City Transportation Department and worked on Capitol Hill as a Senate staffer. The FAA has been without a permanent administrator for more than a year.

AP

A third day of smoky air gives millions in US East Coast, Canada a new view of wildfire threat

  • By JENNIFER PELTZ and ROB GILLIES - Associated Press
  • Updated

A thick, hazardous haze of wildfire smoke is looming over daily life for millions of people across the U.S. and Canada for a third day, and it’s expected to persist as long as the weekend. The conditions Thursday sent asthma sufferers to hospitals, delayed flights, postponed ballgames and pushed back a White House Pride Month celebration. If the worrisome haze is an unnerving novelty for millions of people on the United States’ East Coast, it’s a reminder of what other places experience more regularly. And scientists say it’s a wake-up call about the future.

AP

'EH!POCALYPSE NOW!' Americans blame Canada as haze from northern fires continues

  • By ROB GILLIES - Associated Press
  • Updated

Americans are poking fun of Canada after a thick haze of wildfire smoke loomed over daily life for millions of people across the U.S. from over 400 Canadian wildfires. The front page headline of the New York Post screamed “BLAME CANADA!" and “EH!POCALYPSE NOW,” and the Boston Herald has “Thanks Canada." Canadians are unaccustomed to getting the attention of millions of Americans, let alone draw their ire. “Sorry!,” Canadian meteorologist Anthony Farnell tweeted in response.