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Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

After the bodies of six slain Israeli hostages were found in a tunnel in southern Gaza, Israelis have reacted with shock and anger. Some blame the Israeli government for not reaching a cease-fire deal with Hamas earlier. Israel's largest labor union announced a general strike starting Monday until the government signs a deal. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have surged into the streets in an outpouring of grief and anger after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza. We talk with Costanza Musu, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. European Union High Representative Josep Borrell urged Ukraine’s international backers to lift restrictions preventing use of their weapons systems on Russian soil. And George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s new movie gets little theater play going almost straight to Apple TV+. It’s the new way of doing business, says Clooney.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Paris — Paralympic triathlon competitions in Paris scheduled for Sunday were postponed for a day because of concerns about water quality in the Seine River after heavy rainfall, organizers said. The 11 para triathlon events are now scheduled for Monday, the Paris 2024 organizing committee and World Triathlon said in a joint statement. Rainstorms hit the French capital Friday and Saturday. Heavy rains cause wastewater and runoff to flow into the river, leading to a rise in bacteria levels including E. Coli. "It rained a lot Friday and then it also rained Saturday. So the international federation and the organizing committee ... out of a principle of precaution decided to delay all of the events for a day," Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan told reporters. While organizers awaited new test results, Rabadan said "the trend is actually positive to being able to have the competition tomorrow morning." Late Sunday night, organizers confirmed the races would go ahead Monday, saying in a statement that new water testing results and monitoring ''indicate that water quality continues to improve and will be within the World Triathlon thresholds on race day.'' This was the second scheduled change for the para triathlon events. They had initially been scheduled to take place over two days, Sunday and Monday, but were moved to Sunday because of rain forecasts. The disruption is another hiccup for the city's efforts to clean up the river for future public swimming, one of Paris' most ambitious promises ahead of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics this summer. The men's individual triathlon event during the Paris Olympics was delayed and several test swims were canceled because of high E. coli levels after rainstorms. Lazreg Benel-Hadj, vice president of the French Swimming Federation, said that while some of the 53 athletes who took part in Olympic swimming competitions in the Seine fell ill afterward, none of those illnesses "was linked to the water in the Seine." Rabadan reiterated that athletic events in the river would continue past the Paralympics. "Yes, for sure, we will continue," he said. "We'll continue to have competition in the river. So many reasons for that. First one because athletes are happy with that, and second one because the quality of water will permit it in the future. So we will keep going on that way. And that's a massive legacy of the games."

Sacramento, California — California lawmakers approved a host of proposals this week aiming to regulate the artificial intelligence industry, combat deepfakes and protect workers from exploitation by the rapidly evolving technology. The California Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, is voting on hundreds of bills during its final week of the session to send to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Their deadline is Saturday. The Democratic governor has until Sept. 30 to sign the proposals, veto them or let them become law without his signature. Newsom signaled in July he will sign a proposal to crack down on election deepfakes but has not weighed in on other legislation. He warned earlier this summer that overregulation could hurt the homegrown industry. In recent years, he often has cited the state’s budget troubles when rejecting legislation that he would otherwise support. Here is a look at some of the AI bills lawmakers approved this year. Combating deepfakes Citing concerns over how AI tools are increasingly being used to trick voters and generate deepfake pornography of minors, California lawmakers approved several bills this week to crack down on the practice. Lawmakers approved legislation to ban deepfakes related to elections and require large social media platforms to remove the deceptive material 120 days before Election Day and 60 days thereafter. Campaigns also would be required to publicly disclose if they’re running ads with materials altered by AI. A pair of proposals would make it illegal to use AI tools to create images and videos of child sexual abuse. Current law does not allow district attorneys to go after people who possess or distribute AI-generated child sexual abuse images if they cannot prove the materials are depicting a real person. Tech companies and social media platforms would be required to provide AI detection tools to users under another proposal. Setting safety guardrails California could become the first state in the nation to set sweeping safety measures on large AI models. The legislation sent by lawmakers to the governor’s desk requires developers to start disclosing what data they use to train their models. The efforts aim to shed more light into how AI models work and prevent future catastrophic disasters. Another measure would require the state to set safety protocols preventing risks and algorithmic discrimination before agencies could enter any contract involving AI models used to define decisions. Protecting workers Inspired by the monthslong Hollywood actors strike last year, lawmakers approved a proposal to protect workers, including voice actors and audiobook performers, from being replaced by their AI-generated clones. The measure mirrors language in the contract the SAG-AFTRA made with studios last December. State and local agencies would be banned from using AI to replace workers at call centers under one of the proposals. California also may create penalties for digitally cloning dead people without consent of their estates. Keeping up with the technology As corporations increasingly weave AI into Americans' daily lives, state lawmakers also passed several bills to increase AI literacy. One proposal would require a state working group to consider incorporating AI skills into math, science, history and social science curriculums. Another would develop guidelines on how schools could use AI in the classrooms.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Columbus, Ohio — A federal judge has blocked a new law banning foreign nationals and green card holders from contributing to state ballot campaigns in Ohio on the grounds that it curtails constitutionally protected free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Michael Watson wrote Saturday that while the government has an interest in preventing foreign influence on state ballot issues, the law as written falls short of that goal and instead harms the First Amendment rights of lawful permanent residents. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the measure June 2, and it was to have taken effect Sunday. A prominent Democratic law firm filed suit — saying noncitizens would be threatened with investigation, criminal prosecution, and mandatory fines — if they even indicate they intend to engage in any election-related spending or contributions. Watson said lawful permanent residents can serve in the military and, depending on age, must register for selective service. Thus, the judge said, it would be “absurd” to allow or compel such people “to fight and die for this country” while barring them “from making incidental expenditures for a yard-sign that expresses a view on state or local politics.” “Where is the danger of people beholden to foreign interests higher than in the U.S. military? Nowhere," he wrote. "So, if the U.S. Federal Government trusts (such residents) to put U.S. interests first in the military (of all places), how could this Court hold that it does not trust them to promote U.S. interests in their political spending? It cannot.” Not only is the speech of lawful resident foreign nationals constitutionally protected, but so is the right of U.S. citizens "to hear those foreign nationals’ political speech,” Watson said. Seeking a narrow solution without changing the statute from the bench, he said he was barring officials from pursuing civil or criminal liability for alleged violations of Ohio law based on the definition of a “foreign national.” Statehouse Republicans championed the ban after voters decisively rejected their positions on ballot measures last year, including protecting abortion access in the state Constitution, turning back a bid to make it harder to pass future constitutional amendments, and legalizing recreational marijuana. Political committees involved in the former two efforts took money from entities that had received donations from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss. However, any direct path from Wyss to the Ohio campaigns is untraceable under campaign finance laws left unaddressed in the Ohio law. Wyss lives in Wyoming. John Fortney, a spokesperson for Republican Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, argued that the filing of the lawsuit proves that Democrats are reliant on the donations of wealthy foreign nationals and accused the progressive left of an "un-American sellout to foreign influence.” A decision to include green card holders in the ban was made on the House floor, against the advice of the chamber’s No. 3 Republican, state Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati attorney. Seitz cited a U.S. Supreme Court opinion suggesting that extending such prohibitions to green card holders “would raise substantial questions” of constitutionality. The suit was filed on behalf of OPAWL – Building AAPI Feminist Leadership, the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, a German citizen and her husband who live in Cleveland and a Canadian citizen who lives in Silver Lake, a suburb of Kent. OPAWL is an organization of Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander women and nonbinary people in Ohio. The lawsuit also argued that the law violated the 14th Amendment rights of the plaintiffs, but the judge said he wasn't addressing their equal protection arguments since they were likely to prevail on the First Amendment arguments.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.