World News Coverage

06/11/2015

SAN FRANCISCO — Google, famous for its ambitious projects to build self-driving cars and high-altitude balloons that beam the Internet to earth, is now taking aim at fixing another major problem: city life.

The new initiative called Sidewalk Labs will use technology and innovation to improve urban life at a time when the U.S. population is gravitating to cities, according to Google Chief Executive Larry Page.

Based in New York, it will be run by Dan Doctoroff, a former deputy mayor of New York City who will combine his experience in managing cities with funding from Google.

"Sidewalk will focus on improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies to address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage," Page said in a Google+ post.

06/11/2015

Damage estimate tops $9 million

Grady County Assessor Bari Firestone said county property sustained $9.5 million in damage due to the May 6 tornadoes and storms, mostly in the Bridge Creek area. Oklahoma County’s chief deputy assessor previously reported nearly $7 million in damage in Oklahoma County. Several businesses in south Oklahoma City sustained significant damage and continue to recover. Big Bob’s Flooring, 4600 S Interstate 35 Service Road, lost its showroom but not its inventory and continues to do business, according to its website. Wheeler’s Meat Market, 1524 SE 44, remains closed but plans to rebuild, its website says.

06/03/2015

If you've had your fill of superhero and dinosaur flicks this summer, then check out "Entourage" now that Jeremy Piven, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara are reprising the roles they made famous on the HBO series.

It's a fun and funny inside look at Hollywood, and for celebrity watchers, chockfull of cameos by such notables as Liam Neeson Tom Brady, Calvin Harris, Jessica Alba, Pharrell Williams, Andrew Dice Clay, David Spade, Kelsey Grammer, Ed O'Neill, Warren Buffett, and Mark Wahlberg, among others.

Ali Larter saved the day.

06/03/2015

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its global growth forecast, saying investment is lagging and risks including a possible Greek default are hurting confidence.
The world economy will expand 3.1 percent this year, down from the 3.7 percent predicted last October, the Paris-based organization said in a semi-annual report. That compares with global growth of about 3.9 percent a year on average in the decade through 2011. Last year, the world economy grew 3.3 percent.

U.S. Outlook

The OECD sees the U.S. economy expanding 2 percent this year, down from 2.4 percent in 2014. As recently as March, it predicted U.S. growth of 3.1 percent in 2015. China will grow 6.8 percent this year, down from 7.4 percent, the OECD said.
Growth in the euro area is improving, meaning the region is making a positive contribution to growth this year, in contrast to the recent past. Spurred by unprecedented stimulus by the European Central Bank, gross domestic product in the 19-nation bloc is set to grow 1.4 percent this year, up from 0.9 in 2014, the OECD said.
“The euro zone is the bright picture,” Mann said. “It is enjoying the effective policy action on the part of the ECB and the associated currency depreciation, as well as low oil prices.”
Still, Europe could draw more out of the recovery by easing fiscal policy and stepping up public investment, Mann said.

06/03/2015

Alton Towers witness 'heard loud bang'

An eyewitness has described watching a carriage filled with 16 people crash into an empty stationary one on the Smiler ride at Alton Towers, leaving four people seriously injured.
Scott Ryan, originally from Caerphilly, was in the queue for the ride on Monday when the accident happened.
He told Radio Wales bystanders could see the stationary carriage at the bottom of a loop and realised what was going to happen before the impact occurred.
He said they heard a "loud bang, followed by silence". The theme park in Staffordshire was closed on Tuesday while an accident investigation takes place.