Abcnews

In dozens of U.S. cities, the next time you call 911, a drone might arrive before an officer does. The technology behind that—"Drone as First Responder," or DFR—has skyrocketed in popularity among police departments nationwide since the Federal Aviation Administration streamlined the process for agencies to adopt the program this spring. While it could previously take up to a year to get approval, it now often takes just days. Law enforcement and drone industry leaders praise the technology as lifesaving, with the potential to help authorities in situations ranging from missing persons cases to active shooter incidents. But critics worry the programs encourage mass surveillance and violate the public's privacy. "When you have a camera in the sky that can see things that police officers cannot normally see, that offers a huge potential for privacy invasion," said Beryl Lipton, a senior researcher with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital righ...

New York Rep. Ritchie Torres — one of the Democratic Party's most ardent Zionists — has begun questioning Israel as recent images of starving Palestinian children shock leaders around the world. Torres' shift is slight and nuanced. Yet coming from such a vocal defender of Israel, it signifies how moderate Democrats are backing away from the unqualified support for the Jewish state that has underscored the party for decades. And it comes as countries around the globe are reacting in horror at the famine gripping the region and reports of thousands of children dying of starvation as the Israeli military continues its offensive following Hamas’ October 7 attack. "All parties, including the U.S. and Israel, have a moral obligation to do everything in our power to ease the hardship and hunger that has taken hold in the Gaza Strip," Torres said in an interview last week. He insisted his long-held defense of Israel still stands. "I feel it's possible t...

Cracks appear in the U.S. jobs market. Trump fires labor statistics commissioner after jobs report. BYD records its first monthly delivery decline in 2025. U.S. stocks suffer their worst day in months. Robotaxis are becoming a reality, and some companies are poised to win. After U.S. jobs figures for May and June were significantly revised downward by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — cutting a combined 258,000 from previous figures — President Donald Trump, accusing BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of political bias and data manipulation, revised her employment status to "terminated." Government officials from both sides of the political spectrum had plenty to say about that. "Bottom line, Trump wants to cook the books," said Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Rand Paul told NBC News that "you can't really make the numbers different or better by firing the ...

Four months after the shows that prompted Zak Starkey's departure from The Who, Roger Daltrey has tried to set the record straight. Starkey and The Who have been in and out of the spotlight since April following the back-and-forth that Starkey had been Fired from the group, only to be welcomed back ahead of him Final departure – which Starkey clarified Was not him being "fired," but rather "retired." Initially, a spokesman for The Who had claimed that "the band made a collective decision to part ways with Zak after this round of shows at the Royal Albert Hall," referring to a pair of gigs the month prior. Addressing the gigs in an interview in June, Starkey detailed his version of what had happened at the shows in question. "What happened was I got it right and Roger got it wrong," he told The Telegraph . According to a report from The Who's Royal Albert Hall performance...

Over the past several decades, the U.S. stock market has yielded average annual returns of around 10% . What if those days are over? In recent forecasts, Vanguard projects the stock market will rise. by only 3.3% to 5.3% per year over the next decade. Morningstar sees U.S. stocks gaining 5.2% a year. Goldman Sachs forecasts the broad S&P 500 index will gain only 3% a year . Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. Those numbers are not outliers. A roundup of market predictions, charted by Morningstar , finds no one projecting annual returns higher than 6.7% for the domestic stock market in the next 10 years. In June, USA TODAY noted that many analysts predict the stock market will end the year with only modest gains . Some readers reacted with surprise, others with disbelief. Stock indexes have been posting record highs , despite persistent inflation, a weakening job market and higher import tariffs. ...

All the misleading hype about Social Security and tax cuts for seniors in "One Big Beautiful Bill" foreshadows one ugly scene after another at tax preparation offices next year. It's not going to be pretty when many poorly informed retirees file 2025 tax returns. "What do you mean I'm paying taxes on my Social Security benefits?" some are sure to ask. Already in July, I've seen social media posts from tax professionals who are dreading the day when they will have to say "welcome to reality" to their clients. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. Yes, your Social Security is still 85% taxable. "Yes, I know that's what Trump is still saying. But pay attention to what he signed, not what he says," he yelled for the 792,682,314th time into the void," posted Adam Markowitz, an enrolled agent in Florida, on X. What's sparking confusion for retirees about tax...