SEATTLE RED

What will history say?

May 30, 2020, 12:15 PM

What will history say about this pandemic and the way our leaders coped with it? In the five months remaining before the election, if the rate of death and infection goes down sharply, the economy will continue to re-open and both voters and historians will credit President Trump, for all his shortcomings and distractions, with effective leadership.

If, however, deaths continue at a rate of 1,000 a day or, even worse, we see a “second wave” of autumn infection, there will be irresistible pressure for new lockdowns and quarantines and the Trump presidency may be judged a failure.

The idea that leaders must prioritize either economic recovery or public health is a delusion: if our health suffers, the economy suffers with it, but if the pandemic comes under control, business can begin to recover. Either way, those who dismissed the current crisis as merely a hoax will be utterly discredited when the histories are written.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., walks onto the stage during a Get Out the Vote campaign event supportin...

Associated Press

Sen. Bernie Sanders unveils bill to ban artificial superintelligence and create Department of AI

Washington (AP) — Two leading progressive lawmakers, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar, are unveiling legislation Wednesday that would ban artificial superintelligence and create a federal agency to oversee advanced AI as some of the industry’s own leaders urge Congress to impose guardrails on the advancing technology. The bill, provided first to The Associated […]

49 minutes ago

Deoujahne Darc performs during Skid Row's first annual talent show in downtown Los Angeles, Saturda...

Associated Press

At a talent show on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, the performers are all part of the homeless community

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wearing shiny heels, a thrifted dress and a red rose in her hair, Deoujahne Darc belted out an original song on a small, makeshift stage in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. “I saw the Lord in the face of a homeless man,” she sang, as the crowd swayed along. […]

2 hours ago

FILE- A worker passes by robots from Chinese company Lens at the China International Supply Chain E...

Associated Press

A look at AI doomsday scenarios that researchers say could put humanity at risk

For years, artificial intelligence researchers have warned of ways the technology could wipe out humanity: AI bots could design an unstoppable disease, unleash a nuclear war, or transform all of Earth into paper clip factories, as one thought experiment goes. Debates inside the AI industry and beyond over the plausibility of these doomsday scenarios have […]

3 hours ago

An individual watches a protester scale a light pole and unfurl a banner to protest the upcoming St...

Associated Press

Taiwan is watching closely as Xi and Trump meet and hopes US will keep up its arms sales

TAINAN, Taiwan (AP) — As China’s Xi Jinping arrives in Washington to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, Taiwan expressed confidence that U.S. arms sales to the island that Beijing claims as its own will continue — despite China’s pressure. China has pressed Washington to halt the arms sales, most prominently during a summit in […]

3 hours ago

A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S...

Associated Press

Asian shares are mixed and oil prices fall after Trump says US and Iran met at the UN

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street held near its record and oil prices fell following U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks that United States and Iranian officials had a “very good” meeting Tuesday on the sidelines at the United Nations. U.S. futures were higher. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.5% to […]

4 hours ago

Henry Bailey, 7, from Kentucky signs his name to a tribute sign to the late Dolly Parton before a N...

Associated Press

Dolly Parton’s estate accuses her nephew of threatening violence and to destroy his aunt’s legacy

Dolly Parton ‘s estate accused the country music icon’s nephew of threatening to commit violence and destroy his aunt’s legacy and business empire in court filings submitted Tuesday and asked a judge to keep him away from its employees and business dealings. Court documents filed in Nashville offer the first signs of discord in a […]

4 hours ago

What will history say?