A new test for computers: grading essays at college level
Imagine taking a college exam and, instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a few weeks later, clicking the “send” button when you are done and receiving a grade back instantly, your essay scored by a software program.
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American flags mixed with Revolutionary War banners that warned, “Don’t Tread on Me.’’ Dire predictions of tyranny spurred cries of defiance from 1,000 people on Boston Common.
Connecticut legislators agree on sweeping gun control laws
HARTFORD, Conn. — More than three months after the massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., legislative leaders announced on Monday that they had agreed on what they called the most far-reaching gun-legislation package in the country.
US sees North Korea blustering, not acting
WASHINGTON — Despite a drumbeat of increasingly bellicose threats from North Korea, the White House said Monday that there was no evidence that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, was mobilizing troops or other military forces for any imminent attack.
Low-cost drugs in poor nations get lift in court
NEW DELHI — People in developing countries in Africa and Asia will continue to have access to low-cost copycat versions of drugs for diseases like HIV and cancer, at least for a while.
Cold and breezy, then back to normal
Yesterday afternoon, a cold front pushed through our area, bringing with it strong winds and rain showers. The rain showers are gone today, but the strong winds will remain, ushering in a cold air mass from the west. Winds will be strong throughout the day, with speeds in the 15-25 mph range gusting upwards of 30 mph at times.
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SHANGHAI — Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, took the unusual step Monday of apologizing to Chinese customers over the company’s warranty policy and said he would improve customer service in the country.
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NEW YORK — For a political acolyte of Rudolph W. Giuliani, a ferocious rhetorical bomb-thrower, Joseph J. Lhota has proved an oddly mild candidate so far, repeatedly holding his fire — and his tongue — since declaring his Republican campaign for mayor of New York three months ago.
Ruling sets stage for pension battle in bankrupt city
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled Monday that the city of Stockton, Calif., was eligible for court protection from its creditors, clearing the way for a battle over whether public workers’ pensions can be cut when the city they work for goes bankrupt.
Gorbachev criticizes Putin and his restrictions
MOSCOW — Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last president of the Soviet Union, now 82 and increasingly frail, may have needed a helping hand to climb on stage for a speech at the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency. Oratorically, however, he seemed nimble enough, delivering a sharp poke in the gut to President Vladimir V. Putin and the Kremlin.
Breezy conditions and seasonal temperatures
An area of low pressure just offshore will slowly drift away today, allowing for clear skies to overspread our region. The low pressure brought some snow yesterday and slick conditions in areas closer to Cape Cod. Any chances for light snow will occur early this morning. By afternoon and evening, skies should become partly cloudy and winds will increase.
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NEW YORK — A man who prosecutors said was an overseas operative of al-Qaida during the years following the Sept. 11 attacks was charged in Brooklyn with a host of terrorism charges, in the latest example of a foreigner accused of acts of terrorism abroad being extradited to American courts.
Cyberattacks freeze South Korean computer networks
SEOUL, South Korea — Computer networks running three major South Korean banks and the country’s two largest broadcasters were paralyzed Wednesday in attacks that some experts suspected originated in North Korea, which has consistently threatened to cripple its far richer neighbor.
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SYDNEY — The embattled prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, was fighting for her political life Thursday after she accepted a public demand for a leadership ballot put forward by a senior lawmaker from her ruling Labor Party, who said that the party’s only hope of prevailing in upcoming elections was to return to office the man Gillard deposed in a 2010 party coup.
Document shows Abbas’ desire to resume Israeli talks
CAIRO — President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is so eager to return to peace talks with the Israelis that he may soften his demand that Israel’s president publicly pledge to halt construction of new settlements on Palestinian land before such negotiations can resume.
Fed to maintain stimulus efforts despite jobs growth
WASHINGTON — Employment has been increasing at a healthy clip for the last few months, but the Federal Reserve is not ready to relax just yet.
Obama warns Syrians on use of chemical weapons
JERUSALEM — Showing solidarity with Israel’s growing concern about chemical weapons in neighboring Syria, President Barack Obama stated bluntly Wednesday that if an investigation he had ordered found proof that the Syrian military had used such weapons it would be a “game changer” in U.S. involvement in the civil war there.
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Adrian Nastase, the former Romanian prime minister, will be released early from prison after serving nine months of a two-year term for corruption, a Bucharest court ruled Monday.
Use of generics produces a drop in drug spending
Spending on prescription drugs nationwide has been slowing for years because of the increasingly widespread use of low-cost generics. But in 2012, something unheard-of happened: Money spent on prescription drugs actually dropped.
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Saying that “gay rights are human rights,” Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state and potential 2016 presidential candidate, has endorsed same-sex marriage.