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New iPhone feature can replicate user's voice in 15 minutes: Apple

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

(NewsNation) — Amid a new wave of artificial intelligence, Apple iPhones will soon be able to speak in their users' voices, the tech company announced on Tuesday.The new iPhone feature, Personal Voice, will give users randomized text prompts to generate 15 minutes of audio. Another feature, Live Speech, will allow users to save commonly used phrases for the device to speak during phone calls and in-person conversations.Apple said it will use machine learning, a type of AI, to create the voice on the device itself, rather than externally, so the data can be more secure and private.The tech giant notes that these tools will help users who are speech-impaired. For example, a man who was diagnosed with ALS and is losing his ability to speak said, "If you can tell them you love them, in a voice that sounds like you, it makes all the difference in the world." But critics say this could pose security and privacy threats in the future. Montana becomes 1st state in nation to ban TikTo...

Disney World's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will make its final voyage this fall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) – Walt Disney World announced Thursday that its Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser will permanently close this fall after opening over a year ago. The Starcruiser, which opened in March 2022, offered guests a three-day, two-night Star Wars adventure on a cruise ship, where families could become fully engulfed in the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order. Disney scraps plans for new Florida campus as fight with Gov. Ron DeSantis continues Upon opening, the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser was sold out but then saw a wave of mass cancellations. According to Walt Disney News Today, the hotel experience was completely booked before the grand opening. Disney released the following statement on the matter: Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is one of our most creative projects ever and has been praised by our guests and recognized for setting a new bar for innovation and immersive entertainment. This premium, boutique experience gave us the opportunity to tr...

'Bright and talented young woman': Ortralla Mosley honored at Texas Capitol Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's been 20 years since Ortralla Mosley was stabbed to death at Reagan High School in Austin. On Thursday, the Texas House of Representatives gathered at the Texas Capitol to commemorate the life and legacy of Mosley.On March 28, 2003, Mosley was 15 years old when she was violently attacked by her ex-boyfriend at the high school, according to a news release from the Texas Advocacy Project.Carolyn White-Mosley became an advocate for teen dating violence awareness and prevention after the death of her daughter.White-Mosley's efforts have empowered survivors and led to statewide and national policy changes, the release said.In 2005, Ortralla's story inspired the Texas Advocacy Project to start the Teen Justice Initiative going into schools to provide free legal services to teens experiencing dating violence, the release said.Ortralla was remembered Thursday as more than just a victim, the nonprofit said."We honor her memory and celebrate her legacy as a bright and tal...

Austin has MLS' 5th-highest payroll; who makes the most?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC announced a contract extension for star midfielder Sebastian Driussi in February, saying there was "worldwide interest" in him following his fantastic 2022 season. According to data released Tuesday by the Major League Soccer Players Association, the club opened up its checkbook to keep him in Austin.MLS Players Association salary chart The players union published player salary data for all MLS teams, and along with signing and other applicable bonuses, Driussi's guaranteed yearly paycheck is $6.02 million, about three times more than he was making in his previous contract. His base salary is $3.8 million with his bonuses nearly doubling it to make up his total.Compared with the rest of the league, Driussi is the fifth-highest-paid player in terms of guaranteed compensation. Chicago's Xherdan Shaqiri is the league's highest earner at $8.15 million, followed by Toronto's Lorenzo Insigne at $7.5 million and LA Galaxy's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez at $7.44 m...

Man arrested after $385K worth of cocaine found in vehicle in Fayette County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

FAYETTE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- A man was arrested Tuesday after the Fayette County Sheriff's Office found 13 bundles of cocaine with a street value of $385,000 in his vehicle, according to a FCSO news release.Shortly before 8 a.m., FCSO Drug Interdiction Investigator David Smith made a traffic stop on Interstate 10 at the 668 mile marker eastbound near Engle for a traffic violation, the release said.Smith found "several criminal indicators" and was given consent to search the vehicle, the release said. During the search, a concealed compartment was found in the trunk floor area, and Smith found 13 bundles of cocaine in the compartment. The release said a total of 11 kilos were seized.The Fayette County Sheriff's Office found 11 kilos worth of cocaine during a traffic stop on Tuesday, May 16. | Image courtesy of FCSOJoshua Joe Rosas, 22, of Rio Grande City, was identified as the driver of the vehicle and was taken to the Dan R. Beck Justice Center, the release said.Rosas was charged...

With a few days remaining, here’s what the Minnesota Legislature has left to do

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

Time is running out for Minnesota lawmakers to strike a big bipartisan deal at the Capitol.The Legislature has to adjourn by midnight on Monday and so far the new Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party trifecta in control of state government hasn’t found much in the way of agreement with Republicans. Lawmakers have passed nearly a dozen budget bills so far and most of them were approved along party lines.That doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance for a deal. There are still significant budget bills that need to be completed, including those dealing with taxes, health and human services, transportation and state infrastructure projects.The infrastructure bill — called a bonding bill because the state typically borrows money to fund capital projects — is the vehicle for a compromise because it requires a super majority in both chambers.In exchange for votes on an infrastructure bill, Senate Republicans have pushed DFLers to return more of the state’s $17.5 billi...

Meet D’Arcy Drollinger, a drag queen who’s now the first drag laureate in the U.S.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Anti-trans legislation is roiling the nation. Bills prohibiting drag performances are cropping up in statehouses. Violence and vitriol are turning children’s drag story hour events into headline-news protests.San Francisco is fighting back Thursday by naming the nation’s first drag laureate, an ambassador-style position designed to represent the city’s famous LGBTQ+ community at a time when rights are under attack.In a city known for its support of LGBTQ+ rights, San Francisco Mayor London Breed says it was a natural step to create a position that not only embraces drag culture but puts government resources toward it. D’Arcy Drollinger, a well-known drag performer and nightclub owner, will receive a $55,000 stipend in her 18-month role as the city’s inaugural drag laureate.“My goals are to make San Francisco sparkle. I think drag performers bring a lot of sparkle and humor and glamor and silliness to the world. I think that is part of why drag is so ...

Push to legalize sports betting in Minnesota on the ropes at the Legislature

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

Efforts to legalize sports betting appear to have folded at the Minnesota Legislature for lack of time.House Speaker Melissa Hortman said passage of legislation legalizing sports gambling was unlikely to make it to the floor for a vote this session.“I think we are probably out of time,” Hortman said during a Thursday afternoon news conference. “In the House it has two or three more committees. We are not going to be able to take people away from the floor to have that move through the committees that it would need to.”Getting a legal sports betting bill through both chambers would almost certainly take bipartisan support, at least in the Senate, and Republicans and Democrats don’t appear to have a finalized agreement.The Minnesota Legislature must adjourn by midnight May 22 and lawmakers have several massive bills they need to approve before then to finalize a nearly $72 billion two-tear budget.Supporters of legalized sports betting have pushed for it u...

First full-size 3D scan of Titanic shows shipwreck in new light

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

LONDON — Deep-sea researchers have completed the first full-size digital scan of the Titanic, showing the entire wreck in unprecedented detail and clarity, the companies behind a new documentary on the wreck said Thursday.Using two remotely operated submersibles, a team of researchers spent six weeks last summer in the North Atlantic mapping the whole shipwreck and the surrounding 3-mile debris field, where personal belongings of the ocean liner’s passengers, such as shoes and watches, were scattered.Richard Parkinson, founder and chief executive of deep-sea exploration firm Magellan, estimated that the resulting data — including 715,000 images — is 10 times larger than any underwater 3D model ever attempted before.“It’s an absolutely one-to-one digital copy, a ‘twin,’ of the Titanic in every detail,” said Anthony Geffen, head of documentary maker Atlantic Productions.The Titanic was on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City when it hit an iceberg off Newfound...

F.D. Flam: Do earlier, annual mammograms save more lives?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:14 GMT

Mainstream medical opinion holds that screening mammography is a lifesaving procedure. But doctors disagree over how often women should be screened for breast cancer. Last week, a panel of doctors known as the US Preventive Service Task Force revived the debate over mammographs by issuing a new recommendation. Their old guidelines advised starting at age 50 and getting screened every other year; the new ones keep the every-other-year recommendation but lower the starting age to 40.Despite the new recommendations, many doctors will maintain that an annual mammogram is a necessity for me and every other woman over 40. But a growing faction warn screening healthy women this frequently might do more harm than good.I haven’t chosen to get mammograms more than every other year — despite some protests from my doctors. The ideal schedule has to take into account the latest data on risks and benefits. Recent studies show every-other-year screenings still catch tumors early enough...