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ChatGPT-maker OpenAI hosts its first big tech showcase as the AI startup faces growing competition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT has invited hundreds of software developers to its first developer conference Monday, embracing a Silicon Valley tradition for technology showcases that Apple helped pioneer decades ago.The path to OpenAI’s debut DevDay has been an unusual one. Founded as a nonprofit research institute in 2015, it catapulted to worldwide fame just under a year ago with the release of a chatbot that’s sparked excitement, fear and a push for international safeguards to guide AI’s rapid advancement.The San Francisco conference comes a week after President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will set some of the first U.S. guardrails on AI technology.Using the Defense Production Act, the order requires AI developers likely to include OpenAI, its financial backer Microsoft and competitors such as Google and Meta to share information with the government about AI systems being built with such “high levels of perf...

Book Review: Solitary writer ruminates on grief, love and writing during pandemic’s first spring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

The flood of pandemic literature shows no sign of letting up. In the three-plus years since the COVID-19 lockdown, we have seen fiction from the likes of Gary Shteyngart, Elizabeth Strout and many others. Now Sigrid Nunez, author of “Sempre Susan: A Memoir of Susan Sontag” and the National Book Award-winning “The Friend,” has written a pandemic novel called “The Vulnerables.”The title refers to the groups of people, including the elderly, considered at high risk of getting severely ill at the start of the pandemic in spring 2020. The unnamed narrator, a stand-in for the 72-year-old author, is among them.In the publishing world “The Vulnerables” is classified as a novel but it more often reads like an elegant, funny essay about what it felt like to be stuck in New York City in the early days of the lockdown, when your wealthier friends fled to their country houses, leaving you alone with a bad case of writer’s block.The narrator broods about the writing life even though she knows tha...

King Charles III will preside over Britain’s State Opening of Parliament, where pomp meets politics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Yeomen of the guard, a diamond-studded crown and an official known as Black Rod — they’re all ingredients of Britain’s State Opening of Parliament, an event where centuries-old ritual meets modern-day politics.On Tuesday, King Charles III will sit on a gilded throne and read out the King’s Speech, a list of planned laws drawn up by the U.K.’s Conservative government and aimed at winning over voters before the country’s general election next year.The king is performing a role that his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, fulfilled for seven decades and other British monarchs carried out before her in a tradition stretching back hundreds of years.WHAT HAPPENS AT THE STATE OPENING?Britain holds elections every four or five years, with the government’s term divided into Parliament sessions that are roughly a year long. Each begins with a grand State Opening ceremony, where politicians and the monarch symbolically enact the tussle between Crown and Parliament ...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 12-18

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Nov. 12-18:Nov. 12: Singer Brian Hyland is 80. Playwright-actor Wallace Shawn (“The Princess Bride”) is 80. Keyboardist Booker T. Jones of Booker T. and the MG’s is 79. Sportscaster Al Michaels is 79. Singer Neil Young is 78. Guitarist Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult is 76. Country singer Barbara Fairchild is 73. Actor Megan Mullally (“Will and Grace”) is 65. Bassist David Ellefson (Megadeth) is 59. Actor Rebecca Wisocky (“Ghosts,” “Devious Maids”) is 52. Actor Radha Mitchell (“Finding Neverland”) is 50. Actor Tamala Jones (“Castle,” ″The Brothers”) is 49. Actor Angela Watson (“Step By Step”) is 49. Singer Tevin Campbell is 47. Actor Ashley Williams (“Huff,” ″Good Morning, Miami”) is 45. Actor Cote de Pablo (“NCIS”) is 44. Actor Ryan Gosling is 43. Bassist Chris Huffman of Casting Crowns is 43. Actor Anne Hathaway is 41. Singer Omarion (B2K) is 39. Drummer Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes is 33.Nov. 13: Actor Jimmy Hawkins (“It’s A Wonderful Life”) is 8...

Cubs bringing back Hendricks, Gomes for 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Pitcher Kyle Hendricks' $16 million option for 2024 was exercised Sunday by the Chicago Cubs, who also exercised a $6 million option on catcher Yan Gomes.Chicago's decision made Hendricks' contract worth $70 million over five seasons, and Gomes' deal became guaranteed for at least $18 million over three years. Hendricks would have been due a $1.5 million buyout if the option had been declined and Gomes would have been due $1 million had his option been turned down.Hendricks, a 33-year-old right-hander, was 6-8 with a 3.74 ERA in 24 starts this year. He made his season debut on May 25 after recovering from a capsular tear in his right shoulder sustained in July 2022.Hendricks is 93-69 with a 3.48 ERA in 246 starts and one relief appearance over 10 major league seasons, all with the Cubs.Gomes, 36, hit .267 with 20 doubles, 10 homers and 63 RBIs, throwing out 25 of 85 runners attempting to steal. He earned $500,000 in performance bonuses for starts.Gomes has a .248 aver...

New York landlord accused of setting fire to home with 8 tenants inside over unpaid rent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WPIX) - A New York landlord accused of setting a building on fire with his tenants inside has been arrested a month after the alleged incident, authorities said Sunday.Rafiqul Islam is accused of setting fire to the stairs inside the Brooklyn home on Sept. 26, according to the Fire Department of the City of New York. Islam was angry that his second-floor tenants stopped paying rent and refused to move out, FDNY officials said. Islam allegedly set the fire with two adults and six children inside the home, officials said.All eight people were able to escape the fire, according to the FDNY. Car splits in half after crashing into pole on Long Island; driver charged with DUI: NCPD Before the fire, Islam allegedly threatened to cut off his tenant's gas and electricity. He also threatened to set the home on fire if the rent continued to go unpaid, officials said.Officials said a video showed a man wearing a mask and a hood enter and leave the home before the call to 91...

Former Missouri teacher made nearly $1 million from OnlyFans account

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (KTVI) - Brianna Coppage, a former Missouri high school teacher, says she made nearly $1 million from the OnlyFans account that got her in trouble with her school system. Coppage, who was an English teacher and cheerleading coach at St. Clair High School, was placed on leave from the school and ultimately resigned. Nexstar's KTVI first learned she was placed on leave in September after reportedly supplementing her teaching salary using the account on the adult content platform.In a recent FOX News digital report, Coppage revealed that she made almost $1 million from the account. She clarified that the account had no connection to her work responsibilities through the school district and that she invested in it exclusively during her personal time. Coppage also revealed that various financial challenges played a role in making the account. Second Missouri teacher suspended for OnlyFans account "I started it, one, to supplement my income, see what happens, and possib...

Study: Drought a key factor in Central American migration to the United States

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Despite a focus on crime, poverty, and political unrest in Central America, weather conditions appear to be among the most significant factors when it comes to predicting immigration to the United States' southern border.A study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Utah tracked more than 323,000 migrants traveling with family from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.It found that conditions one standard deviation drier than usual contributed to a nearly 71% increase in migration to the U.S. The data was gathered based on U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions between 2012 and 2018, along with weather data from the cities where migrants reported being from.When compared to the impacts of social and economic issues, University of Texas Professor Josh Busby said weather conditions were, "as, if not more important."Dr. Busby was previously a senior climate advisor in the Biden administration and is one of the study's co-authors. As for wh...

Inside The Galway Local, the community's new grocery store and café

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

GALWAY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A new grocery store and café has officially opened in Galway. The Galway Local opened on Friday, November 3. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Owner Jessica Bellone is running The Galway Local with her two daughters, Georgia and Lauren. The grocery store and cafe is located in the former Chuck's Store space.Located at 5306 Sacandaga Road in Galway, Chuck's Store closed in 2016 when the owners retired after 58 years. The space sat vacant until Bellone took over ownership. New owner reviving Chuck’s Store in Galway The Galway Local serves hot and cold food for dine-in and takeout including breakfast sandwiches, pastries, parfaits, burgers, soup and more. Grocery items include bottled drinks, fresh produce, canned and packaged goods, household products, and items from local vendors.The Galway Local on Sacandaga Road (photo: Sara Rizzo)The Galway Local on Sacandaga Road (photo: Sara Rizzo)The Galway Local o...

Veterans can get a free car wash at Hoffman Car Wash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:40 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Veterans and active duty military personnel will get a free car wash at Hoffman Car Wash locations on Friday and Saturday. The event is part of Hoffman Car Wash’s “Practice Kindness” initiative, aiming to spread positivity and goodwill in the communities it serves. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Military personnel are not required to present their ID. The event will run on the honor system. More information is available online.This will be the 18th consecutive year Hoffman's will be showing appreciation to the men and women who've served the United States. Since 2006, Hoffman's has washed approximately 70,000 vehicles belonging to servicemen and women during the Veterans Day event.