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☆ Friends From the Old Neighborhood Turn Rivals in Big Tech’s A.I. Race
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Cade Metz | Nico Grant | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Today, they are two of the most powerful executives in the tech industry’s race to build artificial intelligence. Dr. Hassabis, 47, is the chief executive of Google DeepMind, the tech giant’s central research lab for artificial intelligence. Mr. Suleyman, 39, was recently named chief executive of Microsoft AI, charged with overseeing the company’s push into A.I. In 2010, they were two of the three founders of DeepMind, a seminal A.I. research lab that was supposed to prevent the very thing they are now deeply involved in: an escalating race by profit-driven companies to build and deploy A.I.

Persons: Mustafa Suleyman, Hassabis, Demis, —, Suleyman Organizations: National Health Service, Queen Elizabeth’s, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, DeepMind Locations: Syrian, Cypriot, London

☆ Britain Memorializes a Queen, With Smiles and Bronze Corgis
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Alex Marshall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

On Sunday afternoon in Oakham, a quaint English market town, hundreds of local residents stood behind a temporary barrier and craned their necks to see the 50 or so dogs waddling past in the local library’s gardens. The yapping mutts were just a sideshow, however, to the main event, which was announced from a dais by Sarah Furness, a local dignitary: the unveiling of Britain’s first memorial statue to Queen Elizabeth II. The seven-foot bronze work, by the London-based sculptor Hywel Pratley, shows the queen in flowing robes, with three corgis at her feet. “What most of us remember about Queen Elizabeth is her warmth,” Furness said in a speech. “By showing Queen Elizabeth’s love of dogs, we show her humanity,” she added.

Persons: Sarah Furness, Britain’s, Queen Elizabeth II, Hywel Pratley, Queen Elizabeth, ” Furness, Queen Elizabeth’s, ” Organizations: corgi Locations: Oakham, London

☆ Food prices hold steady, but Americans have a beef with the cost of a burger
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

For burger proprietors — including smaller, mom-and-pop shops — and burger lovers alike, the price environment may not get any easier. Nearly eight decades later, the Owl Burger remains a draw, but it’s become noticeably more expensive since Covid. “Maybe 45 cents each year,” Argabright told CNN in an interview, adding that the Owl Burger sits at $7.95 now. “When you’re ordering pounds and pounds and pounds of it, it adds up pretty quick.”Beth Steele, founder of Beth's Burger Bar, in Edgewood, Florida. Where’s the beef price headedLike most aspects of inflation, there are several contributing factors behind higher burger prices.

Persons: that’s, ”, Tyler Schipper, Thomas, “ We’re, Wendy’s, Fries, Burger, Frank Chavez, it’s, Janice Argabright, ” Argabright, Beth Steele, Steele, “, hasn’t, we’re, Schipper, “ Don’t, ” Schipper Organizations: CNN, University of St, Trinity, Beth’s, Beth's, American Farm Bureau Federation Locations: Minnesota, San Antonio , New Mexico, Orlando, Beth’s Burger, Beth's Burger, Edgewood , Florida, Texas

☆ In ‘Elsbeth,’ a Quirky Side Character Becomes a Quirky Lead
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Elisabeth Vincentelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While filming the new crime show “Elsbeth” in an Upper West Side apartment in January, Carrie Preston, playing the title character, tentatively patted the guest star Peter Grosz on the arm. The combination of the gesture and Elsbeth’s hesitant expression made the attempt at comfort come across as simultaneously awkward and funny — and unmistakably true to the consistently awkward, funny Elsbeth. Robert King, who created the series with his wife, Michelle, and was directing that particular episode, chuckled in delight as he watched on a monitor. “That was probably not in the script.”Premiering Thursday on CBS, “Elsbeth” is a new project but Elsbeth herself is not. One reason Preston inhabits her fully enough to improvise such small, telling gestures is because she has been playing her for almost 14 years.

Persons: Carrie Preston, Peter Grosz, Robert King, Michelle, Jonathan Tolins, “, ”, Elsbeth, Preston, Elsbeth Tascioni, Columbo, Peter Falk Organizations: CBS Locations: Upper

☆ Opinion: In its final season, ‘The Crown’ has lost itself
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The most anticipated season of “The Crown” has arrived, and no one’s losing much sleep over the Queen this time. One of the many things that captivated viewers when “The Crown” arrived in 2016 was its cinematic scale. The lines between episodes one and three of season six, by contrast, are impossible to draw. As “The Crown” tells it, Al-Fayed’s relentless campaign to see his son Dodi and Diana engaged and thus secure British citizenship is almost as culpable for their deaths as the crash itself. Diana’s final night in Paris is rendered as the fatal culmination of Al-Fayed’s engineering of their relationship, and his pressure on Dodi to propose.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, ”, Holly Thomas Holly Thomas, Princess Diana, Elizabeth Debicki, irresistibly, Joy ”, Prince Phillip, Margaret, Diana, Prince Charles ’, Camilla Parker, Bowles, Mohamed Al, Dodi, Spencer, Diana cavorting, Margaret Thatcher, Prince Philip, Charles, paparazzo, Fayed, Harry, capitulates, Peter Morgan, Prince Charles, Salim Dau Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, Al Locations: London, Al, Paris

Cast members Jonny Lee Miller, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Jonathan Pryce, Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville attend the premiere for the TV series The Crown Season 5 in London, Britain, November 8, 2022. The two-part sixth, and final, season of “The Crown” explores Princess Diana’s final days before she perishes in a car accident. Debicki believes it’s a common experience for "The Crown" actors to struggle to “let go” and stop “observing” themselves while filming the show. Similarly, Khalid Abdalla - who portrays Dodi Fayed, Egyptian billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed's son, who was in a romantic relationship with Princess Diana - viewed his work with Debicki as a huge responsibility. He went into the final season also thinking about how the loss of Princess Diana is still a “cultural trauma” for “millions of people around the world.”Abdalla said the sacredness of what “The Crown” cast was recreating was something to which he wanted to give dignity.

Persons: Jonny Lee Miller, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Jonathan Pryce, Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, Henry Nicholls, Princess Diana, “, Debicki, Diana’s, Peter Morgan, Queen Elizabeth’s, ” Debicki, Khalid Abdalla, Dodi Fayed, Mohamed al, ”, ” Abdalla, Rollo Ross, Danielle Broadway, Mary Milliken, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Netflix, Debicki, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Tight margins made the difference for Springboks in win over France
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We knew it was going to be this tight. South Africa’s replacements outmuscled the tiring French and after Etzebeth’s try they went ahead and held on in the end to extinguish home hopes. “I must give credit to the guys that came off the bench, they came and made a huge difference,” added captain Siya Kolisi. In the knockout rounds anything can happen, there are going to be small margins right to the end," added Nienaber. And Mbonambi warned that South Africa’s defence of the title was not yet complete.

Persons: Jacques Nienaber, Eben Etzebeth, they’ve, Nienaber, Etzebeth’s, “, ”, Siya Kolisi, Mbonambi, “ We’ve, Mark Gleeson, Ken Ferris Organizations: France, South Africa, England, Stade de France, Springboks, Thomson Locations: South Africa, France, Paris

☆ Basketball-sized gold coin worth ‘around $23M’ honors late Queen Elizabeth II
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

It was produced by the East India Company, a luxury lifestyle brand with rights to the name of the corporation that once controlled large swathes of Britain’s empire. Businessman Sanjiv Mehta, who acquired the rights to the East India Company in 2005, poses with the diamond-encrusted coin. The East India Company said its multi-million-dollar valuation was partly due to the quality of the materials and crafting processes, which involved artisans and experts from the UK, India, Singapore, Germany and Sri Lanka. The original East India Company operated for almost 300 years before its dissolution in 1874. “The Crown” took over a year to produce, meaning that it was underway before Queen Elizabeth died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland last September.

Persons: Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth’s, Sanjiv Mehta, tiaras, ”, Queen Elizabeth, Mehta Organizations: CNN, East India Company, Sotheby’s, NBA, British Overseas, Government, Royal Household, Royal, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Locations: York, India, Singapore, Germany, Sri Lanka, Scotland, British Overseas Territory, St Helena

☆ ‘You Hurt My Feelings’ Review: She Can’t Handle the Truth
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Wesley Morris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“You Hurt My Feelings” sums up the Nicole Holofcener experience: funny in its wounded bluntness. Her characters — comfortable New Yorkers and Angelenos — tend to lash out; their preferred approach to honesty is brazenness. But Holofcener is drawn more to the process of healing than she is to the wielding of hurt. By that point the movie’s already shown us what Beth’s and Don’s lives are like, together and apart. One thing that’s probably kept the marriage firm has been saying “I love this” and “it’s great,” when it’s not.

☆ Fact Check-Image of Ron DeSantis in burger restaurant captured in May 2020
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An image of Florida governor Ron DeSantis sitting across from former vice president Mike Pence in a burger restaurant was captured in May 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing measures in restaurants were still in place. Some shared the image of Pence sitting across from DeSantis with the false claim that it was captured ahead of former president Donald Trump’s rally in Iowa on May 14 (here). IOWA — Just ahead of Trump’s rally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence sit down to eat in the same state” (here). DeSantis lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants in September 2020, months after the image of DeSantis and Pence was captured (here). The image of Pence and DeSantis dates to May 2020.

☆ Kate Winslet, Ben Whishaw win at BAFTA Television Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Kate Winslet and Ben Whishaw were among the winners at the BAFTA Television Awards in London on Sunday night, with the Oscar-winning actress using her acceptance speech to call for action against harmful content on social media. To people in power and to people who can make change: please, criminalise harmful content. Please eradicate harmful content. Dublin-set "Bad Sisters" won the drama series categories as well as a supporting actress prize for Anne-Marie Duff. A sketch showing the late monarch having tea with Paddington Bear, voiced by Whishaw, won the memorable moment award, voted for by the public.

☆ Fact Check-Sand on streets to protect horses, soldiers during King Charles’ coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An image of King Charles’ coach passing through London’s streets where patches of sand are visible was shared with the misleading suggestion that the sand temporarily filled potholes for the coronation day. A Westminster City Council spokesperson told Reuters that sand was used to cover drain holes and roads for the safety of the horses and is a standard practice. “The council works closely with the armed forces ahead of major events such as this to ensure the safety of horses and soldiers”, the spokesperson added. Reuters’ pictures from Queen Elizabeth’s funeral proceedings in Sept. 2022 show a similar use of sand on the roads (here), (here), (here). Sand was used to cover drains and inspection covers on the ceremonial coronation route for safe passage of horses, not cover potholes.

London CNN —The coronation of King Charles III on Saturday was a historic day, jam-packed with events – some planned, others not. The crowning eventCharles was hidden from view for the most dramatic part of the service at London’s Westminster Abbey on Saturday. King Charles III sits as he receives The St Edward's Crown during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. Lady in bluePenny Mordaunt leads King Charles III during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Queen Camilla and King Charles III arrive for their coronation at Westminster Abbey.

☆ Why Nearly All the King’s Realms Want to Say Goodbye and Good Riddance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For countries still constitutionally joined to the crown, Charles’s coronation arrived with little fanfare, and some cringing discomfort. In the wave of decolonization that followed World War II, dozens of independent countries climbed out from under British rule, including India, Pakistan and Nigeria. The 14 nations yet to do so stretch from Australia and Papua New Guinea to Canada and Jamaica. In some places that call the new 74-year-old sovereign their king, like the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu, there seems to be little interest in severing royal bonds. Oaths of allegiance have already been switched from queen to king in the courtrooms of remote capitals where wigs are still worn as if in 1680s London.

☆ What King Charles' coronation means for the UK economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But the UK economy as a whole could suffer as workers take an extra day’s holiday. John Lewis' Coronation Lewis Bear. John Lewis & PartnersDepartment store John Lewis has had to limit in-store purchases of its Coronation Lewis Bear to two per household, and the teddy is out of stock online. For the coronation, UK luxury brands “have procured unique merchandise at all levels of the economy and we’re seeing people buying it, particularly Americans and EU customers,” she added. (The coronation holiday will be the third holiday Monday this month.)

☆ The British Coronation: A TV Spectacle, Now for the Digital Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Alan Cowell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some members of the British hierarchy wished to keep cameras out of the inner sanctum of Westminster Abbey, where the queen was crowned. “The world would have been a happier place if television had never been discovered,” the Most Rev. Geoffrey F. Fisher, then the archbishop of Canterbury, who presided over the queen’s coronation, was quoted as saying. Where his mother’s crowning bathed the monarchy in uncontested splendor, Charles’s challenge is to focus a much more diffuse spotlight. While Elizabeth’s coronation required only around 20 cameras, Charles’s crowning is set to be broadcast on the BBC’s hi-definition iPlayer streaming service, alongside television coverage.

Jeremy Selwyn/WPA Pool/Getty Images Camilla stands next to Queen Elizabeth II during a Diamond Jubilee pageant on the River Thames in June 2012. Chris Jackson/Getty Images From left, Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attend the state opening of Parliament in May 2013. From left are Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis, Duchess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William. Frank Augstein/WPA Pool/Getty Images In pictures: Britain's Queen Camilla Prev NextShe reportedly met Prince Charles at a polo match in Windsor in 1970 and they became friends. From left are Camilla, Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Louis, Duchess Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince William.

☆ How Queen Elizabeth’s coronation helped start Matchbox cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Matchbox, maker of tiny toy cars, is bringing back one if its most important models. It’s not a car, but a little horse-drawn coach, and its success led to the creation of Matchbox toy cars. The new carriage will be in the traditional 1/64 scale used for Matchbox cars. Courtesy MattelDecades later, Elliot Handler, one of the founders of Mattel, noticed his son playing with Matchbox cars. Hot Wheels cars had flashy paint jobs, outsized wheels, impossibly huge (relatively speaking) plastic engines, and only occasionally looked like cars you might actually see on the street.

☆ Overlooked No More: Elizabeth Wagner Reed, Who Resurrected Legacies of Women in Science
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Rachel May | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Though Elizabeth’s name was listed first as author, a letter of acknowledgment calling the couple’s work “truly magnificent” referred to them as “Dr. In 1950, however, she published a paper on sexism in the sciences based on her study of 70 women working in the field. It found that marriage and childbirth decreased their productivity and sometimes even dissuaded them from continuing their careers. It led her to mentor women in the field through the advocacy group Graduate Women in Science. Reed wrote that it was a testimony to the strengths of these women that they pursued science despite the fact that they were “often denied entry to colleges and unable to attain professional status.”

☆ Spotlighting Lady Macbeth’s Anguish: Can What’s Done Be Undone?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Oussama Zahr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Macduff, the chorus, Macbeth’s big Act IV aria — all scrapped. In typical stagings, Lady Macbeth comes across as an unsubtle, unrepentant harridan whose abrupt crisis of conscience in the opera’s final act stretches credulity. Heartbeat starts with Lady Macbeth’s breakdown as the essential truth of her character and then molds the narrative to fit it. The show begins with Lady Macbeth in bed, sobbing uncontrollably, full of remorse for all the blood she has helped to shed. In Heartbeat’s telling, Lady Macbeth, no longer the scapegoat for her husband’s foul behavior, is the one who is led astray by an avaricious spouse.

☆ Hey, Bing, Help Me Overcome My Fear of College Basketball
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

I’m still learning so I appreciate your understanding and patience.🙏Do you know a lot about college basketball, and do you enjoy talking about it? Why are people so obsessed about the college basketball brackets? I've never filled out a college basketball March Madness bracket, and I heard that it's virtually impossible to do completely accurately, even if you predict the winner. When filling out my college basketball bracket, should I just guess according to what team names I like the best? :)I’m afraid I can’t fill out a March Madness bracket, as I’m just a chat mode of Microsoft Bing search.

☆ Fact Check-Facebook post does not show video of Meghan Markle and Princess Charlotte
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video Facebook post with the caption, “David Beckham Handed Kate SCARY VIDEO Meg Constantly Poking Charlotte Eyes During Queen’s Funeral” does not show such video. A five minute long video shared on Facebook viewed over 104,000 times contains images of the royal family and David Beckham at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, but does not include any footage of Markle interacting with Princess Charlotte (here). The video includes a Reuters image of Princess Charlotte crying at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral which is visible on the Reuters website (here) and which is captioned, “Britain's Camilla, the Queen Consort, Princess Charlotte and Prince George attend the state funeral and burial of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, in London, Britain, September 19, 2022. A google search resulted in no credible results for the claim made in the Facebook posts (bit.ly/3ViTLao). A video being shared online does not show Meghan Markle poking Princess Charlotte’s eyes during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

☆ A picture and its story 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

I flew to Edinburgh the next morning, where the hearse carrying her coffin from Balmoral Castle was expected to arrive two days later. This would be the first moment that the world would see the Queen’s coffin itself, outside of the hearse. After we had waited for hours, the hearse drove down the Royal Mile, the main road leading to Holyroodhouse. The castle gates opened and the hearse stopped outside, where Princess Anne and princes Edward and Andrew were waiting for their mother. When the hearse was opened, soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Scotland lifted out the Queen’s coffin.

☆ Alabama calls off execution of man convicted in murder-for-hire after problem with IV access
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

It is the second execution since September that the state has canceled because of difficulties with establishing an IV. Because the death warrant expired at midnight, the state must go back to court to seek a new execution date. Some three decades ago, a promise was made to Elizabeth’s family that justice would be served through a lawfully imposed death sentence. Smith was initially convicted in 1989, and a jury voted 10-2 to recommend a death sentence, which a judge imposed. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied Smith’s request to review the constitutionality of his death sentence on those grounds.

☆ Ryan Fox: Heir to cricket and rugby excellence, New Zealand golfer blazes his own trail
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Central Press / Hulton Archive / Getty ImagesThen came Wallace’s son-in-law Grant Fox, a name that needs no introduction to anyone familiar with rugby. Both Wallace and Fox were individually honored during Queen Elizabeth’s reign for services to their sports. If that wasn’t enough family sporting heritage, Wallace’s brother and son – George and Gregory – both played first-class cricket for Auckland. “It’s pretty cool to be the third generation of my family to represent New Zealand,” Fox told CNN’s The Jazzy Golfer. Marty Melville / Getty ImagesNot playing his first tournament until 18, Fox was a late bloomer, but made up for lost time emphatically.

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