DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Welcome to the AI dystopia no one asked for, courtesy of Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

AI skeptics — who are legion, and not necessarily part of the fringe tin foil hat crowd — are begging Silicon Valley to take a beat before unleashing AI to the world. Then, the big reveal: It’s all contained in Apple’s new iPad, its thinnest and most powerful ever, thanks to its brand new AI chip. Meanwhile, is anyone else getting inundated with Google’s Pixel ads, which show people giddily using the smartphone’s AI photo-editing software to deceive their online followers? Apple is expected to announce its own ChatGPT-like tools that could be a game changer for your internet searches. The Jeff Goldblums of the AI debate — who include some of the industry’s own pioneers — are not necessarily saying we have to smother AI and pretend it never existed.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Jeff Goldblum’s, “, John, that’s, —, Cher’s, Asif Kapadia, ”, Luke Barnett, Apple, Tim Cook, Apple’s, Siri, I’ll, We’re, Jeff Goldblums, weren’t Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Google, Apple, Space Invaders Locations: New York

☆ Marion Barter mystery: The conman, his lovers and the mother who vanished
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

At the time, Australian police dismissed her concerns, insisting that her mother, Marion Barter, had disappeared by choice, and wanted nothing to do with her family. Ric Blum told the NSW Coroner's court that he last saw Barter in June 1997, just before she left Australia. Blum told the court Cornelius had lied about their relationship, which was platonic, he said. Several years later, Ghislaine Danlois-Dubois met Blum in 2006 through an advertisement she posted in a newspaper seeking companionship. O’Sullivan concluded by reading Leydon’s own words about her mother, Marion Barter, read from her submission.

Persons: Sally Leydon, Marion, ”, Teresa O’Sullivan, Ric Blum –, conman, –, Leydon, she’d, Leydon’s, Owen, Sally, Natalia Marion Remakel, Blum, “, Willy Coppenolle, Ric Blum, Bryan Seymour, – Wouters, Willy Wouters, Frederick de Hedervary, United Kingdom –, Frederick, Diane de Hedervary, F, Monique Cornelius, Cornelius, ” Ric Blum's, Ginette Gaffney, Bowan, Frederick De Hedervary, Gaffney, Met Blum, Janet Oldenburg, Andree Flamme, Marie Landrieu, Blum belittled, Rick ”, Rich ”, ” Blum, Oldenburg, he’d, Ghislaine Danlois, Dubois, Joni, de Hedervary, didn’t, “ couldn’t, Flamme, ” Andree Flamme, ” Flamme, “ Willy, Landrieu, O’Sullivan, mispresenting, ” Ric Blum O’Sullivan, hadn’t, Fernand Remakel, Blum “, Mr, Angus Watson, ” O’Sullivan, ” Leydon, we’ve, Blum’s, Matthew White, CNN’s, ” White Organizations: Australia CNN, CNN, Police, NSW Coroner's, British Embassy, NSW Police, New, NSW, SC Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Sydney, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Europe, United Kingdom, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, Byron Bay, Luxembourg, Australian, New South Wales, Ballina, Tournai, Belgium, France, Paris, Dubois, Bali, Lille, Brussels, Danlois, Indonesian, Portugal, Indonesia, ”, Marion, South Korea

☆ Feinstein Battle Over Her Late Husband’s Fortune Heads to Mediation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Tim Arango | More About Tim Arango | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A judge in San Francisco on Monday ordered the two factions of Senator Dianne Feinstein’s family fighting over the estate of her late husband, the wealthy financier Richard C. Blum, to try to settle the case through mediation. The order, which both sides agreed to, came as the lawyers in the case appeared in a courtroom for the first time after trading hostile accusations in legal filings over the summer. On one side is Senator Feinstein, who at 90 is in declining health and has faced questions about her ability to carry out the duties of her job, and her daughter, Katherine Feinstein, a former San Francisco judge. On the other side are the three daughters of Mr. Blum from a previous marriage, and his former business partners who are the trustees of his estate. In three separate lawsuits, Senator Feinstein, with her daughter serving as her legal representative, is fighting to sell a multimillion-dollar vacation home in Stinson Beach, north of San Francisco; seeking proceeds from the estate, including from Mr. Blum’s life insurance policy, to pay for her medical expenses; and asking the court to allow her to appoint Katherine Feinstein as a trustee of the estate.

Persons: Dianne Feinstein’s, Richard C, Blum, Feinstein, Katherine Feinstein, Mr Organizations: Monday Locations: San Francisco, Stinson Beach

☆ Paranormal Festivity: A Small Town Celebrates U.F.O. Lore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Chris Kornelis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Local legend has it that Elmwood is a favorite visiting place of extraterrestrials and U.F.O.s, a reputation that inspired the name of the annual festival. The stories go back many decades. One of Elmwood’s most infamous stories is the one about the police officer George Wheeler, whose squad car is said to have been hit with some kind of blue light from a U.F.O. one night in 1976. Six months later, Wheeler was dead, as reported in Howard Blum’s 1990 book, “Out There: The Government’s Secret Quest for Extraterrestrials.”

Persons: George Wheeler, Wheeler, Howard Blum’s, ” Locations: Elmwood

Raised in affluence, Senator Feinstein has long been among the wealthiest members of Congress. Among the backdrops to the fight over Mr. Blum’s estate, however, are questions about the extent of his fortune, as well as the out-of-pocket cost of home health care that Senator Feinstein has received since her bout with shingles earlier this year. During his lifetime, Mr. Blum, Senator Feinstein’s third husband and a private equity magnate, was often referred to in public accounts as a billionaire. However, people familiar with the family’s finances dispute that characterization and say that Mr. Blum’s wealth was less than some heirs had expected. Mr. Blum’s friends said that the pandemic cut deeply into his investments, particularly his extensive holdings in hotels.

Persons: ”, Jerry Roberts, Dianne Feinstein, Feinstein, Blum, Feinstein’s, Blum’s Organizations: Senate Locations: San Francisco neighborhood, Pacific Heights, Aspen, Colo, Hawaii, Kauai, Washington ,

☆ Opinion: The Supreme Court rewrites American society once again
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Opinion Cnn Contributors | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +25 min

But learning the facts - that affirmative action is critical for fostering equal access and opportunity in our academic institutions -cemented my belief that affirmative action is necessary if we want to create an equitable nation. The court’s decision Thursday is consistent with its view that race-based preferences should and would have a limited shelf life. Jon Wang, who revealed himself as a plaintiff in this Supreme Court case, was rejected by Harvard but was accepted at and is now attending Georgia Tech. Affirmative action enabled my ability to experience different ways of thinking and to form the lasting friendships I have made. Affirmative action has been a tool used by many countries to ensure underrepresented communities are included in areas they normally are not.

Persons: who’d, Tan, ”, Ana Fernandez, Richard Kahlenberg, Peniel Joseph, Peniel Joseph Kelvin Ma, Kelvin Ma, retrenchment, Bakke, Shelby, Holder, John F, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Peniel, Joseph, Barbara Jordan, “, ” Lanhee Chen, Bollinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Lanhee Chen Lanhee J . Chen, J, Chen, David, Diane Steffy, Romney, Ryan, Roxanne Jones, Andrew Johnson, Jones, WURD, Richard Sander, –, Richard Sander Fiona Harrison, Jeff Yang, Ed Blum’s, Jon Wang, Michael Wang, Williams, Jian Li, Bruce, Hudson Yang, Natasha Warikoo, Ketanji Brown Jackson, ” Natasha Warikoo Alonso Nichols, John Roberts, Brayden Rothe, Biden, can’t, Joe Biden, Brayden Rothe Patrick O'Leary, Pell Organizations: CNN, Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard, Harvard College, Cuban, American Council, Education, Wellesley College, Renaissance Studies, Black, Tufts University, Blacks, Ivy League, Federalist Society, John Birch Society, Trump, Democratic Party, GOP, Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Racial Justice, University of North, University of North Carolina Chapel, Public Policy, Hoover Institution, California State, Republican, Democratic, White, Fair, Supreme, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, The University of California, UCLA, University of California, UC, Georgia Tech, Department of Education, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Princeton University, Institute for, Digital Intelligence, Harvard University, College, Social Sciences, of Sociology, Equity, University of Minnesota Locations: today’s, Philippines, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Portland, White, American, United States, West Linn , Oregon, Cuban American, Miami, Havana, Cuba, Miami , Florida, America, Austin, University of North Carolina, California, lockstep, Berkeley, Asian America, Florida, Texas

☆ Marion Barter: The search for a missing mother surfaces claims of her lover's 'life of deceit'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

We’ve exposed a way bigger fish than what I ever expected to find,” Leydon told CNN. He revealed that he’d had a four-month affair with the schoolteacher from February to June, 1997 – the same month she left Australia. Two years after Barter left Australia for Europe, Janet Oldenburg took a similar trip with Blum, who she knew as Ric West. She filed a police report and the inquest heard Blum told police he sent all the jewelry back. In court, Blum denied her claims and accused her of lying.

The Supreme Court on Monday wades into the decadeslong legal fight over affirmative action in cases challenging policies at the University of North Carolina and Harvard University, with the conservative majority expected to be open to ending the practice. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, will hear back-to-back oral arguments in the UNC and Harvard cases; the session is likely to last several hours. The arguments against affirmative action are being brought by a group called Students for Fair Admissions, led by conservative activist Ed Blum. The court shifted to the right following former President Donald Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices. If affirmative action is ended, those defending the practice say, race-neutral policies aimed at achieving diversity will often fail, leading to a decline in Black and Hispanic enrollment.

Most court observers are expecting that the court’s 6-3 conservative majority will be sympathetic to the arguments against affirmative action being brought by a group called Students for Fair Admissions. Ed Blum, the anti-affirmative action activist who leads the group, said he hopes the court "will finally end these polarizing and unfair racial preferences in college admissions." The court shifted to the right following former President Donald Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices, creating the 6-3 conservative majority. Polanco joined other UNC alumni and current students in defending the existing admissions policy in court. They argue that the UNC admissions policy discriminates against white and Asian applicants and that the Harvard policy discriminates against Asians.

Search resuls for: "Blum’s"

9 mentions found