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☆ What is a hate crime?: Officials investigate if suspect who shot 3 Palestinian students can be charged with a hate crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Chandelis Duster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont has prompted calls for the suspect to be charged with a hate crime. “When you add a hate crime enhancement that changes things,” George said at a news conference Monday. Crimes based on gender identity accounted for 4% of hate crimes, 1.5% were based on disability and less than 1% on gender. The Justice Department began prosecuting federal hate crime cases after the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law. Their murders shocked the nation and later moved Congress to pass a new hate crimes statute.

Persons: Jason J, Eaton, Jon Murad, Murad, Jason Eaton, Sarah George, ” George, “, Elliot Williams, ” Williams, Williams, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Elie Honig, ” Honig, Honig, James Byrd , Jr, White, Matthew Shepard, CNN’s Eric Levenson, Elizabeth Wolfe, Tori Morales Pinales, Melissa Alonso Organizations: CNN, Burlington Police, Vermont . Burlington Police Department Authorities, Hamas, Justice Department, DOJ, FBI, feds, Civil, Department of Justice Locations: Vermont, Israel, Chittenden, New Jersey, Chittenden County, Jasper , Texas, Wyoming

☆ David Letterman Ends Conspicuous Absence From ‘The Late Show’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( John Koblin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It started much like the way it ended for David Letterman. There he came, striding onto the stage at the Ed Sullivan Theater on Monday night, to a standing ovation and a chorus of chants of “Da-vid! “Stephen,” Mr. Letterman said as he sat down. Mr. Letterman has been no stranger to the limelight since he stepped down from his late-night gig. He has done Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC show several times; Seth Meyers’s late night show; Ellen DeGeneres’s daytime talk show; Howard Stern’s radio show; Dax Shepard’s podcast; Marc Maron’s podcast; Conan O’Brien’s podcast.

Persons: David Letterman, striding, Ed Sullivan, “, Letterman, ”, Stephen Colbert, “ Stephen, ” Mr, Colbert, —, Jimmy Kimmel’s, Seth Meyers’s, Ellen DeGeneres’s, Howard, Dax Shepard’s, Marc Maron’s, Conan O’Brien’s Organizations: “, CBS, Netflix, Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC, Philipps

☆ Chicago Bears edge past Carolina Panthers and better their odds at top pick at next year’s NFL Draft
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The Chicago Bears edged past the Carolina Panthers in a low-scoring affair on Thursday, a win which boosts their chances at the top pick in next year’s NFL Draft. The Bears were without starting quarterback Justin Fields for Thursday’s game through injury, with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent once again starting in his place. In his first game since being traded from the Washington Commanders, Sweat had a team-high eight pressures in the game. Thursday’s game was another tough outing for the Panthers QB, who finished with 21-of-38 passing for 185 yards and no touchdowns. The victory moves to Chicago to 3-7 on the season, two games clear from Carolina’s league-worst record.

Persons: D’Onta Foreman, Eddy Pineiro, Bryce Young –, Caleb Williams, Carolina’s Drake Maye, Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent, Bagent, Foreman’s, Montez, Sweat, Young, –, Frank Reich, Ihmir Smith, Marsette, Carolina’s, Smith, Quinn Harris, Foreman, Christian McCaffrey, Don’t, ” Foreman, we’ve Organizations: CNN, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, NFL, Bears, Chicago, Panthers, Shepard University, Washington, Pineiro, Carolina, San Francisco 49ers Locations: Chicago, Carolina

☆ A beginner's guide to investing in art — that won't break the bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Will Ramsay, founder and CEO of the Affordable Art Fair, which puts on exhibits worldwide, said collecting art is easier than people might think. However, contemporary art is likely to increase in value over the long term, Diament said. There's also a satisfaction in buying something from a living artist, Diament said. "Some people like color, other people like to focus on drawings without color … you have people who collect just one artist," Taylor said. Provenance — which refers to the history and ownership of a piece — is often an important consideration when buying art.

Persons: Nicholas Bowlby, Puja Bhatia, You've, Karen Taylor, Taylor, Maria Artool, Will Ramsay, Robert Diament, Diament, you'll, Tracey Emin, Carlotta Cardana, There's, Knight Frank, Knight, Ramsay, Eileen Agar, Jeff Spicer, George Romney, Voltaire, Magda Archer, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Carl Freedman, Benjamin Senior, Richard Parkes Bonington, Judith Burrows, he'd, It's, Artool, Isabelle Paagman, Sotheby's, Paagman, Shepard Fairey Organizations: CNBC, Fair, of, Bloomberg, Getty, Knight, Investment, Art Market Research, Whitechapel Gallery, Art, San, Wallace Locations: London, U.K, British, Austin, Berlin, Brisbane, Latvian, Britain, Venice, American, Europe, Italy, Paris, France

☆ We should all have the confidence of WeWork's bankruptcy announcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

WeWork's bankruptcy announcement is particularly rosy about its future. It seems WeWork certainly took that advice to heart when it wrote its announcement of its November 6 bankruptcy filing. But from the bankruptcy announcement, you wouldn't know all that. Rite Aid — which, like WeWork — plans to stay in business, also had a more somber announcement when it filed last month. But if any company is going to seem mildly delusional in its bankruptcy announcement, WeWork certainly has the precedent for it.

Persons: Adam Neumann, David Tolley, —, Adam Neumann's, WeWork, Tolley, Bello, Kirstin Bell, Dax Shepard's Organizations: Service, Sears

☆ From Bookseller to Blue Origin: A Look Back at the Career of Jeff Bezos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

From Bookseller to Blue Origin: A Look Back at the Career of Jeff BezosAmazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos successfully completed the first manned mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft. In this video, WSJ looks back at the remarkable career of the world’s richest man. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Origin’s, Joe Raedle Organizations: Shepard

☆ Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Sets Move to Miami After Decades in Seattle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Thomas Gryta | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos successfully completed the first manned mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft. In this video, WSJ looks back at the remarkable career of the world’s richest man. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesAmazon.com founder and former Chief Executive Jeff Bezos plans to relocate to Miami after almost three decades in Seattle, where the online retailer grew into one of the world’s largest companies. Thursday evening, Bezos posted on Instagram that his parents recently moved back to Miami, where he graduated from high school in 1982. He praised his time in Seattle and said it was an emotional decision.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Origin’s, Joe Raedle, Bezos Organizations: Shepard Locations: Miami, Seattle

☆ Jeff Bezos Plans Miami Move for Family, Work…and It Might Help Tax-Wise, Too
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Thomas Gryta | Laura Saunders | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos successfully completed the first manned mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft. In this video, WSJ looks back at the remarkable career of the world’s richest man. The Amazon.com founder and former CEO posted his plans on Instagram Thursday. “I want to be close to my parents, and Lauren and I love Miami,” he wrote, referring to his partner, Lauren Sanchez. He said his parents recently moved back to Miami, where he graduated from high school in 1982.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Origin’s, Joe Raedle, “, Lauren, Miami, ”, Lauren Sanchez Organizations: Shepard Locations: Seattle, Miami

☆ Bezos makes third losing bet on real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It’s not the only questionable real estate decision Bezos has made in the past several years. He announced in a Thursday Instagram post that he will move to Miami, leaving the Washington city where he founded Amazon in 1994. Bezos grew up in the south-Florida city in the early 1980s, and he will return to a two-mansion compound worth some $147 million, according to Bloomberg. Miami-based real estate had a renaissance during the pandemic as people sought warmer climates where they could be outside. Still, the founder is no stranger to real estate bets that don’t always make financial sense.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, It’s, Bezos, Ken Griffin, David Tepper, lockdowns, That’ll, don’t, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: Reuters, Amazon, Bloomberg, U.S . Federal Housing Finance Agency, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Dade, University of Miami, Homes, Climate, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Shepard, Thomson Locations: Miami, Seattle, Florida, Washington, Bezos, Indian, Arlington , Virginia, Arlington, Cape Canaveral

☆ Capitals continue search for offense against Devils
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Field Level Media | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Devils went 2-for-4 on the power play and are 11-for-25 with the man advantage. 300 on the power play -- and finished with 14 shots on goal. You could tell that early, especially that first power play, that it was coming to the cage today. The Capitals are 1-for-16 on the power play, with Ovechkin's goal ending an 0-for-15 skid. Hunter Shepard will make his NHL debut against the Devils while backup Charlie Lindgren remains on the injured list.

Persons: Tyler Toffoli, Jack Hughes, Vitek Vanecek, Hughes, Toffoli, we've, Lindy Ruff, you've, They're, Joseph Woll, Alex Ovechkin, Ovechkin, It's, Spencer Carbery, Darcy Kuemper, Hunter Shepard, Charlie Lindgren, Shepard Organizations: New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Montreal, NHL, Toronto, Washington, Hershey, AHL, Calder, Bears, Thomson Locations: Newark , N.J, New Jersey, Toronto, Minnesota

☆ Bezos' Blue Origin sees third executive departure amid restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Eilola's departure follows plans announced last month by Bezos to replace Smith, who has been Blue Origin's CEO since 2017, with longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp by the end of the year. Blue Origin did not respond to a request for comment. Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 with the vision of having millions of people living and working in space. In the past several months, Blue Origin's corporate structure has changed substantially as its leadership gets a revamp. Blue Origin this year also spun its moon lander program into a new independent business unit.

Persons: Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Origin's, Jeff Bezos, Bob Smith, Mike Eilola, Bezos, Smith, Dave Limp, Brent Sherwood, Shepard, Limp, Joey Roulette, Will Dunham Organizations: Shepard, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Elon, SpaceX, Blue, Amazon, Honeywell Aerospace, Glenn, NASA, Space Systems, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, United States

☆ In photos: The queer ‘renegades’ of 1990s San Francisco
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Suyin Haynes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Photographer Chloe Sherman had rarely used social media, until a chance discovery by her daughter prompted her to revisit her work documenting the queer community in 1990s San Francisco. Although she had previously exhibited some photographs from her time in San Francisco, the majority of her work, which she shot on 35-millimeter film, only existed as negatives. So, after Sherman’s daughter and a friend helped create an Instagram account for her, she began digitizing and uploading her photos onto the platform. In this context, San Francisco was widely seen as a safe haven, with a long history of welcoming LGBTQ people. For Sherman, who had grown up making photographs and later studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, it felt important to document the moment.

Persons: Chloe Sherman, Sherman’s, ”, ” Sherman, Sherman, Paula, Carmen, San Francisco, Brandon Teena, Matthew Shepard, Castro, America’s, Harvey Milk, Chloe Sherman Sherman, “, ’ ”, Anna Joy, lounging, isn’t, —, San Francisco — Organizations: CNN, “ Renegades, San Francisco’s Mission, Fair, San Francisco Art Institute, Anna Joy Post, Sherman, Mission Locations: San Francisco, City, San, Schlomer, Berlin, Germany, San Francisco’s, Francisco, Folsom, Folsom St, California, Portland , Oregon, ”, Mission

☆ SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic executives urge senators to improve the FAA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With the pace of rocket launches accelerating, and competition from China rising, executives from top U.S. space companies on Wednesday urged senators to improve the Federal Aviation Administration's regulatory and licensing processes. The Senate Subcommittee on Space and Science heard from a trio of company representatives from SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic , as well as a pair of industry experts. Gerstenmaier emphasized that the FAA's commercial space office "needs at least twice the resources that they have today" for licensing rocket launches. Wayne Monteith — a retired Air Force brigadier general who also led the FAA's space office — said that Congress should consider consolidating space regulations. "I believe a more efficient one stop shop approach to authorizing and licensing space activities is necessary," Monteith said.

Persons: We've, Bill Gerstenmaier, Gerstenmaier, We're, Phil Joyce, New Shepard, Caryn Schenewerk, Wayne Monteith —, —, Monteith Organizations: SpaceX, NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Federal Aviation, Build, NASA, Virgin Galactic, FAA, CNBC, Blue, Air Force Locations: Cape Canaveral , Florida, China

☆ An American Puzzle: Fitting Race in a Box
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( K.K. Rebecca Lai | Jennifer Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

1790 1850 1890 1950An American Puzzle: Fitting Race in a Box Census categories for race and ethnicity have shaped how the nation sees itself. Ever since the census began measuring the U.S. population, race has been central to the counting. Closer look at one of the pages from the 1790 census, with the race categories circled in red. Historically, some edits to census race boxes reflected changes in policy or public sentiment. 1790 census All other free persons Free white males Free white females Slaves All other free persons Free white females Free white males Slaves All other free persons Free white males Free white females Slaves Source: 1790 United States Federal Census: New YorkThe census counted each enslaved worker as three-fifths of a person, reflecting a compromise that granted enslavers more political representation.

Persons: —, Biden, ”, Roberto Ramirez, Mark X, Barack Obama, Naomi Mezey, enslavers, “, Ms, Mezey, Jeffrey S, Evan Shepard Organizations: U.S, Community, U.S . Census, Georgetown University, United, . Census, Census Bureau, Pacific Islanders, Puerto Ricans, Geographic, Pew Research Center, Latinos, Saudi Arabian, Biden administration’s, Management, Budget, Advocacy Foundation Locations: United States, America, China, Puerto Rican, U.S, Spanish, Kansas, Kenya, York, American, “, Alaska, Massachusetts, Japan, Korea, Asia, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Mexican, Southwest, Puerto, Northeast, Florida, Eastern, Algerian, Kurdish, Kuwaiti, Lebanese, Moroccan, North, Palestinian, Saudi, Somali, Sudanese, Syrian

His death has been memorialized as an egregious hate crime that helped fuel the LGBTQ+ rights movement over the ensuing years. In 2011, the military scrapped the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that kept gay, lesbian and bisexual service members in the closet. Several activists interviewed this week by The Associated Press evoked Matthew Shepard as they discussed broader developments. The act expanded the federal hate crime law to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It is a popular choice for high school theater productions but has faced opposition due to policies resembling Florida's “Don't Say Gay” law that have surfaced in various states and communities.

Persons: It's, Matthew Shepard, we've, Kevin Jennings, “, you've, they're, we’ve, ”, Ron DeSantis, “ We’re, ” Shannon Minter, Rodrigo Heng, Lehtinen, ” Heng, James Esseks, Esseks, ” Esseks, Kelley Robinson, —, James Byrd Jr, Barack Obama, Shepard, Shepard's, Judy, Matthew Shepard’s, Shelby Chestnut, Chestnut, Cathy Renna Organizations: of Wyoming, U.S, Supreme, Republican, Lambda, GOP, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, American Civil Liberties, HIV, Human Rights, Associated Press, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Transgender Law, New, National, Task Force Locations: Vermont, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Laramie , Wyoming, New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — It has been 25 years since the body of Matthew Shepard was discovered in Laramie, Wyoming. “The Laramie Project” is a poignant mix of real news reports, and actors portraying friends, family, police officers, killers and other Laramie residents. “The Laramie Project,” one of the most frequently performed plays in high schools, has been performed in more than 20 countries and translated into more than 13 languages. “Precisely because it wasn’t about Matthew Shepard, precisely because it was about the town of Laramie is why it continues to resonate,” says Kaufman. Hate crimes all over our nation are at much higher rates than they were when Matthew Shepard was killed."

Persons: Matthew Shepard, Moisés Kaufman, Kaufman, Shepard, ” Kaufman, “, ”, James Byrd Jr, Barack Obama, ___ Mark Kennedy Organizations: Laramie, University of Wyoming, Cardinal High School, Putnam, Lansing Board of Education Locations: Laramie , Wyoming, York, Laramie, America, Florida, Middlefield , Ohio, Kansas

☆ Exclusive: Bezos' Blue Origin expects split on space station partnership -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A Blue Origin spokesperson said Sierra will remain a partner on Orbital Reef but declined to say in what capacity. Last week, Bezos told Blue Origin employees that longtime Amazon executive Dave Limp would replace Blue Origin's current CEO by year's end. In 2021, Blue Origin announced its partnership to build what it envisions as a "business park in space" with Sierra Space, a spinoff from defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp. Blue Origin secured $3.4 billion from NASA this year for that lander as part of the agency's Artemis program. Blue Origin said at the time it planned to privately invest "well north" of that amount.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, Jeff Bezos, Sierra, Brent Sherwood, Sherwood, Bezos, Dave Limp, Glenn, Joey Roulette, Ben Klayman, David Gregorio, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sierra Space, NASA, Space, CNBC, Blue Origin, Amazon, year's, Sierra Nevada Corp, Origin, Industry, Sierra, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S

☆ US FAA ends probe of Blue Origin's 2022 rocket mishap, needs engine redesign
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The space capsule of Blue Origin's rocket New Shepard, carrying six crew members, is seen before landing, on billionaire Jeff Bezos's company's fourth suborbital tourism flight, near Van Horn, Texas, U.S., March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Pierre Aguirre/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it has closed a probe into Blue Origin's 2022 New Shepard rocket failure, forcing a redesign of the vehicle's engine and other fixes before the company can resume its suborbital launch business. Blue Origin must take 21 corrective actions before its reusable New Shepard rocket can return to flight, including a "redesign of engine and nozzle components to improve structural performance during operation as well as organizational changes," the FAA said. The FAA, which regulates launch site safety and oversees mishap investigations led by rocket companies, cited the same conclusion as Blue Origin's in its statement on Wednesday. Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Leslie Adler, David Gregorio and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos's, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, we've, uncrewed, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, David Gregorio, Richard Chang Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . Federal Aviation Administration, Shepard, FAA, NASA, Thomson Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, Texas, New

☆ FAA closes investigation into Blue Origin rocket failure, requires 21 'corrective actions'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Federal Aviation Administration closed its investigation into last year's failed flight of a cargo mission by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, the regulator announced Wednesday. Blue Origin is required by the FAA to "implement 21 corrective actions," the regulator said in a statement. The FAA noted that Blue Origin will not be clear to launch New Shepard until after Blue Origin implements "all corrective actions that impact public safety" and receives an updated launch license. "We've received the FAA's letter and plan to fly soon," a Blue Origin spokesperson said in a statement. Earlier this year, Blue Origin said the source of the issue was an overheated part in the rocket engine's nozzle.

Persons: Shepard, Jeff Bezos, We've, New Shepard Organizations: Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, Shepard, Origin, BE, Blue Locations: West Texas, Texas, New

☆ Spotify is launching an eerie new AI-led feature that mimics podcasters' voices and translates them into different languages
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Spotify is launching a new feature called "Voice Translations" powered by AI including ChatGPT. The feature will replicate the voices of podcasters and translate them into different languages. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementSpotify is rolling out a new AI feature mimicking the original voice of podcasters and translating them into additional languages for a more "authentic listening experience," the company announced Monday in a blog post . AdvertisementAdvertisementSpotify is working with podcasters like Dax Shepard, Monica Padman, Lex Fridman, Bill Simmons and Steven Bartlett to produce voice translations for specific episodes in languages such as Spanish, French, and German.

Persons: —, Dax Shepard, Monica Padman, Lex Fridman, Bill Simmons, Steven Bartlett, Drake's, Stephen Fry, Harry Potter Organizations: Spotify, Service

Limp joins Blue Origin at a key phase of the company's multiple space projects. Earlier this year Blue Origin won a $3.4 billion NASA contract to build a lunar lander for the agency's astronauts. However, Blue Origin has since hired aggressively. Read Bezos' message to Blue Origin employees on Monday:I'm excited to share that Dave Limp will join Blue starting December 4th as CEO, replacing Bob, who has elected to step aside on January 2. JeffRead Smith's message to Blue Origin employees:Team Blue, It's been about six years since I joined Blue Origin.

Persons: Limp, Shepard, Smith, Panos Panay, Bezos, Alexa, Limp's, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Blue, Bob Smith, Origin's, Glenn, –, Read, Dave Limp, Bob, I'd, we've, We've, I've, Dave, Jeff Read, It's, Jeff, I'm, Ferociter, Dave Limp's Organizations: Amazon, Alexa, CNBC, NASA, Blue Origin, Bloomberg, Microsoft, Billionaire, Blue Origin's, Origin, Honeywell, Shepard, Pentagon, U.S . Space Force, Elon, SpaceX, Blue, Amazon Devices, Services, Apple Locations: Van Horn , Texas, U.S, Alabama, Florida, California , Arizona, Colorado, Kent

☆ Spotify will use AI to replicate podcasters' voices and translate them to other languages
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek joins author and comedian Trevor Noah to discuss the future of storytelling at Spotify Beach in Cannes, France, on June 20, 2023. Spotify on Monday announced a new artificial intelligence-powered feature that can translate podcasts into different languages using the host's own voice. The technology can create "realistic synthetic voices" from just a few seconds of speech, OpenAI said in a release. Spotify said it will help make the podcast listening experience more authentic and natural by maintaining podcasters' "distinctive speech characteristics." Spotify said it plans to make the feature accessible for more creators and languages in the future.

Persons: Daniel Ek, Trevor Noah, OpenAI, Dax Shepard, Lex Fridman, Monica Padman, Steven Bartlett, Bill Simmons, Trevor Noah's Organizations: Spotify Beach, Spotify Locations: Cannes, France

☆ Spotify tests voice translation feature for podcasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Spotify logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 25 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) is testing an AI-powered feature that will translate podcasts from the likes of Dax Shepard and Lex Fridman to other languages, the audio-streaming company said on Monday. The translated versions, powered by Microsoft-backed OpenAI's newly released voice generation technology, would mimic the original speaker's style and will be more natural than traditional dubbing, Spotify said. The company had also worked with other podcasters including Monica Padman, Bill Simmons and Steven Bartlett for the feature. The voice translations would be available in languages including Spanish, French and German for a select number of catalog episodes and future episode releases, said Spotify, which could expand the audience of the shows.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Dax Shepard, Lex Fridman, Monica Padman, Bill Simmons, Steven Bartlett, Jaspreet Singh, Shinjini Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Spotify Technology, Microsoft, Spotify, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Swedish, Bengaluru

☆ Blue Origin: Longtime Amazon executive to take over Jeff Bezos’ rocket company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Jeff Bezos’ space tourism and rocket company is replacing its chief executive officer with a longtime Amazon executive. The current Blue Origin CEO, Bob Smith — a former Honeywell executive who took over the role in 2017 — will step down and make way for Dave Limp, the senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, a spokesperson for Blue Origin said in a statement Monday. In the statement, Blue Origin said that Limp is “a proven innovator with a customer-first mindset. Blue Origin has several other high-profile projects in the works. Blue Origin struggled to deliver the BE-4 engines, encountering months of delays.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Bob Smith —, Dave Limp, Limp, Smith, ” Limp’s, Shepard, New Shepard, Glenn, Lockheed Martin, ULA, Artemis — Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Honeywell, Blue Origin, SpaceX, Vulcan, United Launch Alliance, Lockheed, Boeing, Blue, NASA, Origin

☆ 'Learning period' for US commercial space regulations should be extended -US Sen. Cruz
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A federal moratorium on commercial spaceflight safety regulations should be extended to support more innovation in the space sector, U.S. The fast-growing sector since 2004 has been shielded from federal safety regulations by what is widely called a "learning period." "Now is not the time to impose new regulations on commercial space," Cruz said, speaking on the sidelines of an industry conference in Washington. The moratorium, established by the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004, was most recently extended in 2015. The law requires private space companies that send humans into space to have passengers sign "informed consent" documents acknowledging the absence of federal safety regulations.

Persons: Ted Cruz, Artemis, Go Nakamura, Cruz, Doug Ligor, Ligor, Kelvin Coleman, it'll, Elon, Jeff Bezos, Joey Roulette, Chris Reese, Leslie Adler, Daniel Wallis Organizations: NASA, REUTERS, Rights, Federal Aviation Administration, RAND Corporation, RAND, FAA, Spaceflight, Senate, SpaceX, Origin, Shepard, Virgin Galactic, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, Washington, American, Texas, Van Horn

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