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☆ Was mass hysteria behind the mysterious case of 227 middle school students fainting last fall?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Lillian Perlmutter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

On September 23, 2022, 12-year-old Esmeralda walked out of the girls' bathroom at her middle school in Tapachula, Mexico, and fainted. Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador began including regular updates on the government's investigation into the fainting episodes in his daily press conferences. Dr. Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, one of Mexico's few field epidemiologists, had taken an interest in the fainting episodes. News of the initial fainting episodes had been shared there, the epidemiologist, who asked to remain anonymous, told Pantoja-Melendez. Both believe that the fainting episodes in Mexico were examples of something new and alarming: mass hysteria spreading online.

Persons: Esmeralda, Diala, Gladys, Esmeralda's, convulsing, Esmeralda Eva Alicia Lépiz, —, Esmerelda, Mami, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, Gladys didn't, Bochil, Luis Villagrán, bristled, Susanna, Tapachula, Diala's, José Eduardo Morales Montes, they'd, Eva Alicia Lépiz, Hidalgo —, I've, Carlos Alberto Pantoja Meléndez, Pantoja Meléndez, Meléndez, Robert Bartholomew, Bartholomew, Lopez Obrador, busily, Simon Wessley, schoolgirls, twitching, we'll, Pantoja, Melendez, Bartholomew said, we're, We've, who's Organizations: Federal, Central America, Journalists, Mexico City —, Mexico City, Universidad Autónoma Nacional, University of Auckland, Roswell, Kings College, New York, Health Department, Pantoja Locations: Tapachula, Mexico, Bochil, Mexican, Chiapas, Mexico City, El Pais, Chiapas —, Central, Esmeralda, Mexico City — Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, México, University of Auckland , New Zealand, Veracruz, London, Southern Mexico, Kanshasa, Tanzania, Blackburn , England, Sweden, Pyuthan, Nepal, Leroy , New York, Tapachula .

☆ In This Thriller, the Psycho Killers Have a Southern Drawl
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Stephen King | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In “Blacktop Wasteland” and “Razorblade Tears” (and an earlier thriller, “My Darkest Prayer”), Cosby worked the outlaw side of the crime/suspense genre. In this new one he’s written a crackling good police procedural. Titus deals with two girlfriends, one new and one old (the old one is, unsurprisingly, a true-crime podcaster). As in most novels of this type, he’s positive he’s missed some vital clue, and sure enough, he has. This is news from a part of America that’s rarely written about, especially from a Black perspective.

Persons: Cosby, Titus, he’s, It’s, —, Alfred Hitchcock —, Elmore Leonard, “, shouters, Walter Mosley, it’s, you’ve, America that’s Organizations: Sheriff Crown, Los Angeles Public Library, Dollar Locations: America, County, ”

☆ Opinion | Why ‘Succession’ Is a Work of Fantasy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Between the Dominion Voting Systems settlement and the Tucker Carlson firing, we’ve had a lot of real-world Fox drama lately, and the contrast between reality and fiction tells us something interesting about how art depicts our politics — and how the nature of democratic politics can resist successful dramatization. In the world of “Succession,” the key election-night dilemma is somewhat similar — when to call a crucial state — but the dynamics are quite different. The show’s presidential election is disrupted by a fire (arson?) at a Milwaukee precinct that destroys thousands of ballots, leaving the right-wing candidate ahead pending litigation, and his campaign wants ATN (the show’s Fox News) to call Wisconsin for him immediately. With two episodes left, the dice seem loaded for the second outcome: Failsons and a faildaughter lose their company and, oops, bring down the American republic along the way.

☆ Gun-loving Texas, where most households own a firearm, has become an epicenter of mass shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Emma Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

CNN and the GVA define a mass shooting as a shooting that injures or kills four or more people, not including the shooter. They argue that more firearms and higher gun ownership increases public safety – a stance that continues to be at odds with gun violence experts and data. The area around the Robb Elementary School signs has become a memorial dedicated to the victims of the May 24 mass shooting. Mass shootings are just a piece of that, and the strategies that we’re laying out will impact mass shootings. They’ll also impact a lot of other types of gun violence and that’s absolutely critical to saving lives,” Horwitz said.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Androids v. iPhones in ‘Succession,’ AI tools besides ChatGPT, and a check signed by Steve Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's reportedly frustrating customers who are prompted to add a tip when they haven't interacted with the people they're tipping. Before I begin discussing eradicating tipping culture (and replacing it with a living wage for workers), let's dive into today's tech. But the hype cycle around generative AI — that started with ChatGPT — threw them a lifeline. AI tools — besides ChatGPT — to boost your productivity. A $175 check signed by Steve Jobs is up for sale.

☆ 'Succession' fans are reading into which characters use an iPhone or an Android, and think it could hint at how the show will end
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fans are looking for easter eggs in "Succession" protagonists' clothing and accessories. Apple has been said to not want on-screen villains using iPhones, sparking theories about Tom's Android. Fans are dissecting the tiniest details from the show for hints about how the series will end. On the HBO show "Succession," where the fortunes of protagonists can shift every episode, fans are looking everywhere — in wardrobe choices and in accessories — for clues about their favorite characters' ultimate fates. Fans have also been reading into Kendall's moments in water — in a bathtub, pool, or the open water — for signs of what's next for Logan's "number one boy."

☆ Opinion | When Mass Shootings Become Almost Daily Events
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Greg Abbott issued a statement after a mass shooting, saying, “Our hearts are with the people of Allen, Texas, tonight during this unspeakable tragedy.”Time after time we hear about thoughts and prayers after mass killings. The assault weapon and large-capacity magazine ban was the law of the land from 1994 to 2004. Data shows that during that period there was a decrease in mass killings by weapons of war. The data also shows that since the expiration of the ban, there has been a significant increase in mass killings with assault weapons. Proponents of gun rights often comment that a good guy with a gun is how to stop a bad guy with a gun.

☆ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Review: Raccoon Tears and a Final Mixtape
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Maya Phillips | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A powerful god-figure, the High Evolutionary has genetically altered Rocket, other animals and even children to create a perfect race to inhabit his imagined utopia. But the shift also feels belabored and emotionally manipulative; scenes upon scenes of shot, blown up, tortured and incinerated C.G.I. It seems “Guardians” needs this much gratuitous trauma bait to establish its stakes and prove that the bad guy is, in fact, bad. Something like Thanos Lite or a knockoff Dr. Frankenstein, the High Evolutionary represents one of the central problems the franchise is facing in a post-“Endgame” M.C.U. “There is no god — that’s why I stepped in,” the High Evolutionary says at one point.

☆ Elon Musk appears to troll Twitter users who complain about being given blue checkmarks for free
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk is giving out free blue checkmarks to some who complain about Twitter Blue. Lil Nas X and Bette Midler are among the celebrities who say they didn't pay for Twitter Blue. Twitter users who complain about being given blue checkmarks for free or back a campaign to block those who do pay for them are being trolled by Elon Musk. It comes after some Twitter users started a movement to encourage others to block accounts that pay for Twitter Blue by tweeting with the hashtag #BlockTheBlue. "However, I will say, I think this is the very first funny thing Elon Musk has ever done."

☆ 'Ghosted' review: Chris Evans and Ana de Armas reunite in a spirited action comedy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —“Chris Evans and Ana de Armas” is about all that’s required to make the sales pitch for “Ghosted,” a spirited if familiar action-based romantic comedy, where the sparring banter generally outshines the muscular stunts. Throw in clever cameos and this Apple TV+ movie delivers on its promise of unpretentious fun. Unlike the needy Cole, “Ghosted” doesn’t ask for anything more than a couple intermittently attentive hours of your time. Thanks to Evans and de Armas, it’s the sort of invitation that’s pretty hard to ignore. “Ghosted” premieres April 21 on Apple TV+.

☆ ‘Ghosted’ Review: Chris Evans Falls For Ana de Armas’s Spy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Chris Evans and Ana de Armas Photo: AppleTV+Aside from the real classics of cinema, Hollywood tradition has been largely about extremely attractive people doing extraordinarily silly things—which makes “Ghosted” an old-fashioned movie. Ghosted Friday, Apple TV+It is also, it turns out, a spoof of those movies and of entire genres, notably the spy thriller and the rom-com of the hate-at-first-sight variety. Cole Turner ( Chris Evans ), a self-described “farmer” who lives outside Washington (with his parents), sells his honey at a D.C. sidewalk market; Sadie Rhodes ( Ana de Armas ) is a CIA operative who wings her way around the world firing automatic weapons at bad guys. The gender flip, such as it is, is less clever than it once would have been; likewise the fact that their meet-cute isn’t cute at all. Thanks for the tip.

☆ ‘Barry’ Is Ending. For Anthony Carrigan, That’s Nothing to Be Afraid Of
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

That hair and the worry that he would lose it were sources of anxiety. “I really had nothing to lose at that point,” he said as he spooned horseradish onto an oyster. Whatever parts did come his way, he would play the hell out of them. And it netted him an audition for “Barry.”NoHo Hank, intended as a minor antagonist, is a member of a Chechen mob. “He’s a lovable scorpion,” Carrigan explained at the oyster counter.

☆ Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth says Elon Musk's call to pause AI development is 'unrealistic'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

More than 1,000 people, including Elon Musk, recently signed a letter calling for a pause on AI development. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said: "Not only is it unrealistic, I don't think it would be effective." "I think it's very important to invest in responsible development," Bosworth told the outlet, "and we do that kind of investment all the time. And so I think, not only is it unrealistic, I don't think it would be effective." "Shutting down AI development for six months gives the bad guys six more months to catch up," he said.

☆ Bill Ackman warns pausing AI development will help the 'bad guys' after Elon Musk and others call for 6-month halt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

That would give America's adversaries more time to catch up, the Pershing Square CEO tweeted. Earlier, Elon Musk and others called for a six-month halt on AI development. Apparently in response to an open letter that calls for a six-month break in AI development, the Pershing Square CEO tweeted that this would be detrimental to national security. "Shutting down AI development for six months gives the bad guys six more months to catch up," he wrote. "In a sane world, we would slow development until we could be assured that AI is aligned with humankind," he tweeted.

☆ Facebook and Google are handing over user data to help police prosecute abortion seekers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Police make requests for social media user data to aid prosecution after a crime has been committed. ProPublica found similar web trackers that capture user data on the sites of at least nine online pharmacies that offer abortion pills by mail, including Abortion Ease, BestAbortionPill.com, PrivacyPillRX, PillsOnlineRX, Secure Abortion Pills, AbortionRx, Generic Abortion Pills, Abortion Privacy, and Online Abortion Pill Rx. Private content by users — such as location data or messages — requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before it can be turned over. She said because the platforms themselves are unlikely to prioritize user privacy, the burden to do so falls on the individual user. "All the angst directed social media services for being a pawn in law enforcement's game seems misdirected to me.

☆ Scientists named a fungicide after Keanu Reeves because it's extremely effective at killing — just like his characters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists discovered a compound in pseudomonas bacteria that can effectively kill certain fungi. The fungus killer was named after actor Keanu Reeves by German researchers. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute in Germany found certain bacteria naturally contained compounds effective at killing fungi that affect plants and humans. The scientists named them keanumycins A, B, and C — after actor Keanu Reeves. The keanumycins were most effective at killing Botrytis cinerea — a fungus that produces gray mold rot.

☆ It's not just you: Cybercriminals are also using ChatGPT to make their jobs easier
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

ChatGPT can quickly generate targeted phishing emails or malicious code for malware attacks. AI companies could be held liable for chatbots counseling criminals since Section 230 may not apply. Sergey Shykevich, a lead ChatGPT researcher at cybersecurity company Checkpoint security, has already seen cybercriminals harness the AI's power to create code that can be used in a ransomware attack. In dealing with unlawful or criminal content on their sites from third-party users, most tech companies cite Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. In addition, ChatGPT continues to implement guardrails to deter illegal activity, although these guardrails can often be sidestepped with the right script.

☆ ChatGPT creator Sam Altman says the world may not be 'that far away from potentially scary' AI and feels 'regulation will be critical'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amid discussions and scrutiny, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared his thoughts on AI In a series of tweets on Sunday. He warned the world may not be "that far from potentially scary" AI and said regulation will be "critical." regulation will be critical and will take time to figure out; although current-generation AI tools aren't very scary, i think we are potentially not that far away from potentially scary ones," he tweeted. Altman's been talking about regulating AI since 2015It's not the first time Altman has talked about regulating AI. "In an ideal world, regulation would slow down the bad guys and speed up the good guys — it seems like what happens with the first SMI to be developed will be very important."

☆ GOP Rep. Andy Ogles claimed to fight international sex crimes and be an economic expert. Like George Santos, his real resume tells another story.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Katherine Long | Bryan Metzger | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) claims he's a real estate magnate, policy expert, and sex crime investigator. Ogles' business experience seems to be limited to owning two restaurants, a short-lived travel agency, and becoming licensed as an insurance agent. Ogles' supposed experience rescuing sex trafficking victims helped propel him into national headlines in his first week in Congress. During one debate during his campaign, Ogles described himself as "a former member of law enforcement" who worked "in international sex crimes, specifically child trafficking." Fighting international sex crimes and traffickingWhen discussing his support for a more militarized border with Mexico, Ogles has repeatedly referenced his involvement in combating human trafficking and working to fight international sex crimes.

☆ Actor Bruce Willis diagnosed with dementia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family said on Thursday, nearly a year after the "Die Hard" franchise star retired due to aphasia that hampered his cognitive abilities. “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD), his family said in a statement posted on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration website. "Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. The actor’s oldest daughter, actor Rumer Willis, also posted the announcement on Instagram and received support from others in the entertainment industry. But Willis is perhaps best known for playing the tough-as-nails New York cop who pursued bad guys in the five "Die Hard" movies, released from 1988 to 2013.

☆ 'Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania' reviews: The villain is good, but the movie is bad
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

DisneyAre the pint-sized heroes of Disney's "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania" enough to take on the newest — and baddest — villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." "Ant-Man and the Wasp in Quantumania" held a 53% "rotten" rating from 148 reviews, as of Wednesday afternoon. "Sometimes the weight of all this responsibility causes 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' ... to buckle at the knees," O'Sullivan wrote. Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in "Ant-Man and The Wasp in Quantumania."

Summary Trickbot targeted hospitals during COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. saysSanctions could hit hackers' ability to move money-analystWASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The United States and Britain have imposed sanctions against seven leading members of a notorious Russian hacking gang known as Trickbot, officials announced on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States and Britain were "committed to using all available authorities to defend against cyber threats." Both Trickbot and Conti were accused by U.S. and British authorities of having ties to the Russian intelligence services. Sanctions tend to be largely symbolic given that Russia is already heavily sanctioned and cybercriminals based there tend to steer clear of the United States or Britain. He said that U.S. officials had been lobbying to get other countries to impose sanctions on cybercriminals.

☆ I landed my dream job at Disney after growing up in a refugee camp. This is how I made it to Hollywood after a childhood interrupted by war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She says the road to get where she is was not typical — she grew up in refugee camps in Mozambique. I'm a production coordinator on "Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur." I was hired full-time when my placement was over, and had the opportunity to interview and move over to "Moon Girl." We lived in the refugee camps. Food and water were always a source of stress when living in the refugee camps.

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ The Paradox of Prosecuting Domestic Terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( James Verini | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +52 min

The preventive approach to domestic terrorism goes back even further than the 1990s and it begins with the basic police work and surveillance of the joint terrorism task forces. In fact, there is no section of the U.S. Criminal Code that criminalizes domestic terrorism as such. The absence of clear law around domestic terrorism, and the imperatives of prevention, mean that investigators and prosecutors who work domestic terrorism cases must focus on more common charges: weapons violations, illegal drug possession, burglary, aiding and abetting and so forth. But this was not enough to overrule the fear of domestic terrorism that was gripping the nation and that hung in the courtroom. It reflected the legal paradoxes of the case and domestic terrorism law in general or, maybe more accurately, the absence of it.

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