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☆ ‘A victory for generations to come:’ Puerto Rico bans hair discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

San Juan (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor signed a law on Wednesday that prohibits discrimination against people wearing Afros, curls, locs, twists, braids and other hairstyles in the racially diverse U.S. territory. The move was celebrated by those who had long demanded explicit protection related to work, housing, education and public services. “It’s a victory for generations to come,” Welmo Romero Joseph, a community facilitator with the nonprofit Taller Salud, said in an interview. A bronze statue of San Juan Bautista stands in front the Capitol building flanked by U.S. and Puerto Rican flags, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where a ruling was made on Wednesday to ban hair discrimination. “Unfortunately, people identified as Black or Afro descendant in Puerto Rico still face derogatory treatment, deprivation of opportunities, marginalization, exclusion and all kinds of discrimination,” the law signed Wednesday states.

Persons: ” Welmo Romero Joseph, Romero, San Juan Bautista, Ricardo Arduengo, ”, ” Westend61 Organizations: Puerto Rico’s, Salud, Civil, U.S, Puerto, Census, Economic Policy Institute, U.S . House, Democratic Locations: Juan, Puerto, Alabama, San Juan, Puerto Rican, San Juan , Puerto Rico, U.S, Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rico, Texas

CNN —Nintendo has dropped a fresh surprise for fans – a new Zelda title where gamers will finally be able to play the titular princess from the legendary fantasy series. The new game, “The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom,” will release on the Switch console on September 26, according to a statement from Nintendo. The many iterations of the games usually revolve around the heroic elf Link, who spends most of his adventures trying to save Princess Zelda who, more often than not, has been kidnapped or mysteriously disappeared. Now it’s up to Princess Zelda to step into the protagonist’s role,” Eiji Aonuma, producer of the Zelda series, said in a video released by Nintendo. The release of a new Zelda game is the second surprise announcement Nintendo has dropped in recent weeks.

Persons: –, Zelda, ”, Princess Zelda, ” Eiji Aonuma, Shuntaro Furukawa Organizations: CNN, Nintendo, ” Nintendo

☆ A UPenn student started a YouTube channel. In weeks, her face was stolen on China's social media.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

That message included a link to a video on Xiaohongshu, a social media platform rapidly gaining steam in China. The student started her self-empowerment channel in November and has so far published eight videos and seven YouTube Shorts. The Xiaohongshu deepfakes of other YouTubers do the same. In a matter of about 10 minutes, BI found deepfake videos of at least five caucasian women on Xiaohongshu. But at least one Chinese deepfake version of Blakely has a different agenda to share on Xiaohongshu.

Persons: —, Olga Loiek, Loiek, Vladimir Putin, Loeik, Weibo, someone's, Lyu Siwei, it's, Haibing Lu, they've, Xiaohongshu, Natasha, she's, Annie, Sophia Elena, Katyusha, China, Lana Blakely, Blakely, Elizabeth Filips, Serbia, Filips, Lyu, Vincent Conitzer, Conitzer, Lu, Lyu who's, he's, Roy, Ari Lightman, she'll Organizations: Service, Business, Kremlin, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Media, University at Buffalo, Santa Clara University, University of Pennsylvania, BI, Russia, Institute for, Oxford University, Social, Carnegie Mellon University Locations: Munich, China, Moscow, Ukraine, Santa, China's Heilongjiang, Germany, Xiaohongshu, Russian, Russia, Stockholm, Xiaohongshu London, Pakistan

☆ Lego revenue ticks higher in 2023, despite trade-downs and China pullback
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Lego company grew sales 2% last year, even as the global toy industry saw sales slip 7%, according to data from Circana. The pandemic-era gains that fueled exponential toy industry sales growth waned in 2023 as consumers cut discretionary spending amid rising inflationary costs and increased credit card debt. Meanwhile Denmark-based Lego posted resilient sales, with revenue reaching 65.9 billion Danish krone, or about $9.65 billion, it said Tuesday. The company saw sales jump 27% in 2021 and 17% in 2022. The toymaker's top-performing brands last year included Lego Icons, Lego Technic, Lego City, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Star Wars.

Persons: Niels Christiansen, Harry Potter, Christiansen, Lego, We're Organizations: CNBC, Lego, Lego Star, Epic Games Locations: Denmark, Lego City, China

As video game worlds get more expansive, some game studios are experimenting with AI tools to give voice to a potentially unlimited number of characters and conversations. Some fear that AI voices could replace all but the most famous human actors if big studios have their way. SAG-AFTRA has already made a deal with one AI voice company, Replica Studios, announced last month at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas. It sets terms that also allow performers to opt out of having their voices used in perpetuity. We’re not replacing actors.”It was Replica Studios that first reached out to Magee about a voice-over audio clip he had created demonstrating a Scottish accent.

Persons: Andy Magee, Magee, aren't, ”, they've, Joe Biden, Anthony Bourdain —, —, Sarah Elmaleh, “ We’ve, Elmaleh, ” Elmaleh, AFTRA, Fran Drescher, Shreyas Nivas, Nivas, “, Zeke Alton, hasn't, Alton, ” Alton Organizations: Screen, American Federation of Television, Radio Artists, SAG, Studios, CES Locations: Scottish, Northern Ireland, British, U.S, Fortnite, Las Vegas, Vancouver , British Columbia

☆ A wildly popular game dubbed 'Pokémon with guns' has been forced to deny that its characters are a rip-off
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The game, Palworld, launched on PC last Friday to phenomenal success, quickly amassing record-breaking numbers of players on gaming distribution service Steam. But similarities between Palworld's pals and Pokémon, the titular creatures in the Nintendo game, were not lost on fans, who back when it was first announced in June 2021 quickly dubbed it "Pokémon with guns." Palworld pals are also caught using a "Pal Sphere," itself a concept closely echoing Pokémon's "Pokéball." But the visual similarities between a number of the individual creatures in Palworld and Pokémon have caused major discussions online. Pocket Pair/NintendoAn X user with the username Cecilia Fae compared dozens of the Palworld "pals" with existing Pokémon.

Persons: —, ove, batt, ake, clea, ake appr, t Rock Pape, ott Organizations: Service, Nintendo, Business, Steam, Radio Times, isu

☆ ‘Palworld’ dubbed ‘Pokémon with guns’ ignites furor as it becomes an overnight sensation
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Michael Nam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Cute video game creatures with guns have become a surprise monster hit. Fans of the long-running Pokémon franchise on Nintendo platforms have been angry about the close similarities of various creature designs, according to video game outlet IGN. It’s gotten bad enough that Pocketpair has said it received death threats. I promise…However, you’ll excuse me if I skip over the death threats, threats to the company and massively outlandish claims,” posted one Pocketpair community manager. “Nintendo has come for me, please leave me in your thoughts and prayers,” he posted on X.

Persons: Pocketpair, It’s, “, ”, Takuro Mizobe, doxxing, Mizobe didn’t, Nintendo’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, PC Steam, Xbox, Nintendo, Developers Locations: New York, Kansas

☆ Google challenges cloud rivals by making it free for customers to transfer data when they leave
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Starting today, Google Cloud customers who wish to stop using Google Cloud and migrate their data to another cloud provider and/or on premises, can take advantage of free network data transfer to migrate their data out of Google Cloud," Amit Zavery, a Google cloud vice president, wrote in the post. In 2018, Cloudflare announced the Bandwidth Alliance, a group of companies, including some cloud providers, that reduce or eliminate those data transfer, or egress, fees. "Restrictive licensing practices remain a far bigger issue to customers who want the choice of working with their preferred cloud provider," the spokesperson said. By making transfer free, Google could be pressuring rivals to follow suit or risk losing out on new business prospects. Last year Google expressed concerns about Microsoft's cloud practices to officials in the U.S. and the European Union.

Persons: Amit Zavery, Cloudflare, Zavery, Thomas Kurian Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Bandwidth Alliance, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, European, European Union Locations: Virginia, U.S

☆ Baby boomers did one big thing we should all be grateful for
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-02 | by ( Andy Kiersz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The boomers had it great, the argument goes, but then they went and screwed it all up. For one thing, baby boomers didn't have it easy: The America they grew up in was poorer, less educated, less healthy, and more unfair than the society we live in today. To better understand how individuals and families are experiencing the economy, it's important to look at wages, income, and wealth. Boomers have consistently passed laws to make building housing harder, leaving the country with a structural housing deficit. Beyond the economy, the boomers have handed off other deep problems that the younger generations will have to solve.

Persons: Gen Zers, Zers, millennials, Norman Rockwell, —, they've, we're, it's, Zer, Andy Kiersz Organizations: Black, Boomers, Business Locations: America

Among other lifestyle changes, "I stopped using chemical straighteners," she says. Breast cancer risk was similar for Black and white women, but straightener use was far more common among Black women. Notably, research also has shown that rates of aggressive subtypes of the disease surged in the recent past among U.S. women, with Black women particularly affected. Yet aside from cancer, hair care may pose an additional concern for people planning to get pregnant. More than half of Black study participants reported using their first relaxer before they were 10 years old.

Persons: Mirtha Aguilar, Fort, flaking, Aguilar, she’s, –, who’d, Jordan Geller, it’s, Geller, ”, Elena A, Dr, Monte Swarup, ” Swarup, Johanna Lukate, Lukate, Christofides Organizations: National Institutes of Health, University of North, Hill, National Cancer Institute, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, American, Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Max Planck Institute, Institute Locations: Fort Myers , Florida, University of North Carolina, straighteners, Los Angeles, Florida, Columbus , Ohio, Arizona, Germany, U.S

☆ Neopets is under new management and planning a comeback in a vastly different era of gaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Since buying Neopets, Law said his team is in the process of restoring those minigames and modernizing them to enhance the experience. Competing in the current metaWhile Law is optimistic, he is aware that Neopets was born in a different era of video gaming. For Neopets, Law said the merch business would include both physical, like plushies and clothing, and digital, such as in-game purchases. In 2024, Law's team is planning to launch World of Neopets, a 3D simulator game that will utilize the existing Neopets world, but in a modern gaming environment. Does this mean that new Neopets games will replace the 24-year old Neopets.com?

Persons: Dominic Law, Neopets, Neopets …, Jakub Porzycki, NetDragon Websoft, Law, we've, John Legend, Kass Basher, Mickey Mouse Organizations: Neopets, Koelnmesse, CNBC, Gamescom, Law, Getty, Nurphoto, Adobe, Activision, Monopoly Locations: Asia, Singapore, asia, Canada, Hong Kong, Gamescom Asia, that's, Krakow, Poland, Neopets, U.S

☆ ‘Video games are in for quite a trip’: How generative AI could radically reshape gaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“You can tell there is something off about what you’re seeing or hearing.”Enter generative AI. That offers another opportunity for generative AI to reshape the gaming experience. While the developers retain control over procedurally generated content, generative AI has the potential to develop unplayable levels, or deviate in unintended ways from the game’s narrative. An additional toolWhile gamers are excited about the potential for gameplay, generative AI is likely to impact development before it alters the user experience. “I think with generative AI, it’s essentially the same thing – or at least, we’re approaching it with the exact same mindset here at Ubisoft.” However, there are still a lot of unanswered “legal and ethical aspects” to using generative AI, including artists’ copyright, he adds.

Persons: Jitao Zhou, Alexis Rolland, ”, Rolland, Ubisoft's, Zhou, Julian Togelius, “, Togelius, Takehiko Hoshino, It’s, Hoshino, “ Fortnite, Creatives, We’ve, it’s Organizations: Rikkyo University CNN —, La, La Forge, Ubisoft, Rikkyo University, New York University, Rokkyo University, Maxis, EA, UGC, CNN, Forge Locations: La Forge China, Tokyo, La

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gio Reyna scored his first two internationals goals since a family feud with coach Gregg Berhalter erupted at last year's World Cup, leading the United States to a 4-0 rout of Ghana in an exhibition on Tuesday night. The 20-year-old midfielder's first game under Berhalter since the controversy was in Saturday's 3-1 loss to Germany. A son of former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna and American midfielder Danielle Egan, Gio Reyna was limited to a pair of substitute appearances in Qatar. Reyna got his second goal from an indirect free kick 10 yards out, awarded when Opoku sat on the ball. Reyna poked the ball to Pulisic, who tapped it back, and Reyna kicked the ball into the roof of the net.

Persons: — Gio Reyna, Gregg Berhalter, Reyna, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Claudio Reyna, Danielle Egan, Gio Reyna, Berhalter, Sergiño, Nicholas Opoku, Pulisic, Gideon Mensah, Tim Weah, Weah, Jerome Opoku, Opoku, Matt Turner, parry Mohammed Kudus, Lennard Maloney, Chris Hughton, ___ Organizations: U.S, CONCACAF Nations League, Black Stars, South, Berhalter, Mexico Locations: Tenn, United States, Ghana, U.S, Saturday's, Germany, Qatar, Africa, South Africa

☆ Australian Indigenous Voice: Three generations of First Nations men share their views on Australia's referendum
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Now 94, Anderson says a Yes vote isn’t just important for him but the country. “By talking and walking together as a nation and as a society, we will share a common destiny,” he said. Wharton said he wants “liberation, freedom and restitution” delivered through negotiation by the hundreds of Aboriginal nations with people occupying their land. Nick Harvey-Doyle is studying in New York and is calling for a Yes vote. Sykes, who died in 2010, was the first Black Australian to study at Harvard, and fought for a Yes vote in the 1967 Referendum.

Persons: Uncle Bob Anderson, Elder, ”, Anderson, Hilary Whiteman, Wayne Wharton, “, Wharton, “ I’ve, ” Wharton, Nick Harvey, Doyle, Elder Anderson, that’s, Doyle Harvey, Roberta Sykes, Sykes, Harvey, don’t, aren’t, Jonathan PIlkington, they’ll, what’s, he’s Organizations: Australia CNN —, First Nations, Nations, CNN, Aboriginal, Brooklyn, New York, New York University, Australian, Harvard, Australian Voice, Australian Electoral Commission, Torres Strait Locations: Brisbane, Australia, New York, New South Wales

☆ Women's World Cup final eight is wide open, as sport sees a changing of the guard
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Lori Ewing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

When the tournament was expanded to 32 teams, there was apprehension around whether lower-ranked sides could compete at this level. Concerns about blowouts were blown out of the water in a changing of the guard. Japan are the only previous World Cup champions remaining, having climbed the winners' podium in 2011. In an end of an era, the elimination of the U.S., Canada and Brazil marked inauspicious World Cup finales for some of the game's biggest trailblazers in Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair and Marta. The Lionesses have more big-game experience as reigning European champions, but Colombia have enjoyed better fan support than any team except Australia.

Persons: Rachel Daly, Georgia Stanway, Dan Peled SYDNEY, gunning, Sarina Wiegman, Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair, Marta, Linda Caicedo, France's, Kadidiatou Diani, Roja, Australia's Matildas, Sam Kerr, Kerr, Les Bleues, Herve Renard, We're, Renard, Lauren James, Nigeria's Michelle Alozie, Lori Ewing, Michael Perry Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Brisbane Football, United States, Germany, Norway, Olympic, Canada, Sweden, Vietnam, France, Morocco, England, Saturday, Columbia, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, England, Nigeria, Brisbane, Australia, Georgia, Colombia, France, Spain, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Brazil, U.S, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, European, Nigeria's

Here's a stellar gaming laptop deal for anyone seeking portable gaming power on a budget. Best Buy has shaved $350 off an entry-level Dell G15. An ideal gaming laptop for newcomers or casual gamersDeal icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Great Price Dell G15 Gaming Laptop (Ryzen 5, RTX 3050, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) Designed for gamers, the G15 has a large 15.6-inch screen for a more immersive on-the-go experience, and it's $350 off from Best Buy. The resulting $600 price is a steal considering the Ryzen 5 CPU and RTX 3050 GPU inside.

Persons: Price Organizations: AMD, Apex, Bluetooth Locations: CounterStrike

☆ ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ Videogame Tops Sales Charts Amid Debates About ‘Harry Potter’ Creator
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Luke Winkie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The new videogame ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ transports players to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Harry Potter and his friends mastered spellbooks. When the new, highly anticipated “Harry Potter” videogame “Hogwarts Legacy” made its debut earlier this month, it shot immediately to the top of the sales charts. Set in a 19th-century Wizarding World where wizards wear top hats and drive buggies, the game transports players to the school where Harry and his friends mastered spellbooks and learned how to fight against the dark arts. Game fans are captivated by its immersive open world: In the days following its release, “Hogwarts Legacy” had at one point had more than 879,000 concurrent players, according to distribution platform Steam. Developed by Avalanche Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, it marks the first time “Harry Potter” has been given blockbuster treatment by a videogame company.

☆ The Harry Potter video game 'Hogwarts Legacy' is here, and topping sales charts — despite the JK Rowling controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"Hogwarts Legacy" was at the top of the Steam PC and PlayStation Store sales charts on Friday. The early success comes despite backlash over Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's anti-trans comments. The game's early success is in the face of some calls for a boycott over Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling's past anti-trans comments. Warner Bros. Games, which released "Hogwarts Legacy," wrote on the game's FAQ page that Rowling was "not directly involved in the creation of the game." Discovery CEO David Zaslav in November expressed an interest in doing "something with J.K. on Harry Potter going forward."

☆ Hogwarts Legacy breaks record before official release, despite controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hogwarts Legacy – the new open-world video game by Avalanche and Warner Bros. Hogwarts Legacy is based on Harry Potter but is set in the late 1800s, well before the action in the Harry Potter books take place, and opens the Harry Potter World beyond Hogwarts Castle. Videogamesnewyork, a New York City store that sells modern and retro video games, is ordering just enough games to their store based on pre-orders. Some gamers also are boycotting Hogwarts Legacy over the controversy. The company says J.K. Rowling is not involved in the Hogwarts Legacy game.

☆ HBO's 'The Last of Us' is really good. That doesn't mean other video-game TV shows will be.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

From "Fallout" to "God of War," a slew of other video-game TV shows are in the works. The second episode was watched by 5.7 million viewers on Sunday, a 22% increase from the premiere's first night, HBO said this week. But just because "The Last of Us" creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, managed to bring the game to TV in a satisfying way, doesn't mean other video-game shows will have the same fate. That's not to say that they don't feature compelling narratives, and they could still be great TV shows. The "Assassin's Creed" and "God of War" games feature a bevy of side missions that could convolute an adaptation.

Diablo IV will be released on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms on June 6, 2023. Diablo IV will launch on June 6, 2023 for Windows PCs, PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. The developers of Diablo IV have said one of their primary goals was to return to the franchise's roots of darkness and horror. Diablo IV can connect between platforms, so players on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox should have no issues playing together. Diablo 4 first-look impressionsDiablo IV / Activision BlizzardWe got to try the first few hours of Diablo IV during a hands-on media event.

☆ I got to play an exclusive demo of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Here's everything I learned about the newest games in the series.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( William Antonelli | Tech Reporter For Insider Reviews | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the newest entries in Nintendo's long-running RPG series, are set to release on November 18. And Nintendo is kicking off Pokémon's ninth generation with Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, both releasing on November 18, 2022. Here's a rundown of everything that I learned from that session, along with my first impressions of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: GameplayLet's start with the most important topic: What are Scarlet and Violet like to play? The games struggle to run smoothlyMy Pokémon Scarlet demo didn't play well.

Women using chemical hair-straightening products are at a higher risk of uterine cancer than women who reported not using them, a new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found. Researchers noted that Black women may have a higher risk because they are more likely to use those products more frequently. “Sixty percent of the participants who reported using straighteners were Black women. The bottom line is that the exposure burden appears to be higher among Black women,” Chandra Jackson, an NIEHS Earl Stadtman Investigator who co-authored the study, said. Advocates like Greene, one of the leading voices in the movement against Black hair discrimination, have highlighted that wearing natural hair isn’t easy or always safe for Black people.

☆ Take-Two sinks after a hacker leaks hours of highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 footage
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Take-Two Interactive stock tumbled 3% on Monday following a weekend leak of Grand Theft Auto 6 footage. A hacker released hours of early development footage of the highly anticipated open world game. More than 90 gameplay videos of the game were posted to an online Grand Theft Auto forum on Saturday night by a hacker that used the screen name "teapotuberhacker." Grand Theft Auto 6 is a a follow up to Grand Theft Auto 5, which was released nearly a decade ago in 2013. Grand Theft Auto 5 has sold more than 160 million copies and has seen renewed life via its online gaming mode.

The next Legend of Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, will release on May 12, 2023. Nintendo is also releasing a $130 Collector's Edition that comes with an art book, exclusive pins, and more. They also announced an exclusive Collector's Edition of the game, and a new Amiibo figure based on Link's new design. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Price and how to preorderThe latest Zelda game is titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and it's planned for release on May 12, 2023. Despite this, it's rare for a Zelda game to ever receive a direct sequel that features the same characters in the same time period.

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