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☆ The Trump Voters in Swing States Who Are Returning to the Fold
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +11 min

To try to understand his enduring appeal, Reuters spoke to five Trump supporters in five general election battleground states: Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Trump currently leads Democratic President Joe Biden in several swing state general election polls, suggesting he will be highly competitive in a likely re-match next November. None are full-blown "election deniers" backing Trump's false claims that he, and not Biden, won the 2020 election. The second issue that swung Ruiz back behind Trump was the multiple criminal charges against him. Johnson likes Trump's tough stance on migration, and believes Trump will slow the crossings and deport as many migrants as feasibly possible.

Persons: Tim Reid, Nathan Layne, James Oliphant, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Biden, Adolf Hitler, MARK LIPP, Mark Lipp, Ron DeSantis, Lipp, DeSantis, CAMILLA MOORE, Trump's, Camilla Moore, Moore, who's, Fani Willis, Barack Obama's, CARLOS RUIZ, ARIZONA Carlos Ruiz, Ruiz, MEGAN CHUDEREWICZ, ADAMS, PENNSYLVANIA Megan Chuderewicz, Adams, shutdowns, Anthony Fauci, RANDY JOHNSON, Randy Johnson, Johnson, isn't, he's, Press Johnson, Ross Colvin, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: Reuters, Republican, U.S, Capitol, Trump, Democratic, Florida Governor, Palestinian, CITY, Georgia Black Republican Council, Fulton, Georgia Republican, Republicans, Chuderewicz, Plum Borough School District, Press, U.S . Capitol Locations: Nevada , Georgia, Arizona , Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa, Haiti, Nazi, NEVADA, Florida, Las Vegas, Ukraine, United States, Bronx, Israeli, China, Israel, Gaza, GEORGIA, Georgia, Atlanta, Fulton County, ARIZONA, Tucson, Mexico, PENNSYLVANIA, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN, Adams Township, Johnson, U.S

☆ Aaron Rodgers is causing major headaches for ESPN after his bizarre comment about Jimmy Kimmel
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-03 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has sparked a controversy with his latest quip about comedian Jimmy Kimmel. AdvertisementESPN is grappling with a wave of backlash after Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers made a bizarre and unfounded quip about comedian Jimmy Kimmel being linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Kimmel, who is one Disney's biggest names as the host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live! Advertisement"There's a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, really hoping that doesn't come out," Rodgers said." "I can see exactly why Jimmy Kimmel felt the way he felt, especially with his position.

Persons: Aaron Rodgers, Jimmy Kimmel, Rodgers, Kimmel, Jeffrey Epstein's, —, Jeffrey Epstein, Pat McAfee's, I've, Epstein, doesn't, Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden's, Travis Kelce, McAfee, Aaron, Pat McAfee, Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com, @ESPN, Julie K, Brown, Mike D, Sykes, Perez mused, Bob Iger Organizations: Jets, Service, ESPN, Chiefs, NFL, Disney, Front, York Post

☆ Anthony Fauci to Testify in House on Covid-19 Pandemic’s Origins, U.S. Response
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Warren P. Strobel | Michael R. Gordon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s testimony will begin with two days of transcribed interviews behind closed doors in January followed by a public hearing at a later date. Photo: Alex Brandon/Associated PressWASHINGTON—After months of negotiations, former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci has agreed to testify in Congress on the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the virus’s origins in China. The testimony by Fauci, who led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 until last year, will be his first before the Republican-controlled House.

Persons: Anthony Fauci’s, Alex Brandon, Associated Press WASHINGTON —, Anthony Fauci, Fauci Organizations: Associated Press WASHINGTON, White, National Institute of Allergy, Republican Locations: China

Political Cartoons View All 1237 ImagesEarlier this year, the Federal Election Commission began a process to potentially regulate AI-generated deepfakes in political ads before the 2024 election. AI-generated political ads have already made an appearance in the U.S. In April, the Republican National Committee released an entirely AI-generated ad meant to show the future of the United States if Biden, a Democrat, is reelected. Google announced a similar AI labeling policy for political ads in September. Under that rule, political ads that play on YouTube or other Google platforms will have to disclose the use of AI-altered voices or imagery.

Persons: —, Joe Biden's, Biden, Ron DeSantis ’, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, “ It’s, ”, Vince Lynch, IV.AI, Lynch, ” Lynch Organizations: WASHINGTON, Facebook, Meta, Inc, Commission, Republican National Committee, Democrat, Florida Gov, GOP, Google, YouTube Locations: Europe, United States, U.S, Mexico, South Africa, Ukraine, Taiwan, Pakistan, Florida, Menlo Park , California

Google was the first big tech company to say it would impose new labels on deceptive AI-generated political advertisements that could fake a candidate's voice or actions. The pressure on the social media companies comes as both lawmakers are helping to lead a charge to regulate AI-generated political ads. Google has already said that starting in mid-November it will require a clear disclaimer on any AI-generated election ads that alter people or events on YouTube and other Google products. This policy applies both in the U.S. and in other countries where the company verifies election ads. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta doesn’t have a rule specific to AI-generated political ads but has a policy restricting “faked, manipulated or transformed” audio and imagery used for misinformation.

Persons: Tom Hanks hawking, Pope Francis, Rand Paul, Mark Zuckerberg, Linda Yaccarino, ”, Sen, Amy Klobuchar, Yvette Clarke, didn't, Clarke, Klobuchar, “, ” Klobuchar, Republican Sen, Josh Hawley of, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Ron DeSantis, Democratic Sen, Elizabeth Warren, Ari Cohn, haven't, ” Cohn, Ali Swenson Organizations: Sen, Capitol, Google, Facebook, Democratic, Associated Press, Klobuchar, U.S ., Twitter, Meta, Senate, YouTube, Republican, Republican National Committee, GOP, Florida Gov, Administration, Commission, Public Citizen Locations: Minnesota, York, U.S, Josh Hawley of Missouri, United States

Still, the DeSantis campaign remains adamant that the race is far from settled and the timing of these recent broadsides is coming as 2024 is only just now coming into focus for many voters. “The time for contrast was not over the summer when the government was going after (Trump),” said Ryan Tyson, a senior adviser to DeSantis’ campaign. Club for Growth president David McIntosh recently warned about the potential pitfalls of attacking Trump too aggressively. “Every traditional post-production ad attacking President Trump either backfired or produced no impact on his ballot support and favorability,” McIntosh wrote. A new phaseThis new phase of the DeSantis campaign marks a significant departure from the spring and summer, when DeSantis did not always appear comfortable criticizing Trump.

Persons: Donald Trump “, Ron DeSantis, Trump, “, Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci, “ Florida’s, DeSantis, ”, Ryan Tyson, ” DeSantis, O’Kay Henderson, NBC’s “, Christie, ‘, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Donald Trump, David McIntosh, McIntosh, ” McIntosh, there’s, he’s, –, Ethan Masters, ” “ Donald, ” Masters, Shellie Flockhart, “ Trump, Roe, Wade, Flockhart, ’ – Organizations: CNN, Republican, Florida Gov, Trump, Republicans, White, Press, Former New Jersey Gov, Former South Carolina Gov, Yale, Harvard Law, GOP, Club for Growth, for Growth Locations: Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Manhattan, Mexico, Iowa, Radio Iowa, ”, South Carolina, Dallas County , Iowa

The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded Monday to two scientists whose work led to the mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. As countries prepared to roll out those shots, The Associated Press took a look at how the vaccines were developed so quickly. ___How could scientists race out COVID-19 vaccines so fast without cutting corners? A head start helped -- over a decade of behind-the-scenes research that had new vaccine technology poised for a challenge just as the coronavirus erupted. Both shots — one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, the other by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health — are so-called messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines, a brand-new technology.

Persons: Dr, Anthony Fauci, Buddy Creech, ” Creech, Tal Zaks, ”, Drew Weissman, Weissman, Katalin, Philip Dormitzer, Barney Graham’s, ” Fauci, Graham, Jason McLellan, hadn't, “, ” Graham, Germany’s, Pfizer’s Dormitzer, Ugur Sahin Organizations: Medicine, COVID, Associated Press, Vanderbilt University, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, National Institutes of Health, NIH, University of Pennsylvania, Penn, NIH’s Vaccine Research Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education, AP Locations: U.S, Massachusetts, BioNTech, New York, China

☆ Meet the Black students who were instrumental in developing the first Covid-19 shots
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Among about two dozen scientists in Graham’s lab were three young students: Olubukola Abiona, Geoffrey Hutchinson and Cynthia Ziwawo. What the world didn’t know at the time was that those three students — Abiona, Hutchinson and Ziwawo — were doing the foundational work for those vaccines to eventually save lives. Geoffrey Hutchinson served in the Peace Corps and taught chemistry to high school students in Mozambique. The fruits of Abiona, Hutchinson and Ziwawo’s labor were evident this week as the United States began to roll out updated versions of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines. Abiona, Hutchinson and Ziwawo all confirmed Wednesday that although they haven’t made their appointments yet, they plan to get the updated shots.

Persons: Barney Graham’s, Olubukola Abiona, Geoffrey Hutchinson, Cynthia Ziwawo, “, Graham, ‘, ’ ”, Hutchinson, ”, ” Ziwawo, Anthony Fauci, — Abiona, Ziwawo —, Ziwawo, Kizzmekia Corbett, ” Corbett, David Satcher, he’s, Valerie Montgomery Rice, “ They’re, Abiona, Hannah Montana, Austin Steele, CNN Abiona, BioNTech, “ It’s, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, Vaccine Research, National Institutes of Health, University of Washington, “, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy, Diseases, Moderna, Morehouse School of Medicine, David Satcher Global Health Equity Institute, Association of American Medical Colleges, NIH, Disney, David Satcher Global Health Equity Summit, KPMG LLP, Indiana University School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Peace Corps, United States, Pfizer, CNN Health, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, US Centers for Disease Control Locations: China, Bethesda , Maryland, Ziwawo, United States, Atlanta, Graham’s, Nigeria, Mozambique, Abiona, United

☆ Four takeaways from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Paul Glader | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —“You’ll never be successful,” Errol Musk in 1989 told his 17-year-old son Elon, who was then preparing to fly from South Africa to Canada to find relatives and a college education. That’s one of the scenes Walter Isaacson paints in his 670-page biography of Elon Musk, who is now the richest person who ever lived. In a 2022 email sent to Elon Musk on Father’s Day, Errol Musk said he was freezing and lacking electricity, asking his son for money. Isaacson’s book revealed Musk had a third child (Techno Mechanicus) with the musician Grimes in 2022, and Musk confirmed the revelation Sunday. “Stop falling for weird s—.”Are robocars, an AI company and a robot called Optimus on tap?

Persons: “ You’ll, Errol Musk, Elon, Walter Isaacson, Elon Musk, Isaacson, Musk, ” Musk, Errol, ” Elon Musk, ”, Covid, Anthony Fauci, Fauci, Grimes, “, ” Isaacson, Simon, Schuster Zilis, Zilis, Jenna, Musk’s, “ I’ve, Jared Birchall, Alex Spiro, Kimbal, Optimus, Sam Altman, Altman, Larry Page Organizations: CNN, Blacks, Defamation League, Elon, Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Tesla Locations: South Africa, Canada, United States, Texas

☆ Google to require disclosures of AI content in political ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Starting in November, Google will require political advertisements to prominently disclose when they feature synthetic content — such as images generated by artificial intelligence — the tech giant announced this week. Political ads that feature synthetic content that “inauthentically represents real or realistic-looking people or events” must include a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure for viewers who might see the ad, Google said Wednesday in a blog post. The rule, an addition to the company’s political content policy that covers Google and YouTube, will apply to image, video and audio content. In its policy update, Google said it will require disclosures on ads using synthetic content in a way that could mislead users. The Federal Election Commission has also been exploring how to regulate AI in political ads.

Persons: Ron DeSantis ’, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Trump, Joe Biden’s, Biden Organizations: New, New York CNN, Google, YouTube, Florida Gov, Republican National Committee, RNC, CNN, Commission Locations: New York, United States, Washington ,

☆ Covid hospitalizations spike with new variant as school returns, U.S. readies vaccines
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The late summer Covid spike comes after a quiet year in which hospitalizations and deaths declined week after week since January. "We're living in a bit of a fantasy world where we're pretending Covid is not relevant," Birx told ABC in a podcast interview last week. Birx said those vaccines should have been released weeks ago to combat the predictable summer wave, adding the U.S. should already be developing new shots for January to target the emerging BA.2.86 variant. The updated shots should be effective at reducing severe disease and hospitalization from the variant, according to the agency. The first lady last caught Covid in August 2022 and the president tested positive in July of last year.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Reuters Covid, Deborah Birx, Trump, Covid, Birx, we're, Novavax, Moderna, Karine Jean, Pierre, Biden, Anthony Fauci, Fauci, It's, Still, Jill Biden, Joe Biden Organizations: Intensive Care Unit, Western Reserve Hospital, Reuters, hospitalizations, Centers for Disease Control, White, ABC, Pfizer, Moderna, CDC, U.S, BBC, National Institute of Allergy, White House Locations: Cuyahoga Falls , Ohio, U.S, ., Arkansas , Colorado , Indiana , Kansas , Minnesota , Oklahoma , Tennessee , Utah, Wyoming, China, Kentucky, Texas, India

Biden, who spent eight years as Obama's vice president, told a friend that Obama couldn't even curse properly, according to “The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden’s White House and the Struggle for America’s Future." In private, Biden would “occasionally admit to friends he felt tired," the book says. She said the book was actually praising Biden for helping to push major legislation through Congress and unify global support around Ukraine. "And we’re not going to litigate here.”Foer's book also describes struggles by Vice President Kamala Harris to carve out a role for herself as Biden's No. Foer's book says Biden tried to treat Harris more respectfully than he felt Obama often had treated him as vice president, calling her “the vice president" instead of “my vice president."

Persons: Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Biden, Obama, Joe Biden’s, Franklin Foer, Donald Trump, Biden's, flailing ”, “, Karine Jean, Pierre, ” Jean, ”, Jean, ” “, Kamala Harris, Foer, Harris, Anthony Fauci, Jake Sullivan, Ashraf Ghani, Hillary Clinton, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sullivan, Clinton Organizations: WASHINGTON, Harvard, Ardent, White, Central, Taliban, U.S, Marines Locations: Ukraine, Scandinavia, U.S, Mexico, Afghanistan, Kabul

☆ 'Of course he lost': Ron DeSantis rejects Trump's 2020 election claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Amanda Terkel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis on Sunday rejected Donald Trump's claim that he was the true winner of the 2020 presidential election in his most forceful comments to date on the matter. DeSantis continued to discuss all the ways he believed the previous presidential election was not perfect. DeSantis' comments come just days after Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he broke the law by trying to overturn the 2020 election. I don't think it was a good-run election," DeSantis said. Florida has long allowed anyone who wants to vote by mail to do so, including in the 2020 election.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Scott Brown, Donald Trump's, DeSantis, Dasha Burns, Trump, Burns, Joe Biden's, Lester Holt, Mark Zuckerberg's, Hunter Biden, didn't, You've, —, Dr, Anthony Fauci, lockdowns, Trump's Organizations: Republican U.S, Florida Gov, NBC News, NBC, MSNBC, Trump, Republican, White, Coronavirus, Force, Republican National Committee Locations: Florida, Rye , New Hampshire, U.S, Iowa

☆ DeSantis sharpens critique of Trump but faces huge odds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

While he faces classic signs of a campaign in free fall, including staffer layoffs and donor concern, DeSantis’ problems are not all self-inflicted. Keith Davis, who has served as Sheriff of Wayne County since 1997, is a Trump voter who is now backing DeSantis. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesIn his first post-reset swing through Iowa, DeSantis had mixed results. While he was in Iowa, DeSantis also repeatedly paid tribute to Reynolds after Trump alienated some caucus-goers by badmouthing the state’s popular Republican governor. But what DeSantis is trying to do, by running a classic Iowa campaign, is a ultimately a conventional move.

Persons: Donald Trump –, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, ”, Angus, Rudy Giuliani, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Trump, he’s, “ There’s, ” DeSantis, Fox’s Bret Baier, Bill Clinton, “, who’s, He’s, Charlie Neibergall, –, Keith Davis, Kim Reynolds, Davis, ” Davis, mouthing Trump, Dee Snodgrass, Scott Olson, Donald J, Ralph Alshouse, Reynolds, Terry Branstad, it’s, Dr, Anthony Fauci, Kamala Harris, won’t, Reba Saldanha, Reuters DeSantis, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Clinton, John McCain Organizations: Iowa CNN, Florida Gov, Wayne County, Hawkeye State, Trump, Republican Party, New York Times, Siena, Republican, GOP, Republican Party of, Iraq, Yale, Harvard, Reagan, “, Republican Party of Iowa, DeSantis, Jimmy Centers, PAC, Gov, Reuters, Fox News Locations: Chariton, Iowa, Wayne, The Florida, Florida, Granite State, New Hampshire, Wayne County, American, Arkansas, Des Moines, DeSantis, Knoxville , Iowa, Washington, Rye , New Hampshire

☆ Ron DeSantis is trailing Trump in the polls because he hasn’t ‘hit him hard enough’ and isn’t a ‘memorable personality,’ political experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ron DeSantis hoped that Donald Trump's legal woes would hurt his opponent, per The New York Times. A USC political science professor told Insider that DeSantis hasn't hit Trump "hard enough." With eight months until the primaries, the public's opinion can still change — and so can Trump's legal standing. As for Trump's top challenger for the GOP nomination, Grose said DeSantis hasn't quite "hit him hard enough." Regardless, it appears like the DeSantis campaign is working hard on its reboot.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump's, Trump, Jack Smith, Christian Grose, Grose, DeSantis, Biden, Justice Department's, kowtowing, Anthony Fauci, Cal Jillson, Jillson, —, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, He's Organizations: New York Times, Trump, USC, Service, GOP, Truth, University of Southern, Republican, Biden Administration, Department of Justice, Justice, CNN, Southern Methodist University, Politico Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, Trump, University of Southern California, DeSantis, Iowa, New Hampshire

☆ Why Won’t Simon Ateba Stop Shouting?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Joseph Bernstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

(Mr. Ateba currently has a “hard pass,” which confers regular access to White House grounds. After the meeting, which Mr. Ateba recalled as being cordial, Ms. Psaki did call on him during a briefing, on Sept. 1, 2021. Mr. Ateba asked a friendly question about whether Mr. Biden’s detractors should apologize for calling him “sleepy.”What followed, Mr. Ateba said, were several amicable months. Ms. Psaki and Mr. Ateba met privately again. As their briefing room exchange made the rounds on Twitter, Fox News invited Mr. Ateba to appear on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”“I wondered, is it in my best interest?” Mr. Ateba recalled.

Persons: Ateba, don’t, Biden, Psaki, Biden’s, Dr, Anthony Fauci, Mr, Ms, “ It’s, “ Tucker Carlson, “, Jesse Watters, Trump Organizations: White House, Twitter, Fox News Locations: United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, South Africa

☆ With the rise of AI, social media platforms could face perfect storm of misinformation in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Experts, and even some executives overseeing AI companies, say these tools risk spreading false information to mislead voters, including ahead of the 2024 US election. But they now face a perfect storm of factors that could make it harder than ever to keep up with the next wave of election misinformation. Experts worry that the proliferation of generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, could make it easier for bad actors to create election misinformation. OpenAI, the maker of the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, issued a stark warning about the risk of AI-generated misinformation in a recent research paper. The platforms largely use a mix of human and automated review to identify misinformation and manipulated media.

Persons: Ron DeSantis ’, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, Trump, “, ”, “ We’ve, I’m, David Evan Harris, Bhaskar Chakravorti, it’s, Harris, Margaret Mitchell, Andrew Angelov, incentivized, Mitchell, OpenAI, chatbot ChatGPT, Joe Biden’s, Ivy Choi, Meta, Twitter, Elon Musk Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Florida Gov, ”, University of Washington, Center, Social, of Technology Institute, Facebook, CNN, The Fletcher School, Tufts University, Google, Pentagon, Republican National Committee, RNC, Democratic, Federal, Commission, YouTube, “, Meta Locations: New York, meddle, United States, Washington

☆ Even Fox News and the Murdochs are turning on DeSantis after his rough campaign start
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The GOP presidential hopeful's own super PAC has been blunt about his campaign's struggles. According to reports in Rolling Stone and The New York Times, Rupert Murdoch and his influential News Corp empire are souring on the governor. "They are transactional and can smell a loser a mile away," an unnamed Fox insider told Rolling Stone, referring to Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, and top Fox News executives. You should be my governor," Fox News host Sean Hannity once beamed to DeSantis during the pandemic, The Times pointed out. These subtle shifts, Rolling Stone reported, are no accident.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Rupert Murdoch, Stone, Rupert, Lachlan Murdoch, Glenn Youngkin, Youngkin, DeSantis, Trump, Anthony Fauci, Sean Hannity, romped, Maria Bartiromo, what's, He's Organizations: Florida Gov, The News Corp, Service, Gov, GOP, The New York Times, News Corp, Fox, Fox News, The Times, Virginia Gov, Murdoch, New York Post, Wall Street, Post, Yahoo Finance, Fox Corporation Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, Rolling, Virginia, DeSantis, Iowa, Wells

☆ Anthony Fauci on His Friendship With the AIDS Activist Larry Kramer - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Anthony Fauci | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I recently attended a memorial service for Larry Kramer, the award-winning playwright, author and provocative gay activist. I had a genuinely unique relationship with Larry for more than three decades, which I reflected on at his memorial and wanted to share here. A one-way conversation from Larry Kramer to Tony Fauci via the written word, in The San Francisco Examiner, reflecting a booming voice before I even knew him: “I Call You Murderers,” the headline read. “An open letter to an incompetent idiot, Dr. Anthony Fauci,” it continued. Fast-forward 32 years to May 2020: A brief two-way telephone conversation ending in a simple phrase.

Persons: Larry Kramer, Lucille Lortel, ”, Larry, Tony Fauci, “, Anthony Fauci, Tony, ” Tony Organizations: Christopher, San Francisco Examiner Locations: Greenwich Village, ”

☆ Election campaigns are already using AI with some degree of success. Experts are concerned it will usher in a new era of disinformation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Political campaigns are using AI to create election material, attack ads, and donation requests. —DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 5, 2023Campaigns, ranging from mayoral races to the 2024 presidential election, have already been using artificial intelligence to create election ads or outreach emails — with some reportedly seeing benefits in the tool. Beyond fake images, West wrote that artificial intelligence could also be used for "very precise audience targeting" to reach swing voters. During his first appearance before Congress in May, the CEO of OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, admitted his concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in elections as the tool advances. "This is a remarkable time to be working on artificial intelligence," he said.

Persons: —, Ron DeSantis's, Donald Trump, Anthony Fauci, ike, ake, ould Organizations: Service, National Institute of Allergy Locations: Florida

☆ A.I.’s Use in Elections Sets Off a Scramble for Guardrails
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | Steven Lee Myers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Increasingly, political consultants, election researchers and lawmakers say setting up new guardrails, such as legislation reining in synthetically generated ads, should be an urgent priority. The Republican National Committee released a video with artificially generated images of doomsday scenarios after President Biden announced his re-election bid, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida posted fake images of former President Donald J. Trump with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former health official. The Democratic Party experimented with fund-raising messages drafted by artificial intelligence in the spring — and found that they were often more effective at encouraging engagement and donations than copy written entirely by humans. The technology is already far more powerful than manual manipulation — not perfect, but fast improving and easy to learn.

Persons: Biden, Ron DeSantis, Donald J, Trump, Anthony Fauci, Sam Altman Organizations: Republican National Committee, Gov, Democratic Locations: Florida

☆ The cult of Emily Oster
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Sarah Todd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +30 min

Emily Oster is sitting in the back of a car, checking her Garmin watch as we lurch through rush-hour traffic toward the Holland Tunnel. A self-described expert in data, Oster uses her economics training to dig into studies on things like circumcision and screen time and translate them for popular consumption. There doesn't seem to be much of a gap between the way Oster presents herself in her books and newsletters and the way she conducts her life. Unsurprisingly, economics informs every aspect of the way Oster sees the world. When Oster was a toddler, her mother told a Yale colleague that Oster often talked to herself before falling asleep.

Persons: Emily Oster, doesn't, Oster, Taylor Swift, Spock, —, Mandy Moore, Emily DiDonato, Amy Schumer, " Oster, Emily, Aisha McAdams, Claudia Goldin, who's, Lori Feldman, " Feldman, Winter, It's, reopenings, Timothy Caulfield, Oster's Brown, OSTER, She's, Sheryl Sandberg's, Brown, Denis Tangney Jr, graham, Eminem, Sharon Oster, Ray Fair, Jesse Shapiro, Katherine Nelson, Carl, Choate Rosemary Hall, John F, Kennedy, Glenn Close, Ivanka Trump, Goldin, Steven Levitt —, Oster —, Paul Farmer, Steven Levitt, Oster's, Levitt, Robert Barro, demographer Monica Das Gupta, Joseph Delaney, she'd, I've, Matt Notowidigdo, Chicago Booth, hadn't, Udo Salters, Patrick McMullan, Shapiro, Jessica Calarco, Dr, Anthony Fauci, Donald Trump, Calarco, Rochelle Walensky, Delaney, University of Manitoba epidemiologist, Abigail Cartus, Justin Feldman, Delivette Castor, they're, COVID, Castor, Notowidigdo, Carter, you'd, she's, there's Organizations: Garmin, Brown University, New York Times, American Academy of Pediatrics, Yorker, Yale School of Management, Yale, Harvard, Connecticut, Choate, University of Chicago, Forbes, Wall, Publicly, University of Manitoba, Getty, Oster, Centers for Disease Control, Columbia University, Harvard Business School Locations: Holland, Montclair , New Jersey, Montclair, Harvard, Providence , Rhode Island, New Haven , Connecticut, China, Canada, Chicago, Ohio, New Jersey

The video does not disclose any potential AI use and the DeSantis campaign did not respond to a question about whether the images were fake or whether AI was used to create them. A person with knowledge of the DeSantis campaign operation said the Trump side had been "continuously posting fake images and false talking points to smear the governor." The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Drexel professor Stamm's forensics analysis tool suggests the images were made using an AI model called a diffusion model, which underpin popular AI image generation products like DALL-E and Stability AI. "At some point the AI systems will be outputting images that have no differences from real images," said James O'Brien, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Persons: Donald Trump, Russell Cheyne, Anthony Fauci, Trump, Fauci, Ron DeSantis, Matthew Stamm, Hany Farid, DeSantis, Drexel, Biden, James O'Brien, Alexandra Ulmer, Anna Tong, Seana Davis, Rosalba O'Brien, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S, Republican, Aberdeen International Airport, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Republican White, Twitter, Trump, Drexel University, University of California, Republican National Committee, RNC, Thomson Locations: Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain, Florida, Berkeley, U.S, China, Taiwan, San Francisco

☆ FDA grants full approval to Pfizer Covid treatment Paxlovid for high-risk adults
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted full approval to Pfizer's Covid antiviral pill, Paxlovid, for adults who are at high risk of getting severely sick with the virus. The FDA first made Paxlovid available in December 2021 under emergency use authorization for high-risk individuals ages 12 and up. Both Pfizer and the FDA view the treatment as an important complementary tool to vaccination that can help high-risk Americans manage their Covid infections and ultimately save lives. For some doctors, another area of concern is Paxlovid "rebound cases." That's when patients who take the treatment see their Covid symptoms return or test positive shortly after they initially recover.

"The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC Director," Walensky wrote to President Joe Biden in her resignation letter. "We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter," Biden said in a statement. "For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations," she told CDC staff last summer. Public health experts said Walensky wrestled with political and technical challenges during her tenure. "Dr. Walensky was put into place at the CDC at a time when the agency was basically captive to politicians which clearly hampered her ability to lead," he said.

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