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☆ At Rosemead High, generations of students were harassed or groomed for sex as they tried to get an education
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Matt Drange | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +87 min

Students were regularly subjected to sexual harassment by Hall, two former students told me. “I feel like so many of us were victims to the culture,” one former Rosemead student told Insider. Manipulation by a trusted adult has been passed like a virus to generations of Rosemead students. AdvertisementThe Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia have long been a local haunt for Rosemead High students. We wondered aloud whether Masiello had harassed our mother the same way he'd done to generations of Rosemead students.

Persons: Clara didn't, She'd, Alex Rai, Eric Burgess, Burgess, Rai, Clara, they'd, Rai texted, she'd, who'd, Mark Abramson, Rai didn't, Leonard Levine, — I'm, Alex Rai wasn't, wouldn't, Rosemead, RubyAnna Sare, Sare, Harlan Mayne, Mayne, Dwain Crum, he'd, colluded, Crum, Robin Torres, Torres, Edward Zuniga, Zuniga, Paul Arevalo, Kristy, Jim Hall, Hall, groped, Angela, Diane Bladen, Bladen, Michael Sullivan, Sullivan, Denton Todd, Todd, Barbara, Arevalo, Barbara said, Matt Drange, Andrew Dalton, Dalton, ” Mark Abramson, I've, Will, Suzy, Carly Sanchez, Sanchez, aren't, —, David Pitts —, Pitts, Cindy, Scriabin, David Pitts, couldn't, That's, G, You'd, It's, Wing Chan, Chan, Louis Vuitton, Justin Rosien, Rosien, Rosien texted, cringed, Jim Hall's, Don Masiello, Paul Arevalo's, Sergio Caveyo, Caveyo, Brian Day, Alex, messaged, Brian Aliff, Aliff, Nichole, I'd, scoot, Michelle, Michelle's, Michelle didn't, Sarah, Brian Bristol, didn't, Nichole's, Weeks, Herbert Ortiz, Jaime, Ortiz, Richard Daniels, Daniels, Fidel Dominguez, Rosemead High's, Larry Callaham, Masiello, Jan Herzog, Herzog, Justin Fregoso, James Eder, Fregoso, me Eder, Eder, they've, Anne Bazile, Bazile, Unbeknownst, Arevalo —, Jonathan Howard, Credentialing, Howard, Elaine Rose, Rose, El Monte Union High School District Arevalo, he's, José Gallegos, Gallegos, Billie, Jo Grant, Grant, Michael Cohen, Cohen, Santa Claus, Oz, California's, haven't, Lupe Nieves, Nieves, reenacted, faxed, Harold Greenberg, Dan Morris, Morris, Alex Valdez, J, Valdez, alums, Heidi, Guillermo, she's, Clara wasn't, Mark Matthews, Matthews, Rai groped, Janine Salanitro, Zuniga hasn't, Felipe Salazar, Salazar, Andrew Dalton's, Matt Drange’s Organizations: Business, Rosemead High School, Rosemead High, Rosemead, El Monte Union High School District, Sheriff's Department, TA, El Monte Union High School, X's, Ford, Business Insider, Casa del Rey, Nissan, Nike, Bristol, Arroyo High School, High School, Los, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Perris High School, of Education, Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California, California Department of Education, Monte Union High School, Valdez, Gabrielino, Rai, Los Angeles County Sheriff's, Temple City Locations: Southern California, Rosemead, San Gabriel Valley, San Gabriel, Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, Pasadena, Bladen, California, Arevalo, Utah, Santa, Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Burgess, Bristol, Arroyo, Perris, California's, Angeles, Cindy's, Los Angeles County, Temple

☆ 6 Podcasts for the Spooky Season
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Emma Dibdin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’s an adage about horror movies, often attributed to Alfred Hitchcock: What you don’t see is more frightening than what you do. This makes audio dramas excellent vehicles for the horror genre, because the absence of visual storytelling forces listeners to fill in the gaps. Starter episodes: “Omelet”Have you ever read the Wikipedia page for a horror movie you’re interested in, but too afraid to watch? You’re not alone — this one-degree-removed method of horror consumption is common, and it’s the linchpin of this fun and addictive recap podcast. Sammy Smart is a horror aficionado who watches the movies so her more fearful co-hosts, Emily Gonzalez and Henley Cox, don’t have to.

Persons: Alfred Hitchcock, Joseph Fink’s enthralling, Fink, “, ”, Alice Isn’t, Jasika Nicole, “ Alice Isn’t, You’re, Sammy Smart, Emily Gonzalez, Henley Cox, Jordan, Ari Aster’s “, Nicolas Cage, — Gonzalez, Cox, Smart Organizations: Vale

☆ Opinion: Trump and the upside-down world
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. CNN —The title on the cover of Cass R. Sunstein’s 2021 book, “This is not normal,” is printed upside down. The beginning of a Trump-backed House Republican inquiry into impeaching President Joe Biden with no clear evidence of his wrongdoing. A last-ditch move Saturday kept federal agencies funded for 45 days while putting more aid to Ukraine in jeopardy. Bill Bramhall/Tribune Content AgencyOn Monday, a New York judge found Trump and his adult sons liable for insurance and bank fraud and canceled the Trump Organization’s business certification.

Persons: Cass R, ” Sunstein, Ronald Reagan, “ Donald Duck, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, “, ”, Kevin McCarthy’s, Clay Jones, Mike Lawler, Rosa Cruz, Rob Rosenthal, Brian Riedl, Walt Handelsman, Biden, MAGA, John Avlon, ’, Bill Bramhall, Frida Ghitis, —, Ghitis, Phil Hands, Julian Zelizer, Steven Lubet, Judge Chutkan, Dean Obeidallah, Menendez, Hal Boyd, Sen, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis, Scott, ” Scott, Lyndon, “ you’ve, ” Jeff Yang, Chris Christie’s, ‘, Donald Duck ’, Mike Pence’s, Walter Mondale, Nikki Haley’s, South Carolina Sen, Vivek Ramaswamy, TikTok, whittling, Haley, ” Sophia Nelson, ” Lisa Benson, GoComics.com, James Antle III, Todd Graham, David Axelrod, Musa al, Republicans –, –, Nick Anderson, Agency Cassidy, Evelyn Hockstein, Cassidy Hutchinson, Nicole Hemmer, Hutchinson, …, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Liz Cheney, Alexander Butterfield, Melissa S, Jason L, Riley, Jill Filipovic’s, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Peter Bergen, Kennedy, Vladimir Putin, Brian Bowen Smith, ABC Gerry Turner, Deborah Carr, Gerry Turner, Turner, ” Don’t, Jill Filipovic, Dianne Feinstein, Matthew F, West Point Vincent, David A, Adam Larson, Michael D, Smith, Travis, Taylor Dana Summers, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, ” Rick Reilly, Colgate, Tay, Frankie de la, it’s Organizations: CNN, Republican, Ronald Reagan Presidential, Trump, Chiefs, Department of Labor, Wesleyan University, Agency, MAGA Republican, Pew Research Center, NBC, Republicans, GOP, “, Florida Gov, New, New Jersey Gov, Democratic, UAW, Tribune, White House, Legislative Affairs, White, Street, ” RFK, ABC, Chicago, Corps, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Washington Post, NFL Locations: Milwaukee, Simi Valley , California, Ukraine, New York, Washington, Tempe , Arizona, New Jersey, Cupp, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Gharbi, West Point

☆ Opinion | ‘The Entire Debate Was a Gong Show’: Winners and Losers From the Second Republican Showdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( New York Times Opinion | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

Matthew Continetti Governor Haley is an excellent communicator, but her message was often lost amid all the cross talk. Daniel McCarthy In this debate, Governor Haley decided to play the role that Vivek Ramaswamy played last time, frequently interrupting and attacking others. Matthew Continetti Governor DeSantis is not an exciting debater, but he remains the most plausible alternative to Donald Trump. Jane Coaston He really, really, really wanted to fight Donald Trump, who was not present. His worst moment was a canned line in which he compared Donald Trump to Donald Duck (Disney defamation suit to follow).

Persons: Ronald Reagan, Jane Coaston, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Gail Collins, Matthew Continetti, Haley, Ron DeSantis, I’m, Michelle Cottle, Ross Douthat, Amy Klobuchar, Vivek Ramaswamy’s Pete Buttigieg —, Michelle Goldberg, Katherine Mangu, Ward, Daniel McCarthy, Katherine Miller Haley, Scott, ” Peter Wehner, she’d, DeSantis, Donald Trump, zinged Trump, Trump, he’s, Nobody, Michelle Goldberg DeSantis, DeSantis —, Daniel McCarthy He’s, don’t, Katherine Miller, Peter Wehner, Christie, Donald Duck, Matthew Continetti Governor Christie, He’s, —, Ross Douthat “ Donald DUCK, “ Donald Duck, ” Katherine Mangu, Biden, ” Daniel McCarthy Governor Christie, Katherine Miller Christie, stemwinders, Donald Trump’s, Haley —, ’, “, ” Matthew Continetti, MAGA populists, MAGA, Haley didn’t, Reagan, Ward Ramaswamy, Katherine Miller Ramaswamy, Burgum, Ross, Yep, Katherine Miller Burgum, Gail Collins Boy, Pence, ”, Mike Pence, Asa Hutchinson, Peter Wehner Trump Organizations: Republican, Ronald Reagan Presidential, American Special Operations, Washington, Trump, Fox, Washington , D.C, South, Blacks, ’, Reagan Locations: California, Iowa, New Hampshire, Mexico, Florida, Ukraine, Washington ,, New Jersey, Simi Valley, China, America, North Dakota

☆ Apple's Eddy Cue defends default search contract with Google as best option for consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Cue, Apple's lead negotiator of its multibillion-dollar contract with Google , appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., to discuss the long-standing agreement between the two companies. "When we're picking search engines, we pick the best one and we let the customer easily change them," Cue said. But in other places around the world, the company still sees Google as offering the best experience, Cue said. In his testimony, Cue also reiterated criticism that Apple has when it comes to Google's privacy practices. Cue said it's easy for consumers to change their default search engines today.

Persons: Eddy Cue, Chip Somodevilla, Apple's, that's, Bernstein, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Joe Biden, Anna Moneymaker, Meagan Bellshaw, Bellshaw, Cook, Cue, Pichai, hadn't, Apple, we've, Eric Schmidt, Steve Jobs Organizations: Apple, Courthouse, Washington , D.C, Getty, Google, White, Justice Department, Cue, DOJ, Federal Trade Commission, Yahoo, CNBC, YouTube Locations: U.S, Washington ,, Europe, China, Russia

☆ How do you do, fellow kids: Facebook is rolling out new AI characters to lure Gen Z users. But their personalities are a bit... dated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta is hoping to gain more Gen Z customers with new AI chatbots. The bots are based on outdated characters that aren't as resonant with a Gen Z audience. Aside from the awkward summation of Gen Z humor, Bender might be a touch behind what kids are watching today. AdvertisementAdvertisementMeta's attempt at being Gen Z's 'North Star'Meta also misses the mark on what Gen Z humor is — often absurdist, incredibly fast-moving, "anti-humor." AdvertisementAdvertisementThis doesn't mean, however, that Gen Z is fully onboard with AI bots.

Persons: Gen, Meta, Bob, Bender, it's, —, Z's, millennials, ChatGPT, Alvin, Mark Zuckerberg, Snapchat Organizations: Service, Meta Connect, Street Journal, Meta, Facebook Locations: Wall, Silicon, TikTok

☆ Your Fitbit and Apple Watch may wind up hurting you
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Kelli María Korducki | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementWhen numbers take overThe 10,000-step benchmark has generally been the baseline goal for smartphone apps and fitness trackers. When the Fitbit tracker launched in 2009, 45 years after Yamasa's gadget cemented the 10,000-steps ideal in the public consciousness, it kick-started a boom in fitness wearables and spawned a frenzy for health data. This flood of easily accessible health data has certainly had some positive effects. Many fitness-tracking products also incorporate social-sharing features, which can give us a better perspective on how our exercise habits stack up against our friends', providing a little healthy competition as motivation. Many health- and fitness-tracking apps and wearables issue notifications throughout the day to urge their users toward their movement goals.

Persons: I've, Amanda Paluch, —, Paluch, John Toner, Toner, Cathleen Kronemer, Louis, she's, Kronemer, there's, I'm, Kelli María Korducki Organizations: Apple, US Department of Health, Human Services, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Hull, Health, Washington University School of Medicine, — Locations: East Asia, St, New York City

“We hit an obstacle with Google's contracts,'' Weinberg said in U.S. District Court in Washington. Google counters that it dominates the internet search market because its product is better than the competition. After a couple years, the company began positioning itself as a search engine that respects people’s privacy by promising not to track what users search for or where they have been. That's loose change for Google's parent company, Alphabet, which generated $283 billion in revenue last year. In court Thursday, Lehman said his best guess is that search engines will shift largely from relying on user data to relying on machine learning.

Persons: Gabriel Weinberg, Weinberg, DuckDuckGo, Edward Snowden, Eric Lehman, Department’s, Lehman, Baidu, Russia’s, Google’s, ’ ’, Judge Amit Mehta, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Organizations: WASHINGTON, Google, The U.S . Department of Justice, Apple, Verizon, MIT, Cambridge, Microsoft, NFL Locations: U.S, Washington, The, Pennsylvania

☆ The many states of the brain: What’s going on inside your head and how to optimize it
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Dr. Sanjay Gupta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Honestly, in the beginning, it was to just try to help my own brain; my grandfather had dementia, and that worried me. I’ll also explore what happens to our brain when we express gratitude, swipe on a dating app (over and over again) and eat certain (brain) foods. Our executive function can work really well and can help keep us on track. “There are peaks and valleys of focus throughout the day, and this corresponds with the ebb and flow of our attentional resources,” Mark explained. Also, she said, “if you have some really important task to do, take a really good break before you begin it.

Persons: I’ve, Stephen King, Michael Pollan, I’ll, Gloria Mark, ”, Mark, we’re, ” Mark, Adam Yee, It’s, you’ve, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “, Andrea Kane Organizations: CNN, University of California, CNN Health Locations: Irvine

☆ How Justin Roiland used his ‘Rick and Morty’ fame to pursue young fans, text messages show
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Kat Tenbarge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +22 min

Roiland frequently followed and interacted with the starstruck "Rick and Morty" fans on social media and dating apps. "However, now that the legal case has ended, I'm determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name," Roiland wrote. Haha," Roiland wrote. Veronika Sweeney tweeted screenshots of direct messages Roiland sent her in 2014 when she was 22. "But I felt like you weren't okay," Roiland wrote in another text message.

Persons: Justin Roiland, Michael Kovac, Rick, Morty, McDonald's, Roiland, he'd, Andrew Brettler, I'm, Elon Musk —, Ruby, influencers, Janna Waters, Waters, it's, Roiland messaged, Rick Sanchez, …, Jesus Christ, Hailey Long, Long, Veronika Sweeney, Sweeney, wasn't, Uber, RICK, MORTY, Justin, Roiland texted, texted, dicks Organizations: San Diego Comic, NBC News, Squanch Games, NBC, Illinois, biiiiitch, Con, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Locations: Los Angeles, Roiland, Orange County , California, Boston, Tinder, Roiland's, Massachusetts, San Diego, Raleigh , North Carolina, Pennsylvania

☆ DOJ fights uphill battle; Google a losing one
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The government, in its opening statements, argued that the $1.7 trillion company’s search engine partnerships illegally protected its monopoly, harming consumers. The problem for the DOJ is that consumers readily dole out their data, and not just to Google. Device manufacturers and browser creators choose Google because it’s the highest quality option, and users can easily pick another default search engine, John Schmidtlein, Google’s lead lawyer, argued. The government’s lawyers have their work cut out for them, but a DOJ loss won’t mean a Google victory. The company’s partnerships may set Google as the default search engine on devices and browsers, but users can usually change their default option with a few clicks.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Jonathan Kanter, Kenneth Dintzer, Dintzer, Amit Mehta, John Schmidtlein, Google’s, DOJ doesn’t, Google's, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: U.S . Justice, Alphabet's Google, Justice Department, Reuters, U.S . Department of Justice, Alphabet’s, Google, DOJ, Microsoft, Court, Big Tech, Alphabet’s Google, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON

☆ Tim Burton says AI imitations of his art style are missing 'humanity' and 'soul' — even if the results are 'pretty good'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tim Burton said AI art generators' imitations of his work felt soulless and lacked "humanity." He was referring to a BuzzFeed article that used AI to give Disney characters a Tim Burton makeover. Someone online prompts an AI art generator to imagine what a Wes Anderson version of "Star Wars" would look like, or Disney characters in the spooky style of Tim Burton. This BuzzFeed article features dark and creepy versions of Disney characters, like Elsa from Frozen. In an interesting twist, a federal judge recently ruled that AI artwork is not able to be copyrighted, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Persons: Tim Burton, Wes Anderson, Burton, Elsa, Tim Burton's, Marvel Organizations: Disney, Service, Independent, The, Marvel, Hollywood Locations: Wall, Silicon, Colorado

☆ The Technology Facebook and Google Didn’t Dare Release
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Kashmir Hill | More About Kashmir Hill | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The absurd hat-phone, a particularly uncool version of the future, contained a secret tool known only to a small group of employees. The room went silent; the demo was underway. Mr. Leyvand turned toward a man across the table from him. Two seconds later, a robotic female voice declared, “Zach Howard.”“That’s me,” confirmed Mr. Howard, a mechanical engineer. But when the phone started correctly calling out names, he found it creepy, like something out of a dystopian movie.

Persons: Tommer Leyvand, Leyvand, —, “ Zach Howard, ”, Howard Organizations: Mr Locations: Menlo Park, Calif

☆ Mike Lindell's belligerent Dominion depositions: Hawking MyPillow dog blankets on Steve Bannon's podcast and scaring away court reporters
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Lindell insulted him, his lawyers, the judge, and took a break to go on Steve Bannon's podcast. When he stood up to take a call in the middle of questioning, Coomer's lawyers called it a day. In an interview with Insider on Friday, Lindell called Coomer's lawyers "creepy" and "evil." He said he had to take a personal "emergency call" before the deposition ended, and that Coomer's lawyers were aware it was coming. During the depositions, Lindell fiercely guarded his pillow company's brand and bristled at any suggestion that one of its latest products, the MyPillow 2.0, could be subpar.

Persons: Eric Coomer, Mike Lindell, Lindell, Steve Bannon's, Coomer, I'm, Bannon, Coomer's, —, Nina Wang, Wang Organizations: Dominion, Service, Dominion Voting Systems, Lindell, America Locations: Wall, Silicon, Texas, Wisconsin

☆ I Regret Doing OnlyFans and Would Never Do It Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Fortesa Latifi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

This former OnlyFans content creator joined at 18 years old and stayed on the app for three years. I only spent three years as an OnlyFans creator but looking back, those were the most miserable years of my life. At the time, joining OnlyFans felt like a natural progression. Advertisement Advertisement Watch: Demand for virtual sex work is skyrocketing in quarantine, but some some workers have struggled to adaptMy OnlyFans subscribers constantly pushed my boundariesDuring my time as an OnlyFans creator, I was more depressed and anxious than I've ever been before. OnlyFans felt like a path to self-sufficiency, and for a time it was.

Persons: OnlyFans, I'd, Jesus, I've Organizations: Service Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Horror movies will dominate movie theaters from now until Halloween
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Starting Friday, movie theaters will have a steady stream of jump scares, creepy monsters and gore — and that's great news for the box office. As Hollywood grapples with dual labor strikes that restrict promotions for big blockbuster features, horror films could be the perfect balm. With smaller-than-average production budgets, these films are also often very lucrative for studios and don't require massive box office receipts to be profitable. Already in 2023, the horror movie genre has generated more than $600 million in domestic ticket sales, representing around 10% of the total box office in the U.S. and Canada, according to data from Comscore. Top horror films this year include:"Today's audiences love the thrills and escapist nature of horror films and the consistently solid box office numbers have ensured that studios and filmmakers will continue to produce a plentiful number of these films and movie theaters now and well into the future," Dergarabedian said.

Persons: Paul Dergarabedian, Shawn Robbins, Dergarabedian Organizations: Hollywood, Comscore, BoxOffice.com Locations: U.S, Canada

☆ If you work remotely, your bosses are probably using software to track you. Here's how they'll catch you slacking off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

About three-quarters of respondents said they had fired employees based on findings from their tracking software. In the Resume Builder survey, only 5% of the business leaders who reported using tracking software said their employees were not aware they were being monitored. While Borja said Time Doctor encourages its customers to disclose the use of tracking software to their employees, it can't guarantee that they do so. Refusing to turn on your webcam during a meeting, for instance, could give your employer the right to fire you if you live in the US, legal experts previously told Insider. Some workers at employee-tracking software companies have expressed privacy concerns.

Persons: Michael Patrón, he'd, they'd, Patrón, Liam Martin, Carlo Borja, Borja, hasn't, they've, — you've, Big Organizations: Service, Tesla's, Bloomberg, New York Times, Workers Locations: Wall, Silicon, Australia, York

☆ Cousins (and Co-Authors) Write a Love Letter to New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Robert Ito | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the new graphic novel “Roaming,” Dani and Zoe, best friends from a suburb of Toronto, meet up in Manhattan over spring break. Before long, they’re savoring their first slice of New York pizza (“huge, like a place mat!”) and getting hassled for cash by a creepy Times Square busker dressed as Elmo. Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, the cousins who wrote and illustrated the book, drew from their own memories of traveling for the first time to New York City. Mariko, 47, who grew up in Toronto, recalled being spooked by the subways, among other things. Jillian, who was raised in Calgary, remembered how electric the air felt in Times Square, and how the light was like nothing she’d ever seen.

Persons: ” Dani, Zoe, Elmo, Jillian, Mariko Tamaki, Mariko, “, ”, Dani Organizations: American Museum of, Metropolitan Museum Locations: Toronto, Manhattan, York, New York City, Hollywood, Calgary

☆ In ‘Invasion,’ Simon Kinberg Adds Touchy-Feely to Creepy-Crawly
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Elisabeth Vincentelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He also teased a connection between that mysterious black shard and a certain Jedi weapon. In Season 1, the aliens crawling over Earth were lethal shape-shifting beasties. Yeah, we called them the worker aliens in Season 1. We see a few of them in Season 2, and they are evolved or enhanced into the hunter-killer aliens. They are organic, they are bioengineered — so they’re both organic and inorganic.

Persons: “ Deadpool, ”, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Organizations: Marvel, Apple, “ Locations: Los Angeles

☆ Opinion | Winners and Losers of the First Republican Debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the first Republican presidential primary candidate debate, held in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Gail Collins: She seemed generally reasonable and wow, when the debate turned to education and she actually brought up reading. If there’s any life left in the old G.O.P., Haley gave it hope. Perhaps more important, in taking on the glib and callow Ramaswamy on Ukraine, she showed anger and dominance, essential qualities in a Republican debate. Any debate that doesn’t feature Chris Christie at the front of the highlight reel is a bad night for Christie.

Persons: Jamelle, Nikki Haley, Haley, Gail Collins, Matthew Continetti, G.O.P, Michelle Cottle, —, Trump —, Ramaswamy, suburbanites, Ross Douthat, David French, Reagan, Michelle Goldberg, callow Ramaswamy, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Katherine Mangu, Christie, “ Trump, “ Donald Trump, Daniel McCarthy, Vivek, Bret Stephens, Mike Pence’s, Mike Pence, Pence, Mike, Vivek ”, Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump, ”, he’ll, Jesus, Ramaswamy —, ChatGPT —, you’ve, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, He’s, Joe Biden, Martha MacCallum, Ron DeSantis, Hunter Biden, DeSantis, Donald Trump, MAGA, pander, smartly, Sharp, Biden, refighting, Ron, Hutchinson, clearheaded, Still, Scott, Tim Scott, Meh, ” Daniel McCarthy, Pleasant, Donald Trump’s, wasn’t, I’d, Ramaswamy’s, callow, I’m, insufferable, Preening, Doug Burgum, Achilles, Burgum, he’s, Asa Hutchinson, Trump’s, Asa Hutchinson didn’t, didn’t Organizations: Republican, Republican Party, Trump, Ramaswamy, Pence, Pious, Trump Republicans, MSNBC, Fox, Department of Justice, United Nations, Energy, Department of Education, Republicans Locations: Milwaukee, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ukraine, America, Mexico, Florida, Covid, China, MAGA, Arkansas

☆ ‘Blue Beetle’ Review: DC’s Creepy-Crawly Crusader
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Xolo Maridueña Photo: Warner Bros. PicturesBug-people are a hot item at the movies these days, so after watching men swing like spiders or scurry like ants, is the audience ready to cheer a beetle? Never mind that “Blue Beetle” sounds like one of the also-rans mentioned in the superhero-dense universe of “The Incredibles”; the character has a long pedigree, with comic-book storylines launched in 2006, 1966 and even 1939. That makes him a kind of old-money member of the genre.

Persons: Xolo, rans Organizations: Warner Bros

☆ Her flight was canceled. Then she ended up on the doorstep of her future wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

Like Larissa, she’d just come out of a long term relationship and had sworn herself to singledom, vowing to put all her time and energy into work. The day Rachel ended up on Larissa’s Nashville doorstep, she was supposed to be on a plane to California for work. By the fifth day, Rachel was ready to give up. Then, she filled in the blanks for Rachel, explaining that earlier that day, she’d come out as bisexual to her parents. “I was like, ‘Oh Mom, this is my friend Larissa from Nashville.’ And my mom was like, ‘Oh, cool,’ and she hugged her.

Persons: CNN —, Larissa Santos, Rachel Bush, Larissa, “, ”, Rachel, ” Larissa, they’d, she’d, singledom, Katie –, Katie, Katie messaged, “ Let’s, ” Katie, ” Rachel, Katie’s friend’s, Rachel Santos Rachel’s, Larissa’s, hadn’t, She’d, They’d, Rachel Santos, ’ ”, “ We’re, Rachel texted Larissa, who’d, Rachel –, Larissa FaceTimed, Awesome, Rachel – she’d, ’ ” Larissa, ’ ” Rachel, ‘, There’s, ” Larissa Santos “, it’s, I’m, –, “ I’ll, Larissa – they’d, “ I’m, we’ve, ’, Mrs Santos, Li Shen Ye Larissa, Rachel “ Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, Nashville, Larissa, ”, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens Locations: Kentucky, Tennessee, Larissa, California, Nashville, “, LouisFort.co, Amalfi Coast, Italy, France, Nice, Miami , Florida, Miami

☆ A driverless car in San Francisco drove right into wet concrete and got stuck after seemingly mistaking it for a regular road: 'It ain't got a brain'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A driverless Cruise car got temporarily stuck in wet concrete in San Francisco on Tuesday. A driverless Cruise car with no passengers got stuck in wet concrete at a construction site in San Francisco on Tuesday, SFGATE first reported. "It thinks it's a road and it ain't because it ain't got a brain and it can't tell that it's freshly poured concrete," Harvey told SFGATE. A rise in commercial AVs in San Francisco would "inevitably lead to an increase in traffic congestion and the number of dangerous incidents," Chiu's office said in a press release. "San Francisco will suffer serious harms from this unfettered expansion, which outweigh whatever impacts AV companies may experience from a minimal pause in commercial deployment."

Persons: SFGATE, Paul Harvey, Harvey, Rachel Gordon, Cruise, Gordon, David Chiu, Chiu, Waymo Organizations: San Francisco Department of Public, New York Times, Times, California Public Utilities Commission, General Motors, Google Locations: San Francisco, California, SF, Francisco

☆ Snapchat users freak out over AI bot that had a mind of its own
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Snapchat users were alarmed on Tuesday night when the platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot posted a live update to its profile and stopped responding to messages. The Snapchat My AI feature — which is powered by the viral AI chatbot tool ChatGPT — typically offers recommendations, answers questions and converses with users. But posting a live Story (a short video of what appeared to be a wall) for all Snapchat users to see was a new one: It’s a capability typically reserved for only its human users. “Why does My AI have a video of the wall and ceiling in their house as their story?” wrote one user. “This is very weird and honestly unsettling.” Another user wrote after the tool ignored his messages: “Even a robot ain’t got time for me.”Turns out, this wasn’t Snapchat working to make its My AI tool even more realistic.

Persons: CNN —, chatbot, ”, ain’t, Snapchat’s, Snapchat, OpenAI Organizations: CNN

☆ Arts Calendar: Happenings for the Week of August 13
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Wsj Arts In Review Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A scene from ‘Boogie Nights’ Photo: New Line CinemaFilm• “Blue Beetle” (Aug. 18): Marvel might be queen bee when it comes to bug-based heroes (Spider-Man, Black Widow, Ant-Man and the Wasp), but DC also has its own stable of creepy-crawly characters. See Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña ), who becomes host to the Scarab, a piece of alien biotech that turns him into the Blue Beetle. Susan Sarandon and George Lopez are the bigger names in a cast that also includes Raoul Max Trujillo , Bruna Marquezine , Damián Alcázar , Harvey Guillén and Adriana Barraza .

Persons: Jaime Reyes, Xolo Maridueña, Susan Sarandon, George Lopez, Raoul Max Trujillo, Bruna, Damián Alcázar, Harvey Guillén, Adriana Barraza Organizations: Marvel, DC

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