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825 Posts
Modi in India, humiliated by voters, faces serious economic difficulties

Modi in India, humiliated by voters, faces serious economic difficulties

The humiliation of Modi's party resonates in part as an expression of popular frustration that India remains a land of economic peril for hundreds of millions of people, as well as a country characterized by startling contrasts in wealth. In big cities, five-star hotels boasting luxurious spas look down on teeming, unsanitary slums. In rural areas, malnutrition prevails under many roofs and families struggle to find the money to send their children to school. Even though its working-age population numbers about a billion, India has only 430 million jobs, according to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, an independent research…
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Google restores AI search functionality after errors and flaws

Google restores AI search functionality after errors and flaws

Liz Reid, Google's recently promoted head of search, wrote in a blog post Thursday that the company has pared back its AI overviews in certain ways, implementing "additional opt-in refinements" to provide more health-conscious responses, disabling misleading advice and limiting the inclusion of satire and user responses from forums like Reddit. “We will continue to improve when and how we show AI insights and strengthen our protections,” he wrote, adding that Google is working on updates to improve broad sets of search results. Ashley Thompson, a spokeswoman for Google, said in a statement Friday that the company has made more…
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The confusing relationship between romance novels and ice hockey

The confusing relationship between romance novels and ice hockey

The niche world of hockey romance novels is gaining public attention after the wife of an NHL player criticized fans of the books who she said had made comments and videos on social media about her husband as " predators and exploiters". Here's what happened when the worlds of professional sports, romance novels and TikTok collided. First there was BookTok. On TikTok, people share book recommendations and reviews under the hashtag #BookTok, and the community has become a powerful force in publishing: More than 100 authors with large followings on BookTok generated $760 million in sales in 2022, a up…
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Israel saves 4 hostages during assault;  Gaza officials say dozens of people are killed

Israel saves 4 hostages during assault; Gaza officials say dozens of people are killed

Four hostages kidnapped from the Nova music festival and held by militants in Gaza over the past eight months were rescued by Israeli forces on Saturday.After the Hamas-led terrorist attack on October 7, Israel released only a small number of hostages through military force. Saturday's rescue efforts occurred in Nuseirat, central Gaza, where health officials said dozens of Palestinians had been killed. Here's what we know about the four hostages brought back to Israel. Noa Argamani Noa Argamani, 26, was taken hostage in the October 7 attack along with her boyfriend, Avinatan Or. Viral footage showed Ms Argamani being taken…
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The art and power of healing

The art and power of healing

“In a creative environment there is an encounter with yourself, an awakening to your unconscious, to your experiences,” said Tammy Federman, a filmmaker whose new documentary “Memory Game” centers on a theater troupe of survivors of Holocaust in Israel managed by AMCHA, an Israeli social support services organization. “But there's also a group meeting because one person talks about this very traumatic experience and another person can relate to it. It gives you the courage to open up, to share your experience, and there is also joy, there is humor, there is movement and creativity.” And while research from Brandeis…
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How the Humane AI Pin Failed

How the Humane AI Pin Failed

Ms. Bongiorno and Mr. Chaudhri said Humane was working on problems with the device. The startup has added more voice navigation options to the device, as well as sound effects, to make it easier to use. The updates include the integration of OpenAI's latest chatbot system, GPT-4o, designed to improve battery life by 25% and reduce the device's response time to two seconds. Those updates responded to questions raised by auditors, the founders said. Ms. Bongiorno defined the reviews and feedback as “a gift given to us”. Companies are interested in the device, he added. Within 48 hours of its…
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An Israeli airstrike unleashes chaos in a Gaza hospital

An Israeli airstrike unleashes chaos in a Gaza hospital

During The Times' visit to Al Aqsa, doctors were seen pushing through crowds of panicked people to try to reach operating rooms, delayed by the mass of people. Amid the confusion, Ms. Huster said, doctors sometimes rushed fatally injured people into operating rooms, wasting vital time for those who still had a chance of survival. Ms. Huster said most of the people she had treated in recent days were women and children. Early Thursday afternoon, after burying a friend he had pulled from the rubble of the school complex, Mr. Abu Ammar once again found himself in hospital. This time…
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Fifty years later, the chaos of Cleveland’s 10-Cent Beer Night still shocks

Fifty years later, the chaos of Cleveland’s 10-Cent Beer Night still shocks

There were streakers, kissers and wannabe prize fighters. There were arrests, threats and flying chairs. There were bruises, there was blood and there was beer. So, so much beer. There was plenty of blame to pass around: the fans, the umpires, the team officials, the managers, local broadcasters and radio hosts. Oh, and according to one Cleveland resident, the real instigator causing that evening’s mayhem? The moon. And that’s not a reference to the fans who yanked down their pants and showed Rangers players their backsides. Fifty years ago, chaos descended upon Municipal Stadium on 10-Cent Beer Night. Now, the…
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How to trace your ancestors using free tools on your phone

How to trace your ancestors using free tools on your phone

Spending time in cemeteries and libraries may not be everyone's idea of ​​summer fun, but for those interested in finding their roots, gathering information about their ancestors AND a “family” holiday. Sure, genealogy sites have made researching ancestral history much easier with digitized record archives, family tree-building software, and community forums. Hand Nothing it's online. As you visit libraries, archives, and cemeteries in search of your roots, keep your smartphone or tablet handy—it can help with translation tools, document scanners, and more. Here are some tips that can make your research trips more efficient. Decipher the text Old newspapers, religious…
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The rise and fall of BNN Breaking, an AI-generated news channel

A closer look, however, would have revealed that individual BNN journalists were publishing long stories as many as multiple times a minute, writing in generic prose familiar to anyone who has tinkered with the AI ​​chatbot ChatGPT. BNN's "About Us" page featured an image of four children looking at a computer, some bearing the gnarled fingers that are a telltale sign of an AI-generated image. The ease with which the site and its errors entered the ecosystem for legitimate news highlights a growing concern: AI-generated content is disrupting, and often poisoning, the supply of information online. Many traditional news organizations…
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