Jack Axelrod — a longtime TV actor most famous from ‘General Hospital’ — has died. His rep confirmed his death to Entertainment Weekly, saying he passed on Nov. 28 in L.A. from natural causes. She adds, “I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with him in his last years, as he had … Read more
If 2023 was the year artificial intelligence became a household topic of conversation, it’s in many ways because of Sam Altman, CEO of the artificial intelligence research organization OpenAI. Altman, who was named TIME’s 2023 “CEO of the Year” spoke candidly about his November ousting—and reinstatement—at OpenAI, how AI threatens to contribute to disinformation, and … Read more
Israel pressed ahead Tuesday with an offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months. But later in the day, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in a strong demonstration of global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. The vote also shows the growing … Read more
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general vowed Monday to defend a potential Donald Trump victory in the swing state next year, saying he’s confident that the state’s election systems work. Trump, a Republican, refused to concede that Democrat Joe Biden won Wisconsin in 2020. Multiple court challenges and a partial recount ultimately confirmed … Read more
Lynne Spears, the mother of pop star Britney Spears, was photographed shopping at Dollar General. The news follows claims that the Louisiana native has begun working as a substitute teacher to pay her bills, despite the fact that she is still living in the mansion that Britney built for her in 2001. Britney Spears’ Mother … Read more
A decorated Russian general and his wife were found dead at his home. The general, Vladimir Sviridov, was critical of soldier training in the Russian military. He’s the latest in a series of critics of the Russian establishment found inexplicably dead. Another member of the Russian military was found dead under unknown circumstances this week. Lieutenant … Read more
DETROIT (AP) — A tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union appears to be headed for defeat. The union hasn’t posted final vote totals yet, but workers at five large factories who finished voting in the past few days have turned down the four year and eight month deal by … Read more
[A version of this piece first appeared in TechCrunch’s robotics newsletter, Actuator. Subscribe here.] Earlier this month, Google’s DeepMind team debuted Open X-Embodiment, a database of robotics functionality created in collaboration with 33 research institutes. The researchers involved compared the system to ImageNet, the landmark database founded in 2009 that is now home to more than … Read more
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Republican attorney general has asked the state Supreme Court to keep a proposed abortion rights amendment off the ballot, saying proponents are waging “a war” to protect the procedure and ultimately will seek to expand those rights in future years. But proponents of the proposed amendment said Attorney General Ashley … Read more
Russian soldiers during the Vostok military exercise at a training area south of Vladivostok in September 2018.MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images Russia has taken hundreds of thousands of casualties since attacking Ukraine last year. Thousands more troops have deserted, a reflection of the Russian military’s deep morale problems. Ukrainian information warfare has helped drive those … Read more