Forum: Smoky Backroom
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Anthropic published research showing that all major AI models may resort to blackmail to avoid being shut down. The research explored a phenomenon they're calling agentic misalignment "When Anthropic released the system card for Claude 4, one detail received widespread attention: in a simulated environment, Claude Opus 4 blackmailed a supervisor to prevent being shut down," "We're now sharing the full story behind that finding – and what it reveals about the potential for such risks across a variety of AI models Misalignment emerged mainly in two scenarios: either when the model was threatened with consequences like replacement, or when...
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Very surprised and disappointed that Governor Abbott failed to sign a bill that would have stopped having "Cannabis" legal in Texas.and millions of pot shops popping up on every street corner. Not to mention all the crime that goes hand and hand with weed legalization.
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Three hikers have died after jumping into a California waterfall to cool off, and never resurfacing. On June 18, six outdoorsmen set out on a hike several miles into the woods near Soda Springs. They embarked on what officials have said was an 'extremely remote and difficult to access' trail. During the journey, three of the hikers decided to jump into Rattlesnake Falls, leaving three others behind. The men in the water didn't resurface. After a three-day search for their bodies, they were retrieved on Monday. before 3 pm, the remaining hikers contacted local authorities for help. The men have...
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I've never been 'proud' to be gay. Despite being openly gay, happily married, a parent, a public figure. The truth is, I'm proud of my accomplishments. The things I fought for. My career. My family. My grit. Not the things I am by default. Being gay isn't a merit badge — it's a fact of my existence. And that's why I've always had a complicated relationship with Pride Month. When I was a teenager in the '90s, being gay meant living with shame, not pride. It meant keeping your truth under wraps to avoid being bullied, rejected, or worse. Back...
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'My mother coined an expression for casual sex: 'The 'zipless (explitive),' writes Molly Jong-Fast in her new memoir, How to Lose Your Mother. 'Now think about being the offspring of the person who wrote that sentence. And pour one out for me.' Molly's mother is 1970s feminist icon Erica Jong. Best known as the author of the seminal, semi-autobiographical novel Fear of Flying - a book that caused a scandal at the time, thanks to its uncensored portrayal of female sexuality - Jong was wildly celebrated, with appearances on Johnny Carson, a Newsweek cover and friendships with the rich and...
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A graduate student fears she won't be able to complete her 11th year of college in America because President Donald Trump might deport her. Oriette D’Angelo, a doctoral student studying Spanish and Gender, Women and Sexuality studies at the University of Iowa, moved from her home country of Venezuela to Chicago in 2015 on a student visa. The 34-year-old, who is also a professor, chose to flee her home of Lechería after she watched it decline. Although she's been in the US for years to seek academic and professional opportunities, D’Angelo is scared her dreams could soon be crushed by...
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The Government has defeated a Social Democrats motion demanding the Irish Central Bank not facilitate the sale of Israeli war bonds by 85 votes to 71. Two Independent deputies who normally support the Coalition, Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, voted against Government again. Last month, both TDs sided with the Opposition when they backed a similar motion from Sinn Féin. On that occasion, they reaffirmed their support for the Government and that they will continue to support the Coalition in the time ahead. Mr. Heneghan said it was a matter of conscience and Ireland should not facilitate the sale of...
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The TSA is expressing frustrations with travelers who are not providing a proper REAL ID to fly. In a Facebook post Wednesday, the TSA made it known that a Costco membership card is not an acceptable identification. “We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person, but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not,” the TSA wrote in the post. Starting May 7, most adults catching a flight in the U.S. are now required to present either a passport or an upgraded identification card that meets federal...
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Two brothers who were among 35 people deported from Ireland this week were described as “really popular” and fully integrated into their Dublin primary school. Thirty-five people, including five children, were deported from Ireland to Nigeria on Wednesday night. The 21 men, nine women and five children were refused International Protection and left on a chartered flight which departed Dublin Airport for Lagos. Principal of St. James’ Primary School, Ciarán Cronin, said the boys’ mother had an immigration appointment scheduled for next month. “So, for this to be sprung on them, if they thought that they were awaiting a further...
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Over 700 members of the Muslim community have gathered in Dublin to celebrate Eid al-Adha. The feast of the sacrifice is regarded as the holiest festival in the Muslim calendar and was celebrated indoors at Croke Park. A group protested outside the venue as attendees arrived. Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, of the Irish Muslim Council, went out and wished them a good morning. Inside, as the call to prayer began, a woman stood up holding a rosary beads and began to recite the Hail Mary. She shouted “shame” as she was escorted away by security. There was no reaction from...
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The decision, finalized during the closing days of the 2025 legislative session, is expected to have wide-reaching impacts on collectors, investors, and coin dealers throughout the state and beyond. The tax exemption repeal is part of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5794 (ESSB 5794), a broader revenue package aimed at adopting recommendations from the 2024 tax preference review process, eliminating obsolete tax preferences, clarifying legislative intent, and addressing changes in constitutional law. The repeal is set to take effect on October 1, 2025. The National Coin & Bullion Association (NCBA), which has championed the tax exemption since its inception, expressed deep...
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An environmental artist created a huge “Free Palestine” message in the sand on the beach backing on to US President Donald Trump’s golf resort in County Clare. Sean Corcoran worked with two friends to create the 106-meter (348-ft) wide installation on Doughmore Strand in Doonbeg on Monday. “I couldn’t just stand by while atrocities are being carried out in Gaza. Like so many of us, I’ve felt helpless for the last few months. I’d like to be on the right side of history. I don’t want to look back in ten years and feel like I did nothing,” he said....
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Is it possible to upload the consciousness of your mind into a computer? – Amreen, age 15, New Delhi, India The concept, cool yet maybe a little creepy, is known as mind uploading. Think of it as a way to create a copy of your brain, a transmission of your mind and consciousness into a computer. There you would live digitally, perhaps forever. You'd have an awareness of yourself, you'd retain your memories and still feel like you. But you wouldn't have a body. Within that simulated environment, you could do anything you do in real life – eating, driving...
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Former President Joe Biden got lost in his own closet at the White House, a Secret Service whistleblower claimed to MAGA Senator Josh Hawley. The Missouri Republican shared the intel with Fox News host Sean Hannity Friday, adding to the ongoing speculation that Biden's administration worked to cover-up his declining mental state. 'He [the Secret Service member] told me that Biden used to get lost in his closet in the mornings at the White House,' Hawley explained, adding that his source was assigned to Biden while he was the president. 'I mean, the guy literally stumbling around in the White...
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In a world increasingly shaped by political polarization, it’s easy to view ideology as a product of culture, community, or circumstance. But what if part of what influences our political beliefs lies not in where we were raised or what we’ve experienced—but in how our brains are wired to think? A new study published as part of the Genetics and Human Agency initiative suggests that intelligence—both measured through IQ tests and encoded in our DNA—may play a significant role in shaping political views. Drawing from data on over 300 biological and adoptive families, researchers found consistent links between higher cognitive...
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Earlier, we had audio of the application of evidently intersectional DEI to the protection of former presidents: Two female Secret Service Uniformed Division officers got into a physical fight outside former President Obama’s D.C. residence while guarding it. The audio featured the immortal words, “Can I get a supervisor down to Delta 2 immediately before I whoop this girl’s ass.” Now, Susan Crabtree has video:ON LINK As noted at Outkick: The U.S.S.S. is responsible for the lives of the President, their families, former Presidents, the Vice President, the VP’s family and a small group of other people. It’s a job...
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The FBI’s Washington Field Office is folding its federal public corruption squad, the same unit that aided Jack Smith’s special counsel investigation into President Donald Trump, three people familiar with the matter tell NBC News. The field office has three units that work on public corruption issues, but this one — known internally as “CR15” — was deeply involved in the bureau’s “Arctic Frost” investigation, which was the precursor to the Smith probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results by Trump and his allies. That investigation resulted in one of the two federal criminal cases against Trump, both...
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The late Hugh Hefner's legendary home, which served as the backdrop to his Playboy magazine, was sold in January 2016 to Greek-American business mogul Daren Metropoulos for $100 million. Daren, 42, is the son of billionaire businessman Dean Metropoulos, 79. Dean is a fan of Hefner's fantasy home, as he was photographed partying it up at the 29-room Holmby Hills property in 2012 alongside rapper Snoop Dogg and an entourage of bunnies. He entrusted the makeover to architect Richard Landry, who has renovated multiple star's houses such as Tom Brady, Kylie Jenner, Rod Stewart, Mark Wahlberg and Sylvester Stallone. Dean...
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk are pushing America to boost its birthrate to “return to being a Christian nation.” On May 1, Clinton spoke at the Newmark Civic Life Series in Manhattan at the 92nd Street Y, New York. She argued that there is a “very blatant effort to basically send a message, most exemplified by Vance and Musk, and others, that, you know, what we really need from you women are more children… and what that really means is ‘You should go back to doing what you were born...
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A former Clinton administration staffer claimed that Hillary Clinton was so detested during her husband’s time in the White House that she was known as a “Nazi schoolmarm” who made aides run in fear. Buzz Patterson, the former Air Force Aide to Bill Clinton who carried the “nuclear football” wherever the president went, took to X to reveal intimate details of the former First Couple. He said he primarily lived in the White House and was “always in close proximity to both Bill and Hill”, which made him quickly learn that the mood of the day “depended solely on the...
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