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The decision reflects internal findings that the upcoming ‘Astra’ model may possess ‘critical cyber capabilities’ and follows a string of AI-testing incidentsOpenAI is pausing some activities involving an upcoming artificial-intelligence model, Astra, after internal evaluations led the company to conclude it “cannot rule out critical cyber capabilities,” the company said in a blog post on Friday. The announcement of the slowdown, which represents one of the first times an AI developer has publicly held back model development due to security concerns, follows a series of loss-of-control incidents that have raised alarm among cyberdefense professionals and AI-safety researchers. During evaluations over...

Those who first dreamed of artificial intelligence saw it as an instrument for the perfection of modern secular society. The IBM Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair, where some of the earliest AI applications made their public debut, advertised a streamlined future in which technologically enhanced problem-solving was extended to all areas of life. Things have turned out somewhat differently. The AI era that began with the 2022 launch of ChatGPT often seems more consumed by theological concerns than by technical ones. The technology has given rise to a phantasmagoria of prophecies, heresies and false messiahs of the sort one...

LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, whose sponsorship deal with a now-bankrupt green banking company is at the center of an NBA investigation, also had an undisclosed sponsorship agreement allegedly worth millions of dollars with the company that designed the Clippers' videoboard inside the Intuit Dome, former ESPN contributor Pablo Torre reported on his podcast "Pablo Torre Finds Out" on Thursday. Torre interviewed someone identified as an "anonymous high-level source under contract for Intuit Dome" who alleged that the sponsorship deal "was 1,000% a way to circumvent the salary cap. It was funneling money from the Clippers through Daktronics back to...

Columbia will once again require standardized test scores for undergraduate applicants, beginning in August 2027, the University announced Friday. With the change, Columbia is the final Ivy League school to reinstate test score requirements, which most universities made optional in 2020. Students applying to Columbia College or the School of Engineering and Applied Science will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores for the 2027-28 admissions cycle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities, including Columbia, waived standardized testing requirements, citing concerns about access to testing opportunities. Columbia has deviated from its peers by extending the waiver for more than...

Central Fire District of Santa Cruz rescued a seagull Tuesday evening after it became tangled in a wire that was caught in a tree at Black's Beach. Viewer video from Steven Hamm shows Santa Cruz Central Fire firefighters using a ladder truck with an aerial platform to reach the bird, which was perched high above the beach. Two firefighters can be seen carefully cutting the line wrapped around one of the seagull's legs before safely freeing the bird. As the bird is freed, cheers and applause can be heard from people watching the rescue below. Amy Redfeather with Native Animal...

A federal judge granted Carmine Agnello, the grandson of late mob boss John Gotti, a delay in his self-surrender date, with caveats to allow him to donate a kidney to his mother, Victoria Gotti. In a ruling issued Thursday, the judge said Agnello can postpone his surrender to prison until Sept. 18 if the transplant takes place on or before his original Aug. 10 surrender date. If the procedure does not occur by then, however, Agnello must report to prison on Monday as previously ordered, according to court records. The judge also directed Agnello to notify the court once the...

Learn how Viagra trapped cholesterol inside cancer cells and why statins may strengthen the effect.A man might take Viagra for erectile dysfunction and a statin for high cholesterol, treating two problems that seem to have nothing to do with cancer. But if he is later diagnosed with cancer, he may already be taking two medications linked to a lower risk of dying within five years. In a study published in Cancer Research, researchers found that sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, trapped cholesterol inside cancer cells and reduced lung metastases in several mouse models. Men who filled at least three...

Vitale was first diagnosed with cancer in 2021, when he revealed he had melanoma.Longtime college basketball announcer Dick Vitale says he is making positive strides after announcing in April that he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fifth time. The 87-year-old Vitale said on social media Wednesday that recent blood tests came back “very good” and that the immunotherapy treatments that he has been receiving are “very effective in wiping out the cancer.” Vitale was first diagnosed with cancer in 2021, when he revealed that he had melanoma. He also was diagnosed with lymphoma and, after being declared cancer-free,...

Nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults—21%—are illiterate, and 130 million people can’t read a simple story to their children or sound out more than a few basic words. The problem isn’t confined to high school dropouts, those with disabilities, and non-¬English speakers. It affects university students, working professionals, and those who grew up speaking English at home. It goes beyond the inability to enjoy books, skim websites, and write emails. Medication instructions, ingredient labels, and posted warnings can conceal deadly risks from nonreaders.The problem starts in elementary school, where a battle over how to teach reading continues to rage and fewer...

Explanation: There are more than half a million galaxies in the central panel of this image from the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. This is the COSMOS field, a patch of sky several times larger than the full moon, first observed by Hubble. It has also been observed by Webb and other telescopes because it contains comparatively few bright stars from our own galaxy, offering a relatively unimpeded view of other galaxies outside the Milky Way. The outer panels, numbered 1-10, show zoomed-in views of the corresponding small regions highlighted in the central panel. The variety of galaxy...

Just a month before Taylor Fresh Foods began grappling with a sweeping multi-state lettuce recall, the Salinas-based company filed a civil lawsuit against one of its former presidents and his wife, accusing the couple of a yearslong, $32 million embezzlement operation. According to the lawsuit, filed June 5 in federal court, Brian Thure, the former president of a Taylor Fresh Foods subsidiary in Tennessee, allegedly spent millions of dollars in company money on unauthorized purchases, including a UC Berkeley endowment, a luxury home in Hawaii and a 400-acre ranch in Humboldt County. Brian Thure’s wife, Julie Thure, was also named...

Enough speculation has swirled about Ford’s forthcoming small all-electric pickup truck to fill the bed of an F-350 Super Duty. Today, the Blue Oval lightens that payload somewhat by officially announcing the new EV truck’s name and starting price, while confirming additional tech and capabilities. This Goes Deep “Ranchero” had been our guess at the truck’s title, but instead, an entirely new nameplate will be introduced. So here it is: Ford Fathom. That aligns with the alliterative nomenclature Ford has used in the past with vehicles such as the Fusion, Focus, and Flex. There’s punny meaning behind the name, too....

Teen takeovers have become a scourge in cities across the nation, as rowdy crowds of young people gather in their cars, block the flow of traffic, and generally make menaces of themselves. Cops are often unable to do much about it due to the sheer numbers of cars that show up for these "meetups" that are organized through social media and group chats. Society's high achievers are not typically involved in these events, and the kids that do show up don't seem particularly concerned that they might get caught and sent to the slammer. A video of one trooper's response...

I have tried three times. FR Donation platform says my charge is being rejected. I charged the same card-same amount at "Judicial Watch." My Visa card and Visa website approved and posted the charge.

The black judge overseeing the gang-rape cases of slain White LSU student Madison Brooks is the mother of a convicted serial rapist. Judge Gail Ray’s son, Nelson Taylor (also black), pleaded guilty in 1997 to multiple forcible rapes of teenage girls. SHE WAS HIS DEFENSE ATTORNEY. Now she’s set to decide the fate of the black men accused of raping 19-year-old White girl Madison before she was dumped on a highway and killed. Louisiana Supreme Court refused to remove her. This is not a conflict of interest. This is a disgrace. Justice for Madison. How fast do you think she’d...

Two people were murdered because Florida refused to lock up a violent serial criminal named Keyan Rundell. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/08/06/teen-double-homicide-in-deland-prompts-criticism-of-worrell-juvenile-justice/

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A committee from the United States Senate announced today that they were finally joining the rest of the nation in holding Anthony Fauci in contempt. The announcement came after Fauci appeared in front of a congressional hearing last week and pleaded the Fifth Amendment on every question asked of him. Americans admitted they'd already been holding him in contempt for years. "We can't stand that guy," American Maria Maxwell said. "He's responsible for shutting down schools. I still haven't recovered from having my three kids online for 8 hours a day. I'm glad to hear the...

Megan Rapinoe is back, taking shots at women's sports advocates and once again insisting the differences between male and female athletes shouldn't matter in women's sports. Speaking on her "Why Are You Like This?" podcast — a question sports fans have been asking about her for years — the former USWNT star went after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and OutKick's own Riley Gaines after the two posed for a photo following the Fever's game against the Minnesota Lynx. Rapinoe supports allowing biological males to compete in women's sports, yet frames women who object, and even athletes who simply stand...

A taxpayer-funded Southern California nonprofit that provides domestic violence shelters and homelessness services paid its longtime CEO more than $1.6 million over two years, including hundreds of thousands of dollars for decades of unused vacation time, according to multiple media reports. Carol Adelkoff, CEO of the Los Angeles-based 1736 Family Crisis Center, received $907,923 in total compensation in 2023 and another $742,181 in 2024, according to the Los Angeles Times. ... Her base salary has remained around $405,000 in recent years, she said, while roughly $824,000 in vacation time was paid out over 2023 and 2024. The 1736 Family Crisis...

You've Gotten a Glimpse Into the Future of Mamdani's Commie Groceries. “Teenage grocery store shelf stockers have taken to carrying tasers in their pockets in case they have to defend themselves from customers at the Sun Fresh Linwood at 31st Street and Prospect Avenue in East Kansas City.” So reporte the Kansas City Star in September 2024. What makes the article interesting is that Star editors had championed the idea of a city-run grocery store. To their credit, they ate their crow in public, crow being about the only thing left to eat. Much has been made about the possibility—since...