Uncategorized Archive

Why is your baby crying? This local startup is building a baby translator

nbcboston.com – By Hannah Green – When a baby starts to cry, new parents have to play a guessing game to figure out why. Hunger? A dirty diaper? Or something more serious, like pain?

Apolline Deroche says some of that guesswork can be eliminated by an app her startup, Cappella, is aiming to launch in November that acts as an AI-powered baby cry translator.

More on this story from Boston Business Journal

More… https://www.nbcboston.com/boston-business-journal/why-is-your-baby-crying-this-local-startup-is-building-a-baby-translator/3148029/ 

Choosing the Right Car Color Based on Your Zodiac Signs

astrotalk.com – When it comes to choosing a car, we often focus on factors like brand, model, and features. However, one aspect that is often overlooked but holds significance is the color of the car. Your zodiac sign can provide valuable insights into your personality and preferences and even guide you in selecting the right car color based on your zodiac signs. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore astrology and how each of the zodiac signs can choose the perfect car color to enhance their automotive style and make a statement on the road.

More… https://astrotalk.com/astrology-blog/choosing-the-right-car-color-based-on-your-zodiac-signs-insideastro-iaks7/ 

A ransacked Macy’s, a fake heart attack, a rideshare getaway car: Brea heist turns bizarre

latimes.com – By Grace Toohey – Three people burst through the doors of Brea Dentistry midday Tuesday, one worried she was having a heart attack.

“She came to a front desk in a panic,” said Kate Romeyn, the office’s treatment and financial coordinator.

The small dental team jumped up from their lunch break to respond to the medical emergency as they had prepared — directing one of the woman’s companions to call 911, while ushering the woman into an operating room to take vitals and prepare for CPR.

“We were just doing our due diligence to help someone who we thought was having a heart attack,” Romeyn said.

But, as it turned out, she said, police determined that stop was just a cover as the trio tried to evade arrest.

In the end, officials determined the frenzied dental office visit was one stop in a bizarre heist that began with a sizable theft from the Brea Mall Macy’s and ended with a rideshare driver at the helm of the suspects’ getaway car — unbeknownst to the driver — before police officers stepped in.

“Later, we find out that [they] called an Uber, not an ambulance,” Romeyn said. “It was really crazy.”

More… https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-06/a-ransacked-macys-fake-heart-attack-and-rideshare-getaway-car-how-cops-busted-this-bizarre-brea-heist 

Cameras and codefendants: Why Trump’s Georgia arraignment will be most dramatic

axios.com – Sareen Habeshian – Former President Trump’s upcoming arraignment in the Georgia election case could be the biggest public spectacle yet in his web of legal challenges.

The big picture: The 2024 GOP frontrunner is facing his fourth indictment in four months, but this time around he’s expected to have a mugshot taken, and it could be the only trial in which court proceedings are televised.

Where it stands: Trump and the 18 others charged alongside him in the case have until noon Friday, Aug. 25, to surrender. Several have already done so, and Trump said he intends to appear at the Fulton County jail on Thursday.

Zoom in: The Georgia case is full of firsts for Trump.

1. It could be the first time Trump gets his mugshot taken, after avoiding it in his three other cases.

  • The local sheriff’s office in Fulton County, Georgia says it expects to book all 19 of those indicted on the election-related charges — including Trump — at its detention center in Atlanta.
  • The rough and overcrowded jail has been plagued with reports of dangerous conditions and detainee deaths.

2. The Georgia trial is the first one that could be televised.

  • State law requires cameras be allowed — with a judge’s approval — during judicial proceedings as a means of transparency.
  • The judge would have to be given a compelling reason to bar cameras.
  • Proceedings in Trump’s three other cases have been closed to the public as federal and New York courts are averse to televising criminal proceedings.

More… https://www.axios.com/2023/08/24/trumps-georgia-arraignment-what-to-know 

Trump indictment: what happens next in Georgia case?

reuters.com – By Tom Hals – Aug 15 (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted on Monday for his alleged efforts to illegally overturn the Georgia vote in the 2020 presidential election which put Joe Biden in the White House.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

After defendants in Georgia are indicted by a grand jury, they are arraigned, which is the formal reading in court of the charges. Defendants are also asked to enter a plea. Trump’s attorney could ask the court to waive the arraignment, and he could enter a plea of not guilty without appearing in court.

Bail also will be determined. He likely will be released, probably in exchange for a promise to return to face the charges at trial.

Trump will have his mugshot taken upon being taken into custody, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat told local media this month.

HOW FAR OFF IS A TRIAL?

Trump is known for using the courts to draw out cases, and the prosecution could be further slowed by novel legal questions stemming from the unprecedented nature of the case.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis holds a press conference after the indictment of Donald Trump

Legal experts said a delay could benefit the former president, who is seeking the Republican nomination for the Nov. 5, 2024, presidential election.

Trump is likely to challenge the prosecution, claiming it was motivated by political bias.

Trump may try to move it to another part of the state, arguing the jury pool in Fulton County, which Biden won with about 73% of the vote, would be biased against him.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CASE GOES TO TRIAL?

The process of selecting a jury could be lengthy, given the passionate views many people have of the former president and the amount of time jurors would have to dedicate to the trial. In the ongoing trial in Atlanta of rapper Young Thug, or Jeffery Lamar Williams, jury selection ran for months.

A jury of 12 people from Fulton County must all agree beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump is guilty for a conviction on any count. If the jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, the judge can declare a mistrial.

If Trump is convicted, he would likely seek a new trial by asserting the outcome was inconsistent with evidence or contrary to the law.

Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Additional reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell

More… https://www.reuters.com/world/us/next-steps-trumps-criminal-case-georgia-2023-08-15/ 

‘Barbenheimer’ craze could do something Hollywood hasn’t seen in years

cnn.com – By Oliver Darcy – Are you going to a double feature of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” this weekend? If so, you’re far from alone.

The “Barbenheimer” craze, which has swelled in popularity over the last few weeks, is all but set to propel the box office to its best weekend in years. BoxOffice Pro, a publication that tracks box office performance, said this week it is projecting a $200+ million weekend at the cinema. That would result in one of the biggest theatrical weekends since the pandemic upended the industry and a big win for Hollywood while writers and actors are on strike. With production at a standstill, it could be the last big blockbuster weekend for quite some time.

The battle of the bombshells playing out in theaters is not the usual runaway box office success story. It is the effect of a viral internet sensation that has flooded social media feeds with jokes and parodies about the opposing films and now looks set to meme its way to record theatrical attendance.

“The anticipation we’re seeing for these two movies is unprecedented, as people are thrilled to go to the theatre and be a part of an exciting cultural event,” Michael O’Leary, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners told CNN. “But it’s not just about the first three days of the box office either. These films will continue to draw fans for weeks to come.”

To be clear, both Warner Bros. Pictures’ Mattel flick (Warner Bros. is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which is also CNN’s parent company) and Universal’s bio-epic from Christopher Nolan were always projected to do well in their own respective rights. There has been, for some time, high interest around both of the films. Rolled up together, however, they are projected to deliver an even more powerful jolt to the theater industry. The memes are, in effect, juicing attendance.

“This is truly one of the wildest and most unpredictable situations I’ve ever observed at the box office,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice Pro, told me Thursday. “‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ were both destined for probable success on their own terms, but capturing the social media zeitgeist has escalated the phenomenon into what feels like will be one of the biggest moviegoing weekends since 2019. Even those who don’t regularly patron cinemas are aware of ‘Barbenheimer.’ You can’t easily buy that kind of promotion, if at all.”

More… https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/20/media/barbie-oppenheimer-barbenheimer-reliable-sources/index.html 

Here’s Why AI May Be Extremely Dangerous—Whether It’s Conscious or Not

scientificamerican.com – By Tamlyn Hunt –  “The idea that this stuff could actually get smarter than people…. I thought it was way off…. Obviously, I no longer think that,” Geoffrey Hinton, one of Google’s top artificial intelligence scientists, also known as “the godfather of AI,” said after he quit his job in April so that he can warn about the dangers of this technology.

He’s not the only one worried. A 2023 survey of AI experts found that 36 percent fear that AI development may result in a “nuclear-level catastrophe.” Almost 28,000 people have signed on to an open letter written by the Future of Life Institute, including Steve Wozniak, Elon Musk, the CEOs of several AI companies and many other prominent technologists, asking for a six-month pause or a moratorium on new advanced AI development.

As a researcher in consciousness, I share these strong concerns about the rapid development of AI, and I am a co-signer of the Future of Life open letter.

Why are we all so concerned? In short: AI development is going way too fast.

More… https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-why-ai-may-be-extremely-dangerous-whether-its-conscious-or-not/ 

Underwater music show in the Florida Keys promotes awareness of coral reef protection

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of divers and snorkelers listened to an underwater concert that advocated coral reef protection Saturday in the Florida Keys.

The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival, which also spotlighted eco-conscious diving, took place at Looe Key Reef, an area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary located about 6 miles (10 kilometers) south of Big Pine Key.

Established in 1990, the sanctuary protects 3,800 square miles (9,800 square kilometers) of waters including the barrier reef that parallels the 125-mile-long (201-kilometer-long) island chain.

Participants swam among Looe Key’s colorful marine life and coral formations while listening to water-themed music broadcast by a local radio station. The music was piped undersea through waterproof speakers suspended beneath boats above the reef.

The oceanic playlist included the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine,” Jimmy Buffett’s “Fins” and the theme from “The Little Mermaid.”

Tunes were interspersed with diver awareness messages about ways to minimize environmental impacts on the world’s coral reefs, whose rich biodiversity has led them to be called the rainforests of the sea.

While the festival’s primary purpose was to encourage reef preservation, it also afforded a singular underwater experience. “Mermaids” and other costumed characters added unique visual elements to the auditory offering on part of the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef.

The four-hour musical event was staged by local radio station 104.1 FM and the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce.

More… https://apnews.com/article/florida-keys-underwater-music-coral-reefs-097f10570566d8d73eec8fcd4f0bfa78 

Disbelieving wedding guests told to stand in knee-deep water for entire ceremony

mirror.co.uk – By Amber O’Connor – Two newlyweds have been slammed for demanding guests stand in the middle of a river for their nuptials – and refusing to start the ceremony until everyone complied.

Although it’s unclear why the couple chose the unusual venue, it clearly meant a lot to the pair, who halted the wedding while they waited for guests to wade through the water.

However, they didn’t feel the need to inform everyone about the location in advance – leading to an argument on the big day.

As one shocked guest explained in a post to Reddit, she knew nothing of the plans despite sharing a close connection to the groom and the bride, their sister-in-law.

So you can imagine the guest’s shock when they learned the couple and the officiant were to stand on “a little strip of land so they were not wet,” while “all attendees were expected to stand in knee-deep rushing water for the whole ceremony.”

Meanwhile, “the kids who couldn’t easily stand in water that might be as tall as their whole body were left in ankle-deep water nearby” with supervising adults.

More… https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/disbelieving-wedding-guests-told-stand-30332899 

Irish town gathers over 1,100 Dolly Parton impersonators for record attempt

June 26 (UPI) — More than 1,100 people donned Dolly Parton costumes in an Irish town to attempt a Guinness World Record and raise money for charity.

The Dolly Day event in Listowel attempted to set a world record for the largest gathering of people wearing a full head-to-toe Dolly Parton costume.

Organizers said more than 1,100 people donned blonde wigs, cowboy boots and rhinestone-covered costumes to attend the event, which raised money for Kerry Hospice and Comfort for Chemo Kerry.

Eugene Naughton, who has served as Dolly Parton’s president of Dollywood since 2019, was among those in attendance. Naughton promised he would share photos from the event with the singer in an attempt to convince her to visit the town.

Officials said evidence from the gathering is being submitted to Guinness World Records and they expect to hear whether a record was officially set in eight to 12 weeks.

More…https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2023/06/26/ireland-Guinness-World-Records-Dolly-Parton-gathering/5511687793544/