Kitchens will lead Tar Heels in Fenway Bowl against UConn. Another ex-Browns coach is standing byS&P 500, Dow pinned at one-week highs after business activity data - Reuters
PM Modi greets Eknath Shinde after he takes oath as deputy CM as CM Devendra Fadnavis, second deputy CM Ajit Pawar and governor C P Radhakrishnan look on MUMBAI: Americans are world champs at this - glamming up sarkari events, including, or especially, inauguration. We call it swearing-in here. And that's usually a staid affair. Looking at beaming netas and hearing the oath of office repeated dozens of times aren't exactly riveting stuff. Even when mantris of a new Big G (aka GOI) are sworn in, and even though big names can be spotted, it doesn't quite register on the glam Richter scale. True, the odd state govt swearing-in has had small showbiz or socialite presence. The Bachchans were once spotted in Lucknow. But those were still very much sarkari events. All that changed in Mumbai. You gotta swear on whatever it is you swear on, you haven't seen a swearing-in like this in India. Even before starting work, Fadnavis sarkar has already set the bar high. You name them, they were there. Mukesh? Yup. Beta and bahu, Anant and Radhika? Ditto. Kumar and daughter Ananya? Sure. Noel Tata? You can Trust him. Deepak Parekh? A man for all seasons. Plus, several other Mumbai Inc hotshots. Bollywood? SRK, Salman, Madhuri, Ranbir and Ranveer, Sanju...and more. Sachin Tendulkar was present. What hiked the glam quotient was not just A+ listers – but that they were all schmoozing- ...handshakes, smiles and a few bro hugs. When you get stars from biz, showbiz and sports to mingle and they seem to have a good time, that’s when an event stops being uninteresting for the uninvited. We like to watch the rich and famous rub shoulders. American politicians always knew this. Mumbai showed our politicians are now catching on. Why, though? Why was the swearing-in so glam-heavy? So much so it moved out of Raj Bhawan to the iconic Azad Maidan. And TV cameras were conflicted whether to focus on the Guv, who swears in mantris and is rarely centrestage, or swing back to front rows of audience. For an answer, look at numbers. So, BJP wanted to send a message. The who’s who of Mumbai society was the glam part of it. The other part was rajneeti — you would have never seen a state-level swearing-in with so many Union cabinet heavyweights — Shah, Rajnath, Gadkari, Shivraj, Nirmala, Piyush, Scindia — and so many CMs in attendance. NDA CMs from Goa and Gujarat to Assam, and UP and Uttarakhand to Odisha and Andhra were there. The political signal was loud and clear. But it was the glam glow that stole the show. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 05.12.2024Something unusual happened when a journalist in New York called a toll-free 1-800 number last week. The reason for the call wasn't to reach a particular product helpline, but because she wanted to find out about something entirely new. Sitting at her desk, perhaps somewhat anxious, she typed out the number on her phone - 1-800-242-8478. After an initial disclaimer, the phone rang. A woman promptly answered the phone. The conversation began with a cheerful 'Hi!', and what happened next, left her fascinated. The woman who answered the phone seemed to be able to talk about absolutely anything - from giving the recipe for chocolate-chip cookies to an insightful account of the American Civil War. 1-800-242-8478 was indeed 1-800-ChatGPT. WILL IT BE A GAME CHANGER? Ten days ago, OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, introduced a voice service in the United States, especially for those who do not have the App or aren't tech-savvy. The tech firm believes this could help them get the answers they need over a regular phone call - speaking with someone who sounds like a pleasant and helpful 'human being', except, she's an AI chatbot. There are a few limitation though - while the number in itself is toll-free, the service is free only for 15 minutes per number, per month, and is currently available only in the US. For the rest of the world, OpenAI said it has launched a text service directly on WhatsApp. The number is the same - 1-800-ChatGPT. OpenAI's chief product officer Kevin Weil said that these new features were a project that the team worked up only in the last few weeks. The company believes that these two new features are very important to expand the reach of AI and introduce it to even those without access to high-speed internet. Interestingly though, OpenAI isn't the first company to introduce a voice feature over a phone call. Google had done something similar 17 years ago. Google's GOOG-411 or 'voice local search' feature was launched back in 2007. It provided a speech-recognition-based business directory search. However, it was mysteriously shut down in 2010 and Google never declared why. THE CONCERNS Though solutions being just a call away makes life simpler, many have raised valid concerns. 'Will my calls be recorded?', 'Will my voice and speech be used as a sample to train AI?', 'Can my voice be replicated in case of a data leak?', 'Can such technology manipulate human emotions?', 'Can people get emotionally attached to AI?', 'Will it lead to people seeking companionship with an AI?', 'Will people get too dependent on a human-sounding chatbot?', 'What impact will it have on those who are lonely?' - Several such though-provoking questions were asked by users online. According to a CNN report, when it questioned whether users agree for OpenAI to record or store their voice while using the feature, OpenAI told them to refer to a copy of their 'privacy policy' and 'Terms of Use' manual. "Before users begin speaking to ChatGPT over the phone, they must agree to OpenAI's Terms of Use and privacy policy by clicking on a button to 'proceed' with the call" they were informed. A disclaimer is also read out to all users informing them that OpenAI may "review the data for safety purposes". FROM NON-PROFIT TO FOR-PROFIT On Friday, OpenAI officially declared plans to lay out an entirely new corporate structure - one that will likely end its control by a non-profit. OpenAI was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2015. It later switched to a "capped" for-profit enterprise, which allowed the tech firm a limited level of money making. Now it says that the ceiling limit will be removed. In a blog post, OpenAI said it plans to restructure as a 'for-profit PBC' or Public Benefit Corporation. This would "requires the company to balance shareholder interests, stakeholder interests, and a public benefit interest in its decision making." "It will enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space," OpenAI added. However, OpenAI's restructuring efforts will likely face obstacles, with Elon Musk reportedly asking a US court to stop OpenAI from converting into a for-profit enterprise.
Hundreds of migrants detained trying to reach UK via Ireland in apparent reversal of Rwanda trendDEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops stormed one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing many staff and patients outside to strip in winter weather , the territory’s health ministry said. The army denied claims it had entered or set fire to the complex and accused Hamas of using the facility for cover. Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit multiple times over the past three months by Israeli troops waging an offensive against Hamas fighters in surrounding neighborhoods, according to staff. The ministry said a strike on the hospital a day earlier killed five medical staff. Israel's military said it was conducting operations against Hamas infrastructure and militants in the area and had ordered people out of the hospital, but said it had not entered the complex as of Friday night. It repeated claims that Hamas militants operate inside Kamal Adwan but provided no evidence. Hospital officials have denied that. The Health Ministry said troops forced medical personnel and patients to assemble in the yard and remove their clothes. Some were led to an unknown location, while some patients were sent to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which was knocked out of operation after an Israel raid this week. Israeli troops during raids frequently carry out mass detentions, stripping men to their underwear for questioning in what the military says is a security measure as they search for Hamas fighters. The Associated Press doesn’t have access to Kamal Adwan, but armed plainclothes members of the Hamas-led police forces have been seen in other hospitals, maintaining security but also controlling access to parts of the facilities. The Health Ministry said Israeli troops also set fires in several parts of Kamal Adwan, including the lab and surgery department. It said 25 patients and 60 health workers remained in the hospital. The account could not be independently confirmed, and attempts to reach hospital staff were unsuccessful. “Fire is ablaze everywhere in the hospital,” an unidentified staff member said in an audio message posted on social media accounts of hospital director Hossam Abu Safiya. The staffer said some evacuated patients had been unhooked from oxygen. “There are currently patients who could die at any moment,” she said. Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, denied the accusations. “While IDF troops were not in the hospital, a small fire broke out in an empty building inside the hospital that is under control,” he said Friday night. He said a preliminary investigation found “no connection” between military activity and the fire. The Israeli military heavily restricts the movements of Palestinians in Gaza and has barred foreign journalists from entering the territory throughout the war, making it difficult to verify information. “These actions put the lives of all of these people in even more danger than what they faced before,” U.N. spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay told journalists, and noted colleagues' reports of “significant damage” to the hospital. It should be protected as international law requires, she added. Since October, Israel’s offensive has virtually sealed off the northern Gaza areas of Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya and leveled large parts of them. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were forced out but thousands are believed to remain in the area, where Kamal Adwan and two other hospitals are located. Troops raided Kamal Adwan in October, and on Tuesday troops stormed and evacuated the Indonesian Hospital. The area has been cut off from food and other aid for months , raising fears of famine . The United Nations says Israeli troops allowed just four humanitarian deliveries to the area from Dec. 1 to Dec. 23. The Israeli rights group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel this week petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice, seeking a halt to military attacks on Kamal Adwan. It warned that forcibly evacuating the hospital would “abandon thousands of residents in northern Gaza.” Before the latest deaths Thursday, the group documented five other staffers killed by Israeli fire since October. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza vowing to destroy Hamas after the group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others. Around 100 Israelis remain captive in Gaza, around a third believed to be dead. Israel’s nearly 15-month-old campaign of bombardment and offensives has devastated the territory’s health sector. A year ago, it carried out raids on hospitals in northern Gaza, including Kamal Adwan, Indonesian and al-Awda Hospital, saying they served as bases for Hamas, though it presented little evidence. Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,400 Palestinians, more than half women and children, and wounded more than 108,000 others, according to the Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. More than 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have been driven from their homes, most now sheltering in sprawling tent camps in south and central Gaza. Children and adults, many barefoot, huddled Friday on the cold sand in tents whose plastic and cloth sheets whipped in the wind. Overnight temperatures can dip into the 40s Fahrenheit (below 10 Celsius), and sea spray from the Mediterranean can dampen tents just steps away. "I swear to God, their mother and I cover ourselves with one blanket and we cover (their five children) with three blankets that we got from neighbors. Sea waters drowned everything that was ours,” said Muhammad al-Sous, displaced from Beit Lahiya in the north. The children collect plastic bottles to make fires, and pile under the blankets when their only set of clothes is washed and dried in the wind. At least three babies in Gaza have died from exposure to cold in recent days , doctors there have said, and the Health Ministry said an adult — a nurse who worked at the European Hospital — also died this week. Khaled and Keath reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Narions contributed to this report.
Trudeau told Trump Americans would also suffer if tariffs are imposed, a Canadian minister saysRavens coach John Harbaugh has previously denounced the idea of bringing in another kicker to complete with Justin Tucker. Not anymore.HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted. Casey’s concession comes more than two weeks after Election Day, as a grindingly slow ballot-counting process became a spectacle of hours-long election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials were openly flouting the law. Republicans had been claiming that Democrats were trying to steal McCormick’s seat by counting “illegal votes.” Casey’s campaign had accused of Republicans of trying to block enough votes to prevent him from pulling ahead and winning. In a statement, Casey said he had just called McCormick to congratulate him. “As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last,” Casey said. The Associated Press called the race for McCormick on Nov. 7, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead. As of Thursday, McCormick led by about 16,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. That was well within the 0.5% margin threshold to trigger an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law. But no election official expected a recount to change more than a couple hundred votes or so, and Pennsylvania’s highest court dealt him a blow when it refused entreaties to allow counties to count mail-in ballots that lacked a correct handwritten date on the return envelope. Republicans will have a 53-47 majority next year in the U.S. Senate. ___ Follow Marc Levy at twitter.com/timelywriter Advertisement AdvertisementIt’s almost a new year, and that means it’s almost time for a bevy of new state laws to go into effect. For the 2023-24 legislative session that just wrapped up (each session spans two years) Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 1,017 bills into law, according to Chris Micheli, a veteran Sacramento lobbyist. That’s a tick more than one-fifth of t he 4,821 bills introduced over that two-year span . Most of the new laws are slated to kick in on Jan. 1. From new parking rules to health care coverage and more, here is a quick look at just 10 of those new laws: Local jurisdictions could give the green light to permit certain cannabis retailers to prepare and sell drinks and food that do not contain cannabis. The law, signed by the governor in late September , also allows the retailers to host ticketed live events on the premises. The idea is to pave the way for a version of Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes, where people can use cannabis with others while also consuming coffee, sandwiches and live music, for example. The new law “will allow cannabis retailers to diversify their business and move away from the struggling and limited dispensary model,” Assemblymember Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat who championed the effort in the legislature, said in a news release . Newsom vetoed similar legislation last year over concerns from public health advocates. This bill included additional provisions meant to reduce health risk, including letting employees wear employer-provided masks and allowing local governments to require filtration and ventilation systems to prevent smoke from permeating nearby buildings. Minors who make money by producing online content should get some extra financial protection as a result of two bills the governor signed this year. One expands the Coogan Act , a longtime California law that requires parents to open a trust and set aside at least 15% of their child actor’s gross earnings. The new rules have been expanded to include “kidfluencers” — or, as the bill describes them, “child influences in paid online content or internet websites, social networks and social media” — as part of the creative or artistic services that would trigger a Coogan trust account. Another extends those financial protections to children who appear in vlogs, or video blogs. Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, noted the Coogan Act covers children under contract — not necessarily children who appear in their parents’ online content. This new law requires content creators to set aside a percentage of total gross earnings in a trust for the child (to be accessed when they become an adult) if the minor is in at least 30% of their content within a month. Several education bills were signed into law this year, ranging from rules to protect young people from being outed against their will to rules that require elementary schools to offer free menstruation products . Other new laws cover what is taught in the classroom, including a bipartisan measure that ensures students are being taught accurately how Native Americans in California were treated during the Gold Rush era and the Spanish colonization of California. “Classroom instruction about the Mission and Gold Rush periods fails to include the loss of life, enslavement, starvation, illness and violence inflicted upon California Native American people during those times,” said Assemblymember James Ramos, D-San Bernardino. “These historical omissions from the curriculum are misleading.” California public schools also will be required to teach Mendez v. Westminster , a landmark court case involving an Orange County family and local school districts that helped bring about the end of segregation laws in local schools around the country. Selling a device, often called a “tuning kit,” that can modify the speed capability of an electric bicycle so that it is no longer defined as an e-bike will be prohibited . California law already has speed guidelines for e-bikes. For example, a Class 1 bike has a motor that kicks in when a rider is pedaling and tops out at 20 mph; a Class 3 motor is meant to stop at 28 mph, and those bikes include speedometers. Modifying the speed of e-bikes is already illegal and unsafe, Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, said in an analysis of her bill. The new law specifically bans the sale of products that can make the alterations. Tenants soon will have more time to respond to an eviction notice. California law originally dictated that a landlord could not file an eviction lawsuit until after serving their tenant with a three-day notice — which excludes Saturdays, Sundays and judicial holidays — to pay. Tenants then had five days after they were served to file their defense in court. If they failed to do so, a judge could award a default judgment to the landlord. The new law doubles those five day-windows to 10 days. Responding to eviction lawsuits is not necessarily a simple feat, supporters of the new law have argued , particularly for people struggling to pay their rent. Tenants need to obtain hard-to-find legal aid or an expensive attorney to complete their defense filing accurately, and then they have to find the means to travel to the courthouse. Certain insurers must cover fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization, in 2025. This law, which won’t take effect until July 2025 , will require large group health care service plans to cover up to three oocyte (egg) retrievals. It also prohibits health care service plans from imposing different conditions or coverage limitations on fertility medications or services. Sen. Caroline Manjivar, D-San Fernando Valley, said her bill being signed into law is “a triumph for the many Californians who have been denied a path toward family-building because of the financial barriers that come with fertility treatment, their relationship status or are blatantly discriminated against as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.” Medical debt will no longer be shared with credit reporting agencies , meaning that debt will not show up on credit reports. That said, medical debts still must be paid. In her analysis of the bill Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, noted that the new rules doesn’t forgive medical debt or restrict the collection of it. Instead, she said, the new rules are meant to help “lift the credit scores of people who have been inaccurately and unfairly saddled with medical debts on their credit reports, opening opportunities for access to healthier financial products, better housing and more employment opportunities.” A new law may make it easier to opt out of pesky automatic subscription renewals. Companies will now have to obtain the “express affirmative consent” to automatically renew subscriptions entered into after July 1, 2025. Consumers also will need to be sent annual reminders about automatic renewals, what the charges are, and information about how to cancel the service. Think you’ve finally found an open parking spot? If it’s within 20 feet of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, then you may want to find a new spot. Starting in 2025, motorists could be ticketed for parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk — even if there is no sign posted. The no-parking zone decreases to 15 feet if there is a curb extension present, the law says. Newsom OK’d this law in 2023 — the bill is part of the two-year legislative session that ended in 2024 — and technically it already is in effect. However, the law only allowed jurisdictions to begin ticketing offenders starting Jan. 1, 2025. Residential treatment facilities (also called short-term residential therapeutic programs) that provide services for minors, must report certain information to the child, their parent or guardian, and California’s Department of Social Services when seclusion or restraints are used. These facilities are allowed to use seclusion or restraints when staff believe the patient may be a danger to themselves or others, said Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, who championed this law. The new law mandates that children must be informed of their rights — including the right to contact state social service workers and the California Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson — within one day of seclusion or restraints being used. Those minors also must be given an oral and written description of the incident, including who approved the disciplinary actions and the rationale behind them. That written information must be given to Dept. of Social Services within seven days, leaving it up to the state to review and determine if any laws were potentially violated by using seclusion and restraints, therefore warranting an investigation. Beginning in 2026, the department will need to publicly post information about these incidents, so parents and guardians can be better informed about where they send their children. The effort to bring more transparency to what punishments are used in youth residential facilities was championed by actress and activist Paris Hilton, who has detailed the “continuous torture” she faced while attending a boarding school as a teenager. Hilton has championed similar laws in other states related to what’s been dubbed the troubled teen industry as well as at the federal level . “For too long, these facilities have operated without adequate oversight, leaving vulnerable youth at risk,” said Hilton. “After being abused in a California facility in my teens, it is validating to see California taking a stand to protect our youth, and I hope our state is the standard for transparency and accountability in these facilities moving forward.”