Day: February 1, 2025

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone conversation with Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister to discuss a way forward for Gaza. Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-840152

Tech giants such as Meta and Microsoft have reaffirmed their commitment to investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) despite concerns raised by the emergence of a cheaper AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek. The two companies, along with Apple and others, have reported earnings calls where they discussed their plans for expanding AI infrastructure. Meta … Read more

Marianne Faithfull, the enigmatic singer-songwriter known for her hit single ‘Why D’Ya Do It?’, has left a lasting impact on those who knew her. Damon Albarn of Blur recalls meeting her in the early 2000s, describing her as “authentic” and “lovely”. The two formed a creative partnership, with Blur contributing to her album ‘Kissin Time’. … Read more

The NCAA’s nearly $2.8 billion antitrust settlement is facing increased uncertainty after more than a dozen legal challenges were filed on Friday, just one day before the deadline for objections. Four antitrust experts told ESPN that the deal is still likely to be approved, but some objections have the potential to delay, reshape or derail … Read more

Microsoft has announced that it will give all its users free access to OpenAI’s o1 model as part of its Copilot platform, making the powerful reasoning capabilities available without subscription or payment. This move comes after DeepSeek, a Chinese-based startup, gained popularity and attention from industry leaders and investors. DeepSeek’s R1 model, which is comparable … Read more

This week, the AI industry saw several significant developments in product launches, updates, and funding news from artificial intelligence-focused startups and companies. OpenAI launched its new reasoning model, o3-mini, which offers medium-level reasoning capabilities to ChatGPT’s free users. The model responds 24% faster than its predecessor and has a lower cost. External testers preferred the … Read more

Massachusetts is facing its largest bird flu outbreak on record, with up to 1,000 reported bird deaths in the Boston and South Shore areas. Wildlife officials warn that the virus is widespread across the state and may be present even in places without confirmed cases. According to state ornithologist Andrew Vitz, cold temperatures this winter … Read more

Apple’s first quarter earnings beat analysts’ forecasts, with the company reporting $2.40 per share on revenue of $124.3 billion. This is higher than the EPS and revenue anticipated by Bloomberg consensus estimates. However, the company’s iPhone sales in China declined 11% from the previous year. CEO Tim Cook explained that this decline was largely due … Read more

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, co-stars of the highly-anticipated film “It Ends With Us,” have found themselves at the center of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. The two actors engaged in a heated battle, with Lively filing a sexual harassment suit against Baldoni and his studio, Wayfarer, in December. Baldoni responded by filing a $250 million defamation … Read more

A series of mysterious events has left great white sharks largely absent from coastal areas in South Africa. The most recent incident involved two male orcas, identified as Port and Starboard, attacking and killing several great whites off the coast of Mossel Bay. Dr Alison Towner, a marine biologist at Rhodes University, observed that after … Read more