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Tom Hanks warns fans about ‘AI version of me’ promoting dental plan online

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

David Matthews | New York Daily NewsTom Hanks is warning his fans that an “AI version” of him is hawking dental plans on social media.In an Instagram post over the weekend, Hanks posted a screengrab of a promotional video where his younger, computer-generated likeness pitches teeth cleaning services.“BEWARE!! There’s a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AI version of me. I have nothing to do with it,” Hanks wrote.The Academy Award-winning actor’s warning comes in the midst of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike which, in part, concerns how studios will — or won’t — use artificial intelligence in film and TV production, though the contract the union is currently negotiating with producers does not pertain to commercials. The recently ended WGA strike also hinged on the use of AI in scriptwriting.Hanks himself has been vocal about AI in recent months.In an appearance on “The Adam Buxton Podcast” in May, Hanks shared that Hollywood contracts were being rewritten to equate an a...

Mac Jones brings up ‘job security’ while addressing Patriots turnovers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

Perhaps Sunday’s benching was a wake-up call for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones.Head coach Bill Belichick took Jones out of the game after the third-year pro tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble on a strip sack. One of his interceptions plus his fumble were returned for touchdowns by the Cowboys’ defense in the Patriots’ 38-3 loss. Ball security has been an issue for the Patriots all season.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots rookie Christian Gonzalez reportedly suffers separated shoulder in loss to Cowboys New England Patriots | Bill Belichick has ‘doubts’ Patriots will give Bailey Zappe first-team practice reps New England Patriots | ‘All World’ Patriots great Russ Francis dies in plane crash New England Patriots | Mac Jones takes blame for worst loss of Bill Belichick era: ‘I let my team down’ New England Patriots | Patriots captain ba...

Two dogs involved in Boston animal cruelty case are ready for new homes: ‘These dogs have been through so much’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

Two dogs that were found by Boston Police in the home of a Roxbury woman who’s facing animal cruelty charges are ready for new homes as the MSPCA seeks “special adopters” for the pups.Following weeks of care at Angell Animal Medical Center and the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center Clinic, both Remy and Jobee are now ready to find their forever families, MSPCA-Angell announced on Monday.Remy, a 4-year-old pit bull terrier mix, was surrendered to the care of the MSPCA by Lakeida Burris — who’s facing charges related to Jobee, a 3-year-old pit bull terrier. MSPCA officials have described Jobee’s past condition as the worst case of intentional starvation they have ever seen.Jobee’s remarkable recovery has been well documented, but Remy also needed a lot of care before she was ready to find her happy ending.“Remy was underweight when she came to us, although not nearly as underweight as Jobee,” said MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoptio...

Red Sox know they need their fans, but will raise season ticket prices again for 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

Despite meager improvements over last year’s lackluster home attendance, the Red Sox will once again be asking their season ticket holders for more money next year.“We’ve had a very modest, low single-digit increase on season ticket prices,” team president and CEO Sam Kennedy confirmed during Monday afternoon’s end-of-year press conference.With that, the Red Sox extend their streak of upping the cost of admission to four consecutive seasons. Not exactly an olive branch to the Fenway Faithful after the team’s third last-place finish in these four years.Hours before Kennedy and manager Alex Cora fielded questions from the media, Major League Baseball announced that the 2023 season drew 70 million in collective attendance for the first time since 2017, with a 9.6-percent increase over 2022. Not including the COVID-impacted 2020 and 2021 seasons, it’s the highest percentage growth since 1983.The Red Sox are among the 24 teams that saw attendance rise this season, and one of 17 teams tha...

Celtics bid farewell to beloved Robert Williams: ‘It was really hard’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

Kristaps Porzingis has only been a member of the Celtics since June, and he’s had little time to get to know his new teammates. But even he could recognize how adored Robert Williams was in Boston.“I’ve been here for two weeks and I already could see how Rob is that charismatic guy for this group,” Porzingis said. “So it’s definitely, you know, hurts for this organization that he’s not here anymore.”Williams, of course, was suddenly traded on Sunday alongside Malcolm Brogdon in the blockbuster trade that brought Jrue Holiday to the Celtics. As Brad Stevens noted Monday, it takes good players to acquire other good players, and this case was no exception. But like the Marcus Smart trade earlier this summer, it didn’t make losing Williams – truly beloved in the Celtics locker room, and a player who was key in helping them make the NBA Finals two years ago – any easier.Yet again, Stevens had to make another difficult phone call on Sunday.“Really hard,” he said. “I said...

Massachusetts regulators sign off on another wind contract cancellation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

With legal deadlines looming on the path to more clean energy, Massachusetts has now lost three-quarters of the offshore wind capacity once in its pipeline after regulators allowed another developer to back out of contracts for a major installation.The Department of Public Utilities approved SouthCoast Wind’s proposal to pay utility companies a combined $60 million and terminate contracts it previously reached covering a combined 1,200 megawatts. The decision clears the way for the developer to seek more money for the clean power that state officials are under massive pressure to acquire in the next few years.Like Commonwealth Wind, another project that successfully backed out of its agreements for a 1,200-megawatt project, leaders of SouthCoast Wind have said they intend to submit a new bid in the next round of procurement that closes in January.Both developers have argued that because of changing economic conditions, their projects are no longer financially viable under the ...

California governor chooses labor leader and Democratic insider to fill Feinstein’s Senate seat

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When California Gov. Gavin Newsom needed to fill the U.S. Senate seat of his late mentor Dianne Feinstein, he could have turned to a big-city mayor, a member of Congress or a powerful legislator.Instead, he chose Laphonza Butler, a former union leader and Democratic insider who heads a national organization that raises money for women candidates who support abortion rights. She offered a familiar face who shares his vision for a progressive California. In choosing Butler, he also elevated someone who could become an important ally for a potential national campaign that many see in his future.Once she is sworn in, Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate and the first openly LGBTQ+ California senator. That, alongside her background in the labor and women’s rights movements, helps harden Newsom’s ties to important national Democratic constituencies.Speaking to reporters Monday in San Francisco, Newsom praised Butler’s “deep knowledge” of the leg...

Elon Musk facing defamation lawsuit in Texas over posts that falsely identified man in protest

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A California man who says he was harassed after Elon Musk amplified posts on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that falsely placed the man at a confrontation involving far-right protesters sued the billionaire for defamation in a lawsuit filed Monday. Benjamin Brody, 22, is represented by Mark Bankston, a Texas attorney who won a defamation case last year against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a lawsuit brought by families of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Brody is seeking a jury trial in Austin, Texas, and unspecified damages of at least $1 million. Attorneys for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment left through a spokesperson. In June, video posted to X showed a confrontation involving protesters near a Pride festival in Oregon. Some of those involved wore the same colors of the Proud Boys extremist group, according to The Oregonian. On X, some users falsely identified one of the participants as Brody, highligh...

Government sues Union Pacific over using flawed test to disqualify color blind railroad workers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal government has joined more than a dozen former workers in suing Union Pacific over the way it used a vision test to disqualify workers the railroad believed were color blind and might have trouble reading signals telling them to stop a train.The lawsuit announced Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of 21 former workers is the first the government filed in what could eventually be hundreds — if not thousands — of lawsuits over the way Union Pacific disqualified people with a variety of health issues.These cases were once going to be part of a class-action lawsuit that the railroad estimated might include as many as 7,700 people who had to undergo what is called a “fitness-for-duty” review between 2014 and 2018. Lawyers for the plaintiffs estimate nearly 2,000 of those people faced restrictions that kept them off the job for at least two years if not indefinitely. But the railroad hasn’t significantly changed its policie...

5 died of exposure to chemical in central Illinois crash, preliminary autopsies find

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:19:57 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Five people died from exposure to a chemical that spilled after a semitruck overturned in central Illinois, according to autopsies conducted Monday. Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes said official results from the autopsies won’t be available for several weeks. The victims of the multi-vehicle crash in Teutopolis, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northeast of St. Louis, were Teutopolis resident Kenneth Bryan, 34, and his children, Walker Bryan, 10 and Rosie Bryan, 7; Danny J. Smith, 67 of New Haven, Missouri; and Vasile Cricovan, 31, of Twinsburg, Ohio, were killed.The tanker traveling on U.S. 40 Saturday night veered to the right to avoid a collision when another vehicle tried to pass it. It toppled and hit the trailer hitch of a vehicle parked just off the road. The tanker jackknifed and was left with a 6-inch (15-centimeter) hole in the chemical container, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The crash spilled more than half of t...