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ResortPass unlocks local luxury pools, spas and more with new app

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

Tired of the same old stay-cation routine? An app called ResortPass is here to redefine your relaxation. It lets you bask in the lap of luxury, right in your hometown, without booking a room.ResortPass offers day passes granting access to top-notch amenities like stunning pools, private beaches, deluxe spas, and well-equipped gyms. Currently, it collaborates with hotels in Miami, New York, and Chicago, with expansion plans underway.With over 1,000 prestigious hotels and resorts in its roster, including renowned names like Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Westin, and Fairmont, ResortPass ensures that you don’t have to travel far to experience the pinnacle of pampering. Over 1.6 million people have already hopped on board, redefining rest, togetherness, and escape, all in their neighborhood.

‘Video games are in for quite a trip’: How generative AI could radically reshape gaming

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

(CNN) — When you read “artificial intelligence,” you might think of new innovations such as Chat GPT, but AI has been used in video games since the 1950s.From Pacman’s trademark ghosts to autonomous decision-making in “The Sims,” AI is essential for things like creating adaptive characters and story lines.Now,the rapid development of generative AI is opening up a new frontier for video games: endless open worlds, unique content, autonomous characters, and the potential for faster game development.Act naturalGenerative AI – artificial intelligence that creates text, images and audio in response to a prompt – is set to shake up one of the signature components of video games: non-playable characters, known as NPCs. These characters typically have a set pattern of behavior, and their mannerisms and speech are often stilted and unnatural.“When we think about those NPCs, they look a bit weird,” says Alexis Rolland, development director of La Forge China, the Chinese branch of video games ...

Mother of 6-year-old killed in alleged anti-Muslim attack near Chicago released from hospital after being stabbed over a dozen times

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

(CNN) — A Chicago-area woman who was stabbed multiple times in an alleged anti-Muslim attack that left her 6-year-old son dead last week has been released from the hospital, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Chicago office.Hanaan Shahin, 32, lived with her son, Wadea Al Fayoume, in a rented house in Plainfield Township, Illinois, for two years before their landlord brutally attacked them on October 14, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.The family was “targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis, the sheriff’s office said.Shahin told police she was able to get away by locking herself in the nearby bathroom, but was not able to get her son. While in there, she called police, according to a court filing. Shahin was rushed to the hospital with more than a dozen stab wounds, the sheriff’s office said.Wadea, who was stabbed 26 times, did not survive, according to authorities. Sh...

Billions of crabs went missing around Alaska. Scientists now know what happened to them

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

(CNN) — Billions of snow crabs have disappeared from the ocean around Alaska in recent years, and scientists now say they know why: Warmer ocean temperatures likely caused them to starve to death.The finding comes just days after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the snow crab harvest season was canceled for the second year in a row, citing the overwhelming number of crabs missing from the typically frigid, treacherous waters of the Bering Sea.The study, published Thursday by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found a significant link between recent marine heat waves in the eastern Bering Sea and the sudden disappearance of the snow crabs that began showing up in surveys in 2021.“When I received the 2021 data from the survey for the first time, my mind was just blown,” said Cody Szuwalski, lead author of the study and fishery biologist at NOAA. “Everybody was just kind of hoping and praying that that was an error in the survey and that ...

California Gov. assures his state is always a partner on climate change as he begins trip to China

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — The Governor of California assured Monday during his week-long trip to China that his state will always be a partner on climate issues no matter how the U.S. presidential election turns out next year.Democrat Gavin Newsom’s visit comes as U.S.-Chinese relations witnessed a sharp deterioration in recent years due to trade disputes, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan, and human rights concerns, among other contentious issues.Attempting to reinforce his state’s role as a global leader on climate change, Newsom began his visit with a climate-themed discussion at The University of Hong Kong.He told the audience they “can rely on California,” while addressing claims that the United States is not a reliable ally.“I want you to know, regardless of what happens nationally, sub-nationally, you have a partner in the state of California,” he said. Climate remains one area where collaboration is seen as possible and necessary. Both countries appear to have fully ...

Protesters block downtown streets outside Israeli consulate during morning rush

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

A morning rally in downtown Toronto has shut down a major intersection during the Monday work rush.A group of more than a hundred demonstrators have gathered outside the Israeli consulate near the intersection of Yonge and Bloor streets for a Jewish-led rally calling for a ceasefire in the latest Israel-Hamas war.The intersection is blocked to traffic in all directions.The organization Independent Jewish Voices posted about the morning rally on social media, describing it as Toronto Jewish groups coming together to demand a ceasefire, stop funding to the Israeli army, and “end the occupation of Palestine.”The protesters began gathering on the sidewalk outside the consulate around 7 a.m. and the intersection was blocked off to motorists by 8 a.m.Police tell CityNews the intersection will likely be blocked until 9 a.m.#listen-box { box-shadow: 0 0 0 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 1); animation: pulse 2s infinite; margin: 20px; padding: 15px;}@keyframes pulse { 0% { ...

Is ‘it’s your mess, you clean it up’ a viable recycling strategy?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, extended producer responsibility is a practice it means governments handing over the task of recycling packaging to the companies that produce the waste. It happens in some capacity in most of Canada, and now Ontario is turning all of its recycling over to this model.Calvin Lakhan is the co-investigator of the “Waste Wiki” project at York University’s Faculty of Environment and Urban Change, a research project devoted to advancing understanding of waste management research and policy in Canada.“For every one ton of blue box material that residents put in their bin, 30 per cent of it is thrown out as residue. So we’re not doing the greatest job of capturing the recyclables that we’re telling people to put in the recycling bin,” said Lakhan.But can we really trust for-profit companies to take recycling seriously? Are we seeing the lower costs and packaging innovations that are supposed to be the upsides of using this strategy? When we sa...

Large waves pound the northern Caribbean as Hurricane Tammy spins into open waters

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Tammy unleashed heavy waves in the northern Caribbean on Monday as it spun over open waters after making landfall in Barbuda.The storm was located about 230 miles (370 kilometers) north-northwest of Anguilla. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and was moving north at 10 mph (17 kph). Tammy was expected to strengthen slightly in upcoming days and then weaken, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.The storm was forecast to drop up to three inches (eight centimeters) of rain in the British Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands and northern Windward Islands, with meteorologists warning of isolated flash flooding and mudslides.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Otis whirled through open waters in the Atlantic on a path toward Mexico’s southern coast.The storm was located about 400 miles (640 kilometers) south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico. It had winds of up to 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving north at 5 mph (7 kph).A tro...

France completes withdrawal of troops from northern base in Niger as part of planned departure

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — France has completed the withdrawal of troops from a northern base in Niger as part of a planned departure from the West African country in the wake of July’s military coup.Nearly 200 troops, 28 trucks and two dozen armored vehicles left the Ouallam military base, which has been handed to Niger, a junta spokesman, Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, said Sunday.France’s withdrawal is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Some 1,500 French troops have been operating in Niger, training its military and conducting joint operations.The announcement comes weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country as a result of the coup that removed President Mohamed Bazoum.Bazoum has been under house arrest with his wife and son for nearly three months, and the junta has cut off his electricity and water.Last week, people close to Bazoum were unable to reach him for s...

A US watchdog says the Taliban are benefiting from international aid through ‘fraudulent’ NGOs

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:02:10 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The watchdog for U.S. assistance to Afghanistan has warned that the Taliban are benefiting from international aid through the establishment of fraudulent nongovernmental organizations.The Taliban have exerted greater control over national and international NGOs since seizing power in August 2021. They have barred Afghan women from NGO work and sought to push out foreign organizations from the education sector.A report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, found that the Taliban benefit from American-funded education programming through the generation of tax revenues and from more “nefarious” methods like the establishment of fraudulent NGOs and extorting and infiltrating existing NGOs to obtain or direct international donor aid. Taliban spokesmen weren’t immediately available for comment on Monday. In May, a SIGAR report highlighted the Taliban’s interference with NGO work in Afghanistan. The economy ministr...