Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08710-yThe development of multimodal foundation models, pretrained on diverse omics datasets, to unravel the intricate complexities of molecular cell biology is envisioned.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00820-xHigh-resolution observations of ocean topography from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission reveal that small surface structures have a larger-than-expected impact on the oceans total energy budget.

Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez has been suspended three games for intentionally throwing at Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry believes Travis Hunter is worth one of the top picks in the draft, even if he plays only one position, and compared him to Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to describe his value.

Marine Corps combat veteran Matt Metzger poses for a portrait with a plate of mushrooms that he grows himself for microdosing psilocybin, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)2025-04-17T13:17:19Z Microdosing is gaining popularity with a new breed of health seekers. These self-experimenters take a very small amount of psilocybin mushrooms or LSD to try to reduce anxiety, stress and depression. Some claim the practice gives them access to joy, creativity and connection they cant get otherwise.This isnt a full-blown acid trip or even close. If you see visions, its not a microdose. People who microdose dont do it every day. Instead, they take tiny doses intermittently, on a schedule or when they feel it could be beneficial.One small study suggests any psychological benefits come from users expectations the placebo effect. But the science is still new and research is ongoing.The substances are illegal in most places, but the wave of scientific research focused on the benefits of supervised hallucinatory experiences has spurred Oregon and Colorado to legalize psychedelic therapy. Further opening the door to microdosing, a handful of cities have officially directed police to make psychedelics a low priority for enforcement. This article is part of APs Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well. What are people who microdose reporting?I started microdosing and within a couple of months, I had a general sense of well-being that I hadnt had in so long, said Marine Corps combat veteran Matt Metzger. He grows his own mushrooms in Olympia, Washington, where psilocybin has been decriminalized. Taking small amounts of psilocybin helps him cope with PTSD, he said.In Loveland, Colorado, Aubrie Gates said microdosing psilocybin has made her a better parent and enhanced her creativity. It makes you feel viscerally in your body a new way of being, a more healthy way of being, Gates said. And so instead of just like thinking with your conscious mind, Oh, I need to be more present, you feel what it feels like to be more present. What does the science say about microdosing?These kinds of claims are hard to measure in the lab, say scientists studying microdosing.For starters, belief is so important to the experience that empty capsules can produce the same effects.In one study involving people who microdose, participants didnt know until afterward whether they had spent four weeks taking their usual microdose or placebos. Psychological measures improved after four weeks for everyone in the study, regardless of whether they were taking microdoses or empty capsules.It appears that I was indeed taking placebos throughout the trial. Im quite astonished, wrote one of the study participants. It seems I was able to generate a powerful altered consciousness experience based only (on) the expectation around the possibility of a microdose.Scientists havent found lasting effects on creativity or cognition, according to a review of a handful of small placebo-controlled trials of microdosing LSD.One small study did find glimmers of an effect of small LSD doses on vigor and elation in people with mild depression when compared with a placebo.It may only work in some people and not in other people, so it makes it hard for us to measure it under laboratory conditions, said University of Chicago neuroscience researcher Harriet de Wit, who led the research. The potential has spurred an Australian company to conduct early trials of microdoses of LSD for severe depression and in cancer patients experiencing despair.Meanwhile, few rigorous studies of psilocybin microdosing have been done. Psilocybin mushrooms are the most often used among psychedelic drugs, according to a report by the nonpartisan Rand research group. Rand estimates that 8 million people in the U.S. used psilocybin in 2023 and half of them reported microdosing the last time they used it.A few words of caution about microdosingEven microdosing advocates caution that the long-term effects have not been studied in humans. Other warnings: Unregulated products from shady sources could contain harmful substances. And accidentally taking too much could cause disturbing sensations. The nonprofit Fireside Project offers free phone support for people during a psychedelic experience and has received hundreds of calls about microdosing.People may call just to simply process their experience, said project founder Josh White, who microdoses the plant iboga and LSD to continue to deepen the insight about my life that he gained in a full-blown psychedelic experience. Balazs Szigeti of University of California San Francisco, who has studied microdosing, said it may be a way to harness the placebo effect for personal benefit.Its like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Szigeti said. People who are interested in microdosing should give microdosing a try, but only if theyre enthusiastic about it, if they have a positive expectation about the benefits of microdosing.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. CARLA K. JOHNSON Johnson covers research in cancer, addiction and more for The Associated Press. She is a member of APs Health and Science team. twitter mailto

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the schools campus in Tallahassee, Fla., Thursday, April 17, 2025 (AP Photo/Kate Payne)2025-04-17T16:26:44Z Lee esta historia en espaol TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) A shooting Thursday on the Florida State University campus sent an unknown number of people to a nearby hospital, a medical center spokesperson said.Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare was receiving and treating people affected by the shooting, said Sarah Cannon, a hospital spokesperson. She said the hospital cannot yet confirm the number of people in care, and said the details are still unfolding.Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus midday Thursday after the university issued an active shooter alert near the student union. Hundreds of students streamed away from the direction of the student union. Students were glued to their phones, some visibly emotional.Junior Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the universitys main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter. Sirmans said law enforcement officers escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads.FBI officials are on scene, a spokesperson said.Students and faculty were instructed to seek shelter and await further instructions.Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures, the alert said. KATE PAYNE Payne writes about state government and education and is based in Tallahassee, FL. She is a Report for America corps member. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01265-yFreshwater insects used microplastic as a building material long before scientists coined the term.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01258-xScientists have captured a colossal squid in the deep sea for the first time. Plus, crows have surprising geometry skills and the world now has a plan in place for pandemics.

The Jets have signed Neal Pionk to a six-year, $42 million contract extension before the defenseman could hit free agency.

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Thursday on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he is not ready to make a decision on his plans for the 2025 season and allowed that retirement could still be a possibility.

The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-04-17T18:11:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court on Thursday kept on hold President Donald Trumps restrictions on birthright citizenship but agreed to hear arguments on the issue in May.Trumps executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally has been halted nationwide by three district courts around the country.The Republican administration had sought to narrow those orders to allow for the policy to take effect in parts or most of the country while court challenges play out. That is expected to be the focus of the high court arguments. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

With the increased use of AI technology in everyday life, people have been raising concerns about inclusivity and safety.LGBT tech, a national nonpartisan group, is advocating for the community by creating AllyAI, the first certification for AI systems to ensure bias is identified and mitigated against LGBTQ individuals.LGBT Tech was founded by Chris Wood with the mission to engage with technology and public policy leaders for strategic discussions to ensure the LGBTQ community is considered and present. Its programs includePowerOn, which distributes tech to homeless, isolated, and disadvantaged LGBTQ individuals;PATHS, which works to inspire and motivate LGBTQ youth and young adults in STEAM fields; andDigital Navigator, which provides education on digital skills, online safety, and affordable internet access.The organization has also been a voice for the LGBTQ community in consulting work on hardware, software and other technologies.The AllyAI LGBTQ+ AI Certification is the organizations current project in progress. It was first announced at theGSVxPSU Global Impact Forumin September 2024. The certification aims to ensure LGBTQ inclusivity at every stage of AI development and deployment.Shae Gardner, director of policy and research at LGBT Tech, explained that its important to look at every step of a systems creation. The first thing we need to know is whats happening with the data, Gardner said. If LGBTQ people are not present in the input, then we wont be considered in the output.Historically, LGBTQ+ peoples information and stories have often been ignored or erased. This takes a whole part of the population and their interests and knowledge out of consideration. What is created from this is a diminished product that cannot serve all people.Gardner compared this to thecurb-cut effect, a phenomenon in disability studies when a feature designed for a specific group benefits the population as a whole. Curb cuts at street corners were implemented to assist wheelchair users, but now benefit people using strollers, cyclists, and delivery workers.There is a business angle to inclusivity in addition to a moral one, explained Gardner. The mostrecent Gallup pollfound that 9.3 percent of Americans now identify as LGBTQ+. If you dont create this tech inclusively it is leaving out a whole population of people and will not function as you want it to.AllyAI will recognize specific programs that are inclusive after being rigorously tested and validated. LGBT Tech is creating an advisory board of community, expert, and industry advisors to create and update annual certification criteria. This will include legal experts as well as those in the tech field.There will also be established channels for LGBTQ+ individuals to provide feedback.One of the biggest considerations in creating inclusive AI is if data is considered mutable or immutable. Gardner gave the example of age as a mutable data point because our age changes every year. Other categories might be considered to stay the same throughout a persons lifetime, such as their ethnicity or gender.Yet the LGBTQ+ community knows that a persons sexual or gender identity might change or evolve over their lifetime as they grow in their understanding of themselves. Identity markers and terms also change over time as the meanings of words change and new terms are created.This means systems need to take a human- centric approach that takes into account multiple and fluid identities.There are key pieces we can utilize, and ensure theyre included, said Gardner. We can take a look at how data is being categorized, and how that represents someone as a whole human being.The certification process will also include red teaming, which is a cybersecurity practice of simulating an attack on a system to identify vulnerabilities. This will ensure that data is private and secure.We are here, weve always been here. Our trans community is under attack; communities are being censored, and we see that as even more incentive to ensure LGBTQ are counted and safely included in all aspects.Chris WoodExecutive Director and Co-Founder Chris Wood emphasized the importance of LGBTQ+ adoption of technology such as AI systems.Our society has rapidly accepted the use of AI, and this is only going to continue to grow, Wood explained. This means we need to embrace it. We need to make sure as we start building and using these tools that the AI is inclusive.LGBT Tech prioritizes actively using the technologies that they are researching. By utilizing up-and-coming technology, the organization works to mitigate certain harms and fight against the erasure of LGBTQ+ identities in the digital landscape.With the changing political landscape, the LGBT Tech team has had to pivot in their plans and be more creative.Things have shifted a lot in the last couple months, said Wood. We have to consider how we continue doing this in a way that will be impactful under this administration. We want to create a program than can survive and thrive in any political environment.However, he also emphasized that certain things do not change no matter who is in power. The economic incentive to include everyone is still there, and queer people continue to exist.We are here, weve always been here. Our trans community is under attack; communities are being censored, and we see that as even more incentive to ensure LGBTQ are counted and safely included in all aspects, Wood said.This has delayed development by a little bit, as LGBT Tech works on how to approach the issues in the right way.Because this impacts such large parts of our community, we want to be careful and mindful. But we are not slowing down. This delayed process just means we are ending up at a better place, Wood emphasized.One of the ways AllyAI evolved since its conception has been in community outreach. Since announcing the project, LGBT Tech has seen a desire of individuals to learn and be certified in creating inclusive AI systems. The certification might expand to train people, in addition to businesses, around the process of human centric inclusivity in technology.There is a collective potential in having individuals empowered, and its exciting to see people interested in this, Gardner said.Regardless of government directives, Wood wants AllyAI to be a malleable program that can change as the communitys concerns change.That is the ever-growing and evolving nature of which we work, and we are taking every stride possible, Wood said.LGBT Tech was built on the foundation of leaving the world better than it was found. By increasing LGBTQ+ visibility in the tech industry, it paves the way for continued advancements.Its about raising our hand when something isnt right, about creating change in a way that has a ripple effect, Wood expanded. He described running into participants of LGBT Techs early programing, and how amazing it was to see these people in a completely different place.AllyAI is another way to pave the road forward by ensuring future systems are including and prioritizing the LGBTQ+ community.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBC Universal.The post Finding an ally in AI appeared first on News Is Out.

To say that Portland supports the LGBTQ+ community may be an understatement. Oregons largest city, with a population of 630,000, goes out of its way to honor the community. Portland became the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, Sam Adams, in 2008, narrowly beating out Houston by a year for that honor. That tradition of acceptance has only grown since then.The citys famed drag artist, Walter Willard Cole, who performed under the name Darcelle XV, died in 2023 at the age of 92. Cole founded his drag show bar Darcelle XV Showplace in 1967. The Guinness Book of World Records named him the oldest performing drag queen in 2016. Darcelle XV Showcase was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2020, and the club continues to be very popular today. The city is building a park that will be named Darcelle XV Plaza in Coles memory. The new space, formerly OBryant Square, will include a stage and a Wall of Fame for notable LGBTQ+ Portlanders. Portlands Architectural Heritage Center also plans an exhibit to honor Cole and the LGBTQ+ community.The Darcelle XV Showcase, where drag queen Darcelle XV performed, is now a landmark in Portland. Photo: Ed WalshIn 2018, Portland named a 13-block stretch of Stark Street downtown as Southwest Harvey Milk Street in honor of the assassinated gay San Francisco supervisor. The street had been named after Benjamin Stark, who was appointed a U.S. senator in 1861 and had supported slavery.Nightlife Portland has an abundance of small businesses run by members of the LGBTQ+ community or strong allies. One of the newest nightlife options is the lesbian bar, Doc Maries, on the east side of the Willamette River, east of downtown. The bar opened three years ago and is named for Dr. Marie Equi, a pioneering lesbian known for her work with working class and poor patients. She was born in 1872 in Massachusetts and moved west to be with her high school girlfriend in Oregon.The biggest concentration of gay bars and nightclubs is on the west side of the river in and near Old Town Chinatown. A name that is familiar to San Franciscans, Badlands, opened last June in the space formerly occupied by the Embers Avenue LGBTQ+ dance club, which closed in 2017. It is part of the Splash chain whose owner is TJ Bruce, a gay man who also owns SF Badlands, Badlands Sacramento, and the Splash bars in San Jose and Fresno.CC Slaughters is in the heart of Old Town Chinatown, four blocks from Badlands. It was established in 1981. It closed indefinitely in October 2020 because of the COVID pandemic but reopened in April 2021.Scandals, on SW Harvey Milk Street, is just a 10-minute walk west of Badlands with a big outdoor patio on the pedestrian-only section of the street, ideal for people-watching on a nice day. It has been going strong since 1979.Silverado and Stag PDX are a couple of gay strip bars in Old Town Chinatown. Eagle Portland is about a 10-minute drive or a 30-minute bus ride from Old Town Chinatown and has a couple of back outdoor patios. If you want to play pool without being encumbered by clothes, check out the bar on Thursday nights, where you can hangout nude or in your underwear and play pool. Oregons rules are apparently more lax than California. Portland has two gay bathhouses, Steam Portland and Hawks PDX. AccommodationsThe Sentinel Hotel is a great choice for anyone looking for a full service hotel with character. A scene in the classic 1991 film My Private Idaho was shot there. Several scenes of the Madonna movie Body of Evidence were shot in the historic property in 1993. The hotel is in easy walking distance from most of the LGBTQ+ nightlife in the city. Rental bikes are complementary.Hotel Lucia is also in the heart of the LGBTQ+ nightlife on SW Broadway at the corner of SW Harvey Milk Way. Like the Sentinel, it also offers free bikes. Lucia boasts that it is one of the first boutique hotels in Portland, and a hotel brochure focused on LGBTQ+s encourages visitors to celebrate pride every day.For those on a more limited budget, rooms with a shared bath are available at the gay-owned Portland International Guesthouse. Rooms at the four-unit inn start at $85, including a continental breakfast. Its conveniently located less than a mile west of Old Town Chinatown.SightsIf you are traveling in the summer, the clothing-optional Rooster Rock Beach is about a half-hour drive east of downtown Portland and very LGBTQ+ friendly. The east end of the beach is the gayest. Public transportation doesnt go there so you may want to rent a car to explore the beach.Portlands Hop-on/Hop-off Pink Trolley Sightseeing Tour is a great way to see highlights of the city without getting lost. It includes live narration as it weaves its way between 10 stops at major attractions in the city. A day pass costs $32.Over 600 varieties of rose bloom at the nternational Rose Test Garden, starting in May and ending in October. Photo: Dana PiccoliPortland is nicknamed the City of Roses. When Portland hosted the Worlds Fair in 1905, it planted 10,000 rose bushes throughout the city and, in 1918, the city received a variety of hybrid roses from England that were in danger from WWI bombings. Now, the citys famed International Rose Test Garden is home to 10,000 rose bushes in Washington Park, the citys crown jewel. You will also find the Oregon Zoo, World Forestry Center, Hoyt Arboretum, and the Portland Japanese Garden in the park.If you are traveling with kids, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is worth visiting. It includes two theaters, a planetarium, and a retired navy submarine that is docked next to the museum.Other things worth checking out are a day trip to wine country or a trip to Mt. Hood. One of two queer sections is shown at the famous Powells Books flagship store in downtown Portland. Photo: Ed WalshPowells Books is the worlds largest independent bookstore selling new and used books. Its flagship store, Powells City of Books, includes two LGBTQ+ sections and a cafe. The store takes up a city block and boasts about a million books. Barnes and Noble in New York City claims to be overall the largest bookstore in the world, but Powells claims to have more shelf space.Dining Out Speed-o Cappuccino bills itself as a queer, Latinx, and sex-worker-owned vegan coffee cart on 1015 SE Stark Street on the east side of the Willamette River clustered with several other LGBTQ+-owned and -allied eateries. Speed-o features bar food with a vegan gourmet twist.Taqueria Los Puales gets its name from the word Pual that is sometimes used as a slur for a gay man in Mexico. The restaurant specializing in Mexican food was started by two gay men, Brian Aster and David Madrigal, and features delicious and inexpensive food in a very colorful setting.Tacos and agua fresca at Taqueria Los Punales. Photo: Taqueria Los PunalesThe lesbian-owned Meals for Heels provides one of the most unique restaurant services in the world. The eatery specializes in late night deliveries to sex workers, with a large clientele base considering the city has more than 50 strip clubs. Founder Nikeisah Newton boasts that 90% of her staff is LGBTQ+. Newton was recognized with a Game Changer award last year by the Black Women in Food Awards.Lesbian Vietnamese chef and entrepreneur Jenny Nguyen opened The Sports Bra bar and restaurant three years ago. It is focused on womens sports. The restaurant offerings include bar food with a Vietnamese twist with such items as Aunt Tinas Vietna-wings and Moms Baby Back Ribs, featuring Vietnamese clay-pot style pork ribs.For an even more queer-owned dining options, check out the Everywhere is Queer app and choose Portland. Getting AroundPortland has a great public transit system. The Max Red Line light rail system runs from the airport to downtown in about 38 minutes. The single adult fare is $2.80. You can buy a single ticket or day pass with a credit card at the airport station vending machine. Each ticket is good for 2.5 hours. If you need to transfer to a bus, you can use the same ticket. When boarding a bus, you can just tap your ticket or a credit card to the fare box. If you use a credit card, it will remember and not charge you twice if you use the card again within 2.5 hours. You can also pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.For more informationThe gay-owned mens clothing store underU4men runs a LGBTQ+ visitor center on the mezzanine level of its store on 800 SW Washington Street, in the heart of downtown. You can stop by and relax, and the center offers free bag and luggage checks. The centers website also offers links to discounts and special events.The citys official travel website is travelportland.com. The citys new visitor center is at 1132 SW Harvey Milk Street, across the street from Scandals.The post Explore LGBTQ+ history, culture and nightlife in Portland, Oregon appeared first on News Is Out.

Actress Karla Sofa Gascn is set to return to the screen in a new role following the controversy surrounding her involvement in the 2024 film Emilia Prez. Gascn will play a psychiatrist who embodies both God and the devil in the psychological thriller The Life Lift, opposite Vincent Gallo, according to Variety. The film is the directorial debut of Italian filmmaker Stefania Rossella Grassi.Source

Nature, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01255-0Carbonate mineral is long-sought evidence of conditions that supported liquid water.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01101-3The dark cells behind disease, how diabetes drugs might protect cognitive function, and other studies and trials.

The NHL says the Rangers informed the league last year that they were looking into sexual assault allegations by a team employee against Artemi Panarin after a report detailing the situation and settlement payments made to the woman surfaced.

Bucks star Damian Lillard has been cleared of his deep vein thrombosis and is no longer on blood-thinning medication, sources told ESPN.

Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, speaks during a news conference at CASA's Multicultural Center in Hyattsville, Md., April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)2025-04-17T19:29:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administrations claim that it cant do anything to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison and return him to the U.S. should be shocking, a federal appeals court said Thursday in a scathing ruling in favor of the Maryland man.A three-judge panel from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously refused to suspend a judges decision to order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her instruction to facilitate Abrego Garcias return.The panel said Republican President Donald Trumps government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order.Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done. This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear, they wrote. The Justice Department appealed after U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on Tuesday ordered sworn testimony by at least four officials who work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. The 4th Circuit panel unanimously denied the governments request for a stay of Xinis order while they appeal. Its opinion says the executive and judicial branches of the federal government come too close to grinding irrevocably against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both. This is a losing proposition all around, they wrote. The Judiciary will lose much from the constant intimations of its illegitimacy, to which by dent of custom and detachment we can only sparingly reply. The Executive will lose much from a public perception of its lawlessness and all of its attendant contagions.

Social media platforms commonly use artificial intelligence for content moderation, with the AI software itself relying on algorithms to screen content posted by social media users. Ultimately, the AI determines whether content adheres to or breaches platform guidelines.But issues can arise when a social media company loosens its restrictions on content, or if the algorithms themselves the building blocks of AI content moderation are biased.Social media experts Jenni Olson, GLAADs senior director of its social media safety program, and Andrea Annie Brown, founder and CEO of the ethical AI companyReliabl, shared their perspectives.Metas revised stance on moderating contentIn early January, Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp,announced policy changesin its Community Guidelines.Among the instated changes are a reduction of AI content moderation and acorresponding shiftto Community Notes, a volunteer-based program comparable to that used in the platform X, through which social media users self-report content violations.One thing Meta has now said is that they are not going to be doing as much moderation. Theyre going to focus on more extreme things, like CSAM [child sex abuse material] and violence, proactively, but everything else they are basically going to not moderate, said Olson in a Zoom video chat with the Bay Area Reporter.This change, coupled with the companys revamped Hateful Conduct policy that now permits anti-LGBTQ terminology and discourse and the dissolving of its fact-checking program, make for one giant red flag for queer individuals.The Meta stuff is so bad. Its just bad upon bad upon bad, said Olson.Metas reduced reliance on AI for content moderation, according to the companys CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, is a necessary measure to lessen flagging posts and speech that do not justify review and removal.The problem with complex systems is that they make mistakes. Even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts, thats millions of people. And weve reached a point where its just too many mistakes and too much censorship, he said in a video featured in theMeta-released article, More Free Speech and Fewer Mistakes.The piece, authored by Joel Kaplan, Metas chief global affairs officer, further details the companys reasoning behind its content moderation policy change.In recent years weve developed increasingly complex systems to manage content across our platforms, partly in response to societal and political pressure to moderate content. This approach has gone too far. As well-intentioned as many of these efforts have been, they have expanded over time to the point where we are making too many mistakes, frustrating our users and too often getting in the way of the free expression we set out to enable, Kaplan wrote.Brown, whose company Reliabl provides platforms with community-centric data management solutions and custom, high-performance algorithms, sees Metas content moderation reduction as a poor excuse for a strategy. She emphasized the need to train the AI with an understanding of the context of a community, which is a focus of her company.At Reliabl, we essentially bring marginalized communities into the machine learning pipeline, because thats whats missing from this AI, Brown explained. Basically all these moderation rules, all these moderation algorithms, are written primarily by white, straight cis men. And so thats the perspective that theyre going to have. And then they wonder why they cant work in different contexts. So theres a laziness factor there.Gleaning insight from researchOlson, a lesbian who lives in the Bay Area, oversees GLAADs Social Media Safety Index, an annual report on the current climate in social media platforms for the LGBTQ community and the platforms policies.The SMSI, the first of which was published in 2021, provides insight into LGBTQ+ discrimination and harassment, restrictions on self-expression, and privacy issues on six major social media companies Facebook, Threads, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X and rates them using a platform scorecard. In the 2024 Social Media Safety Index, all but one of the companies received an F grade. (TikTok earned a D+.)The 2024 SMSI includes two comprehensive pages covering issues such as generative AI systems, automated gender recognition, and content moderation titled Focus on AI: Risks for LGBTQ People.As noted in the section, a major risk when it comes to using AI is the potential for algorithmic bias, which occurs as a result of systematic errors in machine learning algorithms.One of the most significant things in terms of LGBT people and other historically marginalized groups is, garbage in garbage out, bias in bias out. If you dont have LGBT people, people of color at the table giving the inputs to the AI systems, then they will be racist and homophobic and so on, said Olson.Algorithmic bias in social media platforms content moderation systems can result in the disproportionate flagging and takedowns of content; it can also result in discrimination and reinforce stereotypes.Essentially, the data used for the algorithms have a substantial impact on the presence of bias. If the data are not representative of a certain group, such as LGBTQ people, then biases surrounding that group perpetuate.How well companies are actually doing that [i.e. using community-centered data] or not is a huge question. And of course, theres all kinds of examples of Theyre not doing well and really horrible examples of bias, Olson added.Brown, whos spent the past six-plus years at UC San Diego researching algorithmic bias, namely in social media spaces, said that if a company is looking to improve AI, the exclusion of certain viewpoints and datasets isnt the answer.Youre literally just making the AI worse, because at the end of the day, AIs main goals are accuracy and efficiency, and if you want an accurate AI, that means including as many diverse viewpoints as possible, she said.All that is doing is just setting the technology further and further back, because you cant have an AI that understands human context if you dont help it understand the full spectrum of human reality. Even for the companies who dont necessarily care about inclusion and bias, by making their data pipeline and their training process more inclusive, theyll actually make their technology better, she added.Andrea Annie Brown is co-founder and CEO of ethical AI company Reliabl. Photo: Courtesy Andrea Annie Brown Brown, who is genderfluid and pansexual, described herself as a big fan of GLAADs work and as someone whos done a considerable amount of activism around LGBTQ inclusion in online spaces. Shes assisted GLAAD with some of its research on content moderation.The Safety Index and my organization, Reliabl, have kind of been doing parallel research for a little while now, and now were joining forces, which is cool. Were also working on some case studies on social media platforms who havent totally abandoned eliminating hate speech or more inclusive content moderation policies. [We] may be working with GLAAD in the future on that as well, she shared.Browns also the creator of Lips, a social media platform for the LGBTQ community. Launched in 2019, Lips is still up and running, with an estimated 50,000 users.It kind of just operates as its own little space on the internet for people to feel like they can be themselves, explained Brown.Via Lips development, she obtained a firsthand understanding of social media moderation in terms of what it looks like and whats possible.My conclusion I came to was that these big platforms make it seem like its harder than it is. They just dont care enough is the problem, she said.Furthering ethical AIResearchers and companies ongoing advocacy for, development of, and application of AI content moderation systems grounded in transparency, fairness, and diverse datasets i.e. ethical AI are sources of hope.As Brown commented, Social media can be a very positive thing, but unfortunately, [an initial] social media platform was built by a guy who is very misogynistic to rate the hotness of women on his campus [a reference to Zuckerbergs FaceMash website, which predates Facebook]. Thats not a good foundation to start any business from.With AI, its really about who builds the tools, and we really do have to build our own, she said.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post Queer social media experts weigh in on AI content moderation appeared first on News Is Out.

If youre going to make a movie about a chaotic queer wedding, you better know your way around one in real life. Luckily, the cast of The Wedding Banquet has plenty of opinionsand they didnt hold back. Gayety reporter Caitlynn McDaniel asked them about their ultimate wedding dos and donts. Im going to say what a huge do for me is buffet style, said Bowen Yang with confidence.Source

Pari Kim has become one of the breakout stars of Love on the Spectrum season three and not just for her charming quirks, love of trains, or bubbly personality. The 23-year-old Boston native made history on the hit Netflix dating series as part of the shows first LGBTQ+ couple. And yes shes still going strong with girlfriend Tina Zhu Xi Caruso. Its going really well with us.Source

Nature, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01264-zBold claims of biosignature molecules trigger an outpouring of scepticism.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01026-xAround 60% of the European Unions soils are considered unhealthy, but geographer Jess Rodrigo Comino is determined to help change that in his native Spain.

Lando Norris said he took three days off to "reset" after the disappointment of finishing third in the Bahrain GP.

Three weeks into the season, the defending champs have been replaced at the top by another NL power.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been spreading TERF rhetoric for years, but now shes making headlines for celebrating an anti-trans U.K. Supreme Court ruling that is poised to do real harm to trans women. According to Newsweek, the U.K.s top court unanimously ruled on Wednesday that transgender women are not included in the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act 2010, and Rowling immediately started celebrating on social media. She has since made multiple posts, including posting a photo of herself smoking a cigar with the caption, I love it when a plan comes together, alluding to the money she donated to support the long-running legal saga.Rowlings near-constant deluge of outspoken anti-trans views has inspired many of the stars of the Harry Potter franchise to speak out against her, including everyone from Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Eddie Redmayne, and David Tennant. So here are all of the stars who have spoken out against Rowling, and a few who have sadly defended her transphobia.Daniel RadcliffeHarry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has been speaking out against Rowlings transphobic comments for years including issuing a statement through the Trevor Project saying transgender women are women." Last year in an interview with the Atlantic he took the opportunity to let fans know that he doesnt agree with Rowlings views on trans women and how sad it makes him that she could do this after creating a deeply empathetic world with her novels.Id worked with the Trevor Project for 12 years and it would have seemed like, I dont know, immense cowardice to me to not say something, Radcliffe told the Atlantic. I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments. And to say that if those are Jos views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the Potter franchise.Emma WatsonAfter Rowling published her five-point essay on trans activism, Emma Watson who played Hermione and once sported a Trans rights are human rights T-shirt took to X (formerly Twitter) to let her fans know she vehemently disagreed with Rowlings stance. "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they arent who they say they are, she wrote. I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.Rupert GrintRon Weasley actor Rupert Grint has not been quiet about his thoughts on Rowlings transphobia. He released an initial statement back in 2020 alongside Radcliffe and Watson, but has continued to speak out since then. "I am hugely grateful (for) everything that she's done. I think that she's extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius. But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that.He continued, I think to stay silent would have spoke. Sometimes, silence is even louder. I felt like I had to because I think it was important to."Eddie RedmayneFantastic Beasts star Eddie Redmayne released a statement back in 2020 condemning Rowlings anti-trans views. As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand, his statement read. I disagree with Jos comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and its time to let them do so.Bonnie WrightBack in 2020, when Rowling first started ramping up her trans hate, Ginny Weasley actress Bonnie Wright posted her thoughts on X (formerly Twitter). If Harry Potter was a source of love and belonging for you, that love is infinite and there to take without judgment or question. Trans women are women. I see and love you, she wrote. Then in 2022, in an interview with The Sunday Times, she said she still held the same views as before but wasnt interested in continuing to talk about it. I made that comment then and I still stand with that same feeling, she says, but its got to the point where I prefer not to comment more. Its a subject outside of my input.Katie LeungWhen Harry Potter readers started complaining about the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the franchise and how lazy Cho Changs name is, Katie Leung (who played Cho) wrote on X (formerly Twitter), So, you want my thoughts on Cho Chang? Okay, here goes but instead of sharing her opinion on the name, she instead linked to organizations helping the Black trans community as a subtle dig at Rowlings hateful views, The Independent reported.Chris RankinIn 2021, Chris Rankin, who played Percy Weasley in the franchise, responded to Rowlings anti-trans statements in an interview with the Eastern Daily Press. I do a lot of work with charities that are LGBTQ+-focused and I raise money for the Albert Kennedy Trust on a regular basis, he said. A lot of my family are members of the community. It is a huge part of my life and I think, by saying that, you can probably guess where my allegiances lie in that respect.He continued, What is important to highlight is that, when a trans person says they are male or female, that is what they are and that is how we should treat them. It is damaging to them to say otherwise.Harry MellingIn an interview with The Independent in 2022, Dudley Dursley actor Hary Melling said that his views on trans rights are very simple. I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men. Every single person has the right to choose who they are and to identify themselves as what's true to themselves," he said. "I don't want to join the debate of pointing fingers and saying, 'That's right, that's wrong,' because I don't think I'm the correct spokesperson for that," added Melling. "But I do believe that everybody has the right to choose."David TennantDavid Tennant, who played Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter, has had a long-standing feud with Rowling because he is a staunch supporter of trans rights, and Rowling cant stop expressing her transphobic views and financially supporting anti-trans causes. Tennant has openly supported trans rights over and over again, including wearing a trans ally T-shirt reading, "You will have to go through me, and speaking out against anti-trans UK politicians, but last month he made a subtle jab directly at Rowling and her upcoming Harry Potter TV series. When asked if he was going to act in the upcoming show, he responded, "I mean, they're great stories. I feel like my contribution has probably been made. I'm told there's an executive producer who doesn't love me on that show, Metro reported.Stars who have defended JK RowlingJim BroadbentIn 2023, Horace Slughorn actor Jim Broadbent told The Telegraph about the backlash against Rowling, I think J.K. Rowling is amazing. I havent had to confront [the backlash] myself, but I would support her in that, I think, if it came to it.Robbie ColtraneHagrid actor Robbie Coltrane may be best known for playing a gentle giant, but he came to Rowlings defense back in 2020 when the Harry Potter author started spewing anti-trans hate."I dont think what she said was offensive really. I dont know why but theres a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended," Coltrane said in interview with Radio Times when asked about the allegations of transphobia that are being pointed at Rowling. "They wouldnt have won the war, would they? Thats me talking like a grumpy old man, but you just think, 'Oh, get over yourself. Wise up, stand up straight and carry on.'"Ralph FiennesRalph Fiennes played the Harry Potter franchises main villain Voldemort and has also been an outspoken supporter of Rowling and her hateful views. In an interview with The Telegraph in 2021, Fiennes complained about cancel culture and voiced his frustration about the way Rowling was being treated. "I cant understand the vitriol directed at her," Fiennes said. "I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational. I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing."Helena Bonham CarterLiving up to her role as villain Bellatrix Lestrange, Helena Bonham Carter defended Rowling's anti-trans views back in 2022 in an interview with the Sunday Times.Its horrendous, a load of bollocks, said Bonham Carter. I think she has been hounded. Its been taken to the extreme, the judgmentalism of people. Shes allowed her opinion, particularly if shes suffered abuse. Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma and you have to respect where people come from and their pain. You dont all have to agree on everything that would be insane and boring. Shes not meaning it aggressively, shes just saying something out of her own experience.John CleeseJohn Cleese, who played Nearly Headless Nick in the Harry Potter series, posted a series of transphobic tweets in response to people questioning his position on Rowlings anti-trans views. Im afraid Im not that interested in trans folks. I just hope theyre happy and that people treat them kindly. Right now Im more focussed [sic] on threats to democracy in America, the rampant corruption in the UK, the appalling British press, the revelations about police brutality, he wrote in one tweet per Variety.He responded to another question about his views with a follow up post: Yes, my understanding is superficial. One thing: When a woman who was once a man is competing against women who have always been women, I think she has an advantage, because she inherited a mans body, which is usually bigger and stronger than a womans. Does that prove phobia?

Ding!Jewels Sparkles shimmered ever since she entered the werkroom on season 17 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Hailing from Tampa, Florida, this queen is ready to bring plenty of sparkle to this Friday's epic finale."If you told me five years ago this was happening, I wouldn't believe it. This is so crazy. I'm on cloud nine! It has been such an amazing season," Sparkles tells PRIDE.Read More: Onya Nurve is proud to represent the Black community at the RuPaul's Drag Race finale See on Instagram Sparkles started the competition strong by lip-synching for the win on the very first episode and eventually won two maxi challenges by the end of the season."I'm so proud of myself for pushing through everything and making it to the end. I'm so proud of my journey on the show. If you believe in yourself, that's all that matters. You don't need the approval from other people. You don't need anything else, just your own resilience."Although Sparkles has a decent track record heading into the finale, the star also found herself in quite a few juicy fights throughout the season. She sent home her frenemy Arrietty after a very dramatic comedy roast challenge and even clashed with Onya Nurve during the first design challenge over stolen trim.However, her personal favorite feud of the season happened between Nurve and Lexi Love during the second design challenge when Nurve accidentally sabotaged Love's outfit. In fact, the fight got so bad that production had to shut down for a few hours."The journey was a little bit of a rollercoaster. We had our ups. We had our downs [and] our robberies both metaphorically and physically. I personally loved watching spray paint gate. That one for me was very enjoyable! I got to sit back, relax and watch the other girls fight for once. I wasn't involved. It was amazing!"RuPaul's Drag Race airs Friday nights on MTV. To see the full interview with Jewels Sparkles, check out the video at the top of the page.

Mary Harron, the acclaimed director and co-writer of the 2000 cult classic American Psycho, has shared her thoughts on the curious trend of Wall Street bros and other self-identified sigma males who embrace the films main character, Patrick Bateman. In a new, extensive interview, Harron expressed her bewilderment at how some men have misunderstood the movies satirical themes and foundSource

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08915-1Simultaneous inhibition of LSD1 and GSK3 kinase promotes cell differentiation, providing a therapeutic strategy for treating acute myeloid leukaemia.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08842-1Upon intramuscular administration, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are primarily taken up by macrophages, in which the cellular machinery extends their poly(A) tails, thereby increasing mRNA stability and translation, providing an explanation for the efficacy of these vaccines.

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Memphis star guard PJ Haggerty, the AAC Player of the Year and a second-team All-American, entered the transfer portal.

Its no surprise that notorious anti-trans activist J.K. Rowling is celebrating a major UK Supreme Court ruling against trans rights, but the way shes going about it truly underscores how out of her depth she is with this entire gender crusade shes been on in recent years.On Wednesday, the court declared that the legal definition of "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act refers strictly to biological sex, not gender identity even legally recognized gender identity. While the full extent of the consequences of this ruling have yet to be determined, its expected to make it easier to legally prevent trans women from having access to things like domestic violence shelters and womens health care.Rowling ghoulishly celebrated this blow in her usual way by being obnoxious on X."I love it when a plan comes together," reads one of her posts, helpfully tagged with #SupremeCourt and #WomensRights just in case there was any doubt this was about her gender essentialism.It also included a photo of her smoking a cigar and sipping whiskey as if shes partaking in some bizarre fusion of Mad Men and The White Lotus. (@) Because nothing screams "real woman" quite like channeling the energy of a villainous hedge fund bro, right?The irony is palpable. Rowling has built her public persona around rigid definitions of gender, but suddenly, theres nothing untoward about playing with gender norms and embracing patriarchal symbols as long as you have XX chromosomes, anyway.Rowling has poured money into anti-trans groups, including For Women Scotland, the organization behind this case. Shes repeatedly insisted that acknowledging trans womens rights somehow infringes on her owndespite all available evidence pointing to the contrary. Her version of feminism demands strict borders around womanhood and an army of lawyers to enforce them.And make no mistake: this is exactly what J.K. Rowlings feminism is and has been. Its all about exclusion, elitism, and a complete disinterest in perspectives beyond her own. Weve seen that in how shes targeted trans people on social media, taking digs at the Harry Potter actors who dared to do anything other than kiss the ground she walks on, and lashed out at asexuals for absolutely no discernible reason.While there may well be a part of her that believes shes championing women, her crusade feels more like an exercise in ego and desire to stomp out those with less power and privilege if they dont fall in line. And opting to celebrate something that actively harms so many people who are already fighting battles she will never understand really drives home just how delighted she is in her own villainy not that Rowling has the self-awareness to see it that way.No matter how much she thinks shes giving the patriarchy the finger with this little theatrical display of co-opted masculinity, at the end of the day, all the once-lauded author is doing is helping to uphold the same power structures that worked to oppress women all women for generations.

Ella Rae Wise, known for her role on The Only Way Is Essex, has shared with fellow housemates JoJo Siwa and Danny Beard that she believes she might be gay. In a candid conversation, Wise expressed her desire to have a girl experience, indicating her openness to exploring her sexuality further. During their discussion, JoJo Siwa offered supportive words, stating, They say if you haveSource

Gabby Windey and Robby Hoffman have officially tied the knot for the second time this year! The couple, who started dating in 2023, recently celebrated their legal courthouse wedding just over a month after their surprise Las Vegas ceremony back in January. On April 15, Windey, who has garnered significant attention for her TikTok content and her role in season three of The TraitorsSource

Nature, Published online: 17 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01263-0The National Science Foundation is the latest US agency to be disrupted by Elon Musks DOGE.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08896-1Biochemical, structural and genetic analysis of the shelterin complex reveal that by recruiting RAP1 to DNA, TRF2 directly inhibits DNA-dependent protein kinase to regulate classical non-homologous end joining at telomeres.

Harry Maguire scored in the dying seconds of extra time to help Manchester United snatch a place in the Europa League semifinals with a sensational 7-6 aggregate victory over Lyon.

Angel City FC has hired Alexander Straus as the team's new head coach following an extensive search that sporting director Mark Parsons detailed to ESPN.

2025-04-17T22:34:43Z NEW YORK (AP) Luigi Mangione was indicted Thursday on a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.The indictment returned by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court also charges Mangione with two counts of stalking and a firearms count. It was not immediately clear when the 26-year-old Mangione will be arraigned. A message seeking comment was left for a spokesperson for his lawyers.Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, also faces separate state murder charges. Hes accused of shooting Thompson, 50, in the back outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcares annual investor conference.U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced this month that she had directed federal prosecutors in Manhattan to seek the death penalty, following through on the presidents campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment. Its the first death penalty case sought by the Justice Department since President Donald Trump returned to office in January with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration. The killing and ensuing five-day manhunt leading to Mangiones arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers hastily switching to remote work or online shareholder meetings. It also galvanized health insurance critics some of whom have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words delay, deny and depose were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governors mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP)2025-04-17T21:37:40Z HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) The arsonist who broke into the Pennsylvania governors residence while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his extended family slept upstairs on the first night of Passover encountered little resistance as he scaled a security fence, smashed windows with a hammer, ignited two Molotov cocktails and crawled inside before slipping off into the night minutes later.That suggests multiple security failures, according to a former FBI agent who wondered why burglar alarms, motion detectors and other devices did not thwart the intruder sooner.He never should have gotten over the fence. He never should have gotten across the yard and to the house. He never should have broken the window. He never should have gotten inside, said retired FBI Special Agent J.J. Klaver, now a security consultant.The arson early Sunday occurred just hours after Shapiro hosted a Seder for his family and members of the Jewish community. No one was injured, but the fire caused, by one officials estimate, millions of dollars in damage. Id be lying if I said it wasnt jarring, scary to see that in the light of day, to see the areas where wed either make memories privately up in the residence with our kids -- hanging out, laughing, enjoying ourselves or in the more public spaces where weve been able to welcome so many people to our home, Shapiro said Thursday. But were going to rebuild from that. Were going to be stronger. White House, queen have faced intruders Experts said it can be difficult to maintain security at official residences, like the one in Harrisburg, that also open their doors to the public for tours and events. Intruders over the years have managed to breach both the White House and the queens bedroom at Buckingham Palace. Meanwhile, Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was violently attacked inside their private home in California in 2022.The Pennsylvania suspect, an unemployed mechanic from Harrisburg, told police he felt hatred toward Shapiro, and referenced Palestinians in a 911 call that day, according to court documents.Still, Cody Balmers specific motive remains unclear, and both his family and lawyers have said he has struggled with serious mental health issues. Balmer, 38, remains in custody without bail while his lawyers seek a competency evaluation.Police say the attack took just minutesState police, who provide the governors security detail, pledged to hire an outside expert to review the breach and to assess the need for added security. They said the intruder came and went in a matter of minutes early Sunday as troopers on duty spotted the threat on security cameras and searched the grounds while he was still there.It was a very quick event, Lt. Col. George Bivens said.Shapiro, a high-profile Democrat on the national stage who was awakened about 2 a.m. Sunday by his state police detail, has expressed confidence in the agency while confirming that security measures would be bolstered.Klaver, who is based near Philadelphia, has planned site visits involving the governor and said Shapiro typically has several members of his security team in tow. In addition to staff, an array of high-tech systems can help police keep up with ever-evolving threats, another expert said. As people and groups get more creative, thats obviously where you need to adjust and learn. Youre always looking to do things better, said John Geffre, general manager of Unlimited Technology, an Exton, Pa.-based security systems integrator.Yet Balmer told police he relied on a rudimentary method to make the explosives gasoline from his lawn mower and a few beer bottles. And he said he planned to hit Shapiro with the small sledgehammer if he encountered him. Expert: He shouldnt have gotten that closeMohsin Siddiqui, 40, who manages a Sunoco station across the street, said he doesnt often notice security outside the residence, but he never thought they would need it. The events of last weekend took him by surprise. The residence is about a mile north of the Capitol complex, in a mixed-use neighborhood beside the Susquehanna River.Its a peaceful area, Siddiqui said Thursday. We had no idea this could even happen.Shapiro splits his time between the mansion that has housed governors since it was built in the 1960s and a home in Abington, a Philadelphia suburb.The security review, Klaver said, should focus on potential threats or vulnerabilities for any given location, and protecting the people in that location. Every state has a centralized emergency office open round-the-clock that could monitor security system feeds, he said.There should have been electronic security that would have detected all of that before he got close enough, he said of the attacker, so that as soon as he broke the perimeter of the property, the state trooper there should have been alerted, should have been there, and should have taken him into custody. ___ Dale reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press reporter Bruce Shipkowski contributed to this report from Toms River, New Jersey. MARYCLAIRE DALE Dale covers national legal issues for The Associated Press, often focusing on the federal judiciary, gender law, #MeToo and NFL player concussions. Her work unsealing Bill Cosbys testimony in a decade-old deposition led to his arrest and sexual assault trials. twitter mailto MARK SCOLFORO Scolforo is an Associated Press reporter in the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. twitter mailto

Vice President JD Vance is never beating those eyeliner rumors now!After being the subject of jokes that hes a robot who doesnt know how to interact with humans or that he once had sexual relations with a couch, Vance is now going viral because of Chinese AI videos mocking him for his supposed use of copious amounts of eyeliner.These hilarious AI ads dunking on the vice president started making the rounds on social media in the wake of President Donald Trump's sky-high tariffs placed on China and Vance's derogatory comments about China while on Fox News earlier this month. To make it a little more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture, he said. This sparked an onslaught of AI-generated phony videos of JD Vance wearing makeup and wigs, that have kept the internet entertained while Trumps trade war drives up consumer prices, and U.S. stocks continue to take a nose dive. "I have an entirely new respect for the creativity and sense of humor of the Chinese people. This compelling mockery of hillbilly Veep JD Vances predilection for eyeliner is funnier and more realistic than anything being produced here in the U.S, one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while someone else posted, "The Chinese memes keep coming for JD Vance and his eyeliner. Thats what you get when you troll a country of people by calling them peasants, they troll you back. Keep scrolling to see the funniest JD Vance AI memes the internet has to offer! (@) (@) "China relentlessly attacking JD Vance. What an absolute mess this administration has caused for no reason at all." (@) "Vance eyeliner, Made in China" (@) "I have an entirely new respect for the creativity and sense of humor of the Chinese people. This compelling mockery of hillbilly Veep JD Vances predilection for eyeliner is funnier and more realistic than anything being produced here in the U.S." (@) (@) "Chinese meme mocks JD Vance for eyeliner. Pretty comical actually." (@) "Forget the tariffs. Don't you guys think JD Vance is so beautiful? Especially his beautiful eyeliners." (@) "Vice President Vance, I am a Chinese peasant. Do you realize that your tariff policy will lead to the soaring price of your eyeliner?" China's netizens are having so much fun these days" (@) "The Chinese memes keep coming for JD Vance and his eyeliner. Thats what you get when you troll a country of people by calling them peasants, they troll you back" (@) "Need deescalation. How about Vance apologizes for calling them peasants and in return they take their eyeliner videos down? Deal?" (@) "Vance eyeliner" (@) "JD Vance: Collectors Eyeliner Edition has been been released was $10 now with tariffs its only $349" (@) "Omg China literally hates J.D. Vance and theyre using him as a model to sell their wigs!" (@) "Yet, JD Vance never said thank you to the Chinese peasants" (@) "The Chinese on TikTok are kicking ass and taking names Well, hello JD Vance "

Orville Peck, known for his haunting baritone voice, signature fringe mask, and genre-bending approach to country music, is stepping into a new spotlight and leaving the mask behind. The enigmatic artist is currently starring as the Emcee in the Broadway revival of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in New York City, a limited engagement running through July 20, 2025. While fans may know him bestSource

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08733-5The status and prospects of the memristor industry are analysed and the obstacles and pathways to their implementation are discussed.

Nature, Published online: 16 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08860-zA new device based on 7-septuple-layer MnBi2Te4 covered with an AlOx capping layer enables the investigation of antiferromagnetic quantum anomalous Hall effect over wide parameter spaces.

Officials for Miami-Dade County said a lack of intelligence gathering, insufficient security perimeters and large numbers of unticketed fans led to the chaotic scene that unfolded ahead of last year's Copa Amrica final.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has signed a contract extension, putting an end to speculation over whether this season would be his last at Anfield.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro thanks firefighters in Derry Township, Thursday, April 17, 2025, for their efforts after Sunday's arson attack at the Governor's Residence. (Dan Gleiter/The Patriot-News via AP)2025-04-17T21:51:35Z HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday provided new details about the arson fire early Sunday that prompted his familys evacuation from the governors official residence in Harrisburg, recounting how wife and four kids and their two dogs Bo and Bentley were awakened by state police and guided to safety.Shapiro spoke to reporters after his family served a catered lunch to Harrisburg firefighters in thanks for their role in responding to the blaze that is estimated to have caused millions in damage to the building and its contents. No one was hurt. A suspect has been charged, and the motive is under investigation.Shapiro is a first-term Democrat considered a potential candidate for president in 2028. Heres what Shapiro had to say about the attack, which burned the same room where his family and guests had a Passover Seder a few hours earlier. A fire hours after holiday mealWe concluded our Seder maybe around 10ish or so at night, and guests, family and others were in private areas on the first floor, he said. Everybody was just enjoying one another and spending time celebrating not just the holiday but each other and enjoying each others company, he said. Around midnight, they went upstairs and spent an hour yelling at the kids to go to bed and they didnt listen. Said goodnight to the kids, got the dogs situated, and Id say probably fell asleep around 1 oclock in the morning, Shapiro said. Banging on the doorLess than an hour later, I heard yelling in the hallway, which was not like our kids voices. It was one of the state troopers running down the hallway, and he banged on the door. I dont know how he did it, but it wasnt a knock. It was more of a bang, he said.Shapiro said he and his wife, Lori, were told there was a fire and they had to evacuate immediately.I would say within just a few seconds we ran to each of the doors in the hallway, to open them up and get the kids up, get the dogs up and usher everybody down a back stairwell, he said. And we followed the troopers out to the driveway area, and we were asked multiple times if everyone was present and accounted for. They were. Troopers and Capitol Police kept us safe. Firefighters converged on the property.Shapiro said first responders repeatedly made sure no one was missing. Cold and misty, in pajamasI remember it being a cold and kind of misty night. We were all a little chilly. Everybody was in their pajamas. And we just kind of huddled up and just tried to keep the kids calm and keep everybody calm, he said. They did not realize from where they were just how much damage had been done to the other side of the house. Emergency responders kept arriving.We were able to gather a few items up from the house, he said. And then we were on our way to a safe location for all of us, and we got the kids to sleep. Got them settled.The next morning Shapiro returned to the fire scene.Returning to see the damageShapiro and his wife were again at the residence on Thursday and examined the damage to the private areas where his family lives and the public spaces where they welcome guests. To see those spots that are charred and burned out and glass broken around the areas that before were happy, special places for us is tough, he said. MARK SCOLFORO Scolforo is an Associated Press reporter in the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. twitter mailto

2025-04-17T20:15:06Z MEXICO CITY (AP) A U.S. man hijacked a small plane in Belize on Thursday, stabbing two passengers and a pilot, before one of the stabbed passengers fatally shot him, officials in Belize and the United States said. The plane then landed safely. The Tripoc Air plane was carrying 14 passengers and two crew members, and was flying from Corozal, a small town near Belizes border with Mexico, heading to the popular tourist destination of San Pedro when it was hijacked.The plane circled in random directions for nearly two hours as the drama unfolded in the skies. The plane was tailed by a police helicopter before touching down at an airport in the coastal town of Ladyville.Belize authorities declared a full emergency immediately after the incident started, around 8:30 a.m. local time, according to a statement by the Belize Airport Concession Company. In the face of incomprehensible pressure, our pilot acted with extraordinary courage and calm, guiding the aircraft to a safe landing. His actions were nothing short of heroic, said Maximillian Greif, the CEO of the airline company.The two wounded passengers and pilot were being treated at a hospital for their injuries, officials said. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a news briefing in Washington that officials were still gathering information about what occurred.Horrifying, she said. We are grateful, I think all of us are, that that did not turn into a mass casualty event with I believe over a dozen people on the plane. Clearly we know a few details. We dont know much more. Chester Williams, Belize police commissioner, identified the hijacker as Akinyela Taylor and said he was a U.S. military veteran. U.S. officials could not confirm the Belize police commissioners statement that Taylor was a military veteran.One of the stabbed passengers managed to shoot at Taylor, who was killed, Williams said, adding that the passenger was licensed to carry a firearm and later turned his weapon over to police. The passenger was stabbed in his back and suffered a puncture to his lungs, Williams said. He remains in critical condition. We are praying for him, Williams told reporters. Hes our hero.An official at Tripoc Air, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists, identified the man who shot the hijacker as airline employee Howell Grange, and the two injured passengers as Fitzgerald Brown and Jair Castaeda. Their nationalities were not immediately known.Williams said that Taylor was demanding to be flown out of the country, possibly to Mexico, and at one point wanted the plane to land to add more fuel. U.S. Embassy spokesperson Luke Martin in Belize said Taylor also insisted that he be taken to the U.S. We dont know why he wanted to go back to the United States, Martin said.U.S. officials said they did not know the motive for Taylors hijacking but were working with Belizean authorities to determine what happened. ___Watson reported from San Diego. MEGAN JANETSKY Megan Janetsky covers migration, conflict, human rights and politics in Mexico and Central America for The AP based in Mexico City. Previously, she covered Cuba and the Caribbean for The AP and worked as freelance journalist in Colombia, reporting across South America. twitter instagram facebook mailto