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A software engineer in Austin has hooked up Animal Crossing to an AI and breathed new and disturbing life into its villagers. Using a Large Language Model (LLM) trained on Animal Crossing scripts and an RSS reader, the anthropomorphic folk of the Nintendo classic spouted new dialogue, talked about current events, and actively plotted against Tom Nooks predatory bell prices.The Animal Crossing LLM is the work of Josh Fonseca, a software engineer in Austin, Texas who works at a small startup. Ars Technica first reported on the mod. His personal blog is full of small software projects like a task manager for the text editor VIM, a mobile app that helps rock climbers find partners, and the Animal Crossing AI. He also documented the project in a YouTube video.Fonseca started playing around with AI in college and told 404 Media that hed always wanted to work in the video game industry. Turns out its a pretty hard industry to break into, he said. He also graduated in 2020. Im sure youve heard, something big happened that year. He took the first job he could find, but kept playing around with video games and AI and had previously injected an LLM into Stardew Valley.Fonseca used a Dolphin emulator running the original Gamecube Animal Crossing on a MacBook to get the project working. According to his blog, an early challenge was just getting the AI and the game to communicate. The solution came from a classic technique in game modding: Inter-Process Communication (IPC) via shared memory. The idea is to allocate a specific chunk of the GameCube's RAM to act as a mailbox. My external Python script can write data directly into that memory address, and the game can read from it, he said in the blog.He told 404 Media that this was the most tedious part of the whole project. The process of finding the memory address the dialogue actually lives at and getting it to scan to my MacBook, which has all these security features that really dont want me to do that, and ending up writing to the memory took me forever, he said. The communication between the game and an external source was the biggest challenge for me.Once he got his code and the game talking, he ran into another problem. Animal Crossing doesn't speak plain text. It speaks its own encoded language filled with control codes, he said in his blog. Think of it like HTML. Your browser doesn't just display words; it interprets tags like <b> to make text bold. Animal Crossing does the same. A special prefix byte, CHAR_CONTROL_CODE, tells the game engine, The next byte isn't a character, it's a command!But this was a solved problem. The Animal Crossing modding community long ago learned the secrets of the villagers language, and Fonseca was able to build on their work. Once he understood the games dialogue systems, he built the AI brain. It took two LLM models, one to write the dialogue and another he called The Director that would add in pauses, emphasize words with color, and choose the facial animations for the characters. He used a fine-tuned version of Googles Gemini for this and said it was the most consistent model hed used.To make it work, he fine-tuned the model, meaning he reduced its input training data to make it better at specific outputs. You probably need a minimum of 50 to 100 really good examples in order to make it better, he said.Results for the experiment were mixed. Cookie, Scoot, and Cheri did indeed utter new phrases in keeping with their personality. Things got weird when Fonseca hooked up the game to an RSS reader so the villagers could talk about real world news. If you watch the video, all the sources are heavily, politically, leaning in one direction, he said. I did use a Fox news feed, not for any other reason than I looked up news RSS feeds and they were the first link and I didnt really think it through. And then I started getting those resultsI thought they would just present the news, not have leanings or opinions.Trumps gonna fight like heck to get rid of mail-in voting and machines! Fitness obsessed duck Scoot said in the video. I bet hes got some serious stamina, like, all the way in to the finish linezip, zoom!The pink dog Cookie was up on her Middle East news. Oh my gosh, Josh :)! Did you see the news?! Gal Gadot is in Israel supporting the families! Arfer, she said, uttering her trademark catchphrase after sharing the latest about Israel.In the final part of the experiment, Fonseca enabled the villagers to gossip. I gave them a tiny shared memory for gossip, who said what, to whom, and how they felt, he said in the blog.The villagers almost instantly turned on Tom Nook, the Tanuki who runs the local stores and holds most of Animal Crossing's inhabitants in debt. Everythings going great in town, but sometimes I feel like Tom Nook is, like, taking all the bells! Cookie said.Those of us with big dreams are being squashed by Tom Nook! We gotta take our town back! Cheri the bear cub said.This place is starting to feel more like Nooks prison, yknow? Said Scoot.Why do this to Animal Crossing? Why make Scoot and Cheri learn about Gal Gadot, Israel, and Trump?Ive always liked nostalgic content, Fonscesca said. His TikTok and YouTube algorithm is filled with liminal spaces and music from his childhood thats detuned. Hes gotten into Hauntology, a philosophical idea that studiesamong other thingspromised futures that did not come to pass.He sees projects like this as a way of linking the past and the future. When I was a child I was like, Games are gonna get better and better every year, he said. But after 20 years of playing games Ive become a little jaded and Im like, oh there hasnt really been that much innovation. So I really like the idea of mixing those old games with all the future technologies that Im interested in. And I feel like Im fulfilling those promised futures in a way.He knows that not everyone is a fan of AI. A lot of people say that dialogue with AI just cannot be because of how much it sounds like AI, he said. And to some extent I think people are right. Most people can detect ChatGPT or Gemini language from a mile away. But I really think, if you fine tune it, I was surprised at just how good the results were.Animal Crossings dialogue is simple and that simplicity makes it a decent test case for AI video game marks, but Fonseca thinks he can do similar things with more complicated games. Theres been a lot of discussion around how what Im doing isnt possible when theres like, tasks or quests, because LLMs cant properly guide you to that task without hallucinating. I think it might be more possible than people think, he said. So I would like to either try out my own very small game or take a game that has these kinds of quests and put together a demo of how that might be possible.He knows people balk at using AI to make video games, and art in general, but believes itll be a net benefit. There will always be human writers and I absolutely want there to be human writers handling the core, he said. I would hope that AI is going to be a tool that doesnt take away any of the best writers, but maybe helps them add more to their game that maybe wouldnt have existed otherwise. I would hope that this just helps create more art in the world. I think I see the total art in the world increasing as a good thingnow I know some people would say that using AI ceases to make it art, but Im also very deep in the programming aspect of it. What it takes to make these things is so incredible that it still feels like magic to me. Maybe on some level Im still hypnotized by that.

This article was primarily reported using public records requests. We are making it available to all readers as a public service. FOIA reporting can be expensive, please consider subscribing to 404 Media to support this work. Or send us a one time donation via our tip jar here.A data broker owned by the countrys major airlines, including American Airlines, United, and Delta, is selling access to five billion plane ticketing records to the government for warrantless searching and monitoring of peoples movements, including by the FBI, Secret Service, ICE, and many other agencies, according to a new contract and other records reviewed by 404 Media.The contract provides new insight into the scale of the sale of passengers data by the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), the airlines-owned data broker. The contract shows ARCs data includes information related to more than 270 carriers and is sourced through more than 12,800 travel agencies. ARC has previously told the government to not reveal to the public where this passenger data came from, which includes peoples names, full flight itineraries, and financial details.Americans' privacy rights shouldn't depend on whether they bought their tickets directly from the airline or via a travel agency. ARC's sale of data to U.S. government agencies is yet another example of why Congress needs to close the data broker loophole by passing my bipartisan bill, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, Senator Ron Wyden told 404 Media in a statement.Do you know anything else about ARC or the sale of this data? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.ARC is owned and operated by at least eight major U.S. airlines, publicly released documents show. Its board of directors includes representatives from American Airlines, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and European airlines Air France and Lufthansa, and Canadas Air Canada. ARC acts as a bridge between airlines and travel agencies, in which it helps with fraud prevention and finds trends in travel data. ARC also sells passenger data to the government as part of what it calls the Travel Intelligence Program (TIP).TIP is updated every day with the previous days ticket sales and can show a persons paid intent to travel. Government agencies can then search this data by name, credit card, airline, and more.The new contract shows that ARC has access to much more data than previously reported. Earlier coverage found TIP contained more than one billion records spanning more than 3 years of past and future travel. The new contract says ARC provides the government with 5 billion ticketing records for searching capabilities.Screenshots of the documents obtained by 404 Media.404 Media obtained the contract through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with the Secret Service. The contract indicates the Secret Service plans to pay ARC $885,000 for access to the data stretching into 2028. A spokesperson for the agency told 404 Media The U.S. Secret Service is committed to protecting our nations leaders and financial infrastructure in close coordination with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners. To safeguard the integrity of our work, we do not discuss the tools used to conduct our operations. The Secret Service did not answer a question on whether it seeks a warrant, subpoena, or court order to search ARC data.404 Media has filed FOIA requests with a wide range of agencies that public procurement records show have purchased ARC data. That includes ICE, CBP, ATF, the SEC, TSA, the State Department, U.S. Marshals, and the IRS. A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows the FBI has asked ARC to search its databases for a specific person as part of a drug investigation.The ATF told 404 Media in a statement ATF uses ARC data for criminal and investigative purposes related to firearms trafficking and other investigations within ATFs purview. ATF follows DOJ policy and appropriate legal processes to obtain and search the data. Access to the system is limited to a very small group within ATF, and all subjects searched within ARC must be part of an active, official ATF case/investigation.An ARC spokesperson told 404 Media in an email that TIP was established by ARC after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has since been used by the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement community to support national security and prevent criminal activity with bipartisan support. Over the years, TIP has likely contributed to the prevention and apprehension of criminals involved in human trafficking, drug trafficking, money laundering, sex trafficking, national security threats, terrorism and other imminent threats of harm to the United States.The spokesperson added Pursuant to ARCs privacy policy, consumers may ask ARC to refrain from selling their personal data.After media coverage and scrutiny from Senator Wydens office of the little-known data selling, ARC finally registered as a data broker in the state of California in June. Senator Wyden previously said it appeared ARC had been in violation of Californian law for not registering while selling airline customers data for years.

I know that younger generations may not know about us, historian and author Lydia R. Otero says of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) in the 2023 PBS documentary about the group, Unidad, but we made life better for queers of color and we made a difference because we made the world better.Founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by a group of gay and lesbian Latinx and Chicanx activists, GLLU was a trailblazing organization that took an intersectional approach to LGBTQ+ advocacy decades before that term and concept entered mainstream political organizing. Related How Laura M. Esquivel helped defeat the national same-sex marriage ban As Laura M. Esquivel often called La madre of the Latino LGBT Movement and GLLUs first Lesbian president explains in the doc, in the late 1970s, gay organizations were mainly founded and run and controlled by white gay men, and were focused on what they considered gay issues.Nobody wanted to talk about the issues that we were facing as Latinos. So, nobody wanted to talk about racism, nobody wanted to talk about, you know, farm workers. Its like, Those are not the gay issues, she explains. And in the Latino organizations, gay issues were not considered Latino issues. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today GLLU co-founder David P. Gonzales envisioned the group as incorporating political, social, and cultural aspects of the gay Latino experience. Initially launched as Gay Latinos Unidos, the mostly male members made a point of encouraging women to join, ultimately switching to the more inclusive name. And co-founder Roland Palencia credits women like community organizer Geneva Fernandez who joined GLLU early on with broadening the groups focus from the personal to the intersectionally political.Sometimes we as gay males tend to probably focus on sexual liberation, and the women really brought this much more expansive agenda about classism and sexism and patriarchy and all this context and this interpretation about systems, Palencia says in Unidad.In the early 1980s, the group held fundraising discos and social retreats that attracted and brought together diverse queer members of the Latin American diaspora. GLLUs womens retreats even spawned a separate lesbian organization, Lesbianas Unidas. GLLU made its presence known not just at Pride parades, but in marches and demonstrations for United Farmworkers and with the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) against U.S. intervention in Central America. They combatted anti-LGBTQ+ gang violence by reaching out to young people involved in street gangs and including them in neighborhood celebrations. The groups newsletter, Unidad, provided vital resources to the Latinx LGBTQ+ community, as did their Spanish-language educational materials addressing LGBTQ+ issues. They hosted international conferences addressing issues facing LGBTQ+ people of color and produced a monthly radio show, Radio GLLU, amplifying Latinx LGBTQ+ voices.When the HIV/AIDS crisis hit, the group mobilized to fill the gap in funding and resources that were largely going to white gay organizations. They distributed Spanish-language material on safer sex and awareness campaigns tailored to the Latinx community. They also partnered with community health organizations to provide testing and counseling services in both Spanish and English. And, as in so many other communities at the time, the women of GLLU stepped up to help care for gay men who were sick and dying. Like with most things, we looked around and said, What does our community need, and how can we help? Esquivel recalls in Unidad.In 1989, GLLU launched Bienestar: A Gay Latino AIDS Project, which lives on today as Bienestar Human Services, a Los Angeles-based drop-in clinic providing medical care, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, sexual health services, mental health services, and substance use counseling.GLLUs work was entirely reliant on volunteers, and as Esquivel notes in Unidad, all of the organizations leadership also held full-time jobs. By the late 1990s, many of its founding members were burnt out and left the organization for various reasons. According to a timeline on GLLUArchive.com, the group also faced internal conflicts regarding leadership and strategic direction, leading to difficulties in sustaining the organization in the mid-90s. As other Latinx LGBTQ+ organizations began to form, GLLU formally disbanded in 1999.Despite Oteros concern that younger queer folk today might be unfamiliar with GLLU and its history, young people are learning about the group at least in California. Slides developed by LGBTQ+ history organization One Institute detailing the groups history were included this year in California State 11th Grade Ethnic Studies lesson. And Radio GLLU lives on in the Radio QGLLU Podcast.As Esquivel says in Unidad, We were there, and we contributed, and we made a difference. And that story needs to be told.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Jen Richards knows all about witches and the occult. Even before she was cast in AMCs latest Anne Rice series, Mayfair Witches, she had a special connection to the late horror writers work. But well get to that.In Mayfair Witches, Richards plays Jojo, a member of the powerful, sprawling, and supernaturally gifted family at the shows center. In its most recent episode, prodigal daughter Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) has finally made her way to New Orleans for the funeral of her birth mother, Dierdre (Annabeth Gish), and is confronted with more long-lost relatives than she could have ever imagined. That includes Jojo and her father, Cortland (Harry Hamlin), a smooth-talking dandy who may have a dark agenda of his own.Thrown into that seething cauldron of family intrigue and otherworldly forces, Jojo seems to be a grounding, welcoming presence. But when it comes to witchy women, can you ever tell? LGBTQ Nation recently spoke to Richards to better understand her characters motivation and how she fits into the dark saga of Anne Rices Mayfair Witches.LGBTQ NATION: What was your relationship to Anne Rices work prior to signing on to this project? Were you familiar with the Mayfair Witches novels?JEN RICHARD: Ill try to make a long story short. There is an organization within the Anne Rice universe called the Talamasca. This is apocryphalIve never seen it confirmed or proven anywherebut supposedly, Anne Rice based the Talamasca at least in part upon a real organization called the Theosophical Society, which is an occult organization, a bunch of scholars who research esoterica and have these old school chapter houses all over the world where people sometimes live and work and study. I was one of those people. I actually lived and worked in the national headquarters of the Theosophical Society in the 90s. I joined the organization when I was 19, so I was basically in the Talamasca.When The Witching Hour came out, everyone was kind of abuzz in the Theosophical Societyand this was pre-Internet, so it was just a rumor. But everyone was like, Anne Rice came here and used our library and its what inspired the Talamasca. So, I read The Witching Hour when it came out. I absolutely fell in love with it. Im from the deep south, just a little bit north of New Orleans, and it just has a mystique if youre anywhere near there. I was drawn to that world of witchcraft and occultism. But then I never read any other Anne Rice. But when I got the audition, I was so excited, because as a young person, it was like my dream to be in the Talamasca. I would have never dared to dream I could actually be a Mayfair Witch! Then this audition came up: Were looking for a trans woman to play a Mayfair Witch. I was like, I was born for this!Once I got the part, I read Lasher and Taltos. And I think I read eight of her novels while I was down there [filming] in New Orleans.LGBTQ NATION: Anne Rice talked a lot about her supernatural characters being metaphors for outsiders, and LGBTQ+ people certainly latched onto Interview With the Vampire as a gay metaphor. Do you have any thoughts on witches avatars for LGBTQ+ people and their stories?JR: Yeah, 100%. Lots of thoughts. I guess Id consider myself a witch? I think in a kind of general sense, there are certain things that I practice. I definitely feel a part of that legacy. Obviously, theres a very complicated history of witches and witchcraft, and there are some interpretations of that historythe whole idea of a woman being a witchmuch in the way that the show shows Suzanne, the first of the Mayfair witches to call forth Lasheras being healing women. Theres been a lot of good history that a lot of the imagery and particularly the accusations associated with women being witches were often just based on mens fear or jealousy of womens role as healers, but also just their economic position and the independence that came with that. When you deconstruct a lot of the imagery around witches in the pejorative sense, it really had to do with women being healers and financially independent and brewers of beer and other things like that. As a woman, just reclaiming that legacy is really interesting.Then theres the other layer of actual witchcraft and magical practices and the use of tools that help enhance a deeper connection to the sacred or to the spiritual and the way that those fields have traditionally been dominated by women. The Theosophical Society was founded by a woman named Helena Petrovna Blavatsky who was a Russian national who fled an arranged marriage when she was 17 and went all around the world studying with spiritual masters. Occultism has this deep connection to women and to the reclaiming of power, and its often been a space where women can find community with each other. So, the idea of the Mayfair Witches speaks to that. I find that very appealing and very powerful and consider myself to be part of that world.LGBTQ NATION: Your character is introduced in Episode 4. Have you been watching the show leading up to this episode? Any thoughts or critiques?JR: This is where I have to separate being part of a show and supporting it and also being a very critical viewer. [Laughs] I had a little trouble letting go of my love of the book and watching the show, and I think thats a very common thing for anyone whos a fan of a book and navigating your expectations and your vision. It took me a few episodes to let go of the book that I love and accept it as its own TV show thats inspired by the book. Once I did that, I found myself enjoying it more with each episode.I particularly love Axelle [Carolyn], who directed episodes three and four, who is a queer woman who works in horror. I thought she really brought a wonderful eye to it. Once all the characters are in New Orleans and we get to see that world and we get to meet more of the Mayfair Witches, to me it gets more and more satisfying, and it gets easier to separate the book. And the thing about the book is Ill always have the book!LGBTQ NATION: Jojo is a character who was created for the show. What can you tell us about the role she plays in the series and how she relates to plot points that fans might expect from the books?JR: Anyone whos read the books knows Cortlands relationship to the Mayfair women. [Laughs] Which also means my relationship to the Mayfair women. What I will say, and I think you can see this in Episode 4 when JoJo shows Rowan the portraits of the Mayfair women and tells her, Youre part of this legacy, I think those two women have an instant intimacy and comfort with each other, that I think is telling of future storylines. What is well established, is that the Mayfairs are a sprawling family and theres the line of designees, of which Rowan is the 13th, which is a big deal. And theyre the ones with all the power. But then theres Cortland and his side of the family[Jojo is] Cortlands daughterwhere we basically run the practical stuff. We handle the money and the law. We make sure the whole family is taken care of and the fortune is well stewarded.Richards, Hamlin, Beth Grant, and Daddario in Mayfair Witches | Alfonso Bresciani/AMCLGBTQ NATION: The Mayfairs are a complicated and, at least in the books, incestuous family. How would you describe Jojos relationship with her father, Cortland?JR: Jojo sees her father as this noble man who has chosen to support a matriarchal family and a matriarchal lineage, and is kind of a good feminist. Whether thats true or notLGBTQ NATION: So far, I am not convinced that Cortland can be trusted. What about Jojo? Is she a good witch or a bad witch?JR: Yeah, or is that even a binary that necessarily makes sense? So much of what I love about the books and what Esta Spalding, our showrunner, did a really great job of exploring in the show is the appeal of power, particularly for women who have traditionally been denied it. So, the whole idea of good or bad when it comes to men in power, we kind of accept that its nuanced. But with women, particularly with witches, we want to put them in a good or bad category. And the show is so much about what its like for a woman to have power. What does that look like? What have you been denied? And what can you do with that power?Rowan is someone who is compelling because she has the power to kill and the power to heal simultaneously. You were talking earlier about the witches being an avatar for women and for queerness, and I think thats the core of it. We have something special that makes us different and makes us powerful, and it can both hurt and heal and it can transform the world in all kinds of different ways depending on how we use it.So, in addition to the designees and the legal/financial side, there are also many Mayfairs who are born with some kind of power. Well get to know a few of the different Mayfair witches over the course of the show and what their powers are. I can say that Josephine is a witch, that she does have some powers, and she has been using them in service of her father, who she, at this point, completely trusts. Shes absolutely a daddys girl. Shes kind of his consigliere.LGBTQ NATION: I dont recall the episode addressing whether the character is trans or not.JR: Its not addressed in the whole first season! This isnt necessarily canon, this is just what Im bringing to the role when Im performing it: Jojo, at some point, realized shes trans and decided to transition and probably had a justifiable fear that she would lose her family and lose all of the wealth and power that she had grown accustomed to. She did it anyway and found that her dad loved and supported her through it. That has bonded her to him in a really deep and powerful way that might also cause her to turn a blind eye or not notice some things about Cortland, which I think will have to eventually come to a head.LGBTQ NATION: I was curious whether you think thats even a particularly useful questionwhether Jojo is trans.JR: This is an open debate for me. Nick Adams, who runs all the trans representation at GLAAD, is a very old dear friend of mine, and we have this conversation a lot. And sometimes its an argument, because I dont know that he and I necessarily agree. But from his perspective, its pointless to have a queer character onscreen unless they talk about being queer. From his perspective and from GLAADs perspective, it doesnt count unless its being discussed. And while I understand that perspective, I also think theres something powerful about having queer characters whoits part of who they are but it isnt necessarily the topic. In the case of this show, at least in the first season, Jojo is someone who has a lot of wealth and power and shes well-known in the community and its kind of a small world. She transitioned a while ago. Its not really coming up on a day-to-day basis, its not really relevant to the story. We only ever see her with family who have all known her for a long time. So, in context, it would never organically come up in the scenes that Jojos part of. It doesnt mean shes not trans though.Its a really interesting conversation. You would never say of a Black actor that their character isnt Black because the show isnt about race. But transness and queerness arent the same thing as a visible marker like that. So, is a Jewish actor not [playing a Jewish character if its not explicitly stated]? It opens up all these interesting conversations about identity and what that means. Ive said before, any character I play is trans by virtue of my being a trans person. Im always going to bring that interpretationunless its very explicit that my character is a cis woman. I always joke that unless you see a baby coming out of my vagina, my character is trans. [Laughs] Thats my attitude. Jojo is a trans woman.Now, whether thats legible to audiences is going to vary widely. Obviously, I will have fans watching who know my work and know me and are really excited to see this trans woman. There are people who will see me and just know, Oh, thats a trans woman. There are some people who will see me and it will never occur to them that Im a transwoman, theyll just assume Im a cis person. There are other people who will see me and be like, Thats a man in a dress and a perversity!LGBTQ NATION: If you dont mind, Id love to ask about your experience of Hollywood as an out trans actor. Youve been in some amazing shows in the past few yearsBetter Things, Mrs. Fletcher. Im curious whether or how your experience of going out for roles and auditioning has evolved in recent years.JR: Yes, very much. Its been kind of an up-and-down. There was no work at all when I first came to Hollywood. I had to create it for myself. Then there was a brief moment when it felt like there were a lot of opportunities, like when I was doing Better Things and Mrs. Fletcher and Tales of the City. And thentheres a weird kind of conservative push right now in Hollywood that I think reflects the country overall. And a lot of those parts have dried up a bit. For me, theres less work, but the work thats there is better. As more and more writers and showrunners and directors have trans people in their lives, theyre more familiar. Theyve seen documentaries like Disclosure, so theyre starting to get the issues.When I first came to Hollywood, the first few things I did, I was often the very first not just trans actor but trans person a lot of the people on set had ever met. So, I was like, I now have to represent the entirety of trans people and make sure I make everyone comfortable so that people get hired after me. I really felt that responsibility. Now, Ill go on set and the director has a trans daughter and my other actress has a trans sibling and theyve worked with trans actors and theres trans directors. Its a very different world, so people know a lot more, theyre better informed, the stories can be more nuanced.At the same time, theres just less work overall, and there are still no trans people actually telling their own stories. There are no shows out there that are created by trans people. Its definitely a mixed bag, and in some ways things seem to be getting harder right now.

Nature, Published online: 15 September 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02923-xNaailah Ali aims to support cacao farmers in the West Indies by improving the bean-fermentation process.

Nature, Published online: 15 September 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02987-9Jesus chatbots aren't the only AI technologies seeping into religious practice. Some worshippers don't agree with the use of them.

Nature, Published online: 15 September 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02922-yScientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.

Nature, Published online: 12 September 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02996-8Of high-income countries, when it comes to non-communicable diseases, Denmark is doing it right. Plus, a unique clinical study aims to understand HIV, and heatwaves have been linked to specific fossil-fuel producers.

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The post Minor League Play-By-Play Announcer Just Sounds Like Normal Guy appeared first on The Onion.

The pair married Friday, which instantly fixed every underlying problem in their relationship, including poor communication skills, undiagnosed mental health disorders, incompatible personalities, and infidelity.The post Shane Collins and Charlie Quentin appeared first on The Onion.

DENTON, TXIn what is being hailed as a heroic intervention that provided critical support at a moment when her life was at stake, sources confirmed Tuesday that local 911 operator Justin Lyle had successfully walked panicked woman Jessica Brooks through the process of being murdered.During the emergency call, received at 12:07 a.m. after a home invasion allegedly turned violent, Lyle calmly and expertly delivered step-by-step instructions to Brooks detailing what she should do as she was being taken down by the intruder. A phone transcript details the great care taken by a courageous and composed dispatcher as he ensured the victim was equipped with the knowledge necessary to meet her horrific end.911, whats your emergency? Lyle said as he answered, jumping into action when he learned the caller was being pursued by a man with a deadly weapon and had already suffered multiple knife wounds. Okay, please remain calm and listen carefully. Were going to get through this together. What I need you to do right now is crawl weakly into the next room, struggle to pull yourself to your feet, and then barricade the door with a chair. Can you manage that? This wont really do much to slow your attacker, and it definitely wont be enough to stop him.Youre doing great, he continued. Just stay with me, and it will all be over soon.Over the course of the approximately 25-minute conversation, Lyle employed a list of scripted questions and methodically determined that Brooks had been stabbed several times, had lost a significant amount of blood, and was now at the mercy of a raging madman she could not hope to overpower even if he were unarmed. After collecting the necessary information, the operator reportedly used his crisis communication training to advise the woman that help was on its way but definitely wouldnt get to her in time.Local officials confirmed Lyle drew upon his years of on-the-job experience as he instructed Brooks to claw at her assailant to little or no effect, a vain effort that would end when she was knocked to the ground with a fierce blow from a blunt instrument, possibly a crowbar. When it appeared the end was near, the operator urged the victim to use whatever energy she had left to make a futile lunge for a lamp that had been knocked to the floor, explaining that she would not be able to reach it and, even if she could, would no longer have the strength to smash it over the mans head.Maam, where is he stabbing you? Lyle asked, according to the transcript, verifying that the callers lacerations included at least one, and possibly two, slashed arteries. At this point, blood should be spurting everywhere. Are you seeing that? Thats totally normal. Youre definitely bleeding out now, which is exactly what we expect to see happen in a situation like this. Your sight should be dimming too, but I need you to stay on the line with me, okay? Remember to breathe.Go ahead and take a final breath in and a final breath out, he added. A coroner is on his way to pronounce you dead as we speak.Last month, Justin Lyle was honored for his 25 years of service as a 911 dispatcher, a career during which his supervisors said he had helped more than 100 people like Brooks as they succumbed to their injuries and became homicide victims.When a person is murdered in our community, Justin is often the last person they ever talk to, Mayor Gerard Hudspeth said during a celebratory banquet held for Lyle at Denton City Hall. Hes always there to help, and more than anyone else Ive met, he understands that its not easy to be shot, cut to pieces, or bludgeoned to death. I only wish all those victims could be here today to show Justin their appreciation.Reached for comment, Lyle downplayed suggestions that he was a hero, saying that when one of his callers died a shocking, brutal death at the hands of a killer, he was just doing his job.The post 911 Operator Walks Panicked Woman Through Being Murdered appeared first on The Onion.

CAMBRIDGE, MADescribing the practice as vital to player development, researchers at Harvard University published a study Monday that shows immediate skin-to-skin contact between NFL coaches and newly drafted players significantly improves adaptation to the professional level and long-term performance on the field. The first few hours after getting drafted are crucialwhen a coach removes his shirt and cradles a first-year player against his hairy chest, it forges neural bonds, optimizes cortisol levels for big-game situations, and lays the foundation for elite football instincts, said the studys author, Dr. Lydia Zhou, who noted that Tom Bradys transformation from sixth-round pick to all-time great began on draft night when Bill Belichick held the quarterback against his warm chest under his hoodie and gently rocked him while humming You Are My Sunshine. Conversely, first-overall pick Bryce Young went his entire rookie season without once being snuggled against Frank Reichs bare chest, and that lack of tactile reassurance likely contributed to his difficulties reading defenses and bonding with the offensive line, ultimately leading to a 2-15 record for the team. Zhou then emphasized that while skin-to-skin contact was ideal, rookies could still reap partial neurological benefits from being swaddled in weighted blankets scented with their coachs musk.The post Study Shows Benefits Of Skin-To-Skin Contact Between New Players, Coaches appeared first on The Onion.

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A woman washes her face as she prepares for work in Chicago, on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)2025-09-15T15:44:11Z There always seems to be someone on TikTok, YouTube or Instagram showing you a multistep skincare routine they swear by. They might use expensive products like snail mucin or red-light therapy masks that allegedly hydrate your skin or help reduce fine lines. Is any of it necessary? Does any of it work? Social media is having such a huge influence on what were using in our skin and every individual is acting like their own clinician and trying to diagnose their own skin type and experiment with different regimens, said Dr. Kathleen Suozzi, a professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine. And really the main overarching thing is that skincare regimens have become way overcomplicated.Some dermatologists say that many viral skincare products are unnecessary, even if they feel nice, and while some cause little to no harm, other treatments can cause more problems than they fix. Face skin requires extra protection The skin on our face is thinner than the skin on our bodies, and requires a gentler touch than other parts of the body.Everyones skin is different, too: The soaps or cleansers that work for someone with oily skin may not satisfy someone with dry skin. Dermatologists say a skincare routine should start with three things a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer to hydrate the face and a sunscreen with at least SPF 30. Too many products can irritate sensitive skin and be redundant, since many products share the same ingredients. This article is part of APs Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well. In all cases, protecting your face from the sun is key, dermatologists said. The truth of the matter is, nine out of 10 skin care concerns on the face that people come to see me for are worsened by UV radiation from the sun, said Dr. Oyetewa Asempa, the director of the Skin of Color clinic at Baylor College of Medicine.Many skin issues, like wrinkles, dark pigmentation after a rash and dark scarring from acne, are made worse by the sun, she said. What to know about retinol and exfoliation productsWrinkles happen. And your skin over time can look less plump and glowing. Retinol creams and chemical exfoliants are sold with the promise of keeping aging at bay. Some are recommended by dermatologists but there are also some exceptions.As we get older, our skin slows down its production of collagen, which keeps our skin bouncy and elastic. That leads to wrinkles. Retinoids and retinol creams can help, dermatologists said. But they recommend not using them until you are about 30 or older any earlier could cause more problems, like skin irritation. Dark spots and dead skin are also common skincare frustrations.Exfoliation removing dead skin can help. But dermatologists recommend avoiding products that use beads, salts and sugars that exfoliate fragile facial skin by physically removing it. Instead, try chemical exfoliation with alpha-hydroxy acids or beta-hydroxy acids -- but make sure youre wearing sunscreen if you add either of these ingredients to your skincare regimen. FDA-approved guidelines say chemical exfoliation is safe if certain ingredient levels are declared on retail products, but the requirements dont apply to the more intense chemical peels applied by professionals, for example in salons. What skin products to avoidInfluencers try to get you excited by trendy skincare ideas and dermatologists want them to go away. Dr. Asempa points to one currently popular example: beef tallow also known as cow fat. I want you to leave the beef tallow with the cows, she said. Light therapy masks are also wildly popular and also wildly over-hyped. Dermatologists say they can be useful in some situations, depending on the color you use and the strength of the masks.Dr. Suozzi said that while research shows there may be some benefit to red-light therapy masks, which may help with collagen production, they are not something thats going to be transformative for the skin. And to have any hope, youd need to use them a lot: You need to be using these devices a few times a week for them to have any benefit, if at all. More expensive skin products dont necessarily work betterRed-light therapy masks, snail mucin slimy liquid that is touted as hydrating and other products can be very expensive. But dont let the price fool you, said Dr. Jordan Lim, a dermatology professor at Emory University School of Medicine.Price does not equal efficacy, and it does not equal better results, Lim said. A lot of the ingredients youre seeing in a $6 cream are also in a $20 cream, also in that $300 cream that you see a celebrity using.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. KENYA HUNTER Hunter is an Atlanta-based public health reporter for The Associated Press, covering disabilities and sexual health. mailto

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)2025-09-15T15:08:52Z OREM, Utah (AP) DNA on a towel wrapped around a rifle found near where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated matched that of the 22-year-old accused in the killing, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday.Investigators also have used DNA evidence to link the suspect, Tyler Robinson, with a screwdriver recovered from the rooftop where the fatal shot was fired, Patel told Fox News Channel on Monday. Authorities in Utah are preparing to file capital murder charges against Robinson as early as Tuesday in the killing of Kirk, a dominant figure in conservative politics who became a confidant of President Donald Trump after founding Arizona-based Turning Point USA, one of the nations largest political organizations. Kirk, who brought young, conservative evangelical Christians into politics, was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University during one of his many campus stops. The shooting raised fears about increasing political violence in a deeply polarized United States. Officials have said Robinson carried a hatred for Kirk and ascribed to a leftist ideology that had grown in recent years. Robinsons family and friends said he spent large amounts of time scrolling the dark corners of the internet, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Sunday. Patel told Fox News that Robinson had written in a note before the shooting that he had an opportunity to take out Kirk and was going to do it. Investigators were able to recover the notes contents after it had been destroyed, the FBI director said, paraphrasing from the note without revealing more details. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. Authorities said Robinson has not been cooperating with law enforcement. They say that he may have been radicalized online and that ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk included anti-fascist and meme-culture language engravings. Court records show that one bullet casing had the message, Hey, fascist! Catch! Robinson was arrested late Thursday near where he grew up around St. George, in the southwestern corner of Utah between Las Vegas and Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Its unclear whether he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf. Tributes to Kirk continue across the country. A line of mourners wrapped around the Kennedy Center in Washington for a vigil on Sunday, and there were moments of silence at several professional sporting events. Vice President JD Vance, who counted Kirk as a close friend, planned to serve as a substitute host on Monday for Kirks talk show on Rumble, a streaming platform.Please join me as I pay tribute to my friend, Vance wrote on social media.___Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. JESSE BEDAYN Bedayn is a statehouse reporter for The Associated Press based in Denver. He is a Report for America corps member. mailto JOHN SEEWER Seewer covers state and national news for The Associated Press and is based in Toledo, Ohio. twitter mailto

Sweden's Armand Duplantis clears the bar to set a new men's pole vault world record of 6.30 meters, at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)2025-09-15T13:55:39Z TOKYO (AP) Armand Mondo Duplantis broke the pole vault world record for the 14th time Monday night, clearing 6.30 meters to capture his third world championship.Duplantis, who grew up in Louisiana but competes for his mothers native Sweden, easily won his 49th straight meet and fifth straight major title, including Olympics, then kept the crowd around for another drama-rich half-hour to watch him go for the record.He cleared his top height (20 feet, 8 inches) on his third and final try -- the bar still bouncing but not falling as he leaped off the mat and jumped into second-place finisher Emmanouil Karalis arms to start the celebration.Duplantis gets $70,000 for the victory plus a $100,000 bonus for setting the record at the world championships. The jam-packed stadium that stuck around for his finale gets a great memory.To give you guys this moment, its just amazing, Duplantis said in an in-stadium interview. The 25-year-old first broke the record on Feb. 8, 2020, clearing 6.17 meters and knocking Frances 2012 Olympic champion, Renaud Lavillenie, off the top spot. Since then, Duplantis has improved upon the record by one centimeter every time, giving him more opportunities to pocket bonuses like the one he gets at this event. What Mondo has in spades is what every pole vaulter is trying to achieve, said Sam Kendricks, the fourth-place finisher who is the last man not named Duplantis to win a world title (in 2019). Hes got a jump, hes got the jets. Hes got a family that really supports him, and then hes got a field of guys thats really pushing him up there. As great a showman as an athlete, Duplantis shared handshakes and hugs with all those guys after Karalis missed at 6.20 meters to guarantee Duplantis the win. He headed over to the edge of the track to consult with his coach, walked back near the runway and took a seat, then stood up, chalked up his hands and let the drama begin. Just as he did a year ago at the Paris Olympics, Duplantis missed his first two tries, leaving himself with one, last all-or-nothing attempt. After sitting for about five minutes, he got up, took off, reached a speed of more than 35 kilometers per hour (22 mph), then went vaulting over the highest height ever cleared -- enough room to fit a full-sized pickup truck.I believe in him, said his dad, Greg, in an interview from the stadium. I believed he was going to make it on the last one. Youve got to believe. The next question is how high Duplantis might finally go. He suggested in an interview before the championships that 6.5 meters was an interesting number. At that rate, it would take another few years. The good news is, hes 25 and, for comparison, the great Sergey Bubka, who won six straight world titles through the 1980s and 90s, was 31 when he broke the record for the 17th and final time. His final mark was 6.14 meters and after Lavillenie topped that once, Duplantis took over a streak that he extended in Tokyo the first time hes broken the record in Japan.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports

Trader Robert Charmak, right, and specialist Glenn Carell, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)2025-09-15T04:06:36Z NEW YORK (AP) U.S. stocks are ticking higher on Monday at the start of a week that could show whether Wall Streets record-breaking rally has been overdone or prescient. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and was on track to squeak past its latest all-time high, which was set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 43 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher. Tesla helped lead the way and rose 7.2% after Elon Musk bought stock worth roughly $1 billion through a trust. The electric vehicle companys stock price came into the day with a slight loss for the year so far, and the purchase could be a signal of Musks faith in it. That helped overshadow a 1.6% dip for Nvidia after China accused the chip company of violating its antimonopoly laws. Chinese regulators did not mention a punishment for Nvidia in their one-sentence statement but did say they would carry out further investigation. The main event for the market, though, isnt arriving until Wednesday. Thats when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates, and the unanimous expectation is that it will announce its first cut of the year. Such a move could give a kickstart to the job market, which has been slowing. Stocks have already run to records on the assumption that a cut is coming on Wednesday, though. Expectations are also high that the Fed will keep cutting rates through the end of this year and into 2026. That creates the possibility for disappointment in the market, which would mean drops for stock prices, if the Fed doesnt end up cutting as aggressively as traders expect. Thats why more attention will be on what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says in his press conference following the decision than on the decision itself. Fed officials will also release their latest projections for where they see interest rates and the economy heading in upcoming years, which will be another potential flashpoint. What could spook the Fed and cut off the chance for more cuts is a jump in inflation. Thats because lower interest rates can give inflation more fuel and send it even higher. And inflation has proven difficult to get under the Feds 2% target, while President Donald Trumps tariffs threaten to move it higher.Another threat to the market is if the job market slows too much. In that case, the resulting recession could mean a downturn in corporate profits big enough to swamp whatever benefit lower interest rates bring in the short term and pull stocks lower.Trump, meanwhile, has been pushing angrily for more cuts to interest rates. Hes often attacked Powell personally, nicknaming him Too Late, and is pushing for the removal of one of the Feds governors from its board.Too Late must cut interest rates now, and bigger than he had in mind, Trump wrote on his social media network Monday, using his trademark all-caps style. In the bond market Treasury yields eased a bit, continuing their sharp downward run on expectations for coming cuts to rates by the Fed.The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.04% from 4.06% late Friday. In stock markets abroad, Frances CAC 40 climbed 1%, while indexes moved more modestly across the rest of Europe and Asia. ___AP Writers Yuri Kageyama, Matt Ott and Ken Moritsugu contributed. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Protesters block the road in an attempt to disrupt the twenty-first stage of the Spanish cycling race La Vuelta, from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernndez)2025-09-15T09:13:13Z MADRID (AP) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez on Monday called for Israel to be banned from sports events after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the final stage of the Spanish Vuelta cycling race in chaotic scenes in Madrid.Speaking to members of his Socialist Party, Snchez said Israel, just like Russia, should be boycotted from international sports events because of its military campaign in Gaza.Until the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be in any international competition, Snchez said. The sports organizations should consider whether its ethical for Israel to keep participating in international competitions. Why expel Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and not expel Israel after the invasion of Gaza?Snchez spoke a day after Sundays final stage had to be cut short after protesters threw barriers onto the road and clashed with police near the finish line in the Spanish capital.___AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling TALES AZZONI Azzoni is a sports reporter based in Madrid in charge of Spain and Portugal for The Associated Press. He has covered multiple World Cups and Olympic Games for the AP, as well as other major sporting events worldwide. twitter mailto