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Fiction writers fear the rise of AI, but also see it as a story to tell

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For a vast number of book writers, artificial intelligence is a threat to their livelihood and the very idea of creativity. More than 10,000 of them endorsed an open letter from the Authors Guild this summer, urging AI companies not to use copyrighted work without permission or compensation.At the same time, AI is a story to tell, and no longer just in science fiction. As present in the imagination as politics, the pandemic or climate change, AI has become part of the narrative for a growing number of novelists and short story writers who only need to follow the news to imagine a world upended.“I’m frightened by artificial intelligence, but also fascinated by it. There’s a hope for divine understanding, for the accumulation of all knowledge, but at the same time there’s an inherent terror in being replaced by non-human intelligence,” said Helen Phillips, whose upcoming novel “Hum” tells of a wife and mother who loses her job to AI.“We’ve...

Lawsuit targets Wisconsin legislative districts resembling Swiss cheese

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — If Wisconsin state Rep. Jimmy Anderson wants to visit residents in some of the northern neighborhoods he represents, he first must leave his own district — twice.From his Fitchburg home in suburban Madison, Anderson must exit his 47th Assembly District, pass through the 77th District, reenter the 47th District, then head north through the 48th District to finally reach a cluster of homes assigned like a remote outpost to his district. Unusual? Yes. Inconvenient? Yes. Unconstitutional? Perhaps. Though the Wisconsin Constitution requires legislative districts “to consist of contiguous territory,” many nonetheless contain sections of land that are not actually connected. The resulting map looks a bit like Swiss cheese, where some districts are dotted with small neighborhood holes assigned to different representatives. Wisconsin’s nationally peculiar practice of detached districts is cited as one of several alleged violations in a recent lawsuit seeking to str...

Southern California hiker falls to death in Grand Teton National Park

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

A Southern California woman fell to her death while hiking a steep, craggy peak in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park on Friday.Park rangers say Joy Cho of Simi Valley was hiking with seven other people when she fell off the west side of Teewinot Mountain in the early morning. She died at the scene, and her body was flown from the area by helicopter.National Park Service officials did not say how old Cho was, what caused her to fall or how far she fell.Teewinot, a popular destination for mountaineers, is an exposed peak that reaches 12,325 feet (3,757 meters) above sea level.

A’s fall again as Nationals win on Ruiz’s walkoff home run

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

WASHINGTON  — Keibert Ruiz hit the first pitch of bottom of the ninth inning into the right-field bullpen to give the Washington Nationals a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.JJ Bleday and Brent Rooker homered and rookie Lawrence Butler got his first big-league hit for Oakland, which fell to a majors-worst 33-84. The Athletics are 51 games under .500 for the first time since finishing 54-108 in 1979. They are on pace to go 46-116.Ruiz homered for the second consecutive night to help Washington win for the seventh time in its last 10 — and 11th victory in the last 13 home games.Lucas Erceg (2-3) had just entered and threw a 97 mph that Ruiz smacked into the Nationals’ bullpen.Kyle Finnegan (6-3) pitched a scoreless ninth for Washington.For the second consecutive night, there were chants of “Sell the team! Sell the team!” in the top of the fifth inning, a message directed at Athletics owner John Fisher, who plans to move the franchise to Las Vegas. The A’s...

Bruce Bochy’s Texas Rangers beat his former Giants again, 9-3

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A day after his call-up, J.P. Martínez got in on the offensive onslaught with his first major league hit and a sacrifice fly as the Texas Rangers won another game in impressive fashion against manager Bruce Bochy’s former club.Bochy kept the special souvenir baseball safe in his office to present Martínez.“I’m so happy right now I can’t explain how I feel,” Martínez said, thrilled with his teammates’ support. “It was crazy, ‘congratulations, proud of you!’ It was amazing.”Corey Seager homered and singled in a run, Mitch Garver had three RBIs, and the Rangers pounded the stumbling San Francisco Giants 9-3 on Saturday night.Garver hit a go-ahead single in the Rangers’ three-run fourth as Texas began the inning with four straight base hits against Alex Cobb (6-4). That included the first career hit for Martínez. Ezequiel Durán added a sacrifice fly and Leody Taveras an RBI single in the inning.Garver later added a two-run single....

AP gets rare glimpse of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, a former newspaper publisher and one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, spends around 23 hours a day in solitary confinement in a maximum-security facility while he awaits a trial that could send him to prison for life.In exclusive photos taken by The Associated Press in recent weeks, the 75-year-old Lai can be seen with a book in his hands wearing shorts and sandals and accompanied by two guards at Stanley Prison. He looks thinner than when he was last photographed in February 2021.Lai is allowed out for 50 minutes a day to exercise. Unlike most other inmates, who play football or exercise in groups, Lai walks alone in what appears to be a 5-by-10-meter (16-by-30-foot) enclosure surrounded by barbed wire under Hong Kong’s punishing summer sun before returning to his unairconditioned cell in the prison.The publisher of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, Lai disappeared from public view in December 2020 following his arrest under a ...

Lahaina residents worry a rebuilt Maui town could slip into the hands of affluent outsiders

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Richy Palalay so closely identifies with his Maui hometown that he had a tattoo artist permanently ink “Lahaina Grown” on his forearms when he was 16.But a chronic housing shortage and an influx of second-home buyers and wealthy transplants have been displacing residents like Palalay who give Lahaina its spirit and identity.A fast-moving wildfire that incinerated much of the compact coastal settlement last week has multiplied concerns that any homes rebuilt there will be targeted at affluent outsiders seeking a tropical haven. That would turbo-charge what is already one of Hawaii’s gravest and biggest challenges: the exodus and displacement of Native Hawaiian and local-born residents who can no longer afford to live in their homeland.“I’m more concerned of big land developers coming in and seeing this charred land as an opportunity to rebuild,” Palalay said Saturday at a shelter for evacuees.Hotels and condos “that we can’t afford, that we can’t afford to live...

You’ll never guess who performed with Foo Fighters at Outside Lands

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

The Foo Fighters had a special surprise in store for fans on Day 2 (Saturday, Aug. 12) at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco.The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act, led by Dave Grohl, brought out a special guest star to perform with them.And, no, the guest star wasn’t Steph Curry, the Warriors all-star who many people keep expecting to show up at some point during the three-day festival, which continues through Sunday at Golden Gate Park. (Curry didn’t make an appearance during fellow NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal’s set on Friday, but maybe he will perform with collaborator Tobe Nwigwe on Sunday.)The guest who appeared with the Foos on Saturday night was none other than Michael Buble.No, really. We’re being totally serious.The famed Canadian crooner, known for his stylish work on traditional pop standards and the Great American Songbook, came out onstage during the Foos’ roughly 2-hour set on the festival’s big Lands End stage.Related Artic...

Mountcastle’s hit in the 10th gives Orioles a 1-0 win over Mariners, snaps Seattle’s win streak

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

Seattle Mariners' Ty France, left, talks with former teammate Baltimore Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)(AP/Lindsey Wasson) Seattle Mariners' Ty France, left, talks with former teammate Baltimore Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)(AP/Lindsey Wasson) SEATTLE (AP) — A night dedicated to honoring one of the best pitchers of his generation ended with only one run scored, 19 combined strikeouts and an overpowering right-hander named Félix on the mound at the end.Ryan Mountcastle’s one-out single in the ...

Prince George’s Co. Public Schools give out backpacks during annual ‘Drive and Dash’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:07 GMT

Prince George’s County Public Schools gave backpacks to families in need during their annual Back-To-School Drive and Dash donation event Saturday morning.This year’s Drive and Dash event was sponsored by the Excellence in Education Foundation for PGCPS in collaboration with several different community partners.“We have high-energy volunteers, a lively crowd and lots and lots of backpacks!” exclaimed Raven Hill, PGCPS Assistant Superintendent for Communications & Community Engagement.Hill says this year, there were even more reasons to celebrate the event.“Usually, we are able to give away around 10,000 backpacks at the annual Drive and Dash,” Hill said. “But this year, through the generosity of community partners, we are able to give away 20,000.”She said community partners donated around $97,000 to make it all possible, adding that it’s incredibly important to the district to make sure students start off the school year with the tools they n...