CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s football program is getting a spotlight this season under new coach Bill Belichick. In a video posted by the program Sunday, Belichick told the team that Hulu will feature the Tar Heels as they play through his first season as a college coach. Belichick led the NFL’s New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles. UNC kicks off its season on Labor Day against TCU in a college version of Monday Night Football.… Continue Reading
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Jerry Adler has died at 96. Adler started his career behind the scenes in theater and worked on more than 50 Broadway productions. He later transitioned to acting in his 60s, gaining fame for roles on “The Sopranos” and “The Good Wife.” A New York funeral home confirmed he died Saturday. Adler’s acting career spanned over 30 years, with appearances in shows like “Rescue Me” and “Mad About You.” He also returned to Broadway, onstage this time. He hailed from an entertainment family. His father worked in the theater industry and his cousin was famed acting teacher Stella Adler.… Continue Reading
OULU, Finland (AP) — Finnish air guitarist Aapo “The Angus” Rautio has plucked victory from thin air, grabbing the world championship title for his homeland for the first time since 2000. This year’s Air Guitar World Championships reached the climax with a final on Friday evening on a square in the western city of Oulu. The three-day event held in Finland brings together competitors from 13 countries. Contestants are judged on the performance of two songs in two separate rounds, each lasting 60 seconds, with the singers pretending to play an imaginary guitar. Props and costumes are allowed, but backup bands and real instruments are off-limits.… Continue Reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company highly overrated. He said he’ll keep extending the deadline for the popular video sharing platform until there’s a buyer. Congress approved a U.S. ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake. But Trump has so far extended the deadline three times during his second term. The next one is on Sept. 17. His comments follow the White House starting an TikTok account this week.… Continue Reading
LONDON (AP) — The Cambridge Dictionary has added over 6,000 new words including slang terms like “skibidi,” “tradwife” and “delulu.” Cambridge Dictionary says it uses the Cambridge English Corpus database of more than 2 billion words to monitor how new words are used, how often and in what contexts. “Skibidi” comes from a viral YouTube series and can mean “cool” or “bad.” “Tradwife” refers to a traditional wife who shares her lifestyle online. “Delulu” is short for delusional. Other additions this year include “mouse jiggler” for a tool to simulate activity during remote work and “forever chemical” for persistent environmental pollutants.… Continue Reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced country music start George Strait and “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone among the first batch of Kennedy Center Honors nominees in his new role as chairman. The remaining three recipients are singer Gloria Gaynor, the rock band KISS and actor-singer Michael Crawford, The Republican president also announced on Wednesday that he’ll host the awards program. The glamorous event is usually taped in December and broadcast later in the month by CBS. Trump avoided the Kennedy Center Honors during his first term due to protests from artists but is embracing his new role as the center’s chairman.… Continue Reading
YouTube is ready to start testing a new age-verification system in the U.S. using artificial intelligence to distinguish between adults and minors based on their viewing habits. The tests, scheduled to being Wednesday, initially affect a small portion of YouTube’s U.S. audience. If successful, the system could become more widespread. It works when viewers are logged into their accounts, regardless of the birth date entered. If flagged as under 18, users face restrictions like privacy warnings and limited video recommendations. Concerns about privacy and free speech have been raised by digital rights groups. The political pressure for better age verification has increased since a recent Supreme Court decision.… Continue Reading
Dean Cain wants to join the U.S. and Immigration Customs Enforcement agency. In an interview with Fox News, Cain said he has already spoken to the agency responsible for President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says Cain will be sworn in as an “honorary ICE Officer” in the coming month. McLaughlin referenced Cain’s 1990s role in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” saying “Superman is encouraging Americans to become real-life superheroes.” Cain also posted a video encouraging others to join the agency. The 59-year-old been outspoken in his conservative viewpoints and endorsed Trump in three elections.… Continue Reading
New research from a watchdog group reveals ChatGPT can provide harmful advice to teens. The Associated Press reviewed interactions where the chatbot gave detailed plans for drug use, eating disorders, and even suicide notes. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that testing ChatGPT with harmful prompts led the chatbot to respond in dangerous ways more than half the time. The study highlights the risks as more people, particularly teens, turn to AI for companionship and advice. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, said after viewing the findings that its “work is ongoing” in refining “how models identify and respond appropriately in sensitive situations.”… Continue Reading
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge says Sean “Diddy” Combs can’t go home from jail to await sentencing on his prostitution-related conviction. The judge issued a decision Monday to deny the rap and style mogul’s latest bid for bail. Combs has been behind bars since his arrest in September. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled sex marathons with other men. He was acquitted last month of the top charges, which were racketeering and sex trafficking. Combs was convicted of two counts of a prostitution-related offense. He denied all the charges.… Continue Reading