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‘Practical Magic’s Alexandra Artrip Responds To “Negativity” Around Sequel Recasting: “Give It A Shot”
Former child actress Alexandra Artrip has pushed back against negative fan reaction to being recast in Practical Magic 2, urging supporters not to turn her social media into “a space for negativity” ahead of the sequel’s release. Artrip originally played Antonia Owens in the 1998 original alongside Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and the role…
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Anthropic lays groundwork for bots that shop for you
Anthropic has published blueprints and templates for building AI-powered shopping and merchant agents using its Claude models, aiming to help e-commerce businesses implement automated purchasing systems. The move comes despite surveys suggesting most consumers remain reluctant to let AI make purchasing decisions on their behalf, meaning Anthropic faces a significant task in persuading both shoppers…
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Measles killed 6-week-old baby, coroner confirms after RFK Jr. disputed deaths
A coroner in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has confirmed that a six-week-old baby girl died of measles, contradicting claims made by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that such deaths may have been “fabricated” by the state. The confirmation matters because it undercuts efforts by Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic, to cast doubt on measles fatalities…
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AMD’s Threadripper Halo is a local-AI workstation for researchers with deep pockets
AMD has unveiled the Threadripper Halo, a workstation-class system aimed at machine learning researchers who want to run large AI models locally rather than in the cloud. Announced at IFA 2026 for launch next year, it marks the first time AMD has offered its Instinct accelerators in a workstation form factor, positioning the machine as…
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Me: You can now run DLSS 5 on AMD GPUs. My RX 9070 XT: Please stop, it hurts us
A PC Gamer piece looks at community workarounds that let Nvidia’s DLSS technology run on AMD graphics cards, using tools that swap in Nvidia’s upscaling and frame-generation libraries even on hardware they weren’t designed for. The article, written in a light-hearted, first-person tone, argues that while such swaps are technically possible, they come at a…
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Flock cameras are officially banned on state roads in Florida
Florida’s Department of Transportation has officially banned police from installing automatic licence plate readers (ALPRs) on state roads, becoming one of the first states to formally regulate the technology amid a broader backlash against providers such as Flock Safety. The decision, issued in a memorandum from DOT Chief Operating Officer Will Watts, was driven by…
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Trump admin fights ABC lawsuit as watchdogs worry Disney will settle with FCC
The US Federal Communications Commission has urged a federal court to dismiss Disney’s lawsuit against it, seeking to press ahead with a review that could ultimately see ABC’s broadcast licences not renewed. Disney sued the FCC in August, accusing the agency of running a “campaign of censorship” against ABC in retaliation for content President Trump…
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Reform UK suspensions, North Sea gas green light, and rising Russia tensions dominate
Reform UK suspends two senior figures over a foreign-funding probe as ministers move to approve the Jackdaw gas field; Norway seizes a Russian ship near Svalbard and Germany reports fresh grid sabotage attempts amid heightened Russia alert.
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ASCII smuggling isn’t just an AI security risk
Microsoft has revealed that fraudsters have adapted ASCII smuggling, a technique previously associated with hiding malicious prompts for AI models, into a large-scale email phishing campaign. Instead of embedding hidden instructions for an AI assistant, attackers inserted invisible Unicode tag characters within financial keywords, such as splitting “funding” into “fun[invisible character]ding”, to evade keyword and…
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After AI slop accusations, Humankind 2 studio says its new trailer was definitely “made by humankind” and at least five chickens
Amplitude Studios has denied that its recent Humankind 2 reveal trailer was created using AI, after online accusations of “AI slop” followed its Gamescom ONL debut. The studio, working with longtime creative partner BETC, has released a behind-the-scenes video showing a full human production crew and live animals involved in the shoot, aiming to counter…