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Dead Beatles, Fake Drake and robot songwriters: Inside the panic over AI music

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

August Brown | (TNS) Los Angeles TimesLOS ANGELES — Inside the Mayk.It app, I don’t have to work hard to sound nearly perfect.Mayk.It is an AI-powered music startup, funded with an initial $4 million investment from major venture capital firms like Greycroft, former Spotify executive Sophia Bendz and celebrities like YouTuber MrBeast and voice-tweaking enthusiast T-Pain. The Santa Monica-based company hopes to do for singing and production what Instagram did for photography and TikTok for video editing — make it uncannily easy to express yourself at a semiprofessional level on social media.Artificial intelligence is the talk of governments and industry today. In the arts, screenwriters, illustrators and musicians are nervously eyeing the tech’s potential and the possibility of being outmatched (and laid off) in favor of such software.On the roof deck of Mayk.It’s office, co-founder Stefán Heinrich Henriquez played a video from a forthcoming version of its app, Covers.ai. The clip sh...

Man killed in La Mesa trolley station stabbing; police searching for suspect

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

LA MESA, Calif. — A man was killed Thursday after a stabbing at a trolley station, La Mesa police said.According to LMPD, police received a 911 call around 8:40 p.m. reporting a man down at the 70th Street Trolley station at 7255 Alvarado Road.A Metropolitan Transit System employee began CPR on the suspect until police officers and medical personnel arrived on scene, LMPD Public Information Officer Katherine Lynch said in a news release. Juvenile stabbed in North County; suspect at large The victim, a 47-year-old man, had suffered an apparent stab wound to his chest and was transported to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.During their initial investigation, investigators learned that the victim and another man got into an altercation at the trolley station that led to the stabbing, Lynch said.Police released the following picture of the suspect, who is believed to be a man in his late 20s to early 30s.Suspect in a deadly stabbing at a La Mesa trolley stat...

More are participating in the lottery as the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots soar

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

AMBLER, Pa. (AP) — Brenda Sepulveda stopped Friday at a suburban Philadelphia convenience store to buy lottery tickets as the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots soared to some of their heftiest in the history of the games.“I think that people are drawn to this kind of lottery because we all hope and pray that we might be the lucky one, that maybe we weren’t born into wealth, but you never know,” she said, as she dreamed of paying off student loans, and her and her mother’s cars.The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday night’s drawing has grown to $560 million, with a cash option of $281.1 million. That’s the seventh-highest it has ever been. Meanwhile, the Powerball jackpot for Saturday’s drawing has grown to an estimated $875 million — the third-highest. Ticket buyers have a chance at either $875 million paid out in yearly increments or a $441.9 million one-time lump sum before taxes.Yet the games have raised concerns among some experts. Their abysmal odds — 1 in 29...

Six months. 28 mass killings in the US. That’s the worst yet, and all but one case involved guns

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Slain at the hands of strangers or gunned down by loved ones. Massacred in small towns, in big cities, inside their own homes or outside in broad daylight. This year’s unrelenting bloodshed across the U.S. has led to the grimmest of milestones: The deadliest six months of mass killings recorded since at least 2006.From Jan. 1 to June 30, the nation endured 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns. The death toll rose just about every week, a constant cycle of violence and grief.Six months. 181 days. 28 mass killings. 140 victims. One country. “What a ghastly milestone,” said Brent Leatherwood, whose three children were in class at a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27 when a former student killed three children and three adults. “You never think your family would be a part of a statistic like that.”Leatherwood, a prominent Republican in a state that hasn’t strengthened gun laws, believes something must be done to get guns o...

5 leaving cemetery after funeral wounded by gunfire from another vehicle, Maryland police say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

BLADENSBURG, Md. (AP) — Five people leaving a cemetery after a funeral were shot and wounded Friday by someone firing into their car from a second vehicle in a Maryland suburb of the nation’s capital, police said.No arrests were immediately made, and the five victims were all taken to area hospitals as authorities pleaded for the help of passing motorists in identifying suspects from the brazen daylight attack in busy traffic.The shooting site is near a bridge that crosses the Anacostia River in Bladensburg, about a mile (.6 kilometer) east of the Maryland border with Washington, D.C.Bladensburg Police Chief Tyrone Collington Sr. said at an afternoon news conference that he did not know the conditions of the wounded. He said none of those in the targeted car had fired any shots.“There was not an exchange (of gunfire) between the two vehicles. It was one vehicle that was shot at and struck multiple victims within that vehicle,” Collington said.“At this time, I can’t...

Stock market today: A raucous week for Wall Street closes with a quiet, mixed finish

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s latest winning week closed with a mixed finish on Friday following stronger profit reports than expected from several big U.S. companies.The S&P 500 slipped 4.62, or 0.1%, to 4,505.42 to edge back from its highest closing level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 113.89, or 0.3%, to 34,509.03, and the Nasdaq composite fell 24.87, or 0.2%, to 14,113.70.Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group rallied 7.2% after it said profit growth during the spring was better than feared. It also raised the bottom end of its forecast for earnings for the full year.JPMorgan Chase rose 0.6% after it said its profit during the spring grew by more than expected thanks in part to its acquisition of the troubled First Republic Bank. It had been up more in the morning, but it faded through the day like the broader market. Wells Fargo likewise swung to a drop of 0.3% from an earlier gain after reporting stronger profit for the second quarter than expected. He...

S&P/TSX composite ticks lower Friday on energy weakness, U.S. markets mixed

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock indexticked lower Friday led by losses in the energy sector, while U.S. markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 15.57 points at 20,262.07.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 113.89 points at 34,509.03.The S&P 500 index was down 4.62 points at 4,505.42, while the Nasdaq composite was down 24.87 points at 14,113.70.Markets came out of the gates fairly strong after several large U.S. banks and other companies reported encouraging results to kick off earnings season, said Ian Chong, associate portfolio manager for First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc.“The banks were definitely front and centre, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citi,” said Chong. “They all reported strong results, beating consensus estimates, particularly on net interest income.” However, markets started to dip lower in the mid-morning as more details on the earnings tempered investor optimism, said Chong, such as concerns that consumer spending could ...

Rehabilitated sea turtle released in Florida Keys to join Tour de Turtles

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) — A juvenile green sea turtle rehabilitated at the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital was fitted with a satellite-tracking transmitter and released Friday to join an online race that follows long-distance migrations of sea turtles.The Tour de Turtles, now in its 16th year, is organized annually by the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Beginning Aug. 1, the group will track a dozen sea turtles released from beaches in Florida and several Caribbean islands. “The Tour de Turtles is raising awareness about sea turtles and the threats to their survival,” Sea Turtle Conservancy senior research biologist Dr. Dan Evans said. “We are also learning about where they’re going, where they’re finding food, and what the possible threats to those areas are.”The young green sea turtle named Marcia, who was found floating off the Middle Keys in March, suffered from positive buoyancy disorder. The condition leaves sea turtles unable to dive down for food. Causes include internal infection, g...

After mass shooting, Baltimore leaders slam police for inadequate response

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Nearly three hours before a mass shooting turned a south Baltimore neighborhood block party into a scene of terror and bloodshed, the city’s police department received a call about hundreds of partygoers armed with guns and knives — but on-duty officers decided no police services were required.The decision contributed to a “catastrophic breakdown” in police communication and response during the hours leading up to the July 2 shooting, top city officials said at a city council hearing Thursday evening.Baltimore’s troubled history with policing was thrust into the national spotlight years ago following the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Since then, city leaders have focused on reforming the Baltimore Police Department and repairing public trust, especially within the Black community. Critics say this latest failure threatens to jeopardize recent progress.Two people died and 28 others were wounded when gunshots tore through a large crowd filling the cour...

India’s Modi and France’s Macron agree on defense ties but stand apart on Ukraine

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:26:56 GMT

PARIS (AP) — India is close to buying new French warplanes and submarines and played a starring role in France’s Bastille Day celebrations Friday. But for all the camaraderie on display this week between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, their two countries remain sometimes-awkward allies.Macron skirted around concerns about threats to rights and freedoms under Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.Modi called for peace efforts in Ukraine to end Russia’s war and resulting grain shortages, and India has increased imports of sanctioned Russian oil; Macron’s France is boosting weapons supplies to Ukraine for its counteroffensive.During a two-day visit that included a banquet at the Louvre, Indian troops marching down the Champs-Elysees and a high-octane speech by Modi to Indians from around Europe, the two countries released a raft of agreements tightening cooperation in areas where they agree.The biggest step is a preliminary Indian accord to buy ...