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Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch : Microsoft's Canva-like web app Designer, which leverages user-created content and OpenAI's text-to-image DALL-E 2 to ideate designs, launches in public preview   —  Microsoft Designer, Microsoft's AI-powered design tool, today launched in public preview with an expanded set of features.

Alec Baldwin was seen in a daunting scenario on his "Rust" movie set.  The 65-year-old was spotted with a large blood stain on his shirt and being carried to the gallows in a morbid scene for his project. While Baldwin geared up in his western wardrobe for his role, he’s seen with a noose around his neck as two men wearing cowboy hats wrangled him up the wooden platform. ALEC BALDWIN SPOTTED ON 'RUST' SET HOLDING GUN AFTER CRIMINAL CHARGES DROPPED It’s unclear if the actual hanging of Baldwin will be featured in the "Rust" movie. In the video, Baldwin was surrounded by other actors dressed in costumes with horses in the background. The camera crew was shown filming the scene and it appeared to be extremely windy on set.  The new "Rust" photos come after Baldwin was recently seen holding a rifle by the barrel while filming, last week. Fox News Digital obtained additional photos of Baldwin leaving an apartment in Montana, where "Rust...

A majority of Colorado Democrats in the state House voted against a measure that would enhance criminal penalties for indecent exposure in view of a minor, and one state lawmaker claimed the bill could be used to "ban" drag shows and harm transgender people. Outlining her frustrations with the measure from the House floor Saturday, state Rep. Leslie Herod, a Democrat who has represented a Denver-area district in the state House since 2017, said the proposed law uses language like other measures around the nation meant to "target" transgender people. "These types of laws have been used to ban drag shows, to target individuals who use the restroom — the sex they identify with, a public restroom — to charge them with felony charges," Herod claimed. "I'm very concerned about the attacks against the transgender community that are happening across the country." Introduced by Democrats, HB23-1135 would take criminal penalties for indecent exp...

Michael J. Fox is candidly speaking out about his ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease.  Fox, 61, addressed the challenges he faces daily with the incurable disease and said he doesn’t believe he’ll live to be 80 years old. "My life is set up so ... I can pack Parkinson's along with me if I have to," Fox said during an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning. MICHAEL J. FOX REVEALS WIFE'S REACTION TO HIS PARKINSON'S DISEASE DIAGNOSIS "[Parkinson’s] banging on the door… I'm not going to lie, it's getting hard. It's getting harder. It's getting tougher. Every day it's tougher … that's the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?" As "The Back to the Future" star suffers from the disease, he reflected on his perspective of mortality. "You don't die from Parkinson's. You die with Parkinson's … I've been thinking about the mortality of it.… I'm not going to be 80. I'm not goin...

BBC : Wikimedia won't comply with the Online Safety Bill's age checks of its UK readers or contributors, citing the foundation's “commitment to collect minimal data”   —  Wikipedia will not comply with any age checks required under the Online Safety Bill, its foundation says.

The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed a complaint filed by allies of former President Trump who accused Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of coordinating a "shadow presidential campaign."  Make America Great Again Inc., a pro-Trump PAC , had accused DeSantis of "illegal conduct" in a 15-page complaint filed in March. Taylor Budowich, a former Trump spokesman and now-head of MAGA Inc., had alleged that there was probable cause to investigate whether the governor had broken the law by fundraising through his Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC, having his team interview political operatives in early primary states, going on a "personally lucrative book tour" and taking other steps toward running for president while not officially declaring his candidacy for higher office. A spokeswoman for DeSantis, who is reportedly preparing to launch a campaign for president in mid-May, had called the complaint "frivolous and politically motivated" and said it wa...

A lobbyist pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to pass bribes to the head of a Michigan marijuana licensing board , the third conviction since charges were announced just a few weeks ago. Vincent Brown acknowledged that he had a role in getting $42,000 and other benefits to Rick Johnson before the board was disbanded in 2019. FORMER HEAD OF MICHIGAN MARIJUANA LICENSING BOARD PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBERY Brown's goal was to drum up business for his lobbying firm by promoting his access to Johnson. The board reviewed and approved applications to grow and sell marijuana for medical purposes. Johnson pleaded guilty to bribery Tuesday, admitting he accepted at least $110,000 in exchange for approving applications for lucrative licenses. Years ago he was a powerful state lawmaker, serving as speaker of the Republican-controlled House from 2001 through 2004. FEDS LAND FIRST GUILTY PLEA IN MICHIGAN MARIJUANA BOARD CORRUPTION PROBE A Detroit-area businessman , John Dalaly, pleaded guilty ...

Ron Miller / TechCrunch : Synergy: enterprise cloud spending grew 19% YoY to $63B in Q1 2023, vs. 32% growth in Q1 2022; Amazon took 32% market share, Microsoft 23%, and Google 10%   —  As expected, companies are continuing to cut back on their cloud spend where possible, as tech budgets continue to get careful scrutiny.

Shania Twain is revealing the secrets to her fit figure. The 57-year-old country music star adheres to a mainly liquid diet that includes protein shakes filled with greens. Twain normally sticks to one meal a day and sometimes adds a snack of peanut butter or dark chocolate, according to USA Today. SHANIA TWAIN TALKS POSING NUDE, EMBRACING HER BODY, AND WHY SHE'S ‘AGING NATURALLY’ Despite her diet, Twain explained she doesn't participate in any specific workouts. "Before tour rehearsals I was riding horses and now I’m just running around a lot," Twain told the outlet. "If I feel like I’m losing too much weight, I’ll eat some more. But I need to watch it for the wardrobe because (weight) goes on fast, especially now during menopause." Twain is set to begin her upcoming tour on April 28 in Spokane, Wash. The "Now" tour will conclude in Las Vegas on Aug. 4. The "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" singer does stay away from one food when perf...

House Democrats are pushing a new bill that would make it illegal for prosecutors to use violent lyrics by rap artists against them in court if they commit crimes, citing First Amendment protections. On Thursday, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., announced they would reintroduce the Restoring Artist Protection Act , or RAP Act. The bill would protect artists from the use of their lyrics against them in criminal and civil proceedings, a practice that's more common in cases involving hip-hop artists. The pair introduced the bill last Congress , but it failed to gain any traction. The measure, they say, would add a presumption to the Federal Rules of Evidence that would limit the admissibility of evidence of an artist's creative or artistic expression against that artist in court. The underpinning of such a law, they say, is the freedom of expression granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. HAKEEM JEFFRIES BLASTED FOR CLAIM THAT GOP DOESN...

This year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival begins its two-weekend run on Friday, filling the air with the sounds of R&B, rock 'n roll, Zydeco, pop, blues, country, rap, gospel — and of course jazz. Music fans will converge on the Fair Grounds Race Course when gates open at 11 a.m. and dash to find a spot in front of one of the 14 stages or tents featuring some of the best musicians in the world. Friday's lineup includes performances by Lizzo; Robert Plant & Alison Krauss; Big Freedia; Tank and The Bangas; Wu-Tang Clan + The Soul Rebels; Nicholas Payton; Mavis Staples; Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers; Charlie Musselwhite; and Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience. SMOKEY ROBINSON SHARES THE SECRET TO HIS DECADES OF SUCCESS AS HE'S HONORED WITH BERRY GORDY AT MUSICARES GALA   "I'm super excited for the elevation this year," said Freedia, whose bounce/rap show is scheduled for the festival's main stage before Lizzo and ...

The Kentucky Supreme Court has overturned lower court rulings that allowed leaders in Kentucky's largest city to remove a Confederate statue from a prominent location three years ago. The 6-1 ruling issued Thursday said Louisville violated due process in getting approval to remove the John Breckenridge Castleman monument from Cherokee Triangle, news outlets reported. The statue was vandalized several times over a few years before it was removed from its pedestal in June 2020 following a decision from Louisville’s landmarks commission. RICHMOND, VA, REMOVES ITS LAST CONFEDERATE STATUE A group called Friends of Louisville Public Art filed a lawsuit challenging the landmarks commission ruling. They argued the statue was a local landmark and said some commission members should not have been allowed to vote because they have a conflict of interest. While the group acknowledged Castleman’s Confederate ties, they argued that he later renounced his allegiance to the Confederacy . Cas...

Colorado’s governor signed four gun control bills Friday, edging the once-purple state closer to liberal-leaning governments in California and New York just months after a shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, the latest in the state’s long history of notorious massacres. The new laws, which Democrats pushed through despite late-night filibusters from Republicans, are aimed at quelling rising suicides and youth violence, preventing mass shootings and opening avenues for gun violence victims to sue the long-protected firearm industry. Republicans decried the bills as onerous encroachments on Second Amendment rights that would impede Colorado residents’ ability to defend themselves amid a rising statewide crime rate. NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING BLAMED ON REPUBLICANS, GUN CULTURE BY MEDIA: ‘GOP GUN RIGHTS FANTASY’ Two of the new laws will raise the age to buy any firearm from 18 to 21 and install a three-day waiting period between the purchase and receipt of a gun. A thi...

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro on Friday defended his recent remark that climate change is a "top priority" for the Navy and said he thinks the issue is just as important for the Navy as ensuring a steady stream of sailor recruits. At a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., noted Del Toro’s prior comments about the importance of climate change and asked Del Toro how that issue stacks up with others, at a time when the Navy is struggling to meet its recruiting goals . "In the military, we know when you make one thing a priority you have to acknowledge that other things might be less of a priority," Banks said. "So where does climate change factor into the priorities that you have as the secretary of the Navy?" NAVY SECRETARY CITED CLIMATE CHANGE AS TOP PRIORITY AS BIDEN PROPOSES SHRINKING THE FLEET "As I said then, it is a top priority," Del Toro replied. "Let me give you an example. When I was commanding...

A Kentucky commission assigned to distribute money from a massive settlement with opioid companies will award more than $8 million to two dozen organizations specializing in drug prevention, treatment and recovery services, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Thursday. The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission will funnel the money to an array of programs based in small towns and the state's largest cities. The awards will help combat a drug epidemic that Cameron has branded as "the public safety challenge of our lifetime." "For too long, the opioid epidemic has maintained a tight and painful grip on Kentuckians, but today there is hope and there is help," the Republican attorney general said. KY GROUP CREATES 1ST FUNDING AWARD TO FIGHT STATE’S OPIOID CRISIS Cameron announced the grants at an event at Kentucky's Capitol. It comes amid a combative Republican primary for governor that has focused at times on illegal drugs and the deadly toll it h...

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch : YouTube Music adds podcasts on Android, iOS, and the web, supporting listening offline, in the background, and casting for all US users, with or without Premium   —  YouTube Music is officially adding podcasts to its platform in the United States on Android, iOS and the web.

Pamela Anderson is finally in the swimsuit design game after putting red one-pieces on the map in the '90s. Anderson has partnered with bathing suit brand Frankies Bikinis to design her first ever swimwear line, including a "Baywatch" inspired look. The 55-year-old mom of two and the swimwear brand shared a sneak peek at the swimsuit on Instagram, with Anderson looking almost exactly like her lifeguard character, C.J. Parker from the hit '90s series. "It’s about time - I have been so excited to share this with you - I’m horrible at keeping a secret," Anderson wrote in the caption. APP USERS CLICK HERE PAMELA ANDERSON GOES SHEER IN SPARKLING BODYSUIT "All my favorite ideas and tricks of the trade - All mixed into my swimwear collaboration with @frankiesbikinis," Anderson continued, calling the collaboration, "A dream come true." The brand also posted a couple different photos of Anderson. In one, the actress is wearing a bikini an...

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican and candidate in the state's gubernatorial race , hit back at a local liberal newspaper Thursday after it published a cartoon depicting him in a racist manner and appearing to mock Christians. In the cartoon published earlier in the day by the Lexington Herald-Leader , Cameron, who is Black, is shown with noticeably lighter skin than in real life, is wearing what appears to be a "Make America Great Again" hat backwards, and is saying that he would let people die if he were governor during a pandemic. The scene is set inside a church with another figure appearing to play the role of Jesus Christ nailed to a cross in the background. "Tell me you’re a race baiter, a hater of Christians, and a mocker of faith, all in one cartoon..I present Joel Pett, Herald Leader, as exhibit A. He is nothing but a mouthpiece for the Democrat party. Shame on him and the Herald Leader for allowing this filth," Cameron, who is B...

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke before the U.S. Congress Thursday, evoking a famous speech by former President Reagan. North Korea, South Korea's northern neighbor born out of the communist side of the Korean War, was a central topic of Yoon's address  "But even as we walked in unison for freedom for 70 years, there is one regime determined to pursue a wrong path. That is North Korea," Yoon told Congress. "The difference is strong between Seoul that chose freedom and democracy and a Pyongyang that chose dictatorship and communism. North Korea has abandoned freedom and prosperity and dismissed peace.  CHINA, UKRAINE ON MAIN STAGE AS SOUTH KOREA'S PRESIDENT VISITS BIDEN, ADDRESSES CONGRESS FOR 1ST TIME IN DECADE The trip by South Korea's president comes amid escalating tensions with North Korea , which claimed Thursday that U.S.-South Korea military drills are "pushing the security situation of the Korean peninsula to the brink of a n...

Andrea Vittorio / Bloomberg Law : Washington becomes the first US state to adopt sweeping safeguards for health data, including location records that could reveal visits to abortion clinics   —  Washington has adopted a first-of-its-kind state law with sweeping safeguards for consumer health data collected by companies …

A Florida court issued a summons Thursday against Gov. Ron DeSantis in relation to Disney’s lawsuit against him, while DeSantis is more than 6,000 miles away from the state on a trip to Israel.  The summons, which was addressed to the governor’s office in Tallahassee, was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. "A lawsuit has been filed against you," it says, adding that "[w]ithin 21 days after service of this summons on you (not counting the day you received it)… you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or a motion under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure."  Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis on Wednesday, alleging the Republican orchestrated a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" against the company that violates Disney's free speech rights. Disney is challenging the legality of a new board appointed by DeSantis to govern the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Di...

A transgender lawmaker in Montana is facing a vote of expulsion or censure on Wednesday after Republican lawmakers accused her of presenting "hate-filled testimony" while debating a bill that would ban transgender medical care for minors. While delivering comments on the bill last week, Democrat State Rep. Zooey Zephyr sent a strong message for those who voted for the bill banning transgender medical care for minors. "The only thing I will say, is if you vote yes on this bill and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands," Zephyr said.  Afterward, Republican Speaker Matt Regier refused to acknowledge Zephyr who wanted to speak on a separate bill aiming to put a binary definition of male and female into the state code. MONTANA TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER CENSURED AFTER 'HATE-FILLED TESTIMONY' WHILE DEBATING BILL "It is up to me to maintain decorum here on the Hous...

Victoria Song / The Verge : Amazon shuts down its health-focused Halo division, discontinues its Halo Band, Halo View, and Halo Rise devices, and plans to lay off portions of the team   —  Amazon has decided to shutter its health-focused Halo division, The Verge has learned.  Amazon has stopped selling its three Halo products …

North Dakota's Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill that limits access to bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms for transgender and gender-nonconforming people in several state facilities, his office announced Wednesday. This includes dorms and living facilities controlled by the state board of higher education, penitentiaries and correctional facilities for youths and adults. Restrooms and shower rooms at these facilities would be designated for use exclusively for males or exclusively for females. Transgender or gender-nonconforming people would need to get approval from a staff member at the facility to use the restroom or shower room of their choice. Burgum signed the bill Tuesday. It had passed the state House and Senate with veto-proof majorities . NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR SIGNS ABORTION BAN WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS The American Civil Liberties Union has said that so far this year, more than 450 bills attacking the rights of transgender people have been introduced in...

Christine Hall / TechCrunch : Mexico-based Clara, which offers corporate spend management software in Latin America, raised a $60M Series B extension, after a $70M Series B in December 2021   —  Clara, a Mexico-based spend management company, closed on $60 million in equity in a round led by GGV Capital.

Director and actor Kevin Smith checked into a mental health facility after suffering a "complete break from reality" in January 2022. "It was scary," Smith, 52, admitted in a new interview. "At that moment, I wouldn't have been averse to not being around any longer," the "Clerks" director told People magazine. "I called a friend and said, 'I'm in a weird, dark place. I need to go somewhere and get help.'" Smith checked into the Sierra Tucson treatment center in Arizona, where he worked on trauma he'd experienced from a handful of moments in his childhood. KATHY GRIFFIN THANKS SUPPORTERS AFTER REVEALING MENTAL HEALTH BATTLE WITH 'EXTREME CASE' OF PTSD The "Good Will Hunting" co-executive producer revealed he was sexually abused at the age of 6 when an older kid instructed him to participate in sex acts with another young girl in the neighborhood. Smith explained he didn't think of the enc...

Yueqi Yang / Bloomberg : Voyager Digital says Binance.US terminated an agreement to acquire the bankrupt crypto broker for $1B   —  Voyager Digital Ltd said Binance.US had terminated an agreement to purchase the bankrupt crypto broker.  —  “While this development is disappointing, our chapter 11 plan allows …

Katy Perry and Luke Bryan were criticized by "American Idol" viewers after they chose to encourage people to vote rather than give a contestant feedback after a performance. Instead of responding to We Ani's performance of "Skyfall," Perry and Bryan apparently emphasized that America should be voting for their favorites, which led some viewers to call the judges out for being "rude." "Normally, nothing Katy Perry says bothers me as she's just known for her sense of humor and quips. Bit [sic] her dissing of We Ani? THAT was just rude," one user wrote on Twitter. ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ AUDIENCE BOOS KATY PERRY FOR ANOTHER QUESTIONABLE CRITIQUE A user responded: "I agree. It was uncalled for. She may as well had said We Ani didn’t deserve to be there, and she absolutely DOES! The girl can sing." "@AmericanIdol @katyperry just made it clear with hers words and her face that she didn’t think We ani deserved to be up there! #alit...

The mood at the Washington State Capitol was jubilant Tuesday as Gov. Jay Inslee signed a trio of gun control bills, one of which immediately bans the manufacture, purchase or importation of so-called "assault weapons." "Party safely tonight," the governor told supporters after signing the bills. VISA, MASTERCARD, DISCOVER PAUSE WORK ON CODE THAT WOULD TRACK GUN PURCHASES Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, both Democrats, pushed for the gun control package. With the governor's signature, Washington became the 10th state to adopt an "assault weapons" ban . "No one needs an AR-15 to protect your family" Inslee said surrounded by family members of shooting victims. "You only need it to kill other families." Earlier this session, lawmakers passed another bill that mandates safety training and requires a 10-day waiting period to buy a gun, as well as a bill requiring gun makers and dealers to take "reasonable steps...

Nebraska became the 27th state in the nation to enshrine in law the right of its residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit. "Signing this bill upholds the promise I made to voters to protect our constitutional rights and promote commonsense, conservative values," Gov. Jim Pillen said in a comment to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "I appreciate the hard work of those senators who supported this legislation, and particularly that of Sen. Brewer who led this charge and carried it through to the end." Pillen’s signature on Tuesday further solidifies the U.S. as a constitutional carry-majority nation, after Florida tipped the scales as the 26th state in the nation with permitless carry laws on the books earlier this month.  The Nebraska law will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which is scheduled for June 9. Eligible Nebraska residents will then be allowed to carry concealed firearms on their person or in their car without payi...

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg : Sources: Apple is working on emotion tracking tools, coming to the Health app this year, and an AI-powered health coaching subscription service codenamed Quartz   —  Apple Inc. is working on an artificial intelligence-powered health coaching service and new technology for tracking emotions …

Life in the world of the hit series "Yellowstone" can get messy, and as some of the show's actresses revealed, so can being on set. In People’s 2023 Most Beautiful issue, "Yellowstone" and "1923" stars Kelsey Asbille, Jen Landon, Aminah Nieves, Piper Perabo and Julia Schlaepfer got cleaned up and glammed up as they revealed the "dirty" secrets of being on set. Landon joked it gets so messy, sometimes showering seems useless.  "At the end of some days, it's like, what's the point? Because you were in cow poo poo all day and you're going to be in cow poo poo the next day." "There were days when we were literally covered in s--- from head to toe," she added. To help with that, Landon, who plays ranch hand Teeter on "Yellowstone," travels with a portable shower to get clean anytime. ‘YELLOWSTONE’ FUTURE UP IN THE AIR AS CAST MEMBER REVEALS, ‘I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON’ "I travel with t...

Can you imagine the iconic drama "Gladiator" without Russell Crowe ? It was in the realm of possibility, according to Crowe himself, who admitted he almost left the project for a multitude of reasons. "‘Gladiator's' my 20-something movie. I was confident about my abilities as a leading man. What I wasn’t confident about with ‘Gladiator’ was the world that was surrounding me," he told Vanity Fair.  "At the core of what we were doing was a great concept, but the script, it was rubbish. Absolute rubbish. And it had all these sort of strange sequences, you know. One of them, was about chariots," he shared. While all the storylines were factual, Crowe worried that nothing would resonate with viewers. "It's just not gonna ring right to a modern audience. They're gonna go, ‘What the f--- is all this?’" ‘GLADIATOR’ STAR RUSSELL CROWE REVEALS HE'S 'JEALOUS' OVER SEQUEL "The energy around what we were doing was very fr...