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The decision to avoid a second trial charging Sam Bankman-Fried with a conspiracy to make unlawful political donations and bribery of foreign officials has many conservatives up in arms. Federal prosecutors said Friday that they do not plan to proceed with a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried , citing public interest in a speedy resolution of the case that has seemingly irritated those who were hoping to see the disgraced FTX founder prosecuted to the fullest extent. In a Friday letter filed in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors said they do "not plan to proceed with a second trial" as "much of the evidence that would be offered in a second trial was already offered in the first trial and can be considered by the Court at the defendant’s March 2024 sentencing." "Given that practical reality, and the strong public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter, the Government intends to proceed to sentencing on the counts for which the defendant wa...

Cristina Criddle / Financial Times : A look at the rise of AI-generated virtual influencers, with some charging thousands of dollars to promote products, leading to concerns from human influencers   —  Hyper-realistic ‘virtual influencers’ are being used to promote leading brands — drawing ire from human content creators

A recent study found that a small fraction of American journalists are Republicans . The study from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications found that just 3.4% of American journalists identify as Republicans, with another 36.4% identifying as Democrats. Based on an online survey of 1,600 U.S. journalists conducted in early 2022, the study is part of a series of research from over the years that examines journalists' "perspective on the work, professional attitudes, and ethics," according to the study . The first-of-its-kind study, which made its debut in 1971, has witnessed a dramatic shift in the percentages of Republican and Democratic journalists over the years. VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS BELIEVE MEDIA INCREASING COUNTRY'S POLITICAL DIVIDE: POLL The initial study from 52 years ago revealed that 35.5% of respondents said they were Democrats, 25.7% said they were Republicans and 32.5% said they were Independents. The percentage of people ...

Rita Liao / TechCrunch : Chinese robotaxi companies are shifting to less advanced but more commercially viable smart-driving solutions, as funding dries up and losses continue to mount   —  Losses push China's self-driving upstarts to seek new revenue streams  —  A few years ago, robotaxis were the darlings of venture capitalists in China.

The Biden administration unveiled environmental regulations Friday targeting multiple popular home and commercial appliances in an action that will impact millions of Americans, but which federal officials said would help curb carbon emissions. The Department of Energy (DOE) both finalized new energy efficiency standards for residential refrigerators and freezers, and proposed standards for commercial fans and blowers. Overall, the agency said the actions would eliminate 420 million metric tons of "dangerous carbon dioxide emissions" over the next three decades and save households and businesses $5 billion a year on utility bills. "Today’s announcement is a testament to the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to lowering utility costs for working families, which is helping to simultaneously strengthen energy independence and combat the climate crisis," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.  "DOE will continue to move quickly in 2...

NBC News : Sources: US intelligence determined that the Chinese spy balloon that flew across the US in January and February 2023 used a US ISP to communicate with China   —  An American intelligence assessment found that the balloon used a commercially available U.S. network to communicate, primarily for navigation, U.S. officials say.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail .  Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox . What's Happening?  -Rep. Tlaib calls Israeli PM Netanyahu a ‘genocidal maniac’ -Chris Christie launches first major ad blitz against Trump -Liberal mayors call for national emergency to combat migrant crisis Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley caught heat from both sides of the political aisle after she declined to mention slavery reason U.S. Civil War. At a town hall Wednesday, the former U.N. ambassador was asked what about "the cause" of the Civil War, to which she joked: "Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything." "I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do," she continued in part. The questioner expressed shock that Haley...

Zac Bowden / Windows Central : Sources: Microsoft readies AI-focused Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 for spring 2024, in both Intel and Arm variants with improved designs and new features   —  Microsoft is making major updates to its Surface Pro and Surface Laptop lines with improved designs, new features, and next-gen silicon.

Former college swimming star Riley Gaines called out the Republican governor of Ohio over a lack of action on a bill that would ban gender-reassignment treatment for minors.  "Governor [Mike] DeWine of Ohio has had the SAFE Act (protects women's sports & child mutilation) on his desk to sign into effect since the 15th," the Independent Women’s Forum ambassador wrote Wednesday. "He hasn't signed it yet. He has 2 more days to sign before it becomes law without his signature. Why the hesitation, [Governor DeWine]?" PROTESTERS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER VANDALIZING TABLE AT RILEY GAINES' SPEECH AT PENN STATE The Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act passed Ohio’s GOP-dominated state legislature this month.  It would stop doctors from prescribing gender-altering treatment to or performing sex reassignment surgeries on minors. The bill also bans transgender women and girls from participating in female sports leagues.  DeWine’s office did no...

Ian King / Bloomberg : Nvidia launches the GeForce RTX 4090 D in China, featuring ~10% fewer processing cores than the 4090 sold in other countries, to comply with US export controls   —  Nvidia Corp., the world's most valuable chipmaker, is selling a less-capable version of its best graphics product for video gamers in China …

A flight sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott carrying over 180 migrants was dispatched to New York City on Tuesday as part of Texas’ efforts to transport migrants to "sanctuary" cities — but it was diverted to Philadelphia due to weather. Abbott’s office confirmed that the plane carrying the migrants left for the Big Apple, but it was "re-routed due to weather/ground stoppage in NYC, and the migrants were bused the remaining way." New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office had said earlier that the flight had been diverted to Philadelphia and the passengers then transported to the city via bus. His office, which has been sounding the alarm for over a year about the number of migrants they are receiving, called the move "inhumane." TEXAS BEGINS FLYING MIGRANTS TO SANCTUARY CITIES WITH FIRST FLIGHT TO CHICAGO "Last night—in another inhumane act of treating human beings like political pawns—@GregAbbott_TX attempted to send us an unannounced & uncoordinat...

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica : Researchers detail a zero-click iMessage attack that used four zero-days and hacked iPhones for over four years, including dozens belonging to Kaspersky staff   —  “Triangulation” infected dozens of iPhones belonging to employees of Moscow-based Kaspersky.  —  Researchers on Wednesday …

Two neighboring New Jersey towns may feel even closer next year when they're governed by two brothers. John Giovannitti, 61, will be sworn in Jan. 2 as mayor of Paulsboro, one day before newly-reelected younger brother Vince Giovannitti, 57, is sworn in to a second term as mayor of Gibbstown. Paulsboro, with a population of 6,300, stretches from Route 130 to the Delaware River, across from Philadelphia International Airport. Gibbstown, with just under 4,000 people in Greenwich Township, is connected to its larger neighbor through the main corridor, Broad Street. NEW JERSEY RESTAURANT CLAIMS WORLD RECORD FOR LARGEST TEQUILA LIBRARY: 'BREAK YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION HERE' The Paulsboro brothers describe becoming mayors as a "happy coincidence" but also a natural next step after decades serving their communities. They told The Philadelphia Inquirer that being siblings aids the necessary collaboration of mayors of neighboring towns that share certain service...

Gené Teare / Crunchbase News : Tiger, Coatue, Vision Fund, a16z, Insight, Accel, Sequoia, Lightspeed, and Index together invested in 44 unicorns in 2023, down from 213 in 2022 and 471 in 2021   —  Funding to the unicorn class of companies — those private startups valued at $1 billion or more — has fallen dramatically in 2023 …

The Information : Sources: Anthropic projects annualized revenue to be $850M+ by 2024's end, or ~$70M/mo, an increase of more than 8x from its monthly revenue around Sept. 2023   —  Anthropic, an OpenAI rival backed by Amazon and Google, has projected it will generate more than $850 million in annualized revenue …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appellate court on Tuesday reversed a 2022 federal conviction against former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, ruling that he should not have been tried in Los Angeles. Fortenberry was convicted in March 2022 on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. He resigned his seat days later following pressure from congressional leaders and Nebraska’s GOP governor. NEBRASKA REP. JEFF FORTENBERRY RESIGNS AFTER CONVICTION FOR LYING TO FBI In its Tuesday ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote that the trial venue of Los Angeles was improper because Fortenberry made the false statements during interviews with federal agents at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in his lawyer’s office in Washington. "Fortenberry’s convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue," the decision said. Patri...

Becky Peterson / The Information : Filing: xAI incorporates as a for-profit benefit corporation, allowing it to prioritize having a positive impact on society over its obligations to shareholders   —  Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is following in the footsteps of rivals OpenAI and Anthropic in opting for an unusual corporate structure.

Mayank Parmar / Windows Latest : Microsoft tests a feature that lets Windows 11 users reinstall the OS using Windows Update, a method that preserves files, settings, and installed apps   —  A new Windows Update feature could be a game-changer for those scared of losing files or pictures when attempting to reinstall or recover their Windows 11 installations.

The sounds of not-so-friendly carolers were heard singing on Christmas morning, as dozens of Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the respective Virginia and Washington, D.C., homes of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.  Sullivan and Austin are two of President Biden's top foreign affairs advisers. The groups could be seen outside the officials' homes early Christmas morning as a large police presence also moved in. "Austin, Austin, rise and shine, no sleep during genocide!" protesters were heard shouting in one of several clips shared by the far-left organization The People’s Forum, which is opposed to Israel's war against Hamas terrorists. PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS CONFRONT DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS, SHUT DOWN CHICAGO INTERSTATE The organization also called on their supporters to show up to, "All out for Palestine! Christmas is cancelled" protest in New York City on Christmas Day, and added to bring ca...

Jay Peters / The Verge : Google Chrome's Safety Check feature, which checks if users' saved passwords have been compromised, will now run automatically in the background on desktop   —  Google's Safety Check feature for Chrome, which, among other things, checks the internet to see if any of your saved passwords have been compromised …

Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer : GTA V source code appears to have been leaked on Discord, Telegram, a dark web site, and more, a little over a year after Rockstar was hacked   —  The source code for Grand Theft Auto 5 was reportedly leaked on Christmas Eve, a little over a year after the Lapsus$ threat actors hacked Rockstar games and stole corporate data.

Jennifer Elias / CNBC : After vocal commitments following George Floyd's murder in 2020, DEI programs at Big Tech companies, including Meta and Google, are in broad retreat in 2023   —  - After vocal commitments following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, DEI programs in the tech industry are in broad retreat.

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer : Researchers: an updated Chameleon trojan uses an HTML page trick to disrupt biometrics on Android like Face Unlock to steal PINs and unlock the device at will   —  The Chameleon Android banking trojan has re-emerged with a new version that uses a tricky technique to take over devices …

Zheping Huang / Bloomberg : China approves 105 local games, including titles from Tencent and NetEase, after the announcement of a new set of restrictions led to a $80B rout last week   —  - Beijing approves games, seeks feedback on new restrictions  — Tencent and NetEase shares plunged on Friday on crackdown fear

Wall Street Journal : A profile of Yi He, a former talk-show host, who co-founded Binance with Changpeng Zhao and has sweeping control over its marketing and investment divisions   —  Yi He, a former talk-show host, has sweeping control over the crypto giant's marketing and investment divisions.

Jeremy White / New York Times : Researchers extract business and personal email addresses for 30+ NYT staff by fine tuning GPT-3.5 Turbo, bypassing the safeguards for privacy-related queries   —  This is a visualization of a large email database from the Enron Corporation, which is often used to train artificial intelligence systems, like ChatGPT.