Musk’s rapid political ascension is unprecedented. While wealthy patrons have exerted influence before, no unelected businessman has ever wielded such political power. Musk played a large role in the closing stages of Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing with him at a rally in Pennsylvania on the site where a gunman wounded the Republican candidate, and personally funding a reelection committee. He has been omnipresent since Trump’s election victory, virtually taking up residence at Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago Florida where the incoming president is mapping out the transition. Musk and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, a space race rival, dined with Trump on…
Author: Team_NationalNewsBrief
Pentagon says the additional forces have been in Syria for ‘a while’, before fall of President Bashar al-Assad, though they were not publicly disclosed.After years of telling the public that the United States has about 900 troops in Syria, the Pentagon has revealed there are approximately 2,000 soldiers there — double the previous estimate. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said the additional US forces have been in Syria since before the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad this month, though he did not specify a timeframe. “We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900…
Kansas City Chiefs fans can breathe a long sigh of relief as star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was not listed on the team’s injury report Thursday and appears slated to start Saturday against the Houston Texans.The three-time Super Bowl champion suffered a right ankle injury in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, seen hobbling to the sideline after taking a brutal hit that bent him over backward. “He’ll most likely end up playing,” head coach Andy Reid told reporters Thursday (h/t Tom Pelissero). “We’ll just see how things work out today.”Mahomes’ recovery is nothing short of remarkable, as he was considered “a…
Have a question for ChatGPT but lack a Wi-Fi connection? OpenAI has introduced a new way to connect with its popular AI chatbot for U.S. users: Call 1-800-CHATGPT or 1-800-242-8478.OpenAI announced the feature on Wednesday and demonstrated how it works through a YouTube livestream. OpenAI researchers called the number with everything from an iPhone to a flip phone to a landline. No matter the medium, the end output was the same: A female voice saying, “Hello again, it’s ChatGPT, an AI assistant. Our conversation may be reviewed for safety. How can I help you?”In the live demo, ChatGPT helped identify…
Colour, smell, taste and chemical constituents can all be used to distinguish whiskiesJane Barlow/PA Images/Alamy Artificial intelligence can tell Scotch whisky from American whiskey and identify its strongest constituent aromas more reliably than human experts – by using data rather than tasting the drinks. Andreas Grasskamp at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Germany and his colleagues trained an AI molecular odour prediction algorithm called OWSum on descriptions of different whiskies. Then, in a study involving 16 samples – nine types of Scotch whisky and seven types of American bourbon or whiskey – they tasked OWSum…
As Republican leaders on Capitol Hill scramble to rescue a government funding deal after President-elect Donald Trump helped torpedo an initial agreement, an NBC News review of historical polling data shows that lawmakers have not paid a steep political price in past government shutdowns.It’s a point some shutdown proponents have been making as Trump and his allies, including billionaire Elon Musk, called on Republicans to abandon a bipartisan funding deal that was released this week. “President Trump and Republicans should not be afraid of a government shutdown. The next election is two years away,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich posted on…
El Salvador has struck a $1.4bn (£1.1bn) loan deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after agreeing to scale back its controversial bitcoin policies. The global lender said risks related to the adoption of the world’s largest cryptocurrency had eased now that businesses will be allowed to decide whether or not to accept bitcoin.In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender. This week, the cryptocurrency briefly hit a fresh record high of more than $108,000.”The potential risks of the Bitcoin project will be diminished significantly in line with Fund policies,” the IMF…
ASIA: The major Asian stock markets had a negative day today: • NIKKEI 225 decreased 268.13 points or -0.69% to 38,813.58 • Shanghai decreased 12.18 points or -0.36% to 3,370.03 • Hang Seng decreased 112.04 points or -0.56% to 19,752.51 • ASX 200 decreased 141.20 points or -1.70% to 8,168.20 • SENSEX decreased 939.59 points or -1.17% to 79,242.61 • Nifty50 decreased 247.15 points or -1.02% to 23,951.70 The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today: • AUDUSD increased 0.00372 or 0.60% to 0.62547 • NZDUSD decreased 0.00717 or -1.25% to 0.56478 • USDJPY increased 2.899 or 1.87%…
Credit: Screenshot via Real Time with Bill Maher Once again, Congress – a GOP-led Congress, mind you – tried to pull a fast one on the American people. This time, it didn’t work. Thanks to pressure from Elon Musk and President Trump, Speaker Johnson was forced to kill the 1,500-page continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government. Instead of being thankful, this was met with predictable lamentations from Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He accused Republicans of orchestrating a government shutdown and hurting the working class. The bill was not just a simple funding package; it was laden with…
Kevin Costner recently commented on the hit series “Yellowstone” and rumors of a rift with his former co-star Luke Grimes.In a new video, the acclaimed actor shared his thoughts on the finale of the popular drama following his exit from the show over an alleged fallout with creator Taylor Sheridan.After leaving the popular series, Kevin Costner moved on to his other project, “Horizon: An American Saga.”Article continues below advertisementKevin Costner Speaks On Final Episode Of ‘Yellowstone,’ And Luke GrimesMEGACostner broke his silence on the season 5 finale of “Yellowstone” and his reported fallout with co-star Luke Grimes.In a video obtained…