Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT O’BRIEN

In a test case for the artificial intelligence industry, a federal judge has ruled that AI company Anthropic didn’t break the law by training its chatbot Claude on millions of copyrighted books.

Related Articles

• 
  Musk’s ‘robotaxis’ draw regulatory scrutiny after video shows one driving in an opposing lane

• 
  No more McDoughnuts: McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme end partnership

• 
  Should the U.S. ban drug advertising to consumers?

• 
  How to take care of yourself and your finances when you’ve experienced a layoff

• 
  With SLS rocket future uncertain, L3Harris still cranking out engines

But the company is still on the hook and must now go to trial over how it acquired those books by downloading them from online “shadow libraries” of pirated copies.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco said in a ruling filed late Monday that the AI system’s distilling from thousands of written works to be able to produce its own passages of text qualified as “fair use” under U.S. copyright law because it was “quintessentially transformative.” read more

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

There will soon be a doughnut-sized hole in McDonald’s U.S. menu.

McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme said Tuesday that they’re ending their partnership on July 2, a little more than a year after it was announced. Krispy Kreme said demand for its doughnuts at McDonald’s wasn’t strong enough to recoup its costs.

Related Articles

• 
  Musk’s ‘robotaxis’ draw regulatory scrutiny after video shows one driving in an opposing lane

• 
  Cargo ship carrying new vehicles to Mexico sinks in the North Pacific weeks after catching fire

• 
  California dog trainer charged with animal cruelty, evidence destruction in deaths of 11 dogs

• 
  Anthropic wins ruling on AI training in copyright lawsuit but must face trial on pirated books

• 
  Temperature in New York City reaches 100 degrees as eastern US swelters under extreme heat wave

Chicago-based McDonald’s announced in March 2024 that it would begin selling three types of Krispy Kreme doughnuts at participating locations after a successful pilot in Kentucky. The doughnuts were sold individually or in boxes of six. read more

The U.S. is rare among Western nations because it allows pharmaceutical advertising. But a new effort aims to stop it.

A bill was introduced in Congress recently that would ban pharmaceutical manufacturers from using direct-to-consumer advertising, from TV to social media, to promote their products.

Prescription drug advertising employs a lot of people, directly and indirectly. Billions are spent on advertising each year, employing advertising workers, and 24.4% of ad minutes were for prescription drugs across evening news programs on ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NBC this year through May, according to data from iSpot analyzed by The Wall Street Journal.

Proponents of the bill say advertising drives up the cost of prescription goods. Pharmaceutical trade groups have said advertisements serve public health by increasing disease awareness and educating consumers about treatment options.

Question: Should the U.S. ban drug advertising to consumers?

Economists

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

YES: Advertising is supposed to give consumers more information about products, but are consumers really in a position to make an informed decision about pharmaceuticals? Those decisions are best left to physicians, who probably have more knowledge about the effectiveness of medications. Consumers can be swayed by slick and repetitive ads into wanting products that might not be the best for them. The money spent on the ads will add to the already high price of the drugs. read more

By ADRIANA MORGA

NEW YORK (AP) — Recent layoffs from technology and media companies and government agencies might have you thinking about job security.

Related Articles

• 
  Musk’s ‘robotaxis’ draw regulatory scrutiny after video shows one driving in an opposing lane

• 
  Anthropic wins ruling on AI training in copyright lawsuit but must face trial on pirated books

• 
  No more McDoughnuts: McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme end partnership

• 
  Should the U.S. ban drug advertising to consumers?

• 
  With SLS rocket future uncertain, L3Harris still cranking out engines

Losing your job is a difficult thing to process and you might feel the impact in several parts of your life. But there are things you can do to alleviate some of the stress and anxiety.

If you’ve been laid off, experts recommend that you first take a moment to process and then move on with a plan for your job search.

“A layoff can feel so personal but it’s not a reflection of your value or what you contributed. Especially in the U.S., the work we do is so tied to our identity,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a financial therapist. read more

While NASA’s Artemis program may ultimately abandon the Space Launch System rocket, for now, Melbourne-based L3Harris is pushing forward with the manufacture of the powerful rocket’s core stage engines.

The SLS core stage gets 2 million pounds of thrust from four RS-25 engines that for the first four Artemis missions are engines from the Space Shuttle Program refurbished by Aerojet Rocketdyne, which L3Harris acquired in 2023.

The first engine produced for the fifth mission, which was built from scratch after the depletion of the space shuttle supply, is now in NASA’s hands. On Friday, the engine, dubbed No. 20001, underwent an 8 1/2-minute hot fire on a test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

That duration equals the time the engine would burn on launch if and when Artemis V gets off the ground. The engine was also cranked up to 111% power.

“This successful acceptance test shows that we’ve been able to replicate the RS-25’s performance and reliability, while incorporating modern manufacturing techniques and upgraded components such as the main combustion chamber, nozzle and pogo accumulator assembly,” said Kristin Houston, president of the company’s space propulsion and power systems division. read more