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'Useless at 42': Did Microsoft use AI to generate an athlete's obituary?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

The basketball community is mourning the death of Brandon Hunter, a forward for the Ohio Bobcats who played briefly in the NBA with the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics before having a long, productive career overseas.Hunter, 42, was a legendary figure for the Ohio University basketball program where he starred for four years, averaging 16.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 119 games.While not a household name by an stretch, an article posted on MSN.com appeared to be drafted by either someone wholly unfamiliar with his career, or not a "someone" at all.Microsoft, which owns the online publication, is facing criticism and allegations that it used artificial intelligence to write Hunter's obituary, and the results were, to put it lightly, bad.The headline of the since-removed article reads: Brandon Hunter useless at 42.It gets worse.The article, which Futurism.com fairly describes as "garbled," was filled with both typos, poor grammar and described Hunter as having "performed ...

Yasmine Azaiez: A Musical Odyssey from Tunis to Los Angeles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

Few musicians can claim a journey as remarkable as Yasmine Azaiez’s in the world of music. This violinist, composer and singer, who is of Tunisian-Indian descent and was born in Britain has mesmerized audiences all over the world with her unmatched talent and love of the violin. Yasmine, who is currently a resident of the exciting city of Los Angeles, California, has had a truly extraordinary musical journey.Yasmine fell in love with the violin when she was just four years old. Mentors and music lovers alike soon noticed her natural musical talent and dedication. Yasmine was given the golden ticket at the age of eight to the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, England. She developed her skills, under the guidance of seasoned teachers, laying the groundwork for a promising career.Yasmine stepped onto the magnificent stage right away. She started her career as a performer at the age of eleven, mesmerizing audiences with her melodic skill. The turning point occurred when...

Levi’s Stadium: Santa Clara council limits operational tours amid criticism of past tours

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

SANTA CLARA — In the wake of a Santa Clara County civil grand jury report critical of two councilmembers who accepted football tickets from the San Francisco 49ers for a tour of Levi’s Stadium, the city will now limit the tours.In November 2021, Santa Clara City Councilmembers Raj Chahal and Karen Hardy attended the 49ers vs. Rams games to get a better sense of stadium operations, they said. While the city owns Levi’s and the council makes decisions on issues like how late music acts can play, the day-to-day stadium management falls to the 49ers.Chahal and Hardy’s visit sparked concerns over whether the pair had violated both city and state laws around accepting gifts, though both have repeatedly attested the visit was solely for informational purposes.Last year’s scathing civil grand jury report, titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” recommended the council adopt a policy around stadium tours, and on Tuesday night, the council voted 4-3 to limi...

SF Giants, Rockies will play double header after Thursday’s game is postponed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

DENVER — After a week of stops and starts, the Giants were finally going to get Michael Conforto back in their lineup Thursday night.They will, instead, have to wait another day.Conforto, the Giants’ last remaining key piece on the injured list, was in the lineup as the designated hitter for their scheduled series opener against the Rockies, Gabe Kapler said. But not long after the manager had written Conforto’s name on the lineup card, the game was postponed.The Giants and Rockies will play two — split double-header style — on Saturday to make up Thursday’s postponement. First pitch for Game No. 1 is set for 11:10 a.m. PT, while Game 2 will start at 5:10 p.m. PT. Separate tickets will be required for admission to each game.“It could be a split double header, it could be back-to-back games and they would all be strange challenges,” Kapler said. “I feel like we’re going to be OK.”The game Thursday was called three hours before first pit...

MLB to vote on A’s relocation to Las Vegas in November, but Oakland is seen as possible expansion city

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

The A’s might be going, going, gone, but Major League Baseball could return to Oakland before long.MLB owners will vote in November to give A’s owner John Fisher final approval to move the club to Las Vegas, an industry source confirmed to the Bay Area News Group on Thursday. The A’s would need 75% approval to complete the relocation.But hope emerged this week for Oakland baseball fans: USA Today reported that the city could join Nashville, Tenn., as a top candidate for expansion teams in the next five years.For that to happen, though, a wealthy ownership group needs to emerge immediately. It also needs the wherewithal to pay the expansion fee, estimated at $2 billion, and build a ballpark.“If there’s an ownership group that wants to try to get a team in Oakland, they should voice themselves now and arrange meetings with the commissioner and show why Oakland is viable for an expansion team and what they plan to do as an ownership group,” former A’s star Dave Stewart said...

Coroner IDs man killed at Oakland encampment

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

OAKLAND — The Alameda County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the identification of a 38-year-old man who was recently shot and killed at an encampment where he lived.Baltazar Alcaraz was fatally shot around 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 24 at an encampment off Interstate 580 near the 3400 block of Telegraph Avenue. It is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol, not Oakland police, because it is on state property.Alcaraz was shot and killed outside a cropping of tents at the encampment. Police have interviewed several other residents but have yet to identify a suspect, authorities say. The suspected motive has not been released either.Anyone with information can call the CHP tip line at 707-917-4491.

Sudden retirement of San Jose police watchdog came after drunken clash with officers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

SAN JOSE – The sudden retirement announcement of San Jose’s civilian police watchdog followed an encounter at a community festival in which she appeared to drunkenly accost police officers working security at the venue, according to multiple sources.In an interview with this news organization Thursday, Shivaun Nurre said she was “ashamed” of her behavior and confirmed that the incident sped up her plans to retire from the city’s Office of the Independent Police Auditor.Shivaun Nurre, a longtime assistant auditor in the San Jose Office of the Independent Police Auditor, was appointed to lead the office after serving as interim auditor, announced Dec. 4, 2018. (City of San Jose) Nurre submitted her notice to retire June 7, following events at the San Jose Greek Festival at the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on June 4. She said she regularly attended the event and was there in a personal capacity.At the Greek festival, Nurre is alleged to have approac...

Giants-Rockies postponed by weather; doubleheader set for Saturday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies had the opener of their four-game series postponed Thursday by inclement weather about three hours before the scheduled first pitch. This is Giants manager Gabe Kapler’s favorite burger spot in SF The contest will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game will be at 2:10 p.m. EDT and the second at 8:10 p.m.Logan Webb was slated to throw Thursday for the Giants and Chase Anderson for the Rockies. Anderson will pitch Friday night, while San Francisco's rotation has yet to be determined going forward.The Giants entered the day a half-game out of the third NL wild-card spot.

Salesforce CEO: Why can't SF be 'clean and safe' every day?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The annual Salesforce event in San Francisco, Dreamforce, was held from Sept. 12-14 at the Moscone Center. Although CEO Marc Benioff threatened to pull the event out of San Francisco because of the city's safety and homelessness crisis, this year's Dreamforce seemed like a success.San Francisco was "incredibly clean, beautiful, and safe" for the three-day convention, according to Benioff. The software company's founder asked the following.Why can't San Francisco be clean and safe every day?"It is important to ask why the city cannot be this clean and safe every single day?" Benioff posted to his X account Thursday morning. "San Francisco has been incredibly clean, beautiful, and safe for the last 3 days of Dreamforce, and it is great that the city is able to put its best foot forward for this major event that brings in 40K people from around the world, and $80M to the economy." San Francisco’s Cliff House restaurant to reopen in 2024 Moscone Center is locat...

Fremont residents warned against scammers posing as police officers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

(BCN) -- Fremont residents were warned this week against scammers posing as police officers going door-to-door, asking for renewal of alarm permits.The Fremont Police Department said in a news release Wednesday that officers recently learned of suspicious activity in which an individual knocks on the door of a residence and tells the house owner that their alarm permit is expired.Scammers also ask for verification of validity of alarm permits, police said. Fremont police emphasized that its officers do not go door-to-door requesting alarm permit verification or renewal. Robbery during online sale meetup leads to Pinole teenager’s arrest Those with relevant information or have seen suspicious activity are urged to contact Fremont police at (510) 790-6800, option 3, or to call 911. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.