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Lord of the Supercomputers! Britain’s AI minister is a hereditary peer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

LONDON — Nobody disputes artificial intelligence is the technology of the future — which makes Rishi Sunak’s pick for AI minister in the U.K. government a little unorthodox.Jonathan Berry, 53, is better known in Westminster as the 5th Viscount Camrose — a hereditary peer in the House of Lords whose title has been passed down the generations from father to son.There were “no castles,” Berry jokes of his upbringing, but as a child he would visit the family’s Hackwood Park estate, then owned by his great uncle Seymour Berry (the 2nd Viscount Camrose).The estate — a 17th-century mansion complete with 24 bedrooms, a Tudor-style banqueting hall, library, and riding stables — was sold off in the late 1990s. But the viscountcy, the fourth rank in the British peerage system — standing directly below an earl and above a baron — survives to this day. It was that title that allowed Berry to take his seat in the House of Lords last year, one of 92 hereditary peers who continue to sit in the...

Orioles savor first All-Star Game experience: ‘Everything I ever imagined’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

Adley Rutschman lowered himself into a squat, just as he was bound to do within a handful of hours to catch his Baltimore teammates. But he wore no catcher’s gear. In his left hand, he did not don a mitt but instead held a pen.Before taking batting practice ahead of Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, a game the American League lost to the National League, 3-2, the Orioles’ catcher took a moment to speak with a pair of young fans, dropping down as he would in a game to meet them at eye level before signing autographs. In the nearest major league city to his hometown of Sherwood, Oregon, Rutschman was a popular figure throughout two days of events in which he and three teammates, outfielder Austin Hays and relievers Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano, savored their first All-Star experience.Typically Baltimore’s left fielder, Hays drew the start in center field for the American League, placed between the Texas Rangers’ Adoli...

Historic LaFayette Hotel to reopen its doors after renovation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The iconic LaFayette Hotel is reopening its doors Wednesday in the University Heights neighborhood.The $31 million hotel project, which was purchased by CH Projects for $25.8 million in 2021, was under renovation for 10 months, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. It will feature eight new dining and drinking venues, the paper reported. Some of those amenities include a 24/7 diner, Oaxacan Mezcal bar and restaurant, upgraded pool area and bowling alley, among others.Former car dealer and developer Larry Imig built the hotel in 1946, originally calling it Imig Manor. But that name changed to The Manor three years later when the hotel was taken over by Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels, and then was re-christened as the Lafayette in 1952."This is not merely a hotel. This is a living piece of history that we are all now a part of, and we’re working tirelessly to honor this institution by making our iteration the best it can possibly be," the hotel said in an...

NL beats AL in MLB All-Star Game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The National League All-Stars on Tuesday defeated the American League All-Stars 3-2 in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Seattle's T-Mobile Park.Full story coming soon.

Michelin Guide recognizes this North Park eatery with Bib Gourmand award

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Ahead of the reveal of this year's Michelin Guide California, 10 restaurants across the state have been added to the prestigious guide, including one right here in San Diego.Mabel's Gone Fishing, a seafood-focused restaurant nestled in North Park on 30th Street, was added to the guide with a Bib Gourmand, an award given to eateries that are considered the "best value for money."The spot was the sole representative from San Diego to receive the honor in this crop of winners. New jungle-themed restaurant brings ‘vibrant Mexican’ to Old Town San Diego The announcement of the Bib Gourmand designation is the second mark of recognition for Mabel's since the ladies from The Rose and Secret Sister opened the restaurant less than a year ago.The whimsical spot -- designed as an homage to the owner's beloved dog -- was complimented for its abundant charm and friendly, easygoing staff by Michelin Guide. But it's Mabel's menu, featuring "excellent local seafood with a simple-yet-s...

Stock market today: Asian shares follow Wall Street higher; Activision Blizzard jumps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Wednesday after stocks advanced on Wall Street as investors awaited an update on U.S. inflation that will hopefully show a smaller increase in pain for everyone. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 1.3% to 18,907.36 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia added 0.3% to 7,131.40. In Seoul, the Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,566.57. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.8% to 31,957.86 after North Korea launched another missile into the sea. The North launched a long-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters Wednesday, its neighbors said, two days after the North threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called a provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory.The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,219.30. Shares rose in Taiwan and Bangkok’s SET index was nearly unchanged. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 4,439.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% to 34,261.42, and the Nasdaq c...

Labour minister asks mediator for terms to end B.C. port strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has given a federal mediator 24 hours to send him recommended terms to end the British Columbia port strike that has snarled cargo in about 30 ports and spurred fears of supply chain chaos across Canada.O’Regan said in a statement issued late Tuesday that the gap between the positions of employers and the port workers union in the 11-day-old strike is “not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage.”He said that once he has received the terms from the mediator, he will forward them to both sides and they will have another 24 hours to decide whether to ratify the principles of the deal.About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been on strike since July 1, halting cargo in and out of ports in B.C., including Canada’s largest, the Port of Vancouver. The workers say they’re fighting for protections against contracting out and automation, as well as pushing for higher wages.Th...

American woman says she thought she would die when New Zealand volcano erupted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

An American woman said she told her new husband she loved him and was certain they would die when a New Zealand volcano erupted in 2019 killing 22 people.Lauren, 35, and Matt Urey, 39, returned to New Zealand from their home in Richmond, Virginia, to testify in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday in the trial of three tourism companies and three directors charged with safety breaches over the White Island disaster on Dec. 9.The honeymoon couple were among 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name, Whakaari, when superheated gases erupted. Most of the 25 people who survived were severely burned, including the Ureys.The court was shown video statements the couple provided police as they were convalescing as well as their testimony in court.In 2019, the couple had traveled to New Zealand from Australia aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Ovation of the Seas and Matt Urey had booked the volcano tour through the Florida-base...

Iraq moves toward easing its energy crisis with $27B TotalEnergies deal, but challenges remain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — A multibillion-dollar agreement signed with France’s TotalEnergies could help resolve Iraq’s longstanding electricity crisis, attract international investors and reduce its reliance on gas imports from neighboring Iran, a point of tension with Washington.The $27 billion agreement signed in Baghdad on Monday after years of negotiation marks the largest foreign investment in Iraq’s history. It could even help combat climate change by reducing oil flares, and relieve some of the stress on Iraq’s dwindling waterways through a new desalination plant.But that’s only if the parties implementing the agreement can overcome the endemic corruption and political instability that has undermined Iraq’s oil sector for more than two decades.The Gas Growth Integrated Project focuses on bolstering the country’s oil-rich but underdeveloped Basra province. TotalEnergies would take on a 45% stake in the Basra Oil Company, with Iraq holding 30% and Qatar...

NATO prepared to back Ukraine in its fight against Russia – but not to extend membership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:38 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO leaders prepared to provide Ukraine with more military assistance for fighting Russia but only vague assurances of future membership as the alliance’s summit draws to a close on Wednesday.A draft agreement states that Ukraine can join NATO “when allies agree and conditions are met.” The ambiguous outcome reflects the challenges of reaching consensus among the alliance’s current members while the war continues, and it is likely to leave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unsatisfied.Although Zelenskyy planned to attend the summit’s final day, he has been sharply critical of what he described as NATO’s “absurd” reluctance to set a timeline for his country’s acceptance into the alliance. In essence, Western countries are willing to keep sending weapons to help Ukraine do the job that NATO was designed to do — hold the line against a Russian invasion — but not allow Ukraine to join its ranks and benefit from its sec...