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Here's who should get Apple's new HomePod

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

Apple discontinued its pricey HomePod speaker a few years back because it although it sounded good, the features just didn’t compare to cheaper smart speakers available.Now, the big HomePod is back with some new capabilities and a lower price tag.The second generation HomePod has a larger touch surface, a removable cable and Siri for voice commands.It comes in two colors: Midnight and White. Both speakers are wrapped in a mesh like fabric that's nearly invisible to the soundwaves emanating out of it.New are built in temperature and humidity sensors, which are handy for smartphone automations.Apple HomePod second generation smart speaker in MidnightThe speaker can also listen for smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms and send a notification to your phone if it hears them.The speaker also supports a new smart home standard called Matter, which has Google, Amazon and Samsung on board. This means the HomePod should (eventually?) play nice with lots of smart home gadgets as Matter beco...

Cultural Humility: A Key Element in Building Relationships While Recognizing Differences with Casey Tonnelly

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

It is a truth universally acknowledged that our world is a mosaic of diverse cultures, each with its own unique set of beliefs, values, and traditions. However, it is not uncommon for people to approach others with a sense of superiority, ignoring the complexities and richness of the cultures they encounter. This often leads to misunderstandings, conflict, and a breakdown in relationships.This is where cultural humility comes into play. Cultural humility is an approach to interacting with others that recognizes and values cultural differences while maintaining an attitude of openness and respect. It involves acknowledging one’s own limitations and biases, and recognizing that there is always more to learn about other cultures.Casey Tonnelly is a leading expert on cultural humility, and they’ve dedicated their career to promoting this important concept. According to Tonnelly, cultural humility is a crucial element in building relationships and understanding others. They emphasi...

From Ottawa to Hollywood: The Inspiring Journey of Expert Retoucher, Nick Leadlay

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

Photo retouching is becoming more popular and important with the rise of social media and the growing demand for high-quality digital images. Today, almost every image we see in magazines, advertisements, and online has been retouched to some degree. But it is impossible to talk about retouching and its growth, especially in the US, without mentioning Nick Leadlay.The name Nick Leadlay is synonymous with the art of retouching. Nick built his brand from the ground up, working with A-list celebrities and big companies in advertising campaigns and movie/TV posters. His journey to the top is a testament to his talent, hard work, and dedication.Nick was born in England but raised in the small, government-focused city of Ottawa, Ontario in Eastern Canada, where the closest thing they had to Hollywood was a local movie theatre. But Nick didn’t give up on his passion for creation. He always knew he wanted to do something in the entertainment or film industries, and with no formal educ...

SoCal buildings still in peril from crumbling cliff

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

Associated PressSAN CLEMENTE — About two dozen people forced to flee Southern California apartment buildings endangered by a tumbling oceanside hill may be evacuated indefinitely.Three clifftop apartment buildings and one nearby building in coastal Orange County’s San Clemente were red-tagged and evacuated Wednesday when the land began to shift and slide away from their backyards down a hillside following torrential rains.Residents were warned Thursday that they may not be allowed back for a while. Authorities said there was no timetable for declaring the slope stable enough for residents to return.“I think everyone should understand we have a dynamic situation here,” Mayor Chris Duncan said during a news conference. “We have another rainstorm coming, the ground is continuing to move, so these structures are still in peril.”The National Weather Service said heavy rain could hit Southern California again early next week.Twenty to 30 residents were evacua...

California bill would protect doctors who mail abortion pills

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

By Adam Beam | Associated PressSACRAMENTO — Doctors in California who mail abortion pills to people in other states would be protected from prosecution under a new bill announced Friday in the state Legislature.The bill would not let California extradite doctors who are facing charges in another state for providing abortion medication. It would also shield doctors from having to pay fines. And it would let California doctors sue anyone who tries to stop them from providing abortions.The bill would only protect doctors who are in California. If a doctor left California to provide an abortion to someone in another state, that doctor would not be protected. It also would not protect patients in other states who receive the medication.State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley and the author of the bill, said her intent is to make sure California residents who are traveling in other states or living there temporarily — like college students — can still have access to medication ...

Pac-12 basketball: No, UCLA and USC won’t take their NCAA Tournament units to the Big Ten

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

Time for Pac-12 fans to embrace the enemy within.UCLA and USC are departing for the Big Ten in the summer of 2024, but the March Madness units they collect in the NCAA’s complicated revenue distribution formula will remain bound to the Pac-12 for the full payout cycle.The schools are leaving; the units are staying.USC was eliminated Friday by Michigan State, while the Bruins have advanced to the second round and a date with Northwestern on Saturday.Their success will impact Pac-12 budgets for years to come.We’ll get to the details momentarily, but suffice it to say that every tournament game played by the L.A. schools this March and next March will be worth tens of thousands of dollars to each continuing member starting in the spring of 2025.Without getting too deep into the complexities of the NCAA’s distribution formula, know this:— Each game played is worth one unit through the national semifinals — a maximum of five per team per year.— Each unit has a dollar value at...

Chauvin, jailed for killing George Floyd, pleads guilty in tax case

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

By Steve Karnowski and Trisha Ahmed | Associated PressMINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the 2020 killing of George Floyd pleaded guilty Friday to two tax evasion counts, admitting that he didn’t file Minnesota income taxes for two years due to “financial concerns.”Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty specifically to two counts of aiding and abetting, failing to file tax returns to the state of Minnesota for the 2016 and 2017 tax years.Chauvin appeared in a Minnesota court via Zoom from a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, where he is serving his sentences on a state murder conviction for killing Floyd and on a federal count of violating Floyd’s civil rights.He stood in a room and paced around before Friday’s hearing began. When Washington County Judge Sheridan Hawley asked why he didn’t file his Minnesota tax returns, he told the judge: “The true reason is some financial concerns at the time.”He also said: “...

Prince Andrew’s inheritance gripes reveal a dark truth about royal money

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

Prince Andrew’s friends were busy last weekend whispering to the U.K. media about how he’s been left “bewildered” and in “despair” because he has not received any inheritance from Queen Elizabeth II.But what Andrew — or his friends — apparently don’t realize is that he was never going to get a share of the queen’s “big pot of private money,” as Daily Mail royal correspondent Rebecca English refers to it. That’s because his savvy mother wanted to take advantage of special 1993 legislation designed to protect that money from being taxed when she died.The money that Andrew is presumably griping about is the estimated $791 million in the Duchy of Lancaster estate, said English on the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential YouTube show. Allowances from the duchy covers the private expenses of the king and his extended family. But as English and other U.K. reports have said, control over this  estate automatical...

Elizabeth Holmes court updates: Holmes to remain free at least until April

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- The disgraced Silicon Valley entrepreneur is back in court Friday. A federal judge is slated to make a ruling over how much restitution she must pay her victims. Elizabeth Holmes, 38, of Woodside, defrauded sophisticated investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars through Theranos. Judge to rule on Elizabeth Holmes’ restitution, freedom U.S. District Judge Edward Davila sentenced Holmes to serve 11 years in prison and she is scheduled to report to prison next month. Friday will mark Holmes’ first court appearance as a mother of two. She recently gave birth to her second child. The baby’s father is Holmes’ current boyfriend, millionaire Billy Evans, who accompanies her for every court appearance.In court documents filed recently by her attorneys, Holmes cited her newborn baby as a reason why she should be allowed to delay when she reports to prison. Holmes argues that she deserves to remain free while appealing her conviction, a legal process that co...

'The Wire' star Lance Reddick dead: reports

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:58:14 GMT

(KRON) -- Actor Lance Reddick, best known for his work on HBO's "The Wire" and the "John Wick" film franchise, has died at 60, according to reports from TMZ and the Los Angeles Times. Law enforcement sources cited by TMZ say Reddick's body was discovered at his Studio City home on Friday morning around 9:30 a.m.The cause of Reddick's death is not yet clear, according to the report. Law enforcement sources cited by TMZ say it appears to have been natural. Elizabeth Holmes court updates: No ruling for restitution and bail status Reddick is described on his IMDB page as "an American actor and musician," who was "best known for playing Cedric Daniels in The Wire and Phillip Broyles in Fringe." Other credits listed on his IMDB page include "White House Down," "Resident Evil" and "Bosch."Reddick enjoyed a long-running career in TV and film, dating back to a 1996 appearance on the TV series "New York Undercover." At the time of his passing, he had several projects completed or in post-pr...