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Season 8 of Tyler Perry’s “Sistas” continues on BET this Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT with a new episode. Those without cable can watch the new episode for free through either Philo , FuboTV , or DirecTV Stream , each of which offer a free trial to new users. “‘Sistas’ follows a group of single Black women as they navigate the ups and downs of modern life, which includes careers, friendships, romances, and even social media,” FuboTV said in a description of the series, which is written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry. “The comedy-drama series features Andi Barnes, an ambitious divorce lawyer, Danni King, a funny and fearless airport employee, Karen Mott, a street-smart hair salon owner, and Sabrina Hollins, a smart and stylish bank teller,” FuboTV added. “The TV show takes viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions and moments that epitomize ‘squad goals.’” Season 8, episode 8 is titled “Appearances” according to FuboTV, which added in a description, “Andi’s loyalty is questioned following Gary’s recovery; Karen and Danni confront their views on love and past relationship struggles; Zac and Fatima team up for a covert mission.” How can I watch Tyler Perry’s “Sistas” without cable? Those without cable can watch the new episode for free through either Philo , FuboTV , or DirecTV Stream , each of which offer a free trial to new users. What is Philo ? Philo is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers 60+ entertainment and lifestyle channels, like AMC, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and more, for the budget-friendly price of $25/month. What is FuboTV ? RECOMMENDED • masslive .com Patriots vs. Colts: Free stream, TV, how to watch NFL Week 13 games Dec. 1, 2024, 10:00 a.m. New England Botanic Garden’s “Night Lights” display returns for 2024 Nov. 30, 2024, 5:40 a.m. FuboTV is an over-the-top internet live TV streaming service that offers more than 100 channels, like sports, news, entertainment and local channels. It offers DVR storage space, and is designed for people who want to cut the cord, but don’t want to miss out on their favorite live TV and sports. What is DirecTV Stream ? The streaming platform offers a plethora of content including streaming the best of live and On Demand, starting with more than 75 live TV channels.By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow. The U.S. believes that the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden has been briefed on the findings and that the White House “has made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” The Chinese embassy in Washington on Tuesday rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday. Associated Press writer David Klepper contributed reporting.
By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow. Related Articles The U.S. believes that the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden has been briefed on the findings and that the White House “has made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” The Chinese embassy in Washington on Tuesday rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday. Associated Press writer David Klepper contributed reporting.NEW YORK (AP) — Kaapo Kaako scored a power-play goal with 24 seconds left, and the New York Rangers stopped a five-game slide by topping the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday. Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, who got their first win since a 4-3 victory at Vancouver on Nov. 19. Adam Fox had two assists, and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves. With Montreal’s Kirby Dach serving a four-minute, high-sticking penalty, Kaako got his fourth goal of the season. The Canadiens trailed 3-1 after two periods. But Cole Caufield scored his 14th goal 4:16 into the third and Nick Suzuki tied it at 14:07. Trocheck tipped the puck past Montreal goaltender Sam Montembeault at 19:56 to put New York ahead after Panarin and Montreal’s Mike Matheson scored earlier in the first. Panarin put the Rangers ahead at 9:02, scoring on a 5-on-3 for New York’s first power-play goal since Nov. 12 at home against Winnipeg. Matheson tied it at 11:47. Montembault made 24 saves for Montreal. Takeaways Canadiens: dropped to 3-7-1 on the road. Rangers: Forwards Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil returned to the lineup. Kreider missed three games with an upper-body injury while Chytil was out for seven after colliding with teammate K’Andre Miller on Nov. 14. Reilly Smith and Jonny Brodzinski were scratched. Key moment Seeking an early spark, New York captain Jacob Trouba fought Montreal’s Josh Anderson 1:58 into the contest. It appeared to give the Rangers a collective jolt that was missing in recent games. Key stat The Rangers are 11-1-0 when scoring first. It was the 1,700th home win in franchise history. Up next The Canadiens visit the Boston Bruins on Sunday. The Rangers host the New Jersey Devils on Monday. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL Allan Kreda, The Associated Press
By JOSH BOAK WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was “stupid” not to put his own name on pandemic relief checks in 2021, noting that Donald Trump had done so in 2020 and likely got credit for helping people out through this simple, effective act of branding. Biden did the second-guessing as he delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution defending his economic record and challenging Trump to preserve Democratic policy ideas when he returns to the White House next month. Related Articles National Politics | Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television As Biden focused on his legacy with his term ending, he suggested Trump should keep the Democrats’ momentum going and ignore the policies of his allies. The president laid out favorable recent economic data but acknowledged his rare public regret that he had not been more self-promotional in advertising the financial support provided by his administration as the country emerged from the pandemic. “I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history, and also learned something from Donald Trump,” Biden said at the Washington-based think tank. “He signed checks for people for 7,400 bucks ... and I didn’t. Stupid.” The decision by the former reality TV star and real estate developer to add his name to the checks sent by the U.S. Treasury to millions of Americans struggling during the coronavirus marked the first time a president’s name appeared on any IRS payments. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris , who replaced him as the Democratic nominee , largely failed to convince the American public of the strength of the economy. The addition of 16 million jobs, funding for infrastructure, new factories and investments in renewable energy were not enough to overcome public exhaustion over inflation, which spiked in 2022 and left many households coping with elevated grocery, gasoline and housing costs. More than 6 in 10 voters in November’s election described the economy as “poor” or “not so good,” according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. Trump won nearly 7 in 10 of the voters who felt the economy was in bad shape, paving the way for a second term as president after his 2020 loss to Biden. Biden used his speech to argue that Trump was inheriting a strong economy that is the envy of the world. The inflation rate fell without a recession that many economists had viewed as inevitable, while the unemployment rate is a healthy 4.2% and applications to start new businesses are at record levels. Biden called the numbers under his watch “a new set of benchmarks to measure against the next four years.” “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,” said Biden, who warned that Trump’s planned tax cuts could lead to massive deficits or deep spending cuts. He also said that Trump’s promise of broad tariffs on foreign imports would be a mistake, part of a broader push Tuesday by the administration to warn against Trump’s threatened action. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also issued a word of caution about them at a summit of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. “I think the imposition of broad based tariffs, at least of the type that have been discussed, almost all economists agree this would raise prices on American consumers,” she said. Biden was also critical of Trump allies who have pushed Project 2025 , a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation that calls for a complete overhaul of the federal government. Trump has disavowed participation in it, though parts were written by his allies and overlap with his stated views on economics, immigration, education policy and civil rights. “I pray to God the president-elect throws away Project 2025,” Biden said. “I think it would be an economic disaster.” Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.Nelly Rossinelli: what did the ‘EGCF’ jury study and why doesn’t she pursue that career?Doctored images have been around for decades. The term "Photoshopped" is part of everyday language. But in recent years, it has seemingly been replaced by a new word: deepfake. It's almost everywhere online, but you likely won't find it in your dictionary at home. What exactly is a deepfake, and how does the technology work? RELATED STORY | Scripps News Reports: Sex, Lies, and Deepfakes A deepfake is an image or video that has been generated by artificial intelligence to look real. Most deepfakes use a type of AI called a "diffusion model." In a nutshell, a diffusion model creates content by stripping away noise. "With diffusion models, they found a very clever way of taking an image and then constructing that procedure to go from here to there," said Lucas Hansen said. He and Siddharth Hiregowdara are cofounders of CivAI, a nonprofit educating the public on the potential — and dangers — of AI. How diffusion models work It can get complicated, so imagine the AI – or diffusion model – as a detective trying to catch a suspect. Like a detective, it relies on its experience and training. It recalls a previous case -– a sneaky cat on the run. Every day it added more and more disguises. On Monday, no disguise. Tuesday, it put on a little wig. Wednesday, it added some jewelry. By Sunday, it's unrecognizable and wearing a cheeseburger mask. The detective learned these changes can tell you what it wore and on what day. AI diffusion models do something similar with noise, learning what something looks like at each step. "The job of the diffusion model is to remove noise," Hiregowdara said. "You would give the model this picture, and then it will give you a slightly de-noised version of this picture." RELATED STORY | Scripps News got deepfaked to see how AI could impact elections When it's time to solve the case and generate a suspect, we give it a clue: the prompts we give when we create an AI-generated image. "We have been given the hint that this is supposed to look like a cat. So what catlike things can we see in here? Okay, we see this curve, maybe that's an ear," Hiregowdara said. The "detective" works backward, recalling its training. It sees a noisy image. Thanks to the clue, it is looking for a suspect — a cat. It subtracts disguises (noise) until it finds the new suspect. Case closed. Now imagine the "detective" living and solving crimes for years and years. It learns and studies everything — landscapes, objects, animals, people, anything at all. So when it needs to generate a suspect or an image, it remembers its training and creates an image. Deepfakes and faceswaps Many deepfake images and videos employ some type of face swapping technology. You've probably experienced this kind of technology already — faceswapping filters like on Snapchat, Instagram or Tiktok use technology similar to diffusion models, recognizing faces and replacing things in real time. "It will find the face in the image and then cut that out kind of, then take the face and convert it to its internal representation," Hansen said. The results are refined then repeated frame by frame. The future and becoming our own detectives As deepfakes become more and more realistic and tougher to detect, understanding how the technology works at a basic level can help us prepare for any dangers or misuse. Deepfakes have already been used to spread election disinformation, create fake explicit images of a teenager, even frame a principal with AI-created racist audio. "All the netizens on social media also have a role to play," Siwei Lyu said. Lyu is a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor at the University of Buffalo's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and the director of the Media Forensics Lab. His team has created a tool to help spot deepfakes called "DeepFake-o-meter." "We do not know how to handle, how to deal, with these kinds of problems. It's very new. And also requires technical knowledge to understand some of the subtleties there," Lyu said. "The media, the government, can play a very active role to improve user awareness and education. Especially for vulnerable groups like seniors, the kids, who will start to understand the social media world and start to become exposed to AI technologies. They can easily fall for AI magic or start using AI without knowing the limits." RELATED STORY | AI voice cloning: How programs are learning to pick up on pitch and tone Both Lyu and CivAI believe in exposure and education to help combat any potential misuse of deepfake technology. "Our overall goal is that we think AI is going t impact pretty much everyone in a lot of different ways," Hansen said. "And we think that everyone should be aware of the ways that it's going to change them because it's going to impact everyone." "More than just general education — just knowing the facts and having heard what's going to happen," he added. "We want to give people a really intuitive experience of what's going on." Hansen goes on to explain CivAI's role in educating the public. "We try and make all of our demonstrations personalized as much as possible. What we're working on is making it so people can see it themselves. So they know it's real, and they feel that it's real," Hansen said. "And they can have a deep gut level feel for tthe impact that it's going to have." "A big part of the solution is essentially just going to be education and sort of cultural changes," he added. "A lot of this synthetic content is sort of like a new virus that is attacking society right now, and people need to become immune to it in some ways. They need to be more suspicious about what's real and what's not, and I think that will help a lot as well."
By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that a number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could still grow. The U.S. believes that the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden has been briefed on the findings and that the White House “has made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” The Chinese embassy in Washington on Tuesday rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday. Associated Press writer David Klepper contributed reporting.Is Verstappen the GOAT? Four-time champ now among F1's greatsRBC and National Bank both posted higher fourth-quarter profit Wednesday that exceeded analyst estimates. Mark Blinch/Reuters Royal Bank of Canada’s chief executive officer says tighter immigration and trade policies are clouding the banking industry’s outlook for next year, and political leaders need to resolve the concerns causing uncertainty. Canada’s largest lender and National Bank of Canada NA-T both reported fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday, and leaders of both cautioned of risks to the economy as the banking sector moves into a new fiscal year. The banks posted profits that beat analyst expectations on higher-than-expected revenue growth, even as provisions for loans that could default edged up. Among the risks looming in 2025, RBC RY-T CEO Dave McKay also pointed to weaker consumer spending and business conditions, as well as rising unemployment. On tariffs, he said that government leaders need to find a solution and Canada needs to explore options to reinforce its economy in the face of these threats. “This was a strong message that we have to improve certain aspects of our operations in Canada around our borders. And there are other ways of solving that without hurting both economies – the Canadian economy and the U.S. economy,” Mr. McKay said during a conference call with analysts, adding that the uncertain outlook does not affect the bank’s strategy or business operations. “I expect our political leaders to find a better path to do that. The key is not to overreact right now.” U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to impose 25-per-cent tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico. And the Canadian government has said it will scale back its annual immigration targets. At the same time, some conditions are improving to help counteract these concerns. Mr. McKay said that consumer income and savings levels are rising, and the Bank of Canada has slashed the cost of borrowing. National Bank CEO Laurent Ferreira said Wednesday that the Canadian government needs to act quickly to get ahead of the negotiation tactics of the new U.S. administration. “We need to take this very seriously, and we need to think about what the response would be from Canada,” Mr. Ferreira said in an interview. “Whether it’s the business community or government, we should all get together, discuss and have a more united approach toward what we should do. There are growing concerns amongst everyone, including government, about productivity in our country.” Bay Street is closely watching policy developments in the U.S. as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. Scotiabank CEO Scott Thomson predicted Tuesday that uncertainty prompted by government leadership changes in the U.S. and Mexico – markets that are key to his plan to rejig the bank – will ease quickly. On Wednesday, Moody’s Ratings upgraded its global outlook for banks to stable from negative, citing stabilizing economic growth and easing interest rates. But the ratings agency added that geopolitical conflicts, trade tensions and policy changes in the U.S. create significant uncertainty and risks. RBC and National both posted higher fourth-quarter profit Wednesday that exceeded analyst estimates. On Tuesday, Scotiabank reported higher net income, but missed analyst estimates . Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will wrap up earnings week for the Big Six lenders on Thursday. RBC has spent much of the past year integrating its takeover of HSBC Bank Canada, which includes a large book of commercial and corporate clients with ties to China and other global markets. In response to an analyst question about whether a trade war could affect the HSBC clients that RBC acquired, Mr. McKay said that the majority of the businesses are based in Canada but may do business with China. “We thought about that when we made the acquisition, but these clients are, are embedded in Canada, and are strong Canadian clients – both on the commercial and consumer side – and are very large, significant clients with the global operations, not just back to Hong Kong,” Mr. McKay said. RBC personal banking head Erica Nielsen and commercial banking head Sean Amato-Gauci both said that retention rates of HSBC clients and advisers are above expectations. Mr. Amato-Gauci added that the bank has also acquired 3,500 new small business clients. National Bank is in the midst of an acquisition of its own. Canada’s second-largest bank plans to close its takeover of Edmonton-based Canadian Western Bank early next year, extending the reach of the Montreal-based lender into Alberta and British Columbia. Mr. Ferreira said during a conference call with analysts that the deal is in the final stages of approvals, as Canada’s banking regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, is reviewing the proposal. The final step will be for Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland to greenlight the deal. Even though National Bank’s fourth-quarter earnings beat analyst expectations, investors reacted negatively. Its stock slumped 3.4 per cent at 3 p.m. in Toronto, while the S&P/TSC Composite Banks Index remained relatively flat. National Bank’s share price has been on a tear this year, surging 34 per cent and outperforming most of the other Big Six banks. The lender set aside $162-million in provisions for credit losses – the funds banks set aside to cover loans that may default. That was higher than analysts expected, and included $145-million against loans that the bank believes may not be repaid. Loan loss provisions are a key indicator of the health of the Canadian consumer and businesses. Banks have been ratcheting up reserves as high interest rates put pressure on the ability of their clients to pay off their debt. RBC set aside $840-million in provisions – higher than analysts anticipated – and included an uptick in reserves for loans that the bank believes may not be paid off. “Looking ahead to 2025, we expect the current trend of a rising unemployment rate and slower GDP growth to persist,” National Bank chief risk officer Jean-Sébastien Grisé said during the conference call. “Interest rates remain restricted and there remain significant uncertainties in the forecast of economic growth.”