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Love the idea of a cozy winter vacation but hate the actual cold? These spots are perfection.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

Danielle Braff | Chicago TribunePerhaps you love the concept of a cozy winter wonderland — the snow, the hot chocolate, the fireplace, the fluffy blankets — but you’re not so wild about treading through the actual snow, and bracing the frigid temperatures to get to the good stuff. You’re more of an après-ski type of a person than a skier. There’s no shame in that.We’ve got a few suggestions for spots to try this winter if you want all that cozy goodness sans the chill.Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in ArizonaIce skating is always more fun when your toes don’t go numb from the cold. Experience this at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, where 6 million sparkling lights pave the way to their own version of a winter wonderland: a 6,000-square-foot outdoor rink in Arizona with real ice (this is a true Christmas miracle), a Ferris wheel, fire pits, s’mores, igloos and even an ice lounge. Yes, the ice lounge is actually cold, but they provide you with faux fur parkas, hot craft cocktails and the ...

OpenAI, Microsoft sued by NYT over chatbot learning

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

NEW YORK — The New York Times is striking back against the threat that artificial intelligence poses to the news industry, filing a federal lawsuit Wednesday against OpenAI and Microsoft seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots.The Times says that the companies are threatening its livelihood by effectively stealing billions of dollars worth of work by its journalists, in some cases spitting out Times’ material verbatim to people who seek answers from generative artificial intelligence like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The newspaper’s lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan.OpenAI and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment.“These bots compete with the content they are trained on,” said Ian B. Crosby, partner and lead counsel at Susman Godfrey, which is representing The Times.Artificial intelligence companies scrape information available online, including articles published by news organizations, to train generative AI ch...

Apple Watch sales ban put on hold by court

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

Apple Inc. won a court ruling temporarily pausing a U.S. sales ban on its newest smartwatches, giving the company a reprieve in a patent fight that had forced the devices off the market and threatened an estimated $17 billion business.An appellate court in Washington issued the interim stay Wednesday a day after Apple sought a delay of the decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission, which had blocked the import and sale of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. The court gave the commission until Jan. 10 to respond to Apple’s request for a longer stay during the company’s appeal of the ITC’s order.Apple was forced to stop sales of one of its signature products after the ITC found the company infringed a pair of patents from medical device maker Masimo Corp. related to measuring blood-oxygen saturation. Apple pulled the watches from its website on Dec. 21 and in retail stores on Christmas Eve. The court’s ruling appears to allow the company to resume sales.The ITC announced t...

Ticker: Online retailer Zulily to go into liquidation; NBA OKs sale of Mavericks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

The U.S. online retailer Zulily is closing down, surprising customers and laying off hundreds of workers after efforts to salvage the business failed.The Seattle-based company said in a notice on its website that it had tried to fill all pending orders and expected to manage that within the coming two weeks. Zulily said it was trying to ensure that orders that could not be filled were cancelled and refunded and offered a contact for customers who did not get their orders or refunds.“This decision was not easy nor was it entered into lightly. However, given the challenging business environment in which Zulily operated, and the corresponding financial instability, Zulily decided to take immediate and swift action,” said the notice, signed by Ryan C. Baker, vice president at management consultant Douglas Wilson Companies, which is handling the receivership for the company.NBA OKs sale of MavericksThe NBA on Wednesday approved the sale of controlling interest of the Dallas M...

Travel: Looking to go on a cruise in 2024? Here’s what you need to know

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

The BBC wasn’t being cheeky when the U.K. news bureau ran an online story with the headline, “Will we ever take cruise holidays again?” Back on April 9, 2020, the future of cruising truly was in doubt. Almost overnight, fears caused by a mysterious deadly virus brought a thriving industry worth $46 billion to its waterlogged knees, and with it a sinking feeling shared by millions of seabound vacationers whose plans were suddenly drydocked.As a weary world sanitized, masked up, distanced itself and prayed for a panacea, perhaps the last place people imagined themselves being, besides the emergency room, was on water with perhaps thousands of strangers of questionable hygiene and health.What a difference four years make. Not only have vaxxing requirements been jettisoned except for rare itineraries, but as the books close on 2023, an estimated 31.5 million passengers will have taken to the world’s oceans within the past 12 months. That’s a rebound beyond 2019 demand levels for the fir...

‘BlackBerry’ and ‘Past Lives’ make Barack Obama’s annual list of best films

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

First, it was Barack Obama’s favourite phone. Now, “BlackBerry” is one of the former U.S. president’s top films of the year. The Canadian satire from director Matt Johnson is one of 13 movies to make Obama’s list of the best films of 2023. Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel star as Research in Motion heads Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis in the fictionalized tale of the Canadian company’s rise and fall. Obama was famously a longtime lover of the BlackBerry, and only upgraded to an iPhone in 2016. “Past Lives,” the nostalgic romance from Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song, also nabbed a spot on his annual list. His other favourites include “The Holdovers,” “Oppenheimer” and “Anatomy of a Fall.”This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2023.The Canadian Press

Amazon Prime ads on movies and TV shows will begin in late January

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

If you are an Amazon Prime Video user, get ready to see ads on movies and TV shows starting next month. Prime will include ads beginning on Jan. 29, the company said in an email to U.S. members this week, setting a date for an announcement it made back in September. Prime members who want to keep their movies and TV shows ad-free will have to pay an additional $2.99.Amazon is also planning to include advertisements in its Prime service in the United Kingdom and other European countries, as well as Canada, Mexico and Australia next year.The tech giant follows other major streamers –- such as Netflix and Disney –- who have embraced a dual model that allows them to earn revenue from ads and also offer subscribers the option to opt out with a higher fee. Amazon said in its email that it will “aim to have meaningfully fewer ads” than traditional TV and other streaming providers. The ads, the company said, “will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that...

Suspect wanted in connection with sex assault on board TTC train

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a suspect in connection with a sexual assault on board a TTC train.Police were called to Davisville Subway Station on August 17, 2023 at around 3:10 p.m. for reports of a sexual assault.It’s alleged the suspect and victim were onboard a northbound train heading to Davisville. The victim was standing and the suspect was sitting behind the victim, the suspect then allegedly sexually assaulted the victim. The suspect then got off the train at Finch and was last seen walking towards the bus bay. He’s described as a male, 25-35 years old, with dark brown hair and unshaven appearance. He was last seen wearing a green vest, grey shorts and brown slippers.A security camera photo has been released by police.

OPP suggest taking precautions with disposing Christmas boxes that contained pricey gifts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

With the post-Christmas winddown fully underway, Ontario Provincial Police officers suggest taking extra precautions when throwing away boxes that contained pricey gifts to avoid tipping off potential criminals.The warning issued on Wednesday came with a list of tips to help reduce the chances of being targeted.“Thieves can quickly ascertain what you received on your Christmas wish list by simply driving by and looking at the gift boxes put out to the curb for garbage pickup,” officers said.  Related: 2 charged, over $40,000 in property recovered from retail theft where items were re-sold in Toronto “Criminals can easily gauge which house would make a great target based on the advertisement left out for them each year.”Officers suggested taking boxes that had pricier items (electronics or other valuables) directly, if possible, to your local waste transfer station. If that is not possible, they suggested breaking down the boxes and makin...

Shakira’s hometown unveils a giant statue of the beloved Colombian pop star

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:25:38 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Pop star Shakira was immortalized in her Colombian hometown of Barranquilla, where officials unveiled a giant bronze statue of the music diva known around the world for her catchy tunes and exhilarating moves.The six-meter (20-feet) tall monument depicts the multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner in one of her famous belly dancing outfits, with her hips swaying to her right and her arms raised gracefully toward the sky.A plaque under the statue says that on Feb. 2, 1977, the town of “Barranquilla and the world witnessed the birth of a heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, a voice that moves masses and a pair of bare feet that walk for the good of children and humanity.”The statue, located on a recently built promenade along the Magdalena River that runs along the edge of the town, was unveiled in a small ceremony on Tuesday attended by Shakira’s parents and the mayor, Jaime Pumarejo.However, the bronze giant is not the Caribbean town’s first ...