Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

For the hefty price of $1 million — plus at least $15,000 in fees — you could potentially get permanent residency in the United States.That’s the promise of President Donald Trump’s “Gold Card” visa program, which formally launched in early December.The program is designed to attract wealthy foreigners to the US. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at an event on Friday that the program had already raised $1.3 billion since launching.Yet it also comes at a time when the Trump administration is otherwise cracking down on other legal forms of immigration.Trump signed an executive order establishing the Gold Card program…

ChatGPT is releasing its own version of Spotify Wrapped. That is, the OpenAI-owned chatbot is now rolling out an annual review feature called “Your Year with ChatGPT” to eligible consumers in select markets, including the United States. Other English-speaking markets with access to the new offering include Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. At launch, the feature will be offered to those with the free, Plus, and Pro plans who have the “reference saved memories” and “reference chat history” options turned on and have met a minimum conversation activity threshold, the company told TechCrunch via email. Image Credits:OpenAI Team,…

Barry Manilow will be having surgery to remove a cancerous spot on his lung and will reschedule his January concerts, the singer announced Monday.Manilow, 82, said doctors found the cancer after he had an extended bout of bronchitis — six weeks, then a relapse of another five weeks.“My wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK,” Manilow wrote on Instagram. “The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early.”The singer added that doctors don’t believe cancer…

Doctors and scientists say this year’s influenza season could be tougher than usual. A new version of the flu virus, called H3N2, is spreading quickly. At the same time, fewer people are getting flu shots.”This flu season is no joke. We are seeing more cases than we would expect for this time of year,” Dr. Amanda Kravitz, a pediatrician at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, said on “CBS Mornings.” Specifically, she explained, “we are seeing influenza A, and within influenza A we are seeing a subtype or variant called H3N2.””It’s pretty likely to be an H3N2-dominated flu season,” said…

MINNA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians on Monday got their first look at 130 children and teachers released after being seized in one of the largest mass abductions in the country’s history.Some of the children appeared to be malnourished or in shock as they arrived at a government ceremony. Police said they were freed Sunday, a month after gunmen stormed their Catholic school in Niger state’s Papiri community in a predawn attack.Authorities said plans were underway to reunite the children with their families before Christmas.Authorities earlier said 303 schoolchildren and 12 teachers were seized and 50 of them escaped in the…

The team at Retro, a photo-sharing app for close friends and family, is experimenting with how generative AI can be put to more creative uses. To try out the latest, cutting-edge AI technologies, the team built a new app called Splat, which lets you turn any photo into a coloring book page for kids. As any parent will tell you, kids love to color. And thanks to the web, there’s a seemingly infinite number of coloring book pages available for printing at home. However, many of the websites hosting these pages are filled with ads and other clutter, making them…

Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, and Tesla, known as the Magnificent Seven, now have a combined market value of over $20 trillion, making them among the most powerful companies in history.Who is handling their financial records?Another numerically-termed group of powerhouses.The Big Four professional services firms — PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG — are the industry-leading consulting and accounting firms that audit the Magnificent Seven.Behind the sky-high valuations and global dominance, the Big Four firms independently assess how these companies report their finances, run internal controls, and follow the rules. Audits are a crucial mechanism for ensuring accountability to shareholders,…

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s text-generating AI chatbot, has taken the world by storm since its launch in November 2022. What started as a tool to supercharge productivity through writing essays and code with short text prompts has evolved into a behemoth with 300 million weekly active users. In 2025, OpenAI has battled the perception that it was ceding ground in the AI race to Chinese rivals like DeepSeek, all while the company has tried to shore up its relationship with Washington, pursued ambitious data center projects, and laid the groundwork for one of the largest funding rounds in history. Most recently though,…

The best Bluetooth speakers make it easy to enjoy your music anywhere, whether you’re moving from room to room at home or heading out for the day. With no cables to fuss over, they stream audio wirelessly from your phone, tablet, or laptop, providing instant access to all your favorite tracks. Today’s top models deliver rich, full sound, useful features, stylish designs, and long-lasting batteries.I’ve been reviewing audio gear and other consumer tech for more than 25 years, and that experience guides every recommendation in this lineup. My top pick is the retro-inspired JBL Authentics 300, which stands out for…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A Brown University sophomore who was killed in an attack at the Rhode Island university was remembered Monday as “smart, confident, curious, kind, principled, brave,” at a funeral in her home state of Alabama.Hundreds gathered at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in downtown Birmingham to remember Ella Cook, 19. She and freshman MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, 18, were killed Dec. 13 when a gunman entered a study session in a Brown academic building and opened fire on students. Nine other students were wounded.Authorities believe the attack was carried out by Claudio Neves Valente, 48, who had been…