Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Sam Altman’s breakneck pace has some tech leaders awed and others uneasy.In the past few weeks alone, the OpenAI cofounder and CEO signed blockbuster computing deals with AMD and Nvidia, bringing his startup’s total dealmaking this year to about $1 trillion.The company launched Sora, an AI video app that gained more than 1 million users in its first five days, as well as Instant Checkout, a shopping feature for its ChatGPT chatbot. OpenAI also unveiled new AI-powered workplace tools that its employees are using internally, signaling a potential move into the enterprise software market.And that’s just a sampling of the…

Week 7 of college football features marquee matchups from coast to coast, with playoff hopes and conference races at stake. A number of matchups could bring more chaos to the AP Top 25 poll after two wild weekends.Alabama heads to Missouri in a ranked matchup headlining SEC play. The Crimson Tide hopes to keep momentum rolling against Missouri and the nation’s top rusher, Ahmad Hardy.In the Big Ten, Oregon hosts Indiana in an electric quarterback matchup featuring Dante Moore and Fernando Mendoza. Ohio State will face its biggest test in weeks at Illinois. Top games to watch— No. 1 Ohio…

NEW YORK (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama is putting new force behind efforts to ensure girls overcome educational barriers in some of the world’s most economically disadvantaged areas.The Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance pledged Saturday to rally $2.5 million for dozens of grassroots groups who advance adolescent girls’ education by covering school-related costs, challenging patriarchal practices such as child marriage, counseling survivors of sexual abuse and providing other forms of support.“These groups are changing the way girls see themselves in their own communities and in our world, helping create the leaders we need for the brighter future we…

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Walking along the broad pedestrian street that runs along the base of Athens’ famed Acropolis Hill, visitors can now enjoy something not seen in decades: an unobstructed, scaffolding-free view of the Parthenon temple.The scaffolding set up along the 5th century B.C. temple’s western façade for conservation work about 20 years ago has been removed, allowing an uncluttered view of the UNESCO World Heritage site.The western side of the Parthenon affords the best street-level view, so the removal from that side, which was completed in late September, has been the most noticeable for visitors. But Culture Minister…

Chris Lehane is one of the best in the business at making bad news disappear. Al Gore’s press secretary during the Clinton years, Airbnb’s chief crisis manager through every regulatory nightmare from here to Brussels – Lehane knows how to spin. Now he’s two years into what might be his most impossible gig yet: as OpenAI’s VP of global policy, his job is to convince the world that OpenAI genuinely gives a damn about democratizing artificial intelligence while the company increasingly behaves like, well, every other tech giant that’s ever claimed to be different. I had 20 minutes with him…

SEATTLE (AP) — Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending single in the 15th inning, and the Seattle Mariners advanced to the AL Championship Series by outlasting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-2 victory Friday night in the longest winner-take-all postseason game in baseball history.With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P. Crawford with a liner to right off Tommy Kahnle. Crawford hit a leadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and Julio Rodríguez was intentionally walked before Polanco’s big swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Game 5 in a tightly contested Division Series.The Mariners…

A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces are in rarified air.The franchise won its third WNBA championship in four seasons, completing a sweep of Phoenix in the best-of-seven Finals on Friday night. Only Houston has done better over a four-season span, winning the first four titles in WNBA history from 1997-2000.Wilson was a huge reason why the Aces were champions again after falling in the semifinals last season. She became the first player to win the regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season. The 29-year-old forward was the best player on the court…

(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved labeling changes for Johnson & Johnson and its partner Legend Biotech’s blood cancer therapy to include a boxed warning for a potentially fatal gastrointestinal condition.The FDA said it received reports that some patients treated with Carvykti developed a serious gut inflammation called IEC-EC, which in some cases led to life-threatening complications like bowel perforation and sepsis.Reports were received from clinical trials and postmarketing adverse event data, the FDA said.IEC-EC is a form of inflammation of the intestines triggered by the immune system. It was observed weeks to months after CAR-T…

SEATTLE (AP) — Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal turned in a dominant performance Friday night in the first six innings of Game 5 of the AL Division Series in a game that ended hours later with the Seattle Mariners winning 3-2 in 15 innings.Skubal stepped up with Detroit trying for the franchise’s first appearance in the AL Championship Series since 2013. He struck out 13 while allowing one run and two hits in what turned out to be the longest winner-take-all postseason game by innings.Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer for the Tigers in the sixth, and Leo Rivas responded…

PHOENIX (AP) — A’ja Wilson put in work in the paint, getting bucket after bucket despite multiple defenders draped all over her.She got plenty of help from Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans. The trio started raining 3s early in the second quarter.The Las Vegas Aces — once again — were an offensive force in the WNBA Finals, and they were well on their way to their third championship in four seasons. They finished off a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury with a 97-86 victory on Friday night.“These guys are elite,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said.Wilson had 31…