Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Alicia Silverstone says she went vegan for the animals, but ended up reaping benefits for her health.”And I didn’t know that that was going to happen. That was the miracle,” she said.She previously said she was “certain” her diet kept her youthful without Botox or fillers.When Alicia Silverstone went vegan, health wasn’t exactly her goal.During an appearance on Monday’s episode of the “Sibling Revelry” podcast, the actor spoke about the unexpected benefits a plant-based diet had on her body.”When I made these changes, yes, I did it for the animals,” Silverstone told host Oliver Hudson.But what surprised her, she said,…

Crossing paths with dogs, cats and other animals is part of campus life for students at Eckerd College, a liberal arts school in Florida that allows pets to live in dormitories.Sophie Nocera, an Eckerd senior, said she probably knows the names of pets better than her fellow students.“That’s the case for a lot of the students,” said Nocera, who lives on the campus in St. Petersburg with her Border collie, Zuko. “When I’m walking my dog, I often hear, ‘Oh my god, hi, Zuko!’ It’s like I’m not even there.”Some colleges and universities around the country welcome pets in campus…

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Mitch Brown finally had enough as he watched unfolding coverage of yet another case of homophobic abuse in the Australian Football League, and decided it was time to change the narrative.Brown contacted the Daily Aus with a message that the online news site published Wednesday: “I played in the AFL for 10 years for the West Coast Eagles, and I’m a bisexual man.”In almost 130 years of topflight competition in Australia’s homegrown football code, no past or active male player had publicly identified as bisexual or gay.Aussie Rules was a long way behind other types of…

OpenAI is planning new ChatGPT safeguards after a lawsuit blamed the chatbot for a teen suicide.In a blog post, the company outlined several safety changes.The lawsuit alleges ChatGPT “actively helped” a 16-year-old explore suicide methods.OpenAI said Tuesday it’s working on new safeguards for ChatGPT when handling “sensitive situations,” after a family filed a lawsuit blaming the chatbot for their 16-year-old son’s April death by suicide.In a blog post titled “Helping people when they need it most,” the company outlined changes including stronger safeguards in long conversations, better blocking of harmful content, easier access to emergency services, and stronger protections for…

Assort Health, a startup that uses AI to automate patient communication for specialty healthcare practices, has raised about $50 million in a Series B round at a valuation of $750 million, according to three sources familiar with the deal. The latest round, which comes just four months after the company raised its $22 million Series A, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, these people said. The company’s AI voice agents are designed to take over high-volume, repetitive tasks like scheduling, cancellations, and frequently asked questions normally managed by front desk staff, allowing human staff to focus on more complex or…

Meta’s high-stakes bet on “superintelligence” is showing early cracks.At least eight employees, including researchers, engineers, and a senior product leader, have left the company less than two months after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a brand new division called Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) aimed at bringing “personal superintelligence” to everyone.The departing employees are mostly veterans who helped build some of Meta’s core AI infrastructure, along with some newer hires lured by Zuckerberg’s pitch to join MSL.”Some attrition is normal for any organization of this size. Most of these employees had been with the company for years, and we wish them the…

Crossing paths with dogs, cats and other animals is part of campus life for students at Eckerd College, a liberal arts school in Florida that allows pets to live in dormitories.Sophie Nocera, an Eckerd senior, said she probably knows the names of pets better than her fellow students. “That’s the case for a lot of the students,” said Nocera, who lives on the campus in St. Petersburg with her Border collie, Zuko. “When I’m walking my dog, I often hear, ‘Oh my god, hi, Zuko!’ It’s like I’m not even there.”Some colleges and universities around the country welcome pets in…

Protesters stormed Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters on Monday and made it into president Brad Smith’s office in Building 34, forcing a temporary lockdown. The “No Azure for Apartheid” group reportedly livestreamed their sit-in on Twitch, hoisting banners, chanting ‘Brad Smith, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!’ and posting a mock legal summons charging Smith with “crimes against humanity.” TechCrunch has reached out to Microsoft for more information. According to The Verge, the protest included both active Microsoft workers and former employees who’ve been fired for previous activism. Monday’s escalation follows months of protests over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with Israel, including recent…

Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed the first human case of a flesh-eating parasite in the U.S.The patient, a Maryland resident, had recently returned from travel to El Salvador and was found to be infected with New World screwworm, an HHS spokesperson told ABC News.MORE: RFK Jr. claims doctor said parasite ‘ate’ part of his brainIt comes amid an outbreak of the parasite among livestock in Mexico and countries across Central America.Here’s what you need to know about the infestation, including how it spreads, what the signs are and how it can be treated.What…

NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff’s first match since enlisting someone to help with her shaky serving got off to a rocky start at the U.S. Open on Tuesday night. She double-faulted in the very first game — and a total of 10 times. She got broken in that game, too — and a total of six times.The only numbers that truly counted in the end, of course, were the ones on the Arthur Ashe Stadium scoreboard, and those showed that the No. 3-seeded Gauff held on for a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic to reach the…