Latest news with #PartII
Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Google makes new move into AI wearable with trendy brand
Most of us remember watching movies that referenced the future, leading us to fantasize about what the world would look like in the next few decades. Many of us thought we would never live long enough to see technological innovations like holograms and flying cars come to life, but little did we know that they would become a reality sooner than we thought. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter I remember when my dad introduced me to the movie "Back to the Future." The thought of living in a world that was so technologically developed fed my curiosity, and from that day on, we would re-watch all three films on repeat. Related: Apple makes surprising move amid high China tariffs My personal favorite gadget was the video glasses, or vidglasses, from Part II. These allowed the characters to watch television from anywhere while wearing them. I remember feeling jealous because I would never get to have a pair. However, technology has enabled the unthinkable, making this dream a reality. Image source: Cohen/Getty Images Google (GOOGL) has been a major AI advocate for decades, making significant investments in the technology to refine its systems and develop many AI-powered products. The tech company began its AI journey in 2011, when it founded Google Brain, a research team dedicated to AI and machine learning. However, it wasn't until 2017 that it officially introduced its AI division. Since then, it has made huge strides and advancements in the area, and now, it wants to dive into wearable AI-powered gear. Related: Apple unveils a cheaper new iPhone, fans are shocked Google introduced Android XR in December 2024, an AI-powered operating system developed by Google and designed to support XR devices. This system enables extended reality (XR) for headsets and glasses. Five months into 2025, the technology company teased that it was working with brands and partners to build glasses with Android XR. It also extended its AI system Gemini beyond phones by introducing it to all devices and wearable gear. This week, Google unveiled even more details about the smart glasses, revealing that they come with a camera, microphones, and speakers. These glasses connect to phones and give users access to all apps without having to touch their phones. They also have an optional in-lens display that provides information right before the user. Additionally, Gemini will be paired with the glasses to see and hear anything the user does to understand context, remember important things, and make daily tasks easier. "Today's sneak peek showed how Android XR glasses will work in real-world scenarios, including messaging friends, making appointments, asking for turn-by-turn directions, taking photos, and more. We even demoed live language translation between two people, showing the potential for these glasses to break down language barriers," said Google at its annual I/O conference. More Retail News: Johnnie Walker, Guinness owner sounds the alarm on price hikeNike delivers harsh news to employees amid major business shiftsForget tariffs, Shein lowers prices (at least for now) But that's not all. The technology company also announced it has partnered with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to develop the first pair of Android XR glasses. It also said it looks forward to working with brands like Kering Eyewear to design more stylish glasses. Warby Parker, an American company founded in 2010, offers affordable, high-quality prescription eyewear and care, while Gentle Monster is a trendy Korean eyewear brand founded in 2011. Developers will start building for the platform later this year, but they have already begun gathering feedback from testers on the prototypes and will share more about their progress in the coming months. Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Gizmodo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘The Last of Us' Will Need a 4th Season to Finish Its Story
Next season of The Last of Us won't be the last of it. In a new interview, the show's co-creator Craig Mazin said that the upcoming third season of the show will not finish the story of the second video game, The Last of Us Part II. 'There's no way to complete this narrative in a third season,' Mazin said. 'Hopefully, we'll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That's the most likely outcome.' The quote comes from an extensive interview with Collider where Mazin, ahead of the upcoming season two finale, spoke about working on the third season, which HBO officially greenlit a few weeks back. 'It would take forever,' Mazin said about finishing the events of the second game in the third season. 'There are natural perforations in the narrative where you can go, 'Okay, let's tear it here.' I think there's a decent chance that season three will be longer than season two, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different. The thing about Joel's death is that it's so impactful. It's such a narrative nuclear bomb that it's hard to wander away from it. We can't really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story. I'm not sure that will necessarily be true for season three. I think we'll have a little more room there.' Audiences have not yet seen where season two ends, but it certainly seems to be aiming at one of the second game's biggest 'perforations' that Mazin mentions. Assuming the game's big point of view shift is the end of this season, there is definitely a lot more story to go, but it's a bit of a surprise to hear Mazin flat out say they don't want to wrap it up this season. Thankfully, Mazin confirms that they don't start writing anything until—not just the upcoming season is planned, but even further in advance. 'We always think ahead,' he said. 'We thought ahead to season three and season four, to try to get as much visibility as we can, so that we don't end up in a situation where we're sitting down and getting into details for a season and then going, 'Oh, man, if only we hadn't had that person say that one line or be in that spot or wear that jacket, this would be so much cooler.' So, we really do try to think things through fundamentally. The challenge for our first season was, how do we tell this big story in a way that's complete and doable within an amount of time and with the budget we have? And with this season, it was, 'Okay, this source material goes way beyond one season.'' In fact, it might take three seasons. The season two finale of The Last of Us airs Sunday; we'll have much more then.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shari Redstone's Impossible Choice: She Can't Save Both ‘60 Minutes' and Paramount Global
Shari Redstone is no doubt familiar with 'The Godfather, Part II.' It is, after all, one of the best-known films in the library of Paramount Global, the company she and her family control. Redstone probably doesn't have time to watch the 1974 classic this week, but no matter. She's living it. 'The Godfather, Part II' focuses on the difficult choices made by protagonist Michael Corleone, who opts to preserve his family's illicit business empire instead of tending to the needs of the actual members of his family. He spends all his time jockeying with rivals and fending off competitors, and in the process loses his spouse and kills off his brother, whose weaknesses give enemies a chance to wreak havoc. More from Variety Trump Falsely Claims '60 Minutes' Admitted to 'Crime' of Editing Harris Interview in a Way That 'Cheated and Defrauded the American People' '60 Minutes' Goes on Alert: How the News Program Is Grappling With Paramount and Trump '60 Minutes' Calls Out Paramount for Executive Producer's Exit in Rare On-Air Rebuke Redstone is no crime boss, but she faces similar wrenching decisions about doing what's best for members of the Paramount family and what's best for her own family business. One of the most prized properties in the Paramount portfolio is the venerable CBS News magazine '60 Minutes.' The program has stood for months at the center of a flimsy but effective legal feint by President Donald Trump. According to the suit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Texas in November 2024, '60 Minutes' tried to mislead voters by airing two different edits of remarks made in an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, then Trump's rival for the White House. Legal experts believe the president has little standing. Intriguingly, the report, which aired in October, was this week nominated for an Emmy. But the Trump suit — in which the president is seeking $20 billion in monetary damages from CBS — has remained an issue. Rather than fight a nuisance, Paramount has entered mediation with Trump's attorneys, all as Redstone hopes to move closer to selling the company to Skydance Media — and pushing the deal past the review of a Trump-controlled FCC, which has also opened investigations into the '60 Minutes' matter. A consummated deal will infuse ailing Paramount with new capital as it seeks to adapt to an industry in which cable networks — a large part of the company's portfolio — are being rendered obsolete by streaming services. In such a unique situation, corporate leaders are more likely to favor the overall business, says Anant Sundaram, a professor at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business who studies mergers and acquisitions. Once a deal is unveiled, Sundaram says, 'the CEO wants to get it done yesterday, before so many factors that can kick in.' Paramount's current situation, he adds, brings 'the kind of uncertainty that a CEO hates, is petrified of.' And in the current era, when streaming has upset the economics of the media sector, Paramount may see Skydance as a more reliable bet than the linear viewership of '60 Minutes.' 'The bottom line is there is a sense that the regulatory process isn't coming along as it should,' says Sundarum. 'And the Trump lawsuit is a huge spanner in the works.' Paramount and Trump attorneys are believed to have entered mediation, a process that will cast a shadow on Redstone's tenure overseeing Paramount, which she took over from her father, Sumner Redstone. Shari Redstone pushed for a new combination of the CBS assets and those that were part of the company once known as Viacom, once housed in two separate companies. But the portfolio, which also includes the Showtime pay-cable outlet, MTV, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio, has been weighed down by a large passel of cable properties that have been starved of investment over the years, and isn't large enough on its own to outmaneuver digital giants like Netflix, Apple and Amazon. Redstone might have fared better if she sold off pieces instead of trying to put them all together. Her seeming willingness to settle the '60 Minutes' matter has had other consequences as well. Last week, Bill Owens, just the third executive producer in the show's nearly six decades on air, abruptly quit, saying he no longer had the freedom to run the newsmagazine in the best interests of its journalism and its viewers. On Sunday, correspondent Scott Pelley took the rare step of detailing this off-camera drama for viewers, telling them that Paramount had begun to take what staffers perceived as an undue amount of influence on '60 Minutes' editorial processes. What is clear is the following: No '60 Minutes' segments have been spiked. But Paramount did install, partly at Redstone's behest, a new layer of checks and balances in the form of a team led by Susan Zirinsky, the former CBS News president. Zirinsky was tasked with monitoring all of CBS News' work, particularly after reports on '60 Minutes' and 'CBS Mornings' tied to attitudes around the conflict in Gaza spurred criticism from advocates. Redstone had conversations with various Paramount executives, among them George Cheeks, the Paramount co-CEO who oversees the CBS business, about certain '60 Minutes' stories, according to a person familiar with the matter. Redstone asked whether stories that could irritate Trump were correct and balanced, and inquired whether multiple stories that might draw Trump's ire had to run on the same night, this person says. Two other people familiar with the '60 Minutes' editorial process say Zirinsky and her team were specifically tasked with examining stories tied concerning the Middle East and politics. Redstone never issued any edicts about stories tied to Trump policies, says the person familiar with the situation, noting that the show has run such reports all season long. At this point, the person adds, with the current TV season drawing to a close, there is no reason to hold off on any stories the show has in the pipeline, as any acquisition by Skydance is not likely to be completed in that time frame. This is perhaps the stuff of Aaron Sorkin TV series like 'The Newsroom' or 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,' in which the people at the heart of a storied media property have to battle with the executives who run the platform that brings the content to millions. Paramount's pending Skydance pact and the Trump suit have forced Redstone into an impossible choice: On the one hand, she risks tarnishing the image of a respected journalism outlet if Paramount reaches a settlement with Trump; on the other, if the deal doesn't get done, the health of the company that delivers the show to its audience may be in peril. At the end of 'Godfather II,' Michael Corleone is haunted by the choices he has made, and thinks back to a simpler time. Whether Redstone is similarly tormented is something only she knows. As for the current moment in the media sector, it's only going to get more complex. — Todd Spangler contributed to this story Best of Variety Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shari Redstone's Impossible Choice: She Can't Save Both ‘60 Minutes' and Paramount Global
Shari Redstone is no doubt familiar with 'The Godfather, Part II.' It is, after all, one of the best-known films in the library of Paramount Global, the company she and her family control. Redstone probably doesn't have time to watch the 1974 classic this week, but no matter. She's living it. 'The Godfather, Part II' focuses on the difficult choices made by protagonist Michael Corleone, who opts to preserve his family's illicit business empire instead of tending to the needs of the actual members of his family. He spends all his time jockeying with rivals and fending off competitors, and in the process loses his spouse and kills off his brother, whose weaknesses give enemies a chance to wreak havoc. More from Variety Trump Falsely Claims '60 Minutes' Admitted to 'Crime' of Editing Harris Interview in a Way That 'Cheated and Defrauded the American People' '60 Minutes' Goes on Alert: How the News Program Is Grappling With Paramount and Trump '60 Minutes' Calls Out Paramount for Executive Producer's Exit in Rare On-Air Rebuke Redstone is no crime boss, but she faces similar wrenching decisions about doing what's best for members of the Paramount family and what's best for her own family business. One of the most prized properties in the Paramount portfolio is the venerable CBS News magazine '60 Minutes.' The program has stood for months at the center of a flimsy but effective legal feint by President Donald Trump. According to the suit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Texas in November 2024, '60 Minutes' tried to mislead voters by airing two different edits of remarks made in an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris, then Trump's rival for the White House. Legal experts believe the president has little standing. Intriguingly, the report, which aired in October, was this week nominated for an Emmy. But the Trump suit — in which the president is seeking $20 billion in monetary damages from CBS — has remained an issue. Rather than fight a nuisance, Paramount has entered mediation with Trump's attorneys, all as Redstone hopes to move closer to selling the company to Skydance Media — and pushing the deal past the review of a Trump-controlled FCC, which has also opened investigations into the '60 Minutes' matter. A consummated deal will infuse ailing Paramount with new capital as it seeks to adapt to an industry in which cable networks — a large part of the company's portfolio — are being rendered obsolete by streaming services. In such a unique situation, corporate leaders are more likely to favor the overall business, says Anant Sundaram, a professor at Dartmouth University's Tuck School of Business who studies mergers and acquisitions. Once a deal is unveiled, Sundaram says, 'the CEO wants to get it done yesterday, before so many factors that can kick in.' Paramount's current situation, he adds, brings 'the kind of uncertainty that a CEO hates, is petrified of.' And in the current era, when streaming has upset the economics of the media sector, Paramount may see Skydance as a more reliable bet than the linear viewership of '60 Minutes.' 'The bottom line is there is a sense that the regulatory process isn't coming along as it should,' says Sundarum. 'And the Trump lawsuit is a huge spanner in the works.' Paramount and Trump attorneys are believed to have entered mediation, a process that will cast a shadow on Redstone's tenure overseeing Paramount, which she took over from her father, Sumner Redstone. Shari Redstone pushed for a new combination of the CBS assets and those that were part of the company once known as Viacom, once housed in two separate companies. But the portfolio, which also includes the Showtime pay-cable outlet, MTV, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio, has been weighed down by a large passel of cable properties that have been starved of investment over the years, and isn't large enough on its own to outmaneuver digital giants like Netflix, Apple and Amazon. Redstone might have fared better if she sold off pieces instead of trying to put them all together. Her seeming willingness to settle the '60 Minutes' matter has had other consequences as well. Last week, Bill Owens, just the third executive producer in the show's nearly six decades on air, abruptly quit, saying he no longer had the freedom to run the newsmagazine in the best interests of its journalism and its viewers. On Sunday, correspondent Scott Pelley took the rare step of detailing this off-camera drama for viewers, telling them that Paramount had begun to take what staffers perceived as an undue amount of influence on '60 Minutes' editorial processes. What is clear is the following: No '60 Minutes' segments have been spiked. But Paramount did install, partly at Redstone's behest, a new layer of checks and balances in the form of a team led by Susan Zirinsky, the former CBS News president. Zirinsky was tasked with monitoring all of CBS News' work, particularly after reports on '60 Minutes' and 'CBS Mornings' tied to attitudes around the conflict in Gaza spurred criticism from advocates. Redstone had conversations with various Paramount executives, among them George Cheeks, the Paramount co-CEO who oversees the CBS business, about certain '60 Minutes' stories, according to a person familiar with the matter. Redstone asked whether stories that could irritate Trump were correct and balanced, and inquired whether multiple stories that might draw Trump's ire had to run on the same night, this person says. Two other people familiar with the '60 Minutes' editorial process say Zirinsky and her team were specifically tasked with examining stories tied concerning the Middle East and politics. Redstone never issued any edicts about stories tied to Trump policies, says the person familiar with the situation, noting that the show has run such reports all season long. At this point, the person adds, with the current TV season drawing to a close, there is no reason to hold off on any stories the show has in the pipeline, as any acquisition by Skydance is not likely to be completed in that time frame. This is perhaps the stuff of Aaron Sorkin TV series like 'The Newsroom' or 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,' in which the people at the heart of a storied media property have to battle with the executives who run the platform that brings the content to millions. Paramount's pending Skydance pact and the Trump suit have forced Redstone into an impossible choice: On the one hand, she risks tarnishing the image of a respected journalism outlet if Paramount reaches a settlement with Trump; on the other, if the deal doesn't get done, the health of the company that delivers the show to its audience may be in peril. At the end of 'Godfather II,' Michael Corleone is haunted by the choices he has made, and thinks back to a simpler time. Whether Redstone is similarly tormented is something only she knows. As for the current moment in the media sector, it's only going to get more complex. — Todd Spangler contributed to this story Best of Variety Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Netflix in May 2025
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spokane County judges reaffirm their Constitutional oath, condemn politicization and bending of rule of law
May 1—William Shakespeare wasn't all that far off when he wrote the infamous "Let's kill all the lawyers" line from "Henry VI, Part II," said Spokane County Superior Court Judge Breean Beggs on the courthouse steps Thursday. "The quote comes from a man named Dick the Butcher, who's engaged in a rebellion and wants to create chaos and tyranny ... He says the first thing we have to do is silence the lawyers because they are in the way of freedom and a well-ordered government," Beggs told the crowd. "... In this courthouse, we've got judges who are standing ready to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, regardless of how popular or unpopular it is on any one day. And we have lawyers who are willing to represent people to the best of their ability." Beggs and a group of other Spokane County Judges stood outside the courthouse to again take their Constitutional oath for National Law Day. Below the steps stood 9-year-old Ayva Griffith, who was there to recite the oath along with them. "They support us. They take care of people," said Ayva, whose family is filled with lawyers. "It makes me feel happy." Beggs spoke to more than 50 people on the courthouse lawn, including lawyers, county employees and citizens, urging them not to forgo the meaning of the Constitution out of fear or pressure, and to remind them that those in the Spokane judiciary took an oath to protect the rule of law without favorability. Although the event was not created in response to any "recent events" or actions taken against judges and lawyers from President Donald Trump and his administration, Beggs reminded the crowd, the timing is ripe. Washington State Bar Association President Sunitha Anjilvel acknowledged in a press release that "we are feeling very divided as a country." Trump's executive orders in the last three months of his presidency have thrown legal professionals into a tailspin — as Trump promises to retaliate against law firms that don't bow to his administration's requests and call for the impeachment of judges who rule against his executive orders for being unconstitutional, some law firms are caving to the demands, while judges are standing firm. When Trump called for the impeachment of James Boasberg, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement pushing back on the sentiment, saying, "impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision." Federal officials this month also accused a Wisconsin judge of helping an immigrant evade arrest in her courtroom. She was arrested on charges of obstructing an agency and concealing someone to prevent an arrest, according to NPR, when she allegedly escorted the defendant through a jury door out into the hallway after learning ICE officials only had an administrative warrant and not one signed by a judge. Trump's actions have prompted prominent scholars to refer to the recent executive actions as a Constitutional crisis, the New York Times reported, citing the efforts to revoke birthright citizenship, bypassing congressional powers and threatening to deport people with different political beliefs. While Beggs declined to speak about ongoing legal controversies related to the Trump Administration, he said in general terms, there have always been people throughout history who believe one person should have full power to govern rather than the Constitution and laws of the country. And he consistently reminded those attending Law Day that "the rule of law is not political." "The power of our country is our rule of law, and the lawyers and the judges that make it so," he said in an interview. "There's ups and downs, but this country is fabulous, and it's the rule of law that makes it fabulous." Luvera Law Firm attorney Mark Kamitomo, who has practiced since 1989, warned the rule of law will not exist if the Constitution becomes meaningless. His family immigrated from Japan to Canada in a time where Japanese people had no due process in Canada or the U.S. Looking back, it's hard to believe that decades earlier, "my father and his family were living in animal stalls," Kamitomo said. "Under our Constitution, which is the cornerstone of America's democracy, the same laws apply to all — that no one is above the law and we all have the same unalienable liberties and rights that no one, including the government, can infringe upon," he said. "... It's become apparent that a movement to preserve the rule of law, government objectivity and fairness for all, must come from the ground up." Kamitomo said it's always concerning seeing people who are part of the judicial system "bend the rules." It appears that nowadays, he said, the Constitution is meaningless when the end goal is to gain more power. "To me, that's a slippery slope," Kamitomo said in an interview. As Beggs faced the sun in his black robe, he held up his right hand to lead the Constitutional oath to pledge honesty, truth and respect to the justice system. The crowd followed. At the end, a woman in the crowd quietly commented on her admiration for Beggs' previous comments: "All of us are created equal," he had said earlier. "In Spokane, we all belong."
