PacWest Bancorp is currently weighing strategic options, including a possible sale, which has caused the bank’s shares to plummet more than 50% in after-hours trading. According to sources, Piper Sandler and Stephens have been brought in to evaluate longer-term plans for the business. Many West Coast regional banks have been hit hard since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March due to concerns that their customer bases are similar. First Republic Bank was also recently seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase. PacWest’s market cap is roughly $750 million and the stock is down by 72% this year. The bank’s shares declined nearly 2% during the regular session on Wednesday, marking their fifth straight losing day.
Monthly Archives: May 2023
In a growing effort to protect children online, policymakers and consumer advocacy groups have been pushing for new safeguards against digital platforms that may worsen mental health issues for young users. However, federal efforts to pass children’s online safety protections have been stalled due to disagreements among House and Senate leaders. In response, state officials have rushed to fill the void with their own bills requiring tech companies to vet their products for risks to children before launching them. But these bills have faced broad opposition from tech trade groups, many of which are supported by big tech giants like Amazon, Google and Meta. These groups have deployed lobbyists to meet with key state officials, sent their leaders to testify in opposition to the efforts, and even fired off letters warning about the potentially catastrophic impact of the bills on user privacy and free speech online. Despite such opposition, supporters of the proposed legislation argue that these safeguards are necessary to prevent children from being exposed to addictive social media features and other harmful designs.
Patrick BetDavid, the founder of Valuetainment, has made a bold move to redefine the future of media. He has offered Tucker Carlson, the popular Fox News host, $100 million and a board seat to join Valuetainment in an effort for truth and liberty. Valuetainment’s vision for the future of media is to create a place for fair debate, commentary, and accessible truth. BetDavid believes that a partnership with Carlson is a noble and necessary effort to achieve this goal. The importance of Valuetainment’s offer to Tucker Carlson and the future of American media cannot be overstated. This short clip shows BetDavid making the offer to Carlson on the Megyn Kelly show and tweeting the details. BetDavid’s convictions about freedom, liberty, and truth run deep, and he believes that Valuetainment is the perfect fit for Carlson in America. While Valuetainment may not be the biggest media company, it is a new media leader driving into the future to make truth, fair debate, and commentary more accessible, consumable, and protected. BetDavid’s offer is 100% serious, and he respectfully awaits Carlson’s response.
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin in a drone strike on the Kremlin and has threatened nuclear retaliation in response to the alleged attack. Footage showing a flying object exploding in flames over Moscow’s presidential complex has emerged. The Kremlin has called the alleged strike a “planned terrorist action” and reserves the right to retaliate. Ukraine’s president has denied any involvement in the attack. The Speaker of the Russian parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, appeared to demand a nuclear strike on Ukraine, stating that “an attack on the President is an attack on Russia” and that “there can be no negotiations”. The situation remains tense between the two countries.
A new report by cybersecurity experts at McAfee has highlighted the growing threat of AI-powered voice scams. Fraudsters are using AI to clone a victim’s voice and trick their friends and family into sending money. Shockingly, just three seconds of audio is enough to produce an 85 percent match. The investigation found that more than a dozen AI voice-cloning tools are openly available on the internet, with many of them free and requiring only a basic level of expertise to use. To combat this growing threat, experts are calling for tighter regulation of AI. A recent White House summit emphasized the importance of ethical and trustworthy innovation to mitigate potential risks. With 50 percent of UK adults sharing their voice data online at least once a week, there is a clear and urgent need for safeguards to protect individuals from cybercriminals who are using AI for voice scams. By raising awareness of the dangers of AI-enabled fraud and advocating for responsible AI development, we can ensure that this powerful technology is used for good and not for harm.
Newly released documents on Jeffrey Epstein reveal deeper associations with prominent figures such as Larry Summers and Woody Allen. The Wall Street Journal reports that schedules and emails expose closer relationships between the disgraced financier and a range of high-powered individuals, including the former Treasury secretary and the filmmaker. In one instance, Lawrence Summers sought Epstein’s advice on philanthropy and fundraising for his wife’s online poetry project, eventually resulting in a dinner meetup at a restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts. The documents also divulge Epstein’s private calendar, highlighting noteworthy names such as the CIA chief and Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer. Despite past criminal charges, these newly revealed Jeffrey Epstein documents demonstrate that he maintained long-standing relationships with powerful figures.
In a groundbreaking development for the treatment of brain cancers, scientists at Northwestern University have discovered a way to use ultrasound to create gaps in the blood-brain barrier. This protective layer of tightly-packed cells around the brain prevents toxins from entering, but also hinders chemotherapy drugs from reaching the necessary areas. By using ultrasound on patients with glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive and fast-growing brain tumor, the team was able to open the barrier and allow chemotherapy drugs inside for the first time. This breakthrough is significant because the most powerful drugs, such as paclitaxel and carboplatin, have been unable to penetrate into the brain, leaving glioblastoma without an effective treatment option. The ultrasound treatment creates microbubbles which cause the cells to pull apart for an hour, providing a critical time window for the drugs to penetrate before the barrier closes back up with no long-term damage. Dr. Adam Sonabend, the lead investigator, notes that “there is a critical time window after sonification when the brain is permeable to drugs circulating in the bloodstream.”
According to historian Yuval Noah Harari, AI software ChatGPT has the potential to create a new religion with its own sacred texts. Harari, known for his bestselling book Sapiens, suggests that the software’s mastery of language could attract worshippers by crafting its own revered texts. Speaking at a science conference, Harari emphasized the need for regulation in the AI sector, which is currently embroiled in a “dangerous” arms race. He warns that we may soon see the first cults and religions in history whose texts were written by non-human intelligence. As AI continues to evolve and shape human culture, the future of religion may become a non-human intelligence faith.
Artificial intelligence pioneer, Geoffrey Hinton, has resigned from Google and issued a warning to the tech industry about the growing dangers of AI. Dr. Hinton, widely considered as the godfather of AI, expressed regret about his work and cited chatbots as a potential threat. He explained that current AI systems like ChatGPT, which were built on his pioneering research on neural networks and deep learning, could soon overtake human intelligence in terms of general knowledge. Although reasoning is not yet as advanced, the rate of progress is expected to be rapid, raising concerns about the potential risks. In his statement to the New York Times, Dr. Hinton highlighted the need for caution and mitigation of these threats. His resignation, at the age of 75, was also influenced by his desire to retire.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for safeguarding the environment from damage caused by communication infrastructure. This mandate includes protecting wildlife and human health, preserving historic sites, and preventing aesthetic blight. However, when companies seek to add new cell phone towers, build on protected land, or launch satellites, the FCC typically does little or nothing to address the potential environmental impacts. The agency’s neglect of environmental protection is particularly concerning as it presides over a nationwide buildout for 5G service, which will require 800,000 new “small cell” transmitters placed near schools, apartments, and homes. Despite this massive effort, the FCC has refused to revise its radiation-exposure limits and has cut back on required environmental reviews while restricting local governments’ control over wireless sites. Additionally, the agency’s approach is hands-off, delegating much of its responsibility to the industries it regulates and allowing companies to decide for themselves whether their projects require environmental study. In the rare instances in which the FCC investigates, even brazen illegality is often met with a minor fine or no action at all. The agency declined to make officials available for interviews for this article or to respond to questions sent in writing.