BRASILIA The Brazilian economy kicked off the third quarter with a stronger-than-expected pace, bolstering recent upward revisions in

On the brink of a federal government shutdown, the House has swiftly approved a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open

The Senate voted Tuesday evening to advance a critical national defense bill nearer to a final passage vote, moving one step closer to a showdown with the House over the must-pass legislation.

OpenAI researchers warned about a potentially dangerous artificial intelligence discovery ahead of CEO Sam Altman being ousted from the company, according to reports. Several staff members of the AI firm wrote a letter to the board of directors detailing the algorithm, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The disclosure was reportedly a key development in the build up to Mr Altman’s dismissal. Prior to his return late Tuesday, more than 700 employees had threatened to quit and join backer Microsoft in solidarity with their fired leader. The sources cited the letter as one factor among a longer list of grievances by the board leading to Altman’s firing, among which were concerns over commercialising advances before understanding the consequences. The staff who wrote the letter did not respond to requests for comment and Reuters was unable to review a copy of the letter. OpenAI declined to comment on the letter but acknowledged in an internal message to staffers a project called Q* and a letter to the board before the weekend’s events, one of the people said. An OpenAI spokesperson said that the message, sent by long-time executive Mira Murati, alerted staff to certain media stories without commenting on their accuracy. Some at OpenAI believe Q* (pronounced Q-Star) could be a breakthrough in the startup’s search for what’s known as artificial general intelligence (AGI), one of the people told Reuters. OpenAI defines AGI as autonomous systems that surpass humans in most economically valuable tasks. Given vast computing resources, the new model was able to solve certain mathematical problems, the person said on condition of anonymity because the individual was not authorised to speak on behalf of the company. Though only performing maths on the level of grade-school students, acing such tests made researchers very optimistic about Q*’s future success, the source said. Reuters could not independently verify the capabilities of Q* claimed by the researchers. Researchers consider maths to be a frontier of generative AI development. Currently, generative AI is good at writing and language translation by statistically predicting the next word, and answers to the same question can vary widely. But conquering the ability to do mathematics where there is only one right answer implies AI would have greater reasoning capabilities resembling human intelligence. This could be applied to novel scientific research, for instance, AI researchers believe. Unlike a calculator that can solve a limited number of operations, AGI can generalize, learn and comprehend. In their letter to the board, researchers flagged AI’s prowess and potential danger, the sources said without specifying the exact safety concerns noted in the letter. There has long been discussion among computer scientists about the danger posed by highly intelligent machines, for instance if they might decide that the destruction of humanity was in their interest. Researchers have also flagged work by an “AI scientist” team, the existence of which multiple sources confirmed. The group, formed by combining earlier “Code Gen” and “Math Gen” teams, was exploring how to optimise existing AI models to improve their reasoning and eventually perform scientific work, one of the people said. Altman led efforts to make ChatGPT one of the fastest growing software applications in history and drew investment – and computing resources – necessary from Microsoft to get closer to AGI. In addition to announcing a slew of new tools in a demonstration this month, Altman last week teased at a summit of world leaders in San Francisco that he believed major advances were in sight. “Four times now in the history of OpenAI, the most recent time was just in the last couple weeks, I’ve gotten to be in the room, when we sort of push the veil of ignorance back and the frontier of discovery forward, and getting to do that is the professional honor of a lifetime,” he said at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a day before he was fired by OpenAI’s board. Additional reporting from agencies. Read More 10 ways AI will change the world – from curing cancer to wiping out humanity YouTube reveals bizarre AI music experiments AI-generated faces are starting to look more real than actual ones One of the world’s most hyped tech products just launched – and made a big mistake

The Miami Heat were able to beat the Denver Nuggets, 111-108, in Game 2. Bam Adebayo and a new defensive gameplan for the Heat led to the victory.On their way to tying up the series 1-1, the Heat went back to their old ways of shooting hot from three. In addition to that, a new game-plan for han...

If you thought the endless stream of tasteless social media posts about the Titan sub had finally run dry, you’d sadly be mistaken. TikTok, Facebook and Twitter remain awash with jokes, memes, and morbid questions about the Ocean Gate vessel, which claimed the lives of the five souls on board during a catastrophic journey down to the wreckage of the Titanic. The latest trend, when it comes to the tragedy, involves an unlikely third party: Hot Wheels. A search of “Ocean Gate Hot Wheels” on the popular apps throws up a number of images, purporting to show a miniature recreation of the submersible. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The special edition toy appears to come boxed in Hot Wheels-branded packaging, implying that you could pick up your own figurine online or from your favourite retailer. Indeed, the prospect has appealed to a number of (dare we say, sick?) commentators, who have responded with clamours that they “need” to get their hands on one. @iron.micro.garage In Memory Of the Titan Victims #hotwheels #mattel #oceangate #titan #titanic The problem there is… the toy doesn’t exist. Or, at least, not in a commercially available form and certainly not in any way endorsed by Hot Wheels, according to our research. Instead, it seems to be the brainchild of 3D printing nerds with too much time on their hands and too little thought for the victims’ families. One website is charging £3 for a design for a 3D printable model of the Titan. Meanwhile, TikTokers are touting their own digital versions, available to download in a JPEG format. Other social media users have suggested that the widely shared, and deceptive, pictures of the “Ocean Gate Hot Wheels” sub were inspired by existing toys. One such commentator posited that the sub bore an uncanny resemblance to a Minions “Grumobile”, from the film Despicable Me, which actually does exist in Hot Wheels form. @hitmonching #titanic #titanicmovie #titanicsinking #titanicchallenge #titanicsubmarine #titanicwreck #movie #minion #minions #grumobile #titanicmuseum #titanic2 #titanicmovie1997 #hotwheels #hotwheelscollections #hotwheelscollector #hotwheelsdaily #hotwheelshunter #hotwheelsracing #hotwheelscollection #toyhunt #toyhunter #toyhuntersph #philippines #mattel #disney #marvel #dc #dccomics #starwars #tmnt #batman #batmobile #spacejam #supermario #mariokart #justiceleague #avengers #spiderman #acrossthespiderverse #bentley #classic #90s #80s #70s #60s #chevy #mustang #lexus #mazda #honda #yamaha #bmw #jeep #bus #rollsroyce #tesla #vintagecars #camaro #btas #ferrari #shelby #pontiac #astonmartin #corvette #dodgers #mercedesbenz #xmen #hummer #dodgecharger #nissan #skyline #gtr #f1 #landrover #subaru #porsche #volvo #snoopy #barbie #greenhornet #pajero #quicknbite #dmc #delorean #toyota #nissan #van #corvette #koombi All we can say is, to anyone scouring the internet for their own Titan collectible, we recommend you get something else instead… It’s called a life. Need we remind you that five people lost their lives on that tiny submarine, and their loved-ones don’t appreciate your hideously tactless attempt at humour. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

About 5,000 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti have set out on foot to reach the U.S., walking north from Mexico's southern border

Thomas Frank celebrated five years in charge at Brentford with a much-needed 3-0 Premier League win over 10-man Burnley. But there was another VAR issue for Darren England to deal with after Neal Maupay had an early header ruled out. Goals from Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo and Saman Ghoddos secured a first home victory of the season for the Bees. But earlier Brentford striker Maupay saw a first-half goal disallowed after he headed in a cross from Nathan Collins. Collins was clearly onside when Mbeumo swung in the initial free-kick, while his central-defensive partner Kristoffer Ajer was standing beyond him in an offside position. But it was Collins who was given offside by VAR Stuart Attwell according to the big screen in the ground, leaving fourth official England – only just returning to Premier League duty after he oversaw the VAR fiasco at Tottenham against Liverpool last month – to face the wrath of Frank. In fact it was later explained by the PGMOL that Ajer had been given offside, as he was obstructing Lyle Foster. Luckily there will be no calls to replay this one from Frank, whose side were full value for the win and would have been 4-0 up at half-time were it not for VAR and Clarets goalkeeper James Trafford. Christian Norgaard saw a shot blocked on the line by Charlie Taylor and Mbeumo’s effort was held by Trafford before Brentford’s pressure told after 25 minutes when Sander Berge lost possession. Maupay fed the ball out to Mbeumo, whose precise pass across goal was gleefully tapped in at the far post by Wissa. Maupay’s quest for a goal – he has not scored in the Premier League in more than a year – continued when he found himself one-on-one with Trafford, who got a slight hand to the Frenchman’s shot. The Brentford fans behind the goal were willing the ball to roll in, but Dara O’Shea got back to hook it off the line. Trafford then produced a stunning save to deny Wissa from point-blank range before tipping Maupay’s drive over the crossbar. Brentford have thrown away 11 points from winning positions this season, but there were to be no such jitters this time as they grabbed a second on the hour mark. Frank Onyeka fed Ajer, who in turn gave Maupay the ball to lay back for Mbeumo, who finished superbly into the top corner from the edge of the area. For Burnley another week in the bottom three beckons, which will come as little surprise if Luca Koleosho’s late miss-of-the-season contender – he somehow sliced wide of an open goal from five yards out – is anything to go by. Their miserable afternoon was complete when Connor Roberts was sent off late on for bringing down Wissa before Ghaddos put the gloss on Brentford’s win with a long-range volley. Read More Luton fight back to stun Nottingham Forest and earn a point Erling Haaland back among the goals as Manchester City return to winning ways Sasa Kalajdzic gives Wolves late win on Gary O’Neil’s return to Bournemouth Manchester City back to winning ways as Erling Haaland helps sink Brighton Daniel Kanu scores four in five-star Southend display against Solihull Newcastle romp to victory over Crystal Palace

Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland manages to honor the original Haunted Mansion ride while respecting cultural sensitivities at the same time.

The boss of Australian airline Qantas says he will leave his job immediately — two months earlier than planned — following a series of embarrassing revelations about the company, including allegations it sold tickets for flights that had already been canceled

Viral airplane fame Tiffany Gomas spiced up Halloween as she announced to give free first-class flight tickets to the best 'crazy plane lady' costume

Nikki Haley’s husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa