FHE Health announces the nominees for their annual First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award and the list is nothing short of paw-mazing furry friends! FHE Health, a national behavioral health provider, has created the nationwide contest to “showcase therapy dogs everywhere in the many roles they fill, while also shining the spotlight on therapy dogs that assist first responders—and the critical need for more such dogs, both in South Florida and in communities across the U.S.” Furthermore, the First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award is also FHE Health’s way to advocate the need for more therapy dogs for first responders across the country. And for this year’s First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award, the list of nominees is full of good boys and girls! Some of the most notable nominees include: Deputy Dally of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. He is a 7-year-old GoldenDoodle who has been working as a Therapy K9 for 4.5 years. His most notable case involved the kidnapping of two young kids, after the vehicle the kids were in was apprehended, Deputy Dally provided much needed comfort to the kids until their mother arrived. Willowbrook if the LA County Sheriff’s Department. This little fella is proof that even the little dogs can make big impacts in their community. Willowbrook has been rescued from a backyard breeder and survived parvo. At 5.5 pounds, he has visited 6,000 sworn personnel and 8,000 civilian personnel in L.A. County. Raven of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. On his first day of work, he helped de-escalate a situation involving a man who wanted to take his own life. Thanks to Raven’s encouragement, the man was able to peacefully surrender. Way to make a great first impression on your first day at work! Lacy of the 911 Call Center in Austin, Texas. Lacy walks the aisles of the call center to support Fire, Police, and Sheriff’s Department. But Lacy’s most notable work was when she provided comfort at Uvalde Memorial Hospital after the horrific school shooting. Murphy of the Terrie Hess Child Advocacy Center. Murphy is as busy as a bee, but the work she does make a difference in the lives she touches. She supports victims of child abuse and first responders who investigate and prosecute these cases. She also supports first responders and the youth as a volunteer at Canine Caregivers Therapy Dogs. The First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award has a total of 29 nominees and the Top 10 finalists will be chosen through public voting, which is now open until December 04. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FHE Health (@fhehealth) According to FHE Health, “The finalists and first-place winner will be chosen by a small committee with representatives from FHE Health and FHE Health’s partner organization First Responders Pack Foundation.” And the winner of the national award will receive the following prize: Gift Basket From Chewy.com $2,000 check in support of their work Free national publicity, including a feature blog that reaches more than 100,000 people on social media and a press release announcing the news A “Top Paws Therapy Dog Award” badge for placement on their website or blog in recognition of their status as one of 10 finalists A $2,500 donation made in their honor by FHE Health to our partner organization First Responders Pack Foundation, which exists to train more therapy dogs for first responders Last year, the winner of the First Responder Paws Therapy Dog Award was a two-and-a-half-year-old mutt named “Sergeant Bo”. He went from being a stray roaming the streets of Florida’s Indialantic Beach to providing much-needed comfort and security to the Covenant School Shooting victims in his first three months as a therapy dog.

Wild turkeys in the US are learning the ways of the human hunter.

Sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down in episode 42...

You don't have to be Genghis Khan to be in the club.

AI has been taught to clone a personality in just two hours – and this is a dream come true for sociologists and deepfake scammers. Scientists from Stanford University and Google DeepMind have collaborated to develop an AI application capable of creating a digital replica of a person’s personality. Their findings, detailed on the preprint server arXiv and reported by MIT Technology Review, demonstrate how generative AI can mimic human traits with remarkable accuracy. The system, built on the large language model ChatGPT, operates by asking a series of questions, collecting responses over a two-hour session, and processing them to generate a digital copy of the person’s personality. To test its accuracy, researchers posed identical questions to study participants and their digital “twins.” The AI-generated personalities provided answers that matched those of their human counterparts 85% of the time. “If you can get a bunch of little ‘yous’ running around and actually making decisions that you would make, I think that’s ultimately the future,” said Joon Sung Park, a Stanford computer science graduate student involved in the study. The developers emphasized that their aim is not to replace humans but to streamline tasks for sociologists and researchers. Conducting surveys with living respondents, they noted, can be both time-consuming and costly. This groundbreaking work underscores the multifaceted nature of human personality, which may seem immeasurable and complex. However, the researchers demonstrated that an individual’s worldview and value system can be effectively deduced using a well-crafted questionnaire. Once this data is fed into generative AI, it can convincingly imitate personality traits—at least within controlled settings. While this innovation has exciting applications in fields like sociology, it also raises concerns. If AI can convincingly replicate personalities, it could make deepfakes and other forms of digital impersonation more sophisticated and potentially more dangerous. The post AI Can Now Replicate Your Personality appeared first on Anomalien.com.

The dream of many – to try the taste through a monitor – is getting closer. A team of biomedical engineers and virtual reality experts has developed a groundbreaking lollipop-shaped interface that simulates taste in virtual reality. Their research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, represents a significant step toward integrating the senses of taste and smell into virtual environments—an area that has long lagged behind visual and auditory advancements. The device, resembling a lollipop, uses an innovative system involving agar-agar gel infused with various chemical flavors. When a small voltage of 2V is applied, the transparent, seaweed-derived gel is pushed to the surface. There, it mixes with saliva to create a convincing taste sensation. Credit: Yiming Liu The lollipop is equipped with nine distinct flavors: salt, sugar, cherry, citric acid, green tea, passion fruit, grapefruit, durian, and milk. The intensity of each flavor is adjustable by varying the voltage, and combinations of these ingredients can generate entirely new taste experiences. Initial tests confirm the device’s effectiveness, though current limitations include the gel’s quantity, which allows for about an hour of use per device. This prototype, while promising, is just the beginning. The engineers aim to expand its capabilities, potentially integrating up to 100 flavors and extending the device’s lifespan in future iterations. Beyond its entertainment potential, the lollipop interface has practical applications. For instance, it could revolutionize online marketing by enabling consumers to “taste” products virtually before purchasing. In medicine, doctors could use it to test the palatability of medications for patients. Additionally, it could serve as an educational tool in interactive games designed for children with eating disorders. As virtual reality technologies continue to evolve, devices like this bring us closer to fully immersive experiences, blending sight, sound, and now taste into the digital realm. The post Engineers Create a Lollipop That Brings Taste to Virtual Reality appeared first on Anomalien.com.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed the Lone Star State a big win Wednesday, barring the Biden administration from "damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas's c-wire fence in the vicinity of Eagle Pass." The Biden administration has worked feverishly in recent years to hinder the state's efforts to secure its southern border with Mexico. These efforts have focused in large part on Shelby Park, a 47-acre municipal park in Eagle Pass where hordes of illegal aliens have stolen into the homeland. The question of whether state troopers and members of the Texas National Guard could lay nearly 30 miles of concertina wire in the area has been batted around the courts for over a year. The Fifth Circuit Court issued a temporary order in December 2023 prohibiting the Biden administration from cutting wire except when faced with medical emergencies. The following month, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the order and kicked the matter back down to lesser courts. Although the legal dispute was far from settled, Texas lay wire anyway, citing its need and responsibility to "maintain operational control." The installation of nearly 70,000 rolls of razor wire in Eagle Pass along with fencing and shoreline barriers apparently helped make an immediate difference. According to the Media Research Center, after closing off Shelby Park in January, the number of illegal alien encounters dropped 325% from the previous month and 41% from January 2023. Federal agents responded to the reinforcement of the border by cutting through the wire on multiple occasions —something the Border Patrol union stated would "undoubtedly encourage more illegal immigration" and hinder Border Patrol agents' efforts to target criminal elements crossing the border illegally. 'This is a good win for Texas, a good win for the country.' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, rumored to be under consideration by President-elect Donald Trump for the next FBI director, sued the Biden administration in October, accusing Border Patrol of illegally destroying state property when helping foreign nationals flout American law. Paxton's lawsuit indicated further that federal agents "not only cut Texas' concertina wire, but also attach[ed] ropes or cables from the back of pickup trucks to ease" illegal aliens to steal into the country, reported the Texas Tribune. District Judge Alia Moses granted the state temporary relief, allowing federal officials to cut wire only in cases of life-threatening medical emergencies. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 opinion Wednesday granting Texas a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration. Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, who was nominated to the court by President-elect Donald Trump, noted in the majority opinion: The injunction is not barred by intergovernmental immunity because Texas is seeking, not to "regulate" Border Patrol, but only to safeguard its own property. Nor, for similar reasons, is the injunction barred by the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"). Finally, Texas has satisfied the injunction factors from Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7 (2008). Most importantly, the United States does not even contest that Texas has shown it will likely succeed on its state law trespass claims. The court noted that while the Biden administration contends that the concertina wire poses a risk to human safety, the administration's own behavior does as well as it has "facilitated and encouraged aliens to 'undertake the dangerous task of crossing the river.'" The court also rejected the Biden administration's argument that the Lone Star State's fencing undermines international relations, adding that "concerns about international relations do not erase property owners' rights over thousands of square miles along the border." The lone dissenter on the court was a Biden-nominated judge, Irma Carrillo Ramirez. The ever-defiant Republican Gov. Greg Abbott noted in response to the ruling that Texas will "continue adding more razor wire border barrier." Paxton called the result a "huge win for Texas," tweeting, "We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we've fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security." "It was shocking to me that the federal government would go out of their way to cut razor wire to allow illegals to cross when we're just trying to protect our own land," Paxton reportedly told Newsmax Wednesday evening. "This wasn't their land. This was our land, our private property. It had nothing due to the federal government. So this is a good win for Texas, a good win for the country, that this court recognized our ability to protect our land." The Tribune noted that a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to its request for comment. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Boise State women's volleyball team ended its season with a forfeit, refusing to play against San Jose State University in the Mountain West Conference.San Jose State University's transgender player, Blaire Fleming — born Brayden — is a 6'1'' male whose participation in NCAA women's volleyball games has resulted in four other teams forfeiting matches.This is the second time this season the ladies from Boise State have forfeited against SJSU, marking the sixth forfeit overall against the team. In late September, Boise State took a technical loss but still managed to battle back to earn a spot in the yearly tournament.After beating Utah State on Wednesday — another team that has refused to play SJSU — Boise State players said they would not play Fleming and SJSU in the tournament semifinal on Friday."The decision to not continue to play in the 2024 Mountain West Volleyball Championship tournament was not an easy one, " Boise athletics wrote, per Outkick. "Our team overcame forfeitures to earn a spot in the tournament field and fought for the win over Utah State in the first round on Wednesday." "They should not have to forgo this opportunity while waiting for a more thoughtful and better system that serves all athletes," the school added.This means that SJSU will walk into Saturday's tournament final, and if the team wins (whether by forfeit or not), they will advance to the NCAA national tournament.SJSU gave its own statement, invoking Thanksgiving as a reason to celebrate all students."In this time of Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for those who continue to engage in civil and respectful discourse. We celebrate and support all of our students, including our student-athletes as they compete for our community on this holiday weekend," the statement read. The school added that while it was "disappointed" in Boise State, its players are looking forward to "competing for a championship." Blaire Fleming stands alone waiting to make the first serve against the Air Force Falcons on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty ImagesSJSU had one of its own players, Brooke Slusser, speak out against the team for focusing on Fleming instead of the women on the team.Slusser and a suspended assistant coach have joined a lawsuit against the school and the conference saying their First Amendment rights were violated after they spoke up about the ordeal.Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include two players from Boise State, Katelyn Van Kirk and Kiersten Van Kirk.A judge recently denied an emergency motion from the group's legal team to remove Fleming from the tournament and reinstate wins from the schools that had forfeited.'We must fight to protect women's sports.'After Boise State's forfeit on Wednesday, the Mountain West Conference said any "decisions to forfeit matches are at the institutions' discretion and are considered a loss. San José State will advance to the MW Women’s Volleyball Championship final."Idaho's Republican Senator Jim Risch condemned the conference, saying it had "failed" the women from Boise State."These women have worked too hard for too long to be denied their right to fair, safe competition. We must fight to protect women's sports."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

On paper, the original, 2002 version of The Thing videogame was a great idea. Officially sanctioned by John Carpenter himself, it served as a direct sequel to the 1982 movie, and combined the claustrophobic scares of Resident Evil with a psychological element that wouldn’t look out of place in modern multiplayer horror games. As the leader of a search party sent to find MacReady and co., any time you wanted, you could administer blood tests on your teammates to see if they had been replaced by a Thing doppelganger. It made for a terrific, slow-burn tension. Or at least it would have if the system wasn’t completely broken. Nightdive, the studio behind System Shock Remake and remasters of Doom 64 and Turok, knows this is a problem. Its upcoming The Thing Remastered has a super-smart solution. Continue reading 22 years ago, The Thing videogame was completely broken, but not anymore MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best horror games, Best classic games, Best action-adventure games

This year’s surprise mega-hit, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, is getting a patch that should improve performance on every level of PC. The game's developer has confirmed that Patch 5.0 will not only add support for frame generation on Nvidia GeForce GPUs, but also AMD Radeon graphics cards. Frame generation tech works by inserting extra frames between the frames rendered by your GPU, smoothing out the frame rate. In this case, the Xenos-smashing epic will get frame generation from both Nvidia and AMD. Nvidia DLSS will only work on the company’s graphics cards, but AMD’s FSR tech will work on practically any current GPU. As such, you can also expect to see some of the best gaming handhelds getting a big boost in Space Marine 2 performance. Continue reading Space Marine 2 performance is about to take a huge leap on Nvidia and AMD GPUs MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review