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During the process of outfitting a fan cave in the Santa Monica apartment of 92-year-old Los Angeles Rams fan Lewis Lazarus in advance of Thursday Night Football kicking off on Prime Video earlier this month, Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit, learned a few things. One of them? That Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa is genderless. “I didn’t understand exactly what Alexa could do until I got into this project. I found out a lot about the programming and that Alexa is not a she,” Xzibit tells InsideHook. “Alexa is an AI that has no gender identification. That was cool to find out.” Xzibit has found out a lot over the course of a career that began in earnest with the release of his debut studio album At the Speed of Life in 1996 and was taken to a new level in 2004 when he hosted the first of six seasons of MTV reality series Pimp My Ride . A hit that inspired international spinoffs including Pimp My Car, Pimp My Room and Pimp My Whatever … [Read more...] about What Years of Pimping Rides Taught Xzibit About the Human Condition

(BPT) - Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) — part of RWJBarnabas Health, the largest and most comprehensive academic healthcare system in New Jersey — is completely reimagining cancer care. The Livingston, New Jersey-based facility recently broke ground on a five-story, 137,000-square-foot cancer center on its hospital campus. The $225 million, freestanding outpatient facility, scheduled for 2025 completion, will serve as the northern hub for the integrated oncology services offered by RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. This innovative care model is transforming the delivery of cancer services across New Jersey, bringing groundbreaking discoveries, clinical research and expertise from Rutgers Cancer Institute to patients close to home. “The new Cancer Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center will be a regional destination for cancer care, building on the … [Read more...] about Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Breaks Ground on $225 Million Comprehensive Cancer Center

Photo-Illustration: by Intelligencer; Photo by Cathrine White Chris Cuomo is attempting a comeback — or at least, he’s “moving forward,” as he tells Kara Swisher in this episode of our new podcast , On With Kara Swisher . Just a couple years ago, the former CNN anchor was hosting chummy (and extremely popular) segments interviewing his brother, then New York governor Andrew Cuomo , on a network run by his friend, then CNN chief Jeff Zucker . These days, he’s taping his own podcast, The Chris Cuomo Project , from his dining room while gearing up for a new cable show on a far smaller network, NewsNation — and seeking $125 million in damages from his former employer. Cuomo was unceremoniously dismissed from CNN late last year after a multi-month saga that centered around the relationship between the anchor and his brother. First there was the governor’s downplaying of nursing-home deaths , which by June 2020 led CNN to reinstate a ban on the brotherly … [Read more...] about Chris Cuomo Wants to Move Forward. Can He?

Around 1,000 food workers at San Francisco International Airport went on strike on Monday morning demanding higher pay after contract negotiations stalled out. The strike will affect dozens of food outlets and deny travelers prepared foods unless replacement workers are found. Some packaged foods will still be available at retail shops. Anand Singh, president of Unite Here Local 2, the food workers’ union, said workers and a group of restaurant owners remained “very far apart” in negotiations. Workers make an average of $17.05 an hour and want higher wages and to maintain their current health care benefits. :Nine months of negotiations got us nowhere, and SFO’s food service workers are tired of working two or even three jobs just to survive,” Singh said in a statement. The union estimates around 10% of workers are working two different jobs across two businesses to earn enough to survive. Maria Soza Rodriguez worked for more than a decade at both a Burger King and Urban … [Read more...] about SFO food workers launch strike for higher pay

NEW DELHI (AP) — Apple Inc. will make its iPhone 14 in India, the company said on Monday, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries. “The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement. Apple unveiled its latest line-up of iPhones earlier this month. They will have improved cameras, faster processors and longer lasting batteries at the same prices as last year’s models. India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China but Apple iPhone sales have struggled to capture a large share of the market against cheaper smartphones from competitors. The announcement from the Cupertino, California-based company dovetails with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for local manufacturing, which has been a key goal for his government … [Read more...] about Apple Inc will manufacture iPhone 14 in India

0 Community Corner The Red Cross is seeking blood donations in the North Center-Roscoe Village area. The pandemic has affected the country's blood supply. Local News , Patch Staff Posted Reply NORTH CENTER-ROSCOE VILLAGE, IL — The American Red Cross is urging people to donate blood soon due to a severe supply shortage. Hospitals are experiencing a high number of emergency room visits for traumatic injuries. There are also more overdoses, which sometimes require organ transplants. Blood demand climbed 10 percent from 2019 levels at trauma centers, according to the Red Cross. “When seconds count in emergency trauma situations, it’s the blood already on the shelves that can make the difference in lifesaving care,” said Dr. Baia Lasky, medical director with the Red Cross. “As many people begin to enjoy travel and time with loved ones again this summer, patients are relying on the generosity of donors to help ensure they have … [Read more...] about Blood Donors Needed In North Center-Roscoe Village Area: Red Cross Drive Coming Up Soon

0 Pets Shelters in the Annandale area put these pets up for adoption over the past week. Pet News , Patch Staff Posted Reply If you've been wanting to add a fluffy ball of four-legged love and affection to your family, start with these Annandale area shelters for a pet to take home. About 6.5 million companion animals are surrendered to animal rescue organizations each year nationwide, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. Shelters often look after other animals in search of a permanent home as well, including pigs, birds and even horses. However, only half of all shelter animals — about 3.2 million — are adopted each year, ASPCA data shows. This means millions of animals — some right here in the Annandale area — are still waiting for their forever homes. Here at Patch, with a little help from our friends at … [Read more...] about Annandale Area Pets Up For Adoption

“We’re going to make it possible for musicians today to do something I never could, to make enough money so they don’t have to work fulltime while trying to be an artist.” So says Scott Arey, CEO of Community Musician, front man and songwriter for his latest band The Lost Cavaliers of Mercy.  As a young musician, Scott signed with Warner Music and began touring as a warm-up act for the Indigo Girls, but he quickly discovered he couldn’t make enough money to pay his bills.  Nothing has changed in the last 30 years.  If anything, it’s gotten even harder for musicians to earn a living wage. But now Scott’s literally got a card up his sleeve he didn’t have in the early days, the “Collectible Music Card”, a patented product he’s going to bring to music fans around the world. “A few years ago I was lucky enough to become involved with a company that wanted to do a gift card but didn’t completely understand how to execute it. I had already explored the concept of the music card and I had … [Read more...] about It’s In The Cards: Could Scott Arey Being Holding All The Aces?

Russia may have finalized how it plans to launch its new war mobilization effort—by preventing men who can serve from leaving the country. The independent Russian outlet Meduza reported that the Kremlin planned to ban men of fighting age from leaving the country in the event they needed to be drafted to deploy to Ukraine. The striking order came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new “mobilization” effort designed to turn the tide against its losing war in the neighboring country. The sweeping ban would likely go into effect on Wednesday, according to Meduza. It would follow the supposed referendums in the Russian-seized areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine pledging fealty to Russia, all of which are illegal by international law. “We know what Vladimir Putin is doing,” said British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, according to the Mirror . “He is planning to fabricate the outcome of those referenda, he is planning to … [Read more...] about Russia Plans to Close Border to Men of Fighting Age to Boost the Draft: Report

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is seeking help from the United Nations to stem an “avalanche” of migrants who make their way from the ethnically divided island’s breakaway north across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone to seek asylum in numbers that authorities cannot cope with, the interior minister said Monday. Minister Nikos Nouris said 94% of the 15,130 asylum-seekers who filed applications with the divided island’s internationally recognized government in the south through August this year had traversed the buffer zone. That is double the number from the same period last year. Nouris will travel to New York this week for meetings with the U.N. Secretary-General’s Cabinet Chief Courtenay Rattray and U.N. Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix to brief them in detail about the situation. Nouris said the U.N. has no mandate under its 58-year peacekeeping mission in Cyprus to carry out operations aimed at halting the flow of migrants across the buffer … [Read more...] about Cyprus seeks UN help to stem asylum-seeker ‘avalanche’