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Researchers at the University of Hull recently unveiled a novel method for detecting AI-generated deepfake images by analyzing reflections in human eyes.

Adejumoke Owolabi, an MSc student at the University of Hull, headed the research under the guidance of Dr. Kevin Pimbblet, professor of astrophysics.

In some ways, the astronomy angle isn’t always necessary for this kind of deepfake detection because a quick glance at a pair of eyes in a photo can reveal reflection inconsistencies, which is something artists who paint portraits have to keep in mind.

They used the Gini coefficient, typically employed to measure light distribution in galaxy images, to assess the uniformity of reflections across eye pixels.

The approach also risks producing false positives, as even authentic photos can sometimes exhibit inconsistent eye reflections due to varied lighting conditions or post-processing techniques.

But analyzing eye reflections may still be a useful tool in a larger deepfake detection toolset that also considers other factors such as hair texture, anatomy, skin details, and background consistency.

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In the biggest news of all, Rivian and Volkswagen announced a $5 billion joint venture that will co-develop core parts of the hardware and software platform to be used in cars from both automakers.

We love that because it aligns so beautifully with our mission: the ability to help accelerate putting highly compelling electric vehicles into the market, which will ultimately drive more demand.

A core objective of how we’ve structured the joint venture is that we don’t lose the velocity and the speed and the decisiveness and lack of bureaucracy that exists within our software function today.

Beyond just simplification of how we manage running over-the-air updates across so many different instances, it also gets us a lot of supply chain leverage in a way that we, Rivian, haven’t had in the past.

In fact, you can imagine the day of the announcement, I had a handful of phone calls from CEOs of big semiconductor suppliers, and they’re like, “Hey, we can work harder on pricing.” So, that was awesome.

So, taking away all those mechanical design studio packaging constraints that we had before, and then solving the biggest challenge, which was network architecture by this being that as a project, it’s just a very different type of relationship.

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EMILYs LIST, the PAC focused on electing Democratic women, explicitly endorsed Harris in a tweet and, in a more subtle show of support, also added the tree and the coconut to its username.

The “coconut tree” meme originates from a May 2023 speech Harris gave at a White House event for advancing opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

At one point near the end of her remarks, Harris talked about how the initiative’s work would be focused on young people, but it should also take into account the needs of their families, teachers and communities, “because none of us just live in a silo.”

But the meme tookon new life this summer, after President Biden’s disastrous debate performance fueled speculation that he might step aside as the Democratic nominee.

The RNC compiled a supercut of Harris being “unburdened” and shared it on social media, arguing that it shows she is “unoriginal, annoying, and highly incompetent.” But her supporters have taken ownership of the line.

As Washington Post internet culture reporter Taylor Lorenz wrote: “Harris’s new online prominence could help give the Democratic Party new prominence with young people — including major content creators — who are hesitant to vote for Biden again due to his climate policies, support of Israel’s war in Gaza, mishandling of the ongoing pandemic, and signing a bill that could ban TikTok.”

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After a week saturated with the endlessly repeated and parsed video of former President Donald Trump being shot at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, and the carefully choreographed four-day television show of the Republican National Convention that followed it, here was a dramatic news story that lacked the visual element in almost every way.

Because it was a summer Sunday afternoon, TV news’ first string wasn’t immediately available, giving opportunities to ABC’s Rachel Scott, CBS’ Kristine Johnson and NBC’s Hallie Jackson to anchor the initial reports.

Biden’s former White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, was in a studio after finishing her Sunday show, which put her in place to break the news about her former boss.

The networks quickly pivoted to talking about a Harris-Trump general election matchup, even before Harris announced — again, via a printed statement — about two hours after Biden’s endorsement that she would be a candidate.

That was a complete surprise, compared to the seemingly endless discussion that absorbed the political world during the past three weeks about whether the 81-year-old Biden could effectively continue as a candidate following his disastrous performance in a June 27 debate against Trump.

But Biden had repeatedly and emphatically insisted he was staying in the race, and the Sunday morning political talk shows featured surrogates pushing that line.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election.

And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account.

The announcement is the latest jolt to a campaign for the White House that both political parties see as the most consequential election in generations, coming just days after the attempted assassination of Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.

Now, Democrats have to urgently try to bring coherence to the nominating process in a matter of weeks and persuade voters in a stunningly short amount of time that their nominee can handle the job and beat Trump.

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, but the party had announced that it would hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden before in-person proceedings begin.

“His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American.”

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He could depend on the 16 solar panels mounted in his backyard and a battery system to provide for the basic needs of his house in the suburban community of Hilshire Village.

He was one of the people I reached out to this week to get a sense of whether Beryl, along with longer-term concerns about the reliability of the grid, have made Texans more receptive to rooftop solar.

Such customer-owned resources are an essential part of the shift away from fossil fuels, helping to reduce demand on a grid that relies on natural gas power plants to produce electricity.

How much room is difficult to say, but a good way to frame it is that the state’s generation from small-scale solar last year was equivalent to about 1% of the total from large power plants.

Some of the main drivers of rooftop solar in Texas have been a desire to reduce exposure to rising utility costs and concerns about reliability of the grid, said Ryan Barnett, senior vice president of policy and market development for Palmetto, a North Carolina-based climate tech company whose products include solar and battery storage.

Disclosure: CenterPoint Energy has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.

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They voted almost unanimously to authorise strike action on Friday, just days before union contract negotiations for workers are set to resume.

The contract for cast members at Disneyland expired 16 June, and the current negotiations involves a coalition of unions that represent nearly 10,000 employees at the park, which includes everyone from those who work as characters and operate rides to sales, restaurant, and janitorial workers.

A survey of employees showed 73% say they don’t make enough to cover basic expenses each month and about a third said they experienced housing insecurity within the last year.

Disney unsuccessfully fought the wage hike, but workers say it’s still not enough to survive in Southern California.A living wage calculator built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, says a single person with no children would need to be paid $30.48 an hour to afford to live near Disneyland in Orange County, which is about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.Workers who talked to the BBC said they have kept their jobs at the park because they love the Disney brand, and they rely on the generous healthcare benefits and union-operated food bank, which some workers described as a saving-grace.

Disney says it is committed to negotiations with its “cast members” - the company’s term for employees who play princesses and pirates as well as the chefs or janitors who maintain the park.

Ms Carranza described the back-breaking work she does nightly at the park - cleaning, polishing, repairing floors and sometimes installing carpets.She said last summer living in her car was the lowest point in her life, and she credits her dogs with keeping her alive.“I know that they’re the reason why I’m still here, why I didn’t let go," she said.

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In a video to illustrate what happened to her vulva when she was aged six she cut off the petals of a rose with a razor blade and then stitched up what was left of the flower.The TikTok post went viral - with nearly 12 million views since it was shared 16 months ago.No Somali, even in the diaspora, talks openly about FGM - never mind the problems that can come with it like painful periods, the difficulty of urinating, the agony of having sex and the dangers and trauma of giving birth when one’s vulva (including the lips and clitoris) have been cut off and the vaginal opening has been narrowed to a tiny hole.This form of FGM - known as infibulation or “type three” - is what happens to most girls in Somalia as it is a commonly held belief that the cutting off their outer genitalia will guarantee their virginity.Women who do not undergo FGM are regarded by many in Somali society as having loose morals or a high sex drive, which risks ruining a family’s reputation.Yet the 31-year-old TikToker, who came to live in the UK in 2001 when her family fled Somalia’s civil war, is not afraid to take on such taboos with humorous, engaging and sometimes heart-breaking honesty.Using the name Shamsa Araweelo on TikTok, she has shared a horrific account of how she was forcibly married off and raped not long after she turned 18 while on a trip to Somalia.

Ms Sharawe, who was featured in last year’s BBC list of 100 women for her determination to end FGM, decided to share her journey to Germany and recovery so other women like her could know their options.Yet it has taken years of abuse and the trauma of a second failed marriage for her to find the courage to take on the establishment within the Somali community.Ms Sharawe, now a single mother with a 10-year-old daughter, also feels let down by the NHS.It only offers deinfibulation for FGM survivors - that is surgery that opens up the vagina, but does not replace any removed tissue and will not undo any of the damage.Ms Sharawe decided to look for funds to pay for surgery in Germany.Through online crowdfunding, she managed to raise £25,000 ($32,000) – and underwent a four-and-half hour procedure in December.She was in Germany for three weeks and on her return, the anti-FGM activist and teaching assistant was not able to leave her house for months as she recovered.The childcare costs and other expenses on top of the surgery mean she is still in debt - owing around £3,000 to the hospital.“Paying for damage you didn’t choose for yourself, or you didn’t create, is really unfair,” she says.There are four different types of FGM with varying levels of severity:Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the sensitive clitorisExcision: partial or total removal of the clitoris plus the inner skin folds surrounding the vagina (labia minora)Infibulation: cutting and repositioning of the outer skin folds around the vagina (labia minora and labia majora).

Often includes stitching to leave only a small gapCovers all other harmful procedures like pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterising the clitoris or genital area.What is FGM, where does it happen and why?In the past couple of decades, medical techniques have been developed to try to repair the damage - pioneered in 2004 by French surgeon Dr Pierre Foldès.

It’s complicated and every patient is different,” says Dr Adan Abdullahi, a specialist in Kenya.But he says women with every type of FGM could benefit: “It has a positive effect on childbirth, especially for ‘type three’, which is associated with a narrowing of the vagina.”Other issues, such as pain during sex, can be significantly improved or cured, he says - adding that his patients often experience improved self-esteem “and a sense of completeness”.Ms Bilkisu says she does feel more complete since her surgery, which was covered by the German health system: “Undergoing surgery was really a power move, a way to fight back.”But the 30-year-old recruitment agent encourages others to do their research thoroughly before deciding: "Reconstruction is not only to reconstruct the clitoris.

“I definitely don’t think surgery is the answer for everyone,” she tells the BBC.Around half the cases at her clinic, which opened in 2020, are now treated using non-surgical means like injections of platelet-rich plasma which promotes tissue rejuvenation.

“The plasma [can] lead to regeneration and stimulation of increased blood flow and reducing inflammation in the areas where you inject it,” she says.However, she cautions that the high cost means such treatments are beyond the reach of many.Her clinic also offers psychological therapies to overcome trauma for women cut at an age when they can remember the experience.For those who do opt for reconstructive surgery, the results can be emotional.“The first time I actually saw my clitoris I was taken aback because for me it was like this doesn’t belong to me,” said Ms Bilkisu, who was eight years old when she underwent “type two” FGM.Ms Sharawe agrees it takes some getting used to, plus learning how to deal with things like proper period bleeds.It will take her another six months to completely recover - and she has not been able to afford to go back to Germany for a check-up, which worries her.“But now I know how it feels to be a full woman… I am a very happy woman,” she says.“I can wear underwear without discomfort or pain.

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Police in Bangladesh have been granted “shoot-on-sight” orders and a nationwide curfew has been imposed as student-led protests continue to roil the country, leaving more than 100 people dead.

The curfew, imposed at midnight on Friday, was expected to last until Sunday morning as police tried to bring the swiftly deteriorating security situation under control, with military personnel patrolling the streets of the capital.

In extreme cases, police officers have been granted powers to open fire on those violating the curfew, confirmed Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party.

They began earlier this month on university campuses as students protested against the reintroduction of civil service job quotas that they say are discriminatory and benefit the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister.

Pro-government student groups attacked protesters earlier this week and police were accused of instigating violence by firing teargas, rubber bullets and stun grenades at the demonstrators.

Representatives from both sides met late on Friday in an attempt to reach a resolution, with several student leaders demanding a complete reform of the quota system and for universities to be reopened.

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