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Exclusive: Kroger and Albertsons CEOs give details on controversial $25 billion merger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen and Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran pledged to lower prices, pay employees’ retirement pension funds, respect their union contracts and not to lay off frontline associates if their proposed grocery merger prevails.Nine months after the announcement of the almost $25 billion deal, the executives sat down for the first time with a newspaper on Friday to provide updates on the merger process. If successful, the deal would directly impact Coloradans – Kroger serves as the parent company of King Soopers, the state’s largest grocery store chain headquartered in Denver, while Safeway operates under Albertsons Companies Inc.But the pair face a tough road ahead with Kroger’s acquisition of Albertsons – a move first made public in October. The deal has attracted the ire of unions and farmers fearful of the possible consequences, including job losses, the proliferation of food deserts and jumps in prices.The merger has also earned the skepticism of go...

Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann gets protective order on man she accuses of harassment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

A judge this week granted Thornton’s mayor, Jan Kulmann, a permanent civil protection order against a 29-year-old man she accuses of harassing her at city events over the last six weeks.The order against Dariush Namazi, who satirically calls himself “Danny Kulmann” and ironically claims to be the mayor’s political ally, requires him to stay at least 15 feet away from the Kulmann.It was issued on Tuesday by Adams County Magistrate Michael Garlan and follows up on a temporary protection order that was issued against Namazi on June 22.“The first time I saw Mr. Namazi was on June 3 during Thorntonfest,” Kulmann told The Denver Post. “He started with an intentionally misleading online persona shortly after that. He’s been coming to city events, including our concerts and movies, since then.”Kulmann, who unsuccessfully ran as a Republican hopeful in the 8th Congressional District race last year, said Namazi has “blocked her exits”...

How to use AI for family time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

Last week, I walked you through how to turn artificial intelligence into a tutor and research assistant. In the final installment of our how-to editions, we’ll take what we’ve learned and use it to make the most of family time.We’ll focus on a few tasks that can take up a lot of mental bandwidth at home.Weekly meal planning is a major chore, and gift giving can be daunting, with various birthdays and holidays throughout the year. And any adult who has read books for children knows that it can become repetitive, and the books aren’t always relatable to a child’s situation or growing pains.Here’s how AI can help. Meal-planning superpowers Foodies and private chefs have been enthusiastically using AI to sketch out comprehensive meal plans that consider people’s preferences and dietary restrictions. (Cooks are less gung ho about AI-generated recipes, which can be a disaster if a bot screws up.)It turns out that brainstorming meals is a borderline superpower for a chatbot like ChatGPT or...

OpenAI worries about what its chatbot will say about people’s faces

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

The chatbot that millions of people have used to write term papers, computer code and fairy tales doesn’t just do words. ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence-powered tool from OpenAI, can analyze images, too — describing what’s in them, answering questions about them and even recognizing specific people’s faces. The hope is that, eventually, someone could upload a picture of a broken-down car’s engine or a mysterious rash and ChatGPT could suggest the fix.What OpenAI doesn’t want ChatGPT to become is a facial recognition machine.For the past few months, Jonathan Mosen has been among a select group of people with access to an advanced version of the chatbot that can analyze images. On a recent trip, Mosen, an employment agency CEO who is blind, used the visual analysis to determine which dispensers in a hotel room bathroom were shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. It went far beyond the performance of image analysis software he had used in the past.“It told me the milliliter ca...

49ers training camp: Will rookie tight ends become George Kittle’s top wingmen?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Three summers in a row, George Kittle has welcomed NFL tight ends to work out in Nashville, near his offseason home.Earlier this year, the 49ers drafted two tight ends – Cameron Latu and Brayden Willis — to learn from, back up, and complement Kittle.“They’re both great, both high character guys, both have great work ethics, and they learn really well,” Kittle said as the offseason program wound down in June.If Latu or Willis is really ready for the NFL, then incumbents Ross Dwelley and Charlie Woerner could be pressed more than ever for spots on a championship-focused roster.If that foursome isn’t enough, also on the radar is Troy Fumagalli, a practice-squad player last season.Kittle is coming off a strong season, highlighted by a career-high 11 touchdown catches and the requisite accolades (Pro Bowl, Second-Team All-Pro). Seven of those scores came in the final four games of the regular season as Brock Purdy’s trusted target; none of Kittle’s 10 playoff ca...

Editorial: U.S. techs’ AI pledge provides glimmer of hope for safeguards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

At long last there is a glimmer of hope that artificial intelligence can be developed in a manner that generates public trust and ensures cybersecurity.But it’s still just a glimmer.Big Tech leaders have long acknowledged the societal risks of the technology. Friday’s announcement at the White House that seven leading U.S. artificial intelligence companies have pledged to build safeguards into their AI products marks a welcome first step toward addressing the dangers.The companies — Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI — now must follow through on their voluntary commitments by working with the Biden administration and Congress on binding guardrails that prevent the sort of debacles that have plagued social media companies.The five most critical elements of the eight-part agreement include:• Implementing watermarks or some other means of identifying AI-generated content.• Independent testing of AI products for safety before they a...

Opinion: Delta mega-tunnel is not the answer to state’s water challenges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

Climate change is rapidly affecting California’s environment. From drought to catastrophic floods and landslides occurring from unprecedented atmospheric rivers, to sea-level rise and reduced snowpack, there are many water challenges facing the state.The solution to these problems is not a $16 billion mega-tunnel paid for by ratepayers that won’t be completed until 2040 at the earliest. We need solutions now — solutions that won’t cause further damage to already overburdened ecosystems and communities.The Department of Water Resources’ claim that the Delta tunnel could have moved an additional 228,000 acre-feet of water into San Luis Reservoir during the month of January if it had been operational this year is misleading. The Delta  tunnel would not have added any additional supply or contributed to long-term water resilience because there isn’t enough storage space to hold the “additional” water south of the Delta for the next dry year.Given the hydrological forecasting...

More than 300,000 Md. families say their kids did not eat enough due to high grocery costs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey show that hundreds of thousands of Maryland families say their kids sometimes do not eat enough due to high costs of groceries, according to an analysis from a Maryland-based hunger relief non-profit.The Maryland Food Bank has been analyzing survey data from the Household Pulse Survey to track the level of food insecurity many Marylanders are facing, and the most recent analysis of June data shows that a higher percentage of families have struggled with feeding their children enough food than in previous months.According to the organization’s June data analysis, at least 313,952 families responding to the Household Pulse Survey said that their children sometimes or often were not eating enough because their families couldn’t afford enough food.That’s 45% out of 698,...

Live updates | Fowler moves into red figures early in 3rd round of British Open

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

FOWLER 1ST TO GO LOW IN 3RD ROUND HOYLAKE, England (AP) — Rickie Fowler was the first player to make a move in the third round of the British Open, going into red figures after having made the cut on the number.Playing in the first group out, Fowler had two birdies on the front nine and two on the back in a bogey-free 4-under-par round of 67. He was at 1 under par for the tournament and sat nine shots behind leader Brian Harman.Seeking his first major, Fowler was runner-up to Rory McIlroy the last time the Open was played at Hoylake in 2014.Patrick Cantlay also moved to 1 under after making four birdies and no bogeys through his first 17 holes. Xander Schauffele was at 2 under through 11 holes after three birdies on his front nine and another on the back.___WHAT TO KNOW— Harman builds a 5-shot lead at British Open.— Tommy Fleetwood keeps alive English hopes of an Open champion.— Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith rally to make British Open cut; Morikawa not so lucky.— Justin Thomas...

Bacha, De Almeida out of France’s opening Women’s World Cup game versus Jamaica

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:52 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — France, considered a top contender at the Women’s World Cup, will be missing two starters in its opening match against Jamaica on Sunday.Defender Elisa De Almeida sustained a leg injury two days ago in practice and “can’t put her foot down,” coach Hervé Renard said. Forward Selma Bacha, who sprained an ankle in a warm-up game versus Australia on July 14, is also sidelined.“Now she’s running,” Renard said of Bacha. “But we won’t take any risks.”Renard was confident Bacha would be available for France’s match against Brazil on July 29, in Brisbane. No. 5-ranked France and No. 8 Brazil are likely to compete for the top spot in Group F, which also includes World Cup first-timer Panama.Bacha returned to practice on Thursday, the same day De Almeida was injured.“We’re happy that she’s smiling again,” Renard said of Bacha, who has 17 caps for Les Bleus. “She’s in good shape.”De Almeida and Bacha are on the World Cup roster for the first time.—-Tori Newman is a stu...