Dick Cheney dead: Vice President who served with George W. Bush and took leading role in'war on terror' dies at 84 Republicans reveal plot to stop'insurrectionist' democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani being sworn in as NYC mayor using Civil War-era clause Warren Buffett's $6billion stock exit is his loudest warning yet Father reveals'radical faith' spiral of American son killed in hail of arrows by reclusive tribe as new believers consider following him to isolated island How Charles reacted when'difficult' William asked if he could do fewer engagements: Biographer ROBERT JOBSON reveals the'tension', secrets of Kate's family life - and how couple are making Prince George'strong' Karoline Leavitt, 28, is accused of'airbrushing' husband, 60, in glamor White House snaps Taylor Swift enjoys girls' night with squad member Gigi Hadid in NYC after Travis Kelce's ex took swipe Wicked star Jonathan Bailey becomes first ever openly gay man to be named People's Sexiest Man Alive Texas governor warns any New Yorkers trying to flee south after Mamdani's win will be slapped with 100% tariff'She used it to freshen up... it killed her': My wife died of cancer at 63. She never smoked or drank. Explosive war sparked by Hollywood agent's nepo-baby son dismembering his wife Walmart boss warns of AI shake-up that will impact 2.1 million jobs at America's biggest employer Sex aids and poppers... the sordid discoveries made by royal aides after party Andrew threw for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - and the truth about those massages: ROBERT JOBSON Dallas Cowboys agree huge trade for rival's defensive captain just hours before the NFL deadline George W. Bush's hilarious reaction to 315lb Cardinals star Calais Campbell caught on ref's mic at Cowboys game America's electric car market runs out of juice with sales plunging as much as 80% Shohei Ohtani makes rare speech in English as Dodgers star's wife soaks up the spotlight at World Series parade It's the trendy new diagnosis for everything from fatigue to brain fog... but here's the truth about your gut problem - and how to fix it: DR EMILY LEEMING Insane survival skills of dad who got lost in wilderness for 20 days as he's found alive AMANDA PLATELL: Fergie's delusions have reached a new low. I can't believe Beatrice and Eugenie are egging her on. Coca-Cola faces huge backlash for using AI in its'Holidays are Coming' Christmas advert for the second year in a row - as one viewer calls it the'best ad I've ever seen for Pepsi' Coca-Cola has been blasted online after confirming that it has used AI in its much-loved Christmas advert for the second year in a row.

The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) is thrilled to announce the launch of a new podcast series, "Generations in Dialogue: Bridging Perspectives in AI." Through this series, we aim to represent diverse perspectives across generations, fostering rich conversations about the ever changing landscape of AI. "Generations in Dialogue" aims to feature unique outlooks from AI experts, practitioners, enthusiasts of all backgrounds. Each episode will cover topics ranging from the history of AI, the latest research, to exploring the future ethical implications of its newest technologies. We will delve into how generational experiences shape views on AI, exploring the challenges, opportunities, and ethical considerations that come with the advancement of this transformative technology. We welcome you to join us on this exciting journey. Whether you are an AI professional, researcher, or student, we hope this platform will be invaluable in discovering unique perspectives of AI with a global audience, bridging existing generational gaps in the understanding of AI and expanding your network beyond your local communities.

Dick Cheney dead: Vice President who served with George W. Bush and took leading role in'war on terror' dies at 84 Republicans reveal plot to stop'insurrectionist' democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani being sworn in as NYC mayor using Civil War-era clause Warren Buffett's $6billion stock exit is his loudest warning yet Father reveals'radical faith' spiral of American son killed in hail of arrows by reclusive tribe as new believers consider following him to isolated island How Charles reacted when'difficult' William asked if he could do fewer engagements: Biographer ROBERT JOBSON reveals the'tension', secrets of Kate's family life - and how couple are making Prince George'strong' Karoline Leavitt, 28, is accused of'airbrushing' husband, 60, in glamor White House snaps Taylor Swift enjoys girls' night with squad member Gigi Hadid in NYC after Travis Kelce's ex took swipe Wicked star Jonathan Bailey becomes first ever openly gay man to be named People's Sexiest Man Alive Texas governor warns any New Yorkers trying to flee south after Mamdani's win will be slapped with 100% tariff'She used it to freshen up... it killed her': My wife died of cancer at 63. She never smoked or drank. Explosive war sparked by Hollywood agent's nepo-baby son dismembering his wife Walmart boss warns of AI shake-up that will impact 2.1 million jobs at America's biggest employer Sex aids and poppers... the sordid discoveries made by royal aides after party Andrew threw for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - and the truth about those massages: ROBERT JOBSON Dallas Cowboys agree huge trade for rival's defensive captain just hours before the NFL deadline George W. Bush's hilarious reaction to 315lb Cardinals star Calais Campbell caught on ref's mic at Cowboys game America's electric car market runs out of juice with sales plunging as much as 80% Shohei Ohtani makes rare speech in English as Dodgers star's wife soaks up the spotlight at World Series parade It's the trendy new diagnosis for everything from fatigue to brain fog... but here's the truth about your gut problem - and how to fix it: DR EMILY LEEMING Insane survival skills of dad who got lost in wilderness for 20 days as he's found alive AMANDA PLATELL: Fergie's delusions have reached a new low. I can't believe Beatrice and Eugenie are egging her on. Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS is seen for the first time since it disappeared behind the sun - and it's even BRIGHTER than when it went in READ MORE: Interstellar visitor proves Einstein's theory Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has been spotted for the first time since it disappeared behind the sun.

Republicans reveal plot to stop'insurrectionist' democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani being sworn in as NYC mayor using Civil War-era clause Texas governor warns any New Yorkers trying to flee south after Mamdani's win will be slapped with 100% tariff I won't ever forget what I saw at Andy Cohen's party. He may admit he's hooking up with guys on every dating app but this is the truth about men like him: KENNEDY As melatonin's terrifying link to fatal heart condition is revealed, experts weigh in on sleep aid's safety Warren Buffett's $6billion stock exit is his loudest warning yet Taylor Swift enjoys girls' night with squad member Gigi Hadid in NYC after Travis Kelce's ex took swipe Wicked star Jonathan Bailey becomes first ever openly gay man to be named People's Sexiest Man Alive Karoline Leavitt, 28, is accused of'airbrushing' husband, 60, in glamor White House snaps George W. Bush's hilarious reaction to 315lb Cardinals star Calais Campbell caught on ref's mic at Cowboys game Father reveals'radical faith' spiral of American son killed in hail of arrows by reclusive tribe as new believers consider following him to isolated island Justin Bieber's secret world: Faith, basketball and what friends say he's really like off-camera We've never been so sure of an imminent financial crash: Industry leaders across ALL sectors come together to say these signs of US economic meltdown are undeniable Sex aids and poppers... the sordid discoveries made by royal aides after party Andrew threw for Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - and the truth about those massages: ROBERT JOBSON Blake Lively demands It Ends With Us producer hand over full'graphic' footage of'naked' wife giving birth she called'porn' Meet Diddy's new prison pal: Disgraced rapper spotted with well-known sports star-turned-convict Shohei Ohtani makes rare speech in English as Dodgers star's wife soaks up the spotlight at World Series parade Insane survival skills of dad who got lost in wilderness for 20 days as he's found alive China's president Xi caught knifing Trump in brutal attack just hours after historic summit Rollercoaster camera caught utter terror on people's faces after seat belt failed on 208ft ride that travels at 75mph Pictured: Sweet boy, 8, wearing Spider Man robe was'killed and stuffed in cooler by mom and grandma' Being'hangry' is NOT a real thing! It might be time for Snickers to rethink its slogan - as a new study has revealed there's no truth to the phrase'you're not you when you're hungry'. Simply skipping a meal while fasting does not slow down thinking skills, scientists say. This contradicts the well-known phenomenon of becoming angry because you are peckish, also known as being'hangry'.

Republicans reveal plot to stop'insurrectionist' democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani being sworn in as NYC mayor using Civil War-era clause Warren Buffett's $6billion stock exit is his loudest warning yet Texas governor warns any New Yorkers trying to flee south after Mamdani's win will be slapped with 100% tariff I won't ever forget what I saw at Andy Cohen's party. He may admit he's hooking up with guys on every dating app but this is the truth about men like him: KENNEDY As melatonin's terrifying link to fatal heart condition is revealed, experts weigh in on sleep aid's safety More young people developing'old person disease' of the gut with increased risk of severe complications Taylor Swift enjoys girls' night with squad member Gigi Hadid in NYC after Travis Kelce's ex took swipe Wicked star Jonathan Bailey becomes first ever openly gay man to be named People's Sexiest Man Alive Karoline Leavitt, 28, is accused of'airbrushing' husband, 60, in glamor White House snaps George W. ...

Federated optimization is a constrained form of distributed optimization that enables training a global model without directly sharing client data. Although existing algorithms can guarantee convergence in theory and often achieve stable training in practice, the reasons behind performance degradation under data heterogeneity remain unclear. To address this gap, the main contribution of this paper is to provide a theoretical perspective that explains why such degradation occurs. We introduce the assumption that heterogeneous client data lead to distinct local optima, and show that this assumption implies two key consequences: 1) the distance among clients' local optima raises the lower bound of the global objective, making perfect fitting of all client data impossible; and 2) in the final training stage, the global model oscillates within a region instead of converging to a single optimum, limiting its ability to fully fit the data. These results provide a principled explanation for performance degradation in non-iid settings, which we further validate through experiments across multiple tasks and neural network architectures. The framework used in this paper is open-sourced at: https://github.com/NPCLEI/fedtorch.

Recent studies suggest that asymmetric binary perceptron (ABP) likely exhibits the so-called statistical-computational gap characterized with the appearance of two phase transitioning constraint density thresholds: \textbf{\emph{(i)}} the \emph{satisfiability threshold} $α_c$, below/above which ABP succeeds/fails to operate as a storage memory; and \textbf{\emph{(ii)}} \emph{algorithmic threshold} $α_a$, below/above which one can/cannot efficiently determine ABP's weight so that it operates as a storage memory. We consider a particular parametric utilization of \emph{fully lifted random duality theory} (fl RDT) [85] and study its potential ABP's algorithmic implications. A remarkable structural parametric change is uncovered as one progresses through fl RDT lifting levels. On the first two levels, the so-called $\c$ sequence -- a key parametric fl RDT component -- is of the (natural) decreasing type. A change of such phenomenology on higher levels is then connected to the $α_c$ -- $α_a$ threshold change. Namely, on the second level concrete numerical values give for the critical constraint density $α=α_c\approx 0.8331$. While progressing through higher levels decreases this estimate, already on the fifth level we observe a satisfactory level of convergence and obtain $α\approx 0.7764$. This allows to draw two striking parallels: \textbf{\emph{(i)}} the obtained constraint density estimate is in a remarkable agrement with range $α\in (0.77,0.78)$ of clustering defragmentation (believed to be responsible for failure of locally improving algorithms) [17,88]; and \textbf{\emph{(ii)}} the observed change of $\c$ sequence phenomenology closely matches the one of the negative Hopfield model for which the existence of efficient algorithms that closely approach similar type of threshold has been demonstrated recently [87].

Ensuring that Large Language Models (LLMs) align with the diverse and evolving human values across different regions and cultures remains a critical challenge in AI ethics. Current alignment approaches often yield superficial conformity rather than genuine ethical understanding, failing to address the complex, context-dependent nature of human values. In this paper, we propose a novel ethical reasoning paradigm for LLMs inspired by well-established ethical decision-making models, aiming at enhancing diverse human value alignment through deliberative ethical reasoning. Our framework consists of a structured five-step process, including contextual fact gathering, hierarchical social norm identification, option generation, multiple-lens ethical impact analysis, and reflection. This theory-grounded approach guides LLMs through an interpretable reasoning process that enhances their ability to understand regional specificities and perform nuanced ethical analysis, which can be implemented with either prompt engineering or supervised fine-tuning methods. We perform evaluations on the SafeWorld benchmark that specially designed for regional value alignment. Experimental results demonstrate our framework significantly improves LLM alignment with diverse human values compared to baseline methods, enabling more accurate social norm identification and more culturally appropriate reasoning. Our work provides a concrete pathway toward developing LLMs that align more effectively with the multifaceted values of global societies through interdisciplinary research.

The transnational ivory trade continues to drive the decline of elephant populations across Africa, and trafficking networks remain difficult to disrupt. Tusks seized by law enforcement officials carry forensic information on the traffickers responsible for their export, including DNA evidence and handwritten markings made by traffickers. For 20 years, analyses of tusk DNA have identified where elephants were poached and established connections among shipments of ivory. While the links established using genetic evidence are extremely conclusive, genetic data is expensive and sometimes impossible to obtain. But though handwritten markings are easy to photograph, they are rarely documented or analyzed. Here, we present an AI-driven pipeline for extracting and analyzing handwritten markings on seized elephant tusks, offering a novel, scalable, and low-cost source of forensic evidence. Having collected 6,085 photographs from eight large seizures of ivory over a 6-year period (2014-2019), we used an object detection model to extract over 17,000 individual markings, which were then labeled and described using state-of-the-art AI tools. We identified 184 recurring "signature markings" that connect the tusks on which they appear. 20 signature markings were observed in multiple seizures, establishing forensic links between these seizures through traffickers involved in both shipments. This work complements other investigative techniques by filling in gaps where other data sources are unavailable. The study demonstrates the transformative potential of AI in wildlife forensics and highlights practical steps for integrating handwriting analysis into efforts to disrupt organized wildlife crime.

Accurate, fine-grained poverty maps remain scarce across much of the Global South. While Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provide high-quality socioeconomic data, their spatial coverage is limited and reported coordinates are randomly displaced for privacy, further reducing their quality. We propose a graph-based approach leveraging low-dimensional AlphaEarth satellite embeddings to predict cluster-level wealth indices across Sub-Saharan Africa. By modeling spatial relations between surveyed and unlabeled locations, and by introducing a probabilistic "fuzzy label" loss to account for coordinate displacement, we improve the generalization of wealth predictions beyond existing surveys. Our experiments on 37 DHS datasets (2017-2023) show that incorporating graph structure slightly improves accuracy compared to "image-only" baselines, demonstrating the potential of compact EO embeddings for large-scale socioeconomic mapping.