Los Angeles Times

Old school, new school: The Tampa Bay Rays have two pitchers who have started 20 games this year. One is their ace, Blake Snell, whose 2.03 earned-run average ranks second in the American League. The other is Ryne Stanek, a reliever turned “opener” — in his case, a right-hander who works the first inning or so, followed by a left-hander. In a year in which the Rays lost starters Anthony Banda, Jose DeLeon and Brent Honeywell to Tommy John surgery and traded starters Chris Archer and Nathan Eovaldi, the team leads the AL in ERA since May 19, when Sergio Romo debuted as Tampa Bay’s first “opener.” There is no pitching statistic more derided in sabermetrics than wins for a pitcher.

Those attending the 10th annual Burbank International Film Festival will see homages to some of the greatest science fiction movies ever made, such as velociraptors from "Jurassic Park" and the DeLorean time machine from "Back to the Future."

To the editor: The op-ed makes the meaning of the gig economy very clear: owners and investors make gigamillions and the workers who support them can't make rent. While the owners are crowing the financial benefits to the drivers, some drivers are sleeping and eating in their cars because they have to. And let's not forget that these rideshare companies, which tout the opportunities they are providing to their "non-employees," are the same entities aggressively funding the development of self-driving cars so that they can totally eliminate the nuisance of dealing with the people they now rely on for their success.

The plaintiffs, who include Tinder co-founders Sean Rad, Justin Mateen and Jonathan Badeen, allege that IAC and Match repeatedly falsified financial information to lowball the app's valuation. That prevented bigger payouts to the co-founders and executives, the suit says.

Couples, married or not, tend to have similar ages, educations, levels of attractiveness and a host of other characteristics. This could mean that people try to find partners who "match" their stats. On the other hand, it could mean that people try to find slightly more attractive mates – which results in the same pattern as the most desirable partners pair off, followed by the next most desirable, and so on.

Royal Caribbean International has rolled out a new digital tool that makes an instant video montage of your vacation photographs and sets it to original music based on the content of the images. SoundSeeker uses artificial intelligence technology to scan your uploaded images and make the musical choices.

I suggest that every car registered in California be fitted with a "kill switch" that can be activated by law enforcement. There should be protocols that ensure proper legal protections, such as a warrant issued by a special judge based on the circumstances. The end result would be the same -- the car would slowly die and roll to a stop -- but law enforcement resources would be preserved and public safety would be enhanced.

But when it comes to coffee and amenities, they're at the ready. Here's how it works: After receiving a guest request, a human employee loads items into the robot's compartment, then inputs the guest's room number and hits the robot's "Go" button. The robots have tamper-proof lids to prevent items from being removed before they reach their destination.

Artificial intelligence has not yet confronted a crisis like the showdown between the USSR and the U.S. in Cuba. By and large, AI has provided us with amazingly beneficial tools. "Learning algorithms" on our digital devices extract patterns from data to influence what we buy, watch and read. On a grander scale, AI helps doctors detect and treat diseases, opens new markets and improves productivity for business, and creates data sets and models that address critical issues related to education, energy and the environment.

The product is popular online, currently sitting on the Amazon's Choice list at $35 for a four-bag set, but shoppers also can get the bags at Vons, Safeway and Ralphs grocery stores in California. The company is in talks to offer the bags at Whole Foods and Target stores in California as well, and the Dehmoubeds are finalizing a deal with TV shopping network giant QVC.