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How PayPal is using AI to combat fraud, and make it easier to pay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

By KEN SWEET (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Artificial intelligence has been the buzzword of 2023 ever since ChatGPT made its public debut earlier this year, with businesses, schools, universities and even non-profits looking for ways to integrate AI in their operations. John Kim, chief product officer for PayPal, spoke with The Associated Press about how the company is using the early proliferation of artificial intelligence technologies in its business, as well as PayPal’s future in payments when there’s so much competition. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.Q: How have security issues changed since you’ve been in this role or similar roles? How much more complicated or sophisticated are threats or opportunities to protect customer data? A: One way you you can put it is that the fraud is a pretty big business, it’s growing and getting more sophisticated by the day. It used to be that you would get, let’s say, an email sen...

Excessive heat bringing potentially record-breaking temperatures to Southern California 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

Although summer is coming to a close, incredibly high temperatures are due to stick around the Southland to start the week. According to the National Weather Service, due to the excessive heat warning -- which is in effect from 10 a.m. Monday to 8 p.m. Tuesday across most of SoCal -- temperatures could reach up to 16 degrees above normal in some areas, with valley and mountain communities receiving the brunt of the heat. Temperatures could soar to 109 degrees in inland communities, with overnight lows hovering in the mid-80s, providing little relief from the daytime heat.“The hottest temperatures will occur [Monday] and Tuesday, when near-record heat will develop,” NWS said. Elsewhere in SoCal, it is still expected to be very warm; coastal areas are expected to see highs in the upper 90s. “High pressure has pushed back into Southern California,” KTLA 5 meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said. “The next couple of days will be very hot ones for us.”  Map: Much of CA has the worst air quali...

DFL Finds Bad Religion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

Bad ReligionHow Could Hell be Any Worse (Epitaph)DFL Finds Bad Religion: Monty Messex, guitarist with local punks DFL told us about his love for a Bad Religion gem.(Epitaph)Monty Messex: In 1993, I was obsessively listening to Bad Religion’s How Could Hell Be Any Worse. I had this beat up cassette that I’d listen to over and over and over and over again on my Walkman.  That record brought me back to the early ’80s hardcore scene I grew up on- the Circle Jerks, the Germs, The Adolescents, bands that I saw at the Fleetwood, the Vex and Godzilla’s. Although Bad Religion’s sound has evolved over the years, their first LP had this raw lo-fi sound that I loved- the riffs, the political lyrics, the style.So, in ’93, I started writing all these early ’80s sounding hardcore songs influenced by Hell– Super-fast, super loud, super short songs – like less than a minute.  Some of the songs would include a slow “mosh” and some would just be a sprint.  Those songs ended up ...

The “Hoppiest” Hemp Terpene — An Overview On Humulene

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

Beer drinkers are often surprised to learn that cannabis is related to the hops plant. Indeed, botanists put cannabis and hops in the same Cannabaceae family! Although hops can’t produce cannabinoids, these two plants share many remarkable similarities in texture and flavor.Hemp fans can get a whiff of this “hoppy” relationship if they have a strain with high traces of humulene. While humulene isn’t as dominant as terpenes like myrcene or limonene, it often plays a secondary role in full-spectrum CBD oils and hemp strains. There’s also some fascinating research that suggests humulene may have unique benefits.Does Humulene Really Make Hemp Buds Taste Like Beer?As crazy as it may sound, humulene can make hemp buds smell like a craft brew. Humulene is the primary terpene responsible for hops’ distinctive aromatics. So, if a hemp strain has high traces of humulene, you could expect it to mimic the “malty” flavors of the hops plant.Some hemp connoisseurs claim humulene has rich notes of ...

Nordstrom closes its San Francisco store after 35 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

By Jordan Valinsky | CNN BusinessNew York  — Nordstrom closed the doors of its five-story department store in San Francisco on Sunday, ending a 35-year run as the city suffers a retail exodus.The retailer announced the closure in May, saying that the “dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past several years, impacting customer foot traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”RELATED: While some stores are leaving San Francisco, Ikea is opening there this weekShoppers told CNN affiliate KGO-TV that it was a “sad day” and that the 312,000-square-foot Nordstrom was an “anchor in San Francisco.” The once-vibrant store was filled with empty displays, sealed-off areas and customers taking a ride on its memorable spiral escalator one last time.A nearby Nordstrom Rack closed last month.After Nordstrom announced it was closing, shopping mall operator Westfield said it would give up control of its San Francisco mall, citing “challe...

Travel Troubleshooter: Where’s the $10,954 insurance check for my canceled tour?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: My wife and I purchased a tour to Tuscany, Italy, for last October from Overseas Adventure Travel. For an additional fee, we also purchased cancel-for-any-reason insurance from their partner, Allianz. We had to cancel a week before the trip began because my wife broke her ankle. We filed a claim with Allianz and received an email from the insurance company a month later, stating that it had completed its review and “payment details” would be forthcoming from OAT.Christopher Elliott, the Travel Troubleshooter We never heard from OAT. When I called them, I was told that we would receive a check in 45 days. We received no check. I called again two months later, and a representative told me that we would receive a check within a month. The check still did not arrive.I called again. This time, OAT changed its story. A rep told me that Allianz had not completed its processing of our claim.The next month, I spoke with a representative at Allianz...

Yurosek aims to maintain Stanford tight end legacy in new coach Taylor’s offense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

STANFORD – Of almost 100 Stanford football players whose portraits are shown on the 2023 team roster, one group stands out.The tight ends all wore thick black-framed glasses when they took their individual portraits – a nod to the legacy of their predecessors who prided themselves on “intellectual brutality” and used smarts and physicality to dominate the line of scrimmage.The Cardinal struggled to run the ball or stop the run in recent years, and appeared to give up on that mentality entirely by implementing a hurry-up spread offense under new coach Troy Taylor.But senior Benjamin Yurosek said the tight end group is still trying to return to its roots and play hard-nosed, old-school football.“We grew up watching Stanford and that style of play,” Yurosek said. “I think the Stanford man always has the same mentality. I don’t think any of that changes. Obviously, our offense is a complete 180 from last year, but talking about the person and the mentality we’re still aggressive SOBs an...

TasteFood: Too many tomatoes? Make a buttery, savory confit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

If you have the luxury — I mean, the problem — of too many end-of-season tomatoes, then this confit is for you. Confit is an ancient form of preservation in which perishable food is slowly cooked at a low temperature in fat and then stored in fat. It was (and is) an efficient and safe method to cook and store meat and fish that would otherwise perish. The term “confit” also applies to preserving fruits and vegetables, which may be slowly cooked in oil or a sugar syrup — a method that yields jams, chutneys and candied fruit.This end-of-summer confit is a rich, bright and buttery blend of tomatoes and garlic. The key to the recipe is its simplicity of ingredients and the slow cooking time, which allows the tomatoes to reduce to a juicy sludge and a whole head of garlic to collapse and melt into a buttery paste. Your reward is a savory jam with myriad uses. Smear the confit on crostini, spoon a dollop into a bowl of pasta, use as a pizza sauce, or dilute i...

‘Our school is in crisis’: James Lick High School teachers call for action after violence on East San Jose campus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

SAN JOSE — Mike Gatenby decided to go public because he felt he had nowhere else to go.Two students had been hospitalized Aug. 17 after an on-campus stabbing in broad daylight, during school hours. It was the second major violent incident of the barely-begun school year.The 25-year English teacher at James Lick High School turned on his camera and pleaded to the community. Clearly shaken, he said his letters to the board of trustees at San Jose’s East Side Union High School District had gone unanswered.“Our community has always had its fair share of challenges but I’ve never experienced anything like the start of this school year,” Gatenby said in the video, posted to multiple social media feeds.“Our school is in crisis,” he added.The stabbing left one of the two students with life-threatening injuries, though both are now recovering. Police have not released any information publicly about arrests or potential suspects.On the night of the stabbing, at an East...

What’s happened to the barn owls in a Santa Clara neighborhood?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:55 GMT

DEAR JOAN: I used to see barn owls around my neighborhood a lot. Most nights I would hear or see one flying high overhead northwards and other nights I would see one flying around lower. But I have not seen or heard them for nearly a year. Where could they have gone? Do individual barn owls have their own territories that change over time?— Tim Avila, Santa ClaraDEAR TIM: It’s always awesome, I think, to have a barn owl for a neighbor, but there are a couple of things that might make them move to a different neighborhood.The first is a lack of food. Although it’s hard to imagine a shortage of rats, if other predators are taking a share and your neighbors are doing their best to keep the rodents at bay, the supply might be limited.Scientists believe barn owls eat at least one rat a day, so a mom and dad, plus a couple of kids, would need four a day. That comes to more than 1,000 in a year. One of their biggest enemies is the great horned owl, which loves nothing more than eatin...