All posts tagged: billions

Disney being sued for billions over Moana claims | Ents & Arts News

Disney being sued for billions over Moana claims | Ents & Arts News

Published by skeptic

Disney is being sued over Moana and Moana 2, with an animator claiming the films copied plot points from one of their screenplays. Animator Buck Woodall filed a lawsuit in California federal court on Friday that claims Disney stole elements of a screenplay he wrote for an animated film project called Bucky in the early 2000s. Mr Woodall, who is seeking damages of at least $10bn (£8.25bn), says he produced a screenplay and trailer for Bucky and began sharing details of the project with Jenny Marchick, former Mandeville Films director of development, in 2003. Mandeville had a first look deal with Disney, the lawsuit says, and claims Ms Marchick, who is now DreamWorks Animation’s head of development for features, asked for materials like production plans, character designs and storyboards, and reassured Mr Woodall she could get the film greenlit. It points to similarities between the plot points of Moana, released in 2016, and Bucky “which could not possibly have been accidental”, including how both are about a teenager who defies parental warnings and embarks on …

Groundbreaking “hate universe” study reveals links to billions in mainstream communities

Groundbreaking “hate universe” study reveals links to billions in mainstream communities

Published by José

Online hate communities are not confined to isolated corners of the internet. In a new study published in npj Complexity shows how these groups are increasingly intersecting with mainstream online spaces. Using advanced tools to map the online “hate universe,” researchers found that around 50 million accounts in hate communities grew closer not only to each other but also to a broad mainstream audience of billions in the weeks surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election. The rapid evolution of online hate speech has created a pressing need for a deeper understanding of how it spreads, adapts, and impacts broader online communities. While previous research has examined the relationship between real-world events and the proliferation of hate speech, much of it treated hate groups as isolated entities or focused on single platforms. This fragmented approach left a gap in understanding how hate networks function across multiple platforms and how they interact with mainstream communities. The new study addressed this gap by mapping the “hate universe” at an unprecedented scale and resolution. “We hear a lot …

Two Art Collectors Have Made Billions Since Donald Trump’s Reelection

Two Art Collectors Have Made Billions Since Donald Trump’s Reelection

Published by skeptic

Two of the world’s richest people—Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison, both of whom are notable art collectors—have made billions of dollars since Donald Trump won his reelection bid as President of the United States earlier this week. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, made $7.1 billion between Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing his total net worth to $228 billion. Ellison, cofounder of the software company Oracle, saw his net worth jump by $9.9 billion during that period. He is now worth $193 billion, per the Bloomberg list. Bezos and Ellison, who have both appeared on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list, currently rank #2 and #4 on Bloomberg’s billionaire list, respectively. Bezos was among the billionaires who congratulated Trump after his win, writing on X, “No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.” At least one other ARTnews Top 200 Collector lost a significant sum of money following Trump’s reelection. Bernard Arnault, CEO of the LVMH luxury conglomerate, saw his wealth …

Billions of dollars in rare Earth elements found within extinct volcanoes

Billions of dollars in rare Earth elements found within extinct volcanoes

Published by skeptic

These materials could become crucial in the hunt for rare earth metals, which are increasingly in demand due to their importance in technology and renewable energy development. Rare earth elements, although commonly found, are vital for a range of technologies, including smartphones, flat screen TVs, magnets, electric vehicles, and military systems like missiles. They also play a critical role in renewable energy, particularly in the production of wind turbines. However, extracting these metals is no easy feat, making new sources like iron-rich magma especially valuable. Dr Michael Anenburg from ANU. Credit: Jamie Kidston/ANU. (CREDIT: Jamie Kidston/ANU) Dr. Michael Anenburg, a researcher at ANU, has found that the iron-rich magma associated with certain extinct volcanoes is far more efficient at concentrating rare earth elements than the magmas typically found in active volcanic eruptions. “We have never seen an iron-rich magma erupt from an active volcano, but we know some extinct volcanoes, which are millions of years old, had this enigmatic type of eruption,” Anenburg explains. His team’s work opens the door to investigating such volcanoes, which …

Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 to make 5G accessible to billions

Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 to make 5G accessible to billions

Published by skeptic

GamesBeat is excited to partner with Lil Snack to have customized games just for our audience! We know as gamers ourselves, this is an exciting way to engage through play with the GamesBeat content you have already come to love. Start playing games here.  Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 mobile platform, which can make 5G accessible tobillions of smartphone users, the company said. Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 redefines the entry-level mobile experience, packed with consumer must-haves, including Gigabit 5G connectivity, robust power efficiency for all-day battery life, and good camera capabilities. This mobile platform will make 5G accessible to 2.8 billion smartphone users in select regions, offering one Gbps peak download speeds, which is seven times faster than the LTE platforms typically available in the same price tier 2. Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 will be initially adopted by key original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Xiaomi and its other brands, with the first commercial device expected to be announced before the end of the year. Lil Snack & GamesBeat GamesBeat is excited to partner …

Increasing use of renewable energy in US yields billions of dollars of benefits | Renewable energy

Increasing use of renewable energy in US yields billions of dollars of benefits | Renewable energy

Published by skeptic

By increasing its use of renewable energy, the US has not only slashed its planet-warming emissions but also improved its air quality, yielding hundreds of billions of dollars of benefits, a new report has found. The study, published in Cell Reports Sustainability on Wednesday and based on publicly available data, focuses on uptick of renewable energy in the US from 2019 to 2022. “From 2019 through 2022, wind and solar generation increased by about 55%,” said Dev Millstein, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “By 2022, wind and solar provided roughly 14% of total electricity needs for the US.” During that time period, by reducing the use of fossil fuel power plants, the nation’s use of wind and solar power cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 900m metric tons, the authors found. That’s the equivalent of taking 71m cars off the road every year. Those major climate benefits can obscure the air quality benefits renewable power yielded, wrote the authors, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the renewable consulting firm Clean Kilowatts. …

Billions are spent on educational technology, but we don’t know if it works

Billions are spent on educational technology, but we don’t know if it works

Published by skeptic

During the COVID lockdowns, schools and universities worldwide relied on education technology – edtech – to keep students learning. They used online platforms to give lessons, mark work and send feedback, used apps to teach and introduced students to programs that let them work together on projects. In the aftermath of school closures, the market for edtech has kept on growing. The value of the sector is projected to rise to US$132.4 billion globally by 2032 (£106 billion). The problem is that we don’t know very much about how effective many edtech apps or programs are – or if they are effective at all. And some effects may be negative. Some of the so-called educational apps advertised to families show many adverts to children. They may use manipulative features to keep children on screens without teaching them anything new. This technology is here to stay and will remain a significant part of how children learn – so knowing whether it works is imperative. EdTech is here to stay in classrooms and homes. Ground Picture/Shutterstock Assessing …

Inside L.A.’s greatest family feud: Warring brothers. Billions at stake

Inside L.A.’s greatest family feud: Warring brothers. Billions at stake

Published by skeptic

Four brothers gathered in silence in the Los Angeles courtroom to hear the jury’s verdict. The decision came after 20 years of legal maneuvering by the brothers — bitter decades filled with accusations of fraud, intimidation and betrayal. At issue was whether two of the brothers had struck an oral agreement nearly 30 years ago. Such a contract would determine ownership of vast real estate holdings worth billions, one of the highest stakes ever seen in a Los Angeles civil courtroom. One brother swore the contract existed; another denied it ever happened. What might have been an uplifting story of an immigrant who soared to the pinnacle of American wealth had devolved into a saga embroiling not just the siblings but their mother as well. And now, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, jurors filed into the courtroom where they had heard the story of a young man who had left his family in India and improbably had made, and possibly lost, a fortune. It had all started with an opalescent rock. Shashikant Jogani had …

Helpful virus could save billions of gallons of wastewater produced by the oil and gas industry

Helpful virus could save billions of gallons of wastewater produced by the oil and gas industry

Published by skeptic

Ramón Sánchez (pictured right), a doctoral candidate within UTEP’s chemistry program, has identified a novel method for treating bacteria in ‘produced water’ through the use of bacteriophages. Ricardo Bernal, Ph.D., (pictured left) is an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UTEP and Sánchez’ doctoral advisor. (CREDIT: UTEP) The oil and gas industry generates vast quantities of wastewater, also known as produced water. A 2022 report by the Texas Produced Water Consortium estimates a staggering 168 billion gallons annually in the Permian Basin alone. This massive waste stream presents a significant challenge due to its complex chemical composition, making traditional treatment methods difficult and expensive. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are viruses that specifically target and infect bacteria. Often lethal to a single bacterial species, phages hold immense potential for a rapid and cost-effective approach to treating produced water on an industrial scale. Ramón Antonio Sánchez, the study’s lead author and a doctoral candidate in UTEP’s chemistry program, emphasizes the potential impact. “If successful, this could revolutionize the way the oil and gas industry manages …

Brexit border checks to ‘add billions’ to consumer bills | Business News

Brexit border checks to ‘add billions’ to consumer bills | Business News

Published by Sam

Border checks on food and plant imports will add billions of pounds to the cost of doing business with the European Union, industry figures have warned. From Tuesday European imports considered a “medium risk” to UK biosecurity will face physical inspection as part of a new border regime introduced almost eight years after the Brexit vote, and delayed five times in two years. Plant and animal inspectors will examine a proportion of imported goods including fresh meat, fish, and dairy produce, a process that importers fear will disrupt supply chains, particularly for time-critical fresh goods. The physical checks come three months after the introduction of new documentation for imports, including health certificates that require vets and plant inspectors to sign off consignments. With importers also facing a charge for each consignment that comes into the UK irrespective of whether it is stopped for inspection, the government admits it will add more than £330m to annual business costs, and add 0.2% to food inflation over three years. Read moreA crisis of trust in our politics spells …