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A $12 million ancient Mexican artifact has been seized in Colorado. Now the “Earth Monster” is headed back home.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

The Mexican delegation stood on the tarmac Friday afternoon near Denver International Airport, waiting under hazy skies for a forklift to deliver a wooden box, the contents of which archaeologists have been searching for nearly two decades.Inside that box — 95 inches tall, 46 inches wide, emblazoned with the Mexican flag — sat a 2,000-pound, elaborately carved stone from the ancient Olmec civilization, a precursor to the Mayans who thrived more than 2,500 years ago near the Gulf of Mexico.The prized relic, known as Monument 9 or the Earth Monster, was carefully crafted between 800 and 400 B.C. out of volcanic rock, archaeologists believe. Its wide mouth represents the door to the underworld.“This is one of the pieces we have been looking for for the longest time,” said Jorge Islas, Mexico’s consul general in New York.Authorities believe the stone artifact was stolen in the late 1950s or early 1960s from the central Mexican state of Morelos. It was last ...

ChatFished: How to lose friends and alienate people with AI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

Five hours is enough time to watch a New York Mets game. It is enough time to listen to the Spice Girls’ “Spice” album (40 minutes), Paul Simon’s “Paul Simon” album (42 minutes) and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 (his longest). It is enough time to roast a chicken, text your friends that you’ve roasted a chicken and prepare for an impromptu dinner party.Or you could spend it checking your email. Five hours is about how long many workers spend on email each day. And 90 minutes on the messaging platform Slack.It’s a weird thing, workplace chatter such as email and Slack: It’s sometimes the most delightful and human part of the workday. It can also be mind-numbing to manage your inbox — to the extent you might wonder: Couldn’t a robot do this?In late April, I decided to see what it would be like to let artificial intelligence into my life. I resolved to do an experiment. For one week, I would write all my work communication — emails, Slack messages, pitches, follow-ups with...

Pixel 7A review: We’re running out of reasons to splurge on a “pro” phone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

Not long ago, there were plenty of compelling reasons to spend upward of $900 on a smartphone. Nowadays, you’ll have to come up with an excuse to pay that much.I ran out of reasons to splurge and stopped buying fancier phones with the “Pro” moniker over the past two years. That’s not just because I’m frugal. Cheaper phones have increasingly become indistinguishable from high-end ones, and the few features that set them apart rarely justify the extra cost.Google’s new budget phone that arrives in stores this week, the Pixel 7A, is the latest testament to the maturation of the smartphone market, and it presents an opportunity to save money. The entry-level handset, priced at $500, is in many ways on par with its premium counterpart, the Pixel 7 Pro, which cost $900. And based on my testing for a week, I would recommend the budget model for most Android users.Bear with me as I break from the tradition of reviewing a phone’s features. Putting the Pixel 7A’s value into perspective requir...

Community advocates immediately criticize Colorado’s newly adopted environmental justice rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

The people responsible for cleaning up Colorado’s air applauded themselves this week for creating historic new policies intended to protect residents most vulnerable to pollution, but the people those rules are supposed to benefit say they’re disappointed.Recommendations from people who represent the Latino, Black, Indigenous and immigrant communities situated near major sources of pollution were ignored by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission and the state’s Air Pollution Control Division, Patricia Garcia-Nelson of Green Latinos Colorado said Friday.“I would like the agency to show us where they implemented community feedback because so far we don’t see it,” Garcia-Nelson said. “We have been explicitly clear. I will go as far as to say the agency is lying when they say they are considering our input.”The Air Quality Control Commission spent the better part of three days this week listening to proposals as it crafted the new environme...

Warriors offseason: The misconceptions around Jordan Poole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Before the NBA season began, Steve Kerr called Jordan Poole part of the Warriors’ “foundational six” alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney.In the latter part of this Warriors dynasty, that responsibility carries weight. Amid Poole’s disappointing and messy season, that designation was forgotten.The Warriors signed Poole to a four-year, $128 million contract because they saw him as someone who could help usher in a few more title runs in the Curry era and possibly carry the torch after the Big Three retire or move on. But the fanbase’s faith waned rapidly as Poole’s clumsy turnovers, poor 3-point shooting and outward disdain for being benched coincided with Golden State’s mediocre sixth-seed finish and early playoff exit.Under duress, Poole didn’t mimic the composure his future Hall of Fame teammates had when times got tough a decade ago.Because of his disappointing y...

Borenstein: Blue-state California lawmakers also undermining democracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

Californians will face longer ballots next year as state lawmakers keep undermining democratic principles by putting their thumbs on the election scale.The ballot explanations for costly state and local measures, which should be informative but neutral, continue to be turned into opportunities for political propaganda.California’s attorneys general have often slanted the wording on statewide ballot measures. And for local spending measures, officials have abandoned plain language, often refusing even to identify taxes as taxes.The ballot politicization is about to get worse. Starting next year, candidates for office can campaign on the ballot by affixing their names to support or opposition of state or local measures. And a pending bill would provide even more space for electoral puffery.As liberal Californians express understandable outrage about red-state assaults on voting rights, they should also worry about more subtle, but similarly insidious, moves here to skew election outco...

Preakness day arrives with horse racing in spotlight, Triple Crown still a possibility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Preakness day has arrived with horse racing in the spotlight and Kentucky Derby winner Mage having a shot at being the first Triple Crown champion in five years.It’s not the spotlight the sport would like, though, after seven horses died at Churchill Downs in the leadup to the Derby. Two parallel investigations are ongoing into those deaths and a recent eighth death at the Louisville track to determine the causes.But with new national medication and doping rules set to go into effect next week, the industry is at something of a crossroads. The federally mandated Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which already regulated racetrack safety and other measures, starting Monday will oversee drug testing requirements for horses that should standardize the sport nationwide.Before that, Mage has a chance in the Preakness to provide some on-track excitement. If he finishes first in the field of seven horses, the smallest in the race since 1986, he can go to Belmont o...

Messi en el PSG vs. Auxerre: a qué hora y cómo ver por TV e internet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

(CNN Español) — Quedan solamente tres jornadas para el final de la Ligue 1 de Francia y el PSG de Lionel Messi está ante las puertas de un nuevo campeonato local.El PSG se ubica en primer lugar de la liga francesa con 81 puntos y, si gana su partido de este domingo frente al Auxerre, se podría coronar como el campeón de la temporada 2022/2023 y bicampeón del torneo.Además, para que esto suceda, se tiene que dar otro resultado: el Lens, que está en la segunda posición de la liga con 75 unidades, tendría que perder o empatar para que el PSG quede campeón.Lionel Messi fue abucheado por algunos seguidores del Paris Saint-Germain en su regreso de la suspensiónSi el Lens gana su partido ante el Lorient este domingo y el PSG hace lo propio contra el Auxerre, el conjunto parisino prácticamente es campeón, aunque matemáticamente el Lorient aún tendría posibilidades -muy remotas y casi imposibles- del campeonato.Pero si el Lens gana y el PSG empata o pierde, la Ligue 1 se apretara en pl...

Denver weather: Smoky skies, 70s, & isolated storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s weather will dry out over the weekend with only isolated storm chances on Saturday and Sunday but skies will be hazy from wildfires in Canada. Weather today: Smoky & 70sThe wildfire smoke from Canada will continue to bring poor air quality to parts of Colorado through the weekend.An air quality warning is in place through this morning as conditions should improve by the evening.Highs will reach the 70s with an isolated storm is possible, mainly to the south.Looking ahead: Wet next week againTomorrow through Monday we have more of the same - smoke, 70s, and isolated storm chance. Storm chances will increase midweek with the potential for a severe threat Wednesday and Thursday - something we will keep an eye to!

Construction controversy: Native Americans protest against new developments in Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:30 GMT

Native American protestors gathered on May 13 near Brickell in the hope of persuading developers to call off their plans — building a luxury condominium on the site of an ancient settlement.Evidence of the Tequesta settlement was recently discovered, where pottery, stone tools, and even human remains were unearthed. Protestors argued that the new construction would desecrate a sacred and historic piece of land.“They’re just calling us artifacts. And when you call us artifacts, that makes it okay to dig us up and put us under a microscope and cut us into pieces to study our DNA,” said Betty Osceola, a Native American activist. “It’s not OK. We’re human beings just like everyone else, and we have the right to have our sacred sites protected.”Plans for the condominium remains tentative as the city considers making it a historical landmark.