USA Update

PRINCE William enjoys a double top day — supping cider and playing darts.

But the Prince of Wales struggled to hit the bullseye in his game of arrows with actress Hannah Waddingham.

Kensington Palace

They were filmed at Alexandra Palace in North London, venue for the first presentation of Wills’ environmental initiative in 2021[/caption]

Kensington Palace

William and Hannah laughed as they both struggled to hit the dartboard in their match[/caption]

Kensington Palace

William said: ‘I think we are probably no threat to anybody on this board’[/caption]

Wills features in a documentary hosted by Ted Lasso star Hannah about his Earthshot eco prize.

They were filmed at Alexandra Palace in North London, venue for the first presentation of Wills’ environmental initiative in 2021.

Ally Pally also hosts the Paddy Power World Darts Championship, which kicks off today.

William, 42, and Hannah, 50, laughed as they both struggled to hit the dartboard in their match.

Spotting a roll of honour of world champions, William says: “I think we are probably no threat to anybody on this board.”

And Hannah jokes: “I’m feeling equal joy and terror about playing darts with the future King of England.”

The Earthshot Report is on BBC1 at 5pm today and features chats with previous finalists.

Each year, five get £1million towards their innovation to repair the plant.

William stresses the value of getting into nature.

He says in the programme: “It’s very hard for someone to understand what’s the point of protecting the planet if you never use it.

“It’s really important that we get people out into nature because then they’ll value it. We have to protect it, we have to look after it, we have to think about it in a way that’s sustainable and beneficial for all of us.”

He also explains to Hannah how his eco project is effectively a dating app for investors to find fresh ideas to save the planet.

He says: “Future changes we want to see need to start happening now. This decade of change is when Earthshot is running for.

“Right now the focus is highlighting, showcasing, and scaling all the amazing solutions that are out there. To invest in them, see them, support them and use them — then we will make the earth more sustainable and better for us all going forward.”

William reveals his new obsession with seaweed.

He says: “It draws down carbon, it cleans the oceans, it has a natural cleansing solution that takes the pollutants and toxins out of the water.”

BRITAIN and Italy are launching a crack team using Mafia-busting tactics to seize cash from people smuggling gangs.

A new force will start chasing down the dirty money of international criminals from January next year.

AFP

Migrants board a smuggler’s inflatable dinghy in northern France on October 30, 2024.[/caption]

AFP

Migrants attempt to board a smuggler’s inflatable dinghy in an attempt to cross the English Channel, on October 30.[/caption]

Getty

An inflatable craft carrying migrant men, women and children in the English Channel[/caption]

Top cops will deploy a “follow the money” approach to wreak havoc on the smugglers’ finances.

The two countries will share intelligence, carry out joint operations, freeze criminal bank accounts and drive more prosecutions of smugglers.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We’ve been clear that we will crack down on the international people smuggling gangs who are making millions from facilitating dangerous small boat crossings and putting thousands of lives at risks.   

“Italy is a world-leader in taking down the highest harm criminals and disrupting its own mafia-style gangs, making them a strong partner for us to work with.   

Reuters

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September this year[/caption]

“Our new joint taskforce with our Italian counterparts sends a clear message to the criminal people smuggling gangs: We are coming for your money.”

It comes after Keir Starmer lavished praise on hard-line Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for her immigration clampdown.

AFP

Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper[/caption]

The squad will also investigate informal banking systems like hawala which can be used by gangs to anonymously transfer and launder dodgy cash.  

A plan is also underway to toughen up laws domestically and internationally so police can more easily seize profits made by criminal gangs.

And they hope to work with banks to ensure criminal gangs cannot launder their dodgy money through the UK’s financial system.       

Small boat arrivals hit a winter record on Thursday when 609 migrants made the crossing on a single day.

FOR anybody who really feels the cold, winter can be a difficult time, even more so for those with arthritis or Raynaud’s.

These heated mitts from Target should soothe your freezing hands though.

Target

This cool heated gadget from Target will keep your hands hot in winter[/caption]

They cost $36.99, giving you heat at your fingertips – literally.

Simply pop them on for long-lasting warmth to ease the pain of osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel, Dupuytren’s contracture and Raynaud’s Syndrome.

They’re also good for stiff joints and for soothing aching fingers that hurt more in the cold.

To activate the heat, simply pop the mitts in the microwave.

After just a couple of minutes in there, they’re warm and ready to wear.

Available in two colors – mauve and charcoal – the mitts are incredibly soft to the touch, with an almost faux fur feel.

Inside, they’re filled with a mixture of herbs, including soothing lavender, hops and chamomile, invigorating spearmint and peppermint, white willow, rosemary and lemongrass, among others.

As well as providing deep heat to relieve muscle pain, the aromatic ingredients have a calming effect.

So they’re also good for helping relaxation, while relieving tension and stress.

SUPER IN SUMMER, TOO

No need to put these away in a drawer after winter, as they can also be used during hotter weather to cool your hands.

Activating the cold therapy is simple: just seal them in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer.

You’ll need to leave them in there for one to two hours to chill down enough, but then they’re ready to use.

The minky fabric is gentle on your hands and fingers, without the harshness of an ice pack.

The softness protects and soothes your skin while the cold helps alleviate pain and could reduce swelling in sore joints.

And while you can’t wash them in the machine, you can spot clean them to keep them fresh.

There’s no reviews on the Target website as of yet, but these handy hand warmers are sure to be popular this winter.

WHAT ELSE IS HOT AT TARGET?

Shoppers are wild for a bargain body lotion that’s a dupe for a high-end designer fragrance brand.

The Eos Sparkling Amber Body Lotion smells just like Baccarat Rouge 540 from Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris, according to one fan on social media.

Shopper Kimberly [@kimnuzzolo] took to TikTok to alert others to her fab find.

“They have all of them here – they have the Whipped Shea and Sugar, this is brown sugar and creme brulee, and they only have one Sparkling Amber left, this is probably the most popular one,” she wrote.

Later adding: “Ok, I know why, this one smells like Baccarat, that’s probably why.”

The Eos version on sale at Target will cost you just $8.99, compared to $85 for the real deal.

WITH just weeks to go before Christmas one free phone app has announced a jolly upgrade allowing users to speak directly to AI Santa.

The clever tech savvy app is available for curious iPhone and Android users who are interested in chatting directly with Father Christmas this festive period.

OpenAI

ChatGPT’s new genius upgrade has been described as Santa Mode[/caption]

ChatGPT have managed to create an AI voice that is described as “merry and bright” and closely follows the speech patterns used by Hollywood depictions of old Saint Nick.

The upgrade is a part of Open AI’s spectacular 12 days of OpenAI campaign where they release a new feature every two days until Christmas.

Dubbed Santa Mode, it is available to everyone using ChatGPT on their mobile, web app or desktop apps on MacOS and Windows.

In order to access the Santa Claus speech users need to open up ChatGPT and find the snowflake icon next to the prompt bar.

The virtual voice should then be a drop down option which when clicked transforms AI across to the North Pole.

Santa Mode is set to remain available to users across the globe until early January.

ChatGPT will work the exact same way as normal when the voice is on with only the tone changing.

This also means that the chats with Santa won’t be remembered and saved in the chat history.

It is being mainly aimed at young families with children as it gives them a chance to speak directly to Father Christmas through the clever technology.

It comes just months after OpenAI allowed anyone to use ChatGPT for free without even needing an account.

“We’re rolling this out gradually, with the aim to make AI accessible to anyone curious about its capabilities,” OpenAI explained.

Currently more than 100 million people are using ChatGPT weekly across 185 countries, according to OpenAI.

CHAT’S GREAT?

ChatGPT is a powerful chatbot created by OpenAI.

It’s based on a large language model that means it can process your sentences and respond almost as if it was another human.

The app launched on November 30, 2022 and saw a rapid rise in popularity.

Part of the app’s appeal is how natural it feels to speak to ChatGPT.

“These models were trained on vast amounts of data from the internet written by humans, including conversations, so the responses it provides may sound human-like,” OpenAI explained.

“It is important to keep in mind that this is a direct result of the system’s design (i.e. maximising the similarity between outputs and the dataset the models were trained on).

And the content you provide to the chatbot can also be used to train OpenAI’s models.

However, you can opt out of this by going into ChatGPT settings if you have an account.

It was even revealed that the groundbreaking artificially intelligent chatbot will soon be smarter than any human on Earth “in a few thousand days”, according to its creator.

In a personal blog post titled “The Intelligence Age“, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote: “It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I’m confident we’ll get there.

“How did we get to the doorstep of the next leap in prosperity? In three words: deep learning worked.”

AI is still a highly contentious piece of tech for millions across the globe.

Many fear it will soon become too powerful with humans potentially being over reliant on the system.

Others have concerns over how it may affect various industries and workplaces if robots or chatbots could replace humans.

Ethics, privacy and misinformation worries are also some of the most common objections to the rise of artificial intelligence.

Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar had two assists as the Kings chased Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the second period.

Two exhausted skateboarders rolled into Times Square on Saturday -- ending a grueling 76-day skateboarding journey across the country.

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Hildur Gudnadóttir, who won the best score Oscar for 2019’s ‘Joker,’ returned for the follow-up film that sought to expand the “vocabulary of the string instruments” from the first film.

After a prominent turn on ‘The Daily Show’ and a buzzy podcast, the comedian says she got a lot of offers just to play herself. But that’s not the career the Emmy-nominated ‘Shrinking’ star envisioned.