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Generative AI startups were already hot with VCs. ChatGPT poured gasoline onto the fire.

January 6, 2023 Published by [email protected] (Emilia David)

Business Insider

Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

Steve Jennings/Getty Images

Generative AI firms, the category that ChatGPT falls under, saw big valuations in the past year.
VCs investing in AI say they’re optimistic and ready to invest in more companies in the space.
But after a brutal 2022 many are also wary of putting too much faith — and cash — into anything new.

Generative AI, the technology that encompasses ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Lensa AI’s avatar service, went bonkers viral in 2022. But even before the rise of ChatGPT, the space was buzzing as generative AI companies began raising large amounts of cash from venture capital.

Startups using generative AI rose eyeball-popping amounts in the past year, especially during an overall bad year for VC investments. Jasper, which makes AI-powered marketing materials, raised $125 million in Series A funding. Meanwhile, Runway, one of the companies behind Stable Diffusion, the model that powers Lensa AI, got $50 million in Series C, according to BuiltNYC.

Generative AI valuations are high, and VCs are excited. With VC investments falling, generative AI will at least be a bright spot in — and possibly the only bright spot in what look’s to be a very gloomy 2023.

A hot market gets even hotter

Investing in generative AI and machine learning is nothing new for VCs. But the wild success of ChatGPT and the promise of even faster advancements has investors more excited than ever.

Partially thanks to the millions of people beta testing ChatGPT this winter, the next version of the tech that makes ChatGPT possible is due out as soon as this summer, and expectations are high. Founders that can figure out now how to harness ChatGPT before it makes the next evolutionary leap come with a built-in promise of a product that will assuredly will get much better.

Talia Goldberg, a partner at Bessemer, which invested in Jasper, said there are three different types within the generative AI space. There’s companies like Jasper that use AI models from other companies and make applications for clients. Then there are firms that build those underlying models that power the AI. And finally, there are startups that mix both but focus on providing services for customers.

“We think there will be exciting investments and companies built across all three of those sectors, but we’re most focus on the first and last one,” Goldberg said. “We want to see companies delivering value to customers.”

Erin Price-Wright, a partner at Index Ventures, said AI could evolve into what the cloud and software sectors are now: essential technology used by nearly every modern business.

“We do expect to see the rate of VC dollars going into AI to continue to accelerate,” Price-Wright said. “But we don’t see AI as an investment category as much as a broader platform shift, like the cloud 10 years ago.”

VCs can’t help but feeling hopeful

Investors said there’s still enough cautiousness in the market that VCs bets will remain small. Tech is in a valuation reset, and VCs believe AI firms, many of which struggle to show revenue, will not be immune.

Section 32 managing partner and CEO Andy Harrison noted that it’s easy for investors to look at a technology’s potential and invest based on that, but as VCs brace for a difficult year ahead for fundraising, there focus will be on sustainable growth.

“It is possible that a bubble will form around generative AI,” Harrison said. “However, a significant bubble is less likely given the current market environment.”

VCs plan to spend more judiciously in 2023, even with $290 billion in cash available for investment.

There has also been concern that limited partners — institutions that invest in VC funds — will limit contributions to VCs in the coming years.

While generative AI commands more money and excitement than other sectors like fintech or e-commerce, VCs still want to tread lightly and are speaking about the space with muted optimism.

“There are certainly companies that have raised large rounds, and AI valuations have corrected less than the market more broadly,” Price-Wright said. “But some companies will struggle to find the product defensibility needed to grow into their valuations.”

Defensibility is a key concern for generative AI startups that rely on OpenAI. Take marketing AI firm Jasper. It uses OpenAI’s technology, but makes it much easier to create prompts to get the AI model to spit out usable copy — key for making it accessible to marketing professionals who don’t study AI.

But OpenAI is continuously improving and offering more services, and it could eventually learn how to do what Jasper does. Jasper’s competitors would then have access to the thing that made Jasper unique in the first place.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Everything that could go wrong as the House speaker fight leaves the chamber leaderless

January 6, 2023 Published by [email protected] (Brent D. Griffiths)

Business Insider

The chair reserved for speaker of the House stands empty as lawmakers continue to debate who will lead them.

Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

House lawmakers are still not agreed on who will lead them.
The lack of a speaker of the House has some very real consequences.
One of those is that it’s more difficult for congressional offices to help Americans.

As of Friday afternoon, there is no speaker of the US House of Representatives.

So, technically speaking, all of the 434 would-be lawmakers is a Representative-elect. Everyone from Kentucky Republican Hal Rodgers who has served in the chamber since President Ronald Reagan’s election to New York Republican George Santos who wasn’t even alive yet, at least we’re pretty sure.

For the first time in over a century, lawmakers have taken multiple days to elect someone who will lead the chamber and become second-in-line to the presidency. Republican Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy received good news Friday afternoon, flipping more than a dozen previous holdouts to his speakership bid.

There are real consequences as the drama drags on in Washington and fallout that will escalate if an end doesn’t come soon.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest headaches that have arisen so far:

Why can’t they stop voting?

There are no rules. Seriously, that is true. Usually, the chamber could recess when faced with such a debacle. But in order to call a recess, lawmakers need to pass rules governing the chamber. And in order to do that, they need to select a speaker first. In the meantime, the best lawmakers can do is adjourn, negotiate, and then return for more votes.

Are there any national security concerns?

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby tamped down on any “significant risks” related to the delay. In the meantime, lawmakers are unable to receive classified briefings. The House’s status means the body is unable to declare war.

Rep.-elect Mike Gallagher told reporters on Thursday that while it’s nowhere near the DEFCON scale, lawmakers are frustrated by their inability to receive such briefings. Gallagher and other members have had to cancel meetings with Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, due to security clearance issues. Since lawmakers are not sworn in, they don’t currently have the clearances they normally would.

“Listen, the free world will be fine without me getting that brief, but right now I can’t do my job,” Gallagher, who was scheduled to meet with Milley, told reporters just off the House floor on Thursday. “We can’t get to work.”

Will everyone get paid?

Politico reported last week that if a rules package is not passed by January 13, committee staff won’t be able to get paid. As we indicated above, the House can’t pass its rules until it has a speaker.

What about the normal business of a congressional office?

Members of Congress do more than just make laws. While the focus is always, deservedly, on the House floor, a lawmaker’s office is a critical point of contact for Americans who are struggling with an array of federal agencies. But House lawmakers have complained that they are unable to effectively coordinate due to their current unofficial status.

“IRS won’t help my constituent victimized by identify theft, saying Members of Congress haven’t been sworn in yet,” Rep.-elect Nicole Malliotakis of New York wrote on Twitter. “It’s ridiculous a small group is preventing us from doing our jobs & even more ridiculous @POTUS not directing agencies to help citizens who are HIS constituents too!”

The IRS, per ABC News, said it can’t turn over “taxpayer-specific information” until members are sworn in.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Newsom opens second term with Jan. 6 rebuke of conservatives seeking to ‘take the nation backward’

January 6, 2023 Published by Jeremy B. White

Politics, Policy, Political News Top Stories

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom opened his second term Friday by contrasting his progressive vision with that of conservative foes, delivering his speech on Jan. 6 as an explicit rebuke to election deniers who sought to overturn the 2020 presidential contest.

“They’re promoting grievance and victimhood, in an attempt to erase so much of the progress you and I have witnessed in our lifetime,” Newsom said. “They make it harder to vote and easier to buy illegal guns. They silence speech, fire teachers, kidnap migrants, subjugate women, attack the Special Olympics, and even demonize Mickey Mouse.”

The Democratic governor scheduled his inauguration to coincide with the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection — marking the event with a march across a bridge over the Sacramento River. He was joined by his family and other Democrats, including Sen. Alex Padilla. His speech drew a wide array of prominent California elected officials, including newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

In a wide-ranging denunciation of “red state politicians” and their media enablers, Newsom assailed some prominent Republican rivals without explicitly naming them.

He compared a controversial Florida law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bars teaching LGBTQ topics — the so-called Don’t Say Gay law — with a failed 1978 California ballot initiative that sought to prohibit gay teachers. Unlike other states, Newsom said, California safeguards freedoms like “the freedom for teachers to teach, freedom from litmus tests about their political party or the person they love.”

It’s hardly the first time Newsom has condemned national Republican figures, often using them as foils to tout his record. After crushing a 2021 recall attempt and decisively winning reelection in 2022, the governor enters his second term with an enlarged national profile as a presidential contender should President Joe Biden not run for reelection.

Much of Newsom’s first term was defined by sparring with a hostile Trump administration. But even with a Democrat in the White House, he used his speech to forcefully push back on Republicans.

Newsom will need to contend with the economic storm clouds massing on the horizon. A projected deficit would reverse years of booming surpluses that enabled ambitious policies, such as extending health care to undocumented immigrants.

POLITICO’s Lara Korte contributed to this report.

Bill Miller doubles down on Amazon after a rough year, while shorting Tesla increasingly

January 6, 2023 Published by Yun Li

US Top News and Analysis

Value investor Bill Miller said he’s doubling down on Amazon after a brutal year, and growing his short position on Tesla . The widely followed investor said the e-commerce giant is a no-brainer in the market right now after losing nearly 50% in 2021. Miller said he recently bought more Amazon shares. His hedge fund Miller Value Partners held 695,000 shares, worth about $78.5 million, at the end of the third quarter. “I think it’s one of the easiest names in the market,” Miller said on CNBC’s ” Closing Bell ” on Friday. “If it takes three years for Amazon to get back to where it was a year ago to make 25% a year, I think that’ll easily beat the market.” AWS, Amazon’s cloud-based segment, is worth almost the whole price of Amazon, Miller said. “I think that Amazon this year will report all-time record profits. I think in terms of quality and a management team that is absolutely as good as it gets,” Miller said. Shares of Amazon have risen more than 2% in the new year. Miller’s view on Tesla is a different story. The investor said he has betted against the stock recently and added to his short position on Friday. “It’s a phenomenal company, but it’s not worth $380 billion in my in my opinion,” Miller said. ” Tesla is now losing market share . They’re cutting the price.” Shares of the Elon Musk -led electric vehicle company have slid another 8% in 2023, adding to their 65% losses last year. Miller said he will continue to grow his short bet on Tesla if the stock goes up again.

Two years after Jan. 6, democracy is in distress and the House is a total mess

January 6, 2023 Published by Brad Bannon, opinion contributor

Just In | The Hill

On the second anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021, the nation still shifts through the debris of American democracy’s worst day. The House select committee on the Jan. 6 spent months investigating the insurrection and recommended to the Department of Justice that it bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump related to instigating the Capitol invasion and his failure to act against it.

The tragic events of Jan. 6 are not ancient history, according to a recent national poll conducted by Morning Consult. Six out of every 10 Americans believe the federal government should continue to investigate the insurrection. Some of those involved have already been found guilty of seditious conspiracy, several trials are ongoing — and a majority of voters think the criminal penalties are fair or not harsh enough.

Trump’s candidacy for a second term is a living and breathing reminder of the events of that day. It was his refusal to accept the will of the voters in 2020 that set the invasion in motion, according to the committee’s investigation. Not surprisingly, most people believe he is responsible for the invasion of the Capitol.

The attack on the Capitol was an attack on the will of the people. The invaders who seized the house of the people reportedly wanted to keep Trump in office, despite President Joe Biden’s decisive victory over his GOP opponent among voters and in the Electoral College.

Democracy is still under siege. The sad saga of that fateful day did not begin or end with the invasion or the expulsion of insurrectionists. Twice in the last six presidential elections, the winner of the popular vote hasn’t reached the White House.

Today, the impasse in the U.S. House of Representatives over the election of the Speaker is another demonstration of the decline in our political institutions — with more than a dozen rounds of voting so far.

Job No.1 for the majority party is to pick a House Speaker. Three days in and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has been unable to secure the role despite a GOP majority in the chamber. The new GOP House majority had one job and couldn’t get it done without exposing the institutional anarchy that is at the party’s core. The difficulty Republicans have had choosing a Speaker of the House is a dramatic sign of the fragility of our political system and a symbol of its inability to effectively function as a legislative body in these troubled and turbulent times.

Majority rule is outdated in the Republican Party, and the “it’s my way or the highway” approach seen by his GOP defectors is their latest shiny object. Prominent obstacles to McCarthy’s bid for the Speaker’s chair include Republicans Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) — who were among the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the election results, apparently championing the insurrectionists and Trump’s bid to undermine the Constitution and the rule of law. Gaetz even voted for Trump to be Speaker. This small group of agitators — as high as 21 throughout the Speakers ballot — have stymied the will of the GOP caucus. They failed to take down Biden, but they have already weakened McCarthy even if they aren’t able to depose him.

The founders designed the House to be the most representative of American political institutions. But the GOP McCarthy defectors —perhaps we should call them the Insurrection Caucus — has jeopardized the legitimacy of the peoples’ House when democracy needs it most. After several failed ballots, the Republican House majority has become a joke and the members of the ultra-right Freedom Caucus are the clowns in the three-ring circus. McCarthy can’t even call them out with a straight face since he voted against Trump’s impeachment despite saying the former president “bears responsibility” for the “attack on Congress by mob rioters.”

At a time when the imperative should be to fix democracy, the holdouts in the Republican caucus seemingly wish to destroy it. Most Americans want to make the federal government work better, but the GOP House extremists — out of sync with public opinion as usual, want to put it out of work.

The irony of this debacle is the that conservative party is the group that should stand for stability and order. Since Trump became the face of the Republican Party, the GOP has morphed into an agent for chaos and instability. Even Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the GOP Minority Leader in the Senate, said that midterm voters saw “too much chaos” in the Republican Party.

The House debacle has put the GOP onto the highway to hell and there’s no one left among Republicans who has the power and gravitas to call a halt before the party slides into the inferno. Certainly not Trump!

Two years after the Jan.6 Capitol attack, democracy is still in distress and the House of Representatives is a bloody mess.

Brad Bannon is a Democratic pollster and CEO of Bannon Communications Research. His podcast, “Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,” airs on Periscope TV and the Progressive Voices Network. Follow him on Twitter @BradBannon.

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What Movie Has The Best Racing Scenes?

January 6, 2023 Published by Sebastien Bell

Carscoops

A recent resurgence in mass audiences’ interest in racing, and the characters around motorsports, has resulted in no shortage of modern racing movies, culminating this week in the release of the first trailer for a movie based on a racing game: Gran Turismo.

In promoting the movie today, director Neill Blomkamp nerded out about the technology previously used in the filming of “Top Gun: Maverick” that he was allowed to play with, and which allowed him to put cameras where they’ve never been before. That, he claimed, would make audiences feel like they were actually in the cockpit of the racecars featured in the movie and would help him recreate the camera angles associated with the racing game.

And while I’m rooting for Mr. Blomkamp, I find myself frequently disappointed in the racing scenes featured in many movies. Although they often take advantage of fascinating technology, and put cameras in interesting places, a good racing scene harder to come by than you might think.

More: Get Your First Look At Sony’s Gran Turismo Movie, Which Premieres On August 11

Racing, as it is depicted on camera, even at live events, is often kind of boring. Although race cars are traveling at speeds that our puny monkey brains simply should not be capable of processing, and racecar drivers take on very high, and very real stakes, cars just look slow on camera.

To account for that, a lot of filmmakers use quick editing, fast-forwarding, and a variety of other tricks to make racing scenes feel more exciting. But not matter how many unnecessary shifts, how much unconvincing technobabble, nor how many silly passing maneuvers are put into a movie, many films’ attempts to add visual flair fall flat.

And I think that’s because racing, although it requires fast reflexes and high speeds, is actually very slow and methodical. Races tend to happen over many hours, and see drivers repeating the same circuit over and over again, as they strive for a yogic oneness with the road. Try putting that on film.

That’s not to say, though, that racing in movies is never exciting. Some films, whether it’s because they’re more obsessed with appealing to motorsports enthusiasts than to human beings or because they simply give up on the strictures of cinéma vérité and give into raucous expressionism, provide viewers with really excellent racing scenes.

To my mind, the two films that do this the best are the famous “Le Mans”—which abandons aspirations of being a good movie in favor of being a wildly accurate vibe—and the less well known, but aggressively entertaining, “Redline”—which utilizes the freedom of animation to create racing scenes that are as exciting as other movies could only dream of being.

What do you think, though? What movies get their racing scenes spot on and why?

Screenshot LeMans/YouTube

McDonald’s CEO warns of possible 2023 layoffs as chain leans into fast service, innovation, and operational efficiencies

January 6, 2023 Published by [email protected] (Nancy Luna)

Business Insider

A McDonald’s 24 hour drive-thru.

Getty

Despite a strong year, McDonald’s CEO said the chain may have layoffs this spring.
His 2023 business plan calls for the fast-food giant to move faster and push innovation.
“As part of this work, we will evaluate roles and staffing levels in parts of the organization,” the CEO said.

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski warned staff Friday of possible layoffs in the spring as part of a plan to move faster, lean into operational efficiencies, and push innovation.

“We will evaluate roles and staffing levels in parts of the organization and there will be difficult discussions and decisions ahead,” Kempczinski wrote in a Friday memo to employees and shared with investors. “We will look to our strategy and our values to guide how we reach those decisions and support every impacted member of the company. We expect to finalize and begin to communicate key decisions by April 3.”

Despite beginning 2023 from a position of strength, Kempczinski said “we cannot stand still. “

“We’re performing at a high level, but we can do even better,” he said in the memo.

The executive said he plans to build on the company’s Accelerating the Arches growth strategy, first introduced in late 2020. The new plan calls for eliminating “silos” within the company by having more of “collective focus of our entire system,” he said.

Kempczinski added the company wants to scale innovations faster than ever before, and cited Ray Kroc, who built the McDonald’s empire, in his memo: “As Ray Kroc used to say, “If you’re not green and growing, you’re ripe and rotting.”

In the coming weeks, company leaders will share upcoming changes with staff, he said.

“Certain initiatives will be de-prioritized or stopped altogether. This will help us move faster as an organization, while reducing our global costs and freeing up resources to invest in our growth,” Kempczinski said.

In the company’s latest quarter, US same-store sales increased more than 6%, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of growth for the chain. Same-store sales are an indicator of a company’s financial health.

Still, like most of the industry, McDonald’s faces headwinds tied to labor and commodity costs.

Roughly 50% of restaurant operators across the US expect to be less profitable in 2023, according to a news survey released this week by the National Restaurant Association.

Read the original article on Business Insider

The 14 best online game development courses, from free beginner classes to advanced certificate programs

January 6, 2023 Published by [email protected] (Mara Leighton)

Business Insider

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Crystal Cox/Insider

You can find online game development courses from e-learning sites like Coursera, edX, and Udemy.
Below, you’ll find the best online game design and development classes, from beginner to advanced.
They range in topics from core programming principles to pixel art and animation.

Whether you’re a programmer looking for a career switch or a complete beginner who’s always wanted to make their own game, there are many online courses for game development and design out there.

Most courses arm students with the conceptual and technical knowledge needed to advance, including projects for their portfolios and the option to earn a certificate of completion.

Below, you’ll find some of the best and most affordable options whether you want to dabble in a new hobby or up-skill to stand out in the job market. Courses range in specificity, length, and emphasis to best suit individual needs.

Beginner game development courses

In-depth courses and programs

Creative game design courses

A short course about the game development industry

LinkedIn Learning

Time commitment: 1 hour and 32 minutes

This short course is perfect for anyone who’s interested in being a game designer but doesn’t know where to start. Led by an award-winning game designer, it covers the basics of breaking into the industry, drafting game ideas and loops, and turning loose concepts into concrete designs for teams to create.

An intro game design course for complete beginners

Suludan Diliyaer/Pexels

Time commitment: 10 hours

This introductory course requires no prior programming experience and focuses on the conceptual basics of games. Students learn about the primary underpinnings of gaming and how those basics affect the way that users interact with games.

A beginner-friendly Javascript and Phaser.js course

Codecademy

Time commitment: 6 weeks

Perfect for beginners, this course teaches students how to build games completely from scratch by learning to code in JavaScript and use the Phaser.js library to add visual effects and put the whole game together. Students end the course with three completed games.

A course for beginners and experts to learn C++ and Git

Hitesh Choudhary/Pexels

Time commitment: 31 hours

This course is designed for students from beginners to developers and existing programmers who are looking to re-skill.

Students learn everything from C++, Git, and programming patterns and best practices to transferable problem-solving skills and vector maths for gameplay and physics calculations.

A two-course program that covers C, Python, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, and HTML

Luis Gomes/Pexels

Time commitment: 6 months

This program (which includes two courses) is designed to build a broad understanding of computer science, programming, and software development, as well as empower students to feel comfortable in the fundamentals of game design and development.

Students are introduced to concepts like abstraction, algorithms, data structures, encapsulation, resource management, security, software engineering, and web development. Students also work on familiarity with multiple languages such as C, Python, JavaScript, SQL, CSS, and HTML, as well as the principles of 2D and 3D work.

A four-course C# programming specialization for beginners

Christina Morillo/Pexels

Time commitment: 7 months

This specialization (which includes four courses and a final project) is great for beginners. It assumes no programming experience, and students learn to program in C# and then use those new skills to create Unity games.

Each of the courses includes exercises to instruct students on concepts in C# and Unity — from 10-20 exercises per course to several larger C# console applications and Unity prototypes, as well as two complete games. In the final capstone course, students implement their own game idea using Unity and C#.

A game development project for those who know some Python

Christina Moirllo/Pexels

Time commitment: 2 hours

This two-hour project-based course helps students learn the basics of game development with Python using PyGame modules. Students learn concepts like creating a game loop and image display through hands-on experience.

The course is designed for students looking to get started with game development who already have some prior programming experience in Python.

A crash course in C# unity 2D game development

Soumil Kumar/Pexels

Time commitment: 34 hours

Students learn C# from scratch so no programming experience is necessary, though it may be helpful. On top of building a solid foundational understanding, students create playable game projects to use in their portfolios and become adept at using the Unity game engine. Students also develop transferable skills like coding, problem-solving, and applying knowledge from this course to .NET and other languages.

This course is fitting for everyone from beginners to developers looking to re-skill.

A course for those familiar with some Python

FutureLearn

Time commitment: 4 weeks

For those already familiar with Python, this course covers the basics of object-oriented programming, teaching students how to create objects, functions, methods, and classes. By the end, you’ll produce a module and learn how to extend other people’s classes through inheritance and polymorphism.

A five-course program in Unity 3D game design

Stas Knop/Pexels

Time commitment: 5 months

This specialization (five courses and a capstone project) focuses on both the theoretical and practical foundations of video game production while using the Unity 3D game engine. Its instructors have a reported 50+ years of experience building games and teaching game production.

Lessons cover everything from prototypes to iterations to licensing and marketing. It’s a good fit for those looking to build a foundation that can be applied to roles like gameplay designer, level designer, technical designer/artist, programmer, or producer.

Students build four complete Unity 3D game projects by applying the skills and knowledge they’ve gained throughout the course. In a final capstone project, they build an original market-ready game.

The online game portal Kongregate is the capstone partner, which provides an avenue for distribution of the project and a pathway for monetization.

A course devoted to pixel art and animation

Skillshare

Time commitment: 5 hours and 11 minutes

Designed to focus on the art behind games, this is the first course in a three-part Skillshare series that teaches students how to make lines and shapes, understand color theory, design characters and backgrounds, and — finally — put it all together through animation. As a nice bonus, Skillshare also lets you share your projects with the class for feedback.

A course on writing game plots and storylines

ThisIsEngineering/Pexels

Time commitment: 11 hours

This course focuses on the story and narrative that drives gameplay forward to help students learn how to create a compelling game concept.

Students evaluate and interpret games to identify different story styles and the procedures that they can use in their own games. Students also explore traditional narrative storytelling processes and how they complement a game’s strategic elements.

A beginner course in 3D modeling

ThisIsEngineering/Pexels

Time commitment: 65.5 hours

Students learn how to use Blender to create 3D models, including combining CGI with real-life footage, using Blender’s physics engine, and exporting their models to external packages.

A course in writing music for games

Lulizler/Pexels

Time commitment: 20 hours

This course teaches you how to compose original video game music through the lens of music theory, composition, production, and general game music knowledge.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Missing mom Ana Walshe’s former Massachusetts home burns in fire

January 6, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

The former home of a missing Massachusetts mother of three last seen several days ago was on fire Friday.

Firefighters were battling the house fire on Jerusalem Road in Cohasset, 22 miles southeast of Boston, and at least two fire trucks were at the scene, according to local media.

The home was formally owned by Ana Walshe, who was last seen on New Year’s Day. She left her home in Cohasset around 4 a.m. to get a rideshare to catch a flight to Washington D.C., to work at her real estate company job, Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley told reporters Friday.

MADALINA COJOCARI: MISSING NORTH CAROLINA GIRL’S MOTHER, STEPDAD INDICTED UNDER POST-CASEY ANTHONY CASE STATUTE

Investigators later confirmed Walshe, 39, never made her flight and searches for her in Cohasset and Washington have turned up empty. Tishman Speyer, Walshe’s employer, told Fox News Digital it was assisting authorities “in their ongoing search for our beloved colleague, Ana, and are praying for her safe return.”

“She’s a loving and loyal wife and mother of three beautiful boys,” Alissa Kirby, identified as another friend of Walshe, said in an interview with WCVB.

Walshe hasn’t left any digital footprint since vanishing and her cell phone has been shut off, police said.

Quigley said she was first reported missing Wednesday, the same day she had a plane ticket out of Boston. However, she did not get on that plane, and detectives were told she was heading back to Washington early on New Year’s Day to handle an emergency linked to one of the properties she manages.

Her disappearance is being treated as a missing person’s case thus far, Quigley said, noting that there is “nothing to support anything suspicious or criminal.”

Walshe’s husband, Brian Walshe, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston in 2021 after being arrested a few years earlier for selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings to a South Korean buyer for $80,000, federal prosecutors said.

Quigley said that case appears to be unrelated to Ana Walshe’s disappearance. He said Brian Walshe, who said he was asleep at the time Ana walked out the door early Sunday, is cooperating with investigators.

Police describe Ana Walshe as being 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 115 pounds.

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Dana White’s latest venture delayed due to physical altercation with wife: report

January 6, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

More consequences have surfaced for UFC president Dana White after he slapped his wife, Anne, while ringing in the New Year in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico this past weekend.

Power Slap League, which White heads, won’t have its debut aired on TBS as scheduled, due to the backlash White has been getting, according to Front Office sports. The first episode was expected to air following AEW at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 11.

A TBS spokesperson told FOS that Power Slap has now been moved to Jan. 18 for its debut.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

White issued an apology, saying that alcohol had been involved, but no excuses were being made.

“I’m literally making no excuses for this thing at all. It’s never happened before. It’s the first time that it’s ever happened, and people are going to say what they’re going to say,” he told TMZ Sports.

UFC’S DANA WHITE, WIFE ANNE APOLOGIZE AFTER VIDEO OF ALCOHOL-FUELED SLAPPING INCIDENT SURFACES

“It is what it is. And whatever people do say, it’s deserved. I deserve it. It happened. I don’t know why it happened, and my wife and I have apologized to each other, we’ve apologized to our kids, and this is one of those things that everyone is going to chime in. I could care less what people think about this. We’re more concerned about our kids and taking care of our family.”

Anne White also apologized for her role in the altercation.

“Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years,” she said. “To say this is out of character for him is an understatement — nothing like this has ever happened before. Unfortunately, we were both drinking too much on New Year’s Eve, and things got out of control, on both sides. We’ve talked this through as a family and apologized to each other. I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA JABS DANA WHITE OVER PHYSICAL ALTERCATION WITH WIFE

White negotiated the broadcast deal with TBS for Power Slap outside UFC’s streaming and broadcast deals that are with ESPN. White believes that slap fighting, along with his UFC brand, is the future of combat sports.

“The sport of slap fighting is about to go to a whole new level,” he said back in November.

Power Slap became a licensed sport via the Nevada Athletic Commission in October.