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‘Fat Leonard,’ a fugitive now returning to the US, was behind one of the military’s biggest scandals

A citizen of Malaysia, who played a pivotal role in a significant corruption scandal involving the US Navy, is set to face sentencing after being extradited from Venezuela. This extradition is part of a broader prisoner swap agreement.

Leonard Francis, often referred to as "Fat Leonard," admitted guilt in 2015 for orchestrating a prolonged bribery operation. He utilized his maritime services enterprise to defraud the US Navy of over $35 million. Francis bribed Navy officers with various incentives such as cash, trips, the company of sex workers, among others, in return for confidential information. This information was instrumental in helping him secure contracts with the US government. Despite cooperating with legal authorities, Francis eluded his house arrest last year and absconded to Venezuela, just a short time before his scheduled sentencing.

The deal will result in the liberation of ten American detainees and a minimum of 20 Venezuelan political captives. In return, the United States will liberate a Colombian businessman who is charged with money laundering activities linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

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Warner Bros. Discovery in talks to merge with Paramount Global

In a recent development, David Zaslav, the head of Warner Bros. Discovery, held a significant meeting with Paramount Global's chief, Bob Bakish, in New York City. This encounter, which took place on a Tuesday and was reported by Axios through various informants, revolved around the prospect of merging their respective companies.

This potential merger could lead to the formation of a colossal entity in the news and entertainment sector, potentially setting off a wave of similar mergers in the industry.

Further details reveal that Zaslav has been in talks with Shari Redstone, the owner of the parent company of Paramount, regarding this potential collaboration. As of the latest financial data, Warner Bros. Discovery's market value stands at approximately $29 billion, while Paramount is valued just above $10 billion. This indicates that the merger, if it happens, would involve companies of differing scales. The meeting, which reportedly spanned several hours, was hosted at Paramount's main office located in Times Square.

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AI image-generators are being trained on explicit photos of children, a study shows

A recent investigative report has revealed a disturbing issue at the core of popular AI image-generating technologies. The report highlights that these AI systems have inadvertently incorporated a vast number of child sexual abuse images into their foundational datasets. This critical flaw in the technology raises serious concerns and calls for immediate action from the companies responsible for developing these AI tools.

This issue has also facilitated the AI's ability to generate highly realistic and explicit images of fictional children. Additionally, it has enabled the transformation of innocuous social media pictures of real teenagers, who are fully clothed, into nude images. This development has caused widespread alarm among educational institutions and law enforcement agencies globally.

Previously, experts in combating abuse believed that the production of abusive child imagery by some unregulated AI tools was due to the amalgamation of two distinct types of online images: adult pornography and harmless photographs of children. However, this new report sheds light on a more dire situation, underscoring the need for urgent measures to rectify this grave problem in AI technology.

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