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  • Friday, Apr. 26, 2024
Mexican film wins top prize at Moscow International Film Festival while major studios boycott Russia
Mexican director Miguel Salgado poses with his the Golden Saint George trophy for a photo after the closing ceremony of the 46th Moscow International Film Festival in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, April 26, 2024. A Mexican film has won the top prize at the Moscow International Film Festival which took place as major Western studios boycott the Russian market and as Russia's war in Ukraine grinds into its third year. "Shame," a film by director Miguel Salgado and co-produced by Mexico and Qatar, was the most highly awarded film at the festival which began in 1935 and which has been held annually since 1999. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
MOSCOW (AP) -- 

A Mexican film has won the top prize Friday at the Moscow International Film Festival, which took place as major Western studios boycott the Russian market and as Russia's war in Ukraine grinds into its third year.

"Shame," a film by director Miguel Salgado and co-produced by Mexico and Qatar, was the most highly awarded film at the festival, which began in 1935 and which has been held annually since 1999. This year's edition included more than 240 films from 56 countries.

In his victory speech, Salgado hailed the festival as one of the most important in the world, adding that he was pleased to see his film, a thriller, being shown so widely and that it was a "great gift" to see so many people moved by it.

Festival program director Ivan Kudryavtsev told state news agency ITAR-Tass that more than half the entries this year came from countries whose governments are considered unfriendly to Russia.

After Russia sent troops into More

  • Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024
Microsoft quarterly profit rises 20% as tech giant pushes to get customers using AI products
The logo for Microsoft, and a scene from Activision "Call of Duty - Modern Warfare," are shown in this photo, in New York, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Microsoft reports earnings on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
By Matt O'Brien

Microsoft on Thursday said its profit rose 20% for the January-March quarter as it tries to position itself as a leader in applying artificial intelligence technology to make workplaces more productive.

The company reported quarterly net income of $21.93 billion, or $2.94 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings of $2.82 a share.

The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $61.86 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 17% from the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $60.86 billion for the quarter.

Microsoft doesn't spell out how much money it makes from AI products, including its flagship Copilot chatbot that can compose documents, write code or generate images. But it has infused the technology into its main lines of business, such as cloud computing contracts and subscriptions for its email and other online services.

More

  • Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024
Google parent reports another quarter of robust growth, rolls out first-ever quarterly dividend
In this Feb. 14, 2018, file photo the logo for Alphabet appears on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. Alphabet reports earnings on Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
By Michael Liedtke

Google's corporate parent Alphabet Inc. on Thursday released a quarterly report showing it's still reaping double-digit revenue gains from its digital advertising empire while sowing potentially lucrative new ground in artificial intelligence.

The results for the first three months of the year provided the latest evidence that Google has regained its momentum after an unprecedented downturn in 2022 coming out of the pandemic.

Alphabet punctuated its renewed vigor by also disclosing plans to begin paying shareholders a quarterly dividend for the first time since since Google went public 20 years ago. It's something that two older technology powerhouses, Microsoft and Apple, have been doing for years. Alphabet's quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share will be paid June 17.

Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro praised the decision to pay a dividend as "a breath of fresh air for the tech market" that should also make investors more More

  • Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024
Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers
The seal of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seen before an FCC meeting to vote on net neutrality, Dec. 14, 2017, in Washington. The FCC on Thursday, April 25, 2024 restored “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and AT&T from favoring some sites and apps over others.. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
By David Hamilton, Technology Reporter
SAN FRANCISCO -- 

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore "net neutrality" rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others.

The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the commission first issued in 2015 during the Obama administration. In 2017, under then-President Donald Trump, the FCC repealed those rules.

The measure passed Thursday on a 3-2 vote split along party lines, with Democratic commissioners in favor and Republicans opposed.

Net neutrality effectively requires providers of internet service to treat all traffic equally, eliminating any incentive they might face to favor business partners or to hobble competitors. The public interest group Public Knowledge describes net neutrality as "the principle that the company that connects you to the internet does not get to control what you do on the internet."

The rules, for instance, ban More

  • Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024
Meta more than doubles Q1 profit but revenue guidance pulls shares down after-hours
A Meta Portal Go is displayed during a preview of the Meta Store in Burlingame, Calif., on May 4, 2022. Meta reports earnings on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
By Barbara Ortutay

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said Wednesday its first-quarter profit more than doubled, boosted by higher advertising revenue and a 6% increase on the average price of ads on its platforms. But its shares dropped sharply in after-hours trading following lukewarm revenue guidance.

Meta Platforms Inc. earned $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the January-March period. That's up from $5.71 billion, or $2.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue rose 27% to $36.46 billion from $28.65 billion.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $4.32 per share on revenue of $36.14 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

For the current quarter, the Menlo Park, California-based company said it expects revenue between $36.5 billion and $39 billion. Analysts are expecting revenue of $38.25 billion for the second quarter, which is higher than the midpoint of Meta's guidance range.

Meta also said More

  • Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024
Entropico launches arm for original film and TV content
Entropico Originals’ (l-r) Christian Polsinelli, Erin Moy, and Timothy Burnett
LOS ANGELES -- 

Following the Netflix international release of its debut feature film OneFour: Against All Odds last year, global creative company Entropico has officially announced the formation of Entropico Originals, its originals arm which specializes in producing new film and television titles out of studios in Sydney and Los Angeles. 

“We’re excited to follow up the success of our feature debut and long history making innovative short form originals and branded content work with a slate of offbeat, energetic, and relevant originals,” said Entropico founder and CCO Erin Moy. 

On the Originals team, Moy is joined by Christian Polsinelli in Los Angeles as Entropico’s head of alternative & experiential, and Timothy Burnett in Sydney as head of scripted.

Polsinelli brings over 14 years of television production experience to Entropico, having dedicated much of his career to producing TV shows for major networks such as ABC, NBC, and More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024
With lawsuits in rearview mirror, Disney World government gets back to being boring
A family visiting from Sarasota watches the solar eclipse at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Monday, April 8, 2024. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
By Mike Schneider
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- 

For the first time in more than a year, the monthly board meeting of Walt Disney World's governing district on Wednesday was back to being what many municipal government forums often are — boring.

There were no rants against Disney by the board's chairman nor demands by local opponents for board members appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to resign immediately. Instead, board members approved contracts for the installation of pipelines for chilled water, sediment removal, the replacement of a wastewater lift pump and the removal of compost waste.

What made this meeting different from most during the past year or so was that it came a month after Disney and DeSantis' board appointees reached a deal to end their state court lawsuits over DeSantis' takeover of the district. The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things, for the theme park resort.

"We're doing the people's More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024
John Lithgow takes on the role of the new kid in school for a PBS special celebrating arts education
This image released by PBS shows actor John Lithgow, right, with Yoli, as they work on a screen print drawing during the filming of "Art Happens Here with John Lithgow," premiering April 26. (Antonio Diaz/PBS SoCal via AP)
By Alicia Rancilio

At 78, John Lithgow's acting career is not slowing down. He appeared in the best picture nominee "Killers of the Flower Moon" and starred with Jeff Bridges in the FX series "The Old Man." Recently, the two-time Academy Award nominee and multiple Emmy, Tony and Golden Globes-winning actor played the new kid in school. He learned dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz ensemble with Los Angeles-area high school students. It was filmed for "Art Happens Here with John Lithgow," airing Friday on PBS with the goal of promoting arts education.

Lithgow, who has an undergraduate degree from Harvard and was a Fulbright Scholar at the London School of the Arts, spoke with The Associated Press about going back to school.

Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: One argument about education is students need to prioritize math and science and learn to code. Arts education is a bonus but not a priority. What do More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024
Microsoft and Amazon face scrutiny from U.K. competition watchdog over recent AI deals
Arthur Mensch, cofounder and CEO of Mistral AI, attends the UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit in Bletchley, England on Nov. 2, 2023. The Competition and Markets Authority said it's looking into Microsoft's partnership with France's Mistral AI and the company's hiring of key staff from another startup, Inflection AI. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP, File)
By Kelvin Chan, Business Writer
LONDON (AP) -- 

British competition regulators said Wednesday they'll scrutinize recent artificial intelligence deals by Microsoft and Amazon over concerns that the moves could thwart competition in the AI industry.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it's looking into Microsoft's partnership with France's Mistral AI and the company's hiring of key staff from another startup, Inflection AI. The watchdog also separately announced that it's investigating Amazon's $4 billion investment in San Francisco-based Anthropic.

Big Tech companies have been pouring money into generative AI startups amid growing public and business interest in the technology, but the investments have also drawn attention from antitrust authorities.

The U.K. watchdog said it was seeking comments from "interested third parties," before deciding whether to carry out an in-depth antitrust investigation.

"We will assess, objectively and impartially, whether each of More

  • Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2024
Cisco Systems joins Microsoft, IBM in Vatican pledge to ensure ethical use and development of AI
Pope Francis holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
ROME (AP) -- 

Tech giant Cisco Systems on Wednesday joined Microsoft and IBM in signing onto a Vatican-sponsored pledge to ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically and to benefit the common good.

Cisco Systems chief executive Chuck Robbins signed the document, known as the Rome Call, and met privately with Pope Francis, the Vatican said.

The pledge outlines key pillars of ethical and responsible use of AI. It emphasizes that AI systems must be designed, used and regulated to serve and protect the dignity of all human beings, without discrimination, and their environments. It highlights principles of transparency, inclusion, responsibility, impartiality and security as necessary to guide all AI developments.

The document was unveiled and signed at a Vatican conference on Feb. 28, 2020 — just before Italy locked down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — by Microsoft's Brad Smith and IBM's John Kelly III. Universities, U.N. More

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