Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

VATICAN CITY — Britain’s King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Thursday, in the first joint worship including an English monarch and a Catholic pontiff since King Henry VIII broke away from Rome in 1534. Latin chants and English prayers echoed through the chapel, where Leo was elected the first U.S. pope by the world’s Catholic cardinals six months ago in front of frescoes by Michelangelo depicting Christ delivering the Last Judgment. Charles, supreme governor of the Church of England, was seated at the pope’s left near the altar of the chapel as Leo and Anglican Archbishop Stephen…

More than two years ago, I wrote “Artificial Empathy: A Human Construct Borrowed by AI.” Back then, the idea that a machine could convincingly simulate compassion felt speculative. Today, we might call it empirical. A meta-analysis in the British Medical Bulletin found that in text-based clinical settings, chatbots are consistently rated as more empathic than physicians. That’s not a headline for artificial intelligence (AI) marketing—it’s a shift in how we manage and measure care. When Simulation Begins to Outperform Sincerity Artificial empathy (AE) is no longer a curiosity; it’s becoming a measurable phenomenon. In this meta-analysis, in 13 of 15…

Pretty awkward. A confusing moment ruined the celebration for one beauty queen after her competitor mistakenly took her spotlight in a viral, painful-to-watch mishap. Isamar Herrera stood proudly among the 76 contestants for Miss Grand International stood on stage in Bangkok, Thailand, hoping to hear their country called and be named one of the 22 finalists, on Oct. 18. The 31-year-old, who represented Panama, covered her face in surprise as she began to walk down the stage while the crowd and her fellow contestants looked in stunned silence. Herrera made it to the front of the platform, striking a pose…

The European Union joined the US in heaping more economic sanctions on Russia Thursday — adding to President Trump’s latest punitive measures to choke off the revenue that’s funding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. EU countries formally adopted the sanctions — including a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports — as part of a broadened push to force President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.The EU measures largely target Russian oil and gas, the Russian shadow fleet of aging tankers and Russia’s financial sector. The EU has dumped additional economic sanctions on Russia Thursday as the invasion…

Still unsettled by Seattle. But after watching Andy Richter cha-cha on “Dancing With The Stars,” I gotta admit I feel a lot better about myself. “Good day Stitches. At this stage of the season, with two teams left, everyone who bets baseball will have their own opinion on whether they want to put their money on the Dodgers (-220) or the Blue Jays (+180). I really don’t think your opinion will influence readers. We know how good L.A. is. Toronto has home-field advantage along with a record of 54-27 at home. Shohei Ohtani holds the NLCS MVP trophy after the…

Wild new footage shows the thieves who stole $100 million of previous jewels from the Louvre making a slow getaway on a mobile lift. Video shows two men — one wearing a neon vest and another in a motorcycle helmet — in the basket of a lift slowly lowering to the ground out of the world-famous museum in the French capital, Paris. They look in no rush to escape the daring raid as they slowly reach the ground on the construction lift attached to a stolen truck. The Louvre robbers made a shockingly nonchalant getaway as they took off with…

A Russian court freed a French cyclist on Thursday after finding him guilty of illegally crossing the Russian border, state news agency RIA reported. Sofiane Sehili, a French citizen who describes himself as an “ultra-endurance racer and adventure cyclist,” was freed by the court in Russia’s Far East and exempted from paying a 50,000 fine, RIA reported. A Russian court freed a French cyclist on Thursday after finding him guilty of illegally crossing the Russian border. @sofianeshl/Instagram Sofiane Sehili, a French citizen who describes himself as an “ultra-endurance racer and adventure cyclist,” was freed by the court in Russia’s Far…

Grounds for a fine? A London woman was slapped with a hefty fine for pouring a splash of her coffee down a storm drain before hopping on a bus, according to reports. Burcu Yesilyurt made the split-second choice to empty “just a tiny little bit” of coffee from a reusable cup of joe down the drain instead of risking spilling it on her bus to work in southwest London on Oct. 10, the BBC reported. A London woman was slapped with a hefty fine for pouring a splash of her coffee down a storm drain before hopping on a bus.…

Michael Porter Jr. has made his name and his money on offense, but the Nets have challenged him to improve on the other end. Wednesday’s debut in a Nets uniform wasn’t a great example. Porter had 12 points in a loss, not only shooting just 5 of 15 and 2 of 7 from deep, but struggling on the glass and on the defensive end in the Nets’ 136-117 loss to the Hornets. “I just didn’t feel like I was as fresh as I needed to be. I feel like a lot of the guys were probably a little bit more…

At long last, Rob Kardashian has finally made his on-camera return to reality television. Rob, the only biological son of Kris Jenner, stepped away from the limelight in 2016 after years of starring in the family’s E! series, Keeping Up with The Kardashians. He had also previously appeared in Khloé Kardashian and her ex-husband Lamar Odom’s spinoff, Khloé & Lamar, and his and Blac Chyna’s miniseries, Rob & Chyna. While he’s made several appearances via phone call in their Hulu revival, The Kardashians, he has never shown his face in front of cameras … until now. In the Season 7…