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Lana Condor stars in the Tubi Original Worth the Wait, which arrives on May 23.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency has formally designated the Alternative for Germany party as extremist, a move likely to further isolate the country's largest opposition party.

(Image credit: John MacDougall)

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,414 for May 3.

• Perplexity AI's new WhatsApp integration offers instant fact-checking without leaving the app
• Perplexity responds with fast, sourced explanations in over 20 languages
• The feature aims to help navigate misleading posts in private group threads

AI conversational search engine Perplexity and its new WhatsApp integration can provide more than just idle conversation. It can help you figure out the truth amid the rumors and half-remembered anecdotes that might appear in a group chat. You can get Perplexity to immediately fact-check your group chats.

Perplexity's real-time provision of truth is easy to get. You just forward any questionable WhatsApp message to Perplexity's number, +1 (833) 436-3285, and the AI will explain in seconds whether the claim holds up or belongs in the digital trash. You can forward screenshots, messages, images with a quote that Einstein definitely said, and any other bit of suspicious information.

Just save the number to your contacts, open WhatsApp, forward the message you want checked, and hit send. The feature works in over 20 languages, and, because it's Perplexity, you'll get links to the sources for the facts, providing you with the receipts to prove to whoever made the claim that they are wrong.

Let’s say your cousin shares a sketchy video about some major global event or celebrity death. You don’t have to leave WhatsApp, open your browser, do a deep search, then return to the group. You can just forward the post to Perplexity’s number and get a result and the quiet moral satisfaction of knowing you're right without needing to launch a full group argument.

Keeping quiet also sidesteps the question of privacy. After all, they may not approve of you sharing their messages and images with an AI chatbot without their permission. Few would feel good about their private messages being used as “factual errors” to train an AI. Meta AI might get away with it through the terms and conditions of WhatsApp, as they are both owned by Meta, but how that works with regard to Perplexity is less clear.

You can now forward any WhatsApp message to Perplexity: +1 (833) 436-3285 and get it fact checked instantly. This is super useful when WhatsApp groups are filled with a ton of forwarded messages which could be misleading. pic.twitter.com/y1C8ZIj7d8May 1, 2025

Perplexity facts

The fact-checking is essentially just a narrower use case for Perplexity and its real-time web search capabilities. But it's a potentially very enticing element of the WhatsApp integration for Perplexity.

Not that the AI developer is stopping with just that feature. The company has hinted at plans to expand beyond one-on-one message forwarding. You might see Perplexity popping up in your WhatsApp group chats like Meta AI does. Perplexity could possibly even be set up to respond automatically when sketchy messages drop.

Placing a fact-checker into WhatsApp won't necessarily convince anyone that they're wrong, but it might help you prove to yourself that you aren't losing your mind when an estranged relative insists that the moon disappeared for a week recently. Of course, there's still the social etiquette to figure out. Will forwarding a relative’s post for fact-checking make Thanksgiving awkward? Possibly. But if they’re circulating “garlic water cures baldness,” maybe that’s a small price to pay.

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The platform even has a feed devoted entirely to Inuyasha.

At the heart of a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is what, if any, Ukrainian territory Russia will be allowed to keep. Moscow asserts that four Ukrainian provinces are more culturally Russian than Ukrainian. We go to one of those areas to find out what the people there think.

Erin Patterson hosted several of her estranged husband's relatives for lunch in July 2023. Within days, three of them were dead of mushroom poisoning. She denies deliberately poisoning them.

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A defunct Soviet probe designed to land on Venus will have an uncontrolled reentry this month and pieces of it may make it to Earth's surface.

How will having to start repaying your student loans affect your financial situation? Tell us about your experience, and we may be in touch for an upcoming story on Morning Edition.

The proposal would cut off rental subsidies after two years for able-bodied adults. Advocates warn if enacted, the White House plan would tip many low-income renters over the edge into homelessness.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

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Pro stargazers and novice spectators alike will want to get outside on May 5 to see the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.

The National Science Foundation, a major government funder of basic science research, is being shaken up with over 1,000 grants already terminated and the White House looking to halve its budget

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• Spotify's new iOS update lets it advertise other payment options
• The change comes in response to a new US App Store ruling
• The app still doesn't offer AirPlay 2 or native HomePod integration

That was quick. Just one day after a US federal judge told Apple to loosen its grip on the App Store, Spotify has issued an app update – already live in the App Store – that'll enable customers to subscribe without going through Apple.

The update was approved by Apple and lets Spotify include details about subscription plans and promotional offers that are available outside the App Store on Spotify's website.

Spotify has been a vocal critic of App Store rules and was in bullish mood following the ruling from a US federal judge. Previously, Apple heavily restricted how much app developers could advertise and link to payment options outside the App Store, where Apple takes a 30% cut from in-app payments.

But the speediness of Spotify's move has got some subscribers asking a question: if Spotify can address this overnight, why hasn't it fixed some of the most annoying missing features for Apple devices?

One potential answer, of course, is that adding non-Apple subscription links makes money and making Spotify play nicer with Apple doesn't.

What Spotify users are still waiting for

Spotify could offer native HomePod integration and AirPlay 2, but so far it's chosen not to (Image credit: Apple)

For Apple listeners, two of the biggest omissions are AirPlay 2 support and native HomePod integration, both of which have been possible for years. Spotify has chosen not to implement them and as a result streaming Spotify on HomePods or to AirPlay devices is a bit of a pain.

The reason multiple streamers – Pandora was here too – didn't embrace HomePods was because when you asked them to play music they would always go to Apple Music. But that was addressed five years ago when Apple enabled you to specify other music apps as your default music player, and Pandora promptly changed its app accordingly.

But by then Spotify was feuding with Apple over App Store fees and in no mood to play nice with its perceived oppressor. It filed its first anti-trust complaint in Europe in 2019.

As subscriber btz1 put it on the Spotify Community site, only having first-gen AirPlay means that "this outdated technology presents several limitations that directly impact our enjoyment".

Those limits include interruptions in the audio, limited bandwidth compared to AirPlay 2 and lack of multi-room support. In a later comment in the same thread, btz1 says "I feel punished for wanting to use Spotify in the Apple ecosystem."

Clearly, Spotify has the resources to make big changes to its app and to make them quickly. So perhaps now it can escape Apple's "app tax" it can put some of them towards improving Apple subscribers' experience with the features they've been asking for for years.

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The move comes after a US judge ruled this week that Apple must stop collecting developer fees on web transactions.

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• Chuwi’s new CoreBook X features Intel i9-13900HK and 32GB RAM
• No discrete GPU does limit performance for heavier workloads
• Lightweight 2K laptop offers solid specs but lacks graphical punch

Chinese laptop maker Chuwi has announced a new version of its CoreBook X notebook, powered by a 13th gen Intel Core i9-13900HK “Raptor Lake” processor.

This chip was released back in Q1 2023 and has 14-cores and 20-threads and can reach clock speeds of up to 5.4GHz. It comes with integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics, so will offer reasonable performance for tasks such as content creation, productivity, and light gaming.

However, it’s a shame there’s no discrete GPU option for those needing more graphical oomph though.

Reasonably lightweight

The new CoreBook X i9-13900HK has 32GB of DDR4 RAM, upgradable to 96GB, and a 1TB PCIe SSD. You can add a second M.2 2280 SSD if you need more storage.

The laptop measures around 12 x 9 x 0.7 inches and has a 14-inch 2K (2160 x 1440) IPS display with a 3:2 aspect ratio that covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut and offers an 85% screen-to-body ratio. It weighs in at 3.09lb (1.4kg) and has a backlit keyboard and a 5.8-inch touchpad.

CoreBook X i9-13900HK comes with a 46.2Wh battery, which Chuwi says will provide up to 8 hours between charges. Fast-charging support allows it to reach 60% in under an hour. The laptop’s cooling system features dual copper pipes and a dedicated fan to keep the temperature down when under load.

It comes with a full-featured USB-C port, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, HDMI, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card slot. Wireless connectivity is Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.

There’s no word on pricing or availability yet, but the CoreBook X i9-13900HK is expected to launch in the coming months.

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• Many military contracts include provisions that don't allow US Army to repair its own equipment
• This may change thanks to a new transformation strategy
• Both Republicans and Democrats have argued for the right to repair

Shockingly, under past procurement contracts, the US Army hasn’t always held the right to repair its own equipment - but both Democrats and Republicans agree this now has to change.

The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll and General Randy George, US Army Chief of staff, have issued an announcement confirming a “comprehensive transformation strategy,” which will, “reexamine all requirements and eliminate unnecessary ones, ruthlessly prioritize fighting formations to directly contribute to lethality, and empower leaders at echelon to make hard calls to ensure resources align with strategic objectives.”

The strategy, named the Army Transformation Initiative, has three sides; “deliver critical warfighting capabilities, optimize our force structure, and eliminate waste and obsolete programs.”

A point of contention

This change is part of a broader effort being implemented by current Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who released a memo encouraging the US to “transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems.”

Hegseth urges the US Army to “Identify and propose contract modifications for right to repair provisions where intellectual property constraints limit the Army's ability to conduct maintenance and access the appropriate maintenance tools, software, and technical data - while preserving the intellectual capital of American industry,” as well as to “seek to include right to repair provisions in all existing contracts and also ensure these provisions are included in all new contracts.

Firms holding government contracts like Lockheed Martin and Boeing often use expensive equipment and installers in order to repair and service broken parts, but this initiative would enable military professionals to print 3D spares in the field and install them more cheaply and quickly.

The Register outlines a nomination hearing in which Senator Elizabeth Warren gave an example of the Army needing a new safety clip cover, which the contracted supplier quoted $20 per clip and months in manufacturing time.

"Now, thankfully, the Army had managed to keep right-to-repair restrictions out of this contract and was able to 3D-print the part in less than an hour for a total cost of 16 cents," Warren confirmed.

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• OpenAI has addressed what went wrong with its sycophantic update
• OpenAI is refining core training techniques to avoid sycophancy in the future
• Its Head of Model Behavior suggests ChatGPT could have multiple personalities going forward

OpenAI has addressed the rollback of the most recent update to ChatGPT-4o because of user complaints about its annoying, sycophantic personality. In an April 29 blog post OpenAI states:

“We have rolled back last week’s GPT‑4o update in ChatGPT so people are now using an earlier version with more balanced behavior. The update we removed was overly flattering or agreeable – often described as sycophantic.

We are actively testing new fixes to address the issue. We’re revising how we collect and incorporate feedback to heavily weight long-term user satisfaction and we’re introducing more personalization features, giving users greater control over how ChatGPT behaves.”

The blog post goes into further reasons for why the problem happened, but the crux of the matter is that OpenAI focused too much on short-term feedback, and did not fully account for how users’ interactions with ChatGPT evolve over time.

OpenAI promises to refine its core training techniques and systems prompts to explicitly steer the model away from sycophancy in the future, as well as allow for more user testing before deploying models.

Ask me anything

From reading the blog post, you get the sense that OpenAI feels like it has dropped the ball on this one and is doing all it can to make amends.

As well as issuing the statement, Joanne Jang, its Head of Model Behavior, has just done an ‘ask me anything’ (AMA) on Reddit, to answer any further questions people may have, specifically about ChatGPT’s personality, sycophancy, and future model behavior. Her replies revealed interesting insights into what the future might hold for ChatGPT’s personality:

Reddit user Responsible_Cow2236 asked, “Where do you see the future of model behavior heading? Are we moving toward more customizable personalities, like giving users tools to shape how ChatGPT sounds and interacts with them over time?"

Jang responded by offering the possibility that ChatGPT could come with multiple preset personalities:

“We’ve been working on two things: (1) getting to a default personality that might be palatable for all users to begin with (not feasible but we need to get somewhere) and (2) instead of relying on users to describe / come up with personalities on their own, offering presets that are easier to comprehend (e.g. personality descriptions vs. 30 sliders on traits)", said Jang.

The idea of preset personalities in ChatGPT is an intriguing one and something I could see combining well with the different voices that ChatGPT advanced voice mode already offers.

As for when we can expect the next update to ChatGPT-4o, OpenAI is not saying anything at the moment beyond “We fell short and are working on getting it right.”

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