Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the ‘Just a Moment News’ podcast. I’m your host, Erika, and today is January 8, 2024. Let’s dive into the headlines.

First off, let’s talk about the Golden Globes. “Oppenheimer” has won Best Motion Picture - Drama, and Christopher Nolan secured the award for Best Director. “Poor Things” bagged Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, while “Anatomy of a Fall” took Best Non-English Language Film. “The Boy and the Heron” won Best Animated Film. As for TV categories, “Succession” clinched Best Drama Series and “The Bear” was named Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy. There were also new categories this year, with “Barbie” winning for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement and Ricky Gervais winning the new stand-up comedy category. The event was hosted by Jo Koy and aired on CBS, with the Globes moving to CBS after ending its relationship with NBC.

In scientific news, researchers from the University of Bath and the University of Chicago have challenged our understanding of Tyrannosaurus rex. They suggest that what was previously thought to be young T. rexes might actually be a distinct species, named Nanotyrannus. The study, published in the journal of Fossil Studies, has sparked a debate in the scientific community about dinosaur classification, with some scientists welcoming the new perspective, while others remain unconvinced.

Next, we have an update on the cashless trend. Despite a social media post suggesting that Woolworths would stop accepting cash, the retailer has clarified that they will continue to accept cash in their supermarkets. The cashless policy applies only to W Café, Woolworths’ coffee shop chain. This follows a trend in South Africa where businesses like Starbucks have already gone cashless, due to the high cost and risk associated with handling cash.

In sports, the Dakar Rally’s second stage saw Audi’s Stephane Peterhansel claim victory, marking his 50th Dakar stage win. Meanwhile, South African Giniel de Villiers finished 14th. The next stage promises a varied 438km terrain from Al-Duwamsimi to Al-Salamiya.

Turning to tech, augmented reality company Xreal has revealed a new entry in its Air glasses lineup: the $699 Air 2 Ultra. These glasses, which offer full positional tracking, are meant to compete with Meta’s Quest 3 and Apple’s Vision Pro headsets. They are primarily aimed at developers for now but will be sold to anyone interested.

In a bit of social media buzz, a Facebook user shared a restaurant bill totaling over 93 thousand rand, paid by her “guy friend”. The receipt has sparked a range of reactions on social media, with some users suspecting money laundering and others criticizing the extravagance.

Lastly, AI company Midjourney has come under fire for allegedly using a vast database of artists’ works to train its AI. The controversy has prompted the University of Chicago to create a digital tool enabling artists to disrupt AI training datasets, a move aimed at protecting artists’ rights in the digital age.

And that wraps up our news for today. I’m Erika, and this has been ‘Just a Moment News’. Thank you for joining us, and we’ll see you next time.

Keywords - moment, daily, news