A series of devastating wildfires have ravaged Los Angeles, resulting in five fatalities and the destruction of over 1,100 structures. The fires have prompted mass evacuations, including among Hollywood celebrities, and led to the widespread cancellation of major entertainment events.

As a consequence, the announcement of Oscar nominations for the 97th Academy Awards, originally scheduled for January 17, has been postponed to January 19, with nomination voting deadlines also extended. However, the ceremony itself is still set to take place on March 2.

Academy CEO Bill Kramer expressed his condolences to those affected, highlighting the fires’ significant impact on the film industry, particularly in Southern California.

Events such as the Critics Choice Awards, along with other pre-Oscar functions like the AFI Awards luncheon and the British Academy of Film and TV Arts Tea Party, have been delayed. Significant industry events, including the Academy’s technical “bake-off,” have been canceled.

Prominent figures in Hollywood, including Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and Anthony Hopkins, have experienced personal losses, with their homes either destroyed or evacuated.

Premieres for films like Better Man and The Last Showgirl have been called off, while the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were released via press release instead of as a live event. Universal Studios Hollywood temporarily closed due to hazardous conditions, and filming for shows such as Ted Lasso and Grey’s Anatomy has been halted.

The wildfires, which began on Tuesday, have severely stretched firefighting resources and water supplies. Schools, including Palisades Charter High School—known for its roles in films like Carrie and Teen Wolf—have been damaged or destroyed. In response to the disaster, President Joe Biden has signed a federal disaster declaration, releasing funds for temporary housing, repairs, and recovery efforts.

Earlier, the announcement of the 15 films shortlisted for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2025 Oscars has reignited controversy among cinephiles, critics, and filmmakers in India due to Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies not being included in the list.

Following the announcement, strong online criticism of the Film Federation of India (FFI) emerged, led by voices like Hansal Mehta and Ricky Kej, who accused the organization of consistently poor judgment in its Oscar selections. For many, this omission serves as a reflection of deeper issues in how India presents itself on the global cinematic stage.

Laapataa Ladies, a charming satire about two brides swapped in rural India during the 1990s, received acclaim for its clever narrative. However, as Grammy-winning musician Kej bluntly stated, it was “absolutely the wrong choice” for an Oscar campaign.

The disappointment was further intensified by comparisons to Payal Kapadia’s Cannes-winning film All We Imagine As Light (AWIAL), which many believe to be India’s strongest contender for the international feature race. Kapadia’s portrayal of Mumbai’s working class has already garnered multiple accolades, including nominations at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, and its triumph at Cannes, where it won the Grand Prize, has firmly established it as a critical favorite early in the competition.

Tech billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk humorously took aim at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following Trudeau’s assertion that Canada would never become part of the US, a notion frequently floated by President-elect Donald Trump.

Echoing Trump’s sentiments, Musk referred to Trudeau as the “governor of Canada” and suggested that his opinions no longer matter since he plans to step down as Prime Minister.

“Girl, you’re not the governor of Canada anymore, so it doesn’t really matter what you say,” Musk tweeted, in response to Trudeau’s recent announcement about resigning from his positions in the Liberal Party and as Prime Minister amid declining approval ratings.

Trump has been playfully teasing Trudeau by calling him the “governor” since Trudeau suggested that if Canada couldn’t manage its economic challenges, it might as well become the 51st US State, particularly in response to aggressive tariffs.

Musk has been critical of Trudeau ever since the results of the US election were announced, predicting Trudeau’s removal and calling him “an insufferable tool.” Following Trudeau’s resignation earlier this week, Musk’s pointed comment gained attention, as he tweeted, “2025 is looking good.”

On Tuesday, Trump intensified his rhetoric against Canada in light of potential trade tensions, declaring that he would use “economic force” to push for Canada’s annexation. When asked if he was considering military action, Trump responded with a firm “no” but indicated that hefty tariffs on Canadian goods could be on the table.

“You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. Don’t forget, we basically protect Canada,” Trump remarked.

In response, Trudeau firmly rejected Trump’s implications, stating, “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada will become part of the United States. Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partners.”

At CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nvidia introduced a groundbreaking innovation — the “Project Digits” mini PC, a device designed to deliver supercomputer-like power in a compact form that can easily fit in your bag. This new mini desktop offers an impressive one petaFLOP of processing power, enabling local artificial intelligence (AI) and data science tasks that once required cloud-based data centers.

A breakthrough in computing power

Project Digits is aimed at developers, researchers, students, and data scientists working with AI, promising to enhance their ability to run complex models without relying on remote servers. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, showcased the mini PC, which, while still in the design phase, will be small enough to comfortably sit on a desk or be transported in a bag.

The device is powered by the Nvidia GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, an advanced processor that combines multiple components into a single chip. This innovation reduces the time needed to move data between components, enhancing efficiency. The superchip houses the Nvidia Blackwell graphics card and the Nvidia Grace processor, supported by 128GB of memory and 4TB of SSD storage.

In terms of raw power, Project Digits is approximately 1,000 times more powerful than the average laptop, setting a new standard for portable computing.

A new era for AI research

Nvidia’s new mini PC is expected to revolutionize the way researchers work with robotics, computer vision, and autonomous systems. “Nvidia’s Project Digits enables researchers to experiment, fine-tune, and scale solutions faster than ever — all while fitting on your desk,” said Raquel Urtasun, a computer science professor at the University of Toronto and founder of Waabi, a self-driving car company. Waabi, which utilizes Nvidia technology in its fleet of self-driving trucks, looks forward to the potential breakthroughs Project Digits could bring.

Supercomputing power is typically measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS). While the world’s most powerful supercomputers can achieve a little over 1,000 petaFLOPS, Project Digits offers a powerful 1 petaFLOP — far beyond the capabilities of most desktop PCs or laptops.

Unprecedented power for AI models

Thanks to its processing power, Project Digits can handle large-scale AI models, such as generative tools like ChatGPT, which require significant computing resources. It can run models with up to 200 billion parameters, and connecting two units could support models with up to 405 billion parameters. For comparison, GPT-3.5, which powered ChatGPT when it debuted in November 2022, had 175 billion parameters.

Availability and pricing

Though the product design is not yet finalized, Nvidia announced that Project Digits is expected to launch in May 2025, with a price tag of approximately $3,000. Those interested in purchasing the device can register in advance to secure their unit.

With the launch of Project Digits, Nvidia is pushing the boundaries of what is possible with portable computing, making powerful AI processing available on a much smaller scale. As more industries look to harness the power of AI, this device could play a significant role in accelerating research and development across various fields.