LeBron James has a message to the NFL as it competes for eyeballs on Christmas Day.

At least 10 people, including five journalists, have reportedly been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, while a three-week-old baby girl froze to death while staying in a tent camp.

AI-generated avatars are further blurring the lines of reality as more life-like characters and animations are integrated into social media and digital platforms.

It’s now possible to generate avatars in minutes using audio, images or videos and produce content with hundreds of different backgrounds, outfits, tones and languages or gestures. But do you as a marketer aim for realism or steer clear of the uncanny valley? Increasingly, they are trying to balance the quirky with the realistic in an avatar’s look and feel to strike the right tone.

The uncanny valley refers to an unease or negative response (that creepy vibe) we feel when encountering something that seems almost human — but it feels off. Think early forms of generative AI-designed avatars that look like a real person, but has no eye movement, or a digital representation that looks exactly like an influencer, but is lacking natural movement or features.

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The so-called TikTok-ification of social media, in which the platform’s short-form, viral, and algorithm-driven content, has fueled the exponential growth of the influencer marketplace and creator economy. As it swells, marketers are tasked with allocating ad dollars to maximize return on investment. As it stands, smaller, more niche creators are delivering the best bang for buck, according to five influencer marketing execs Digiday spoke to for this story.

That means general lifestyle influencers have to adapt and find a niche or run the risk of fizzling out.

“It’s attention, really,” said Sophie Crowther, global talent partnerships director at Billion Dollar Boy, and head of creators at FiveTwoNine, the influencer marketing shop’s creator community membership program. “Attention is in new formats, new creators that are tapping into something completely brand new, basically.”

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Newsweek has five hints to help you solve Thursday's "Wordle" puzzle if you're finding it a bit taxing.

If the festive brainteaser has left you scratching your head, Newsweek has provided a host of handy hints.

Over the past week, Trump has criticized Panama over increasing fees, warning that if it doesn't change, he will demand the canal's return to the U.S.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ makes up for the many shortcomings of the Claw A1M. Just make sure you're in the mood for a bulky and hefty handheld.

A Syrian family that survived a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of people near the country's capital, Damascus, says the ordeal they experienced haunts them to this day

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Civil unrest over disputed presidential election result continues

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Quds News Network reported that its journalists were killed in an airstrike while they were in a van parked outside of a hospital in Gaza.

Attorneys for Ryan Routh, the man charged with attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, had requested postponement of a court hearing.

Mom and daughter line-danced together as the performance marked the live debut of Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' songs

Indonesia and Thailand are marking 20 years since a tsunami caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people in one of the worst natural disasters in modern history.

Ravens star Lamar Jackson overtook Michael Vick on Wednesday for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in NFL history.

Slowing down Victor Wembanyama required the special OG touch. 

Christmas football came with a side of sports media beef.

Philadelphia's Christmas Day win over defending champion Boston is the latest in a string of performances that has turned around the 76ers' season and renewed their championship aspirations.

Kyle Larson hints at a potential merger between High Limit Racing and the World of Outlaws, a move that could revolutionize sprint car racing.

An organizer of a Christmas fair in Mexico was shot to death outside of a church during the Christmas Eve festivities Tuesday. Martin Ramirez Ruiz, board president of the Christmas fair in the state of Guerrero’s capital, Chilpancingo, was killed alongside another man in a targeted attack, according to the Associated Press. Nativity scene ceramics...