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Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
What is AI-generated ASMR content on TikTok? All you need to know about viral trend
Over the past few years, AI-generated video content has gained significant popularity on social media, with users creating different types of clips, including both bizarre and creative, to earn more followers by getting viral. If you are an avid TikTok user, chances are high that you have already come across the latest viral trend on the social media platform, AI-generated ASMR videos, as per a report by the Tribune. AI-generated ASMR content goes viral on TikTok. Here's all you need to know Now, people have been sharing videos of AI-generated glass fruits getting sliced with crystal-clear ASMR sounds on TikTok. The AI ASMR trend simply combines soothing sounds with several surreal and impossible scenarios. Searching 'AI ASMR' on TikTok leads users to hundreds of such visuals that feature a knife slicing through several crystal-like objects shaped like fruits such as grapes, watermelons, apples and more. On X, investor Olivia Moore highlighted that an account, started three days ago on TikTok, managed to get 82,000 followers by sharing just 11 such videos. The viral TikTok trend is not just limited to slicing objects. In a viral video, an AI-generated woman can be seen performing a mukbang, or a live streaming event where a host eats a lot of food. Interestingly, her video did not feature any food. She can be seen using chopsticks to have a glowing bowl of molten lava. Such clips, which are clearly made up with the help of artificial intelligence tools, have fascinated millions of viewers on social media platforms, especially TikTok. Another one shows an alien character wishing Happy Father's Day, while holding a plate in hand that appears to be filled with sizzling lava shaped like a steak. Also read: Who is Amouranth? Viral streamer returns to Twitch after profiting $38 million off Kick How to create ASMR videos using AI? There are several AI video generating tools available online that can be used to create these AI glass effects. Some of these include Veo 3 (by Google) and Deevid AI. FAQs 1. What's the AI ASMR trend on TikTok? It shows AI-generated glass fruits being sliced with crystal-clear ASMR sounds. 2. Are advanced video editing skills required to create these glass ASMR videos? No. People can take the help of beginner-friendly AI tools to generate the clips. 3. What's the ideal length for AI ASMR videos to get best results? The average duration of these videos is 10 to 15 seconds.
Chicago Tribune
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
When will Hailey Van Lith move into Chicago Sky's starting lineup? Rookie focused more on slowing things down.
Hailey Van Lith doesn't want to worry about her role. The Sky rookie arrived in Chicago with simple expectations of spending her debut season learning the point guard position behind veteran Courtney Vandersloot. But those plans fell apart within weeks when Vandersloot suffered a season-ending torn ACL on June 7 that disrupted the entire roster. In the immediate aftermath, Van Lith seemed poised to step into the primary point guard role far earlier than she — or the Sky staff — expected. She has continued to come off the bench, but her minutes have steadily climbed as she absorbs responsibilities from veterans Kia Nurse and Rachel Banham. That might seem like a sign of an upcoming promotion. But for Van Lith, the starting lineup is the least of her concerns. 'If I'm playing the way that I feel like I need to be playing, who cares if I come off the bench my rookie year?' Van Lith told the Tribune. 'It's very rare for rookies to start. And honestly, for me, if I changed my mindset from being off the bench or a starter, it would get me in some trouble regardless. I'd start heading down a path I won't want to go. 'If it happens, that would be awesome. But I just want to play.' From the start of the season, coach Tyler Marsh emphasized the importance of building strong habits — and not falling into bad ones — as the centerpiece of rookie development. But that doesn't mean the starting role is out of reach for Van Lith. Marsh believes she's on a path to winning the job by the end of the season. 'She's handled the minutes that she's had very well,' Marsh said. 'She's handled the pressure well. She's been able to feel that presence when we needed her to and she's been coachable. 'For us, it's been about continuing to find what units work the best together and have the most cohesion, so we'll continue to learn that moving forward.' Finding that cohesion relies in part on Marsh establishing the specific style of guard play that fits both Van Lith's skills and the Sky's needs. Position was the question mark looming over the last two years of Van Lith's college career. She struggled to adapt to the responsibilities of playing the point at LSU in 2023-24, then settled back into her comfort zone off the ball this past season at TCU. But when the Sky drafted Van Lith with the No. 11 pick, they had a clear vision for her to grow into the backup point guard role behind Vandersloot. This time, Van Lith bought in. She says she now sees herself as a one rather than a two, a major departure from how she previously identified herself. But she's also still developing the on-ball skills necessary to hold down the point in the WNBA. The learning curve was steep in the early weeks of the season. Defenders draped themselves over the 5-foot-9 Van Lith the moment she crossed the half-court line and peppered her with jabs at the ball far behind the 3-point arc. If she broke out of that initial pressure, Van Lith often found herself running straight into teammates. Van Lith hasn't let herself be goaded into too many mistakes, averaging only 1.3 turnovers per game — the fewest of any Sky guard besides Banham. But she also hasn't developed into a high-volume playmaker, matching those turnovers with 1.3 assists per game. If she's going to take command of the Sky offense, Van Lith has to get comfortable at the point of attack. 'I am strong, I can use my strength, I can be physical,' she said. 'They're trying to swarm me because they know I have small spaces sometimes. And that's all on me to either get the ball out of my hands or learn how to handle it.' Teammates such as veteran guard Ariel Atkins aren't worried about the defensive pressure — or Van Lith's ability to handle it. 'It's like a shark,' Atkins said. 'They smell blood when they see a rookie.' And as Van Lith has grown this season, she has begun to realize the best advice on the ball runs counter to her natural instincts. 'When I first came in, I felt like I had to run at a sprint to everything,' she said. 'Yes, it's faster tempo. Yes, the windows are smaller. But you can still play at a slower pace if you need to. I've slowed down my own pace to make better reads.' On Sunday in Connecticut, everything started to click for Van Lith, who posted 16 points, five rebounds and one assist in a 78-66 win over the Sun. Van Lith never had scored in double digits in a WNBA game. Yet she was encouraged by how mundane the performance felt. 'It wasn't like I really did anything crazy,' she said. 'I just made reads and played solid. So it's exciting to know that it's very repeatable. It gives me motivation — like that wasn't even my best game ever.' She followed it up Tuesday with five points and one assist in 26 minutes in a 79-72 home loss to the Washington Mystics. But if Van Lith can start to repeat performances like Sunday's, it likely would be a question of when — not if — she's due for a promotion into the starting five.
Chicago Tribune
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Letters: It was heartwarming to see the Army celebrated at the parade in Washington
It was with patriotic pride that I watched the 250th anniversary parade for the Army. As a veteran, I can attest to the significant contributions our fighting Americans have made to our country. My family members have served in the military since our country's founding. Their sacrifices, like the sacrifices of many other soldiers, have produced the greatest country in the history of the world. Millions of people today owe their freedom to the U.S. military. It was heartwarming to see the people in attendance supporting our troops and celebrating our Army's history. Well done to the Army and all the other branches of service that ensure our freedom! I am proud of my service to the United States. I stand alongside our active-duty troops to support their hard for me to understand how the Tribune can splash a large picture of a demonstration by un-American protesters on the front page of the paper and yet relegate the story about the Army parade to Page 7 of Section 2. If it wasn't for the Army and the other branches, the Tribune would be publishing its paper in German. Please go back to has been lots of complete media coverage of the fine military parade, honoring in large part the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump. There has been no mention of the 'bone spurs' diagnosis that kept Trump out of military service and exempted him from serving in Vietnam. And Trump called those killed at Normandy 'losers' and 'suckers'! Good journalists should include these items when reporting on Trump's dealings with the military. He will never be supported by veterans who know these truths and facts. He was and is a bone-spur draft-dodging grifter.I am an Army veteran (Vietnam, 1968-69), and I am appalled at the inexcusable behavior of soldiers of the 82nd Airborne last week who loudly jeered the media and former President Joe Biden at the urging of President Donald Trump. They seemed to forget that Biden was their commander in chief in January. More troubling was the silence of sergeants, officers and other command personnel during and after the outrageous behavior of the soldiers in attendance. I am certain that there would have been hell to pay from my first sergeant and my company commander, a West Point graduate, had the men in my company — Echo Company — behaved so badly at a military assembly. My father-in-law served in the 82nd Airborne in World War II, trained at Fort Bragg and helped fly a glider plane behind enemy lines on D-Day. The behavior last week is an affront to the memory and service of the men of the 82nd who served bravely in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. Just really disgusts me when I see President Donald Trump speaking at West Point or reviewing troops at his birthday parade. Here's a guy who used his father's connections to avoid military service due to 'bone spurs' in his heel but can golf 100-plus rounds of golf each year. I'm all for cutting government spending in a responsible way, unlike the Department of Government Efficiency's methods, and reducing the deficit, but his 'Big Bloated Bill' will do neither. Republicans used to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but the last federal surplus was under Bill Clinton. After 9/11, George W. Bush ran $1 trillion deficits, and Barack Obama followed suit. Trump's first term increased the national debt by nearly $2 trillion, then Biden and Trump's second term will have exceeded that mark. Tax cuts and supply side economics have not worked in the past. Hoping that they will in the future is wishful thinking. If our members of Congress ran their personal finances the way they run the government's, they'd all be on welfare. I saw a recent interview on PBS with U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin who is appalled at the size of the national debt and the lack of concern shown by his cronies. This shows that there are at least a few sane people in government who are willing to take an unpopular stance and buck the president to save the country. Let's hope he is joined by others with Minnesota political shooting suspect Vance Boelter a 'devout Christian' is a misnomer. There is a huge difference between a devout Christian nationalist, which Boelter is, and a devout Christian — those who follow the way of Jesus. Please ask your reporters and editors to use the correct identity when reporting. Those of us who try to follow the way of Jesus should not be lumped into the same category with Christian nationalists and the hatred they again, I am appalled at the state of the . Recently, elected officials were murdered in Minnesota. The president never called Gov. Tim Walz about this tragedy in his state because he doesn't like him. What happened to the 'United' part of the United States of America? The president seems to only care about the people who support his twisted agenda, not all the people he pledged to defend. Please, people, vote your conscience.I trained in pediatrics at Children's Memorial Hospital, now known as Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, from 1981 to 1984 and practiced primary care pediatrics until my retirement in 2020. I have never seen a case of polio, smallpox, tetanus or diphtheria. Why? Because of the vaccines developed prior to that time. I seen death, sepsis, meningitis, epiglottitis, birth defects, encephalitis, seizure disorders, hearing loss and brain damage from what are now vaccine-preventable illnesses. Our current administration places these lifesaving medical advancements in grave danger. You, parents, still have the power to keep our children safe. that your insurance companies cover these safe and effective vaccines. that your schools demand that a safe and reasonable vaccine schedule is followed. You, parents, hold the power at the ballot box. Make your voices heard! I pray that the current pediatric trainees do not have to see what I have seen to effect change. Children's lives are at to Medicaid will come at a cost — the cost is in loss of life for individuals living with cancer. There is simply no way that cutting $793 billion from Medicaid will make the program stronger. Cuts of that magnitude will cut patients off from their health care, harm hospitals and clinics, and weaken state economies. The truth is that almost all the fraud, waste and abuse in the health care system comes from the billing and payment processes and skyrocketing prices, not from people who rely on Medicaid for essential care. As a breast cancer survivor, I know the importance of access to quality health care. In Illinois, over 3 million residents rely on Medicaid for health care coverage, and doctors rely on it to be paid for their services. Lawmakers might not know that the folks who rely on the program are mostly those who work jobs that don't provide benefits, or those who work seasonal jobs. These are huge parts of our economy. These people work hard and are in no way asking for handouts, but also often cannot afford the high prices of private insurance, which will be driven up further by cuts. As a cancer survivor, I urge U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth to stand up to protect the health and lives of all Illinoisans.
Chicago Tribune
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Ground broken for city's lakefront airport — Meigs Field
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on June 20, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Column: How 'Jaws' changed our chumminess with swimming 50 years ago this summerWeather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) Vintage Chicago Tribune: Meigs Field — shut 20 years ago by Mayor Daley — and Northerly Island's evolution1947: Ground was broken for Chicago's lakefront airport on Northerly Island, which would be known as Meigs Field. 1953: Chicago recorded its second-hottest temperature: 104 degrees. (It was also 104 degrees on June 20, 1988, and on July 13, 1995). Here are Chicago's hottest days — with temperatures of 100 degrees or higher — on record'Of the estimated 350,000 persons who sought relief at beaches and pools, five drowned, scores suffered heat prostration, and thousands took home second-degree sunburns,' the Tribune reported. 1993: The Chicago Bulls won the team's third NBA championship by outlasting the Phoenix Suns 99-98. Guard John Paxson sunk a three-point shot with 3.9 seconds remaining on the clock. 'Horace Grant sealed the historic night by blocking the Suns' Kevin John last-second shot attempt,' Tribune reporter Sam Smith wrote. 'The night will forever be engraved in the conscience of sport.' Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson didn't conduct formal national search for CTA head despite claiming otherwise, records show
CHICAGO - Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration never undertook a formalized national search for a new Chicago Transit Authority president despite the mayor saying last month that his office had in fact done so, according to responses to public records requests made by the Tribune. The CTA has been without a permanent leader since embattled former president Dorval Carter stepped down earlier this year under pressure from lawmakers and transit activists who had long called for his removal. Last month, Johnson told local news site Block Club Chicago that his office had undertaken a national search for a new CTA head, something transit advocates had pushed for in the wake of Carter's resignation. "We were always in the process of finding someone," Johnson told Block Club at the time. "It looked like any other national search." Johnson told Block Club the search had already been completed. But Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the Tribune failed to reveal records that demonstrated the city has undertaken a thorough or formalized search of any kind. The Tribune submitted Freedom of Information Act requests for records related to the search to three city departments: the mayor's office, the law department and the department of procurement services. All three departments told the Tribune they possessed no records of any contracts the city held with search firms involved in vetting candidates, nor invoices from such search firms, resumes of candidates who had been in the running for the job or reports on the search process. In a statement, Cassio Mendoza, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the administration had "looked at" candidates who are current leaders of mass transit agencies. "To maintain the integrity of the process and out of respect for their privacy, we are declining to share the names of specific candidates," Mendoza said. "The Johnson administration continues to believe in the importance of public transit for our city and our region," he said. "We will continue to work to find the most qualified and capable leader for this critical position." The mayor's office said it reached out to three leaders of agencies across the country but none were interested in doing a formal interview for the position. The administration said substandard CEO pay, uncertainty surrounding transit funding in Springfield and what it described as "hostile" media treatment were barriers to attracting further interest in the position. The Tribune submitted FOIA requests following a similar request made by transit advocate and environmental policy analyst Nik Hunder. In an email to the Tribune, Hunder said it was "puzzling that the Mayor's office felt the need to misrepresent the progress it had made on finding a new leader for CTA." "It took me under 5 minutes to submit the FOIA request for these records and to unintentionally prove that the Mayor and his staff did not do as they said," Hunder said. Johnson's claim that his office had undertaken a national search for a new leader came as he faced scrutiny over rumors he planned to appoint his chief operating officer, John Roberson, to lead the agency. Roberson has since taken a job at the Obama Foundation, putting an end to speculation that he would be appointed to lead the CTA. Before Roberson's new job became public last week, his rumored appointment was criticized heavily by transit activists, who called for a thorough, nationwide search for a new CTA head whom they hoped would have experience leading a mass transit agency. At the CTA's board meeting last month, three of the agency's seven board members had said they too supported a more thorough search, indicating Johnson would have faced opposition in getting Roberson confirmed had he nominated him for the job. At the same meeting, 17th Ward Ald. David Moore, for whom Roberson had worked as a chief of staff, spoke in support of Roberson, warning CTA board members to "work with the mayor who put you here" and "don't be a backbiting snake." Only two of the board's seven members were appointed by Johnson. The others were appointed either by former mayor Lori Lightfoot or Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Whomever is ultimately appointed to helm the CTA will be tasked with leading an agency that is facing the possibility of making drastic service cuts next year because state lawmakers adjourned their spring legislative session without passing funding to avert a looming $771 million transit fiscal cliff. There is still time for the legislators to allocate more funding for transit before the end of the year, but should they fail to, the CTA could be forced to cut more than half its bus routes and eliminate service on whole branches of "L" lines. The agency is currently led by an acting president, Nora Leerhsen, who was Carter's chief of staff before he resigned. ____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
