By Andrew Rice
In local news, five people were arrested in Jefferson when law enforcement recovered and seized more than three pounds of methamphetamine Tuesday. According to the Watauga Democrat, Tylar Watson, Mark Hoke, Melissa Dula, Brandie Trivette and Teresa Burgett were arrested on multiple methamphetamine trafficking charges. In a months-long investigation,the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations worked alongside multiple police stations including Watauga County, Wilkesboro and the Boone Police Department to uncover the drugs and arrest those involved.
In state news, the social media app, TikTok, will be blocked on city owned computers and cell phones in Raleigh over cybersecurity concerns. According to the News & Observer , the ban follows similar actions taken by the federal government as well as other cities and states. WeChat, a popular Chinese messaging app, will also be banned along with TikTok. Governor Roy Cooper described TikTok and WeChat as “high-risk applications due to their lack of sufficient privacy controls and connections to countries that sponsor or support cyber attacks against the United States. The ban will take effect on February 14.
In national news, Microsoft announced Tuesday that it is fusing ChatGPT-like technology into its search engine Bing. According to the Associated Press, the introduction of AI software could give the search engine a head start in capitalizing on the worldwide excitement surrounding ChatGPT. The partnership with the developers of ChatGPT has been in the works for a long time as Microsoft invested $1 billion in 2019 that led to the development of a powerful supercomputer built to train AI models.
And now for a special weather report powered by Booneweather.com. Today is another beautifully warm day with a high of 57 and a low of 45. Conditions are expected to be partly cloudy with light wind to keep cool.