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WikiProject Smithsonian AWHI Mary Vaux Walcott Illustrations Edit-a-thon - spreadsheet 01
By Mary Branscombe | TechRepublic.com | May 23, 2023

Microsoft Excel is the original low-code tool, but data and business logic in an Excel spreadsheet are not managed and not necessarily shared with other business users, so they are not something that can be easily reused outside that spreadsheet. Data in the data platform used by Microsoft’s Power Platform, Dataverse, is richer: There’s metadata that tags business objects like email addresses, invoices and order numbers with details of what should be in them and what business do with them, plus support for business logic, authorization, intelligence and analytics.

The generative AI Power Apps Copilot can already be used to build applications in Microsoft Dataverse by describing in natural language what a user wants the app to do. For example, they can ask Copilot to add more screens, controls and features as they get more ideas.

Excel to App is a new tool in preview to help users bring in data they already have in spreadsheets. It does exactly what the name suggests: Users can drag and drop unstructured data from Excel — or give Copilot a link to the file — and the Power Platform will analyze it, enrich it with the extra information Dataverse needs, and turn it into an app, Nirav Shah, the vice president of Dataverse at Microsoft, explained to TechRepublic ahead of the Microsoft Build event. At the Build developer conference, Microsoft is announcing a range of new AI tools and services.

“Because it’s Power Apps Copilot-enabled, it’s inferring what the table structure should be, how should it name it, what are the descriptions, what are the columns that need to exist and the data types of those columns,” Shah said. “For enumerations (which are lists of possible values), it even automatically generates the values for the option set in the Dataverse schema for you.”

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evolv weapons system for schools
By Krista Johnson | Courier-Journal | May 11, 2023

As Louisville continues to struggle with the proliferation of guns in the community, Jefferson County Public Schools is moving forward with a plan to spend more than $17 million in an effort to keep those guns out of its schools.

Weapon detectors, which use artificial intelligence to scan large crowds for certain weapons, will be installed at half of the district's high schools this fall, followed by the remaining high schools in spring then all middle schools by the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

JCPS board members approved starting the purchasing process of the equipment during a special called meeting Tuesday night. The vote was 5-2, with District 2's Chris Kolb and District 4's Joe Marshall voting against the measure.

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The JCPS Board Decision Process

JCPS Chief of Staff Katy Deferrari told the board the scanners would pick up on guns and small explosives, but not small pocket knives. Like any security measure, there will be limitations, she said, but the perks of these scanners versus metal detectors include efficiency and eliminating human bias that often leads to more physical searches for students of color. "We don't want to be invasive or search things that don't need to be searched," Deferrari said, adding that the weapon detection technology "is an objective screening process."

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The video shows the JCPS Board meeting during which the public could comment on the Evolv Weapons Detection System. The video is set to start when Lindsey Sheldon begins to speak. Most guests spoke against it.

In the below video security expert Dr. Ken Trump explains the shortfalls of weapons detection systems in schools.

Louisville Welder
By Jim Hoft | The Gateway Pundit | May. 7, 2023

Peter Schwartz, age 47 and a Kentucky welder, served his country in the Army Reserve. He was indicted after he was accused of pepper-spraying officers during the Jan. 6 protest. He was arrested on Feb. 2, 2021, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Pete was with his wife when 30 agents assaulted him with flashbang grenades, armored vehicles, and more than 10 assault rifles aimed at his chest.

“At no point did either my wife or I resist but we were both roughly handled and forced/dragged up the stairs after being shackled and handcuffed as we were shoved around,” Schwartz said.

Last year, the DC jury found Pete and his co-defendants guilty on every single charge. There were no victims to Pete’s alleged crimes. The prosecution presented no witnesses.

Pete Schwartz called The Gateway Pundit after he was found guilty on every single count. There were 11 counts against Pete and the two co-defendants that he had never seen in his life and never met before their trial together. The jury did not even read over the evidence before they voted to sentence the three Trump supporters.

Pete was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding despite the fact that he NEVER entered the US Capitol.

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