Meta to launch AI chatbot featuring celebrity voices, including WWE Superstar
Meta is gearing up to reintroduce its AI chatbot with a star-studded twist. According to an exclusive report from Reuters, the tech giant has struck deals with major celebrities to lend their voices to the chatbot, including WWE legend John Cena. Other stars who have agreed to provide their voices include Judi Dench, Kristen Bell, Awkwafina, and Keegan-Michael Key.
Fans of Cena will soon hear the 16-time World Champion's iconic voice as one of the options for Meta’s AI assistant. The official announcement is expected during the Meta Connect 2024 event, where the company will unveil the new feature, allowing users to personalize their AI assistants with celebrity voices across apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The chatbot feature will first be available in the U.S. and other English-speaking regions. This move follows earlier reports from Bloomberg, hinting at Meta’s discussions with high-profile personalities for its AI projects, which now seem to have materialized.
Along with the AI chatbot announcement, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, recently posted a teaser on Instagram for the Ray-Ban Meta smart eyewear line, which stars Benson Boone, Matthew Vaughn, and John Cena. The business may introduce its first augmented reality glasses at the Meta Connect 2024 conference, which is anticipated to delve deeper into these smart spectacles.
In the meantime, John Cena's return to the ring at WrestleMania 41 in April 2025 is something that WWE fans are anticipating. As of the end of 2025, Cena has stated that this will be his last appearance at WrestleMania, bringing an end to his wrestling career
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
