• On this day: January 23
    en.wikipedia.org
    January 23: Little New Year in southern China (2025)Hongwu Emperor1368 The Hongwu Emperor (pictured) ascended to the throne, initiating the Ming dynasty, which would rule China for three centuries.1571 QueenElizabeth I opened the Royal Exchange in London, giving it its royal title.1846 Ahmad Bey declared the legal abolition of slavery in Tunisia.1870 American Indian Wars: The United States Army killed about 200 Piegan Blackfeet, mostly women, children, and the elderly, in the Marias Massacre.1915 Rebels led by John Chilembwe attacked local plantation owners, beginning an uprising regarded as a key moment in the history of Malawi.2010 The final signal was detected from the NASA space probe Pioneer10, then about 12billion kilometres (7.5billion miles) from Earth.Antonio Daz Soto y Gama (b.1880)Guida Maria (b.1950)Hsu Tain-tsair (b.1953)More anniversaries: January 22January 23January 24ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout
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  • Fossilized Poop Reveals How Extinct, Flightless Birds Helped Spread New Zealand's Colorful Fungi
    www.smithsonianmag.com
    Fossilized feces, also known as coprolites, are helping scientists in New Zealand peer back in time. Janet WilmshurstScientists can learn a lot about extinct animals by studying their footprints, bones and even teeth. But, while insightful, these artifacts dont always paint a complete picture of an ancient creatures diet or behavior. For that information, researchers often turn to another source: fossilized poop.Fossilized fecesalso known as coprolitescan shed light on the last day or two [of] behavior of an animal from hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago, says Alexander Boast, a paleoecologist at Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, to Cosmos Evrim Yazgin.Boast and a team of researchers, for example, are using fossilized dung to learn more about the diets of extinct flightless birds called moathat once roamed around New Zealand. Coprolites helped them confirm that moa feasted on colorful native fungiand, by doing so, the ostrich-like creatures might have helped maintain healthy forests on the South Pacific island.They describe their findings in a new paper published last week in the journal Biology Letters. Moalarge, flightless, ostrich-like birdsonce roamed around New Zealand. But humans hunted them to extinction roughly 600 years ago. John Megahan via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 2.5Fungi play a vital role in many ecosystems. By breaking down organic matter, they put nutrients back into the soil. And by intertwining with tree roots, they defend the plants against harmful invaders and help them absorb nutrients and water.Many fungi rely on animals to spread and proliferate. These varieties produce drab-looking but tasty fruiting bodies called truffles, which mammals like dogs or boars will find by smellthen dig up and eat. In the process, these creatures transport the fungis spores to new places when they poop.But, before the arrival of humans, New Zealand did not have any mammals lumbering around and snacking on trufflesthe islands only native mammal species are bats and marine creatures. This got scientists wondering: How were the fungi spreading?They wondered if the islands birds, including moa, might have played a role. Some native, truffle-like fungi produce boldly colored fruiting bodies that grow in shades of blue, pink and purpleand to moa, which were known to eat fruit, these fungi might resemble berries.Birds have very strong color vision and they will forage predominately by sight, Boast tells Cosmos. So it looks like theres been some kind of mimicry. Effectively, these fungi look like berries on the forest floor, which is remarkable. Some species of native fungi, includingGallacea scleroderma (shown here),produce colorful fruiting bodies. Noah SiegelBut proving that the extinct birds ate and spread these native fungi appeared difficultuntil scientists stumbled upon the coprolite of destiny, as Boast tells Sciences Phie Jacobs. His team was rooting around in a cave when they discovered a piece of fossilized dung in a crevice.It came from an upland moa (Megalapteryx didinus), one of the nine species of moa that inhabited New Zealand before humans hunted the birds to extinction around 600 years ago. Weighing between 30 and 140 pounds, upland moa were among the smallest of all the moa, reports Stuffs Caron Copek.The team also tracked down a second upland moa coprolite that was housed in a museum. When they analyzed samples taken from the two fossilized feces, they found spores and DNA from the colorful native fungiconfirming their hypothesis that moa ate the fungi and helped them spread.Its pretty unambiguous at this point that [moa] were absolutely, definitely eating these things, Boast tells Science. The vividly colorful fruiting bodies of native fungal species, including Gallacea scleroderma, may have looked appetizing to extinct flightless birds called moa. Joseph PallanteNow, however, with the moa extinct, the fungi are likely not being dispersed as widely or as often.After Europeans began colonizing New Zealand, non-native mammals, like possums, deer, wallabies and wild pigs, were introduced to the island. But these animals are not interested in eating the vividly colored native fungal fruiting bodiestheyd rather eat smelly, non-native truffles. These non-native fungi, in turn, support the growth of non-native trees, which might outcompete native trees like the southern beech.This could have major implications for New Zealands forest ecosystems, though scientists are still investigating the possible ripple effects of the moas demise.Its very cool to look at a past ecosystem, but were trying to understand just how complex ecosystems were in the past, and what kind of long-term legacy impacts of extinction might be, Boast tells Cosmos. Its why we see this work as being very important.Matthew Smith, a fungal biologist at the University of Florida who was not involved in the work, suggests the native fungi might still have hope, even without the moa to disperse their spores: Fungi are pretty adaptable, he tells Science. I wouldnt count them out.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Animals, Birds, Ecology, Forests, Fossils, Fungus, Invasive Species, Land Birds, New Research, New Zealand, Poop
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  • Fortnite by the numbers: $342M paid to creators in 2024, with creators tripling to 70,000
    venturebeat.com
    Epic Games released its first Fortnite ecosystem year in review for 2024, and it has a lot to celebrate.Read More
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  • ByteDances UI-TARS can take over your computer, outperforms GPT-4o and Claude
    venturebeat.com
    UI-TARS understands graphical user interfaces (GUIs), applies reasoning and takes autonomous, step-by-step action.Read More
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  • Tumblrs experimental GIF feed finally launches after 10 years
    www.theverge.com
    Tumbler has finally launched Tumblr TV as a new tab at the top of its app, the company said today in a brief set of update notes spotted by TechCrunch. Tumblr TV first debuted as a GIF-finding feature in 2015, but now it includes video content as well. Screenshot: Tumblr TVAccording to Tumblr, New users will have this tab enabled by default in the third position, while existing users will have it availablein the Dashboard Tabs configuration, if not already enabled.When you tap the Tumblr TV tab, youll see a grid of videos and GIFs. Once you tap one, you can like, comment, repost, or share it, and when youre ready to see something else, you can swipe up to move on.In my very brief testing, its still very GIF-heavy despite the inclusion of video and a swipe interface similar to other short-form video apps. It could be tempting to compare Tumblr TV to TikTok, especially in light of its recent shutdown, but right now, its more like scrolling a group text full of GIFs.
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  • Celeste developers cancel follow-up game Earthblade
    www.theverge.com
    Earthblade, the next game from the developers of Celeste, has been canceled. The fantasy-inspired game got its first trailer in late 2022, and the game would have let you explore a free-roaming, dynamically-loading map, Extremely OK Games Maddy Thorson said at the time. But the team decided to cancel the game in December after a team conflict and because of the pressure of trying to follow up on Celeste, Thorson says in a post detailing what happened.The disagreement was between Thorson and Noel Berry (Thorson refers to the two of them as us) and Pedro Medeiros over the IP rights of Celeste, Thorson says. We eventually reached a resolution, but both parties also agreed in the end that we should go our separate ways, and Medeiros is currently working on a game called Neverway. Losing Pedro wasnt the only factor in cancelling the game, but it did prompt us to take a serious look at whether fighting through to finish Earthblade was the right path forward, Thorson says.The huge success of Celeste also applied pressure on us to deliver something bigger and better with Earthblade, and that pressure is a large part of why working on it has become so exhausting, Thorson says. Pedro isnt to blame for this in fact the split with him has given us the clarity to see that we have lost our way, and the opportunity to admit defeat.Thorson and Berry want to refocus on smaller-scale projects and are prototyping again to try and rediscover game development in a manner closer to how we approached it at Celestes or TowerFalls inception.
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  • Creating Custom Image Filters With Opencv
    towardsai.net
    Creating Custom Image Filters With Opencv 0 like January 22, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): Parth Mahakal Originally published on Towards AI. This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.Image by AuthorA variety of different artistic, and stylistic, optical image-capture methods are offered by this group of filters. The Thermal filter, for example, will convert images into heat maps, while the Cartoon filter offers vivid images that look a good deal as those might have been produced for a comic book. The closest one can have to natural colors-and scenes of beach and nature-comes from the VSCO filter. A less industrial feel could certainly be given a pretty heavy investment in that Instagram app filter. Take this simple grayscale and convert it into color images. It would be one of the grayscale filters. Lastly, let us consider the Oil Painting filter, which OpenCV implements by means of a stylization technique that creates a textured effect that looks like an oil painting. The user can easily use them through OpenCV and Python with just a few lines of code to enhance their imagesImage by AuthorThermal imaging is ideal for producing images at night or in the presence of some obscuration, such as light fog, rain, or smoke. For example, forward-looking IR or FLIR cameras are used to provide night Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post
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  • Where to Preorder the Samsung Galaxy S25 and S25 Ultra
    www.ign.com
    This year's Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event has unveiled the company's newest line of 2025 Galaxy S25 smartphones. They come in three familiar variants: the Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25+, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Preorders are now available on every model with orders shipping out on February 7. Samsung direct is generally the best place online to preorder an unlocked Galaxy phone. Not only do you get a phone that's free of bloatware, you can take advantage of a combination of instant savings, bonus Samsung credit for your next purchase, and generous trade-in values.For those of you who had placed a reservation online in advance of Galaxy Unpacked, you can cash in on additional savings in the form of a bonus $50 Samsung credit and bigger trade-in values.Samsung Galaxy S25Up to $50 off discounts, up to $100 in Samsung credit, and up to $500 off with trade-inBonus $100 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25 Unlocked (128GB)$799.99 at SamsungBonus $50 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25 Unlocked (256GB)The Galaxy S25 is Samsung's most affordable phone in the series. The 128GB model is listed at $799.99 with $100 in Samsung credit, and the 256GB model is on sale for $809.99 ($50 discount) with $50 in Samsung credit. The S25 benefits from the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite octa-core processor and 12GB RAM, which is the same combination found in the higher-end models, and a familiar triple-lens camera system that's carried over from the S24.Samsung Galaxy S25 Quick SpecsQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Octa-Core Processor with 12GB of RAM6.2" 2340x1080 (FHD+) 120Hz AMOLED DisplayAluminum and Glass ConstructionThree Rear Cameras (50MP Main, 10MP 3X Telephoto, 12MP Ultrawide)Video Recording Up to UHD 8K (7680x4320) @ 30fps128-256GB of Internal Storage5G Compatibility and Dual SIM SupportUSB Gen 3.2 Gen 1 with Up to 25W Charging Rate4,000mAh BatteryGalaxy AI Built-InSamsung Galaxy S25+Up to $100 off discounts, up to $150 in Samsung credit, and up to $700 off with trade-inBonus $150 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25+ Unlocked (256GB)$999.99 at SamsungBonus $50 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25+ Unlocked (512GB)The Galaxy S25+ is a more premium version of the S25 and sits right in the middle of the new 2025 lineup. The 256GB model is listed at $999.99 with $150 in Samsung credit and the 512GB is on sale for $1,019.99 ($100 discount) with $50 in Samsung credit. Like its predecessors, the S25+ is essentially the S25 equipped with a larger and sharper 6.7" display, but the larger form factor also allows for more internal storage and a bigger battery with faster charging.Samsung Galaxy S25+ Quick SpecsQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Octa-Core Processor with 12GB of RAM6.7" 3120 x 1440 (Quad HD+) 120Hz AMOLED DisplayAluminum and Glass ConstructionThree Rear Cameras (50MP Main, 10MP 3X Telephoto, 12MP Ultrawide)Video Recording Up to UHD 8K (7680x4320) @ 30fps256GB-512GB of Internal Storage5G Compatibility and Dual SIM SupportUSB Gen 3.2 Gen 1 with Up to 45W Charging Rate4,900mAh BatteryGalaxy AI Built-InSamsung Galaxy S25 UltraUp to $240 off discounts, up to $150 in Samsung credit, and up to $700 off with trade-inBonus $150 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Unlocked (256GB)$1,299.99 at SamsungBonus $130 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Unlocked (512GB)Bonus $110 in Samsung CreditSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Unlocked (1TB)The Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung's flagship phone. The 256GB is listed at $1,299.99 with $150 in Samsung credit, the 512GB is on sale for $1,299.99 ($120 discount) with $130 in Samsung credit, and the 1TB is on sale for $1,419.99 ($240 discount) with $110 in Samsung credit. As befits the highest-end phone in the stack, the S25 Ultra is equipped with top-of-the-line hardware. It is also the most updated phone in the lineup, with a lighter body, new Gorilla Armor 2 display glass with a better anti-reflective coating, sharper ultrawide lens, and 10-bit HDR video recording.Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Quick SpecsQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Octa-Core Processor with 12GB of RAM6.7" 3120 x 1440 (Quad HD+) 120Hz AMOLED Display with S-Pen SupportTitanium and New Gorilla Armor 2 Anti-Reflective Glass ConstructionFour Rear Cameras (200MP Main, 10MP 3X Telephoto, 50MP 5X Telephoto, 50MP Ultrawide)10-Bit HDR Video Recording Up to UHD 8K (7680x4320) @ 30fps with 256GB-1TB of Internal Storage5G Compatibility and Dual SIM SupportUSB Gen 3.2 Gen 1 with Up to 45W Charging Rate5,000mAh BatteryGalaxy AI Built-InA Samsung Galaxy S25 "Edge" May Be Coming LaterTowards the end of its Galaxy Unpacked presentation, Samsung teased a quick glimpse of a potential slimmer "Edge" smartphone. Unfortunately, we didn't get any other official information outside of that sizzle reel cameo, so we don't know where it likes in the Galay S25 product stack (if at all), and when we expect this phone to be released.Samsung Galaxy AIThe incorporation of AI has been at the forefront of CES 2025 and Samsung continues to follow suit with its own Galaxy AI algorithm. AI smartphone integration is still in its fledgling state and we expect its utility will continue to improve with updates down the road. That said, unlike Apple, you will not need to upgrade to a new 2025 model to take advantage of Galaxy AI. Many features will be (or are already are) backwards compatible with older models, although, of course, newer models will be able to take better advantage of more demanding features.The Samsung Galaxy S24 Was the Best Phone of 2024The Galaxy S24 Ultra was our favorite Android phone of 2024. In our Galaxy S24 Ultra review review, Jacqueline Thomas wrote that "the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is an incredible smartphone. It might look like yet another Galaxy device, but its titanium chassis and powerful processor makes this a durable gaming phone that can outrace the best of them."The less expensive Galaxy S24 Plus was also a solid winner in our books. In our Galaxy S24 Plus review, Mark Knapp wrote that "the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best Android phone you can buy right now, but at $1,299, it really needs to be. This is not only the fastest gaming phone you can buy today, but with its premium titanium chassis, it might just be the most durable. Samsung is sweetening the deal a bit by adding a huge variety of AI tools, but many of them will probably be forgotten after you've been using the phone for a while. Still, don't let that get you down: If you want a premium Android phone in 2024, it's hard to imagine getting anything else."For more big tech news for this month, check out our CES 2025 hub for everything that was announced, including Nvidia's newest graphics cards, Lenovo's latest handhelds, and other reveals in gaming tech that caught our eye.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
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  • This Decked Out Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC Drops to Below $3,000
    www.ign.com
    The best high-end prebuilt PCs command premium prices, but you can still save hundred of dollars if you can get in on a great deal. Right now, Dell is offering an Alienware Aurora R16 GeForce RTX 4090 gaming PC for only $2,899.99 after a $1,000 off instant discount. This is the first time I've seen an RTX 4090 gaming PC discounted to under $3,000 in months. GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards are actually going back up in price again, and getting a standalone card will run you at least $2,000 from a legitimate vendor, which means building your own DIY PC may not be as cost effective as you'd think. Plus, you have the advantage of an all-inclusive warranty with a prebuilt PC.Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PCAlienware Aurora R16 i9-14900KF RTX 4090 Gaming PCThis Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC is equipped with an Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU, GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 32GB of DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and a 2TB NVMe SSD. The 14th gen Intel Core i9-14900KF is the best Intel gaming CPU you can get right now, and it's also a productivity beast. The chip is known to run pretty hot, but fortunately it's cooled by a robust 240mm all-in-one liquid cooler. The entire system is powered by an 1,000W 80PLUS Platinum power supply.The RTX 4090 is likewise the most powerful GPU on the market. No other video card, either from NVIDIA or from AMD, comes close. In his RTX 4090 review, Chris Coke writes "The RTX 4090 may be huge and expensive, but holy smokes if it doesnt blow the competition out of the water... Until the rest of the pack can catch up, between its impressive hardware specs and its DLSS 3 AI wizardry, even the $1,599 price doesnt seem unreasonable for the unrivaled frame rates that this card can crank out." You'll be able to run any game in 4K with ultra settings and ray tracing enabled and still pump out high framerates, even the newest, most demanding titles like Black Myth: Wukong or Warhammer Space Marine 2.The 4090 is also the consumer card of choice for AI thanks to its 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM.A note on RTX 5000 series GPUsNVIDIA's newest generation of GPUs are set to be released starting the end of January. The RTX 5090 will undoubtedly be a more powerful card, but you'd have to be willing to pay a lot more money for that kind of power. Retail price is set to be $2,000 for the Founder's Edition at launch, but availability will definitely be an issue. The RTX 5080 will launch at a retail price of $999 but again there may be availability issues. We'll be sure to bench this card soon, but it will have less VRAM than the 4090 (16GB vs 24GB) and probably won't quite replace the 4090 as the dominant number two card.A note on Alienware's newest "R16" desktop chassisThe R16 is Alienware's 2024 desktop PC design. It's 40% smaller in volume compared to previous iterations. It features a simple yet proven airflow pattern; air is drawn in through the side intake vents over the GPU area and a 120mm fan at the front of the case, and exhausts by way of a 120mm rear fan and two 120mm top fans. A 240mm radiator for the all-in-one liquid cooling system is mounted to these top fans. Some configurations don't actually include the liquid cooling system, but we rarely include them in this roundup. That's because Alienware's liquid cooling solution is far superior to their stock air cooling and is easily worth the price premium. Note that Dell announced a new Area 51 chassis during CES 2025, but it looks very similar in appearance and design to the R16 chassis.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
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  • XO, Kitty Season 2s To All The Boys Cameos Explained: How Does Noah Centineo Return?
    www.denofgeek.com
    This article contains spoilers for XO, Kitty season 2.To All the Boys Ive Loved Before spinoff XO, Kitty has done an impeccable job so far of continuing the heartfelt rom-com legacy of the film series while giving Kitty (Anna Cathcart) plenty of room to grow as her own character outside of Lara Jeans (Lana Condor) love story. But at the same time, the show doesnt just throw Kitty out into the deep end without a few familiar faces making an appearance every now and then to remind us that she has a support system no matter where in the world she is.Season 2 had some of the biggest cameos so far, with everyones favorite rom-com heartthrob Noah Centineo returning as Peter Kavinsky as well as Janel Parrish as Kittys oldest sister Margot Song-Covey. Heres everything you need to know about when these important characters in Kittys life make an appearance this season and what role they play in her story.When Does Peter Kavinsky Appear in XO, Kitty?The return of Peter Kavinsky was not on my 2025 bingo card, but boy was this such an exciting surprise this season. Even though Netflix may have revealed this cameo ahead of season 2s release, we still werent quite sure how big of a role Peter was going to play this season.Peter shows up in episode 6 of season 2, just when Kitty seems to need him the most. His college lacrosse team has come to Korea to play, and he luckily has enough free time to visit with Kitty and give her some much-needed advice. He also gives her a stack of letters that Lara Jean found back home between their mother Eve and her cousin Simon. Its an important clue that leads Kitty back down the path of reconciliation between her grandmother and great-aunt.According to Noah Centineo, Peters return this season was all thanks to some serendipitous timing. He was already in Seoul filming season 2 of The Recruit when he got a call from XO, Kitty producer Matt Kaplan to see if he would be interested in coming back as Peter for a quick cameo. To which his response was absolutely. Though he also said that coming back to this role five years later was scary, to be completely honest. He continues, You reopen something that I did five years ago. It was very, very special, and you want to do it justice. You dont want to let anyone down.And he definitely did not let us down. Not only do we learn some important information about Kittys family thanks to Peters appearance, we also learn that he and Lara Jean are still going strong as a couple all these years later. And if that isnt a great reminder that these two are the epitome of couple goals, I dont know what is.When Does Kittys Sister Margot Appear in XO, Kitty?In the To All the Boys world, Kitty and Lara Jeans older sister Margot has been living abroad for the last several years, going to school and eventually working in Scotland. We dont see her much in the movies aside from a few brief visits and FaceTime calls with the family, so her appearance this season, a season all about family and reconnection, is really important.Margot appears in episode 8, the season 2 finale, visiting Seoul and helping Kitty reunite their extended family. Kitty has been trying all season to connect with her great-aunt and cousin without much success. After Peter gives her the letters between Simon and Eve, she learns that she and the rest of the family, including her grandmother, were supposed to visit Korea and reconcile their familys past disagreements when she was a child, but that the trip never happened because of her moms death. With the help of Margot, the two sisters are able to help their grandmother reconnect with her sister after all this time. Its a really touching moment that reminds us that this series may be a rom-com about finding true love, but that love and connection from family is also an important part of our lives.All eight episodes of XO, Kitty season 2 are available to stream on Netflix now.
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