Annual Pet Spending Passes $50 Billion Mark

AI chatbots have become very humanlike in the space of a year, but Facebook wants to take them even further. If things go as planned, you may eventually see AI "people," complete with a generated profile picture and biography, commenting on posts and interacting with you.

A local sauce slinger said business hasn’t been too hot. Merfs Condiments, which said its hot sauce could once be found in 700 restaurants and another 400 stores, will close early next year. “The product is in high demand, but I can’t make any money,” said Kelly Schexnaildre, owner of Merfs, which is named after her dog Murphy.

Sushi Sasa, which has been one of Denver’s favorite sushi restaurants for 20 years, said Monday that it has closed. Located at 2401 15th St., Sushi Sasa was owned by Wayne Conwell, who started it in 2005 after working at Sushi Den and for “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto. “It has been an absolute pleasure and honor to lead Sushi Sasa for the past 20 incredible years.

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line.""Walk the Line"/Twentieth Century FoxJames Mangold considered Joaquin Phoenix for Johnny Cash in "A Complete Unknown."Phoenix played Cash in Mangold's 2005 movie "Walk the Line."Mangold decided Phoenix would be too old and didn't want to service "meta-movie universe stuff," he told BI."A Complete Unknown," James Mangold's look at the life of Bob Dylan, almost gave us another taste of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash.

A THAAD interceptor was launched during a test in July 2017. US Missile Defense AgencyA US air defense system in Israel was just used in combat for the first time since it was deployed. It's unclear if the THAAD battery successfully intercepted the incoming threat. The battery was reportedly used against a Houthi ballistic missile late last week.