firing – USMAIL24.COM

British drug smuggler Lindsay Sandiford, 67, who has been on death row for a decade, could be ‘spared from the firing squad if she can survive another year in prison’

Albert Elence — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 16:22:41 +0000

Sandiford could avoid the death penalty under new Indonesian law
She is held in Kerobokan Prison in Bali and is known as the ‘queen’ of the prison

By Ryan Prosser

Published: 02:13 EDT, March 22, 2024 | Updated: 12:19 EDT, March 22, 2024

Grandmother of drug smuggler Lindsay Sandiford could be spared a firing squad if she survives another year in prison after already serving 12 years.

New Indonesian legislation could reduce Sandiford’s sentence from the death penalty to prison.

The British 67-year-old grandmother has been in a cell at the Kerobokan prison in the Indonesian capital Bali since 2012 for an attempt to smuggle cocaine..

A prison source told the Mirror that prisoners had been informed of the new law and that authorities planned to follow it.

An Indonesian woman jailed for corruption said Sandiford was seen as the “queen” of the prison.

Lindsay Sandiford could avoid the death penalty if she survives another year in prison under new Indonesian law

Pictured: Sandiford as a young woman. She was sentenced to death in 2013 after trying to smuggle cocaine worth £1.6 million into Bali.

The 67-year-old British grandmother is said to receive special treatment in Bali’s Kerobokan prison as the ‘queen’ of the prison and gives knitting lessons to prisoners

Examples of the drug mule’s special treatment include the ability to order a medium-rare steak once a week.

But she added that the grandmother had given knitting lessons to her fellow inmates.

Others said Sandiford scares people away with her “foul mouth” and “antagonistic” personality.

Sandiford was caught flying to Bali with £10.16 of the Class A drug worth £1.6 million.

Having no previous convictions, she claimed she was forced by a British-based drug syndicate to smuggle cocaine from Thailand to Bali due to threats on the life of one of her two sons in Britain.

Despite cooperating with authorities in an attempt to arrest those higher up in the syndicate, she was given a death sentence, with human rights lawyers and former British prosecutor Ken Macdonald saying she had been treated with ‘quite extraordinary severity’.

The post British drug smuggler Lindsay Sandiford, 67, who has been on death row for a decade, could be ‘spared from the firing squad if she can survive another year in prison’ appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

Read Nathan Wade’s firing and Fani Willis’ response

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 20:26:43 +0000

Mr. Wade’s resignation clears the way for Ms. Willis to pursue the election case against Donald Trump in Georgia.

March 15, 2024, 3:54 PM ET

The post Read Nathan Wade’s firing and Fani Willis’ response appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

Prosecutors accuse the man of firing shots outside the Capitol on January 6

Sabir Ansary — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 00:06:20 +0000

A Trump supporter who prosecutors say fired a gun into the air on the Capitol grounds as a mob stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021, was charged Friday with felony firearms charges, trespassing on law enforcement and obstructing them during a civil unrest. .

The man, John Banuelos, fired at least two shots into the air as he stood above the crowd on a scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Federal District Court in Washington. It does not appear that Mr. Banuelos entered the Capitol. But before the shots were fired, prosecutors say, he posed for a photo wearing a “Trump 2020” cowboy hat and showing off a gun tucked into his waistband.

One of the most persistent lies about the attack on the Capitol — often made by Republican politicians and right-wing media figures — is that none of the hundreds of rioters who stormed the building had weapons. On Thursday evening, former President Donald J. Trump repeated the false claim on social media while responding to comments about January 6 that President Biden made during his State of the Union address.

“The so-called ‘insurgents’ he’s talking about had no weapons,” Trump wrote. “All they had was a rigged election.”

But the Justice Department’s sweeping Jan. 6 investigation found that several people in the Capitol were carrying firearms that day. In total, more than 1,300 rioters have been charged in connection with the attack, and arrests continue almost daily.

Guy Wesley Reffitt, a Texas militiaman, carried a gun on his hip as he led an attack of rioters up a flight of stairs on the west side of the Capitol, according to testimony at his trial — the first of dozens that have taken place in Washington involving in the events of January 6. Mr. Reffitt was ultimately convicted of weapons charges and other crimes and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Among the other rioters carrying firearms on Jan. 6 is Christopher Alberts, a former member of the Virginia National Guard who charged police outside the Capitol with a loaded 9-millimeter handgun, prosecutors say. Mr. Alberts was convicted of multiple felony charges and sentenced to seven years in prison.

A rioter named Mark Mazza brought two weapons to the Capitol: a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a Taurus revolver loaded with shotgun shells and hollow-point bullets, prosecutors say. That was Mr. Mazza sentenced to five years in prison.

Prosecutors have not determined what type of gun Mr. Banuelos was carrying on Jan. 6, but they said in their complaint that he was not licensed to possess it. One of the charges he faces is carrying and discharging a firearm on Capitol grounds.

After firing the shots, prosecutors said, Mr. Banuelos put the gun back in his waistband, climbed down from the scaffolding and rejoined the crowd.

The post Prosecutors accuse the man of firing shots outside the Capitol on January 6 appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

Hemp nets twice, with Wubben-Moy also firing on target as Lionesses beat Italy

Jeffrey Bailey — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 04:42:33 +0000

LAUREN HEMP bagged a brace as England demonstrated their dominant supremacy in a 5-1 win over Italy.

A first senior Lionesses goal for Lotte Wubben-Moy was one of the finishes that saw her side end the warm-up for the European Championship qualifiers in style.

Lauren scored twice for England in a dominant first-half display against ItalyCredit: Getty

A header from Lotte Wubben-Moy gave the Lionesses a second-minute leadCredit: Getty

Rachel Daly pounced on a misplaced pass to score after coming on as a substitute for England in the second halfCredit: Getty

Tonight’s match in southern Spain snapped a four-match unbeaten run for Italy, which was abruptly halted by their goal-hungry rivals.

The dominant attacking shift took England’s goal tally to 12 across the two friendlies.

And the team will expect similar success in their bid to reach the European Championships next year, with qualifying matches for the tournament starting in April, followed by a draw for the matches on March 5.

Although Italy earned a consolation through a rare mistake, the team was at times unraveled by the Lionesses’ aerial dominance from corners.

SNL recap: Comedian Shane Gillis ‘shouldn’t be here’ after firing

Sabir Ansary — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 20:50:11 +0000

Comedian Shane Gillis returned to Saturday evening live on Saturday, February 24, for the first time in almost five years.

“Thank you very much. Yes, I’m here,” Gillis, 36, began SNL monologue. “Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I got fired from this show a while ago. Don’t look that up, please. Please don’t Google that. It is well. Don’t even worry about it.”

He continued, “Honestly, I probably shouldn’t be here. I should be home. I should be a high school football coach.”

Gillis was hired as a featured player SNL in 2019, but was fired four days later after racist and homophobic comments from his podcast resurfaced online. SNL noted at the time that they were unaware of his “offensive” comments. Gillis also released a statement but did not apologize for his comments.

“I was always one Crazy television anyway,” Gillis joked in his 2019 statement, referring to the competing sketch comedy program.

On Saturday, Gillis brought his signature sense of humor to the Studio 8H stage, even if it wasn’t camera-ready.

21 Savage, Shane Gillis and Kenan Thompson during ‘Saturday Night Live’ promos at Studio 8H on February 22, 2024. Rosalind O’Connor/NBC

“Look, I don’t have any material that could be on TV, okay?” he added in his monologue. “I’m doing my best. Plus, this place is extremely well lit. I can tell everyone isn’t enjoying it. This is the most nervous I’ve ever been.”

Gillis’ monologue included jokes about “being gay,” his niece with Down syndrome (which caused him to use the R-word) and more.

“I don’t know if you can tell this about me, but I do have family members with Down syndrome,” he said on Saturday. “It almost got me. I avoided it, but it got me.”

Gillis then interrupted his own monologue when it became clear that his jokes were not landing as intended, but he did not want applause out of pity. (Gillis thought his joke about how people with Down syndrome “don’t worry” about the 2024 presidential election would “get bigger laughs” than he did.)

“Don’t clap, just shut up,” he told the audience. “No, I’ve brought up Down syndrome and you always mention who’s never been around Down syndrome when you bring it up. … People who have never been there say, ‘Oh,’ it’s the end of the world. “Are they okay?” Like, they’re doing better than anyone I know.

Gillis was joined by a musical guest on Saturday 21 wildwho sang the songs ‘Should’ve Wore a Bonnet/Prove It’ and ‘Redrum’.

Saturday evening live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 PM ET.

The post SNL recap: Comedian Shane Gillis ‘shouldn’t be here’ after firing appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

Here’s what you need to know about Claudine Gay’s firing.

Sabir Ansary — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 18:37:28 +0000

Facing a new round of accusations of plagiarism in her scientific work, Harvard President Claudine Gay announced her resignation on Tuesday. In doing so, she became the second Ivy League leader to lose her job in recent weeks amid a firestorm amplified by their widely derided testimony in Congress about anti-Semitism on campus.

The resignation of Dr. Gay marked an abrupt end to a turbulent term that began in July. Her term was the shortest of any president in Harvard’s history since its founding in 1636. She was the institution’s first black president and the second woman to lead the university.

“It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president,” wrote Dr. Gay in a letter to the Harvard community.

Over the past month, there have been accusations of plagiarism against Dr. Gay, the president of Harvard, showed up. This indicated that attacks on her qualifications to lead the Ivy League university continued, pushing the university deeper into a debate over whether Harvard places its president and its students on the same level.

The latest allegations were spread through an unsigned complaint published Monday in The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online magazine that has launched a campaign against Dr. Gay led. The new complaint added to about forty accusations of plagiarism that had already been circulated in the same manner, apparently by the same accuser.

The support for the emerging presidency of Dr. Gay began to crumble after what some saw as the university’s initial failure to strongly condemn the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and some pro-Palestinian responses from students. This caution infuriated some Harvard supporters — outrage that grew in early December, after Dr. Gay before Congress gave what critics saw as legal, evasive answers to the question of whether calls for genocide of Jewish people were violations of school policy.

Dr. Gay appeared at a hearing along with two other university presidents, Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During the hearing, Representative Elise Stefanik, Republican of New York, bombarded the presidents with hypothetical questions.

“Is at Harvard,” Ms. Stefanik asked Dr. Gay, “calling for genocide of Jews Harvard’s rules on bullying and harassment? Yes or no?” Dr. Gay replied: “That may be so, depending on the context.”

That exchange, and a similar back-and-forth between Ms. Stefanik and Ms. Magill, rocketed across social media and angered many people with close ties to the universities. Ms. Magill, whose support had already been shaken in recent months over her refusal to cancel a Palestinian writers’ conference, resigned as Penn’s president four days later.

Dr. Gay tried to minimize the fallout with an apology in an interview published in The Harvard Crimson, the campus newspaper. “When words add to the sadness and pain, I don’t know how you can feel anything other than regret,” she said.

A week after her testimony, the Harvard Corporation, the university’s governing body, issued a unanimous statement of support — after a meeting well into the night before — saying it stood firmly behind Dr. Gay stood, despite pressure from major financial backers, prominent Jewish alumni and lawmakers calling for her ouster.”

At the same time, the university acknowledged that it had received allegations of plagiarism in three scientific articles by Dr. Gay. It said an investigation found that she had not violated the university’s standards for “research misconduct,” but that the investigation “revealed a few instances of inadequate citation,” and that Dr. Gay would ask for four corrections to two articles.

Then on December 20, amid continued accusations of plagiarism driven by conservative media, the university said it was reviewing two new cases of insufficient citation in Dr. Gay had found – this time in her 1997 dissertation. Harvard described the problems as “duplicative language without appropriate attribution” and said she would update her dissertation to correct them.

Dr. Gay, who earned her doctorate in government from Harvard in 1998 and returned eight years later to teach government, found her support — already on shaky ground after the anti-Semitism outcry — evaporated as the allegations and findings of the university about plagiarism continued to increase. to assemble.

The allegations also attracted more unwanted attention from Congress, when a committee investigating Harvard sent a letter to the university demanding all documentation and communications related to the plagiarism allegations.

All told, the accusations circulated through conservative media, including in an article by activist Christopher Rufo and in reporting from The Washington Free Beacon, Dr. Gay of using material from other sources without proper attribution in approximately half of the eleven journal articles mentioned on her CVin addition to her dissertation.

The examples range from short excerpts of technical definitions to paragraphs summarizing the research of other scientists, which are only lightly paraphrased and in some cases do not include a direct citation of the other scientists. In an example that attracted particular attention and ridicule online, Dr. Gay’s thesis to contain two sentences from the 1996 book acknowledgments of another scientist, Jennifer L. Hochschild.

As the allegations mounted, Harvard faculty members and scholars elsewhere offered varying assessments of the seriousness of the violations, with some seeing a troubling pattern while others called them minor or dismissed them as a partisan hit.

But for some, the issue was clear: Dr. Gay had committed plagiarism—a word that actually did not appear in the Harvard administration’s first statement on December 12—and Harvard should admit it.

Carol Swain, a political scientist who retired from Vanderbilt University in 2017, said she was “furious” both about Dr.’s use of her work. Gay – Mr. Rufo cited at least two cases in which Dr. Gay the work of Dr. Swain used without attribution – and about Harvard’s defense of her.

But Steven Levitsky, a government professor at Harvard, said the passages in question appeared to be mostly “mild sloppiness.”

Many of these, he said, seemed to occur in parts of the articles that did not address Dr.’s core claims. Gay, but about summaries of methodologies and previous scientific insights.

“She’s a quantitative scientist,” he said. “She cares about the data. These guys don’t spend time fussing over their literature reviews.”

Dr. Levitsky had organized a faculty petition in her support urging the Corporation to “resist political pressures that conflict with Harvard’s commitment to academic freedom.”

Reporting was contributed by Dana Goldstein, Sara Mervosh And Vimal Patel.

The post Here’s what you need to know about Claudine Gay’s firing. appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

John Boyega will not replace Jonathan Majors as Kang after Marvel Firing

Sabir Ansary — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:59:54 +0000

Getty Images (2)

Fans are quickly putting together casting ideas following Marvel’s firing Jonathan Majorsbut they can take John Boyega from their wish lists.

Boyega, 31, posted photos of himself with the Captain America actor Anthony Mackie through X (formerly Twitter) last month, prompting one fan to reply: “Tell Anthony Mackie to put you in touch with whoever is responsible for Kang’s reshuffle.” Boyega responded with a GIF of Donkey Shrek shaking his head, indicating he didn’t want to replace Majors, 36, in a future superhero franchise.

Hours after Majors was found guilty of third-degree assault and harassment on Monday, November 18 We weekly confirmed that he had been fired from Marvel Studios. Majors starred as Kang the Conqueror (and several variations of the antagonist). Loki And Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaand he would play a major role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers: Kang Dynasty set for 2026.

Without Majors, fans are wondering if Marvel will turn away from Kang or simply recast him. However, it’s clear that Boyega isn’t interested in playing Kang or anyone else in the MCU.

“That’s not in my vision right now,” Boyega said Men’s health in August 2022, when asked about rumors of an upcoming role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “I want to do nuanced things. I want to donate my services to original indie films that come up with new, fresh ideas, because I know it’s very difficult to top Iron Man in that universe.”

The British actor played Finn in the latter Star Wars trilogy, and he has spoken out about how he felt his character was mishandled by Disney, which owns both Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios.

“What I would say to Disney is don’t bring in a black character, market them as much more important to the franchise than they are and then let them fall by the wayside,” he said. GQ in 2020. “It’s not good. I’ll be honest.”

The studio invited him to a meeting about how they could better support BIPOC characters in the future. The conversation led to Disney’s public support Obi Wan Kenobi‘S Moses Ingram, who is Black, after receiving numerous racist messages and even death threats following her debut on the show last year. The studio and star Ewan McGregor released statements in support of Ingram and condemn the fans who sent the hateful messages.

“Because Mozes Ingram is protected, I feel protected. Do you understand what I’m saying? It makes me feel like, ‘Okay, cool. I’m not the elephant in the room,” Boyega said on SiriusXM’s “Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang” in 2022. “Because when I started, it wasn’t really a conversation that you could bring up. You know what they experienced. It was like, let’s just shut up. It wasn’t a conversation you could start. But now to see how blatant it is, to see Ewan McGregor come out and support… for me, [it] fulfills my time when I didn’t get the support.

The post John Boyega will not replace Jonathan Majors as Kang after Marvel Firing appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

Ariana Grande is back in the studio recording new music after revealing she’s STILL signed to Scooter Braun despite firing him

Sabir Ansary — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 01:14:15 +0000

Ariana Grande teased her fans on Sunday when she shared photos and video clips of herself in the studio working on new music.

In some clips, background noise could be heard in the studio, but when Ariana, 30, stepped up to the microphone, the videos were muted.

In some of the images, she sat at a computer and edited audio files.

The Thank U, Next singer – who is still signed to Scooter Braun – has put her music on hold in recent years to film the three back-to-back Wicked movies.

Ariana didn’t caption the post, leaving fans hungry for details about her new music and when it will be released.

Ariana Grande teased her fans on Sunday when she shared photos and video clips of herself in the studio working on new music

In some clips, background noise could be heard in the studio, but when Ariana, 30, stepped up to the microphone, the videos were muted

Friends and fans jumped into the comments to share their excitement with her friend and collaborator Victoria Monet, who said, “She’s HOME!!!”

Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba opposite Grande’s Glinda in the Wicked films, wrote, “no one is ready.” ‘I’m so very proud of you!!’ and ‘This project is so incredibly special!!!’

The Bang Bang singer hasn’t released an album of new music since 2020’s Positions. Instead, she focused entirely on Wicked and her REM Beauty business.

‘Bad will have every piece of me, every minute, every ounce of my heart, my time, my soul, my everything I can give it,” she shared Billboard in May 2022.

‘I have my hands pretty full at the moment with a lot of other ‘exciting’ work. I spend all my time with Glinda, I just wasn’t ready for it.’

It was reported that Grande, 30, signed with Brandon Creed’s newly launched Good World Management over the weekend.

It’s been months since she reportedly split from Braun, 42, and it’s been a decade since he helped her rise to fame with her debut album, Yours Truly.

But insiders close to the situation have since told DailyMail.com that despite wanting to part ways with Braun, she is still strongly linked to the record executive, at least legally.

In some of the images, she sat at a computer and edited audio files

The Thank U, Next singer has put her music on hold for the past few years to film the three Wicked movies, which were shot back-to-back

Ariana didn’t caption the post, leaving fans hungry for details about her new music and when it will be released

Friends and fans jumped into the comments to share their excitement with her friend and collaborator Victoria Monet, who said, “She’s HOME!!!”

Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba opposite Grande’s Glinda in the Wicked films, wrote, “no one is ready.” ‘I’m so very proud of you!!’ and ‘This project is so incredibly special!!!’

The Bang Bang singer hasn’t released an album of new music since 2020’s Positions. Instead, she focused entirely on Wicked and her REM Beauty business

“Wicked will have every piece of me, every minute, every ounce of my heart, my time, my soul, everything I can give it,” she told Billboard in May 2022

‘I have my hands pretty full at the moment with a lot of other ‘exciting’ work. I spend all my time with Glinda, I just wasn’t ready’

It was reported that Grande, 30, signed with Brandon Creed’s newly launched Good World Management last weekend, months after she reportedly parted ways with Braun, 42, to mark a decade since he helped her rise to fame with her debut album, Yours Truly.

‘She remains contractually bound to Scooter, as several long-term contracts are still ongoing.

“If Ariana were to release a new album tomorrow, she would still be obligated to pay Scooter in addition to Brandon. Nothing has changed there.’

However, it appears Grande is doing her best not to work with Braun, with a second source insisting, “She’s not working with Scooter.”

The second insider even said that there are currently “legal proceedings pending” over the termination of the contract, revealing: “There are legal proceedings ongoing regarding what each party may be entitled to as a result of the termination of the contract.”

The post Ariana Grande is back in the studio recording new music after revealing she’s STILL signed to Scooter Braun despite firing him appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman compares his ‘incredibly painful’ firing to his father’s sudden death as he reveals new details about the shock termination phone call he received while in a Las Vegas hotel room

Albert Elence — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 01:02:05 +0000

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who was recently fired and then quickly rehired, has compared his “incredibly painful” resignation to the sudden death of his father.

Speaking of Trevor Noah’s What now? PodcastAltman revealed how he was in a hotel room in Las Vegas before the Grand Prix when he got the call telling him he was fired.

‘It felt like a dream. I was confused. It was chaotic. It didn’t feel real. It was clearly… painful. But confusion was simply the dominant emotion at that moment. It was like I was just in a fog, in a haze.”

Altman said his firing came as a complete shock and that he did not understand what was happening.

He said he felt like his dismissal happened “in this unprecedented, crazy way in my opinion.”

Altman said the sudden nature of what happened was similar to his father’s death.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who was recently fired and then quickly rehired, has compared his “incredibly painful” resignation to the sudden death of his father.

Speaking about Trevor Noah’s What Now? Podcast, Altman revealed how he was in a Las Vegas hotel room before the Grand Prix when he received the call firing him

“The only comparable life experience I had — and of course it was much worse — was when my father died,” Altman told the comedian, which he also said was “a very sudden event.”

“In that case, I felt like I had a little bit of time to really feel it all, but then there was so much to do, it was so unexpected that I had to pick up the pieces of his life for a while. .

“And it wasn’t until a week after that that I actually had a moment to catch my breath and say, holy god, I can’t believe this happened. So that was much worse, but there are echoes of the same thing here.’

Within half an hour of being told he had to leave the company, he received a flood of messages, so much so that his smartphone stopped working and froze.

Altman noted how “everyone” called, including Microsoft, who then took it away.

The fire appeared to catch Altman off guard, who did not elaborate on what might have led to his departure

His brief departure sent shockwaves through the company, leading to 747 of its 770 employees threatening to quit and join Microsoft if Altman, 38, was not reinstated.

He heard from people that they wanted to continue working with him wherever he ended up.

At that stage, RReturning to OpenAI wasn’t an option, as he was still trying to go down a path of still supporting OpenAI while trying to figure out what was going on.

But just days later, he made a stunning return to OpenAI as CEO.

“I’m still a little bit in shock and just trying to pick up the pieces, you know. Now that I have time to process all of this, I will feel a lot more about it,” Altman told Noah.

Sam Altman is CEO of OpenAI, the company known for creating the artificial intelligence chatbot called ChatGPT. OpenAI is reportedly developing a more powerful AI called Q*, which could be the reason he was fired, according to news reports

OpenAI, founded by Altman and ten others in 2015, rolled out ChatGPT a year ago — and its ability to mimic human writing has since proven polarizing.

In addition to raising concerns among the public, this uncertainty was apparently also felt within OpenAI’s six-member board.

Elon Musk founded OpenAI with Sam Altman, the company’s CEO, but in 2018 the billionaire attempted to take control of the startup.

His request was denied, forcing him to leave OpenAI and move on to his other projects.

Musk has since attacked the company, saying the AI is “woke” and deviating from OpenAI’s original nonprofit mission.

‘OpenAI was created as an open source (that’s why I called it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit organization to serve as a counterbalance to Google, but now it has become a profit-maximizing closed source company effectively controlled by Microsoft Musk tweeted in February.

On Friday, the WashingtonPost reported how several senior leaders approached the OpenAI board and accused Altman of being psychologically abusive and creating chaos at the startup, citing two people familiar with the board’s thinking.

Those complaints about Altman were a major factor in the board’s decision to fire him on Nov. 17.

Initially, OpenAI’s board said Altman was fired because “he was not consistently forthcoming in his communications with the board, which prevented the board from fulfilling its responsibilities.”

Later reporting suggested that the administration’s coup stemmed from a clash over technological advances and a dispute between champions of rapid innovation and a faction more concerned about security.

The coup against Altman was led by OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, seen above

Sutskever led the charge to withdraw Altman – after successfully persuading fellow board members Tasha McCauley (left) and Helen Toner (right)

Five days of unrest at OpenAI

Friday: Reports emerged that Sam Altman had been fired, prompting the tech mogul to comment on X that it was “kind of like reading your own eulogy while you’re still alive.”

Jakob Pachocki and co-founder Greg Brockman were apparently surprised by the firing and bOthers stopped late Friday night in protest of the alleged ambush.

Saturday: There were attempts by executives to bring him back and a leaked memo to staff suggested the company was “optimistic” about his possible return.

Sunday: Rumors swirled that he was open to returning if there was a change in management and governance at the company.

Altman then threw cold water on the rumors, posting a photo of himself using an OpenAI guest pass while visiting his old employer on X, and writing, “the first and last time I’ll ever wear one.”

Monday: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced that Altman and OAI co-founder Greg Brockman will join the company to lead a new AI innovation team.

Former Twitch leader Emmett Shear has taken over as interim CEO of OpenAI.

Tuesday: After days of unrest, Altman announced on X that he would return to OpenAI.

The co-founder will join a new board that includes former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and Adam D’Angelo, the sole holdover from the previous administration.

Days earlier, D’Angelo voted to impeach Altman. “I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the last few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together,” Altman wrote on X.

Upon his return, one of the company’s founders, Illya Sutskever, left, as did Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley.

“It is clear that there were real misunderstandings between me and the members of the board of directors,” Altman posted on X after he was brought back to lead the company.

“For me, it is incredibly important to learn from this experience and apply those lessons as we move forward as a company,” he added.

The new report is the first to suggest complaints from senior leaders about Altman, who reportedly enjoys fierce loyalty within the company’s ranks.

According to the Post, employees complained that Altman had been “psychologically abusive,” including allegations that he had “pitted employees against each other in unhealthy ways.”

The outlet reported that the complaints resonated with board members who had their own problems with Altman, including some who believed he had lied to them as part of a campaign to remove Helen Toner from the board after she published an article in which she OpenAI criticized.

The board coup against Altman was led by OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, supported by the two independent directors: Toner and technology entrepreneur Tasha McCauley.

Altman’s ally, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, was also removed from the board as part of the coup.

Faced with pressure from Microsoft and the prospect of massive staff cuts across the company, the board relented and was reconstituted.

The board now includes former Salesforce executive Bret Taylor as chairman, Lawrence Summers, and Adam D’Angelo, Quora’s CEO and the only holdover from the previous board.

The new OpenAI board is actively looking for six new members with expertise in areas from technology to security and policy. OpenAI investors are unlikely to get a seat on the nonprofit’s board, sources told Reuters.

Microsoft has committed to investing more than $10 billion in OpenAI and owns 49 percent of the company.

The post OpenAI’s Sam Altman compares his ‘incredibly painful’ firing to his father’s sudden death as he reveals new details about the shock termination phone call he received while in a Las Vegas hotel room appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

Man is arrested after firing a gun near the Albany Synagogue

Sabir Ansary — Fri, 08 Dec 2023 00:28:38 +0000

A man fired a shotgun on the grounds of a synagogue in Albany, New York, on Thursday afternoon and said “liberate Palestine,” police said, sending the building into lockdown and launching a hate crimes investigation hours before the start of Hanukkah.

No one was injured and a suspect was quickly arrested nearby.

Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins said authorities were investigating the shooting, which happened around 2 p.m. at Temple Israel in the state capital, as a hate crime.

Temple Israel is a Conservative synagogue on the west side of Albany that also houses an early childhood center. Both children and teachers went into lockdown after the sound of gunshots, authorities said. The synagogue was also the subject of a bomb threat in September.

The suspect, a 28-year-old man, fled on foot carrying a shotgun, but was quickly apprehended, according to police.

According to the police, it is not yet clear whether the man aimed at the synagogue or shot into the air.

The shooting has prompted investigations by state and local police, as well as the FBI

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had ordered state police to be on high alert during Hanukkah, which begins Thursday evening.

“Any act of anti-Semitism is unacceptable, and undermining public safety in a synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah is even more deplorable,” Ms. Hochul said in a statement. “Make no mistake: the safety of Jewish New Yorkers is non-negotiable.”

The post Man is arrested after firing a gun near the Albany Synagogue appeared first on USMAIL24.COM.

firing – USMAIL24.COM

British drug smuggler Lindsay Sandiford, 67, who has been on death row for a decade, could be ‘spared from the firing squad if she can survive another year in prison’

Share or comment on this article: British drug smuggler Nan Lindsay Sandiford, 67, who has been on death row for a decade, could be ‘spared from the firing squad if she can survive another year in prison’

Read Nathan Wade’s firing and Fani Willis’ response

Prosecutors accuse the man of firing shots outside the Capitol on January 6

Hemp nets twice, with Wubben-Moy also firing on target as Lionesses beat Italy

Read more football stories

SNL recap: Comedian Shane Gillis ‘shouldn’t be here’ after firing

Related: ‘Saturday Night Live’ controversies through the years

Related: Stars recall their ‘SNL’ hosting debut

Thank you!