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ChatGPT drama: Microsoft hires Sam Altman, and OpenAI’s new CEO vows to investigate his firing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures shocked the artificial intelligence world, leaving the newly installed CEO of the ChatGPT maker to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman’s firing.The developments Monday come after a weekend of drama and speculation about how the power dynamics would shake out at OpenAI, whose chatbot kicked off the generative AI era by producing human-like text, images, video and music.It ended with former Twitch leader Emmett Shear taking over as OpenAI’s interim chief executive and Microsoft announcing it was hiring Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman to lead Microsoft’s new advanced AI research team.Despite the rift between the key players behind ChatGPT and the company they helped build, both Shear and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said they are committed to their partnership.Microsoft invested billio...

Boaters and bicyclists at odds in debate over Alameda’s plan for drawbridge to Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

For nearly two decades, the city of Alameda has worked to achieve a seemingly uncontroversial goal: construction of a pedestrian bridge across the Oakland estuary.But since its conception, the project has faced concerns about funding, costs and location. And now, as city staff prepare to present an update to the City Council next week, the bridge faces a new, surprising opponent: the recreational boating community, which fears the bridge could effectively lock them in the estuary.“It’s kind of like saying, ‘We’re going to put a drawbridge on the road out of your housing development,'” said Winston Bumpus, a board member of the Recreational Boaters of California. “That’s not optimal.”While boaters fear the loss of their freedom of movement in the estuary, bicyclist organizations see the bridge as a boon for the region and a far safer connection across the waterway. The bicyclist-versus-boater conundrum speaks to the challenges of naviga...

Amid San Jose Sharks’ crowded blue line, where does this veteran fit in?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic played in his 1,252nd career NHL game early last week, moving him into 100th place on the NHL’s all-time list.It’s not totally clear when game No. 1,253 will come for Vlasic. Not only was he a healthy scratch Thursday in the Sharks’ 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, but the team is carrying eight defensemen on their active roster, with a ninth potentially on the way in Matt Benning.The Sharks play the Vancouver Canucks on Monday to start a two-game road trip and it’s hardly a guarantee that Vlasic will be back in the lineup.It’s an unusual spot for Vlasic, 36, who has now been a healthy scratch three times in 17 games. To boot, in the 13 games he has played, Vlasic’s averaged just under 14 minutes of ice time per game, more than three minutes less than last season.Still, Vlasic is maintaining a positive attitude even though his role with the Sharks (3-13-1), at least for now, has been diminished to some degree.“Won the ...

Big Basin: Redwood trees’ recovery is ‘remarkable’ three years after huge fire, while some species are still struggling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

More than three years after a wildfire devastated Big Basin Redwoods State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the massive redwood trees in California’s oldest state park continue to recover with surprising speed.But some wildlife species, particularly salmon and steelhead trout in the park’s streams, and some types of birds, are still struggling and could take many years to bounce back.That was the conclusion of researchers who spoke at a recent scientific symposium exploring how Big Basin is faring in the wake of the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex Fire.The best news: The park’s famed old-growth redwoods, some of which tower more than 250 feet and date back more than 1,500 years, are nearly all green again, showing significant amounts of new growth after the wildfire’s flames charred their bark black and for a while gave them a doomed appearance.“Coast redwoods are just supremely fire adapted, and were well-prepared for this fire event, and they seem to be r...

‘A Christmas without lights?’ families struggle to pay bills as California regulators consider electric rate increases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

(BCN) -- Angelica Vasquez's anxiety soared when she read the notice on her most recent electric bill: "Please pay $135.81 by 10/26 to avoid service termination." But the warning was part of a bigger problem. Vasquez owed a total of $400.68 to Pacific Gas & Electric Co.For the past four months, the 43-year-old Salvadoran immigrant has been on disability leave from her job at Tesla due to a shoulder injury, she said. Vasquez also has not been able to do her second job, a part-time job cleaning houses to help pay the $3,000 monthly rent on the San Leandro house she shares with her husband, two daughters and two grandchildren. Rosalynn Carter, outspoken former first lady, dead at 96 In the early hours of Nov. 9, Vasquez wanted to warm up the house for her grandchildren, who needed to shower and get ready for school. But there was no power. Vasquez said she immediately called PG&E and explained that she had no money. The utility giant didn't offer much help, she said. "We had t...

6 teens seriously injured, 1 arrested in Fairfax Co. single-vehicle crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

The crash happened at the intersection of Pioneer Lane and Shreve Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Nov. 20. (WTOP/Shayna Estulin)Six teenagers were seriously injured and another teen was arrested after a single-vehicle crash Monday morning in a residential area of Fairfax County, Virginia.It happened after 6 a.m. in the intersection of Pioneer Lane and Shreve Road, police said. One of the teens, 17, was driving an Lincoln SUV under the influence “likely at a high rate of speed” when it lost control and hit a tree, which “caused the vehicle to start tail spinning,” Fairfax County Lt. James Curry said at a news conference.A preliminary investigation revealed that most of the teens — ranging from 14 to 17 years old — weren’t wearing their seat belts as five of them were ejected from the vehicle when it crashed and a sixth had to be extricated from the SUV.Six of the juveniles were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.The teen...

Trump lawyers urge federal appeals court to revoke gag order in DC election case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump urged a federal appeals court on Monday to revoke a gag order in the federal case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.“The order is unprecedented and it sets a terrible precedent for future restrictions on core political speech,” Trump attorney John Sauer told a three-judge panel.Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team, meanwhile, are urging the court to put back in place an order barring the Republican former president from making inflammatory statements about potential witnesses and lawyers in the case. The prosecutors say those restrictions are necessary to prevent Trump from undermining confidence in the court system and intimidating people who may be called to testify against him. Defense lawyers call the gag order an unconstitutional muzzling of Trump’s free speech rights and say prosecutors have presented no evidence to support the id...

Georgia deputy who shot absolved man had been fired for excessive force. Critics blame the sheriff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

When Staff Sgt. Buck Aldridge fatally shot Leonard Cure during a roadside struggle after pulling him over for speeding, it wasn’t the first time a traffic stop involving the Camden County sheriff’s deputy had spiraled into violence.Last year, Aldridge dragged a driver from a car that crashed after fleeing the deputy on Interstate 95. Body and dash camera video obtained by The Associated Press show the driver on his back as Aldridge punches him. Records indicate the deputy faced no disciplinary action. Personnel records show Aldridge was fired in August 2017 by a police department in the same Georgia county after he threw a woman to the ground and handcuffed her during a traffic stop. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office hired him nine months later. Aldridge stopped Cure for speeding Oct. 16 and ended up shocking the 53-year-old Black man with a Taser after he refused to put his hands behind him to be cuffed. Body and dash camera videos show Cure fought back and had a hand ...

Microsoft hires Sam Altman and OpenAI’s new CEO vows to investigate his firing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft snapped up Sam Altman and another architect of OpenAI for a new venture after their sudden departures shocked the artificial intelligence world, leaving the newly installed CEO of the ChatGPT maker to paper over tensions by vowing to investigate Altman’s firing.The developments Monday come after a weekend of drama and speculation about how the power dynamics would shake out at OpenAI, whose chatbot kicked off the generative AI era by producing human-like text, images, video and music.It ended with former Twitch leader Emmett Shear taking over as OpenAI’s interim chief executive and Microsoft announcing it was hiring Altman and OpenAI co-founder and former President Greg Brockman to lead Microsoft’s new advanced AI research team.Despite the rift between the key players behind ChatGPT and the company they helped build, both Shear and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said they are committed to their partnership.Microsoft invested billions of dollar...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts at the start of a holiday-shortened week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting to begin a holiday-shortened week, hanging near its highest level in three months. The S&P 500 was little changed early Monday, coming off its third straight winning week. The Dow was also flat, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.3%. Microsoft rose 1.1% after bringing on Sam Altman for a new venture following his sudden dismissal as CEO of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Microsoft will also continue its partnership with OpenAI. Fervor around artificial-intelligence technology continues to dominate Wall Street. This week is light on economic reports.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.HONG KONG (AP) — World shares were mixed on Monday after Wall Street closed its third straight winning week with a tiny gain.In share trading, Germany’s DAX fell 0.1% to 15,907.92 and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.3% to 7,256.93. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,481.86. The future for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial A...