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Colts defense picks up the pace as offense continues searching for answers to red zone woesThe unboxing experience of the Keychron K15 Max is nothing short of premium, thanks to the high quality cardboard box and solid feeling peripherals. It definitely feels like a step-up in quality compared to the likes of the Epomaker TH40 we recently reviewed , whose unboxing experience was nothing to really write home about. Inside the Keychron K15 Max's box, which has some minimal branding on the top, you get the Keychron K15, a wire keycap puller, a bent metal switch puller, a really soft, albeit short, braided USB type-C cable. The included accessories feel premium enough, especially considering the Keychron K15 Max's price. There are also a handful of extra keycaps in the box for Mac and Windows configurations, as well as orange Enter and Esc accent keycaps. Overall, the Keychron K15 Max feels quite solidly built. Despite lacking an aluminium bottom case, the case doesn't exhibit much flex when twisting at the edges, although twisting it does result in some pretty unnatural squeaking. Regardless, it's more than stiff enough to hold up against daily use and even carrying around in a bag. Unconventional Alice layout aside, the Keychron K15 Max's case is very reminiscent of gaming mechanical keyboards from the mid-2010s. It uses an ABS bottom case and an aluminium top case that also serves as an integrated switch plate, resulting in a floating keycap design. Unlike those protozoic gaming boards of yore, though, the Keychron K15 Max's case is stuffed with sound- and vibration-damping materials, which play a role in making it feel less hollow. Presumably this mounting style and case design were chosen as an easy way to make a thin mechanical keyboard, but it has some significant drawbacks when it comes to the typing sound and feel, which we'll explore later. While the floating keycap design isn't the best for typing feel or sound, it does have the benefit of being easy to clean, since there is no raised bezel for dust to get stuck under. Another build quality item worth mentioning is the aluminium knob, which feels well made and features a grippy knurled texture and a uniform black anodised finish. Although the rotary encoder under the knob is notched, the knurling makes it easy to overcome the notches, making the knob rather satisfying to use. The keycaps on the K15 Max are grey double-shot PBT with an inoffensive white legend on the top. The legend is flawless on all keys, but they are not shine-through, despite the keyboard having per-key RGB. Depending on your setup aesthetic, this might be a major or minor gripe, and it isn't particularly easy to solve because of the low-profile Alice keycaps. Keychron does offer a set of shine-through ABS keycaps in the same profile at $23 ($16 during the 2024 Black Friday sale), although finding a set with more varied aesthetics from another manufacturer is going to be challenging. Aesthetics aside, though, the stock keycaps are plenty comfortable to type on, with the wide tops making it easy to find the keys. The tactile markers on the F and J keys are also very pronounced, which makes getting used to the Alice layout far easier, since it's easier to locate the home row. The default connectivity, media, and navigation shortcuts are also conveniently labelled in a secondary legend on the relevant keys, which makes remembering those features a breeze. The K15 Max's similarity to the standard 75% layout should make it easy to get used to typing on the ergonomic keyboard, but it has actually proven slightly more challenging to use than the 40% TH40, which has nearly half as many keys. Part of the difficulty in getting used to the Keychron K15 Max comes from the separation between the Q and W columns and the P column and the symbols beside it. While it's admittedly easier to hit those keys in the Q column and P-adjacent punctuation columns with your pinky, the different spacing sort of leads to a lack of confidence. That said, this will likely differ from person to person, and there's no denying that the Alice layout, which allows for a more comfortable shoulder position, is less fatiguing to use than a regular QWERTY keyboard. The duplicated B keys also proved to be surprisingly convenient, especially for normies, like yours truly, who don't adhere to strict touch typing rules. After about a week of adjustment, though, the layout started to feel like second nature, already. The comfort aspect is also helped by the two-stage flip out feet on the bottom of the Keychron K15 Max, which allow for typing angles of 2.7°, 3.9°, and 6.1°, which may not sound like a lot, especially compared to the up to 11° often found in full-height mechanical keyboards, but the low front height makes the shallow angles feel very natural. The biggest problem with the K15 Max's typing experience comes from the Gateron Low-Profile 2.0 switches, specifically the Brown tactile switches in our review sample. While they are meant to be tactile switches, the tactile bump is so small, even compared to other tactile low-profile switches, that it may as well be a notchy linear switch, instead. The switches feel fine otherwise, with no significant keycap wobble or dry, scratchiness that was common in Gateron switches of yesteryear. The rigid integrated plate doesn't do the typing feel many favours, either, offering an almost imperceptible amount of flex when typing and just barely taking the edge off bottoming out. While the typing feel isn't great with the brown tactile switches, opting for the linear Gateron Low-Profile 2.0 Red switches would make it far more palatable. On the other side of the typing experience lies the sound profile, and, switches aside, Keychron has done a fairly good job shaping and dulling the sound of the K15 Max. There is no echo in the K15 Max's case, and the keyboard is quieter than most mechanical keyboards in the same price range. Keychron has also opted to use factory-lubricated clip-in plate-mounted stabilisers. Throughout our testing of the K15 Max, we didn't notice any stabiliser rattle, with the stabilised keys actually being a highlight of the overall typing sound and feel. The split Space Bars also make it much less of a hassle to eliminate rattle and echoes, compared to a full-size Space Bar, and Keychron has managed to make those split Space Bars plenty satisfying to use. Wireless connectivity worked flawlessly during our time testing the K15 Max, and it happily connected to both mobile and desktop operating systems without much of a fuss. The biggest potential downside of the K15 Max's wireless connectivity has to be waking from sleep. When you return to the keyboard after being away for a while, it can take upwards of 10 seconds to wake from sleep, reconnect, and register a key press. The Keychron K15 Max features a 2,000 mAh built-in rechargeable battery, which may not seem like much, but has proven to be plenty for daily use. Keychron makes claims of "around 95 hours" with the backlighting off and "around 50 hours" of use with the backlighting enabled. We spent around a week and a half with the Keychron K15 Max and the keyboard connected to both Android and Linux devices via Bluetooth and 2.4 GHz, respectively. Based on our battery drain observations, we can make some estimates of what the Keychron K15 Max's battery life should be: It should be noted that battery life was tested during regular use, meaning there were several breaks during the testing periods, so the results may not be entirely representative of final battery life, but they should provide a fairly decent idea of what to expect. If you're using the K15 Max wirelessly as a daily driver, you can expect to charge it around once or twice a month, which is pretty good, all things considered. On Bluetooth, battery life is communicated to the host device, but 2.4 GHz is a mixed bag. For instance, we tested the keyboard on Linux, and we were not able to see battery life via software. However, the RGB backlighting on the number row displays the battery charge level in increments of 10% (from 1 to 0) on pressing Fn + B. As far as customisation software goes, the Keychron Launcher web app is about as good as it gets, but there are some limitations when it comes to customising the K15 Max in software. For starters, the per-key RGB isn't really customisable on a per-key level, like it is on the likes of the Wooting 80HE. Instead, there are 21 RGB modes, and you can control the RGB colour, effect speed, and backlight brightness. Keychron Launcher and K15 Max features: Four customisable layers for custom shortcuts and key binds (0 and 1 are macOS by default, 2 and 3 are Windows by default) RGB customisation Macro creation with 15 slots Keyboard firmware update (requires installation of a tool on Windows, and the update process is convoluted ) The macro creation is also feature-rich, since it allows for setting custom static and dynamic delays and editing the macro chords manually after recording them. Those macros are also saved in the keyboard's onboard memory, so that no software or utilities need to be running in the background. One weird quirk that we found is that clicking "Reset" on the macro screen reset the whole keyboard's key bindings to default, instead of just clearing the macro settings. Split Space Bars and the customisable knob on the K15 Max really make the keyboard a fantastic option for those who like to tool around with custom key maps, shortcuts, and macros, and the extra row of macro keys along the left edge of the keyboard also serve to increase productivity if you take the time to set things up. By default, the first two layers are configured for macOS mode, while layers 2 and 4 are dedicated Windows layers. Even if this were fixed, limiting you to two layers, it shouldn't be a problem for most, since there are dedicated macro keys for macros and shortcuts, and the 75% form factor offers more than enough keys on its own. However, it is actually possible to use the unused OS layers for other purposes if needs be, so the Keychron K15 Max offers a very respectable four customisable layers in total. At a starting price of $109.99, the Keychron K15 Max offers a reasonably affordable entry into the world of ergonomic mechanical keyboards. The lightweight design and long wireless battery life make it a decent option if you're travelling with a laptop and want to avoid the mediocre scissor switches in many modern laptops. The combination of the Alice layout and excellent customisation software make the K15 Max an excellent productivity keyboard. The K15 Max, is not, however, a 1:1 slim, portable replacement for a mechanical keyboard. The choice to opt for a floating keycap, bezel-less design and rigid aluminium plate make it somewhat difficult to recommend to anyone coming from a full-size mechanical keyboard. The combination of the Alice layout and excellent customisation software make the K15 Max a stand-out no-frills productivity keyboard. While $100+ certainly isn't cheap, the Keychron K15 Max justifies its value with its solid build quality, portability, and understated design, with the Gateron Low-Profile Brown 2.0 switches being the weakest link, in our experience. That said, that is largely personal preference, and opting for the Red linear switches at checkout or grabbing a set of Gateron Low Profile Chocolate switches at $15.88 for 35 pcs on Amazon , for example, would remedy that issue. Pricing and availability The Keychron K15 Max is available directly from Keychron at $104 for the non-hot-swap version with white backlighting, $114 for the non-hot-swap version with RGB backlighting, and $124 for the hot-swap version with RGB backlighting, which is the version we have in for review. If you're after something more akin to a custom mechanical keyboard, Keychron has a range of Alice keyboards available on Amazon , and something like the Epomaker Cidoo A066 comes in at $89.99 on Amazon and offers the Alice layout with wireless connectivity, VIA customisation, and a programmable knob in a more conventional profile.
SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of a former OpenAI researcher known for recently blowing the whistle on the company’s business practices are questioning the circumstances of their son’s death last month. In an interview this week, Suchir Balaji’s mother and father expressed confusion and shock over his sudden passing, expressing doubt their son could have died by suicide, as determined by the county medical examiner. The family hired an expert to perform an independent autopsy but has yet to release the report’s findings. “We’re demanding a thorough investigation — that’s our call,” said Balaji’s mother, Poornima Ramarao. San Francisco police found Balaji dead in his Lower Haight apartment on Nov. 26, less than a week after his 26th birthday. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office later told this news agency his death was ruled a suicide, though a final autopsy report has yet to be released while the office completes toxicology tests. Earlier this month, San Francisco police officials said there is “currently, no evidence of foul play.” Balaji’s death sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley and the artificial intelligence industry. He garnered a national spotlight in late October when he accused his former employer, OpenAI, of breaking federal copyright law by siphoning data from across the internet to train its blockbuster chatbot, ChatGPT. His concerns backed up allegations aired in recent years by authors, screenwriters and computer programmers who say OpenAI stole their content without permission, in violation of U.S. “fair use” laws governing how people can use previously published work. Media companies have been among those to sue the company, including The Mercury News and seven of its affiliated newspapers, and, separately, The New York Times. In an interview with The New York Times published in October 2024, Balaji described his decision to leave the generative artificial intelligence company in August while suggesting that its data collection practices are “not a sustainable model for the internet ecosystem as a whole. “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he told the newspaper. By Nov. 18, Balaji had been named in court filings as someone who had “unique and relevant documents” that would support the case against OpenAI. He was among at least 12 people — many of them past or present OpenAI employees — to be named by the newspaper in court filings as having material helpful to their case. His death a week later has left Balaji’s parents reeling. In an interview at their Alameda County home this week, his mother said her only child “was an amazing human being, from childhood.” “No one believes that he could do that,” Ramarao said about his taking his own life. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but in a statement to Business Insider said it was “devastated” to learn of Balaji’s death and said they had been in touch with his parents “to offer our full support during this difficult time.” “Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to assist them,” the company’s statement read. “We first became aware of his concerns when The New York Times published his comments and we have no record of any further interaction with him. “We respect his, and others’, right to share views freely,” the statement added. “Our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences to all who are mourning his loss.” Related Articles National News | What is the Native American Church and why is peyote sacred to members? National News | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National News | 4 people found dead in N.H. home in suspected carbon monoxide poisoning National News | All 6 victims hurt by yellow taxi van driver outside Manhattan Macy’s are tourists National News | Powerful thunderstorms threaten Texas and Louisiana, delaying holiday travel Born in Florida and raised in the Bay Area, Balaji was a prodigy from an early age, his mother told this news agency. He spoke her name at 3 months old; at 18-months he would ask “me to light a lamp to cheer me up” and could recognize words at 20 months, she said. Balaji appeared to have a knack for technology, math and computing, taking home trophies and earning renown, including in the 2016 United States of America Computing Olympiad. In 2020, he went to work for OpenAI — viewing the company’s then-commitment to operating as a nonprofit as admirable, his mother said. His opinion of the company soured in 2022 while he was assigned to gather data from the internet for the company’s GPT-4 program, the New York Times reported. The program analyzed text from nearly the entire internet to train its artificial intelligence program, the outlet reported. Ramarao said she wasn’t aware of her son’s decision to go public with his concerns about OpenAI until the paper ran his interview. While she immediately harbored anxiety about his decision — going so far as to implore him to speak with a copyright attorney — Ramarao also expressed pride in her son’s bravery. ‘He kept assuring me, ‘Mom, I’m not doing anything wrong — go see the article. I’m just saying, my opinion, there’s nothing wrong in it,” said Ramarao, herself a former employee of Microsoft who worked on its Azure cloud computing program. “I supported him. I didn’t criticize him. I told him, ‘I’m proud of you, because you have your own opinions and you know what’s right, what’s wrong.’ He was very ethical.” After leaving the company, Balaji settled on plans to create a nonprofit, one centering on the machine learning and neurosciences fields, Ramarao said. He had already spoken to at least one venture capitalist for seed funding, she said. “I’m asking, like, ”How will you manage your living?’ ” Ramarao said. She recalled how her son repeatedly tried to assuage any concerns about his finances, suggesting that “money is not important to me — I want to offer a service to humanity.” Balaji also appeared to be keeping a busy schedule. He turned 26 while on a backpacking trip in the Catalina Islands with several friends from high school. Such trips were commonplace for him — in April he went with several friends to Patagonia and South America. Balaji last spoke to his parents on Nov. 22, a 10-minute phone call that centered around his recent trip and that ended with his talking about getting dinner. “He was very happy,” Ramarao said. “He had a blast. He had one of the best times of his life.” Ramarao remembers calling her son shortly after noon on Nov. 23 but said it rang once and went to voicemail. Figuring that he was busy with friends, she didn’t try visiting his apartment until Nov. 25, when she knocked but got no answer. She said she called authorities that evening but was allegedly told by a police dispatch center that little could be done that day. She followed up Nov. 26, and San Francisco police later found Balaji’s body inside his apartment. Ramarao said she wasn’t told of her son’s death until a stretcher appeared in front of Balaji’s apartment. She was not allowed inside until the following day. “I can never forget that tragedy,” Ramarao said. “My heart broke.” Ramarao questioned authorities’ investigation of her son’s death, claiming that San Francisco police closed their case and turned it over to the county medical examiner’s office within an hour of discovering Balaji’s body. Ramarao said she and her husband have since commissioned a second autopsy of Balaji’s body. She declined to release any documents from that examination. Her attorney, Phil Kearney, declined to comment on the results of the family’s independent autopsy. Last week, San Francisco police spokesman Evan Sernoffsky referred questions about the case to the medical examiner’s office. David Serrano Sewell, executive director of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, declined to comment. Sitting on her living room couch, Ramarao shook her head and expressed frustration at authorities’ investigative efforts so far. “As grieving parents, we have the right to know what happened to our son,” Ramarao said. “He was so happy. He was so brave.” If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.Patrick Mahomes threw a walk-off pass to win the Super Bowl. Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to win a World Series game. Stephen Curry said “nuit, nuit” to win an Olympic basketball title in Paris. Noah Lyles won 100-meter gold by about the smallest margin possible. And Sabrina Ionescu won a WNBA Finals game with a 30-foot heave. Depending on who you rooted for, some made you cheer, some left you crushed. Some were the sort that have never been seen before, in a good way: Shohei Ohtani, on the night he started baseball’s 50-50 club, drove in 10 runs in a performance for the ages. Some were the sort that have never been seen before, in a jarring way: Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer, got arrested before the second round of the PGA Championship and taken away in handcuffs to jail — where he had a sandwich and started warming up for the tee time he ended up making. And maybe the best way to describe what we had, when all these things happened, are the words Washington Commanders right guard Sam Cosmi used after his team beat the Chicago Bears with a Hail Mary pass: “Front-row seats,” Cosmi said, “to something amazing.” Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors’ superstar sharpshooter, made his Olympic debut one to remember and saved his best for last. He hit four 3-pointers in the final minutes, each shot more dramatic than the last, to seal the U.S. win over host France for gold. Curry’s signature celebration is the “night night,” where he puts his hands together at the side of his face, as if it’s time to go to sleep. In Paris, he brought shirts that made it perfectly clear to the French what that meant — yes, the message written on the shirts was “nuit nuit.” Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes did something no one has ever done: He threw a Super Bowl-winning touchdown pass on the final play of the title game. San Francisco kicked a field goal to open overtime of Super Bowl 58, and Mahomes had 75 yards to go to try and answer. He scrambled for eight yards on fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive — a huge play that probably very few remember. He went 8 for 8 on passes in overtime, engineering a perfect drive. The finale: a 3-yard toss to Mecole Hardman with 3 seconds left in overtime, and the Chiefs were back-to-back champions. OK, technically, the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team won the Olympic bronze medal with a kick (a conversion, they call it). But the real moment was Alex Sedrick, running the length of the field and into history. Sedrick got the ball with about 8 seconds left, ran through three Australia defenders and took it all the way down the field for a try that tied the game at 12-12 with no time left. Her kick won bronze for the Americans, a result that made star Ilona Maher — the undisputed face of the sport in the U.S. — an even bigger name, and breathed new life into the sport in a country where it still has tons of room to grow. In this case, let’s make three games — Iowa vs. UConn, South Carolina vs. N.C. State, then South Carolina vs. Iowa for the title — one moment. Maybe a movement is the better word. Caitlin Clark’s record-setting year, South Carolina’s undefeated run to the national title, UConn’s return to the Final Four, they were all part of a scintillating year for women’s basketball. The WNBA saw enormous growth — Clark, its rookie of the year, helped fuel that in a big way — and more eyeballs were on the game than ever before. Everything at an Olympics is a moment for someone; a lifetime of work typically coming down to a few seconds. But in Paris, a few stood out more than others. Start with Sifan Hassan, trading elbows in the stretch of the marathon to win her third distance medal — this one gold. Or Cole Hocker, looking like Forrest Gump in coming from nowhere to beat the two favorites in the men’s 1,500-meter run. The highlight, of course, was Noah Lyles’ .005-second victory in the 100-meter dash. He ran the fastest time of his life and didn’t take the lead until the absolute last instant, a finish that even had commentators guessing wrong about who actually prevailed. Of the 346,000 swings taken by batters in Major League Baseball this year, three probably jumped out more than the rest. There was Freddie Freeman, hitting the first game-ending grand slam in World Series history to move the Los Angeles Dodgers a step closer to beating the New York Yankees and winning the title. There was Pete Alonso, saving the season for the New York Mets with a home run to lift them past the Milwaukee Brewers in the deciding game of an NL wild-card series. And then there was Shohei Ohtani, a night like none other in a season like none other. On the night in Miami when he joined — created, really — baseball’s 50-homer, 50-steal club, he hit three home runs, stole two bases and drove in 10 runs on a 6-for-6 night. Cleveland’s Max Strus lived every kid’s hoop-in-the-driveway fantasy ... down by one, time running out, let-it-fly ... a 59-footer to give the Cavaliers a 121-119 win over Dallas. But the buzzer-beater of the year: Take a bow, Sabrina Ionescu. From just inside of the logo, her 3-pointer with 1 second left gave the New York Liberty a win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals — and the Liberty would win the title in five games. World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler had a year of moments — most of them great (nine wins worldwide), one of them bizarre (the arrest at the PGA Championship). But the signature moment of 2024 for Scheffler might have been weeping as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in honor of his Olympic golf gold medal in Paris. He rallied from six shots back with a final-round 62 to win the gold. On the way to winning the Stanley Cup, Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky had a save he’ll never forget. Bobrovsky — out of “desperation,” he’d say later — dove backward across the goal mouth, reached out blindly with his left wrist and somehow got his glove side in the way of Tampa Bay’s Matt Dumba’s shot to keep the game tied at 2-2. It wound up being a game-saver; the Panthers got a goal from Carter Verhaeghe 2:59 into overtime for a 3-2 win. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley used a spin move — and a leap — on the same play. The 180-degree hurdle was one of the signature moves of 2024 in the NFL. It made a 14-yard reception unforgettable. “Best play I’ve ever seen,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. They call it a “Hail Mary” in football, the desperation pass into the end zone with no time left to try and win a game. The Washington Commanders pulled it off against the Chicago Bears, Jayden Daniels’ throw going into team lore. And Virginia Tech thought it had pulled one off against Miami, only to have officials — who originally said the Hokies won — overrule the call after replay review, sealing a win for the Hurricanes. Get local news delivered to your inbox!BERLIN (AP) — Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel recalls Vladimir Putin's “power games” over the years, remembers contrasting meetings with Barack Obama and Donald Trump and says she asked herself whether she could have done more to prevent Brexit, in her memoirs published Tuesday. Merkel, 70, appears to have no significant doubts about the major decisions of her 16 years as German leader, whose major challenges included the global financial crisis, Europe’s debt crisis, the 2015-16 influx of refugees and the COVID-19 pandemic. True to form, her book — titled “Freedom” — offers a matter-of-fact account of her early life in communist East Germany and her later career in politics, laced with moments of dry wit. Merkel served alongside four U.S. presidents , four French presidents and five British prime ministers. But it is perhaps her dealings with Russian President Putin that have drawn the most scrutiny since she left office in late 2021. Putin's power games Merkel recalls being kept waiting by Putin at the Group of Eight summit she hosted in 2007 — “if there's one thing I can't stand, it's unpunctuality.” And she recounts a visit to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi that year in which Putin's labrador appeared during a photo opportunity, although Putin knew she was afraid of dogs. Putin appeared to enjoy the situation, she writes, and she didn't bring it up — keeping as she often did to the motto “never explain, never complain.” The previous year, she recounts Putin pointing to wooden houses in Siberia and telling her poor people lived there who “could be easily seduced,” and that similar groups had been encouraged by money from the U.S. government to take part in Ukraine's “Orange Revolution” of 2004 against attempted election fraud. Putin, she says, added: “I will never allow something like that in Russia.” Merkel says she was irritated by Putin's “self-righteousness” in a 2007 speech in Munich in which he turned away from earlier attempts to develop closer ties with the U.S. She said that appearance showed Putin as she knew him, “as someone who was always on guard against being treated badly and ready to give out at any time, including power games with a dog and making other people wait for him.” “One could find this all childish and reprehensible, one could shake one's head over it — but that didn't make Russia disappear from the map,” she writes. As she has before, Merkel defends a much-criticized 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that she helped broker and her government's decisions to buy large quantities of natural gas from Russia. And she argues it was right to keep up diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow until she left power, Obama and Trump Merkel concluded after first meeting then-Sen. Obama in 2008 that they could work well together. More than eight years later, during his last visit as president in Nov. 2016, she was one of the people with whom she discussed whether to seek a fourth term. Obama, she says, asked questions but held back with an opinion, and that in itself was helpful. He “said that Europe could still use me very well, but I should ultimately follow my feelings,” she writes. There was no such warmth with Trump, who had criticized Merkel and Germany in his 2016 campaign. Merkel says she had to seek an “adequate relationship ... without reacting to all the provocations.” In March 2017, there was an awkward moment when Merkel first visited the Trump White House. Photographers shouted “handshake!” and Merkel quietly asked Trump: “Do you want to have a handshake?” There was no response from Trump, who looked ahead with his hands clasped. Merkel faults her own reaction. “He wanted to create a topic of discussion with his behavior, while I had acted as if I were dealing with an interlocutor behaving normally,” she writes. She adds that Putin apparently “fascinated” Trump and, in the following years, she had the impression that “politicians with autocratic and dictatorial traits” beguiled him. Could Brexit have been avoided? Merkel says she tried to help then-Prime Minister David Cameron in the European Union as he faced pressure from British Euroskeptics, but there were limits to what she could do. And, pointing to Cameron's efforts over the years to assuage opponents of the EU, she says the road to Brexit is a textbook example of what can arise from a miscalculation. After Britons voted to leave the EU in 2016, an outcome she calls a “humiliation” for its other members, she says the question of whether she should have made more concessions to the U.K. “tortured me.” “I came to the conclusion that, in view of the political developments inside the country at the time, there would have been no acceptable possibility for me to prevent Britain's way out of the European Union from outside,” Merkel says. Giving up power Merkel was the first German chancellor to leave power at a time of her choosing. She announced in 2018 that she wouldn't seek a fifth term, and says she “let go at the right point.” She points to three 2019 incidents in which her body shook during public engagements as proof. Merkel says she had herself checked thoroughly and there were no neurological or other findings. An osteopath told her that her body was letting off the tension it had accumulated over years, she adds. “Freedom” runs to more than 700 pages in its original German edition, published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch. The English edition is being released simultaneously by St. Martin's Press. Geir Moulson, The Associated Press
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SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of a on the company’s business practices are questioning the circumstances of their son’s death last month. In an interview this week, Suchir Balaji’s mother and father expressed confusion and shock over his sudden passing, expressing doubt their son could have died by suicide, as determined by the county medical examiner. The family hired an expert to perform an independent autopsy but has yet to release the report’s findings. “We’re demanding a thorough investigation — that’s our call,” said Balaji’s mother, Poornima Ramarao. San Francisco police found Balaji dead in his Lower Haight apartment on Nov. 26, less than a week after his 26th birthday. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office later told this news agency his death was ruled a suicide, though a final autopsy report has yet to be released while the office completes toxicology tests. Earlier this month, San Francisco police officials said there is “currently, no evidence of foul play.” Balaji’s death sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley and the artificial intelligence industry. He garnered a national spotlight in late October when he accused his former employer, OpenAI, of breaking federal copyright law by siphoning data from across the internet to train its blockbuster chatbot, ChatGPT. His concerns backed up allegations aired in recent years by authors, screenwriters and computer programmers who say OpenAI stole their content without permission, in violation of U.S. “fair use” laws governing how people can use previously published work. Media companies have been among those to sue the company, including The Mercury News and seven of its affiliated newspapers, and, separately, The New York Times. In an interview with The New York Times published in October 2024, Balaji described his decision to leave the generative artificial intelligence company in August while suggesting that its data collection practices are “not a sustainable model for the internet ecosystem as a whole. “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he told the newspaper. By Nov. 18, Balaji had been named in court filings as someone who had “unique and relevant documents” that would support the case against OpenAI. He was among at least 12 people — many of them past or present OpenAI employees — to be named by the newspaper in court filings as having material helpful to their case. His death a week later has left Balaji’s parents reeling. In an interview at their Alameda County home this week, his mother said her only child “was an amazing human being, from childhood.” “No one believes that he could do that,” Ramarao said about his taking his own life. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but in a statement to Business Insider said it was “devastated” to learn of Balaji’s death and said they had been in touch with his parents “to offer our full support during this difficult time.” “Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to assist them,” the company’s statement read. “We first became aware of his concerns when The New York Times published his comments and we have no record of any further interaction with him. “We respect his, and others’, right to share views freely,” the statement added. “Our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences to all who are mourning his loss.” Born in Florida and raised in the Bay Area, Balaji was a prodigy from an early age, his mother told this news agency. He spoke her name at 3 months old; at 18-months he would ask “me to light a lamp to cheer me up” and could recognize words at 20 months, she said. Balaji appeared to have a knack for technology, math and computing, taking home trophies and earning renown, including in the 2016 United States of America Computing Olympiad. In 2020, he went to work for OpenAI — viewing the company’s then-commitment to operating as a nonprofit as admirable, his mother said. His opinion of the company soured in 2022 while he was assigned to gather data from the internet for the company’s GPT-4 program, the New York Times reported. The program analyzed text from nearly the entire internet to train its artificial intelligence program, the outlet reported. Ramarao said she wasn’t aware of her son’s decision to go public with his concerns about OpenAI until the paper ran his interview. While she immediately harbored anxiety about his decision — going so far as to implore him to speak with a copyright attorney — Ramarao also expressed pride in her son’s bravery. ‘He kept assuring me, ‘Mom, I’m not doing anything wrong — go see the article. I’m just saying, my opinion, there’s nothing wrong in it,” said Ramarao, herself a former employee of Microsoft who worked on its Azure cloud computing program. “I supported him. I didn’t criticize him. I told him, ‘I’m proud of you, because you have your own opinions and you know what’s right, what’s wrong.’ He was very ethical.” After leaving the company, Balaji settled on plans to create a nonprofit, one centering on the machine learning and neurosciences fields, Ramarao said. He had already spoken to at least one venture capitalist for seed funding, she said. “I’m asking, like, ”How will you manage your living?’ ” Ramarao said. She recalled how her son repeatedly tried to assuage any concerns about his finances, suggesting that “money is not important to me — I want to offer a service to humanity.” Balaji also appeared to be keeping a busy schedule. He turned 26 while on a backpacking trip in the Catalina Islands with several friends from high school. Such trips were commonplace for him — in April he went with several friends to Patagonia and South America. Balaji last spoke to his parents on Nov. 22, a 10-minute phone call that centered around his recent trip and that ended with his talking about getting dinner. “He was very happy,” Ramarao said. “He had a blast. He had one of the best times of his life.” Ramarao remembers calling her son shortly after noon on Nov. 23 but said it rang once and went to voicemail. Figuring that he was busy with friends, she didn’t try visiting his apartment until Nov. 25, when she knocked but got no answer. She said she called authorities that evening but was allegedly told by a police dispatch center that little could be done that day. She followed up Nov. 26, and San Francisco police later found Balaji’s body inside his apartment. Ramarao said she wasn’t told of her son’s death until a stretcher appeared in front of Balaji’s apartment. She was not allowed inside until the following day. “I can never forget that tragedy,” Ramarao said. “My heart broke.” Ramarao questioned authorities’ investigation of her son’s death, claiming that San Francisco police closed their case and turned it over to the county medical examiner’s office within an hour of discovering Balaji’s body. Ramarao said she and her husband have since commissioned a second autopsy of Balaji’s body. She declined to release any documents from that examination. Her attorney, Phil Kearney, declined to comment on the results of the family’s independent autopsy. Last week, San Francisco police spokesman Evan Sernoffsky referred questions about the case to the medical examiner’s office. David Serrano Sewell, executive director of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, declined to comment. Sitting on her living room couch, Ramarao shook her head and expressed frustration at authorities’ investigative efforts so far. “As grieving parents, we have the right to know what happened to our son,” Ramarao said. “He was so happy. He was so brave.”The roadmap to a just peace in Palestine
Market Alert: Beyond Oil (CSE: BOIL) Appoints Top Tier Food Industry Executive as COO as it Eyes a Growing Global Footprint 11-25-2024 10:54 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: ABNewswire TL;DR: Beyond Oil Ltd has appointed Aviran Fine, former COO of KFC Israel, as its new COO to drive global expansion and operational efficiency. Fine's expertise in cost management and successful use of Beyond Oil's filtration technology at KFC Israel aligns with the company's sustainability goals. Recent developments, including entry into Asia and Europe and a $1.77M funding boost, highlight its focus on innovation, market growth, and leadership alignment for long-term success. Beyond Oil Ltd. (CSE: BOIL) (OTCQB: BEOLF) (Frankfurt: UH9), a forward-thinking food-tech company dedicated to innovation in health and sustainability, has signaled its strategic intent to strengthen operational capacities through the appointment of Aviran Fine as Chief Operating Officer. This development highlights the company's ongoing commitment to broadening its global footprint while reinforcing its internal capabilities, particularly amidst a period characterized by significant international expansion. Fine, who transitions from a position as COO at KFC Israel, brings with him a wealth of industry experience accrued during his tenure at internationally recognized fast-food chains such as Burger King and KFC. His remarkable journey from a line cook to a senior executive role underscores an intrinsic understanding of operational excellence and adaptive strategy, qualities that are poised to drive Beyond Oil's ambitious worldwide growth plans forward. His successful track record,marked by transformative improvements in operational efficiency and cost management, aligns seamlessly with Beyond Oil's mission to optimize its innovative solutions through expert leadership. Its rare for a CEO to comment publicly on his COO's choice to leave the company - but this seems to be one of the unique case. Shai Carmona's the CEO of KFC Israel's franchise company (MAFCO) commented on the appointment noting Aviran's strong managments skiils and the impressive results he saw first hand from the pilot conducted with Beyod Oil: "Aviran joined MAFCO about two years ago as the company's COO and immediately rushed to improve the efficiency of the company's branches and procurement. During his tenure, operational and financial data improved singnificantly by tens of percent, and savings and efficiency were noticeable from his first months of work. Aviran is moving to Beyond Oil, a young and dynamic company that is in constant growth. After a successful pilot of about a year, Beyond Oil has become an integral part of our fryers. Since the beginning of working together and using Beyond Oil's 'magic powder' for oil filtering, our operations has become even more efficient, we reduced oil consumption, saved tens of thousands of shekels, and most importantly, workers breathe clean air in the company's kitchens. I wish Aviran much success and of course to Beyond Oil." In a competitive food-tech landscape, the integration of experienced professionals like Fine could potentially enhance Beyond Oil's operational efficiency as it ramps up its market presence across continents. Recent key announcements by the company have emphasized its strategic approach to expansion, including a notable entry into Asian markets through an alliance with Hap Chan, a prominent restaurant chain in the Philippines. This move complements previous inroads into Eastern and Western European territories, indicating a deliberate effort to establish and solidify regional market footholdswith tailored strategies and partnerships. Beyond Oil's ability to secure a C$1.77 million funding injection through warrant exercises, led by strategic partner West Coast Reduction, further underscores its financial health and readiness to support its expansionary projects. This financial stability sets the stage for the effective implementation of its growth agenda, facilitated through Fine's operational insight and industry relationships, which are likely to prove instrumental in sustaining Beyond Oil's ongoing projects and scaling efforts. The appointment of Fine also underscores an important strategic alignment of leadership with Beyond Oil's innovative objectives. His firsthand experience with Beyond Oil's product during its pilot phase at KFC Israel reportedly left a strong impression, especially concerning its potential to significantly reduce costs and healthrisks associated with the use of frying oil. This practical exposure to Beyond Oil's core product offerings could facilitate a streamlined implementation of strategic initiatives, ensuring operationa coherence as the company continues to innovate within the food-techsector.Navigating the complexities of different regulatory environments, consumer preferences, and competitive pressures are vital to sustaining Beyond Oil's momentum. 2The inherent value of Fine's expertise could potentially mitigate these challenges, combining his operational insight with Beyond Oil's innovative prowess, thus optimizing product differentiation and market penetration.Recent successes in Europe, illustrated by purchase orders from significant entities like Mister Noodles in Spain, exemplify Beyond Oil's expanding influence in global markets. Complementarily, Fine's previous experience in managing complex operational systems within fast-food franchises is anticipated to bolster Beyond Oil's capabilities in logistics, supply chain management, and regulatory compliance as it navigates diverse international markets. Moreover, Beyond Oil's reported integration of its innovative oil filtration technology, heralded for its capacity to prolong oil life while maintaining quality and safety standards, signals a commitment to sustainable practices. This commitment aligns with global consumer trends favoring healthier, eco-friendly food processing solutions, potentially elevating the company's value proposition amidst increasing sustainability-focused competition. Beyond Oil's recent leadership enhancement, coupled with its robust expansion trajectory, illustrates a strategic alignment of internal expertise and market ambitions. As the company continues to navigate its evolution within the global food-tech landscape, Aviran Fine's appointment as COO may potentially play a pivotal role in optimizing operations and steering Beyond Oil towards accelerated growth and strategic success. Still, as with any market player, the path forward requires balanced execution and continuous adaptation to emerging industry trends and challenges. Read More: * Beyond Oil Secures Vote of Confidence from Strategic Partner, Raises Additional $1.77M in Funding [ https://thefinanceherald.com/beyond-oil-secures-vote-of-confidence-from-strategic-partner-raises-additional-1-77m-in-funding/ ] * Beyond Oil Accelerates Global Market Penetration with Strategic Entry into Asia [ https://venture-block.com/beyond-oil-accelerates-global-market-penetration-with-strategic-entry-into-asia/ ] * Beyond Oil Continues to Expand Globally with 16-Ton Order from Major Eastern European Player; Advances towards Industrial Frying Market [file:///Beyond%20Oil%20(CSE/%20BOIL)%20Continues%20to%20Expand%20Globally%20with%2016-Ton%20Order%20from%20Major%20Eastern%20European%20Player%3B%20Advances%20towards%20Industrial%20Frying%20Market] Image: https://www.abnewswire.com/uploads/d2d61a84dcac890534609405dcd466f2.jpg This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as financial, investment or any form of professional advice, recommendation or endorsement. The article was written in collaboration with Global Markets News Network, a commercially operated digital brand compensated by the issuer (beyond oil) to provide coverage of its news and developments, among other things. Readers are encouraged to read the full disclaimers and disclosures document [ https://justpaste.it/7796t/pdf ] that the article is subject to. This article may include forward looking statements which cannot be guaranteed as discussed in the above-linked disclaimers. Media Contact Company Name: Global Markets News Network Contact Person: Editorial Desk Email:Send Email [ https://www.abnewswire.com/email_contact_us.php?pr=market-alert-beyond-oil-cse-boil-appoints-top-tier-food-industry-executive-as-coo-as-it-eyes-a-growing-global-footprint ] Country: Canada Website: https://www.futuremarketsresearch.com/global-markets-news This release was published on openPR.
Shutting down CeeDee Lamb should result in domino effect for Dallas Cowboys starting this Sunday vs EaglesI was stunned by how movingly cinematic ‘Wicked’ is. I shouldn’t be, and here’s whyVANCOUVER, British Columbia — Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. (TSXV: TBRD, OTCQX: THBRF) (“Thunderbird” or the “Company”) has granted an aggregate amount of 143,317 restricted share units (the “RSUs”) to its non-executive directors on November 25, 2024, pursuant to the terms of the Company’s equity incentive compensation plan. The RSUs will vest on December 14, 2024. Each vested RSU entitles the holder thereof to receive one common share of the Company. The Company also granted an aggregate amount of 171,606 RSUs to certain members of the Company’s executive management team, pursuant to the terms of the Company’s equity incentive compensation plan. The RSUs will vest over three years, and each vested RSU entitles the holder to receive one common share of the Company. Additionally, 400,412 performance share units (“PSUs”) were granted to certain members of the Company’s executive management team, based on certain performance targets to be met. Subject to the satisfaction of such performance targets, the PSUs will vest on the one-year anniversary of the date of the grant. Each vested PSU entitles the holder to receive one common share of the Company (or can be paid out in cash at the discretion of the Company’s board of directors). Thunderbird Entertainment Inc. (“TEI”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has also entered into an Addendum to the Executive Employment Agreement dated July 1, 2021 between TEI and Jennifer Twiner McCarron, the CEO of the Company (the “Addendum”). Under the terms of the Addendum, effective from July 1, 2024, Ms. Twiner McCarron has agreed to forego a guaranteed bonus and has agreed to a bonus structure that ensures eligibility for annual short term incentive payments is driven entirely by performance based on the achievement of AEBITDA targets and strategic objectives established by the Company’s board of directors. For information on Thunderbird and to subscribe to the Company’s investor list for news updates, go to . Thunderbird Entertainment Group is a global award-winning, full-service multiplatform production, distribution and rights management company, headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Los Angeles and Ottawa. Thunderbird creates award-winning scripted, unscripted, and animated programming for the world’s leading digital platforms, as well as Canadian and international broadcasters. The Company develops, produces, and distributes animated, factual, and scripted content through its various content arms, including Thunderbird Kids and Family (Atomic Cartoons), Thunderbird Unscripted (Great Pacific Media) and Thunderbird Scripted. Productions under the Thunderbird umbrella include and . Thunderbird Distribution and Thunderbird Brands manage global media and consumer products rights, respectively, for the Company and select third parties. Thunderbird is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @tbirdent. For more information, visit: . Thunderbird’s public communications may include written, or oral “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements or information may be identified by words such as “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “may”, “will”, “plan”, “project”, “should”, “believe”, “intend”, or similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the vesting schedule of the RSUs, the PSUs, and the achievement of certain performance objectives relating to Ms. Twiner McCarron’s performance bonus entitlements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; product capability and acceptance; and other factors set out in the “Risk and Uncertainty” section of the Company’s MD&A dated June 30, 2024. The foregoing is not an exhaustive list. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to Thunderbird or that management believes to be less significant may also adversely affect the Company. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this document represent the Company’s views as of the date hereof, and therefore such information should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this document. The Company’s actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. Readers are therefore cautioned that the foregoing lists of important factors are not exhaustive, and they should not unduly rely on the forward-looking statements included in this news release. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Thunderbird has no intention, and undertakes no obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Glen Akselrod, Bristol Capital Phone: + 1 905 326 1888 ext 1 Email: Lana Castleman, Director, Marketing & Communications Phone: 416-219-3769 Email: Julia Smith, Finch Media Email:
Colts defense picks up the pace as offense continues searching for answers to red zone woesDegenerative Disc Disease Market Size in the 7MM was ~USD 3,600 Million in 2023, estimated DelveInsight
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