Month: November 2023

The Israeli government said in a statement late Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have approved a deal for the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas. The news came after Netanyahu convened his war cabinet to discuss the deal following recent negotiations.

The statement read: “The Government of Israel is obligated to return home all of the hostages. Tonight, the Government has approved the outline of the first stage of achieving this goal, according to which at least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held. The release of every additional ten hostages will result in one additional day in the pause.”

CBS News confirmed that the proposed deal, brokered by the U.S. and Qatar, would allow for an initial group of 50 hostages held by Hamas to be released in phases during pauses in the fighting in Gaza. The proposed deal will include a limited pause in the fighting for four or five days, and during the pauses, overheard surveillance will be halted.

Netanyahu said President Biden had joined the effort to improve the outline of the deal: “In recent days, I have spoken with our friend, U.S. President Joe Biden, and I requested his intervention in order to improve the outline that will be presented to you. Indeed, it has been improved to include more hostages and at a lower cost. These talks have been productive. President Biden joined in the effort and I thank him for it.”

The Israeli government said that along with the IDF and Israel’s security services, they would continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages and “complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza.”

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Four people were shot Monday night at a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio, by a man who walked in and started firing, before turning the gun on himself. Police said the gunman entered the store at about 8:30 p.m. Monday wielding a Hi-Point 45-caliber Carbine long gun. He shot an undetermined number of rounds, leaving injured victims throughout the building, before turning the weapon on himself, authorities said.

The shooting at the Walmart in Beavercreek injured three women and one man. Police said three of the victims are in critical condition and the fourth victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, in an update Tuesday morning. Authorities declined to release the identities of the victims, including their races. FBI Cincinnati Field Office Assistant Special Agent Zrinka Dilber said the FBI is looking at the shooter’s background and motivation. and asked the public to assist the FBI by calling and providing any tips

Beavercreek Mayor Bob Stone said during a Tuesday news conference: “Tragedy struck our beloved community Monday evening, and, in the face of adversity, the strength of our community shines through.” Walmart said it was working closely with investigators to try to determine why the shooter, identified as 20-year-old Benjamin Charles Jones, of Dayton, opened fire. Walmart said in a statement: “We’re heartbroken by what’s happened at our Beavercreek, Ohio, store. This remains a developing situation, and we’re working closely with investigators on the scene.”

It was the second shooting in 24 hours to take place at a store operated by the retail giant. On Sunday night in Alaska, a man shot and killed a woman before fatally shooting himself outside a Walmart in Anchorage, Alaska. Police in Anchorage said Tuesday it was a domestic-violence related crime.

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A letter signed by nearly 600 employees at OpenAI is calling for the resignation of the company’s board and the return of former CEO Sam Altman – who was hired by Microsoft just days after being ousted at OpenAI.  According to a copy of the letter, the employees are threatening to quit and join Microsoft if their demands were not met. Included among the signees was company board member Mira Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO after the departure of Altman.  OpenAI has since hired former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as its interim CEO, replacing executive Murati days after internally appointing her to the role. Shear confirmed his new role at OpenAI in a post Monday on X.

Addressed to OpenAI board members, the letter states: “Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI … We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors.”

Greg Brockman, the former president of OpenAI who resigned from the company soon after the departure of Altman, will also be joining the newly created AI team at Microsoft. In a separate post, Brockman announced the leadership of the new AI department at Microsoft, which appeared to include several recent employees at OpenAI: “We are going to build something new & it will be incredible.”

OpenAI said in a statement on Friday that the departure of Altman followed a review process undertaken by the company’s board of directors, who concluded that Altman “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board” However, Ilya Sutskever — a longtime AI researcher and co-founder of OpenAI who was involved in the exit of Altman – has since expressed remorse about his ouster. Sutskever posted on X on Monday: “I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.”

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On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin‘s appeal of his conviction for second-degree murder in the killing of George Floyd during a 2020 arrest, which sparked widespread protests against police brutality and racism. The justices left in place state court rulings affirming Chauvin’s conviction and 22 1/2-year sentence, with no further comment.

The justices turned away Chauvin’s appeal that he filed after a Minnesota appellate court upheld his 2021 murder conviction and rejected his request for a new trial. Chauvin had argued that jury bias and certain rulings by the presiding judge deprived him of his right to a fair trial in 2021 under the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment.. Chauvin is also separately appealing his conviction on federal civil rights charges.

The 47-year-old Chauvin – who is white – is serving a 22-1/2 year prison sentence for murdering Floyd – who was Black – by kneeling on a handcuffed Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest. Chauvin was found guilty by a 12-member jury in April 2021 of three charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter following a three-week trial that included testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/supreme-court-rejects-appeal-former-minneapolis-police-officer-105033505

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The gunman wanted in the killings of three women and a 13-year-old girl during a shooting spree across Memphis Saturday night was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Memphis Police Department said Mavis Christian Jr., 52, was a “known relative” to the victims and described the rampage at three different homes as a domestic violence situation.

Police were dispatched to the first location at Field Lark Drive, where they found the teen and another victim dead at the scene just after 5:40 p.m. Police said in a statement on social media that a fifth victim, identified as a 15-year-old girl, was critically wounded in the attack and remains hospitalized. An hour later at 6:40 p.m., the third victim was found and pronounced dead at 5050 Warrington Road, located roughly 13 miles away from the first shooting. Authorities did not immediately identify the victims and have not yet explained their relation to Christian.

Christian was found dead on Sunday inside a 2017 white Chevrolet Malibu, ending the daylong manhunt as local, state and federal police investigated the four fatal shootings in three different locations while the suspect went on the run.

MPD Public Information Officer Christopher Williams said outside the first shooting scene: “As a father, it breaks my heart. These were somebody’s kids, sisters, aunts. These were people, real people. We have to do better. We must do better  As a community, it takes all of us. Not just the police, not just the community, but we have to work together to stop senseless acts of violence. We’re tired of it. The community’s tired of it.”

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