Melinda French Gates resigns from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Trending news in brief, 5/14
Melinda French Gates resigns from Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation
(TNS) — Melinda French Gates announced Monday she is resigning from her role as co-chair of the Seattle-based Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation. “This is not a decision I came to lightly,” French Gates wrote in a post shared on X. CEO Mark Suzman, the executive leadership team and the board of trustees will continue to lead the foundation’s philanthropic work, French Gates said. Suzman said in a statement that French Gates “ will not be bringing any of the foundation’s work with her when she leaves.” The organization’s name will change to the Gates Foundation, with Bill Gates, her ex-husband and Microsoft founder, becoming the sole chair.
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Seinfeld speech at Duke prompts walkout protesting Israel
(Reuters) — Dozens of students walked out of Duke University’s commencement ceremony on Sunday as some chanted “free Palestine” to protest its guest speaker, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who has supported Israel throughout the war in Gaza, according to a video posted on social media. Figures in robes and caps, some waving Palestinian flags, were seen filing out of crowds of graduates assembled on the grass in the North Carolina University’s football stadium in the video posted on X. Reuters was able to verify the video’s date and location.
Steve Buscemi is punched in random Manhattan attack
NEW YORK (NYT) — Actor Steve Buscemi was punched in the face in a random attack in Manhattan last week, his publicist said Sunday. Buscemi, 66, was walking near the corner of Third Avenue and East 27th Street in the Kips Bay neighborhood Wednesday when the assailant — a stranger — approached and punched him in the face around 11:48 a.m., according to information released by the New York Police Department last week. Police did not identify Buscemi as the victim, but his publicist confirmed Sunday that he was the man who had been attacked. Buscemi was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for bruising, swelling and bleeding in his left eye, police said.
OpenAI launches faster and cheaper AI model with GPT-4o
(TNS) — OpenAI is launching a faster and cheaper version of the artificial intelligence model that underpins its chatbot, ChatGPT, as the startup works to hold on to its lead in an increasingly crowded market. During a livestreamed event on Monday, OpenAI debuted GPT-4o. It’s an updated version of its GPT-4 model, which is now more than a year old. The new large language model, trained on vast amounts of data from the internet, will be better at handling text, audio and images in real-time. The updates will be available in the coming weeks.
Army officer resigns in protest of U.S. support to Israel
WASHINGTON (NYT) — An Army officer assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency has resigned in protest over the United States’ support for Israel, which he said had “enabled and empowered” the killing of Palestinian civilians. The officer, Maj. Harrison Mann, announced his resignation and explained his reasons for leaving the service in a post on social media site LinkedIn on Monday. According to his biography on the site, he has specialized in the Middle East and Africa for about half of his 13-year career and previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia.
