Anderson W. White, Author at IIB Network

Sam Altman Asserts Control of OpenAI as He Rejoins Its Board

09

Mar

Science and Technology

Sam Altman Asserts Control of OpenAI as He Rejoins Its Board

The conclusion of an investigation into the chaotic firing of Sam Altman from OpenAI more than three months ago represented a resounding victory for the high-profile chief executive as he moves to reassert control of the artificial intelligence company he helped to create.OpenAI, in a news conference on Friday, said that Mr. Altman, who returned to OpenAI just five days after he was pushed out in November, did not do anything that justified his removal and would regain the one role at the company that still eluded him: a seat on the company’s board of directors.Mr. Altman’s ouster stunned Silicon…

With Cyberattack Fix Weeks Away, Health Providers Slam United

09

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Investments and Business

With Cyberattack Fix Weeks Away, Health Providers Slam United

More than two weeks after a cyberattack, financially strapped doctors, hospitals and medical providers on Friday sharply criticized UnitedHealth Group’s latest estimate that it would take weeks longer to fully restore a digital network that funnels hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance payments every day.UnitedHealth said that it would be at least two weeks more to test and establish a steady flow of payments for bills that have mounted since hackers effectively shut down Change Healthcare, the nation’s largest billing and payment clearinghouse, on Feb. 21.But desperate providers that have been borrowing money to cover expenses and employee payrolls…

Israel-Hamas Updates: Gaza Authorities Say Airdropped Aid Accident Kills 5

09

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Economy

Israel-Hamas Updates: Gaza Authorities Say Airdropped Aid Accident Kills 5

The authorities in Gaza said at least five Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded on Friday after packages of humanitarian aid that had been airdropped fell on them in Gaza City.The report, put out by the government media office and the Palestinian civil defense force, could not be immediately verified by independent sources, but if confirmed, the deaths would underscore the dangers and difficulties of relying on airdrops to get food to people facing severe hunger in northern Gaza after five months of war.A Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, said the United States had carried out…

Howard Hiatt, 98, Dies; Steered Public Health Toward Greater Accountability

09

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Economy

Howard Hiatt, 98, Dies; Steered Public Health Toward Greater Accountability

Howard H. Hiatt, a physician, scientist and academic who reshaped the field of public health, steering it away from the narrow study of infectious diseases toward big-picture issues of fiscal and societal accountability in medicine, died on Saturday at his home in Cambridge, Mass. He was 98.His son Jonathan Hiatt said the cause was pulmonary hypertension.Harvard Public Health, a magazine published by the Harvard School of Public Health, where Dr. Hiatt was dean for 12 years, wrote in 2013 that Dr. Hiatt “made public health the conscience of medicine.”Early in his seven-decade career, Dr. Hiatt worked in Paris with future…

Bucky McMillan has built Samford into a mid-major power, without leaving home

09

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Economy

Bucky McMillan has built Samford into a mid-major power, without leaving home

HOMEWOOD, Ala. — The house Bucky McMillan grew up in, the one in the Birmingham suburbs where a new owner discovered 18 waterlogged basketballs buried beneath years of leaves in a ditch where they’d collected after running off the driveway, is only three miles from his office at Samford University. The Shades Valley YMCA, where McMillan played his first organized basketball, is less than half a mile away. Mountain Brook High School, where McMillan starred as a player and then built the Spartans into a national prep power as head coach, is six miles away. Birmingham-Southern College, where McMillan walked…

Surrogacy : Exploring the Top 5 Countries Offering the Best Price Points

08

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Economy

Surrogacy : Exploring the Top 5 Countries Offering the Best Price Points

Choosing surrogacy is a challenging decision for any couple. It is widely acknowledged that embarking on this journey can be physically and emotionally draining, requiring significant effort and dedication from those who aspire to fulfill their dream of parenthood. Therefore, in addition to arming oneself with strength, love, and patience to face the obstacles that may arise along the way, it’s also necessary to be financially prepared for the whole process. While the high costs associated with surrogacy are comprehensible regardless of the chosen destination, many intended parents often wonder where they can find opportunities to save money during the…

Mark Wahlberg’s Prayer App Seeks Followers on TikTok

07

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Science and Technology

Mark Wahlberg’s Prayer App Seeks Followers on TikTok

Religious content has long been a mainstay on social media, where Christian influencers can garner millions of views. And much of the online reaction to Hallow’s TikTok ads has been positive. Still, Alex Jones, the chief executive of Hallow, said he was aware that some people were surprised to stumble upon the company’s ads on social media.“We do not set any sophisticated or specific targeting,” wrote Mr. Jones, who is not to be confused with the conspiracy theorist of the same name who ran the Infowars website. “Each platform has its own algorithm for determining its feed. We know that…

Brighter Economic Mood Isn’t Translating Into Support for Biden

07

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Investments and Business

Brighter Economic Mood Isn’t Translating Into Support for Biden

Economic vibes don’t necessarily predict electoral outcomes, though, and this campaign is different in many ways from those in the past. “We’re kind of in an unprecedented situation where we’re weighing two incumbents,” said Joanne Hsu, who runs the Michigan survey.Anthony Rice, a 54-year-old Democrat in eastern Indiana, and pretty much everyone he knows, he said, are doing well right now. Gas prices are down, jobs are plentiful, and Mr. Rice, a unionized dump-truck driver, is benefiting directly from the infrastructure law that Mr. Biden signed in 2021. Yet few people in the deep-red part of the country where he…

This Bird Is Half Male, Half Female, and Completely Stunning

07

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Economy

This Bird Is Half Male, Half Female, and Completely Stunning

Colombia is a bird watcher’s paradise. Its stunningly diverse ecosystems — which include mountain ranges, mangrove swamps, Caribbean beaches and Amazonian rainforests — are home to more avian species than any other country on Earth.So when Hamish Spencer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, booked a bird-watching vacation in Colombia, he was hoping to spot some interesting and unusual creatures.He got more than he bargained for. During one outing, in early January 2023, the proprietor of a local farm drew his attention to a green honeycreeper, a small songbird that is common in forests ranging…

Alabama IVF Protection Bill Will Reopen Clinics but Curb Patient Rights

07

Mar

By Anderson W. White

Economy

Alabama IVF Protection Bill Will Reopen Clinics but Curb Patient Rights

The Alabama legislature on Wednesday approved legislation intended to make it possible for fertility clinics in the state to reopen without the specter of crippling lawsuits.But the measure, hastily written, does not address the legal question that led to clinic closings and set off a stormy, politically fraught national debate: Whether embryos that have been frozen and stored for possible future implantation have the legal status of human beings.The Alabama Supreme Court made such a finding last month, in the context of a claim against a Mobile clinic brought by three couples whose frozen embryos were inadvertently destroyed. The court…