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    “The Casagrandes” extols Mexican American life via animation

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2147 Views
    This image released by Nickelodeon shows a scene from the animated series “The Casagrandes,” featuring a multigenerational Mexican American family. In this series, Ronnie Anne, her older brother and single mother, leave the suburbs to move in with their large family in the fictional Great Lake City. The apartment is located above The Casagrandes bodega, owned by grandpa, and next to an elevated subway track. (Nickelodeon via AP)

    By Russell Contreras

    ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) --

    Nickelodeon's "The Casagrandes" premiered this week and became one of the first cartoons in U.S. history to feature a multigenerational Mexican American family.

    The long awaited spin-off from the network's popular animation series, "The Loud House," comes as more networks take chances on Latino-themed shows.

    The series centers around an 11-year-old Mexican American, skateboarding girl trying to survive in the fictional town of Great Lake City. Her apartment is above The Casagrandes bodega, owned by grandpa and in front of a subway track.

    Unlike some previous cartoons with Latinos, "The Casagrandes" seeks to tackle family-oriented themes like love, friendship, and jealousy.

    Supervising director Miguel Puga says creators wanted to show how normal and relatable Latino families are.

    Tags:NickelodeonThe Casagrandes



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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