Terry Bryant appears during a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Wednesday, March 28, 2018, in Los Angeles. Bryant, who is charged with stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar statuette at an Academy Awards after-party, appeared in court but the quick resolution to the case that was expected did not emerge. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
The man charged with stealing Frances McDormand's Oscar statuette at an Academy Awards after-party appeared in court Wednesday but the quick resolution to the case that was expected did not emerge.
Terry Bryant wore a gray pinstriped suit instead of the blue jail jumpsuit of his previous court appearance and smiled politely throughout the very brief hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Bryant had been found eligible for so-called early disposition — a relaxing of legal formalities intended to bring a quick resolution to some cases.
But he remains charged with felony grand theft and faces up to three years in prison.
Bryant's attorney Daniel Brookman says Bryant's not-guilty plea stands. He insists this is "not a prison case" and expects a deal by the next hearing on May 1.
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
