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    Swimmer Missy Franklin featured in Visa Olympic campaign

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1424 Views
    In this Jan. 16, 2016, file photo, Missy Franklin watches the results board of the women's 200-meter backstroke during the Arena Pro Swim Series, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, File)
    LOS ANGELES (AP) --
    Missy Franklin will be one of the featured faces of Visa's campaign at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, replacing fellow swimmer Michael Phelps who is aiming to compete in his final games.
     
    Franklin's contract with Visa announced Friday gives the four-time Olympic gold medalist her biggest endorsement deal outside the pool since she turned pro last year after competing for two years in college. The 20-year-old has deals with swimwear maker Speedo and Minute Maid.
     
    Joining Franklin on Team Visa are swimmer Connor Jaeger, gymnast Sam Mikulak and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad. They are among over 40 athletes from around the world selected based on their personal stories, athletic achievements and community involvement.
     
    Three-time beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, World Cup-winning soccer player Carli Lloyd, 100-meter hurdles Olympic champion Sally Pearson of Australia and volleyball player Bruno Rezende of Brazil are other notable members.
     
    The Team Visa campaign, which began in 2004, provides Olympic hopefuls with financial and marketing exposure leading up to the games.
     
    Phelps, who turns 31 in June, is training for his fifth and last Olympics. The 18-time gold medalist had been a stalwart of previous Visa Olympic campaigns.
    Tags:Missy FranklinOlympicsVisa



    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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