All posts tagged: testifies

Ex-US Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies in Epstein files probe | Government News

Ex-US Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies in Epstein files probe | Government News

Published by Sam Flores

Former United States Attorney General Pam Bondi has appeared before a closed-door congressional hearing as lawmakers seek answers about unreleased documents tied to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. But on Friday, Bondi defended the Justice Department’s approach, saying it had released nearly three million pages of records during her tenure, including photographs and video evidence. She described those efforts as an unprecedented bid to increase transparency. Recommended Stories list of 1 itemend of list “This was an enormously complicated and labour-intensive process,” Bondi told the Oversight Committee in the House of Representatives. “To the best of my knowledge, the department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.” Since taking office for a second term, President Donald Trump has faced pressure to release records about Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by apparent suicide while in custody in 2019. But victims’ advocates and a bipartisan group of politicians have argued that key documents connected to the case remain undisclosed or were unlawfully redacted with black ink. Some have accused the Trump administration of failing …

Watch : Army chief testifies before House on budget amid Iran turmoil

Watch : Army chief testifies before House on budget amid Iran turmoil

Published by Sam Flores

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll testified before the House Armed Services Committee on Friday morning about President Trump‘s fiscal 2027 budget request, as tensions with Iran simmer. The White House is seeking $1.5 trillion for the Defense Department next year for the construction of a “Golden Dome” defense system, among other priorities. That ask will also… Source link

Musk mulled handing OpenAI to his children, Altman testifies

Musk mulled handing OpenAI to his children, Altman testifies

Published by skeptic

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman finally took the stand this morning to defend himself against his former co-founder Elon Musk’s lawsuit challenging OpenAI’s corporate structure. Altman was immediately asked what he thought of Musk’s allegation that OpenAI’s other founders “stole a charity” when they launched a for-profit subsidiary to market products based on the company’s AI models. “It feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing,” Altman said after several seconds of silence. “We created one of the largest charities in the world. This foundation is doing incredible work and will do much more.” Musk’s attorneys have been at pains to point out that OpenAI’s foundation, which now has assets on the order of $200 billion, didn’t have full-time employees until earlier this year. OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor testified today that was simply because of the challenge of converting OpenAI equity to cash, which was accomplished with the organization’s most recent restructuring in 2025. The central question posed by Musk’s lawyers is whether the company’s commitment to safety had been left behind as …

Elon Musk Testifies That He Started OpenAI to Prevent a ‘Terminator Outcome’

Elon Musk Testifies That He Started OpenAI to Prevent a ‘Terminator Outcome’

Published by skeptic

Elon Musk and Sam Altman appeared in a federal courtroom together for the first time on Tuesday as they fight over OpenAI’s decade-long evolution and what it means for the company’s future. The trial in Musk’s lawsuit against Altman could result in financial damages and, more significantly, governance changes at OpenAI that may complicate its plans for an initial public offering as soon as this year. As the first witness on the stand, Musk immediately sought to frame his case as more than just about OpenAI. Siding with Altman “will give license to looting every charity in America” and shake the “entire foundation of charitable giving,” Musk told a panel of nine jurors advising US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on how to rule. Musk has been concerned about computers becoming smarter than people “since he was a young man in college,” his attorney Steven Molo told jurors. Molo explained that Musk lobbied governments to pass regulations addressing the prospect of so-called artificial general intelligence, including meeting with then-President Barack Obama in 2015. “But the …

Watch live: US trade representative testifies before House on Trump policies

Watch live: US trade representative testifies before House on Trump policies

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday morning about President Trump’s trade agenda. The hearing comes just over two months after the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of Trump’s global tariffs. In response, the president imposed a 10 percent global tariff that has also faced… Source link

Kevin Spacey Testifies About Imploded ‘House of Cards’ Final Season

Kevin Spacey Testifies About Imploded ‘House of Cards’ Final Season

Published by Daniella Wilson

Shifting loyalties. A mishmash of half-truths in pursuit of a nine-figure insurance payout. Complaints from crewmembers against the trio at the top of House of Cards‘ call sheet. In a dusty annex at a Santa Monica courthouse on Tuesday, Kevin Spacey detailed the behind-the-scenes maneuvering of people in his orbit to recover money from the imploded final season of the Netflix show. He testified that he was ready and willing to film the sixth season of House of Cards but that he was unfairly ousted on false grounds so the show’s producers could submit a massive insurance claim. The actor was articulate and quick-witted, unrepentant and resolute — challenging the allegations of sexual impropriety and sexual compulsion diagnosis that upended his career nearly a decade ago. Spacey’s testimony headlines a long-running case pitting Media Rights Capital, the production company behind House of Cards, against its insurer. In an unusual arrangement, he struck a deal with MRC to reduce its $31 million arbitration award against him in exchange for turning over his medical records. They’re an …

‘I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton testifies in Epstein probe

‘I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong’: Bill Clinton testifies in Epstein probe

Published by Sam Flores

Bill Clinton vowed he had “no idea” of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes as he faced questions from members of Congress investigating the late sex offender’s offending. The former president was giving evidence to the House Oversight Committee on Friday over his connections to the disgraced paedophile financier from more than two decades ago. The closed-door deposition in Chappaqua, New York, marks the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. It comes a day after Mr Clinton’s wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, gave her her own deposition to lawmakers. ‘I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,’ Mr Clinton told them as he fumed at Republicans for dragging his wife to testify when she repeatedly told lawmakers she never met Epstein. Republicans were relishing the opportunity to scrutinise the former Democratic president, who appears in the Epstein files, under oath. Republican James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, before the former president’s deposition began, said: “No one’s accusing anyone of any wrongdoing but I think the American people …

Zuckerberg testifies in front of jury during social media addiction trial

Zuckerberg testifies in front of jury during social media addiction trial

Published by skeptic

Mark Zuckerberg appeared before a jury today to defend Meta against claims that its social media platforms are dangerously designed to get kids hooked on their sites. The CEO told the court that Meta has taken action to reduce the prevalence of underage users on Instagram, reported NBC, and has adjusted internal goals to increase a user’s time on the site. Zuckerberg also accused the plaintiff’s attorney, Matthew Bergman of the Social Media Victims Law Center, of mischaracterizing his previous comments. The exchange came after Bergman questioned Zuckerberg about Meta’s age verification policies, Zuckerberg’s personal media coaching, and his compensation as Meta’s chief. “If you do something that’s not good for people, maybe they’ll spend more time [on Instagram] short term, but if they’re not happy with it, they’re not going to use it over time,” said Zuckerberg. “I’m not trying to maximize the amount of time people spend every month.” SEE ALSO: Meta patented LLM that would post for users after they die It’s the first time the tech leader testified before a jury …

Mexican Mafia assassin stalked victim on birthday, detective testifies

Mexican Mafia assassin stalked victim on birthday, detective testifies

Published by Sam Flores

Even on his birthday, Andrew Reyna couldn’t turn down an order from the Mexican Mafia. That’s according to a Long Beach Police Department detective who testified Wednesday about evidence that led authorities to charge Reyna and two others with the murder of Samuel Villalba. Villalba, an Artesia native nicknamed “Negro,” was said to have been a made member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison syndicate that holds sway over many Latino gangs in Southern California. At the time of his death on Jan. 10, 2021, Villalba, 64, was living in a tent beneath a freeway overpass in Long Beach. Prosecutors allege Reyna was ordered to kill Villalba, who’d been marked for death after getting into a dispute with another Mexican Mafia member. At a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Det. Leticia Gamboa testified the message was relayed through David Oropeza, who like Reyna belonged to the Eastside Paramount gang. Reyna’s lawyer, Theodore Batsakis, said his client denies killing Villalba but declined to comment further. Reyna and Oropeza have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and conspiracy …