The Pour Over Today - OpenAI Employees’ Ultimatum, Italy’s Mafia Conviction, & More | 11.22.23

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

Today we’re talking about OpenAI employees’ ultimatum, updates on the wars in Ukraine and Israel, a mass conviction concluding a 3-year trial in Italy, and other top news for Wednesday November, 22. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Sponsored by the Bible Recap

Today we're talking about OpenAI Employees Ultimatum, updates on the wars in Ukraine and Israel, a mass conviction concluding a three-year trial in Italy, and other top news for Wednesday, November 22nd. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over today. Here's the quote of the day. All great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage. William Bradford.

Let's start with some espresso shots. The AI soap opera continues. Here's the latest chat GP tea. The board of OpenAI fired co-founder and CEO Sam Altman on Friday with little explanation, and a revolt ensued. More than 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees have since signed a letter threatening to follow Altman out the door unless the board resigns. The letter was even signed by a board member who had pushed for Altman's resignation but now deeply regrets his participation. Altman didn't stay single for long. Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI,

hired him two days later and yesterday offered to match the salaries of any other OpenAI employees looking to leave. This drama was brought to you in part by OpenAI's odd corporate structure. It's controlled by a non-profit with the purpose of safely developing AI, not making money, which left co-founders like Altman without voting rights. Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God, the creator of the universe, great innovator, and inventor of everything. However you engage with technology, whether that's chat GPT or social media, remember to use technology to point others to eternal hope in Him. Colossians 1, verse 15-16 says, heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him.

The U.S. is continuing to signal support for its allies at war. On the European front, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced new aid in a visit to Kiev, Ukraine, where he promised support for the long haul. President Biden approved a $100 million military aid package, which includes anti-tank weapons and missiles, according to a Pentagon announcement on Monday. In the Middle East, Hamas and Israel are reportedly close to reaching a truce agreement for the mass release of hostages. Other negotiations have Biden's senior energy advisor Amos Hochstein in Israel continuing de-escalation efforts amid concerns that Lebanon's Hezbollah could join a wider war. Congress entered Thanksgiving recess

with further aid to Ukraine and Israel in limbo, having passed a stopgap spending bill that left out military aid. Pray for the peaceful end to all conflicts worldwide, even as we wait for God's kingdom to come in full for the day when God's reign of peace will settle every dispute and all nations will walk in his paths. Micah 4 verse 3 says, They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Italy's mafia megatrial ended Monday with over 200 people earning a spot behind bars. Concluding an investigation into the powerful and extensive Andrangheta,

Italy's largest crime syndicate, the nearly three-year trial featured a panel of three judges living under police protection and 338 defendants, including a former senator, mayor, police chief, and folks with nicknames like The Wolf, Fatso, and Lambthigh. Proceedings took place in a high-security bunker specially built to hold 600 lawyers, 900 witnesses, and cages for the defendants, who faced charges of drug trafficking, murder, money laundering, extortion, and more. The trial revealed that members of Ndrangheta, which supplied up to 80% of Europe's cocaine, concealed weapons in cemetery chapels, and used ambulances for drug transportation.

The verdict took one hour and 40 minutes to read and included 2,200 years of jail time. When the world says, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, remember how Jesus flipped the script in a new way. Love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High. Luke 6 verse 35. This episode is sponsored by The Bible Recap. Ever tried explaining the book of Leviticus to your second grader? Helping kids understand and love scripture isn't always simple. Thankfully, The Bible Recap is here with a 365-day reading plan designed for kids. The Bible Recap Kids Devotional by Tara Lee Cobble provides a pathway for little feet,

ages 6 and up. It follows the Bible Recap book and podcast's 365-day chronological reading plan, and it points out key verses and essential truths along with word puzzles, coloring pages, and more. out key verses and essential truths along with word puzzles, coloring pages, and more. Pre-order through the link in our show notes and receive the first 45 days of the Devo now. Discover the story God's telling about himself with your whole family. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Another crypto king has crumbled. Yesterday, as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the DOJ, Changpeng Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance and personally pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Zhao, who founded the world's largest crypto exchange back in 2017, posted on X, quote, I made mistakes and I must take responsibility, unquote.

If you're looking to avoid Thanksgiving table talk, this may be your ticket out. Storms have been marching across the U.S., threatening turbulent times for the over 55 million estimated Turkey Day travelers. Good news for some drivers in the Northeast, though. Sheetz announced it'll drop gas prices to $1.99 for Thanksgiving week. A divided panel of judges in a federal appeals court overturned decades of precedent Monday, ruling that only the Department of Justice, not private citizens or groups, can sue to enforce the Voting Rights Act. The ruling, which only applies to the Eighth Circuit,

is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. Elon's ex filed a lawsuit against Media Matters for America on Monday in response to the progressive Watch Dogs report showing corporate ads being run alongside pro-Nazi user posts, which prompted high-profile advertisers to fly the coop. X claims the instances in the report were manufactured and rarely happen in practice. Media Matters called X's lawsuit against them frivolous. Can chickens fly? Yes, but not very far and only Monday through Saturday.

A Chick-fil-A near Tampa, Florida is now offering drone delivery within a mile of the store. The drone lowers meals via a cable, keeping the Styrofoam cup holding your diet lemonade nice and safe. No word on if it says my pleasure. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, give us a five-star rating and drop a review. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, give us a five-star rating and drop a review.

If you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. We appreciate your support and hope you have a great holiday. We'll be back on Monday.