Anthropic and OpenAI CEOs call for AI development to slow down, OpenAI to delay IPO
Demonstrators participate in the "Stop the AI Race" protest march in San Francisco on July 11, 2026. Researchers who spoke to NPR say the leading AI companies are too focused on racing to develop more capable and autonomous AI systems while safety is falling behind.(Karl Mondon / AFP via Getty Images) The leaders of Anthropic and OpenAI joined calls for a slowdown in AI development amid fears the industry is racing toward building technology that humans can't control. On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an online essay urging companies and governments to "pace the frontier" of AI advancement. He called for international cooperation around AI development and said labs need to embed third-party evaluators to report incidents and track safety practices. He said Anthropic would take that step unilaterally. Shortly after, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X that he agreed with Amodei and that OpenAI would follow suit. Amodei wrote that he continues to believe AI will ultimately
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The deal that helped bring SoFi Stadium to Inglewood isn’t legally valid, judge rules
SoFi Stadium.(Gary Coronado / The LA Local )This story first appeared on The LA Local.The contract Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium was built on is void, a judge ruled, upending a 10-year-old deal at the center of a larger fight between the city and the stadium developer.Companies tied to Stan Kroenke and his Hollywood Park stadium property say Inglewood owes them about $400 million under the agreement that had the companies pay for the development’s infrastructure up front in exchange for future reimbursement.But Inglewood said it shouldn’t have to pay, and claimed the agreement was not enforceable, prompting several businesses that operate SoFi, YouTube Theater and other real estate developments on the site to sue in December 2025.The city claimed that the process used to greenlight the stadium construction in 2015 was no longer legitimate after a court ruled a similar development agreement in the Inland Empire was void a couple of years later.Now, Superior Court Judge David Reinert has not
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How does a farm in Irvine end up hosting the first-ever Tanaka Day?
Tanaka Farms in Irvine.Tanaka Day, an epic meet-and-greet of people with the Japanese surname, is happening the weekend of Sept. 19 and 20 at — wait for it — Tanaka Farms in Irvine."I'm the idea guy around here," said proprietor Glenn Tanaka — aka Farmer Tanaka — who dreamed up the inaugural event. "Some of them [were] pretty good, some turned out OK."For this one, 400 people from across the country RSVP’d, bonded by a Japanese surname that is one of the most common in the U.S. — and one that speaks to the history of Japanese immigration that first brought laborers here starting in the late 1800s.Glenn Tanaka runs the family Tanaka Farms in Irvine.One of them was Glenn's grandfather, Takeo Tanaka, who put down farming roots in California that span four generations and counting — Glenn's father George Tanaka, Glenn himself, and Glenn's son Kenny, whose three children are a regular presence at the farm."Tanaka literally means middle of the rice field," he said — farmers, essentially. And
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Camels in LA? Inside the military’s wild experiment
A camel at the Drum Barracks in Wilmington circa 1865.(Courtesy University of Southern California Libraries/California Historical Society Collection)Los Angeles County has exotic wild animals roaming about, such as wild parrots and peacocks. But what about camels?No, we’re not talking about that ancient camel found in the La Brea Tar Pits — these animals were brought over for a U.S. Army experiment.How camels got into our militaryWe’re going back to the mid-1800s, before gas-powered automobiles changed the way we travel. The U.S. was on the brink of civil war and in the middle of westward expansion.Typically, the army relied on mules and horses as beasts of burden, but in the new states and territories, they had a hard time hauling supplies over long distances. That was especially true for the Southwest’s dry deserts and mountains.Meanwhile, camel brigades (also known as Camel Corps) were already in use in armies around the world. These were made up of camel drivers who ferried supplie
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Gallery featuring neurodivergent artists opens on Venice's Abbott Kinney
Some of the featured art at "Limitless"(Courtesy Help Group )A new space celebrating the art of autistic and neurodiverse youths has opened on Abbott Kinney Boulevard in Venice, amid the trendy coffee shops and boutiques.Called “Limitless,” the space is a project of Help Group, a nonprofit that has served people in Los Angeles with autism and mental health challenges for 85 years.“What art does is it allows people to have a voice who can’t communicate typically. It gives you an insight into who they are as a being,” Susan Berman, CEO of Help Group, told LAist.Berman said the prime Abbott Kinney real estate was a gift from a board member. Help Group is using the square footage for a community space and gallery to feature neurodivergent artists.Among the artists included is Noah Remis, 15, whose piece “I <3 NY” incorporates watercolor over the titles of famous musicals like Hamilton and Sweeney Todd.“Those are different musicals that I know and love,” Remis said.“Some I saw on Broadway.
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Schools reel from the extreme heat, but getting a new AC in the classroom isn’t an easy fix
Schools are reeling from extreme heat. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP)That ocean breeze is just not cutting it in schools in Torrance and Long Beach as Southern California reels from a heat wave.Parents have taken to social media, created petitions and are proposing a bond measure in order to address the sweltering classrooms as temperatures hit triple digits in some areas.Only 25% of Torrance Unified classrooms have air conditioning, according to a district spokesperson. And while 90% of Long Beach Unified schools have air conditioning, the schools without air conditioning have to bear this heat spell until the end of 2027 when new air conditioning will be in all classrooms.What are schools doing to beat the heat?In Long Beach, the district says there are portable fans in classrooms without AC and the district has installed heat-blocking window covers."The things that we do immediately and have been doing for several years, hydration stations,” Keith Butler, the deputy superintendent at TUS
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E-bike buyback event in OC offers up to $1,000 in exchange for your electric ride
Students at Ensign Intermediate School have been parking their e-bikes in nearby neighborhoods since the district outlawed them on elementary and middle school campuses. (Jill Replogle / LAist)The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is hosting a buyback event Sunday where people can exchange their e-bikes and e-motorcycles for up to $1,000 in gift cards. The goal is to reduce the number of illegal bikes on the road, and give parents an incentive to get dangerous vehicles out of kids’ hands.“These vehicles are not child’s play, and the consequences are incredibly dangerous and increasingly deadly,” DA Todd Spitzer said in a news release announcing the event.Communities in Orange County have been grappling with a surge in e-bikes and e-motos on the road, including among young kids, and an accompanying increase in serious crashes.“Our area has pretty much the highest concentration of e-bike injuries and e-bike accidents in the country,” said Dr. Tetsuya Takeuchi, the trauma medical d
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Appeals court rejects VA’s effort to stop order for thousands of new homes on West LA campus
Members of a clean-up crew dismantle tents located on the Veterans Row homeless encampment along San Vicente Blvd just outside the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)An appeals court issued a ruling Friday that strikes down a federal government effort to block a lower court’s order requiring the construction of 2,550 new housing units on the Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles.The long-running case, brought forward by disabled veterans struggling with homelessness in the L.A. area, has centered on the use of the sprawling 400-acre VA campus.U.S. District Judge David O. Carter had previously scrutinized leases for the private Brentwood School’s athletic facilities, a parking lot company, an oil drilling enterprise and UCLA’s baseball stadium.Ruling that the campus was meant to aid veterans, Carter ordered the VA to not renew the leases and quickly build 750 units of temporary housing and 1,800 units of permanent housing.But Car
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Your guide to the East LA Mexican Independence Day Parade
Folklórico dancers make their way along the parade route at the 2025 East LA Mexican Independence Day Parade.(Luis Cano / Boyle Heights Beat)This story first appeared on The LA Local.Colorful parade floats, charros on horseback and live music will take over Cesar E. Chavez Avenue on Sunday for the 80th East L.A. Mexican Independence Day Parade.For decades, organizers have brought together community leaders, performers, businesses and organizations to celebrate culture, community and tradition. This year, the parade will culminate in a festival with family-friendly activations, including live music, local vendors and lucha libre. This year’s co-grand marshals are singer and actor Dasahev López Saavedra, better known as El Dasa, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis.Here’s everything you need to know.When is the parade and festival?The parade runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13. The festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on First Street and Mednik Avenue. What’s
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Best things to do in LA and SoCal: Sept. 9-15
Celebrate Orange County's Latino communities at Santa Ana's Fiestas Patrias on Sept. 12 and 13.(Courtesy City of Santa Ana)I was fortunate to get a sneak peek at the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art last week and given how many thoughts our Best Things to Do readers had on the new LACMA Geffen Galleries, I can’t wait to hear what you think of the Lucas once it opens to the public on Sept. 22. Please share your thoughts when you go!I was blown away by the building — it’s light and airy while feeling futuristic and somewhat imposing at the same time. The gardens are green and have plenty of places to sit and soak up the sun or the shade, and the reading room (which will be free and open to all) is definitely going on the "best places to cowork" list. The art collection is mostly organized by subject rather than era and includes works by artists from Norman Rockwell to Frida Kahlo to Banksy to Lucas himself via the many pieces of Star Wars history on display. There's truly something for
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