Day: April 20, 2026
Who is Ahmad Vahidi? Iran’s new IRGC chief tied to global attacks and ‘Death to America’ ideology
Shadowy IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi is emerging as one of Iran’s most powerful figures as Trump’s ceasefire deadline approaches, analysts warn.
Sabres win first playoff game in 15 years in dramatic fashion, stun Bruins with epic third period comeback
The Buffalo Sabres scored four goals in the final eight minutes to complete a stunning comeback and beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in their first playoff game in 14 years.
GOP strategists called to DC as Trump team confronts rising midterm headwinds
Trump advisers Susie Wiles and James Blair meet with GOP consultants to coordinate midterm strategy as Republicans defend slim congressional majorities.
Joe Rogan reveals text to Trump that helped expedite federal review of psychedelics
President Donald Trump signed an executive order fast-tracking psychedelic drug research after a text exchange with Joe Rogan, targeting treatments for veterans with PTSD.
Embattled CEO caught asking ChatGPT for corporate takeover plan — against lawyer’s advice
The future is here, and it seemingly includes CEOs using chatbots to create plans to avoid having to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars.
That was a judge’s conclusion after a smaller American studio sued a giant, publicly traded South Korean conglomerate that allegedly prevented it from putting out its product.
‘Lock down Steam/console publishing rights and access rights.’
Krafton CEO Kim Chang-han handles nearly $2 billion of revenue across a multitude of companies, which includes PubG Studios, a massively popular online shooter game.
Since 2021, Krafton has controlled Unknown Worlds, an American studio responsible for the game Subnautica, which sold over five million copies in two years.
With so much success from the first game, Krafton agreed to a $250 million earnout if Subnautica 2 was able to meet specific sales targets. Krafton’s CEO was not keen on letting that happen and subsequently plotted “Project X,” a plan to prevent the payout.
After internal reports projected Subnautica 2 was likely to hit its targets, things got hairy. According to court documents, when Krafton’s Head of Corporate Development Maria Park warned CEO Kim that removing Unknown Worlds’ leadership via “dismissal with cause” opened them up to “lawsuit and reputational risk,” he turned to ChatGPT for help.
The chatbot told Kim that the earnout would be “difficult to cancel” but suggested forming an internal task force to either negotiate a “deal” or execute a “takeover” of the company; Kim obliged and allegedly continued to follow ChatGPT’s suggestions.
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Not only did Kim allegedly share his strategies from ChatGPT with colleagues, but the strategies included a “pressure and leverage package” against Unknown Worlds.
Among its recommendations, ChatGPT suggested Krafton undermine any David versus Goliath narratives, while urging Kim to prepare for scenarios like buyouts and replacements.
Most jarringly, it also suggested locking down Unknown Worlds’ ability to post its new game for sale on Steam, the largest gaming distributor for PC games.
“Lock down Steam/console publishing rights and access rights over code/build pipeline through both legal and technical aspects,” ChatGPT said, the lawsuit revealed. “For the earn-out freeze, keep room for negotiations through provision stating ‘immediate removal if specific development results are achieved.'”
Kim did as the chatbot recommended and locked down the publishing, and Subnautica 2 could not be released. When Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill asked for control to be returned, Kim allegedly ignored him and told a Krafton studio rep to relay to Gill that he had “no intention of transferring stuff back to you guys (like the Steam app).”
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Ina FASSBENDER/AFP/Getty Images
While Gamesradar reported that Krafton leadership admitted to using ChatGPT for “faster answers,” the company told Kotaku that some characterizations made about them have been false.
In response to claims from Unknown Worlds that Krafton said its chat logs no longer exist, the company said the claim was “simply a distraction from their own efforts to destroy evidence.”
In the end, a Delaware judge ruled that Kim relied on ChatGPT to craft a strategy aimed at avoiding the $250 million payment.
“Fearing he had agreed to a ‘pushover’ contract, KRAFTON’s CEO consulted an artificial intelligence chatbot to contrive a corporate ‘takeover’ strategy,” Vice Chancellor Lori Will said in her ruling, per Economic Times.
The court maintained that Krafton was expected to exercise independent judgment and not outsource its decisions to AI systems.
PC Gamer has since reported that Unknown Worlds will be given an extension to reach its earnout goals to mid-September, with the possibility of extending to March 2027.
The game is set for early release in May 2026.
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The secret to senior softball? It’s all about the magic bat
I always liked team sports, so when I got old enough, I signed up for senior softball.
At our first game, I showed up with an old mitt and a small aluminum bat I dug out of my sister’s garage. I didn’t really know what level senior softball was going to be. I figured this mitt and bat would be good enough. If not, I could upgrade.
Another guy couldn’t seem to get a hit with it. He seemed perplexed and somewhat disturbed that there was a special bat for old people.
That bat, it turned out, was for girls. Like girls ages 8 to 12. It was about a foot shorter than a normal bat.
I didn’t know this at the time. I leaned it against the wall in the dugout. When the coach saw it, he turned toward us players: “Whose bat is this?!”
I admitted it was mine. He glared at me and said, “Get this thing out of here! If you don’t have a real bat, borrow one from the other guys!”
I grabbed the bat, hurried to my car, and stashed it in the trunk.
Magic stick
So then I had to borrow another guy’s bat. I didn’t know anyone on the team yet. I wasn’t sure how to go about it.
The other bats looked pretty high-tech. Most of them looked new. I didn’t want to scuff up somebody’s brand-new bat. Fortunately, when it was my turn at the plate, one of the guys handed me his.
I hadn’t played softball in many years, so I was pretty nervous. The first pitch came, and I swung late and hit a bloop single over the first baseman’s head.
I hadn’t hit it very hard. I was surprised the ball went so far. I ran to first base. I had my first hit.
The next time I was up, I used that same bat, and this time I made solid contact. The ball flew over the shortstop’s head. It went farther than I’d ever hit a softball. It was almost unnatural how far it went. It was like magic.
‘We have the technology’
Later, I asked the guy about his bat. He said it was a senior softball bat. All the bats in the dugout were senior softball bats. That’s what everybody had.
When I went up a third time, I hit a grounder. But it bounced hard and skipped passed the third basemen for another hit.
Back in the dugout, I asked a different guy, “What’s up with these bats?” He said it was a special design. Senior softball bats were made of advanced materials. They were more flexible. The bat gave a little when it made contact. And then the ball “trampolined” off it with extra force.
He showed me the little inscription on the bat that said it was specifically authorized by Senior Softball-USA, the world’s largest senior softball association.
“Wow,” I said. “So we have our own bats.”
“Yes, we do,” he answered.
Sweet spot
At the next game, another guy showed up with a bunch of old senior softball bats he wasn’t using anymore. He had brought them for me. If I liked one of them, I could buy it from him.
He told me to try them out, see which one I liked. The first one I tried, I blasted a base hit between the outfielders. “I’ll take this one,” I told him.
And the next week, I gave him a hundred bucks.
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Pierre Lahalle/Getty Images
Softball shaman
Once I saw how fun senior softball was, I tried to find ways to get extra practice. A younger woman I knew invited me to a pickup game she played in.
These were young people, mostly in their 20s and 30s. They were good players, much better than I was.
When it came time for me to bat, I used my new senior softball bat and hit a deep ball into left field. Everyone was like, “Wow, you really got a hold of that one.”
The next time I was up, I hit another deep ball. People were surprised, shocked even.
“It’s the bat,” I told them. “It’s a senior softball bat.”
They had never heard of such a thing. They wanted to see it. I showed them the little inscription that said: Senior Softball-USA.
“It’s a special design,” I said. “It’s bouncier. Like a trampoline.”
They all felt the bat. They studied it. It didn’t look any different than their bats.
“Try it,” I told them. So they did. One guy, who could already hit the ball a mile, hit the ball a mile.
Another guy couldn’t seem to get a hit with it. He seemed perplexed and somewhat disturbed that there was a special bat for old people.
Another guy got a solid hit, but he didn’t seem particularly impressed. All these guys were really good hitters to start with. My special bat didn’t seem to do that much for them.
I said, “Maybe you have to be a senior to activate the technology.”
Team dream
I made it through that first season. It was a great experience. And being around my teammates reminded me how much skill and competence your average person over 50 represents.
Like the senior softball bat: They had integrated this new technology into their sport in just the right amount. It didn’t significantly alter the game; it just made it a little more fun.
But being on a team. That was the best part. I’ve been a writer all my life. Sitting in a room. By myself. Thinking my thoughts.
What a relief to be with the guys. On a beautiful spring day. In the dugout. With my magic bat.
Illegal alien allegedly sets fire and then watches as people die in agony — but NYC officials don’t want ICE to have him
An illegal alien has been accused of intentionally starting a fire in New York City that left four people dead and seven others injured. Though an alleged mass murderer, he may yet dodge federal immigration authorities, thanks to NYC officials.
Around 11:43 a.m. on March 16, Roman Amatitla, a 38-year-old Mexican in the U.S. illegally, allegedly set fire to a three-story building in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens and then, according to the office of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, stood by and “watched as the building burned.”
‘An act of mass murder.’
Firefighters discovered three deceased victims in the building: 49-year-old male Chengri Cui, 61-year-old female Shin Chie Ming, and Sihan Yang, a 3-year-old little girl. All three died from smoke inhalation, Katz’s office said.
A fourth victim, 64-year-old male Hong Zhao, escaped the fire by jumping out of a window but sustained catastrophic injuries in the fall, including broken bones and head trauma. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Katz’s office.
Seven others — including two firefighters, who endured a terrifying sudden fall to the basement when a stairway collapsed beneath them — were also injured on account of the fire.
The steps that the suspect allegedly took just before setting the fire are bone-chilling. According to the report from Katz, Amatitla:
- entered and exited the targeted building multiple times that morning,
- urinated on the outside of it,
- crossed the street to the gas station and purchased one beer and stole another,
- asked the gas station clerk for a lighter, but since lighters were available only for purchase, settled for a book of matches, and then
- returned to the building, lit a piece of paper on fire, and placed the burning paper atop garbage near the stairwell.
As smoke began to billow out onto the street, Amatitla allegedly “stayed in the immediate area and watched the fire consume the building,” Katz’s office said. The DA characterized the deadly fire as “an act of mass murder.”
Authorities believe that the suspect selected the building entirely at random, as he “had no known connection to the building or any of its occupants.”
Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Getty Images
Amatitla has been charged with eight counts of murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, and petit larceny.
Despite the severity of his alleged crimes, the Department of Homeland security claims that the NYC Department of Corrections has refused to honor a request to turn him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
“ICE ARREST DETAINER DENIED. On April 14, ICE requested the NYCDOC not release this monster from jail back into American communities. However, because of New York’s sanctuary politicians, the NYCDOC told ICE that they will REFUSE to cooperate,” the DHS tweeted Friday afternoon along with an image of what appears to be the detainer request.
“This monster set fire to a building and watched as innocent people, including a three-year-old, burned to death. New York City sanctuary politicians REFUSE to cooperate with ICE and are choosing to RELEASE this MURDERER onto New York streets,” DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
In a response to Blaze News, the DA’s office sidestepped questions about the city’s cooperation with federal authorities and said only that “the defendant is remanded and is due back in court on May 12.”
An NYCDOC spokesperson told Blaze News: “The DOC processes ICE detainers consistent with local law, which defines the extent of our cooperation with federal immigration authorities.”
A source familiar with the matter indicated that the NYCDOC notifies ICE about a defendant’s possible release only if certain ICE warrants have been issued or the defendant has been convicted of a serious and/or violent crime within the last five years.
The DHS and the respective offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) did not respond to a request for comment.
As of Monday morning, Amatitla remains in custody, NYCDOC records confirm. The jail records also note that an immigration detainer has been lodged against him.
RELATED: Mamdani nailed with backlash over comments about shooting death of 7-month-old baby girl
Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Getty Images
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Katrina Halili keeps mum on getting back together with Kris Lawrence
From kilig moments to fun TikToks together–Katrina Halili has this to say about getting back together with her ex-partner, Kris Lawrence.
Outrage in China after streaming site debuts AI actor ‘database”
China’s equivalent of Netflix, iQIYI, faced backlash on Monday over a new initiative that facilitates the use of actors’ likenesses in artificially generated dramas and films.
