Musk clashes with OpenAI’s Altman over $500bn Stargate
Elon Musk is clashing with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the Stargate artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure project touted by President Donald Trump, the latest in a feud between the two tech billionaires that started on OpenAI’s board and is now testing Musk’s influence with the new president. Trump on Tuesday had talked up a joint venture investing up to $500bn through a new partnership formed by OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, alongside Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, is already starting to build out data centres and the electricity generation needed for the further development of fast-evolving AI technology. Trump declared it “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential” under his new administration, with an initial private investment of $100bn that could reach five times that sum. But Musk, a close Trump adviser who helped bankroll his campaign and now leads a government cost-cutting initiative, questioned the value of the investment hours later. “They don’t actually have the money,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.” Advertisement Altman responded Wednesday by saying Musk was “wrong, as you surely know” and inviting Musk to come visit the first site in Texas that is already under construction. “[T]his is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put [America] first,” Altman wrote, using a US flag emoji to represent America. Behind the feud The public clash over Stargate is part of a years-long dispute between Musk and Altman that began with a boardroom rivalry over who should run OpenAI, which both men helped found. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company last year, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefitting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. A hearing is set for early February in a California federal court. The world’s richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI, that is building its own big data centre in Memphis, Tennessee. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems, such as ChatGPT. When did Stargate start? Tech news outlet The Information first reported on an OpenAI data centre project called Stargate in March 2024, indicating that it had been in the works long before Trump announced it. Advertisement Another company – Crusoe Energy Systems – announced in July it was building a large and “specially designed AI data center” outside Abilene, Texas, at a site run by energy technology company Lancium. Crusoe and Lancium said in a joint statement at the time that the project was “supported by a multibillion-dollar investment” but didn’t disclose its backers. AI technology requires huge amounts of electricity to build and operate, and both companies said the project would be powered with renewable sources such as from nearby solar farms, in a way that, according to Lancium CEO Michael McNamara, would “deliver the maximum amount of green energy at the lowest possible cost”. Crusoe said it would own and develop the facility. It is not clear how and when that project became the first phase of the Stargate investment revealed by Trump. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said Tuesday that the Abilene project is the first of about 10 data centre buildings currently being built, and that number could expand to 20. Where is Microsoft? Missing from Trump’s news conference Tuesday was Microsoft, which has long supported OpenAI with billions of dollars in investments and enabling its data centres to be used to build the models behind ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Microsoft said this week it is also investing in the Stargate project but put out a statement noting that its OpenAI partnership will “evolve” in a way that enables OpenAI “to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models”. Advertisement Asked about Musk’s comments about the Stargate deal Wednesday during a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pivoted to his company’s own $80bn plan to build out its global AI infrastructure, of which $50bn is being spent in the US. “Look, all I know is I’m good for my $80bn,” said Nadella, laughing. Adblock test (Why?)
New US wildfire rips through mountain area north of Los Angeles
Firefighting aircraft and ground crews are battling fast-moving wildfire in the Castaic Lake area north of Los Angeles. A fast-moving wildfire broke out in the mountains north of Los Angeles and ripped through an estimated 21 square kilometres (8.1 square miles) of trees and brush leading to thousands of evacuation orders for local residents and sending an enormous plume of dark smoke into the sky. Firefighters said on Wednesday the Hughes Fire in the Castaic Lake area of Los Angeles County – located about 80km (50 miles) north of the city of Los Angeles – prompted evacuation orders to local residents amid the “immediate threat to life” due to the blaze. An estimated 18,600 people live in the local community where ferocious flames devoured trees and brush on the hillsides around Castaic Lake. Robert Jensen of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department urged everyone in the fire-affected area to leave immediately and not suffer the same fate as some in the devastating fires that hit the Los Angeles area of Eaton and Palisades, as well as other areas, that killed 28 people and left thousands homeless. “We’ve seen the devastation caused by people failing to follow those orders in the Palisades and Eaton fires,” Jensen said. Advertisement “I don’t want to see that here in our community as well. If you’ve been issued an evacuation order, please get out,” he said. County Sheriff officers return to their vehicle after monitoring flames caused by the Hughes Fire along a roadside in Castaic, California, on January 22, 2025 [Ethan Swope/AP Photo] US television news showed police driving around the Castaic area urging people to leave as crews on the ground and in water-dropping aircraft fought to prevent the wind-driven fire from moving southward towards more populated foothill communities. The blaze was fanned by strong, dry Santa Ana winds that raced through the area, pushing a vast pall of smoke and embers ahead of the flames. Firefighting crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Angeles National Forest were also attacking the blaze from the ground. It was not immediately known what sparked the fire, but it occurred during red flag fire conditions when meteorologists say strong winds and low humidity create conditions ripe for rapid fire spread. The University of California San Diego shared dramatic video of the start of the Hughes Fire and its rapid development on its ALERTCalifornia online platform, showing a huge cloud of smoke developing quickly as the fire spreads across hillsides. The start and rapid growth of the #HughesFire in Los Angeles County seen from ALERTCalifornia’s Whitaker Ridge camera. Check conditions live on multiple cameras at https://t.co/Azu4PbZNY7 and look to @Angeles_NF and @LACOFD for updates. pic.twitter.com/JyKOpyY2jx — ALERTCalifornia (@ALERTCalifornia) January 22, 2025 Advertisement US President Donald Trump, who criticised the response to earlier wildfires in the Los Angeles area during his inaugural address on Monday, said he will travel to the city on Friday. As the new fire raged in Castaic, the Eaton and Palisades fires – that have also ravaged Los Angeles – have been brought under greater control, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said. The Eaton Fire, which has burned through 5,674 hectares (14,021 acres) east of Los Angeles, is now 91 percent contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 9,489 hectares (23,448 acres) on the west side of Los Angeles, is almost 70 percent contained, authorities said. Since the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out on January 7, they have killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures, Cal Fire said. At one point, during the height of the fires, 180,000 people were under evacuation orders, according to Los Angeles County officials. Private forecaster AccuWeather projects damage and economic losses from the fires around Los Angeles at more than $250bn. A firefighting helicopter drops water on the Hughes Fire in Castaic in Los Angeles, California, on January 22, 2025 [Robyn Beck/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)
US military sends troops to Mexico border amid Trump immigration crackdown
The deployment is part of Trump’s executive action to declare a ‘national emergency’ at the US’s southern border. The United States military has started to send 1,500 active-duty troops to the country’s southern border with Mexico, as part of President Donald Trump’s long-promised crackdown on immigration. The White House confirmed the troop movement on Wednesday, though the full details of the order have yet to be released. Officials told US media that the service members involved included 500 marines. They are not expected to conduct law enforcement duties as part of their role at the border. The troop deployment was widely expected, as immigration had been a hallmark of Trump’s campaign for a second term. Shortly after he was sworn in on Monday, the Republican leader signed an executive order declaring a “national emergency” at the border, repeating some of the heated rhetoric he had delivered on the campaign trail. “America’s sovereignty is under attack,” the executive order said. “This invasion has caused widespread chaos and suffering in our country over the last 4 years.” The order included provisions for the deployment of armed forces “to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control of the southern border”. Advertisement It also called for additional physical barriers to be erected, as well as the use of unmanned aerial surveillance. Trump’s communications team quickly hailed Wednesday’s troop deployment as a fulfilment of his election-season promise. “This is something President Trump campaigned on,” said Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary. “The American people have been waiting for such a time as this – for our Department of Defense to actually implement homeland security seriously.” An estimated 2,500 US National Guard members and reserve troops are already at the border. In addition, US Customs and Border Protection employs more than 45,000 people. As of fiscal year 2023, 19,104 of those employees served as border patrol agents to secure the areas between official ports of entry. Immigration advocates, however, fear an increased military presence at the border could discourage legitimate asylum claims or lead to the use of military tactics on civilians. But Trump has argued that a military response is needed given the rates of irregular entry into the US. He has also regularly conflated immigration with increased crime, something not borne out by statistics. Studies have repeatedly shown that undocumented people in the US commit crimes at a much lower rate than US-born citizens, including violent crimes. Still, Trump has used examples like that of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, to advance his proposals. In February 2024, Riley was killed while jogging at the University of Georgia, and an undocumented Venezuelan man was ultimately found guilty of her murder. Advertisement On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, named in her honour. It requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain any undocumented person arrested or charged with a crime like theft or robbery. Having already passed the Senate, the bill now proceeds to Trump’s desk, where he is expected to sign it. It will be the first major legislation of his administration. But human rights advocates warn the bill could violate defendants’ due process, as those subject to the law need only be accused, not convicted, of a crime. Adblock test (Why?)
Panama and China push back against Trump’s canal threats
Panama’s president insists canal ‘was not a gift’ from the US; China declares it does not interfere. Panama and China have pushed back against United States President Donald Trump’s controversial claims regarding the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal “was not a gift” from the US, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino said on Wednesday in response to Trump’s threat to seize control of the strategic waterway. Beijing, meanwhile, rejected the US president’s assertion that it is effectively in control of the canal. “We reject in its entirety everything that Mr Trump has said,” Mulino said during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “First because it is false and second because the Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama. The Panama Canal was not a concession or a gift from the United States.” Trump has previously refused to rule out military action to take control of the canal, which the US opened in 1914 to provide a trade route linking its east and west coasts but handed to Panama in 1999. During his inauguration on Monday, the US president repeated his complaint that China was effectively “operating” the canal, which was “foolishly given to Panama,” thanks to a growing presence around the waterway, Advertisement “We didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama. And we’re taking it back,” Trump declared. ‘Never interfered’ Panama City on Tuesday made a formal complaint to the United Nations, referring to an article of the UN Charter precluding any member from “the threat or use of force” against the territorial integrity or political independence of another. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, it requested that the UN Security Council – on which the US has a veto – take up the matter. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said, “China does not participate in the management and operation of the canal and has never interfered in the affairs of the canal.” Mulino has previously denied that any nation interferes with the Panama Canal, saying that it operates on a principle of neutrality. However, Panama has announced that it now plans an audit of the canal and the Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings that operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either end of the canal. As well as outlining his determination to seize the Panama Canal, Trump has also provoked a mixture of worry and mirth with threats to use military or economic power to force Denmark to sell Greenland to the US, and plans to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”. Adblock test (Why?)
Why is ‘anti-Semitism watchdog’ ADL defending Elon Musk’s ‘Nazi salute’?
NewsFeed A group that says it fights anti-Semitism rushed to defend Elon Musk over his apparent Nazi salutes at Trump’s inauguration. The ADL is now accused of going soft on bigots, as long as they support Israel. Soraya Lennie explains. Published On 22 Jan 202522 Jan 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s top general resigns over Oct 7 failures
NewsFeed Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi has resigned over security and intelligence ‘failures’ of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023, leading to opposition calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the same. Published On 22 Jan 202522 Jan 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s scorched earth campaign leaves Gaza in ruins
Palestinians in Gaza are confronting an apocalyptic landscape of devastation following the ceasefire that paused more than 15 months of Israel’s attacks on the besieged enclave. Across Gaza, where built-up refugee camps are interspersed between cities, mounds of rubble are stretching as far as the eye can see. Critics say Israel has waged a campaign of scorched earth to destroy the fabric of life in Gaza, accusations that are being considered in two global courts, including the crime of genocide. International rights groups said the vast destruction was part of a broader pattern of extermination and genocide directed at Palestinians in Gaza, a charge Israel denies. The groups dispute Israel’s stance that the destruction was a result of military activity. A United Nations assessment from satellite imagery showed more than 60,000 structures across Gaza had been destroyed and more than 20,000 severely damaged in the war as of December 1, 2024. Israel also carved out a buffer zone about one kilometre inside Gaza from its fence, as well as within the Netzarim Corridor that bisects north Gaza from the south, and along the Philadelphi Corridor, a stretch of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Advertisement Vast swaths in these areas were levelled. Adblock test (Why?)
Rescuers in Indonesia search for survivors after landslide kills 19 in Java
Heavy rains in Pekalongan cause a devastating landslide, blocking a main road and burying houses. Rescuers in Indonesia continue to search for survivors after a landslide in the country’s Central Java province killed at least 19 people. Torrential rain in Pekalongan caused a landslide on Tuesday on a main road connecting the city with a tourist area, the Dieng plateau. Footage on local media showed the affected road and houses buried and rice fields covered by mud, rubble and rocks. Rescuers were forced to walk about four kilometres (2.5 miles) to get to the site because the road was inaccessible. An excavator had been deployed to clear the mudslide while heavy rain and fog hindered rescue efforts. “The joint search and rescue team managed to find and evacuate two bodies … on Wednesday morning. The number of fatalities recorded as of this afternoon is 19 people,” said Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). “The two bodies found this morning were part of the list of people reported missing in the tragic event.” People walk through the site of a landslide triggered by heavy rain two days ago in Mudal village, near Pekalongan [Devi Rahman / AFP] Search and rescue agency Basarnas said on Wednesday that 13 people were also injured. Advertisement Heavy machinery was deployed to clear road access for search teams and about 200 rescue personnel have been sent to help the rescue effort, local official Mohammad Yulian Akbar said. “The focus is to search for the victims,” he said, adding that the local government had declared an emergency in the district for two weeks. Images shared by the disaster agency showed rescuers carrying victims in body bags with bamboo stretchers under thick fog from the site. The agency warned residents that rain was expected in the next few days which could cause more landslides and flash floods. Rescuers search for the victims of flash floods which triggered the landslide [BNPB via AP] Indonesia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, typically between November and April, but some disasters caused by adverse weather have taken place outside that season in recent years. In December, 10 people were killed in flash floods that hit hilly villages on the country’s main island of Java. Adblock test (Why?)
As gold prices surge, Ghana faces ‘looming crisis’ over illegal mining
When activist Oliver Barker Vormawor saw reports in September that Ghana’s water agency would not be able to supply some parts of the country with water due to extreme contamination of main rivers from small-scale mining activities, he knew he had to do something. Later that month, Vormawor and dozens of other concerned Ghanaians took to the streets in the capital city, Accra, to protest against what they said was President Nana Akufo-Addo’s inaction to stop a “looming environmental catastrophe”. They were determined to put the matter on the ballot ahead of the hotly contested December general elections. But rather than get a reaction to their demands, Vormawor and several of his comrades were arrested and imprisoned for weeks on charges of illegal assembly. Now, although Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) was voted out, activists like Vormawor say they have just as little faith in the new president, John Mahama, and his ability to keep the mounting pollution of Ghana’s rivers and soil in check. Advertisement “There isn’t any roadmap yet from Mahama on how to tackle the problem,” Vormawor, who once served at the United Nations as a legal officer, told Al Jazeera. “It’s really difficult to say that his government will be more aggressive on this because even as the opposition party, they were very tentative and uncomfortable taking up the issue,” he added, referring to Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC). Formerly called the “Gold Coast”, the West African nation is bending under pressure from widespread, incessant small-scale mining of the shiny metal. Much of that artisanal activity falls under what locals call “galamsey”, or in full “gather them and sell”. The term once referred to illegal mining, carried out by mostly untrained young men and women, but now more loosely encompasses licensed small-scale operations that mine unsustainably. A galamseyer, an illegal gold panner, clears mud and sand by hand as he works on a gold field in Kibi, eastern Ghana [File: Cristina Aldehuela/AFP] Officials allegedly complicit in galamsey Galamsey has been in practice for many years, but prices of gold that rose globally to an all-time high (close to $3,000 per gram) in late 2024 caused a corresponding surge in illegal mining across Ghana, and in effect, more intense devastation of water bodies. Small-scale miners use lots of water by digging up soil around riverbeds in forested areas and washing it off to reveal gold ore. They use toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide to separate the gold from the ore, and those chemicals flow into rivers that hundreds of communities depend on for drinking and domestic use. Some people say they earn about $70 to $100 a day. By 2017, more than 60 percent of the country’s water bodies were already polluted by mercury and other heavy metals, turning once-clear rivers a murky brown, according to the country’s Water Resources Commission. The chemicals, which can damage lungs, are affecting thousands of acres of farmlands. Ghana’s Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) said it lost 2 percent of the total cocoa cultivation area to mining. Some farmers allege that galamsey operators buy off their land or intimidate them into selling. “This is a problem that has been going on for decades now, but it’s a problem that’s escalating fast and this has created a sense among Ghanaians that we are running out of time to protect our country and our people,” Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, country director of the nongovernmental organisation WaterAid, told Al Jazeera. Advertisement “While illegal gold mining was happening mainly in the south of the country, our research shows that it’s now endemic in the north. The presence of mercury and other toxins in water is leading to skin diseases and other health crises,” she added. Protesters chant slogans and carry placards during a demonstration demanding government action on illegal gold mining, in Accra on October 3, 2024 [Nipah Dennis/AFP] In a 2024 report, WaterAid warned that Ghana might have to import water by 2030 in a business-as-usual scenario as drinking water sources shrink. Activists are particularly angry at LI 2462, an Akufo-Addo-era law that passed in November 2022, which allowed for mining concessions to be allocated in the country’s biodiversity hotspots, including protected forests. A previous policy limited mining in forests and protected reserves to about 2 percent of their total area. Many activists at the time denounced the law and called attention to the fact that the country lost the equivalent of 30,000 football fields to deforestation for logging, agriculture, and illegal mining of gold and other minerals like bauxite that year. However, the government pushed ahead with the law and proceeded to approve mining licences – for exploration, industrial operations, and small-scale mining, at an unprecedented rate. Where officials gave out an estimated 90 licences between 1988 and early 2017, at least 2,000 more were given out between September 2017 and January 2025, according to data from the Ghana Mining Repository. That period falls under Akufo-Addo’s tenure. Most licences were for small-scale mines, and key reserves like the Nkrabia Forest Reserve, west of Accra, and the Boin Tano Reserve, located in the country’s Western Region, were among those allocated. Advertisement Anger against the Akufo-Addo government intensified after it surfaced that some of the companies newly licensed under LI 2462 belonged to high-placed politicians and members of Akufo-Addo’s NNP party and that some of those people were also running illegal mines. People in Ghana are protesting illegal gold mining, which has poisoned over 60% of the country’s bodies of water. If illegal mining continues at the current rate, experts say the entire country may be importing water by 2030. pic.twitter.com/EOIQB7Oh3w — AJ+ (@ajplus) October 25, 2024 In April 2023, an explosive report by former Environment Minister Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng to Akufo-Addo leaked to the public. In it, Frimpong-Boateng accused “many party officials … their friends, personal assistants, agents, relatives” of engaging in illegal mining. He accused, among others, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, an influential businessman and relative of Akufo-Addo, of interfering in the arrest of mining companies
Controversial Raphinha winner seals nine-goal thriller for Barca at Benfica
Benfica are denied a penalty in the build-up to an injury-time winner for Barcelona in the Champions League. Raphinha struck a dramatic winner in stoppage time as Barcelona came from behind to beat Benfica 5-4 in a wild match and virtually ensure direct qualification to the Champions League last 16. The home side believed they should have had a penalty in the build-up to the late strike by Barca after Leandro Barreiro appeared to be shoved in the back by Ferran Torres in the box. VAR looked at the appeal, delaying the celebrations for what would be the winning goal, but elected not to ask the referee to take a second look at his decision. Benfica were leading 4-2 with under 15 minutes remaining in the game on Tuesday but Barcelona mounted a stunning late comeback to stay three points behind leaders Liverpool. Vangelis Pavlidis hit a first-half hat-trick for the hosts, in part thanks to two big errors by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. However, a Robert Lewandowski double from the penalty spot, an Eric Garcia’s header and a brace for Raphinha helped Barcelona claim a stunning late triumph in Lisbon. Barcelona’s Raphinha scores their fifth goal [Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters] Benfica opened the scoring in the second minute, when Pavlidis escaped Pau Cubarsi and fired home from Alvaro Carreras’s low cross. Advertisement Barcelona responded swiftly with Lewandowski scoring from the penalty spot after Alejandro Balde was brought down by Benfica defender Tomas Araujo. The hosts nosed back ahead through a stroke of luck, when Szczesny raced out of his goal to try and cut out a through-ball, but crashed into Balde. Greece international Pavlidis gleefully collected the loose ball and rolled his second into the empty net. Barcelona’s Wojciech Szczesny fouls Benfica’s Kerem Akturkoglu to concede a penalty [Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters] Barcelona, who lured Szczesny out of retirement to replace the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen in October, soon fell further behind. Pavlidis completed his half-hour hat-trick with a penalty after another Szczesny mistake, with the goalkeeper flying in to try and dispossess Kerem Akturkoglu, but bringing him down. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha missed good chances before the break as Barcelona pushed forward. Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin saved from Jules Kounde, who should have scored, and Lewandowski could not turn home from Pedri’s dangerous ball across the face of goal. Raphinha pulled one back for Barcelona in bizarre fashion as a clearance by Trubin struck his head on the edge of the area and flew back into the net. However, Benfica soon struck again, with Ronald Araujo nudging past Szczesny into his own net as he tried to cut out a cross. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal looks dejected after Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis scores the home side’s first goal [Pedro Nunes/Reuters] Barcelona kept pushing and Lewandowski converted another penalty after Nicolas Otamendi brought down Yamal. The Catalan giants, who last won the Champions League in 2015, pulled level when substitute Garcia headed home from Pedri’s inviting cross. Szczesny saved former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria’s low shot before Raphinha’s dramatic winner. Advertisement With Benfica appealing for a penalty, Barcelona sprang a quick breakaway and the Brazilian winger slotted home to end a blockbuster clash. Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi awaits with teammates as VAR checks their penalty claims in injury time [Pedro Nunes/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)