Latest from San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
Report: Turkish Airlines flight to San Francisco diverted after passenger dies mid-flight
A passenger died on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to San Francisco on Sunday, causing the transatlantic flight to divert to Chicago, according to a report from the flight journal Aviation A2Z. Data from aviation tracker FlightAware showed Flight TK79, operated by an Airbus A350-941, departed Istanbul at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time on July 13, en route to San Francisco International Airport. While cruising over Greenland, the crew was alerted to a passenger experiencing a medical emergency. The aircraft entered a holding pattern over the region as flight attendants administered CPR and consulted medical personnel on the ground. 'This maneuver is a standard procedure that provides time to assess the passenger's condition, coordinate with medical professionals via radio, and evaluate diversion options,' according to Aviation A2Z. Initially, the crew considered diverting to Keflavik Airport in Iceland, a common emergency stop for transatlantic flights. However, after the passenger was pronounced dead mid-flight, the crew opted to continue toward North America. The aircraft was rerouted to Chicago O'Hare International Airport, due to its medical and logistical capabilities, where it landed safely nearly 12 hours after its initial departure.
San Francisco Chronicle
41 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
OpenAI script depicts Elon Musk as ‘not so bad, as far as dictators go,' Sam Altman as ‘a liar and a master schemer'
'Artficial,' the $40 million OpenAI movie to be directed by Luca Guadagnino and filmed partially in San Francisco, is shaping up to be quite the juicy project, according to a journalist who has read a draft of the script. The movie from the ' Challengers ' and ' Queer ' filmmaker, which begins rehearsals next week in Guadagnino's home country of Italy, takes place during a tumultuous few days in 2023 when CEO Sam Altman was fired and rehired at the San Francisco artificial intelligence company. Puck columnist Matthew Bellini got his hands on the screenplay by Simon Rich — a humorist, former Pixar staff writer and son of former New York Times critic and ' Succession ' producer Frank Rich — and reports that the movie is centered on Ilya Sutskever, the idealistic engineer and cofounder of the company. Academy Award nominee Yura Borisov of ' Anora ' is set to play the role. The Amazon MGM Studios-produced movie also depicts Altman (Andrew Garfield), former chief technology officer Mira Murati (Academy Award-nominated Bay Area actress Monica Barbaro of ' A Complete Unknown ') and many other past and present OpenAI personalities, according to the script. That includes Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, an early OpenAI investor turned bitter rival. 'Nobody looks particularly good' in the script except Sutskever, Bellini writes. Musk, whose casting has not been announced, appears in 'a few scenes of villainy and comic relief — more concerned with his (malfunctioning) driverless Tesla than the prospect of uncontrolled A.I. destroying the world,' Bellini observes. Barbaro's Murati even delivers the line, 'Elon's not so bad, as far as dictators go.' But while Musk is an ancillary character, Altman is a prime target of Rich's screenplay. The writer delivers 'a straightforward indictment of the reckless culture behind the commercialization of artificial intelligence, as well as a drive-by hit on Altman,' Bellini writes. Altman is depicted as 'a liar and a master schemer,' and at one point a character accuses him of being 'one of the most manipulative people on the planet,' Bellini added. 'Artificial' is targeted for release in 2026, joining David Fincher's ' The Social Network,' the 2010 Oscar-nominated film about the early days of Facebook, and Danny Boyle's ' Steve Jobs ' (2015) in the pantheon of movies depicting Bay Area tech bros behaving badly.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lowry back in his happy place at Royal Portrush where mural depicts 'special' 2019 win
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — A mural of Shane Lowry holding aloft the claret jug adorns the side wall of a house just across the road from Royal Portrush. For the people in this part of Northern Ireland, it is a piece of art that serves as a constant reminder of not just one of the great victories in the British Open's 165-year history but one of the great moments for Irish sport. An Irishman winning the Open on the island of Ireland. Six years later, Lowry is back on the Antrim coast looking to do it all over again. 'I didn't know what to make of it at the start,' Lowry said of the mural that immortalized the best golfing day of his life, 'and then when they did it, people kept sending me pictures. 'Everyone that comes up here sends me pictures standing beside it. Some of them I can't say what they were doing in it,' he added, laughing, 'but it is very special. I've done something special in my life.' And, boy, did he celebrate it. There's video of Lowry, a beer in one hand and the silver claret jug in the other, singing Irish folk song 'The Fields of Athenry' in a bar in Dublin hours after his six-shot victory. It sure wasn't the only drinking hole he visited in the Irish capital that night, which — to some — fueled the narrative of him being something of a party animal. 'Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it from time to time,' he said, 'but I know when I need to put my head down and work. 'You can't be at the top level of any sport if you're not applying yourself well, and I feel like I do it.' Indeed, the No. 18-ranked Lowry feels in a good place after being back home in Ireland for the past three weeks, skipping the opportunity to play at the Scottish Open — regarded as a warmup to the British Open. Instead, he has played a slew of the best courses in Ireland — among them Portmarnock, Waterville and also Adare Manor, which is hosting the Ryder Cup in 2027 — in perfect weather. Lowry, whose only solo victory since Portrush in 2019 was the European tour's flagship BMW PGA Championship in 2022, feels 'rejuvenated' and as prepared as he could be in his bid to become the first player to win consecutive British Opens at the same course since Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2000 and '05. 'Sometimes when everything is going really well, I get complacent,' he said. "I feel like when things are not going well is when I'm at my best. 'Go back to 2019 here, I had a meltdown on the Wednesday because I thought I wasn't going to go out and play well, but then that focused me in a little bit more.' Roared on by a raucous crowd, Lowry went on to play the best golf of his life in what at times was rough and wet weather. Few will forget the scene of Lowry — dressed all in black — marching to the 18th green on Sunday with a broad smile and his arms out wide, to the backdrop of green-white-and-orange Irish flags and jubilant umbrella-holding spectators. 'I came to a place that I knew and I loved,' he said, 'and it just all clicked.' 'I'm happy," Lowry said, 'I don't have to drive past it every day.'
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Book Review: Madeline Potter's 'The Roma' blends memoir and research to look at a marginalized group
'The Roma: A Travelling History' is a fascinating look at a marginalized and misunderstood group of people who have encountered hostility for centuries. Written by Madeline Potter, a scholar of 19th century Gothic literature, the new book recounts how members of the group long have been maligned, enslaved, deported and murdered. Potter, who grew up Romani in post-Communist Romania, weaves together bits of memoir with her archival research into what is described as the first contemporary history of the Romani people. Instead of being raised in an intricately carved horse-drawn 'vardo' that traveled from camp to camp, Potter passed her childhood 'settled' in a towering Soviet-style high-rise, a more typical upbringing as the Romani people increasingly leave life on the road to become settled. In her book, Potter carries us from England, where she currently lives, to Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Germany France, Spain, the U.S. West Coast and finally to Sweden. Potter tells of how King Henry VIII passed the 'Egyptians Act' in 1530, calling for the Gypsy people to be expelled from England due to their alleged crimes, including 'robberies,' 'Palmistry' and 'deceit.' Believed to have migrated from northern India to Europe some 1,500 years ago, and with a language rooted in Sanskrit, the Roma at one time were thought to have originated in Egypt. In Spain, they have been known as Gitanos. During Spain's 1749 'Gran Redada de Gitanos' — Great Gypsy Roundup, some 10,000 Roma were detained, and families were separated, with the men sent to work in shipyards and the women and children to factories. In Nazi Germany, the Reich Office for Combating the Gypsy Menace set the scene for the Roma and related Sinti people to be rounded up and sent to concentration camps alongside Jews, members of the LGBTQ+ community and other minorities. As many as 500,000 Roma and Sinti are estimated to have been murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during that period. Despite the continued discrimination, the Roma have made important cultural contributions, Potter writes. Potter mentions Carmen Amaya, a Spanish Romani who was known in the mid-20th century as the world's best flamenco dancer. Composer Franz Liszt was so enamored of Hungarian Roma traditions that he absorbed them into his 19th century work. 'There is much sadness in our history, and much pain,' Potter writes. 'But importantly it's not pain that beats at the heart of our story. On each step of my journey, I encountered the wondrous stories of those who have decisively resisted their marginalization, who have refused to be silent and whose stories continue to inspire the Roma today.'
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
The SEC and Big Ten are currently at a standstill over the College Football Playoff format
ATLANTA (AP) — Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday that despite frequent conversations with Big Ten counterpart Tony Petitti, the two leagues have yet to agree on the College Football Playoff format after this upcoming season and could leave it at 12 teams. The disagreement doesn't stem from a lack of communication. Sankey said he spoke with Petitti four times last week. 'We had a different view coming out of Destin around the notion of allocations,' Sankey said. 'The Big Ten has a different view. That's fine. We have a 12-team playoff, five conference champions. That could stay if we can't agree.' The Big Ten, which has won the last two national championships, favors a 4-4-2-2-1 format, giving four automatic bids to the SEC and Big Ten and awarding the ACC and Big 12 two bids apiece. The SEC, originally thought to be on the same page, switched gears at its spring meetings in Destin. The SEC favors five conference champions and 11 at-large bids, which would presumably favor the top conferences most seasons. The CFP announced in May that teams in the upcoming playoff will be seeded strictly on where they are ranked instead of moving pieces around to reward conference champions. Last season's jumbled bracket, the first with 12 teams, gave byes to Big 12 champion Arizona State and Mountain West champion Boise State, even though they were ranked 12th and ninth, respectively, by the playoff selection committee. That system made the rankings and the seedings in the tournament two different things. The five highest-ranked conference champions will still be guaranteed spots in the playoff. While the CFP contract from 2026 through the 2031 season requires the SEC and Big Ten to consult other leagues about prospective changes to the playoff system, it also provides them with the ability to impose changes they both want. Now it's a matter of getting on the same page. 'I think there's this notion that there has to be this magic moment and something has to happen with expansion and it has to be forced — no,' Sankey said. 'When you're given authority, you want to be responsible in using that authority. I think both of us are prepared to do so. The upfront responsibility in this, maybe where some of the confusion lies, is we have the ability to present a format or format ideas, gather information, see if we can all agree within that room. We don't need unanimity.'
