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☆ Tech CEO Pava LaPere's rape and murder has spurred lawmakers to curb early-release credits for violent sex offenders
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Glynis Kazanjian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Pava LaPere, 26, the founder and CEO of EcoMap Technologies, was raped and murdered in 2023. Her death has spurred Maryland legislators to introduce a law to stop violent offenders from accruing early release credits. Her father, Frank LaPere, told Business Insider that it was time to change the justice system. The Pava Marie LaPere Act would require the Maryland Parole Commission to approve an offender's early release. "This bill is a little different because of Frank [Pava LaPere's father], to be honest," Bates said.

Persons: Pava LaPere, Frank LaPere, —, Jason Dean Billingsley, LaPere, Billingsley, Marilyn Mosby, Ivan Bates, Marie LaPere, Del, Elizabeth Embry, Embry, you've, Bates, Frank, Pava, Jason Billingsley, State's, Mayor Scott, Moore Organizations: EcoMap Technologies, Service, Authorities, State's, Baltimore City, Maryland Attorney General's, EcoMap, Maryland Division, Probation, Baltimore City Police Department, Police, Associated Press, Business, Gov Locations: Maryland, Baltimore, West Baltimore

☆ Elon Musk Says His New AI Bot ‘Grok’ Will Have Sarcasm and Access to X Information
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Jason Dean | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and billionaire Elon Musk discussed a wide range of topics, from China to the implications of rogue robots, during an event at the UK’s first major summit on artificial intelligence safety. Photo: Tolga Akmen/Press PoolElon Musk gave a glimpse of his artificial-intelligence startup’s first product: a bot named Grok whose sense of humor he demonstrated with jokes about Sam Bankman-Fried and how to make cocaine. Musk, with a series of posts late Friday on X, included what he indicated were sample responses from Grok as he boasted that it will have a sarcastic sense of humor and the advantage of access to information via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that he bought just over a year ago. He said Grok would begin limited testing on Saturday to a select group, and, after early beta testing, be made available to X’s Premium+ subscribers.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Elon Musk, Tolga, Sam Bankman, Grok Organizations: Elon Locations: China

☆ How Baltimore PD's tactics in handling convicted sex offender Jason Billingsley may have enabled him to kill a tech CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Glynis Kazanjian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

At a press conference on Thursday, Sept. 28, Worley defended the department's decision to not alert the public about Billingsley on Sept. 19. "We should have been informed," said Eric Chapman, 31, who lives in the same block where the Sept. 19 attack occurred. "Unfortunately, at a very young age, Jason started to get in trouble with the law," Jasmine Billingsley added. "I think he's a magnet for women," Jasmine Billingsley said. While Jasmine Billingsley was trying to encourage him to improve his life, their mother did not.

Persons: Jason Billingsley, Pava LaPere, Billingsley, ”, —, Jason Dean Billingsley, Louis Schlesinger, Schlesinger, Sigmund Freud, Glynis, Mosby, Jason Rodriguez, Richard Worley, Frank LaPere, Nico LaPere, Caroline Frank, LaPere, Stephanie Scarbrough Stephanie Scarbrough Pava LaPere, Pava, Worley, Marilyn Mosby, Eric Chapman, Chapman, Woody Whitaker, Duvon Bailey, Jasmine Billingsley, Jason, Jasmine, Billingsley's, Natalie Musumeci Organizations: Service, Baltimore City Police Department, John Jay College of Criminal, Baltimore Banner, Police, Baltimore City, Department of Public Safety, Correctional Services, Division, Maryland Office, Public, Baltimore Police, Baltimore, Edmondson Avenue . Police, Baltimore Police Department, Technologies, AP, EcoMap Technologies, West, Tuesday, Baltimore City Council, Associated Press, Spotify Locations: West Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Edmondson, West Franklin, Bowie, Prince George's County , Maryland, Brooklyn

☆ Will AI Bring Utopia or Dystopia? A Venture Capitalist Picks Utopia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Could venture capitalists one day be replaced by AI? ‘I can’t say they won’t,’ says Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures. Photo: Nikki Ritcher for the Wall Street JournalThe future of AI is in many ways a blank slate—a place where many people place all sorts of fears but where many investors see all sorts of potential. To explore the utopia vs. dystopia scenarios, The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Dean spoke to Vinod Khosla , founder of venture-capital firm Khosla Ventures, at the Journal’s Tech Live conference. Here are edited excerpts of the conversation.

Persons: ’, Vinod Khosla, Nikki Ritcher, Jason Dean Organizations: Khosla Ventures, Wall Street, Journal’s Tech

CNN —A convicted felon suspected of killing tech executive Pava LaPere in Baltimore this week has been arrested, ending a dayslong manhunt across the city, police said early Thursday. “I told him to turn himself in because they’re going to kill him,” Scarlett Billingsley told NBC News. Pava LaPere cofounded EcoMap at age 21 while she was still attending college at Johns Hopkins University, according to the company’s website. LaPere’s accomplishments gained her a spot on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list earlier this year for social impact. The father and daughter – both early risers – would talk early in the morning and exchange photos of their sunrises, her father recalled.

Persons: CNN —, Pava LaPere, Jason Dean Billingsley, LaPere, Billingsley, Brandon Scott, Richard Worley, “, ” Scarlett Billingsley, Scarlett Billingsley, Worley, Frank LaPere, Caroline, Nico, Stephanie Scarbrough, ”, Pava, –, Frank, Kory Bailey, Bailey, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, Baltimore Police Department . Police, Authorities, Baltimore Police, NBC, NBC News, Maryland’s Department of Public Safety, Correctional Services, New York Times, Johns Hopkins University, Forbes ’ Locations: Baltimore

☆ Pava LaPere killing: Manhunt underway for 'extremely dangerous' convicted felon suspected of murdering the 26-year-old female tech CEO in Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Elizabeth Wolfe Jamiel Lynch Holly Yan | Elizabeth Wolfe | Jamiel Lynch | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Baltimore police are scrambling to find an “extremely dangerous” man suspected of murdering 26-year-old tech CEO Pava LaPere, who was found dead in an apartment building on Monday. Hours later, police were called to a downtown apartment building, where LaPere was discovered with signs of blunt-force trauma to her head, Worley said. The building where she was found had security measures that would have required someone to “allow the (suspect) in the building,” Worley said. Pava LaPere EcoMap TechIn August, the company said it had reached nearly $8 million in financing. In addition to being a driving force behind EcoMap, LaPere strove to uplift others in Baltimore, the mayor said.

Persons: Pava LaPere, Jason Dean Billingsley, Richard Worley, LaPere, Worley, ” Worley, Billingsley, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, ” Billingsley, “, ” EcoMap, Sherrod Davis, Pava, “ Pava, ” Scott, EcoMap, Delali Dzirasa, CNN LaPere, ” Dzirasa Organizations: CNN, Baltimore, Baltimore Police, Technologies, Forbes, Baltimore Mayor, Maryland’s Department of Public Safety, Correctional Services, The New York Times, Johns Hopkins University, Tech, LaPere Locations: Baltimore

☆ Baltimore Police Search for Suspect in Killing of Tech C.E.O.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The founder and chief executive of a Baltimore tech start-up who was acclaimed as a rising entrepreneur in the city was found dead on Monday, the police said, prompting a manhunt on Tuesday for a suspect considered to be armed and dangerous. The authorities said that they had received a missing-person call shortly beforehand. On Tuesday, the police said they had identified Jason Dean Billingsley, 32, of Baltimore, a sex offender who was released from prison last fall, as the suspect in Ms. LaPere’s killing, and potentially in other cases. The department did not say how it had determined Mr. Billingsley to be the suspect and did not immediately return calls seeking comment on Tuesday night. Richard Worley, the acting police commissioner for the department, warned residents at a news conference on Tuesday that Mr. Billingsley “will kill, and he will rape.

Persons: Pava LaPere, Jason Dean Billingsley, LaPere’s, Billingsley, Richard Worley Organizations: EcoMap Technologies, West Franklin Street, Baltimore Police Department Locations: Baltimore, West

CNN —The Baltimore Police Department has announced an arrest warrant for a suspect wanted for the murder of Pava LaPere, the 26-year-old CEO of startup EcoMap Technologies, who was found dead in a downtown Baltimore apartment Monday with signs of blunt-force trauma to her head. The Baltimore Police said they do not believe that LaPere and Billingsley knew each other. “With profound sadness and shock, EcoMap announces the tragic and untimely passing of our beloved Founder and CEO, Pava LaPere,” EcoMap said in a statement. “Pava was not only the visionary force behind EcoMap but was also a deeply compassionate and dedicated leader. “There is no person on planet Earth that could tell Pava that she couldn’t do something,” Dzirasa said.

Persons: Pava LaPere, Jason Dean Billingsley, Richard Worley, Billingsley, LaPere, Worley, ”, Baltimore EcoMap, Sherrod Davis, EcoMap, Pava, ” EcoMap, Delali Dzirasa, ” Dzirasa Organizations: CNN, The Baltimore Police Department, Police, West Franklin Street, Baltimore Police, The Baltimore Police, Baltimore, LaPere, Johns, Forbes Locations: Baltimore, West, Johns Hopkins

☆ Jiang Zemin, Who Accelerated Communist Party’s Embrace of Market Principles, Dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Charles Hutzler | Jason Dean | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING— Jiang Zemin , the former Chinese leader who came to power after the quelling of the Tiananmen Square democracy protests and presided over the market-oriented changes that turned China into a global economic juggernaut, died on Wednesday, state media said. Mr. Jiang, who died of leukemia, retired as Communist Party chief in 2002, stepped down as president in 2003, and left as head of the party’s Central Military Commission, the next year. Behind the scenes, he managed to wield substantial influence within the secretive party elite. From retirement, party insiders say, he decisively backed Xi Jinping ’s ascent to party leader.

☆ Jiang Zemin Accelerated Chinese Communist Party’s Embrace of Market Principles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Charles Hutzler | Jason Dean | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING— Jiang Zemin , the former Chinese leader who came to power after the quelling of the Tiananmen Square democracy protests and presided over the market-oriented changes that turned China into a global economic juggernaut, died of leukemia on Wednesday, state media said. Mr. Jiang retired as Communist Party chief in 2002, stepped down as president in 2003, and left as head of the party’s Central Military Commission the next year. Behind the scenes, he managed to wield substantial influence within the secretive party elite, installing allies in the leadership team of his successor, Hu Jintao . From retirement, party insiders say, he decisively backed Xi Jinping ’s ascent to party leader.

☆ The Case for Why Consumers Will Still Want to Use Cryptocurrencies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The market for bitcoin and other digital assets has swung wildly in 2022, pushing prominent crypto firms into bankruptcy—and leaving many investors poorer. For a look at the state of the industry, and where it might be heading next, The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Dean spoke with Ravi Mhatre , founding partner of Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Sam Bankman-Fried , founder and chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, at The Wall Street Journal’s annual Tech Live conference. Here are edited excerpts of the conversation.

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