All posts tagged: firm

Pope Leo XIV affirms celibacy for priests, demands ‘firm’ action on sex abuse

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[ad_1] ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV affirmed Wednesday that priests must be celibate and insisted that bishops take “firm and decisive” action to deal with sex abusers, as he gave marching orders Wednesday to the world’s Catholic hierarchs. Leo met in St. Peter’s Basilica with about 400 bishops and cardinals from 38 countries attending this week’s special Holy Year celebrations for clergy. A day after he gave an uplifting message of encouragement to young seminarians, Leo offered a more comprehensive outline of what bishops must do to lead their flocks. It’s an issue the former Cardinal Robert Prevost would have long pondered given his role as the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Bishops. In that job from 2023 until his election in May, the Chicago-born Prevost vetted bishop nominations for Pope Francis, identifying the type of leader who would further Francis’ view of a church where all are welcome and dialogue is the decisive form of governance. History’s first American pope reaffirmed Wednesday that the primary role of bishops is to forge unity …

A Chinese firm has just launched a constantly changing set of AI benchmarks

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[ad_1] Development of the benchmark at HongShan began in 2022, following ChatGPT’s breakout success, as an internal tool for assessing which models are worth investing in. Since then, led by partner Gong Yuan, the team has steadily expanded the system, bringing in outside researchers and professionals to help refine it. As the project grew more sophisticated, they decided to release it to the public. Xbench approached the problem with two different systems. One is similar to traditional benchmarking: an academic test that gauges a model’s aptitude on various subjects. The other is more like a technical interview round for a job, assessing how much real-world economic value a model might deliver. Xbench’s methods for assessing raw intelligence currently include two components: Xbench-ScienceQA and Xbench-DeepResearch. ScienceQA isn’t a radical departure from existing postgraduate-level STEM benchmarks like GPQA and SuperGPQA. It includes questions spanning fields from biochemistry to orbital mechanics, drafted by graduate students and double-checked by professors. Scoring rewards not only the right answer but also the reasoning chain that leads to it. DeepResearch, by contrast, …

3 Arts Entertainment Acquires Olivia Metzger’s OManagement Firm

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[ad_1] The management and production firm 3 Arts Entertainment is getting into the news business. 3 Arts is acquiring OManagement, the talent management firm founded by CAA and NBC veteran Olivia Metzger. Metzger will become partner and co-head of 3 Arts’ New York office. OManagement specializes in working with news, journalism, and personality-driven talent, with a client list that includes Today anchor Craig Melvin, Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner and NBC News contributor Steve Kornacki, among others. The addition of OManagement comes amid a shifting landscape for news, journalism and opinion programming and content. The emergence of Substack, newsletters, audio and video podcasts and other platforms means that both journalists and opinionated hosts have more options than ever when it comes to figuring out where they ply their craft, even as traditional TV channels continue to slowly shrink. The acquisition marks a big move into news for the Lionsgate-controlled 3 Arts, which has traditionally been focused on entertainment management and production, with clients like Tina Fey and Mike Judge …

Five features of the Corporate Law Firm of the Year

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[ad_1] With nominations for the upcoming South Coast Deals Awards 2025 now in full swing, we’re once again gearing up to spotlight the region’s most accomplished corporate law professionals. Sponsored by Meridian Corporate Finance, the title of Corporate Law Firm of the Year will be presented to the firm that has had the most significant impact on completion of deals within the region. Our independent judges will take numerous factors into consideration when selecting our worthy winner. But, with so many incredible firms operating throughout the region, how can you be sure that you’re giving yourself the best possible chance of lifting that coveted trophy when filling in your nomination form? Here are five features you should highlight when vying to become the Corporate Law Firm of the Year: Proven Deal-Making Excellence The winning firm will be one that consistently advises on high-value transactions, possibly including mergers, acquisitions, and private equity deals. Their track record should reflect a deep understanding of complex corporate structures, and a commitment to delivering successful outcomes for clients. Strong Regional …

Former Intel CEO Gelsinger joins religious-oriented tech firm Gloo for AI push 

Published by Sam

[ad_1] SAN FRANCISCO : Gloo, a Boulder, Colorado-based firm that offers technology tools to Christian churches and other faith groups, said on Monday that Pat Gelsinger is joining the firm as its head of technology and executive chairman, where he will help the group develop AI tools such as virtual assistants and chatbots. Gelsinger is the former CEO of both chipmaker Intel and Broadcom-owned VMware. Gelsinger left Intel last year after a clash with its board over his turnaround plans. Gelsinger’s job at Gloo will be his first operational role since leaving Intel. Gelsinger, a lifelong Christian who has helmed a group in the San Francisco Bay area working to expand church membership in the area for more than decade, previously served on Gloo’s board as non-executive chairman since 2018. Founded in 2013, Gloo last year raised $110 million in growth financing for an AI push. It is developing chatbots with a “safe search” option and answers grounded in the Christian Bible. Gelsinger will oversee Gloo’s product and engineering efforts. “Technology has the power to connect, …

Ryan Reynolds Buys Back Maximum Effort Marketing Firm, Merges Studio

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[ad_1] Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey’s Maximum Effort businesses have been reunited. The Maximum Effort film and TV studio is re-merging with the brand marketing company that was previously sold to the advertising platform MNTN in 2021, a source familiar with the transaction tells The Hollywood Reporter. The deal will see MNTN and Maximum Effort continue to work together via a services agreement, and Reynolds will continue to work as chief creative officer for MNTN. “4 years ago when Maximum Effort Marketing became a part of MNTN, we along with MNTN always contemplated a day when our marketing arm would rejoin Maximum Effort Productions as an independent entity,” a spokesperson for Maximum Effort says. “The original agreements were drafted specifically with this in mind because it’s important for us to maintain our creative freedom. So while we’re structurally going forward as separate entities, the reality is MNTN and Maximum Effort have grown together and will continue our amazing creative partnership. We will remain in lock step with Ryan Reynolds maintaining his role as Chief Creative …

Securities Law Firm Announces ‘Investigation’ of Soho House

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[ad_1] Securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP (BFA) announced Friday that it is investigating Soho House, its board of directors, and its controlling stockholders for potential breaches of fiduciary duty. The news comes after the private members’ club announced in December that it recieved a buyout offer from an unnamed third party. This isn’t the first time a law firm has announced an investigation of Soho House. New York’s Fields Kupka & Shukurov (FKS) announced a similar investigation last month. Last year, Boston law firm Block & Leviton said that it was initiating an investigation of Soho House for “potential securities violations” after Wall Street research firm Glass House released a scathing report likening Soho House to WeWork, saying the former has a “broken business model” and “terrible accounting.” (Soho House disputed the findings, claiming they contained “factual inaccuracies, analytical errors, and false and misleading statements.”) Also last year, Philadelphia firm Kaskela Law and Los Angeles’ Schall Law Firm, which both specialize in shareholder rights, announced their own investigations in February and June respectively. Related Articles It’s important …

Hong Kong’s M+ and New York’s MoMA Firm Up Ties

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[ad_1] After a year of discussions, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and M+ in Hong Kong, a contemporary art museum in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon arts district, have formalized an agreement that could soon see them share shows, research, and donor development resources. The agreement marks MoMA’s first collaboration of this type with a major institution based in Asia. It’s set to cover six areas, including from curatorial and conservation research, staff training, and the co-organization of future exhibitions. In a ceremony on Wednesday at MoMA held to announce the partnership, officials overseeing M+ and the West Kowloon Arts District Authority (WCKDA), a government body that raises funding to operate it, said that institutions of M+’s size are navigating rising operational costs. They’re also facing difficulty bringing in the same amount of visitors that they did pre-pandemic. Related Articles The agreement is part of a broader effort by the WKCDA to grow its network of international partners, which have now reached more than 20 other museums globally. Last March, during a cultural …

Bristol law firm Barcan+Kirby appoints legal director

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[ad_1] Growing Bristol law firm Barcan+Kirby has appointed its first legal director – Nic Barker. Barker is a corporate solicitor and specialises in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with a focus on owner-managed businesses. READ MORE: Walker Family Law grows presence in Bristol She will work from the firm’s Bristol city centre office alongside partners Georgina Bryant and Robert Davenport. She originally trained and worked in London as a solicitor before taking time out of the law to run her own business. Six years ago, she came back to Bristol to work as a finance and corporate lawyer. Barker said: “I am looking forward to working with the team at Barcan+Kirby and getting to know the firm’s clients and their businesses. There is a great team spirit, and I am sure we will go from strength to strength!” With five offices across Bristol and South Gloucestershire, the firm provides services for individuals and businesses within the South West and nationwide. The team has doubled in the last year due to growth and with Barker’s expertise, it …