Ex-OpenAI Engineer Who Raised Legal Concerns about AI He Helped Build Dies at 26

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Ex-OpenAI Engineer Who Raised Legal Concerns about AI He Helped Build Dies at 26

(Headline USA) Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

“We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” said a statement from OpenAI.

Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said “appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation.”

The city’s chief medical examiner’s office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a “happy, smart and brave young man” who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley.

He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

“Suchir’s contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn’t have succeeded without him,” said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji.

Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what made him such an exceptional engineer and scientist was his attention to detail and ability to notice subtle bugs or logical errors.

“He had a knack for finding simple solutions and writing elegant code that worked,” Schulman wrote. “He’d think through the details of things carefully and rigorously.”

Balaji later shifted to organizing the huge datasets of online writings and other media used to train GPT-4, the fourth generation of OpenAI’s flagship large language model and a basis for the company’s famous chatbot.

It was that work that eventually caused Balaji to question the technology he helped build, especially after newspapers, novelists and others began suing OpenAI and other AI companies for copyright infringement.

He first raised his concerns with the New York Times, which reported them in an October profile of Balaji.

He later told the Associated Press he would “try to testify” in the strongest copyright infringement cases and considered a lawsuit brought by the New York Times last year to be the “most serious.”

Times lawyers named him in a Nov. 18 court filing as someone who might have “unique and relevant documents” supporting allegations of OpenAI’s willful copyright infringement.

His records were also sought by lawyers in a separate case brought by book authors including the comedian Sarah Silverman, according to a court filing.

“It doesn’t feel right to be training on people’s data and then competing with them in the marketplace,” Balaji told the AP in late October. “I don’t think you should be able to do that. I don’t think you are able to do that legally.”

He told the AP that he gradually grew more disillusioned with OpenAI, especially after the internal turmoil that led its board of directors to fire and then rehire CEO Sam Altman last year. Balaji said he was broadly concerned about how its commercial products were rolling out, including their propensity for spouting false information known as hallucinations.

But of the “bag of issues” he was concerned about, he said he was focusing on copyright as the one it was “actually possible to do something about.”

He acknowledged that it was an unpopular opinion within the AI research community, which is accustomed to pulling data from the internet, but said “they will have to change and it’s a matter of time.”

He had not been deposed and it’s unclear to what extent his revelations will be admitted as evidence in any legal cases after his death. He also published a personal blog post with his opinions about the topic.

Schulman, who resigned from OpenAI in August, said he and Balaji coincidentally left on the same day and celebrated with fellow colleagues that night with dinner and drinks at a San Francisco bar.

Another of Balaji’s mentors, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, had left OpenAI several months earlier, which Balaji saw as another impetus to leave.

Schulman said Balaji had told him earlier this year of his plans to leave OpenAI and that Balaji didn’t think that better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence “was right around the corner, like the rest of the company seemed to believe.”

The younger engineer expressed interest in getting a doctorate and exploring “some more off-the-beaten path ideas about how to build intelligence,” Schulman said.

Balaji’s family said a memorial is being planned for later this month at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California, not far from his hometown of Cupertino.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

WATCH: New Orleans Musicians Gather for Jazz Funeral to Honor Pioneering Sax Player

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WATCH: New Orleans Musicians Gather for Jazz Funeral to Honor Pioneering Sax Player

(Headline USA) Blaring trumpets and joyful voices resounded in a New Orleans neighborhood this week as about 100 people marched in honor of John “Prince” Gilbert, a key member of innovative brass bands that have become an important part of the city’s music scene over the past several decades.

Gilbert, who died last weekend, played the saxophone for Rebirth Brass Band, which has been a favorite in New Orleans since the 1980s.

The band is known for preserving and growing the brass band heritage, combining genres including funk, soul and jazz to create their own sound. He also was part of the New Birth Brass Band.

He taught, and recorded with, his son Orlando, who organized Monday evening’s second line parade—so called because observers traditionally fall in behind the band and marchers to form a second parade line.

“He’s one of the innovators of New Orleans music, and he’s left an indelible mark on New Orleans culture and is and will always be a part of the history of New Orleans culture,” Orlando said of his father’s career.

“My father’s playing was the bedrock of my own musicianship,” he added.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Calif. Man Beheaded 1-Year-Old Son with a Knife, Authorities Say

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Calif. Man Beheaded 1-Year-Old Son with a Knife, Authorities Say

(Headline USA) A man has been arrested on suspicion of beheading his 1-year-old son, Northern California authorities said.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Friday that deputies responding to an early morning family disturbance call found a woman outside a home who told deputies that her husband Andrey Demskiy, 28, assaulted her and her mother.

Deputies forced their way into the house in northern Sacramento County when they learned Demskiy was inside with the boy.

As they took him into custody, they found a “severed child’s head” in the bedroom where Demskiy was detained.

Detectives said Demskiy used a knife to behead his son after his wife and mother-in-law left the house, according to the statement.

He was in custody and ineligible for bail, and was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

The sheriff’s department and the county public defenders office did not respond to emails seeking information on whether Demskiy had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Lara Trump Says She’s Removing Herself from Consideration to Be Florida’s U.S. Senator

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Lara Trump Says She’s Removing Herself from Consideration to Be Florida’s U.S. Senator

(Headline USA) Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, said Saturday that she’s removing herself from consideration to be a Florida senator—ending speculation that she could replace Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who has been tapped to be the incoming administration’s secretary of state.

“After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” Lara Trump posted on X.

However, it is unlikely to end speculations about her future political ambitions, with much speculation centered around a potential primary challenge to RINO Sen. Thom Tillis in her native North Carolina.

She promised a “big announcement to share in January.”

The decision comes weeks after Trump announced that she was stepping down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee, a move which raised questions about whether she might be vying for a Senate seat.

If Rubio is confirmed, his replacement—who would be chosen by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—would serve for two years until the next regularly scheduled election in 2026, which is also when Tillis will be up for reelection.

Speculation has previously centered on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s initial choice to oversee the Justice Department. Gaetz was replaced by former Floriday Attorney General Pam Bondi after criticism of a potential sex scandal under investigation in the House threatened to derail his confirmation. However, his appointment as a senator would, in one regard, be the ultimate rebuke of the disloyal Republican senators who signaled their refusal to consider his nomination.

Rep. Byron Donalds has also been floated, but is unlikely to get the initial nod due to the critical shortage of GOP lawmakers in the House, which threatens to give Democrats a majority if any more fall off before replacements to Gaetz, Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz can arrive—assuming they are Republicans.

Elected as RNC co-chair in March, Lara Trump was a key player in the GOP retaking the White House and control of the Senate, while maintaining  the narrow House majority. What she does next could shape Republican politics, given her elevated political profile and her ties to the incoming president.

The idea of placing a Trump family member in the Senate had been backed by some Republicans, including Maye Musk, mother of Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whom Trump has named co-head of a group tasked with reduce federal spending and regulations during his second term as president.

Rubio is expected to be swiftly confirmed to his new post by his Senate colleagues. DeSantis has said that Floridians are likely to know their next senator by the beginning of January.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Navy Pilots Shot Down over Red Sea in Reported ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident

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Navy Pilots Shot Down over Red Sea in Reported ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident

(Headline USA) Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis, despite U.S. and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from the Associated Press.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn’t specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.

From the military’s description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.

However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.

Conservative pundit Jack Posobiec, who served previously as a naval intelligence officer, called on Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Biden administration’s chief of naval operations, to resign immediately.

Since the Truman’s arrival, the U.S. has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the rebels, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.

On Saturday night and early Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the capital of Yemen that the Houthis have held since 2014. Central Command described the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility,” without elaborating.

Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, without offering any casualty or damage information. In Sanaa, strikes appeared particularly targeted at a mountainside known to be home to military installations. The Houthis later acknowledged the aircraft being shot down in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel—Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate U.S.- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump Threatens to Take Back the Panama Canal

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Trump Threatens to Take Back the Panama Canal

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) President-elect Donald Trump threatened Saturday evening that the U.S. would take back the Panama Canal if the crucial shipping route continues to be weaponized against American interests.

Trump blasted Panama for its persistent “rip-off” of the U.S. as costly charges are levied on use of the canal.

He wrote on Truth Social, “Panama Canal is considered a VITAL National Asset for the United States, due to its critical role to America’s Economy and National Security. A secure Panama Canal is crucial for U.S. Commerce, and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and drastically cuts shipping times to U.S. ports.”

The president-elect noted that the U.S. uses the Panama Canal more than any other country in the world, adding that more than 70 percent of all transits head to or from U.S. ports.

“Considered one of the Wonders of the Modern World, the Panama Canal opened for business 110 years ago, and was built at HUGE cost to the United States in lives and treasure – 38,000 American men died from infected mosquitos in the jungles during construction,” Trump added.

Trump warned that he is willing to reverse former President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 decision to “foolishly” give the Panama Canal away.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop…,” Trump wrote.

Panama’s tariffs on boats and ships to pass through the canal range from $0.50 to $300,00, according to its website.

“The United States has a vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal, and that was always understood. We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!” Trump continued in a second post.

Trump recalled that the Panama Canal was given to Panama “as a token of cooperation” with the U.S. and said he would demand it be returned if the country continues to take advantage of Americans.

“It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question. To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!” he said.

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

Leftist Cenk Uygur Calls for Democrats to ‘Revolt’ Against Pelosi, Biden

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Leftist Cenk Uygur Calls for Democrats to ‘Revolt’ Against Pelosi, Biden

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Cenk Uygur, founder of the leftist media network The Young Turks, called for a “revolt” against establishment Democrats such as President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when he spoke at America Fest on Saturday.

On the third day of the conservative Turning Point USA conference, Uygur received standing ovation from the mostly MAGA crowd in Phoenix, Arizona when he took the stage — an act that would have seemed nearly unthinkable for The Young Turks founder years ago.

Uygur, who has since unleashed on his own party following President-elect Donald Trump’s historic victory, told the audience that the Democrat Party should reject the old guard and welcome a populist candidate come 2028.

“I do have to give you guys credit for a revolution well done. And what I mean by that is not a revolution against the Democrat Party or the Left or the country, but a revolution against the establishment,” he said.

Uygur said he started to notice real change when Republicans started bashing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Boos erupted when The Young Turks founder asked, “What do you guys think of Mitch McConnell?”

He emphasized how the America Fest audience jeered McConnell in an attempt to get through to Democrats, calling it a “great thing.”

“My left-wing friends out there, we have been waiting for the right-wing populists to boo Mitch McConnell and Dick Cheney our whole lives. Take the win! Take the win,” Uygur said.

The Young Turks founder called for Democrats to follow in populist Republicans’ footsteps to reform their own political party.

“Now, what we need to do in the Democrat Party is we need to do it likewise. We need to have a revolt against the Joe Bidens, Kamala Harrises and the Nancy Pelosis,” Uygur said to applause. “And the Hillary Clintons, and now, all of a sudden, the Dick Cheneys.”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

Gold Star Families Forced to Wait Hours for Fallen Soldiers’ Bodies as Biden Took a Long Nap

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Gold Star Families Forced to Wait Hours for Fallen Soldiers’ Bodies as Biden Took a Long Nap

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Gold Star families were reportedly forced to wait three hours for the bodies of the 13 U.S. Marines killed in the botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021 as President Joe Biden napped on Air Force One, Daily Mail revealed Friday.

After the Wall Street Journal released a bombshell report detailing how the White House covered up Biden’s cognitive decline, multiple military families told the Daily Mail how staffers seemed to allow the doddering Democrat to prioritize catching z’s over honoring the victims of his administration’s disastrous decision.

“[Biden] made us wait an extra three hours to receive the bodies of our dead family members because he couldn’t pull it together,” Roice McCollum, sister of deceased U.S. servicemember Rylee McCollum, told the outlet.

On Aug. 26, 2021, a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up at the Kabul Airport, killing 13 U.S. servicemembers and more than 170 Afghans, according to the outlet. Biden was reportedly absent from planning his administration’s reckless decision to rush pulling out of Afghanistan, and the president’s apparent senility was on full display in his snub to grieving families.

Families were left waiting for Biden on the tarmac as well, Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Green, and Darin Hoover, the father of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, told the outlet. Both of their young family members were killed as a result of Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal.

“We sat in that office for what seemed like an eternity waiting on the doddering old fool,” Hoover reflected.

Roice said a military officer informed her and others waiting that Biden was sleeping on his plane, the Daily Mail reported.

She added that Biden “was far beyond a position where he should have been in office, but the powers that be covered it up. We were left in the dark – worse than that, we were blatantly lied to.”

The White House defended Biden’s power nap in a statement to the Daily Mail.

“That claim is untrue. As President Biden said on the 4th anniversary of the tragic accident on Abbey Gate and in the letters he wrote to family members after meeting with them in Dover, ‘these 13 Americans — and the many more that were wounded — were patriots in the highest sense’ and ’we owe them and their families a sacred debt we will never be able to fully repay, but will never cease working to fulfill,’” a White House spokesperson told the outlet.

Biden’s reported nap comes as no surprise considering the Democrat president was spotted sleeping on the job multiple times in the past. In early December, Biden appeared to nod off during a conference with African leaders.

In May, Sleepy Joe was seen appearing to nap at a Memorial Day service. In June, he apparently did the same during a D-Day commemoration event.

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

You’re Hired: Trump Taps Legendary TV Producer for Administration Role

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You’re Hired: Trump Taps Legendary TV Producer for Administration Role

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) President-elect Donald Trump tapped Mark Burnett, his former producer from The Apprentice Saturday to serve as special envoy to the United Kingdom.

Trump announced Burnett’s incoming appointment in a Truth Social post highlighting the television producer’s accomplishments in the entertainment business.

“It is my great honor to appoint Mark Burnett as the Special Envoy to the United Kingdom. With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to this important role,” Trump wrote.

Burnett was the force behind several popular reality TV shows, including Survivor, Shark Tank and The Voice. As producer of The Apprentice, Burnett helmed the program for more than ten years with Trump and bolstered the now-president-elect’s celebrity before his first bid for the White House.

“Mark is known for creating and producing some of the biggest shows in Television History, including Survivor, Shark Tank, The Voice and, most notably, The Apprentice. He is the former Chairman of MGM, and has won 13 Emmy Awards!” Trump acknowledged.

Many of the shows Burnett helped bring to television screens aired on NBC, including The Apprentice.

Burnett was previously the chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., a role he left in 2022 to focus on “independently creating and innovating,” according to Variety. The famous producer took home 13 Emmy Awards, 10 of which were for his primetime television shows.

“Mark will work to enhance diplomatic relations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, including trade, investment opportunities, and cultural exchanges,” Trump added. “Congratulations Mark!”

Burnett previously took aim at Trump’s first presidential bid in a statement slamming the Republican for “hatred, division and misogyny,” according to multiple reports from Oct. 2016.

At the time, The Apprentice producer reportedly said the following of the man he elevated to reality TV stardom: “Given all of the false media reports, I feel compelled to clarify a few points. I am not now and have never been a supporter of Donald Trump’s candidacy. I am NOT ‘Pro-Trump.’ Further, my wife and I reject the hatred, division and misogyny that has been a very unfortunate part of his campaign.”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and The American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

Liberal Host Begs Kamala to Stay Out of Politics in Viral Plea: ‘Do Not Run!’

Luis Cornelio
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Liberal Host Begs Kamala to Stay Out of Politics in Viral Plea: ‘Do Not Run!’

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Kamala Harris is getting no love from Ana Kasparian, a co-host on the leftist network The Young Turks. Kasparian urged the unpopular vice president to make her “way out” of politics and not run for governor of California in 2026. 

Kasparian made these blunt remarks during a viral segment of her show after co-host Cenk Uygur suggested that Harris would “win in a cakewalk” if she threw her name in the hat in the gubernatorial race. Kasparian reacted strongly, exclaiming: “No! No! What are you doing? What are you doing?” 

Uygur responded, “No, I’m telling you the reality, whether you like it or not. Democratic voters in California love to obey.” 

Kasparian was in disbelief at Uygur’s comments, saying, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! I’m going to move, Cenk. I’m going to quit my job. I’m going to quit my job, and I’m going to move.” 

Uygur clarified that he did not favor a Harris administration in California. “I’m telling you what’s like if they if the Democratic Party said, ‘We anoint Kamala Harris,’ a giant percentage of Democrats in California would go, ‘Yes, we obey. We will take the loyalty oath.’ It doesn’t matter how bad she is.” 

As a Californian resident, Kasparian has shared her harrowing experiences under the administration of leftist Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom cannot run for re-election as he is term-limited.

She said two homeless men once sexually assaulted her when she was walking her dog on the streets of California. After speaking out about her experiences, she faced backlash from leftist activists who accused her of damaging the image of homeless people. 

“Before I knew it, I started getting these messages, and it’s really, really harsh stuff, about how, ‘You are painting a picture of the homeless community. How could you be like this? These are your unhoused neighbors and they need help,’” Kasparian said during an interview.  

Reflecting on her experiences, Kasparian said on Friday that California “cannot survive another incompetent Democrat leading it. … No, we just can’t.” 

She further commented, “People are egging her on. Apparently, she’s like in a wait-and-see mode.” The liberal host then offered Harris some advice: “How about you wait-and-see your way out of public life and … go do what you’re supposed to do. Go work in the private sector, go do the lobbying thing, whatever it is. But do not run as governor of California. Do not!” 

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