Blackstone executive killed in Manhattan attack a 'kind, extraordinary' leader
The 43-year-old mother of two tried to duck for cover behind a pillar in the lobby of 345 Park Avenue, the skyscraper office building that is home to Blackstone's 2,000 New York-based staff, while a gunman sprayed bullets, people with knowledge of the shooting said.
LePatner's death was random. Neither she nor the firm, which invests more than $1.2-trillion (R21.4-trillion) in assets, was specifically targeted when 27-year-old Las Vegas resident Shane Tamura shot her and three others before killing himself, police told Blackstone executives.
'Beloved' was a word Blackstone executives and community leaders used to describe LePatner, a woman colleagues said had pushed into the rarefied circle of top Wall Street real estate executives traditionally dominated by men.

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The Citizen
4 hours ago
- The Citizen
Cops charged with kidnapping Chinese national out on bail
The officers each face charges of kidnapping, corruption and defeating the ends of justice. Two Gauteng police officers accused of unlawfully detaining and extorting a foreign national have been granted R1 000 bail each. Constable Gift Mncedi Nteso, 33, and reservist Constable Seipati Mofokeng, 39, appeared in the Vereeniging Magistrate's Court on Friday following their arrest on Tuesday. They allegedly detained a Chinese national at the Sharpeville police station and demanded R3 000 ransom from family members in order to secure the victim's release. They each face charges of kidnapping, corruption and defeating the ends of justice. Hawks investigates tip-off According to the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS), a senior police official informed the Vaal Rand-based Serious Corruption Investigation unit of the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) of the arrest. 'An investigation was immediately launched and verbal 252A authorisation (entrapment) was secured from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions in Pretoria to monitor the transaction,' JCPS said in a statement. ALSO READ: Former Northern Cape cop jailed for housebreaking Before Nteso and Mofokeng could collect the full amount, the Hawks were informed that a R1 000 payment had been made and the victim had been released. They allegedly released the Chinese national without filing any formal record of arrest at the police station. Police officers arrested at police station Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela said the investigating team went to the Sharpeville police station to execute the arrest. 'The two suspects were arrested after failing to provide satisfactory reasons as to why the Chinese national was arrested and released with no record,' Mavimbela said. Nteso and Mofokeng are expected to appear in court again on 1 September. NOW READ: Chinese nationals fined R400k for abalone worth almost R2m

IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
US tech titan earnings rise on AI as economy roils
AI. Global leaders have entered the AI race. Image: File Image: IOL Tech giants Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft this week eclipsed earnings expectations, cashing in on artificial intelligence (AI) while navigating economic waters roiled by US tariffs. "Massive results seen by Microsoft and Meta further validate the use cases and unprecedented spending trajectory for the AI Revolution on both the enterprise and consumer fronts," Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors. "We have barely scratched the surface of this 4th Industrial Revolution now playing out around the world led by the Big Tech stalwarts such as Nvidia, Microsoft, Palantir, Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon," Ives added. Amazon reported a 35 percent jump in quarterly profits as the e-commerce giant said major investments in AI technology are paying off. "Our conviction that AI will change every customer experience is starting to play out," said Chief Executive Andy Jassy, pointing to the company's expanded Alexa+ service and new AI shopping agents. But the Seattle-based company's profit outlook for the current quarter came in lower than hoped for, with investors worried that the cost of AI was weighing on the bottom line. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ This was despite a stellar second quarter that exceeded analyst expectations, much like it did for its AI-focused rivals Google, Microsoft and Meta, which posted bumper results for the period. Amazon's net sales climbed 13 percent, signaling that the company was so far surviving impacts of the high-tariff trade policy under US President Donald Trump. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's world-leading cloud computing division, led the charge with sales jumping 17.5 percent to $30.9 billion. Its strong performance reflects surging demand for cloud infrastructure to power AI applications, a trend that has benefited major cloud providers as companies race to adopt generative AI technologies. $4 trillion club Shares of Microsoft spiked Thursday following blowout quarterly results, lifting the tech giant into the previously unprecedented $4 trillion club along with Nvidia, another AI standout. The landmark valuation is the latest sign of growing bullishness about an AI investment boom that market watchers believe is still in the early stages -- even as companies like Microsoft plan $100 billion or more in annual capital spending to add new capacity. "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. At the heart of the results was a stunning surge in Azure, the company's cloud computing platform, which is getting "supercharged" with AI, said Angelo Zino, technology analyst at CFRA Research. Zino attributed "just about all of" Microsoft's recent climb in valuation to AI. Superintelligence? Meta reported robust second-quarter financial results Wednesday, with revenue jumping 22 percent year-over-year as the social media giant continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence. "We've had a strong quarter both in terms of our business and community," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. "I'm excited to build personal superintelligence for everyone in the world." Zuckerberg has embarked on a major AI spending spree, poaching top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple as he builds a team to pursue what he calls AI superintelligence. Hours before the earnings report, Zuckerberg insisted that the attainment of superintelligence -- technology that would theoretically be more powerful than the human brain -- is now "in sight." Meanwhile Apple, which is seen as lagging in the AI race, beat expectations with earnings driven by strong iPhone sales despite US tariffs costing the company $800 million in the recently-ended quarter. Apple expects Trump's tariffs to cost the iPhone maker $1.1 billion in the current quarter. "The results show that Apple's iPhone strategy is working to offset the impact of looming challenges with AI development timelines, tariff pressures, and Google's antitrust issues," said Emarketer tech analyst Jacob Bourne.


The South African
6 hours ago
- The South African
SA doctor struck off in UK for spiking patient's drink with semen
UK medical authorities have struck off a South African doctor, Nicholas Chapman, after finding that he put his semen into a woman's hot beverages. The 57-year-old, who studied at the University of Cape Town, committed the offences while practising in Somerset, England. According to The Mirror , Gloucester Crown Court found Chapman guilty of one count of sexual conduct without consent. The court sentenced him to a community order after evidence revealed that he had stored hundreds of semen samples and deliberately placed them in the victim's drinks. The victim told the court that she first noticed something was off when she drank a 'salty' coffee. After that, she began discarding the drinks and spotted a thick, gloopy substance left in the sink. 'I didn't know what it was. I didn't suspect it could have been semen at that point. He was bringing me drinks regularly, probably one to three cups of coffee a week,' she said. 'Since that occasion, I started tipping them away. I saw a strange substance in the sink each time, in different sizes and quantities. I've seen it at least six times. I haven't drunk anything since the first time.' The Somerset-based health facility suspended Chapman after the allegations came to light. He attempted to explain the presence of semen by claiming he suffered from a rare medical condition that caused him to release semen while defecating. Chapman insisted that someone else must have tampered with the cups as a prank. 'I don't know why someone used my sample like that, I don't know who did it or why,' he said in his defence. Despite his claims, the court found his conduct deliberate and sexually motivated, leading to his immediate removal from the UK's medical register. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.