Claudia Lin, an online dating detective in the age of AI, is hunting once again through a dark cybersphere of tech systems in “The Rivals,” the second novel in a new mystery series by Jane Pek.
Pek, who introduced Claudia in her 2022 debut book, “The Verifiers,” has given the mystery genre fresh trappings — a vivid New York City landscape of chatbots and apps that can create chaos or sniff out fraud, and a delightfully plucky new sleuth, who is in her mid-20s, Asian American and gay.
In “The Rivals,” Claudia and Becks Rittel are the co-owners of the fact-checking firm Veracity. It’s a tiny business — it only has one other employee, the unkempt gamer Squirrel — but helps clients of giant matchmaking platforms make sure the strangers they meet for dates are not unscrupulous liars or worse.
“The Rivals” opens with a couple of customers from online meet-up sites seeking different kinds of assistance. One wants Veracity to make sure his new lady friend, the charming Amalia Suarez, is all she claims to be; the other, Pradeep Mehta, anxiously asks for help taking down a false online gay-dating profile that could ruin his life.
Claudia takes on both projects, despite Becks’ protests and disparagement. A curt, tough-minded colleague in her mid-30s, Becks is nicknamed the “Blonde Assassin.” In short order, both cases present Claudia with false turns, odd developments and scary possibilities. These twists make “The Rivals” a modern mystery unfolding amid synthetic culprits — cyberworld bots known as “synths” — that can wreck real lives.
Pek adds a few vital human ingredients to the story’s digital mix. One is Claudia’s striving but dysfunctional family. Her siblings, Charles and Coraline, and their irritable mother are introduced in an early chapter as they gather in the West Village for a meal celebrating the Chinese New Year. Coraline’s beau is there, too. Their father is out of the picture. A celebration the meal is not, but the Lin family fracas adds sparks to the narrative throughout.
Pek also makes neighborhoods and go-to sites of Manhattan, Brooklyn and other city environs an integral and appealing part of the story. Claudia, for example, plays Ultimate frisbee in Prospect Park and takes the reader on her many rendezvous, from the touristy High Line to a bike path through Fort Washington Park.
Claudia’s sexuality is not a central tug-of-war plot issue. But it does give an edgy lift to the story line when Claudia, as the novel’s narrator, notes the inner romantic tingles set off in her by others.
Pek writes with wit and AI savvy. At times “The Rivals” unfolds with so much tech-heavy dialogue that it can be hard to follow. But Claudia is a winning new entry in the field of modern serial detectives. “The Rivals” hints that she has more work in store. With the freshness of Pek’s staging of online love and death, a third entry in the series will be welcome.
New Sporting Lisbon manager Joao Pereira led his side to a dominant first win
Reported Man United target Viktor Gyokeres also contributed to the goalfest
Will Ruben Amorim be Man United’s saviour? LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Available wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes every Monday and Thursday
By YASEEN ZAMAN
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Sporting Lisbon won by a mammoth score in their first game since Ruben Amorim left to join Man United, beating Amarante FC 6-0 in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal.
The league leaders, now managed by Joao Pereira, continued their perfect domestic record in Portugal with 14 wins in as many games.
United target Viktor Gyokeres played a hand in the goalfest, converting from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to score Sporting’s last goal of the game.
The Swede has now netted 24 times in 17 games, as the rumours about his future ramp up ahead of the January transfer window.
Ruben Amorim promised not to raid his former side at the turn of the year, but Gykores’ stellar form may earn him a lucrative summer contract offer from one of Europe’s elites if he continues this level of performance.
Former Spurs winger Marcus Edwards opened the scoring in the 10th minute, marking the start of Sporting’s new era.
Ruben Amorim joined his Man United squad on November 11 after leaving Sporting Lisbon
Viktor Gyokeres continued his stellar form in front of goal, scoring again in tonight’s 6-0 win
Former Sporting Lisbon player Joao Pereira succeeded Amorim as their new boss until 2027
After a solo run, he cut onto his right foot, wrong footing his defender, and perfectly curling the ball into the far corner from about 16 yards out.
Five minutes later, Ricardo Esgaio tapped in from close range to double the lead before Conrad Harder converted a one-on-one to make it 3-0 in the 28th minute.
Edwards secured his brace on the stroke of half-time, while Trincao and Gyokeres added two more goals in the second half to cap off a dream start for the new manager.
Sporting have now scored 59 goals and conceded just nine this season, as Amorim left his former side in excellent shape across all competitions; the Portuguese giants are also undefeated in Europe.
They sit second in the Champions League table, their record only being eclipsed by Arne Slot’s all-conquering Liverpool team.
Pereira’s squad now turn to Tuesday night where they face another massive challenge – hosting Arsenal in the Champions League.
Manchester UnitedRuben Amorim
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Ruben Amorim’s replacement makes PERFECT start to life at Sporting Lisbon as Portuguese champions SMASH rivals in 6-0 rout… and Man United target Viktor Gyokeres is on target again!
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Building the current crop of artificial intelligence chatbots has relied on specialized computer chips pioneered by Nvidia, which cornered the market and made itself the poster child of the AI boom.
But the same qualities that make those graphics processor chips, or GPUs, so effective at creating powerful AI systems from scratch make them less efficient at putting AI products to work.
That’s opened up the AI chip industry to rivals who think they can compete with Nvidia in selling so-called AI inference chips that are more attuned to the day-to-day running of AI tools and designed to reduce some of the huge computing costs of generative AI.
“These companies are seeing opportunity for that kind of specialized hardware,” said Jacob Feldgoise, an analyst at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology. “The broader the adoption of these models, the more compute will be needed for inference and the more demand there will be for inference chips.”
It takes a lot of computing power to make an AI chatbot. It starts with a process called training or pretraining — the “P” in ChatGPT — that involves AI systems “learning” from the patterns of huge troves of data. GPUs are good at doing that work because they can run many calculations at a time on a network of devices in communication with each other.
However, once trained, a generative AI tool still needs chips to do the work — such as when you ask a chatbot to compose a document or generate an image. That’s where inferencing comes in. A trained AI model must take in new information and make inferences from what it already knows to produce a response.
GPUs can do that work, too. But it can be a bit like taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
“With training, you’re doing a lot heavier, a lot more work. With inferencing, that’s a lighter weight,” said Forrester analyst Alvin Nguyen.
That’s led startups like Cerebras, Groq and d-Matrix as well as Nvidia’s traditional chipmaking rivals — such as AMD and Intel — to pitch more inference-friendly chips as Nvidia focuses on meeting the huge demand from bigger tech companies for its higher-end hardware.
D-Matrix, which is launching its first product this week, was founded in 2019 — a bit late to the AI chip game, as CEO Sid Sheth explained during a recent interview at the company’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California, the same Silicon Valley city that’s also home to AMD, Intel and Nvidia.
“There were already 100-plus companies. So when we went out there, the first reaction we got was ‘you’re too late,’” he said. The pandemic’s arrival six months later didn’t help as the tech industry pivoted to a focus on software to serve remote work.
Now, however, Sheth sees a big market in AI inferencing, comparing that later stage of machine learning to how human beings apply the knowledge they acquired in school.
“We spent the first 20 years of our lives going to school, educating ourselves. That’s training, right?” he said. “And then the next 40 years of your life, you kind of go out there and apply that knowledge — and then you get rewarded for being efficient.”
The product, called Corsair, consists of two chips with four chiplets each, made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — the same manufacturer of most of Nvidia’s chips — and packaged together in a way that helps to keep them cool.
The chips are designed in Santa Clara, assembled in Taiwan and then tested back in California. Testing is a long process and can take six months — if anything is off, it can be sent back to Taiwan.
D-Matrix workers were doing final testing on the chips during a recent visit to a laboratory with blue metal desks covered with cables, motherboards and computers, with a cold server room next door.
While tech giants like Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft have been gobbling up the supply of costly GPUs in a race to outdo each other in AI development, makers of AI inference chips are aiming for a broader clientele.
Forrester’s Nguyen said that could include Fortune 500 companies that want to make use of new generative AI technology without having to build their own AI infrastructure. Sheth said he expects a strong interest in AI video generation.
“The dream of AI for a lot of these enterprise companies is you can use your own enterprise data,” Nguyen said. “Buying (AI inference chips) should be cheaper than buying the ultimate GPUs from Nvidia and others. But I think there’s going to be a learning curve in terms of integrating it.”
Feldgoise said that, unlike training-focused chips, AI inference work prioritizes how fast a person will get a chatbot’s response.
He said another whole set of companies is developing AI hardware for inference that can run not just in big data centers but locally on desktop computers, laptops and phones.
Better-designed chips could bring down the huge costs of running AI to businesses. That could also affect the environmental and energy costs for everyone else.
Sheth says the big concern right now is, “are we going to burn the planet down in our quest for what people call AGI — human-like intelligence?”
It’s still fuzzy when AI might get to the point of artificial general intelligence — predictions range from a few years to decades. But, Sheth notes, only a handful of tech giants are on that quest.
“But then what about the rest?” he said. “They cannot be put on the same path.”
The other set of companies don’t want to use very large AI models — it’s too costly and uses too much energy.
“I don’t know if people truly, really appreciate that inference is actually really going to be a much bigger opportunity than training. I don’t think they appreciate that. It’s still training that is really grabbing all the headlines,” Sheth said.
World Rugby’s new chairman, Brett Robinson, has outlined his urgent mission to tackle the sport’s acute financial crisis, after narrowly winning the vote to succeed Sir Bill Beaumont.
The former Australia flanker became the first elected figurehead of the global governing body from the southern hemisphere, by edging out ex-France captain Abdelatif Benazzi 27-25 in the second round of voting.
As expected, it had become a two-horse race when the Italian candidate, Andrea Rinaldo, was eliminated after gaining just nine votes in the first round, compared to 22 for Robinson and 21 for Benazzi.
Having come through the tense, tight ballot at a luxury hotel here in the Irish capital, the 54-year-old victor spoke about his pride and pressing priorities.
‘It’s a great privilege and honour to be elected to chair World Rugby,’ said Robinson. ‘I was honoured to be put up, but to have the game come and support me is fabulous.
‘Work starts today. There are a list of things that (World Rugby’s) Council want from me, having elected me, and I’ve got to start looking at those in some detail.
Brett Robinson has seen off the competition to become the new World Rugby chairman
Robinson (second-right) will replace outgoing Sir Bill Beaumont (second-left) in the role
The result was a disappointment for former French star Abdelatif Benazzi who expected to win
‘I was very clear leading into the elections that the financial sustainability of our member unions is at crisis point, so we have to find ways, collectively, to deal with that. I was really clear about the need to grow the game, while ensuring our core markets are in a good place.
‘I was clear about the competitions that matter to us – the Nations Championship getting off the ground, the women’s game continuing to grow, and our platform around the Sevens being reset after the Olympics. I was also really clear about listening to our fans.
‘There is not enough ball in play, too much senseless kicking, and we’re not promoting teams to attack. Finally, World Rugby as an organisation has been in the professional era for about 30 years.
‘Now, we’ve got so much to think about as an organisation, what our priorities are, and how we can be fit, lean, and ready to deliver.’
The perception going into the election was that Robinson was a status quo candidate while Benazzi was more focused on overseeing an era of global expansion.
Asked if his aim was to reinforce the game’s core unions and nations rather than targeting new markets, Robinson added: ‘We’ve done some great work in the past few months bringing our top unions together.
‘There are revenue and cost levers we can play with. We did a workshop four weeks ago, and last night the CEOs and chairs of the major unions came together as a follow-on from that. We’re into some detail about those things now.’
This was not only a satisfactory outcome for Australia, it also represented a perfect result for the RFU, who have been able to maintain English influence at the top of World Rugby.
Robinson drew attention to the Rugby Sevens platform being ‘reset’ after the Olympics
He also vowed to assist the women’s game as it ‘continued to grow’ in popularity
The result is good news for the RFU as it maintains English influence at the top of rugby
Former England full-back Jonathan Webb will serve as vice-chairman after being elected to the executive board, after the RFU strongly and openly backed Robinson’s campaign.
Benazzi had been confident of victory in the chairman election and as he hurried to leave the hotel after his agonising defeat, he lamented the decision by Rugby Africa to cast their two votes in favour of Robinson.
The Morocco-born candidate had evidently expected to be supported by the region whose leading nation, South Africa, were staunchly supportive of Benazzi’s bid for the lead role.
Shortly after the voting concluded, the president of Rugby Africa, Herbert Mensah – a Ghanaian businessman and sports administrator – could be seen posing for selfies with Robinson. It emerged that Mensah had been voted on to the new executive board.
Another man hoping to gain one of those coveted seats at the top table was former Argentina captain Agustin Pichot, who had narrowly lost the previous chairman election to Beaumont in 2020. However, the popular Pumas legend missed out, as did the president of Rugby South America, Sebastian Pineyrua.
Edu Gaspar (right) alongside Mikel Arteta and Executive Vice-Chair Tim Lewis (Picture: Getty Images)
Arsenal sporting director Edu is to leave in a huge blow for the Gunners, set to join Evangelos Marinakis’ group of clubs which includes Nottingham Forest.
The Brazilian rejoined the club he used to play for from 2001-05 in 2019 as technical director and stepped up to sporting director in November 2022.
The Daily Mail report that talks have been held between Edu and the Arsenal hierarchy but the Brazilian has decided to move on.
The Independent have since reported that he is making a surprise move to link up with the Marinakis network of Forest, Oympiacos and Rio Ave.
The unexpected move is reportedly driven by Edu wanting to become CEO at Arsenal and being offered that position at the Marinakis-owned group.
Edu was alongside Mikel Arteta in September as the Spaniard signed a new contract with the club and spoke about the long-term future under the manager.
Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis has pulled off a huge coup by attracting Edu (Picture: Getty Images)
‘We are really happy that Mikel has signed a new long-term contract,’ said the Brazilian.
‘It’s a very positive and proud moment for everyone at the club and an important part of what we’re all working towards.
‘Mikel has shown his qualities since the very first day he joined us, not only as a football manager, but as a person with wonderful values.
Edu has been a key figure at Arsenal over the last five years (Picture: Getty Images)
‘It’s a very positive and proud moment for everyone at the club and an important part of what we’re all working towards.
‘Mikel has shown his qualities since the very first day he joined us, not only as a football manager, but as a person with wonderful values.’
Edu spoke over the summer with Men In Blazers about his strategy and how he has had to make ‘unpopular decisions’ to achieve success.
‘When you live in the football world, sometimes you have to make decisions simple and sometimes you have to make decisions even if it is not popular,’ he said.
Mikel Arteta and Edu appear to have enjoyed a close working relationship (Picture: Getty Images)
‘You have to be very strong on your ideas, what you believe, what is good for the club, what is good for the future of the club.
‘For me, there are some elements in football which I will always give a lot of attention. When I joined, I looked at the squad balance, the positions, the age of the group. There are three elements that you have to be really aware of.
‘First of all, we have to see the age of the player. Then you have to see the salary of the player. And third you have to see the performance of the player.
‘If you have a player over 26 or 27 years, you need attention. If his salary is high, you need attention. And if he is not performing, you are dead.
‘Let’s come back… If you have a player, 27 years old or 28, on a big salary, but he is performing, you can accept it. What you cannot accept is if you have those three elements and the player is over 28.
‘You start to become uncomfortable and it is better for you to move them on – because maybe this player is blocking someone younger, an asset who could help you.
Edu won two Premier League titles with Arsenal as a player (Picture: Getty Images)
‘When I came to Arsenal, I saw all the squad, with respect, almost everyone was over 26, 27, on big salaries and not performing. If you have those three elements, which club in the world wants to come here and buy one of our players? No-one.
‘So how do you deal with that situation? You have to be strong and sometimes you have to make decisions. You can go strong and try to let those players go or your project is going to take, instead of three or four years, maybe seven, eight or nine.
‘Then unpopular decisions started to come. Because most of the players that have those elements, they have a fanbase and a media that love them. But for the club it is not healthy sometimes to keep the player in that situation.
‘When I started I saw every single player in the squad with those three characteristics. Then I said: “Guys, we have to clean this squad, with all my respect, to build a new foundation here. From that foundation, we need to sign younger players, on lower salaries, with better futures, who are hungry to take us where we want to go.’
CLEMSON — There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Clemson may miss the College Football Playoff.
Louisville (6-3, 4-2 ACC) upset the No. 8 Tigers (6-2, 5-1 ACC) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, winning 33-21. Entering Saturday, the Tigers had won 22 consecutive home night games since 2013, the nation’s second-longest active streak. Despite coming off an open date, Clemson played out of sync on offense, defense and special teams, and the Cardinals walked into Memorial Stadium and took it over.
“There’s no excuses. None,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Ain’t got nothing to do with it. I just flat out got my butt outcoached today.”
Clemson was a virtual lock in CFP projections to end its three-year absence with it favored to win its remaining games. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Tigers entered the Louisville game with an 18.1% chance to win the ACC, the third-highest, and a 30.8% chance of making the 12-team CFP, second-highest in the conference.
Saturday’s home loss to an unranked opponent, however, will dramatically reduce those percentages. For Clemson potentially to land one of the seven at-large bids, it needed to keep winning. A key reason is how its schedule stacks up compared to the other top teams in FBS. Clemson’s strength of schedule ranked 75th out of 134 schools heading into the Louisville game. Now, it must hope top ranked teams lose.
The Tigers were the masters of their fate to make the ACC championship for a chance to land an automatic playoff berth. But, with their loss and Miami (9-0, 5-0) and SMU (8-1, 5-0) winning Saturday, Clemson will need help from other conference teams to have a chance to win the ACC.
“We don’t control our own destiny anymore,” Swinney said. “That’s incredibly disappointing part because we were in control coming in, and now we’re not.”
Clemson was put in this situation through its overall play on Saturday. Its offense was off, starting the game with two three-and-outs. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, who threw a career-high 56 passes, was rattled early and did not hit on explosive plays. The Tigers had only two completions for more than 15 yards.
WHAT HAPPENED?:Clemson will miss College Football Playoff, more overreactions vs Louisville
Louisville gashed the Tigers’ defense on the ground, rushing for 210 yards with three touchdowns. Three defensive lineman exited the game with injuries, including Peter Woods, but it was an abysmal performance by the unit.
Clemson’s special teams struggled, too. Freshman kicker Nolan Hauser had two field goals blocked, and the Tigers gave up a punt return touchdown that was overturned because of a penalty.
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season will be released Tuesday, and Clemson may not crack the top 20 because of its showing Saturday. Still, the team is confident it can rebound to become a playoff-caliber team.
“I think anything can happen,” Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik said. “Our next goal is going up to Virginia Tech and winning that game.”
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
The college volleyball season was further plunged into the debate over transgender athletes this week as video emerged of San Jose State University’s Blaire Fleming sending a ferocious spike off an opponent’s face.
Fleming, a redshirt senior who is reportedly transgender, has been cited as the reason four schools have forfeited matches against San Jose State this season due to reported safety concerns.
The incident took place on the SJSU campus with the San Diego State Aztecs leading the Spartans 22-12 in the second set. It was then that Fleming was set up by teammate Brooke Slusser before rocketing a spike off the face of San Diego State’s Keira Herron.
‘Keira Herron has some pink in her hair and her face is starting to look like she’s matching that as obviously she took the contact,’ one announcer said in the video, which has since gone viral.
Remarkably, Herron kept the play alive, albeit only momentarily before the point ultimately went to the Spartans. And what’s more, she was even laughing afterwards while appearing to tell a teammate that she was ‘fine.’
Fleming (circled) took a set from teammate Brooke Slusser before spiking the ball
SDSU’s Keira Herron took a spike off the face, but laughed it off and said she was ‘fine’
SJSU’s Blaire Fleming (pictured) has not come out publicly as transgender
‘Gotta feel a little embarrassed as she tries to laugh off that last ball,’ the announcer added.
San Jose State would go on to lose in straight sets (25-21, 25-18, 25-19), falling to 9-2 on the season.
But it’s not the Spartans descent in the Mountain West standings that sparked outrage online. Instead it was the presence of Fleming, who continues to face online criticism.
‘SJSU’s male player, Blaire Fleming blasts another strike to the face of a female opponent in tonight’s match up with [San Diego State],’ read a post from the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS).
‘Come on NCAA, Ban the Man from women’s volleyball,’ read one comment, of which there were hundreds.
‘Taking the spots and scholarships of women isn’t kind and if they win, it is quite meaningless because of the advantages,’ another commenter wrote. ‘Don’t confuse kindness and fairness.’
SJSU coach Todd Kress addressed the controversy after Thursday’s loss, revealing that the team has received a significant amount of hate mail.
‘Concentrating on what we can do on the court has, quite frankly, been very tough lately,’ he said, as quoted by mynbc15.com. ‘There have been outside forces who have sought to divide our team, our university, our conference and our sport. I know it’s been weighing on the players in our locker room who have put in years of hard work.’
Asked about the hate mail, Kress said ‘some of it, to be honest, is disgusting.’
‘I’m more worried about our student-athletes and what they receive and how that’s impacting their mental health,’ he continued.
‘We have an incredible group of young women who are trying to put the controversy aside. I just have faith that we’ll eventually be able to put the outside noise aside and be able to play for each other and find love for one another again.’
Fleming (bottom left) is pictured with her San Jose State University teammates
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-1, ranks third in the Mountain West in kills and second in points
ICONS has been central to the controversy surrounding Blaire, who was outed as transgender in a September article by OutKick.com. Fleming has been cleared by San Jose State to play for the SJSU women’s volleyball team for three seasons, joining in 2022.
The Mountain West Conference has been notified by ICONS about athletes’ safety concerns regarding Fleming, who was named in a federal lawsuit filed by the organization. Slusser, the SJSU player who set Fleming up for the aforementioned spike, has since joined that lawsuit.
One motion obtained by DailyMail.com claims that Slusser voiced concerns about safety to school officials. Furthermore, Slusser says she was told by the school to refrain from speaking about the gender identity of teammates.
San Jose State has thus far declined to address the gender identity of any of its players.
‘We are operating our program under the regulations of both the NCAA and the Mountain West Conference,’ read a statement provided to DailyMail.com last month. ‘Our student athletes are in full compliance with NCAA rules and regulations.
‘We will not address the gender identity of any student as they are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).’
Fleming, who stands 6-foot-1, currently ranks third in the Mountain West in kills and second in overall points.
Season 2 of Tulsa King brings more excitement to rural Oklahoma as Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, continues to build his criminal empire.
After being betrayed by his old mafia family in the first season, Dwight finds himself more confident than ever in running his operations alone. His 25-year prison sentence might have kept him away from the criminal world, but he remains sharp and ready to take on new challenges.
As Dwight begins to make progress, he faces new threats from the Kansas City mob. This powerful crime group is keen to take over Dwight’s rising empire, and a determined businessman is ready to seize control.
With his diverse and unconventional team by his side, Dwight must fight to protect his new Tulsa family and his old blood relatives. To complicate matters further, Dwight has unresolved issues waiting for him back in New York, adding another layer of tension to his already complex life.
Season 2 promises to be packed with drama, action, and twists. The new episodes will keep viewers on the edge of their seats as Dwight navigates these challenges and tries to secure his place in the criminal underworld.
In Tulsa King Season 2, Sylvester Stallone’s Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi faces new challenges as his criminal empire attracts rival threats and unresolved issues from New York. With a diverse cast including Martin Starr and Garrett Hedlund, the season promises intense drama and action as Dwight fights to protect his empire.
Sylvester Stallone as Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi
Sylvester Stallone returns as Dwight ‘The General’ Manfredi, a mob boss who has just been released from a lengthy prison sentence. After spending 25 years behind bars, Dwight is sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to start a new chapter. This move comes after feeling betrayed by his old mafia family, who seem to have turned their backs on him.
Dwight’s adjustment to life in Tulsa is not easy. He struggles with his new environment and deals with personal issues, including a broken marriage and a strained relationship with his daughter.
Despite these challenges, Dwight proves that his criminal skills are still intact. His new business ventures attract attention from rivals, and his operations quickly become a focal point for others looking to make a move in the area.
Stallone, known for his iconic roles in the Rocky franchise and as John Rambo in the First Blood series, brings his signature intensity to the role of Dwight. His performance in Tulsa King continues to showcase his remarkable ability to portray complex and dynamic characters.
Martin Starr as Bodhi
Martin Starr plays Bodhi, the owner of the High Plan Marijuana Dispensary in Tulsa. Bodhi is a seasoned businessman who finds his operation significantly impacted by Dwight’s involvement in the local marijuana trade. Initially, Bodhi sees Dwight as an outsider, but he soon realizes that Dwight’s presence brings new opportunities.
Bodhi becomes a mentor to Dwight, teaching him the ins and outs of the marijuana industry. Through Bodhi, Dwight learns how to maximize profits from the legalized marijuana business.
Cast from Tulsa King (Credit: Paramount+)
Martin Starr, known for his roles in Party Down, Spider-Man, and Superbad, brings his comedic talent and charm to the role of Bodhi, making him a memorable character in the series.
Jay Will as Tyson
Jay Will stars as Tyson, a cab driver with a quick wit and a touch of humor. On the surface, Tyson tries to match Dwight’s tough-guy persona, but underneath, he is a simple man who dreams of leaving his hometown. When Tyson becomes friends with Dwight, he is drawn into the high-stakes world of the mafia.
Tyson’s journey from an ordinary cab driver to a key player in Dwight’s criminal empire adds an intriguing layer to the story. Jay Will, who has also appeared in Evil and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, brings depth and relatability to Tyson’s character.
Max Casella as Armand Truisi
Max Casella portrays Armand Truisi, one of Dwight’s partners in Tulsa. Armand, a former soldier for the Invernizzi crime family, has a complicated history with Dwight. Initially, Armand is skeptical of Dwight’s ambitions, believing that any new arrival in the area is trouble.
Despite his reservations, Armand eventually joins Dwight’s growing team. Armand’s character adds a layer of complexity to Dwight’s operation, as he brings his own experiences and insights into the world of crime. Max Casella, known for his roles in Doogie Howser, M.D., and The Sopranos, adds a significant depth to the character of Armand.
Domenick Lombardozzi as Don Charles “Chickie” Invernizzi
Domenick Lombardozzi plays Don Charles “Chickie” Invernizzi, the feared underboss of the Invernizzi crime family. Chickie arrives in Tulsa when he hears about Dwight’s criminal activities. He quickly establishes himself as a formidable opponent, ready to challenge Dwight’s growing influence.
Cast from Tulsa King (Credit: Paramount+)
Chickie’s arrival intensifies the conflict, as he makes it clear that he is not to be trifled with. Lombardozzi, known for his roles in The Wire, Reacher, Power, and Boardwalk Empire, brings a commanding presence to the role, making Chickie a memorable antagonist.
Vincent Piazza as Vince Antonacci
Vincent Piazza stars as Vince Antonacci, a top capo in the Invernizzi crime family. Alongside Chickie, Vince comes to Tulsa to deal with Dwight and secure their interests in the area. Vince’s history with Dwight adds a personal edge to their conflict, as they have clashed before.
Piazza, known for his role as Lucky Luciano in Boardwalk Empire, brings a sense of toughness and intensity to Vince’s character. His performance adds depth to the ongoing struggle between Dwight and the Invernizzi crime family.
Andrea Savage as Stacy Beale
Andrea Savage plays Stacy Beale, an ATF agent from New York. Stacy’s jurisdiction includes the Anti-Terror Squad and O.C. Task Force, and she takes on the responsibility of addressing the threats posed by local militia groups targeting Dwight.
Stacy’s role becomes crucial as she relocates to the Oklahoma bureau to tackle these emerging dangers. Andrea Savage, known for her comedic roles in Step Brothers, You People, and Veep, brings a unique mix of humor and seriousness to her portrayal of Stacy Beale.
Garrett Hedlund as Mitch Keller
Garrett Hedlund stars as Mitch Keller, a former bull rider who turned to bar ownership after struggling with addiction. Mitch’s plans for a peaceful life are disrupted when Dwight arrives in Tulsa. Dwight quickly involves Mitch in his criminal activities, using his bar as a front for selling nitrous oxide.
Cast from Tulsa King (Credit: Paramount+)
Hedlund’s portrayal of Mitch reflects the character’s internal conflicts and struggles. Known for his roles in Troy, Triple Frontier, and The Marsh King’s Daughter, Hedlund adds depth to Mitch’s character and his interactions with Dwight.
Dana Delany as Margaret
Dana Delany plays Margaret, a wealthy equestrian who owns the impressive Fennario horse ranch. Margaret’s character is a symbol of stability and success, contrasting sharply with the chaos surrounding Dwight. Her involvement in the story adds an element of sophistication and elegance.
Delany, known for her roles in China Beach and Desperate Housewives, brings her acclaimed acting skills to the role of Margaret. Her character’s presence provides a grounding influence amidst the high-stakes drama of the series.
Tatiana Zappardino as Tina Manfredi
Tatiana Zappardino stars as Tina Manfredi, Dwight’s estranged daughter. The rift between Tina and her father began when Dwight went to prison, leading to a long period of estrangement. Tina’s story adds an emotional layer to Dwight’s character, highlighting the personal cost of his criminal lifestyle.
Zappardino, known for her role in Superstition and The Consultant, brings a compelling emotional depth to Tina’s character. Her interactions with Dwight offer a poignant look at the impact of his choices on his family.
Annabella Sciorra as Joanne Manfredi
Annabella Sciorra plays Joanne Manfredi, Dwight’s younger sister who lives in Brooklyn. Joanne’s role in the series provides insight into Dwight’s family background and adds another dimension to his character. Her presence connects the story to Dwight’s past and personal life.
Sciorra, a Brooklyn native herself, is known for her roles in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Jungle Fever. She also works as a producer, bringing a wealth of experience to her role in Tulsa King.
Neal McDonough as Cal Thresher
Neal McDonough joins the cast as Cal Thresher, a new character introduced in Season 2. Cal is a powerful businessman who holds significant influence in Tulsa. He is determined to protect his interests and make sure that anyone looking to stake a claim in the town must go through him.
Cast from Tulsa King (Credit: Paramount+)
McDonough, known for his roles in Band of Brothers, American Horror Story, and Yellowstone, brings his strong screen presence to the role of Cal. His character adds a new layer of intrigue and power dynamics to the series.
Rich Ting as Jackie Ming
Rich Ting stars as Jackie Ming, another new character in Season 2. Jackie is a calm and quiet figure with grand plans for the marijuana industry in Tulsa. Despite his unassuming demeanor, he has big ambitions and is not to be underestimated.
Ting, known for his work on NCIS: Los Angeles and the Korean drama Iris, brings his martial arts skills and acting talent to the role of Jackie Ming. His character’s involvement in the marijuana business adds a new role.
For most observers, it was proof of sport’s ability, if only for a fleeting moment, to bring people together – even when they live on opposite sides of one of the world’s most heavily armed borders.
But one of the most celebrated images of the Paris Olympics – a selfie taken by medal-winning table tennis players from either side of the divided Korean peninsula – appears to have landed the North Korea duo in trouble back home.
In a rare moment of Korean-style ping-pong diplomacy, the South Korean mixed doubles players Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin and the North Korean pairing Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jong-sik beamed as they posed for a selfie on the podium after receiving their bronze and silver medals at the South Paris Arena last month. The Chinese gold medallists, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, also appear in the photos.
One of the images was posted to the Games’ official Instagram site, where it drew hundreds of thousands of likes, while People magazine named it as one of the Olympics’ top 12 moments of sportsmanship in Paris.
But this week media reports claimed that Kim and Ri had been placed under “ideological scrutiny”. The Daily NK, a North Korea-focused website based in Seoul, quoted a high-ranking source in Pyongyang as saying that athletes and members of the North Korean Olympic Committee had been undergoing a month-long “ideological scrubbing” since returning home in mid-August – reportedly standard procedure for sportsmen and women who have been exposed to life outside the communist state.
The website reported the country’s athletes had been instructed not to interact with fellow competitors from other countries, including the South, and were warned that “fraternisers” could face punishment.
The table tennis players were reportedly singled out for criticism in a report submitted to officials for “grinning” as they posed alongside athletes from a country the regime has described as its “number one enemy”.
The selfie was snapped at a time of heightened tensions between the two Koreas, whose 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce but not a peace treaty. The North recently protested against joint military exercises involving the South Korean, US and Japanese forces, while growing cooperation between the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, and Russian president Vladimir Putin have caused alarm across the region.
It isn’t clear what, if any, sanctions the table tennis players could face. That, the Korea Times suggested, could depend on how much remorse they show for momentarily lowering their guard in Paris.
North Korean athletes returning from international competitions undergo a three-stage “ideological review” that ends with self-reflection sessions by team members, in which they are expected to criticise “inappropriate behaviour” among their teammates, as well as reflecting on their own actions, the Korea Times said.
The newspaper quoted a source as saying that heartfelt expressions of contrition can spare athletes “political or administrative punishments”, the nature of which is unclear.
Human Rights Watch said the reports “demonstrate the North Korean government’s efforts to control behaviour beyond its borders.
“The International Olympic Committee … has a responsibility to protect athletes from all forms of harassment and abuse, as set out in the Olympic Charter,” it said in a statement. “North Korean athletes should not fear retribution for actions at the Games, not least when their actions embody the values of respect and friendship, on which the Olympic movement is built.”
While Kim and Ri won a silver medal, other athletes have reportedly been punished for underperforming.
The Daily NK cited the case of the North Korean football team, who were knocked out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after losing all three of their group games and conceding 12 goals.
The players were reportedly subjected to a six-hour excoriation for “betraying” the communist nation’s ideological struggle, while their coach, Kim Jung-hun, was forced to work on a building site.
