For the second consecutive week, Eastern Kentucky University’s Marcus Calwise Jr. has been named the United Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Week. The honor comes after the wide receiver’s career day in the Colonels’ 21-15 win over North Alabama last Saturday. The freshman from Covington, Ga., recorded 99 receiving yards on five catches, including the game-winner, a 67-yard catch and run touchdown to give the Colonels the lead in the fourth quarter. Calwise Jr.’s touchdown was his fourth of the season and marked his third consecutive game with a score. The win extended EKU’s winning streak to five games and gave the Colonels a perfect 6-0 record at Roy Kidd Stadium this season. It is the first time EKU has gone undefeated at home since 2010. The freshman’s selection is the third time he has received the honor this season. The Colonels are set to return to action Saturday in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs where they will face No. 11-seeded Villanova in Pennsylvania. EKU’s Collins and Smith selected for Hula Bowl EKU offensive lineman Payton Collins and defensive back Mike Smith Jr. have been selected to participate in the Hula Bowl, event organizers recently announced. The Hula Bowl has been a premier college football all-star game since 1960 and is set to take place in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 11. At the bowl, the pair of Colonels will have a chance to impress scouts from every organization in the NFL, UFL, and CFL. Former Hula Bowl participants legendary players such as Reggie White, Brandon Marshall, Drew Brees, Dan Marino, Deon Sanders, Tony Dorsett, Eric Dickerson and more. The last Colonel to participate in the Hula Bowl was defensive lineman TK McLendon Jr., who has been with the Tennessee Titans since signing as a rookie free agent after the 2023 NFL Draft. Collins has started 55 games for the Colonels. He is a two-time captain, named ASUN offensive lineman of the year, two-time All-American and has been an Academic All-American. Smith Jr. has been a top defender for EKU since transferring in from Appalachian State in 2022. Another team captain, he has appeared in 33 games with seven interceptions, 149 tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. The Hula Bowl will be the first step in the NFL Draft process for the pair of Colonels who look to follow in the footsteps of Josiah Ezirim who was drafted out of EKU last season by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round.
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The mood in the Eagles' locker room was a bit more bleak than it should have been for a team riding a nine-game winning streak and celebrating a franchise rushing record. Former 1,000-yard receiver DeVonta Smith — who caught a touchdown pass and not much else — was exasperated at the offensive no-show. A.J. Brown, who holds a slew of team receiving records, had as much to offer in his sour postgame interview as he did on the field when he was held to four catches. This was the sullen attitude of a team still in the hunt for a top seed in the NFC? Here's the good news for the Philadelphia: Saquon Barkley rushed for 124 yards to break the Eagles season record , and Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in Sunday's 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Barkley's consistent brilliance aside, Hurts and the Eagles slogged through another rough offensive outing. “Everybody has a reason to want more,” Hurts said. The Eagles (11-2) maintained their position as the No. 2 team in the NFC, behind Detroit (12-1), after a mostly lethargic effort against the Panthers (3-10). Hurts’ passing numbers were a pedestrian 14 of 21 for 108 yards. Brown had four catches for 43 yards — and threw his helmet in anger after a three-and-out — and Smith had four catches for 37 yards. What do the Eagles need to improve on? “Passing,” Brown deadpanned. How tough was it for the receivers to find a rhythm? “Incredibly tough,” he said. Hurts didn't do enough to get Smith and Brown involved, one reason why the lowly Panthers stayed in striking distance until the final possession. He took four sacks. He held the ball too long as open receivers ran with their arms up trying to get their QB's attention. “I play my role in how we execute,” Hurts said. “But ultimately it's about what position we put ourselves in. It's not my choice.” That message will surely reverberate through coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's offices this week. “I think that’s fair that the questions are about our pass game right now,” Sirianni said. The Eagles at least had Barkley to bail them out. Barkley added another milestone in his MVP push when he used a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter to surpass LeSean McCoy's Eagles record of 1,607 yards, set in 2013. Barkley now has 1,623 yards with four games left. “How cool is it that we have a team rushing record in Week 13?” Sirianni said. Hurts had flashes of form, like when he hit Grant Calcaterra with a 4-yard TD pass and Barkley ran in the 2-point conversion for a 22-16 lead early in the fourth. Bryce Young gamely moved the Panthers into Eagles territory on the final drive. He completed a 13-yard pass on fourth down that moved the ball to the 38, and a second-down pass to Xavier Legette gave the Eagles a brief scare when the receiver seemed to have the ball in the end zone. He didn't. Young eluded a pass rush on fourth down but his final attempt was incomplete. He finished 19 of 34 for 191 yards. Panthers coach Dave Canales said Legette “absolutely” had to make the catch. “That’s a big play we’re counting on. He’d be the first one to tell you he’s got to make that play,” Canales said. “Bryce steps up, makes a beautiful throw in the situation. We had the coverage we wanted, all that. Those are the plays that we’ve just got to find a way to make for us to get back on the winning column.” A 12 1/2-point underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Panthers played more like a team with playoff seeding at stake. Chuba Hubbard, who rushed for 92 yards and topped 1,000 on the season, made it 16-14 on a 1-yard run in the third quarter. Eddy Pineiro, who kicked a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter, missed the extra point. Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was examined earlier for a concussion, changed the game late in the second quarter when he picked off Young’s deep pass at Philadelphia’s 41. Hurts scrambled 15 yards on the next drive and finished it with a 4-yard TD pass to Smith for a 14-10 lead. Gardner-Johnson’s pick bailed out an uneven effort by the Eagles. They failed to score on their opening drive for the 13th time this season, but the offensive bursts that usually follow never came. Hurts scored on tush push early in the second quarter, his 13th rushing score of the season, for a 7-3 lead. With nothing to lose, the Panthers went for it on fourth-and-3, and Young hit Tommy Tremble for a 3-yard TD and a 10-7 advantage. The Eagles did just enough. Their challenge now is getting the receivers' production up — and getting them happy — headed into the postseason. “Let the dissatisfaction fuel you for more,” Hurts said. “I think that’s always a fair place to be. And so we know there’s more out there for us, and we’re in pursuit of trying to find it.” Panthers kickoff and punt returner Raheem Blackshear suffered a chest injury. ... RB Jonathon Brooks left with a right knee injury — the same knee in which he tore the ACL last year with Texas. The Panthers had been very cautious bringing the second-round pick along. ... CB Jaycee Horn hurt his groin. Panthers: Host Dallas next Sunday. Eagles: Host cross-state rival Pittsburgh next Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Trump convinced Republicans to overlook his misconduct. But can he do the same for his nominees?The Greens will wave through two Labor housing bills, ending a lengthy stand-off after attempting to pressure the Albanese government to dig deeper for the housing crisis. What we know: The Greens will vote for Labor's Help to Buy scheme, which will allow up to 40,000 first home buyers to co-purchase homes with the government ( ABC ); The minor party will also vote for the Build to Rent legislation, which offers a tax incentive for apartment complexes designed for renters, and commits at least 10% of the dwellings to affordable housing; Greens leader Adam Bandt said: “There comes a point where you’ve pushed as far as you can. We tried hard to get Labor to shift on soaring rents and negative gearing, but we couldn’t get there this time” ( The Conversation ); The Greens had made a final effort to negotiate on the bill to secure more money for social housing, but Labor rebuffed the offer; Housing Minister Clare O’Neil welcomed the shift but said it “did not excuse” the Greens’ lengthy delay; It comes as the Better Renting group sounds the alarm on rental conditions, finding that 59% of renters feared retaliation and failed to report issues with their homes as a result in the last 12 months alone ( SBS ); Meanwhile experts warn that governments are ignoring the role of shrinking households in exacerbating the housing crisis, which are also contributing to social isolation ( The Saturday Paper ). The federal government has responded to the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children, as the NT coroner hands down a report into the deaths of four Aboriginal women. What we know: Three months after the release of the inquiry, Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy vowed the findings would “inform a range of work currently under way to address the horrific rates of violence against First Nations women and children” ( NIT ); She specified that the inquiry findings would guide the inaugural National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan to be launched next year ( ABC ); McCarthy also vowed to write to the Australian Press Council on clear guidance for coverage, with the report highlighting “disproportionately little media coverage ... given to missing and murdered First Nations women and children”; She also referenced the $4.4bn announced in September to tackle gender-based violence and other initiatives, including $194m set aside to support the safety of First Nations women and children; At the time the package was met with scepticism by frustrated peak bodies across the sector, who claimed the funding has, in reality, gone backwards ( The Saturday Paper ); Greens senator Dorinda Cox, who established the inquiry, said she was “somewhat disappointed” that the government only addressed two of the 10 recommendations, with no mention of the inquiry’s call to review police practices; Nationally, First Nations women are seven times more likely to be homicide victims than non-Indigenous women, and 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence; It comes as NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage handed down her findings into the inquest of four Aboriginal women who were killed due to domestic violence ( NITV ); Armitage made 35 recommendations, including better funding for frontline services, changes to the way police follow up domestic violence reports and targeted training for police and health workers. The Albanese government is set to establish a new university watchdog to crack down on excessive salaries for vice-chancellors.In the coming days Federal Education Minister Jason Clare will announce a national expert university governance council ( The Australian $). The body will set independent rules for executive remuneration, and also crack down on systemic wage theft from academics and lecturers. “It will focus on making sure universities demonstrate and maintain a rigorous and transparent process for developing remuneration policies and settings for senior university staff,’’ a spokesperson for Clare said. It follows a report by the National Tertiary Education Union last week that revealed 306 senior academic leaders are paid more than state premiers, amid widespread wage theft issues for lower-level staff. Australian vice-chancellors are among the world’s highest paid, pocketing an average of $1.048m across 37 universities last year. Stolen wages for university staff has risen to $388m, while staff are increasingly employed under tenuous conditions, with casual or fixed-term contracts now the dominant form of employment ( The Saturday Paper ). A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s proposed ban on children using social media has been flooded with 15,000 submissions in just one day. Most submissions are reportedly variants of a template response, with Senate inquiries more typically receiving tens or hundreds of submissions ( ABC ). The surge of responses may also be linked to an Elon Musk X post about the bill that was viewed by millions of X users. Musk suggested the bill seemed “like a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians”. His company made a formal submission claiming the bill would have a negative impact on the rights of children and breaches international human rights treaties ( The Guardian ). Other respondents included Google, who urged that the legislation should be delayed until the government’s trial of age-assurance technology is completed. Facebook owner Meta backed Google’s call for a delay, warning the bill would be “inconsistent and ineffective” without more consultation, as the government rushes to pass the legislation this week before parliament rises for the year. Internal analysis by the Reserve Bank of Australia has found that Donald Trump’s plan for an “extreme” trade war between the US and China would drive down Australian share prices and push the dollar lower. The research, released under freedom of information laws, found that Chinese economic growth would slow due to the sharp rise in tariffs, in turn delivering “relatively strong negative implications for Australia given the strength of export trade links” ( AFR $). “In the extreme scenario, weaker export demand, and slower growth would be disinflationary, putting downward pressure on policy rate expectations, government bond yields and the Australian dollar,” the RBA analysis said. It comes as Trump’s victory emboldens Gina Rinehart in her plan to cultivate a right-wing network with sympathy for her own political objectives ( The Saturday Paper ). NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley criticises kayakers who blockaded coal ships at the Port of Newcastle over the weekend. As it happens, “all over red rover” is also the official climate forecast if those coal ships keep hauling for many years longer ( ABC ). The machine resembles a jet fighter (or a massive helmet), with a transparent canopy that opens from the back. Once you settle into the central seat, sensors monitor your vitals to ensure the perfect wash temperature. There's even an AI system that analyses if you're feeling calm or excited, then projects custom visuals on the inside of the transparent cover to help the person feel refreshed. The whole wash and dry process takes 15 minutes ( Techspot ).
SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of a former OpenAI researcher known for recently blowing the whistle on the company’s business practices are questioning the circumstances of their son’s death last month. In an interview this week, Suchir Balaji’s mother and father expressed confusion and shock over his sudden passing, expressing doubt their son could have died by suicide, as determined by the county medical examiner. The family hired an expert to perform an independent autopsy but has yet to release the report’s findings. “We’re demanding a thorough investigation — that’s our call,” said Balaji’s mother, Poornima Ramarao. San Francisco police found Balaji dead in his Lower Haight apartment on Nov. 26, less than a week after his 26th birthday. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office later told this news agency his death was ruled a suicide, though a final autopsy report has yet to be released while the office completes toxicology tests. Earlier this month, San Francisco police officials said there is “currently, no evidence of foul play.” Balaji’s death sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley and the artificial intelligence industry. He garnered a national spotlight in late October when he accused his former employer, OpenAI, of breaking federal copyright law by siphoning data from across the internet to train its blockbuster chatbot, ChatGPT. His concerns backed up allegations aired in recent years by authors, screenwriters and computer programmers who say OpenAI stole their content without permission, in violation of U.S. “fair use” laws governing how people can use previously published work. Media companies have been among those to sue the company, including The Mercury News and seven of its affiliated newspapers, and, separately, The New York Times. In an interview with The New York Times published in October 2024, Balaji described his decision to leave the generative artificial intelligence company in August while suggesting that its data collection practices are “not a sustainable model for the internet ecosystem as a whole. “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he told the newspaper. By Nov. 18, Balaji had been named in court filings as someone who had “unique and relevant documents” that would support the case against OpenAI. He was among at least 12 people — many of them past or present OpenAI employees — to be named by the newspaper in court filings as having material helpful to their case. His death a week later has left Balaji’s parents reeling. In an interview at their Alameda County home this week, his mother said her only child “was an amazing human being, from childhood.” “No one believes that he could do that,” Ramarao said about his taking his own life. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but in a statement to Business Insider said it was “devastated” to learn of Balaji’s death and said they had been in touch with his parents “to offer our full support during this difficult time.” “Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to assist them,” the company’s statement read. “We first became aware of his concerns when The New York Times published his comments and we have no record of any further interaction with him. “We respect his, and others’, right to share views freely,” the statement added. “Our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences to all who are mourning his loss.” Related Articles National News | Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds National News | Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal? National News | Man indicted in burning death of woman inside a New York City subway train, prosecutors say National News | Powerful thunderstorms threaten Texas and Louisiana, delaying holiday travel National News | Today in History: December 27, Benazir Bhutto assassinated Born in Florida and raised in the Bay Area, Balaji was a prodigy from an early age, his mother told this news agency. He spoke her name at 3 months old; at 18-months he would ask “me to light a lamp to cheer me up” and could recognize words at 20 months, she said. Balaji appeared to have a knack for technology, math and computing, taking home trophies and earning renown, including in the 2016 United States of America Computing Olympiad. In 2020, he went to work for OpenAI — viewing the company’s then-commitment to operating as a nonprofit as admirable, his mother said. His opinion of the company soured in 2022 while he was assigned to gather data from the internet for the company’s GPT-4 program, the New York Times reported. The program analyzed text from nearly the entire internet to train its artificial intelligence program, the outlet reported. Ramarao said she wasn’t aware of her son’s decision to go public with his concerns about OpenAI until the paper ran his interview. While she immediately harbored anxiety about his decision — going so far as to implore him to speak with a copyright attorney — Ramarao also expressed pride in her son’s bravery. ‘He kept assuring me, ‘Mom, I’m not doing anything wrong — go see the article. I’m just saying, my opinion, there’s nothing wrong in it,” said Ramarao, herself a former employee of Microsoft who worked on its Azure cloud computing program. “I supported him. I didn’t criticize him. I told him, ‘I’m proud of you, because you have your own opinions and you know what’s right, what’s wrong.’ He was very ethical.” After leaving the company, Balaji settled on plans to create a nonprofit, one centering on the machine learning and neurosciences fields, Ramarao said. He had already spoken to at least one venture capitalist for seed funding, she said. “I’m asking, like, ”How will you manage your living?’ ” Ramarao said. She recalled how her son repeatedly tried to assuage any concerns about his finances, suggesting that “money is not important to me — I want to offer a service to humanity.” Balaji also appeared to be keeping a busy schedule. He turned 26 while on a backpacking trip in the Catalina Islands with several friends from high school. Such trips were commonplace for him — in April he went with several friends to Patagonia and South America. Balaji last spoke to his parents on Nov. 22, a 10-minute phone call that centered around his recent trip and that ended with his talking about getting dinner. “He was very happy,” Ramarao said. “He had a blast. He had one of the best times of his life.” Ramarao remembers calling her son shortly after noon on Nov. 23 but said it rang once and went to voicemail. Figuring that he was busy with friends, she didn’t try visiting his apartment until Nov. 25, when she knocked but got no answer. She said she called authorities that evening but was allegedly told by a police dispatch center that little could be done that day. She followed up Nov. 26, and San Francisco police later found Balaji’s body inside his apartment. Ramarao said she wasn’t told of her son’s death until a stretcher appeared in front of Balaji’s apartment. She was not allowed inside until the following day. “I can never forget that tragedy,” Ramarao said. “My heart broke.” Ramarao questioned authorities’ investigation of her son’s death, claiming that San Francisco police closed their case and turned it over to the county medical examiner’s office within an hour of discovering Balaji’s body. Ramarao said she and her husband have since commissioned a second autopsy of Balaji’s body. She declined to release any documents from that examination. Her attorney, Phil Kearney, declined to comment on the results of the family’s independent autopsy. Last week, San Francisco police spokesman Evan Sernoffsky referred questions about the case to the medical examiner’s office. David Serrano Sewell, executive director of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, declined to comment. Sitting on her living room couch, Ramarao shook her head and expressed frustration at authorities’ investigative efforts so far. “As grieving parents, we have the right to know what happened to our son,” Ramarao said. “He was so happy. He was so brave.” If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.SAN FRANCISCO — The parents of a on the company’s business practices are questioning the circumstances of their son’s death last month. In an interview this week, Suchir Balaji’s mother and father expressed confusion and shock over his sudden passing, expressing doubt their son could have died by suicide, as determined by the county medical examiner. The family hired an expert to perform an independent autopsy but has yet to release the report’s findings. “We’re demanding a thorough investigation — that’s our call,” said Balaji’s mother, Poornima Ramarao. San Francisco police found Balaji dead in his Lower Haight apartment on Nov. 26, less than a week after his 26th birthday. The San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office later told this news agency his death was ruled a suicide, though a final autopsy report has yet to be released while the office completes toxicology tests. Earlier this month, San Francisco police officials said there is “currently, no evidence of foul play.” Balaji’s death sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley and the artificial intelligence industry. He garnered a national spotlight in late October when he accused his former employer, OpenAI, of breaking federal copyright law by siphoning data from across the internet to train its blockbuster chatbot, ChatGPT. His concerns backed up allegations aired in recent years by authors, screenwriters and computer programmers who say OpenAI stole their content without permission, in violation of U.S. “fair use” laws governing how people can use previously published work. Media companies have been among those to sue the company, including The Mercury News and seven of its affiliated newspapers, and, separately, The New York Times. In an interview with The New York Times published in October 2024, Balaji described his decision to leave the generative artificial intelligence company in August while suggesting that its data collection practices are “not a sustainable model for the internet ecosystem as a whole. “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he told the newspaper. By Nov. 18, Balaji had been named in court filings as someone who had “unique and relevant documents” that would support the case against OpenAI. He was among at least 12 people — many of them past or present OpenAI employees — to be named by the newspaper in court filings as having material helpful to their case. His death a week later has left Balaji’s parents reeling. In an interview at their Alameda County home this week, his mother said her only child “was an amazing human being, from childhood.” “No one believes that he could do that,” Ramarao said about his taking his own life. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment but in a statement to Business Insider said it was “devastated” to learn of Balaji’s death and said they had been in touch with his parents “to offer our full support during this difficult time.” “Our priority is to continue to do everything we can to assist them,” the company’s statement read. “We first became aware of his concerns when The New York Times published his comments and we have no record of any further interaction with him. “We respect his, and others’, right to share views freely,” the statement added. “Our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones, and we extend our deepest condolences to all who are mourning his loss.” Born in Florida and raised in the Bay Area, Balaji was a prodigy from an early age, his mother told this news agency. He spoke her name at 3 months old; at 18-months he would ask “me to light a lamp to cheer me up” and could recognize words at 20 months, she said. Balaji appeared to have a knack for technology, math and computing, taking home trophies and earning renown, including in the 2016 United States of America Computing Olympiad. In 2020, he went to work for OpenAI — viewing the company’s then-commitment to operating as a nonprofit as admirable, his mother said. His opinion of the company soured in 2022 while he was assigned to gather data from the internet for the company’s GPT-4 program, the New York Times reported. The program analyzed text from nearly the entire internet to train its artificial intelligence program, the outlet reported. Ramarao said she wasn’t aware of her son’s decision to go public with his concerns about OpenAI until the paper ran his interview. While she immediately harbored anxiety about his decision — going so far as to implore him to speak with a copyright attorney — Ramarao also expressed pride in her son’s bravery. ‘He kept assuring me, ‘Mom, I’m not doing anything wrong — go see the article. I’m just saying, my opinion, there’s nothing wrong in it,” said Ramarao, herself a former employee of Microsoft who worked on its Azure cloud computing program. “I supported him. I didn’t criticize him. I told him, ‘I’m proud of you, because you have your own opinions and you know what’s right, what’s wrong.’ He was very ethical.” After leaving the company, Balaji settled on plans to create a nonprofit, one centering on the machine learning and neurosciences fields, Ramarao said. He had already spoken to at least one venture capitalist for seed funding, she said. “I’m asking, like, ”How will you manage your living?’ ” Ramarao said. She recalled how her son repeatedly tried to assuage any concerns about his finances, suggesting that “money is not important to me — I want to offer a service to humanity.” Balaji also appeared to be keeping a busy schedule. He turned 26 while on a backpacking trip in the Catalina Islands with several friends from high school. Such trips were commonplace for him — in April he went with several friends to Patagonia and South America. Balaji last spoke to his parents on Nov. 22, a 10-minute phone call that centered around his recent trip and that ended with his talking about getting dinner. “He was very happy,” Ramarao said. “He had a blast. He had one of the best times of his life.” Ramarao remembers calling her son shortly after noon on Nov. 23 but said it rang once and went to voicemail. Figuring that he was busy with friends, she didn’t try visiting his apartment until Nov. 25, when she knocked but got no answer. She said she called authorities that evening but was allegedly told by a police dispatch center that little could be done that day. She followed up Nov. 26, and San Francisco police later found Balaji’s body inside his apartment. Ramarao said she wasn’t told of her son’s death until a stretcher appeared in front of Balaji’s apartment. She was not allowed inside until the following day. “I can never forget that tragedy,” Ramarao said. “My heart broke.” Ramarao questioned authorities’ investigation of her son’s death, claiming that San Francisco police closed their case and turned it over to the county medical examiner’s office within an hour of discovering Balaji’s body. Ramarao said she and her husband have since commissioned a second autopsy of Balaji’s body. She declined to release any documents from that examination. Her attorney, Phil Kearney, declined to comment on the results of the family’s independent autopsy. Last week, San Francisco police spokesman Evan Sernoffsky referred questions about the case to the medical examiner’s office. David Serrano Sewell, executive director of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, declined to comment. Sitting on her living room couch, Ramarao shook her head and expressed frustration at authorities’ investigative efforts so far. “As grieving parents, we have the right to know what happened to our son,” Ramarao said. “He was so happy. He was so brave.”