Florida broadens OpenAI probe after USF killings

April 28, 2026

Summary

Florida expanded its OpenAI investigation to include the USF killings after officials said the suspect had used ChatGPT.

Why this matters

The case could test how Florida applies criminal liability laws to artificial intelligence tools and companies. It also signals broader scrutiny of how AI systems are used in violent crimes.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Monday that the state’s criminal investigation into OpenAI is expanding to include the recent killings at the University of South Florida.

According to Uthmeier, the decision followed the disclosure that the primary suspect, Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, had used ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence application made by OpenAI.

Florida announced its initial investigation April 21 after reviewing chat logs between ChatGPT and Phoenix Ikner, who was identified as the gunman in a shooting at Florida State University last year.

“Florida is leading the way in cracking down on AI’s use in criminal behavior, and if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing charges for murder,” Uthmeier said. He said the inquiry is intended to determine whether OpenAI could be held responsible for ChatGPT’s actions during the Florida State shooting.

Under Florida law, people who assist or counsel someone committing a crime may be held responsible, Uthmeier said. He said that raises questions about whether artificial intelligence applications can face liability in criminal activity.

The Office of Statewide Prosecution issued subpoenas to OpenAI seeking policies and training materials related to user threats of harm to others or themselves, guidelines on cooperating with law enforcement and reporting crimes, and organizational charts and employee details tied to ChatGPT.

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Amazon adds AI audio Q&A to product pages

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Amazon launched a new artificial intelligence feature Tuesday that lets shoppers ask questions about products and receive conversational audio responses generated in real time.

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Amazon said the feature builds on earlier responses to make answers more relevant and avoid repetition. The company said it is designed to resemble a conversation with a store employee.

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Robinhood shares fall after Q1 misses estimates

Net revenue increased 15% from the first quarter of last year to $1.07 billion.

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Robinhood shares fell about 10% in premarket trading Wednesday after the company said first-quarter profit and revenue missed Wall Street estimates.

The financial app provider said Tuesday that profit rose 3% from a year earlier to $346 million, or $0.38 per share.

Analysts expected profit of $382 million, or $0.42 per share, and net revenue of $1.14 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

Fees from crypto trades, a major source of Robinhood revenue, fell 47% from a year earlier. The company said the decline was driven by a broader downturn in digital assets that began late last year and worsened through early February. The figure also came in slightly below analysts’ expectations.

“I can’t tell you what the price is going to be in three months. You know, [the] price moves up and down, but what I can tell you is crypto as technology infrastructure is going to be big and we’re investing,” Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said on Tuesday’s earnings call when asked about the outlook for digital assets.
Asia

Indonesia tries 4 soldiers in acid attack case

The attack took place March 12 in Jakarta, when Yunus, a deputy coordinator at the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, or KontraS, was riding a motorbike. Two men on another motorbike threw acid at him.

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A military court in Jakarta opened trial proceedings Wednesday for four Indonesian soldiers accused of carrying out an acid attack on activist Andrie Yunus, who had campaigned against expanding the armed forces’ role in government.

Military prosecutors charged Edi Sudarko, Budi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Nandala Dwi Prasetia, and Sami Lakka with serious premeditated assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years under Indonesia’s criminal code.

The defendants appeared in court in military fatigues and were represented by military-appointed lawyers. A defense lawyer said they would not dispute the indictment, allowing the trial to proceed.

Military prosecutor Mohammad Iswadi said Yunus, 27, suffered burns to more than 20% of his face and body and lost sight in one eye.

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Iswadi said the group was angered by Yunus’ activism, but was not acting under official orders. At the time of the attack, Yunus had just recorded a podcast criticizing what he described as the militarization of government under President Prabowo Subianto, a former general.

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Indonesia’s human rights commission, Komnas HAM, has separately said at least 14 people were linked to the attack. The commission warned the incident “could lead to fear among civilians to criticise government officials.”

According to Iswadi, the four men planned the attack at military lodgings in Jakarta. One obtained “rust removal fluid” from a military workshop and mixed it with battery fluid before the group searched for Yunus on motorbikes.
Africa

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Mali military leader Assimi Goita appeared publicly Tuesday for the first time since coordinated attacks over the weekend, saying in a televised address that authorities would continue operations until the “complete neutralisation of the groups involved.”

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Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara was killed in the attacks. Goita’s office published photos Tuesday of him meeting Russian Ambassador Igor Gromyko and said the two men discussed “the current situation and the strong partnership between Bamako and Moscow.” The office said Gromyko “reaffirmed his country’s commitment to supporting Mali in the fight against international terrorism.”

In a video message distributed Tuesday, JNIM spokesperson Bina Diarra said the attacks were revenge for drone strikes and other attacks by Malian forces. He also threatened Bamako, saying, “As of today, Bamako is closed off from all sides.” JNIM imposed a fuel blockade on Bamako last year, though it had eased before Saturday’s attacks.

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Asia

South Korea court gives Yoon 7 years in prison

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A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison for obstruction of justice and related charges tied to his resisting arrest and the Cabinet process before his brief martial law declaration in December 2024.

Judge Yoon Sung-sik of the Seoul High Court said Yoon bypassed a legally required full Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law, falsified documents to conceal that lapse, and used security officials “like a private army” to resist law enforcement efforts to arrest him after his impeachment. Yoon stood quietly as the verdict was delivered and made no comment.

Yoo Jeong-hwa, one of Yoon’s lawyers, called the ruling “very disappointing” and said the legal team would appeal to the Supreme Court.

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The Seoul High Court reversed that acquittal, finding him guilty on all counts. It ruled that he violated the rights of those two members and seven others who were not notified by convening only a limited group to resemble a formal meeting.

Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024, martial law decree triggered a political crisis that disrupted domestic politics, senior-level diplomacy, and financial markets. He was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after the liberal-led legislature impeached him, and the Constitutional Court removed him from office in April 2025. The political turmoil eased after liberal rival Lee Jae Myung won an early presidential election in June.

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The ruling came a day after the same court increased to four years the sentence for Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, on charges including accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church, which sought political favors from Yoon’s government, and involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme.

In a separate trial last week, prosecutors requested a 30-year prison term for Yoon over allegations that he tried to escalate tensions with North Korea in 2024 by ordering drone flights over Pyongyang to create conditions for martial law at home.
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A Chinese research vessel that operated for nearly two weeks in waters near Japan’s southwestern islands left the area early Wednesday, the third such case in the past month, according to Japan’s coast guard.

The vessel, Kexue, was first spotted at 12:30 p.m. April 15 about 45 miles north of Ishigaki Island and about 170 miles east of Taiwan, according to a coast guard release. It left the area and sailed west at 12:22 a.m. Wednesday, the coast guard said.

The coast guard repeatedly radioed the vessel during its stay and told it that “scientific oceanographic research without Japan’s consent is unacceptable,” according to the Wednesday release.

Kexue belongs to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Oceanology, according to the institute’s website. It is equipped with deep-sea, seabed, water column, and atmospheric detection systems.

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“While many consumers remained resilient, others are under pressure due to persistent inflation, greater macroeconomic uncertainty, and volatilities driven by the conflict in the Middle East,” Braun said on the company’s earnings call.

Organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions, divestitures, and currency changes, rose 10% in the quarter. Volume increased 3% globally, with all operating segments reporting growth, including a 4% gain in North America.

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The U.S. Senate on Tuesday blocked a resolution that would have required President Donald Trump to obtain congressional approval before ordering military action against Cuba.

The Republican-led Senate voted 51-47, largely along party lines, on a procedural measure that stopped the Democratic-led war powers resolution.

Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican who introduced the point of order, said a war powers vote was not appropriate because Trump had not deployed troops against Havana.

Trump has threatened Cuba’s leadership several times in recent months and warned that “Cuba is next.” Most recently, he pledged “a new dawn for Cuba.”

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Europe

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Paragon Solutions has not responded to an Italian request for information in a spyware investigation opened last year, according to Wired Italy.

In 2024, WhatsApp and Apple notified several people in Italy, including journalists and activists, that they had been targeted with government spyware.

The notifications prompted criminal complaints in Italy, and prosecutors in Rome and Naples opened an investigation. Wired Italy reported that prosecutors sent a formal request for information to Paragon through the Israeli government, but had not received a response a year later.

Paragon had previously said Italy rejected its offer to investigate whether a journalist was targeted with Graphite. The company later canceled its contract with Italy’s two intelligence agencies, the External Intelligence and Security Agency (AISE) and the Internal Intelligence and Security Agency (AISI), citing, in part, the government’s refusal to accept that offer.

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