Samsung is Recalling More Than 1 Million Electric Ranges after Numerous Fire Reports

FILE - The logo of the Samsung Electronics Co. is seen at its office in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - The logo of the Samsung Electronics Co. is seen at its office in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
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Samsung is Recalling More Than 1 Million Electric Ranges after Numerous Fire Reports

FILE - The logo of the Samsung Electronics Co. is seen at its office in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - The logo of the Samsung Electronics Co. is seen at its office in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

Samsung is recalling more than 1.12 million electric ranges used for stovetops after reports of 250 fires and dozens of injuries.
According to a Thursday notice from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, these slide-in ranges have front-mounted knobs that can be activated by accident if humans or pets unintentionally contact or bump into them. That poses a fire hazard.
To date, Samsung has received more than 300 reports of the knobs activating unintentionally since 2013, the CPSC noted, and the now-recalled ranges have been involved in about 250 fires. At least 18 of those fires caused extensive property damage and seven involved pet deaths, according to the Commission.
In addition, the CPSC added, about 40 injuries have been reported, including eight that required medical attention.
According to The Associated Press, consumers can identify whether their slide-in electric range is included in this recall by looking at the model number printed on the product. Both Samsung and the CPSC have published a list of affected models online.
The recalled ranges were sold between May 2013 and August 2024 online at Samsung.com as well as in retailers nationwide — including Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot and Lowe's.
Consumers in possession of a recalled range are urged to contact New Jersey-based Samsung Electronics America for a free set of knob locks or covers compatible for installation with their model. In the meantime, those impacted should take extra caution to keep children and pets away from the knobs, and check their range before leaving the house or going to bed to make sure it's off, the CPSC said.
As part of general stovetop and oven safety, the Commission added that consumers should “never place, leave, or store anything on the top of your range” when not in use — as such items can ignite if it's accidentally activated.



OpenAI Co-founder John Schulman Leaves ChatGPT Maker for Rival Anthropic

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
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OpenAI Co-founder John Schulman Leaves ChatGPT Maker for Rival Anthropic

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

John Schulman, one of the co-founders of artificial intelligence company OpenAI, has left the ChatGPT maker for rival Anthropic, he said in a post on social media platform X late Monday.

"This choice stems from my desire to deepen my focus on AI alignment, and to start a new chapter of my career where I can return to hands-on technical work," Schulman said in his X post.

OpenAI's President and co-founder Greg Brockman is also taking a sabbatical through the end of the year, he said in a X post late Monday.

The news was first reported by The Information, which added that Peter Deng, a product manager who joined OpenAI last year, has also exited the company.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The move comes as OpenAI faces significant personnel changes, with the company's AI safety leader Aleksander Madry being reassigned to another role in July.

Another one of OpenAI's co-founders and chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, left the company in May. Andrej Karpathy, who was also one of the AI firm's founding members left OpenAI in February and started an AI-integrated education platform in July.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was also one of the co-founders of OpenAI and left three years later, revived his lawsuit against the company and CEO Sam Altman on Monday, saying that the firm put profits and commercial interests ahead of public good.