NEW YORK (AP) — A tragic incident unfolded in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York as a man, brandishing a Tibetan flag, set himself ablaze on Thursday, leading to his death, officials have confirmed.

Officers from the New York Police Department responded to an urgent 911 call at approximately 6:30 p.m. Upon arrival, they found a 52-year-old man suffering from severe burns covering his entire body.

The injured man was swiftly transported to a hospital. Tragically, despite medical efforts, he was later pronounced dead by hospital staff, as noted by police reports.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the self-immolation. However, officials have refrained from commenting on any possible motives why the man chose such a drastic and public act.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

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The man’s name has not been released because his family hasn’t been notified yet, according to police.

A United Nations spokesperson said the incident happened after all scheduled meetings were finished for the day.

China says Tibet has been part of its territory since the mid-13th century, and its Communist Party has governed the Himalayan region since 1951. But many Tibetans say they were effectively independent for most of their history and the Chinese government wants to exploit the resource-rich region while crushing its cultural identity.

China does not recognize Tibet’s government-in-exile, which is called the Central Tibetan Administration, and it hasn’t held dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives since 2010.

In a heartbreaking incident, a Missouri woman lost her life in front of her children during a shootout between two rival groups at a gas station on Tuesday evening, as confirmed by both her family and law enforcement officials.

Identified as Shakeela Martin, this “devoted mother of five” was tragically shot while purchasing slushies with her kids at a BP station in Ferguson on June 28, according to a fundraising page set up by her family.

The 35-year-old had stopped by for the icy treats to commemorate their move into a new home planned for the following day.

“What was supposed to be a heartwarming family outing became an unthinkable tragedy,” expressed Whittley Anderson, Martin’s cousin, on the fundraising page.

“Shakeela was a loving and dedicated mother to her five beautiful children, who were her utmost priority. Her life was filled with love, resilience, and optimism for what lay ahead.”

An unidentified female friend who was at the gas station with Martin and her kids said several men pulled up to the BP and started shooting at another group of men before speeding away, local outlet 5 On Your Side reported. 

The friend recalled hearing at least 10 gunshots ring out before noticing Martin had been hit by the gunfire.

Martin was shot in the head and heartbreakingly died in front of her children.

Police say another innocent bystander, a male customer, was also shot in the crossfire and is in critical condition, the outlet reported.  

“It was just senseless. It’s so surreal,” Anderson told the outlet. 

“How can a woman go to the store, get slushies for her kids and end up dying,” the grief-stricken relative said.

“These kids now have to live with this until they’re old and it will never go away. It will never leave our family.”

Martin’s 8-year-old niece told the outlet that her aunt “was pretty” and “kind” who gave her “lots of treats.”

“I cried because I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye and I didn’t know that she was gonna die,” the young girl said.

Martin leaves behind her five children, aged 3, 4, 9, 11 and 15.

“She was just a sweet mom, a sweet daughter and a wonderful sister,” Anderson painstakingly said.

A Texas man has been formally accused of manslaughter following an incident where his Tesla collided with a house, resulting in the death of a 76-year-old woman.

Court records reveal that 44-year-old Michael David Butler informed investigators he was operating a Tesla Model 3 utilizing its driver-assistance features when the vehicle plowed into the home of Martha Avila in Katy on June 19. Butler reportedly mentioned to EMTs that the car was on “Autopilot,” though Tesla has contested this claim.

Avila was present inside her house at the time of the crash. She was swiftly transported to a nearby hospital via Life Flight, where she succumbed to her injuries.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office reports that Butler was taken into custody on Thursday and is now charged with manslaughter.

According to an arrest affidavit, Butler told investigators he was making a DoorDash delivery when he adjusted the music on the Tesla’s touchscreen before he “passed out.”

The affidavit alleges the vehicle reached 73 mph — more than double the posted speed limit — and that the brake pedal was not applied during the minutes leading up to the crash.

The sheriff’s office said Butler failed to maintain a single lane before leaving the roadway and crashing through the side of the home.

Ring doorbell footage of the crash shows the vehicle slamming into the house at a high rate of speed.

According to the affidavit, Butler denied feeling ill or consuming alcohol or drugs before the crash.

Tesla has disputed Butler’s account. CEO Elon Musk said a vehicle operating in Full Self-Driving mode would travel slowly through residential streets, while Tesla’s head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said Butler manually overrode the system by fully depressing the accelerator.

“In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area,” he wrote in a post on X.

KHOU-TV reported Butler appeared in probable cause court Thursday, where his bail was set at $150,000. He was also ordered to wear an ankle monitor and not drive.

Avila’s family sued Tesla last week, alleging her death resulted from the company’s gross negligence and failure to warn consumers that its self-driving systems were defective.

News Media has reached out to Tesla for comment.

During a recent appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival, acclaimed actress Jodie Foster made a striking claim about the modern film industry, suggesting that Brad Pitt’s blockbuster, F1, was “made by AI.” Her remark stirred attention this week at the event.

At 63, Foster remains a captivating figure both on and off the screen. Just days after showcasing her style at a glamorous Chanel gathering, she joined forces with former Sony boss Michael Lynton. The duo engaged in a thought-provoking discussion on Tuesday, focusing on the evolving dynamics of Hollywood and the influential role of artificial intelligence in the current landscape.

Their conversation was rich with insights about the ongoing transformation in the film industry, as captured by Variety. During their dialogue, Foster shared a perspective that encapsulates a prevalent curiosity about AI’s growing influence on content creation.

“I don’t say this disparagingly, how could I?” she remarked, reflecting on F1’s success. “This movie went on to make millions of dollars, but look at a movie like F1, and I’m like, F1 was made by AI.” Her words shed light on a sentiment that questions the traditional boundaries of storytelling in filmmaking.

She further commented, “Wasn’t it? I mean, the structure was exactly the structure that you would learn in school.” Foster’s observations bring to the forefront a debate on whether AI-generated scripts can achieve the depth and innovation traditionally crafted by human creativity.

The Silence Of The Lambs star added that the cast said ‘lines exactly the way it would be written if a computer was writing exactly what would be the right thing for that time.’

Foster continued, ‘And they were able to dominate the technology to make something big and beautiful and potentially where a lot of the information comes from other places.’

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Foster and Pitt for comment, but has yet to hear back. 

F1 was directed by Joseph Kosinski while the screenplay was penned by Ehren Kruger. 

Brad Pitt took on a leading role in the sports drama alongside Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem and Tobias Menzies. 

The premise is: ‘A Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver,’ per an IMDB synopsis. 

F1 was a box office success upon its release in theaters last year in June and raked in $634.1 million on a budget of $200-$300 million. 

The project additionally garnered four Oscar nominations and won the Academy Award for Best Sound. 

Director Kosinski, who has helmed other films such as Top Gun: Maverick, previously discussed bringing F1 to life with as many practical effects as possible.

‘The audience can tell when something has been captured for real and when it’s been manufactured,’ he told Esquire last year, later adding that the crew ‘came up with a much smaller, lighter camera system.’

Kosinski also told the outlet, ‘Overall, I wanted it to feel like you’re really at the race. So we actually shot scenes at Grands Prix, and that meant the windows for shooting were very, very narrow.’ 

The filmmaker explained that sometimes the cast and crew only had ‘a few minutes to shoot a scene.’

‘The time constraint was a huge challenge, but at the same time it kind of infuses the scenes with energy and a realism that we couldn’t have gotten any other way.’ 

And during F1’s development stages, screenwriter Kruger had reached out to F1 racer Lewis Hamilton to look at the script. 

The sports star also assisted when it came to casting and other character elements. 

‘To make sure that it’s diverse, making sure that it’s really reflective of the outside world,’ the racer told GQ. 

During her discussion at the festival this week, Foster further shared her personal thoughts on AI in the industry. 

‘AI is one more giant step forward into changing the industry,’ the Panic Room actress expressed. 

Lynton then asked the star, ‘The big question is, is it going to replace actors and writers?’ which caused her to reply with, ‘We do replace people.’ 

Foster then offered an example when it came to replicating background actors instead of hiring more for a scene. 

‘We’re getting rid of a lot of jobs and hopefully, things like unions will be able to come in and say, you can use my actor 20 times, but you’re going to pay him 20 times. And I think that’s fair.’

She added, ‘What we all would love is that filmmakers would be able to dominate AI, and never lose sight of that.’

Foster recalled the use of AI for a scene in her recent film titled A Private Life. 

The dream sequence that utilized AI worked for the mystery thriller, although the actress admitted the images ‘made no sense.’ 

The use of AI in Hollywood has been a heavily discussed topic in recent years, with some slamming the use of the technology. 

However others have voiced support for AI, such as I, Robot director Alex Proyas who said last month in June that it can be used to fix the ‘broken’ production process.

The NWSL is where Sam Kerr solidified her status as one of the greatest forwards in the history of women’s soccer.

Kerr made her debut in the league’s inaugural season back in 2013 as a teenager, played three seasons with Gotham FC, previously known as Sky Blue, and left the United States in 2019 boasting two MVP titles and holding the record as the league’s top scorer. She then elevated her global career by becoming a standout player for England’s Chelsea and representing Australia on the international stage.

On the first day of a new contract she signed with Gotham, which extends until 2030, the 32-year-old revealed her long-held wish to return to the NWSL. “It was always something I wanted,” she confided Thursday, pointing out that when she decided to exit Chelsea this summer, “The NWSL was the only league where I envisioned myself continuing my career.”

Although it seemed straightforward, Kerr mentioned she was courted by multiple teams within the NWSL. She described the recruitment journey as “really difficult” and indicated it was the smaller, yet important, details that eventually swayed her decision.

“Sam had the option to play for any club worldwide, yet she chose Gotham,” noted Yael Averbuch West, the president of soccer operations.

So why Gotham? Let’s fire off some reasons, like so many shots on goal from the striker who will be eligible to debut in the team’s July 15 match at Citi Field:

— The team’s ambitions. “Gotham is probably the most similar club to Chelsea in their desires and what they want from a season,” Kerr said, describing the 2023 and 2025 NWSL champions and inaugural CONCACAF W Champions Cup winners as “a club that is always aspiring to win something, win the game, win whatever trophy they can.”

— The roster. “It helps that they have some of the best players in the league,” Kerr said. She called star midfielder Rose Lavelle “one of the key players I thought that I would love to play with.” Averbuch West said there have been meetings to discuss how Kerr will fit with incumbent center forward Esther González.

— The coach. Kerr “heard really good things” about Juan Carlos Amorós. “When I spoke to him, he impressed me tactically,” she said. “When you play in a team that creates a lot of goal-scoring opportunities, as a nine [striker], that’s the No. 1 thing that you want.”

— The GM’s pitch. “A lot of credit has to go to Yael because she did a lot of work to get me here,” Kerr said. Averbuch West described nearly six months of “a lot of phone calls with me and her agent.”

— The wife’s reference. Kerr is married to former USWNT midfielder Kristie Mewis, who left Gotham in 2023 after two seasons. “It is important that Kristie played here and knows us and had a really good experience,” Averbuch West said.

— The money, of course. Last month, Gotham added to its cache of allocation money, which can be used on salaries above the NWSL’s hard cap, by trading promising young defender Lilly Reale to expansion Boston. “It’s about making an offer that shows respect to the player and also getting creative about what we do,” Averbuch West said.

— The location. Kerr briefly and accurately referred to the chance to “live in the best city in the world.”