Latest news with #Pipeline
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Mail's gripping podcast Pipeline - which tells the horrifying story of five divers sucked into an undersea oil pipe - reaches TOP spot in US Apple charts
The Daily Mail's gripping podcast Pipeline is now the top series in the US Apple Podcast charts, and second in Australia. The bombshell documentary, which tells the story of a group of divers left to die in an undersea oil pipe, has topped the all-genres charts less than four weeks after the first episode aired. It has fought off competition from heavyweight podcast producers including Sony, ABC News and even Apple itself. Pipeline tells the story of five professional divers who were tasked with repairing an undersea oil pipe off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago in February 2022. Due to unexpected air pressure within the 30in-wide pipe, all five men were sucked hundreds of feet into it as they were putting the finishing touches to their work. One of the divers managed to escape but the other four were left to die, with an autopsy later revealing one may have been alive for up to 39 hours. Pipeline's international success has been down to its incredible story that taps into everyone's worst nightmare, according to the Mail's head of podcasts Jamie East. 'I just couldn't believe that more hadn't been made of this story,' he said of his thoughts after the idea was pitched to him by reporter Isabelle Stanley, who hosts the show. 'The fact that it turned into this huge, disgraceful cover-up, and that the divers could have been saved, is just unbelievable. 'It has been really pleasing to give a voice to the victims' families, who have been trying to get justice and compensation for their loved ones for years. We hope that this will spur them on to do that.' One of the divers, Christopher Boodram, 39, managed to escape after an unimaginable three-hour ordeal. But after dragging his injured body through the filthy, flooded, pitch-dark depths of the narrow pipe, he was dashed to hospital where he later discovered to his horror that no rescue mission for his trapped colleagues had been attempted. In fact, the Paria Fuel Trading Company, the Trinidadian state-owned oil firm that controlled the pipeline, was actively preventing rescuers from going into the pipe. Pipeline tells a riveting story of human survival, betrayal and lies, and probes the one horrifying question refuses to go away: why were four men left to die under the sea? It uncovers evidence of failing safety standards, lucrative contracts and secretive political relationships, confronts some of Trinidad's most powerful men and confronts its then-prime minister. The dogged enquiries may even have triggered an early election on the island, as politicians sought to protect themselves from bad publicity over the deaths of Fyzal Kurban, 57, Rishi Nagassar, 48, Kazim Ali Jr, 37, and Yusuf Henry, 31. The team that travelled to Trinidad and Tobago to carry out the investigation for the show also included producer Bella Soames and journalist Andy Jehring. 'I'm really pleased that Pipeline has been so successful around the world. It's thanks to a lot of hard work from Bella and Isabelle, they worked incredibly hard for months. 'They've lived this story, and it shows - if you immerse yourself in the story and give it the credit it deserves, then it makes a real difference, and listeners obviously agree.' He added Apple was very supportive and contacted him this morning to tell him Pipeline had become the number one series in the US. A second investigation series is already in production, looking at the devastating impact of a bizarre ritual on thousands of US families. To listen to the chart-topping podcast series, search Pipeline now, wherever you get your podcasts.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Surfing legend's 20-year-old son ‘fighting for his life' after being pinned between cars in devastating accident
The 20-year-old son of Pipeline surfing great Shawn Briley is 'fighting for his life' in the ICU after he was 'pinned between two vehicles' in Hawaii over the weekend and 'sustained serious and extensive injuries.' Dakota Briley, a surfer based on the North Shore of Oahu, was struck on the side of the island's Kamehameha Highway and hospitalized with 'multiple fractures in his legs, pelvis, ribs, and skull,' according to a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the athlete, who also endured 'unthinkable injuries' to his spine. 4 Dakota Briley, the son of Pipeline surfing great Shawn Briley, is 'fighting for his life' following a devastating incident over the weekend. Ryder Briley/Instagram 4 The young surfer is currently hospitalized. Ryder Briley/Instagram 'Please continue to pray for our Dakota, he's in really rough shape and needs a miracle from god,' Dakota's brother Ryder wrote in an Instagram Story Monday. 'His ribs have been crushed, his spine is severed and broken in multiple places, the back of his skull has been crushed, fractured in over 8 places, from the hip down his legs have been crushed. He needs a miracle, please pray for God to make him whole again.' As of Tuesday, more than $51,000 has been raised, surpassing the fundraiser's original goal of $50,000. 4 Dakota Briley, pictured here in 2023 and tagged on Instagram at the far left, with his family. Natasha Briley/Instagram 4 A GoFundMe has been set up on Dakota Briley's behalf. Ryder Briley/Instagram '[Dakota's] incredible medical team were able to stabilize his legs and are now working tirelessly on multiple surgeries to the rest of his body,' the GoFundMe page noted. '… Our hope is that God performs a miracle.' Ryder added in a separate Instagram slide Monday that Dakota is 'the strongest person' he knows. 'This boy is a true warrior, the strongest person I know, so stubborn, I know you're not going anywhere,' he wrote of Dakota. 'Keep fighting for us.' The elder Briley won the Tavarua Tube Classic in 1995.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Levelpath Expands AI-Native Platform with Newly Released AI Front Door and Pipeline
On the platform that has already created an immediate 200% ROI for customers, new capabilities empower procurement teams to unlock measurable value across the business SAN FRANCISCO, June 16, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Levelpath, For most employees, engaging with procurement feels like navigating a maze—complex forms, unclear processes, and endless back-and-forth that delays critical business initiatives. Today, Levelpath, the leading AI-native procurement platform, announced the launch of two breakthrough innovations that eliminate this friction: AI Front Door, a conversational interface that uses Levelpath's Hyperbridge reasoning engine to guide users to the right workflows through natural language, and Pipeline, a centralized project visibility layer that brings real-time insight into procurement priorities and performance. These features continue Levelpath's mission to eliminate the complexity of traditional procurement tools through intelligent automation, an intuitive user experience and enterprise-grade architecture designed to delight the business in the AI-native era. "Procurement teams must move with urgency without sacrificing strategic insight. With AI Front Door and Pipeline, we are removing the friction that slows them down," said Alex Yakubovich, Co-founder and CEO of Levelpath. "AI Front Door simplifies the user experience through intelligent guidance, and Pipeline gives teams a clear view of every project in flight, making it easier to prioritize work and demonstrate value. Together, these tools help organizations reduce complexity and operate with greater focus." AI Front Door marks the latest expansion of Levelpath's AI-native capabilities, designed to delight business stakeholders while empowering procurement teams to deliver exceptional service across the enterprise. By combining natural language input with contextual awareness, AI Front Door eliminates friction for employees seeking procurement support, enabling them to simply describe their needs and be intelligently guided to the right workflows. This breakthrough allows procurement teams to transform their internal customer experience, moving beyond traditional barriers to create seamless, efficient interactions that drive measurable business outcomes. Customers are already seeing measurable results with Levelpath's approach. TreeHouse Foods achieved over 200% return on investment in just six weeks by completely redesigning their claims intake process, eliminating spreadsheets and manual routing through Levelpath's intelligent automation. "That level of efficiency at such a low investment is very rare," said Jim O'Rourke, former CPO at TreeHouse Foods. "The new AI front door and Pipeline capabilities unlock visibility, control and value in the long-overlooked tail spend where there was none before." AI Front Door: A New Conversational Experience The new AI front-door experience makes navigating organizational procurement policies and procedures intuitive and effortless. Enabled by Levelpath's Hyperbridge reasoning engine, stakeholders can type freeform into a chat window and be intelligently routed to the appropriate intake form to support requested procurement activities. The platform interprets the user's request, understands the context of their needs, and applies the organization's specific policies and procedures to guide them through the correct procurement process. If clarification is needed, Levelpath's AI will ask targeted questions based on the organization's unique intake structure and policy requirements. For example, if a stakeholder requests to make a purchase, the AI will guide them through their organization's specific approval categories and compliance requirements. Once the AI understands what the stakeholder needs, it routes them to the correct workflow while pre-populating available information according to organizational policies. This feature eliminates the need to manually research organizational policies or memorize complex procurement procedures. Instead, stakeholders can simply describe their needs in natural language, and the platform automatically applies the relevant organizational guidelines and compliance requirements. AI Front Door seamlessly integrates with each organization's existing policies and approval structures without requiring changes to established procedures. By making organizational procurement policies more accessible and easier to navigate, Levelpath enables teams to spend less time deciphering compliance requirements and more time driving business results. Pipeline: Real-Time Visibility Into Every Project Pipeline allows teams to centrally visualize every procurement project from initial identification through completion in the Levelpath Hub. It surfaces critical metadata such as estimated spend, projected and actual savings, contract value, suppliers and project status in one accessible location. Projects are created either through intake or directly in the Hub. From there, key fields such as requester, department and estimated spend are automatically populated and updated as the project progresses through workflow steps from initiation to completion. Pipeline equips procurement and finance leaders with a unified, real-time view of their active and upcoming work. This makes it easier to allocate resources, track financial performance and align procurement activities with broader business goals. Users can filter projects by supplier, department, legal entity, region, cost center and other variables to focus on the most strategically important business issues. By highlighting key savings metrics and project outcomes, Pipeline shifts procurement from reactive task management to proactive value generation. The platform supports strategic planning by helping teams align on high-impact projects, rebalance workloads based on capacity and priorities, and clearly demonstrate their contribution to organizational success. This visibility enables procurement leaders to showcase the tangible value their teams deliver while ensuring resources are directed toward initiatives that drive the greatest business impact. Enhancements planned for later this quarter will include saved views, quick project summaries and filters based on project start and creation dates. These features will support more effective quarterly planning and allow organizations to surface trends, track impact and stay aligned at every stage of the procurement lifecycle. The New Foundation for Strategic Procurement Procurement is undergoing a structural shift. No longer bound by the constraints of legacy systems, leading organizations are embracing AI-native platforms that streamline operations, improve visibility and unlock enterprise-wide value. With AI Front Door and Pipeline, Levelpath gives procurement teams the ability to initiate transactional tasks through natural language and focus on strategic execution. "We're leaving behind monolithic legacy systems in favor of AI-native platforms built for operational efficiency," said Dr. Elouise Epstein. "By automating transactional noise and streamlining workflows, sourcing, payments, contracts, we enable procurement professionals to focus where it matters: managing risk, building supplier relationships and unlocking competitive intelligence." The era of procurement as a reactive business function is reaching its end. With intelligent automation, seamless user experiences and real-time insight, organizations now have a path forward that matches the speed and complexity of modern business. Supporting Procurement Leaders Through Technology Investment Success Levelpath has published a comprehensive white paper, "Getting to Yes: The CPO's Guide to Technology Investment Approval," designed to help procurement leaders secure approval and drive adoption of critical technology initiatives. The guide provides actionable strategies for overcoming common implementation barriers, from budget constraints and stakeholder resistance to change management complexities. The whitepaper addresses the unique challenges procurement teams face when advocating for AI investments, including how to build compelling business cases that resonate with finance and IT stakeholders, navigate organizational politics, and demonstrate measurable ROI. With AI transformation accelerating across enterprises, procurement leaders need proven frameworks to position their teams as strategic value drivers rather than cost centers. Key insights include the Power Framework for stakeholder engagement, strategies for quantifying efficiency gains, and methods for avoiding common failure patterns that derail technology projects before they deliver results. The guide also provides specific guidance on communicating AI benefits in language that resonates with different organizational functions, from technical specifications for IT teams to ROI projections for CFOs. Download "Getting to Yes: The CPO's Guide to Technology Investment Approval" to access practical tools that help procurement teams secure investment, drive adoption, and deliver transformational results through AI-native solutions. To learn more about Levelpath's AI-native procurement platform, visit About Levelpath Levelpath is the AI-native procurement platform transforming how global enterprises manage indirect spend. Built from the ground up for the AI era, our platform unifies procurement operations through intelligent automation, featuring an intuitive stakeholder interface, advanced workflow orchestration, and our proprietary Hyperbridge reasoning engine that delivers real-time intelligence and complete visibility across all procurement activities. Trusted by leading Fortune enterprises worldwide, including Ace Hardware, Amgen, Coupang, Fortrea, GATX, SiriusXM, SSM Health, and Western Union, Levelpath's AI-native architecture enables organizations to collaborate smarter, operate faster, and scale procurement operations that drive measurable business value. Headquartered in San Francisco, Levelpath is backed by Benchmark, Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures, NewView Capital, and World Innovation Lab. Learn more at or connect with us on LinkedIn. View source version on Contacts Abby LewisPANBlast for Levelpathabby@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Levelpath Expands AI-Native Platform with Newly Released AI Front Door and Pipeline
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Levelpath, For most employees, engaging with procurement feels like navigating a maze—complex forms, unclear processes, and endless back-and-forth that delays critical business initiatives. Today, Levelpath, the leading AI-native procurement platform, announced the launch of two breakthrough innovations that eliminate this friction: AI Front Door, a conversational interface that uses Levelpath's Hyperbridge reasoning engine to guide users to the right workflows through natural language, and Pipeline, a centralized project visibility layer that brings real-time insight into procurement priorities and performance. These features continue Levelpath's mission to eliminate the complexity of traditional procurement tools through intelligent automation, an intuitive user experience and enterprise-grade architecture designed to delight the business in the AI-native era. "Procurement teams must move with urgency without sacrificing strategic insight. With AI Front Door and Pipeline, we are removing the friction that slows them down,' said Alex Yakubovich, Co-founder and CEO of Levelpath. 'AI Front Door simplifies the user experience through intelligent guidance, and Pipeline gives teams a clear view of every project in flight, making it easier to prioritize work and demonstrate value. Together, these tools help organizations reduce complexity and operate with greater focus." AI Front Door marks the latest expansion of Levelpath's AI-native capabilities, designed to delight business stakeholders while empowering procurement teams to deliver exceptional service across the enterprise. By combining natural language input with contextual awareness, AI Front Door eliminates friction for employees seeking procurement support, enabling them to simply describe their needs and be intelligently guided to the right workflows. This breakthrough allows procurement teams to transform their internal customer experience, moving beyond traditional barriers to create seamless, efficient interactions that drive measurable business outcomes. Customers are already seeing measurable results with Levelpath's approach. TreeHouse Foods achieved over 200% return on investment in just six weeks by completely redesigning their claims intake process, eliminating spreadsheets and manual routing through Levelpath's intelligent automation. "That level of efficiency at such a low investment is very rare," said Jim O'Rourke, former CPO at TreeHouse Foods. "The new AI front door and Pipeline capabilities unlock visibility, control and value in the long-overlooked tail spend where there was none before." AI Front Door: A New Conversational Experience The new AI front-door experience makes navigating organizational procurement policies and procedures intuitive and effortless. Enabled by Levelpath's Hyperbridge reasoning engine, stakeholders can type freeform into a chat window and be intelligently routed to the appropriate intake form to support requested procurement activities. The platform interprets the user's request, understands the context of their needs, and applies the organization's specific policies and procedures to guide them through the correct procurement process. If clarification is needed, Levelpath's AI will ask targeted questions based on the organization's unique intake structure and policy requirements. For example, if a stakeholder requests to make a purchase, the AI will guide them through their organization's specific approval categories and compliance requirements. Once the AI understands what the stakeholder needs, it routes them to the correct workflow while pre-populating available information according to organizational policies. This feature eliminates the need to manually research organizational policies or memorize complex procurement procedures. Instead, stakeholders can simply describe their needs in natural language, and the platform automatically applies the relevant organizational guidelines and compliance requirements. AI Front Door seamlessly integrates with each organization's existing policies and approval structures without requiring changes to established procedures. By making organizational procurement policies more accessible and easier to navigate, Levelpath enables teams to spend less time deciphering compliance requirements and more time driving business results. Pipeline: Real-Time Visibility Into Every Project Pipeline allows teams to centrally visualize every procurement project from initial identification through completion in the Levelpath Hub. It surfaces critical metadata such as estimated spend, projected and actual savings, contract value, suppliers and project status in one accessible location. Projects are created either through intake or directly in the Hub. From there, key fields such as requester, department and estimated spend are automatically populated and updated as the project progresses through workflow steps from initiation to completion. Pipeline equips procurement and finance leaders with a unified, real-time view of their active and upcoming work. This makes it easier to allocate resources, track financial performance and align procurement activities with broader business goals. Users can filter projects by supplier, department, legal entity, region, cost center and other variables to focus on the most strategically important business issues. By highlighting key savings metrics and project outcomes, Pipeline shifts procurement from reactive task management to proactive value generation. The platform supports strategic planning by helping teams align on high-impact projects, rebalance workloads based on capacity and priorities, and clearly demonstrate their contribution to organizational success. This visibility enables procurement leaders to showcase the tangible value their teams deliver while ensuring resources are directed toward initiatives that drive the greatest business impact. Enhancements planned for later this quarter will include saved views, quick project summaries and filters based on project start and creation dates. These features will support more effective quarterly planning and allow organizations to surface trends, track impact and stay aligned at every stage of the procurement lifecycle. The New Foundation for Strategic Procurement Procurement is undergoing a structural shift. No longer bound by the constraints of legacy systems, leading organizations are embracing AI-native platforms that streamline operations, improve visibility and unlock enterprise-wide value. With AI Front Door and Pipeline, Levelpath gives procurement teams the ability to initiate transactional tasks through natural language and focus on strategic execution. 'We're leaving behind monolithic legacy systems in favor of AI-native platforms built for operational efficiency,' said Dr. Elouise Epstein. 'By automating transactional noise and streamlining workflows, sourcing, payments, contracts, we enable procurement professionals to focus where it matters: managing risk, building supplier relationships and unlocking competitive intelligence.' The era of procurement as a reactive business function is reaching its end. With intelligent automation, seamless user experiences and real-time insight, organizations now have a path forward that matches the speed and complexity of modern business. Supporting Procurement Leaders Through Technology Investment Success Levelpath has published a comprehensive white paper, " Getting to Yes: The CPO's Guide to Technology Investment Approval," designed to help procurement leaders secure approval and drive adoption of critical technology initiatives. The guide provides actionable strategies for overcoming common implementation barriers, from budget constraints and stakeholder resistance to change management complexities. The whitepaper addresses the unique challenges procurement teams face when advocating for AI investments, including how to build compelling business cases that resonate with finance and IT stakeholders, navigate organizational politics, and demonstrate measurable ROI. With AI transformation accelerating across enterprises, procurement leaders need proven frameworks to position their teams as strategic value drivers rather than cost centers. Key insights include the Power Framework for stakeholder engagement, strategies for quantifying efficiency gains, and methods for avoiding common failure patterns that derail technology projects before they deliver results. The guide also provides specific guidance on communicating AI benefits in language that resonates with different organizational functions, from technical specifications for IT teams to ROI projections for CFOs. Download " Getting to Yes: The CPO's Guide to Technology Investment Approval" to access practical tools that help procurement teams secure investment, drive adoption, and deliver transformational results through AI-native solutions. To learn more about Levelpath's AI-native procurement platform, visit About Levelpath Levelpath is the AI-native procurement platform transforming how global enterprises manage indirect spend. Built from the ground up for the AI era, our platform unifies procurement operations through intelligent automation, featuring an intuitive stakeholder interface, advanced workflow orchestration, and our proprietary Hyperbridge reasoning engine that delivers real-time intelligence and complete visibility across all procurement activities. Trusted by leading Fortune enterprises worldwide, including Ace Hardware, Amgen, Coupang, Fortrea, GATX, SiriusXM, SSM Health, and Western Union, Levelpath's AI-native architecture enables organizations to collaborate smarter, operate faster, and scale procurement operations that drive measurable business value. Headquartered in San Francisco, Levelpath is backed by Benchmark, Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures, NewView Capital, and World Innovation Lab. Learn more at or connect with us on LinkedIn.
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Lawyer claims state-owned oil company may have blocked efforts to rescue divers trapped inside underwater pipe because it was 'cheaper to allow them to die'
Podcast All episodes Play on Apple Spotify On the latest episode of the Daily Mail's Pipeline podcast, reporter Isabelle Stanley examines the chilling theories as to why Paria blocked efforts to rescue four men trapped in an underwater oil pipe. From compensation plots to international conspiracy, Stanley interviews legal experts and journalists to test the credibility of theories that emerged in the wake of the Caribbean Diving Disaster. In February 2022, five divers were sucked hundreds of feet into a 30-inch pipe they were repairing off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. Despite one of the divers, Christopher Boodram, escaping after an unimaginable three-hour ordeal, rescue attempts for the remaining four were repeatedly blocked, leaving them to die slowly in what became a national scandal. The pipe was managed by Paria, one arm of Trinidad's state-owned oil company. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Trinidad's then-Energy Minister Stuart Young launched an official enquiry, led by one of the UK's top international criminal barristers, Jerome Lynch KC. Lynch concluded that the four divers weren't rescued because of a series of mistakes, incompetence and inaction by Paria. Despite his recommendation that the oil company be charged with corporate manslaughter, police have issued only vague statements that an investigation remains ongoing Despite his recommendation that the oil company be charged with corporate manslaughter, police have issued only vague statements that an investigation remains ongoing. This stalemate and lack of closure has created an information vacuum - which residents of Trinidad have filled with hundreds of theories, trying to work out why Paria abandoned the rescue effort. Rightly or wrongly, the victims' families wonder if there is something more… another reason to explain why their loved ones were left to die - something other than pure negligence or incompetence. Prakash Ramadhar, a lawyer representing two of the victims' families, told the podcast that he believes the oil giant may have thwarted a rescue to avoid the costs associated with caring for the injured divers if they had been pulled out alive. He claims any survivors may have suffered life-changing injuries, creating lifelong financial liability for the company. Mr Ramadhar said: 'I believe that Paria's initial belief was that they all had perished and if they had not perished, they would soon perish. 'As crass as it may sound, there is a belief in the legal fraternity that it may have been cheaper to allow the men to die than it was to rescue them, broken and maimed. 'Ensuring their medical wellbeing and upkeep for their rest of their lives is far more expensive than allowing them to die.' To hear Stanley interrogate this theory and many others that emerged in the wake of the Caribbean Diving Disaster, search for Pipeline now, wherever you get your podcasts.
