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    “Better Call Saul” sparks excitement in Albuquerque

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1306 Views
    In this image released by AMC, Bob Odenkirk portrays Saul Goodman in a scene from "Better Call Saul." (AP Photo/AMC, Ursula Coyote)

    By Russell Contreras

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) --

    New Mexico's largest city is back to being featured in another television show more than a year after the end of AMC-TV series "Breaking Bad."

    "Better Call Saul" premiered Sunday, and city officials hope the prequel to the hit series sparks more interest in Albuquerque after "Breaking Bad" spawned tours, sales of novelty items and even a political ad during the last election.

    More than 100 fans showed up for a premiere "Better Call Saul" viewing party at an Albuquerque brewery, and more such gatherings are scheduled for the remainder of the season. One lawyer, Ron Bell, who some speculate the show's main character is loosely based on, has a billboard advertising "Better Call Bell."

    Already the city's visitors' bureau has created a website to help tourists find Albuquerque sites from the show.

    New Mexico's new Attorney General Hector Balderas even thumbed out a tweet during the show to let its main star, Bob Odenkirk, know that the state's top cop was watching him. "Hey @BetterCallSaul @mrbobodenkirk, know that the Attorney General of New Mexico will be keeping an eye on you this evening," Balderas wrote.

    "Better Call Saul" follows a struggling criminal lawyer born Jimmy McGill, who later changes his name to Saul Goodman, as he defends drug lords, petty criminals and those allegedly injured in traffic accidents.

    In "Breaking Bad," Odenkirk played the lawyer of methamphetamine lord Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston.

    Tania Armenta, a vice president for the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau, said interest in "Breaking Bad" Albuquerque sites has not slowed, and they remain particularly popular with European tourists. City officials expect even more interest with "Better Call Saul."

    "Definitely loving the buzz," Armenta said. "Most of the buzz we are seeing is positive."

    Armenta said the show's creators haven't revealed much, so when Albuquerque sites are shown city officials update the website, visitalbuquerque.org/bettercallsaul.

    "We need it really bad," said Debbie Ball, owner of The Candy Lady store, who sells blue "Breaking Bad" fake meth treats and offers limousine tours of scenes from the first series. "I think it's going to help the city."

    And will she try to benefit from the new show's popularity? "If I can figure out how I can do it tactfully," Ball said, "I will do it."

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    Tags:AMCBetter Call Saul



    OpenAI files confidential SEC paperwork for IPO, opening the door to a Wall Street debut

    Tuesday, June 9, 2026
    Sam Altman arrives at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, file)

    ChatGPT maker OpenAI filed preliminary paperwork that would open the door to it becoming a publicly traded company, the third in a powerhouse trio of artificial intelligence companies racing to Wall Street debuts.

    The San Francisco-based company said Monday it has filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

    "We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it," the company said in a statement. "We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it's a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best."

    OpenAI's move follows its rival Anthropic's June 1 disclosure that it is also moving toward an initial public offering of shares. Both are now following Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, which has started an IPO roadshow pitching itself as an AI-focused space company.

    OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first publicly floated the possibility of an IPO last fall, describing it as the "most likely path" for the company given its size and the need for vast amounts of capital to advance its technology.

    OpenAI began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a company valued at $852 billion.

    The filing comes at a "precarious moment" for OpenAI as it appears to be losing ChatGPT's strong early leads with consumers and businesses to Google and Anthropic, said Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott.

    "But OpenAI doesn't have a lot of other places to look for the enormous capital required to support its costs," Elliott said.

    Paving the way for going public was OpenAI's decision last year to reorganize its business structure and... Read More

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