By Giancarla Sambo
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News:
Entertainment
Harris's Historic Run Could Outpace Hollywood's Oval Offices
As Kamala Harris makes her presidential bid, Hollywood lags. Very few Black women have been cast in dramatic presidential roles in television and film, and there are no notable examples of Asian American women playing the part.
Sean Combs’ Arrest Has the Music World Asking: Is Our #Metoo Here?
The arrest of hip-hop mogul Sean Combs last week on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy represents a stunning reversal of fortune for the hip-hop impresario, who, as recently as a year ago, was feted as an industry visionary before a sudden series of sexual assault accusations.
Woman Accuses Sean Combs of Raping Her in Filmed Attack
A woman accused Combs of drugging and raping her at his recording studio in Manhattan in 2001 in a new lawsuit, saying that she learned last year that the assault had been recorded and shown to others.
Diddy Hit With Yet Another Sex Abuse Lawsuit, Claims He Tracked Victim’s Location
Combs is facing another civil lawsuit by an unnamed model, identified as Jane Doe, who accuses him of drugging and sexually assaulting her over four years. The lawsuit, filed in a New York state court, alleges that the abuse occurred from 2020 to earlier this year, involving drugs and coercive tactics.
Did Combs Firebomb Kid Cudi’s Car?
The government does not name the victim of a firebombing cited in its case against Combs, but the timing and facts line up with a reported 2012 attack on rapper Kid Cudi’s car.
Cineplex to Appeal $29M Fine for Deceptive Movie Ticket Pricing
A Canadian regulator found Cineplex liable for not presenting a mandatory $1.50 fee upfront when customers booked theater seats online. Cineplex plans to appeal the $38.9 million fine for deceptive marketing practices, stating that the ruling won't affect the services and that it believes its online booking fee complies with the law.
SAG-AFTRA Seeks Union Recognition for Intimacy Coordinators
SAG-AFTRA has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to represent intimacy coordinators in negotiations with major studios. This is part of the union's five-year effort to professionalize the role of intimacy coordinators, who facilitate intimate scenes between performers and the production team.
Paramount Close to Dropping Nielsen TV Ratings in Contract Dispute
Paramount Global has informed its ad-sales staff and media-buying agencies that it is close to ending its reliance on Nielsen ratings data. This is part of a move to embrace other forms of audience measurement as traditional media companies seek to track viewers using digital and social media.
Sky Sues Warner Bros. Over Refusal to Partner on ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series
A lawsuit filed in New York federal court marks a breakdown in the partnership between Sky and Warner Bros. According to the suit, Warner Bros. must offer four Max series per year, co-financed and co-produced by Sky, exclusively to Sky viewers in the UK and other European territories.
Arts
T.I. and Tiny Awarded $71 Million Over L.O.L. Dolls' Likeness to R&B Group
That jury awarded $71 million to the Atlanta rapper T.I., born Clifford Harris, and his wife Tameka Harris, known as Tiny. The jury found that the toy giant MGA Entertainment had violated the intellectual property rights of their group, the OMG Girlz, with several of its dolls.
Songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, and Many More Blocked by YouTube in Legal Dispute
Certain songs by artists like Adele, Bob Dylan, Green Day, R.E.M., Burna Boy, Rush, and others are currently unavailable on YouTube in the U.S. due to a legal dispute with SESAC. When attempting to play these songs, a message stating, "This video contains content from SESAC. It is not available in your country," is displayed.
Britney Spears Perfume Lawsuit: Rival Blasts Revlon Accusations as ‘Vindictive’ and ‘Anticompetitive’
Give Back Beauty responded to Revlon's lawsuit, stating that the allegations of corporate raiding were false and were simply a result of Revlon being upset about losing to a competitor.
Man Smashes Ai Weiwei's Porcelain Sculpture at Italian Museum
The piece, titled “Porcelain Cube” and weighing more than 200 pounds, was displayed on the museum's ground floor. The man who smashed it claimed that he did so as part of his art.
Desert Racers Demolish Art Carved by Ancient People in Chile
The latest Atacama Rally moved to Tierra Amarilla, which is about 600 miles from Tarapacá. In a statement sent to the regional authorities a month before the event, the National Monuments Council warned that the rally route crossed 16 areas with important archaeological and paleontological sites.
China to Investigate U.S. Retailer, Sending a Message to Xinjiang
China said that it would investigate whether PVH, the American retailer that owns the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands, has taken “discriminatory measures” against products from Xinjiang in China's far west.
Sports
‘League of Legends’ Added to Actors’ Video Game Strike as SAG-AFTRA Accuses Producer Formosa Interactive of Unfair Labor Practices
Riot Games' "League of Legends" has been added to the list of blocked titles by SAG-AFTRA due to accusations of unfair labor practices against Formosa Interactive, a union signatory providing voiceover services for the game.
Report Clears WADA In Doping Case Involving Chinese Swimmers
A final report confirmed that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) did not show "favoritism" towards China in the case of 23 Chinese swimmers cleared to compete after testing positive for a banned drug. However, it also found that WADA's anti-doping rules and administrative processes can be further strengthened, which it acknowledged.
WADA Lost Track of Open Cases Before Paris Olympics
In a fraught meeting in May, top officials at WADA were warned that a computer glitch might allow athletes accused of doping to compete at the Paris Games.
Caitlin Clark Joins Fever in Condemning ‘Hateful Comments and Threats’ Toward WNBA Players
Rookie Caitlin Clark and head coach Christie Sides condemned the racist rhetoric many WNBA players experienced this season at a news conference following the conclusion of the Indiana Fever’s season. “Nobody in our league should be facing any sort of racism, hurtful, disrespectful (or) hateful comments and threats,” Clark said.
Rodrigo Bentancur Charged Over Racial Slur Towards Son Heung-Min
In June, during an appearance on Uruguayan TV, Bentancur was asked by a presenter about obtaining a Tottenham shirt and replied, "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin, too, as they all look the same."
Technology/Media
OpenAI Training Data to Be Inspected in Authors’ Copyright Cases
OpenAI will provide access to its training data for review by authors involved in the lawsuit. This could help establish guidelines for automated chatbots.
Social Media Companies, Video Streaming Services Engage In "Vast Surveillance" Of Users, FTC Says
In a 129-page report, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) examined how some of the world's most prominent tech players collect, use, and sell people's data and the impact on children and teenagers. The findings highlight how the companies compile and store troves of information on users and non-users, with some failing to comply with deletion requests.
How Google Defended Itself in the Ad Tech Antitrust Trial
Over the past week, Google has called more than a dozen witnesses to defend itself against claims by the Justice Department and a group of state attorneys general that it has a monopoly in software that places ads on web pages, part of a second major federal antitrust trial against the tech giant.
Trump Vows to Seek Criminal Charges Against Google If Re-Elected President
Former President Donald Trump threatened to instruct the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against Google if elected, claiming that the company unfairly displayed negative news about him but not his opponent, Kamala Harris.
Alex Jones's Infowars Will Be Auctioned Off to Pay Sandy Hook Families
A Houston bankruptcy judge ruled that assets from Alex Jones's Infowars can be auctioned to help pay defamation awards to Sandy Hook victims' families. The auction will include Infowars' website, social media accounts, broadcasting equipment, trademarks, and inventory.
Newsmax and Smartmatic Settle Defamation Case Over 2020 Election Reporting
Smartmatic and Newsmax settled for an undisclosed amount, as a jury was being selected for trial. Smartmatic settled a similar case against OANN earlier this year. It still have a pending case against Fox.
Twitter Investors Suing Elon Musk Granted Class Certification
Twitter investors allege that Elon Musk intentionally caused uncertainty about his buyout of the company to lower the stock price and renegotiate the buyout price. This led to financial losses for the investors.
Musician Orchestrating $10 Million Streaming Scam Pleads Not Guilty; Hit With $500,000 Bail as Case Gets Started
Michael Smith, a 52-year-old musician from North Carolina, pleaded not guilty to three felony counts in a $10 million streaming fraud scam. Earlier this month, Smith was indicted for his alleged involvement in a scheme to create hundreds of thousands of songs using artificial intelligence (AI) and automated programs called 'bots' to stream the songs billions of times.
Judge Rules ‘Baby Reindeer’ Was Not a ‘True Story,’ Allows Real Martha to Sue Netflix
A judge ruled that the Netflix show "Baby Reindeer" did not live up to its billing as a "true story," allowing Fiona Harvey to pursue her defamation lawsuit. Harvey alleged that the series falsely implied that she sexually assaulted Richard Gadd and had been sent to prison for stalking him.
Mark Zuckerberg Must Face Deposition in Sarah Silverman’s AI Lawsuit Against Meta
The court cited evidence suggesting that Mark Zuckerberg personally directed the development and sale of Meta's AI products. As the principal decision-maker of the tech giant's AI initiatives, he will be deposed in a lawsuit related to the company's AI technology.
Rethinking 'Checks and Balances' for the A.I. Age
A Stanford project points to the need for institutional innovation, especially in government, to increase the odds that AI enhances democracy.
How Meta Distanced Itself From Politics
Ahead of November’s election, Meta has de-emphasized political content on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, and doesn’t want to discuss candidates or campaigns.
CrowdStrike Executive Questioned by Lawmakers Over Global Tech Outage
George Kurtz, the company's chief executive, was absent from the hearing, even though the committee had initially demanded his testimony.
Caroline Ellison, Star Witness at FTX Trial, Is Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison
Caroline Ellison, a former top adviser to the cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for her role in the $8 billion fraud that led to the implosion of the once high-flying FTX crypto exchange.
The United Nations Wants to Treat AI With the Same Urgency as Climate Change
A UN report proposes that the organization take a much more active role in the monitoring and oversight of AI.
EU Copyright Directive & Article 17 Completed - ICMP comments
The EU Copyright Directive has been fully implemented in all 27 EU member states, with Poland being the last to do so. This law affects music companies, songwriters, and artists whose work is streamed in Europe on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X, Triller, and Facebook.
Hong Kong Editors Sentenced in Landmark Case
The two journalists for Stand News were convicted in August of conspiracy to publish seditious articles, in a case signaling new limits on press freedom.
This Is What Can Land You in Jail for Sedition in Hong Kong
Three men were the first to be convicted under the city’s recently expanded national security law, which has greatly curtailed political speech.
General News
Rare Copy of U.S. Constitution, Found in a File Cabinet, Is Up for Auction
Ken Farmer, an antiques appraiser, discovered the 1787 document before a house sale in North Carolina in 2022. It goes up for auction this week. It was stored in a folder for decades in a dusty file cabinet in an old mansion in North Carolina.
Congress Passes Short-Term Spending Bill to Avert a Shutdown
Congress gave final approval to a short-term spending bill to avert a government shutdown just ahead of the November elections, which bill was signed into law by President Biden, punting a bigger funding fight to the end of the year.
Biden, Eyeing His Legacy, Signs Executive Orders on Gun Safety
Biden held a White House ceremony to pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has made gun safety an issue in her campaign.
Democrats See a Chance to Beat Trump on Judicial Confirmations
They hope to use the time after the election to approve judges and Senator Durbin says that their aggressive efforts have already produced a remarkable demographic shift on the federal courts.
Trump Allies Bombard the Courts, Setting Stage for Post-Election Fight
Republicans are filing a barrage of election lawsuits in the final weeks of the presidential campaign. The cases may be a road map for a legal battle over the results.
U.S. Accuses Visa of Monopoly in Debit Cards
The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, accusing the financial giant of unfairly stifling competition in debit cards, the latest in a string of cases aimed at deterring monopolistic behavior by big companies.
Special Counsel Proposes Making Public More Evidence from Trump Election Case
Jack Smith is seeking to disclose quotations from secret grand jury testimony and interviews but is proposing to shield witness identities.
F.D.A. Approves a New Antipsychotic Drug
Available antipsychotic treatments work by blocking dopamine receptors. The new drug, Cobenfy, takes a different approach.
Legal Fight to Revive Congestion Pricing Can Proceed, Judge Rules
A New York judge rejected a motion by lawyers for Gov. Kathy Hochul to dismiss lawsuits challenging her decision to halt the tolling program.
Cheap Flights and Deleted Texts: 10 Takeaways from the Adams Indictment
Since 2016, prosecutors say, Mayor Eric Adams has received more than $100,000 in travel benefits from Turkish interests that he did not disclose as required by law.
Adams Pleads Not Guilty to Bribery and Fraud Charges
Adams pleaded not guilty to five felony counts, including bribery and fraud charges. He surrendered to ahead of a scheduled appearance before a Manhattan federal judge — a day after he was hit with an historic indictment alleging a decade-long pattern of corruption.
In Eric Adams Indictment, Legal Experts See Strengths, Potential Pitfalls.
Prosecutors pursuing corruption charges against Adams appear to have some solid evidence, but winning a conviction is far from a given, experts say.
Judge Demands a Plan for A Possible Federal Takeover of Rikers
Judge Laura Taylor Swain said a “carousel” of jail leaders had failed to stop the violence. She ordered lawyers for the city and prisoners to show her what a receivership might look like.
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