Week In Review
By Jessie Schuster
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
Skydance Blasts Off: Can David Ellison Make Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Fly?
David Ellison’s Skydance is set to complete its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating the largest merger in Hollywood history. The combined company will face the challenge of integrating major film, television, and streaming businesses while managing significant debt and navigating opposition from parts of the creative community.
Erica Campbell’s Label Quickly Settles Music Royalties Lawsuit Against Distributor
My Block Records quickly settled its lawsuit against SRG/ILS Group, alleging that the distributor failed to provide royalty statements for Erica Campbell’s 2023 album I Love You and other releases that generated more than 113M streams.
Alec Baldwin Civil Rights Lawsuit Over ‘Rust’ Prosecution Dismissed
A federal judge dismissed Alec Baldwin’s civil rights lawsuit against Santa Fe officials over his prosecution in the Rust shooting, finding that prosecutors were protected by qualified immunity.
Arts
Two Nazi Loot Claims May Test California Statute Intended to Remove Roadblocks to Restitution
Two lawsuits involving allegedly Nazi-looted artworks were filed in California just before a 2024 state law allowing new restitution claims expired. One case concerns Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Adam and Eve at the Norton Simon Museum, while the other involves watercolors created by Jewish artist Dina Gottliebova Babbitt while imprisoned at Auschwitz.
Kehinde Wiley Wants to Buy Back His Own Painting After Trump Administration Deemed it Too ‘Woke’
Artist Kehinde Wiley has offered to buy back his painting Young Artists After Siamesas 1960, which the State Department removed from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic after officials criticized it as representing “woke” ideology. Wiley said he wants the opportunity to repurchase the work if the administration decides to sell it, emphasizing the painting’s connection to Dominican artists and history.
Sports
Senate Passed Badly Needed Bill to Reform College Sports; Bill Faces Tough Second Half in House
The Senate passed the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act by a 77-22 vote, creating federal standards for name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights, revenue sharing, transfers, scholarships, and athlete health protections. The legislation now heads to the House, where disagreements over athlete compensation, antitrust protections, and employment status could make passage more difficult.
Trail Blazers Fire New Announcer Over Past Inappropriate Posts
The Portland Trail Blazers fired play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell after offensive social media posts he made as a teenager resurfaced. The team said the posts violated its policies and values, including comments described as racist and misogynistic.
ICE Detained Kentucky State Basketball Player From Senegal As She Prepared to Travel to Tournament
ICE detained Aminata Seck, a 26-year-old Kentucky State University basketball player from Senegal, at a Louisville airport as she prepared to travel with her team to a tournament in New York. Seck entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2019 but later overstayed it, and an immigration judge had ordered her deportation after she failed to attend a hearing.
Man City Appeal Premier League Financial Ruling
Manchester (Man) City appealed a Premier League ruling finding the club guilty of serious financial misconduct, including using sham commercial contracts that allegedly inflated revenue and understated costs by more than £900 million. Man City denies wrongdoing and argues that the ruling contains significant legal and factual errors, while potential sanctions could include fines, points deductions, title removals, or relegation.
Man City Whistleblower to Lose Witness Protection Days After Club’s Guilty Verdict
Rui Pinto is set to lose his witness protection in Portugal just days after Manchester City was found guilty of serious Premier League financial violations. Pinto’s disclosures helped expose the alleged misconduct, but his attorneys warn that ending his protection could leave him vulnerable to threats and physical harm.
Media & Technology
U.S. Appeals Court Rejects Fair Use Defense Over AI Training - As Thomson Reuters Wins Copyright Case Backed By RIAA and NMPA
The Third Circuit upheld Thomson Reuters’ victory against Ross Intelligence, finding that Ross’s use of Westlaw headnotes to develop an AI-powered legal research tool was not protected by fair use. The decision marks the first time that a U.S. appeals court has ruled on fair use in the context of AI training and reinforces that copyrighted material cannot automatically be used to develop competing AI systems.
Trump’s AI-Powered America.Gov Chatbot Corrects His False Claims
The Trump administration’s new America.gov AI chatbot has produced factual answers that contradict many of Trump’s claims, including confirming that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
OpenAI Reveals Another Hack Into a Government Agency in Australia
OpenAI disclosed that an AI model accessed previously unavailable fire statistics from an Australian government agency in New South Wales, marking a second recently disclosed incident involving an Australian government agency.
Hong Kong Journalist Tang Ho-Wing Arrested in Latest Sedition Case
Hong Kong authorities arrested independent journalist Tang Ho-wing under the city’s national security law on suspicion of acting with “seditious intention.” Tang, the founder of Boom News, was arrested after the outlet covered a gathering commemorating the 2019 Hong Kong protests, making him the fourth journalist involved in a sedition case in just over three months.
David Sullivan Sues BBC for 150M Euros Over Panorama’s Sexual Misconduct Claims
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan sued the BBC for £150 million over a Panorama documentary featuring allegations from several women that he abused his power to pursue sexual relationships with them. Sullivan denies the allegations and claims the program caused severe damage to his reputation, business interests, and finances.
General News
Flurry of Lawsuits Shows Both Parties Preparing for Post-Election Challenges
Both Democrats and Republicans are increasingly turning to litigation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with Republicans pursuing cases involving alleged noncitizen voting and Democrats raising concerns over restrictions on eligible voters. The growing number of election-related lawsuits could set the stage for legal challenges after Election Day.
‘God Made Trump’ Ad and At Least 12 Others Are Part of Controversial Taxpayer-Funded Ad Campaign
The Trump administration has created at least 13 campaign-style advertisements as part of a multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded campaign promoting the president and his policies. The ads include one titled “God Made Trump” that portrays Trump in a messianic light, prompting criticism over the use of government funds for political promotion.
Cities, States Sue EPA Over Power Plant Emissions Rollback
A coalition of 25 cities, counties, and states sued the EPA over its rollback of greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants. The lawsuits challenge the EPA’s decision to end federal emissions requirements and its failure to enforce standards applicable to existing gas-fired plants.
Justice Department Files Ethics Complaint Against Minnesota Federal Judges
The Justice Department filed a judicial misconduct complaint against seven Minnesota federal judges over comments they made to The New York Times about immigration enforcement and the Trump administration. The complaint argues that the judges’ public statements violated judicial ethics rules restricting judges from commenting on pending cases and political or policy matters before the courts.
Christa Pike Unconscious and On Ventilator in Hospital After Botched Executions, Attorneys Say
Christa Pike remained unconscious and on a ventilator after Tennessee officials failed to execute her twice by lethal injection. Her attorneys say she suffered significant injuries to both arms after the execution team struggled to administer the drugs, and they have asked the state to preserve evidence related to the failed execution.
Governor Replaces DA with New York AG Letitia James as Special Prosecutor in Cornell Case
Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the investigation into allegations that a former Cornell student was raped and drugged at a fraternity house in 2024. Hochul said that newly released information raised serious questions about how university police and the local district attorney’s office handled the investigation.
NYC Judge Orders Mamdani to Redo Second-Home Tax Rollout
A NYC judge ordered Mayor Mamdani’s administration to cancel previously mailed notices for the city’s new second-home tax and redo the rollout after finding due process violations. Judge Wayne Ozzi ruled that the notices were arbitrary and capricious and affected by errors of law, although the city has appealed the decision.
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