Week In Review
By Christine Coleman
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
Brace Yourself: Massive U.S. Copyright Fee Increases Hit November 11th
The U.S. Copyright Office is raising service fees starting November 11, following a proposed schedule submitted to Congress in July. The statutory 120-day congressional review period expires on November 11, which means automatic price increases will be implemented across nearly all categories.
Judge Dismisses Child Sexual Abuse Charges Against Timothy Busfield
A judge in New Mexico dismissed child sexual abuse charges against the actor and director Timothy Busfield, after finding flaws in how the prosecution had presented the case to a grand jury.
The NMPA Isn’t Loving Amazon Music’s Phono V Proposal — David Israelite Calls Out the ‘Terrible’ Terms, Says the DSP Wants ‘To Squeeze Songwriters’
Amazon Music has proposed royalty rate reductions, calling on “publishers to charge songwriters less and do more to properly distribute the royalties they already collect.” NMPA head David Israelite took aim at the Amazon-owned streaming platform’s suggested rate framework in a to-the-point video.
After a Fruitless Legal Attack, RIAA Takes the Anna’s Archive Problem to the U.S. Government
After allegedly scraping Spotify and then being slapped with a $322 million default judgment, Anna’s Archive has found its way into the RIAA’s “Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy” list.
Trump Signs American Music Tourism Act Into Law
President Donald J. Trump signed the American Music Tourism Act, a bipartisan bill backed by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), into law. The bill establishes a framework to promote travel to significant music landmarks, venues, festivals, and events.
How Dolly Parton’s Death Set Off a Legal Feud Surrounding Her Nephew
In August, Dolly Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, appeared on his aunt’s social media accounts to announce her death. Within weeks, Seaver became the main character in a bitter legal battle against Parton’s longtime manager, Danny Nozel. Nozel accuses Seaver of waging an “escalating campaign of threats” to extract money from his aunt’s estate. Seaver, now temporarily banned from Parton properties by a restraining order, has vehemently denied threatening or intimidating anyone and accused Nozell of distorting innocuous interactions to discredit him.
Manosphere Influencer Clavicular Pleads Not Guilty to Rape Charge
Clavicular, the social media influencer who exhorts young men to improve their appearance through “looksmaxxing,” pleaded not guilty to a rape charge in a Massachusetts court. The 20-year-old, whose real name is Braden Peters, appeared in person for the brief arraignment. Later in the day, his lawyer filed a motion seeking to dismiss the charges against him.
After Roller Coaster Death, Critics Call for Federal Oversight
Regulation of amusement parks is left to the states, and deaths are rare. Some say that stronger rules are needed.
Arts
Does Congress Need to Approve the Arch? Trump Says It Did 100 Years Ago
Over the past year, Trump and his allies have offered a series of explanations for why the nation needs a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch. As the mega project planned for Memorial Circle heads to a final vote by the National Capital Planning Commission on Nov. 5, the Trump administration has circled around one argument crucial to the project’s legal defense: The arch will at long last bring to life a proposal that has languished on hallowed land for a century.
Writers Are Making Millions Selling Short Stories to Hollywood
Publishers generally don’t race to acquire story collections these days, but studios appear eager to shell out for unpublished short works.
Art Basel Las Vegas? The Fight Over Miami Beach’s Fair
After 18 months of negotiations and warnings that it might relocate to Nevada, the Art Basel fair will remain in Miami Beach through 2031.
Art Basel Paris to End Early Because of France Riots
Art Basel announced that it would close the Paris edition of the fair early “in the interest of safeguarding our visitors, exhibitors, partners, staff and artworks.” Paris was bracing for another weekend of unrest after protests, riots, and looting flared up amid weeks of mass demonstrations across France.
Sports
NWSL gets rid of ‘Rodman Rule’ criteria in settlement with players’ union: What you need to know
The National Women’s Soccer League will no longer require players to meet a specific commercial or sporting criteria to qualify for the High Impact Player rule (HIP), which allows teams to use $1 million more than the team salary cap on player contracts. “The change is part of a wide-ranging settlement reached between the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association that resolves six outstanding grievances.
Judge Clashes with Justice Department About Trump’s Golf Course Plan
A hearing about the fate of the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington turned into a prolonged standoff as a federal judge went to extraordinary lengths to learn who has been responsible for decisions about the property and whether plans to overhaul it have been kept from the court.
The NFL owes Jalen Hurts, and all of us, more than haughty dismissiveness
NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills held a news conference at the league owners’ meetings, during which he vigorously defended the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to let quarterback Jalen Hurts play with a superficial blood clot in an Oct. 11 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Hurts has since been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis with bilateral pulmonary emboli (blood clots in both lungs) and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Utah football player suspended indefinitely after arrest for allegedly distributing explicit videos
Utah defensive lineman Jamal Wallace has been suspended indefinitely from the football program following his arrest on suspicion of distributing sexually explicit videos of a woman without her consent. The woman also told police he raped her, an allegation he denied to investigators.
Technology/Media
Trump Pushes to Evict the Press From the White House
Trump has talked about replacing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an indoor swimming pool. While moving the media out of the White House may be a relatively small debate, considering Trump’s attacks on journalists more broadly, it would be highly symbolic. The proximity of the media to the seat of U.S. executive power has long been an acknowledgment of the importance of a free press in a constitutional democracy.
Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion for Deceiving Users on Privacy
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for deceiving users about its data privacy practices, one of the largest penalties levied against a tech giant. Judge Francis J. Mathew of the Santa Fe court issued the landmark penalty, writing that the company and its executives purposefully misled the public.
A.I. Discovered a Critical Security Flaw Underpinning Websites
Security researchers using OpenAI’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models unearthed major bugs in a piece of software used widely across the internet, setting off fears around the world about significant disruptions for consumers and businesses.
How a Legal Backlash Against Big Tech Is Forcing Big Changes
For decades, tech giants grew at breakneck speeds as Congress struggled to keep pace with the consequences of the companies’ rapidly booming businesses. However, a new de facto regulatory regime has emerged over the past year, as courts clobber the biggest internet companies. For the first time, their product designs and advertising models, which critics say treat users as products, are costing the companies serious money.
AI Is Embedded in Your Election Experience. So Are Its Dangers.
The midterms are the first elections in which AI is integrated into every major social media platform. Efforts to blunt its harms are uneven.
Saudis Aided Family of Engineer Accused of Bugging OpenAI, Prosecutors Say
A federal judge ordered a former OpenAI engineer who was accused of planting a hidden recording device at the company to remain in custody without bail, after prosecutors said in a filing that the employee’s ties to the government of Saudi Arabia were extensive.
How Mark Zuckerberg Pushed Meta to Shield Him From California’s Proposed Wealth Tax
Meta revealed that in January it will issue a new class of stock to shareholders, which Mark Zuckerberg can sell to pay the potential wealth tax proposed in California without cutting into his 60.6% voting power at the Silicon Valley firm.
Trump’s ‘Smart Wall’ of AI Cameras Is Watching the Border, and More Than a Million People
For decades, Republicans and Democrats agreed that a “smart wall” of surveillance cameras and other high-tech equipment would be a potent tool to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking across the southern border. Now, the smart wall has arrived and it is more powerful than many could have imagined.
China Criticizes U.S. Ban on DeepSeek A.I. in Government Systems
China accused the United States of discrimination “under the pretext of so-called national security” after a U.S. order banned products by the Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek from the technological systems of many U.S. government agencies. The American order, published last week but issued in July, and the Chinese recriminations inflamed tensions between the two nations amid their frenzied race for AI primacy
General News
Supreme Court to Hear New Case on Race and School Admissions
The Supreme Court announced that it would revisit the issue of race and school admissions, three years after it sharply restricted affirmative action in higher education. The case involves four selective public middle schools in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital. A group of mostly Asian American parents sued the school system after it changed its admissions criteria, saying that the new rules unconstitutionally discriminated against Asian American students.
Supreme Court Will Not Revive Plea Deal for 9/11 Defendants
The Supreme Court announced that it would not consider requests to revive a plea deal for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and two others accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, clearing the way for the possibility that they could someday face a death penalty trial.
Supreme Court Blocks Trump From Denying Gender-Transition Care to Federal Prisoners
The Supreme Court prevented the Trump administration from immediately denying certain gender-transition medical treatments for transgender inmates at federal prisons. The Court’s unsigned, unexplained order was a rare example of the conservative-dominated bench siding, at least temporarily, with the rights of transgender individuals.
Amish Families Pushed to Undo a Vaccine Law. Then Measles Arrived.
In a petition filed on Sept. 28, the Amish asked the U.S. Supreme Court to force New York to grant religious exemptions to immunization rules, as most states do. A previous ruling gave the Amish reason to think they might have a chance at prevailing, but then a wave of measles cases began sweeping through Amish communities.
Calling Putin a ‘Humanitarian,’ Witkoff Thanks Him for Releasing an American
Praising President Vladimir V. Putin as a “humanitarian,” Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, thanked the Russian leader in St. Petersburg for releasing an American held for more than four years on what the State Department called fabricated charges. The release came after Trump made a direct appeal last week to Putin to let the 74-year-old teacher, Stephen James Hubbard, return to the United States.
Putin Nears a Prize: Restoring Ties With the U.S. While Giving Up Nothing
Russia has sought to separate the war in Ukraine from potential business deals and diplomacy with the United States. Its efforts now appear to be working.
In U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project Emerges
Interviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Lawmakers Plan to Block Trump Nominees Over Ukraine Satellite Network Restrictions
Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have told top White House officials they will block Trump’s nominees pending on Capitol Hill until the administration ensures the restoration of critical satellite communications capabilities used by Ukraine’s military.
Appeals Court Backs Trump on Constitutionality of Detentions
The Constitution does not guarantee undocumented immigrants a bond hearing when they are detained, a federal appeals court with jurisdiction over some of the largest federal immigration detention centers ruled. The ruling closes the main legal avenue that judges in three Southern states have used to free migrants who have filed petitions challenging the legality of their detentions.
Judge Restricts D.H.S. Field Operations Aimed at Unearthing Voter Fraud
A federal judge in California blocked the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out most field operations focused on uncovering voter fraud in nine states as part of a broader push to identify noncitizen voters. The ruling came less than two weeks before the midterm elections.
New Rules in North Carolina Threaten Thousands of Mail Ballots
New mail ballot rules in North Carolina may lead to the rejection of thousands of ballots, left-leaning voting rights groups warned this week. The groups urged voters to check the status of their mail ballot or vote in person to make sure their votes count. At issue is a requirement that voters seal not only the outer envelope of their mail ballot, but also an inner envelope that contains the ballot itself.
Trump Invokes Antisemitic Slur at Rally Again
Trump alluded to the antisemitic term at a rally in Kansas. The word is associated with a centuries-old antisemitic trope of a moneylender. Trump had said the word at a rally last year and said at that time that he didn’t know it was an antisemitic slur.
Eyeing Return to Power, Democrats Are Crafting a Plan to Dismantle Trump’s Agenda
Democratic Party leaders have begun making plans for a potential return to power, preparing an agenda that would focus on holding the Trump administration accountable for issues they blame on failed Republican policies. Even though Republicans would be all but guaranteed to retain the ability to block legislation in the Senate, Democrats argue that they would be able to use a majority to roll back some of Trump’s agenda, such as moving to halt his tariffs and directing him to end the war in Iran.
In Second Term, Trump’s Justice Dept. Submits to His Election Demands
The Justice Department is sharply intensifying efforts to intervene in the midterm elections, goaded by a president unfettered by even the limited restraints of his first term. The next several weeks represent a critical moment for federal law enforcement, a test of whether a department repurposed by Trump as an instrument of unmediated executive power will be effectively mobilized as a guarantor of his political power.
Alaska courts ruled months ago on the two Dan Sullivans in the Senate race
The Justice Department’s lawsuit asking a federal court to block certification of the Senate race in Alaska if the Republican incumbent narrowly loses has revived a legal fight centered on Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher running for Senate. The battle, which had been dormant for months before the Justice Department’s move, appeared to reach a conclusion in June, when Alaska’s top court said Dan J. Sullivan could appear on the ballot. Election law specialists said the litigation lacked any legitimate legal basis.
Justice Dept. Demands That California Counties Help Identify Noncitizen Voters
The Department of Justice sent letters to local election officials across California demanding that they help identify potential noncitizens on their voter rolls and set aside their ballots. The letters, sent to every county in the state, also said local officials would “risk significant federal scrutiny” if they failed to comply with the Justice Department’s demands.
How the Most Ruthless Ad of the Midterms Divided Republicans
The fallout from Vivek Ramaswamy’s brutal spot targeting his Democratic rival in the Ohio governor’s race showed that even in the Trump era, a political attack can be seen as going too far.
Covert Russian Group Injects Baseless Claim Into the Texas Senate Race
Even as Trump pursued a thawing of relations with the Kremlin this week, a covert Russian influence operation targeted the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, James Talarico, by spreading a fabricated claim of misconduct.
NDAs: Now They’re for Housekeepers and Butlers, Too
Once used primarily by companies to prevent employees from divulging proprietary information, the nondisclosure agreement has become an all but ubiquitous tool for wealthy people looking to muzzle housekeepers, butlers, tutors, private chefs and others who set foot on their properties.
The Overlapping Plagues Quietly Devastating American Forests
Epidemics are escalating across numerous species of trees in the U.S. as more and more pests and pathogens invade forests. Their entryway is global trade through live plants, and in the countless products that are shipped in wooden pallets, crates, and other packaging. As trade has boomed, so have the opportunities for tiny stowaways to wreak havoc.
When Idaho Banned Abortion, OB-GYNs Fled. The Doctors Who Stayed Are Cracking
In the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, triggering a near-total ban on abortion in Idaho, with the potential for criminal prosecution of any doctor who performed the procedure, OB-GYNs have been fleeing the state in extraordinary numbers. The impact of the exodus has rippled across the state as women’s health care has become increasingly dangerous there.
C.D.C. Ignored Request From States to Validate a New Measles Test
Health officials in California and Washington, facing outbreaks of measles this past spring, asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May to validate a test that can diagnose 500 cases in eight hours. They did not hear back for two months. Officials from the West Coast Health Alliance recounted the experience this week in a letter to Dr. Erica Schwartz, the C.D.C.’s new director, who assumed the position in August, shortly after they got the agency’s reply. According to the letter, the C.D.C. had told them that it had “other competing priorities” and could not dedicate time to making a high-volume test available to state labs.
SpaceX and Tesla Explore Merger to Create a De Facto Elon Inc.
Elon Musk said that SpaceX and Tesla were exploring a merger, which would consolidate his interests in rockets, electric cars, and artificial intelligence into a multitrillion-dollar behemoth.
Two Former F.B.I. Officials Charged With False Statements About Biden’s Son
The Justice Department accused two former F.B.I. officials of lying to Congress, saying that in testimony three years ago, they falsely minimized their work on investigations involving Hunter Biden. The charges against the two former officials were an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to go after the law enforcement and intelligence personnel who cast doubt on unsubstantiated claims that Joseph R. Biden Jr. engaged in corrupt dealings in Ukraine.
Trump Advisers Give Fees Earned for Aiding Pro-Russian Government to His Library
Two of Trump’s top political operatives donated the fees they earned for advising a pro-Russian Balkan government to his presidential library fund. James Blair and Chris LaCivita confirmed in social media posts that they made the donations. The revelation came more than two weeks after their work for Republika Srpska had provoked Trump’s ire.
New York City Passes Horse Carriage Ban, Ending a Central Park Tradition
The New York City Council voted to banish horse-drawn carriages from Central Park in two years, setting the stage for the elimination of an attraction as old as the park itself. The Council vote on the bill imposing the ban was a definitive, if not final, step toward ending a politically contentious debate over the future of the carriage industry.
Melania Trump Says She Brokered a Cease-Fire in a Starving Ukrainian City
Melania Trump said that she had brokered a cease-fire between Russian and Ukrainian forces in Oleshky, a southern Ukrainian city that is occupied by Russia and whose citizens are cut off from food and medical aid. She said the cease-fire would allow residents of the frontline city to leave “through a designated safe passageway.” The city, in the Kherson region of Ukraine, has been occupied by Russia since it began its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
A New Level of Threat and Fear Risks Pushing the U.S. and Iran Back to Full War
With new intelligence and the possibility of all sides seeking pretexts for action, the war in Iran is entering a dangerous phase ahead of elections in the United States and Israel.
Houthi Strike on Saudi Airport Kills 2 as U.S. Tells Some Diplomats to Leave
At least two people were killed in a strike by the Iran-backed Houthi militia on a major airport in Saudi Arabia evening, as Washington ordered some U.S. diplomatic staff to leave the kingdom following weeks of deadly attacks.
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