Jessie Schuster
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
Young Thug’s Lawyer Says Prosecutors Are Misusing Evidence & Lyrics to Convict Rapper in RICO Trial
After it was decided that rapper Young Thug’s lyrics could be used as evidence, the artist’s lawyer claimed that the lyrics were misused, as Young Thug “doesn’t even know most of the people in this indictment.”
https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/young-thug-ysl-rico-trial-rapper-lawyer-blasts-lyrics-evidence-1235513975/
Daryl Hall Suing John Oates Over Plan to Sell Stake in Joint Venture to Primary Wave
Former bandmates John Oates and Daryl Hall are in rocky waters, as Hall sued Oats for violating terms of a joint agreement by selling his own shares of the joint venture. A temporary restraining order was filed, prohibiting Oats from making the sale of his share.
https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/daryl-hall-sues-john-oates-joint-venture-sale-primary-wave-1235510424/
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accused of Sexual Abuse by Two More Women
One week after settling his lawsuit with Cassie for abuse claims, two more women came forward, accusing the artist of sexual abuse.
https://www.billboard.com/pro/sean-diddy-combs-accused-sexual-abuse-two-more-women/
‘Rust’ Killing Forces Hollywood to Make Choices on Guns
Hollywood is still reconsidering how to approach gun use on set after the killing of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust.’ Some production studios are looking to use special effects to get the sound and look of a gun being shot on screen, while others feel the most convincing is still using a real gun.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/25/arts/rust-killing-forces-hollywood-to-make-choices-on-guns.html
Aretha Franklin’s Sons Awarded Real Estate Owing to Handwritten Will Found in Couch Cushions
Months after a Michigan Judge found that a hand-written document discovered in a couch cushion was Aretha Franklin’s will, her sons have each been awarded a home from her real-estate discography.
https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/aretha-franklin-sons-awarded-homes-2014-will-found-couch-1235514261/
Court Rejects Jussie Smollett’s Appeal of Hoax Case Conviction
Actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction was upheld on the charges of filing a false police report in 2019.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/arts/jussie-smollett-appeal.html?searchResultPosition=2
Peacock Signs Documentary Deals with Accused Gilgo Beach Murderer’s Family
Asa Ellerup, ex-wife of the accused Gilgo Beach murderer, Rec Heuermann, has agreed to partake in a documentary about the killer. Peacock will not be paying Ellerup for her participation.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/11/28/peacock-signs-documentary-deals-with-accused-gilgo-beach-murderers-family-reports-say/?sh=2227f1f42fa1
Europe’s Artists and Labels Could Lose $137M Annually to U.S. Recorded Music Rightsholders if EU Law Isn’t Changed, Trade Groups Warn
A technicality in EU law that distinguishes how the U.S. pays their artists versus the E.U. could cost European artists and labels millions that would be awarded mostly to U.S. based artists if the law is not changed.
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/europes-artists-and-labels-could-lose-137m-annually-to-us-recorded-music-rightsholders-if-eu-law-isnt-changed-trade-groups-warn/
Arts
NYC Ballet and Its Orchestra Reach Contract Deal
Following months of tension between the NYC Ballet and its Orchestra, a deal was finally reached that included a 22% salary increase over three years for the musicians. The timing of this deal comes just as the winter seasons biggest production, “The Nutcracker”, begins.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/28/arts/music/new-york-city-ballet-orchestra-contract-deal.html
A Trove of Scythian Gold was Shipped to Kyiv After Dutch Courts Rejected Crimea’s Claims to It
Ancient artifacts that have been the subject of years of legal dispute regarding their possession have been shipped to Kyiv after it had been found that the Scythian Gold pieces were part of Ukraine’s national heritage.
https://news.artnet.com/news/scythian-gold-arrived-ukraine-crimea-2400652
Top French Expert Heads to Trial for Allegedly Selling Fake Antique Furniture to the Palace of Versailles
Bill Pallot, a French antique expert, is heading to trial after being charged with forgery for selling fake 18th Century antique furniture to the Palace of Versailles.
https://news.artnet.com/news/furniture-expert-trial-2398501
How a Group of Ancient Sculptures Sparked a Dispute Between Greece and the UK
Sculptures that were carved in 447-432 B.C. Greece have been held in the U.K. for over two centuries. Greece wants them returned; however, U.K. Prime Minister Sunak canceled his meeting at the last minute where this topic was to have been discussed with Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Up until now, the dispute between the two countries has been rather amicable, but Greek patience is diminishing.
https://apnews.com/article/parthenon-sculptures-explainer-greece-uk-dispute-4b3882e6a07cd8719e8b04db1e23103d
Sports
Why Christiano Ronaldo is Being Sued in $1B Lawsuit by People who Bought His NFTs
A class action lawsuit is being brought against soccer star Christiano Ronaldo after Balance, the cryptocurrency company with which the athlete collaborated in selling his NFTs, was required to pay the U.S. $4.3B in penalties after its CEO pled guilty to money laundering.
https://theathletic.com/5099457/2023/11/30/cristiano-ronaldo-binance-lawsuit-explained/
32 Female Athletes File Lawsuit Against Oregon, Citing Title IX Violations
32 Athletes from University of Oregon are suing the university over Title IX violations, the federal law that bans educational sex discrimination.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2023/12/01/university-of-oregon-athletes-title-ix-lawsuit/71764258007/
Girls Thrive in Many Sports. Now They’re Coming for Football
Eight states, including New York, now offer flag football as a varsity sport for girls, a gamechanger for female athletes across the country. In these states, and hopefully soon in more, high school athletes can go on to play flag football at the collegiate level.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/26/nyregion/flag-football-olympics-new-york.html
Corey Perry’s Contract Termination, Explained: How the NHL Process Works and What Comes Next
The Chicago Blackhawks have terminated NHL player Corey Perry’s contract for material breach. While it is unclear what is the reasoning behind the termination, it has been made clear that there was no criminal activity that instigated this decision.
https://theathletic.com/5104235/2023/12/01/corey-perry-contract-termination-explained/
NCAA Leaders Warn College Sports at Risk of ‘Permanent Damage’ Without Action from Congress
The introduction to name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals for collegiate athletes following the Supreme Court decision two years ago is still being worked out by the NCAA. The commissioners of the major NCAA conferences are working to obtain congressional approval of legislation that will provide nationwide standards on how athletes can make money from their NIL.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/03/politics/ncaa-college-sports-at-risk-nil/index.html#:~:text=From%20left%20to%20right%2C%20SEC,Raju%20on%20November%2028%2C%202023
Media & Technology
Meta Collected Children’s Data from Instagram Accounts, Unsealed Court Document Alleges
A court document coming from a lawsuit brought against Meta has shown that Instagram does not shut down accounts made by children under the age of 13. Data is collected from those accounts without the consent of the children’s parents.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/26/business/meta-collecting-data-children-facebook/index.html
SONY Music’s Artists Aren’t Involved in YouTube’s New Voice-Cloning AI Experiment. Not Unrelated: Google’s Recent Filing with the U.S. Copyright Office
YouTube’s new experiment, ‘Dream Track’, will allow users of the site to clone the voices of artists using AI. The artists who have given consent to use their voices include those signed with Universal and Warner, but none from SONY. There is speculation as to why SONY has not chosen to get on board with ‘Dream Track,’ one theory being that Google’s recent filing with the U.S. Copyright Office raised red flags with the music empire, as Google is YouTube’s parent company.
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/sony-musics-artists-arent-involved-in-youtubes-new-cloned-voice-ai-experiment-not-unrelated-googles-recent-filing-with-the-us-copyright-office/
Sports Illustrated Owner Denies Using AI and Fake Writers to Produce Articles
Sports Illustrated has been accused of using AI to create fake writers that have published AI-generated articles. While the stories were taken down from the sports news site during an investigation, the magazine’s owner denies the allegations.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sports-illustrated-denies-using-ai-fake-writers-to-produce-stories/
Inside U.S. Efforts to Untangle an A.I. Giant’s Ties to China
U.S. officials consider the tie between China and G42 to be a security threat. The Emirati tech firm is thought to be hiding the amount of work it is doing with Chinese companies, as the CIA and other spy agencies have discovered that G42 could be working with a company that is currently under U.S. sanctions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/27/us/politics/ai-us-uae-china-security-g42.html
Amazon Announces Q , an AI ChatBot for Businesses
Amazon has announced Q, a ChatBot that businesses can pay a monthly fee for as the company hopes to compete with Microsoft and Google’s AI ChatBots.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/28/amazon-announces-q-an-ai-chatbot-for-businesses.html
X Loses Revenue as Advertisers Halt Spending on Platform Over Elon Musk Posts
Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic post on X led major companies, including Apple, Coca-Cola, and Disney to pull their ad spending revenue on the social media platform.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/advertisers-leave-x-elon-musk-apple-disney-coca-cola/
OpenAI Will Add Microsoft as Board Observer, Plans Governance Changes
Following the firing of Sam Altman at OpenAI, the businessman was brought back as the company’s CEO. OpenAI also announced that it will be working with Microsoft to help run its large-scale AI-related experiments.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-30/openai-will-add-microsoft-as-board-observer-plans-governance-changes
Big Companies Find a Way to Identify AI Data They Can Trust
With the ever-growing AI technology making its way to big companies, many mainstream companies worry about the data security of working with AI bots. To combat the concerns, an AI labeling system has been developed that identify trustworthy AI data.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/business/ai-data-standards.html
Judge Blocks Montana’s TikTok Ban
Montana’s ban on TikTok that was to go into effect this coming up January was blocked after a U.S. District Judge issued a preliminary injunction saying that the bill oversteps state power and infringes on TikTok users’ constitutional rights.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/montana-tiktok-ban-blocked-judge-rcna122084
Paris Mayor Quits X, Calling Social Media Site a ‘Gigantic Global Sewer’
Anna Hidalgo, Paris’s mayor, has quit using X, as she says the social media cite has become a “tool” for the destruction of democracy and has led to extreme cases of antisemitism, disinformation, and manipulation.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/27/paris-mayor-anne-hidalgo-quits-x-calling-social-media-site-a-gigantic-global-sewer
Russian Court Extends Detention of Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva; The Dual U.S.-Russian Citizen will Remain in Custody Until at Least Feb. 5
Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will remain in Russian custody until at least Feb. 5th. Russia claims that he failed to register as a foreign agent. That date may be pushed back even further as her trial date has still not been set.
https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russian-court-extends-detention-of-journalist-alsu-kurmasheva-3225ab84
As Antisemitism Spikes Across Europe, More Fingers are Pointing at Russia
Following the October 7th attacks by Hamas in Israel, antisemitism has spiked worldwide. In Europe, authorities are blaming Russia for contributing to the increase in hate against Jews, as French authorities claim the Russian-run news site “Recent Reliable News” was sharing false photos of Stars of David on buildings when there weren’t any incidents involving the vandalism.
https://www.jta.org/2023/11/27/global/as-antisemitism-spikes-across-europe-more-fingers-are-pointing-at-russia?utm_source=JTA_Maropost&utm_campaign=JTA_DB&utm_medium=email&mpweb=1161-65153-99166
Can Taiwan Continue to Fight Off Chinese Disinformation?
After a false video went viral in Taiwan of President Tsai Ing-wen advertising crypto-currency investments, Taiwan is doing whatever possible to fight disinformation being spread by China. This task, however, is not easy, as China has been circulating conspiracy theories and false narratives in Taiwan in attempts to divide the population.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/26/business/media/taiwan-china-disinformation.html?searchResultPosition=1
Google Agrees to Pay Canadian Media for Using Their Content
In a deal between Google and Canadian media companies, Google will pay 100M Canadian dollars per year to the media companies for using their content. The companies range from Indigenous media companies to independent outlets and multilingual media companies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/world/americas/google-canada-news-media-deal.html
Peter Schiff Will Receive Settlement to End His Defamation Suit
Peter Schiff will receive over $360,000 from an Australian media company to settle the defamation lawsuit Schiff brought against then in 2020.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/business/peter-schiff-defamation-settlement-nine.html
General News
Sandra Day O’Connor, the First Woman to Serve on the Supreme Court, Dies at 93
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor passed away at 93 years old. The late justice will remain as a crucial part of American history as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court and an inspiration to generations.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/12/01/sandra-day-oconnor-first-woman-serve-supreme-court-dies/7974881002/
Henry Kissinger is Dead at 100; Shaped the Nation’s Cold War History
Henry Kissinger, viewed as the most powerful postwar secretary of state for his work regarding the U.S. international relations, died at age 100.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/29/us/henry-kissinger-dead.html?searchResultPosition=1
Supreme Court Denies Arizona Lawmakers’ Attempt to Avoid Depositions in Voting Lawsuit
The Supreme Court rejected Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen’s emergency request for the justices to stop a lower court ruling that would require the two men to supply documents related to a lawsuit involves racially discriminatory voting laws.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4329484-supreme-court-arizona-voting-lawsuit/
Senate Judiciary Committee Authorizes Subpoenas for Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo in Supreme Court Ethics Probe
A vote by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee authorized subpoenas to be issued to Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo as the panel investigates ethical issues at the U.S. Supreme Court. This comes following the two men’s gifts to Justice Thomas that included luxury trips.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-harlan-crow-leonard-leo-subpoenas-senate-judiciary-committee/
Republican George Santos Becomes First House Member Expelled in More Than 20 Years
George Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives after a vote took place in the wake of his indictments for 23 charges, to which he pled not guilty.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/expel-george-santos-house-set-possibly-historic-vote/story?id=105289657
An Appeals Court Reinstates Gag Order that Barred Trump from Maligning Court Staff in NY Fraud Trial
A gag order has been reinstated on Trump by a NY appeals court that will bar the former president from speaking about court employees.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-trial-gag-order-15304270ea3f61284a414f938155ae62
Federal Judge Rejects Trump’s Immunity Claims in 2020 Election Interference Case
It has been ruled by a federal judge that Trump is not immune from being prosecuted in his 2020 election interference case. That being said, it is likely that the former-president’s lawyers will appeal that decision as they claim Trump was not involved in any wrongdoings.
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/01/1216696071/donald-trump-election-interference-immunity-claims-rejected-tanya-chutkan
New York Prosecutors Move to Vacate Unjust Convictions of 2 Men After Nearly 3 Decades
After spending almost 30 years in prison for unjust murder convictions, Jabar Walker and Wayne Gardine were freed, following the Manhattan D.A.’s decision to vacate the convictions.
https://abc7ny.com/manhattan-district-attorney-unjust-convictions-vacate/14109294/
Hundreds of Licensed Cannabis Stores Blocked by Lawsuit Could Finally Open
Following the legalization of recreational cannabis in New York, not many New Yorkers saw the growth of dispensaries in their state. That will soon change, as hundreds of dispensaries that were previously blocked from opening due to a lawsuit will now be able to open.
https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/11/28/licensed-cannabis-stores-lawsuit-vets-pot-marijuana/
Newly Freed Hostages Describe What Life Was Like While Being Held by Hamas
The world is learning what the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza went through and may be continuing to go through as returned women, children, and elderly that have been returned to Israel describe the terrifying conditions of the homes and tunnels in which they were kept.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hostages-held-hamas-describe-life-was-captivity-rcna126781
2023 Virtually Certain to Be the Hottest Year on Record, Scientists Say
Climate scientists warn that following the warmest October to date globally, 2023 will be recorded as the hottest year yet.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/climate/heat-temperature-record-2023.html?searchResultPosition=1
Disinformation is One of Climate Summit’s Biggest Challenges
The world’s leaders are meeting at a summit to address climate issues and one of their biggest topics will focus on online disinformation that has become a danger to the way people view climate issues.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/technology/cop28-climate-disinformation.html?searchResultPosition=1
Russia: Supreme Court Bans “LGBT Movement” as “Extremist”
The Russian Supreme Court deemed LGBTQ+ “movements” as extremist, a ruling that puts all members of the community in danger.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/30/russia-supreme-court-bans-lgbt-movement-extremist