By Christine Coleman
Edited by Elissa D. Hecker
Entertainment
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Settle Their Legal Dispute, Mostly
Blake Lively has settled her legal claims against Justin Baldoni’s production company, the actors announced in a joint statement, after she had accused him of unleashing an online retaliation campaign against her. The settlement was announced as the actors’ legal teams were gearing up for a contentious and high-profile trial scheduled to start on May 18 in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The joint statement came abruptly, with no hint of settlement talks during a hearing last week, and did not disclose the terms of the settlement.
Further, a notice of settlement indicated that the dispute over the ill-fated 2023 production of “It Ends With Us” was far from fully resolved. The notice, filed by both parties, details an exception to the settlement that allows Lively to continue to seek legal fees and other damages from Baldoni and his associates in a related legal matter.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/movies/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-settlement.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/movies/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-settlement-defamation.html
He Thinks Netflix Accused Him of Murder. The Courts Disagree
In 2023, famed freediver Francisco Ferreras filed a libel suit over the Netflix drama “No Limit”, alleging that the overall effect of the film was to falsely imply that he had murdered his wife. While his case appeared strong, the lawsuit would hinge less on its legal merit than on his willingness to acknowledge certain painful gaps between his preferred narrative of his life and its observable facts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/10/magazine/netflix-diving-libel-case-murder-no-limit.html
Arts
DOGE’s Termination of Humanities Grants Is Ruled Unconstitutional
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than 1,400 previously approved grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities violated the Constitution, while also creating a broad “chilling effect.” In her 143-page ruling, Judge Colleen McMahon ordered the agency to rescind the cuts while saying that the plaintiffs had suffered “irreparable injury.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/arts/neh-grants-lawsuit-doge.html
The Audacity of Art at the Obama Presidential Center
The Obama Presidential Center, which officially opens on the South Side of Chicago in June, will feature original works by 30 artists that were commissioned by Barack and Michelle Obama. The art commissions are one of several unconventional aspects of the Obama Center. The decision to make art a priority in the Obama Center is consistent with the Obamas’ longstanding commitment to the arts over two administrations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/arts/design/art-barack-obama-presidential-center-bradford-mehretu-gibson.html
Electrical Fire Forces ‘Book of Mormon’ to Cancel Performances
“The Book of Mormon” will be forced to close for an unknown period of time after an electrical fire caused significant damage to the Eugene O’Neill Theater. In a statement, the producers of “The Book of Mormon” did not address when performances might resume and said that the production would work with the theater’s owner, the Fire Department, and other parties “to assess the damage.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/theater/broadway-theater-fire-eugene-oneill-book-of-mormon.html
Artists’ Strike Closes Pavilions at Venice Biennale, Adding to Upheaval
The Venice Biennale was disrupted as some of the major artists at this year’s event shuttered their exhibitions in protest over Israel’s participation. The strike actions were the latest upheaval at this year’s Biennale, which was rocked for months before the preview week by controversy over Israel’s participation and also by the return of Russia to the event for the first time since invading Ukraine in 2022.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/arts/venice-biennale-protests.html
Sports
Newsletter, Image, Likeness Vol. 183: The Final Payment Trap And How Schools Are Engineering Breach
This article discusses a structural problem quietly spreading through NIL and revenue-sharing agreements. Schools and their affiliated collectives are drafting agreements with payment schedules that deliberately defer the final installment until after the conclusion of postseason play, then invoking transfer portal provisions to withhold that payment the moment the season ends and an athlete so much as has a conversation about the future.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/newsletter-image-likeness-vol-183-final-payment-trap-how-heitner-amvqe/
IndyCar removes Freedom 250 T-shirt from online store in wake of backlash
IndyCar removed a Freedom 250 Grand Prix T-shirt from the shopping section of its official website in the wake of criticism that the product’s messaging was tone deaf and open to a racist interpretation. The shirt, touting the IndyCar race around the National Mall later this summer, depicts the Lincoln Memorial and portrays the seated President Abraham Lincoln wearing a racing helmet with lettering above the image that says, “One Nation” and lettering below that says, “One Race”.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7259579/2026/05/06/indycar-freedom-250-t-shirt-controversy/
2026 World Cup: FIFA still haggling with broadcasters in China and India over ‘most U.S. tournament ever’
Millions of soccer fans in the world’s two most populous nations may not be able to watch the FIFA World Cup as FIFA was still haggling with broadcasters in China and India about the media rights to the tournament.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7260572/2026/05/10/fifa-world-cup-usa-media-rights-china-india/
Calls to investigate potential sanctions against Man City owner Sheikh Mansour over Sudan conflict
Human rights organization FairSquare has provided the latest calls for the British government’s Foreign Office to consider sanctions and investigate the role of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, owner of Manchester City and deputy prime minister of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates government’s alleged support of a paramilitary group accused of committing war crimes in the Sudan.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7242938/2026/05/07/sheikh-mansour-manchester-city-sudan-sanctions/
Technology/Media
Five Publishers and Scott Turow Sue Meta and Mark Zuckerberg
Five major publishers and the best-selling novelist Scott Turow have filed a class-action copyright infringement lawsuit against Meta and its founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. The complaint, which was filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Meta and Zuckerberg of illegally using millions of copyrighted works and removing copyright notices and other copyright management information from those works.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/books/publishers-turow-meta-zuckerberg-lawsuit-copyright.html
ABC Accuses Government of Violating First Amendment
ABC has accused the Federal Communications Commission (FCC, the Agency) of violating its free speech rights, potentially setting the stage for a protracted, high-stakes legal battle between the network and the Trump administration. The company said in a filing with the Agency that regulators had a “chilling effect” on free speech by trying to punish political content with which they disagreed. The filing is the most aggressive defense from any television network since President Trump kicked off an extended campaign last year to bring media organizations to heel.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/business/media/abc-fcc-first-amendment-the-view.html
How ‘The View’ Landed at the Center of a Free Speech Battle
The FCC has been quietly investigating “The View” for months, looking into whether the program violated old federal rules requiring equal airtime to rival political candidates. The inquiry could feed into the agency’s wider review of whether ABC should be allowed to continue to own some of the country’s most important local television stations. This clash between ABC and the Trump administration could lead to a protracted and high-stakes legal battle over free expression.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/09/business/media/the-view-fcc-trump.html
S.E.C. Settles Lawsuit Against Elon Musk Over His Twitter Disclosures
The Securities and Exchange Commission reached a $1.5 million settlement with Elon Musk in a lawsuit that accused the world’s richest person of breaking securities law during his purchase of Twitter, now called X. According to a filing in federal court in Washington, Musk’s revocable trust will pay the settlement. The judge has not yet approved the agreement.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/technology/musk-sec-settlement-twitter.html
Federal Judge Shuts Down Spotify ‘Payola’ Class Action — Case Officially Stayed, Ordered to Arbitration
Judge John G. Koeltl has shut down a lawsuit centering on Spotify’s allegedly deceptive editorial playlist placements and algorithmic recommendations. Now, the proposed class action complaint is heading to arbitration.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/05/01/spotify-payola-lawsuit-arbitration/
All Those A.I. Note Takers? They’re Making Lawyers Very Nervous.
For lawyers, inviting an A.I. bot to meetings introduces a ticking time bomb of legal risk. A.I.-generated transcripts, which some video call apps allow users to turn on by default, preserve all sorts of things that humans would rarely write in the meeting minutes, and they show up in meetings that would otherwise not be recorded. In a lawsuit or an investigation, that can make every word uttered discoverable. Even worse, sharing the meeting with an A.I. bot may void attorney-client privilege, making conversations that would not otherwise be subject to discovery fair game in a lawsuit.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/09/business/dealbook/ai-notetakers-legal-risk.html
Canvas Online Learning Platform Shut Down for Hours After Cyberattack
Canvas, a platform used by over 8,000 universities and K-12 schools for course websites, assignments, and communication, shut down for several hours. A hacking group claimed responsibility for a data breach affecting Instructure, the company that owns the platform, jeopardizing the personal data of millions of students and teachers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/education/canvas-hacked-down-data-breach.html
Meta’s Embrace of A.I. Is Making Its Employees Miserable
Meta is pushing its 78,000 employees to adopt artificial intelligence (A.I.) tools and factoring their use of the technology in performance reviews, and is tracking employees’ computer work to feed and train its A.I. models. Additionally, Meta is cutting jobs to offset its A.I. spending, saying last month that it would slash 10% of its work force. This has led to anger and anxiety as employees await news of whether they are affected by the layoffs, which are slated to be carried out on May 20.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/technology/meta-ai-employees-miserable.html
Anthropic and Wall Street Giants Join Forces to Create New A.I. Firm
Anthropic is teaming up with several large investment firms to create a venture that will help companies integrate A.I. tools into their systems, the latest example of the deepening ties between Wall Street and the A.I. industry. The new firm will work with companies to deploy Anthropic’s A.I. model Claude.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/business/anthropic-blackstone-goldman-sachs-artificial-intelligence-firm.html
General News
Supreme Court lets abortion pill mail delivery restart for now
The Supreme Court temporarily reinstated a federal rule allowing the abortion pill to be prescribed through telemedicine and dispensed through the mail, lifting a judicial decision that had blocked the regulation and narrowed access to the medication nationwide. Justice Samuel Alito issued an interim order pausing a decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to re-impose an older federal rule requiring an in-person clinician visit to receive mifepristone.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-supreme-court-lets-abortion-pill-mail-delivery-restart-for-now/ar-AA22m9PK?ocid=winp2fptaskbar&cvid=2d21dbddd78845e28ac0f35bcbaf4e69&ei=7
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/us/politics/supreme-court-abortion-pill.html
Supreme Court Agrees to Fast-Track Louisiana Voting Map Decision
The Supreme Court agreed to immediately transmit to the lower courts its opinion striking down Louisiana’s congressional map, rather than wait 32 days, as would have been routine. Last week’s landmark opinion from the Court, which weakened the Voting Rights Act by concluding that one of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, has set off a chaotic scramble in the state.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/us/politics/supreme-court-louisiana-voting-rights-act.html
Trade Court Rules Trump’s 10% Global Tariff Is Illegal
A panel of federal judges found that President Trump had violated the law when he imposed a 10% tariff on most U.S. imports, dealing yet another legal setback to the White House in its efforts to wage a trade war without the express permission of Congress. In a split ruling, the Court of International Trade found that Trump had wrongly invoked a decades-old trade law when he applied those duties beginning in February. The decision appeared to place, for now, new limits on Trump’s trade powers, which he has wielded aggressively in hopes of resetting relationships with allies and adversaries, raising new revenue and encouraging more companies to make their products in the United States.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/business/economy/trump-global-tariff-ruled-illegal.html
Judge Questions Jail’s Treatment of Suspect in Press Gala Shooting
Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui raised concerns that Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of trying to kill Trump and top cabinet members at the annual Correspondents Dinner, had been placed in unusually punitive detention for days while awaiting next steps in court. During a hastily scheduled hearing in Washington, Magistrate Judge Faruqui demanded answers about how Allen had been placed on suicide watch, denied several basic services, and held in “effectively solitary confinement” for nearly a week, all while the government has been slow to establish key facts in the federal case against him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/us/politics/correspondents-dinner-shooting-suspect-suicide-watch.html
Judge Says F.B.I. Can Keep 2020 Election Records Seized From Georgia
A federal judge in Georgia ruled that the federal government did not have to return 2020 election records seized by the F.B.I., rejecting a request from Fulton County that the materials be returned. Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in his order that while he found elements of the case “troubling,” the county had not met the bar required for him to compel the government to return the records.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/us/politics/judge-says-fbi-can-keep-2020-election-records-seized-from-georgia.html
Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced several initiatives intended to rein in the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most widely prescribed class of antidepressants, which he has described as exceptionally difficult to quit. Kennedy has long signaled that reducing the use of psychiatric drugs would be an aim of his tenure and the announcements were the first significant step in that direction. The initiative focuses on the most widely prescribed class of psychiatric medications, first-line treatments for depression and anxiety that include Zoloft, Lexapro, Paxil, and Prozac.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/science/rfk-antidepressants-ssris-hhs-maha.html
F.D.A. Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe
Officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months. The studies were conducted by scientists at the FDA who worked with data firms to analyze millions of patient records. They found serious side effects to be very rare.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/us/politics/fda-covid-vaccine-studies.html
In a Milestone for A.L.S., a Treatment Helps Some Patients Improve
The drug tofersen is for a small subset of patients with a rare genetic form of A.L.S., but evidence that breathing and strength can improve for some of these patients is remarkable for a paralyzing and usually fatal disease.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/well/als-treatment-tofersen-qalsody.html
The administration wants to strip 12 immigrants of U.S. citizenship.
The Trump administration asked federal courts to revoke the citizenship of 12 immigrants who committed crimes or took other actions that officials say disqualify them from being Americans, signaling that it planned to make good on a pledge to increase the rate of denaturalizations.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/08/us/trump-news#trump-immigrants-citizenship
U.S. to Review Mexican Consulates After Right-Wing Claims Against Them
The State Department said it would review the 53 Mexican consulates in the United States, the latest sign of growing tensions between the Trump administration and one of its most important foreign allies. The review comes after claims have been circulating in conservative media in recent months that Mexican consulates interfere in American politics and encourage mass migration to the United States.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/politics/mexico-consulates-state-department.html
Justice Department Sues Colorado Over Gun Law
The Justice Department sued Colorado over a state law banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that was passed after a 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. It was the second lawsuit in two days that the Trump administration has filed against gun-control policies in the Democratic-controlled state, part of a series of moves against Colorado during Trump’s second term.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/us/politics/doj-colorado-lawsuit-guns.html
In Huge Blow to Democrats, Virginia Court Strikes Down House Map
Virginia’s top court struck down a congressional map drawn by Democrats and recently approved by voters, dealing a major blow to the party as it struggles to keep pace with Republicans in the nation’s redistricting battle. The ruling will wipe out four newly drawn Democratic-leaning U.S. House districts in Virginia, giving Republicans, who have carved out more red seats across the country, a structural advantage as they enter the midterm elections.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/us/politics/virginia-redistricting-supreme-court.html
Democrats Urge N.Y. Leaders to Redistrict After Supreme Court Ruling
With the national fight over mid-decade redistricting in high gear, Democratic leaders are trying to ensure that states under their party’s control work to create new congressional district lines to counter efforts by Republican-led states. House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Representative Joseph D. Morelle of New York announced the creation of the New York Democracy Project, a redistricting initiative meant to counter Republican redistricting in Texas and a recent Supreme Court decision that makes it more difficult to use the Voting Rights Act to challenge a legislative map on racially discriminatory grounds.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/nyregion/redistricting-ny-democrats.html
New York Bars ICE Agents From Wearing Masks in Broad Immigration Deal
New York leaders announced a plan to implement some of the strictest rules for immigration officials of any state in the country. The plan prohibits state and local officials from entering into formal or informal cooperation agreements with ICE and bars law enforcement agents from wearing masks. Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the changes were necessary given the extent of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/nyregion/ice-masks-hochul-ny.html
Tennessee Approves New Map Aimed at Flipping the Last Democratic Seat
Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee signed a new congressional map into law that slices up Memphis to scatter Black voters into neighboring districts, a move intended to eliminate the state’s last Democratic House seat. It is the first map crafted since the Supreme Court weakened the remaining provision of the Voting Rights Act by making it difficult for states to craft majority-minority districts that would not be considered racial gerrymanders.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/elections/tennessee-house-redistricting.html
Most Trump-Backed Challengers Beat Indiana Incumbents Who Bucked Trump
At least five of the seven anti-redistricting Republicans facing Trump-backed challengers in Indiana state senate elections lost their primaries, according to The Associated Press. The results reflected Trump’s continuing sway over Republican voters and his ability to enforce political consequences for Republican officeholders who defy him.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/us/trump-candidates-win-indiana-republican-primary.html
ICE Arrests Violated Order Requiring Warrants in D.C., Judge Rules
A federal judge found that the Trump administration violated a court order from last year that strictly limited instances in which the government can make immigration arrests in the District of Columbia without a warrant. In a 45-page opinion, Judge Beryl A. Howell wrote that the Department of Homeland Security relied on guidance that advised immigration agents to make arrests without warrants in cases beyond what she had dictated in her December order.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/trump-dhs-arrests-warrants-dc.html
His DNA Was Taken After His Arrest at an ICE Protest. Now, He’s Suing.
Dana Briggs, an air force veteran who was arrested during an anti-ICE protest, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the federal government’s DNA collection practice, arguing that his arrest and the collection of his sample violated his rights to protest and protections against the government conducting “warrantless, unreasonable intrusions” into his body.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/06/nyregion/dna-collection-ice-arrests-lawsuit.html
Shell Reports Nearly $7 Billion Profit Amid ‘Unprecedented Disruption’
The British energy giant Shell reported robust profits following the surge in oil prices prompted by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The company said that its adjusted profit soared 24%, to $6.92 billion, in the first three months of the year from the same time last year, higher than analysts expected. The strong financial turnout came amid an “unprecedented disruption in global energy markets.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/business/shell-profit-oil-iran-war.html
Trump Administration Weighs Citing ‘Emergency’ to Admit More Afrikaners as Refugees
Trump has instituted the most dramatic retrenchment of the country’s refugee program in decades, largely walling off the United States to anyone fleeing war and persecution. However, since last year, Afrikaners, the white minority from South Africa, have had the rare ability to seek refugee status. Now the administration is considering substantially expanding access for the white South Africans by declaring that an “unforeseen emergency” in that country warrants more than doubling the number who could enter as refugees.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/politics/trump-afrikaner-refugees-emergency.html
Soil at D.C. Golf Course Where East Wing Debris Was Dumped Contains Toxic Metals
Soil at a public golf course in Washington where the Trump administration dumped debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing has tested positive for lead, chromium, and other toxic metals, according to data released by the National Park Service. The data showed relatively low levels of these contaminants in the soil at East Potomac Golf Links. Yet the dump raised questions about the decision by the Trump administration to bypass environmental laws when it dropped truckloads of mud, rebar, plaster, and other debris in the middle of the popular public course near the Jefferson Memorial.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/climate/east-potomac-golf-debris-toxic.html
Vote Brings ‘Freeze the Rent’ Closer to Reality in New York
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s push to freeze rents for nearly one million New York City apartments cleared a major hurdle when a city panel backed rents that included leases with no increases. In a preliminary vote, the nine-member Rent Guidelines Board supported increases of between 0 and 2% on one-year leases, and 0 and 4% on two-year leases for rent-stabilized apartments. A vote on the final numbers, which will fall within those ranges, will take place on June 25.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/nyregion/mamdani-rent-freeze-stabilized-apartment.html
Defendant in Boulder Antisemitic Attack Is Sentenced to Life in Prison
Mohamed Sabry Soliman pleaded guilty to 101 charges, including one count of murder for the death of Karen Diamond, 82, in the firebombing attack against a group of marchers calling for the release of hostages captured by Hamas in its October 2023 raid on Israel in Boulder, Co. Soliman was sentenced to life in prison.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/colorado-attack-soliman-life-sentence.html
Employees With Medical Conditions Challenge C.D.C. In-Office Requirement
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been particularly strict in abolishing at-home work, overriding employees’ accommodations that were granted years before the pandemic in response to a January 2025 executive order.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/health/cdc-worker-accomodations-disabilities.html
This Is What Happened When Trump Abandoned the World’s Poorest Children
A year after some of the Trump Administration cut aid for the world’s poorest children, they’re trying to roll out a new public relations narrative that they are continuing to provide aid and save lives. Several researchers have pointed out that the opposite is true, and Trump and his aides continue to take steps that will add to the toll of lives lost.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/09/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts.html
Iranian Propaganda vs. U.S. Talking Points: How We Determined the Real Damage to U.S. Military Bases
Amid the barrage of messages and misinformation swirling online and on Capitol Hill about what damage U.S. military sites incurred during the conflict with Iran, a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery shows 18 sites in seven countries were hit.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000010868609/iran-war-us-military-base-damage.html