Larry Summers has resigned from OpenAI’s board of directors, following his announcement to step back from public commitments. This decision comes after the release of emails revealing a close relationship between Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Summers, who joined the board in November 2023, cited his desire to rebuild trust and repair relationships as the reason for stepping back. OpenAI’s board expressed its respect for Summers’ decision and appreciated his contributions.
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Andrew Paul Johnson, who received a pardon from former President Trump for his involvement in the January 6th Capitol riot, has been arrested in Florida on charges of child molestation. The arrest came after a months-long investigation and involved allegations of Johnson attempting to silence the victim, using the potential payout from his Jan. 6 involvement as leverage. Johnson was accused of committing lewd and lascivious acts on the child. Further investigation revealed that Johnson had expressed an intent to include the child in his will, allegedly to prevent him from revealing Johnson’s actions.
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Eminem, also known as Marshall B. Mathers III, has initiated legal action against the Australian beach brand Swim Shady, alleging trademark infringement due to the similarity of its name to his Slim Shady alter ego. The rapper filed a complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in September, seeking to cancel Swim Shady’s trademark, which was granted just days before. Eminem’s legal team argues the brand’s name creates a false association with the rapper’s established brand, prompting a response from the company. This marks another legal battle for Eminem, as he is also involved in an ongoing trademark infringement lawsuit against the “Reasonably Shady” podcast and previously sued Meta.
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A California housing dispute case, *Mendones v. Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.*, brought to light the first known instance of a deepfake video being submitted as evidence in court. Judge Victoria Kolakowski dismissed the case after detecting the AI-generated video, raising concerns among judges about the threat of hyperrealistic fake evidence. Legal experts and judges are warning that advancements in generative AI could erode trust in courtrooms. With various solutions being considered, the future of evidence is uncertain.
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A federal court has blocked Texas from using a redrawn U.S. House map, which was a key part of Trump’s efforts to maintain a Republican majority. The court ruled that the map racially gerrymandered the districts, reducing the influence of minority voters and violating the Voting Rights Act. The decision, made by a panel of judges, grants the critics’ request to block the map, forcing the state to use the 2021 map for upcoming elections. The ruling suggests the state intentionally manipulated district lines to create more majority-Hispanic and Black districts, despite the elimination of coalition districts.
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Investigators believe a misplaced label on a signal wire during the ship’s construction ultimately caused the Dali to lose power and collide with the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has identified the label as the root cause, as it prevented a proper connection in a circuit breaker leading to a blackout. The initial blackout resulted in loss of steering and critical equipment failure, followed by a second blackout when power was not restored quickly enough. The NTSB is expected to vote on the cause of the crash and approve a final report with the collapse projected to cost 4.3 to 5.2 billion with the bridge opening by late 2030.
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Chicago police are investigating a brutal attack on the “L” train system where a 26-year-old woman was set on fire. Following an argument with a man, the suspect poured an unknown liquid on the woman and ignited it, causing her to catch fire. The suspect fled the scene, and the victim, who sustained severe burns, was rushed to Stroger hospital in critical condition. Authorities are still searching for the suspect, and the train lines were temporarily shut down for the investigation.
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On Monday, November 17th, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reported nearly 21,000 student absences, representing 15% of the student population across 185 schools. This data is considered unofficial until approved by the state. The absences occurred amid an ongoing immigration operation, “Charlotte’s Web,” conducted by Border Patrol agents, which led to 130 arrests over the weekend. Mayor Vi Lyles expressed concern regarding the operation’s conduct and emphasized the importance of upholding the rights and constitutional protections of all residents.
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Several major online platforms, including X, Spotify, and ChatGPT, experienced outages due to issues with Cloudflare’s internal services. These outages, first reported around 11 am, affected thousands of users and multiple websites, with some services briefly returning before encountering further problems. Cloudflare, a significant web infrastructure provider, identified the issue and was implementing a fix, stating that a fifth of all global websites use its services. Experts noted that these outages highlight a trend of reliance on a small number of cloud providers, which can lead to widespread disruption when these platforms experience issues.
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The Vatican is returning 62 Indigenous cultural objects, including a century-old Inuvialuit kayak, to Canada after Pope Leo XIV gifted them to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. These items, collected from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, were originally sent to Rome for a 1925 exhibition and have been stored in the Vatican Museums. This decision follows Pope Francis’s 2022 visit to Canada and his acknowledgement of the importance of restitution. The artifacts will be transferred to the National Indigenous Organizations to be returned to their communities of origin.
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John Q. Hosedrinker