6 Reasons Libraries Should Look Beyond the M.L.S.; Inside Higher Ed, June 16, 2026

Bryn Geffert, Inside Higher Ed ; 6 Reasons Libraries Should Look Beyond the M.L.S.

New research bolsters the growing case for alternative credentialing in academic libraries.

"No question is more likely than the following to provoke a donnybrook among academic librarians: Should every or even most librarians possess a master of library and information science (M.L.I.S. or M.L.S.) degree? Pose the question, step back and watch the fireworks.

A recent survey I conducted of every R-1 and R-2 university library in the United States (with responses from the top library official at 167 universities) identified tremendous dissatisfaction with the profession’s traditional treatment of this degree as the sole or even best credential for academic librarians. A significant and especially vociferous minority of administrators (31 percent) still insist that the M.L.S. serve as a mandatory, bedrock qualification for practitioners, asserting that those without said degree should never hold the title “librarian.” But a strong majority are now willing to consider alternative credentials.

I side with that burgeoning majority. In light of developments over the last few decades, those who contend we should treat the degree as optional rather than mandatory have the stronger case. Herewith, I present six observations in favor of recognizing alternative credentials for those the academy hires as librarians."

Build an angel, not a demigod; The Washington Post, June 16, 2026

Bill Drexel, The Washington Post ; Build an angel, not a demigod

Religious commitment is good at shaping behavior. That should interest AI labs.

"Recent attention from religious authorities toward AI, such as Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, is a welcome development for the trajectory of this technology. But the more necessary step is for the engineers to return the favor — to be more honest about the religious shape of their own anxieties, not least to themselves, and the advantages that religious inspiration might provide to address their fears.

Were they more open to it, these labs might even recognize that theology offers them a better goal: developing an angel, superior to humans in intelligence and power but sent to serve them. Instead of raising a demigod, might they not try to engineer a Gabriel?"

The Millions of Songs Mashed Into AI-Generated Music; The Atlantic, June 14, 2026

 Alex Reisner, The Atlantic; The Millions of Songs Mashed Into AI-Generated Music

"The actual recordings that go into any model are a closely guarded secret—AI companies have claimed they are proprietary—but the number of songs is almost certainly huge, spanning genres and time periods.

As part of my series of investigations into AI training data, I recently discovered four giant datasets of songs that are being shared within the AI-development community. One has 12 million tracks. Another has 9 million. The two smaller datasets each have more than 100,000. They include hits from major pop artists such as Bad Bunny, Nirvana, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, and the Beatles. (The New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give” is in two of the datasets.) Jazz artists such as Miles Davis, John Zorn, and Vijay Iyer are featured, as are classical composers and tens of thousands of minor artists across genres. The 12-million-track dataset, on its own, would take 91 years to listen to...

In an attempt to prevent their products from generating songs that duplicate existing music, AI companies implement detection software. But neither Suno nor Udio prevents users from generating songs in the style of real artists. Earlier this year, Sony found 135,000 AI-generated tracks attributed to its artists on various streaming platforms. Although it’s not clear exactly which AI tools were used to generate those tracks, the technology is already harming artists’ ability to make a living from their music...

usicians and labels have filed at least 12 lawsuits against AI companies for training models on copyrighted music. The music industry’s three major labels have sued both Suno and Udio, and others have sued Google, OpenAI, and smaller AI vendors. No rulings have been issued in these cases, but some of the labels have reached settlements with Suno and Udio...

On the Free Music Archive, the guitarist and singer Derek Clegg has been sharing his original, home-recorded songs for more than 15 years. Clegg told me he’s happy for people to put his music in the background of their personal videos, as long as they credit him. When people expect to make money from the use of his music, then they pay him for a license. More than 250 of Clegg’s songs are in the FMA dataset I found. I asked whether he would opt out of AI training if a mechanism for doing so existed. “Yeah, definitely,” he said.

What bothers Clegg most is that AI companies take people’s music without consent, and without acknowledging that their tech products are entirely dependent on musicians. “It just seems dishonest. It seems like theft,” he said. “There’s going to have to be a reckoning.” That’s his hope, anyway."

Why AI Is Incorrigibly Didactic; The Atlantic, June 15, 2026

 Adam Kirsch, The Atlantic; Why AI Is Incorrigibly Didactic

"AI writing never challenges the way we think or see. It can’t do so, even if you explicitly ask it to. And this limitation reveals something important about the source of human creativity. All writing, all speech, has to follow conventions; to know how to use a language is to know how other people already use it. But it’s also possible to find new ways of using it, to say things in a way no one has ever heard before. This possibility exists because we can appeal to something more fundamental than language—our experiences of reality, which are so varied and surprising that language can never exhaust them...

An LLM “is simply generating the next token according to learned patterns. Yet from the outside, readers often perceive a distinctive voice.”

And that is why the rise of AI writing represents a great opportunity for literature, even as it makes life harder for professional writers. When photography was developed in the 19th century, it replaced painting for most utilitarian purposes; a camera could document what things looked like more accurately and cheaply than a painter could. But the art of painting didn’t die out. On the contrary, it entered a golden age: Freed from the obligation of realism, painters developed radical new ways of seeing, such as Impressionism, Cubism, and abstract expressionism. Now AI has the potential to liberate literature in the same way. In a world full of emptily competent prose, we need writers daring, challenging, and obstinate enough to tell us what it’s like to be human, “from the inside.”"

Attempt to ban book at SLO County school library denied by board; The Tribune, June 13, 2026

 Sadie Dittenber, The Tribune ; Attempt to ban book at SLO County school library denied by board

"The Lucia Mar school board rejected an effort to ban a prize-winning author’s book from the Arroyo Grande High School library at a meeting on Thursday.

The novel “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison will remain in the Arroyo Grande High School library — despite an effort to have it removed from the shelves due to sexual content and other concerns...

Arroyo Grande English teacher Nicholas Kennedy wore a T-shirt that read “Probably reading Toni Morrison” to the meeting. He reminded board members that the book in question is not required reading, and that students — and their parents — can choose whether or not they read it...

Pham took issue with some of the syntax used in the novel, which she described as growing progressively worse throughout the book — but her comment drew sharp disagreement from board president Stewart. 

“Well, we can’t be afraid of different cultures’ patois, and they way they speak, right?” Stewart responded. “That’s racism.”"

UI Center for Intellectual Freedom book on hold over copyright concerns; The Gazette, June 15, 2026

 Vanessa Miller, The Gazette; UI Center for Intellectual Freedom book on hold over copyright concerns

"A book the University of Iowa-based Center for Intellectual Freedom director announcedwas in the works late last year is on hold over copyright concerns about who might get the proceeds — despite UI assurances they would go to the center."

Social media firms hit back as Starmer announces ban for under-16s in UK; The Guardian, June 15, 2026

Kiran Stacey and Peter Walker , The Guardian; Social media firms hit back as Starmer announces ban for under-16s in UK

"Britain’s plans to ban social media for under-16s will push teenagers towards more harmful platforms, the world’s biggest technology companies have said as ministers push to enact the new restrictions by next spring.

Meta, YouTube and Snapchat have all criticised the ban, which was announced by Keir Starmer on Monday and would stop younger teenagers from using their services."

‘Straight out of Trumpland’: LGBTQ+ members fight for Pride after Essex library ban; The Guardian, June 14, 2026

Geneva Abdul and Aamna Mohdin, The Guardian ; ‘Straight out of Trumpland’: LGBTQ+ members fight for Pride after Essex library ban

"Before Reform gained control of Essex county council in the May elections, Chris Taylor and members of the Rochford LGBTQ+ community already felt they were witnessing a growing tide of political rhetoric around identity.

But they were still shocked when the county’s new leadership moved to ban Pride events in 74 libraries, scaling back events of “any particular groups or themes”, a decision they said was “straight out of Trumpland”.

“It communicates the fact that we’re not welcome,” said Taylor, who recently launched a petition against the “Orwellian” ban on pride events in Essex libraries.

Reform councils across England, from Essex and Durham to Leicestershire and Kent, have imposed bans on flying the pride flag and holding pride events in public spaces, as well as, in some cases, defunding pride events previously sponsored by local authorities.

Essex county council said libraries were “safe spaces for everybody” and LGBTQ+ books and displays would continue, but added the promotion of library events aimed at specific groups was under review.

Reform councils have stopped flying Pride flags outside civic centres and county halls and restricted council flagpoles exclusively to union, national, county or armed forces flags at council buildings under its control."

Kash Patel Keeps Suing the Press; The New York Times, June 14, 2026

Erik Wemple, The New York Times; Kash Patel Keeps Suing the Press

"The suits constitute another front on which news organizations have been forced to spend time and money to defend their work in the Trump era."

Why could closing a library silence music groups?; BBC, June 11, 2026

Martin Heath , BBC; Why could closing a library silence music groups?

"The conductor of a long-established orchestra has warned that some music and drama groups could fold if a performing arts library is closed.

Hertfordshire County Council has consulted on a plan to shut down the facility, which provides music and scripts for about 230 groups.

It says it is having to make savings to ensure essential library services are protected.

So why would getting rid of the performing arts collection have such an impact?...

Could groups close if they cannot rely on the library?

Ross said: "My colleagues who are the librarians in our society, and in all other comparable organisations, are all volunteers doing this in their own time. [They] are going to find what's already quite a complex job... [becomes] something that's almost going to be impossible. 

"So, in short, yes, I think some groups may close down and for others, they're going to be spending a lot more money from what are inevitably very limited budgets on music hire, which means they can't spend that money then on other activities that serve the community."

Bryony Woods, co-founder of the Stotfold Singers, said closure "would really negatively impact a lot of people". 

"I think we're living in a time where you know we're becoming more isolated and lonely than ever and I think something that is bringing people out of their homes to join in something like communal singing is only a positive thing and I think we should be encouraging it.""

AI In the Public Interest: Authorship & Copyright in the Age of AI; JD Supra, June 11, 2026

J. Jekkie Kim, Ariel Soiffer , JD Supra; AI In the Public Interest: Authorship & Copyright in the Age of AI

"In the Public Interest is excited to present the new miniseries, “AI In the Public Interest.” These episodes will examine AI’s impact on the legal landscape and its broader implications for the day-to-day operations of organizations across industries. With the wider prevalence of companies utilizing AI to assist in decision making and determine future frameworks, these conversations will not only take stock of the current state of AI, but will also offer practical insights into what the future may hold. 

The first episode kicks off with a conversation between co-host Jekkie Kim and Partner and Chair of WilmerHale’s AI Technology Transactions Practice Ariel Soiffer. Together they discuss AI through the lens of ownership and copyright, examining guidance from the Copyright Office as to who and what can be a content author. Soiffer also identifies what current protections are in place for those attempting to copyright content that has been created with the involvement of AI. He stresses how important it is for creators and companies alike to document their creative outputs and offers a look into the increasingly complex questions surrounding authorship."

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes: In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself.; The New York Times, June 14, 2026

Eli Saslow

Visuals by Erin Schaff

, The New York Times ; The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes: In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself.

"For more than two decades, Farid, 60, had been the world’s leading expert in the field of digital forensics, but in the last six months he’d stopped trusting his own eyes. He’d made a career of differentiating visual reality from deepfakes as he fielded requests each day from governments, human rights organizations, journalists, law enforcement and thousands of others who were increasingly confused and deceived by the online world. Farid’s own research had proven that most people could no longer distinguish a real photograph from a digital creation, a real voice from an A.I. clone, a real video clip from a wholesale fabrication. Lately, he was failing his own tests.

“I feel like I’m going blind,” Farid said, and he worried that A.I. was obscuring the truth, distorting reality, fracturing democracies and slowly breaking him, too. He and his wife had begun making plans to leave California and trade the tech culture of Silicon Valley for a farm in rural Vermont."

How this Pa. grandfather made it out of ICE detention and back to his family; SpotlightPA, June 10, 2026

Gabriela Martínez, SpotlightPA; How this Pa. grandfather made it out of ICE detention and back to his family

"The first days at Moshannon were the most difficult, Zavala said.

He had to get used to the frigid temperatures inside his block, the bland rice and beans served at mealtime every day, his narrow bed, and feeling like he had no control over his daily routine. Zavala estimates there were about 80 people in his open block.

He coped by building community. He and other detainees created an informal support network, sharing food, trading supplies, and spending time together during recreational periods. Using a water bottle, Zavala and others created refried beans using butter and seasonings purchased at the commissary. They used the ingredients to make sandwiches and other snacks, which they shared and ate together as a group.

Zavala said he made a point of welcoming newly arrived blockmates and offering food because of how difficult his first days in detention had been.

“I believe that the very experiences we go through make us react in a way that helps us become better people and to get along with everyone in a better way," Zavala said.

Many of the men housed alongside Zavala at Moshannon had been there for months while fighting deportation or seeking immigration relief, he said. Nationwide data show that very few people detained by ICE have criminal records. That includes Zavala."

Japan underlines stance on copyright works after Trump anime video post; Kyodo News, Japan Wire, June 12, 2026

 Kyodo News, Japan Wire; Japan underlines stance on copyright works after Trump anime video post

"A Japanese minister on Friday underlined the government's stance on unauthorized use of copyrighted works, after U.S. President Donald Trump posted a video on social media appearing to depict him as the hero of anime series "Naruto."

Without commenting directly on the video, Kimi Onoda, minister for the "Cool Japan" strategy of promoting Japanese cultural exports, told a press conference that the "basic principle" of obtaining permission from rights holders to use copyrighted material "applies equally when the user is a public institution."

Can we trust AI models? Yale researchers explore the roots of chatbot errors; YaleNews, June 12, 2026

Mike Cummings, YaleNews; Can we trust AI models? Yale researchers explore the roots of chatbot errors

"The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has inserted a new character into people’s lives: the chatbot. 

Individuals now engage with agentic AI chatbots to perform a growing number of tasks; They can help a person shop for a new laptop, manage email, or plan a vacation.   

And while these interactions can save time and increase productivity, they also carry risk. Large language models (LLM) — the AI systems trained on massive datasets to generate human-like text — are imperfect. They hallucinate. They misinterpret. They make mistakes. 

Two multidisciplinary teams of researchers associated with the Center for Algorithms, Data, and Market Design at Yale are pursuing projects that aim to balance the capability and safety of AI systems and improve interactions between users and AI models. 

Yale News recently spoke with members of both teams about their research projects."

Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after changing image with AI; The Guardian, June 13, 2026

 Senay Boztas, The Guardian; Dutch far-right party pays damages to court artist after changing image with AI

"A Dutch court artist has received damages after an MP for the far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) used one of her drawings without permission and manipulated it with AI to make the subjects look more menacing.

Petra Urban, a court artist for 19 years, was shocked to discover a drawing she had made last year of two Syrian brothers jailed for the murder of their sister had been reworked and used in a video on Instagram and Facebook by the party’s Noord-Brabant region...

Under Dutch law, creators are not only protected by copyright but also have moral rights to object to any distortion of their work that could harm their reputation. There was widespread shock in May after Urban shared the images with fellow court reporters, and the case had widespread press coverage.

Urban said that after her union issued a legal demand for licensing rights and damages, the PVV MP Maikel Boon called her to apologise and has now paid the damages – which have not been made public.

Since the MP had previously been accused of using AI to manipulate images for campaign purposes, she felt “no mercy” in demanding compensation. “I hope it’s clear that this is a worrying development and that we need to stay alert,” she said. “You need to be able to assume that journalistic work is written, drawn, photographed or filmed as neutrally as possible. If this is manipulated, then the flood gates are open. There’s no knowing where it will end.”...

The MP has publicly accepted responsibility and told De Telegraaf he had thought an altered image would no longer be subject to copyright but that it had been a “very stupid act”."

Judge Blocks National Parks From Removing ‘Negative’ Signs; The New York Times, June 12, 2026

Maxine Joselow, The New York Times; Judge Blocks National Parks From Removing ‘Negative’ Signs

"A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the National Park Service from removing or revising signs, films and other materials at national parks across the country to comply with a directive from President Trump.

The ruling pauses enforcement of an executive order that called for removing or covering up materials at national parks that “inappropriately disparage Americans” or cast the United States “in a negative light.”

The judge, Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, also ordered the Park Service to restore within three weeks any exhibits that it had dismantled or altered...

Judge Kelley, who was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., sharply rebuked the Trump administration for taking down materials. “Not only does this undermine the integrity of the national parks; it sets a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization,” she wrote.

Judge Kelley began her 63-page ruling by listing examples of national parks that help educate visitors about difficult periods of American history, as well as contributions made by people of color, gay and transgender figures, women and other marginalized groups.

“From the echoes of abolition in John Brown’s Fort in Harpers Ferry, to the genesis of the modern L.G.B.T.Q.+ civil rights movement at the Stonewall National Monument, to the retreating ice of Glacier National Park in Alaska, the national parks preserve the multifaceted and multilayered history of our nation, including the good, the bad and the ugly,” she wrote."

Primanti Bros. faces lawsuit over mural; TribLive, June 12, 2026

 Julia Burdelski and Megan Trotter, TribLive ; Primanti Bros. faces lawsuit over mural

"A local artist in a lawsuit filed Thursday accused Primanti Bros. of reproducing a mural he painted at the sandwich shop’s Market Square location without his permission.

Artist James Kanfoush in the lawsuit claimed Primanti Bros. violated copyright rules and the Visual Artists Rights Act by displaying replicas of his mural at their Cranberry and Grove City restaurants.

Kanfoush in 1997 and 1998 created an original mural featuring famous Pittsburgh sports figures at the restaurant’s Market Square site. The artwork includes Kanfoush’s name and contact information."

Australia’s Social Media Ban Is Floundering. Can It Still Help Younger Kids?; The New York Times, June 10, 2026

Victoria Kim, The New York Times; Australia’s Social Media Ban Is Floundering. Can It Still Help Younger Kids? 

"Late last year, Australia became the first country in the world to institute a nationwide ban on children younger than 16 having social media accounts.

Six months in, most indications are that the law has largely failed at keeping young teens off the platforms, in a disappointing start to an initiative carefully watched by parents and governments around the world.

But some Australian parents say the real effect of the law may be for the coming cohort of younger kids who were not yet on social media, and who may stay off because of the ban."

More courts are coming down on ‘non-offending counsel’ for AI missteps; ABA Journal, June 10, 2026

AMANDA ROBERT , ABA Journal; More courts are coming down on ‘non-offending counsel’ for AI missteps

"Amid the proliferation of cases involving artificial intelligence-generated hallucinations, more judges are expressing frustration not only at the attorneys who make the mistakes but at opposing counsel for not pointing it out. 

In the past year, courts have admonished attorneys for failing to identify and report fake citations in their opponents’ court filings. In at least two cases, judges refused to award attorney fees or grant relief to counsel who didn’t bring AI-induced errors to their attention."

Federal judge removes 4 plaintiff and defense attorneys over AI errors; ABA Journal, June 10, 2026

AMANDA ROBERT, ABA Journal ; Federal judge removes 4 plaintiff and defense attorneys over AI errors

"A federal judge in Mississippi on Monday disqualified the plaintiff counsel and the defense counsel after both parties filed briefs with artificial intelligence-generated mistakes in a dispute over attorney fees.

“This case presents the court with an unusual scenario—attorneys for both litigants engaged in similar sanctionable conduct,” said Senior U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock of the Northern District of Mississippi in her June 8 order...

Aycock revoked Wilson’s and Williams’ pro hac vice statuses and barred them from appearing in the Northern District of Mississippi for two years. The judge also ordered all four attorneys to pay monetary sanctions, ranging from $1,000 each for the local counsel to $2,500 for Williams and $3,500 for Wilson."

Operation Pushkin’: Paris Trial Puts Spotlight on Rare-Book Heists; The New York Times, June 12, 2026

Ephrat Livni, The New York Times ; ‘Operation Pushkin’: Paris Trial Puts Spotlight on Rare-Book Heists

One by one, valuable works by Russian masters like Pushkin and Gogol were disappearing from libraries across Europe. Now six defendants are being prosecuted.

"The latest chapter in the saga of an international book heist that stripped prominent libraries across Europe of more than 170 rare Russian literary works is being written in a Paris courtroom this week.

Alexander Pushkin, the 19th-century poet and novelist considered the father of modern Russian literature, is a main character. Most of the thefts targeted his works — worth nearly $3 million in total — from libraries in the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.

The other characters have a less literary pedigree. They are six Georgian defendants standing trial, most unnamed by the French authorities, on accusations of conspiracy and theft...

The crimes stunned librarians, bibliophiles and prosecutors alike because of their scale, the prominence of the libraries targeted and the near-singular focus of the suspects. The investigation became known as “Operation Pushkin.”

The thieves used different background stories, giving various reasons for their interest in rare Russian books, according to a law enforcement arm of the European Union, the Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation. They often worked in pairs, with one distracting librarians while the other replaced the original work with a copy, usually after multiple visits."

Federal court hears oral arguments in appeal of Arkansas’ library obscenity law; Arkansas Advocate, June 11, 2026

TESS VRBIN, Arkansas Advocate; Federal court hears oral arguments in appeal of Arkansas’ library obscenity law

"A federal appeals court heard arguments Thursday to uphold the injunction of a 2023 Arkansas law governing challenges to library content, while Arkansas’ solicitor general said the plaintiffs’ allegations were “too speculative.”

The three-judge panel from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis will rule on whether two sections of Act 372 of 2023 can go into effect. A district judge blocked the provisions in 2024, and the state appealed the ruling in 2025.

The two challenged sections would create criminal liability for librarians who distribute content that some consider “obscene” or “harmful to minors,” and give city and county governing bodies the final say over library content.

The 18 plaintiffs in the case include libraries, bookstores, advocacy groups and individual library patrons. The defendants are Arkansas’ 28 prosecuting attorneys, Crawford County and its county judge, Chris Keith.

Crawford County lost another federal lawsuit in 2024 after three parents claimed the county library violated the First Amendment by moving LGBTQ+ children’s books into separate “social sections” that only adults could access."

‘It’s torture’: prisoners’ letters expose subterranean Oklahoma ‘dungeon’ known as the tombs; The Guardian, June 11, 2026

Hilary Andersson , The Guardian; ‘It’s torture’: prisoners’ letters expose subterranean Oklahoma ‘dungeon’ known as the tombs

"Dungeons have housed American prisoners as far back as the revolutionary war, but most underground cells – including those at the notorious island prison Alcatraz – have long since been decommissioned.

Today, there is no national database for prisons that continue to use buried or partly buried facilities. A handful of other facilities do reportedly still use underground cells, but the practice is rare.

The letters from H Unit offer a glimpse into this sunless world. The prisoners – of whom there are currently 248 in total, according to prison authorities – write of living in squalor, and frequent violence and rape. Many are held in solitary confinement, with almost no human contact. Others stay in two-person cells, where they say violence is common because the space is not large enough for two men...

The Death Penalty Information Center said: “These allegations about Oklahoma’s H Unit raise new and serious concerns about whether the constitutional obligations of prison officials are being met, and they deserve close scrutiny.”"

AI company argues its use of scraped Westlaw legal data was transformative; Courthouse News Service, June 11, 2026

 SYDNEY HAULENBEEK , Courthouse News Service; AI company argues its use of scraped Westlaw legal data was transformative

"“Fair use ruling here brings into question the core technology of the AI revolution,” Mark S. Davies of White & Case in Washington, attorney for ROSS, argued...

“This is a copyright case,” he said. “It’s an interesting case, it raises lots of issues, but it’s a copyright case and the point of copyright is progress.”

“Copyright is not a privilege reserved for the well-behaved,” Davies added."

The Kennedy Center Is a Metaphor for De-Trumpification; The Atlantic, June 11, 2026

David A. Graham, The Atlantic; The Kennedy Center Is a Metaphor for De-Trumpification

"No event at the Kennedy Center in recent months has drawn as much anticipation in Washington as the removal of President Trump’s name from the building’s facade. The date and time of the performance are not yet public, but residents and reporters are on alert to watch workers pull down the letters that were hastily added in December, when the institution was ungrammatically rechristened “The Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”

Already, as my colleague Janay Kingsberry reported last week, Trump’s name has been removed from the center’s website, as well as from “email signatures, email communications, letterhead, website, brochures, promotional materials, press releases, signs, references in contracts, MOUs, and other agreements.” These are signs of the center moving to comply with a judge’s ruling late last month that ordered it to revert to its statutory name.

The re-renaming is a welcome win for the rule of law, but the precarious path ahead for the Kennedy Center is a useful metaphor for the United States in the Trump era as a whole. Removing Trump’s name is the easy part—a discrete step that a judge can straightforwardly mandate—but repairing the damage will be a much longer and more difficult process, assuming it’s possible at all."

Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge’s Trysts Go Public; The New York Times, June 11, 2026

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Mattathias Schwartz, The New York Times; Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge’s Trysts Go Public

"The ensuing investigative report is a chronicle of sex, lies and ethical breaches, much of which is cloaked in secrecy because America’s federal court system affords judges broad deference."