When AI and IP Collide: What Journalists Need to Know; National Press Foundation (NPF), January 22, 2026

 National Press Foundation (NPF); When AI and IP Collide: What Journalists Need to Know

"With roughly 70 federal lawsuits waged against AI developers, the intersection of technology and intellectual property is now one of the most influential legal beats. Courts are jumping in to define the future of “fair use.” To bridge the gap between complex legal proceedings and the public’s understanding, NPF held a webinar to unpack these intellectual property battles. One thing all of the expert panelists agreed on: most cases are either an issue of input – i.e. what the AI models pull in to train on – or output – what AI generates, as in the case of Disney and other Hollywood studios v. Midjourney.

“The behavior here of AI companies and the assertion of fair use is completely understandable in our market capitalist system – all players want something very simple. They want their inputs for little or nothing and their outputs to be very expensive,” said Loyola Law professor Justin Hughes. “The fair use argument is all about AI companies wanting their inputs to be free, just like ranchers want their grazing land from the federal government to be free or their mining rights to be free.” AI Copyright Cases Journalists Should Know: Bartz et al. v. Anthropic: Anthropic reached a $1.5 billion settlement in a landmark case for the industry after a class of book authors accused the company of using pirated books to train the Claude AI model. “The mere training itself may be fair use, but the retention of these large copy data sets and their replication or your training from having taken pirated data sets, that’s not fair use,” Hughes explained. The NYT Company v. Microsoft Corporation et al.: This is a massive multi-district litigation in New York where the NYT is suing OpenAI. The Times has pushed for discovery into over 20 million private ChatGPT logs to prove that this model is being used to get past paywalls. Advance Local Media LLC et al. v. Cohere Inc.: The case against the startup Cohere is particularly vital for newsrooms as a judge ruled that AI-generated summaries infringe of news organizations’ ability to get traffic on their sites. “We’ve seen, there’s been a lot of developers who have taken the kind of classic Silicon Valley approach of ask forgiveness rather than permission,” said Terry Hart, general counsel of the Association of American Publishers. “They have gone ahead and trained a lot of models using a lot of copyrighted works without authorization.” Tech companies have trained massive models to ingest the entirety of the internet, including articles, without prior authorization, and Hughes points out that this is a repeated occurrence. AI companies often keep unauthorized copies of these vast datasets to retrain and tweak their models, leading to multiple steps of reproduction that could violate copyright. AI and U.S. Innovation A common defense from tech companies in Silicon Valley is that using these vast amounts of data is necessary to U.S. innovation and keeping the economy competitive. “‘We need to beat China, take our word for it, this is going to be great, and we’re just going to cut out a complete sector of the economy that’s critical to the success of our models,'” Hart said. “In the long run, that’s not good for innovation. It’s not good for the creative sectors and it’s not good for the AI sector.” Reuters technology reporter Deepa Seetharaman has also heard the China competition argument, among others. “The metaphor that I’ll hear a lot here is, ‘it’s like somebody visiting a library and reading every book, except this is a system that can remember every book and remember all the pieces of every book. And so why are you … harming us for developing something that’s so capable?'” Seetharaman said. Hughes noted that humans are not walking into a library with a miniature high-speed photocopier to memorize every book. Humans don’t memorize with the “faithful” precision of a machine. Hart added that the metaphor breaks down because technology has created a new market space that isn’t comparable to a human reader. Speakers:

• Wayne Brough, Resident Senior Fellow, Technology and Innovation Team, R Street
• Terry Hart, General Counsel, Association of American Publishers
• Justin Hughes, Honorable William Matthew Byrne Distinguished Professor of Law, Loyola Marymount University
• Deepa Seetharaman, Tech Correspondent, Reuters

Summary and transcript: https://nationalpress.org/topic/when-... This event is sponsored by The Copyright Alliance and NSG Next Solutions Group. This video was produced within the Evelyn Y. Davis studios. NPF is solely responsible for the content."

‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI; The Guardian, February 5, 2026

Anuj Behal, The Guardian ; ‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI

[Kip Currier: The largely unaddressed plight of content moderators became more real for me after reading this haunting 9/9/24 piece in the Washington Post, "I quit my job as a content moderator. I can never go back to who I was before."

As mentioned in the graphic article's byline, content moderator Alberto Cuadra spoke with journalist Beatrix Lockwood. Maya Scarpa's illustrations poignantly give life to Alberto Cuadra's first-hand experiences and ongoing impacts from the content moderation he performed for an unnamed tech company. I talk about Cuadra's experiences and the ethical issues of content moderation, social media, and AI in my Ethics, Information, and Technology book.]

[Excerpt]

"Murmu, 26, is a content moderator for a global technology company, logging on from her village in India’s Jharkhand state. Her job is to classify images, videos and text that have been flagged by automated systems as possible violations of the platform’s rules.

On an average day, she views up to 800 videos and images, making judgments that train algorithms to recognise violence, abuse and harm.

This work sits at the core of machine learning’s recent breakthroughs, which rest on the fact that AI is only as good as the data it is trained on. In India, this labour is increasingly performed by women, who are part of a workforce often described as “ghost workers”.

“The first few months, I couldn’t sleep,” she says. “I would close my eyes and still see the screen loading.” Images followed her into her dreams: of fatal accidents, of losing family members, of sexual violence she could not stop or escape. On those nights, she says, her mother would wake and sit with her...

“In terms of risk,” she says, “content moderation belongs in the category of dangerous work, comparable to any lethal industry.”

Studies indicate content moderation triggers lasting cognitive and emotional strain, often resulting in behavioural changes such as heightened vigilance. Workers report intrusive thoughts, anxiety and sleep disturbances.

A study of content moderators published last December, which included workers in India, identified traumatic stress as the most pronounced psychological risk. The study found that even where workplace interventions and support mechanisms existed, significant levels of secondary trauma persisted."

The Murder of The Washington Post Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.; The Atlantic, February 4, 2026

Ashley Parker, The Atlantic ; The Murder of The Washington Post Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.

"We’re witnessing a murder.

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, and Will Lewis, the publisher he appointed at the end of 2023, are embarking on the latest step of their plan to kill everything that makes the paper special. The Post has survived for nearly 150 years, evolving from a hometown family newspaper into an indispensable national institution, and a pillar of the democratic system. But if Bezos and Lewis continue down their present path, it may not survive much longer.

Over recent years, they’ve repeatedly cut the newsroom—killing its Sunday magazine, reducing the staff by several hundred, nearly halving the Metro desk—without acknowledging the poor business decisions that led to this moment or providing a clear vision for the future. This morning, executive editor Matt Murray and HR chief Wayne Connell told the newsroom staff in an early-morning virtual meeting that it was closing the Sports department and Books section, ending its signature podcast, and dramatically gutting the International and Metro departments, in addition to staggering cuts across all teams. Post leadership—which did not even have the courage to address their staff in person—then left everyone to wait for an email letting them know whether or not they had a job. (Lewis, who has already earned a reputation for showing up late to work when he showed up at all, did not join the Zoom.)

The Post may yet rise, but this will be their enduring legacy."

Georgia librarians could face criminal charges for ‘harmful materials’; Georgia Recorder, February 3, 2026

ROSS WILLIAMS, Georgia Recorder; Georgia librarians could face criminal charges for ‘harmful materials’ 

"Librarians and education advocates are warning that a bill moving through the state Legislature could cause Georgia’s librarians to self-censor controversial materials and lead to more challenges on books about LGBTQ people or issues.

Senate Bill 74, sponsored by Sylvania Republican Sen. Max Burns, changes an exemption in state law dealing with the distribution of harmful materials to minors.

Today, the state exempts public and school or university libraries from the ban on distributing obscene media to people under 18. If Burns’ bill becomes law, one would only be exempt if they were not aware of the harmful material, had previously suggested the material be challenged as obscene or had suggested to have the materials moved to an area of the library not accessible to minors."

Professors Are Being Watched: ‘We’ve Never Seen This Much Surveillance’; The New York Times, February 4, 2026

Vimal Patel , The New York Times; Professors Are Being Watched: ‘We’ve Never Seen This Much Surveillance’

Scrutiny of university classrooms is being formalized, with new laws requiring professors to post syllabuses and tip lines for students to complain.

"College professors once taught free from political interference, with mostly their students and colleagues privy to their lectures and book assignments. Now, they are being watched by state officials, senior administrators and students themselves."

Figure skater saved from scrapping Olympic routine after Minions music copyright dispute; The Guardian, February 3, 2026

 Bryan Armen Graham , The Guardian; Figure skater saved from scrapping Olympic routine after Minions music copyright dispute

"The Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté has been spared a last-minute scramble to redesign his Olympic short program after overcoming a copyright dispute that had threatened to block him from using music from the Minions franchise at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

The six-time Spanish national champion, who is set to make his Olympic debut in the men’s singles event, said he learned late last week that the routine he has performed throughout the 2025-26 season would not be cleared for Olympic use. Guarino Sabaté said he had submitted the music through the International Skating Union’s recommended rights-clearance process months ago and had competed with the program without issue during the season, including at last month’s European championships in Sheffield.

However, on Tuesday the 26-year-old thanked his fans after Universal gave him permission to use the Minions soundtrack.

“Huge THANK YOU to everyone who reposted, shared and supported. Because of you Universal Studios reconsidered and officially granted the rights for this one special occasion,” Guarino Sabaté wrote on Instagram. “There are still a couple things to be tied up with the other 2 musics of the programme but we are so close to accomplishing it! And it’s all thanks to you!! I’m so happy to see that the minions hitting Olympic ice is becoming real again!! I’ll keep you posted.”"

Pay More Attention to A.I.; The New York Times, January 31, 2026

 ROSS DOUTHAT , The New York Times; Pay More Attention to A.I.

"Unfortunately everyone I talk with offers conflicting reports. There are the people who envision A.I. as a revolutionary technology, but ultimately merely akin to the internet in its effects — the equivalent, let’s say, of someone telling you that the Indies are a collection of interesting islands, like the Canaries or the Azores, just bigger and potentially more profitable.

Then there are the people who talk about A.I. as an epoch-making, Industrial Revolution-level shift — which would be the equivalent of someone in 1500 promising that entire continents waited beyond the initial Caribbean island chain, and that not only fortunes but empires and superpowers would eventually rise and fall based on initial patterns of exploration and settlement and conquest.

And then, finally, there are the people with truly utopian and apocalyptic perspectives — the Singularitarians, the A.I. doomers, the people who expect us to merge with our machines or be destroyed by them. Think of them as the equivalent of Ponce de Leon seeking the Fountain of Youth, envisioning the New World as a territory where history fundamentally ruptures and the merely human age is left behind."

The Interview Rev. James Martin on Our Moral Duty in Turbulent Times; The New York Times, February 3, 2026

Lulu Garcia-Navarro , The New York Times; The Interview Rev. James Martin on Our Moral Duty in Turbulent Times

"For many Americans, the events in Minneapolis and the upheaval across the country bring to the surface not just political dilemmas but moral and spiritual ones too. How to best defend the things we believe in, how to understand the people we disagree with and how to maintain faith in one another — these are questions I’ve been thinking about even more since I spoke with the Rev. James Martin.

Martin is a Jesuit priest, a best-selling author, an editor at large at America Magazine and also a consultant to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication. In layman’s terms, that means part of his job is to help explain the Catholic Church to Americans, which he has done on social media, in his writing, even on the late-night talk shows. He has also ministered to L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics — a controversial part of his work that we get into in the longer audio and video versions of this interview — and is part of the progressive wing of the church.

Martin’s efforts have become more complicated as the conflicts in America have divided the church itself: Over the past year, American bishops and clergy have increasingly spoken out against President Trump’s policies, including on immigration. This at the same time that some of the most visible Catholic figures in America — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt — are in Trump’s administration.

Martin and I spoke about all of this, including the situation in Minneapolis (though we did so before federal agents killed Alex Pretti on Jan. 24). But we began with something more personal, talking about his new book, “Work in Progress,” which is about his teenage summer jobs and how they prepared him for a life of service."

The Copyright Conversation; Library Journal, February 3, 2026

 Hallie Rich, Library Journal; The Copyright Conversation

"Welcome to the Library Journal Roundtable. The theme for today is copyright. The context is libraries. My name is Jim Neal. I’m University Librarian Emeritus at Columbia University in New York and Senior Policy Fellow at the American Library Association. I will serve as the moderator.

Allow me to introduce the members of the panel. Jonathan Band is the counsel to the Library Copyright Alliance. He works with the American Library Association and the Association of Research Libraries. Sara Benson is Associate Professor and Copyright Librarian at the University of Illinois Library. She’s also an affiliate professor at the School of Information of the Siebel Center for Design, the European Union Center and the Center for Global Studies. Rick Anderson is the University Librarian at Brigham Young University. Kyle Courtney is Director of Copyright and Information Policy at Harvard and founder of two library nonprofits, Library Futures and the eBook Study Group.

All of these individuals are copyright and information policy experts with years and years of deep involvement in education and advocacy around the importance of copyright for libraries, the laws and legislation which influence our work in libraries."

Bill Gates’ Ex Responds to Alleged STD Drug Plot in Epstein Files; The Daily Beast, February 3, 2026

Tom Latchem , The Daily Beast; Bill Gates’ Ex Responds to Alleged STD Drug Plot in Epstein Files

"Bill Gates’ ex-wife says she felt “unbelievable sadness” about allegations in the Epstein files that her former husband plotted to slip her antibiotics for a sexually transmitted infection he contracted following “sex with Russian girls.” 

Gates, 70, has vehemently denied that there is any truth to claims made in a 2013 email Jeffery Epstein drafted...

In a 2022 interview, she said: “I did not like that he [Bill Gates] had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein… I made that clear to him.” She also described the only time she’d met Epstein, saying: “He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards.”"

X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok; BBC, February 3, 2026

Liv McMahon, BBC; X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok

"The French offices of Elon Musk's X have been raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit, as part of an investigation into suspected offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.

The prosecutor's office also said both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino had been summoned to appear at hearings in April.

In a separate development, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced a probe into Musk's AI tool, Grok, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content."

X is yet to respond to either investigation - the BBC has approached it for comment."

One Year of the Trump Administration; American Libraries, January 23, 2026

Greg Landgraf  , American Libraries; One Year of the Trump Administration

Attacks on libraries have continued, with mixed effectiveness but plenty of chaos

"In the first year of Donald Trump's second presidency, libraries have been buffeted by a string of policies and executive orders. Some changes have been sweeping, while others were smaller in scope but still had significant impacts in specific regions or for specific library services. Many have forced librarians and libraries to adapt in order to continue essential services.

Uncertainty may be the most notable overarching theme of federal policy in the past year. Legal challenges and other acts of resistance by librarians have prevented, overturned, or at least delayed some of the administration’s most notable attacks on libraries from taking effect. In other cases, policy changes have been announced that may affect libraries and librarians, but it’s not yet clear the impact those changes will have.

Here are several updates on federal policies and decrees that have and will continue to affect libraries across the US.

IMLS status remains uncertain...

Register of Copyrights reinstated—for now...

Federal Government Shutdown...

Presidential library director ousted...

Some libraries discontinue passport acceptance services...

FCC ends E-Rate support for hotspot lending...

Military library censorship...

Tariffs disrupt international interlibrary loan...

Department of Education restructuring...

Federal agency cutbacks include libraries...

Universities targeted"

Trump Is Said to Have Dropped Demand for Cash From Harvard; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

Michael C. Bender, Michael S. Schmidt and Alan Blinder, The New York Times ; Trump Is Said to Have Dropped Demand for Cash From Harvard 

Hours after The Times reported that President Trump had lowered the bar for a deal, he denied backtracking and made new threats against Harvard.

"President Trump has backtracked on a major point in negotiations with Harvard, dropping his administration’s demand for a $200 million payment to the government in hopes of finally resolving the administration’s conflicts with the university, according to four people briefed on the matter.

Harvard has been the top target in Mr. Trump’s sweeping campaign to exert more control over higher education. Hard-liners in his administration had wanted Harvard to write a check to the U.S. Treasury as part of a deal to address claims that university officials mishandled antisemitism, The New York Times previously reported. But Harvard, wary of backlash from liberal students and faculty, has rejected the idea.

Trump administration officials have indicated in recent days that the president no longer expects such a payment, according to the Harvard and Trump officials briefed on the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

But shortly before midnight, six hours after The Times reported that Mr. Trump had backtracked, he claimed the story was wrong and attacked The Times and Harvard. He said he was now seeking $1 billion “in damages” from Harvard and that the administration’s investigations of Harvard should now be criminal."

AI chatbots are not your friends, experts warn; Politico, February 3, 2026

PIETER HAECK , Politico; AI chatbots are not your friends, experts warn

"Millions of people are forming emotional bonds with artificial intelligence chatbots — a problem that politicians need to take seriously, according to top scientists.

The warning of a rise in AI bots designed to develop a relationship with users comes in an assessment released Tuesday on the progress and risks of artificial intelligence."

‘That Is A Dangerous Statement’: Federal Judge Eviscerates DOJ Over Slavery Exhibit Takedown; Above The Law, February 2, 2026

Kathryn Rubino , Above The Law ; ‘That Is A Dangerous Statement’: Federal Judge Eviscerates DOJ Over Slavery Exhibit Takedown

"The Trump administration is trying to memory-hole slavery, and a federal judge is running out of patience with their shenanigans. 

At a hearing last week over the Trump administration’s decision to rip out materials discussing slavery at George Washington’s former Philadelphia residence Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe — a George W. Bush appointee! — delivered a sharp rebuke to the DOJ lawyers defending the government’s actions. The exhibit in question, located on Independence Mall, was created by the City of Philadelphia in partnership with the National Park Service and tells the story of the nine enslaved people who lived and labored in Washington’s home. Earlier this year, federal workers reportedly took a crowbar to the plaques, citing President Donald Trump’s executive order purporting to “restore truth and sanity to American history.” But let’s be so fucking for real right now, it’s a literal whitewashing of it.

Judge Rufe was not impressed. “You can’t erase history once you’ve learned it,” she said. “It doesn’t work that way.” That theme only sharpened as the hearing went on. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory in den Berken attempted to defend the removals by gesturing vaguely at disagreement and discretion. “Although many people feel strongly about this one way, other people may disagree or feel strongly another way,” he said, adding, “Ultimately, the government gets to choose the message it wants to convey.”

Danger, Will Robinson. Though appearing before a Republican-appointed judge, it does NOT mean they’re cool with the current administration’s we-get-to-rewrite-history plan. Judge Rufe cut off the AUSA, according to reports, saying, “That is a dangerous statement you are making. It is horrifying to listen to,” she said. “It changes on the whims of someone in charge? I’m sorry, that is not what we elected anybody for.”...

At present, the government has stripped the site of all substantive discussion of the enslaved people who lived there, leaving only their names — Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Oney Judge, Moll, and Joe — engraved into a cement wall. Plaintiffs are asking the court to order the exhibit restored, and Judge Rufe instructed DOJ to ensure that the remaining materials are not damaged any further, and she intends to personally inspect the removed materials. She also indicated she intends to rule swiftly, particularly with the nation’s 250th birthday celebration looming and a surge of visitors expected at Independence Mall."

Minions copyright decision drives Spanish Olympic figure skater, well, bananas; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

 Alex Valdes, The New York Times; Minions copyright decision drives Spanish Olympic figure skater, well, bananas

"Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté might not speak Minion, but if he did, he might have plenty to say.

With only days before the start of competition at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Guarino Sabaté was informed that, because of copyright issues, he will not be able to perform his routines to the Minions music mix he has been using throughout the 2025-26 season. He has also done his routines in an outfit reminiscent of the movie characters: a yellow T-shirt and blue overalls.

Universal Pictures, which owns the subsidiary Illumination, which in turn owns the Minions franchise, told Guarino Sabaté he cannot use the music. In an Instagram post, the skater said he “followed all due procedures and submitted my music through the ISU ClicknClear system in August, and competed with this program for the entire season.”

However, Guarino Sabaté was told Friday — one week before the start of the skating competition — that he did not have permission...

In a statement, the International Skating Union said: “Copyright clearances can represent a challenge for all artistic sports. While the ISU does not have a contractual relationship with ClicknClear, we continue to work collaboratively with rights clearance stakeholders to ensure that thrilling performances can be accompanied by stirring music.”...

ClicknClear is a “music rights tech company delivering officially licensed music to choreographed sports athletes/teams and performing arts ensembles that use music in their routines worldwide,” according to its website."

The 5 most ethical professions, according to Americans — and the 5 least ethical; Quartz, February 2, 2026

Ben Kesslen, Quartz ; The 5 most ethical professions, according to Americans — and the 5 least ethical

A new Gallup poll finds that Americans believe car salespeople are more honest and ethical than members of Congress

"Every year, Gallup polls Americans on the most and least ethical professionals, asking people how they regard everyone from doctors to teachers to police officers.

The findings often reflect what’s happening in the country. Gallup said doctors and nurses scored all-time high ratings during the pandemic. Both have since fallen a little. Meanwhile, the poll's results show that Americans believe car salespeople are more honest and ethical than members of Congress, which certainly speaks to how everyday people regard politicians. 

Continue reading to see the five professions Americans deemed most and least honest and ethical."

‘Deepfakes spreading and more AI companions’: seven takeaways from the latest artificial intelligence safety report; The Guardian, February 3, 2026

Dan Milmo, The Guardian; ‘Deepfakes spreading and more AI companions’: seven takeaways from the latest artificial intelligence safety report

"The International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market.

Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who describes the “daunting challenges” posed by rapid developments in the field. The report is also guided by senior advisers, including Nobel laureates Geoffrey Hinton and Daron Acemoglu.

Here are some of the key points from the second annual report, published on Tuesday. It stresses that it is a state-of-play document, rather than a vehicle for making specific policy recommendations to governments. Nonetheless, it is likely to help frame the debate for policymakers, tech executives and NGOs attending the next global AI summit in India this month...

1. The capabilities of AI models are improving...

2. Deepfakes are improving and proliferating...

3. AI companies have introduced biological and chemical risk safeguards...

4. AI companions have grown rapidly in popularity...

5. AI is not yet capable of fully autonomous cyber-attacks...

6. AI systems are getting better at undermining oversight...

7. The jobs impact remains unclear"

Judge Bars Further Changes to George Washington’s Philadelphia House; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

Mattathias Schwartz, The New York Times; Judge Bars Further Changes to George Washington’s Philadelphia House

The Interior Department removed placards and videos about Washington’s involvement with slavery. A new court ruling blocks further changes, for now.

"A federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the National Park Service not to make further changes to the President’s House Site, where George Washington lived as the head of the fledgling U.S. government, as she considers a lawsuit filed by the City of Philadelphia.

At a daylong hearing on Friday, the city argued that the Park Service was obliged to restore plaques and videos commemorating nine enslaved people who served Washington’s household on the site. Those items were removed by the Trump administration as part of a broader effort to use its control of the park system to reframe American history by eliminating materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”

Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, who was appointed by President George W. Bush to Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, expressed deep skepticism about President Trump’s effort on Friday. She called its purported legal basis “cavalier” and the prospect of further changes “frightening.”

On Monday, according to the case docket, she inspected the removed displays, which the government has said are being held in storage at the National Constitution Center. Judge Rufe’s Monday order stops short of mandating that the displays be put back up, as the city requested...

The case before Judge Rufe turns on whether the Interior Department, which includes the Park Service, was obliged to consult with the city before removing the slavery-related materials. Those kinds of consultations took place when Independence National Historical Park was first created and during years of planning for the slavery memorial at the President’s House leading up to its 2010 dedication. The city argues that while the site is Park Service property, some portions of a decades-long series of agreements between the federal government and the city governing its operation remain in force.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that the city is trying to infringe on the federal government’s right to free speech in deciding how the history of the site should be described."

NFL looking into messages between Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey Epstein; The Guardian, February 2, 2026

Guardian sport and agencies, The Guardian; NFL looking into messages between Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey Epstein

"The NFL says it is looking into links between New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Tisch’s name was mentioned more than 400 times in emails relating to Epstein that were released by the US justice department last week. Tisch has never been charged with any crime connected to the investigation into Epstein.

“The league is aware of the reports and Steve’s response. Our office will look into the matter to understand the facts,” the NFL said in a statement on Monday.

The emails, which were sent in 2013, include messages in which Epstein arranged for Tisch to meet various women...

The NFL could punish Tisch under its personal conduct policy, even if there is no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing on his part.

“Everyone who is part of the league must refrain from ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in’ the NFL,” the policy reads. “It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime in a court of law. We are all held to a higher standard and must conduct ourselves in a way that is responsible, promotes the values of the NFL, and is lawful.”"

Newly released files shed new light on Chomsky and Epstein relationship; The Guardian, February 3, 2026

Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Guardian; Newly released files shed new light on Chomsky and Epstein relationship

"The close friendship that Noam Chomsky maintained with Jeffrey Epstein continued being detailed extensively among millions of investigative records pertaining to the late convicted sex offender recently released by the US justice department, including Chomsky “fantasizing about the Caribbean island”.

In Friday’s tranche of the so-called Epstein files, which built upon earlier disclosures of their close social ties, there is no indication that the famed academic and linguist was referring to his friend’s private Caribbean island where children were sexually abused. But the personal familiarity between the two men in that exchange is palpable, as it is in numerous other emails between Chomsky and Epstein aimed at planning more mundane social gatherings...

Perhaps most strikingly, in late February 2019, Epstein represented to an associate that he had gotten advice from Chomsky over how to navigate “the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public”. That was 11 years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor – and months before he would reportedly die by suicide while in federal custody awaiting sex-trafficking charges.

“The best way to proceed is to ignore it,” Chomsky wrote, according to text signed under his first name that Epstein sent to a lawyer and publicist. “That’s particularly true now with the hysteria that has developed about abuse of women, which has reached the point that even questioning a charge is a crime worse than murder.”

Neither Chomsky nor his second wife and spokesperson, Valeria Chomsky, immediately responded to inquiries about the Epstein-related emails in question – including whether they disputed the authenticity of the 2019 advice attributed to the scholar."