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."

Figure skater forced to scrap Olympic routine after Minions music copyright dispute; The Guardian, February 2, 2026

 Bryan Armen Graham, The Guardian ; Figure skater forced to scrap Olympic routine after Minions music copyright dispute

"The Spanish figure skater Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté faces a last-minute scramble to redesign his Olympic short program after a copyright dispute blocked him from using music from the Minions franchise just days before competition begins 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.

The ruling means the 26-year-old must now adapt or replace choreography he has refined for months, a daunting task in a sport where musical timing and muscle memory are inseparable...

Rights to the Minions property are controlled by Illumination and parent studio Universal Pictures. It was not immediately clear which specific licensing hurdle ultimately blocked Olympic clearance, but music licensing in figure skating has grown increasingly labyrinthine in recent years, particularly as the sport has shifted toward contemporary popular music...

“It’s a complex issue, frankly, because the music industry has no common clearance platform,” Smith said. “There are multiple buckets of rights, and within those buckets the clearance process isn’t done on a single platform. Tracking tools have improved, but the facilitated process just isn’t there.”

Newly released Jeffrey Epstein files: 10 key takeaways so far; The Guardian, February 2, 2026

Anna Betts , The Guardian; Newly released Jeffrey Epstein files: 10 key takeaways so far

"A new trove of about 3m files related to the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released on Friday, offering new details about his network and interactions with wealthy and powerful figures and the federal investigations into his crimes.

The release follows legislation passed in November by US lawmakers that mandated the disclosure of all Epstein-related documents.

As Guardian reporters continue to review the files, here are some of the key findings so far...

1. Epstein lawyers discussed possibility of cooperation days before his death...

2. FBI received allegations about Trump...

3. Musk had more extensive ties to Epstein than previously known...

4. Howard Lutnick made plans to visit Epstein’s island...

5. Mountbatten-Windsor invited Epstein to Buckingham Palace...

6. Richard Branson and Epstein exchanged emails...

7. Files show emails between head of LA Olympics committee and Ghislaine Maxwell...

8. New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch exchanged emails with Epstein...

9. Files shed new light on relationship between Epstein and Peter Mandelson...

10. Hollywood film-maker Brett Ratner appears in image with Epstein and two women"

Epstein files show Elon Musk apparently discussed plans to visit sex offender’s island, host him at SpaceX; CNBC, January 30, 2026

 Lora Kolodny, CNBC; Epstein files show Elon Musk apparently discussed plans to visit sex offender’s island, host him at SpaceX

"A cache of newly released documents from the Epstein files on Friday showed Elon Musk apparently corresponded with the convicted sex offender in 2012 and 2013, as they discussed meeting at Jeffrey Epstein’s private island and at Musk’s SpaceX facility in Southern California. 

The emails indicate Musk asked about attending the “wildest party,” hosted by Epstein at his island. 

Musk, who serves as CEO of  Tesla and SpaceX, has for years downplayed his connection to Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody...

In June of last year, Musk wrote in a post on X, that he thought President Donald Trump and his administration were withholding Epstein-related files from the public view in order to protect the president’s reputation.

“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” Musk, who was in the midst of a public spat with the president, wrote at the time. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”

Trump Would Have Slim Chance in Court Against Trevor Noah, Experts Say; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

Benjamin Mullin, The New York Times ; Trump Would Have Slim Chance in Court Against Trevor Noah, Experts Say

Legal experts said that jokes like the one told by Mr. Noah at the Grammys on Sunday were protected by the First Amendment.

"President Trump early on Monday added Trevor Noah to the long list of high-profile individuals and institutions in his legal cross hairs after the comedian made a joke while hosting the Grammys about Mr. Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

But legal experts say that Mr. Trump’s threat to sue Mr. Noah, whom he called a “poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C.” on social media, has very little chance of succeeding in a courtroom.

“Trevor Noah is pretty clearly protected by the First Amendment,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “The fact that Noah was hosting the Grammys and not writing a news story in The Washington Post has constitutional significance,” he added.

Mr. Noah said on Sunday evening’s broadcast, which was aired on CBS, that Mr. Trump’s pursuit of Greenland made sense “because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton.” Though Mr. Trump had been a friend of Mr. Epstein’s until the early 2000s, there is no evidence that he visited Mr. Epstein’s private island."

Wall St. Lawyer Brad Karp Says He Regrets Epstein Interactions; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

 Michael S. Schmidt and Matthew Goldstein , The New York Times; Wall St. Lawyer Brad Karp Says He Regrets Epstein Interactions

"Brad Karp, chairman of the giant law firm Paul Weiss, said on Monday that he regretted his social interactions with Jeffery Epstein, after a series of emails revealed that the prominent lawyer had socialized with the disgraced financier and, at one point, asked him for help landing his son a job on a Woody Allen movie...

Mr. Karp was in the news last year after Paul Weiss cut a deal with President Trump to head off a potentially crippling executive order. The firm’s settlement was criticized in the legal community and was seen as empowering Mr. Trump to go after other big law firms over their legal work for some of his political opponents.

The emails released on Friday revealed that Mr. Karp had attended two dinners at Mr. Epstein’s mansion in New York. At one of the dinners, in 2015, Mr. Karp met Mr. Allen, the movie director. After the dinner, Mr. Karp sent Mr. Epstein an email in which he thanked him for “an evening I’ll never forget.”

Later, Mr. Karp emailed Mr. Epstein asking him if could help his son get work on one of Mr. Allen’s movies."

Peter Attia ‘Ashamed’ After Epstein Emails Become Public; The New York Times, February 2, 2026

Maggie Astor , The New York Times; Peter Attia ‘Ashamed’ After Epstein Emails Become Public

"The physician and longevity influencer Peter Attia is facing criticism after correspondence between him and the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was released on Friday as part of a large tranche of files related to Mr. Epstein...

Dr. Attia has become highly influential in recent years among people seeking to improve their health. He hosts a popular podcast, wrote a best-selling book and runs a health practice that charges more than $100,000 for personalized exercise, nutrition and preventive testing programs; he is also a prominent backer of David protein bars. Just last month, CBS News hired him as a contributor.

CBS and David did not respond to requests for comment on Monday about the documents or the future of Dr. Attia’s relationships with those companies...

Other documents show Dr. Attia saying that he goes “into JE withdrawal when I don’t see him” and suggesting that he wants to visit Mr. Epstein’s island. The documents do not indicate that he actually did visit."