Cher Wins Royalty Battle With Sonny Bono's Widow (www.rollingstone.com)
Former President Donald Trump found guilty on all counts in NY criminal hush money case (www.courier-journal.com)
OpenAI Says Russia and China Used Its A.I. in Covert Campaigns (www.nytimes.com)
Iran and an Israeli company also exploited the tools in online influence efforts, but none gained much traction, an OpenAI report said....
California comedown: how illicit cannabis farms have left a wilderness where ‘you’re lucky to see a lizard’ (www.theguardian.com)
In the shadow of Mount Shasta in northern California, a sea of makeshift greenhouses and plywood huts sprawls between the conifer trees of the high desert. From the air, many of the polytunnels look in bad shape, their plastic covers torn by the wind to reveal what’s inside: hundreds of cannabis plants packet tightly together,...
Revealed: how a US far-right group is influencing anti-gay policies in Africa (www.theguardian.com)
A long-standing US anti-pornography campaigning group has advised, promoted and endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ activists and politicians in Uganda, including a governing party member who endorsed anti-LGBTQ+ laws by saying gays “should be castrated”, and a virulently homophobic founder of a “militaristic” Christian boys camp....
How Ken Paxton is stretching the boundaries of consumer protection laws to pursue political targets (www.texastribune.org)
Consumer protection laws give attorneys general broad legal authority to request a wide range of records when investigating businesses or charities for allegations of deceptive or fraudulent practices, such as gas stations that hike up fuel prices during hurricanes, companies that run robocalling phone scams and unscrupulous...
‘Emilia Pérez’ star sues far-right politician for transphobic comment after her Cannes win (www.advocate.com)
Billionaire Bill Gates' Trust Sells Microsoft, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in Q1, Walmart Stake Increases by 200% (www.ibtimes.uk)
Philanthropist billionaire and former CEO of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Bill Gates, has a significant stake in Microsoft through his holdings and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust.
Missouri attorney general is investigating providers of gender-affirming care to youth (www.advocate.com)
Educators Celebrate as Judge Strikes Down New Hampshire 'Banned Concepts' Law (www.commondreams.org)
White House says Rafah strike does not violate Biden’s warnings to Israel (wapo.st)
Gift link, so no paywall
EPA accused of ‘egregious’ misconduct in PFAS testing of pesticides (www.theguardian.com)
US agency found PFOS and other types of PFAS in pesticides but failed to disclose those results, watchdog group alleges...
Catholic bishop blesses newly out trans man who serves as a church “hermit” (www.lgbtqnation.com)
The hornet has landed: Scientists combat new honeybee killer in US (arstechnica.com)
Texas is letting a maternal-mortality skeptic investigate maternal mortality (www.motherjones.com)
Countries Fail to Agree on Treaty to Prepare the World for the Next Pandemic (www.nytimes.com)
Staffing Crisis at Federal Prisons Highlighted at FCI Sheridan in Oregon (www.nytimes.com)
An inmate at a federal prison in Oregon faked a suicide attempt to obtain medical treatment for a serious infection because health care staffing levels were so low that patients were forced to wait days, or even weeks, for basic care, an independent watchdog found....
Minnesota Just Became The Latest State to Eliminate Prison Gerrymandering (boltsmag.org)
In 2010, ahead of the decennial redistricting process, Minnesota’s legislature considered adopting a bold reform: It would stop counting state prisoners as residents of the districts where they were incarcerated, and instead count them as residents of the districts from which they hailed before prison. At the time, this was a...
He Trained Cops to Fight Crypto Crime—and Allegedly Ran a $100M Dark-Web Drug Market (www.wired.com)
Police descend on UCLA after protesters erect new pro-Palestinian encampment (www.latimes.com)
Louisiana Legislature approves bill classifying abortion pills as controlled dangerous substances (apnews.com)
Two abortion-inducing drugs could soon be reclassified as controlled and dangerous substances in Louisiana under a first-of-its-kind bill that received final legislative passage Thursday and is expected to be signed into law by the governor....
Michael Schumacher 'First Interview' Made By AI, Magazine Who Printed It Asked To Pay €200,000 (www.ibtimes.co.uk)
Michael Schumacher’s family won €200,000 (£170,212) in compensation after a magazine published a fake interview with the F1 legend, created using artificial intelligence (AI).