Hegseth Cites Falsehood to Defend His Firing of Senior Officers; The New York Times, April 29, 2026

 Greg Jaffe, The New York Times; Hegseth Cites Falsehood to Defend His Firing of Senior Officers

The defense secretary said at a House hearing that President Barack Obama had fired 197 generals, a figure that the Pentagon previously acknowledged was false.

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday defended his decisions to fire or sideline nearly 30 generals and admirals over the past year with little explanation by falsely comparing his record to that of President Barack Obama.

“I would also note that under Barack Obama, 197 general officers were removed,” Mr. Hegseth said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. “So this is not something specific to this administration.”

The number Mr. Hegseth gave has no basis in fact. It originated with an unsigned 2018 editorial in Investor’s Business Daily, which cites the right-wing news site “Breitbart.com’s Facebook page” as its source.

Mr. Hegseth’s actions to fire senior military leaders are without precedent in recent decades and have come with little explanation."

Ex-Spartanburg prof took leave to help his ailing, 93-year-old dad. Then he was fired.; The Post and Courier, April 27, 2026

 Anna B. Mitchell , The Post and Courier; Ex-Spartanburg prof took leave to help his ailing, 93-year-old dad. Then he was fired.

"A federal jury on April 23 awarded $309,000 to a former Spartanburg Community College professor who was fired after taking two days off to care for his ailing father."

Meet the AI jailbreakers: ‘I see the worst things humanity has produced’; The Guardian, April 29, 2026

 Jamie Bartlett , The Guardian; Meet the AI jailbreakers: ‘I see the worst things humanity has produced’

"Tagliabue is softly spoken, clean-cut and friendly. He is in his early 30s but looks younger, almost too fresh-faced and enthusiastic to be in the trenches. He is not a traditional hacker or a software developer; his background is psychology and cognitive science. But he is one of the best “jailbreakers” in the world (some say the best): part of a diffuse new community that studies the art and science of fooling these powerful machines into outputting bomb-making manuals, cyber-attack techniques, biological weapon design and more. This is the new frontline in AI safety: not just code, but also words."

Americans are down on AI. These two caricatures are to blame.; The Washington Post, April 28, 2026

 

Russell Wald

 and 

Sha Sajadieh

, The Washington Post; Americans are down on AI. These two caricatures are to blame.

"America is all-in on artificial intelligence. Americans are not. 

That is clear enough from domestic polling alone. But the 2026 AI Index, released this month by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI, puts this skepticism into a global context. 

While the United States and China are nearly matched in their aggressive investment and economic stakes, they are worlds apart in public sentiment. About 84 percent of respondents in China say they are excited about AI, versus just 38 percent in the U.S., a gap with profound implications for how each country builds, adopts and governs the technology.

Public opinion does not merely reflect the AI debate. It decides whether democratic societies can govern the technology wisely, adopt it productively and distinguish between real risk and manufactured panic.

The U.S. now stands out with its distrust. Americans reported the lowest trust in their government to regulate AI responsibly of any country surveyed: just 31 percent. The global average was 54 percent. In Singapore, that number was 81 percent."

Lost copy of seventh-century poem in Old English discovered at Rome library; The Guardian, April 29, 2026

 Rory Carroll , The Guardian; Lost copy of seventh-century poem in Old English discovered at Rome library

"“This discovery is a testament to the power of libraries to facilitate new research by digitising their collections and making them freely available online,” she said.

Andrea Cappa, head of manuscripts and rare books at the Rome library, said the institution was digitising holdings from Italy’s National Centre for the Study of the Manuscript, which will give researchers access to more than 40m images.

Riccardo Fangarezzi, head of archives at the abbey in Nonantola, said he looked forward to further discoveries. “The present times may be rather dark, yet such intellectual contributions are genuine rays of sunlight: the continent is less isolated,” he said.

The poet Paul Muldoon translated Caedmon’s Hymn into contemporary English in a 2016 anthology of British poetry. The opening lines read:

“Now we must praise to the skies, the Keeper of the heavenly kingdom,

The might of the Measurer, all he has in mind,

The work of the Father of Glory, of all manner of marvel.”"

Copyright Infringement Suits Loom With Unchecked AI Vibe Coding; Bloomberg Law, April 29, 2026

 Christopher Suarez, Bill Toth, Anthony Pericolo, Bloomberg Law; Copyright Infringement Suits Loom With Unchecked AI Vibe Coding

"Deferring the job of software coding to artificial intelligence doesn’t immunize that code from copyright risk—it could even increase it, if the person directing the coding has limited oversight over the result.

This is particularly true with “vibe coding,” where developers use high‑level natural language prompts to generate code using AI models, often with limited manual review or modification of the resulting code.

Just as lawyers should check for “hallucinated” citations when writing with large language models, engineers and software development managers need to have human and technical monitoring protocols to account for infringement and licensing risks."

$100 Million Award Made in Suit Over Unlicensed Robert Indiana Art; The New York Times, April 24, 2026

 Graham Bowley, The New York Times; $100 Million Award Made in Suit Over Unlicensed Robert Indiana Art

"An art publisher accused in a civil suit of isolating Robert Indiana, the artist, in the final years of his life, has been found to have created unauthorized or adulterated versions of Indiana’s work by a New York jury.

The jury in federal court in Manhattan found in favor of Indiana’s former business partner, the Morgan Art Foundation, a for-profit company, that sued the publisher, Michael McKenzie, on the grounds that he had interfered with its rights by making Indiana works that he did not have the authority to produce.

Among the works cited in the suit were some based on the most famous of Indiana’s works, a depiction of the word “love” in capital letters, with the L and a jauntily tilted O perched atop the V and E. The image is recreated in sculptures that sit in plazas in several cities and on coffee mugs and refrigerator magnets worldwide.

The jury awarded Morgan $102.2 million in damages."

A.I. Bots Told Scientists How to Make Biological Weapons; The New York Times, April 29, 2026

 Gabriel J.X. Dance, The New York Times; A.I. Bots Told Scientists How to Make Biological Weapons

"Dr. Relman is part of a small group of experts enlisted by A.I. companies to vet their products for catastrophic risks. In recent months, some have shared with The Times more than a dozen chatbot conversations revealing that even publicly available models can do more than disseminate dangerous information. The virtual assistants have described in lucid, bullet-pointed detail how to buy raw genetic material, turn it into deadly weapons and deploy them in public spaces, the transcripts show. Some have even brainstormed ways to evade detection."

‘Alpha’ troops and more ships: Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao outlines vision for service; Navy Times, April 28, 2026

 Riley Ceder, Navy Times; ‘Alpha’ troops and more ships: Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao outlines vision for service

"Recently appointed Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao delivered brief remarks Tuesday about his plans for the Navy during one of his first public appearances as the head civilian leader of the service.

Cao touched on his vision for the Golden Fleet, modernization efforts for the Navy and Marine Corps and the type of values and military ethos he is looking for in future service members while speaking at the Modern Day Marine exposition in Washington.

Cao took over as the acting secretary Wednesday after previous Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired by the Trump administration.

Cao, who previously criticized a sailor who performed as a drag queen, described what he viewed as ideal qualifications for future service members.

“I don’t need cross-dressers in the military,” Cao said. “I need alpha males and alpha females.”

Cao also said the military didn’t need “leaf eaters,” likely referring to vegetarians, and he wanted meat eaters instead."

The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families; ProPublica, April 28, 2026

 Eli Hager, ProPublica; The Trump Administration Aims to Penalize Disabled Adults Who Live With Their Families

"Now, President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to penalize people like Burton simply for living in the same home as their families, according to four federal officials, internal emails and a federal regulatory listing. The administration is working on a rule change that would deduct the value of a disabled adult’s bedroom from their SSI allotment, even if the family members they live with are poor enough to qualify for food stamps. This would mean slashing the benefits of some of the most low-income SSI recipients by up to a third — about $330 a month in Burton’s case — or ending their support altogether.

The effort to cut SSI for families who also rely on food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was initiated by top White House and Department of Government Efficiency officials last year, multiple Social Security officials said. It marks a second attempt by the Trump administration to quietly but dramatically downsize disability benefit programs overseen by the Social Security Administration, despite those programs’ strict eligibility standards and minimal instances of fraud. White House Budget Director Russell Vought and Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano abandoned a different proposed regulation involving disability payments last year after ProPublica and other news outlets reported on the harm that the plan would cause to hundreds of thousands of largely blue-collar workers in red states. (The disability programs are administered by the Social Security Administration but separate from the retirement program for which the agency is named. The Trump administration has promised not to cut Social Security retirement payments.)

The likely SSI cut will affect not just younger adults with disabilities such as Down syndrome and severe autism who are still living at home with their low-income parents, but also older people with health or financial problems who have had to move in with their adult children on tight budgets. All told, as many as 400,000 poor and disabled people and indigent older people across the United States could have their support cut or eliminated, according to a ProPublica analysis of actuarial figures from the Social Security Administration."

Analyzing Indictment of James Comey for "86 47" Post; reason, The Volokh Conspiracy, April 28, 2026

 EUGENE VOLOKH, reason, The Volokh Conspiracy; Analyzing Indictment of James Comey for "86 47" Post

 "I think this prosecution is unjustified, and will get thrown out. Let me quickly analyze why."

(Some of) The newest stuff at the Library!; Library of Congress Blogs, April 28, 2026

Neely Tucker, Library of Congress Blogs; (Some of) The newest stuff at the Library!

"Walk into the Library’s annual showcase of new acquisitions and the question always hits you right in the face: Where to start?

What about with this slim copy of Silver Surfer No. 1, the origin story of Marvel Comics’ “Sentinel of the Spaceways,” from the groovy year of 1968? How about this massive law book that’s more than 500 years old? The “Tombstone Edition” of a Philadelphia newspaper from 1765, which documented and amplified the American Colonies loathing of the Stamp Act and presaged the American Revolution?

There’s never really a wrong place to start. This year’s two-hour show-and-tell, held last week, brought hundreds of staffers and guests to look over intriguing displays of the Library’s recently acquired treasures, items spanning the nation, the globe and centuries of time. Many added to already impressive collections of historic figures...

It was a crowded, noisy, upbeat afternoon of discovery and explanation. Conversations buzzed and overlapped; staff experts and curious viewers leaned over display tables from opposite sides, heads together, talking loudly to be heard, gazing down at maps, manuscripts, records, artifacts and things you couldn’t have known existed."

‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers; Fortune, April 28, 2026

 Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune ; ‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers

"Recent tech layoffs would initially appear to indicate the great labor shift from human workers to AI may already be happening."

‘Weak Case’: Fox’s Jonathan Turley Deeply Skeptical of Trump DOJ’s New Indictment of James Comey; Mediaite, April 28, 2026

 Isaac Schorr, Mediaite; ‘Weak Case’: Fox’s Jonathan Turley Deeply Skeptical of Trump DOJ’s New Indictment of James Comey 

"Is showing a picture of shells that say ’86 47′ is that-, I mean, that could be could be taken as a threat, but does it amount to one to you?” followed up John Roberts.

“In my view, it would very likely be viewed as protected speech if it was the basis of a criminal indictment. That alone would have a hard time standing up in court,” answered Turley. “I’ve seen that reporting, and we’ll have to see how they would stick that landing in an indictment, but just showing a picture like that would be a very difficult foundation, a very unstable foundation for a prosecution, because right out of the gate will come a First Amendment challenge that the court, I think, would consider first and foremost.”"

Judge Says Maurene Comey Can Sue the Trump Administration for Firing Her; The New York Times, April 28, 2026

 Benjamin Weiser and Jonah E. Bromwich , The New York Times; Judge Says Maurene Comey Can Sue the Trump Administration for Firing Her

Ms. Comey, a former federal prosecutor who handled cases against Jeffery Epstein and Sean Combs, claimed in her suit that she was fired for political reasons.

"Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who accused the Trump administration of firing her last year for political reasons, may proceed with a lawsuit in federal court over the government’s objection, a Manhattan judge ruled on Tuesday.

Ms. Comey, a daughter of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director and one of President Trump’s best known adversaries, said in her suit that there was no plausible explanation for her abrupt July 2025 dismissal other than Mr. Trump’s enmity toward her father or her “perceived political affiliation and beliefs, or both.”

The Trump administration had asked the judge, Jesse M. Furman of Manhattan federal court, to dismiss Ms. Comey’s suit against the government, saying it had to be pursued first before the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that hears complaints from federal workers about employment actions.

But Judge Furman held that her claim was “outside the universe of cases” that Congress intended the board to resolve, and therefore the court had jurisdiction to consider the suit. The judge did not rule on the merits of Ms. Comey’s claim."

Trump Administration Secures New Indictment Against Comey; The New York Times, April 28, 2026

 Devlin Barrett and Tyler Pager , The New York Times; Trump Administration Secures New Indictment Against Comey

The new case stems from a social media post showing seashells on a North Carolina beach that the Trump administration characterized as a threat against the president.

"The Justice Department has secured a new indictment of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, over a social media post, after an indictment effort spurred by President Trump last year ended in failure.

An indictment filed in North Carolina charges Mr. Comey with making a threat against the president, and transmitting a threat across state lines, according to court records.

The new case represents another twist in the department’s tortured efforts to satisfy the demands of Mr. Trump to pursue criminal charges against Mr. Comey, a longtime target of the president’s wrath. The first indictment against Mr. Comey was thrown out by a judge, and other prosecutorial efforts against Trump targets have faltered in the face of grand juries or judges."

Celebrating World IP Day 2026: Sports, Innovation and Intellectual Property; JDSupra, April 24, 2026

 Baker,Hostetler, Jeffrey Lyons, JDSupra; Celebrating World IP Day 2026: Sports, Innovation and Intellectual Property

"Another year, another opportunity to celebrate intellectual property (IP) on World Intellectual Property Day! This year, the World Intellectual Property Organization turns the global spotlight on “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate,” highlighting how IP rights support innovation, creativity and investment in sports...

As sports continue to intersect with artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, immersive media and global brands, IP considerations will only grow in importance. World IP Day is a reminder that innovation does not happen in isolation; it depends on legal structures that reward creativity while enabling responsible growth.

Happy World IP Day 2026!"

Taylor Swift files to trademark her voice, likeness to ward off AI deepfakes; Reuters, April 27, 2026

 Brad Brooks , Reuters; Taylor Swift files to trademark her voice, likeness to ward off AI deepfakes

"Pop superstar Taylor Swift filed trademark applications for two audio clips and one image of ‌herself in what a trademark attorney said is an attempt to protect her voice and likeness from deepfake videos and audio created by artificial intelligence.

The applications were filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Friday and list Swift's TAS ​Rights Management as being the owner of the audio clips and image."

Pompeii archaeologists use AI to reconstruct man killed in volcano's eruption; Associated Press via NPR, April 28, 2026

 Associated Press via NPR; Pompeii archaeologists use AI to reconstruct man killed in volcano's eruption

"Archaeologists and researchers at the ancient Roman site of Pompeii have used artificial intelligence for the first time to digitally reconstruct the face of a man killed in the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius that smothered the city, offering a new way to understand one of history's most famous natural disasters.

The digital portrait represents a man whose remains, along with those of another person, were discovered as they attempted to flee the city toward the coast of what is now Italy during the volcanic eruption. Researchers believe the man died early in the disaster, during a heavy fall of volcanic debris...

The digital portrait was created using AI and photo-editing techniques designed to translate skeletal and archaeological data into a realistic human likeness.

"The vastness of archaeological data is now such that only with the help of artificial intelligence will we be able to adequately protect and enhance them. If used well, AI can contribute to a renewal of classical studies," Pompeii park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel said in a statement.

The project aims to make archaeological research more accessible and emotionally engaging for the public while maintaining a scientific foundation, researchers said."

Printify Releases Guide on How to Avoid Copyright Infringement with T-shirts; The National Law Review, April 28, 2026

 Press Release, The National Law Review; Printify Releases Guide on How to Avoid Copyright Infringement with T-shirts

"Printify, a leading print-on-demand platform, has announced the release of a comprehensive new guide designed to help entrepreneurs understand how to avoid copyright infringement when creating and selling custom apparel. As the t-shirt business continues to attract new creators, the risk of legal missteps—ranging from cease-and-desist letters to costly lawsuits—has become a major concern across the industry.

The guide delivers a clear, practical breakdown of intellectual property rules, helping sellers navigate the complexities of copyright, trademark, and publicity rights. By combining legal fundamentals with actionable advice, Printify aims to give entrepreneurs the confidence to create and scale their businesses without unnecessary risk.

Launching a t-shirt business has never been more accessible, but legal awareness remains one of the most overlooked aspects of success. With this release, Printify places itself at the center of a safer, more informed approach to building apparel brands."

Trump’s anti-DEI movement comes for AI; Politico, April 27, 2026

 AARON MAK , Politico ; Trump’s anti-DEI movement comes for AI

"The legal crusade against affirmative action is coming for artificial intelligence.

On Friday, the Justice Department intervened in xAI’s challenge to Colorado’s “Consumer Protections for Artificial Intelligence” law. In its complaint, the DOJ argues the law’s provisions curbing algorithmic bias violates people’s 14th Amendment right to be treated equally under the law.

The intervention is in some ways an outgrowth of the movement to eradicate all race-conscious policies after the landmark Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard in 2023 struck down affirmative action in college admissions."

Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI seen as a ‘test case’ for AI ethics; The Christian Science Monitor, April 27, 2026

 Caitlin Babcock , The Christian Science Monitor; Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI seen as a ‘test case’ for AI ethics

"A dispute between ChatGPT’s parent company, OpenAI, and one of the company’s founders – billionaire and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk – will play out in a federal court in Oakland, California, beginning April 27. 

Mr. Musk, who left the company in 2018, is suing OpenAI, claiming its leaders manipulated him into thinking he was contributing money to a nonprofit. He wants the company returned to its nonprofit status and seeks monetary compensation. 

OpenAI says Mr. Musk, who has since raised billions through the launch of his own for-profit company xAI, is misrepresenting facts to gain a competitive edge."

Decoding the 2026 White House AI Blueprint: U.S. AI Policy Starts to Take Shape; ReedSmith, March 24, 2026

 Tristan J. Albrecht, ReedSmith; Decoding the 2026 White House AI Blueprint: U.S. AI Policy Starts to Take Shape

"The White House's March 2026, National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence highlights a central tension: while AI adoption is accelerating, the United States still lacks a comprehensive federal AI regulatory regime. The framework sets out legislative recommendations aimed at balancing innovation, economic growth, and risk mitigation, while proposing federal preemption of state laws that “impose undue burdens" or undermine the national strategy to achieve “global AI dominance”.

The White House framework focuses on seven priority areas:...

Intellectual Property: A measured approach that defers key copyright questions, whether AI training on copyrighted material constitutes fair use in the courts. The Administration states it “believe that training of AI models on copyrighted material does not violate copyright laws” but supports judicial resolution. The framework also contemplates collective licensing frameworks and protections against unauthorized digital replicas of individuals’ voice or likeness...

As AI capabilities rapidly evolve, the White House framework signals a federal preference for light-touch regulation and industry standards over rigid compliance mandates in clear contrast to approaches like the EU AI Act. In the absence of comprehensive legislation, organizations must continue navigating a dynamic and fragmented regulatory landscape, with careful attention to how preemption may reshape the field."

From LLMs to hallucinations, here’s a simple guide to common AI terms; TechCrunch, April 12, 2026

 

Natasha Lomas, 

Romain Dillet, 

Kyle Wiggers, 

Lucas Ropek

, TechCrunch; From LLMs to hallucinations, here’s a simple guide to common AI terms

"Artificial intelligence is a deep and convoluted world. The scientists who work in this field often rely on jargon and lingo to explain what they’re working on. As a result, we frequently have to use those technical terms in our coverage of the artificial intelligence industry. That’s why we thought it would be helpful to put together a glossary with definitions of some of the most important words and phrases that we use in our articles.

We will regularly update this glossary to add new entries as researchers continually uncover novel methods to push the frontier of artificial intelligence while identifying emerging safety risks."

A town of 7,000 planned so many data centers, it’s like adding 51 Walmarts; The Washington Post, April 26, 2026

 Tim Craig, The Washington Post ; A town of 7,000 planned so many data centers, it’s like adding 51 Walmarts

"Throughout Archbald, a northeastern Pennsylvania town of 7,000 people tucked in a valley near the Pocono Mountains, residents are asking similar questions as the community emerges as one of the latest frontiers in the nation’s increasingly chaotic battles over data centers.

Developers plan to build six of the sprawling campuses in Archbald to power the demand for artificial intelligence, eventually covering about 14 percent of the town’s land. Those campuses would include 51 data warehouses — each about the size of a Walmart Supercenter — including seven buildings encompassing more than a million square feet near Bachak’s home...

Three of the four council members who resigned have now been replaced by data center opponents, with one seat still vacant.

It could be months or years before any data centers are built in Archbald. Once plans are approved by the local planning board, state and local permits are needed before construction can start...

Larry West, a local activist and new borough council member, said the tree cutting revived the “wounds” and “hidden scars” in a community where it took decades for the coal dust to be cleared. The town’s trees, West noted, cover abandoned mines.

“Now, it’s happening again but this time it’s data centers,” he added.

Bachak also believes his property will never be the same, even if the Project Gravity site is never completed. He recently installed blinds on his enclosed patio in an attempt to dull the pain he felt whenever he looked out at what used to be the forest lining his backyard.

“No one wants this,” Bachak said, “except the people making money off it.”"