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Week In Review

By Giancarla Sambo

Edited by Elissa D. Hecker


Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News:


Entertainment

Live Nation Faces Class Action That Could Involve Millions of Ticket Buyers

Having been sued by the U.S. government over alleged anticompetitive conduct, Live Nation is also facing a class action that seeks to represent millions of ticket buyers. The new lawsuit claims that Live Nation abuses its market dominance and the impact on secondary ticketing will be a particular focus.


Judge Denies Alec Baldwin’s Bid to Dismiss Manslaughter Indictment

The ruling increases the likelihood that Baldwin will stand trial this summer in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the film “Rust.”

 

Beyoncé Sued for Alleged Copyright Infringement Over “Break My Soul”

Da Showstoppaz – comprised of Tessa Avie, Keva Bourgeois, Henri Braggs, and Brian Clark – claim that “Explode” copies the lyrics and composition of their 2002 song “Release a Wiggle” without authorization.


Madonna Sued by Fan Over ‘Pornography’ In Latest Lawsuit Tied to Concerts

The Queen of Pop has also faced multiple lawsuits tied to late start times for her ongoing Celebration Tour.


Facing the Music: Internet Archive Accused of Illegally Digitizing Thousands of Old Records

A San Francisco federal court is host to a fight between a nonprofit enterprise with a mission to provide “Universal Access to All Knowledge,” and a group of record companies that own the rights to songs recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby, Billie Holliday, and Miles Davis.


‘Seal Team’ Writer Sues CBS And TV Show for Discrimination

There is a current ongoing lawsuit against CBS and the television show “Seal Team”. The lawsuit alleges that the network and show are practicing discriminatory hiring practices in the writers’ room. However, the twist here is that it is a man claiming that he is discriminated against because he is a “white, heterosexual male.”

 

Cher Defeats Sonny Bono’s Widow in Royalties Lawsuit Tied To Divorce Settlement

Cher won a lawsuit against Sonny Bono’s widow over royalties related to the songs written by Sonny and Cher. As part of their 1978 divorce settlement, Cher was granted a permanent 50% cut of the publishing revenues of the songs that they recorded together during the time that they were married.


Earth, Wind And Fire Lawsuit Shows How A Tribute Band Can Get In Hot Water

Tribute bands are big these days, since so many classic rock bands have stopped touring (or their tickets cost too much for the average consumer or they’re never coming to your town). This turned into deception when a tribute band represented that it was the original Earth, Wind And Fire. The actual band and the tribute band recently settled a lawsuit over the misrepresentation.


Roberto Clemente’s Family Accused of Double-Dipping Film and TV Rights in Lawsuit Against MLB Star’s Sons and Legendary Pictures

Inside the Park LLC claims it was sold the rights to adapt the Hall of Famer’s life into a feature film under false pretenses.


Arts

Idaho Drag Performer Wins Over $1.1 Million in Defamation Suit Against Blogger

The jury unanimously sided with the performer in a case against a blogger who made false claims that the artist had exposed himself to a crowd at a Pride event in 2022.


Who Plotted to Sell Graceland? An Identity Thief Raises His Hand.

A person using an email for the company seeking to foreclose on the former home of Elvis Presley says that he was behind the threat to sell the beloved landmark.


Cleveland Museum of Art to Return a Rare Ancient Icon to Libya

A 2,200-year-old sculpture of a bearded man carved from basalt, unearthed in the 1930s, is believed to have been stolen in the early 1940s.

 

How a Self-Published Book Broke ‘All the Rules’ and Became a Best Seller

Keila Shaheen’s “The Shadow Work Journal” shows how radically book sales and marketing have been changed by TikTok.


Sports

NCAA Athletes Will be Allowed to Transfer an Unlimited Number of Times Without Penalty

The NCAA and U.S. Department of Justice have reportedly reached a settlement that will also restore a year of eligibility for some student-athletes.


NCAA Athletes’ Pay Deal Raises Questions About Future of College Sports

The landmark settlement made many wonder what the reality — and impact — of revenue-sharing plans with college athletes would look like.


With Payments to College Athletes, Another Fight Looms for Women

Despite gains, women still lag far behind men in the little-regulated industry of college sports. A proposed revenue-sharing deal could create new clashes over equality.

 

“Call of Duty” Maker Activision Sued Over School Shooting

“Call of Duty” publisher Activision is among companies that have been named in a lawsuit filed by families of Uvalde school shooting victims. The lawsuit also names Meta, with weapon manufacturer Daniel Defense, sued separately.


U.S. Figure Skating Coach Dalilah Sappenfield Banned for Life After Misconduct Allegations

SafeSport issued the ban on its centralized disciplinary database. Sappenfield’s additional violations, per the database, included retaliation, proactive policy violation, abuse of process, and failure to report a potential SafeSport violation.


For Female Climbers, Dangers Go Beyond Avalanches and Storms

Women are increasingly reporting sexual harassment and abuse in the sport, including accusations against the renowned climber Nirmal Purja.


Vince McMahon Sexual Assault Lawsuit Paused Pending Ongoing DOJ Investigation, Ex-WWE Employee’s Lawyer Says

A civil lawsuit accusing WWE founder Vince McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking has been put on hold pending the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Justice Department.

 

Inclusion of Negro Leagues Statistics in Major League Baseball Records Only Enhances Baseball’s History

How legitimate were MLB’s statistics prior to 1947, when it was essentially an all-white men’s club?


Technology/Media

Court Agrees to Fast-Track Legal Challenge Over TikTok Ban

The legal challenge over the proposed TikTok ban will be fast-tracked, so that oral arguments will begin in September. Under a law passed by Congress, TikTok owner ByteDance has until January 19, 2025 to sell the app or face a ban.


Ticketmaster Hacked: Personal Information of 560M Users is for Sale

The notorious ShinyHunters hacking group claimed to have breached Live Nation-Ticketmaster and stolen the personal data of 560 million users, including payment details.


Microsoft AI “Recall” Feature Records Everything, Secures Far Less

Developing an AI-powered threat to security, privacy, and identity is certainly a choice, but it’s one that Microsoft was willing to make.


Cox Appeals Billion Dollar Piracy Verdict Over ‘Concealed Evidence’

Cox Communications has filed its opening brief in a new appeal of the $1 billion piracy case. A jury previously held the Internet provider liable for the music piracy activities of its subscribers. After the trial, Cox learned that the music companies 'concealed' key information about 'destroyed' piracy evidence; this allegedly damaged the foundation of the landmark lawsuit.


Top FTX Executive Sentenced to 7½ Years in Prison

Ryan Salame, the head of FTX’s subsidiary in the Bahamas, was the first of Sam Bankman-Fried’s deputies to be sentenced since the crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022.


Google’s A.I. Search Leaves Publishers Scrambling

Since Google overhauled its search engine, publishers have tried to assess the danger to their brittle business models while calling for government intervention.


Deepfake of U.S. Official Appears After Shift on Ukraine Attacks in Russia

A manufactured video fabricated comments by the State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller.


OpenAI Says Russia and China Used Its A.I. in Covert Campaigns

Iran and an Israeli company also exploited the tools in online influence efforts, but none gained much traction, an OpenAI report said.


A Small Army Combating a Flood of Deepfakes in India’s Election

Social media is awash with A.I.-altered audio, clipped video and manipulated images. Fact-checkers want to save the public from deception.


General News

Trump Guilty of All Counts in Hush-Money Case, Can He Still Run For President?

Donald J. Trump, the former president and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a case stemming from a payment that silenced a porn star.  The Constitution and U.S. law have clear answers for only some of the questions raised by the criminal conviction of a major presidential candidate.

 

Biden Denounces ‘Reckless’ G.O.P. Efforts to Discredit Trump Conviction

The president broke his long silence over his predecessor’s legal troubles, calling the New York jury’s guilty verdict vindication for the idea that “no one is above the law.”


Chief Justice Rejects Call for Alito’s Recusal in Jan. 6th Cases After Flag Incidents

In a letter to Democratic senators, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that individual justices decide when to recuse. He declined to meet with the senators to discuss court ethics.

 

Departing House Members Ask: ‘Why Am I Here?’

A wave of retirees from both parties, including committee chairs and rising stars, say that serving in Congress is no longer worth the frustration.


Judge Denies Limited Gag Order Request in Trump Documents Case

The decision was made on procedural grounds and left open the possibility that federal prosecutors could try again to restrict Trump from making statements that could endanger F.B.I. agents.


Lawyers to Plastics Makers: Prepare for ‘Astronomical’ PFAS Lawsuits

At an industry presentation about dangerous “forever chemicals,” lawyers predicted a wave of lawsuits that could dwarf asbestos litigation.


Texas Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to State's Abortion Law Over Medical Exceptions

The Texas Supreme Court rejected a challenge to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the U.S. following a lawsuit by women who had serious pregnancy complications.


Uvalde Settles With Victims’ Families Over School Shooting

The Texas city agreed to pay $2 million to families of schoolchildren who were shot in a 2022 massacre and to overhaul its police force. The families are also suing other agencies.


Former U.S. Agriculture Official Says Menendez Told Him to ‘Stop Interfering’

Jurors in Senator Robert Menendez’s bribery trial heard directly from a witness who recounted  Menendez’s efforts to flex his political muscle.

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