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WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released on Monday a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Donald Trump, which he has denied.
Trump has said he did not write the letter or create the drawing of a curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter. He filed a $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for a report on the alleged letter.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has begun reviewing a landmark class-action settlement agreement between the artificial intelligence company Anthropic and book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train its chatbot.
The company has agreed to pay authors and publishers $1.5 billion, amounting to about $3,000 for each of an estimated 500,000 books covered by the settlement.
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But U.S. District Judge William Alsup has raised some questions about the details of the agreement and asked representatives of author and publisher groups to appear in court Monday to discuss.
A trio of authors — thriller novelist Andrea Bartz and nonfiction writers Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson — sued last year and now represent a broader group of writers and publishers whose books Anthropic downloaded to train its chatbot Claude.
Johnson, author of “The Feather Thief” and other books, said he planned to attend the hearing on Monday and described the settlement as the “beginning of a fight on behalf of humans that don’t believe we have to sacrifice everything on the altar of AI.”
Alsup dealt the case a mixed ruling in June, finding that training AI chatbots on copyrighted books wasn’t illegal but that Anthropic wrongfully acquired millions of books through pirate websites. Had Anthropic and the authors not agreed to settle, the case would have gone to trial in December.
By PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Researchers have confirmed the presence of an invasive species of tick in Maine for the first time, marking the farthest northeast in the United States the pest has been discovered.
The University of Maine and state conservation officials said Monday they confirmed the presence of the Asian longhorned tick in the state in July. The tick is native to east Asia, where it is capable of spreading tickborne infections such as spotted fever.
Judge reviews $1.5B Anthropic settlement proposal with authors over pirated books for AI training
Another New Hampshire man gets a pig kidney as transplant trials are poised to start
Pastor Doug Wilson’s fringe teachings go mainstream in Trump’s Washington
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FAA extends ban on US commercial flights to Haiti’s capital because of risk from gangs
The tick was first confirmed in the United States in New Jersey in 2017 and it has since spread to more than 20 states, clustering mostly around the eastern third of the country. Exactly how the tick arrived in the country isn’t certain, but public health officials have said possible routes of entry including on pets and livestock.
“This discovery underscores the critical importance of continued tick surveillance in Maine,” said Griffin Dill, director of the UMaine Extension Tick Lab. “While this appears to be an isolated case, we are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with state and federal partners.”
The tick specimen was not yet an adult and it was collected in the southern part of the state, the lab said in a statement. Follow-up surveillance didn’t turn up any additional specimens in the surrounding area, the lab said.
Asian longhorned ticks feed on numerous animals, including cattle and humans. They pose a challenge for pest control authorities because female ticks of the species can reproduce without mating, which means a single individual can create an infestation, the lab said. The specimen found in Maine could not reproduce yet because it was a juvenile, the lab said.
Research is still going on to determine the tick species’ ability to spread pathogens in Maine and elsewhere in the U.S., the lab said. Ticks are a major public health concern in the Northeastern U.S., where another species, the blacklegged or deer tick, spreads Lyme disease.
In the meantime, the public can prevent tick bites by taking steps such as conducting rigorous checks for them, avoiding overgrown vegetation and wearing protective clothing, public health officials said.
City Limits rounds up the latest housing and land use-related events, public hearings and affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.
City Planning Director Dan Garodnick, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams during a walking tour of the Jamaica rezoning area in 2023. The Council will hold a hearing on the plan Tuesday. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)
Welcome to City Limits’ NYC Housing Calendar, a weekly feature where we round up the latest housing and land use-related events and hearings, as well as upcoming affordable housing lotteries that are ending soon.
Know of an event we should include in next week’s calendar? Email us.
Upcoming Housing and Land Use-Related Events:
Monday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on the Avenir casino proposal for Manhattan’s west side. More here.
Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 9 a.m.: Association for a Better New York will host a conversation between Executive Director Alec Schierenbeck and 2025 Charter Revision Commission Chair Richard Buery and to discuss the five ballot proposals expected to be up for a vote this fall, including three related to the city’s housing and land use processes. Registration required. More here.
Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m.: The Landmarks Preservation Commission will meet. More here.
Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 10 a.m.: The NYC Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet and hold a public hearing regarding the following land use applications: JFK Conduit Logistics Center Demapping, Broadway Junction Station City Map Amendment, Jamaica Neighborhood Plan (read more about it here) and Ocean Crest Article XI Technical Correction. More here.
Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on the Metropolitan Park casino proposal for Queens. More here.
Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on the Bally’s casino proposal for the Bronx. More here.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 9:30 a.m.: The NYC Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management will vote on a bill that would require city agencies to create a resource guide for tenants displaced by fires. More here.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m.: The NYC Council’s General Welfare Committee will meet regarding a bill that would require the city to maintain and publish a list of vacant supportive housing units. More here.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m.: The NYC Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises will meet regarding the following land use applications: 1946 East 7th Street Rezoning, 5602-5604 Broadway Rezoning, 515 7th Avenue, Ocean Crest Article XI Technical Correction, and a sidewalk cafe application for Cozy Corner in Ridgewood. More here.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 10:45 a.m.: The NYC Council’s Land Use Committee will meet regarding the following land use applications: 1946 East 7th Street Rezoning, 5602-5604 Broadway Rezoning, 515 7th Avenue, tions: 1946 East 7th Street Rezoning, 5602-5604 Broadway Rezoning, 515 7th Avenue, Ocean Crest Article XI Technical Correction, and a sidewalk cafe application for Cozy Corner in Ridgewood. More here.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on The Coney casino proposal for Coney Island. More here.
Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 5:30 p.m.: The Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) will hold a public briefing on its latest proposals under the “Where We Live” plan, which aims to advance the city’s fair housing goals. HPD will be taking public feedback on the draft plan until Sept. 16. More here.
Thursday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on Caesars Palace casino proposal for Times Square. More here.
Friday, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m.: The NYC Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection will meet regarding bills related to deed theft, wage theft at construction sites, and consumer protections for home repair work. More here.
Monday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.: The City Planning Commission will hold a public review session. More here.
Monday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m.: The NYC Council’s General Welfare Committee will hold a hearing on the impact of federal budget cuts, as well as on a bill to limit rent increases for CityFHEPS voucher holders. More here.
Monday, Sept. 15 at 2 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on the Freedom Plaza casino proposal for Midtown East. More here.
Monday, Sept. 15 at 4 p.m.: The New York Gaming Facility Location Board will host a hearing for the Community Advisory Committee on Resorts World casino proposal for Southeast Queens. More here.
NYC Affordable Housing Lotteries Ending Soon: The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) are closing lotteries on the following subsidized buildings over the next week.
89 Dekalb Avenue Apartments, Brooklyn, for households earning between $107,726 – $227,500 (last day to apply is 9/8)
Forten at Columbia, Manhattan, for households earning between $97,783 – $227,500 (last day to apply is 9/8)
The Baltic Canal, Brooklyn, for households earning between $45,738 – $189,540 (last day to apply is 9/8)
The Arcadian Apartments, Brooklyn, for households earning between $103,235 – $261,170 (last day to apply is 9/10)
361 A & B East 194th Street Apartments, Bronx, for households earning between $80,640 – $116,640 (last day to apply is 9/12)
81A Malcolm X Boulevard, Brooklyn, for households earning between $81,189 – $116,640 (last day to apply is 9/12)
87 Carlton Avenue Apartments, Brooklyn, for households earning between $78,069 – $116,640 (last day to apply is 9/12)
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