"All autocracies attempt to control the past in order to control the future. Their methods are ham-fisted, because they see history as a purely political endeavor. ... history tells us this erasure is a trial balloon for much worse things.” - Slate
Her children’s book is now banned at Department of Defense schools by order of the president. "I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right,” the actor said. - Variety
It’s not just artists canceling their shows: "A National Symphony Orchestra concert described as a ‘celebration of love, diversity, and the vibrant spirit of the LGBTQ+ community’ that was scheduled to take place during World Pride 2025, has been removed from the website.” - Washington Post
Everyone, deep down, has “a desire for recognition to be seen as human by other humans. This is a driving, animating desire. Attention is like right next to it, and so it tastes enough like it to keep you going for it without ever delivering the thing you want.” - Slate
Millions of dollars were - and perhaps are - at stake. “The dispute highlights allegations of the vulnerabilities that artists face when they entrust their business affairs to managers and others.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Chief content officer Bela Bajaria: “I think it’s really a bummer for the 100 incredibly talented people who made an amazing movie. … And if you look at the nominations, and all of this awards love that it’s received, I think it’s such a bummer that it distracted from that.” - The Guardian (UK)
Author Louise Penny of the Inspector Gamache series: “I was supposed to launch The Black Wolf at the Kennedy Center in DC, but in the wake of Trump taking over, I have pulled out. … It was, of course, going to be a career highlight. But there are things far more important than that.” - CBC
Even a president as attuned to the details of Kennedy Center programming as Nixon didn’t try to directly take a hand in running the place. As in so many other instances in the last month, it’s remarkable how little opposition Trump has encountered in setting out to do whatever he wants. - Van
In 2020, Thomson Reuters sued Ross Intelligence for copyright infringement, alleging that Ross had scraped Thomson Reuters’ own law database, known as Westlaw, to create its database, and that this amounted to copyright infringement. - Music Business Worldwide
"Several Kennedy Center staffers … described a week of chaos, fear and confusion under the new leadership. Trump’s comments 'collapsed all the nuance of what we do,' said one staffer, who described the work as more than a job or a passion. … 'I don’t feel safe.'" - The Washington Post (MSN)
On Tuesday, (a) US District Court … issued a partial summary judgment in favor of Thomson Reuters in its copyright infringement lawsuit against Ross Intelligence, a legal AI startup. Filed in 2020, it’s one of the first cases (to) deal with the legality of AI tools and how they are trained." - The Verge
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ $32 million line-item vetoes stripped away funding for local theater groups, arts festivals, museums and more, sparking outrage in Florida last year. Now, a House work group is one of several convening to review line-item vetoes from the 2024-25 budget DeSantis signed last year. - Florida Politics
The new N.E.A. rules require applicants to agree not to operate diversity programs “that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and call on grant applicants to pledge not to use federal funds to “promote gender ideology.”
In the complaint, Thomson Reuters claimed the AI firm reproduced materials from its legal research firm Westlaw. Today, a judge ruled in Thomson Reuters’ favor, finding that the company’s copyright was indeed infringed by Ross Intelligence’s actions. - Wired
