Pennsylvania lawmakers have advanced a bill requiring parental consent before minors can use AI companions, with new rules covering age checks, sexual content, and conversations involving suicide, self-harm, or violence.The state House passed House Bill 2006 on Monday in a 133-70 vote, with 30 Republicans joining all 103 Democrats in... Read More »
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to let federal prisons restrict hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for transgender inmates, seeking to enforce the policy after two lower courts refused to clear the way.The Justice Department filed an emergency request asking the justices to lift an injunction from... Read More »
Tompkins County prosecutors have reopened the criminal investigation into allegations that seven Cornell University fraternity members drugged and gang-raped a female student in 2024, nearly two years after declining charges, with the case now headed to a grand jury.District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office is reconsidering... Read More »
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and impose new restrictions on how teenagers use the app, resolving the first state lawsuit against TikTok to reach a settlement over allegations that its platform harms young users.The agreement was announced Friday, September 25,... Read More »
A24 and The New York Times have joined the growing race to buy Letterboxd as the film-focused social platform heads toward a sale that could value it at more than $300 million.The two companies have expressed interest in acquiring Letterboxd, according to reports citing people familiar with the sale process.... Read More »
Aaliyah’s family fight over her music catalog has escalated into a $20 million settlement demand, competing claims over millions in label proceeds and a counterclaim tying the dispute to the 2001 plane crash that killed the singer.Her cousin Jomo Hankerson sued his father, Blackground Records founder Barry Hankerson, earlier this... Read More »
California’s oldest continuously family-owned winery has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with more than $39 million in liabilities, bringing six generations of majority family ownership to an end while the historic Sonoma Valley winery remains open.Gundlach Bundschu Winery, founded in Sonoma in 1858, entered Chapter 11 Wednesday through its operating... Read More »
The man who admitted using AI-generated music and billions of fake streams to collect more than $8 million in royalties is asking a federal judge for probation, arguing that the losses were spread so widely that no individual artist or songwriter suffered meaningful financial harm.Michael Smith pleaded guilty in March... Read More »
Hollywood crisis publicist Melissa Nathan is facing accusations that she lied under oath about her role in anonymous websites used to attack rival publicist Stephanie Jones, after newly produced texts and payment records allegedly tied her directly to the content.Jones says the records show Nathan personally directed an employee to... Read More »
Arnold Schwarzenegger is asking a Los Angeles judge for extra courtroom security after the opposing lawyer in his car crash trial posted the exact time and location of his expected testimony in a “Terminator”-style social media promotion.Attorneys for the actor and former California governor filed the request Tuesday after plaintiff’s... Read More »