In a major win for intellectual freedom, a judge rules against Florida law that led to removing hundreds of books from school libraries.
“The judge’s order makes it clear that we cannot judge a book by its cover or a maliciously selected excerpt out of context,” said Stephana Ferrell of the Florida Freedom to Read Project. “This means that the thousands of books that have been prohibited from student access without careful consideration of their value should be returned to shelves immediately. Florida cannot call itself the “freest state” while it blatantly violates the First Amendment rights of our youngest citizens.”
Dan Novak, attorney for the plaintiffs, called the decision “a complete knockout. There’s not a single issue that the court did not side with the plaintiffs on,” per the Orlando Sentinel.
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A South Dakota mining company has canceled a drilling project in the Black Hills after opposition from Native American tribes and local grou
Protests and lawsuits from Native American tribes and other local groups stopped a graphite mining operation in South Dakota that was going forward without appropriate environment review.
The mining project has now been cancelled with the company stating it "doesn't intend to file another plan for this project.".
The Supreme Court is declining to hear an appeal from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for
"The Supreme Court said Monday [January 13, 2025] it won’t hear an appeal from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change.
The order allows the city of Honolulu’s lawsuit against oil and gas companies to proceed. The city’s chief resilience officer, Ben Sullivan, said it’s a significant decision that will protect “taxpayers and communities from the immense costs and consequences of the climate crisis caused by the defendants’ misconduct.”
The industry has faced a series of cases alleging it deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change. Governments in states including California, Colorado and New Jersey are seeking billions of dollars in damages from things like wildfires, rising sea levels and severe storms. The lawsuits come during a wave of legal actions in the U.S. and worldwide seeking to leverage action on climate change through the courts.
The oil and gas companies appealed to the Supreme Court after Hawaii’s highest court allowed the lawsuit to proceed. The companies include Sunoco, Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and BP, many of which are headquartered in Texas.
The companies argued emissions are a national issue that should instead be fought over in federal court, where they’ve successfully had suits tossed out.
“The stakes in this case could not be higher,” attorneys wrote in court documents. The lawsuits “present a serious threat to one of the nation’s most vital industries.”
The American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said declining to hear the Honolulu case now means the companies could face more lawsuits from activists trying to “make themselves the nation’s energy regulators.” [Good!!!]
The Democratic Biden administration had weighed in at the justices’ request and urged them to reject the case, saying it’s fair to keep it in state court at this point — though the administration acknowledged that the companies could eventually prevail...
Honolulu argued it’s made a strong case under state laws against deceptive marketing and it should be allowed to play out there. “Deceptive commercial practices fall squarely within the core interests and historic powers of the states,” attorneys wrote."
More and more students, took to avoiding Marinette. They had learned not to mess with her after what she had done to Damian. Damian was already back in his uniform and he hated it. He found he missed wearing Marinette's clothes. He never expected to see her silently crying in the library. Seeing her cry, confused and made him furious. It irritated him.
"What is wrong?" Damian demanded.
Marinette looked up at him and wiped her tears away, "Same stupid stuff."
"Obviously not." he stated, taking a seat next to her.
"I was bullied back in Paris, for years." Marinette admitted, "I had roaches in my locker, my belongings stolen, vandalized. I thought I could handle it. A new girl showed up and everything changed; it wasn't one bully, it was everyone. She would claim I stole something and my belongings were stolen. She claimed I bullied her so I was punished. My belongings destroyed. Sometimes I was beaten. I came to Gotham and created new social media accounts. Nothing that was tied to who I was in Paris. Even my fashion label, brand, and page were new. They found it."
Marinette pulled her phone away from her chest and showed him the screen. There were dozens of anonymous complaints sent withing minutes of each other.
"This is MDC!"
"She steals ppl's hard work and sells it!"
"Don't buy from her!"
"Poor quality!"
"It fell apart in the wash!"
"It wasn't the same color I ordered!"
"It didn't even look the same!"
"Worse than thrift shops!"
"Have you called your lawyer?" Damian asked.
"They're all anonymous." She sniffled.
"Still." He spoke, "Inform them, so there is a trail."
'I need to get Drake and Barbara on this. They will be able to figure out who these people are. I'm sure Drake would jump at the chance to help her.'
"The way I see it, they are jealous of your success." Damian stated.
"Huh?" she asked, confused.
"You have clients; high paying." He continued, "You have the money, the reputation; connections. Your photo is not even on the website."
Marinette had never thought of it that way.
"Whoever did this had to send their time looking: hours, days, possibly months." He finished.
Marinette nodded, understanding what he was saying.
"You remember my brother; you're number one fan?" He questioned, "He can easily help you with your website. He can remove every complaint. We'll call it…..restructuring."
"Really?" She asked.
Damian pulled out his phone and called Drake, in front of her.
"What do you want, Brat?" Tim asked, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"
"Marinette needs help." Damian stated.
"What do you need?" Tim questioned.
He smirked her way, "Bullies from her past are harassing her website. I told her you would be able to make them go away."
"Give me-got it!" Tim cried out, "There is now a new page up on the site."
Mari grabbed her phone and refreshed her home page. There was now an 'Error' page with a timer, counting down.
"Give me two hours." Tim spoke, "The complaints will be down and the site will fully accessible."
"Really?" Mari cried out.
"Hey, Marinette, and yes, really." Tim answered, "I have a friend in IT and we can check to see if they are all from the same IP address. We should be able to block them, too."
"Thank you!" she replied.
Damian ended the call. He could hear Drake's smile and pride through his voice. He felt his body shift back as Marinette hugged him.
"Thank you!" she cried out, sitting in his lap.
Damian was frozen. Mari quickly recalled that Damian disliked physical touch, just as much as her.
"I'm so so sorry!" she shouted, as she pulled away, "I reacted and-"
Marinette froze as, she felt herself being pulled back against him.
"Don't let go." Damian whispered, "Please."
She could tell he was still tense, as if he was internally struggling to hug her. She wondered if something she had done was changing he felt or if he was trying to comfort her. Whatever it was, Marinette relaxed against him. She allowed herself to feel secure against his chest and smiled.
Damian was shocked how light she felt against him and how small she was in comparision.
'It is hard to imagine this is the same girl who dislocated my shoulder. At least her reasoning for physical contact is understandable now.'
Damian looked down at her as her breathing evened out. She had fallen asleep on him, with a smile on her face.
'One thing is certain, lives are about to be ruined for disrupting her life.'
The class was shcoked when people in suits filed into the room.
"Cerise, Max, and Alya." a man spoke, "You are hereby being sued by the Wayne family."
"What?"
"We didn't do anything!"
"This is a mistake!"
"My students couldn't have done anything!"
"Who the hell is Cerise?"
"Why would the Wayne family sue us?"
"Who are the Waynes?"
Lila sat still, knowing they used her real name. Everything was about to end.
"The Waynes pride themselves on keeping track of their own and who works for them." the man continued, "You are being sued for cyber bullying, harassment, stalking, and emotional distress."
"What did you, Alya?" Nino hissed.
She looked to him in shock, like he had betrayed her. She turned to Lila, only to see her in tears.
"Lila!" she whispered, "You know the Waynes. Why would they do this? We've never met them. It has to be a mistake, right?"
"Your parents can explain everything to you." the man spoke.
Three sets of parents walked in and Lila froze.
'Mom?'
"Cerise, or should I say Lila, we have a meeting with your parole officer." her mother announced, "Not to mention with the school board. With how much money I poured into this school, you would think they kept better control of their students!"
"Parole officer?"
"Wait! Lila is Cerise?"
"Wasn't her name Layla?"
Her mother sighed, "Cerise tends to bully her classmates. It seems she did it here, too. She was told if she did it again, she would go to jail. You would think that she would listen."
An officer walked in and immediaely handcuffed Lila.
"I didn't do anything!" She sneered, "I never put a hand on that damn bitch! They bullied her! They harassed her! They hit her!"
The class looked around confused: 'Is this about Marinette?'
At the trial, they learned that Marinette was the Waynes personal designer. They showed the jury pictures of Marinette with the Waynes. There were pictures of Damian Wayne and Tim Drake-Wayne wearing her deisgns. The Waynes had used their connections to track who had attacked their designer through their IP addresses.
Lois Lane debunked the Ladyblog. She called it 'amateur work', 'fanfiction at best' and tabloid nonsense'. She said there was nothing believable about it as there was no sources, no evidence, no sense of time. Alya was silently crying, as her hard work was ripped to shreds. She sat in silence once she learned that the Waynes owned the Daily Planet. She knew it was unlikely that she would ever get a chance to work there, now. Max sat silently, even after he explained how Li-Cerise had lied to them all. His mother was put on probation so she could keep a better eye on her son. She had been up for another chance to go to space, but now that chance had been given to someone else. Cerise, as they had learned, had worn a wig and contacts to school. She was sentenced to serve time in jail.
"You want to grant them leniency?" Damian shouted, slamming his hands on the table, "Why?"
Mari smiled and he fought hard to keep the glare on his face. The fluttering in his stomach made it to hard to disagree with her. She slowly stood up and walked over to Damian. She took up one of his hands and held it in hers.
"That Bitch is already in jail and can't hurt anyone. Everything she did to me is known throughout Paris and so is her fake persona. It's on her school records. When she gets out, everyone will be wary of her." She answered, "Alya's dreams are shattered. She turned against me and listned only to Cerise. She stopped preaching her journalism views; she gave up long ago and now she knows. Max is learning that being the smartest in the room means nothing if he can’t decipher people. He loves his mother and having her home will be a constant reminder of how he failed her."
Damian couldn't help but feel manipulated. The girl, in front of him, appeared so innocent, yet she ruined their lives more than if they had faced time in jail. She turned the very thing they loved against them. Somehow, he didn't care one bit. Damian brought their entwined hands up to his lip and placed a soft kiss on one of her knuckles.
"Never let go, Haibibti." he whispered, pulling her closer.
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Also did you know that the reason NYT can sue openAI with the expectation of success is that the AI cites its sources about as well as James Somerton.
It regurgitates long sections of paywalled NYT articles verbatim, and then cites it wrong, if at all. It's not just a matter of stealing traffic and clicks etc, but also illegal redistribution and damaging the NYT's brand regarding journalistic integrity by misquoting or citing incorrectly.
OpenAI cannot claim fair use under these circumstances lmao.
Details of a “torture video” is among the pieces of the Epstein files being ordered for unredaction.
Rebecca Beitsch at The Hill, via NewsNation:
(The Hill) — A D.C.-based federal judge on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to unredact additional pages of the Epstein files in a suit brought by attorney and independent journalist Katie Phang.
The preliminary injunction orders redactions be removed in key documents of interest in the files, including “at least eight email exchanges with Mr. Epstein regarding a ‘torture video’ and sexual activity with young women, including minors” as well as interviews with a woman who said she was abused by President Trump as a minor.
“The Attorney General’s arguments are unpersuasive. First, Ms. Phang has identified ‘some concrete consequences of not receiving the information.’ She has identified ‘half a dozen stories she is currently unable to report’ because the Attorney General has not disclosed the information,” U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wrote in a decision that also found Phang had a right to bring the case under the Administrative Procedures Act.
He also rebuffed the idea that Phang could have simply requested the documents through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), noting that the department itself had previously said the Epstein Files Transparency Act “directed a much broader and less redacted release of the files than would have been made under the FOIA. Certain exemptions which may have been made under FOIA were not made in the [Epstein Act] release.”
DOJ must either produce the documents or “show cause” as to why they cannot comply.
Some of the details sought by Phang have since been unveiled, including that Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem was who had been emailing deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein about the torture video.
In the Phang v. Blanche case, Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the DOJ to unredact more of the Epstein Files.
See Also:
Civil Discourse (Joyce Vance): Finally: A Judge Orders the Government to Release the Rest of the Epstein Files in a Lawsuit Filed by Katie Phang
