Lawsuit challenges a Long Island county's partnership in New York with ICE
A suburban New York county's agreement with federal authorities to empower local police officers to conduct immigration arrests is being challenged in court by civil rights advocates.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday argues the agreement between Nassau County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in February violates state law, undermines individuals' rights and will lead to racial profiling.
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Washington Post
8 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Federal court says copyrighted books are fair use for AI training
A federal judge this week ruled that artificial intelligence company Anthropic did not break the law when it used copyrighted books to train its chatbot, Claude, without the consent of the texts' authors or publishers — but he ordered the company to go to trial for allegedly using pirated versions of the books. The decision, made Monday by Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, represents a win for AI companies, which have battled copyright lawsuits from writers and news organizations for using their work to train AI systems. Alsup said Anthropic's use of the books to train its large language models, was like an aspiring writer who reads copyrighted texts 'not to race ahead and replicate or supplant' those works, 'but to turn a hard corner and create something different.' His ruling was on a lawsuit filed against Anthropic last year by three authors — Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson — who alleged that the company used their work without their consent to train AI systems in what amounted to 'largescale theft.' But Alsup ordered Anthropic to face trial for the accusation that it knowingly obtained copies of more than 7 million books from piracy websites, although the company later paid to purchase copies of some books. Alsup said he doubted that 'any accused infringer could ever meet its burden of explaining why downloading source copies from pirate sites that it could have purchased or otherwise accessed lawfully was itself reasonably necessary to any subsequent fair use.' 'That Anthropic later bought a copy of a book it earlier stole off the internet will not absolve it of liability for the theft but it may affect the extent of statutory damages,' he added. In a statement, Anthropic said it was pleased that the court recognized that using published works to train LLMs was consistent with copyright laws 'in enabling creativity and fostering scientific progress.' But the company said it disagrees with the decision to hold a trial for its 'acquisition of a subset of books and how they were used,' in apparent reference to the piracy allegations. 'We remain confident in our overall case, and are evaluating all options,' it said. In their lawsuit, the authors said the actions of Anthropic have made 'a mockery of its lofty goals.' The company was founded in 2021 by a group that included OpenAI's former vice president of research Dario Amodei with goals that included 'research into increasing the safety of AI systems.' Bartz and Johnson did not reply to requests for comment. Graeber declined to comment. After concerns arose within the company about using pirated books, Anthropic hired former Google Books executive Tom Turvey to obtain 'all the books in the world' while also avoiding as many legal issues as possible, according to court documents. Turvey and his team could have sought to reach commercial agreements with publishers to license the books to train its AI systems, Alsup noted, but they instead purchased millions of print books from retailers, many of them in used condition, then scanned them into digital form. The company could have also hired staff writers and engineers to create good original writing to train AI models. But that would have 'required spending more,' Alsup noted.
24 minutes ago
Lawsuit challenges a Long Island county's partnership in New York with ICE
A suburban New York county's agreement with federal authorities to empower local police officers to conduct immigration arrests is being challenged in court by civil rights advocates. A lawsuit filed Tuesday argues the agreement between Nassau County and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in February violates state law, undermines individuals' rights and will lead to racial profiling. Dozens of other police departments around the U.S. have similar partnerships, known as 287(g) agreements, with ICE, but only a handful exist in New York, where state law limits when police agencies can cooperate with federal immigration officials. The agreements ramp up the number of immigration enforcement staff available to ICE as it aims to meet President Donald Trump's mass deportation goals. Broome County and Niagara County officials also reached agreements with ICE this year, joining Rensselaer County, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Diocese of Long Island, immigrant and refugee advocates and two Long Island residents. Nassau County is on Long Island just east of New York City. "This unlawful agreement isn't about safety, reason, or the rule of law — it's about fear mongering and needlessly hurting immigrant communities.' Rubin Danberg-Biggs, Skadden fellow at the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a news release. In announcing the agreement, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican and Trump ally, said 10 county police detectives would be given the same authority as federal immigration agents and work with them to detain immigrants who are in the country illegally. Blakeman said police would check the immigration status of people charged with crimes and notify ICE if they are there illegally. The arrangement also includes embedding officers with ICE and providing jail cells for short-term detainment until arrestees can be handed over to federal authorities. 'We are not aware of any lawsuit at this time,' Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle said late Tuesday, 'and while we typically do not comment on litigation, County Executive Blakeman is confident that all measures taken to protect communities in Nassau County are legal and properly authorized.' An email seeking comment was sent to ICE. About 22%, or more than 300,000, of Nassau County's 1.4 million residents are immigrants, according to Melanie Creps, executive director of the Central American Refugee Center, one of the lawsuit's plaintiffs. 'The 287(g) agreement between ICE and the Nassau County Police Department has created fear, eroded trust, and made immigrants, and all of our communities, less safe," Creps said. 'It undermines public safety by deterring immigrants from seeking help or reporting crimes.'
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mamdani declares victory in NYC mayoral primary election, Cuomo concedes
NEW YORK - Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has conceded in the New York City mayoral primary election as Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani decalred victory on Election Night. In a speech to supporters, Mamdani said, "Tonight, we made history.""I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City," he said. Cuomo, in a speech to supporters, said Mamdani "won" and that "we are going to take a look and make some decisions." "Tonight is his night," Cuomo said. With 90% of votes counted, Mamdani had 43.5% of the first choice votes, compared to Cuomo's 36.3% of the votes. Mamdani has not officially secured the Democratic primary win. New York City uses ranked choice voting in elections, and a candidate must have at least 50% of the votes to claim victory. This year, NYC will use ranked choice voting in primary and special elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and City Council; a system approved by voters in 2019. Tonight, results will only show first-choice votes from early voting, in-person voting and processed absentee ballots, accounting for most of the votes. If a candidate is projected to win 50% of first-choice votes, then the Associated Press will declare a projected winner on Election Night. If no one gets a majority, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and those votes go to the next choice on each ballot. This process continues until two candidates remain; whoever has the most votes then wins. If no candidate has 50% of first-choice votes, the Board of Elections will release an unofficial report on the preliminary elimination rounds on Tuesday, July 1. The BOE plans to certify the results on July 15. The backstory Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and state Assembly member, gained momentum with endorsements from progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, focusing on the city's high cost of living. Cuomo, attempting a comeback after resigning amid a sexual harassment scandal, acknowledged Mamdani's victory despite his own strong political connections and fundraising. Mamdani's campaign, marked by energetic grassroots efforts, positions him as the city's potential first Muslim and Indian American mayor. What's next The primary winner will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election, reflecting the Democratic Party's ideological divide. And even if Cuomo officially loses the primary, there is a possibility that he runs on the November ballot as an independent candidate. Dig deeper The 33-year-old from Queens is a self-declared democratic socialist known for his activism, including leading a hunger strike alongside taxi drivers. Since his election to the New York State Assembly in 2020, Mamdani introduced the REPAIR Act to end significant property tax exemptions for Columbia University and NYU, aiming to redirect funds to the City University of New York (CUNY). Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City at age seven. According to the Associated Press, he became naturalized as an American citizen a few years after graduating from college, where he co-started his school's first Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. His mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning filmmaker. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University. Here's a closer look at Mamdani's stance on all the issues. The Source This article includes reporting from the Associated Press and information from Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani's campaign.
