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☆ 6 Takeaways From Ed Sheeran’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ Copyright Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Instead, the jury heard a computerized “Let’s Get It On,” based on the original sheet music. Ed Sheeran showed two very different sides. Sheeran attended every day of testimony in the trial, and on the stand he could be charming, demonstrating his songwriting with a guitar. A key part of any music copyright trial is the testimony of musicologists hired as expert witnesses for each side, who present dry, abstract analyses of the music. At the Sheeran trial, the two experts also seemed to take every opportunity to put each other down.

☆ How The Legend of Zelda Changed the Game
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Zachary Small | Rumsey Taylor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

More than six million people watched the preview for hints about the next video game in Nintendo’s beloved Legend of Zelda franchise. Tears of the Kingdom, the next entry in the Legend of Zelda franchise, will encourage players to manipulate and combine objects to fight enemies and explore Hyrule. The immersive gameplay of the Zelda franchise is bolstered by its deep mythology , convincing players they are unearthing ancient secrets. Retrieving the Master Sword often marks the point in a Zelda game when the difficulty spikes and the stakes are raised. Clockwise, from top left: The Legend of Zelda (1986), A Link to the Past (1991), Ocarina of Time (1998) and The Wind Waker (2002).

☆ Netflix offers 'The Crown' fans first glimpse of Prince William and Kate Middleton from Season 6
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Toyin Owoseje | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ahead of the sixth and final season of its hit royal drama “The Crown,” Netflix has offered fans a first peek at the actors who will be playing Prince William and Kate Middleton. A first look at Prince William (Ed McVey) and Kate Middleton (Meg Bellamy) from the sixth and ~final~ season of The Crown, coming later this year. The other images shared show Kate in a classroom, and William sitting on a sofa, wearing a blazer and tie. While William has appeared in the show as a child, the forthcoming season will depict him as an adult for the first time. Created by Peter Morgan, “The Crown” has become one of Netflix’s most successful original series since its premiere in 2016.

New York CNN —Musician Ed Sheeran played guitar and sang on the stand Thursday as part of his testimony in a copyright infringement trial about whether his smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On.”Sheeran played the opening line of “Thinking Out Loud” in an attempt to rebut the testimony of the plaintiff’s expert witness, Alexander Stewart. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, daughter of singer and songwriter Ed Townsend, speaks outside New York Federal Court during a copyright infringement trial against singer Ed Sheeran, Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in New York. John Minchillo/APSheeran is accused of copying “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye. Sheeran’s legal team has argued throughout the week that the sounds used in both songs are common in pop music. In his opening statement Tuesday, Townsend attorney Ben Crump noted Sheeran played his ballad and Gaye’s song back-to-back in a medley during a concert, and called the moment a “smoking gun.”

☆ Stolen or Original? Hear Songs From 7 Landmark Copyright Cases.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Here is a guide to some of the most consequential music copyright cases in recent decades, along with excerpts from their recordings. In cases like these, the only material in question are the songs’ underlying compositions: the melodies, chords and lyrics that can be notated on paper. Juries must decide not only if one song copies another, but whether the earlier song was original and distinctive enough to be protected by copyright. “The problem with cases like this is that people ask the wrong question,” said Joe Bennett, a professor at the Berklee College of Music who works as a forensic musicologist in legal cases. “They ask the question, ‘How similar is song B to song A,’ whereas what they should be asking is how original is song A.”Got that?

Sheeran is accused of copying “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye. Townsend’s daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin, sister Helen McDonald and the estate of his former wife, Cherrigale Townsend, are the listed plaintiffs on the “Thinking Out Loud” case. In particular he sees melodic similarities in the verse, chorus and interlude of Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” he said. British singer Sheeran’s legal team has argued that the sounds used in both songs are common in pop music. “No one owns basic musical building blocks,” Ilene Farkas, Sheeran’s attorney, told the jury in opening remarks Tuesday.

☆ Ed Sheeran, Accused of Copying Marvin Gaye, Testifies He Wrote His Song
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The pop singer Ed Sheeran took the witness stand Tuesday at a closely watched copyright trial in which he stands accused of copying his ballad “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” and told a jury that he and a collaborator had written their song based on their own experiences. “Yes, Amy Wadge and I wrote the song ‘Thinking Out Loud,’” Mr. Sheeran testified, explaining that they created the song, about holding on to romance throughout a long life, after seeing the affection between his aged grandparents. The case was brought by the family of Ed Townsend, a producer and songwriter who created “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye in 1973. They assert that the “heart” of “Let’s Get It On” — a four-chord progression that repeats in a signature syncopated rhythm — was copied by Mr. Sheeran for his track. Lawyers for Mr. Sheeran argue that those elements are basic musical building blocks that are in the public domain and have turned up in numerous other pop songs.

New York CNN —Musician Ed Sheeran took the stand Tuesday in a high-profile copyright trial about whether his smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied a classic Marvin Gaye song. Sheeran was called to testify Tuesday by Townsend attorney Keisha Rice. Earlier in Tuesday’s court proceedings, Crump attempted to portray Sheeran as someone who recognized the “magic” of Gaye’s soul song and then used it to catapult his career. She said she hired her own musicologists for her “personal clarity.”There have been a number of prominent music copyright lawsuits in recent years. After his successful 2022 legal battle, Sheeran posted a video to his Instagram voicing his concern over the recent wave of music copyright cases.

☆ 'Star Trek: Picard' series finale Episode 10 review: 'The Last Generation' fights the Borg (again), with an ending that's easy to resist (SPOILERS)
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The following contains spoilers about the “Star Trek: Picard” series finale, “The Last Generation.”CNN —Jean-Luc Picard and his crew fought the Borg again in the finale of “Star Trek: Picard,” but despite the oft-used phrase about the futility of fighting them, the highly sentimental ending to the Paramount+ series – including 15 minutes of character-driven material after the battle – likely gave many fans what they wanted, but still turned out to be pretty easy to resist. Patrick Stewart has gamely anchored this latest offshoot of Gene Roddenberry’s creation into his 80s, in this third round flanked by most of the original “Star Trek: The Next Generation” lineup. Still, the extended curtain calls reinforced a sense that the nostalgia, while initially welcome, had essentially reached its limit. There’s nothing wrong with serving that devoted audience, but the 10-episode sendoff still began to feel like too much of a good thing. Nobody can accuse Paramount of under-utilizing the “Trek” shingle, with “Strange New Worlds,” “Lower Decks” and “Prodigy” set to return later this year, plus a just-announced movie featuring Michelle Yeoh.

☆ The viral new ‘Drake’ and ‘Weeknd’ song is not what it seems
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —One of the buzziest songs recently circulating on TikTok and climbing the Spotify charts featured the familiar voices of best-selling artists Drake and the Weeknd. But there’s a twist: Drake and the Weeknd appear to have had nothing to do with it. The viral track, “Heart on my Sleeve,” comes from an anonymous TikTok user named Ghostwriter977, who claims to have used artificial intelligence to generate the voices of Drake and the Weeknd for the track. The original TikTok video has seemingly been taken down, and the song has since been removed from streaming services including YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify. Taryn Southern’s debut song “Break Free,” which was composed and produced with AI, hit the Top 100 radio charts back in 2018, and VAVA, an AI music artist (i.e.

☆ Asian Americans are anxious about hate crimes. TikTok ban rhetoric isn’t helping
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

And the Chinese government’s authoritarian approach to numerous other issues clashes with important American values, said many Asian Americans interviewed for this article. Concerns about China have gone mainstream as US national security officials and lawmakers have publicly grappled with state-backed ransomware attacks and other hacking attempts. People rallied during a "Stop Asian Hate" march to protest against anti-Asian hate crimes on Foley Square in New York, on April 4, 2021. But to Chu, the incident was an example of the way politics surrounding China, technology and national security have fueled anti-Asian sentiment. “Asian American issues are American issues, and all Americans deserve to be treated with respect.

Google (GOOGL), which for years ranked as the top company to work for in the United States, laid off thousands of workers by e-mail. During her early years there, she worked in marketing and became known as the “The Bard of Google” for the internal emails she sent celebrating the company’s culture. Google employee affected by January layoffs“The problem was, suddenly, you didn’t work for a company that was sending stuff to space or building autonomous cars,” Rout said. Hundreds of Google employees in Switzerland staged a walkout last week to protest layoffs, partly out of frustration with the lack of transparency. About a month before the January layoffs, one former employee said Google painted “You Belong” on one of the walls in their working area.

Then came the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train on February 3, releasing toxic chemicals into the air and nearby water, and he fears crashing the value of his home. There are too many unknowns.”Stewart, 65, recently voiced his fury and sadness about what he lost to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw on a February 22 Town Hall about the derailment on CNN. Homeowners are worried that in addition to any health risks from the chemical release, the derailment has greatly diminished the value of their homes. I think they’re going to be in the crosshairs of the accountants of Norfolk Southern saying ‘We’re not going to pay full compensation.’”Norfolk can afford to compensate homeownersPaying the homeowners and businesses wouldn’t necessarily be difficult for Norfolk Southern. Those values are only a fraction of the money that Norfolk Southern earns.

☆ These 26 words ‘created the internet.’ Now the Supreme Court may be coming for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This week, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on two pivotal cases dealing with online speech and content moderation. A set of rulings against the tech industry could significantly narrow Section 230 and its legal protections for websites and social media companies. If that happens, the Court’s decisions could expose online platforms to an array of new lawsuits over how they present content to users. Such a result would represent the most consequential limitations ever placed on a legal shield that predates today’s biggest social media platforms and has allowed them to nip many content-related lawsuits in the bud. “The massive social media industry has grown up largely shielded from the courts and the normal development of a body of law.

☆ Exclusive: WHO investigating links between cough syrup deaths, considers advice for parents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The deaths of children from acute kidney injury began in July 2022 in Gambia, followed by cases in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. The WHO has said the deaths are linked to over-the-counter cough syrups the children took for common illnesses and which contained a known toxin, either diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol. The WHO, working with Indonesia’s drugs regulator, also issued an alert in October about cough syrups made by four Indonesian manufacturers and sold domestically. The manufacturers are: PT Yarindo Farmatama, PT Universal Pharmaceutical, PT Konimex, PT AFI Farma. PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries’ lawyer, Hermansyah Hutagalung, said it had pulled from the market all cough syrups deemed dangerous.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ Netanyahu government makes West Bank settlement expansion top priority
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Palestinian protesters argue with Israeli soldiers during a demonstration against Israeli settlements near Nablus in the West Bank. Nasser Ishtayeh / Sipa USA via APIsrael captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. The Palestinians seek the West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state. Most of the international community considers Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. Several of Netanyahu’s key allies, including most of the Religious Zionism party, are ultranationalist West Bank settlers.

☆ Analysis: Southwest got billions of dollars in taxpayer aid. Why is its service still a mess?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Southwest Airlines received more than $7 billion from that program. However, analysts say, Southwest’s service meltdown is unrelated to the taxpayer assistance the airline received in 2020. Cancelled Southwest Airlines flights are seen on the flight schedules at LaGuardia Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in New York. In April 2020, airline passenger traffic plummeted 96% and stayed 60% below 2019 levels in 2020, according to the US Government Accountability Office. “The problems at Southwest Airlines over the last several days go beyond weather,” she said in a statement.

☆ Business partners turn on Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Last week, as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was being extradited to the United States from the Bahamas, two of his former business partners pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy. “I am truly sorry for what I did,” Ellison told the court. She and Bankman-Fried were close business associates who briefly dated. Bankman-Fried, 30, appeared Thursday in a US courtroom in New York, where a federal judge released him on a $250 million bond. Following his court appearance, Bankman-Fried was spotted in a business class lounge at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Seven decades ago, Carol Aird and Therese Belivet went on a second date. The film earned six Academy Award nominations and the enduring adoration of queer women the world over, who have dubbed Dec. 21 “Carol Day,” and the holiday season “Carol Season.”One of the best ways to celebrate? ‘Carol’ is that magic for the sapphic community.”Watching “Carol” has also been a holiday tradition for Kaina Dominguez, the founder of The Bush Films, a queer film festival with screenings throughout the year. Queer women-centered site Autostraddle once had a “30 Days of Carol” event, where it posted 30 articles about “Carol” in as many days, and one of its writers also watched “Carol” on a 24-hour endless loop. And then there is ‘Carol,’ braving the tsunamis of ‘business/industry requirements’ and telling the tale of love with sensitivity and honesty.”

☆ Lab-grown meat could be served up for dinner soon. What does it taste like?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It has a capacity of 600 liters, or 159 gallons, allowing the company to produce 6,000 pounds of cultivated meat per year. Right now, Singapore is alone in allowing the sale of cultivated meat to consumers, having issued a green light in late 2020. Yet delivering on the promise of lab-grown meat won’t just come down to regulators. CNN“The promise of cultivated meat [is] to bring forth a taste and texture component, and to deliver sustainability,” said Gautam Godhwani, managing partner at Good Startup, a Singapore-based venture capital firm that has invested in eight cultivated meat startups. “I think the whole of the cultivated meat industry will go hybrid first,” Ivy Farm’s Dillon said.

Some of Signore’s newer content takes aim at the people he said contributed to the allegations against him and their aftermath. Signore recorded the interview and released segments of it in July in a YouTube video criticizing NBC News’ coverage of the trial.) In between clips from the trial, Signore comments that he believes the testimony is true and reflects strongly on Depp’s case. Business Insider reported that the top three Super Chat earners on YouTube during the trial were creators who exclusively streamed it. “There’s no due process,” Signore said in the May video comparing himself to Depp and one of his accusers to Heard.

Actor Johnny Depp topped Google’s list of trending people in 2022. Heard was the third top trending person on Google Search this year. The Depp-Heard trial also took a prominent spot in users’ search history this year. Andrew Tate, the self-described “success coach” who has been criticized online for what many see as misogynistic advice, topped Google’s 2022 category for trending “who is …” questions. In the gaming sphere, the popular online puzzle Wordle was the top trending game worldwide and in the U.S., according to Google Search.

☆ Camille Herron put her ‘heart and soul’ into breaking the 100-mile world record. But officials now say the course was too short
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“I definitely want it to count [as a record] because I put my heart and soul into that performance,” she tells CNN Sport. “It was such an historical moment for the sport.”More than nine months on from the race, Herron remains adamant that she ran at least 100 miles that day. Herron currently holds the women's 100-mile world record, set in 2017. Kevin YoungbloodEight months later, without Rubeli present, the course was remeasured once more by USATF officials and yielded the distance shy of 100 miles. Running a record time in Phoenix might allow Herron to put some of the pain from the fallout of February’s race behind her.

☆ Elon Musk claims Apple has ‘threatened to withhold’ Twitter from its app store
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN Business —Elon Musk on Monday claimed that Apple has “threatened” to pull Twitter from its iOS app store, a move that could be devastating to the company Musk just acquired for $44 billion. He also criticized Apple’s size, claimed it engages in “censorship,” and called out the 30% transaction fee Apple charges large app developers to be listed in its app store. Parler was returned to Apple’s app store three months later after updating its content moderation practices. “If you’re looking to shock and offend people, the App Store isn’t the right place for your app,” the guidelines state. Roth said the company’s failure to adhere to Google and Apple’s app store rules could be “catastrophic.”And last weekend, the head of Apple’s app store, Phil Schiller, deleted his Twitter account.

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