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Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Notches Legal Win Against Authors in AI Copyright Case

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has prevailed in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by authors who claimed the company violated their rights by using millions of copyrighted books to train its AI language model, Llama. Although the decision is a win for Meta and other AI giants, the judge stated the decision was more about the plaintiffs’ poor case than about Meta’s approach to AI training.

Bloomberg Law reports that a San Francisco federal court has ruled in favor of Mark Zuckerberg’s in a lawsuit brought by a group of authors. The plaintiffs alleged that Meta had violated their copyrights by using millions of books to train its generative AI model, Llama, without obtaining permission.

Judge Vince Chhabria determined that Meta’s use of the copyrighted books for AI training falls under the fair use defense in copyright law. However, the judge cautioned that his opinion should not be interpreted as a blanket endorsement of Meta’s practices, stating that the ruling “does not stand for the proposition that Meta’s use of copyrighted materials to train its language models is lawful.”

The judge’s decision appears to hinge on the authors’ failure to effectively argue their case, rather than a definitive legal interpretation of the fair use doctrine in the context of AI training. This suggests that future cases involving similar issues may yield different outcomes, depending on the strength of the arguments presented.

The lawsuit, which was closely watched by the tech industry and legal experts, is believed to be the first of its kind to challenge the use of copyrighted material for training AI models. As generative AI technologies continue to advance and become more prevalent, the question of how copyright law applies to the use of protected works in AI training is likely to remain a contentious issue.

A Meta spokesperson told Breitbart News, “We appreciate today’s decision from the Court. Open-source AI models are powering transformative innovations, productivity and creativity for individuals and companies, and fair use of copyright material is a vital legal framework for building this transformative technology.”

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Big Data Centers Are Booming, But Secret Deals Draw Local Opposition

From Georgia to Oregon, New England to New Mexico, data center projects are drawing opposition in local government hearings by residents concerned about the voracious demand for electricity, water consumption, and noise. Critics also argue that data centers don’t produce the jobs other land uses generate.

In Texas, people in small towns question data center development in the broader context of rapid rural industrialization.

In Pennsylvania, ad hoc groups say data centers are tapping into nearby natural gas fields, increasing the frequency of fracking, and straining water supplies.

In Indiana, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and across the country, residents say the scale and proximity of these high-tech campuses degrade their neighborhoods and devalue properties.

Objections vary, depending on proposal and site, but a common complaint is state and local governments offering data center projects tax incentives that are often shielded from public scrutiny through nondisclosure agreements.

Companies say these pacts shield proprietary corporate intelligence, but the perceived lack of transparency fosters suspicion and anger when residents realize local planners are set to approve a proposal they knew little to nothing about until it appeared to be a done deal.

“Just from our experience, it seems like one of the big concerns is that, yeah, there is no community outreach,” Kamil Cook, Public Citizen’s Texas climate and clean energy associate, told the Epoch Times. “There’s no method by which the community can be informed in a way that actually makes it seem like their voice is valued and that they have a choice in these matters.”

Much of this local opposition appears rooted in the complaint that people “weren’t informed to begin with, were ignored at some point,” said Joe Warnimont, who co-authored a February HostingAdvice.com survey. The survey of 800 people in 16 states found that 93 percent agreed that “cutting-edge AI data centers are vital to the United States,” but only 35 percent want one in their town.

“The main insights are there is clearly a disconnect between what the local residents experience and what is being sold to these communities from developers,” Warnimont told The Epoch Times.

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Karmelo Anthony’s spokesperson calls for unity ‘in the fight against White supremacy’ after first-degree murder indictment

A spokesperson for Karmelo Anthony, the now 18-year-old who admitted to fatally stabbing student Austin Metcalf at a Texas track meet, has asked people to stand with them “in the fight against White supremacy.”

Dominique Alexander, the founder and president of the Next Generation Action Network (NGAN), took to X to announce that “the legal process will move forward toward trial.”

“This case involves multiple minors and sensitive details that I cannot and will not speak about publicly,” he said. “That is why, from the beginning, I have refused to let this be tried in the court of public opinion.”

He then continued by speaking directly to those who he says have “targeted” Anthony. 

“To the racists, the bigots, and those filled with hate who’ve targeted Karmelo, his family, and even myself – you do not intimidate us. We are not backing down.”

“This case is yet another example of what it means to be Black in America, where even our self-defense is questioned, scrutinized and politicized. My involvement – like many others — came as a direct response to the overwhelming hate, threats and outside influence that have surrounded this case since day one.”

Alexander concluded by asking Anthony’s supporters for prayers, to support due process, and to “stand with us in the fight against White supremacy.”

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Treasury Sanctions 3 Mexican Financial Institutions For Aiding Cartels In Fentanyl Trade; Sheinbaum Denies

Mexican President Sheinbaum has commented on the sanctions, denying any fraud and claiming the Mexican banking system is ‘sound’:

  • *SHEINBAUM: NO EVIDENCE OF MONEY LAUNDERING IN MEXICAN BANKS
  • *SHEINBAUM SAYS MEXICO ONLY FOUND ADMINISTRATIVE FLAWS IN BANKS
  • *SHEINBAUM: MEXICO ASKED US TREASURY MONEY LAUNDERING EVIDENCE
  • *SHEINBAUM: MEXICAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM SOUND, ACCUSED FIRMS SMALL
  • *MEXICO TRANSFERS TO CHINA COS ‘NOT MONEY LAUNDERING’: SHEINBAUM

Just a coincidence?

As Naveen Athrappully detailed earlier via The Epoch Times, The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) sanctioned three financial institutions based in Mexico for allegedly laundering money for cartels involved in the illegal trade of fentanyl, the Treasury said in a June 25 statement. The institutions are CIBanco S.A., Intercam Banco S.A., and Vector Casa de Bolsa S.A. de C.V.

CIBanco and Intercam are commercial banks with assets worth more than $7 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Vector is a brokerage company managing almost $11 billion in assets.

FinCEN has determined that the entities launder money in connection with illicit opioid trafficking, and have “collectively played a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl,” the statement said.

CIBanco facilitated illicit opioid trafficking by Mexican cartels such as Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Beltran-Leyva Cartel, and Gulf Cartel. Intercam was linked to CJNG, and Vector with the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the statement.

FinCEN said that between 2021 and 2024, CIBanco processed more than $2.1 million in payments from Mexico-based companies to entities in China that shipped precursor chemicals to Mexico. Intercam processed over $1.5 million during the same period.

As for Vector, the institution processed more than $1 million between 2018 and 2023.

The sanctions prohibit financial institutions in the United States from engaging in the transmission of funds from or to CIBanco, Intercam, or Vector. The prohibition also applies to any account or convertible virtual currency address administered by the three institutions.

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Sweden plans to remove citizenship from people seen as threat to state

Sweden’s political parties have agreed that dual citizens who commit crimes that threaten national security should lose their citizenship.

A cross-party committee recommended that the change could be applied to anyone who had used bribes or false information to obtain their citizenship; and also if they committed crimes that were a threat to the state or came under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

But it stopped short of proposals by the minority government for gangsters to have their citizenship revoked.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said Sweden was dealing with “violent extremism, state actors acting in a hostile manner towards Sweden, as well as systemic organised crime”.

Under Sweden’s constitution, revoking citizenship is currently not allowed and a vote will take place next year in parliament on changing the laws.

Centre-left opposition parties say that revoking gang criminals’ citizenship would be a step too far, as deciding how to define the law would be difficult. Two opposition parties, the Left and the Greens, said they could not back removing citizenship at all.

However, Sweden’s centre-right governing parties, backed by the more radical anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, want the changes to tackle the dramatic rise in gang crime and the high rate of gun killings.

“The proposals I received today will not give us the possibility to take back Swedish citizenship from gang leaders in criminal networks sitting abroad, directing shootings and bombings and murders on Sweden’s streets,” Strommer told Swedish Radio.

The government points to neighbouring Denmark, where citizenship can already be removed because of an act that is “seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the state”. The law was recently extended to include some forms of serious gang crime.

Sweden’s minority government has also moved to tighten rules on applying for citizenship.

Migration Minister Johan Forssell said that last year police reported 600 cases of people applying who were considered a threat to national security.

From June 2026, anyone seeking a Swedish passport will generally have to have lived in the country for eight years instead of five at the moment. Tests on Swedish language and society would also be included.

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Toxic Fallout: NC Lawmakers Face Fire Over Monsanto ‘Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free’ Provision

In a move that has ignited fierce backlash, North Carolina lawmakers attempted a “gut and stuff.” By inserting a last-minute “de facto immunity provision” into an unrelated House bill, agrochemical giants like Monsanto-Bayer will be given a free pass from accountability for its products linked to cancer and infertility, depending on what happens next. 

A highly controversial policy, Monsanto-Bayer has been seeking state level labeling exemptions amid bankruptcy exploration, as the company faces over 67,000 lawsuits nationwide for its product Round Up.

The revelation, brought to light by molecular toxicologist Dr. Alexandra Muñoz, set off alarm bells among health advocates and concerned citizens alike, who quickly lit-up the phone lines. 

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“It May Blow This Whole Thing Open” – GOP Senator Schmitt Announces ‘First-Of-Its-Kind” Action on Biden Autopen Scandal

On Thursday evening, GOP Senator Eric Schmitt (MO) demanded access to sealed Biden autopen records after Neera Tanden admitted she controlled the autopen for more than a year and a half.

Ex-Biden official Neera Tanden admitted under oath to the House Oversight Committee during a closed-door testimony on Tuesday that she controlled Joe Biden’s autopen.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer recently identified five Biden aides who were involved in the cover-up of Joe Biden’s mental decline and autopen scandal.

Director of Domestic Policy Council Neera Tanden was brought before the Committee on Tuesday and admitted she was authorized to use Joe Biden’s autopen between October 2021 to May 2023.

According to the Washington Examiner, Neera Tanden testified that she was also authorized to direct the autopen; however, she denied manipulation or abuse.

Additionally, Neera Tanden admitted she would utilize the autopen without actually verifying from Joe Biden himself that it was an authorized action.

Earlier this year, the Oversight Project revealed six criminals were pardoned by Biden’s autopen on December 30, 2022, while Joe Biden was vacationing and golfing in St. Croix.

Based on Neera Tanden’s Tuesday testimony, she was likely behind the Biden autopen pardons while Joe Biden was golfing in the US Virgin Islands.

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Digital Harvest: BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street – Shareholders in the Shadows

They don’t sell seeds. They don’t own tractors. They don’t run warehouses or ship grain. But BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street are among the most powerful actors in global agriculture.

Together, these three asset managers control more than $26 trillion in assets—more than the GDP of the United States and India combined. They are shareholders in nearly every major agribusiness: Bayer, Cargill, ADM, Nestlé, Deere & Co and more. They don’t compete. They co-own. And through that ownership, they govern.

This is not capitalism as competition. It’s capitalism as quiet coordination.

These firms don’t need to dictate policy. They shape the terrain on which policy is made. Their influence is structural, not spectacular. It’s exercised through boardrooms, shareholder resolutions and capital flows. And it’s largely invisible to the public.

But its effects are everywhere.

According to the Food Barons 2022 report by ETC Group, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street hold dominant stakes across the agrifood chain—from seeds and chemicals to supermarkets and logistics platforms. In many sectors, they are the top three shareholders in all the major firms. This means that ‘competition’ between companies like Bayer and Syngenta, or Nestlé and PepsiCo, is often little more than a performance. The real power sits behind the curtain.

These firms don’t micromanage. They don’t need to. Their power lies in alignment—in shaping what counts as value, what counts as risk and what counts as acceptable behaviour. And increasingly, that behaviour is being framed through the lens of ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance metrics.

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“Queer Booksellers” Owned Bookstore in San Francisco Bans Harry Potter and Other Books by J.K. Rowling

Booksmith, a San Francisco bookstore owned by self-described “queer booksellers”, recently announced it is banning books by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling over Rowling’s pro-woman group.

The British author Rowling has taken a strong stand in the transgender battle, opposing men pretending to be women invading women’s and girls’ spaces and establishing the United Kingdom based private fund, J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, “A legal fighting fund for women protecting their sex-based rights” for women in the UK and Ireland.

The Booksmith owners were triggered by Rowling’s statement last month she was self-funding the women’s group she founded and was not accepting donations, “I looked into all options and a private fund is the most efficient, streamlined way for me to do this. Lots of people are offering to contribute, which I truly appreciate, but there are many other women’s rights orgs that could do with the money, so donate away, just not to me!”

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It’s Not a Broken System: From Food to Development, It’s a Masterpiece of Control

Industrial agriculture is not a system in crisis. It is a system in command. Engineered with precision, it reflects the civilisational logic of industrial modernity: domination over cooperation, profit over sufficiency, scale over ecology. It is not malfunctioning—it is functioning exactly as designed.

Across three volumes—Food, Dependency and Dispossession (2022), Sickening Profits (2023) and Power Play: The Future of Food (2024)—I have mapped this critique in layered terms. What emerges is not a sectoral failure but a planetary regime of dispossession: a machinery that converts ecological life into economic assets, undermines autonomy under the banner of development and metabolises resistance into market-friendly reform.

The food system is not broken. It is a weapon. And it is intended as such. It concentrates power, severs people from land, deskills and displaces producers and commodifies nourishment. It benefits financial capital and corporate actors while externalising its costs—to health, biodiversity, labour and culture.

In the Global South, ‘development’ is the velvet glove of structural dependency. It arrives cloaked in the language of poverty reduction and climate resilience—while deepening indebtedness, consolidating proprietary seed systems and subordinating food sovereignty to export-driven logic. For all its rhetoric and well-laundered PR, Bayer is not saving Indian agriculture. It is enclosing it.

Behind the slick brand messaging lies a familiar pattern. Corporate contracts replace commons. Proprietary inputs replace knowledge. The land is enclosed—not always by fences, but by code, debt and bureaucratic abstraction. This is not progress. It is programmed disempowerment. Weber’s ‘iron cage’ of rationalisation is no longer metaphor—it is agronomic policy, algorithmic governance and institutional capture.

Post-development theorists like Arturo Escobar and Gustavo Esteva have long exposed ‘progress’ as a colonial narrative—one that erases plurality and imposes a singular vision of modernity. Barrington Moore’s study of agrarian class structures illuminated a deeper truth: the fate of democracy and dictatorship often hinges on how land is owned, who controls surplus and which coalitions form around agricultural production.

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