Law

Documents showing Jeffrey Epstein’s associates have been released

Newly unsealed documents from a civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell revealed the identities of some of Epstein's associates. A New York federal court released almost 1,000 pages worth of documents on Wednesday, with new information shedding light on the late sex trafficker’s dealings.

Amid great anticipation and speculation on social media, documents containing the names of some of Epstein’s closest associates and co-conspirators have been released. However, it isn’t the “client list” the public was expecting.

• Being named in the documents does not necessarily imply wrongdoing, as they mention alleged Epstein victims, contacts, employees, and others that were associated with him.

The documents (see here) came into public view because of a judge’s order to reveal the true identities of almost 200 “John and Jane Does” associated with the lawsuit, which was brought forward by Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre. The lawsuit, which was against Maxwell, was settled in 2017 before her 2021 criminal conviction.

So who has been named so far?

Those mentioned include retail mogul Les Wexner, Britain's Prince Andrew (who previously settled a lawsuit dealing with sexual assault), lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Michael Jackson (yes the one you’re thinking), billionaire Glenn Dublin, magician David Copperfield, and more.

Both former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump appear; Clinton is mentioned over 50 times, including comments attributed to Epstein, saying “Clinton likes them young, referring to girls” (p. 147 of the documents), and Trump is mentioned four times (p. 184, 244, 278).

Why is this all coming out now?

Interest revolving around Epstein’s crimes and his ties to influential people have only increased since his death by suicide in 2019, especially since him and Maxwell were the only ones criminally charged in connection with his sex crimes.

After the Miami Herald pushed for public access to the documents from Giuffre’s lawsuit, including depositions of Maxwell and alleged victims, US District Judge Loretta Preska ordered their release, noting that much of the information in them had already been made public in other court cases and media coverage.

Is this all that’s going to be released? More documents are expected to be made public, along with a handful of remaining names on Jan. 22nd, according to the judge. The initial release will likely only spur more speculation, so this probably won’t be the last time we’ll be hearing about it.

Israel’s Supreme Court overturned a controversial law

The nation’s highest court overturned a widely unpopular piece of legislation that stirred the country. Israel's Supreme Court struck down a key piece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial reforms Tuesday, which would’ve restricted the power of the Supreme Court.

In an 8–7 vote, Israel’s Supreme Court denied a law barring judges from reviewing government actions, which they found to be “extremely unreasonable”. The law, which was part of a broader effort to remake the judicial branch, was put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and drew mass protests before the nation’s war with Hamas began.

• Opponents argued the reforms undercut democratic institutions in the country, putting judges under the control of politicians.

Concurrently, the Israeli military will begin its first drawdown of forces since the current conflict began, removing thousands of troops from central Gaza and changing focus to the city of Khan Younis.

In related news…

The nearby Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have attacked commercial ships, is increasingly becoming a regional hotspot. The US Navy sank three boats piloted by Houthi militants in the Red Sea, killing their crews, while responding to a distress call from a Maersk ship on Sunday. And on Monday, Iran sent a warship to the Red Sea.

Several major shipping groups started taking longer routes around Africa to avoid the area (where around 12% of global commerce typically flows) but the US has vowed to secure the trade route.

Mickey Mouse is no longer under Disney’s umbrella

If you’ve ever wanted to make a psychological thriller starring Mickey Mouse as your main villain, now is the time. As of Monday, anyone can make their own content starring Disney’s flagship rodent, Mickey Mouse (at least the earliest version of him).

Disney is known for quite aggressively protecting its intellectual property, but the massive entertainment empire recently had to part ways with the original Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

But why? The company’s nearly 100-year copyright on the 1928 cartoon short Steamboat Willie, in which the characters first appeared, expired at the start of the new year.

How does the copyright work?

Nearly a century after the mouse couple debuted in black and white, they’re now in the US public domain and free to use, with a few limitations:

• Only the original versions of Mickey and Minnie, as they appear in Steamboat Willie, are up for grabs.

• Character details introduced in later years, including their white gloves, Mickey’s classic red pants, Minnie’s polka dots, and their high-pitched voice, are unavailable for use.

• Disney still has a registered trademark on Steamboat Willie Mickey as a company mascot, so those who use the character’s likeness have to make it clear that their project isn’t an official Disney production.

Be on the lookout for an atypical Mickey

As soon as the news was announced, creators all over the globe wasted no time ruining your nostalgic perception of the old cartoon character.

In a new horror video game announced Monday, with a deranged-looking Mickey Mouse hunts players in a dark warehouse. This could only be the beginning though, Techdirt is hosting its sixth annual Public Domain Game Jam, which encourages people to design games using media that entered the public domain that year.

Miscellaneous

Harvard president resigns amid mass-controversy

Harvard president Claudine Gay announced her resignation Tuesday after weeks of controversy. The resignation resulted from allegations of plagiarism and controversy over her testimony in last month’s congressional hearing regarding anti-semitism on college campuses. The Harvard Crimson, the school’s student newspaper, first reported the resignation.

Gay’s six-month tenure was the shortest in the university’s 388-year history. Criticism of her leadership began just a few months into her term when many, including billionaire alumni Bill Ackman, condemned her response to a controversial statement made by student groups about Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Why the controversy?

Public scrutiny of Gay increased after Gay and the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania appeared before a congressional committee to discuss the rise of antisemitism on campuses, where they provided testimony in which they appeared to hesitate on the question of whether extreme antisemitism violated the student code of conduct.

• The presidents were harshly criticized for their refusal to explicitly answer whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated their universities’ codes of conduct.

• Two of the three presidents are now gone: President Liz Magill of Penn resigned on December 10.

Gay’s allegations concerning plagiarism

Following the testimony, allegations Gay plagiarized from other scholars in both her thesis and scholarly articles surfaced. They had reportedly been brought to Harvard's attention before the hearing.

Accusations of plagiarism against Gay first came from the Washington Free Beacon last month. Harvard then conducted an independent review, finding multiple instances of “inadequate citation”.

Gay’s supporters have criticized how Harvard’s governing body, the Harvard Corporation, handled the allegations and the backlash against Gay, as it doubled down on its support for her presidency on December 12.

In her resignation letter, Gay said she’s been subjected to unfair racial criticism and personal attacks. Gay was the first Black woman to serve as president of Harvard, and her backers say the campaign to oust her was politically motivated.

Teens are obsessed with this app

We all know this generation is obsessed with their phones and social media, but YouTube is on a whole other level. YouTube screen time is skyrocketing among teens, with new research shedding light on just how much time they’re spending on the popular platform.

According to new data obtained by the Pew Research Center, which surveyed over 1.4 thousand 13-17 year-olds:

• 93% of teens use YouTube.

• 71% say they visit the platform daily.

• 16% report being on the site “almost constantly.”

And it’s not just YouTube… teens are directing their attention across other platforms, though the rest tailed YouTube by 30% or more.

TikTok had 63% of teens using the app, followed by Snapchat at 60% and Instagram at 59%. In total, a third of teens reported using at least one of five sites (YouTube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook) almost constantly, which follows results found by last year’s survey.

Youtube has big plans for 2024

With its over 2.7 billion monthly active users, YouTube is an attention mongering behemoth, and wants even more eyes on it this new year. Here are some notable changes:

• YouTube is ending legacy pricing, instead charging all premium users $13.99 per month as of January.

• Google Podcasts will end in 2024, and YouTube Music will become the main hub for podcasts.

• YouTube is already incorporating AI into its services with music tools that can clone the voices of famous singers or generate music from a user’s hum.

As YouTube continues to grow, so do the worries about the harmful effects of social media, which only rise as more time is spent on platforms among kids and teens.

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Grab Bag

Burger King is dishing out discounts based on how hungover you are

After the New Year, BK knows its customers will be feeling the effects of a little too much indulgence. So, they’re offering a hangover discount. Burger King Brazil is paving the way with its Hangover Whopper marketing campaign. Very exciting, although those of us in the States won’t be able to participate.

The promotion is accessible through a microsite and the Burger King mobile app, per Marketing Dive. The site uses facial recognition to scan a customer’s face, detect their hangover level, and hand out a discount.

• There are three levels of hangovers, corresponding to a coupon for a Whopper Jr. Double, Whopper, or Whopper Double.

• Hangover selfies can also be shared on social media for all of your friends and family to see (what a great idea!).

The campaign, created with creative agency DM9 to sync up with holiday hangovers, wrapped up a couple days ago.

This isn’t the first time they’ve done something this crazy

Burger King Brazil has had some pretty memorable ad campaigns:

• In 2019, it launched an augmented reality mobile app that let users set fire to its competitors’ ads in return for a free Whopper.

• In 2023, it fired back at a McDonald’s campaign with a ChatGPT-generated billboard of its own.

But the hangover stunt is likely just the first of many tech-focused campaigns we’ll see in 2024, with brands across industries already experimenting with AI.

SpaceX basically put a giant cell tower in space

At this point, I would expect nothing less from SpaceX. On Wednesday, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, launched six Starlink satellites that are supposed to provide LTE mobile phones with network signals, even at your grandma’s remote cabin.

The Direct to Cell satellites, which SpaceX describes as “a cell phone tower in space,” are meant to seal connectivity holes in isolated areas where it’s currently impossible to get a single bar. After some testing is done:

• SpaceX will provide satellite coverage in partnership with T-Mobile in the US and through six other carriers around the world.

• Direct to Cell will only enable texting at first, but voice and data will follow “in the coming years,” T-Mobile said.

Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite business, is expected to pull in $10 billion in sales this year, surpassing SpaceX’s rocket launch business and accounting for most of the company’s total revenue, according to Bloomberg.

A new space race may be on the horizon… Other companies are competing to dominate off-Earth cell service, too. AT&T completed the first voice call on a regular phone using a satellite connection last year, and Amazon says it will begin beta testing its own satellite service, Project Kuiper, later this year for Verizon, NTT, and Vodafone.

Fast Facts

Mars Mail: NASA’s Curiosity rover sent a postcard from Mars. I want one.

Travel Tips: Planning on traveling this year? Here’s the best places to visit in 2024.

Beer Break: US consumption of beer fell to its lowest point in decades… guess they haven’t been including my diet.

Bad News: South Korea’s opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, is recovering after he was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified assailant in Busan on Wednesday.

Swift Surpassing: Taylor Swift broke Elvis’s record for the most weeks atop the Billboard 200 album chart as a solo artist, with 68.

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