Declarations

Identified Threat Actors

“Independent of whether there’s any violation of the law or any violation of terms of service, we just don’t want those actors that we’ve identified – that we track and know are threat actors of various kinds – we don’t want them to have access to this technology.”

– Microsoft Vice President for Customer Security Tom Burt told Reuters in an interview ahead of the release of a report showing state-backed hackers from Russia, China and Iran have been using tools from Microsoft-backed OpenAI to hone their skills and trick their targets.

Can’t Have it Both Ways

“If the employer wishes to challenge causation, that defense renders moot a question of authorization of treatment. Conversely, if the employer wishes to contest authorization, this necessarily admits causation exists between accident and injury.”

– States a ruling by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission (VWCC) finding that an employer cannot assert that an injury is unrelated to a workplace accident while also arguing that the medical care for that injury is unauthorized. The VWCC said the employer must choose one or the other position, in a ruling blocking an employer and its insurer in their attempt to deny workers’ comp coverage for psychological treatments sought by a physically injured employee.

Mickey, Minnie, Union

“This isn’t one of those situations where we’re out making the employer the bad guy. … It is uniquely important Disney remains a place that people view as magical, and I think that (unionizing) will improve that across the board.”

– Kate Shindle, president of Actors’ Equity Association, said of Disneyland performers’ quest to unionize. While most of the more than 35,000 workers at the Disneyland Resort in Southern California have labor unions, about 1,700 performers in parades, character actors and support staff do not. AEA would represent the performers if unionization is successful.

Permian Basin Crash Rate

“The Permian Basin is sparsely populated but heavily traveled. … We’ve got a rural environment with fairly high-speed traffic. We see the kinds of crashes that we see in urban areas.”

– Said Robert Wunderlich, director of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute and lead author of a report showing severe and fatal vehicle crashes occur at a higher rate in the Permian Basin than the rest of Texas. Commissioned by the Permian Road Safety Coalition, the report focuses on 20 counties in West Texas and two in New Mexico that constitute the Permian Basin. Commercial motor vehicles accounted for almost half of the fatal crashes in the region.

Government Accountability

“If it’s not clear to police yet, let’s say it again: Law enforcement cannot target, arrest, and attack journalists who are just doing their jobs, holding government accountable.”

– American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota Legal Director Teresa Nelson, said in a statement after the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $950,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that journalists were subjected to police harassment and even hurt while covering protests over the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Radio Tower Theft

“The slogan of our station is the sound of Walker County, and right now with our station down, the community has lost its sound and lost its voice. … This hurts, and it hurts our community.”

– Brett Elmore, general manager of radio station WJLX in Jasper, Alabama, told The Associated Press after the station’s 200-foot (61-meter) radio tower was stolen, along with broadcasting equipment stored nearby. The station had no insurance on the tower or the equipment; Elmore estimated it would take $60,000 to $100,000 to rebuild. The AM station has been on the air since the mid-1950s.

Topics Texas