Massachusetts
Music record labels sue AI song-generators for copyright infringement
BOSTON (AP) — Big record companies are suing artificial intelligence song-generators Suno and Udio for copyright infringement, alleging that the AI music startups are exploiting the recorded works of artists from Chuck Berry to Mariah Carey.
The Recording Industry Association of America announced the lawsuits Monday brought by labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records.
One case was filed in federal court in Boston against Suno AI, and the other in New York against Uncharted Labs, the developer of Udio AI.
Suno AI CEO Mikey Shulman said in an emailed statement that the technology is “designed to generate completely new outputs, not to memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content” and doesn’t allow users to reference specific artists.
Shulman said his Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup tried to explain this to labels “but instead of entertaining a good faith discussion, they’ve reverted to their old lawyer-led playbook.”
Udio didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a written statement that the music industry is already collaborating with responsible AI developers but said that “unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it’s ‘fair’ to copy an artist’s life’s work and
exploit it for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.”
AI has been a heated topic of conversation in the music industry, with debates ranging from the creative possibilities of the new technology to concerns around its legality. In March, Tennessee became the first U.S. state to pass legislation to protect songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. Supporters said the goal is to ensure that AI tools cannot replicate an artist’s voice without their consent.
The following month, over 200 artists signed an open letter submitted by the Artist Rights Alliance non-profit calling on artificial intelligence tech companies, developers, platforms, digital music services and platforms to stop using AI to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.
Oklahoma
Man accused of killings in 2 states enters not guilty pleas to charges
SALLISAW, Okla. (AP) — An Alabama man accused in a string of killings in Oklahoma and Alabama has pleaded not guilty to two Oklahoma killings.
The pleas were entered on behalf of Stacy Lee Drake, 50, during a Monday court appearance, KHBS-TV reported. He faces two charges of enhanced murder.
Drake has until Aug. 7 in the Oklahoma case to find a lawyer to represent him, or a public defender will be appointed for him, KHBS reported.
Relatives and friends of the victims packed the courtroom where Drake appeared.
Drake was apprehended Thursday in a wooded area in the Morrilton, Arkansas, area after a search that spanned multiple southern states, Arkansas State Police said.
Drake is accused of homicides and carjackings in Oklahoma, Arkansas State Police said. They said he’s also wanted on other felony warrants from multiple jurisdictions on charges including aggravated robbery, carjacking and murder.
A man and a woman were found dead inside a business near Gans, Oklahoma, near the Arkansas state line, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said. Both had injuries consistent with homicide, and the agency said Drake is a person of interest.
In Alabama, Drake is accused of killing Russell Andrews on May 14, according to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Capt. Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit said there is a warrant for Drake on a murder charge. News outlets reported that Andrews, 62, was found dead inside the Alcoholic Anonymous building.
Tuscaloosa authorities said Andrews’ vehicle was stolen when he was killed and hours later was picked up by cameras travelling along an interstate near the Arkansas-Oklahoma border.
Arkansas
State sues 2 pharmacy benefit managers, accusing them of fueling opioid epidemic in state
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Monday sued two pharmacy benefit managers that oversee coverage for insurers, employers and other large clients, accusing them of fueling the opioid crisis in the state.
Attorney General Tim Griffin filed the lawsuit against Express Scripts Inc. and Optum Inc., and their subsidiaries, in state court.
Pharmacy benefit managers run prescription drug coverage for big clients that include health insurers and employers that provide coverage. They help decide which drugs make a plan’s formulary, or list of covered medications. They also can determine where patients go to fill their prescriptions.
Griffin’s lawsuit said the companies benefitted from the opioid crisis “by negotiating favorable deals with opioid manufacturers and by not taking sufficient action to curb excessive opioid prescriptions.”
“For at least the last two decades, defendants had a central role in facilitating the oversupply of opioids,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants ignored the necessary safeguards in order to ensure increased opioid prescriptions and sales.”
In a statement, Optum said it has taken steps to fight the opioid epidemic and would defend itself against Arkansas’ suit.
“Optum did not cause the opioid crisis or make it worse, and we will defend ourselves in this litigation,” the company said in a statement. “Optum takes the opioid epidemic seriously and has taken a comprehensive approach to fight this issue, including the Opioid Risk Management Program available to all Optum Rx clients, to address opioid abuse and promote patient health.”
Express Scripts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, opioids were the most commonly prescribed class of controlled substances in Arkansas in 2022, and Arkansas had the second-highest opioid prescribing rate in the nation that year.
State and local governments have filed thousands of lawsuits over the toll of the opioid crisis. The claims have included asserting that drugmakers, wholesalers, pharmacy chains and other businesses engaged in deceptive marketing and failed to stop the flow of the powerful prescription painkillers to the black market.
Many of the major cases have been settled, with proposed and finalized agreements to provide more than $50 billion –- with most of it to be used to fight the opioid crisis. A federal judge who is overseeing federal lawsuits over opioids is lining up cases involving pharmacy benefit managers for trials, possibly a precursor to settlements.
In recent years, opioid overdoses have been linked to about 80,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The majority of those lately have involved fentanyl and other potent drugs produced illicitly in labs and often used to lace other illegal drugs.
Wisconsin
Judge won’t allow boaters on flooded private property
JEFFERSON, Wis. (AP) — The public’s right to use flooded rivers, lakes and streams ends where the water normally stops, a Wisconsin judge ruled Monday.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Bennett Brantmeier’s decision limits the reach of the public trust doctrine, provisions in the state constitution that guarantee public access to navigable waters.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit Thomas Reiss of Ixonia filed last year. He argued in the filing that his land abuts the Rock River. He alleged that when the river floods airboat users take advantage of the higher water levels to trespass across his land.
He challenged state Department of Natural Resources policies that state the public trust doctrine grants access rights to any part of a navigable waterway as long as the person remains in the water. Reiss argued that interpretation was illegal and public access ends at the ordinary high-water mark, a point on the bank or shoreline where the water regularly stops. He contended that the DNR’s position has left law enforcement confused.
Online court records indicate Brantmeier found the DNR’s policy unlawful and invalid. He ordered the DNR to revoke that policy and issue proper guidance through the state’s formal administrative rule-making process.
DNR officials had no immediate comment.
Connecticut
$2M bail set for man charged with trying to drown 2 children at beach
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) — A New York man has been charged with attempted murder after authorities said he tried to drown two young children at a Connecticut beach over the weekend.
Romney Desronvil, 41, of the Queens section of New York City, was arraigned Monday in Milford Superior Court, where a judge set bail at $2 million and ordered him to return to court on July 1. He was detained on charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and risk of injury to children, a court clerk said.
The children, twins under the age of 3, were in intensive care at Yale New Haven Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available Monday. It was not clear whether the twins are related to Desronvil.
Mayor Dorinda Borer of West Haven, where the incident occurred, said in a social media post Sunday that the children had made “slight progress” and one of them was taken off intubation. She called the events “unthinkable.” She said the children’s mother rushed to be with them early Sunday morning.
Desronvil’s public defender, Ashley Miller, declined to comment after the arraignment.
In a report released Monday, West Haven police said Desronvil told them he was in a “tumultuous relationship” with the children’s mother and admitted to taking the twins from their home in New York.
He told officers he recently found “witchcraft material” belonging to the children’s mother that showed she was “wishing ill on another male,” the report said. He also was yelling on the beach that the mother was going to kill him, authorities said.
Desronvil told officers he drove onto the beach to speak with another child who had called him and said the twins’ mother was going to call police on him, the report said. He said he panicked when he saw police and took the children into the water, officers said.
Police said in the report that the mother told them that she believes Desronvil has mental health problems.
A West Haven officer on patrol saw a vehicle on a local beach at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and heard screaming coming from the water, police said. As the officer went into the water, Desronvil and the children were drifting further into Long Island Sound, authorities said.
“It was obvious at this point that the male ... was deliberately drowning his children,” police said in a statement.
Other officers and firefighters entered the water and they were able to grab the children and bring them to shore, where lifesaving measures were performed, police said. They were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Three officers also were treated for minor injuries, officials said.
Borer, the West Haven mayor, said she met the children’s mother over the weekend.
“I wanted to let her know that even though they are far from home they have an entire community here that cares for them and we will provide whatever she needs; a hotel, meals, clothing, or a big hug,” she said.
Music record labels sue AI song-generators for copyright infringement
BOSTON (AP) — Big record companies are suing artificial intelligence song-generators Suno and Udio for copyright infringement, alleging that the AI music startups are exploiting the recorded works of artists from Chuck Berry to Mariah Carey.
The Recording Industry Association of America announced the lawsuits Monday brought by labels including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Records.
One case was filed in federal court in Boston against Suno AI, and the other in New York against Uncharted Labs, the developer of Udio AI.
Suno AI CEO Mikey Shulman said in an emailed statement that the technology is “designed to generate completely new outputs, not to memorize and regurgitate pre-existing content” and doesn’t allow users to reference specific artists.
Shulman said his Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup tried to explain this to labels “but instead of entertaining a good faith discussion, they’ve reverted to their old lawyer-led playbook.”
Udio didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said in a written statement that the music industry is already collaborating with responsible AI developers but said that “unlicensed services like Suno and Udio that claim it’s ‘fair’ to copy an artist’s life’s work and
exploit it for their own profit without consent or pay set back the promise of genuinely innovative AI for us all.”
AI has been a heated topic of conversation in the music industry, with debates ranging from the creative possibilities of the new technology to concerns around its legality. In March, Tennessee became the first U.S. state to pass legislation to protect songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. Supporters said the goal is to ensure that AI tools cannot replicate an artist’s voice without their consent.
The following month, over 200 artists signed an open letter submitted by the Artist Rights Alliance non-profit calling on artificial intelligence tech companies, developers, platforms, digital music services and platforms to stop using AI to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists.
Oklahoma
Man accused of killings in 2 states enters not guilty pleas to charges
SALLISAW, Okla. (AP) — An Alabama man accused in a string of killings in Oklahoma and Alabama has pleaded not guilty to two Oklahoma killings.
The pleas were entered on behalf of Stacy Lee Drake, 50, during a Monday court appearance, KHBS-TV reported. He faces two charges of enhanced murder.
Drake has until Aug. 7 in the Oklahoma case to find a lawyer to represent him, or a public defender will be appointed for him, KHBS reported.
Relatives and friends of the victims packed the courtroom where Drake appeared.
Drake was apprehended Thursday in a wooded area in the Morrilton, Arkansas, area after a search that spanned multiple southern states, Arkansas State Police said.
Drake is accused of homicides and carjackings in Oklahoma, Arkansas State Police said. They said he’s also wanted on other felony warrants from multiple jurisdictions on charges including aggravated robbery, carjacking and murder.
A man and a woman were found dead inside a business near Gans, Oklahoma, near the Arkansas state line, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said. Both had injuries consistent with homicide, and the agency said Drake is a person of interest.
In Alabama, Drake is accused of killing Russell Andrews on May 14, according to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Capt. Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit said there is a warrant for Drake on a murder charge. News outlets reported that Andrews, 62, was found dead inside the Alcoholic Anonymous building.
Tuscaloosa authorities said Andrews’ vehicle was stolen when he was killed and hours later was picked up by cameras travelling along an interstate near the Arkansas-Oklahoma border.
Arkansas
State sues 2 pharmacy benefit managers, accusing them of fueling opioid epidemic in state
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Monday sued two pharmacy benefit managers that oversee coverage for insurers, employers and other large clients, accusing them of fueling the opioid crisis in the state.
Attorney General Tim Griffin filed the lawsuit against Express Scripts Inc. and Optum Inc., and their subsidiaries, in state court.
Pharmacy benefit managers run prescription drug coverage for big clients that include health insurers and employers that provide coverage. They help decide which drugs make a plan’s formulary, or list of covered medications. They also can determine where patients go to fill their prescriptions.
Griffin’s lawsuit said the companies benefitted from the opioid crisis “by negotiating favorable deals with opioid manufacturers and by not taking sufficient action to curb excessive opioid prescriptions.”
“For at least the last two decades, defendants had a central role in facilitating the oversupply of opioids,” the lawsuit said. “Defendants ignored the necessary safeguards in order to ensure increased opioid prescriptions and sales.”
In a statement, Optum said it has taken steps to fight the opioid epidemic and would defend itself against Arkansas’ suit.
“Optum did not cause the opioid crisis or make it worse, and we will defend ourselves in this litigation,” the company said in a statement. “Optum takes the opioid epidemic seriously and has taken a comprehensive approach to fight this issue, including the Opioid Risk Management Program available to all Optum Rx clients, to address opioid abuse and promote patient health.”
Express Scripts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the lawsuit, opioids were the most commonly prescribed class of controlled substances in Arkansas in 2022, and Arkansas had the second-highest opioid prescribing rate in the nation that year.
State and local governments have filed thousands of lawsuits over the toll of the opioid crisis. The claims have included asserting that drugmakers, wholesalers, pharmacy chains and other businesses engaged in deceptive marketing and failed to stop the flow of the powerful prescription painkillers to the black market.
Many of the major cases have been settled, with proposed and finalized agreements to provide more than $50 billion –- with most of it to be used to fight the opioid crisis. A federal judge who is overseeing federal lawsuits over opioids is lining up cases involving pharmacy benefit managers for trials, possibly a precursor to settlements.
In recent years, opioid overdoses have been linked to about 80,000 deaths annually in the U.S. The majority of those lately have involved fentanyl and other potent drugs produced illicitly in labs and often used to lace other illegal drugs.
Wisconsin
Judge won’t allow boaters on flooded private property
JEFFERSON, Wis. (AP) — The public’s right to use flooded rivers, lakes and streams ends where the water normally stops, a Wisconsin judge ruled Monday.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Bennett Brantmeier’s decision limits the reach of the public trust doctrine, provisions in the state constitution that guarantee public access to navigable waters.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit Thomas Reiss of Ixonia filed last year. He argued in the filing that his land abuts the Rock River. He alleged that when the river floods airboat users take advantage of the higher water levels to trespass across his land.
He challenged state Department of Natural Resources policies that state the public trust doctrine grants access rights to any part of a navigable waterway as long as the person remains in the water. Reiss argued that interpretation was illegal and public access ends at the ordinary high-water mark, a point on the bank or shoreline where the water regularly stops. He contended that the DNR’s position has left law enforcement confused.
Online court records indicate Brantmeier found the DNR’s policy unlawful and invalid. He ordered the DNR to revoke that policy and issue proper guidance through the state’s formal administrative rule-making process.
DNR officials had no immediate comment.
Connecticut
$2M bail set for man charged with trying to drown 2 children at beach
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) — A New York man has been charged with attempted murder after authorities said he tried to drown two young children at a Connecticut beach over the weekend.
Romney Desronvil, 41, of the Queens section of New York City, was arraigned Monday in Milford Superior Court, where a judge set bail at $2 million and ordered him to return to court on July 1. He was detained on charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment and risk of injury to children, a court clerk said.
The children, twins under the age of 3, were in intensive care at Yale New Haven Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available Monday. It was not clear whether the twins are related to Desronvil.
Mayor Dorinda Borer of West Haven, where the incident occurred, said in a social media post Sunday that the children had made “slight progress” and one of them was taken off intubation. She called the events “unthinkable.” She said the children’s mother rushed to be with them early Sunday morning.
Desronvil’s public defender, Ashley Miller, declined to comment after the arraignment.
In a report released Monday, West Haven police said Desronvil told them he was in a “tumultuous relationship” with the children’s mother and admitted to taking the twins from their home in New York.
He told officers he recently found “witchcraft material” belonging to the children’s mother that showed she was “wishing ill on another male,” the report said. He also was yelling on the beach that the mother was going to kill him, authorities said.
Desronvil told officers he drove onto the beach to speak with another child who had called him and said the twins’ mother was going to call police on him, the report said. He said he panicked when he saw police and took the children into the water, officers said.
Police said in the report that the mother told them that she believes Desronvil has mental health problems.
A West Haven officer on patrol saw a vehicle on a local beach at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday and heard screaming coming from the water, police said. As the officer went into the water, Desronvil and the children were drifting further into Long Island Sound, authorities said.
“It was obvious at this point that the male ... was deliberately drowning his children,” police said in a statement.
Other officers and firefighters entered the water and they were able to grab the children and bring them to shore, where lifesaving measures were performed, police said. They were rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Three officers also were treated for minor injuries, officials said.
Borer, the West Haven mayor, said she met the children’s mother over the weekend.
“I wanted to let her know that even though they are far from home they have an entire community here that cares for them and we will provide whatever she needs; a hotel, meals, clothing, or a big hug,” she said.
