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It’s an AI World (After All) |
Disney announced yesterday that it will make a $1B equity investment in OpenAI, becoming the first major studio to license a large slate of its characters and media for use in OpenAI’s models, including its video-generation platform, Sora.
The three-year deal covers more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters for user-generated, short, social-style videos within Sora and ChatGPT, with Disney retaining the option to curate select clips for Disney+. No talent likenesses or voices are included, and the agreement restricts portrayals involving drugs, sex, alcohol, or cross-brand interactions. The service is expected to launch in early 2026.
For OpenAI, the partnership broadens its creative reach into Disney’s premium intellectual property, while Disney plans to use tools such as ChatGPT across its businesses to develop new products, services, and interactive experiences. The deal comes a day after Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google over alleged AI-related copyright infringement. |
The oil tanker seized by the US military this week had been carrying sanctioned oil from Iran to Cuba and had a history of hiding its location, according to a maritime analytics firm.
The company claims that for at least 80 days over the past two years, the tanker known as “Skipper” engaged in spoofing—a practice of falsifying location data in violation of a UN maritime treaty. Skipper's last known port call was Iran, where it allegedly arrived in July after visits to Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Analysts say the ship loaded at least 1.1 million barrels of crude oil last month after engaging in rare ship-to-ship transfers.
The vessel is owned by Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp., which the US says is run by Russian oil magnate Viktor Artemov. It is operated by a Nigeria-based company and flies a Guyana flag, though Guyana maintains it is not registered there.
See lawmakers' reactions to the ship's seizure here. |
NASCAR yesterday settled with Front Row Motorsports and Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing, ending an antitrust lawsuit challenging the power the motorsports organization wields over independently owned racing teams.
Under the deal, NASCAR will offer teams permanent charters that guarantee them spots in races and ensure revenue stability. This marks a departure from the expiring charters teams have operated under since 2016, which Jordan testified teams are pressured into signing and are economically unviable. 23XI, which Jordan co-owns with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row filed the antitrust suit after NASCAR gave teams six hours last year to sign a contract extension.
Both teams raced most of last season without charters and said losing the lawsuit would have put them out of business. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but an economist testified that 23XI and Front Row were owed roughly $364.7M in damages. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> "Architects of AI" named Time magazine's 2025 Person of the Year; one cover photo features Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, among others (More) |
> Film director Carl Rinsch convicted in $11M scheme to defraud Netflix (More) | Sherrone Moore held in jail as police investigate incident that occurred hours after he was fired as the University of Michigan's football coach Wednesday (More) |
> Swiss singer Nemo returns their 2024 Eurovision winner's trophy in protest of Israel's participation in 2026 pop music competition (More) |
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> OpenAI introduces ChatGPT-5.2, weeks after executives ordered an all-hands-on-deck effort to improve the AI model following rival releases from Anthropic and Google last month (More) |
> Scientists discover enzyme responsible for a biological process enabling cancer cells to resist treatment, potentially providing a new intervention point for aggressive cancers (More) |
> Marine archaeologists find a 394-foot undersea wall off the coast of France—built around 5,000 BCE and possibly the source of a local sunken city legend (More) |
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In partnership with Incogni |
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Google’s AI Could Redirect You to Scammers |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.2%, Dow +1.3%, Nasdaq -0.3%), with Dow and S&P 500 notching records (More) | Rivian shares fall roughly 6% after the electric vehicle maker unveils new AI tech, chip, and robotaxi plans (More) |
> Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald to step down from role in January, will also relinquish board seat but remain an adviser through March (More) |
> US weekly jobless claims rise to 236,000 for week ending Dec. 6, above economist estimates of 213,000 and the largest increase since March 2020 (More) |
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> Senate fails to pass competing Republican, Democratic bills to extend enhanced, COVID-era subsidies for healthcare premiums purchased through the Affordable Care Act; subsidies are due to expire Dec. 31 (More) |
> Indiana's Republican-led Senate votes against redrawing congressional map to favor their party (More) | MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell announces Republican run for Minnesota governor in 2026 (More) |
> Federal judge orders the immediate release of Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia from US detention; Garcia was sent to a prison in El Salvador earlier this year in defiance of a 2019 court order barring his deportation (More) |
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> The Strange Science of Dreaming
1440 Explores | Sony Kassam. Our editor-in-chief speaks with a sleep scientist to uncover why your brain spins up dreams, how your memories and emotions shape your movie-like adventures, and whether you can control them. (Listen) |
> Canadian Christmas Movies
The Walrus | Sadaf Ahsan. There's a good chance that new Christmas movie you watched was filmed in Canada, where tax incentives and charming locales keep Hollywood producers coming back. (Read) |
> World's Most Expensive Color
Business Insider | Staff. Ultramarine blue can sell for over $60 per ounce and was once more valuable than gold. What does it look like? How is it made? And why is it so luxe? (Watch) |
> From Piggy Banks to Portfolios
The Atlantic | Michael Waters. As financial systems become more complex, kids' allowances are evolving beyond weekly pocket money to mock loans and EFT deposits. Is this preparing them for long-term financial success? (Read) |
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In partnership with Forkful |
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Your Holiday Private Chef Hack |
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Historybook: US Founding Father John Jay born (1745); First transatlantic radio signal sent by Guglielmo Marconi (1901); Frank Sinatra born (1915); Singer Dionne Warwick born (1940); Supreme Court decides Bush v. Gore, confirming George W. Bush as president (2000).
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