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October 25: France’s Social Media Blocking Request and New York’s Clergy Abuse Settlement
In Turkey
Thousands of people have protested across Turkey against the arrests of journalists and restrictions on independent media.
In France
President Emmanuel Macron has condemned a shooting in the Paris suburbs as a “racist terrorist attack.” A gunman opened fire from a car, killing one man and wounding five people. A 12-year-old girl was among those wounded.
Separately, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu urged four telecommunications companies to block social media during urban violence, according to a letter first reported by French outlet Blast. The request named Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. Local media reported that X was added later. Lecornu accused the platforms of helping coordinate violence. Nearly 1,000 arrests were reported, with around 70,000 police officers deployed as protests that began over education funding spread.
At the polls
Bulgarians are voting for president, with the two leading candidates differing over Russia’s war in Ukraine. In Israel, thousands rallied against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Tuesday’s election. And Brazilians vote Sunday in a closely contested presidential runoff between a left-wing candidate and the son of a Trump ally.
In AI copyright
Anthropic faces a lawsuit alleging it infringed copyrights on 274 Elvis Presley songs by using them to train AI models. Billboard reports that the suit was filed Friday and includes “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”
In New York
The Archdiocese of New York is set to pay $800 million to around 1,300 sex abuse survivors who agreed to a settlement. It is one of the largest clergy abuse settlements in the United States.
In Myanmar
Aung San Suu Kyi’s son says she sounded mentally alert and physically strong during their first phone call in more than five years. Kim Aris told the Guardian that his detained mother appears to have no contact with anyone outside the military or police, leaving her effectively in solitary confinement. He described the call as a public relations move by military leaders.
In Alabama schools
State Superintendent Eric Mackey has approved the official Ten Commandments poster that public schools must display starting January 1, 2027. Under a law enacted in 2026, schools must use that design to comply.
On Iran
NewsNation reports that the Pentagon is drafting plans for attacks on Iran as Tehran threatens aggressive retaliation. The New York Times reports that Trump administration officials fear Iran is in the “advanced stages” of planning attacks against U.S. officials.
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This podcast is a fully automated experiment in AI-generated content. Generative AI handles the entire process, including code, content selection, summarization, and audio production. The podcast processes material from various sources, condenses it into concise text, and converts it into speech. No human intervention is involved in the production process.
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