Kelly Saavedra, Carnegie Mellon University; CMU Joins $110M U.S.-Japan Partnership To Accelerate AI Innovation "Carnegie Mellon University and Keio University have announced they will join forces with one another and with industry partners to boost AI-focused research and workforce development in the United States and Japan. The partnership is one of two new university partnerships between the two countries in the area of artificial intelligence announced in Washington, D.C., April 9 at an event hosted by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The collaboration joins t ..read more

 Alex Marshall, The New York Times ; British Museum Sues Former Curator for Return of Stolen Items "The museum claims that the former curator, Peter Higgs, who once ran the museum’s Greek and Roman antiquities department, stole or damaged over 1,800 artifacts from its collections and sold hundreds of those items on eBay, according to court documents. Officials also want Mr. Higgs to explain the whereabouts of other artifacts that they say the former curator sold online. The court documents state that Mr. Higgs disputes the accusations against him... In the filing, the museum also acc ..read more

  United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ; Women transforming industries: Recognizing the power of intellectual property "Hear how women innovators are impacting industries across the board with intellectual property (IP) protection at our next Women's Entrepreneurship (WE) event, happening virtually and in person on Wednesday, April 24 from noon to 1 p.m. ET at George Mason University's Mason Enterprise Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Expert panelists, including women entrepreneurs, small business owners, and inventors, will discuss resources and services ..read more

 Diana Stancy, Navy Times; Navy unveils new culture campaign to show ‘what right looks like’ "The Navy rolled out a new effort this month to reframe Navy culture and provide leaders the right tools to understand their sailors better. The so-called “Culture of Excellence 2.0″ initiative aims to align several existing Navy programs and concepts and place them into a single resource to help command triads improve their culture, a naval administrative message, or NAVADMIN, released this month said ..read more

 Ashley Tucker , Library of Congress Blogs; Meet Sarah Beth Morgan: An Animation Artist Drawn to Purpose "Morgan works in the animation field of “motion graphics,” where she brings graphic shapes, typography, and characters to life. She defines her creative style as “playful, quirky, and maybe even a little bit unexpected.” Her most recent animation, Between Lines, is a short film about “the scarring experience of schoolgirl bullying—and the recovery that follows.” The film has received several accolades, including the Audience Award for Animation at the Brooklyn Film Festi ..read more

 Ann Skeet, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University ; Panel of Distinguished AI Experts Discuss Challenges of AI Regulation with the Honorable Ro Khanna "Leadership takes many forms, and often the most important thing leaders can do is listen. The Institute for Technology Ethics and Culture at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the Santa Clara School of Law hosted a roundtable discussion on March 18, 2024, with Congressman Ro Khanna and leaders from industry, civil society, and academia. Congressman Khanna wanted to hear from experts in his ..read more

American Library Association (ALA) Press Release; Public Libraries Saw 92 Percent Increase In Number of Titles Targeted for Censorship Over The Previous Year "The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the American Library Association (ALA). The new numbers released today show efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles* in schools and libraries. This tops the previous high from 2022, when 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship.  ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom docume ..read more

  Amy B Wang  and  Patrick Svitek , The Washington Post; Rep. Ken Buck says he will not serve out rest of term, narrowing GOP majority "“Our nation is on a collision course with reality, and a steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward,” Buck said then. “Too many Republican leaders are lying to America.” Buck also cited Republicans’ downplaying the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, in which a pro-Trump mob sought to stop the certification of Biden’s electoral win, as well as the GOP’s claims that the ensuing prosecu ..read more

 Associated Press via The Guardian ; Florida settles lawsuit after challenge to ‘don’t say gay’ law "Under the terms of the settlement, the Florida board of education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law does not prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also spells out that the law is neutral – meaning what applies to LGBTQ+ people also applies to heterosexual people – and that it doesn’t apply to library books not ..read more

 Ruby Cramer, The Washington Post; The librarian who couldn’t take it anymore "When she had decided to become a librarian almost 10 years ago, it was for a simple reason: She loved to read. Now she watched as the work she did at a high school in Central Florida became part of a national debate. There were fights going on over democracy and fascism. There were parents and school board members arguing on social media and in meetings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wasn’t just passing laws but using them to run for president. To Tania, the pure act of reading was becoming more and more p ..read more