A Boston College finance professor is among six textbook authors suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, alleging the companies downloaded their books from pirate websites and used them without authorization to train their large language models (LLMs), including ChatGPT. “OpenAI reproduced Plaintiffs’ and the Class’s Works without authorization by downloading them from shadow libraries, copying them into datasets and computer memory, converting them into training-ready formats, and copying them into the materials used to train their LLMs and ChatGPT,” the textbook authors argued in their complaint.  The suit seeks to represent every textbook author whose copyrighted work OpenAI or Microsoft allegedly copied. Read more at the link in our bio.

With her election to Bellevue City Council in Washington, Naren Briar is the first Kurdish American elected to political office in the United States. “It’s a community milestone, especially given the history of the Kurdish people,” Briar said, alluding to the persecution experienced by Kurds living in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. “My parents and family experienced torture from being Kurdish. My grandfather was blinded by mustard gas.” But while Briar’s identity is of great importance to her, it was not, she said, at the center of her campaign. Read more at the link in our bio.

Newton will let resident Judy Hinchey keep her miniature therapy horse, Clover, for up to six months while she appeals the city’s order to remove her, Hinchey said in an exclusive interview with The Heights on Tuesday. “I am going to appeal to the Superior Court,” Hinchey said. “The City of Newton is allowing Clover to stay until the appeal is over, or six months, whichever one comes first.” The agreement comes as the city’s deadline for Hinchey to remove the horse from her property passed on Monday. Read more at the link in our bio.

For Boston College law professor Renée Jones, “unicorns” are a rare—but very real—type of billion-dollar company, the likes of which have been involved in a handful of recent major startup scandals. Does Theranos ring any bells? Jones, a Dr. Thomas F. Carney Distinguished Scholar at BC Law, recently published Untamed Unicorns: Why Startup Finance is Broken and How to Fix It, a book that provides insight into these “unicorns” and the dangers behind rapid deregulation of securities laws.  Read more at the link in our bio.

Whether students are cramped in forced triples or off-campus apartments, there never seems to be enough space at Boston College. But it looks like the University might have just come up with a 760,000-square-foot solution to that problem. On Sept. 15, BC acquired the 17.6-acre EF International Language Campus in Brighton. According to EF’s website, students had the option to live in its beautiful, lakeside dorms while learning English.  Although the University has not confirmed its plans for this new property, The Heights would like to offer a suggestion: BC should turn it into dorms to address its student housing crisis. Read more at the link in our bio.

For dispensaries in Massachusetts, Question 8 on the ballot represents a terrifying possibility: delegalizing recreational cannabis retail. “Everyone [in the cannabis industry] understands what’s at stake here and how catastrophic it could be if this were to pass,” said Matthew McKenna, vice president of public affairs at Ascend, which has three Massachusetts locations, including one in Newton. Ascend is also a part of the No on 8 campaign board. The proposed law would end recreational marijuana sales in Massachusetts beginning Jan. 1, 2028. It would keep medical marijuana and possession of up to 1 ounce legal. Read more at the link in our bio.

The MBTA issued a request for information (RFI) in August to falconry experts who could provide pest control for its transit stations and maintenance facilities. The Birds of Prey Program would use falconry and birds of prey to control invasive and nuisance bird populations. The MBTA has been working to manage pest populations for years. “Pigeons, seagulls, starlings, and other invasive and nuisance birds are drawn to MBTA stations and facilities in search of food and shelter,” MBTA officials said in its RFI, according to StreetsblogMASS “Bird droppings can carry diseases, corrode critical infrastructure, and create unsanitary conditions for the public and MBTA employees.” Read more at the link in our bio.

Boston College officially installed Rev. Jack T. Butler, S.J., as the University’s 26th president Friday afternoon, two and a half months after he assumed the presidency. During a public ceremony in Conte Forum, Butler affirmed his faith in Catholic education and called for BC to “double down” on its identity to weather the onslaught of attacks on higher education. “As we go through these turbulent waters that people tell us about, the goal is not necessarily to seek the fads or to come up with something new—it’s to double down on who we are,” Butler said. “It is our strength, and it is our heritage that will get us through the difficult times.” Read more at the link in our bio.

In November, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to keep or repeal a wide-ranging 2024 gun law that overhauled the state’s firearm regulations.  Known as Chapter 135, the law tightened rules on assault-style weapons and untraceable “ghost guns,” mandated that all guns be registered with a real-time electronic registration system, added training and carrying restrictions, and more. Read more at the link in our bio.