Court allows Apple to resume watch sales: A ruling by a U.S. appeals court has paused a federal agency’s efforts to ban the import of most of the foreign-made watch models sold by Apple. The U.S. International Trade Commission enacted a ban on some version of the Apple Watch in October, stating the products violated the patents held by Masimo on a sensor technology that measures blood oxygen levels in users. The Wall Street Journal noted that while Apple’s watch business for about 5% of the company’s overall sales in fiscal year 2023, their devices account for 30% of all smartwatches shipped and nearly 60% of total global sales.
Times files copyright lawsuit against AI giants: The New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing the companies of copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, claimed that the companies used millions of Times’ articles to train their automated chatbots that are now competitors with the Times for news audiences. While the suit did not include an exact sum for desired reimbursement, it said the defendants should be held responsible for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” related to the “unlawful copying and use of The Times’s uniquely valuable works.” It also sought the destruction of chatbot models and training data using copyrighted material from the Times.
Trump predicts a Ramaswamy endorsement: Former President Donald Trump has predicted rival Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will endorse his re-election bid after news reports circulated that the biotech entrepreneur canceled his TV advertising ahead of the upcoming primary contests. “He will, I am sure, Endorse me. But Vivek is a good man, and is not done yet!” Trump wrote Wednesday on TruthSocial. Last August, Trump touted Ramaswamy as a potential running mate for the 2024 election. For his part, Ramaswamy insisted that he is not bowing out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination, with a spokesperson stating his campaign is switching to phone calls, text messaging and person-to-person communications as their strategy to connect with voters.
Christmas cake catastrophe: Japan’s Takashimaya department store chain has apologized to consumers after receiving hundreds of complaints that a popular Christmas cake sold on its website was damaged in the delivery process. The Japan Times reported the $38 cakes were supposed to be delivered frozen, but nearly half of the pastries arrived either melted, crumbled or crushed. The chain is offering refunds or an alternate cake to its customers and Head of Sales Kazuhisa Yokoyama expressed regret by stating, “We are incredibly sorry that we were unable to create an atmosphere where everyone could enjoy (the cake) together and that we disappointed many.”
Celebrity chef and restauranteur Bill Granger dies: Bill Granger, who changed global dining habits with an unlikely addition to toast to widespread popularity, died on Dec. 25 at a hospital in London at the age of 54; the cause of death was not disclosed. The Melbourne-born Granger popularized Australian cuisine outside of his native country through his international Bills restaurant chain. He also authored 14 cookbooks and five television cooking shows, but his greatest fame came when he spread smashed avocado across toasted bread slices, creating the culinary sensation known as avocado toast.
Tom Smothers dead at 86: Funnyman Tom Smothers, who teamed with his younger brother Dick in the Smothers Brothers comedy-music act, passed away at the age of 86 from lung cancer. The Smothers Brothers began as folk music performers in the early 1960s, but found wider audiences when they began to lace comic material into their work. The duo became cultural icons in 1967 with their CBS variety series “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which mixed traditional comedy sketches with an edgier brand of social and political commentary never previously attempted on network television. While their show enjoyed high ratings, CBS censors repeatedly tried to tone down the content before canceling the show in 1969. The brothers would work together and separately in films, television and on stage in the subsequent years before performing their final performance in 2010.
