The rise of artificial intelligence is entrenching more economic and political power in the hands of Big Tech companies, according to researchers at New York University (NYU) who argue AI must undergo more scrutiny and regulation. AI Now, a research institute at NYU, released a new report detailing how major tech companies wield significant control over AI, arguing such influence must be addressed now before the situation gets too out of hand.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped an appeal he filed after a federal judge ruled that an ex-prosecutor in his office can be subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Bragg dropped the appeal Friday, after the parties came to an agreement on a testimony from former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz to the House Judiciary Committee. The agreement stipulates that a lawyer from Bragg’s office will be present at the testimony who can make objections.

The acting head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced he will resign from the agency this summer.  Acting administrator Billy Nolen made the announcement on Friday after a year of service in his current position. He previously worked for the FAA as an associate administrator in January 2022. Nolen’s farewell letter is a blow to the FAA, which has not had a Senate-appointed administrator since April 2022.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is taking Canadian Pacific Kansas City to task over the cleanup following a freight train derailment and fire. Commissioner Melanie Loyzim sent a letter Thursday telling the railroad that its good faith efforts have failed to meet the agency’s expectations with regard to response and timing “to effectively mitigate impacts to the environment and public health.

North Dakota House lawmakers passed three bills Friday that would restrict transgender people’s access to bathrooms, remove sexually explicit materials from the children’s section of libraries, and expand child care assistance in the hopes of combating the state’s workforce shortage. The trans bill and sexual materials bill passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities, so the bills could become law without Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s approval.

The U.S. military is embracing artificial intelligence as a tool for quickly digesting data and helping leaders make the right decision – and not to make those decisions for the humans in charge, according to two top AI advisors in U.S. Central Command. CENTCOM, which is tasked with safeguarding U.S. national security in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, just hired Dr. Andrew Moore as its first AI advisor.

Two U.S. Representatives from the state of Florida, Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Michael Waltz, have endorsed former President Donald Trump over their own state’s governor to be the next President of the United States. On Thursday, Rep. Bilirakis, R-Fla., released a statement calling Trump “the right leader” to best reverse the “disastrous policies of the Biden administration.

The Republican Party will hold its second presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, according to Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. “I firmly believe that our next president will be on that stage,” McDaniel said Thursday, after announcing the library would host the debate.