Michael Cohen

Dear Commons Community,

Michael Cohen, the onetime personal lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, has settled his lawsuit accusing the Trump Organization of failing to cover millions of dollars of legal bills he incurred over his work for the former U.S. president.

Lawyers for both sides disclosed the settlement at a hearing in a New York state court in Manhattan yesterday, three days before a trial was scheduled to begin.  As reported by Reuters.

Terms of the settlement were not made public. Cohen and a lawyer for the Trump Organization issued statements that the matter “has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties.”

Once a strong supporter of Trump, Cohen is now a vocal critic, whose 2020 memoir “Disloyal” was a New York Times bestseller.

He claimed that the Trump Organization reneged on its agreement to paying his bills after he began cooperating with several probes into his work for the former president.

These included inquiries into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election, and Trump’s efforts to silence women who claimed they had affairs with him.

Cohen originally sued in March 2019 to recoup $1.9 million in fees, plus $1.9 million he was ordered to forfeit in a criminal case. The fees kept growing, and the Trump Organization has paid some of them, court papers show.

Despite Friday’s settlement, Cohen is expected to be a star prosecution witness against Trump in a criminal trial next March.

That case concerns payments Cohen made, and which Trump reimbursed, to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet prior to the 2016 presidential election about her alleged affair with Trump, which he denies.

Cohen is also seeking the dismissal of a $500 million lawsuit by Trump in a federal court in Florida.

In that case, Trump accused Cohen of breaching ethics rules governing lawyers’ conduct by revealing “confidences” and “spreading falsehoods” in books and media, and damaging his reputation by calling him “racist.”

Cohen served a three-year sentence, partially in prison and partially in home confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic, after pleading guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and tax evasion.

It appears that Trump and his attorneys blinked!

Tony

A Cerebras chip is 56 times the size of a chip commonly used for artificial intelligence.Credit…Cayce Clifford for The New York Times

Dear Commons Community,

Inside a cavernous room this week in a one-story building in Santa Clara, Calif., six-and-a-half-foot-tall machines whirred behind white cabinets. The machines made up a new supercomputer that had become operational just last month.

The supercomputer, which was unveiled yesterday by Cerebras, a Silicon Valley start-up, was built with the company’s specialized chips, which are designed to power artificial intelligence products. The chips stand out for their size — like that of a dinner plate, or 56 times as large as a chip commonly used for A.I. Each Cerebras chip packs the computing power of hundreds of traditional chips.

Cerebras said it had built the supercomputer for G42, an A.I. company. G42 said it planned to use the supercomputer to create and power A.I. products for the Middle East.  As reported by The New York Times.

“What we’re showing here is that there is an opportunity to build a very large, dedicated A.I. supercomputer,” said Andrew Feldman, the chief executive of Cerebras. He added that his start-up wanted “to show the world that this work can be done faster, it can be done with less energy, it can be done for lower cost.”

Demand for computing power and A.I. chips has skyrocketed this year, fueled by a worldwide A.I. boom. Tech giants such as Microsoft, Meta and Google, as well as myriad start-ups, have rushed to roll out A.I. products in recent months after the A.I.-powered ChatGPT chatbot went viral for the eerily humanlike prose it could generate.

But making A.I. products typically requires significant amounts of computing power and specialized chips, leading to a ferocious hunt for more of those technologies. In May, Nvidia, the leading maker of chips used to power A.I. systems, said appetite for its products — known as graphics processing units, or GPUs — was so strong that its quarterly sales would be more than 50 percent above Wall Street estimates. The forecast sent Nvidia’s market value soaring above $1 trillion.

“For the first time, we’re seeing a huge jump in the computer requirements” because of A.I. technologies, said Ronen Dar, a founder of Run:AI, a start-up in Tel Aviv that helps companies develop A.I. models. That has “created a huge demand” for specialized chips, he added, and companies have “rushed to secure access” to them.

To get their hands on enough A.I. chips, some of the biggest tech companies — including Google, Amazon, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel — have developed their own alternatives. Start-ups such as Cerebras, Graphcore, Groq and SambaNova have also joined the race, aiming to break into the market that Nvidia has dominated.

Chips are set to play such a key role in A.I. that they could change the balance of power among tech companies and even nations. The Biden administration, for one, has recently weighed restrictions on the sale of A.I. chips to China, with some American officials saying China’s A.I. abilities could pose a national security threat to the United States by enhancing Beijing’s military and security apparatus.

A.I. supercomputers have been built before, including by Nvidia. But it’s rare for start-ups to create them.

Cerebras, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., was founded in 2016 by Mr. Feldman and four other engineers, with the goal of building hardware that speeds up A.I. development. Over the years, the company has raised $740 million, including from Sam Altman, who leads the A.I. lab OpenAI, and venture capital firms such as Benchmark. Cerebras is valued at $4.1 billion.

Because the chips that are typically used to power A.I. are small — often the size of a postage stamp — it takes hundreds or even thousands of them to process a complicated A.I. model. In 2019, Cerebras took the wraps off what it claimed was the largest computer chip ever built, and Mr. Feldman has said its chips can train A.I. systems between 100 and 1,000 times as fast as existing hardware.

As the hardware advances, so will the A.I. software!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

On Tuesday’s Jeopardy!, one category shined a light on the rising cost of college tuition while educating some shocked viewers in the process.  As reported by Yahoo Entertainment.

The first-round category was called “College Tuition: Then & Now,” and while one of the answers on the board was about an impressive lack of tuition hikes at Purdue University, the other four answers showcased just how high tuition has climbed through the years.

One was about Houston’s private Rice University, which had free tuition from 1912 to 1965, but has now reached $57,000 per year. Another revealed that tuition at Duke University in North Carolina was just over $7,000 in 1985 and has climbed to more than $63,000 for 2024.

We also learned that the University of Notre Dame in Indiana cost just $3,000 to attend in 1977 and now goes for $62,000 for tuition and fees. And the University of California Berkeley used to be free for state residents back in 1968, but now cost them $14,000 in 2023.

The category definitely reflected a major trend, seeing as how the average price of tuition, fees and room and board for an undergraduate degree has increased 169% from 1980 to 2020, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. And taking that one step further is The College Board, which reported that more than half of a bachelor’s degree recipients from four-year colleges graduated in 2020 with debt, and that debt averaged $28,400.

And while the rising costs of college tuition has become a bigger focus in political circles (a recent Supreme Court decision derailed the Biden administration’s student loan relief plan) and among young people the past few years, the category on Jeopardy! seemed to strike a nerve with some viewers, who experienced a bit of sticker shock at hearing the answers.

I saw this Jeopardy! Program and was surprised by the category but not “shocked” by the tuition information.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Google is testing a product that uses artificial intelligence technology to produce news stories, pitching it to news organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.

The tool, known internally by the working title Genesis, can take in information — details of current events, for example — and generate news content, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the product. As reported by The New York Times.

One of the three people familiar with the product said that Google believed it could serve as a kind of personal assistant for journalists, automating some tasks to free up time for others, and that the company saw it as responsible technology that could help steer the publishing industry away from the pitfalls of generative A.I.

Some executives who saw Google’s pitch described it as unsettling, asking not to be identified discussing a confidential matter. Two people said it seemed to take for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories.

Jenn Crider, a Google spokeswoman, said in a statement that “in partnership with news publishers, especially smaller publishers, we’re in the earliest stages of exploring ideas to potentially provide A.I.-enabled tools to help their journalists with their work.”

“Quite simply, these tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles,” she added. Instead, they could provide options for headlines and other writing styles.

A News Corp spokesman said in a statement, “We have an excellent relationship with Google, and we appreciate Sundar Pichai’s long-term commitment to journalism.”

The Times and The Post declined to comment.

Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor and media commentator, said Google’s new tool, as described, had potential upsides and downsides.

“If this technology can deliver factual information reliably, journalists should use the tool,” said Mr. Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.

“If, on the other hand, it is misused by journalists and news organizations on topics that require nuance and cultural understanding,” he continued, “then it could damage the credibility not only of the tool, but of the news organizations that use it.”

News organizations around the world are grappling with whether to use artificial intelligence tools in their newsrooms. Many, including The Times, NPR and Insider, have notified employees that they intend to explore potential uses of A.I. to see how it might be responsibly applied to the high-stakes realm of news, where seconds count and accuracy is paramount.

But Google’s new tool is sure to spur anxiety, too, among journalists who have been writing their own articles for decades. Some news organizations, including The Associated Press, have long used A.I. to generate stories about matters including corporate earnings reports, but they remain a small fraction of the service’s articles compared with those generated by journalists.

Artificial intelligence could change that, enabling users to generate articles on a wider scale that, if not edited and checked carefully, could spread misinformation and affect how traditionally written stories are perceived.

While Google has moved at a breakneck pace to develop and deploy generative A.I., the technology has also presented some challenges to the advertising juggernaut. While Google has traditionally played the role of curating information and sending users to publishers’ websites to read more, tools like its chatbot, Bard, present factual assertions that are sometimes incorrect and do not send traffic to more authoritative sources, such as news publishers.

The technology has been introduced as governments around the world have called on Google to give news outlets a larger slice of its advertising revenue. After the Australian government tried to force Google to negotiate with publishers over payments in 2021, the company forged more partnerships with news organizations in various countries, under its News Showcase program.

Publishers and other content creators have already criticized Google and other major A.I. companies for using decades of their articles and posts to help train these A.I. systems, without compensating the publishers.

We will see more customization of generative A.I. for other professions such as law, education, and health.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Following months of intense scrutiny of his scientific work, Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced yesterday that he would resign as president of Stanford University after an independent review of his research found significant flaws in studies he supervised going back decades. As reported by The New York Times.

Dear Commons Community,

President Joe Biden unveiled a reelection ad on Tuesday comprised only of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) words decrying his public spending.   As reported by Mediate.

Other than an upbeat music track in the background, Biden’s campaign ad consisted solely of Greene speaking at the Turning Point Action Conference this past weekend, where she decried Biden’s “investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs” and compared him to  Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson as follows. To quote Greene:

“Joe Biden had the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on, and Joe Biden is attempting to complete. Programs to address education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, labor unions, and he still is working on it.”

Biden posted the ad on his Twitter account along with the caption, “I approve this message.”

The White House had previously championed Greene’s speech on Monday, tweeting, “Caught us. President Biden is working to make life easier for hardworking families.”

Greene’s comments were also picked up by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who said during a press briefing on Monday, “We agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene, which is not something that we say very often.”

She continued, “We agree with her all around, all around on this. We are opposed to rural poverty, and the president is committed to protect Medicare and committed to protect Social Security.”

Thank you Representative Greene for your endorsement

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

The median rents in New York City are reaching record highs and triggering bidding wars for even modest properties. As reported by Yahoo Finance and CBS News.

“Asking rent has been breaking new records across the city since April,” said Kenny Lee, an economist at StreetEasy. The market has been tough, a lot tougher than before.”

Per Lee and StreetEasy, the rental market peaked this June in Manhattan. The median listing price in Manhattan hit $4,396 per month. And in both Brooklyn and Queens, the median asking rents were $3,400 and $2,850, respectively, according to StreetEasy. June’s median rents are the highest in all three boroughs since January 1, 2010, when StreetEasy started tracking.

New York City’s median asking rent, including all five boroughs, reached $3,750 this June, a 7.1% year-over-year increase. Compared to when the pandemic emptied the city two years ago, the median asking rent soared 33.5% from $2,495 in March 2021, according to StreetEasy. Tenants living in Manhattan are seeing an even bigger jump of 37% to $4,396 in June from $2,760 in January 2021. Since the pandemic, Brooklyn and Queens also saw double-digit rent growth at 29.4% and 29.8%, respectively.

The elevated prices, especially in Manhattan and Brooklyn, are substantially higher than the nation’s average. Manhattan’s rent is already twice the nation’s average asking price for rentals of $2,048, according to Zillow’s rental tracker.

“Just a few days ago, I had a studio listing on the Upper West Side,” Tiga McLoyd, a New York City-based real estate broker with Corcoran, told Yahoo Finance. “There were 11 applicants for the unit, and seven people participated in a bidding process.”

Even though the listing price for McLoyd’s unit was $2,475 per month, the highest bid reached $2,800 — or $325 more than asking. The four-flight walk-up was a gem, according to McLoyd, due to its location near Central Park, the subway station, Trader Joe’s, and Equinox. And although the unit does not have a washer or a dryer, it does have a separate kitchen with a dishwasher, a rarity for studios under $3,000 in the Upper West Side.

“If you have a $3,000 budget on the Upper West Side and want something nice, it might get a little more competitive,” McLoyd said.

What’s behind the numbers?

“So I kind of call it the COVID bounce-back,” McLoyd said, “and it really hasn’t stopped happening.” Many companies in the Big Apple are adapting to the hybrid work model, where employees work in the office and from home.

“It’s true New York City lost a lot of residents in 2020 and 2021. A lot of people left the city in search of just more space, a backyard, or front porch,” Lee said. “But I think the situation has really reversed across the Northeast, including New York City. And that’s precisely related to returning to office at least part-time.”

Companies not in the city are also contributing to the rent increase. McLoyd said he had met renters who were able to move to New York City because they can work remotely,

“You got all these new people from interesting places like the California, Midwest, and Texas, who are now able to work remotely from anywhere,” McLoyd said, “So that crowd of people moved to New York.”

Gen Zers account for the largest cohort moving to the Empire State, according to a Today’s Homeowner report published in 2023. Overall trends show Gen Zers are attracted to big cities like New York, with over 43,104 individuals moving in and a net migration of 3,043. The number of Gen Zers that left California was 50,615; 21,535 in Minnesota; 36,782 in Chicago; and 5,268 in Louisiana, Today’s Homeowner report showed.

New York is apparently a draw for young movers: “It’s fun,” McLoyd said.

Call and bid: The number of available rentals in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens decreased compared to pre-pandemic years with Brooklyn seeing the sharpest decline at 35%. (Getty Images)

The city may be fun, but finding a rental is definitely not.

“After the global financial crisis, the city has added more than half a million jobs but only created about 300,000 new homes in New York City,” Lee explained.

In fact, the number of available rentals in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens decreased compared to pre-pandemic years. Brooklyn saw the sharpest decline at 35%. The average available units in 2023 dropped to 9,902 from 15,230 in 2018. Manhattan saw 4,340 fewer units, or a 22% drop, over the same period, and Queen’s was 21.4% lower, or 1,112 fewer units. Rental supply in the Bronx and Staten Island stayed relatively flat in the last five years, according to data published by StreetEasy.

“It’s hard to see where [inventory crunch] is going to stop because New York City just isn’t building any new housing,” McLoyd said.

The city’s vacancy rate gives a similar narrative. Although Manhattan’s vacancy rate increased to 2.78% in June 2023 from 1.90% a year ago, a healthy vacancy rate should sit around 5%-8%, according to the US Lending Company.

“The lack of inventory coming into the market, as well as the strong demand from renters, is destroying the market and creating intense competition for renters,” Lee said.

The bottom line: “It’s a basic, old school supply and demand scenario,” McLoyd said.

Tony

George Will

Dear Commons Community,

Conservative columnist George Will believes neither front-runner former President Donald Trump nor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will win the GOP nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

“Both candidacies are brittle,” the longtime conservative commentator, whose wife Mari Will is an adviser to rival candidate Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), wrote in his latest column for The Washington Post.

Voters may rebel against the idea that Trump is “the all-but-inevitable Republican nominee” and DeSantis is his “only significant challenger,” he said.

Trump’s continued peddling of his 2020 election loss conspiracy theories and DeSantis’ abrasiveness may ultimately cost them the nomination, he said.

“Political prophesy is optional folly, but: There are not enough Republicans, in Iowa or the nation, enamored of the snarling contest between Trump and DeSantis — their competition to see who can despise the most American defects — to nominate either of them,” Will concluded. “Which is grim news for President Biden.”

According to RealClearPolitics, Trump is currently leading in an average of GOP presidential nomination polling with 53%, DeSantis is at 20.6%, former Vice President Mike Pence at 6.3%, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at 3.4% and Scott at 3.2%.

I don’t agree with Will’s conservative philosophy but I believe him to be a fine observer of American politics.

I hope he is right in his prediction!

Tony 

Dear Commons Community,

I have just finished reading Honor Cargill-Martin’s s Messalina: Empress, Adulteress, Libertine:  The Story of the Most Notorious Woman of the Roman World.  Cargill-Martin is studying for her doctorate focusing on political sex scandals in classical times at the University of Oxford. Messalina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius, had an enormous sexual appetite that is mentioned and described but not dwelt upon in this book.  Cargill-Martin presents Messalina as a woman fighting to assert her position in the overwhelmingly male world of imperial Roman politics – and succeeding.  As the wife of Claudius, she shows she can be intelligent, passionate, and ruthless.  Cargill-Martin covers many of the same people as the novel I, Claudius by Robert Graves, that became an award winning television series in the late 1970s.  As a matter of fact, reading this book has made go back and watch the TV series again.

In sum, I found Messalina a fine biography and ideal summer reading.

Below is a review that appeared in the New York Times Book Review.

Tony

In “Messalina,” Honor Cargill-Martin looks at the limited evidence with empathy, arguing that a notorious empress was also a canny politician.