New York City Public Schools banned student-facing AI tools for all K-8 classrooms this week, allowing only a limited set of approved programs for high schoolers, while Los Angeles Unified is enacting a similarly tighter policy for the 2026-27 school year. The move reverses the more permissive stance both districts adopted starting in 2023, after they initially banned ChatGPT outright when it launched in late 2022.
techpolicy.press
· 2026-09-05
A case report documents an instance of southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) diagnosed in New York, a region well outside the disease's traditional southern range. The finding adds to evidence that the condition, which mimics Lyme disease symptoms, is spreading northward as tick populations shift.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-04
New York City has enacted a one-year moratorium barring student-facing generative AI tools for public school students from preschool through eighth grade starting the 2026-2027 school year. High schoolers may only use approved AI in supervised pilot programs and must receive AI-literacy lessons twice a year, while companion chatbots are banned at every grade level. The policy also caps daily screen time and restricts teachers from using AI for grading or disciplinary decisions.
techspot.com
· 2026-09-04
Gloria Steinem, the American feminist writer and activist, died peacefully at her Manhattan home surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement posted to her Instagram account. She was 92 and had continued working for equality until the end of her life. Steinem was widely known for her decades of journalism, books and activism on women's rights and other causes.
theguardian.com
· 2026-09-03
Creator Daria Zabnieva's AI-produced show 'Bad Cat' has gone viral, drawing millions of viewers with its parody of a 1990s sitcom setting, complete with a smoking feline lead and Friends-inspired apartment decor. The series uses AI-generated visuals and characters despite widespread criticism of so-called 'AI slop' content flooding social platforms.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-02
New York City's education department has imposed a one-year blanket ban on AI tools for students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. High school students will still have access to AI, but only in limited, approved ways.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-02
New York City has imposed a temporary ban on artificial intelligence use in classrooms through middle school, while also setting new limits on student screen time. High school students, by contrast, will gain access to AI literacy courses under the new policy.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-02
A Damn Interesting feature recounts the ordeal of pharmacist Edmund Lawall, whose Manhattan drug store became the scene of a violent 1906 confrontation involving a fleeing doctor, an armed young man, and an enraged crowd of Yiddish-speaking immigrants. The piece situates this dramatic episode within the broader, little-known history of mass adenoid and tonsil operations performed on immigrant children in early 20th-century New York.
damninteresting.com
· 2026-09-01
A new NBER working paper examines how New York City's congestion relief zone, launched January 5, 2025, affected emergency medical service response near the toll boundary at 60th Street. Using half a million EMS dispatch records and traffic camera data, researchers found hospital transport times fell by 54-59 seconds and total EMS travel time dropped by roughly 63-70 seconds within a 5-kilometer band around the zone's edge.
nber.org
· 2026-09-01
Shein Global Holdings finally went public via a Hong Kong listing after previous attempts to list in New York and London fell through. Shares dropped as much as 9% in early trading before clawing back to roughly their IPO price by the end of the session.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-01
Apple and Major League Baseball launched a four-game immersive VR series on Vision Pro, beginning with the Red Sox versus Yankees. A reviewer donned the headset for the full broadcast and found the up-close, 3D visuals striking, but the experience awkward for a sport built around long stretches, breaks, and communal viewing habits.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-31
Melissa Chiu, who has led the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., is stepping down to become director of New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She announced the move in April, describing it as her long-sought career goal. In a recent conversation with Fast Company, Chiu discussed how museums can play a role during periods of social and political tension.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-31
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