OpenAI Cancels A Deal & Are We Actually Negotiating With Iran?

Hi readers, happy Thursday! Today we’re covering a landmark social media lawsuit, U.S.-Iran negotiations (or lack thereof), Ukraine’s future, more airstrikes in the Caribbean, a very special Florida election, the Army’s new recruitment standards, and OpenAI’s failed deal.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to send any comments or feedback to [email protected]!

“The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.” ― René Magritte

Can We Solve Our Insolvency Issue?

Yesterday, a Los Angeles jury dropped a landmark decision on social media companies, finding that their products can lead to personal injury due to their negligent design choices. The case against Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) and Google’s YouTube was brought by a 20-year-old woman named Kaley, who claimed that their platforms’ features caused her to be addicted to social media starting at the age of 10. In turn, she claimed that that addiction was a “substantial factor” in her developing mental health issues including anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and thoughts of self harm over time. 

Citing the companies’ decisions to target young people and deliberately develop addictive features, the jury decided that they owe Kaley $3 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. Meta will pay 70% of that amount, and YouTube will pay the remaining 30% – Snapchat and TikTok were also named as defendants in the case, but they made the smart decision to bow out early, settling with Kaley before the trial began.

“This is the first time in history a jury has heard testimony by executives and seen internal documents that we believe prove these companies chose profits over children,” said one of Kaley’s lawyers. The case marks the first time that social media companies have been found liable for the addiction that their platforms may or may not cause, and could open the door to a landslide of similar lawsuits in the future. Of course, Meta and Google are worth trillions of dollars each, meaning these cases are a drop in the bucket, but the companies are already adjusting features to avoid future lawsuits.

The Negotiations That Never Happened

Every day of this week, President Trump has publicly claimed that the U.S. was involved in productive peace talks with Iran’s government. Every time he’s said that, Iran has roundly denied its involvement in any negotiations with the U.S. government. Confusing, but here’s what’s going on. Trump first claimed to be in talks with Iran on Monday. Iran said this was a lie. Late Tuesday, President Trump declared that the U.S. had “won” the war, claiming that Iran had offered him “a very significant prize” related to the Strait of Hormuz in peace talks held that day. Iran, of course, denied that it was involved in those talks. 

On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi clarified Tehran’s spin on the situation, telling Iranian state media that the government had received a peace proposal from the White House, but was not actively participating in negotiations with U.S. diplomats. That “peace plan” has been circulated to the press, and includes a complete end to Iran’s nuclear program and strict limits on the country’s missile arsenal – two non-starters for Tehran. 

Iran says it has already rejected the U.S. proposal, and has laid out its own conditions for peace. Those include an end to the war, concrete guarantees preventing the conflict from recurring, reparations for damages caused by the U.S. and Israel, and the recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran does not accept a ceasefire,” a source told Iranian state media. “Basically, it is not logical to enter into such a process with those who violate the agreement.”

You Must Give Up Your Defenses If You Want Defense

• As the U.S. has pushed for an end to the Ukraine-Russia war, Washington has repeatedly floated the idea of providing security guarantees for Ukraine if the two combatants are able to work out a peace deal. Now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has announced that that guarantee will come at an extremely steep cost – according to Zelenskiy, the U.S. has said it will only protect Ukraine after the war if the country gives its entire eastern region of Donbas to Russia as part of a peace deal.

• Up until now, ceding the Donbas has been a red line for Kyiv, as it’s home to Ukraine’s strongest defensive positions. Zelenskiy has warned that giving up the Donbas will mean Europe as a whole will lose one of its most important defenses against the threat of a Russian invasion. “I would very much like the American side to understand that the eastern part of our country is ‌part of our ⁠security guarantees,” he said after revealing the U.S.’s new position on security guarantees. The good news – for now – is that negotiators from all three countries are still engaged in peace negotiations, though the latest round of talks was postponed in light of the U.S.-Iran war.

We Love Airstriking Boats, Don’t We Folks?

• While the U.S. is largely focused on its war with Iran, it appears that the global policeman also has the capacity to continue launching missiles at boats in the Caribbean. Yesterday, U.S. Southern Command – which oversees operations in Latin America and the Caribbean – announced that the military had conducted a “lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations” in the Caribbean, killing four people.

• Since U.S. strikes in the Caribbean began last September, SouthCom has conducted a total of 45 boat attacks, killing at least 163 people so far in an effort to cause “total systemic friction on the cartels.” Whatever that means. In a statement, the military claimed – without evidence – that “intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

Additional World News

• In one of country's poorest states, Venezuelans hope for post-Maduro boom (BBC) 

• WHO warns of health crisis ‘unfolding in real time’ across Middle East (Guardian) 

• Tanker carrying Russian oil hit by drone in Black Sea near Turkey (Reuters)

• How U.S.A.I.D. Birth Control Meant for Africa Was Ruined (NYT, $)

• Cuban president says Raúl Castro involved in US talks that are in early stages (AP)

• Israel used white phosphorus to scorch earth in south Lebanon, researcher says (Guardian)

Donald’s District Goes Democrat

• The midterm victories are continuing to roll in for Democrats. On Tuesday, Democrat Emily Gregory won a special election for Florida’s District 87 state House seat, solidly defeating Trump-backed Republican Jon Maples. Gregory’s win is significant for two reasons: first, her 2-point margin of victory marks a significant reversal from the 19-point stomp that the Democrats suffered in 2024’s election for the same Florida House seat; second, Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home is inside her district.

• “When I started this nine months ago, I obviously thought it was possible,” Gregory said when the race was called on Tuesday night. “I might have done some crazy calculus to decide that this was a flip opportunity, but it was,” she added. “And we did it. So my math worked.” When asked about representing Trump in Florida’s government, she replied that she doesn’t really think about him. “He's one of 115,000 registered voters in District 87,” she said.

The Army Opens Its Arms

• Things are changing in the U.S. Army. More specifically, things are getting older and a bit more… relaxed. Effective on April 20 (ironic!), the Army will raise the maximum enlistment age to 42, and will remove enlistment barriers for people with convictions for marijuana or weed-associated paraphernalia possession as well. 

• Previously, people with a single marijuana conviction – or a conviction for owning a pipe, bong, or spoon – needed a special waiver, a 24-month waiting period, and a clean drug test to enlist. But after missing its recruitment target by 25% in 2022, the Army seems to have realized that it needs to ease up a bit.

• As for the enlistment age change, analysts at the RAND Corporation recommended a higher maximum enlistment age, saying that older recruits are “of higher quality, more focused, and more motivated, as well as being ready to ship to basic training more quickly.” “We’re kind of looking at a more mature audience that might have experience in technical fields,” said the Army’s chief of military personnel accessions. “We need warrant officers with extreme technical capabilities, and those will come from the enlisted ranks.”

Additional USA News

• Trump housing chief requests new criminal investigation into Letitia James (Guardian) 

• Travelers are facing the longest TSA wait times in history (NPR)

• ‘I just want to go home’: Despair settles over the Capitol as DHS deal hopes evaporate (Politico) 

• Trump accused of showing classified map to passengers on private flight (BBC)  

• Nicolás Maduro heads back to a US court, fighting charges as Venezuela moves on without him (AP)

• An OB-GYN Was Repeatedly Accused of Sexual Misconduct. The State Medical Board Let Him Keep Practicing. (ProPublica)

OpenAI Closes Down Sora

• Is this a sign of a healthy company? On Tuesday, OpenAI announced that it was pulling out of a billion-dollar deal with Disney that was signed just a few months ago. Soon after, the AI startup said that it would be shutting down Sora, an AI video-generation app that uses a TikTok-like interface. The company also noted that it has no plans to roll the video-generation concept into ChatGPT despite previous rumors.

• The Disney deal would have seen the media giant invest $1 billion into OpenAI, allow its characters to be used within Sora, and eventually see “curated selections of Sora-generated videos” hosted on its Disney+ streaming service. Now, though, none of those details matter.

• OpenAI hasn’t offered any additional comments on the Sora closure, but it’s no secret that the ChatGPT maker is “locking in” right now. Over the past few months, the firm has shifted its focus to making more profits, pushing its Codex software development tool, working on its AI browser, and rolling out ads in ChatGPT (which kicked off yesterday). All of this is (probably) part of Sam Altman’s quest to cash out of the company by taking it public, but he’ll have to prove that OpenAI can actually turn a profit before investors open their wallets.

Additional Reads

• Meta Lays Off 700 Employees, While Rewarding Top Executives (NYT, $)

• Musketeer d'Artagnan's remains believed found under Dutch church (BBC)

• Baseball in Japan is more than just a game. The Japanese stars in MLB carry that pressure everywhere they go (CNN) 

• Can you monitor a situation without monitors? The Polymarket sports bar tried (Verge)

• How American Camouflage Conquered the World (Wired, $)

• How to recognise a phobia (and get help) (Psyche)

Please consider supporting Daily Pnut, an independently operated and bootstrapped publication, and you'll receive our exclusive Sunday edition. Many thanks to everyone who already supports us!

Peanut For Your Thoughts

Every day I write about this war I feel more of my brain melting out of my ears.

Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella