Sept. 10 (ZFJ) — Cecilia Xie Birge was appointed principal of Princeton High School on Thursday, Aug. 31. The Princeton Board of Education voted unanimously for her at a special meeting. Board member Michele Tuck-Ponder was not present. “With Cecilia’s appointment tonight, we are turning a page and we are looking with excitement to the future,” said Dafna Kendal, president of the school board. Birge thanked the board and search committee for entrusting her with the position and recognized the school staff’s work for Princeton High.

EDISON, N.J., Aug. 30 (ZFJ) — Edison middle school teacher Julius Coaccioli, 55, was arrested and charged with third-degree possession of child pornography on Wednesday, Aug. 30, announced Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Woodbridge Police Department Director Robert Hubner. Coaccioli taught science at Woodrow Wilson Middle School at the time of his arrest. According to public payroll records, he has worked for the Edison Board of Education since September 1992.

Aug. 23 (ZFJ) — AI art generated “absent human involvement” is not eligible for copyright, ruled U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell on Aug. 18, Friday. In her ruling for the federal district court in Washington, D.C., Howell upheld the U.S. Copyright Office’s denial of registration to computer scientist Stephen Thaler for the work he calls A Recent Entrance to Paradise. BACKGROUND Thaler, the plaintiff, owns an AI called the “Creativity Machine” that can generate visual works of art.

Aug. 21 (ZFJ) — President Joe Biden, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to increase defense and economic cooperation among their countries at a Camp David summit on Friday, Aug. 18. This meeting is the first-ever standalone summit between the leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Japan and South Korea continue to have disputes over former Imperial Japan’s colonial rule from 1910-1945.

Aug. 14 (ZFJ) — July 2023 was the hottest month on record globally, confirmed the Copernicus Climate Change Service on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The monthly average temperature worldwide was 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit), exceeding July 2019’s previous record of 16.63 C (61.93 F) and meeting the Paris Agreement threshold of 1.5 C (2.7 F) warming above preindustrial levels. The 29 days from July 3-31 were the hottest days on record, exceeding the previous daily global mean surface air temperature record of 16.

EDISON, N.J., Aug. 12 (ZFJ) — To celebrate its trademark battle win, Taco Bell will fund Taco Tuesday celebrations in all U.S. states except New Jersey, the company announced on Tuesday, Aug. 8. On Tuesday, Sept. 12, Taco Bell, partnering with DoorDash, will spend $5 million to cover orders from participating Mexican food vendors. “Taco Tuesday belongs to all who make, sell, eat, and celebrate tacos, and this Free-For-All will not only thank taco fans who supported the cause, but also spotlight local restaurants and vendors who can now embrace Taco Tuesdays without fear of legal action,” said Taco Bell U.

Aug. 7 (ZFJ) — Robert Bowers, 50, was sentenced to death by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville on Thursday, Aug. 3, for killing 11 congregants, wounding two others, and injuring five police officers at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. “I have nothing specific that I care to say to Mr. Bowers,” Colville said, according to The Associated Press. “I am however convinced there is nothing I could say to him that might be meaningful.

Aug. 3 (ZFJ) — Rafaela Vasquez, 49, pled guilty to endangerment on Friday, July 28, for failing to stop a fully self-driving car from hitting and killing a 49-year-old woman. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge David W. Garbarino sentenced her to three years of supervised probation. Her charge will be designated a misdemeanor once she completes her sentence. On March 18, 2018, Vasquez was the backup driver for a test vehicle belonging to Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group (ATG).

EDISON, N.J., July 29 (ZFJ) — Dr. Edward Aldarelli was appointed superintendent of Edison Township Public Schools on Thursday, July 27. The Edison Board of Education voted unanimously for him after four hours of candidate interviewing at a special meeting. “Definitely, no doubt, absolutely yes,” said Board President Shannon Peng, topping off board member Mohin Patel’s “absolutely yes” and Jerry Shi’s “absolutely, absolutely yes.” Aldarelli was “overwhelmed” that the board chose him to lead the district, which has over 16,000 students.

July 25 (ZFJ) — The rapid increase in malicious uses of artificial intelligence has sparked international concern. On July 18, the United Nations Security Council gathered to recognize what AI could bring to the table and what it has already taken away. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres opened the meeting by observing the influence ChatGPT has garnered. ChatGPT, an AI that emulates human interaction, has taken over the internet by storm, infiltrating college applications, political propaganda, jobs, and other areas of daily life.