The Know Daily - Monday 13 July 2026

_{Read in 4m 10s ∙ Listening to Beyoncé ∙}

England have made it through to the semi-finals of the World Cup (is it… coming home?), but that’s not the only good news. A historic agreement means that each players’ appearance fees are donated to charity – and, since 2007, over £5m has been raised for good causes through the England Footballers Foundation. 👏

🗞️ The AI copyright debate

From local newspapers to The New York Times, publishers are taking on AI companies in a growing copyright battle over whether journalism can be used to train AI models without permission or payment.

OK, how did this come about?
Back in 2023, The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing their AI models were trained using millions of its copyrighted articles without permission and can sometimes reproduce or closely summarise its journalism. OpenAI disputes those claims and says training AI on publicly available information can fall under fair use. Since then a coalition of publishers of almost 400 local newspapers has also taken legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft.

So where do newsrooms stand when it comes to AI?
The tech is definitely incorporated into the industry. According to a survey by the Reuters Institute, 56% of UK journalists use AI professionally at least once a week, with most using it to help with research, summarising interviews or generating first drafts rather than publishing AI-written stories outright. Many organisations now have formal guidelines requiring human oversight before AI-generated content is published. But legal cases like the one between The New York Times and OpenAI isn’t about how journalists integrate the tech into their day-to-day, but ensuring AI companies don't benefit from publishers' work without permission or payment.

What about across the other creative industries?
Journalism is just one part of a much bigger debate. Authors have launched legal action over books being used to train AI models, while artists, photographers and musicians have argued their work has been used without permission. In Hollywood, concerns over AI became a major issue during the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes, leading to new protections around how studios can use AI. Meanwhile, some publishers, record labels and creative companies have chosen to strike licensing deals with AI firms instead of going to court.

What’s a licensing deal?
It’s an agreement where an AI company pays the news publisher for legal permission to use its content. OpenAI has managed to secure deals with News Corp (think The Wall Street Journal and The Times), Axel Springer (they own publications like POLITICO and Business Insider) and The Associated Press. Whilst The New York Times had been in discussions with OpenAI about a potential licensing agreement, those talks broke down and the newspaper decided to take legal action, saying it wanted to “protect its independent journalism”.

What happens next?
Many analysts have described the ongoing lawsuit as one of the most significant copyright disputes involving AI. As things stand, The New York Times has asked a federal judge to sanction OpenAI, accusing the company of acting in bad faith during the litigation's first discovery phase. Even though it's still too early to know how the case will unfold, it's a big moment in the relationship between creative industries and the development of generative AI.

💰 Money Monday: A flight comparison website has revealed seven top tips for finding cheaper last-minute flights this summer.

• The bigger story: Skyscanner’s advice centres on being as flexible as possible. That means searching "Everywhere" instead of a specific destination, comparing nearby airports, checking one-way fares against return tickets, considering flights with stopovers, travelling on different dates or at quieter times and searching on European gateway hubs. They also note that while last-minute prices are usually higher because of demand, deals can still appear on quieter routes or less popular flight times.

🎾 The Wimbledon men's singles title goes to Jannik Sinner for a second year after his win against Alexander Zverev yesterday.

🇺🇦 A major reshuffle of Ukraine’s government has been announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including a new prime minister. 

🫐 Vape flavours and packaging that are “attractive” to children could be banned under new proposals following a UK-wide consultation. 

🌅 A sunset eclipse will be visible in these areas this August, with experts calling it one of the most unusual eclipse experiences many will ever witness.

👸 Dolly Parton’s life will be celebrated in a new musical coming to Broadway – and Dolly herself is set to celebrate her 81st birthday by opening the show!

🔗 Last week’s most clicked: England and Wales’ most popular baby names, the world’s happiest cities and discovering a new species of shark.

⭐ Donate to The Know. Only 0.9% of our readers donate (we see you and we love you 🥹). So if you have a couple of pounds to spare and want to ensure we keep bringing you thoughtful and informative news every day, we’d be so grateful.

⭐ Get clicking - this tells our partners that readers are interested in The Know. Let’s get started with this one!

⭐ Add us to your contacts or primary inbox - this makes sure we reach your inbox (and everyone else’s) each morning.

The Know is on a mission to help everyone start their day feeling informed and hopeful. We only recommend things we genuinely love but sometimes we make money from the links and content we share. This directly supports keeping our journalism free for all.

Trivia answer: B) The building underwent a major renovation before reopening to the public earlier this month.

How did you find today’s email?
😍 Loved it! | 😕 Could be better…

Need fewer emails? Click here to hear from us once a week.