By Izin Akhabau

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Good morning, it’s Friday, Sept. 18, and Merriam-Webster has added over 1,400 new words to the dictionary. Check how many you know here. Now, let’s get to the news.

	A Microsoft exec called AI the “largest theft of labor” in history, court records show.

• The details: That quote headlined an unsealed document in the New York Times’s copyright case against Microsoft and OpenAI. Find out what else executives said here.

• More developments: Anthropic says its chatbot Claude is taking over the work of building its successor. And people used free AI to help them hack a TikTok user’s camera.

• One more thing: This senator blocked a bill that was meant to lower electricity prices linked to data centers.

RFK Jr. said Americans worried about vaccines have a “friend at the White House.”

• Yesterday: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the remarks at a conference of the anti-vaccine group he founded. The U.S. is facing its worst measles outbreak in 35 years.

• More from the GOP: Karol Rove, a father of the modern Texas Republican Party is voting for a Democrat – here’s why. And the White House withdrew its nomination for an ICE director.

• One last thing: Jon Kyl, a former top Senate Republican, has died at 84.

Democrats are starting to feel bullish about a midterm wave.

• Why? The party has seen strong results in post-Labor Day polls in key battleground states. Rising prices could benefit them too – find The Post’s full analysis here.

• “What are they doing?” Democrats have seized on the House GOP’s decision to leave town early. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) spoke to reporters yesterday.

• Plus: This representative has survived four gerrymanders and a car crash. Can her luck hold?

A judge said the Kennedy Center’s board cannot demolish it without warning.

• In a photo: President Donald Trump seems to be reviewing a printout about the center’s potential demolition. Now, a judge has said it must give over 30 days’ notice of changes in construction plans.

• The impact: The Post’s culture critic says this week’s closure reveals the truth of Trump’s motivations, and what the arts community stands to lose. Read his analysis here.

A state college in Maine has drawn scrutiny over its fast online degrees.

• What to know: Enrollment at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where students can earn a bachelor’s degree in less than a year, has skyrocketed.

• Recently: A Post education reporter clicked his way toward a college degree in days, for less than $100. Many colleges’ transfer policies allow credits from unaccredited platforms.

Some drugs can lead to additional prescriptions, putting older adults at risk.

• “A potentially inappropriate prescribing cascade”: Some doctors give patients new drugs for the side effects of other drugs. Find out which side effects may seem like new conditions here.

• Another health story: When Varda Yoran started seeing things that weren’t real, she feared she was going crazy. This common, age-related eye disease can cause hallucinations.

Tom Cruise’s odd GQ interview left our reporter with more questions, so he spoke to the writer.