One lawyer learned the hard way that ChatGPT is not a witness.

New Mexico attorney Stephen Aarons used ChatGPT to help write a brief for a murder appeal — only for it to invent witnesses and testimony that never existed. “It’s little comfort to know that my stupidity is what brings us together this afternoon,” Aarons told five judges.

The court fined him $5,000 and kicked him off the case.

Stocks finished up on Friday, pushing the week into positive territory. 

It’s been a rough few years for Nike, and so far its comeback plans haven’t managed to get sales growing again. Its next act: rethinking Jordan. 

The brand accounted for 13% of Nike’s global business last quarter, but revenue fell by the mid-teens. On a call with analysts on Thursday, CEO Elliott Hill offered a pretty straightforward diagnosis: “Simply put, we've been oversupplying our iconic retro product, asking them to do too much.”

The company will reduce the volume and frequency of specific Jordan retro launches. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is: Nike faced a similar problem with Jordan nearly a decade ago, after ramping up production left too many sneakers sitting on shelves. Its solution then was the same as it is now: make fewer shoes and create a “pull market” where consumers chase rare shoes. 

“When consumers see the Jumpman, it should feel special,” Hill said. “It should feel earned. And every decision we're making is designed to ensure the Jordan Brand remains as coveted a decade from now as it has been for the past several decades”

The revamp comes as the company reported quarterly financials that disappointed investors. On Thursday, Nike reported: 

The company’s biggest sales decline is in China, where revenue plunged 26% year over year. The company’s gloomy guidance “assumes that China actually gets worse from a revenue perspective for the balance of this year,” CFO Dave Denton told analysts.

“Correcting these issues will take time and an inflection back to sales growth is now not likely until calendar 2028, at the earliest,” analysts at Telsey Group wrote in a Friday note.

Over the past few years, Nike has battled with a medley of issues: tariffs on imported goods, a “cautious” consumer, and increasing competition from footwear upstarts like Hoka and On, as well as old competitors like New Balance and Adidas. 

Now, Nike is dusting off an old Jordan trick: restrict supply, rebuild the hype and make shoppers chase the Jumpman again.

— J. Edward Moreno