A-Town Magazine
What to Stream: Alabama Shakes, ‘The Whisper Man,’ ‘Leanne’ and ‘Star Wars Zero Company’
“The Whisper Man” film adaptation and a new album from the Alabama Shakes are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: a new tactical “Star Wars” game, the Netflix […]
Fall books: Fiction takes the spotlight in bookstores during the midterm season
NEW YORK | Midterm election news will fill the headlines this fall, but, among book buyers, fiction will likely have top billing. Former President Joe Biden’s “Promise Me, America” stands out not just as a White House memoir — presidential memoirs are events unto themselves — but as a rare high-profile political book over the […]
5 books to read this fall, from Marlon James to Joe Biden
NEW YORK | Book lovers this fall can look forward to a wealth of fiction, biographies, memoirs, poetry collections and topical nonfiction. Here are five upcoming works you’ll likely be hearing about. “The Disappearers,” Marlon James Marlon James’ fantasy series “Dark Star” was a showcase for his extraordinary and boundless imagination. In “The Disappearers,” he […]
Prince Harry and 6 others must pay initial $13 million over failed invasion of privacy case
LONDON | Prince Harry and six others, including Elton John, have been ordered to pay an initial 9.5 million pounds ($13 million) to the publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper following their failed invasion of privacy case. In a judgment Friday, Justice Matthew Nicklin said in a written statement that the payment to Associated Newspapers […]
Schools are starting to teach AI literacy. For many, that means helping kids see chatbots’ flaws
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. | Artificial intelligence chatbots have become the bane of teachers everywhere, but to prepare for the new school year, a group of educators in Charleston, South Carolina, packed into a high school auditorium and talked about inviting AI into the classroom. The teachers and principals watched as an instructor prompted an AI […]
Inside one of the world’s few crash courses in conserving and caring for ancient papyrus manuscripts
ANN ARBOR, Mich. | Shijin Jiang pulled the precision binocular headband magnifier over her eyes and hunched down within a few inches of the ancient text resting on a light board. Using a pair of hand tools, Shijin carefully inspected the sheet made from the papyrus plant, proceeding with the utmost care. After all, it […]
Togo detains French filmmakers over alleged immigration violations, advocacy group says
LOMÉ, Togo | Two French documentary filmmakers and their Togolese fixer have been jailed in Togo after more than three weeks in custody in the West African nation, an advocacy group said Thursday, amid strained relations between the government and French media. Reporters Without Borders said that filmmakers Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani and […]
Movie Review: Gen Z gets a moody, existential horror in ‘It Ends’
Every generation deserves its own postgrad malaise movie. Not every attempt is going to be “The Graduate” or “Frances Ha,” but even when they’re mediocre, they’re also often a pure expression from a young filmmaker about what their contemporaries are feeling at that exact moment. Though the details may change — the clothes, the hairstyles, […]
Read our big scoop: Ice-cream cones, the ingenious invention of American immigrants
DETROIT | Read this quickly, before it melts. Ice cream was a rare and expensive treat for centuries because of the difficulty of storing ice. In the summer of 1790, President George Washington spent $200 on ice cream, the equivalent of $7,259 today, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. By the 1800s, inventions like […]
Chinese Valentine’s Day is rooted in legend and tradition, not just romance
BEIJING | Chinese Valentine’s Day is not all about flowers and chocolates. Beyond the romance embraced by some contemporary couples, Qixi is an ancient tradition rooted in legend, prayer and cultural activities that survive to this day. The festival is observed on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar, which fell […]