z-other-galley
Australia’s music industry bans AI-generated tracks from official charts
MELBOURNE, Australia | Australia’s recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists’ livelihoods, a representative said on Tuesday. The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna’s pop hit “Like a Prayer” created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent […]
A women’s shelter for refugees in Poland fights for survival as anti-Ukrainian sentiment rises
KRAKOW, Poland | When Nastya Podorozhnya’s relatives fled the war in Ukraine for neighboring Poland, volunteers welcomed them with open arms. Podorozhnya, 29, was already living in Poland when the war began. But days before Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, she rushed back to Ukraine to help her sister and nieces get out. […]
Economists don’t expect reopening the US to Mexican cattle imports to reduce high beef prices
The U.S. reopened a border crossing in Arizona to cattle from Mexico on Monday as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce record-high beef prices, though economists doubt the move will mean much to grocery store shoppers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said concerns about the New World screwworm’s spread […]
How the No. 2 pencil became a uniquely American school supply staple
For generations of Americans, a sharpened No. 2 pencil has represented childhood and coming of age. Still a fixture of back-to-school shopping lists, it outlines a child’s first letters, erases their mistakes and lets them doodle in the margins when they daydream. For decades, sweaty hands clutched the ridged yellow wood on test day. “Bring […]
How to reset your child’s sleep schedule for back-to-school season
NEW YORK | After a summer of vacations and late nights, it’s time to set those back-to-school alarms. A good night’s sleep helps students stay focused and attentive in class. Experts say it’s worth easing kids back into a routine with the start of a new school year. “We don’t say ‘ get good sleep […]
A tornado tears through a village in southern France, injuring 39 and wrecking 300 homes
PARIS | A tornado ripped through a small village in southern France, damaging about 300 homes, destroying several cars and injuring dozens of people, authorities said Tuesday. The tornado struck Pomas, a village of about 1,000 people, on Monday and rescue teams were continuing their search through ruins on Tuesday, though no people were immediately […]
3-year college degrees grow more popular in the US, saving time and cash. But critics aren’t sold
Giles Sims, 34, was sick of getting passed over for jobs because he didn’t have a college degree. But with a wife and a widowed mother to help support, he needed a quick solution. So the laid-off web developer turned to one of a growing number of three-year degree programs. “I can’t afford to be […]
Shelley Fabares, ‘Johnny Angel’ singer and actor in ‘The Donna Reed Show’ and ‘Coach,’ dies at 82
Shelley Fabares, an actor who was a fixture on television for decades from her days as a young teenager on “The Donna Reed Show,” through “One Day at a Time” and “Coach,” has died. She was 82. She died Saturday in Los Angeles, her family said in a statement to The Associated Press. No cause […]
Venice Film Festival adds Gaza doc ‘NAZA’ to competition lineup
The Venice Film Festival has added a new documentary about the civilian toll of the Israel-Hamas war to its lineup. “NAZA,” from two of the filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” will screen in the main competition, festival organizers said Monday. According to the synopsis, the film was shot at night on Tel […]
What’s in a name? Why naming storms, military operations and medical maladies matters
U.S. hurricane season is gearing up. And from Amanda and Boris onward, tropical cyclones’ names in the Pacific region are unfolding quickly. But why the monikers each year? Or at all? Humans have given names to the world around them for almost as long as language itself has existed, but formal naming practices for storms […]