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☆ 'The Circle' used an AI player to create a bot witch hunt — and soon, we might all be defending our humanity online too
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Max is the first AI contestant on "The Circle" — he's literally a chatbot. Max is pretty boring, but having an AI in the game turned it into a robot witch hunt. But bringing an AI player into the mix reflects some of the future online trials we're likely to face — and some that are already happening. Netflix"The Circle's" AI player is Max, a chatbot masquerading as a 26-year-old veterinary intern from Wisconsin who describes himself as an "animal whisperer with a knack for making bad pottery, no cap." AdvertisementMaybe the funniest part about Max is that they gave him his own apartment, complete with throw pillows of his human face.

Persons: Max, —, Asimov, Lauren doesn't, He's, Griffin James, who's, Pippa, Steffi, Stephanie, Hill, OpenAI, Alistair Barr, Katie Notopoulos, I'm, Myles Organizations: Service, Netflix, Washington Post Locations: British, Wisconsin

☆ C.J. Sansom, Mystery Novelist Drawn to Tudor England, Dies at 71
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Trip Gabriel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An 800-page novel about the peasant uprisings of 1549!” Marilyn Stasio, the longtime mystery and crime reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, began a column in 2019. It was an assessment of “Tombland,” the seventh work of historical fiction by C.J. Sansom to feature Matthew Shardlake, a hunchbacked lawyer-turned-detective whose exploits solving chilling murders in Tudor England come steeped in suspense and granular historical detail. Readers are made privy to the court intrigues of Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII, eavesdrop on women arguing in a market stall, and inhale the stench of London streets. “Sansom describes 16th-century events in the crisply realistic style of someone watching them transpire right outside his window,” she wrote.

Persons: goody, Marilyn Stasio, C.J . Sansom, Matthew Shardlake, Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII, eavesdrop, “ Sansom, ”, . Sansom Organizations: The New York Locations: Tudor England, London

☆ The No. 1 credit card myth that 'just will not seem to die'—why you shouldn’t fall for it
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Plenty of myths about how to manage your credit card debt have been debunked throughout the years, but one seems to be more resilient than others. "The cockroach of credit scoring myths, the one that just will not seem to die, is that carrying a balance on your credit card helps boost your credit score," Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, tells CNBC Make It. Your credit score is based on the following five factors:Payment history, 35%: How consistently you've made on-time payments toward your credit card bills and other loansHow consistently you've made on-time payments toward your credit card bills and other loans Amounts owed, 30%: How much you currently owe compared with your available credit, also known as your credit utilization ratio. How much you currently owe compared with your available credit, also known as your credit utilization ratio. New Credit, 10%: How recently or how often you've applied for new credit cards or other loansHow recently or how often you've applied for new credit cards or other loans Credit mix, 10%: The various types of debt you're managing, such as credit card debt, student loan debt or a mortgage.

Persons: Matt Schulz, It's, Schulz, you've Organizations: CNBC

☆ The husband and wife team behind 'The Fall Guy' reveal how their own love affair inspired stars Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Their latest film, "The Fall Guy," looks to continue that streak of success. 'The Fall Guy' evolved from film noir to action rom-comRyan Gosling plays stuntman Colt Seavers in "The Fall Guy." Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures"The Fall Guy" movie adaptation had been bouncing around Hollywood for decades, with everyone from Nicolas Cage to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson attached to star. AdvertisementIn "The Fall Guy," Gosling's Colt must clear his name after footage appears to implicate him in the death of another stuntman. AdvertisementThe Taylor Swift song "All Too Well" wasn't originally in the movieRyan Gosling and Emily Blunt in "The Fall Guy."

Persons: —, David Leitch, Kelly McCormick, they've, Shaw, Guy, it's, Lee Majors, Colt Seavers, Ryan Gosling, Jody Moreno, Emily Blunt, Leitch, McCormick, who's, Brad Pitt, McCormack, Gosling, Blunt's, Eric Laciste, Nicolas Cage, Dwayne, Johnson, David, Blunt, Jody, Emily, " Leitch, Ryan, Leitch David Leitch, Kiss, Yungblud, I'm, Tom Cruise's, Taylor, Colt, Harry Nilsson's, Taylor's Organizations: Service, Business, Pictures, Universal, Colt, deepfakes, Hollywood Locations: Hollywood

☆ The Met Gala theme is ‘The Garden of Time:’ Why culture is obsessed with JG Ballard
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

In February, the Met revealed Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time” as the forthcoming red carpet theme. Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesThere is little glitz and glamor in Ballard’s world — or if there is, it doesn’t last for long. David Cronenberg's adaptation of JG Ballard's "Crash" debuted at Cannes Film Festival in 1996. In 2021, American designer Thom Browne’s Spring-Summer catwalk at New York Fashion Week also imagined life behind Count Axel’s garden wall. And now with the Met Gala theme, the beautiful flower that dies as soon as it’s plucked, it connects back to fashion being ephemeral.

Persons: Manus, Andrew Bolton, JG Ballard, Count Axel, Axel, Count, Countess, Thom Browne, Victor Virgile, —, you’ve, Steven Spielberg’s, David Cronenberg’s, ”, it’s, Ballard, David Cronenberg's, Ronald Siemoneit, Thom Browne’s, Browne, Alon Livné, Andrew Groves, Estrella de Mar, ” Groves, McQueen, Jeremy Scott, Marie, Christiane Marek, Jeremy Scott's, Jeremy Scott “, ” Scott, Scott, “, Nigel Coates, Caffè, Coates, Caffè Bongo, brandished Coates, Caffe, Edward Valentine, Charli XCX, Madonna’s, Ian Curtis, Stanley Donwood, Groves Organizations: CNN, York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, West, Technology, Costume Institute, Bolton, New York, Sun, Cannes Film, Estrella de, Paris Fashion, Division, Preachers, Fourth Estate Locations: China, British, France, American, Israeli, London, Estrella, Tokyo, “

☆ Benin: The country’s past, present, and future is on display for the first time at the 60th Venice Biennale
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Daniel Renjifo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Ancestral African art is a linchpin of identity and a source of inspiration to creatives across the continent. For the first time in the 60-year history of the renowned Venice Biennale in Italy – an arts and culture festival lasting eight months, hosted every other year – Benin is presenting a national pavilion. Hazoumé hopes the exhibition will reiterate his message and inspire other African artists to own their past to fuel creativity. Ishola Akpo sets up his piece titled “Iyalode” at the Benin national pavilion in Venice, Italy. Moufouli Bello draws inspiration from children’s books, Gèlèdé philosophy and Yoruba traditions in this piece titled “Egbe Modjisola," on display at the Benin national pavilion in Venice, Italy.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Romuald Hazoumé's, Jacopo La, Jacopo La Forgia, Romuald Hazoumé, Chloé, Ishola Akpo, Moufouli Bello, we’ll, Hazoumé, Florian Kleinefenn, ” Nwagbogu, “, ”, Gèlèdé, Chloé Quenum, Akpo, I’ve, Nwagbogu, ” Hazoumé Organizations: CNN, French, Smithsonian Museum of African, US, Venice Biennale, African Artist Foundation, Biennale Locations: Africa, West, Benin, Nigeria, Kingdom of Benin, Venice, Italy, “, Rouge, curating, France, Madagascar, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon

☆ Harvey Weinstein expected back in NY court in first appearance since his conviction was overturned
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein is set to appear in a New York courtroom Wednesday in his first public appearance since an appeals court overturned his sex crimes conviction. The court’s ruling upended the case against Weinstein, whose downfall stood as a symbol of the success of the #MeToo movement. The appeals court ordered that Weinstein receive a new trial. Yet #MeToo has had mixed success in the courtroom, and this is the second high-profile case to be overturned on appeal. The comedian Bill Cosby was convicted in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman, but a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned the conviction in 2021, saying his due process rights were violated.

Persons: Harvey Weinstein, Weinstein, ”, Emily Tuttle, Weinstein’s, MeToo, Bill Cosby, retry, Miriam “ Mimi ” Haley, ” Haley, “, It’s, I’m Organizations: CNN, New, Manhattan, Attorney’s, Mohawk Correctional Facility, Prison, The New York Times, Yorker Locations: New York, Rome , New York, Bellevue, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Love, Pennsylvania

☆ Harvey Weinstein will be retried in New York after rape conviction overturned
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Harvey Weinstein uses a walker as he arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Court, on January 7, 2020 on the second day of his criminal trial on charges of rape and sexual assault in New York City. Harvey Weinstein will be retried in New York, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said on Wednesday, a week after the state's highest court threw out his 2020 rape conviction. Weinstein, 72, had been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York. The conviction included charges of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape. Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years following his separate rape trial in California.

Persons: Harvey Weinstein, Weinstein, Judge Curtis Farber, Juda Engelmayer, Miriam Haley, Jessica Mann, James Burke, Burke, Curtis Farber, Love Organizations: Manhattan Criminal, Manhattan, Attorney's, Bellevue Hospital, New, Appeals, Miramax Locations: New York City, New York, Rome , New York, Bellevue, Manhattan, California, York

☆ Opinion: ‘Baby Reindeer’ is a hard-to-watch hit. I hope this will be its legacy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jane Carr | Opinion Sara Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —This essay contains some spoilers for “Baby Reindeer.”The Netflix hit “Baby Reindeer” has taken the world by storm with its nuanced, painfully honest portrayal of one man’s experience of stalking and abuse. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “nearly a quarter of men reported some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. “There is a hidden epidemic of sexual violence within the queer community that is rarely visible in the media. A man some viewers mistakenly identified as the older television writer in “Baby Reindeer” has gone to the police after receiving threatening messages on social media. Whatever the legacy of “Baby Reindeer” may be, it stands as one of the boldest and most forthright explorations of male victims of stalking and sexual assault.

Persons: Sara Stewart, Sara Stewart Todd Thompson, Richard Gadd, Gadd, Donny, ” Gadd, GQ, “, ‘, ’ ”, he’d, hadn’t, ”, who’s, ” Jeffrey Ingold, ” Ingold, stalkers, Jessica Gunning, Martha, —, he’s, it’s, Teri, she’s Organizations: CNN, Netflix, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Guardian, Independent, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Pennsylvania

☆ Paul Auster, author of ‘New York Trilogy,’ dead at 77
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Paul Auster, the acclaimed American author of “The New York Trilogy,” has died at age 77. A host of media outlets reported that Auster’s death was confirmed by his friend and fellow author Jacki Lyden. Auster began translating the works of French writers when he moved to France after graduating from Columbia University in 1970. Major recognition came after the publication of “The New York Trilogy” – a series of experimental detective stories – in 1987. An early experience of how life can change in an instant played a major influence on Auster and his writing.

Persons: CNN — Paul Auster, ”, Auster, Jacki Lyden, Auster’s, Siri Hustvedt, Hustvedt, “, Paul, Timothy Fadek, ” Auster, Prince, Asturias, Booker, Paul Auster Organizations: CNN, The, Columbia University, American Academy of Arts and, Ordre des Arts, des, Booker Locations: Newark , New Jersey, France, “ Cancerland, Brooklyn , New York

☆ How ‘The Idea of You’ nailed age-gap dressing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Films such as “What Price Hollywood” and “A Star is Born” first dabbled in the idea of famous and non-famous relations almost 100 years ago. Now, director Michael Showalter breathes new life into the trope with “The Idea of You,” out on Amazon Prime May 2. But more than just a piece of starry-eyed fan-fiction, “The Idea of You” is a Bildungsroman in disguise. It was the first look Hathaway tried on during fittings with Demetrio in New York. As for Hathaway, we find her in Chanel and leave her, happily ever after, in a rust-red Gabriela Hearst suit.

Persons: It’s, ”, Richard Curtis, Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, lister, Michael Showalter, Robinne Lee, Anne Hathaway, Solène Marchand, Nicholas Galitzine, Hayes Campbell, Moon, Demetrio, Alisha Wetherill, Hayes, Solène, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Lee, Styles, “, Jacqueline Demetrio, …, “ She’s, Hathaway, Isabel Marant cardigan, suede Isabel Marant, ’, Etro, Gabriella Hearst, Valentino, Demetrio —, Hathaway —, heartthrob, David Bowie, ” Demetrio, he’s Harry, “ Nick, Matty Healy, Loewe, Isabel Marant, it’s, Nick, Constance Bennett, Lowell Sherman, ” Grant, Roberts, Gabriela Hearst Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Disney Channel, BBC, Amazon, Vogue, SXSW Locations: LA, Isabel, New York, streetwear, Coachella, cardigan, It’s, “

CNN —A Palestinian writer who has been in an Israeli prison for 20 years has won a prestigious prize for Arabic fiction for his novel “A Mask, the Color of the Sky.”Basim Khandaqji won the prize on Sunday for his book, and was awarded $50,000 and funding for an English translation. The novel, published by Lebanon’s Dar Al-Adab, “dissects a complex, bitter reality of family fragmentation, displacement, genocide, and racism,” said Nabil Suleiman, a Syrian writer who chaired the 2024 prize. A Mask, the Colour of the Sky (2023) by Palestinian novelist, Basim Khandaqji, winner of the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Khandaqji began to write “A Mask, the Color of the Sky” in 2021. During his time in prison, Khandaqji has written poetry collections, as well as three earlier novels, according to IPAF.

Persons: Basim Khandaqji, Nur, ”, Abu, Lebanon’s Dar, “, Nabil Suleiman, Suleiman, Yousef Khandaqji, Bahr, ” “, Khandaqji Organizations: CNN Locations: Ramallah, Abu Dhabi, Syrian, Palestinian, Nablus, Khandaqji, Tel, UAE, Abu, Bab

☆ My mom was a single mom, but I had 3 parents. My grandparents helped raise me.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Katherine Serna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I lived with my mom and my grandparents in a three bedroom house. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . I had 3 parentsMy mom was a single mother, but I had three parents: her and my grandparents. Related storiesParenting dynamics were always a gentle dance to navigate, but they all took great care of me. My mom gave up a lot to have meMainly, I thought about what my mom wanted.

Persons: —, She'd, she'd, grandpa, she's Organizations: Service Locations: Houston, New York, Laredo

☆ Paul Auster’s New York Tragedy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Lucy Sante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I first became aware of Paul Auster, who died on April 30, from reading old issues of The Columbia Review when I was a student at the university. He translated French Surrealist poetry and wrote prose fiction, set in a sort of silent-movie cityscape that anticipated his novels and films. We inhabited the same Morningside Heights world of the early 1970s, with its cranks and cults, mimeographed screeds and tracts. Surely Paul, too, patronized Marlin Café and the Moon Palace. Paul was living blocks away, and when I met him he made me feel as if the whole neighborhood welcomed me.

Persons: Paul Auster, Lydia Davis, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Roth, mimeographed, Paul, Marlin Café Organizations: Columbia Locations: New Jersey, Newark, Columbia, Morningside, Manhattan

☆ The Book Review’s Best Books Since 2000
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( The New York Times Books Staff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Looking for your next great read? We’ve got 3,228. Explore the best fiction and nonfiction fiction nonfiction Short stories Historical fiction Poetry Thrillers Science fiction Mysteries Experimental fiction Horror Speculative fiction Satire Fantasy Romance Graphic novels Climate fiction Fiction Anthologies History Biographies Memoirs Science Narrative nonfiction Essays Investigative reporting Music Religion Sociology Politics True crime Sports Travel Art Letters Philosophy Food Media Current Events Climate change Nonfiction Anthologiesfrom 2000 – 2023 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 chosen by our editors.

Persons: We’ve Organizations: Philosophy Food

☆ Opinion | PEN America Has Stood By Authors. They Should Stand By PEN.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Pamela Paul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But too often, recent efforts to reform institutions have meant reconstituting them in ways that distort or fundamentally undermine their core mission. Nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, university departments and cultural institutions have ousted leaders and sent their staffs into turmoil in pursuit of progressive political goals. The latest target is PEN America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to free expression by journalists and authors. This followed a refusal by several writers to have their work considered for PEN’s annual literary awards. According to its 21 signatories, mostly up-and-coming authors, “among writers of conscience, there is no disagreement.

Persons: George Floyd, Salman Rushdie, PEN’s, Suzanne Nossel, Jennifer Finney Boylan, ” Organizations: Nonprofit, PEN America, PEN Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Biden is up against nostalgia for Trump’s first term
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

More than half, 55%, of all Americans say they see Trump’s presidency as a success, while 44% see it as a failure. Four years ago, he was able to assail Trump’s time in office from his position as a challenger. Biden won all three in 2020 after Trump won them in 2016 in his victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. In the poll, 92% of Republicans view Trump’s time in office a success, while just 73% of Democrats say Biden’s has been a success. And while 85% of Democrats polled say they back Biden, 91% of Republicans say they support Trump.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, he’s, William Barr, Trump, CNN he’d, Ron DeSantis, Biden, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, ”, Israel, Mike Johnson, Benjamin Netanyahu, underscoring, Hillary Clinton, South Carolina Republican Sen, Lindsey Graham, CNN’s Dana, Nikki Haley, Biden’s, CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Kit Maher, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Trump . Barr, Trump’s, Chris Sununu, Haley, —, Georgia —, ” Biden, He’s, Colin Jost, “, ” Jost, Washington Hilton Organizations: CNN, GOP, Republican Party, Florida Gov, Trump’s, Democratic, Columbia University, National Guard, Israel, DeSantis, CBS, Biden, Trump, Trump ., South Carolina Republican, South Carolina Gov, New, New Hampshire Gov, “, White, Republican, Washington Locations: New York, Gaza, Manhattan, Rafah, Michigan , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, “ State, New Hampshire, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, American

☆ Here are 5 sectors of the market that are working and the stocks that stand out in each
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell met with the press after the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which was pretty fraught. Data centers If there is the whiff of a data center or anything in one, the stock goes higher. It's why Meta stock is a buy a tad lower as stocks tend to revisit those kinds of declines. I worry about Club stock Stanley Black & Decker for this reason, but the dividend will keep it propped up for now. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: what's, Jerome Powell, Powell, Powell isn't, Voltaire, Vertiv, Eaton, Meta, It's, jetsam, Darius Adamczyk, Vimal, Stanley Black, Decker, Azek, Morgan Stanley, Wells, Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo, Chipotle, that's, Johnson, Jensen Huang, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Scott Mlyn Organizations: Federal, Market, Broadcom, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Travel American Express, Raytheon, GE Aerospace, Royal, AAR, Honeywell, Southwest Airlines, Housing, Stanley, JPMorgan, Procter, Gamble, Colgate, Merck, Bristol, Myers, PepsiCo, Energy, Coterra Energy, Diamondback, drillers, CNBC Locations: California, Royal Caribbean, Delta, Devon

☆ Arne Slot to Liverpool: Compensation deal agreed for Feyenoord boss to be Jurgen Klopp's successor
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Melissa Reddy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Head coach Arne Slot of Feyenoord looks on after the Dutch Eredivisie match between Go Ahead Eagles and Feyenoord at De Adelaarshorst on April 25, 2024 in Deventer, Netherlands. Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation package for Arne Slot to become Jurgen Klopp's successor. The compensation package is £7.7m, plus £1.7m in add-ons. Sporting coach Ruben Amorim had made Liverpool's shortlist, and despite the external noise over him, the club always maintained he was not the leading or preferred option. Suggestions that financial reasons were behind Amorim not being the frontrunner for the Anfield job has been termed fiction.

Persons: Arne Slot, Arne, Jurgen Klopp's, Xabi Alonso, Ruben Amorim, Amorim Organizations: Feyenoord, Dutch, Go Ahead Eagles, De, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting, Anfield Locations: De Adelaarshorst, Deventer , Netherlands, West Ham

☆ As ‘Alien’ turns 45, those screams still echo through space and time
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —“In space, no one can hear you scream.”“Alien” premiered with that memorable advertising line in June 1979. I went to see “Alien” on its opening weekend with my older brother, knowing relatively little about it. Driving to the Avco cinemas in Westwood near UCLA, we immediately noticed the long line for tickets wrapping around the theater and heading down the block. Yaphet Kotto, Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm in "Alien." Yet in the 1970s, with films like “Jaws,” “Star Wars” and “Alien,” they seemed to emerge almost organically, yielding screams, either of delight or horror, that, like those memories, have echoed across space and time.

Persons: CNN —, “, Ridley Scott’s, Ellen Ripley, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, –, thrall, Ripley, Romulus, ”, James Cameron’s Organizations: CNN, Los Angeles Times, Avco, UCLA, Fox, Hollywood Locations: Westwood

☆ A Novelist Who Finds Inspiration in Germany’s Tortured History
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jenny Erpenbeck, now 57, was 22 in 1989, when the Berlin Wall cracked by accident, then collapsed. She was having a “girls’ evening out,” she said, so she had no idea what had happened until the next morning. The country she knew, the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, remains a crucial setting for most of her striking, precise fiction. It is now on the shortlist for the International Booker Prize and considered a favorite to win the award late next month. In 2017, James Wood, The New Yorker’s book critic, called “Go, Went, Gone” underappreciated and predicted that Ms. Erpenbeck would win the Nobel Prize “in a few years.”

Persons: Jenny Erpenbeck, ”, “, International Booker, James Wood, Erpenbeck Organizations: German Democratic, International, International Booker Prize, East Locations: German Democratic Republic, East Germany, Soviet, East German, Germany

People are surprised to learn that Mari Murdock, 36, is a professional game master, a role in which she organizes and narrates tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons is an open-ended tabletop game in which the narrative is shaped by the players' choices, whether that's through combat, puzzles or negotiation. But as Murdock played tabletop games through the 2010s, she grew more confident in the skills it takes to run a good game. The timing was fortuitous, as tabletop gaming became more popular during the pandemic. For Murdock, gaming allows you to immerse yourself in "a pretend situation where you are imagining that you are someone else.

Persons: Mari Murdock, Graham Merwin, Murdock, — it's, Scott, Murdock's, Mari, she'd, Dax Levine, —, Levine, Max, we've, it's Organizations: CNBC, Westminster University, Brigham Young University, Hawaii, BYU, Dragons, Guinness World Records, &, PayPal, Hulu, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Max Insurance, Relief Society Locations: Utah, Salt Lake City, Michigan, Hawaii, Japan, Scott, Provo , Utah

☆ Harvey Weinstein sex crime conviction overturned and new trial ordered
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Eric Levenson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the sex crimes conviction against Harvey Weinstein, the powerful Hollywood producer whose downfall stood as a symbol of the #MeToo movement. Douglas H. Wigdor, an attorney who has represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers, including two of the “prior bad acts” witnesses at his New York criminal trial, criticized the ruling. In addition, three other women testified during the trial as “prior bad acts” witnesses as prosecutors sought to show Weinstein had a pattern of abuse. The use of “prior bad acts” witnesses has increased in recent years with the rise of the #MeToo movement. “Prior bad acts” evidence is one exception to this rule.

Persons: Harvey Weinstein, “, uncharged, Jenny Rivera, ” Weinstein, Weinstein, ” Donna Rotunno, ”, Emily Tuttle, Douglas H, Weinstein’s, MeToo, Bill Cosby, Miriam Haley, Jessica Mann, Haley, Mann Organizations: CNN, The New, Hollywood, Correctional Facility, of Corrections, Attorney’s, Manhattan, The New York Times, Yorker Locations: The New York, Rome , New York, Los Angeles, New York, Manhattan, York, Hollywood, Love, Pennsylvania

☆ How Hitachi Digital Services is helping companies adopt AI models responsibly to meet their operational and financial goals
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Sponsor Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To assess the value of investments in generative AI models, companies must first develop their knowledge of the tools' potential for financial impact. We then help pair each use case with the right AI strategy, including the applicability of generative AI. To further support optimal financial operations for your company, your generative AI models must be trained to encompass operational and information technology priorities and perspectives. Learn more about how Hitachi Digital Services uses AI to empower informed decision-making. This post was created by Hitachi Digital Services with Insider Studios.

Persons: Premkumar Balasubramanian, observability, HARC Organizations: Hitachi Digital Services, Hitachi, Insider Studios

☆ How the Movie ‘Civil War’ Echoes Real Political Anxieties
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From the multiplex to social media, the prospect of America collapsing into armed conflict has moved from being an idea on the tinfoil-hat fringes to an active undercurrent of the country’s political conversation. Voters at campaign events bring up their worries that political division could lead to large-scale political violence. A cottage industry has arisen for speculative fiction, serious assessments and forums about whether the country could be on the verge of a modern-day version of the bloodiest war in American history. And “Civil War,” a dystopian action film about an alternative America plunged into a bloody domestic conflict, has topped box office sales for two consecutive weekends. Of course, the notion of a future civil war remains a mere notion.

Persons: Pollsters Locations: America, Brownsville , Texas, Boston

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