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☆ Summer is back, and so is this nostalgic beauty staple
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Summer is the season of Sun-In, a hair lightening spray that’s been birthing beach blondes (and beach oranges) for decades. As with all effectively marketed beauty products, Sun-In didn’t just promise lighter hair: It promised a perfect summer. “Just spray Sun-In under the sun, and see what happens,” a 1971 ad from Glamour Magazine reads. Other hair lightening sprays have come and gone, like Clairol’s Lemon Go Lightly, but Sun-In occupies a singular place in people’s hair memories. In this new lineup of summer potions, Sun-In is still the nostalgic classic.

☆ The Elusive Quest for Black Progress in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Matthew Thompson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Du Bois went to the Paris World’s Fair to contribute to a showcase called the Exhibit of American Negroes. Du Bois and the exhibition’s organizers wanted to present a more current image of Black strivers. As the founding editor of The Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Du Bois was near the peak of his influence. When he returned to Greenwood in 1926, Du Bois found that the massacre had not dimmed the community’s spirit. But he was beginning to confront the limits of Black progress, starting to ask questions that would lead to his eventual break with the N.A.A.C.P.

☆ Marieke Vervoort: How one Paralympian and triathlete's euthanasia papers extended her life by a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Throughout her storied career, triathlete and Paralympian Marieke Vervoort captured the imagination of her native Belgium and the wider world. … The fact that that had given her so much mental liberation and spiritual liberation, I thought, was a fantastic story,” Rapaport told CNN Sport. “If I didn’t have the papers, I think I would have already committed suicide,” Vervoort told reporters in 2016. And in this case, having control over decision-making about the end of your life,” Rapaport explained. Vervoort died in October 2019.

☆ Opinion | Liberals Are Persuading Themselves of a Debt Ceiling Plan That Won’t Work
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Ezra Klein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

On Friday, 66 progressive Congressional Democrats sent the president their own letter making a similar case. In remarks after a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Biden said he was “considering” the argument that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional. The legality of the debt ceiling or a trillion-dollar platinum coin doesn’t depend on how liberals read the Constitution or the Coinage Act. “For the United States to fail to pay interest or principal on its debt would be financially catastrophic, but it would not affect the validity of the debt,” he wrote. “When borrowers fail to make payments on lawfully incurred debt, this does not question the validity of those debts; their debts are just as valid as before.

☆ Take a look inside RuPaul's fabulous 'whimsical and fun' Beverly Hills mansion that features a ballroom adorned with disco balls
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

RuPaul and his husband Georges LeBar wanted to give their 1980s Beverly Hills home a makeover. The "Drag Race" star opened the doors of the "whimsical and fun" home to Architectural Digest. RuPaul told design magazine Architectural Digest that they'd "always loved Martyn's aesthetic, so we trusted him. The performer told Architectural Digest that the home is "meant to be whimsical and fun. See more images in the June issue of Architectural Digest, or click here.

☆ As generative AI dominates Google's product lineup, employees ask leaders: What's going on with Assistant and Nest?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Generative AI was undoubtedly the star of Google's I/O developer conference. Google also recently reshuffled its Assistant team to focus more on Bard, CNBC previously reported. CEO Sundar Pichai said there was "a reason" the Assistant team was also working on Bard, before handing it to Sissie Hsiao, Google's head of Assistant and Bard. Google's voice concierge wasn't the only product MIA from I/O – Nest, the company's brand of smart home speakers. Google's Nest manager Sameer Bansal said in response that Nest is a "core part" of the device strategy.

☆ Britain inches towards right chipmaking niche
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is taking a small step in the right direction. After much hesitation, Britain announced on Friday it would invest 1 billion pounds in its domestic semiconductor industry, with a focus on chip designs. Britain plays a relatively insignificant role in chip manufacturing, which is dominated by Taiwanese giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (2330.TW). With over 110 semiconductor design firms, Britain can probably claim to be Europe’s leader in the segment. Under Sunak’s plan, Britain will invest 200 million pounds by 2025, with the full 1 billion pounds achieved over the next decade.

☆ It’s Not Your Imagination: First Class Is Getting Bigger
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Julie Weed | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Premium seat prices fell during the pandemic because business travelers weren’t flying, said Mr. Slotnick, giving leisure travelers a chance to experience life at the front of the plane in first, business and premium economy seats. Aircraft are being upgraded with more premium seating to increase revenue per flight, Mr. Lopinto said. United, for example, has increased the capacity of domestic premium seating — which includes Economy Plus and first class — by 25 percent overall compared with the beginning of 2019. In North America, there will be more than 53 premium seats per flight by 2026, about 75 percent more than there were in 2019. On some planes that fly internationally, United expanded the number of business class seats to 46 from 30 by removing some of the economy seats.

☆ Opinion | There’s No Escape From Wildfire Smoke
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( David Wallace-Wells | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This season so far, the total is already more than 1.5 million — which would make it the province’s third-worst annual result, just a few weeks into May, with months more of wildfire season still to burn. In the United States, by contrast, those who live in fear of wildfire are probably breathing a bit easier. Last year was a relatively light one, with fewer than eight million acres burning across the country — close to the two-decade average and well below the damage of several especially scarring recent seasons. But a new lesson from the evolving science of wildfire is about how far its toxic smoke spreads and how widely its noxious impacts are distributed. In fact, according to one not-yet-published study led by Stanford researchers exploring the distribution of wildfire smoke, an estimated 60 percent of the smoke impact of American wildfire is experienced by those living outside the states where the trees are in flames.

☆ RuPaul opens the doors to his maximalist Beverly Hills mansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In a four-poster canopy bed — or velvet claw-foot daybed — in the Beverly Hills mansion he shares with husband Georges LeBar. The property is more than worthy of royalty, with grand airy rooms and neoclassical details dressed up in bold colors and maximalist glamour. RuPaul and LeBar bought the European-style estate in 2019, and enlisted interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard — a longtime friend — and architect Christopher Hatch McLean to work their magic. RuPaul and Georges LeBar transformed their Beverly Hills estate with the help of interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard. Orange is the drag icon's favorite color and appears in velvet, lacquer or painted accents through the home.

☆ Tom Hanks says AI could see him featuring in movies long after his death
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Actor Tom Hanks believes that he could keep appearing in new movies after he dies thanks to the power of artificial intelligence (AI). While Hanks acknowledged that an AI version of himself would not be able to produce the same performances as he does now, he wondered whether audiences would really mind. “Without a doubt people will be able to tell, but the question is, will they care?” he said. Now, that has only grown a billionfold since then and we see it everywhere.”Tom Hanks in 2004's "The Polar Express." Castle Rock/Shangri-La/Kobal/ShutterstockHanks also said that the developments in AI are encouraging movie agents to write contracts to protect actors’ likenesses as intellectual property.

of OpenAI, Sam Altman has become one of the most prominent evangelists for the next generation of artificial intelligence offerings. ChatGPT, his company’s most notable product, has captured the public’s imagination like no tech product has in years, inspiring hopes and fears about its transformative powers. :Lawmakers in both parties have stressed the importance of reining in the rapidly growing technology, which can now generate realistic-sounding text and images and computer code. executives, including Mr. Altman, as the Biden administration said it supported legislative efforts to create new rules and government investment. Mr. Altman has been frank about the potential dangers of A.I.

☆ How to make your own salad dressing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Casey Barber | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Here are my favorite methods and tips for homemade salad dressing from my years of experimentation. Try any of these recipes to get you going:• Creamy Italian dressing with mayonnaise (regular or vegan)• Avocado green goddess dressing• Lime tahini dressing• Miso ginger dressing• Spicy cashew butter dressing, just like Trader Joe’sAs for ranch dressing, I’ll admit: Even though I have a recipe for homemade ranch in my cookbook “Classic Snacks Made From Scratch,” sometimes I can’t resist the craving for the bottled version. However, if you do want to make homemade ranch dressing, it’s not too difficult. Homemade dressing tips and tricksMake your dressing with a blender or food processor to emulsify the oil evenly with the acid. Tetiana Strilchuk/iStockphoto/Getty ImagesTo get a creamier, thicker texture for any homemade dressing, make it in a blender or food processor.

For Love & Money is a biweekly column from Insider answering your relationship and money questions. I keep this a secret because I know everyone will think I'm being unrealistic, but I don't think I need a degree to have financial stability. Am I being unreasonable, or is there a life outside of a college degree? I don't think your plan to take your time choosing a career path is unreasonable. I'm so confident in this assertion that I don't think you should keep your ambivalence about going to college a "big secret."

☆ It’s Been a Week. What Does It Tell Us About 2024?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Jonathan Weisman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In an interview on Saturday, he said it was not meant to be a criticism. But it was “an appeal for a bolder platform that captures the imagination of working-class Americans and inspires them.”There’s no question that political predictions this far from an election are unreliable. Even Iowa voters tend not to tune in to the race until later in the year, noted David Kochel, a longtime Iowa Republican consultant. One Biden campaign adviser suggested that Mr. Trump had supplied a trove of material for attack ads. Mr. DeSantis’s super PAC, Never Back Down, called the 70-minute performance “over an hour of nonsense.”The crucial question for both parties in 2024 is how to retain the voters they have and regain those they have lost.

Long stuck in the shadow of Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party (AKP), opposition leader Kilicdaroglu has flourished on the campaign trail with polls showing he has a slight lead. Kilicdaroglu said a fundamental problem of Turkey's foreign policy during the tenure of Erdogan's AKP was the exclusion of the foreign ministry in the policy making process. 'PEACE-ORIENTED FOREIGN POLICY'"We would pursue a peace-oriented foreign policy that prioritises Turkey's national interest. Before entering politics, Kilicdaroglu worked in the finance ministry and then chaired Turkey's Social Insurance Institution for most of the 1990s. A year after losing a mayoral run in Istanbul, he was elected unopposed as party leader in 2010.

☆ Tom Hanks responds to reviews of his debut novel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Tom Hanks has something to say about some of the critical reviews of his debut novel, “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.”According to the official synopsis, the book is based on “a wildly ambitious story of the making of a colossal, star-studded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film, and the humble comic book that inspired it all.”Some of the initial reviews of the book have been mixed. The Sunday Times called his writing “clunky,” while The New York Times said the book “sags under a deluge of detail.”But Hanks is taking the criticism in stride. In an interview with the BBC, he explained why he took on the project. “Sometimes you just have to have some other reason to spark your imagination,” he said, adding that his novel will “live and die based on its own ability to entertain and enlighten an audience.”Hanks said his job as an actor has taught him to handle criticism well. “[I’ve become] stronger when it comes down to really being torn apart,” he said.

☆ The Making of a New M.L.K. Biography: A Q&A With the Author, Jonathan Eig
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Benjamin P. Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Having written about Muhammad Ali, Al Capone, Jackie Robinson and other touchstones of the American imagination, Jonathan Eig says he recognizes a common trait in the disparate personalities he’s explored. “Most of them, if not all of them, have a serious streak of rebellion running through their lives,” Eig said. “King: A Life,” will be published on May 16 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Eig builds on the ongoing reappraisal of King’s legacy with new archival material and extensive interviews with people who lived, worked and fought at his side. Many of these interviews were conducted with some urgency: The window to speak to people who knew King personally is closing, Eig said.

☆ Wells Fargo Championship : Wyndham Clark soars to first PGA Tour victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Moments later, the American tapped home to clinch the Wells Fargo Championship and his first ever PGA Tour title. “Since I’ve been on the PGA Tour, you fantasize about it all the time, and I’ve done it multiple times this year where I catch myself daydreaming about winning. “To do it at this golf course against this competition is better than I could ever have imagined.”Clark celebrates a first career PGA Tour title. It marked the second-lowest score in relation to par in the event’s history, second only to Rory McIlroy’s 21-under in 2015, according to the PGA Tour. Chris Carlson/APHaving turned pro in 2017, Clark was five years and 133 PGA Tour starts without a win.

In the years that followed, male athletes treated their first sub-four-minute mile as a watershed moment – a rite of passage on the way to becoming a top middle-distance runner. “Back then, getting under that four-minute mile was a big thing, especially for milers,” he added. Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay had become the first people to summit the world’s highest peak the year before, and the first four-minute mile duly became running’s own Everest summit, expanding perceptions of human potential. Wes Santee, seen here competing in a three-mile cross-country race, came close to running a sub-four-minute mile during his career. “It still has some mystique,” Magness says about the status of the four-minute mile today.

☆ Turkey's Kilicdaroglu exits Erodogan's shadow in election race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

I know the cost of living and the hopelessness of young people," Kilicdaroglu told a rally last week. Even if he prevails, Kilicdaroglu faces challenges keeping an opposition alliance including nationalists, Islamists, secularists and liberals united. Many wonder whether Kilicdaroglu can defeat Erdogan, the country's longest-serving leader, whose campaigning charisma has helped deliver more than a dozen election victories. HEALING OLD WOUNDSBefore entering politics, Kilicdaroglu worked in the finance ministry and then chaired Turkey's Social Insurance Institution for most of the 1990s. "I have been boycotting the elections since 2018 but I will vote for Kemal Kilicdaroglu this time.

☆ Turkey's Kilicdaroglu exits Erdogan's shadow in election race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

I know the cost of living and the hopelessness of young people," Kilicdaroglu told a rally last week. Many wonder whether Kilicdaroglu can defeat Erdogan, the country's longest-serving leader, whose campaigning charisma has helped deliver more than a dozen election victories. The opposition has stressed that Erdogan's drive to slash interest rates set off the inflationary crisis that devastated household budgets. HEALING OLD WOUNDSBefore entering politics, Kilicdaroglu worked in the finance ministry and then chaired Turkey's Social Insurance Institution for most of the 1990s. "I have been boycotting the elections since 2018 but I will vote for Kemal Kilicdaroglu this time.

☆ In ‘City on Fire,’ the New York of the Early 2000s Burns Bright
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Austin Considine | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the younger actors there to help recreate the night of Aug. 14, 2003, what they “saw” required a leap of imagination. But thanks to postproduction wizardry, viewers of the new series “City on Fire,” debuting May 12 on Apple TV+, will see what for New Yorkers during the regionwide blackout that night was so extraordinary: a night sky dotted with stars. The 2003 blackout had a distinctly communal energy compared with the blackout of 1977, which features prominently in the Garth Risk Hallberg novel “City on Fire,” on which the Apple series is based. As in the late ’70s, New York City’s future then seemed uncertain and its underground rock scene was vital. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the beginning of Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial rezoning efforts.

☆ Details in the drone incident the Kremlin says aimed to assassinate Putin 'don't quite add up.' Experts have 3 theories on what happened.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Sophia Ankel | Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Russia claimed Wednesday that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin with a drone attack at the Kremlin. James Patton Rogers, a military historian and adviser to NATO on drones and warfare, said that "there's a few things that don't quite add up in this situation." Its ability to fly comparatively low, and slowly, would potentially help it evade some radar, Patton Rogers said. Claiming that Ukraine tried to assassinate Putin would potentially "open up a new norm in the war," Patton Rogers said. Patton Rogers said he hasn't "seen any indication" that such groups have the capacity to use drones in their attacks.

LOS ANGELES, May 3 (Reuters) - Hollywood writers have for decades penned sci-fi scripts featuring machines taking over the world. The Writers Guild of America is seeking to restrict the use of artificial intelligence in writing film and television scripts. A spokesperson for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is negotiating the contract on behalf of the studios, did not comment. The dispute over AI is one of several issues that led Hollywood’s film and TV writers to strike Monday, marking the first work stoppage in 15 years. Screenwriter John August, a member of the WGA negotiating committee, said writers have two concerns regarding AI.

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