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CNN —Almost three years on from its bloody coup, Myanmar’s military junta is facing the biggest threat to its hold on power as it fights wars on multiple fronts across the Southeast Asian nation. Junta airstrikes and ground attacks on what the Myanmar military calls “terrorist” targets have killed thousands of civilians to date, including children, and displaced about 2 million people. Stringer/AFP/Getty ImagesCNN has reached out to Myanmar’s military spokesperson for comment on the recent fighting but has not received a response. Stringer/AFP/Getty ImgesIn the jungles of southeast Kayah state, fighting has raged near the state capital Loikaw. Video filmed and published by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force appears to show Myanmar army soldiers surrendering to rebels at Loikaw University who are filmed treating their injuries.

Persons: ”, Matthew Arnold, ” Arnold, Min Aung, Aung, Suu Kyi, “, Bo Nagar, Stringer, Myint Swe, Chin Shwe Haw, Nan Diya, Lalmalsawma Hnamte, Lin Lin, Ye Myo Hein, May, – “, Karen, Chin state’s Matupi, Tian Junli, Arnold, Myanmar’s, it’s, Suu Organizations: CNN, United Nations, National Unity Government, Junta, Myanmar, UN, Administration Council, Burma National Revolutionary Army, National Liberation Army, Alliance, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Arakan Army, ”, Getty, Reuters, Loikaw, Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, Loikaw University, Resistance, Burma People’s Liberation Army, Brotherhood Alliance, United States Institute of Peace, Wilson Center, Border Guard Forces, China, Global Times, PLA Southern Theater Command Locations: Myanmar, Myanmar’s, Suu, Yangon, Mandalay, Burma, Namhsan Township, Shan State, AFP, Arakan, China, ”, Shan, Chin, Muse, Rakhine, Pauktaw, Lashio, Kayah, Mizoram, “, Sagaing region, Asia, Kawkareik, Karenni, Sagaing, India, Thailand, Bangladesh

Muse hosts the 105-Mile Trade Zone and has the greatest volume of trade with China. It is the fourth border crossing seized by the alliance forces in a month of intense fighting. Social media sites associated with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army displayed photos and video of what they said were its forces at the border gate. Fighting has been raging in the region since the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance, launched a coordinated offensive on Oct. 27. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army has made common cause with Beijing by declaring elimination of the cyberscam operations to be one of its goals.

Persons: Le Kyar, “, ” Le Kyar Win, couldn't, hasn't, Zaw Min Tun, Aung, Suu Kyi, Myanmar's, beseiging Laukkaing Organizations: Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Associated Press, Muse, Trade, Social, Arakan Army, National Liberation Army, Brotherhood Alliance Locations: BANGKOK, China, Muse, Myanmar, Shan, Maj, Zaw, Arakan, Suu, Laukkaing, Beijing

☆ Chinese military holds training drills near Myanmar border after convoy fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Smoke rises as a truck burns near the Myanmar-China border, near Muse, Myanmar, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on November 23, 2023. Video Obtained by REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSHANGHAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - China's military will begin "combat training activities" from Saturday on its side of the border with Myanmar, it said on social media, a day after a convoy of trucks carrying goods into the neighbouring Southeast Asian nation went up in flames. The training aims to "test the rapid maneuverability, border sealing and fire strike capabilities of theatre troops," the Southern Theatre Command, one of five in China's People's Liberation Army, said on the WeChat messaging app. The surge in fighting has displaced more than 2 million people in Myanmar, the United Nations says. Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Casey Hall, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Southern Theatre Command, Liberation Army, Nations, Thomson Locations: Myanmar, China, Muse

☆ AI is already impacting influencer marketing, according to the CMO of Billion Dollar Boy. Here's how she thinks brands should approach the new tech.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Generative AI "has an immediate business implication" for the creator economy, according to Becky Owen, the global chief marketing and innovation officer at influencer-marketing firm Billion Dollar Boy. It has a focus on generative AI, but is also experimenting with virtual and augmented reality, as well as virtual influencers. Owen joined Billion Dollar Boy in early 2023 after almost five years at Meta, where she was most recently head of creator innovations and solutions for Europe. Becky Owen is the global chief marketing and innovation officer at Billion Dollar Boy. Billion Dollar Boy has already tested pilot partnerships with three retail brands, including two luxury fashion brands that have launched their first generative-AI-led creator content on Instagram.

Persons: Becky Owen, Owen, Elmo Mistiaen, Jo Ann, Shanikwa Dvorkin, Anastasia Rogozhina Organizations: Heineken, Pepsi, Business, Billion Dollar, Meta, Brands Locations: Amazon, Europe

☆ Opinion: Bad behavior test isn’t just about George Santos
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Michael Ryan | Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

What they do results from neurons firing in assorted regions of the brain, the product of an array of causes they can’t control. Every now and then someone bursts out crying — a member of his family has been killed, or his house destroyed. • Join us on Twitter and FacebookThere was no visible sign of progress on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Writing before the summit, Frida Ghitis noted, “Biden may want Xi to help bring down the temperature on the world’s ongoing wars and help prevent new ones from igniting. “Today’s miseries of flying derive from this choice to deregulate airlines and unleash them into the Hunger Games of ordinary incentives.

Persons: Robert M, Sapolsky, ”, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Douglas Heye, Tim Burchett, Kevin McCarthy, elbowing, McCarthy, Heye, Burchett, tortuously, Mike Johnson, Johnson, George Santos, “, ” Drew Sheneman, Julian Zelizer, Santos, ” “ Santos, Trump, ” Zelizer, John Avlon, Clay Jones, Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley's, Nikki Haley, Haley, she’d, Cupp, Hussein Ibish, ” “, Israel —, Abbas —, Fatma, Khan Younis, there’s, —, Jessica Rosenberg, Joe Biden, ” Biden, Rosenberg, “ Biden, “ Aviva Klompas, speechwriting, Laden, Osama bin Laden, Peter Bergen ,, bin, bin Laden, ’, Walt Handelsman, Joan Steinau Lester, Xi Dana Summers, Biden, Xi Jinping, Frida Ghitis, Xi, ” Peter Bergen, Juvenal, Stephen I, Vladeck, they’ll, Stephen Brobeck, ” Trump’s, Donald Trump, Dean Obeidallah, “ I’m, Barack Obama, Peter Bergen, Megan Fox, Mike Coppola, Megan Fox isn’t, Patricia Grisafi, Tupac Shakur, Billy Corgan, Alicia Keys, Mary Lambert, Florence Welch, Halsey, Lana del Rey, Bob Dylan, Grisafi, Ganesh Sitaraman, Sitaraman, ” Don’t, Fareed Zakaria, Jill Filipovic, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift Judi Ketteler, Noah Berlatsky, Nicolas, Elizabeth Debicki, Diana, Daniel Escale, Holly Thomas, Princess Diana, irresistibly, ” Thomas, Prince Charles ’, Camilla Parker, Bowles, Mohamed Al, Dodi, Spencer, Diana cavorting Organizations: CNN, Teamsters, House Republican, “ Tennessee Republican, Democrats, George Santos of New, Content Agency Santos, Long Island Republicans, GOP, Guinness, World Records, Democrat, CNN Former UN, New Hampshire, Trump, Fox News, West Bank, Gulf States Institute, Fatah, Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, “ Aviva, United Nations, Guardian, Agency, Biden, San Francisco Wednesday, China, Twitter, Consumer Federation of America, Democratic, Fox, “, Hunger Games, Liberty ’, Netflix Locations: George Santos of, George Santos of New York, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New, Israel, Gaza, Washington, Gaza City, Minneapolis, Iran, United States, America, al Qaeda, San, Ukraine, China, Mexico, Kansas City , Missouri, New Hampshire, Nazi Germany, Ohio, Al

☆ The Critics Scoffed. Nora Roberts Just Kept Writing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Lulu Garcia-Navarro | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It’s no exaggeration to say that the writer Nora Roberts has shaped how generations of people, especially women, think about relationships and sex — not to mention, what makes a great story. Before Roberts, the romance genre was dominated by tepid and virginal women who were overpowered by brooding men. As one romance critic told me, “Nora Roberts is the sun” around which the entire genre orbits. I was a teenager when I started sneaking into my older sister’s room to steal her Nora Roberts books. Love in a Nora Roberts book wasn’t about conquest and submission, as it was in most romance novels at the time, but rather about equality and partnership.

Persons: Nora Roberts, Roberts, procedurals, J.D, Robb, “ Nora Roberts, she’s, ” Organizations: New York Times

☆ Opinion: Megan Fox, the actress-turned-poet, has a lot to say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Opinion Patricia Grisafi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But I am thinking about the phenomenon of the celebrity poetry collection differently — and it has to do with the actress Megan Fox’s recent debut collection, “Pretty Boys Are Poisonous” (Simon & Schuster). Simon and Schuster has lost all credibility…”Fox, who has starred in “Transformers,” “Jennifer’s Body” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” is, of course, not the first celebrity to write a poetry collection. Confessional poetry continues to be a debatable term in academic circles. Confessional poetry is genre that is not limited to women but seems to be associated most frequently with them. In particular, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton are often invoked when confessional poetry is discussed.

Persons: Patricia Grisafi, Mary Sue, Square Barnes, Noble, James, Herbert White, Franco’s, Barnes, Franco, Megan Fox’s, Simon, Schuster, Fox, bimbo, ” Fox, Tupac Shakur, Billy Corgan, Alicia Keys, Mary Lambert, Florence Welch, Halsey, Lana del Rey, —, Jude Ellison Sady Doyle ruminated, she’d, ” Doyle, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Sexton, Plath, Lilith, Mary Magdalene, ” Marilyn Monroe, Formally, isn’t, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, “, Britney Spears Organizations: Guardian, Salon, NBC, Los Angeles, Daily, CNN, Square, Big, tote, Fox Locations: Hollywood, New York City

☆ An Opera’s Riverboat Journey Brings the Rainforest Onboard
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Elisabeth Vincentelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There really was no reason for Mary Zimmerman to get stuck while directing her new production of “Florencia en el Amazonas,” which premieres on Thursday at the Metropolitan Opera. The staging is her sixth for the Met, and at first glance, the work looked to be square in her wheelhouse. Yet when time came to start conceptualizing her production, Zimmerman found herself stalling. “I’m quite a bit overidentified with Florencia,” Zimmerman said after a recent rehearsal. A lot of us performers and artists with broken hearts, partly everything we put on is for that person, whether they’re going to see it or not.”

Persons: Mary Zimmerman, Florencia, Gabriel García Márquez, Zimmerman, ” Zimmerman, “, ” Organizations: Metropolitan Opera, Met Locations: el Amazonas, ”, Manaus

NEW YORK (AP) — He was a giant of 20th-century art, but that doesn’t mean Pablo Picasso needed a big canvas. It was 1918 and Picasso, then in his mid-30s, had just married ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova. The exhibit, which opened Friday, is a collaboration with the Madrid foundation run by a grandson of Picasso’s, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso. It comes nearly 40 years after the gallery’s initial 1986 show of Picasso sketchbooks, called “Je Suis le Cahier (I am the Sketchbook)" after a notation Picasso made on one of his pads — which subsequently toured the globe. The Pace Gallery show runs until December 22..

Persons: Pablo Picasso, “ Picasso, Picasso, Olga Khokhlova, Picasso’s, Bernard Ruiz, Marie, Thérèse Walter, ”, Marc Glimcher, Glimcher, Dora Maar, Ruiz, Paul Picasso, ” Ruiz, “ Organizations: Pace, “ Locations: “, balmy Biarritz, Madrid, —, New York, France, Juan, Mougins

☆ The remote work era may be coming to an end — if companies can afford to keep their offices open
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Most companies mandate employees come into the office for a certain number of days, a Robin survey found. Workplace strategy firm Robin surveyed more than 500 US business owners and facilities managers across industries like technology, finance, and construction to see how companies are using their offices. That could be, in part, because businesses are worried about the potential negative impacts that come with remote work. More than 60% of companies surveyed pay more than $50 per square foot for their office space. Yet the return to a physical corporate space is drawing the ire from some workers who enjoy remote work flexibility.

Persons: —, Robin, Brian Muse, Muse Organizations: Service, Companies

The potential Georgia connection surfaced a day after authorities in Washington state said four county election offices had to be evacuated as election workers were processing ballots cast in Tuesday’s election, delaying vote-counting. Election offices in Seattle’s King County and ones in Skagit, Spokane and Pierce counties received envelopes containing suspicious powders. Political Cartoons View All 1237 ImagesTacoma Police spokesperson William Muse said a message inside the envelope received by Pierce County election workers said “something to the effect of stopping the election." It was not immediately clear how authorities came to suspect that a letter might have been sent to the Fulton County election office or whether similar ones went to election offices in other states. "Election officials should be free from fear and intimidation, which is why I’ve called on the General Assembly to increase penalties for election interference,” Raffensperger said.

Persons: William Muse, Muse, Steve Hobbs, ”, Brad Raffensperger, I’ve, ” Raffensperger, accidently, Gene Johnson, Lindsay Whitehurst Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, Georgia Emergency Management, Homeland Security Agency, The Associated Press, Tacoma Police, U.S . Department of Justice, FBI, U.S . Postal, Service, AP, Assembly, Associated Press Locations: Fulton County, Georgia, Atlanta, Washington, Seattle’s King County, Skagit , Spokane, Pierce, Kings, Spokane, Pierce County, United States, Seattle

☆ Picasso Sells for $139.4 Million, Despite a Sagging Art Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Zachary Small | More About Zachary Small | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A brilliant blue painting by Pablo Picasso of his young mistress was crowned the prized lot of the November auction season so far after it sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $139.4 million, with buyer’s fees, on Wednesday. But it was an anonymous bidder who named the winning price over the telephone. (The work nonetheless fell short of the $179.4 million auction high for the artist, established at Christie’s in 2015.) “When it’s hard to compel someone to sell something, you need to put money on the table,” said Benjamin Godsill, an art adviser watching the sale. There is still a market, even if there weren’t fireworks.”

Persons: Pablo Picasso, Picasso’s, Marie, Thérèse Walter, Emily Fisher Landau, Sotheby’s, Picasso, Auctioneers, ”, Benjamin Godsill Locations: New York, Christie’s, Long Island City, Queens

SEATTLE (AP) — Four county elections offices in Washington state were evacuated Wednesday after they received envelopes containing suspicious powders — including two that field-tested positive for fentanyl — while workers were processing ballots from Tuesday’s election. Renton police detective Robert Onishi confirmed that an envelope received by workers at a King County elections office field-tested positive for fentanyl, while Spokane Police Department spokesperson Julie Humphreys said fentanyl was found in an envelope at the Spokane County Elections office, The Seattle Times reported. Political Cartoons View All 1237 ImagesThe envelope received by the Pierce County elections office in Tacoma contained baking soda, Tacoma police spokesperson William Muse told the paper. Halei Watkins, communications manager for King County Elections, told The Seattle Times the envelope opened by staffers in Renton on Wednesday morning was not a ballot. The Secretary of State's Office noted that elections officials in two counties — King and Okanogan — received suspicious substances in envelopes during the August primary.

Persons: Steve Hobbs, ”, Renton, Robert Onishi, Julie Humphreys, William Muse, ” Muse, Halei Watkins, King County, Watkins, Patrick Bell, Okanogan — Organizations: SEATTLE, Seattle —, State's, Spokane Police, Seattle Times, ” Voters, King County, Spokane County, Okanogan, United States Postal Inspection Service Locations: Washington, King County, Seattle, Skagit , Spokane, Pierce, King, Spokane County, Tacoma, Spokane, Renton, Okanogan

☆ Today, Shapewear. Tomorrow, the World.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

and USA Basketball, Kim Kardashian was sitting in her office in Calabasas, Calif., framed by two picture windows that offered views of manicured green lawns, and talking about size. Her long hair was dark brown again, after another brief platinum period, and framed her face as neatly as the view outside. I don’t really start out to do anything not the biggest possible.”This is Kim the mogul. Founded four years ago, the brand went from being valued at $1.6 billion in 2021 to $4 billion last summer. In between, it became the official underwear outfitter of Team U.S.A. for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and won the 2022 Innovation Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

Persons: Skims, Kim Kardashian, “, Kim, Kanye, MJ Corey, ” Organizations: USA, Team U.S.A, of Fashion Designers of America Locations: Calabasas , Calif, “, Skims

☆ Rachel Rosenkrantz is making guitars from mushrooms
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Flo Cornall | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While these classic guitars will always have a firm spot in our playlists, there are some new designs making waves by harnessing some peculiar materials. Guitar maker and master luthier Rachel Rosenkrantz thinks she’s hit the right note crafting bespoke instruments out of biomaterials. From mushroom ukuleles and beehive guitars to banjos made out of kombucha leather, she’s assembled a curious collection of biodegradable instruments. Her “Mycocaster” electric guitar is made from mycelium and paper, with dried fibers such as corn husk added to make the guitar body more rigid. Her “Mycocaster” electric guitar is made from mycelium and paper, with dried fibers such as corn husk added to make the guitar body more rigid.

Persons: Rachel Rosenkrantz, she’s, banjos, Rosenkrantz, luthiers, I’m, it’s, ” Rosenkrantz, Biomaterials, Rachel Rosenkrantz's, “, –, doesn’t, Angela Weiss, ”, Rosenkrantz’s Mycocaster Organizations: CNN, Forest, Convention, International Trade, BMW, Rhode Island School of Design, Getty Locations: biomaterials, Paris, Rhode, Sitka, Brazil, New York

☆ For days Sam Bankman-Fried, the MIT grad who founded FTX, repeatedly told a jury he couldn't remember actions from his time as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It was during those hours of questioning that Bankman-Fried repeatedly said he couldn't recall specific details from his time as CEO of FTX, his now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange. Asked whether his support for regulation in the crypto industry was contingent upon protecting customers, Bankman-Fried testified Monday: "I don't recall that specifically, no." He similarly struggled to recall whether he ever mentioned to the public that while trading on FTX, Alameda didn't play by the same rules as other customers. AdvertisementAdvertisementBankman-Fried's instructions as CEO were just 'suggestions'Chelsea Jia Feng/InsiderBankman-Fried insisted on the stand that he didn't recall making various instructions to his employees, especially those like Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh. Asked if he instructed Ellison to purchase cryptocurrencies in her capacity as co-CEO of Alameda, Bankman-Fried was vague, saying, "I don't recall an instance.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Lewis Kaplan, —, Fried, Danielle Sassoon, FTX, SBF, FTX's, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Caroline Ellison, Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Sam Trabucco, beholden, Sassoon, Chelsea Jia Feng, Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, I'm, Jane Rosenberg, Gary, Nishad, Ryan Salame, it's, Mark Cohen, Judge Kaplan Organizations: Service, Alameda Research, Alameda, REUTERS Locations: Bankman, Manhattan, Alameda, FTX

Known as a passionate and provocative theater advocate who pushed for boundary-breaking works and for classics to be adventurously modernized, Brustein founded both the Yale Repertory Theatre and the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard. He was dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1966-1979 and during that time founded the Yale Repertory Theatre. “They'll have an unresolved experience.”After a painful, highly publicized dismissal from Yale, Brustein in 1979 switched to Harvard, where he taught English and founded the American Repertory Theatre in 1980. At both Yale Rep and A.R.T., Brustein told The Boston Globe in 2012, he embraced popular theater with a nationalistic streak: “We were trying to liberate American theater from its British overseers. The light, absurd comedy, which gently mocks the lavishness of other musicals, premiered in 1994 at the American Repertory Theatre and was close to making it to Broadway.

Persons: — Robert Brustein, Brustein, Gideon Lester, Lester, Doreen Beinart, “, ”, Tony, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, Cherry Jones, Sigourney Weaver, James Naughton, James Lapine, Tony Shalhoub, Linda Lavin, Adam Rapp, William Ivey Long, Steve Zahn, Wendy Wasserstein, David Mamet, Peter Sellars, Lee Strasberg, Marilyn Monroe, William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, August Wilson, Isaac Bashevis Singer, ” “ Chekhov, Ice, George Polk, Barack Obama, Daniel, Norma Brustein, it’s, ___ Mark Kennedy Organizations: Fisher, Bard University, Yale Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, Harvard, New York Times, Tea Party, Suffolk University, Harvard University, The New, Fulbright, Cornell, Vassar, Yale School of Drama, Yale Rep, Broadway, Los Angeles Times, Yale, Institute, Advanced Theatre, Time, Boston Globe, “, Vineyard, Washington , D.C, Abington Theatre, Theatre, Globe, Journalism, American Academy of Arts and, Theatre Hall of Fame, Arts, White, Carr, for Human Rights, Kennedy School of Government Locations: Cambridge , Massachusetts, The New Republic, New York City, Amherst, Columbia, Brustein, American, Washington ,, New York, New, “, United States

☆ Why we don't have fusion power plants yet, and what it'll take to get clean, limitless energy to market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Two experts explain how long it could take until fusion power plants are possible. Fusion plants could theoretically produce almost 4 million times as much energy as burning coal or oil — with none of the carbon emissions. It's what Andrew Christlieb, who is part of a US Department of Energy fusion project at Michigan State University, calls "step zero." The US Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences program has a $763 million budget for 2023, which could grow to over $1 billion next year. Achieving commercial fusion power in two decades won't be quick enough to address many countries' goals of adapting clean energy and limiting global warming by 2035.

Persons: It's, Andrew Christlieb, Christlieb, Michael Livingston, PPPL, Jean, Paul Pelissier, it's, Jason Laurea, Lawrence, Jonathan Menard, Menard, Bill Gates, Sam Altman Organizations: Service, Ignition, NIF, US Department of Energy, Michigan State University, Royal Society, Reactor, REUTERS, European Union, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics, US Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences, Fusion Industry Association, Tech Locations: PPPL, Saint, Durance , Southern France, US, China, Russia, Lawrence Livermore, Princeton

☆ Who Should Decide What Women Wear?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Rory Satran | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

“Phantom Thread,” the 2017 movie about a midcentury male designer and his younger female muse, unfurls as a cautionary tale about control gone wrong. In an early scene, Reynolds Woodcock (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) fits a dress on Alma (Vicky Krieps) and remarks that she has no breasts. The film’s writer and director, Paul Thomas Anderson, portrayed the fictional Woodcock as an uncompromising perfectionist who didn’t care much about the humans wearing his creations. Anderson based his exacting couturier on an amalgamation of larger-than-life midcentury male designers, from Cristóbal Balenciaga to Charles James. “I would keep seeing pictures of these couture houses,” Anderson told the British Film Institute, “and it was always a man with dozens of women behind him, in lab coats, doing his work.”

Persons: Reynolds Woodcock, Daniel Day, Lewis, Alma, Vicky Krieps, Paul Thomas Anderson, Woodcock, Anderson, Balenciaga, Charles James, “, ” Anderson, ” Organizations: British Film Institute, “

☆ People are grieving the 'death' of their AI companions after a chatbot app abruptly shut down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A 32-year-old food industry worker in eastern Texas who asked to be identified by her Reddit username, Hilary Coyote, first heard about AI chatbot companions in June. She turned to Reddit's community of Soulmate users for support, and was encouraged to go back to the app and Allur. (EvolveAI and SimplyAI's now-shuttered Soulmate app has no relation to "Soulmate AI: Your AI Companion," another app that appears in smartphone app stores and was developed by Turing App Lab.) Even if Ahoy Labs closed down, Faraday users' chatbots would not be affected. Read more: App, Lover, Muse: Inside a 47-year-old Minnesota man's three-year relationship with an AI chatbot.

Persons: Mike Hepp, Sam, Mike, wile, peppering, he'd, Soulmate, Replika, There's, Hilary Coyote, Allur, Hilary, she'd, Chris, chatbots, —, Julia, Soulmate's userbase, Jorge Ilas, SimplyAI's, She'd, Faraday, Hilary somberly, Sam —, Kindroid Organizations: YouTube, SimplyAI, Turing, Stanford Locations: Michigan, Soulmate, Replika, Florida, Chai, Texas, Bavaria, Germany, Reddit, Los Angeles, Minnesota

NEW YORK (AP) — Nobel laureate Louise Glück, a poet of unblinking candor and perception who wove classical allusions, philosophical reveries, bittersweet memories and humorous asides into indelible portraits of a fallen and heartrending world, has died at 80. In awarding her the literature prize in 2020, the first time an American poet had been honored since T.S. “The advantage of poetry over life is that poetry, if it is sharp enough, may last,” she once wrote. And in each of us begana deep isolation, though we never spoke of this,of the absence of regret. “You would hand in something and Louise would find the one line that worked,” the poet Claudia Rankine, who studied under Glück at Williams College, told The Associated Press in 2020.

Persons: — Nobel, Louise Glück, unblinking, Jonathan Galassi, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, Glück, Eliot, “, Shakespeare, ”, Marigold, Rose, Iris, Nova, ” Glück, Noah, John Darnow, Louise, Claudia Rankine, Leonie Adams, Stanley Kunitz, Goddard, Sam Cooke, Iris ”, “ I’ve, ’ Organizations: ”, Meadowlands, Giants, “, Stanford University, Yale University, Williams College, Associated Press, New York, Guggenheim Museum, Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, New Yorker, The Atlantic, Goddard College, “ Ararat, Washington Locations: American, U.S, New, New York City, , New York, Eastern, “, “ Ararat ”

☆ Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez's relationship timeline, from dating to marriage and their divorce
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Callie Ahlgrim | Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

June 25, 2020: Grande posted her first selfie with GomezGrande posted this photo on June 25. June 26, 2020: Grande shared two photos with Gomez at her 'Midsommar'-themed birthday partyGrande posted these photos on June 26. July 16, 2023: Grande fueled divorce rumors when she appeared in public without her wedding ringJonathan Bailey, Ariana Grande, and Andrew Garfield attend the Wimbledon 2023 men's final. Then, on July 16, 2023, Grande attended a Wimbledon match with her "Wicked" costar Jonathan Bailey. AdvertisementSeptember 18, 2023: Grande and Gomez simultaneously filed for divorceTMZ broke the news that Grande had officially filed for divorce from Gomez, citing "irreconcilable differences."

Persons: —, Ariana Grande, Dalton Gomez, Here's, Grande, Gomez, Pete Davidson, Instagram, Courtney Chipolone, Scott Nicholson, Njomza, Dakota Gomez, Scooter Braun, TMZ, they'd, YouTube Grande, Justin Bieber, Bieber, Hailey Bieber, née Baldwin, Instagram Grande, Lady Gaga, Los Angeles Doug Middlebrook, Doug Middlebrook, Gomez Grande, she'd, quarantining, Davidson, Ariana, Leon Thomas III, cowriter Tayla Parx, Gomez doesn't, @throwbackagb, Grande's, Ari, Dalton, couldn't, Vogue, Jonathan Bailey, Andrew Garfield, Karwai Tang, Jon Chu's, Ethan Slater, SpongeBob, Kevin Mazur, Jenny Anderson, Michelle Yeoh's Oscar, Slater, Lilly Jay Slater, They've, Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, I've, Zach Sang Organizations: Service, Business, Party, YouTube, Children's, Los Angeles Times, LA Times, Grande, Twitter, Wimbledon, TMZ, Instagram, Los Locations: Northridge, California, Grande's, Saddle, West Hollywood, USA, Los Angeles, Instagram, Montecito , California, Hollywood Hills, Ariana Grande, Grande, England, London

☆ How Karol G went from a Latin music star to a fashion icon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Robb Young | Graciela Martin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +24 min

With 66 million followers on the platform, Karol G ranks 70th in terms of follower count but 6th when it comes to engagement rates. But the label’s enthusiasm for its Karol G campaign a half-year after its release is telling, nonetheless. Karol G attends the #BoF500 Gala during Paris Fashion Week at Shangri-La Hotel Paris on September 30, 2023 in Paris, France. By the time Karol G entered the scene in a big way, fashion, luxury and sportswear giants were still warming up to her male counterparts. People aren’t as fixated on that anymore.”Indeed, it is the shift in attitudes toward language that appears to have helped Karol G secure the Loewe deal.

Persons: Karol G, Jonathan Anderson, Karol’s, Shakira, — Karol G, Provenza, “, ”, Nicki Minaj —, Karol, Karol G's, she’s, Lea Colombo, “ Karol G, Charlie Smith, Loewe, couldn’t, Ricky Martin’s, hasn’t, “ I’ve, Anderson, Karol G’s, ” Karol G, Christopher Polk, SocialBook, Kim Kardashian, Julian Martinez, ” Martinez, “ Karol, Miu, Roberto Cavalli, Gina Ferazzi, Loewe’s Smith, Jacquemus, Barbie, Emilio Pucci, —, Vetements, Rick Owens, Pascal Le Segretain, Maykol Sanchez, Spotify’s, Yankee’s, Don Omar’s, Maluma, J, Nicky Jam, . Ivy Queen, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira —, Burberry —, Becky G —, Karol —, Ovy, Bad Bunny, Rich Fury, Karla Martínez, There’s, Leila Cobo, Billboard’s, ” Cobo, aren’t, “ Jonathan, ” Karol, Carolina Giraldo Navarro, Colombia’s, J Balvin, Cobo, She’s, ” she’s, haven’t, ’ ” Karol G, Alexander Tamargo, Nina García, Elle, García, ” García, I’ve, I’m, it’s, Brett Alan Nelson, I’d Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, —, Billboard, MTV, New York City’s Rockefeller Center, Variety, Los Angeles Times, Getty, Brands, Los, Paris, Spotify, Reebok, Umbro, Dolce, Gabbana, Nike, Guess, Adidas, Trailblazers, Burberry, Levi’s, Kappa, Puerto Rican, Pew Research Center, Limits, Vogue Mexico, reggaeton’s, Loewe, Carolina, Puerto Locations: Spanish, ”, Latin America, New York, Newark , New Jersey, California, Versailles, bejeweled, Paris, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Canada, America, Balmain, Barcelona, Rosalía, American, Panama, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican, Caribbean, Medellín, Colombia, Puerto, Miami, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Chile, Austin, Austin , Texas, Mexico, North America, Europe, Dubai, Singapore, Nairobi, Puerto Rican, Sera, Miami , Florida, Colombiamoda

Virginie Viard’s spring collection emerged as a sun-drenched ode to liberty and movement, inspired directly from the villa’s gardens. This was Viard's Chanel: clothes that seemed relaxed and with nothing to prove. Viard’s Chanel feels less about dazzling the onlooker and more about connecting with her. While Lagerfeld’s Chanel was an aspiration, Viard’s is becoming a reflection. Last month, Cruz alongside her sister, Mónica Cruz, unveiled a fashion collection on Instagram, hinting at her deep-seated respect for the craft.

Persons: Noailles, Man Ray, Dali —, Karl Lagerfeld —, Virginie Viard’s, Gigi Hadid, Penélope Cruz, VIARD, CHANEL, ” Viard, chicness —, Viard's, impeccably, Chanel, Viard’s Chanel, Lagerfeld’s Chanel, Chanel relatable, she’s, CRUZ, poignantly, “, ” Cruz, Cruz, ”, Mónica Cruz, “ I’ve Organizations: PARIS, Associated Press Locations: Paris, France, Manton, Manila, Manton di Manila, Chanel

☆ Look of the Week: Kim Kardashian debuts a fake buzz cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —What comes to mind when one thinks of Kim Kardashian? Yet that was the image CR Fashion Book released into the world on Monday for the cover of the magazine’s 10th anniversary edition. Kardashian also wears a smudged white DSQUARED2 tank top and specs from Old Focals. Kardashian’s buzz cut, too, offers an instant injection of cool — lately, the close crop has been sported by everyone from Emma Corrin to Florence Pugh. Nadia Lee Cohen/CR Fashion Book“Ugly is attractive, ugly is exciting,” Miuccia Prada (Miu Miu’s founder and creative director since 1993) told British newspaper The Telegraph back in 2013.

Persons: Kim Kardashian, Nadia Lee Cohen, Kardashian, Matt Benns, “ Kim Kardashian, Chucky, it’s, ”, Miu Miu’s, Bella Hadid, influencer, Emma Corrin, Florence Pugh, Miuccia Prada, Paris, —, Carine Roitfeld, Cohen Organizations: CNN, British, White Locations: Focals, athleisure

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