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☆ Spotify Premium subscribers can now listen to over 200,000 audiobooks for free
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A little over a year after Spotify first added audiobooks to its platform, the music streamer is making more than 200,000 titles available to its premium subscribers. Users who pay for ad-free access to the service will now be able to listen to 15 hours worth of audiobooks per month. Previously, users had to pay to access audiobooks within the Spotify app. In a release announcing the new perk, Spotify said the 15-hour limit "should get you around two average audiobooks per month." Students, meanwhile, can sign up for Spotify Premium for $5.99 per month.

Persons: Britney Spears, Bonnie Garmus, Stephen King's, Warren Buffett Organizations: Spotify, CNBC, New York Times

CAIRO—On the wall of the border crossing between bombed-out Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai desert there is a list. The names on it have been a source of hope, despair and confusion for the hundreds of foreign families wanting to escape the Palestinian enclave under Israeli fire. When American sisters Jana and Mena Timraz appeared on the list on Thursday, they rejoiced. But their parents, their brothers and Jana’s husband, who aren’t U.S. citizens, were missing from the roster.

Persons: Jana, Mena Timraz Locations: CAIRO, Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to expand aid to Gaza with his Turkish counterpart. Blinken has been on a regional tour of the Middle East as the U.S. faces pressure to secure a pause in fighting amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Pool/AFP/GettyThe U.S. is dialing up pressure on Israel to ease its intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, deploying a wave of top diplomats to the Middle East in recent days, even without the release of hostages taken by Hamas, which Israel has set as the condition for any pause in its military operations. President Biden, in a phone call Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , urged the Israeli leader to declare a humanitarian pause, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Jonathan Ernst, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, John Kirby Organizations: Turkish, Getty, White, National Security Locations: Gaza, U.S, Israel

☆ How to Make the Most of the Morning Light
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Remy Tumin | More About Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The dread sets in around 4 p.m., as the sun inches closer to the horizon and starts to wind down for the day. The end of Daylight Saving Time every fall can feel like something out of a Stephen King novel. We decided to talk to some experts about how to cope with the time change and the dwindling daylight. “Morning light is really good for your health” and is a great mood booster, said Dr. Jennifer Martin, a psychologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Our internal clock is really set by light and it is very sensitive.

Persons: Stephen King, ” Mr, King, Jennifer Martin, ” Organizations: University of California Locations: ”, United States, Los Angeles

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to the Middle East for a series of visits aimed at easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and is expected to raise the issue of a pause in fighting among other measures, U.S. officials said. The U.S.’s chief diplomat will be visiting Israel on Friday for meetings with members of the Israeli government, followed by a stop in Jordan. Before he departed, he said he would discuss with Israeli officials “concrete steps that can and should be taken” to protect civilians in Gaza, as international concern grows over the intense fighting in the enclave and Israeli forces move to encircle Gaza City.

Persons: Antony Blinken Locations: Gaza, U.S, Israel, Jordan, Gaza City

☆ Opinion | Stephen King and America’s ‘Gun Problem’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

To the Editor:Re “18 More Deaths From Our Gun Addiction,” by Stephen King (Opinion guest essay, Oct. 31):Mr. King’s frustration with gun violence and his feeling of helplessness for our country are not unique, but they are born more from exhaustion than reality. “The gun problem” is just that: a problem to be solved. A good coach knows when to substitute for exhausted players, and it’s OK that Mr. King and others need some bench time. The fresh legs off the bench are many, and they are moving with optimism, impatience and persistence to find the right courses of action that will make America’s gun violence problem no longer exist. She is the author of “Stop the Killing: How to End the Mass Shooting Crisis” and “How to Talk About Guns With Anyone.”To the Editor:I agree with Stephen King.

Persons: Stephen King, King, Katherine Schweit, Sandy, “, Pam Leiter Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Sandy Hook Elementary Locations: America, Katherine Schweit Centreville, Va, Haven, Mich

☆ Israeli Ground Operation Pushes Deeper Into Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Saeed Shah | Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Israeli soldiers pushing into the Gaza Strip suffered their first casualties Sunday, while thousands of people trapped in the territory broke into United Nations warehouses for food amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that soldiers had clashed with fighters on the ground as the army expanded a foray into the densely populated northern part of the strip near Gaza City.

Organizations: United Nations, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Gaza, Gaza City

☆ Americans Stuck in Gaza. ‘Are We U.S. Citizens or Not?’
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Last summer, Hazem and Sanaa Shafai traveled to Gaza from their longtime home in Massachusetts so that their three U.S.-born children could live near the rest of the family for a year, practicing Arabic and learning about their Palestinian heritage. Now the family is sheltering in a United Nations school near the Egyptian border as Israel wages an intense campaign of airstrikes it says is aimed at dismantling Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that carried out a series of attacks that Israel says killed 1,400 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7. More than 7,300 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry there.

Persons: Sanaa Shafai, Israel Organizations: United Nations Locations: Gaza, Massachusetts, Israel, Palestinian

☆ Stephen King: The Maine Shootings Show We Are Out of Things to Say - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Stephen King | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is no solution to the gun problem, and little more to write, because Americans are addicted to firearms. When rapid-fire guns are difficult to get, things improve, but I see no such improvement in the future. Americans love guns, and appear willing to pay the price in blood. Stephen King is the author of numerous works of fiction. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Persons: Jared Golden, “, Stephen King Organizations: Congressional, New York, Facebook, Twitter Locations: Lewiston

☆ Foods that improve brain function and mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Andrea Kane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Each episode will focus on one of those states — the distracted brain, the frightened brain, the depressed brain and others — to spotlight what is going on in our heads and how it affects our bodies. But it’s not so easy to know what to eat for brain health, or even how to measure it. Many of us have been told that foods such as blueberries, salmon, nuts and leafy greens are so-called brain foods. Nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo has built a career around figuring out which foods improve brain function and positively influence the way we feel. What can you do to nourish your brain and boost your mood?

Persons: Sanjay Gupta, —, it’s, Uma Naidoo, Naidoo, ” “ We’re, ”, she’s, I’m, “, ” Naidoo, Stephen King, CNN Audio’s Eryn Mathewson Organizations: CNN, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Standard Locations: Massachusetts

☆ Five TV Treats for Halloween
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Mike Hale | More About Mike Hale | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

‘Creepshow’Now in its fourth season on the horror-centric streaming service Shudder (as well as AMC+), this anthology series wears its comic-book sensibility and B-movie aesthetic proudly. And the best of its 22-minute stories (two per episode) also exhibit the cleverness and industriousness that contribute to real pop-culture satisfaction. You’ll see the first twist coming, but the second and the third may take you by surprise. In “George Romero in 3-D,” Romero comes back to life in animated form to battle ghouls of his own creation. King and Romero were, of course, the writer and director of the 1982 film “Creepshow” from which the series was spun off.

Persons: ‘, You’ll, “, Stephen King, “ George Romero, ” Romero, King, Romero, Usher ’ Mike Flanagan’s, Edgar Allan Poe’s, Usher, ” Organizations: AMC, Netflix Locations: Red, homburg

☆ Despite Israel-Hamas War, It’s (Nearly) Business as Usual at Saudi Investment Forum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Eliot Brown | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Deals worth billion dollars are expected to be signed over the next three days at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: fayez nureldine/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesRIYADH, Saudi Arabia—The titans of Wall Street chatted under crystal chandeliers. With the Israel-Hamas war intensifying 900 miles away, the gathering made for an awkward split screen. The world’s business elite had come together for the Future Investment Initiative—nicknamed “Davos in the Desert”—where topics of discussion included artificial intelligence, futuristic planned cities and the growing perils of higher interest rates and rising debt loads.

Persons: fayez Organizations: Future Investment Initiative, Agence France, Getty Images, Saudi Arabia —, titans, Future Investment, “ Locations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Getty Images RIYADH, Israel, “ Davos

The U.S. has collected “high confidence” signals intelligence showing that the explosion at a Gaza hospital compound on Tuesday was caused by the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said, buttressing Israel’s contention that it wasn’t responsible for the blast. The U.S. assessment drew, in part, on communications intercepts and other intelligence gathered by the U.S., defense officials said.

Persons: buttressing Organizations: U.S, Palestinian Locations: Gaza, Jihad, U.S

☆ American Grandmother Stuck in Gaza After Visit to Ailing Father
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Anas Baba | Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones Locations: gaza

Israel, the U.S. government and independent security experts cast doubt Wednesday on Palestinian claims that an Israeli airstrike was responsible for a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital compound, saying the preliminary evidence pointed to a local militant group. Independent analysts poring over publicly available images of Tuesday’s explosion at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza and its aftermath say the blast site doesn’t bear the hallmarks of a strike with a bomb or missile of the types usually used by Israel.

Persons: poring Organizations: Ahli Arab Hospital Locations: Israel, U.S, Gaza, Al, Ahli

☆ U.S. Push for Gaza Border Opening Stumbles as Humanitarian Plight Worsens
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Summer Said | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-push-for-gaza-border-opening-stumbles-as-humanitarian-plight-worsens-b825d122

Persons: Dow Jones Locations: gaza

☆ Return of Ukrainian Children Seized by Russia Raises Hopes for Hundreds More
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones Locations: russia

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-push-for-gaza-border-opening-stumbles-as-humanitarian-plight-worsens-b825d122

Persons: Dow Jones Locations: gaza

She also appeared in several acclaimed roles on television and the stage, including in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” in the 1990s as the villainous Catherine Martell. She moved to New York, where she found the roles she was seeking in theater and live television drama. She married film critic Joseph Morgenstern, welcomed a daughter, Ann Grace, and moved to a farmhouse in Woodstock, New York. “Carrie” became a box-office smash, launching a craze for movies about teenagers in jeopardy, and Spacek and Laurie were both nominated for Academy Awards. Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut contributed from Des Moines, Iowa.

Persons: Piper Laurie, Oscar, Laurie, Marion Rosenberg, ” Laurie, Rosetta Jacobs, Ronald Reagan, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Stephen King’s, Carrie, ”, David Lynch’s, Catherine Martell, “ Louisa, Francis, “ Francis Goes, Curtis, Who, Ali Baba ”, Johnny Dark, Paul Newman’s, Joseph Morgenstern, Ann Grace, “, Sen, George McGovern’s, Brian De Palma, Sissy Spacek, “ Carrie, De Palma, Carrie ”, Spacek, Frasier ”, George Clooney’s, ” ___ Bob Thomas, Hannah Fingerhut Organizations: Associated Press, Universal, International, Ccivil Rights, New York Times Locations: Los Angeles, Hollywood, “, New York, Woodstock , New York, Vietnam, Des Moines , Iowa

☆ Hamas Attack on Israel Defies Efforts to Neutralize Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-attack-on-israel-defies-efforts-to-neutralize-iran-92e447cd

Persons: Dow Jones Locations: israel, iran

☆ U.S. Considers Dropping Sanctions Against Israeli Billionaire in Push for EV Metals
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Summer Said Julie Steinberg | Stephen Kalin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/business/u-s-considers-dropping-sanctions-against-israeli-billionaire-in-push-for-ev-metals-64dc3b19

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Israel Goes on Offensive in Gaza After Shocking Hamas Invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Dov Lieber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-says-it-has-regained-control-of-southern-towns-from-hamas-289fa65a

Persons: Dow Jones, 289fa65a

☆ Israel Launches Barrage of Attacks on Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Dov Lieber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-military-says-it-has-regained-control-of-southern-towns-from-hamas-289fa65a

Persons: Dow Jones, 289fa65a

☆ Israel Struggles to Expel Hamas Intruders and Secure Border
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Stephen Kalin | Dov Lieber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-strikes-hamas-and-hezbollah-sites-hunts-intruders-in-the-south-f8f40203

Persons: Dow Jones Locations: israel

Persons: Dow Jones Organizations: hamas Locations: iran, israel

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