“The nonprofit behind National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, has announced that it is shuttering. The closure follows a period of turbulence which included disputes over the organization’s stance on AI and its content moderation, as well as what NaNoWriMo described in an announcement as financial challenges.” - Publishers Weekly
Work on the 998-seat George Weston Recital Hall will begin in the summer of 2026; the project will include upgraded seating, refreshed paintwork, and restoration of the hall’s original flooring. - Ludwig Van
“The tragedy came from the women’s testimony — a set decorator who spoke of how Depardieu trapped her between his legs and groped her, an assistant director who detailed multiple occasions when the actor touched her breasts, buttocks, and genitals. The farce is from Depardieu’s performance in court.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“Videos of (the) museum showing empty rooms, piles of rubble and broken artefacts posted on social media after the Sudanese army recaptured the area from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. … The museum held an estimated 100,000 artefacts from thousands of years of the country’s history.” - The Guardian
“On Tuesday morning, managers told staff members that DOGE had recommended reductions in staff of as much as 70 to 80 percent (of approximately 180 people), as well as ... a cancellation of all grants made under the Biden administration that have not been fully paid out.” - The New York Times
“(He) experienced the ups and downs of fame more dramatically than most. His break came in 1984’s spy spoof Top Secret! … (and) his movie career hit its zenith in the 1990s ... as a dashing leading man” in Tombstone, True Romance, Top Gun, The Doors (as rockstar Jim Morrison), and Batman Forever. - AP
Revisiting the long-running series’s biggest misstep: the January 6, 2012, episode, “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory,” and its sequel, “Retraction,” which aired two months later. - Literary Hub
More and more I have the sense of dealing with a technology that’s finished, that’s out of keeping with the times, by which I don’t mean only the short form video proliferation of our era but that, even within writing, books aren’t really in line with the specific requirements of the digital age. - Sam Khan
“What has been lost is a sense of decency. It’s a new system of values or rather of a lack of values. We no longer seem to know what is right or wrong. For example, being a liar used to be considered a vice.” - Classical Voice North America
I’d argue that the reason might have gone beyond a commitment to equity, diversity and social justice. It might have been an investment in the future of art forms championed by the center that have long seen a decline in new audiences and were becoming known for attracting older white crowds. - Los Angeles Times
Audible Theater is teaming up with Together, a new accessible-theater initiative led by megastar Hugh Jackman and superproducer Sonia Friedman, for an eight-week series of programming at Off Broadway's Minetta Lane Theatre this spring. - TimeOut
The most recent crop of words added to the Oxford English Dictionary is notable for terms from Southeast Asia: from the Philippines, gigil (that feeling when something is so adorable you want to squeeze it hard) and videoke (video karaoke), and from Malaysia and Singapore, alamak (something like WTF). - The Guardian
The order directs the Federal Trade Commission to more rigorously enforce existing law governing the use of bots that help scalpers scoop up hot tickets, including by issuing fines. Trump said the FTC, along with the Treasury and Justice departments, will deliver a report within 180 days summarizing what they have done. - The Wall Street Journal
NPR can weather the funding cut, its document predicts, thanks in part to aggrieved listeners: Executives predict a sudden boom in donations if Congress defunds it, as listeners rush to defend their favorite programs. But they will likely give more in big-city markets. - The New York Times
