“The president has instructed the vice president ‘to eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology’ from the institution’s entities. … But who runs and funds the Smithsonian and can Trump overhaul it like he is the federal government? Here’s what to know.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
“Senior U.S. District Judge William Smith, during a hearing in Providence, Rhode Island, questioned how such a policy could be reconciled with federal law, ‘which prohibits requiring grant recipients from engaging in essentially government propaganda.’" - Reuters
“The Sundance Film Festival will relocate to Boulder, Colorado in 2027, ending its decades-long run in Park City, Utah. The festival reached a 10-year deal with city officials after an extensive search. ... The snowy haven prevailed against two other finalists: Cincinnati and Salt Lake City.” - Variety
“’NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical leftwing echo chambers’ said the Georgia Republican representative during her opening remarks, accusing NPR of having a ‘communist agenda’. The hearing (was) called ‘Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable’.” - The Guardian
The British group Just Stop Oil said, “(Our) initial demand to end new oil and gas is now Government policy, making us one of the most successful civil resistance campaigns in recent history. … So it is the end of soup on Van Goghs, cornstarch on Stonehenge and slow marching in the streets.” - The Standard (London)
“I don’t want to take away from the power of the abstract because that's where we find our own imaginative ways to connect with the choreography. But I love that story ballets are being made by young choreographers. And that' because we connect. We spend our lives telling stories.” - San Francisco Classical Voice
Call me a Luddite, but I do not think it wise to wait until these kindly bots are in place before deciding how effective they are. Better to roll them off the nearest cliff today. “Maybe it’s not too late to change ourselves.” - Hedgehog Review
“In stark contrast to thrillers like Sicario, where a shootout breaks out on the El Paso bridge in broad daylight, boredom is often the worst-case scenario for people who actually live along the border, at least on the U.S. side. And a flurry of new films is now correcting the record.” - Texas Observer
North America has 5,691 fewer screens compared with pre-COVID times, according to research by media consultancy Omdia. Box office grosses haven’t rebounded either. Ticket sales in 2024 fell to $8.7 billion, a 23.5% drop from pre-pandemic levels. It’s a far cry from the nearly $11 billion the industry was generating. - Variety
Distorted? He’s a bit jowly, perhaps, but I — “even I?” — think it’s a decent resemblance. Still, I agree with the president that it’s a bad portrait. Not because it’s distorted, but because it’s bland, wooden, slick and lifeless. - Washington Post (MSN)
“Republicans, don’t miss this opportunity to rid our Country of this giant SCAM, both being arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social. - The Daily Beast
“Deloitte predicts that the industry will shift away from standalone subscription services towards aggregation, similar to traditional pay TV packages. SVOD platforms need aggregators as they reach saturation in major markets and seek creative ways to reach new audiences and reduce churn.” - The Hollywood Reporter
If Russia, China, and the United States all sport various shades of totalitarianism, and Europe fractures over it, the world may very well enter a new Dark Age. One that could last a few years or many centuries. - 3 Quarks Daily
“Based on the fundamental principles of copyright, the current state of fast-evolving technology, and the information received… the Copyright Office concludes that existing legal doctrines are adequate and appropriate to resolve questions of copyrightability." - MusicRadar
