Elon Musk’s AI firm blames unauthorised change for chatbot’s rant about ‘white genocide’
Stephen Colbert on Trump’s international diplomacy: ‘A highest-bidder approach’
Late-night hosts mocked corruption in Donald Trump’s presidency after his first international visit to Saudi Arabia and acceptance of a $400m luxury plane from Qatar.Trump made the first international trip of his second term on Tuesday, to Saudi Arabia. “A president visiting Saudi Arabia on his first official trip is a bit unusual,” said Stephen Colbert on the Late Show. “Normally, back when we had normal, presidents would make their first international trip to the UK or Canada or any close ally.“But like everything, Trump’s decision seemed to come down to a highest-bidder approach,” Colbert continued
Jon Stewart on Trump’s $400m Qatari jet: ‘He’s like the reverse Oprah’
Late-night hosts expressed outrage over Donald Trump accepting a luxury Boeing jet from Qatar as the new Air Force One.From his Monday perch on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart responded to news that Donald Trump planned to accept a super luxury Boeing jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar, with an estimated value of $400m. The aircraft would be used by Trump as a new Air Force One and then transferred to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation shortly before he leaves office.“What? Qatar is giving us a plane that Trump gets to keep?” said Stewart. “He’s like the reverse Oprah – ‘I get a jet! … and that’s it
School visits to UK museums hit by ‘shortage of means’, philanthropist says
Smaller UK museums are suffering from a “shortage of means” that leaves them lagging behind their European counterparts, according to a philanthropist who is funding museum trips for thousands of British schoolchildren.Frédéric Jousset, a French philanthropist who made waves when he founded a mobile museum onboard a €32m catamaran, said British children were missing out on access to the arts because of a lack of investment.“The public spending to support cultural institutions is just higher [in France],” said Jousset. “There’s a shortage of means, especially at smaller UK museums in areas of higher deprivation, and they just can’t afford to finance the school visits.”A report released last year by the University of Warwick and the Campaign for the Arts pressure group showed that while Britain has cut back its total culture budget by 6% since 2010, France has increased its spending by 25%
Broden Kelly: Yabusele review – Aunty Donna’s straight man gets personal
You don’t have to be male and Caucasian to find Broden Kelly funny, but anecdotal evidence suggests it doesn’t hurt. As I arrive, an emcee booms grandly across the courtyard: “If you are here for Broden Kelly, just follow the trail of white boys.” During some crowd work early in the show, an audience member tells Kelly he’s “an investor”. (“Crypto?” Kelly winces.) And on our way out of the theatre, I am kettled in front of a man explaining to his friend that he listens to “like, ten different podcasts”, and I cram in my AirPods the moment I hear the word “subreddit”
Ancient example of printed text to be displayed in Melbourne: ‘It unites us all’
One of the world’s earliest recorded examples of printed text will go on display in Melbourne this month, to mark the 20th anniversary of a long-running exhibition celebrating the evolution of the book.The historical printed matter – known as the Hyakumantō Darani – dates back more than 1,250 years, when the most powerful woman in Japan, the Empress Shōtoku, ordered the creation of one million paper scrolls bearing Buddhist prayers. Each was to be encased in its own miniature wooden pagoda, although it is unclear if the ambitious decree ever reached its target. Today, about 44,000 of the Hyakumantō Darani are thought to exist, including one acquired by the State Library of Victoria last year.It’s part of the institution’s blockbuster World of the Book exhibition, which has so far attracted five million visitors over two decades
Arts groups for people of color steel themselves after Trump’s NEA cuts: ‘They poked the bear’
Trump’s slashing of millions in National Endowment for the Arts grants has most affected non-profits centering Black, brown and LGBTQ+ communitiesSummertime at the Upijata Scissor-Tail Swallow Arts Company, an artistic program located on Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, is usually bustling. The arts community center, created to help combat high youth suicide rates on the reservation, would normally offer twice-a-week classes to enrolled students. Traditional artists – quilters or beadworkers – would be paid to teach interested participants. It was all a part of Upijata’s mission to emotionally and economically support the vulnerable community, the poorest reservation in the US.But this year Upijata will have to significantly reduce its programming
Anglian Water fined record £1.42m for contaminating water supply
UK Peppa Pig toy firm says trading ‘uncertain’ as US-China shipments on hold
Lords examine new amendment to data bill to require AI firms declare use of copyrighted content
Australian girl, 11, sexually abused by stranger after adding him to get Snapchat points
Tyrrell Hatton faces fine for US PGA outburst as Vegas leads the pack
Brock Purdy reportedly agrees to $265m extension with San Francisco 49ers