Today’s AJ Highlights

Good Morning: In a delicious irony, the humor publication The Onion has won an auction to buy Alex Jones’ InfoWars website. The site said: “The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring the site’s users with lies until they fork over their cold, hard cash,” said The Onion CEO Ben Collins. “Or Bitcoin. We will also accept Bitcoin.” Sometimes things just work out as they should.

Here are more highlights from today:

1. Paris Opera Ballet Suspends Its Competition For Promotions
   Union representatives at the Paris Opera Ballet have called for abolishing the annual internal promotion competition, marking the first time this prestigious exam has been postponed. This decision highlights ongoing debates about tradition, equity, and modernization within classical arts institutions. – Gramilano
2. How The Ivy League Broke American Culture David Brooks explores the impact of selective Ivy League admissions on American social mobility and cultural values, suggesting that these institutions hold disproportionate sway over the nation’s cultural ideals by controlling access to elite networks and opportunities. – The Atlantic
3. Forty Years Ago, Band Aid Changed Charity Fundraising Forever
   The legacy of Band Aid’s celebrity-fueled charity model. Fundraising became a spectacle and celebrities’ involvement with causes reshaped public expectations of philanthropy, setting a precedent for today’s media-savvy charity sector. – The Conversation
4. British Museum Receives Its Most Valuable Gift Ever: $1.27 Billion Worth Of Chinese Ceramics The British Museum has received its largest donation, a collection of 1,700 pieces of Chinese ceramics valued at over $1 billion. This historic gift from the Sir Percival David Foundation strengthens the museum’s global standing and opens discussions on cultural ownership and legacy. – The Guardian
5. U.S. Cultural Institutions Seriously Rattled By Fallout From Gaza War The ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict has significantly impacted U.S. arts institutions, with debates over free speech, representation, and institutional neutrality becoming increasingly contentious in universities, museums, and festivals nationwide. – The New York Times

Skip down to see all the rest of the stories we collected in the past day. See you tomorrow.

Doug