The declaration was made because of a severe outbreak of dengue fever, a potentially lethal mosquito-borne disease which causes high fever, rashes, nausea, and muscle/joint pain. While special measures are being taken, the outbreak isn't currently expected to derail Carnival, which starts Friday. - AP
The failure of the UK talks comes as AI has caused alarm among artists, authors, musicians and media groups who are concerned that their work will be copied and reproduced without payment. - Financial Times
"The term has come into vogue. It’s also become an explicit rallying cry for some of those taking direct action” - especially against the predations of AI. - The Atlantic
"As a supplement to more traditional offerings such as one-on-one counseling, support groups or medication, students can now get a referral to attend a concert, take a ceramics lesson or benefit from any campus art offering." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"San Diego County's arts and culture nonprofit sector generated $1.37 billion in economic activity in 2022. … A parallel study of the city of San Diego's arts nonprofits found that their economic output (was) almost $1.19 billion in 2022." - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
"Amr al-Madani, the chief executive officer of the Royal Commission of AlUla, … is accused of personally benefiting from contracts (worth $55 million) given from King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, a (Saudi) scientific research agency, for the company he co-owns." - ARTnews
The 4,000 or so degree-granting institutions of higher learning in America don’t tend to operate like businesses, which must adapt or die. Instead, a typical college is motivated to remain the same, operating through structures that are rare outside higher education. Thus the ever-swelling prices and worrying attrition rate. - The Atlantic (MSN)
"The Environmental Protection Agency will assign artists to treasured bodies of water in the United States under a new program announced Tuesday at a White House-sponsored conference on exploring ways to use the arts and humanities as another instrument for problem-solving." - AP
"Mass tourism has turned the Italian city of Florence into a 'prostitute,' the director of Galleria dell’Accademia" — home to Michelangelo's David — has said, sparking anger and calls for her to step down. Although Cecilie Hollberg has apologized, Italian politicians have slammed her comments this week as offensive to Florentines." - CNN
The office has suddenly found itself in the spotlight. Lobbyists for Microsoft, Google, and the music and news industries have asked to meet. Thousands of artists, musicians and tech executives have written to the agency, and hundreds have asked to speak at listening sessions hosted by the office. - The New York Times
"'This case is not just about AI,' Josh Schiller, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. 'It’s about the humans that use AI to violate the law, infringe on intellectual property rights, and flout common decency.'" - Washington Post
Ukraine says so, and has footage of Milos Bikovic accepting an award from the Russian president in 2018. But "the day after the invasion began, Bikovic said on Instagram that he wished the war had not happened." - The New York Times
Wow: "U.S. politicians have called for new laws to criminalise the creation of deepfake images, after explicit faked photos of Taylor Swift were viewed millions of times online." - BBC
