"The Arch of Constantine, a giant ancient Roman arch next to the Colosseum, was damaged (by a lightning strike) after a violent storm hit Rome, conservation authorities said on Tuesday. … The triumphal arch was built in the 4th century AD to celebrate the victory of Constantine ... over his rival, Maxentius." - Reuters
Las Vegas is the largest city in the US without a major art museum; casino magnate Elaine Wynn and LACMA director Michael Govan intend to change that. The Las Vegas Museum of Art won't start out with a collection; artworks, curation, and exhibitions will come from Los Angeles. - The New York Times
"NPR expects to close its current fiscal year with revenues about 2% over budget due in part to growth in development. … (The network's) projections show an increase of about 3% in revenues from member station fees. Corporate sponsorship income will be roughly flat when fiscal 2024 closes at the end of September." - Current
"Xian Zhang was hired Thursday as music director of the Seattle Symphony, becoming the first woman conductor to head a major West Coast orchestra and filling a post that had been vacant since Thomas Dausgaard quit abruptly in January 2022. Zhang agreed to a five-year contract starting in 2025-26." - AP
The author of the farce Lend Me a Tenor and the book for the Gershwin musical Crazy for You donated in order to fund desperately-needed preservation work on Hall's Croft, the home of Shakespeare's daughter Susannah and a very rare example of intact Jacobean architecture. - Time Out UK
We’ve seen news organizations open communication that gives journalists a better idea of what, exactly, needs to happen for their publication to survive and thrive — and where they fit in. - NiemanLab
Should we pander to the little rotters’ desires (BURRRP!) or should we give them impossibly pious characters Doing Good? The answer, of course, lies somewhere in between. - Literary Review
The rebranding follows months of controversy surrounding Scotiabank’s investment in the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and comes amid an ongoing campaign calling on arts organizations like the Giller Foundation to distance themselves from the financial institution. - Toronto Star
Amid a harsh crackdown by the Maduro regime following an election he claims to have won but apparently lost badly, a news service called Connectas is airing its (genuine) reports using two AI-generated anchors in order to shield the actual journalists' identities from police. - The Hollywood Reporter
"Traditionally, we've thought of eye movements as a simple response to what's happening in front of us. But recent research shows that's not the whole story. Eye movements are as unique as personality traits. Some people focus more on faces, while others are drawn to text or other elements." - Medical Express
The Philharmonic released its 2022 tax return Wednesday, covering its first season back at David Geffen Hall following a $550 million renovation. Ticket revenue rebounded to $29.76 million from $11.18 million in the prior fiscal year. - AP News
"An indictment in Manhattan federal court said (Michael) Smith created thousands of accounts on streaming platforms so that he could stream (tens of thousands of AI-created) songs continuously, generating about 661,000 streams per day … (for) annual royalties of $1.2 million." - AP
Notably, the appeals court’s ruling rejects the Internet Archive’s argument that its lending practices were shielded by the fair use doctrine, which permits for copyright infringement in certain circumstances, calling it “unpersuasive.” - Wired
The world needs fewer novels, certainly fewer novels that have been written in a month. And artificial intelligence is itchy for distractions; we need to give the robots something to do before they start messing with nuclear codes or Social Security numbers. - The Atlantic
As soon as the presale for the band’s upcoming gigs went online on Friday, tickets—which started at around $100 apiece—popped up on resale sites, with fans on X reporting that they were seeing prices in the $800 to $1,200 range. - Wired
