Congress May Try Blocking Cuts If Debt Panel Fails

At the gymnastics world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, in October, Fred Richard found himself in an unfamiliar position—face down on the mat. Entering the last event in the all-around competition, in which gymnasts compete in six events—vault, floor, high bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, and rings—he did something he doesn’t normally do.

(NEW YORK) — Paul Auster, a prolific, prize-winning man of letters and filmmaker known for such inventive narratives and meta-narratives as “The New York Trilogy” and “4 3 2 1,” has died at age 77. Auster’s death was confirmed Wednesday by his literary representatives, the Carol Mann Agency, which did not immediately provide additional details.

British singer-songwriter FKA twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, testified before the U. S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on Tuesday about the dangers of artificial intelligence. She relayed that she was especially concerned as an artist whose music and performances are used by third parties to train artificial intelligence models.

In Derek Cianfrance’s 2010 love-on-the-rocks heartbreaker Blue Valentine, Ryan Gosling plays a husband and father, Dean, who appears to be nothing but an annoyance to his wife, Michelle Williams’ Cindy, a harried nurse. She hustles to get their young daughter out the door to school, even as Dean, relishing the role of the fun dad, turns breakfast into a game.

From Brittney Griner’s eagerly anticipated memoir to a long-awaited sequel to Colm Tóibín’s beloved novel Brooklyn, the best books coming in May offer a range of choices for every reader. Those looking for a good laugh should check out the latest high-society comedy from Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan or filmmaker Miranda July’s first novel in 10 years, which offers a profoundly humorous take on menopause and mortality.

(WASHINGTON) — The U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration is moving toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug. The Justice Department proposal would recognize the medical uses of cannabis, but wouldn’t legalize it for recreational use. The proposal would move marijuana from the “Schedule I” group to the less tightly regulated “Schedule III.” So what does that mean, and what are the implications? [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] What has actually changed?