Twitter Bans Accounts Mocking ‘Free Speech Absolutist’ Elon Musk

Days after Elon Musk declared that “comedy is now legal on Twitter,” the platform banned several comedians for parody tweets in which they impersonated its new owner.

Among the suspended accounts were comic Kathy Griffin and internet personality Ethan Klein, who both had verified “blue check” accounts.

“Yes, I could have ended world hunger instead of bu…

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The Cure for Inflation Means More Pain for Renters

At the beginning of the pandemic, Arin Lopez, 47, and Derek Swenson, 35, started thinking about buying a home to get their family out of the two-bedroom apartment they’ve long rented in central Phoenix. But every home they liked had multiple offers over asking price within a day or two of going on the market. So they kept renting, even though their two sons, both under 10 years old, had t…

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United Arab Emirates Moves Weekend to Saturday-Sunday for Public Employees

The United Arab Emirates will move its weekend to Saturday and Sunday for state employees, breaking ranks with the rest of the Gulf as it accelerates a push to draw in international investment and business.

The UAE—which has been the Middle East’s commercial capital for more than a decade and has been facing growing regional competition from Saudi Arabia—is seeking to re…

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Why Copycat AI Tools Will Be the Internet’s Next Big Problem

If you’ve spent any time on Twitter lately, you may have seen a viral black-and-white image depicting Jar Jar Binks at the Nuremberg Trials, or a courtroom sketch of Snoop Dogg being sued by Snoopy.

These surreal creations are the products of Dall-E Mini, a popular web app that creates images on demand. Type in a prompt, and it will rapidly produce a handful of cartoon images depict…

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How China’s Digital Currency Could Challenge the Dollar

Every morning, Mei Yi waves goodbye to his wife and 3-year-old son and sets off for his finance job in central Beijing, riding into town by public bike share. Like most urban Chinese, the 37-year-old has long abandoned cash and instead pays for his commute—and a lunchtime bite from a convenience store in his office building—with a flash of a QR code on his smartphone screen.

I…

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How Dune- Part Two Handles Alia Atreides

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Dune: Part Two.

“Abomination.”

In the world of Dune, that descriptor is most often attributed to one character in particular: Alia Atreides. In Dune: Part Two, now in theaters, Alia, the younger sister of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), plays an important role despite being in utero for the majo…

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The 16 Most Anticipated Albums of 2023

2022 was a year of incredible music, which my colleagues Andrew R. Chow, Cady Lang, and I wrote about in our lists of the 10 best songs and 10 best albums of the year. Highlights included Rosalía’s unforgettable third studio album, MOTOMAMI, in which she blends influences from genres across the musical landscape to create a beautifully-constructed work, and memorable contrib…

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Breaking Down the Meaning of ‘Nope’

Leading up to its release on July 22, Jordan Peele kept his highly-anticipated third film, Nope, tightly under wraps. The trailer is little more than a spooky montage of dark forces and craning necks, and Peele was very cagey about what happens in the movie in the few interviews he’s given. His elusiveness sparked a whole host of wild fan theories and predictions: that the movie is…

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The Commercial Appeal of Thailand’s BL Dramas

In downtown Bangkok, a crowd of waiting women squeals as rookie actors Jitaraphol “Jimmy” Potiwihok and Tawinan “Sea” Anukoolprasert step out of a shopping mall. With their blushing humility and matinee idol looks, they effortlessly charm the assembled office workers and students in uniform.

Yet it is Jitaraphol’s hand on the small of Tawinan’s back, an…

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Murder Mysteries to Watch After Glass Onion

The whodunnit is an especially addictive genre, especially at this time of year, when nothing sounds better than a curling up with a murder mystery, a warm cider, and a cozy blanket. New mysteries abound: Glass Onion, the first of two Knives Out sequels from director Rian Johnson hits Netflix on Dec. 23, following a short run in theaters. In this one, Daniel Craig returns for …

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