Author: Reporter

U.S. deaths fell last year, and COVID-19 dropped to the nation’s No. 4 cause, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in May. COVID-19 deaths trailed those caused by heart disease, cancer and injuries such as drug overdoses, motor vehicle fatalities and shootings. In 2020 and 2021, only heart disease and cancer were ahead of the coronavirus. U.S. deaths usually rise year-to-year, in part because the nation’s population has been growing. The pandemic accelerated that trend, making 2021 the deadliest in U.S. history, with more than 3.4 million deaths. But 2022 saw the first drop in deaths since...

For the first time, the United Nations will officially commemorate the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now Israel on the 75th anniversary of their exodus, an action stemming from the U.N.’s partition of British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is headlining the U.N. commemoration on May 15 of what Palestinians call the “Nakba” or “catastrophe.” Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, called the U.N. observance “historic” and significant because the General Assembly played a key role in the partition of Palestine. “It’s acknowledging the responsibility of the U.N....

Hollywood writers picketing to preserve pay and job security outside major studios and streamers braced for a long fight at the outset of a strike that immediately forced late-night shows into hiatus, put other productions on pause and had the entire industry slowing its roll. The first Hollywood strike in 15 years commenced on May 2 as the 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America stopped working when their contract expired. The union is seeking higher minimum pay, more writers per show and less exclusivity on single projects, among other demands — all conditions it says have been...

When Greg Brockman, the president and co-founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, was recently extolling the capabilities of artificial intelligence, he turned to “Game of Thrones.” Imagine, he said, if you could use AI to rewrite the ending of that not-so-popular finale. Maybe even put yourself into the show. “That is what entertainment will look like,” said Brockman. Not six months since the release of ChatGPT, generative artificial intelligence is already prompting widespread unease throughout Hollywood. Concern over chatbots writing or rewriting scripts is one of the leading reasons TV and film screenwriters took to picket lines earlier this week....

The first Hollywood strike in 15 years began on May 2 as the economic pressures of the streaming era prompted unionized TV and film writers to picket for better pay outside major studios, a work stoppage that already is leading most late-night shows to air reruns. “No contracts, no content!” sign-carrying members of the Writers Guild of America chanted outside the Manhattan building where NBCUniversal was touting its Peacock streaming service to advertisers. Some 11,500 film and television writers represented by the union put down their pens and laptops after failing to reach a new contract with the trade...

Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it is a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different. In December, Riva was floored when she found out that “Gordita Chronicles,” her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO Max’s vast streaming library — one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: “Westworld,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Minx,” “Mrs. Fletcher” and numerous animated and reality series. For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the...