Author: natixis-ezine

Trump signs order designating English as the official language of the US

natixis-ezine

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

President Donald Trump stands before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press

President Donald Trump signed on Saturday an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States.

The order allows government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in language other than English.

It rescinds a mandate from former President Bill Clinton that required the government and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. Continue reading

Key Oscar moments, from Zoe Saldaña’s emotional win and ‘Oz’ opening to Kieran Culkin’s baby wish

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande perform “Defying Gravity” during the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer

There were a lot of smiling faces at the Oscars but one had to stand out — Sean Baker saw his film “Anora” go home with the top film prize and he took four for himself. Its star Mikey Madison was crowned best actress.

Twenty-two years after winning best actor for “The Pianist,” Adrien Brody won the same Oscar again for his performance as another Holocaust survivor in Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist.” He somehow kept the playoff music at bay.

On Sunday, firefighters who battled recent wildfires got applauded, Mick Jagger handed out the best original song Oscar and John Lithgow was tasked with looking “slightly disappointed” when speeches ran long. One highlight was Timothée Chalamet — literally. His yellow suit got more than one comment. Continue reading

British musicians release a silent album to protest plans to let AI use their work

natixis-ezine

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Inductees Dave Stewart, left, and Annie Lennox of Eurythmics pose in the press room during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on, Nov. 5, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — A new album called “Is This What We Want?” features a stellar list of more than 1,000 musicians — and the sound of silence.

With contributions from artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Cat Stevens and Damon Albarn, the album was released Tuesday to protest proposed British changes to artificial intelligence laws that artists fear will erode their creative control.

The U.K. government is consulting on whether to let tech firms use copyrighted material to help train AI models unless the creators explicitly opt out. Continue reading

Scientists are racing to discover the depth of ocean damage sparked by the LA wildfires

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – An aerial view shows the devastation from the Palisades Fire on beachfront homes Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

By DORANY PINEDA Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On a recent Sunday, Tracy Quinn drove down the Pacific Coast Highway to assess damage wrought upon the coastline by the Palisades Fire.

The water line was darkened by ash. Burnt remnants of washing machines and dryers and metal appliances were strewn about the shoreline. Sludge carpeted the water’s edge. Waves during high tide lapped onto charred homes, pulling debris and potentially toxic ash into the ocean as they receded.

“It was just heartbreaking,” said Quinn, president and CEO of the environmental group Heal the Bay, whose team has reported ash and debris some 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the Palisades burn area west of Los Angeles. Continue reading

How Presidents Day has evolved from reverence to retail

natixis-ezine

Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Phil Bustos of Trinidad, Colo., displays the television set he bought for $29 at a Washington’s Birthday sale in Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 1954. Other bargain hunters waited to get into the packed store during the annual holiday sale. (AP Photo, File)

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic, not a king.

And yet the United States will once again commemorate its first president on Monday, 293 years after he was born.

The meaning of Presidents Day has changed dramatically, from being mostly unremarkable and filled with work for Washington in the 1700s to the bonanza of consumerism it has become today. For some historians, the holiday has lost all discernible meaning.

Historian Alexis Coe, author of “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington,” has said she thinks about Presidents Day in much the same way as the towering monument in D.C. bearing his name. Continue reading