Generative AI is a marvel. Is it also built on theft? - The Economist (No paywall)

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Generative AI is a marvel. Is it also built on theft? - The Economist (No paywall)     The wonder-technology faces accusations of copyright infringement Continued here

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Would your dog eat you if you died? Get the facts. - National Geographic Premium (No paywall)     In 1997, a forensic examiner in Berlin reported one of his more unusual cases in the journal Forensic Science International. A 31-year-old man had retired for the evening to the converted garden shed behind his mother’s house, where he lived with his German shepherd. Around 8:15 p.m., neighbors heard a gunshot.That mystery was cleared up quickly, when the man’s German shepherd vomited human tissue including skin with still-recognizable beard hair. This wasn’t a case of a starving dog resorting to eating its owner to survive; a half-full bowl of dog food was still sitting on the floor when police arrived. The disturbing implication: Maybe man’s best friend isn’t so loyal after all. Continued here

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The U.S. plans to limit PFAS in drinking water. What does that really mean? - Environment (No paywall)     But while public health experts approve of the new rule, they contend that getting forever chemicals out of our drinking water will be a herculean task given the sheer quantity of PFAS found in it along with the difficulty in removing them. And it may come at a cost to consumers. Here’s what to know about what comes next—and what the new rule means for you.The downside of the new rule is the cost of installing the technology to fix the problem—which estimates suggest could be between $1.5 billion to $4 billion. Under the new rule, all U.S. public water systems will have three years to test their water for the six PFAS tagged by EPA and five years to reduce levels to the new national standard of 4 parts per trillion. Continued here

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Who's Afraid of the Global South? - Foreign Policy (No paywall)     Revisiting two 50-year-old U.N. resolutions should help dispel fears about a shifting economic world order. Continued here

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How Will Israel Respond to the Iranian Attack? - Foreign Policy (No paywall)     The answer could determine whether the region is heading for all-out war. Continued here

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Olaf Scholz Is on a Telltale China Trip - Foreign Policy (No paywall)     Europe is flexing its muscles with China—but may soon learn if Germany is really on board. Continued here

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Animated Chart: The World's Top 15 Carbon Emitters (1850-2022)     In the 1950s, with the increase in merchant traffic, the shipping sector became one of the major contributors to carbon emissions. During the same period, with the expansion of the Soviet Union, Russia surpassed Germany to become the second-largest carbon emitter. China also rose to occupy the fourth place. Continued here

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How Small Businesses Are Using OpenAI's New GPT-4 Turbo With 'Vision' - Inc.com (No paywall)     OpenAI's upgraded model is impressive, but Facebook parent Meta is angling to steal the spotlight. Continued here

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Owning a racehorse is the latest way for rich millennials to brag     Auctioneer targets social media-obsessed youngsters with prospect of entering the parade ring at Royal Ascot Continued here

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Life without Bruce and Brandon: Shannon Lee on losing her superstar father and brother     How do you survive when the two most important men in your life die at a tragically young age? The daughter of martial arts hero, Bruce Lee, describes what kept her going – and how she is preserving the family legacy Continued here

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OpenAI and Microsoft are reportedly planning a $100B supercomputer     Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly planning to build a $100 billion data center and supercomputer that could lead to the creation of AIs far more capable than anything possible today.Power hungry: Soon after investing its first $1 billion into OpenAI in 2019, Microsoft set out to solve one of the biggest challenges facing the AI firm: the need for a lot of processing power to train and run its generative AIs.  Continued here

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Want more sustainable food? Focus on what you eat, not whether it's local     People across the world are becoming increasingly concerned about climate change: 8-in-10 people see climate change as a major threat to their country.1As I have shown before, food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Continued here

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After Almost 11 Years, Disney Just Fixed the Biggest Problem at Walt Disney World     It turned out she wasn't alone, the New York Post reported, naming a secret company -- accessible only by referral -- that connected wealthy families with guides with qualifying disabilities for $1,000 or more a day.Now, to its credit, Disney changed its policies on disability access at both Disney World and Disneyland after that 2013 report. And the previously secret company, which was deluged with complaints, disappeared. Continued here

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Without Saying a Word, Taylor Swift Just Pulled Off the Ultimate Power Move      Roughly once a month or so, we're given another reason why Taylor Swift is one of the savviest business people on earth. First, it was her move to re-record all of her masters so that she'd own all of her own music. Then, there was the record-setting concert tour, followed by the blockbuster concert film, and a deal with Disney Plus. The way she understands her loyal fans and the way she managed the release windows for The Eras Tour better than any Hollywood movie studio ever has is sure to be the subject of more than one graduate-level business case study. But there's something even more impressive, and it happened without her saying a word--at least, not publicly. Continued here

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In 6 Uncensored Words, KC Chiefs Tight End--and Taylor Swift Boyfriend--Travis Kelce Just Told a Painful Truth About Success     If you're going to fail, is it better to fail early on, or to achieve great things, but not quite reach the success you dreamed of? For Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce (perhaps best known for his romantic relationship with Taylor Swift), the answer to that question is clear: He would rather fail early.That preference came out in an unplanned moment during this week's episode of New Heights, the podcast Kelce co-hosts with his older brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. The brothers were interviewing rapper Lil Dicky, co-creator and star of the FXX series Dave. Lil Dicky comes from Philadelphia, so the brothers asked him to name his Mount Rushmore (i.e. top four) Eagles players.  Continued here

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9 Emotionally-Intelligent Phrases     Words have a significant impact on people, and it can be either positive or negative. When it comes to leadership or teamwork, the phrases and tones we use can make a substantial difference in team morale and engagement.Using positive, emotionally intelligent phrases is not about being nice or trying to win favors; it's about building more trust and fostering a supportive atmosphere for all. Whether collaborating in a small team or managing a large organization, shifting to a more positive conversational style can build your confidence and improve your leadership and work outcomes. Here are nine phrases to start now. Continued here

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With Literally Zero Words, Chick-fil-A Just Taught a Masterclass on Getting the Last Laugh     "Here at Shake Shack, we pride ourselves on our Chicken Shack which is available 7 days a week," the promotion began, adding: "It's made with antibiotic-free chicken, something not everyone can say these days."Although they didn't mention Chick-fil-A by name, the target was clear, since Chick-fil-A isn't open on Sundays, and took flak recently for changing its years-old promise to offer only antibiotic-free chicken. Continued here

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Why Steve Jobs (and Science) Say You Can Only Connect the Dots Looking Backwards     Yet a study conducted by the Census Bureau and two MIT professors found the most successful entrepreneurs tend to be middle-aged or older, even in the technology sector. In general terms, a 60-year-old entrepreneur is almost three times as likely to start an extremely successful company as a 30-year-old, and nearly twice as likely to launch one that eventually ranks in the top 0.1 (that's point-one) percent of all companies.Sure, younger startup founders tend to be more tech savvy and less risk-averse. But older startup founders can benefit from greater experience, broader skill sets, more diverse networks, and increased access to capital.  Continued here

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Navigating the Ins and Outs of Business Partnerships     In the journey of entrepreneurship, finding the right business partner can make all the difference between success and stagnation. In over two decades of business coaching, I have seen business partnerships make or break a business. The right partnership will allow everyone to focus on the things that they do best, allowing for faster growth and strategic depth. The wrong partnership can slow down your progress immensely as you argue over all the big and little decisions within your business. So the question is how do you know if a potential partner is truly the right fit for you and your venture? While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, there are certain key factors that I have used over the years to evaluate compatibility with any prospective business partners.First and foremost, shared values form the foundation of a strong partnership. Look for alignment in core beliefs, principles, and goals. Partners who share a common vision and mission are more likely to work cohesively towards shared objectives, fostering a sense of unity and purpose within the partnership. Continued here

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I'm a Psychologist. Here's the 1 Thing AI Is Missing     One of my favorite ideas is called consilience. It comes from famous biologist Edward O. Wilson, who coined the term to advocate for the unity of knowledge, suggesting that the biggest breakthroughs come when we integrate knowledge across different domains to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the natural world and human experience. Not that kind of BS. I mean behavioral science. The integration of AI and behavioral science embodies Wilson's vision for unified knowledge. It's a marriage that transcends disciplinary boundaries, melding computational intelligence with deep insights into human behavior, offering a holistic understanding that accelerates innovation and enriches our approach to solving complex societal and business challenges. Continued here

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The Sinister Effect Binging Has on Leadership     Thanks to Taylor Swift, the term "era" has become a household word. Her Eras Tour boosted the American economy in the summer of 2023. Today, I'm suggesting we are living in a new era. Call it the binge era. Past generations never experienced it like we do today.Growing up decades ago, I was not able to binge on pleasures like we are today. I had to wait and work for items that today we enjoy on demand. When I was 9 years old, for example, I loved watching Batman on television. Each week, it came on at 8:05 p.m. and I stopped whatever I was doing to sit in front of our family TV to watch. Yet, while I loved the show, I couldn't binge on it. I had to wait an entire week to watch another episode. Today, life is vastly different. Continued here

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South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley Just Taught A Powerful Lesson on Leadership     On April 7, 2024, Dawn Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team won the NCAA women's championship. At the end of the game, ESPN reporter Holly Rowe interviewed Coach Staley to ask her how she felt. Coach Staley couldn't respond for a few moments because she was so overwhelmed by the moment. In her tears, you saw the immense pressure she had been under and her immense expectations of herself - another National Championship, an undefeated season, redemption from last year's shocking upset, and the departure of all her starters. In her tears, Coach Staley showcased her vulnerability and in doing so, demonstrated my number one lesson for authentic leaders--vulnerability shows your courage.It is never easy for leaders to be vulnerable. But the payoff is extraordinary. The ability to feel seen. To share your truths with your world. And, in turn, to be seen as a leader who exemplifies both strength and humility. When we accept and commit to sharing our emotions as leaders, we open doors to creating healthy workspaces that foster team growth and promote trust.  Continued here

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Roku Breach Hits 567,000 Users     Plus: Apple warns iPhone users about spyware attacks, CISA issues an emergency directive about a Microsoft breach, and a ransomware hacker tangles with an unimpressed HR manager named Beth. Continued here

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Toronto Wants to Manage Storms and Floods--With a Rain Tax     Outcry reached such a crescendo last week that the city canceled public hearings on the tax, which is intended to help offset the hundreds of millions spent managing stormwater and basement flooding. Continued here

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Space Force Is Planning a Military Exercise in Orbit     Two satellites will engage in a "realistic threat response scenario" when Victus Haze gets underway. Continued here

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24 Mother's Day Gifts We've Tried and Love (2023)     From hair tools and iPads to board games and bike bags, we have a pick for every type of mom and mom figure. Continued here

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How Israel Defended Against Iran's Drone and Missile Attack     Continued here

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The Quest to Map the Inside of the Proton     Physicists have begun to explore the proton as if it were a subatomic planet. Cutaway maps display newfound details of the particle's interior. The proton's core features pressures more intense than in any other known form of matter. Halfway to the surface, clashing vortices of force push against each other. And the "planet" as a whole is smaller than previous experiments had suggested.The experimental investigations mark the next stage in the quest to understand the particle that anchors every atom and makes up the bulk of our world. Continued here

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9 Best Smartwatches (2024): Apple Watch, Wear OS, Hybrid Watches     If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDA great timepiece doesn't just display the time of day, it can elevate your outfit and make you feel good. The best smartwatches can do even more, from tracking your workouts and measuring your heart rate to serving up notifications and access to voice assistants. While you're wearing a connected watch, you can leave your phone in your pocket and use your wrist for simple tasks. Continued here

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Rolser Wallaby Tweed 2-Wheel Foldable Shopping Trolley Review: Practical Good Looks     If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDSome of the greatest icons of the streets of Paris are les dames d'un certain âge pulling their grocery trolleys down the sidewalk. In my mind, theirs always seem to be rickety things, giant wire baskets on cheap plastic wheels all holding a tarp-like bag into which they can put wine, cheese, leeks, and baguettes. Trolleys are supremely practical, particularly if you are on foot or even in the Métro, but thanks to a touch of modernization, they may be ready to make the leap across the pond. Continued here

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Use Apple Shortcuts to Build the Ultimate Daily Digital Journal     I started journaling in 2019. It's not that I love keeping a journal, exactly. It's more that I find my brain works better if I spend a little time dumping its contents onto paper every morning. This practice got me through 2020, an extremely difficult year, and I've kept it up ever since.My journal isn't advanced. I've got a few sections recommended by my therapist from around the time I started—there's a section I fill in every day with things I'm looking forward to, for example. I use another section to think through what I'm going to eat and other things I'm going to do that day. All of this is straightforward; I just use a template that includes headers for those things. Continued here

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10 Best Retro Game Consoles (2024): Evercade, Polymega, Analogue Pocket, and Controllers     If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIREDDo you remember the alluring 8-bit music, flashing screens, and excitement of the arcades? Maybe you spent many happy hours in front of an early home computer or game console. Or perhaps you just want a taste of what early video games were like. Everyone loves new retro-looking games, but if you really want to scratch that nostalgic itch, you need to revisit the classics. Continued here

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Why do some people always get lost?     Like many of the researchers who study how people find their way from place to place, David Uttal is a poor navigator. “When I was 13 years old, I got lost on a Boy Scout hike, and I was lost for two and a half days,” recalls the Northwestern University cognitive scientist. And he’s still bad at finding his way around. Continued here

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Sleeping more flushes junk out of the brain     As if we didn’t have enough reasons to get at least eight hours of sleep, there is now one more. Neurons are still active during sleep. We may not realize it, but the brain takes advantage of this recharging period to get rid of junk that was accumulating during waking hours. Continued here

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Tupperware Is in Trouble     We're in a golden age for food storage. So why is America's paradigmatic container brand failing?For the first several decades of my life, most of the meals I ate involved at least one piece of Tupperware. My mom's pieces were mostly the greens and yellows of a 1970s kitchen, purchased from co-workers or neighbors who circulated catalogs around the office or slipped them into mailboxes in our suburban subdivision. Many of her containers were acquired before my brother and I were born and remained in regular use well after I flew the nest for college in the mid-2000s. To this day, the birthday cake that my mom makes for my visits gets stored on her kitchen counter in a classic Tupperware cake saver—a flat gold base with a tall, milky-white lid made of semi-rigid plastic. Somewhere deep in her cabinets, the matching gold carrying strap is probably still hiding, in case a cake is on the go. Continued here

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The Truth About Organic Milk     This winter, I attended a livestock auction on California's remote northern coast. Ranchers sat on plywood bleachers warming their hands as the auctioneer mumble-chanted and handlers flushed cows into a viewing paddock one by one. Most of the cows were hale animals, careering in and cantering out. But one little brown cow moved tentatively, rheum slicking her left eye and a denim patch covering her right.That night, I went to take a closer look at her along with a pair of animal-welfare investigators and some of the traders who had participated in the auction. Cow 13039, as her ear tag identified her, was segregated with other sick or injured cattle in a pen near the viewing paddock. A farmhand led her into a squeeze chute, so that I could see her udders and feel her bony sides and scratch her head. Continued here

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'We Left the Girls Too Long in That Place'     When I first interviewed Yama Bullum and his wife, Falmata, in 2015, they were desperate for the safe return of their daughter Jinkai, who was one of the 276 girls abducted from their school in Chibok, in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, by the terrorist group Boko Haram.In the years following the 2014 kidnapping, I spoke with many of the teenagers' parents. The raid was part of an extended campaign of violence by Boko Haram—whose name roughly translates to "Western education is sin"—to create an Islamic state in Nigeria. The kidnapped girls, most of whom were Christian, were taken to Boko Haram's stronghold in the Sambisa forest, where they endured harsh conditions and were subjected to Islamic instruction sessions lasting up to 11 hours a day. Continued here

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An Entrancing Fairy Tale About Italian Grave Robbers     La Chimera confirms a stereotypical suspicion I've had about life in Italy: You're only a couple of costume changes away from joining a circus troupe. Alice Rohrwacher's beguiling new film is not about a bunch of traveling entertainers, but it follows a cadre of oddly dressed and accessorized eccentrics who add pops of song and color wherever they go. At first glance, it's as if the Italian giant Federico Fellini never left cinemas, but there's a faded quality to Rohrwacher's world—a sense that it takes more and more effort to keep any magic alive.Rohrwacher, whose prior films include the winsome dramas Happy as Lazzaro and The Wonders, specializes in films that blend myth with modernity. She's part of a long tradition of surrealism in Italian filmmaking, though she also confronts the country's areas of spiritual or social decay, as more grounded directors such as Roberto Rossellini did after the Second World War. Although La Chimera is set in Italy's turbulent 1980s, it is concerned with the country's ancient past, tracking a network of whimsical tombaroli ("grave robbers") who plunder tombs for precious artifacts. This particular group is led by a swoony British archaeologist named Arthur (played by Josh O'Connor) who is somehow psychically attuned to the land beneath him. Continued here

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The Country That Tried to Control Sex     Clair Wills's memoir is a timely warning that sexual morality can be enforced only with violence.When the cultural historian Clair Wills was in graduate school at Oxford in the late 1980s, she became pregnant by accident. She was 25 and single, with little money and no job. Still, she decided to keep the baby. "By then, getting pregnant and keeping the baby was almost a tradition in our family," she writes in her memoir, Missing Persons. "My eldest sister had done it; so had one of my cousins. In fact, throughout the 1980s, these were the only kind of babies born in our family—'illegitimate' ones." Continued here

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An Oblique and Beautiful Book     The Children's Bach is a striking picture of how ravaged a life can be when unmoored from any responsibility, and of how necessary it is to take care of others.This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors' weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. Continued here

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The AI Revolution Is Crushing Thousands of Languages     English is the internet's primary tongue—a fact that may have unexpected consequences as generative AI becomes central to daily life.Recently, Bonaventure Dossou learned of an alarming tendency in a popular AI model. The program described Fon—a language spoken by Dossou's mother and millions of others in Benin and neighboring countries—as "a fictional language." Continued here

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Chocolate Might Never Be the Same     Good chocolate, I've come to learn, should taste richly of cocoa—a balanced blend of bitter and sweet, with notes of fruit, nuts, and spice. My favorite chocolate treat is nothing like that. It's the Cadbury Creme Egg, an ovoid milk-chocolate shell enveloping a syrupy fondant center. To this day, I look forward to its yearly return in the weeks leading up to Easter.Most popular chocolate is like this: milky, sugary, and light on actual cocoa. Lots of sugary sweets contain so little of the stuff that they are minimally chocolate. M&M's, Snickers bars, and Hershey's Kisses aren't staples of American diets because they are the best—rather, they satisfy our desire for chocolate while costing a fraction of a jet-black bar made from single-origin cocoa. Continued here

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The Golden Age of Dictation     AI has drastically improved voice recognition. It's a technology that researchers have long struggled with.This is Atlantic Intelligence, a limited-run series in which our writers help you wrap your mind around artificial intelligence and a new machine age. Sign up here. Continued here

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The Unrelenting Shame of the Dentist     This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.When you're a kid, the dentist's office is a frightening place full of loud noises and sharp instruments. But at least people speak softly to you, and at the end of all the scraping and scrubbing, you get a pat on the back and a little prize from a treasure box. Continued here

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The Worst Day of My Life Was the Day I Learned to Read     The celebrated filmmaker Errol Morris delivered this speech on receiving the Hitchens Prize.Editor's note: The seventh annual Hitchens Prize was awarded to the filmmaker Errol Morris at a dinner on April 10 in New York City. The award is given by the Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation in association with The Atlantic, where Christopher Hitchens was a contributing editor. The Atlantic is joined by Air Mail. The award was given originally in association with Vanity Fair, whose editor, Graydon Carter, now Air Mail's co-editor, where Hitchens was also a columnist and contributing editor. The prize celebrates writers whose work exemplifies "a commitment to free expression and inquiry, a range and depth of intellect, and a willingness to pursue the truth without regard to personal or professional consequence." Here is the text of the remarks Errol Morris made after receiving the award. Continued here

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Right-Wing Media Are in Trouble     The flow of traffic to Donald Trump's most loyal digital-media boosters isn't just slowing; it's utterly collapsing.As you may have heard, mainstream news organizations are facing a financial crisis. Many liberal publications have taken an even more severe beating. But the most dramatic declines over the past few years belong to conservative and right-wing sites. The flow of traffic to Donald Trump's most loyal digital-media boosters isn't just slowing, as in the rest of the industry; it's utterly collapsing. Continued here

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Women's College Basketball Is a Worthy Investment     The NCAA women's-basketball season officially concluded a banner season on Sunday with breathless drama, even though it wasn't a surprise ending.In a season stocked with unprecedented highs, the heavily favored University of South Carolina Gamecocks won the national championship over the University of Iowa. A slew of viewing records were set as millions witnessed the entire sport reach a new zenith thanks to the massive popularity of the Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark, the Gamecocks' dominance, and the dynamic personalities of Louisiana State University. Continued here

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The Future of Chocolate     This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.I've long fought the battle in defense of milk chocolate. My colleague Yasmin Tayag understands this position—her favorite chocolate treat is the Cadbury Creme Egg—but in a recent article, she acknowledges that genuinely "good chocolate …. should taste richly of cocoa." Continued here

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The O.J. Verdict Reconsidered     Simpson's trial ruthlessly exposed America's racial divide. Sadly, that legacy outlives him.When the O. J. Simpson verdict was announced, I was a junior at Michigan State University. At the time, I was the managing editor of my college newspaper, The State News, so I didn't have the luxury of reacting emotionally one way or the other. I had the responsibility of figuring out how our publication was going to present to 40,000 students this stunning outcome to what many had called "the trial of the century." Continued here

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Democracy Dies Behind Paywalls     How many times has it happened? You're on your computer, searching for a particular article, a hard-to-find fact, or a story you vaguely remember, and just when you seem to have discovered the exact right thing, a paywall descends. "$1 for Six Months." "Save 40% on Year 1." "Here's Your Premium Digital Offer." "Already a subscriber?" Hmm, no.Now you're faced with that old dilemma: to pay or not to pay. (Yes, you may face this very dilemma reading this story in The Atlantic.) And it's not even that simple. It's a monthly or yearly subscription—"Cancel at any time." Is this article or story or fact important enough for you to pay? Continued here

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What the Upper-Middle-Class Left Doesn't Get About Inflation     Liberal politicians and economists don't seem to recognize the everyday harms of rising costs.Democratic Party analysts and left-leaning economists have had quite enough of their fellow Americans' complaints. As a striking number of poll respondents express alarm, despair even, about the rising cost of living during Joe Biden's presidency, experts shake their heads. Don't people realize that jobs are plentiful, wages are rising, and inflation is in retreat? Continued here

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What Rereading a Book Can Reveal     This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer or editor reveals what's keeping them entertained. Today's special guest is Rose Horowitch, an assistant editor who has written about the enrollment nightmare colleges are facing, the myth of the Gen Z gender divide, and why too many people own dogs. Continued here

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Is Texas About to Turn Latinos Into Single-Issue Voters?     Its new immigration law resembles other "show me your papers" measures that cost the GOP Latino voters.In the days after the November election in 2020, I traveled from Laredo, Texas, down along the Rio Grande into one of the great heartlands of Mexican America, a place locals proudly refer to by its area code, "the 956." Along this stretch of the Texas border, towns are up to 98 percent Latino; Spanish is so common that Anglos have to learn the language if they want to order at restaurants. Yet on Election Night, residents had shocked the country by turning out for Donald Trump in record numbers. Continued here

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Ordinary Iranians Don't Want a War With Israel     The moment we were all afraid of finally arrived yesterday evening. For me, it was announced by a phone call from a terrified teenage cousin in Iran. Had the war started? she asked me through tears.Iran had fired hundreds of drones and missiles on Israel, hitting much more widely than most of us had anticipated. Only thanks to Israel's excellent defenses, and the help of its Western and Arab allies, have almost all of these been intercepted. The only casualty so far is a 7-year-old Arab girl in southern Israel. Continued here

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What Will Netanyahu Do Now?     On April 1, Israel killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by attacking Iran's consulate in Damascus. Iran spent the next two weeks promising revenge, and the world tried to imagine what form that revenge might take. Missile strikes on the Golan Heights? Bombing an Israeli embassy? (Iran has practice at this one.) When I flew from Dubai to Tel Aviv a few days later, I wondered whether Iran would go old-school and attack an El Al check-in counter, the way the terrorists used to in the 1980s. Emirati airport authorities, it turns out, had anticipated that move. They placed the El Al counter next to that of an Iranian airline, so anyone who rolled a grenade at Israelis would also do some damage to passengers bound for the Iranian holy city of Mashhad.Now we know the form of the retaliation. Late Saturday night, about an hour before midnight Israel time, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles from its own territory, as well as from Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, at the country it refers to as "the Zionist entity." Almost all were shot down, officials said, eliminated by Israeli air defenses and, notably, by the militaries of the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. No drones even entered Israeli airspace. This morning, Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israeli army spokesman, beamingly called the defensive operation an "unprecedented success." The Iranians, for their part, professed happiness with the outcome, though they also seemed eager to forestall an Israeli counterstrike. While the drones were still in the sky, Iran's UN mission tweeted that the matter of the assassination "can [now] be deemed concluded." Continued here

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The Coalition of the Malevolent     My wife the photo archivist likes to point out that all stills are a double crop—a crop in time (we do not know what happened before or after) and a crop in place (we do not know what was outside the photographer's frame). So, too, are pulses of violence, like Iran's recent salvo of 300 drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles aimed at Israel. To understand what we are observing, we have to push out beyond the frame of what we at first see.The attack last night was not a mere response to the Israeli strike in Damascus on April 1 that killed two Iranian generals and five other officers in the Revolutionary Guard Corps. Rather, it represents an inflection point in a semi-covert war that has been going on for years. That conflict has included attacks on shipping by both sides, the bombing of Jewish and Israeli civilian targets, the launch of rockets across Israel's northern border, and the occasional assassination of key figures, such as Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the godfather of the Iranian nuclear program. Continued here

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Pioneering Artist Faith Ringgold Stitched Together Stories of Black Life     The Harlem-born painter, who died this week at age 93, elevated the everyday lives of Black Americans and fought for representation in major museumsFaith Ringgold, the barrier-breaking artist and author who created a sprawling body of work dedicated to the stories of Black Americans, died on Saturday at age 93. Continued here