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Remo Saraceni, the sculptor, toy inventor and technology fantasist best known for creating the Walking Piano to which Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced in a beloved scene from the 1988 hit film "Big," died June 3 at Swarthmore , Pennsylvania. 89.The cause was cardiac arrest, said Benjamin Medaugh, his assistant and caretaker. Mr. Saraceni died at Mr. Medaugh's home, where he had lived for the past several years.Mr. Saraceni's specialty was "interactive electronics," he told New York magazine in 1976. His other inventions included a clock that could respond aloud when you asked it the time, a stethoscope stereo system that could resonate your heartbeat and clouds of plexiglass that lights up at the sound of a whistle with a pastel color suitable for lighting a room. All were fue...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disbanded his war cabinet, an Israeli official said Monday, after the departure of two top members prompted far-right politicians to demand representation in the influential group.The two members, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, left Netanyahu's small war cabinet last week due to disagreements over the direction of the war in Gaza. The men, both former military leaders, had been seen as voices of moderation in the body formed in October after the Hamas-led assault on Israel and which had made many decisions on the conflict.The Israeli official suggested that Netanyahu's decision to disband the body - which was communicated to ministers at a wider cabinet meeting on Sunday - was largely symbolic given that Gantz and Eisenkot had already ...

As far as public health authorities know, the avian flu outbreak in dairy cattle has so far spread to just three farm workers in the United States. All had mostly mild symptoms.But that doesn't guarantee that the virus, called H5N1, will remain benign if it begins to spread between people. Accumulated evidence from the animal world and data from other parts of the globe, in fact, suggest the opposite.Some dairy cows never recovered from the H5N1 virus and died or were slaughtered from it. The infected terns appeared disoriented and unable to fly. The baby elephant seals had difficulty breathing and developed tremors after contracting the virus. Infected cats went blind and walked in circles; two-thirds of them died.“I definitely don't think there's room for complacency he...

The Mayor of Derry gave a speech. The Prime Minister and Deputy Ministers of Northern Ireland took to the stage. They were all women, and all were in the city on Thursday to celebrate the opening of the Yes festival, a hymn to female artists and creativity which also closes the celebration of the two-year anniversary of the publication of "Ulysses", the work of James Joyce. Vast and encyclopedic novel."Ulysses," which Joyce modeled on Homer's "Odyssey," is devoted primarily to the reflections and actions of men - the protagonist Leopold Bloom, his friend Stephen Dedalus and a variety of Dublin characters - as Leopold travels through the city in just one day, June 16th.But it is Leopold's wife, Molly Bloom, who says the novel's last word in the final episode, "Penelope." Or ...

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has been convening an annual meeting of local business leaders since the 1800s, but the most recent meeting had a decidedly modern theme: artificial intelligence.The goal was to demystify technology for the Chamber's approximately 2,000 members, especially small businesses.“My sense is not that people are wary,” said Ralph Schulz, the chamber's chief executive. “It's just not clear its potential use for them.”When generative AI entered public consciousness in late 2022, it captured the imagination of businesses and workers with its ability to answer questions, compose paragraphs, write code, and create images. Analysts predicted that technology would transform the economy by driving a boom in productivity.Yet so far the impact has been l...

After eight devastating months of war, Muslims in Gaza will mark a somber Eid al-Adha on Sunday, a major religious holiday usually celebrated by sharing meat among friends, family and the needy.Adha means sacrifice and the ritual killing of a sheep, goat or cow on that day is understood as a symbol of the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. But this year, almost everyone in Gaza is in need. Hunger has gripped the Palestinian territory as Israel unleashed an eight-month military offensive on the enclave and severely limited what is allowed in, including humanitarian aid.Many don't feel like celebrating.“There will be no Eid, no Eid atmosphere,” said Zaina Kamuni, who lived with her family in a tent on a sandy stretch in southern Gaza called Al-Mawasi. "I haven'...

Catherine, Princess of Wales, said on Friday that she planned to take part in a parade on Saturday to mark King Charles III's birthday, a tentative return to the public stage after confirming in March that she was undergoing treatment for cancer.The news, which Catherine released in a highly personal six-paragraph statement, reflects both the progress she has made since she was first admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery last January and the long road to recovery. that he has yet to face.“I am making good progress, but as anyone who has undergone chemotherapy will know, there are good days and bad days,” Catherine wrote.“On those bad days you feel weak, tired and have to surrender to resting your body,” said the princess. “But on good days, when you feel stronger, you want to mak...

A key member of the anti-arts movement Fluxus, he committed suicide a few hours after the death of his wife of 60 years.

Tesla shareholders reaffirmed a payout worth more than $45 billion for Elon Musk on Thursday, but before the announcement was made official at the company's annual meeting in Austin, Texas, Musk posted the news on , its social media platform.“Both Tesla shareholder resolutions are currently passing by wide margins!” she wrote in a post late Wednesday night. "Thank you for your support!!"For months, Musk's supporters have used the social media site, which he bought for $44 billion in 2022, to drum up support for his massive payday, and Tesla board members have warned that it could leave the company if the shareholders voted against him.But for some Tesla investors, Musk's involvement with Mr Musk has also used the platform to promote right-wing conspiracy theories and vulgar ...

Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners on Saturday. The exchange looked like any two countries engaged in diplomatic negotiations to free their citizens. The families were elated; governments were relieved.But the exchange was only the latest chapter in Iran's long history of what is known in world affairs as hostage diplomacy.For more than four decades, starting with the 1979 revolution that established a conservative theocracy, the country has made the detention of foreigners and dual citizens a central element of its foreign policy. For Iran, the approach has paid off. This was a worrying trend for the world.Iran's demands have evolved along with its tactics. In exchange for the release of the foreigners he asked for prisoners, assassins, cash and frozen funds. He designed c...