CNN Friday August 30, 2024
The town in Japan that received global attention for its decision to thwart camera-toting tourists by blocking block views of Mount Fuji has quietly reversed its decision. In May, the town of Fujikawaguchiko, located at the base of Mount Fuji, erected a large black net, to block views of the icon volcano. On August 15, though, city officials had it taken down, ostensibly because of wind damage. But it may never return. “Since we installed the screen in May, there have been no more people staying long in the area. We do feel it has been effective,” a city councilor tells CNN.
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The New York Times Friday August 30, 2024
W. Eugene Smith is renowned for his World War II photography in the Pacific theater, his gripping photo essays for Life magazine in the 1940s, and his exacting documentary work, including his famed series “Minamata: A Warning to the World.” Now The New York Times reveals an early, little known image by Smith that was tucked away in the newspaper’s photography “morgue.” The photo, which shows irrigation troughs for trees in New York’s Riverside Park, appeared in The Times in August 1934.
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The New York Times Friday August 30, 2024
A California bill that could impose restrictions on artificial intelligence has tech companies, investors and activists scrambling to explain what the first-of-its-kind legislation could mean for their industry in the state. If signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill would require companies to test the safety of powerful A.I. technologies before releasing them to the public, notes The New York Times. It would also allow California’s attorney general to sue companies if their technologies cause serious harm, such as mass property damage or human casualties.
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Canadian Geographic Friday August 30, 2024
The winning images of 2024 Canadian Wildlife Photography of the Year competition showcase the “outstanding visual beauty of our country’s flora, fauna and fungi,” notes Canadian Geographic, which runs the competition. The $5,000 grand prize goes to photographer Sonny Parker for his shot of a snowshoe hare, taken in the mountains close to his hometown of Haines Junction, central Yukon. Parker used a camera trap to capture the hare repacking one of its “hare highways” during a fresh snowfall.
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