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The Swedish Academy awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in literature to Anne Carson on Thursday, praising her "bold and inventive oeuvre." Her work has "in playful dialogue with the classical tradition...created new forms for contemporary literature," said Ingrid Carlberg, permanent secretary of the academy. The 76-year-old writer is a longtime professor of classics, creative writing, and comparative literature at prestigious institutions like McGill and Princeton universities. She is only the 19th woman of 123 laureates to win the award. What is Anne Carson known for? Born in Toronto in 1950, her family moved around many small towns in Canada during her youth. She has credited a beloved Latin teacher for sparking her interest in language and classics. Her first book of criticism, 1986’s Er...

A statue of US President Donald Trump was put on exhibit in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France. The 2.5-meter satirical statue, by Danish artist Jens Galschiot, is called "Orange Plague," and it shows the US leader naked, holding a long gold club and sitting on the shoulders of a smaller man. The artist said it is coated with 23-karat gold. The statue is also known by the name "King of Injustice." Next to the statue are cards explaining that the "King of Injustice" is "sitting on the back of a man" who is sinking under the burden. "I would do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back," the card continues, with the artist blaming Trump for hindering attempts to confront climate change. No comment from Trump The statue stands at an intersection connec...

Paramount on Tuesday finalized its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, completing a hostile acquisition that was months in the making and almost faltered at several hurdles.  The takeover cost a total of around $81 billion (roughly €72 billion), or almost $111 billion including the Warner Bros. debts passed on as part of the deal.  The merger brings together two of the oldest US filmmaking studios and will form a new giant called Skydance Corporation.  Why Skydance Corp.? Who's behind the new behemoth? The new name Skydance hails from billionaire investor David Ellison, who first bought out Paramount and its subsidiaries and then moved on to target the much larger fish that is Warner Bros.  The bid faced stiff competition in a bidding war with Netflix, and later scrutiny from US regul...