Hilma’s Ghost, “Abstract Futures” (2025), NYC Transit 42 St-Grand Central Station, commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. All photos by Etienne Frossard, courtesy of the artists and MTA, shared with permission A Bold Metaphysical Portal by Hilma’s Ghost Stretches 600 Feet Across Grand Central Station April 25, 2025 Art Grace Ebert A glass mosaic covering 600 square feet of the 2nd Street entrance to the 7 train in Grand Central Station greets commuters with a bold, cosmic map. The work of Sharmistha Ray and Dannielle Tegeder, of the feminist collective Hilma’s Ghost, “Abstract Futures” is a vibrant, three-part portal to transformation. Named after the visionary artist and mystic Hilma af Klint(1862–1944), the collective formed in 2020 and typically pairs innovative contemporary art practices with spirituality. Their tarot deck has amassed a cult following and shares a name with this new MTA Arts & Design-commissioned project (previously), the group’s first public artwork. Abstract Futures opens with “The Fool,” a tarot card representing an embrace of new beginnings. Brilliant reds, pinks, and oranges nest together in entrancing, angular forms to invoke courageous, creative intuition at the start of a journey. In the center is “The Wheel of Fortune,” which is intended to bring this passionate, if not naive, energy back to Earth. Here, grounding greens and browns form a cyclical pattern that reflects a natural rhythm. Concentric orbs and a string of ochre diamonds propel the viewer toward the future. The last piece in the trio is also the largest, beginning with a celestial blue triangle met by an inverted plane in orange. This pairing draws on “The World,” creating a harmonious, unified relationship between the shadows and wisdom that exist within all of us. Red, horizontal bars at the far right call on tarot’s suit of wands. Generally associated with fire and primal energy, this final segment symbolizes regeneration and the ability to begin again. In a statement, the artists say they hope the work inspires a new way of looking at the city: Abstract Futures is about the connection between people, spaces, and time, and intended to provide a powerful reflection of what New York represents to us all. The city is at once a sprawling metropolis with millions of people but also a dynamic network of interconnectivity. As we make our way through a single day in New York, we connect with so many people from so many walks of life. The density of the mural’s imagery, pattern, and color is a metaphor for the endless diversity of the city that is its heartbeat. Miotto Mosaic Art Studios fabricated the work, and you can explore Hilma’s Ghost’s collaborative projects on its website. (via Hyperallergic) Next article

Looking for help with today's NYT Strands puzzle? Here's an extra hint to help you uncover the right words, as well as all of today's answers and Spangram.

Something to look forward to: Computex looks set to be the battleground where Nvidia and AMD reveal their mainstream GPUs from the latest generation. Nvidia's quiet unveiling of the RTX 5060 Ti and 5060 has sparked suspicion that it wants to downplay the 8GB VRAM on both cards. Nvidia told board partners it will launch the RTX 5060 on May 19, anonymous sources told VideoCardz. Reviews will go live the same day, likely giving customers little time to weigh third-party benchmarks before buying what may become the most popular card in the Blackwell lineup. The company revealed full specifications earlier this month but withheld launch and review embargo dates. With 3,840 CUDA cores, a 2.5GHz boost clock, and a $300 price tag, the RTX 5060 offers slightly better value than the 4060 and a meaningful upgrade over the 3060 – aside from its limited VRAM. Marketing for the RTX 5060 Ti and standard 5060 has focused primarily on the 16GB Ti variant. Our reviews show the $430 GPU brings decent 4K gaming within reach for mainstream consumers, but cutting its memory pool to 8GB completely changes the story. Nvidia likely delayed reviews of the 8GB variant to obscure severe performance limitations. Our results show that this amount of VRAM already bottlenecks many high-end games – and the gap will likely widen as new titles demand more memory. This story will repeat with the RTX 5060, which only offers an 8GB configuration. Steam survey data consistently ranks 60-class cards among the most popular, making the 5060 a key release for Nvidia. However, the release-day embargo suggests the company may be setting a trap for many of its customers. // Related Stories Meanwhile, the release date of the RTX 5060 falls one day after AMD's response to the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti – the Radeon RX 9060 XT. While details on AMD's latest mainstream cards remain scarce, including the release window for the standard 9060, the company is likely to follow Nvidia's VRAM configuration pattern, frustrating users who can't afford to spend over $300 on a GPU. Supply chain disruptions from inflation and tariffs have impacted Nvidia and AMD, each unwilling to sacrifice their margins on memory modules. This reluctance will likely hinder progress in GPU development, limiting meaningful improvements at the mainstream price tier.

Table of Contents Table of Contents Is there a Paramount Plus free trial? Can you get Paramount Plus for free? Are there any Paramount Plus deals? If you’re interested in Paramount Plus but want to see if the streaming service offers content you want to pay for, you should take advantage of the free trial that it’s offering. You’ll be able to watch content from CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon and MTV. For sports fans, Paramount Plus is also an excellent way to catch up to Champions League soccer, and it’s a highly recommended method to watch the Super Bowl for free. If you’re interested, here’s everything that you need to know. Yes, there’s a Paramount Plus free trial. It lasts for seven days and you can choose either the Essential plan or the Premium/Paramount Plus with Showtime plan which is ad-free and offers additional content. By signing up for the free trial, you get full access to everything that Paramount Plus has to offer. Once the trial ends, the Essential plan costs $8 per month while the Premium plan is $13 a month. Like Max, Paramount Plus has a free episode library so you can enjoy a select few episodes of the best that the service has to offer. It’s good insight into what’s new on Paramount Plus. The library includes episodes of shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Billions, and the Western 1883. There’s no need to sign up or log in to watch such shows. Related Alternatively, if you have a Walmart Plus membership, you can enjoy Paramount Plus for free. It’s one of the perks of Walmart Plus membership with the grocery delivery service costing $13 per month or $98 for a year. There is also a Walmart Plus free trial. Another option is if you’re subscribed to the Showtime premium channels through Spectrum, Direct TV, or Hulu with Live TV. If you are, you have access to the ad-free Premium version of Paramount Plus. The most cost-efficient way of enjoying Paramount Plus is to commit to an annual plan when signing up to Paramount Plus. By doing so, you can save a lot of money. While paying for Essential on a monthly basis costs you $8 per month, committing to a full 12 months at once means you pay $60 for the year working out at a $36 saving across the year. Sign up for Paramount+ Premium with Showtime on a month-by-month basis and you’d pay $13 each month. Switch to an annual plan and it drops down to $120 for the year so you save $36 off the regular price. More Unmissable Deals

The longtime New Yorker writer’s 1956 book is a remarkable literary account of a brutal, bloody sport, offering wryly funny observations of its fans and fighters.

moving Backward With over 900 US measles cases so far this year, things are looking bleak US hasn't seen this many cases this early in a year since the 1990s before we hit "elimination." Beth Mole – Apr 25, 2025 6:03 pm | 2 Measles rash on the body of the child. Credit: Getty | Povorozniuk Liudmyla Measles rash on the body of the child. Credit: Getty | Povorozniuk Liudmyla Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more As of Friday, April 25, the US has confirmed over 900 measles cases since the start of the year. The cases are across 29 states, but most are in or near Texas, where a massive outbreak continues to mushroom in close-knit, undervaccinated communities. On April 24, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had tallied 884 cases across the country. Today, the Texas health department updated its outbreak total, adding 22 cases to its last count from Tuesday. That brings the national total to at least 906 confirmed cases. Most of the cases are in unvaccinated children and teens. Overall, Texas has identified 664 cases since late January. Of those, 64 patients have been hospitalized, and two unvaccinated school-aged children with no underlying medical conditions have died of the disease. An unvaccinated adult in New Mexico also died from the infection, bringing this year's measles death toll to three. The cases and deaths are breaking records. In the past 30 years, the only year with more measles cases than the current tally was 2019, which saw 1,274 cases. Most of those cases were linked to large, extended outbreaks in New York City that took 11 months to quell. The US was just weeks away from losing its elimination status, an achievement earned in 2000 when the country first went 12 months without continuous transmission. Since 2019, vaccination coverage of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine among US kindergartners has only fallen. National rates fell from 95 percent in 2019—the threshold considered necessary to keep measles from spreading—to 92.7 percent in the 2023–24 school year, the most recent year for which there's data. On the brink In 2019, amid the record annual case tally, cases had only reached a total of 704 by April 26. With this year's tally already over 900, the country is on track to record a new high. Before 2019, the next highest case total for measles was in 1994. That year, the country saw 899 cases, which 2025 has already surpassed. In terms of deaths, the US last saw a measles fatality in 2015, when an immunocompromised adult died of the infection. The last time the country saw the death of a child was in 2003, when there were two deaths. The second death that year was a 75-year-old. Experts are understandably concerned that the US is at risk of losing its elimination status this year and that measles will once again circulate endemically in the country. In a modeling study published Thursday in JAMA, Stanford University researchers and colleagues concluded that measles "may be likely to return to endemic levels within the next 20 years, driven by states with routine vaccination coverage below historical levels and below the threshold needed to maintain elimination of transmission." If current vaccination levels are maintained, the model estimated that the US will see around 850,000 measles cases over the next 25 years, with about 170,000 hospitalizations and 2,500 deaths. If vaccination levels fall by 10 percent, estimated cases in the next 25 years would rise to 11 million. In a measles update published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, agency researchers also warned that the US is heading backward to an era where measles is constantly present and spreading in the US. "[R]ecent increasing global measles incidence in areas frequently visited by US travelers, coupled with declines in MMR vaccination coverage in many U.S. jurisdictions to <95% ... and spread of measles from ongoing domestic outbreaks to other jurisdictions, have increased the risk for ongoing measles transmission within the United States," the researchers wrote. They called for more vaccination: "Increasing national and local MMR vaccination coverage is essential to preventing measles cases and outbreaks." Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth Mole Senior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technica’s Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 2 Comments

Disinformation can be especially prevalent on social media sitesStefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has terminated government research grants for studying misinformation and disinformation. The defunding comes at a time when propaganda and scams fuelled by the latest artificial intelligence technologies are flooding social media networks, and tech companies are abandoning content moderation efforts and eliminating fact-checking teams. The grant cancellations began on 18 April when the NSF published a statement saying it would not support research on misinformation or disinformation “that could be used to infringe on the constitutionally protected speech rights…

F/A-18s can carry the StormBreaker bomb. US Navy photo 2025-04-25T21:35:31Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? The US Navy appears to be using new "StormBreaker" glide bombs against the Houthis. What appeared to be one of these guided munitions was spotted in the sand in Yemen this week. Fully intact wreckage could be exploited by US adversaries, including Iran. US fighter jets appear to be using advanced "StormBreaker" precision glide bombs in combat against the Houthis, part of the intense bombing campaign against the Iran-backed rebels.An image of what looked like an unexploded, US-made bomb half-buried in the sand began circulating on social media Thursday. Open-source intelligence accounts geolocated the image to Yemen's southern Shabwah governorate.Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, identified the munition as the GBU-53/B StormBreaker, a relatively new munition in the American arsenal. He told Business Insider that the discovery of the bomb, seemingly fully intact, highlights a problem: it could fall into the wrong hands. The GBU-53/B, known as the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II, is an air-launched standoff weapon with precision guidance and pop-out wings. The 200-pound bomb is made by US defense contractor Raytheon, now RTX, and can be released from carrier-based fighter aircraft like the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.The weapon can be used against moving and stationary targets and is capable of operating in inclement weather, according to Naval Air Systems Command. The bomb can also receive updated target coordinates mid-flight.In October 2023, the Navy declared early operational capability for the StormBreaker and said its Super Hornets would be the first platforms to carry the bomb.US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, published footage last month appearing to show the StormBreaker among other ordnance aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which has been at the forefront of the Houthi conflict. In a screengrab of this March 21 video, the StormBreaker bomb can be seen with the yellow stripe at the bottom of the frame on the USS Harry S. Truman. US Central Command The War Zone, which first reported on Friday on the StormBreaker's discovery in Yemen, spotted evidence last month that the Navy had used the munition for the first time in combat.The image of the apparent StormBreaker looks to be the clearest sign that the US is using this weapon against the Houthis. That the munition is fully intact suggests air defenses did not take it out. A defense official declined to answer BI's questions about the incident or provide further details.Ball, a researcher at Armament Research Services, said the risk in this situation is that Iran, which has long supported the Houthis, could get its hands on the StormBreaker."The Iranians are notorious for reverse engineering weapons systems and creating their own versions," Ball said. "The quicker Iran can acquire weapons to exploit relative to the US fielding them, the more Iran can try to narrow gaps in their capabilities."This could even go on to benefit Russia, which has enjoyed increasingly close defense ties with Iran since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The carrier-based F/A-18E Super Hornet can carry StormBreaker bombs. US Navy photo Ball explained that although the StormBreaker was reportedly found in an area of Yemen that the Houthis don't control, "it highlights the risk of unexploded munitions ending up in Iranian possession," especially given that there are likely highly classified components in the munition. "The greater the scale of airstrikes and use, the more likely this becomes," Ball said, adding that the same risk applies to the AGM-158, which the US has been using against the Houthis.The AGM-158, or Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), is a stealthy, long-range cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin. The JASSM and StormBreaker are standoff weapons, meaning that aircraft can release them from a distance and avoid Houthi air defenses, unlike conventional gravity bombs dropped directly over a target.The US also appears to be using the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), among other advanced munitions, against the Houthis.The US has been bombing the Houthis for six weeks straight to get the rebels to stop their attacks on Red Sea shipping. The military has publicly disclosed very few details about the intense campaign since the early days, though it acknowledged striking a major Houthi-controlled oil terminal last week. Dozens of people were reportedly killed in the attack.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the US has attacked hundreds of Houthi targets since the campaign began and decimated its leadership. However, analysts have cast doubt that the strikes will effectively eliminate the rebels' capabilities; previous stikres haven't. Just a few days ago, for instance, they fired missiles at Israel. Recommended video

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.Welcome to The Logoff: FBI agents arrested a Milwaukee County judge this morning on felony charges of interfering with immigration agents, as the Trump administration cracks down on local officials who threaten progress on its deportation agenda.What exactly happened? Last week, federal agents came to Judge Hannah Dugan’s Wisconsin courtroom to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican citizen facing domestic violence charges. Dugan is accused of sending the agents away and allowing Flores-Ruiz to leave out a non-public side door, though he was quickly arrested anyway. Today, federal agents were again at the courthouse, this time to arrest Dugan.Is this unprecedented? Not quite. The Trump administration arrested a Massachusetts judge in 2019 on charges of obstructing immigration officials, but they dropped the charges in 2022 after the judge agreed to refer herself to a state review board.What’s the big picture? There’s longstanding tension between federal immigration enforcement and local courts, as local officials argue immigrants won’t attend court unless they can do so without fear of deportation. Some municipalities — sometimes called “sanctuary cities” — officially limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.Trump has issued an executive order calling on agencies to halt federal funding for those cities, an order that a federal judge largely blocked on Thursday. Now, in the Milwaukee case, the administration is threatening officials with personal consequences if they work to stymie federal deportation efforts.What’s the big question? If the charging document is accurate, Dugan went beyond non-cooperation to actively complicate an arrest. But that line can get blurry, and it remains to be seen whether the administration will make good on Trump’s threat to arrest local officials who refuse to fall in line.And with that, it’s time to log off…After work today I’ll be listening to a Today, Explained episode about Hollywood stunts. (You can listen here on Apple podcasts or here on Spotify.) After nearly a century, the Academy Awards are finally recognizing this incredible work with their own category. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you back here next week.See More:

GTA 6 is still slated for this year, but we now know when we'll get the next update on Rockstar Games' ambitious project as Take-Two's earnings call is dated for next monthTech10:41, 25 Apr 2025Updated 10:41, 25 Apr 2025Rockstar could headline one of the best years in gaming(Image: Rockstar)Grand Theft Auto 6 is still slated to launch in this calendar year, and despite Rockstar's silence for over 500 days, Take-Two's CEO has maintained that it's all part of the plan.While one former developer said we'll know if the game has been delayed around May 2025, we now have a better idea of when a decision could be revealed.‌That's because Take-Two, Rockstar's parent company and publisher of GTA 6, has revealed that its next earnings call will take place on May 15, where it will reveal its results from Q4 of FY 2025, while also discussing the months ahead — meaning it should tell us outright if GTA 6 is still planned to launch in 2025.Article continues belowIf you cast your mind back to February, Take-Two's latest earnings call to date revealed that GTA 6 was still on track for 2025, but didn't give a whole bunch of extra information."Looking ahead, this calendar year is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever for Take-Two, as we plan to launch Sid Meier’s Civilization VII on February 11th, Mafia: The Old Country in the Summer, Grand Theft Auto VI in the Fall, and Borderlands 4," CEO Strauss Zelnick said at the time.Expect Vice City to be packed with detail(Image: Rockstar)‌Circle May 15 on your calendar, then, although there's at least a slim chance we could hear something beforehand.We reported this week on a resurfaced post on X (formerly Twitter) from a former GTA developer who said GTA 4 wasn't delayed until four months prior to its planned release date.‌"The decision to delay GTA IV was made 4 months or so before the original release date," Obbe Vermeij, who worked on GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas and GTA 4 explained."Any further and it's hard to make the call. R* is probably not in a position to determine whether they will hit 2025 until May-ish," he added, while also suggesting that Take-Two will be relatively hands off given their prior relationship with Rockstar.As such, don't expect the publisher to push GTA 6 out of the door just to meet a window, especially given, as Vermeij says, it will "sell for 10+ years and there is no competition to worry about."Article continues belowWill the game be delayed? We're just a few weeks from knowing for sure, but we're staying positive we'll be playing it come the end of the year.Recently, an account claimed GTA 6 is targeting a mid-November launch, which lines up nicely given Take-Two's other big-hitters are slated for August and September.For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.‌‌‌