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Apple TV announces Ascension series with Caitriona Balfe starring
The project reunites Apple with Alfonso Cuaron and comes from creators Natalie Erika James and Christian White.
Section
Culture
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Disney and Formula 1 extend collaboration through 2028 and add Pixar's Cars
The companies announced a longer partnership and a new franchise tie-in, while leaving commercial terms and the first Cars activation unspecified.
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Netflix releases Mom Knows Best trailer and names contestants
Claudia Raia hosts the Brazilian reality format, which puts mothers and their children in a competition for up to 1 million reais.
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Netflix announces Ad Vitam Eternam sequel with Guillaume Canet returning
The follow-up to the 2025 French film has been announced, but Netflix has not yet supplied a release date in the source reviewed for this brief.
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Netflix sets September 17 premiere for Taiwanese series The Fixers
The action-comedy stars Christopher Lee and Shou Lou as reluctant partners inside a covert organization.
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Gabriel Martins film On Behalf of My Son joins San Sebastian competition
Netflix said the Brazilian feature was selected for the festival's official competition after an earlier Toronto selection.
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U.S. Mint Sets Trump Dollar Roll and Bag Prices
A 25-coin roll will cost $61 and a 100-coin bag $154.50 starting Aug. 14; the one-ounce gold proof coin remains unpriced and precious-metal pricing can change weekly.
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National Gallery Mining Film Series Ends With Three Free Screenings
The Washington program closes Aug. 15–16 with Harlan County, USA, The Miners' Hymns and Louisiana Story; advance registration is required.
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Okefenokee Joins UNESCO World Heritage List
The Georgia-Florida refuge is among 25 properties added at the World Heritage Committee's 2026 session, lifting the global list to 1,273 sites.
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Smithsonian's ‘From These Lands’ Opens With 600 Objects
The 5,000-square-foot Natural History Museum show represents every state, D.C. and five inhabited U.S. territories through December 2029.
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National Recording Registry Adds 25 Works, Reaching 700
The 2026 class spans 70 years and includes first registry selections for Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, but the Library does not hold every listed recording.
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Three Bronze Bison Anchor Smithsonian’s Yearlong National Mall Program
The sculptures and two exhibitions connect the species’ near-extinction, Indigenous relationships, conservation history and ecological role.
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Smithsonian STEM Gift Targets 40 Communities and 24 Schools
A $2.3 million Caterpillar Foundation donation will fund teacher training, hands-on resources and an AI learning guide across 21 states over three years.
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Smithsonian Program Will Mark Princess Grace's Legacy With Four Swan Benches
The Sept. 1 event pairs a cultural-history program with permanent National Mall tributes during anniversaries of her royal marriage and Monaco's U.S. embassy.
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Smithsonian Opens Japanese-Language Catalog for 2,200 Rare-Book Volumes
The searchable Pulverer Collection resource removes an English-only barrier for researchers studying more than 900 Japanese illustrated-book titles.
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Library of Congress Opens Gil Evans Archive With 160 Unrecorded Scores
The complete manuscript collection spans four decades of the jazz orchestrator's work and includes hundreds of scores, lead sheets and instrumental parts.
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Smithsonian’s ‘In Pursuit’ Exhibition Spans 250 Objects and Three Floors
The National Museum of American History has turned 250,000 square feet into a yearlong exploration of life, liberty and happiness.
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Library of Congress Trained 90 Educators to Teach With Primary Sources
The three summer institutes selected participants from nearly 200 applicants across 21 states and the District of Columbia.
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Library of Congress Honors Accessible Libraries in Georgia and Worcester
The National Library Service recognized statewide service in Atlanta and a Worcester talking-book library for work serving readers with print disabilities.
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Koussevitzky Foundation Commissions Six New Works for 2026
The Library of Congress announced projects by Utku Asuroglu, Pascale Criton, Malika Kishino, Reinaldo Moya, Peter S. Shin and Errollyn Wallen.
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Smithsonian’s ‘Voices and Votes’ Democracy Exhibit Runs Through Sept. 7
The Arts and Industries Building show brings a traveling civic-history exhibition back to Washington after stops in small communities across 25 states.
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Amanda Pascali Plays Free Library of Congress Concert Aug. 13
The Artist in Resonance performance marks the American Folklife Center’s 50th anniversary with Mediterranean, Balkan, Latin, folk and Americana influences.
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Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden Reopens Oct. 31 With 50% More Art
The Smithsonian says the redesigned National Mall garden will display 24 major works from Joseph H. Hirshhorn’s foundational gift.
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Smithsonian and TOPPAN Plan Virtual Peacock Room for Early 2027
The partnership will add animation and historical audio while expanding digital access to a collection whose founding objects cannot travel.
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Avocado DNA Traces a 5,000-Year Crop Journey Into Central America
Genomes from Nicaraguan landraces point toward ancient movement from South America—and a living reservoir of diversity for a Hass-dominated market.
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1.43-Million-Year-Old Footprints Show Paranthropus Traveled in Groups
Twenty-one tracks at Kenya’s Lake Turkana point to eight mostly adult males—and body sizes larger than fossil bones had suggested.
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Air and Space Museum Opens 5 Galleries for Its 50th Anniversary
The July reopening covers flight science, space technology, military aviation and art; two final renovated galleries are due this fall.
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Smithsonian Extends “American Aspirations” Exhibition Through Aug. 10
The 30-object show at the Castle now runs through the institution’s 180th anniversary, with artifacts spanning the founding era, aviation, space and computing.
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2026 National Book Festival: Authors, Tickets and Schedule
The free Aug. 22 event in Washington features more than 80 authors, expanded film and music programs and a first-time ticket requirement for entry.
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Hirshhorn’s “50 for 50” Will Send American Art to 51 Museums
One institution in every state and Puerto Rico will receive free three- to five-year loans selected to connect with its own collection and local audience.
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Smithsonian Will Bring 26 Louvre Islamic Artworks to Washington
The Louvre loans span 12 centuries and include the Baptistery of Saint Louis, Mughal pen cases and the Lion of Monzón for the exhibition’s only U.S. stop.
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Smithsonian STEM Program Expands to 40 Communities With $2.3 Million Gift
The three-year Caterpillar Foundation grant funds teacher development, classroom resources, an AI guide and sponsored participation for 24 schools.
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National Archives Opens Pelé Exhibit With Ball Signed in 1975
“The Beautiful Game” centers on the ball Pelé gave President Gerald Ford during a Rose Garden visit with the New York Cosmos.
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Library of Congress K-Pop Night: Aug. 6 Events, Times and Tickets
The free Thursday-evening program begins Aug. 6 with K-pop activities, trivia and an outdoor screening of “Apollo 13.”
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A 45-Second Méliès Film Lost for a Century Is Streaming Again
Library of Congress technicians found the 1897 trick film among battered nitrate reels, spent more than a week stabilizing it and returned an early screen robot to public view.
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Three Yoshitomo Nara Sculptures Will Open the Hirshhorn’s New West Lawn Series
The garden is scheduled to reopen Oct. 31 with monumental heads enlarged from hand-shaped clay studies. A different artist will follow each year.
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The National Book Festival Is Adding Film, Music and a First-Time Ticket Rule
More than 80 authors are due in Washington on Aug. 22. Admission remains free, but visitors now need an entry ticket; only the Main Stage is promised live online.
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Inside the Library of Congress's 4,000-Square-Foot Research Lab for Kids
The 4,000-square-foot Source gallery uses an animated card catalog, staff videos and a digital collection book to teach primary-source research to visitors ages 8 to 15.