But this and other favorable publicity might have helped him get out his sequel a little sooner. “Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow!” (the title comes from W.C. Handy’s “Memphis Blues”) covers a smaller span of time, from 1927 to 1935, but casts a wider net. It ranges from raw Mississippi Delta blues to sophisticated urban jazz, from barn-dance hoedowns to what Wyatt says is a polka by musicians from the Cape Verde Islands-though with those tangolike twitchings in the rhythm guitar, you might dislocate something if you tried your usual Frank Yankovic moves....

Because of the allusion to artificial intelligence, Fabulich, a 21-year-old Yale senior, knew immediately that this wasn’t a stalker-but a clue. The robot’s message was just the latest element in a fantasy world that has been created to promote the coming summer blockbuster “A.I.,” an intricate maze of at least 20 Web sites. Although Fabulich had left his phone number on one of the sites, even he was surprised when the furious-sounding robot called his dorm room....

And then, the party. Following a posh dinner overlooking the moonlit Mediterranean, the masses followed Kidman and her costars to the “Moulin Rouge” fete, held in a tent nearby that was done up like a postmodern cabaret. There, after months of quiet restraint in the face of her publicly aired marital problems, the flame-haired Kidman finally let loose. In a black corseted Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche gown and soaring stilettos, smack dab in the middle of a 1,000-plus crowd, the Aussie actress laughed and danced, even spinning music for a while alongside famed DJ Fatboy Slim....

On Saturday, the Canadian-based Russian claimed a hard-fought eighth-round stoppage victory over British power puncher Anthony Yarde at Wembley Arena in London. With this victory, the champion extends his unbeaten record to 19-0 (19 KOs). Following a classic 175-pound shootout, Beterbiev retained the IBF, WBC, and WBO belts, but he was tested and marked up by Yarde, who fought brilliantly. Ultimately, it was the 38-year-old champion’s superior pedigree and class that proved decisive and he decked Yarde with a pair of fierce right hands in the eighth....

Be realistic. A three- by five-foot painting by a student starts at $500; expect to pay $5,000 and up for the work of an established painter. Sculpture costs more; silk screens, less. Once you’ve picked an artist (try an online registry, like wwar.com), ask for sketches of your project (always return them). Don’t be afraid to ask for changes. When you’re happy, sign a contract spelling out expectations and payment....

Everyone feels so sad and anxious, I said, like they have little reserve and are just barely hanging on, hoping they can get there and come out the other side still intact. The number of adults experiencing symptoms of depression in the United States has tripled amid the pandemic, according to a recent study, rising to nearly 28 percent. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that anxiety symptoms have also increased threefold from last year, now at over 25 percent....

Dubbed the “Reproductive Health Care and Justice for All Plan,” Sanders’ proposal comes at a time when the future of a woman’s “right to choose” has become increasingly uncertain, with the Supreme Court deliberating on a case that could see abortion care rendered inaccessible in states across the country. If elected president, Sanders has promised to “use executive authority to undo all the damage [President Donald] Trump has done to women’s reproductive freedom....

For a minority of cases, federal law requires H-1B dependent employers to certify that they will not displace an American worker in the 90 days before or after petitioning for an H-1B worker. On its face, this sounds like a reasonable measure to prevent the replacement of U.S. workers with (often cheaper) foreign equivalents. But considering that petitions for an October 1 start of the fiscal year are often made about 180 days in advance in April, it becomes apparent that these protections are designed to protect no one....

They’ve already made one bold move, sending a pair of prospects to the Red Sox in exchange for veteran starter Jake Peavy to shore up a rotation that could be without Matt Cain for the rest of the season. GM Brian Sabean has a history of activity at the trade deadline, and it would be surprising if that’s the only big move he makes (no, signing Dan Uggla doesn’t count as a big move)....

The fire on Evia caused four villages and a monastery to be evacuated. It has destroyed homes in one of the four villages but has not claimed any victims, The National Herald reported on Tuesday. Four firefighting planes were being sent from Croatia and Italy to aid in the efforts, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was reportedly vacationing on the Greek islands before learning about the fires and returning to Athens to visit the fire department’s main coordination center....

At a time when the world is starting to open back up from COVID-19-related lockdowns and restrictions, allowing offices to open back up to commuters and family vacations to commence, the effects of higher prices, combined with growing inflation, are hitting consumers’ wallets hard. Owners that bought a gas guzzler a few years ago are regretting it now. Chris Weir, 42, from Atlanta, does most of his daily work in a V8-powered Chevrolet Silverado that he bought several years ago when the 15-miles per gallon (mpg) indicated average didn’t hurt so much....

Data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA) shows that in 2019, there were 417 mass shootings with 1,707 wounded and 465 deaths. Comparatively, in 2020, there have been 500 mass shootings with 2,089 wounded and 385 deaths so far. Data from the Mass Shooting Tracker (MST) shows that in 2019, there were 503 mass shootings with 1,902 wounded and 628 deaths. Comparatively, in 2020, there have been 589 mass shootings with 2,374 wounded and 530 deaths so far....

The report was issued by a think tank on behalf of the Xinhua News Agency, the state-run media organization of China. Entitled “Ten Questions for American Democracy”, it was accompanied by a poster with a multiple-choice question. “Which of the following is true?” the poster asks, followed by three different percentage options. The poster then pointed to the option labeled “1% > 90%”, indicating that only one percent of Americans held over 90 percent of American wealth....

Researchers at the University of Michigan and Boston University suggest in a new study that a subset of people hospitalized for severe COVID-19 in 2021 may owe almost $1,000 or more in out-of-pocket expenses as public and private health insurance companies begin to phase out cost-sharing waivers. Put simply, the waivers enable insured patients to receive medical care for SARS-CoV-2 infection or related complications at no additional cost to them in the form of copays, deductibles, or coinsurance....

This is not the first time I’ve taken the NBA to task over a free agency system that discourages competitive balance, the most important element of any league. I feel fortunate I worked for 28 years in the NFL, a league that understands how critical it is for all teams to believe they have a chance to win a Super Bowl or conference title as a result of astute drafting, quality free-agent signings, smart trades and great coaching/playing....

There have been vaccination issues. There have been injury problems. There have been trade requests. There have been social media posts, suspensions and apologies. At least for a brief moment in that tumultuous timeline, though, there have been wins. Heading into Wednesday’s contest against the Warriors, the Nets have won 10 of their last 11 games, jumping up to No. 4 in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Durant, who once seemed destined to leave Brooklyn, has been the driving force behind Brooklyn’s surge....

And that’s just for starters. MORE: Active goals leaders | Lidstrom, Fedorov and 2015 Hall of Fame | Stanley Cup summer Despite the travel headaches it would cause, including a seven-hour flight from Quebec to Vancouver, or eight to Los Angeles, one problem for the NHL is which teams to place where. There’s also the question of whether to move a team to the Western Conference to balance it with the East at 16 teams apiece....

Americans have one of the safest supplies of tap water in the world. But fewer of us seem to be drinking it. In the past decade, sales of bottled water have tripled to $10.6 billion. Environmental advocates say the bottles waste resources—most are made from a derivative of crude oil and are transported for miles in diesel-guzzling trucks. Water filters seem to offer the best of both worlds: an unlimited supply of purified water with less waste....

Speaking to Newsweek, experts said the Republican Party likely spend as much energy fighting among themselves as they will attacking Democrats over the course of President Joe Biden’s first term. The experts feel the chances of the two sides remaining united over the next four years are low, even if the GOP has maintained a vaguely united front following the Cheney (R-WY) and Greene (R-GA) spats. They also expect Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to wrestle with the party’s future direction in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections....

Voice of America, which is funded by the U.S. government, and helps to produce the Russian-language Current Time TV, was among the many international-backed outlets covering Saturday’s protests, their aftermath, and their causes. The account by Russian state media claimed that the west, and in particular the U.S., stoked the demonstrations for jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. This version of events was pitted against the international media’s reporting, including Voice of America’s, which focused on how opposition to President Vladimir Putin was being solidified....