Yet in much of Africa, such face coverings masks have a different meaning and are far more likely to have a connotation of beauty and awe, rather than fear and crisis. They are part of a creative aesthetic that has deep origins in many African cultures being revived by a new wave of artists in the 21st century. In the early 20th century, Fauvist artists like Henri Matisse and Cubists like Pablo Picasso were influenced by African masks in their artwork....

The UCF women’s bantamweight champion recently commented how she wanted to play the lead role of Captain Marvel, the first movie from Marvel Studios that depicts a female superhero in the starring role. MORE: The best scenes from Rousey vs. Correia | Vegas odds on potential Rousey-Cyborg fight | Rousey’s defining moments During a Reddit AMA last week, fans sent Rousey artwork depicting her as Captain Marvel, a/k/a Carol Danvers....

It’s hard to stay hip. No kidding, you say. But a high-school kid’s finding just the right deep blue, “hard” baggy jeans, the right color-coordinated baseball cap with a really thick, embroidered team logo and the proudly proper earphones for the MP3 player that correctly accessorizes the whole joint is nothing-nothing-compared to what a New York art dealer goes through in trying to keep his or her stable of artists edgy enough to satisfy the mercilessly trendy audience that prowls the sidewalks of Manhattan’s currently chief art neighborhood, Chelsea....

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found Biden had a 12-point advantage, with 53 percent asked intending to back him and 41 Trump. The survey saw 1,000 respondents questioned through phone calls from June 25 to 29 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent. The 12-point lead, from a combined 2-way ballot test, was up from a 10-point lead in a similar USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll in April....

Under the Trump rule, over 5,600 children were separated from their parents for crossing over the U.S.-Mexico border illegally with them. Those subjected to these separations said they inflicted “lasting psychological trauma” and alerted their personalities according to some, The Journal reported. These payments could total up to $1 million a family and would be administered by the U.S. Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services. Total payouts derived from the program could total over $1 billion....

Election officials in Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Alaska were still counting ballots early Thursday, and waiting for others to arrive, including those from American troops and their families stationed away from their home counties. The absentee mail-in ballots have largely been breaking for Biden over the last few days, giving him the momentum that has put him on the verge of the presidency and drawing desperate, factually incorrect claims of electoral fraud from Trump....

The reason? Revival. At one end of the park was a stage covered with a large black awning proclaiming “Let Us Worship” in gold lettering. Standing onstage wearing a #40 Seattle Sonics jersey was Sean Feucht, 38, a California musician with long, flowing golden locks. “Yes, we are those crazy Christians in a park singing our guts out to Jesus tonight,” he said. “And we don’t give a rip what anyone thinks....

By using the Defense Production Act (DPA)—a rarely-used, Korean War-era law meant to ensure the availability of needed materials in times of war—for the second time, Trump directed Azar to use “any and all authority available under the Act to facilitate the supply of materials” to several manufacturers of ventilators, which are used to support COVID-19 patients whose symptoms are too severe to breathe on their own. The life-saving devices are just one of a number of medical necessities that have been in short supply due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic....

In fact, the Data for Progress poll found H.R. 1—also known as the For the People Act—has broad public support. More than two-thirds of likely voters (68 percent) said they would back the proposal. Just 16 percent said they opposed it. The support also transcended party lines, with 70 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independent or third-party voters and 57 percent of Republican voters expressing approval for the bill....

The state of Ohio saw its unemployment claims jump 14 times higher than the previous week in just the first three days of this week, a spokesperson for the state said on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News. Similarly, Illinois has seen a surge of nearly 10 times as many claims. In New York, the state’s unemployment claims website has been crashing as it was overwhelmed with additional applications, and Connecticut reported 10 times as many claims compared to an average week....

“#Christmas planning has begun in the East Wing at the @WhiteHouse,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday, several hours into Mueller’s first testimony of the day, in front of the House Judiciary Committee. “I’m looking forward to sharing our final vision for this unique tradition in the coming months,” the first lady continued, sharing four photos of herself in the White House looking at flower and fabric samples. With Christmas Eve exactly five months away, many Twitter users were baffled that the first lady would tweet such a thing when Mueller was answering questions for the first time since releasing his report that found no Trump campaign collusion with Russians but did not exonerate President Donald Trump of obstructing justice....

The Duke of Edinburgh retired from public life in 2017, ending decades of public service, some of which was controversial. Today he celebrates his 99th year together with wife Queen Elizabeth II in isolation at Windsor Castle. However, he has been getting out in the open, as a picture taken on June 1 and released last night shows. A Buckingham Palace statement read: “A new photograph of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has been released to celebrate The Duke’s 99th Birthday on Wednesday 10th June....

Activists disingenuously claim that the toxic ideology forced upon kids merely amounts to lessons about slavery—as if there’s a single textbook presently in use that omits this topic. Teachers just want to teach about the Tulsa race massacre or the history of redlining, activists argue. And if you get in the way, you deny racism! “Why wouldn’t you want your kid to understand the roots of slavery and the legacy of slavery?...

The lawsuit also claims that Robinhood’s decision to temporarily prevent the purchasing of various securities, like GME stock, was “done purposefully and knowingly to manipulate the market for the benefit of people and financial [institutions] who were not Robinhood’s customers.” Elsewhere, the filing cites a message reportedly sent out from Robinhood’s Twitter account in March 2016, which said, “Let the people trade.” The class-action complaint characterizes that statement as a “mantra,” and argues that the company has “disregarded their mantra and have blocked access for millions of its customers to trade particular securities....

Donika Gervalla-Schwarz said in an exclusive interview with Newsweek that Russia and its regional allies—particularly in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina—are exploiting European Union hesitance and stoking the same ethnic divisions that dragged the Balkans into brutal violence in the 1990s. She suggested such a shift is opening the door for greater Russian and Chinese influence in the heart of the European continent. “By widely ignoring the rising risks the EU has lost—and is losing day by day—credibility and authority in the Balkans,” said Gervalla-Schwarz, the daughter of Kosovar-Albanian activist Jusuf Gervalla who was assassinated, allegedly by Yugoslavia’s secret police, in Germany in 1982....

Soon all of Major League Soccer will join them for the MLS is Back Tournament, scheduled to run July 8-Aug. 11. Traveling sports NASCAR and PGA Tour golf began last month. The National Women’s Soccer League opens Saturday in Utah. MLS will be the first male major sports league in the U.S. to being competing since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shutdown in all significant world sports. As such leagues as the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball have attempted to launch or relaunch seasons without spectators in the stands, there has been plenty of concern voiced about participant safety....

Back in 2005, Facebook was barely a year old and MySpace dominated the social media space. Reddit would come the same year, but Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Snapchat and Instagram had not yet been born. WhatsApp, Vine? Twitch? Years in the future. There were no iPhones. And titles like YouTuber and Influencer were definitely not in the vocabulary. In 2020, an age of TikToks and tweets, when smartphones are as powerful as some computers, it’s difficult to imagine the internet without it....

A struggle for regular game time as part of a star-studded squad at Santiago Bernabeu has sparked exit talk surrounding the 22-year-old midfielder. Premier League sides are reported to be keeping a close eye on his situation, with those at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge prepared to open their doors to an exciting talent. Asensio has, however, committed himself to Real, with the Spain international eager to point out that he joined the Blancos to make his mark on the grandest of stages....

The visitors dominated Thursday’s play in the second Ashes Test as they targeted a 2-0 series lead, bowling England out for only 258 and closing on 30-1. With wet weather expected for the rest of Friday, Joe Root’s home side needed to do damage before lunch and duly reduced Australia to 80-4 at the interval. Debutant Archer removed Cameron Bancroft before Chris Woakes saw off Usman Khawaja (38) and Travis Head fell to Stuart Broad, but England was unable to claim the prized scalp of Steve Smith (13 not), who scored a century in both innings in Australia’s win at Edgbaston....

Talismanic batsman Smith was struck on the neck by a Jofra Archer bouncher on Day 4 on Saturday and retired hurt before later returning to resume his innings. The in-form Smith, who made centuries in each innings of the first Test at Edgbaston, did not play at all on day five, though, after suffering with delayed symptoms. Marnus Labuschagne was called in as a concussion substitute and made a brilliant 59 as the tourists battled to a draw to maintain their 1-0 series lead....