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According to reports, Alvin Kennard was 22 years old when he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1984, for the robbery of Highlands Bakery in 1983. Alabama state law apparently at the time mandated that since it was his fourth offense, the judge was required to sentence him to life in prison. That law, the Habitual Felony Offender Act, has since been changed so that judges now have the option to give fourth-time offenders the possibility of parole....

For the Goedkens, suffering had been a private matter. Six of the seven sons inherited hemophilia, almost exclusively a male disease; one died at the age of 11. Their childhood was a cycle of cuts and bruises, then profuse bleeding, then transfusions. The pain in their joints was so intense that at night they howled into their pillows. Their sisters used their own pillows to shut out the moans. Their mother tried to accept the affliction as God’s will....

In the 1940s and ’50s, Ferrer sang on dozens of Cuban big-band records, but was never credited by name; eventually he ended up shining shoes on the streets of Havana. Then, when he was 70, the Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos and the American guitarist and producer Ry Cooder tracked him down and recorded him with an all-star collective of forgotten Cuban musicians; the 1997 “Buena Vista Social Club” album gave Ferrer his first platinum record–and his first credit....

Faces of Love by Hafez, Khatun and Zakan Shiraz, Iran This collection of three classic Persian poets brings us back into a Shiraz of wine, song and romantic rivalry. From the often mystical Hafez to the erotic female poet Khatun and the satiric Zakani, all three poets see Shiraz as an earthly paradise—probably better than the heavenly one. Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky Pitcairn Island, British Overseas Territory...

Cracking the Code Your April 10 cover story “The Race to Decode the Human Body” was fascinating (Science & Technology). Whoever is able to harness the power of our genes will become the Bill Gates of DNA. The creation of superintelligent humans or supersoldiers may be right on the horizon. Could scary times be ahead for the human race? Or could humankind be facing a bright future, free of disease, with a chance to live to the ripe age of 200?...

Not the least impressive thing about the Ring of Fire Aquarium, which opened last week in Osaka, Japan, is the way in which architect Peter Chermayeff has managed to use water not just as a medium in which to grow fish, but as an architectural element in its own right. With less success, he uses fire, because the theme for this aquarium is the Pacific Ocean and its shores, the “Ring of Fire” that includes most of the world’s active volcanoes....

On March 15, the fake news report commenced with, surprise, a Facebook post. In this false story, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was reported to have made a plea deal in order to lower his prison sentence. He claimed he could name celebrities who were supposedly all involved in a sex trafficking club with the deceased Jeffrey Epstein. Weinstein allegedly gave up the names of Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Charlie Sheen, and more....

The View co-host was in her hometown where she stopped into the Palace Bar and Restaurant to attend its iconic drag brunch. Wearing a pink shirt with feathered sleeves, Navarro stood up to address her fellow diners and threw her support behind the drag queen community. “Listen, I live in Florida and I hate that drag queens are being made a political issue and a web issue, and a manufactured, made up cultural issue....

Overview Typically, if a person tests positive for the antinuclear antibody, it means only that the person could have lupus. Further tests are needed to determine if a person actually has lupus. Those include tests for double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), Sm (Smith), Ro/SSA (Sjogren’s syndrome A), La/SSB (Sjogren’s syndrome B), and RNP (ribonucleoprotein) antibodies. Up to 15% of otherwise healthy people can have a low titer positive ANA. Other tests for inflammation markers (ESR, CRP) and complement levels (C3, C4), may also be obtained....

Your healthcare provider can determine if a yeast infection is the cause of your symptoms and help you find the best treatment. This article explains the causes, symptoms, and treatment of yeast infections. It also offers tips to prevent them from coming back. What Is an Anal Yeast Infection? Yeast infections can occur in any part of the body, but most often near these areas: Folds of skin Mouth Penis Vagina...

Sanches had been expected to leave the German champions on loan, having only started six league matches in his first season at the Allianz Arena after joining Bayern in a €35 million deal last summer. Get odds on Bayern to win the Bundesliga AC Milan were reportedly front-runners to sign the Portugal international on a temporary basis, although chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed Chelsea’s Antonio Conte had also asked about the teenager’s availability....

The discovery was made after local resident Félix Alarcón spotted some shards of pottery on the seabed in Palma in July, the Balearic Institute of Maritime Archaeology Studies (IBEAM) said. The Spanish government then enlisted the help of the IBEAN for an emergency excavation, to ensure the rare artefacts weren’t plundered before they could be recovered. A team including underwater archaeologists and naval architecture specialists, with the help of the Spanish Navy and the Civil Guard, found the sunken vessel a few meters off the coast of S’Arenal beach, one of the most tourist-heavy areas of the Balearic Islands....

The human genome project has been a veritable treasure trove for scientists trying to tell the story of humankind’s migrations out of Africa. A couple of terrific books have chronicled this, and the use of genetics to reconstruct human history was a focus of a cover story we did last year. The fun part is when genetics throws a wrench into supposedly settled accounts, and that’s what a paper posted today in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics does....

This forum for language lovers surveys such hot-button topics as “Friends of Bill – or Bill’s”; “Hopefully: Cause for Despair?”; “Chairperson, Chairwoman, or Chair: Which Is Best?” as well as racier ones (is a popular term for oral sex one word or two?) not printable here. Subscribers ponder whether to spell “dis,” the slang term for “to show disrespect,” with one “s” or two. Founder and editor Mary Beth Protomastro, 34, issues no edicts: “Copy editors reflect, they don’t invent....

Johnson had driven down the right baseline and cocked back for a huge dunk as Drummond tried to defend at the rim. MORE: Celtics finally trade Rondo | Grizzlies buy intern new car | Possible Kings replacements The next time, Johnson had the ball on the left wing and had found some open space. As Johnson drove toward Drummond, Detroit’s franchise center failed to go for any part of the ball and instead used his hip and forearm to shove Johnson to the floor....

Smollett, who was convicted Thursday of lying to Chicago police, testified that he had put the noose back on after the attack in Chicago in January of 2019 so responding police would see it. “As an African American person, I’m not putting that noose back on at all,” Hope, 63, said in an interview with WLS-TV. Hope also said the evidence was overwhelmingly against Smollett. Two brothers testified that Smollett recruited them to stage the attack....

Johnson held his annual charity event where he took kids from child protective services to Toys"R"Us and bought them whatever they could throw in a cart in 80 seconds. MORE: NFL players doing good | Colbert roasts reaction to Rams’ “Hands Up” gesture | Bieber hangs out with Patriots It was definitely a Christmas present to remember for 11 kids. Johnson said this is his favorite charity event he does during the year....

Though it’s not clear what Cuomo hopes to gain from the ads or if he will seek office again, a member of his campaign did confirm to Newsweek the existence of the spots. Cuomo, a Democrat, resigned as governor in August of last year after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report that detailed sexual harassment allegations against him. However, the five criminal investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct that came against Cuomo were all later dropped, with the last ending in January when a district attorney decided there was not sufficient legal grounds to pursue criminal charges....