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☆ An American expat who retired at 53 said he got 3 things right on his decades-long FIRE journey
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Todd Miller retired at 53 because he did not want his life to be defined by his career. "I didn't have the vocabulary back then of 'financial independence,' but I said I wanted optionality," Miller told Business Insider. He picked age 50 to retire — what the personal finance industry now calls FIRE, which stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. In 2019, just three years after the initial age target he had set for himself, Miller took the plunge and retired at 53. His passive income now funds the family's lifestyle in Phuket, Thailand, where they live.

Persons: Todd Miller, —, Miller, that's, you've, shubhangigoel@businessinsider.com Organizations: Service, Business, Financial Independence, FIRE Locations: Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Phuket, American, Real, Mardi, Nepal, Africa, Cambodia, Vietnam, Europe, Canada, Paris, Uganda, Asia

☆ Cicadas 2024: What to expect from the Brood XIII and Brood XIX emergence of cicadas
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The 13-year group, known as Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, is the largest periodical cicada brood, stretching across the southeastern United States. The Northern Illinois Brood, or Brood XIII, emerges every 17 years. Periodical cicadas are smaller and mostly black, with bright red eyes and orange-tinged wings and legs. Billions of cicadas are expected this spring as two different broods — Broods XIX and XIII — emerge simultaneously. However, predictions of a cicadapocalypse — in which Brood XIII and Brood XIX show up at the same place at the same time — are probably an exaggeration.

Persons: hasn’t, Thomas Jefferson, —, “, ”, Jonathan Larson, don’t, XIII —, Jason Bergman, ” Larson, We’re, Chris Simon, XIII haven't, Chip Somodevilla, Larson, Cheney Orr, ” Simon, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, Southern, Northern Illinois, University of Kentucky, Midwest, University of Connecticut, Reuters Locations: United States, Indianapolis, Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky , Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina , Georgia, Alabama , Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Columbia , Maryland, America, Chicago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Dallas Seavey overcame killing a moose and receiving a time penalty to win the Iditarod on Tuesday, a record-breaking sixth championship in the world’s most famous sled dog race. However, he was ultimately given a two-hour time penalty because he only spent 10 minutes gutting the moose, officials said. Race officials disqualified Burke on Feb. 19. But the state of Alaska then dropped charges alleging he choked his then-girlfriend in 2022, and the Iditarod Trail Committee reinstated him. The committee also disqualified Sass without explanation, other than pointing to a rule governing personal and professional conduct, and race officials refused to discuss it during a media briefing ahead of the race.

Persons: — Dallas Seavey, Seavey, Faloo, Rick Swenson, Swenson, Dan Seavey, Mitch Seavey, Dallas Seavey, Mushers Issac Teaford, Hunter Keefe, Henry, Calvin Daugherty’s, Daugherty, Tracy Reiman, Eddie Burke Jr, Brent Sass, Burke, Sass, ” Organizations: Iditarod, Dallas, USA, U.S, Olympic Training, PETA Locations: ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nome, Bering, Mardi Gras, New Orleans, mushing, Salt Lake City, Knik, Shaktoolik, Anchorage

☆ How Contemporary Artists Are Taking Papier-Mâché Out of the Classroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Alexa Brazilian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The artist Joel Hernandez, 39, first worked with papier-mâché as an 8-year-old, soon after moving from Mexico to rural Indiana. His parents had gone looking for piñatas — a staple of their family celebrations — at local stores but had come up short. Hernandez, now based in San Francisco, is just one of the contemporary craftspeople using papier-mâché in new and provocative ways. And while each has a different approach to the medium, they share an appreciation for its democratic and economic nature. Making papier-mâché, after all, requires nothing more than a few pantry items, some trash and a bit of imagination.

Persons: Joel Hernandez, ”, Hernandez, La Luz de Jesus, Han, it’s, Bernie Kaminski, Brooks, “, ” Kaminski, who’s, he’s Organizations: La Luz, Mardi Gras, New Locations: Mexico, Indiana, —, La Luz de, Los Angeles, San Francisco, China, New Orleans, New York City

☆ Alleged murder of Sydney couple by police officer reopens old wounds in LGBTQ+ community
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sydney, Australia CNN —The alleged murder of a young Sydney couple by a serving police officer has opened a tragic new chapter in the troubled history between the force and the city’s LGBT+ community and cast a shadow over Mardi Gras, a vibrant annual celebration of their culture. The bodies of Sydney couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird were found a week after their alleged murder. Adding to that distress was a photo circulated widely of the alleged killer marching in police uniform at the 2020 Mardi Gras. The couple's alleged murder has cast a shadow over the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. Recommendations to police included reinvestigating some of the suspected hate crimes murders, but also for officers to take courses in LGBT+ bias and to improve relations with the LGBT+ community.

Persons: Australia CNN —, Senior New South Wales Police Constable Beaumont Lamarre, Condon, Jesse Baird, Luke Davies, Baird, Davies, @Jesse Baird, Kate Webb, Taylor Swift, Taylor, ” Webb, Mardi, Jesse, Luke who, Webb, ”, “, Jenny Evans, ” It’s, Mardi Gras, Robert French, Tony Crandell, John Sefton, John Sackar, Sackar Organizations: Australia CNN, Mardi Gras, Senior New South Wales Police, Baird’s Paddington, revelers, Gay, Instagram Police, NSW Police, NSW police, Sydney Gay, 78er, ‘, Oxford, International, Sunday Locations: Sydney, Australia, Mardi, Senior, Baird’s, Sydney’s, Mardi Gras, NSW, Newspix, Police

☆ Their Weapons Against the Effects of Aging: Friendship, and Some Fancy Footwork
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Colbi Edmonds | Madeline Gray | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WHY WE’RE HEREWe’re exploring how America defines itself one place at a time. In Beaufort, N.C., a group of women offers a window into what contemporary aging can be in a nation that is rapidly getting older. “If you want to say something,” one woman hollered above the din, “you better scream it!”Ms. Barnes’s home is not a sorority house — she is 86 years old. “We’re not very contained,” said Ms. Barnes, who is the Queen Mother of the group. The Belles are a chapter of The Sweet Potato Queens — an international network of more than 6,500 women’s groups that aim for a similar balance of amusement and mutual support.

Persons: Martha Barnes’s, Barnes’s, —, “, ”, Barnes Locations: Beaufort, N.C

☆ Opinion: A Sydney ‘copshop’ with a dark history. And the gay community reclaiming it
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Opinion Gary Nunn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Police arrest a protester during a gay rights demonstration, which would become known as the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, June 1978. A permanent place to learn and healThere’s never been a more crucial time to record and display the stories and history of my LGBTQI community. LGBTQ+ activists demonstrate in what would evolve into the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, 1978. Many arrested gay men were sent to Cooma — the world’s only known jail for gay men — also in New South Wales. My gay community finally gets to tell their own history in a venue that imprisoned and beat us for simply being ourselves.

Persons: Gary Nunn, Read, Gary Nunn Qtopia, Sydney’s, Anthony Albanese, “ ‘, ”, Darlo copshop, Steve Warren, Peter Murphy, Murphy, Qtopia, They’ve, videographers, There’s, —, David Polson, wasn’t, “, Cooma, David hasn’t, He’s Organizations: Sydney CNN, Darlinghurst Police, “ ‘ 78ers, ‘ 78ers, 78ers, Police, Sydney Gay, Mardi Gras, Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfax Media, Getty, Warren, Mardi, South Wales, Gay, NSW police, Goliath Locations: Sydney, Australia, Darlinghurst, San Francisco, London, South, Qtopia, New South Wales, Uganda, Malaysia, Guyana, Dominica, Nigeria, Pakistan

☆ A New Orleans Man Wants His Opossum Back. Thousands Have Joined His Plea.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Emily Schmall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A man in New Orleans lonesome for an opossum named Saffron, whom he had raised as a pet and dressed in a colorful sweater, is appealing to authorities to return the animal, which was taken from him by state wildlife officials. Thousands have backed an online petition to reunite the man with his marsupial. A friend’s petition on Change.org to bring Saffron home had garnered nearly 4,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon. In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Voiles, 50, said he and his friends were appealing to law enforcement, biologists, veterinarians, online supporters and even Gov. Saffron formed part of a menagerie, including one rabbit and two dogs, all named after spices, that Mr. Voiles wheeled around New Orleans on a tricycle with a basket and a trailer.

Persons: Saffron, William Voiles, Voiles, Jeff Landry of Locations: New Orleans, Jeff Landry of Louisiana

☆ Australia Authorities Say More Sydney Sites Tainted With Asbestos
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities on Saturday said asbestos had been discovered in more places in Sydney including housing estates as the New South Wales government continues a weeks-long scramble to remove the toxic material from mulch used in public spaces. Since then, in what is the biggest investigation by the state's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in decades, 32 city sites have returned positive results for bonded asbestos, the agency said in a statement on Saturday. The EPA said new sites where asbestos had been detected were a public school and park in the city's north, and two residential estates under construction in Sydney's south-west. The University of Sydney had also been identified as potentially tainted and would be tested this weekend, it said. The rate of positive results is around 10 percent," the EPA said.

Persons: Sam McKeith, Matthew Lewis Organizations: SYDNEY, New South, Environmental Protection Authority, EPA, University of Sydney, Authorities, Sydney Gay, Mardi Locations: Sydney, New South Wales, Sydney's

☆ Sydney Parks Cordoned Off, Mardi Gras Event Cancelled After Asbestos Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities on Friday cordoned off areas in several parks in Sydney after the discovery of asbestos in mulch, while schools began precautionary testing as the government scrambled to remove the toxic material from public spaces. About 700 students at a public school in Sydney's southwest will be relocated to another school for several weeks after finding asbestos on campus. The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day event, which usually draws tens of thousands of revellers, scheduled for Sunday was cancelled after traces of asbestos were found around the Victoria Park venue. The New South Wales state government on Thursday set up a taskforce to provide more resources and staff to help support the Environment Protection Authority's investigations. The complex, criminal investigation involves multiple lines of enquiry," New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said in a statement.

Persons: Penny Sharpe, Sharpe, Renju Jose, Jamie Freed Organizations: SYDNEY, Sydney City Council, Sydney Gay, Mardi, Sunday, Protection, Environment Protection Authority, Wales Environment Locations: Sydney, Sydney's, Victoria, New South Wales, New, Wales

☆ Speed dating is making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Speed dating, singles mixers and other group dating parties have made a comeback since the Covid-19 pandemic ended as singles look to get off their screens and meet potential partners in person. Game-based dating events grew 163% in 2023 and athletic dating events like pickleball and spin classes saw a 135% rise on the platform. And it’s never been replicated.”Mixed feelings about dating appsOnline dating was stigmatized for years, but it’s now a primary form of dating. Still, online dating users are divided over whether their experiences on dating apps have been positive. Fifty-three percent of people say their personal experiences have been very or somewhat positive on dating apps, according to Pew.

Persons: Mike Blake, ”, Maria Avgitidis, Z, ” Avgitidis, “, ” Linda de Lucca, ” de Lucca, “ We’ve, it’s, Bumble, Yu Chun Christopher Wong, Justin McLeod, Rachel DeAlto Organizations: New, New York CNN, Valentine’s, Reuters, Baby Boomers, Pew, Financial, Match Group Locations: New York, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, United States, California, Millennials

OLNEY, England (AP) — Women in matching checkered aprons, headscarves and a rainbow of running shoes limbered up Tuesday as they prepared for the centuries-old pancake race in this English country town. The race is held the day before the start of Lent, the Christian period of repentance and sacrifice before Easter. “You just have to go flat out and then hope that you’re not gonna fall over. … But it’s good fun.”Thousands of miles away later in the day, women in the town of Liberal, Kansas, prepared to take on Olney in their own race. Two Kansas sisters who competed in Liberal since they were children traveled to Olney this year to see where it all began.

Persons: ”, skillet, Easter, Gras, “, Kaisa Larkas, Eloise Kramer, Kansas, “ We’ve, Amy Thompson, ___ Melley Organizations: Liberal Locations: OLNEY, England, Olney, United States, Kansas, Liberal , Kansas, London

☆ Meet Flagboy Giz, a Rapper Uniting New Orleans Cultural Traditions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Millan Verma | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In his cluttered two-room apartment in Gentilly, a small neighborhood just south of Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, Flagboy Giz used dental floss to thread brightly colored beads through black gym shoes on a stormy February afternoon. An assemblage of neon feathers and phosphorescent beads burst out of drawers and scattered across the floor. Though he was out late at Mardi Gras balls the night before, Flagboy Giz, 37, had awakened early and headed directly to the bead store. “This is a tradition that you have to preserve,” he said, “so you’ve got to make sure you’re out there every year masking. Last year, I caught Covid two weeks before Mardi Gras, and I was still sewing with Covid.

Persons: Flagboy Giz, ”, you’ve, Covid Organizations: Mardi Gras, Gras Locations: Gentilly, Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, Mardi

☆ Nine hours at the most unhinged hole in golf
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Zak Jason | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

But this was Saturday at the 16th hole of Phoenix’s Waste Management Open, also known as the loudest day at the Loudest Hole in Golf, also known as the Greatest Show on Grass. “We’re so back.”In theory, this was a professional golf tournament, one of the oldest on the PGA Tour. Iwas there as an inevitable result of being in all-male group chat, its own black hole of feral manhood. Few were watching golf; most were huddled in circles many yards from the 16th hole, drinking and people-watching. That’s worth the wait.”Inside our box, golf continued to happen, but if the golfers weren’t teeing off, no one was watching the course.

Persons: seltzer, “ He’s, ”, —, Vuori, Oxford —, there’d, Creed’s, Scott Stapp sauntering, Christian Petersen, Getty “ Scott Stapp, “, Miller, George Bush, Orlando Ramirez, Getty, ” He’d, ctT5HMvIyg, Happy, Thomas Jefferson, MAGA, Him Cook, Ross D, Jesus Christ, Johnny, weren’t teeing, Hey, Potter, hal, Ben Jared, shitshow ” Organizations: Waste, Oxford, PGA, NBC, Alabama, pats, BlackRock, Bulls, WM, SEC, Happy Gilmore Bruins, Mardi Gras, Franklin, Waste Management Locations: Patagonia, Phoenix

The city's annual series of parades began more than a week ago and will close out on Tuesday — Mardi Gras — a final day of revelry before Lent. Aside from recycling, there's a small but growing movement to find something else for parade riders to lob. Grounds Krewe, Davis's nonprofit, is now marketing more than two dozen types of nonplastic, sustainable items for parade riders to pitch. "These efforts will help green Mardi Gras," said Christy Leavitt, of the group Oceana, in an email. Enck, who visited New Orleans last year and attended Mardi Gras celebrations, hopes parade organizers will adopt the biodegradable alternatives.

Persons: —, it's, ”, Judith Enck, Enck, Brett Davis, headbands, ” Davis, Christy Leavitt, Jennifer McDermott Organizations: ORLEANS, Environmental Protection Agency, Beyond, New Orleans & Co, Oceana, New, Mardi, Associated Locations: New Orleans, revelry, Lake Pontchartrain, Mexico, Mardi, Providence , Rhode Island

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — With two weeks to go before the South Carolina Republican primary, Nikki Haley is trying to challenge Donald Trump on her home turf while the former president tries to quash his last major rival’s narrow path to the nomination. Haley, 52, has called throughout her campaign for mental competency tests for politicians, a way to contrast with 77-year-old Trump and 81-year-old Biden. Harlie O’Connell, a longtime South Carolina resident who backs Haley, said she’s excited to vote in the presidential primary for a woman from her home state. While she plans to support in November whoever wins the GOP nomination, she said she would prefer someone younger. Organizers expecting a capacity crowd set up screens outside where an overflow crowd would be able to watch Trump’s appearance.

Persons: CONWAY, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump, Trump, Joe Biden, Haley, Ronna McDaniel, ” Haley, Nancy Pelosi, Biden, ”, Harlie, “ It’s, ” O’Connell, Mike O’Connell, Bob Pollard, “, Pollard, ___ Price Organizations: South Carolina Republican, GOP, Democratic, Trump, Republican Party, Republican, Volvo, Samsung Locations: S.C, Nevada, Conway, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Newberry, Washington, Ukraine, Russia, Charleston, South, Horry County, New York

☆ Mardi Gras just keeps getting bigger and bigger
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Cork Gaines | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The economic impact of the 2023 Mardi Gras celebration was $891 million, according to a new study. "The economic impact of Mardi Gras continued to grow as the local and national economy was expanding," Weiss told Business Insider. "You can see that when you see non-locals walking around with Mardi Gras beads in July. Additionally, business conventions that come to the city throughout the year still want the Mardi Gras experience and add to the city's financial boost by putting on mini Mardi Gras events, Weiss said. Additionally, out-of-town visitors are believed to have spent more than $140 million during Mardi Gras, including $84 million on lodging.

Persons: —, Toni L, Weiss, Mardi Gras, ERIKA GOLDRING, Mardi Organizations: Service, Tulane, Mardi, University of New, Las Vegas, Visitors, Gras, Tulane University Locations: New Orleans, Mardi Gras, Mardi, University of New Orleans, Glendale , Arizona

King cakes in New Orleans were once uniform and simple — a ring of braided lightly sweet brioche topped with purple, green and gold sugar. Some began filling their king cakes with cream cheese or fruit preserves. Years ago, Williams said king cake was probably consumed a few times a year, perhaps during a king cake party during Carnival season. Now, said Williams, Mardi Gras season means almost daily king cake consumption for some. Customer Adrienne Leblanc loaded the back of an SUV with king cakes for friends and family in New Orleans and beyond.

Persons: ”, David Haydel Jr, Adrian Darby Sr, You've, Liz Williams, hasn't, Williams, King, —, ” Williams, Mardi, it's, Manny Randazzo's, Adrienne Leblanc, LeBlanc, “ Organizations: ORLEANS, Mardi Locations: New Orleans, Mardi, Rome, Mardi Gras, Houston, Mississippi

A thief stole seven king cakes — about as many as he could carry — during a break-in last week at a New Orleans bakery. “Our king cakes are just that good,” the bakery wrote on social media. King cakes are among the foods most associated with Carnival in New Orleans. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesOne wisecracker responded to the bakery's social media post with a tongue-in-cheek false-admission that he was the thief. ...I’m holding all 7 babies hostage until I get a lifetime supply of King Cakes from you every year,” the man posted.

Persons: Ash, Lent, King Organizations: ORLEANS, —, New Orleans Police Department, New Orleans —, Roman Locations: Gras, New Orleans, Mardi

☆ Brood XIII and Brood XIX: What to expect from 2024’s rare double brood emergence of cicadas
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

☆ Icon of the Seas: Why Americans Are Obsessed With Big Cruise Ships
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Henry Wismayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Love them or loathe them, giant cruise ships are among the most remarkable success stories of the mass tourism age. Rechristened the Mardi Gras, the first Carnival cruise ship sailed out of Miami that March. Cruise ships like the Icon of the Seas will spend the majority of their trip at sea. Eight years later, cruise ships such as the Diamond Princess became early incubators for COVID-19. Cruise Market Watch forecasts there will be 360 cruise ships in service at the end of this year, comprising less than 1% of the global commercial fleet.

Persons: Ted Arison, Arison, Pieter De Boer, Costa, Diamond, Aaron Saunders, We've, Sue Bryant, Z, sass, Emma Le Teace, YouTuber, David Foster Wallace, Harper's, Sarah Knorr, Bryan Comer, Karla Hart, Hart, Saunders, it's, Henry Wismayer Organizations: Port, Passengers, Mardi Gras, Mardi, Gras, Cruise, Royal Caribbean, Costa Concordia, Cruise Lines International Association, Broadway, CivicScience, Royal, Virgin, Business, Transport & Environment, Getty, International Council, Global Cruise, Global Cruise Activist Network, Cruise Market, Royal Caribbean International, New York Times, National Geographic, Financial Times Locations: Port of Miami, Caribbean, Miami, The Port, Tuscany, Italy, Royal Caribbean, TikTok, Panama, Bahamas, Brussels, Netherlands, Douarnenez, Venice, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Amsterdam, Juneau , Alaska, Skagway , Alaska, CocoCay, London

1 UCLA led by Lew Alcindor — later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — played No. There have been 43 games pitting the nation's top two teams, most recently Gonzaga's victory over UCLA on Nov. 23, 2021. John Shumate and Gary Brokaw led the way against mighty UCLA star Bill Walton, though he would get his revenge. DUKE 85, NORTH CAROLINA 84 — Feb. 9, 2012It would be a “great games” list without one matchup along Tobacco Road. ___For more on the 75th anniversary of the AP Top 25: https://apnews.com/the-ap-top-25-at-75___Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 basketball polls throughout the season.

Persons: Lew Alcindor —, Kareem Abdul, Jabbar —, Elvin Hayes, Hayes, ” Hayes, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Bill Bradley, Cazzie Russell, — Jan, Digger Phelps, John Shumate, Gary Brokaw, Bill Walton, Ralph Sampson, Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon, Jerry Tarkanian's, Nolan Richardson's, Walter McCarty, Jeff Brassow, Travis Ford, Austin Rivers, Tyler Zeller, Jan, Buddy Hield, Perry Ellis Organizations: Astrodome, UCLA, Houston, titans, Cougars, Bruins, Associated Press, Michigan State, Indiana State, NCAA, PRINCETON, Madison, Garden, Princeton, Tigers, Wolverines, NOTRE DAME, Fighting Irish, Pauley, CHAMINADE, Wayland Baptist, Cavaliers, UNLV, Razorbacks, KENTUCKY, LSU, Wildcats, DUKE, NORTH, Heels, Devils, Sooners, Kansas, Jayhawks, AP Locations: Texas, Kentucky, MICHIGAN, Michigan, VIRGINIA, Wayland, ARKANSAS, Arkansas, NORTH CAROLINA, KANSAS, OKLAHOMA, Allen, Oklahoma

(AP) — Jean Knight, a New Orleans born soul singer known for her 1971 hit “Mr. Family, friends, fans and veterans of the music world mourned the loss of the Grammy-nominated singer who was considered a musical powerhouse and an integral part of New Orleans' music legacy. Knight died Wednesday of natural causes in Tampa, Florida, where she was residing, said family representative Mona Giamanco. The Stax Museum of American Soul Music said in a news release that Knight was Stax Records' top-selling female artist. Big Stuff” Knight went on to record several more albums — including ones that featured songs “(Don’t Mess With) My Toot Toot” and “Bill" — and former her own label, Comstar.

Persons: — Jean Knight, ”, Knight, Mona Giamanco, “ Jean Knight's, “ Mr, Bill, —, Reginald Toussaint, Allen Toussaint —, Toussaint Organizations: Associated Press, Stax Museum, American, Music, Stax Records, New Orleans Jazz Locations: BATON ROUGE, La, New Orleans, Tampa , Florida, Mardi Gras

Purbasha Roy held her 9-year-old daughter’s hand and pointed toward the towering art installation: blooming pink buds symbolizing embryos, menstrual cups shaped to form a bouquet, fallopian tubes descending from corners of the ceiling. The work, part of a makeshift pavilion to worship the Hindu goddess Durga, was designed to break taboos in India about menstruation. And it had a clear target: A half-man, half-bull demon at Durga’s feet, an organizer explained to Ms. Roy and others, represented the “moral police” — India’s patriarchal society. The pavilion was one of hundreds, many politically pointed, that dotted Kolkata during a five-day festival called the Durga Puja, an event that brings this muggy, sleepy city alive each year as if jolted by a high-voltage current. Part Mardi Gras, part Christmas, the festival, which ended on Tuesday, is the most important religious celebration for Hindus in this part of eastern India.

Persons: Purbasha Roy, Durga, Roy, ” Locations: India, Kolkata

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. The state’s 25-year-old Gift Ban Act prohibits public employees such as Pritzker from accepting presents, with broad exceptions. Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped. Together, they comprise 4 1/2 years of gratuities totaling 561 gifts valued at $16,890.14, according to a log provided to The Associated Press in response to a public records request. Jim Edgar, the Gift Ban Act was the first major ethics reform in Illinois since post-Watergate campaign-finance disclosure laws.

Persons: J.B . Pritzker, Pritzker, hooch, ” Pritzker, “, Jordan Abudayyeh, John Bel Edwards, Sen, Paul Simon, Barack Obama, Jim Edgar, “ It’s, ”, David Melton, Tiffany Kuhl, Shimon Peres, Sidney Blumenthal, Bill Clinton, Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Nader, Mark Green, Donald Trump’s, Jody Coss, ” Coss, Mike’s, Jennifer Farrar Organizations: Ill, —, Democratic, Associated Press, Louisiana Gov, Hotel, Forbes, Republican Gov, Illinois, National Bobblehead Hall of Fame, Museum, Loyola University, Stephenson County Democratic Party, Associated Locations: SPRINGFIELD, — Illinois, Springfield, Chicago, Louisiana, Mardi Gras, U.S, Illinois, Swiss, Milwaukee, Victoria ”, Freeport, Stephenson County, Rockford, New York

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