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☆ Benin: The country’s past, present, and future is on display for the first time at the 60th Venice Biennale
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Daniel Renjifo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Ancestral African art is a linchpin of identity and a source of inspiration to creatives across the continent. For the first time in the 60-year history of the renowned Venice Biennale in Italy – an arts and culture festival lasting eight months, hosted every other year – Benin is presenting a national pavilion. Hazoumé hopes the exhibition will reiterate his message and inspire other African artists to own their past to fuel creativity. Ishola Akpo sets up his piece titled “Iyalode” at the Benin national pavilion in Venice, Italy. Moufouli Bello draws inspiration from children’s books, Gèlèdé philosophy and Yoruba traditions in this piece titled “Egbe Modjisola," on display at the Benin national pavilion in Venice, Italy.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Romuald Hazoumé's, Jacopo La, Jacopo La Forgia, Romuald Hazoumé, Chloé, Ishola Akpo, Moufouli Bello, we’ll, Hazoumé, Florian Kleinefenn, ” Nwagbogu, “, ”, Gèlèdé, Chloé Quenum, Akpo, I’ve, Nwagbogu, ” Hazoumé Organizations: CNN, French, Smithsonian Museum of African, US, Venice Biennale, African Artist Foundation, Biennale Locations: Africa, West, Benin, Nigeria, Kingdom of Benin, Venice, Italy, “, Rouge, curating, France, Madagascar, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon

☆ 'Intellectually inferior' humans caused Neanderthals to go extinct, a new book claims
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new book “The Naked Neanderthal” says humans were the main cause thanks to their superior weapons. Compared to early humans, Neanderthals were muscular with a prominent brow and less pronounced chin. Since humans were the final species to occupy the cave, Slimak argues it's because they'd replaced those Neanderthals by wiping them out. Humans' superior weaponsScientists have found relatively few weapons belonging to Neanderthals , Slimak wrote. Yet genes can't tell us much about the nature of these interactions or how closely or amicably humans and Neanderthals lived.

Persons: Ludovic Slimak, —, April Nowell, sapien, “, ”, Slimak, Bill O'Leary, sapiens, they'd, Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology Hendrik Schmidt, Nowell, haven't, Nikola Solic, ” Nowell, Sapiens Organizations: Service, University of Victoria, Smithsonian Museum, Washington, Getty, Chemnitz State Museum of Archaeology, Reuters Locations: Europe, East, Central Asia, Southern Siberia, Southern France, Chemnitz, France, Spain, Krapina, Croatia

☆ Amelia Earhart's relative says new sonar images could be aviator's vanished plane
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA relative of Amelia Earhart agrees that a recent sonar image could show the iconic pilot's long-vanished aircraft. It sure looks like a plane," Kleppner told The Times of London. AdvertisementEarhart and Noonan likely disappeared about 100 miles from Howland Island, near the site of the sonar images. Romeo and his team hope to retrieve the Electra from a depth of 16,400 feet if it proves to be Earhart's plane. AdvertisementThere's no guarantee it's been found, expert saysA map of the location where Earhart's plane is believed to have gone missing along her presumed flight path.

Persons: —, Amelia Earhart, Bram Kleppner, Amelia Earhart's, Earhart, Fred Noonan, Kleppner, Amy Kleppner, Amelia, who's, Tony Romeo, Romeo, it's, Lockheed Electra, Noonan, we've, Katherine Tangalakis, David Jourdan, Andrew Pietruszka, Jourdan Organizations: Service, Business, Times, Lockheed, Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, Bettmann, US Air Force, Street Journal, Electra, Getty, CNN, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Locations: London, Atchinson , Kansas, Washington, Howland Island, California

Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole the slippers in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the late actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. But a person who deals in stolen goods, known as a fence, informed him the rubies were glass, Martin said. But old habits die hard, and the thought of a ‘final score’ kept him up at night,” DeKrey wrote. Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw had loaned one pair to the museum when Martin stole them. The Judy Garland Museum, located in the house where she lived, says it has the world’s largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

Persons: —, Judy Garland, Oz, he's, Terry Jon Martin, Martin wasn’t, Dane DeKrey, Martin, DeKrey, ”, Terry, ’, ” DeKrey, “, Patrick Schiltz, Terry ”, Dorothy, Michael Shaw, Garland, Frances Gumm Organizations: Judy Garland Museum, FBI, U.S, District, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Smithsonian Museum of Locations: MINNEAPOLIS, Grand Rapids , Minnesota, Duluth, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Kansas, Oz, Hollywood, Los Angeles

Martin pleaded guilty in October to using a hammer to smash the glass of the museum door and display case to take the slippers. Martin had no idea about the cultural significance of the ruby slippers and had never seen the movie. Garland wore several pairs of ruby slippers during filming of the classic 1939 musical, but only four authentic pairs are known to remain. The slippers were on loan to the museum from Hollywood memorabilia collector Michael Shaw when Martin stole them. The Judy Garland Museum, located in the house where she lived, says it has the world’s largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

Persons: Judy Garland, Oz ”, Terry Jon Martin's, Martin wasn't, Martin, Dane DeKrey, hadn't, Terry, ’, DeKrey, ” DeKrey, Terry ”, “, Martin's, ”, Martin didn't, Garland, Michael Shaw, Dorothy, Frances Gumm Organizations: Judy Garland Museum, FBI, Defense, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Smithsonian Museum of Locations: Grand Rapids , Minnesota, Duluth , Minnesota, Minneapolis, Hollywood, Kansas, Grand Rapids, Los Angeles

☆ Researchers were surprised to discover a second fetus inside a 2,000-year-old mummy over 100 years after archeologists found it
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"This is the first mummy of its kind discovered," Francine Margolis, who led a study on the mummified remains, told LiveScience . She performed a CT scan on the mummified woman's remains to obtain pelvic measurements to confirm the cause of death. Margolis and George Washington University anthropologist David Hunt then examined X-rays of the remains and were surprised to see a second fetus, Margolis said. The second fetus' position inside the woman's chest cavity is also a mystery. The X-ray images showed researchers the second fetus more clearly than the CT scans.

Persons: —, Francine Margolis, LiveScience, Embalmers, Margolis, David Hunt, Hunt Organizations: Service, Business, Smithsonian Museum, George Washington University, of Osteoarchaeology, Osteoarchaeology, Smithsonian

The shoes from the film were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in the actress' hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and recovered in 2018 by the FBI. Political Cartoons View All 1209 ImagesGarland wore several pairs of ruby slippers during filming of the classic 1939 musical, but only four authentic pairs are known to remain. The plea agreement was “fulsomely negotiated” between DeKrey and federal prosecutor Matt Greenley and would lay out the “factual basis” for his client's guilty plea, DeKrey said. The ruby slippers were key props in the 1939 movie. The Judy Garland Museum, which opened in 1975 in the house where she lived, says it has the world’s largest collection of Garland and Wizard of Oz memorabilia.

Persons: Judy Garland, Oz ”, Terry Jon Martin, Martin, Dane DeKrey, Terry, ” DeKrey, Garland, “ fulsomely, Matt Greenley, DeKrey, Patrick Schiltz, Schiltz, Michael Shaw, Dorothy, Frances Gumm Organizations: Judy Garland Museum, FBI, District, Twin, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Smithsonian Museum of Locations: MINNEAPOLIS, Grand Rapids , Minnesota, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, DeKrey, Minnesota, Duluth, Twin Cities, Hollywood, Arizona, Kansas, sequins, Los Angeles

☆ Craft beer, marriages and air travel: The collateral damage of a government shutdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Staff, meanwhile, have been forced to put their real jobs on hold to prepare for the looming shutdown. National parksThe National Park Service plans to close its parks and furlough park rangers if the government shuts down on Sunday. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the parks themselves remained accessible, but without most services. Some presidential libraries would remain open as long as they have sufficient funds, but others would close and research services would be reduced. A shutdown would result in a "data blackout" of critical economic statistics that influence markets and businesses around the globe.

Persons: Donald Trump, that's, Biden, Joshua, Armando L, Sanchez, Pete Buttigieg, they're, White, Treasury Department furloughed, shutdowns Organizations: Yosemite, Fresno Bee, Tribune, Service, Getty, White House Council, Economic Advisers, Management, Staff, National Park Service, Park Service, Department of Interior, NBC, Congressional Research Service, National Zoo, U.S . Holocaust, Museum, National, Science, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, FBI Agents Association, FBI, Air, Transportation Security, LaGuardia, TSA, O'Hare International, State Department, Consular, Education Department, AmeriCorps, Agriculture Department, Assistance, Women, Small Business Administration, Federal Housing Administration, Social, Consumer, Food and Drug Administration, Consumer Product Safety, Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, Labor, —, Social Security, Medicare, Treasury Department, Foreign Assets Control, Russia Locations: El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, Washington, Civil, U.S, Europe, Southeast Asia, New Mexico, shutdowns, New York, Chicago, Russia, Iran, Ukraine

The Office of Management and Budget reminded senior agency officials Friday to update and review shutdown plans. Those plans can vary from shutdown to shutdown. The nearly 4 million Americans who are federal employees will feel the effect immediately. Essential workers will remain on the job, but others will be furloughed until the shutdown is over. For many of them, a shutdown would strain their finances, as it did during the record 35-day funding lapse in 2018-2019.

Persons: “, ”, Doreen Greenwald, Everett Kelley, Pell, disbursing Pell, It’s, treasurers Organizations: CNN, Management, National Treasury Employees Union, American Federation of Government Employees, Transportation Security Administration, Social Security, TSA, of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve, Business Administration, Futures, US Centers for Disease Control, Drug Administration, Safety, Health Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, ”, Smithsonian, National, National Archives, National Park Service, of Education, Federal Student Aid, Federal, Department of, Assistance, SNAP, US Department of Agriculture, Women, of Housing, Urban Development, Commission, Research, NOAA, Oceanic, Administration, National Science Foundation, Peace Corps, State Department, Defense Department Locations: United States, America, Washington, DC, shutdowns

☆ Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

US singer Tony Bennett (Anthony Dominick Benedetto) performs on stage during an invitation only concert at the newly opened Encore Boston Harbor Casino in Everett, Massachusetts on August 8, 2019. "No country has given the world such great music," Bennett said in a 2015 interview with Downbeat Magazine. The evening's performance resulted in the album, "Tony Bennett: MTV Unplugged," which won two Grammys, including album of the year. Bennett would win Grammys for his tributes to female vocalists ("Here's to the Ladies"), Billie Holiday ("Tony Bennett on Holiday"), and Duke Ellington ("Bennett Sings Ellington — Hot & Cool"). He also won two Emmy Awards — for "Tony Bennett Live By Request: A Valentine Special" (1996) and "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" (2007).

Persons: Tony Bennett, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, Bennett, Antonia Benedetto, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Sylvia Weiner, Bennett didn't, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Sinatra, Sinatra's, Cheek, Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Amy Winehouse, Winehouse, Oscar, Amy, Porter, George Gershwin, George Cory, Douglass Cross, Ralph Sharon, Ralph, Danny, David Letterman, Fred Astaire, Elvis Costello, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, — Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Long, Susan Crow Benedetto, Anthony, Anna, James Infirmary, Bel, Miriam Spier, you'll, it's Bing Crosby, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Joe Bari, Rosemary Clooney, Arthur Godfrey's, Pearl Bailey, Bob Hope, Mitch Miller, Hank Williams, Miller, Chuck Wayne, Chico Hamilton, Art Blakey, Count Basie, Harry Belafonte's, Martin Luther King Jr, Selma, Bennett's, Johnny Mandel's Oscar, Clive Davis, Tony, Bill Evans, Patricia Beech, Sandra Grant, Susan, Johanna, Antonia, Dae, —, Benedetto — Organizations: Associated Press, American, MTV, Ellington, New, Frank Sinatra School of, Arts, Armed Forces Network, Armed Forces Radio, American Theater, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, Greenwich Village, Paramount Theater, Sinatra, Columbia Records, Count Basie Orchestra, Army, Civil Rights Movement, Carnegie Hall, Columbia, IRS, Kennedy, National Endowment, Arts Jazz, Smithsonian Museum of American Locations: Everett , Massachusetts, Francisco, New York, San Francisco, Little Rock , Arkansas, Astoria, New York City, Queens, Italian, Germany, Greenwich, Montgomery, Los Angeles

☆ How to Watch the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For nearly 100 years, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has showcased the biggest words from the youngest lexicologists. The words have only gotten harder, the pressure greater and the national spotlight larger. The finals cap nearly a week of competition at the National Harbor, a resort and waterfront development in Maryland. Many Americans grew familiar with the bee from its national broadcast on ESPN, where it expanded in popularity, viewership and pop culture over the past few decades. But that changed last year when the bee moved to Ion, a Scripps subsidiary, in the hopes of finding viewers beyond paid TV subscribers.

Persons: Frank Neuhauser, ” Organizations: Scripps, Spelling, Smithsonian Museum, ESPN Locations: Louisville, Maryland

☆ Beep! The barcode turns 50, who invented it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dayun Park | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The barcode, that rectangle of thick and thin parallel lines seen on seemingly every grocery product, package, prescription bottle and piece of luggage is turning 50 years old. There’s hardly any products now that don’t use a barcode for identification.”Who got there first? A replica of a package of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit Chewing Gum used in a Smithsonian museum exhibition. The Wall Street Journal, in a 2022 obituary of Collins, gives the nod of inventing the barcode to him. Years later, the Smithsonian had a replica of that Wrigley’s gum installed in a museum exhibition on the history of the barcode.

Several Latinos whose lives and work left a profound imprint on American institutions — from arts and entertainment to legal and civil rights — passed away in 2022. Cavazos began his education in a two-room schoolhouse on the King Ranch in Texas, where his father was a foreman. President Reagan named Cavazos Secretary of Education in 1988, making him the first Hispanic ever to serve in the U.S. Together, “Luis” and Maria” showed young audiences that Latinos were people who worked, fell in love and were part of their community. Her goals were to give Latinos a presence in the dance world, and to instill pride in Hispanic culture.

☆ Police officers to receive Congressional Gold Medals for Jan. 6
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

To recognize the hundreds of officers who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, the medals will be placed in four locations — at U.S. Capitol Police headquarters, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Capitol and the Smithsonian Institution. Awarding the medals will be among House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s last ceremonial acts as she prepares to step down from leadership. Officers suffered physical wounds, including brain injuries and other lifelong effects, and many struggled to work afterward because they were so traumatized. Two police officers died by suicide in the days that immediately followed, and a third officer, Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, collapsed and later died after one of the rioters sprayed him with a chemical. The Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor Congress can bestow, has been handed out by the legislative branch since 1776.

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