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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Attorneys for the state of Maine and a conservative lawmaker who identified a transgender teen student athlete online now agree that the lawmaker’s appeal over her loss of voting rights for her post is now moot.Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby identified the athlete in a February social media post that went viral and called into question the student’s gender identity, bringing attention to the issue of transgender teens participating in sports. Maine’s Democratic-controlled House of Representatives censured Libby for violating the House code of ethics and blocked her from speaking and voting on the floor.Libby sued,…

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s once-illustrious Grand Hôtel Oloffson, a beloved Gothic gingerbread home that inspired books, hosted parties until dawn and attracted visitors from Mick Jagger to Haitian presidents, was burned down by gangs this past weekend.Hundreds of Haitians and foreigners mourned the news as it spread across social media, with the hotel manager on Monday confirming the fire on X. Even though gang violence had forced the hotel in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, to close in recent years, many had hoped it would reopen.“It birthed so much culture and expression,” said Riva Précil, a Haitian-American singer who lived in…

PARIS (AP) — For years, Dutch wunderkind and celebrity-favorite Iris Van Herpen has occupied fashion’s edge, conjuring couture from unexpected sources — banana leaves, cocoa beans and even 3D-printed polymers — while exploring the intersection of biology, art and design.Monday’s collection at Paris Couture Week, “Sympoiesis,” felt like the culmination of her restless experimentation: A show that dared to imagine clothing as both organism and artifact.In a shadowy Paris venue, Van Herpen sent out a series of gossamer gowns spun from alternative fibers so fine and insubstantial that they seemed conjured from air itself. At the collection’s heart, a luminous…

This robustly seasoned, almost meaty tomato salad was inspired by Mexican salsa macha, a savory-spicy condiment made with dried chilies, garlic, nuts and seeds that are fried in oil, then pureed.In this recipe from our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we skip the blender and deconstruct the salsa, adding the ingredients directly to the salad — the fried peanuts and sesame seeds add texture that contrasts beautifully against meaty tomatoes.For an especially colorful salad, use heirloom tomatoes of different hues. You also can combine tomato varieties and sizes for more varied…

PARIS (AP) — Paris couture week opened not with sequins or red carpet pageantry, but with a black-feathered omen. Cardi B, wrapped in a custom Schiaparelli gown of graphic fringe, stood beneath the gilded columns of the Petit Palais, holding a live crow on her arm. The bird squawked, glared, and nearly lunged — setting the tone for a show that soared straight into the surreal.It was a fitting image for Schiaparelli. Elsa Schiaparelli, the house’s founder, built her legend in the 1930s by weaving the unexpected —l obster dresses, shoe hats, and, yes, animals — into the heart of…

Paylocity founder Steve Sarowitz built a charitable foundation around the values of Baháʼí, a little-known faith from Persia. The organization funded hundreds of nonprofits until it suddenly announced its closure in May amid ongoing legal drama and frightening threats. All appeared normal at the Wayfarer Foundation in the weeks prior to its announcement that it was shutting down. The team was actively recruiting a grant manager and summer interns. A new manager of growth and culture started in April. Employees were planning events with Wayfarer’s nonprofit grantees. Even its billionaire founder, Steve Sarowitz, was talking about a bright future, emailing…

Prices are falling for the popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound, but steady access to the drugs remains challenging.The medications still amount to around $500 per month for those without insurance — out of reach for many patients. And even for people with insurance, coverage remains uneven.“The medications should be available, the question is at what price and can people sustain that,” said Matt Maciejewski, a Duke University professor who studies obesity treatment coverage. Doctors say the situation forces them to get creative in treating patients, but there’s hope that prices may fall more in the future. The drugs are…

Steven Spielberg reflecting on his shark blockbuster in the documentary “Jaws @ 50″ and Clipse, the dynamic duo of Pusha T and Malice, returning for the album “Let God Sort Em Out” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.Also among the streaming offerings worth your time, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Burna Boy’s eighth studio album, EA Sports’ College Football 26 and Season 10 of “Bachelor in Paradise,” which will include contestants from “Golden Bachelor” and “Golden Bachelorette.” New movies to stream from July 7-13— Steven Spielberg reflects…

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — After pouring brown, gritty liquid from a huge silver tank into a flute-like container known as a refractometer, South African beer brewing master Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela gives an expert nod of approval and passes it around to her students, who yell their observations with glee.“When you are brewing you must constantly check your mixture,” Nxusani-Mawela instructs them. “We are looking for a balance between the sugar and the grains.”The 41-year-old Nxusani-Mawela is an international beer judge and taster, and is believed to be the first Black woman in South Africa to own a craft brewery, a breakthrough in…

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The voices of more than 21,000 choir singers rang out in the rain in Estonia, and a huge crowd of spectators erupted in applause, unfazed by the gloomy weather.The Song Festival Grounds, a massive outdoor venue in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, was packed on Saturday evening despite the downpour. The traditional Song and Dance Celebration, that decades ago inspired resistance to Soviet control and was later recognized by the U.N.’s cultural agency, attracted tens of thousands of performers and spectators alike, many in national costume. The four-day choir-singing and dancing event centers around Estonian folk songs…