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Police and federal authorities are investigating a suspected act of arson at the Museum of African American History in Boston after a package containing materials for an upcoming Juneteenth celebration was set on fire outside the institution this week. According to Boston police, the incident occurred around 8 a.m. on Wednesday at the museum’s African Meeting House site on Beacon Hill. Security footage reportedly shows a man opening a package, scattering some of its contents, and setting several items on fire in an alley behind the historic building. The package contained materials intended for the museum’s upcoming Juneteenth celebration, according to museum president and CEO Noelle Trent. Boston police said they are investigating the incident alongside the National Park Service and are working with civil rights groups to identify any possible bias motive. Authorities have not classified the incident as a hate crime, though Trent said th...

The 230-foot-long Bayeux Tapestry will head to the UK in July to go on display at the British Museum. A new report, presented by the French Culture Ministry on Wednesday, expresses confidence that the fragile piece will not be threatened by the move, reports Le Monde . Dating to the 11th century, the artwork, which is designated in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register as a “unique work,” depicts the triumph of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. A 2021 assessment found that the artifact (technically an embroidery) bears 24,000 stains, 16,445 creases, nearly 10,000 areas of damage, and about 30 tears. Tiny cracks are everywhere. So it’s not surprising that La Tribune de l’Art racked up nearly 80,000 signatures on a petition against the move, notes Le Monde . But director general of heritage and architecture Delphine Christophe says she is “extremely confident,” adding that “nothing has been left to chance.” Also bullish on the...

Later this month, Pope Leo XIV will visit Barcelona’s famed Sagrada Familia to inaugurate and bless the Tower of Jesus Christ, the final tower of the long-gestating church. The tower was completed in February, wrapping up 144 years of construction on the notoriously complex and intricate design. The famed church was designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, a pioneer of Art Nouveau and modernisme , or Catalan Modernism. Construction on La Basílica de la Sagrada Familia, considered his masterpiece, started in 1882. When Gaudi died in 1926, at the age of 73, only one tower was completed. Work has continued on the monument in century since, with it becoming one of the most visited tourist attractions in Europe. A record 4.87 million people visited the church in 2025, with ticket sales generating over $150 million in revenue. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for June 10, exactly one hundred years from Gaudi’s death. The Pope will bless the church in ma...

On June 2, Colorado governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 133 , a bill that creates a new type of limited liability company (LLC) called an Artist Company, or A-Corp, report the Art Newspaper and the Colorado Sun . The new business structure is designed to help artists in the state—defined in the bill as “individuals that create works of authorship or artistic expression comprising written, oral, visual, graphic, literary, musical, audiovisual, digital, or performing art in any medium”—set up their own business while ensuring they retain creative control of their work. The idea for an A-Corp was first proposed by Yancey Strickler , the co-founder of Kickstarter, at a TED talk last year. According to Strickler, who spoke at the bill signing, an A-Corp might represent an individual artist, but it can also be a more dynamic entity such as a holding company that owns the work or business. “A-Corps,” he has written, “are designed around a simple, powerful, princi...

Accept the ball and pass it on. Wellington College beat brother school Rongotai College  62-19 in their Premiership midweek Round 3 encounter for the Heron Scarf in fine, still conditions at Ma’a Nonu Stadium at Rongotai College on Wednesday. Wellington College won 10 tries to three, after leading 38-0 at halftime and scoring six first...

Beaufort Castle, a 900-year-old Crusader fortress in Lebanon, was reportedly struck directly by Israeli airstrikes on May 27, according to footage posted on social media and local reports. The news follows intense Israeli strikes on the ancient city of Tyre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Lebanon that is home to some of the region’s most significant Phoenician and Roman ruins, as well as a large civilian population. As reported by the Associated Press , the Israeli military released footage appearing to show troops at Beaufort Castle after advancing for several days through villages surrounding Nabatiyeh. The capture of Beaufort Castle—a strategic outlook—is a major development in Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon, marking the deepest encroachment into Lebanese territory since 2000, and a violation of the official ceasefire that has been in place since April 17. World heritage sites and civilians alike have emerged as casualties of the milit...