WNBA star Caitlin Clark to publish a children's book based on her life

NEW YORK (AP) —Caitlin Clarkwill have a picture book out this fall based on her own life, one she knows is like few others’.

Fever Clark Returns Basketball

Random House Books for Young Readers announced Tuesday that “EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams” will be published Nov. 3. In rhyming verse, theWNBAstar shares a message about the importance of effort and support.

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Clark, whose book features illustrations by Adriana Predoi, was inspired by an inscription above the mirror that hung in her childhood bedroom: “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little EXTRA.”

“Basketball has given me so many incredible opportunities, but what has always meant the most to me are the people who’ve supported me along the way,” Clark said in a statement. “I hope this book reminds kids that they’re never alone in chasing their dreams and that giving a little extra to the people and moments is what makes them EXTRAordinary.”

The 24-year-old Indiana Fever guard, widely credited with raising the profile of women's basketball, returned to action recently after injuries limited her to 13 games in 2025. She scored seven points Saturday in a preseason victory over the New York Liberty.

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

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April 28, 2026

WNBA star Caitlin Clark to publish a children's book based on her life

NEW YORK (AP) —Caitlin Clarkwill have a picture book out this fall based on her own life, one she knows is like few others’. Fev...

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Republican lawmaker who’s been MIA for over a month finally speaks out about lengthy and continued absence

ARepublicanlawmaker who has been missing from Congress for more than a month has finally broken his silence about the absence.

New JerseyrepresentativeTom Kean Jr., 57, had missed more than 50 roll call votes since March 17without any explanation to his constituents, his colleagues, or the American public.

Other New Jersey Republicans said their outreach had met "radio silence", while his staff only said he was dealing with unspecified health problems.

But on Monday, Kean — who is facinga tough reelection bid in November— posted a message in his own voice on social media thanking people for their "patience" as he addressed a "personal medical issue."

"My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete, and that I will be back to the job I love very soon. I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent," Kean said on X.

"I take my responsibilities seriously and have a strong record of showing up and delivering, which makes this absence all the more difficult...

"I also want to thank my friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their patience and understanding during this time. I appreciate your support and look forward to being back in the near future."

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Yet Kean's post offered little concrete information beyond what his staff had already said weeks earlier, giving no further details of the health issue nor any timeline for his return.

Kean's district is expected to be the most competitive congressional race in New Jersey in this year's midterm elections, covering a large patch of the Garden State's affluent northwest including the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

He is running for reelection against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s plans to openan immigration detention facilityin the district, prompting protests from the public.

Kean wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on April 7 about the plans and asked the department to “take a deeper look and give careful consideration to the concerns raised by local officials.”

Both Democrats and Republicans struggled to hear back from Kean, with one Nebraska GOP representative saying he didn't even realize Kean had been gone so long until he tried and failed to find him on the House floor last week.

"It’s been a long absence," New Jersey Democrat Rob Menendeztold Politico. "I hope he’s doing all right. But I haven’t heard anything."

Nevertheless, Kean's absence did not prevent him frombuying and selling shares on the stock market, according to a report by the D.C. news site NOTUS.

A spokesperson said his personal investments were in a "blind structure", but gave no further details.

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April 28, 2026

Republican lawmaker who’s been MIA for over a month finally speaks out about lengthy and continued absence

ARepublicanlawmaker who has been missing from Congress for more than a month has finally broken his silence about the absence. New...

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Anthony Kiedis' Girlfriend Eileen Kelly, 30, Writes About the Benefits of Dating a 'Much Older Boyfriend'

Eileen Kelly reflects on dating a boyfriend twice her age in a Vogue essay

NEED TO KNOW

• She shares how their connection began at a party and addresses public assumptions and awkward moments about their dynamic

• Kelly emphasizes her independence and stability, noting the relationship is often judged more for its symbolism than reality

Anthony Kiedis' girlfriendEileen Kellyis opening up about dating a "much older boyfriend."

Kelly, 30, published aVogueessay on Tuesday, April 21 titled "My Boyfriend Is Double My Age," and while she didn't identify the Red Hot Chili Peppers member, 63, by name, the pair's been seen out together on numerous occasions.

TheVogueessay began with Kelly reflecting on speaking with a friend who's dating "a man in his mid-30s" about their lackluster relationship. Noting that her "sympathy had worn thin" regarding the situation, the writer recalled suggesting her friend "try dating someone older."

"My own boyfriend is more than twice my age, which is either alarming or impressive, depending on who you ask," wrote Kelly, who said her partner "seems genuinely excited to be with me" rather than looking for "someone better," as he knows "he's one lucky bastard."

Kelly recalled meeting her boyfriend at a birthday party and connecting over the fact that she'd recently been to Hawaii, where her boyfriend's owned a house for more than two decades. "We joked about whether we’d ever passed each other on the same stretch of sand, or stood in line next to each other at the same health food store," she wrote.

The couple's "age gap didn't register at first," according to Kelly, who first thought they'd "just become friends" before going on a first date.

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Kelly said her boyfriend's been in multiple age-gap relationships in the past and acknowledged how disparities in finances or emotions in such a scenario "can set up a dangerous dynamic." However, she entered the relationship feeling stable with her own money, career and home. "I love my boyfriend, but I’m not at risk of losing everything if we break up," she wrote.

The essay also featured commentary on how people in public often ask questions that lead to "incredible awkward moments," including assumptions that one's older boyfriend is actually her father. Kelly said she's also faced disappointment from friends regarding the relationship.

Kelly noted that people often project their own anxieties onto an age-gap couple. "What people assume about me, about him, about the structure of our relationship, often reveals more about them than anything that exists between my boyfriend and me," she wrote. "The relationship itself becomes secondary to what it represents."

She ultimately described her actual experience in the relationship as "unremarkable" in comparison to others' thoughts on the dynamic.

PEOPLE reached out to a rep for the Red Hot Chili Peppers for comment.

Kelly and Kiedis have been pictured together on several occasions this year. They were seenholding hands in Los Angelesaround the Grammys in February, and theyposed for a photo together at Guy Oseary and Madonna's Oscars afterpartyin March.

Read the original article onPeople

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April 27, 2026

Anthony Kiedis' Girlfriend Eileen Kelly, 30, Writes About the Benefits of Dating a 'Much Older Boyfriend'

Eileen Kelly reflects on dating a boyfriend twice her age in a Vogue essay NEED TO KNOW She shares how their conn...

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Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar Assad opened in Damascus Sunday.

Syria Trial

Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria's Daraa province under Assad, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes against the Syrian people,” state-run news agency SANA reported.

Najib was in that position in 2011 when teenagers who scrawled anti-government graffiti on a school wall in Daraa were arrested and tortured. The case became a catalyst for mass protests against the repressive policies of Assad's government security forces.

The protests were met by a brutal government crackdown and spiraled into a 14-year civil war that ended with Assad's ouster in December 2024 in a lightning rebel offensive. Assad fled to Russia, while most members of his inner circle also escaped Syria.

Assad himself and his brother, Maher, former commander of the Syrian military's 4th Armored Division — which Syrian opposition activists have accused of killings, torture, extortion and drug trafficking, in addition to running its own detention centers — were charged in absentia, along with a number of other former high-ranking security officials.

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Najib was the only one of the defendants who was arrested and present in person in court Sunday for a preparatory session in the trial, which will continue next month.

Crowds gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate.

The government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has faced criticism over delays in launching a promised transitional justice process. Syria is struggling to heal following 14 years of civil war that left an estimated half a million people dead, millions more displaced, and the country battered and divided.

Authorities now appear to be moving more aggressively to prosecute officials linked to Assad.

Syrian authorities on Friday arrested Amjad Yousef, a former intelligence officer who appeared ina video leakedfour years ago that purportedly showed him and his comrades executing dozens of blindfolded and shackled prisoners in the Damascus suburb of Tadamon during the country’s civil war.

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April 27, 2026

Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar Assad opened in Damas...

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Venice’s La Fenice theater drops incoming music director after months of protests

MILAN (AP) — Venice’s renownedLa Feniceopera house is breaking ties with the controversial incoming music director with ties to Italian PremierGiorgia Melonifollowing months ofprotestsby musicians.

Italy La Venice Music Director

General manager Nicola Colabianchi cited Beatrice Venezi’s “repeated and serious public statements that were offensive and harmful” to the theater and its orchestra for the decision to cancel future collaboration, the theater’s foundation said Sunday.

Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said that he hoped the move would “clear misunderstandings, tensions and manipulations,” that had surrounded Venezi’s selection.

Musicians, singers and backstage hands had vociferously opposed her appointment, citing a lack of transparency and lack of experience necessary to lead the theater.

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Their escalating protests included a strike that forced the cancellation of a performance and a march through Venice joined by workers from other opera houses, reflecting concerns of political interference in artistic decisions.

The audience and orchestra erupted in applause during a performance Sunday night at the news that Venezi’s appointment had been blocked, according to video circulated by Italian media.

Colabianchi, who appointed Venezi on Sept. 22, initially defended the move, saying her youth and dynamism would attract a younger audience to the theater. Giuli had also supported the move.

Venezi, 36, was appointed as an adviser to the culture minister after Meloni came to power in 2022. She previously was principal conductor of the Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti Young and guest conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana, and has conducted internationally, including in Armenia, Uruguay and Argentina.

byCUSTOS CAELORUM

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April 27, 2026

Venice’s La Fenice theater drops incoming music director after months of protests

MILAN (AP) — Venice’s renownedLa Feniceopera house is breaking ties with the controversial incoming music director with ties to Italian...

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