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China lifts restrictions on foreign carmakers

China is making good on the promise to open its huge car market to foreign automakers. The country will remove its longstanding restriction on foreign ownership for manufacturers of electric cars, ships and aircraft this year, the government announced Tuesday.

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“Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastinaton, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me” by Andrew Santella

Just do it. That’s a demand that comes from everywhere. Sneakers say it, your spouse says it, the law demands it, your diet may say it; your boss does, for sure. Just do it. Buckle down and get it done because, as in the new book “Soon” by Andrew Santella, delaying and dawdling are not so delightful.

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Three Fired at Texas Health Commission After Another Contracting Error

After a tongue-lashing from the governor, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is back in hot water over how it awards contracts to private health care companies.

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Daudreanna Baker Wins Tom Joyner Foundation® ‘Full Ride’ Scholarship to Historically Black University

Daudreanna Baker of Hazlehurst, Miss. is the winner of the 2018 Tom Joyner Foundation® “Full Ride Scholarship” that will cover full tuition, room and board (on campus only) and books up to 10 semesters.

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Reality Star Momma Dee and Southern Soul Blues Artist Pokey Bear Star in New Movie, “My Side Piece Hit the Lotto”

Esteemed African-American producers Dewey Allen and Mando Allen, The Allen Brotherz bring together Momma Dee, a Georgia native, and Pokey Bear for this hilarious southern comedy, “My Side Piece Hit the Lotto”. Momma Dee is currently starring in the reality show Love and Hip-Hop: Atlanta which has started its 9th season. Momma Dee is also a hip-hop recording artist with hits such as “In That Order” and “I Deserve,” which are both available on Apple Music. Pokey Bear has won The Southern Soul Artist of the Year Award for 2017. Pokey also recently released a new album titled Bear Season which is available on iTunes.

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Villanova cruises, Michigan rallies to advance to national championship

Records were set. There was a comeback and a blowout. And there will be no Hollywood ending for Loyola-Chicago. No. 3 Michigan has advanced to the national championship game with a 69-57 win over the 11th-seeded Ramblers, ending their magical run at the NCAA men's Final Four in San Antonio on Saturday.

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Houston's Arts and Culture Community gets over $40,000 Boost from Harvey Arts Recovery Fund Grants

In their second round of funding, the Harvey Arts Recovery Fund (HARF) awarded more than $40,000 in disaster assistance to local artists and arts, heritage and cultural organizations who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. This second round of funding has empowered the Houston arts community to recover from damage to their property and livelihoods. Funds have already been used to counter the negative effects of lost tools, damaged property, disrupted profits and more for artists and arts and cultural nonprofits in the Greater Houston Area/Region.

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G7 Kickoff Reception

Photography by Vicky Pink - The Houston International Trade Development Council held a kickoff reception …

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Common, Danny Glover, Andrew Young, Dr. Bernice King, Martin Luther King III, Civil Rights, Labor and Faith Leaders to Launch "I AM 2018" Movement in Memphis

As the nation grapples with deep racial and economic injustices and inequality in communities from coast to coast, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Church of God in Christ (COGIC) are launching a national effort to ensure that the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 1968 Memphis sanitation strikers lives on with a new generation of activists.

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An unheard-of problem: The President can't find a lawyer

Several top US law firms have left President Donald Trump with few places to turn for legal help in the Russia probe.

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Sacramento's police chief faces a test after his officers kill an unarmed, black father

Daniel Hahn's swearing-in ceremony last August as Sacramento's first African-American police chief was a celebration. A gospel choir sang the National Anthem. The crowd cheered after its native son pledged his oath.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle royal wedding: 9 ways to celebrate in style

If you haven't received an invitation by now, the chances are there won't be a seat for you at St. George's Chapel at Britain's Windsor Castle on May 19.

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Fashion Week Lake Charles

Fashion Week Lake Charles (FWLC) returns in April with three days of runway shows and exclusive events. The week’s events begin with a Media & Patrons Launch Party on Thursday, April 19, from 6 – 10 p.m. at Blue Martini Lounge at the Golden Nugget, 2550 Golden Nugget Blvd.

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Houston Ballet Presents Don Quixote

Houston Ballet presents the much-anticipated return of former Artistic Director Ben Stevenson’s Don Quixote, a thrilling revival of the classic tale, gracing the stage for the first time in more than a decade. Houston Ballet continues their Hometown Tour in venues across the city, performing this exciting ballet at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts April 13-15, 2018.

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2018 Downtown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival

The Original DownTown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival returns Friday -Sunday, April 13-15 at the Lake Charles Civic Center, 900 Lakeshore Drive. Held each April during Parkinson Awareness Month, the festival hosts clean, family fun with great food, including over 10,000 pounds of boiled crawfish, Zydeco and Cajun music, a parade, and a midway carnival.

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Domestic Tour Operators Visit Lake Charles as part of Travel South Domestic Showcase Familiarization Tour

13 domestic tour operators as well as a receptive tour operator who specializes in the South will take part in a Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau (LC/SWLA CVB) familiarization (fam) tour of our area after Travel South Showcase in Biloxi, Miss.

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Sense of humor 'as vast as the universe': Tributes flood in as world remembers Stephen Hawking

Figures from the scientific community and beyond came together to mark the passing of famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who died at age 76 on Wednesday, the same day as Albert Einstein's birthday, also known as "Pi day."

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What is ALS, the condition Stephen Hawking lived with for over 5 decades?

By Euan McKirdy, CNN (CNN) -- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease. It affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that make the muscles of both the upper and lower body work. Those nerve cells lose their ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which leads to paralysis and death. People with the condition lose control of muscle movement, eventually losing their ability to eat, speak, walk and, ultimately, breathe. Its most famous sufferer was famed physicist Stephen Hawking, who died on Wednesday at the age of 76. ALS is also called Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the famous baseball player who retired in 1939 because of the condition. Other notable sufferers actor David Niven, NBA Hall of Famer George Yardley and jazz musician Charles Mingus. Little is known about the causes of the disease, and there is currently no cure. The condition is slightly more common in men than women. Unusually long life-span Hawking, diagnosed with the condition in 1963, lived with it for more than 50 years -- a remarkably long time for an ALS sufferer. The disease left him paralyzed and completely dependent on others and/or technology for everything: bathing, dressing, eating, mobility and speech. He was able to move only a few fingers on one hand. "I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many," he wrote on his website. "I have been lucky that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope." Hawking's life, including his battle with ALS, was made into a 2014 biopic, "The Theory of Everything," starring Eddie Redmayne. Ice bucket challenge The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 20,000 to 30,000 people have ALS in the United States, with around 5,000 new cases diagnosed every year. People usually find out they have it between 55 and 75 years of age. On average, sufferers live two to five years after symptoms develop. There are two types of ALS, sporadic, which is most common, and familial. The latter is inherited -- the children of sufferers have a 50% chance of inheriting the condition, and people with familial ALS live an average of only one to two years after symptoms appear. But it much more rare than sporadic ALS, which accounts for over 90% of cases. The condition gained widespread prominence in 2014, when Pete Frates, a former baseball player at Boston College who has been living with ALS since 2012, started the Ice Bucket Challenge. The viral sensation vastly improved awareness of the condition and caused a huge uptick in donations to the ALS Association. "We have never seen anything like this in the history of the disease," said Barbara Newhouse, president and CEO of The ALS Association, in a news release at the time. Cause unknown No one knows what causes the disease, and for reasons not yet understood, military veterans are two times as likely to be diagnosed with ALS as the general public, according to the ALS Association. "Scientists have been studying many factors that could be linked with ALS, such as heredity and environmental exposures," the CDC says. "Other scientists have looked at diet or injury. No cause has been found for most cases of ALS. In the future, scientists may find that many factors together cause ALS." Up until last year, there was only one FDA-approved drug for ALS, which only extends survival by several months, but in May 2017 the FDA approved the first new drug in more than 20 years to treat the condition.