According to data from the Illinois Department of Health, about 15,415 coronavirus cases were reported as well as 27 new deaths. It was the fourth consecutive day the state has experience its largest rise in cases. Across Illinois, there are now over 551,000 confirmed cases as well as at least 10,504 deaths in total. Additionally, six other states also saw record single-day increases in COVID-19 cases: Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Arkansas and Kansas....

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Kovalchuk was in California to meet with the Los Angeles Kings, about three weeks before the NHL’s free agency period opens July 1 and Kovalchuk will be free to sign with any team, also with his rights no longer belonging to the New Jersey Devils. Dreger also reported that Kovalchuk would meet with the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Each team would present a different situation for Kovalchuk....

Why dispose of everything you own? I see it as an examination of consumerism. What prompted you to do it? The collapse of communism. Capitalism and communism were foes, but they balanced each other, whereas now it just seems to be unbridled consumption. My project is about exposing that and about exposing me. What has been the hardest thing to get rid of? My dad’s sheepskin coat. [But] the most disturbing things are the photographs–they’re memories and suddenly you see them in a tray and they’ve been torn up....

According to a Pew report released on Wednesday, more than 23 million U.S. immigrants will be eligible to vote in November, comprising roughly 10 percent of the nation’s total electorate. The number, which was estimated based on Census Bureau data, marks a record high, representing a steady increase over the past 20 years, with numbers up 93 percent since 2000. According to Pew, the U.S.-born eligible voter population has grown much more slowly in comparison since 2000, with those numbers growing by just 23 percent over the same time frame from 181 million eligible voters in 2000 to 238 million in 2020....

The program was created to provide loans to small businesses suffering from the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. And according to data released on Monday by the Small Business Administration (SBA), Immigration Centers of America (ICA), a private detention company based in Farmville, Virginia, was one of the businesses to benefit from that relief. According to SBA data, ICA received anywhere from $2 to $5 million in support through the Paycheck Protection Program, with the loan receiving approval on April 9 through the Towne Bank....

Atlanta: Adreian Payne. On a team filled with versatile big men, Payne is sure to fit right in. Similar to Pero Antic and Paul Millsap, he can stretch the floor with shooting or attack from the post. Boston: Marcus Smart. The Celtics are stacked with defensive-minded guards, and Smart fits the mold. Smart needs to improve as an outside shooter, but he will make an immediate impact on Boston’s defense....

Foreign ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists at his weekly press conference on Monday that the arms embargo—introduced as part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the “Iran Nuclear Deal”—will expire as planned, despite American efforts to extend it. Khatibzadeh told reporters that October 18 will be “the day of U.S. defeat,” according to state-run IRNA. President Donald Trump’s administration failed to garner United Nations Security Council support to extend the embargo, and also failed to win backing to re-implement UN sanctions on Tehran via a snapback mechanism in the JCPOA, which Trump withdrew from in 2018....

Of the two, the Tar Heels will wind up with the better seed, maybe even as high as the No. 4 seed line (probably 5 or 6, though). But North Carolina is just 1-7 this season against RPI top 25 teams, and that doesn’t provide much reason for optimism in the pressure cooker of the big dance. MORE: March Madness confidence index | Final Field of 68 | Automatic bids...

Ending a two-month layoff, Tomic won just 13 points and lost to Jarkko Nieminen 6-0, 6-1. It was the quickest match since the ATP started keeping such records in 1991. Nieminen lost only three points in seven service games. The first set took just 13 minutes; the second was only slightly more competitive. "I felt like I did the best as I could, and I'm happy that I'm coming back," Tomic said....

Earlier this month, the Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson, a case out of Mississippi that could lead to the curtailing or overthrow of the Roe regime. For all the passion abortion enflames on both sides of the aisle, however, a decision overruling Roe might have a surprisingly small impact on day-to-day life. Progressive states like New York and California have already codified the right to an abortion at the state level....

Alaska’s Division of Elections released an updated vote tally on Friday night that gave Murkowski an edge over a more conservative Republican Tshibaka. Tshibaka’s campaign received Trump’s support after Murkowski voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial following the January 6, 2021, riot at the United States Capitol. Polls showed the moderate Murkowski in a tight race in the state, which has a Republican lean. Friday’s update gave Murkowski a lead of 1,658 votes against Tshibaka, as well as her other challengers, Republican Buzz Kelley and Democrat Patricia Chesbro....

Unfortunately for the fans at Charlotte who waited an extra day for the Bank of America 500, those wrecks involved the ever-popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior hit the wall several times throughout the race after suffering initial damage in a tangle with Carl Edwards early in the race. But he wasn’t as angry as Kyle Busch.PHOTOS: Best from the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Busch was upset with Kyle Larson when the two hit each other while trying to abort a trip down pit road....

By assuming fundamental similarities between today’s tensions and our conflict with the Soviet Union, however, we run the risk of entering this next chapter with an outdated mindset and little more than a counterterrorism toolkit. What’s more, our over-eagerness to apply a carbon copy standard to the Indo-Pacific region risks blinding us to the novelty of the Chinese threat—as well as the need to modernize our ineffectual national security apparatus in preparation for this generation’s coming clash with China....

The five days came in early July 2013, with Exum playing for the Australian U-19 national team. He was already considered a prospect of some promise, but in a stretch of four games, he ascended to the elite of the NBA Draft class. First, it was 20 points to beat Russia. Then, it was 33 points with four assists to get past Spain. Another 21 points in a tight loss to Serbia, and 28 points with five assists in an overtime loss in the bronze medal game against Lithuania....

When Anna first walks into the bookshop, William nimbly chats her up even as he admonishes a shoplifter who’s put a book down his pants. What follows is, for the first hour anyway, a hilarious, deadpan variation on the theme of worlds colliding. William introduces elegant Anna to his roommate, Spike (Rhys Ifans), a disgusting Welshman who obliviously spoons down a cup of mayonnaise (“There’s something wrong with this yogurt”)....

This month, Young and Simon both begin tours that will take them to 40-odd cities apiece: Simon with a 17-piece ensemble including three African guitarists, Young with his longtime collaborators Crazy Horse, the transcendentally crude three-piece group he calls “the world’s third best garage band.” Simon, who kicked off his tour in Tacoma, Wash., last week, drilled his group off and on since this summer to master the tricky songs from his 1990 album, “The Rhythm of the Saints,” which blend Brazilian drums, African guitar and Manhattanite lyrics....

Until that moment, 13 centuries ago, the Arabs were mostly polytheists, worshiping tribal deities. They had no sacred history linking them to one universal god, like other Middle Eastern peoples. They had no sacred text to live by, like the Bible; no sacred language, as Hebrew is to Jews and Sanskrit is to Hindus. Above all, they had no prophet sent to them by God, as Jews and Christians could boast....

There will always be Christian, Muslim and Jewish zealots who believe they hear messages of ruthless violence from their one God. (“I did it to make Jesus come back,” an Australian Christian planned to tell police when he torched the holiest Muslim shrine in Jerusalem in 1969.) But why do such voices attract a following today? Are they on a mission of righteousness or madness or cold-blooded politics? Sadly, all those elements are mixed, and may be inseparable....

To compare the cards, surf to medicare.gov (or call 800-MEDICARE), type in your meds and check out the different prices. (Check often, since the site isn’t complete and the discounts don’t begin until June.) Read the fine print. The cards can change the prices and drugs they cover weekly–and you can swap cards only once. If your income will be less than $12,569, the card is free and offers up to $1,200 toward the cost of your drugs....