Author: JohnValbyNation

Jazz critic turned music historian Ted Gioia’s “Music: A Subversive History” is a dauntingly ambitious, obsessively researched labor of cultural provocation. In what he has described as a popularized summary of three briefer and more focused but equally ambitious histories — “Work Songs” (2006), “Healing Songs” (2006) and “Love Songs: The Hidden History” (2015) —…

SERIES NCIS The team links a bizarre crime scene at Arlington National Cemetery to a string of attacks on homeless veterans in this new episode of the procedural drama. 8 p.m. CBS The Voice The battle rounds continue as the coaches enlist Normani, Darius Rucker, Usher and will.i.am to prepare their artists to go head-to-head.…

The 1920s-era Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley National Park won’t reopen until October 2021, seven years after a flash flood caused $47 million in damage to the landmark’s buildings and road, a recent park announcement said. The onetime unfinished vacation home of businessman Albert Johnson — and nicknamed for his buddy, cowboy and gold prospector…

What do you get when you pair an ultra-modern, high-concept architect with a film producer-turned-spec developer with a penchant for over-the-top opulence and gargantuan price tags? This Bel-Air showplace, which just hit the market for $65 million. The nearly 30,000-square-foot mega-mansion is the latest collaboration between architect Paul McLean — who’s designed homes owned by…

Harley-Davidson Inc. has halted production of LiveWire, the debut electric bike it’s counting on to attract new riders. The motorcycle maker recently discovered an issue during final quality checks, according to an emailed statement that doesn’t provide details. Harley said it stopped production and deliveries as it conducts additional testing and analysis. Chief Executive Matt…

Apple Inc. came under fire on Monday for sending web browsing data, including IP addresses, to China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd., the latest criticism of how the company operates in the world’s most populous nation. For about two years, Apple has been sending data to Tencent as part of an iPhone and iPad security feature that…

Los Angeles-based womenswear designer Heidi Merrick took her show on the road during the weekend, choosing to present her first full runway show on Saturday on a rustic plot of land she owns in the wilderness of Ventura County. “This place calms me. I become more myself when I’m here,” the designer said of the…

WASHINGTON —  President Trump, facing blowback over his abrupt troop withdrawal from Syria amid reports that Islamic State detainees have escaped in the ensuing chaos, called for an immediate cease-fire Monday and imposed sanctions against three Turkish officials and two government agencies. Just hours after Trump issued a statement that sanctions would be imposed “soon,” Vice…

Click:HE 5000MAPUTO, Mozambique —  Polls opened across Mozambique on Tuesday, with 13 million voters registered to cast ballots in presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections seen as key to consolidating peace in the southern African nation. Parties’ acceptance of the election results is a key test of the cease-fire signed in August between the government and the…

NAGANO, Japan —  The toll of death and destruction from a typhoon that tore through central and northern Japan climbed Tuesday, as the government said it was considering approving a special budget for the disaster response and eventual reconstruction. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary session that the number of deaths tied to Typhoon Hagibis…