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It is part of the collection of Belgian antique dealer Bernard De Leye. The art dealer’s collection of 220 artworks, includes objects of vertu, silverwork, paintings and sculptures, as well as a silver gilt ewer with an estimated value of $1.5 million, made by the French silversmith Jean-Baptiste-Francois Cheret in Paris in 1770. At the same time, he also proclaimed them the Marquis and Marquise de Montmelas. “I have never seen or been allowed to offer such a treasure,” Lempertz auction house owner Hendrik Hanstein said....

The blizzard of 1996 marched up the Eastern Seaboard and methodically shut down Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston, the self-described hubs of the free world. The hills of West Virginia disappeared; drifts covered small ears and large dogs. Rangers searched Shenandoah National Park for hikers caught in the whiteout; airports became refugee camps. The post office couldn’t deliver on its pledge to deliver despite rain or snow or any other precipitate....

Josh Thomas, the creator of the successful YouTube channel, has managed to put together an incredibly well-made look at how a core entry in the Animal Crossing series could have looked if it made its way to the Nintendo Wii U. While it seems like such a title will never come to pass as a result of the Big N’s forthcoming NX console – something that Thomas himself admits within the intro to the video – it’s still an incredibly detailed and imaginative look at what could have been....

In the NBC drama, Kevin, Kate, and Randall introduce their own spouses, children, friends, and family, including their parents Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore), as well as their step-father Miguel (Jon Huertas). Some of these characters have earned the trust and respect of This Is Us fans early on, while others did not. The actions of some characters have caused viewers to change their opinions and in This Is Us’ final season, an interesting response to Miguel and Toby (Chris Sullivan) is taking place....

This question originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. MORE FROM QUORA: What are some challenges for athletes today that didn’t exist 20 years ago? Answer by Jonathan Fader, author of Life As Sport and Sports Psychologist for the New York Mets: There is a story that was once told to me about Barry Bonds in which Bonds had just struck out....

While Activision and Ubisoft continue to support the console, EA bowed out of similar support early on in its lifecycle. While EA says it has games in development for the Wii U, when it was announced that games like Battlefield, Madden and FIFA (which respectively got PlayStation 2 and Wii releases) wouldn’t be coming to the console, it seemed to be a nail in the coffin in their relationship with Nintendo....

Lumina may be best known for its 4K webcam, but the company announced that it’s branching out in a big way. As in, physically big, because it’s working on the Lumina Desk—something that could best be categorized as a “smart desk.” The Lumina Desk’s most prominent feature is its always-on built-in ambient digital display, which Lumina also lists as being fingerprint-resistant. Think of it as a digital alternative to having a desk calendar, but it’s also more than that because you can use it for task lists, weather, social media feeds, or just about any other available apps....

Quite simply, the design itself looks really cool. It’s reminiscent of some of the best designs from Nintendo console history to boot, with this Nintendo Switch mock-up looking close to those beloved transparent versions of the likes of the Nintendo 64, see-through Gamecube controllers, and the Game Boy Advance. Indeed, the fan-made design here seems to have been created with assets from the see-through version of the Game Boy Color....

The English language may be as hard for Croizon as many of the grueling physical feats he has previously mastered: swimming across the straits that connect five continents, setting a world record for sea diving without scuba gear, and completing the dangerous Dakar Rally across deserts and mountains in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. Since he couldn’t touch the steering wheel or pedals of a typical off-road vehicle, he designed his own modified buggy with a hydraulic joystick....

Perhaps the most anticipated rumors surrounding Spider-Man: No Way Home are the anticipated appearances of former Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. With no sightings of them in trailer one, Marvel fans eagerly wait to find out if the rumors will be true or if they’ve given themselves expectations that are far too high. While no date for a second trailer has been set, the window for its next teaser is quickly approaching....

At the time, this kind of commission was the privilege of a select few, often royalty. Today, anyone with the means and the desire can live a bespoke life, in which every detail is customized and status is made-to-order. The emerging class of high-spending billionaires continues to grow; sales of superyachts, for one, rose 80 percent from 1999 to 2004. So top-tier consumers are looking for ways to stand out....

SAN ANTONIO — The Portland Trail Blazers were clearly rattled by the San Antonio Spurs in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals, and they were almost snake bit before Game 2. A baby rattlesnake, estimated at about 3 to 4 feet, was discovered in the team's locker room at the AT&T Center about two hours before the game Thursday. It was found by reserve forward Thomas Robinson, who recoiled a few feet after seeing the snake when he moved a bag from his locker....

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma and John Kennedy of Louisiana will face voters in the next midterm elections. The men are among the 11 GOP senators and senators-elect led by Ted Cruz of Texas who announced Saturday they would vote to oppose Congress certifying the Electoral College vote, unless an audit of the election results is conducted. “We intend to vote on January 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ’lawfully certified’…unless and until [an] emergency 10-day audit is completed,” the Republicans said in a statement....

Conscience law enables institutions and individuals to refuse to participate in abortions on moral or religious grounds. The research published in the journal JAMA showed half of states have no limitations on the rights of institutions to refuse to terminate pregnancies in such circumstances. The study was prompted in part by recent lawsuits against Catholic hospitals that refused abortions to women having miscarriages, study author Professor Nadia N. Sawicki, Co-Director of the Beazley Institute for Health Law and Policy at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, told Newsweek....

“Discoveries in biotechnology could see a genetically-engineered pandemic threaten the survival of our species,” Nick Wilson, from the University of Otago, said in a statement. “Though carriers of disease can easily circumvent land borders, a closed self-sufficient island could harbour an isolated, technologically-adept population that could repopulate the earth following a disaster.” Wilson and his colleague Matt Boyd developed a scoring system that looked at island nations and their potential as a safe haven if a global pandemic struck....

Forty years ago, the Thwaites was thought to be shedding 40 billion tons of water each year. Scientists recently upped that figure to 250 billion tons. To their alarm, a river of warm water appears to be flowing beneath the glacier, which can only hasten the day when it collapses into the sea—it could be a century from now, or a few decades. No one really knows. We haven’t even talked about Greenland yet....

Southgate’s team suffered a 3-1 extra-time loss to Netherlands in a semi-final in Guimaraes on Thursday, but some England fans have caused problems in Portugal. Riot police charged fans on Wednesday after bottles were thrown in a designated fan zone at Porto’s Praca da Liberdade, where Portugal supporters gathered to watch their team’s 3-1 win over Switzerland. Although further large-scale violence was avoided, there were also clashes involving England fans and police around night spots on Rua da Fabrica and Rua de Candido dos Reis, which are adjacent to Praca da Liberdade in the city centre....

Thiem is the standout player in the season-opening tournament in Doha after two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic withdrew on Saturday with his problematic elbow injury. Fellow former winners Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have opted to base themselves in Brisbane ahead of the Australian Open, so all eyes are on Thiem this week. After saving one set point and missing another, Thiem eventually came through a tight opening set against Donskoy in a tie-break....