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ASSOCIATED PRESS
A man shows a picture to children taken by his smartphone near a huge crystal snowball on display at a shopping mall in Beijing. Although Christmas is not traditionally celebrated in China, some shopping malls welcome the festival with colorful decorations as a chance to boost year-end sales.
Tour marks jazz festival milestone
NEWPORT, R.I. » The Newport Jazz Festival is kicking off its 60th anniversary with a 17-city U.S. tour.
The concerts in February and March will feature an ensemble of jazz artists picked by festival creator George Wein. They include clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen, vocalist-pianist Karrin Allyson and bassists Larry Grenadier and Ben Allison, among others.
Called "Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60," the tour kicks off Feb. 8 in Atlanta and includes dates in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Kansas City, Mo. Other concerts are expected later in the summer, including in Europe.
This year’s festival is scheduled for Aug. 1-3 in Newport.
Kids get in free in 2014 at museum
PETERSBURG, Ky. » The Kentucky museum that promotes a literal telling of the history of the Bible will admit children for free in 2014.
The free admission to the Creation Museum is for children 12 and under and lasts the entire year. In an online posting, museum co-founder Ken Ham says the offer is part of the museum’s "Standing Our Ground — Rescuing Our Kids" theme.
Since it opened in 2007, the museum has drawn criticism for exhibits that scientists say contradict evolution science.
Ham says the museum has collected about $225,000 in child ticket admissions in 2013, so the offer "is going to significantly impact our bottom line." But Ham said he is hopeful that private donations would fill the gap.
Children must be accompanied by one paying adult.
New York sees record visitor count
NEW YORK » Official predictions show that a record 54.3 million visitors will have arrived in New York City by the end of 2013.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday that the number of annual tourists has jumped by 20 million since 2002.
By year’s end, visitors to the city will have generated nearly $59 billion in overall economic impact and $39 billion in direct spending.
