Hiphop

BEIJING — Humanoid robots hip-hop danced, performed martial arts and played keyboard, guitar and drums at the opening ceremony of the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Thursday evening.

The competition begins Friday with more than 500 humanoid robots in 280 teams from 16 countries, including the U.S., Germany and Japan, competing in sports including soccer, running and boxing. It comes as China has stepped up efforts to develop humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence.

During the opening ceremony, the robots demonstrated soccer and boxing among other sports, with some cheering and backflipping as if at a real sports day.

One robot soccer player scored a goal after a few tries, causing the goalkeeper to fall to the ground. Another player fell but stood up unassisted.

The robots also modeled fashionable hats and clothes alongside human models. One robot model sadly fell and had to be carried off the stage by two human beings.

Teams from robot companies and Chinese universities including Tsinghua University and Peking University are competing in the games. Three middle schools are also participating.

China’s official newspaper People’s Daily quoted a government officer in Beijing as saying “every robot participates is creating history.”

The event will last three days, concluding on Sunday. Tickets sold to the public range from 180 yuan ($25) to 580 ($80).

Ting writes for the Associated Press. Olivia Zhang contributed to this report from Beijing.

WASHINGTON — There’s no filibuster in the House, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially conducted one anyway.

Jeffries held the House floor for more than eight hours Thursday, taking his “sweet time” with a marathon floor speech that delayed passage of Republicans’ massive tax and spending cuts legislation and gave his minority party a lengthy spotlight to excoriate what he called an “immoral” bill.

As Democratic leader, Jeffries can speak for as long as he wants during debate on legislation — hence its nickname on Capitol Hill, the “magic minute,” that lasts as long as leaders are speaking.

He began the speech at 4:53 a.m. EDT and finished at 1:37 p.m. EDT, 8 hours, 44 minutes later, breaking the record set by then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) in 2021, when he was the GOP leader. McCarthy spoke for 8 hours, 32 minutes when he angrily criticized Democrats’ “Build Back Better” legislation, breaking a record set by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), when she spoke about immigration for 8 hours, 7 minutes in 2018.

“I feel an obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time,” Jeffries said as he opened.

The speech pushed a final vote on Republican President Trump’s tax bill, initially expected in the early morning, into the daylight hours. The New York Democrat used the time to criticize the bill’s healthcare and food aid cuts, tax breaks for the wealthy and rollbacks to renewable energy programs, among other parts of the bill that Democrats decry.

He also killed time by riffing on hip-hop, King George III and his own life story, among other diversions. He called out Republicans who have voiced concerns about the bill, read stories from people concerned about their health care from those GOP lawmakers’ districts and praised his own members, some of whom sat behind him and cheered, clapped, laughed and joined hands.

“This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document, and that is why I stand here on the floor of the House of Representatives with my colleagues in the House Democratic caucus to stand up and push back against it with everything we have,” Jeffries said.

He ended the speech in the cadence of a Sunday sermon, with most of the Democratic caucus in a tight huddle around him. One colleague called out, “Bring it home, Hakeem!”

“We don’t work for President Donald Trump,” Jeffries said, as a handful of Republicans across the aisle sat silent and occasionally snickered at the leader as he kept talking.

He invoked the late John Lewis, a civil rights activist in the 1960s and longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia. “Get into good trouble, necessary trouble,” Jeffries said. “We’re going to press on until victory is won.”

Jeffries sneaked small bites of food and drank liquids to boost his energy, but did not leave the chamber or his podium. The speech would be over if he did.

Democrats were powerless to stop the huge bill, which Republicans are passing by using an obscure budget procedure that bypasses the Senate filibuster. So they were using the powers they do have, mostly to delay. In the Senate, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York forced Senate clerks to read the bill for almost 16 hours over the weekend.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) similarly gained attention in April when he spoke for more than 25 hours on the Senate floor about the first months of Trump’s presidency and broke the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history. Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor, but Jeffries’ “magic minute” did not allow for any interaction with other members.

Republicans who were sitting on the floor when Jeffries started trickled out, leaving half the chamber empty. When the speech was over, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) called it “a bunch of hogwash.”

The speech “will not change the outcome that you will see very shortly,” Smith said.

After the bill passed, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said that Democrats “wanted to speak for hours and hours and break records because they wanted to stand in the way of history.”

Jalonick writes for the Associated Press. A.P. writers Matt Brown, Kevin Freking, Lisa Mascaro and Leah Askrinam contributed to this report.

The iconic New York jazz club Blue Note announced Tuesday the opening slate of shows for its long-awaited Los Angeles location, which includes Robert Glasper, Charlie Puth and Killer Mike. After delays caused by construction and permitting in the wake of L.A.’s January fires, the venue will open its doors in mid-August with local favorite Robert Glasper christening the new venue Aug. 14 and 15.

Located in Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard and Ivar Avenue, the celebrated jazz institution is rolling out a roster of A-list artists in jazz and other genres. Following Glasper’s two opening shows, Grammy nominee Alex Isley will headline Aug. 16 and 17.

The first month is particularly stacked, as the team behind the Blue Note is taking the responsibility of introducing the ethos and the way they do shows to an L.A. audience very seriously.

Like the New York Blue Note location (the brand has clubs around the world, including in Napa, Tokyo and Honolulu), artists will be doing two shows a night. Both Blue Note Entertainment President Steven Bensusan and Director of Programming/Talent Buyer Alex Kurland have emphasized that the L.A. location will reflect a local vibe, including in the acts they book.

Among the first run of shows will be a heavy slate of local artists, including Terrace Martin with guest Kenyon Dixon Aug. 19 and 20, Braxton Cook Sept. 9 and 10, Kamasi Washington Sept. 30 to Oct. 5 and Oct. 7 to 12, Keyon Harrold Nov. 18 and 19 and many more.

The rest of the released schedule, which runs into 2026, features a stellar array of jazz luminaries such as Branford Marsalis Oct. 21 and 22, Esperanza Spalding Sept. 2 to 7, Ravi Coltrane Aug. 28 to 31, Kenny Garrett Sept. 11 to 14, Cimafunk Nov. 20 and 21, and a Lady Blackbird residency multiple dates.

Also sticking to the Blue Note ethos, there is a healthy dose of musicians from a variety of genres, such as Charlie Puth Oct. 16 to 19, Andra Day Nov. 28 to 30, Killer Mike Sept. 19 to 21, Slum Village Oct. 20, Ben Folds Dec. 11, Mayer Hawthorne Aug. 25 and more.