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Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ray Stevens recovering after breaking neck

NASHVILLE (AP) — Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Ray Stevens broke his neck and is recovering at home after being briefly hospitalized, according to a statement published Tuesday.

The 87-year-old country star, who is known for his topical satire, fell late last month, according to the statement released on his X account. He will need to wear a neck brace for about a month.

“He remains fully mobile & in good spirits,” the statement said.

Stevens’ decades-long recording career has included such hits as the Grammy-winning “Everything Is Beautiful” as well as the zany “The Streak,” which captured the mid-1970s craze for running naked in public.

Born Harold Ray Ragsdale, Stevens’s music was also known for its social commentary. In 1961, he recorded “Jeremiah Peabody’s Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills,” which made fun of the advertising industry.

His latest album is expected to be released Friday on Curb Records.

In July, Stevens suffered a mild heart attack and had heart surgery, according to a post on his X account. His performances at his CabaRay Showroom in Nashville, Tennessee, were canceled for the rest of the month as he recovered.

Inside Obama’s presidential museum opening this month: The cost, the books and a beehive

CHICAGO (AP) — The Obama Presidential Center will open June 19 more than a decade after the former president chose his hometown of Chicago for the project. The museum displays campaign memorabilia and presidential artifacts, while its campus showcases a new community basketball court, public library and playground. A look at the numbers behind the former President Barack Obama's presidential museum. $850 million The approximate cost to build the 225-foot museum tower and nearly 20-acre campus, which the Obama Foundation is paying for with private donations. The cost ballooned from the initial estimates of $350 million.
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