Police say three aspiring rappers who met in prison have been missing for 10 days after a Detroit gig suddenly was canceled because of an equipment problem. Commander Michael McGinnis says their disappearance is “very alarming.” The men, who live in Michigan, were identified as Armani Kelly, Montoya Givens and Dante Wicker. They were scheduled to perform at Lounge 31 in Detroit on Jan. 21, but the appearance was canceled. Kelly’s fiancée said phone calls, text messages and social media contacts have not been answered since that night. Police are checking license plate readers and security video to try to solve the mystery.

It’s been nearly a decade since Smokey Robinson’s last album, but new music from the King of Motown is on the horizon. Robinson announced Friday that he will release the nine-track album “Gasms” on April 28. “Gasms” features new songs produced and written by Robinson himself. The former vice president of Motown Records released his last collaborative album, “Smokey & Friends,” nine years ago. The upcoming album's first single “If We Don’t Have Each Other” is already available for streaming. Robinson will soon be honored alongside fellow Motown musician Berry Gordy as the 2023 “Persons Of The Year” at the Recording Academy’s annual MusiCares event.

A University of Michigan student is one of the world’s foremost “speedcubers,” a person capable of quickly solving a Rubik’s Cube. He also is an accomplished violinist. Stanley Chapel says the two fields go hand in hand and the violin has aided in his speedcubing success. The 21-year-old is the world champion in two categories of blindfolded speedcubing. Factoring in the time it takes for him to review the cube before placing the blindfold over his eyes, Chapel can solve one in around 17 seconds. The junior majoring in violin performance intends to defend his titles later this year in South Korea.

A federal appeals court has ordered a Detroit museum to hold onto an 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh amid a Brazilian collector’s dispute with the museum over the painting. The Detroit News reports that Wednesday’s order from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati comes days after a federal judge in Detroit dismissed a lawsuit filed by collector Gustavo Soter’s art brokerage company. That suit claims Soter bought the painting of a woman with a book, titled “The Novel Reader,” in 2017 for $3.7 million, but that a “third party” took possession of the art, which has been missing for nearly six years. The oil-on-canvas painting was part of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ recent “Van Gogh in America” exhibition.

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit over control of an 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh. He says federal law bars him from stepping into a dispute between a Brazilian collector and a Detroit museum. Judge George Caram Steeh says the painting, titled “The Novel Reader,” is protected from seizure, and the Detroit Institute of Arts can’t be ordered to give it up. The painting has been part of a monthslong van Gogh exhibition that ends Sunday. Dozens of paintings by the Dutch master are on loan to the museum. Brazilian collector Gustavo Soter filed a lawsuit, declaring that he bought the art in 2017 but hadn’t been able to locate it after giving it to a third party. The museum will only say that the painting came from Brazil.

A judge says he hopes a dispute over control of a 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh can be settled without entangling a Detroit museum. A judge heard arguments but didn't deliver a decision Thursday on the future of the painting, “The Novel Reader.” It is on loan to the Detroit Institute of Arts in a rare van Gogh exhibition that ends Sunday. Brazilian collector Gustavo Soter's lawsuit says he bought the art in 2017 for $3.7 million but couldn't find it after turning it over to a third party. Brokerarte Capital Partners LLC and Soter, its sole proprietor, want a judge to order the museum to give the art up. The judge says the museum is “blameless."

Unlike Thanksgiving, when pie is a given in many households, desserts and confections celebrating the Lunar New Year are as varied as the Asian diasporas around the world that celebrate it. Families from China to the U.S. to Vietnam will mark the new year on Sunday with the usual customs such as elaborate dinners and red envelopes with money for children. There will be customary sweet snacks like nian gao. But in this age of social media, food savviness and cultural pride, younger generations of Asians are also getting more inspired to have dessert courses that are whimsical and creative, from black sesame financiers to peanut butter miso cookies.

A grocery store featuring thousands of faux food products made from discarded plastic bags opens Tuesday in Michigan, an artist's statement on the dangers of plastic waste. The Plastic Bag Store is a public art installation and film experience designed to encourage visitors to think more about the waste caused by single-use plastics. The store in Ann Arbor, Michigan, features shelves stocked with renderings of meat, eggs and cakes and other food items, all made from single-use plastics taken from streets and garbage dumps. Theater and film director Robin Frohardt says she got the idea for the project some years back while watching someone bag, double-bag and even triple-bag her groceries.

A Detroit museum displaying a painting by Vincent van Gogh says it shouldn’t be pulled into a dispute over ownership of the multimillion-dollar art. The Detroit Institute of Arts says federal law gives it immunity in a lawsuit by a Brazilian collector who claims to be the owner of the painting, titled “The Novel Reader.” The museum responded in court Monday, less than a week before its exhibition of 80 van Gogh works ends. A lawsuit claims Brokerarte Capital Partners LLC and its proprietor acquired the painting in 2017 but a “third party” took it and it is missing. The museum says the painting is on loan.

A judge has ordered a Detroit museum to hold onto an 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh. The order comes in response to a lawsuit by the painting's owner, who claims it has been missing for nearly six years. The painting is titled “The Novel Reader” or “The Reading Lady.” It's part of a rare van Gogh exhibit, which ends Jan. 22 at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Brokerarte Capital Partners and its sole proprietor, Gustavo Soter of Brazil, acquired the painting in 2017 for $3.7 million. But the lawsuit says a “third party” took possession of the art. A judge has barred the museum from moving it. A court hearing is set for Jan. 19. It could be worth more than $5 million.