On the night artist Anna Weyant’s work debuted at Christie’s, the 27-year-old painter was too nervous to attend or even watch the livestream. Instead, Ms. Weyant holed up in her small Manhattan apartment and listened to a calming app on her cellphone until a friend texted with news. 

“Summertime,” Ms. Weyant’s portrait of a woman with long, flowing hair that the artist had sold for around $12,000 two years before, resold for $1.5 million, five times its high estimate.

It has been a rocket-fueled rise to the top of the contemporary art world for Ms. Weyant—and far from her unassuming start in Calgary, Canada. Spotted on Instagram three years ago and quickly vouched for by a savvy handful of artists, dealers and advisers, Ms. Weyant is now internationally coveted for her paintings of vulnerable girls and mischievous women in sharply lit, old-master hues.

On the night artist Anna Weyant’s work debuted at Christie’s, the 27-year-old painter was too nervous to attend or even watch the livestream. Instead, Ms. Weyant holed up in her small Manhattan apartment and listened to a calming app on her cellphone until a friend texted with news. 

“Summertime,” Ms. Weyant’s portrait of a woman with long, flowing hair that the artist had sold for around $12,000 two years before, resold for $1.5 million, five times its high estimate.

It has been a rocket-fueled rise to the top of the contemporary art world for Ms. Weyant—and far from her unassuming start in Calgary, Canada. Spotted on Instagram three years ago and quickly vouched for by a savvy handful of artists, dealers and advisers, Ms. Weyant is now internationally coveted for her paintings of vulnerable girls and mischievous women in sharply lit, old-master hues.

What is black, yellow and coated in pollen?

Bumblebee, you say? A panel of top judges in California reviewed the matter and came up with fish, a judgment sending ripples across the state.

The unanimous ruling last week by a state appeals court was intended to straighten out a legal swarm involving conservationists, farmers and the interpretation of a scientifically challenged, half-century-old law.

The animal-kingdom confusion kicked off four years ago when public-interest groups asked California to include four types of bumblebee on its list of endangered species. Bee populations are declining in California and elsewhere.

What is black, yellow and coated in pollen?

Bumblebee, you say? A panel of top judges in California reviewed the matter and came up with fish, a judgment sending ripples across the state.

The unanimous ruling last week by a state appeals court was intended to straighten out a legal swarm involving conservationists, farmers and the interpretation of a scientifically challenged, half-century-old law.

The animal-kingdom confusion kicked off four years ago when public-interest groups asked California to include four types of bumblebee on its list of endangered species. Bee populations are declining in California and elsewhere.

The Federal Reserve approved the largest interest rate increase since 1994 and signaled it would continue lifting rates this year at the most rapid pace in decades as it races to slow the economy and combat inflation that is running at a 40-year high.

Officials agreed to a 0.75-percentage-point rate rise at their two-day policy meeting that concluded Wednesday, which will increase the Fed’s benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 1.5% and 1.75%.   

The rate increase departed from unusually precise guidance delivered by many members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee in recent weeks indicating they would raise rates by a smaller half percentage point, as officials did at their meeting last month. The committee vote was 10-1.  

The Federal Reserve approved the largest interest rate increase since 1994 and signaled it would continue lifting rates this year at the most rapid pace in decades as it races to slow the economy and combat inflation that is running at a 40-year high.

Officials agreed to a 0.75-percentage-point rate rise at their two-day policy meeting that concluded Wednesday, which will increase the Fed’s benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 1.5% and 1.75%.   

The rate increase departed from unusually precise guidance delivered by many members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee in recent weeks indicating they would raise rates by a smaller half percentage point, as officials did at their meeting last month. The committee vote was 10-1.  

When Sarthak Malani passes other runners in a half-marathon, the astonished look on their faces gives him a little ping of satisfaction. 

Mr. Malani has a clear view of those faces. He runs backward.

“People are always telling me I’m going the wrong way,” Mr. Malani said.

If so, he isn’t the only one. More runners these days are reversing direction, even on treadmills—turning around and running where they can’t see ahead. What could possibly go wrong?

Some are running backward to fight boredom, some to challenge their coordination and balance, and some, as in Mr. Malani’s case, in hopes of rehabbing an injury.

When Sarthak Malani passes other runners in a half-marathon, the astonished look on their faces gives him a little ping of satisfaction. 

Mr. Malani has a clear view of those faces. He runs backward.

“People are always telling me I’m going the wrong way,” Mr. Malani said.

If so, he isn’t the only one. More runners these days are reversing direction, even on treadmills—turning around and running where they can’t see ahead. What could possibly go wrong?

Some are running backward to fight boredom, some to challenge their coordination and balance, and some, as in Mr. Malani’s case, in hopes of rehabbing an injury.

TOKYO—At the Manuscript Writing Cafe, people on a deadline pay to put themselves under the gaze of a manager in hopes of curing writer’s block.

Joe Sasanuma, a lawyer at a technology company, is under orders from his publisher to complete a legal book by the end of the year. Alas, the words to explain the contractual obligations of cloud-computing providers haven’t flowed effortlessly. So Mr. Sasanuma has been visiting the cafe.

The cafe’s co-owner, Takuya Kawai, directs his customers to set a goal for the day and, if requested, prods them to get on with it. If they fail to meet it by the time they leave, they have to pay a fine equivalent to $22. It’s an honor system, says Mr. Kawai, but it seems to work.

TOKYO—At the Manuscript Writing Cafe, people on a deadline pay to put themselves under the gaze of a manager in hopes of curing writer’s block.

Joe Sasanuma, a lawyer at a technology company, is under orders from his publisher to complete a legal book by the end of the year. Alas, the words to explain the contractual obligations of cloud-computing providers haven’t flowed effortlessly. So Mr. Sasanuma has been visiting the cafe.

The cafe’s co-owner, Takuya Kawai, directs his customers to set a goal for the day and, if requested, prods them to get on with it. If they fail to meet it by the time they leave, they have to pay a fine equivalent to $22. It’s an honor system, says Mr. Kawai, but it seems to work.