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The Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB HDD is now just $229 at Best Buy The Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB HDD is now just $229 at Best Buy If you’re looking for more storage, you’ve got to check out this deal on the Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB HDD. It usually goes for around $279 but right now it’s marked down to just $229 at Best Buy. This is a great option for anyone looking for more storage for something like a NAS, media center, or backups for game files. That said, if you want something dedicated to gaming you would be better off performance-wise looking for an SSD instead. If you want to get an idea of how well this HDD compares against others on the market today, you should check out our list of best hard drives for 2025. We don’t have this exact model on our list but we haven’t had the opportunity to get our hands on it yet for a review. You will, however, find other Seagate drives on the list so we know for sure the brand is among the most reputable. Today’s offer applies only to the 20TB model but you will find other capacities ranging from as small as 4TB all the way up to 24TB. The Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB HDD is USB 3.0 compatible. Because this is a desktop HDD, a power cable is required for it to operate in addition to the USB connection. It has a small form factor, measuring in at 7.04/1.65/4.92in and weighing just under 3lb at 2.59lb. With this purchase, you receive the Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB HDD, an 18-inch USB 3.0 cable, and the power cable. You also have the option of using Seagate’s Rescue Data Recovery Services software for data backups. The purchase includes a limited warranty from Seagate and is also supported by Best Buy’s return policy. Visit the Seagate Expansion Desktop 20TB HDD product page at BestBuy for more details and purchase options. Source link #Seagate #Expansion #Desktop #20TB #HDD #Buy Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Boy saves thousands of sweet tubs from landfill Boy saves thousands of sweet tubs from landfill “I’m one little boy and it started with one tub and one dream to save the planet, and now look how many we’ve got.” Teddy has collected more than 2,500 plastic confectionery tubs because he does not want them to end up in landfill. The six-year-old from Netley in Hampshire was “angry” when he found out that the tubs, often piled high in supermarkets, could not be recycled by the kerbside. Teddy, whose hero is David Attenborough, told the BBC: “We have one planet and we need to look after it.” Teddy has been picking up tubs from houses and others are left on his doorstep [BBC] Last year he collected 358 of the tubs, which are typically sold with chocolates, sweets, or crackers inside. He wrote a letter to his school, which in turn sent out a letter to parents, and together with his mum Laura he put up posters at local businesses. He even asked his grandad to go to the local tip to ask them to save any tubs that people had binned, to prevent them going to landfill. Whilst some authorities in the *** have the capacity to recycle these tubs via kerbside collection, Hampshire currently does not. Recently Teddy stepped up his activity, and a post on Facebook in which he described himself as an “eco warrior on a mission” and telling of how “hundreds of thousands of [tubs] go to landfill or the ocean” helped gather momentum. He quickly “smashed” this year’s target of 500 tubs, reaching 2,598 in a month. He has also been collecting them from people’s houses, and has taken them out of bins. Mum Laura said people had been “so supportive and kind” [BBC] Teddy, who wants to be a marine biologist or a stunt man when he grows up, said: “I’d heard we can’t recycle these tubs in our normal recycling bin but I wanted to change that so I can save the world. “We have one planet and we need to look after it.” Mum Laura said: “Teddy’s realising now the issues we have, and is really keen on trying to get the message out there, and inspiring others to make a difference. “It doesn’t matter what change you’re making or how big or small, it does make a difference to our environment.” She added: “People have been so supportive and kind getting behind him. “Every time we come home there’s more tubs left on the doorstep, friends have told friends who’ve told friends and every tub makes the difference.” Teddy has collected the tubs as part of Greene King’s Tub2Pub charity appeal. The tubs will be taken to The Shamblehurst Barn pub and from there to a plastic reprocessing centre. But for now he has no plans to repeat the feat next year. “I’m going to have a break,” he admitted. “I’ve done it for two years straight!” You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. More on this storyRelated internet links Source link #Boy #saves #thousands #sweet #tubs #landfill Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump's acting CFPB chief halts all supervision of companies – Yahoo Trump's acting CFPB chief halts all supervision of companies – Yahoo Trump’s acting CFPB chief halts all supervision of companies YahooConsumer financial watchdog is ordered by acting director to stop fighting financial abuse CNNTrump official orders consumer protection agency to stop work KRON4 Source link #Trump039s #acting #CFPB #chief #halts #supervision #companies #Yahoo Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

England in India: Rohit Sharma hits century to power hosts to ODI series win England in India: Rohit Sharma hits century to power hosts to ODI series win England have now lost six of seven matches on this tour – one that was supposed to mark the start of a new era under McCullum and an upturn in results. Their batting was improved on the 4-1 T20 series defeat and 248 all out on Thursday, but as a tendency to collapse was overcome, another issue – a failure to capitalise on starts – reared its head. The fact no batter progressed to three figures cost them. England’s total was made to look well below par when batting became easier under the lights. India’s spinners went at less than a run per ball while England’s quicks – Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Saqib Mahmood and Mark Wood all selected, with Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse rested – were punished as they hammered the middle of the pitch. Rohit timed anything full and flogged anything short. A six over mid-wicket off Atkinson hinted at the 37-year-old’s return to form. Two more inside the first six overs confirmed it. He was fortunate to survive an lbw shout on 36 – England reviewed but the ball was only clipping the top of leg stump – but put on 136 for the first wicket with Shubman Gill and raced to his first hundred in 28 innings in 76 ****** after Gill was bowled by an Overton yorker for 60. After Rohit fell, Shreyas Iyer was run out for 44, KL Rahul bounced out by Overton and Hardik Pandya caught pulling to deep square leg. It was the second match in a row India made harder work of a chase than expected but through Rohit the damage had been done. The fact he barely celebrated his century suggested a feeling of relief his poor run was over. Source link #England #India #Rohit #Sharma #hits #century #power #hosts #ODI #series #win Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

More apartments needed to address housing shortage More apartments needed to address housing shortage The announcement by the State Government last week on Friday January 31 that several new apartment projects have secured funding from the Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) is a welcome step. Source link #apartments #needed #address #housing #shortage Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Egypt announces emergency Arab summit after Trump’s Gaza plan infuriates key allies Egypt announces emergency Arab summit after Trump’s Gaza plan infuriates key allies U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., Feb. 4, 2025. Leah Millis | Reuters Egypt announced Sunday that it will host an emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss “new and dangerous developments” after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Trump’s suggestion, made at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, infuriated the Arab world, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia — key allies of Washington. Both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II dismissed Trump’s call to resettle 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza and for the U.S. to take ownership of the enclave, but Trump claims that they would eventually accept it. A statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it would host the Arab League summit in Cairo following talks at the highest level in Arab countries in recent days, “including the state of Palestine that asked to hold the summit in order to discuss new and dangerous developments for the ************ cause.” Source link #Egypt #announces #emergency #Arab #summit #Trumps #Gaza #plan #infuriates #key #allies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘No thanks’, white South Africans turn down Trump’s immigration offer ‘No thanks’, white South Africans turn down Trump’s immigration offer By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Catherine Schenck JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to rehouse white South Africans as refugees fleeing persecution may not spur quite the rush he anticipates, as even right-wing white lobby groups want to “tackle the injustices” of ****** majority rule on home soil. Trump on Friday signed an executive order to cut U.S. aid to South Africa, citing an expropriation act that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed last month aiming to redress land inequalities that stem from South Africa’s history of white supremacy. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. The order provided for resettlement in the U.S. of “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination” as refugees. Afrikaners are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers, who own most of the country’s farmland. “If you haven’t got any problems here, why would you want to go,” said Neville van der Merwe, a 78-year-old pensioner in Bothasig near Cape Town. “There hasn’t been any really bad taking over our land, the people are carrying on like normal and you know, what are you going to do over there?” The law seeks to address racial land ownership disparities – which has left three-quarters of privately owned land in the hands of the white ********* – by making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest. Ramaphosa has defended the policy. White people represent 7.2% of South Africa’s population of 63 million, statistics agency data shows. The data does not breakdown how many are Afrikaner. South Africa’s British rulers handed most farmland to whites. In 1950, the Apartheid-era National Party seized 85% of the land, forcing 3.5 million ****** people from their homes. Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC), the biggest party in the ruling coalition, says Trump is amplifying misinformation propagated by AfriForum, an Afrikaner-led group. The group, which lobbied Trump’s previous administration on their cause, said it was not taking up the offer. “Emigration only offers an opportunity for Afrikaners who are willing to risk potentially sacrificing their descendants’ cultural identity as Afrikaners. The price for that is simply too high,” AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said on Saturday. HOMELAND Separately, the Solidarity Movement – which includes AfriForum and Solidarity trade union and said it represents about 600,000 Afrikaner families and 2 million individuals – expressed commitment to South Africa. “We may disagree with the ANC, but we love our country. As in any community, there are individuals who wish to emigrate, but repatriation of Afrikaners as refugees is not a solution for us,” the Movement said. Representatives of Orania, an Afrikaner-only enclave in the heart of the country, also rejected Trump’s offer. “Afrikaners do not want to be refugees. We love and are committed to our homeland,” Orania said. South Africa’s land policies since the end of apartheid have never involved forced seizure of white-owned land. Still, some said they appreciated Trump’s offer. “I think it’s a very nice gesture from Donald Trump to offer us asylum over there,” said Werner van Niekerk, 57, a carpenter in Bothasig, without saying whether he would be migrating to America. Others saw the funny side. “Some questions: is there a test to determine your Afrikanership? Must you hold AfriForum membership? … Will Elon help with some startup cash on the other side? … Are there bakkies (pick-up trucks) in the U.S.?”, author Pieter du Toit wrote on X, referring to South African-born billionaire and Trump aide Elon Musk. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Catherine Schenck; Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg and Shafiek Tassiem in Cape Town; Editing by Tim Cocks and Giles Elgood) Source link #white #South #Africans #turn #Trumps #immigration #offer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Egypt announces emergency Arab summit after Trump’s Gaza plan infuriates key allies Egypt announces emergency Arab summit after Trump’s Gaza plan infuriates key allies U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., Feb. 4, 2025. Leah Millis | Reuters Egypt announced Sunday that it will host an emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss “new and dangerous developments” after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Trump’s suggestion, made at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, infuriated the Arab world, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia — key allies of Washington. Both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II dismissed Trump’s call to resettle 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza and for the U.S. to take ownership of the enclave, but Trump claims that they would eventually accept it. A statement from Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it would host the Arab League summit in Cairo following talks at the highest level in Arab countries in recent days, “including the state of Palestine that asked to hold the summit in order to discuss new and dangerous developments for the ************ cause.” Source link #Egypt #announces #emergency #Arab #summit #Trumps #Gaza #plan #infuriates #key #allies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Starbucks is giving away free coffee on Monday – CNN Starbucks is giving away free coffee on Monday – CNN Starbucks is giving away free coffee on Monday CNNFree coffee for Eagles country: Wawa, Dunkin’ to dish out complimentary drinks Courier PostWawa celebrates Eagles with free coffee for customers on Super Bowl Sunday NBC PhiladelphiaHow to get free Starbucks after the Super Bowl NewsNation NowYou can get a free Starbucks coffee the Monday after the Super Bowl: Here’s how USA TODAY Source link #Starbucks #giving #free #coffee #Monday #CNN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Building costs continue surge as WA pushes housing delivery Building costs continue surge as WA pushes housing delivery The latest construction cost data tells a complex story about our building industry – one of rising costs amid increasing industry stress. Source link #Building #costs #continue #surge #pushes #housing #delivery Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump’s acting CFPB chief halts all supervision of companies Trump’s acting CFPB chief halts all supervision of companies By Douglas Gillison (Reuters) – Russell Vought, President Donald Trump’s newly installed head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, instructed staff on Saturday evening to suspend all activities including the supervision of companies overseen by the agency, escalating the new administration’s efforts to neutralize the government watchdog, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Vought also announced on Saturday evening on Elon Musk’s social media platform X that he was zeroing out the agency’s funding for the next fiscal quarter, saying the more than $700 million in cash on hand was sufficient. Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inbox See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. The Office of Management and Budget, which Vought also leads, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did the CFPB, which Vought instructed to cease public communications. In his Saturday missive, Vought ordered staff to “cease all supervision and examination activity,” going a step further than a directive issued last week by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whom Trump had briefly put in charge after firing Rohit Chopra. The CFPB, which Congress created in the wake of the 2008 financial ******, supervises consumer-facing financial companies like banks, title lenders, mortgage originators and cash transfer services to prevent unfair, deceptive and abusive practices and other predatory conduct. Vought’s order leaves much of that business activity without federal government oversight. The weekend moves continued a lighting advance by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to remake the federal government that drew protests from agency workers on Saturday morning and condemnation from top Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Musk, whose platform X is seeking to enter the consumer financial marketplace, has vowed to destroy the CFPB and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency have been granted administrative-level access to all of the agency’s IT systems, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Union officials said on Friday that Musk was effectively seeking to seize control of his own regulator. In a statement, Dennis Kelleher, head of Better Markets, which advocates for stricter government oversight of the financial sector, accused Trump of throwing his own voters “to the financial wolves.” “This latest attempt to kill the consumer bureau is another slap in the face for all Americans who depend on basic financial products and services, but especially for those in the multi-racial working-class coalition of Americans that helped elect President Trump,” Kelleher said. (This story has been corrected to say million, not billion, in paragraph 2) (Reporting by Douglas Gillison; Editing by Mark Porter) Source link #Trumps #acting #CFPB #chief #halts #supervision #companies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How Trump’s tariffs could impact the price of gold How Trump’s tariffs could impact the price of gold – Getty Images Gold historically has performed poorly when tariffs are high, and vice versa. It’s an important counter to the increasingly widespread narrative that higher tariffs are bullish for gold. To be sure, as the threat of tariffs has escalated in recent months, gold GC00 has been in a strong bull market — surging above $2,900 this week for the first time ever. It is up more than 10% just since the beginning of the year and almost 45% over the past 12 months. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to attribute gold’s recent gains to tariffs. A case can be made that just the opposite has been the case historically, as you can see from the chart below. – To construct the chart, I segregated all years since 1916 into two equally sized groups depending on whether the average tariff in a given year was above or below the median. (Average tariff was measured as a percentage of total imports; data courtesy of Dartmouth College economics professor Douglas Irwin.) For each group, I measured gold’s average inflation-adjusted return over the subsequent one, three and five years (courtesy of MacroTrends). As you can see, gold on average has performed better when tariffs have been lower. Care needs to be taken when interpreting these results, however. For starters, gold didn’t trade completely freely until the early 1970s, when U.S. President Richard Nixon put the final nail in the coffin of the gold standard. Also, as the chart shows, there have been relatively few “tariff regimes” in U.S. history, making it difficult to correlate changes in tariffs and gold prices. For example, since the early 1970s, during which gold has risen from $35 an ounce to almost $2,900, there has been very little change in the average tariff level. As a percentage of total imports, tariffs have been below 3% for the past three decades, and never been above 5% over the past five decades. This is one reason I tried to measure the gold-tariffs correlation over a longer ******* than just the past 50 years. Story Continues – Furthermore, as statisticians remind us, correlation is not causation. Dartmouth’s Irwin pointed out in an email that prior to the 1960s, most tariffs were “specific duties,” which imposed a specific dollar amount per unit of import rather than a percentage. So when expressed as a percentage of total imports, tariffs prior to the 1960s were often inversely related to import prices and probably economic activity as well. So we need to be open to the possibility that any simple correlations do “not tell us anything,” as Irwin put it. These complexities mean it would be going too far to confidently assert that tariffs are outright bearish for gold. But that doesn’t mean high tariffs are necessarily bullish for gold, either. The bottom line: Tempting as it otherwise is to tell simple stories about why gold (or any asset) is going up or down, the truth inevitably is far more complex. Keep that in mind the next time you are urged to buy gold because of higher tariffs. Mark Hulbert is a regular contributor to MarketWatch. His Hulbert Ratings tracks investment newsletters that pay a flat fee to be audited. He can be reached at . More: Inside the Fed, fears increase that Trump tariffs would boost inflation Plus: Do you have too much of your money invested in the stock market? Source link #Trumps #tariffs #impact #price #gold Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

'No thanks': White South Africans turn down Trump's immigration offer – Reuters.com 'No thanks': White South Africans turn down Trump's immigration offer – Reuters.com ‘No thanks’: White South Africans turn down Trump’s immigration offer Reuters.comTrump freezes aid to South Africa over controversial land law, claiming discrimination against White farmers CNNSome Afrikaners Cheer as Trump Amplifies Claims of Persecution The New York TimesTrump orders U.S. to prioritize refugee resettlement of South Africans of European descent CBS News Source link #039No #thanks039 #White #South #Africans #turn #Trump039s #immigration #offer #Reuters.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Best Stocks to Invest $50,000 in Right Now The Best Stocks to Invest $50,000 in Right Now If you suddenly inherited $50,000, and you didn’t have some short-term expense that needed paying off, you might be inclined to look for someplace to invest it and perhaps grow it into something *******. $50K is a lot of money to invest all in one place, so a safer bet would be to spread it out across several stocks. These stocks should be attractively valued with strong growth rates that can outperform a major market index such as the S&P 500 over the next five to 10 years. You want that $50K to increase in value, right? If you $50,000 that isn’t needed right away, there are opportunities out there to help it grow. For example, some recent volatility in the technology sector has created several good buying opportunities. Technology is changing the world we live in, and investing in quality companies that are leading the charge is a solid long-term investment strategy. Let’s look at three technology stocks investors with a $50,000 windfall can consider investing in right now that are both growing quickly and have attractive valuations. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares took a hit earlier this year after ******** artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek introduced an AI software model that rivaled that of competitors like ChatGPT but was produced for far less expense and using less hardware than competitors’ models. The actual cost to build the model (reportedly less than $6 million) has come into question, and there is no sign of large tech companies slowing down their AI infrastructure spending. In fact, all indications are that AI infrastructure spending is only going to increase this year. This can be seen in the growing capital expenditure (capex) budgets of large hyperscale tech companies. For example, Microsoft has said it will spend $80 billion building out data centers this year. Typically, about half of that spending would go toward servers. Meta Platforms, meanwhile increased its capex budget this year to between $60 billion to $65 billion, up from the $39.2 billion in 2024, while Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) will increase its capex to $75 billion from $52.5 billion last year. Nvidia remains the dominant player in providing graphic processing units (GPUs) to help power the training for AI models and running inference, and as such is the company best positioned to benefit from this increased AI infrastructure spending. It has created a wide moat through its CUDA software platform, which allows developers to easily program its chips for various AI tasks. Meanwhile, the stock is attractively priced, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of under 23 times 2025 analyst estimates and a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of under 0.5, with PEG ratios of under 1 considered undervalued. Story Continues Image source: Getty Images. The sell-off following Alphabet’s Q4 earnings release on Feb. 4 opened up a nice buying opportunity in what was already one of the cheapest megacap tech stocks out there. The company reported strong results, with particular strength across its Search, YouTube, and Google Cloud businesses. However, capacity constraints led its cloud computing unit to grow revenue by only 30%, which was short of expectations. That said, the company is aggressively spending to build out its cloud computing capacity, and the business has seen a big profitability inflection point, with Google Cloud operating income soaring 142% from $864 million to $2.09 billion last quarter. Alphabet has also developed its own custom AI chips called TPUs (tensor processing units) with the help of Broadcom which can improve inference times and are more cost-efficient. This should help the unit continue to show strong operating leverage, with profits growing faster than revenue. With Alphabet, investors are getting five market-leading businesses with at least $30 billion annual revenue run rates each (Search, YouTube ad-supported, Google Cloud, subscriptions, and its third-party ad network), as well as emerging business such as its robotaxi unit Waymo and quantum computing. The company has also invested heavily in AI outside of cloud computing with its leading Gemini 2.0 model, which it plans to incorporate throughout its businesses. Alphabet stock is very attractively priced, trading at only 21 times earnings based on 2025 analyst estimates. A bit more off the radar, GitLab (NASDAQ: GTLB) operates a fast-growing DevSecOps platform that helps developers create software in a secure environment. The company is a big AI beneficiary, as customers clamor for its AI-powered GitLab Duo add-on, which can help a programmer complete a coding assignment by offering coding suggestions. Meanwhile, its GitLab Duo Workflow offering is an autonomous AI agent that can help plan and prioritize tasks as well as suggest architectural optimizations and proactively identify opportunities for code refactoring. GitLab’s AI offerings have helped the company consistently grow its revenue by between 30% to 40% in each of the past six quarters. It has seen both its number of customers grow, up 16% year over year in Q3, and existing customers spend more money on its service. This can be seen in its very high net revenue retention rate of 124% last quarter, which is even stronger than the 120% net revenue retention Palantir Technologies saw in Q4. Despite the company’s strong growth and high gross margins of nearly 90%, the stock has been trading flat over the past year. Given that GitLab is essentially a software-as-a-service (Saas) platform, the best way to typically value this type of company would be using a price-to-***** (P/S) multiple, given the high margin and recurring nature of this business. On this front, GitLab trades at 10 times 2025 analyst sales estimates. That is not expensive for a company growing its revenue between 30% to 40%. By comparison, Palantir grew its revenue by 36% last quarter and trades at a P/S multiple of 52 times 2025 analyst estimates, while CrowdStrike, which grew revenue by 29% last quarter, trades at a P/S multiple of over 17.5 times fiscal 2026 estimates (ending January 2026). GitLab is one of the cheaper high-growth stocks out there and has a continued strong opportunity in front of it. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $336,677!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $43,109!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $546,804!* Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon. Learn more » *Stock Advisor returns as of February 3, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet and GitLab. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, CrowdStrike, GitLab, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The Best Stocks to Invest $50,000 in Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Source link #Stocks #Invest Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Freed Israeli hostages did not know their loved ones had died – CNN Freed Israeli hostages did not know their loved ones had died – CNN Freed Israeli hostages did not know their loved ones had died CNNFreed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi was unaware wife and daughters killed by ****** BBC.comReports: Newly freed hostages were abused, now suffer malnutrition, heart disorders The Times of IsraelHamas Makes Gaunt Israeli Hostages Thank Captors Before Release The New York TimesNetanyahu, Do You See What They Look Like? Haaretz Source link #Freed #Israeli #hostages #loved #died #CNN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The US State Department says humanitarian assistance can continue. Foreign aid workers say that’s not happening The US State Department says humanitarian assistance can continue. Foreign aid workers say that’s not happening US-funded aid work around the world has been largely brought to a standstill, multiple sources tell CNN, despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claims that the United States continues to provide lifesaving humanitarian aid. As the Trump’s administration’s 90-day freeze on nearly all US foreign aid continues into a third week, thousands of USAID personnel were expected to be placed on administrative leave or fired, with plans to only retain several hundred personnel deemed “essential,” effectively gutting the agency. However, a federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plans to put 2,200 direct hire USAID employees on leave and halted the accelerated removal of staffers from countries around the world. “The goal of our endeavor has always been to identify programs that work and continue them and to identify programs that are not aligned with our national interest and identify those and address them,” Rubio said Thursday during a visit to the Dominican Republic. Rubio, now the acting administrator of USAID, reiterated earlier this week that he had issued a blanket waiver for lifesaving programs. “If it’s providing food or medicine or anything that is saving lives and is immediate and urgent, you’re not included in the freeze. I don’t know how much more clear we can be than that,” Rubio said, questioning the competency of organizations that haven’t applied for a waiver. However, multiple USAID staff and contractors who have spoken to CNN say that’s not reflective of the situation on the ground. Almost all USAID humanitarian assistance programs remain stopped in their tracks, they said. “That work is grounded to a halt because there’s no staff to manage it, and there’s no staff in DC to answer questions from partners,” one USAID employee told CNN. “The entire humanitarian architecture across the world has literally just collapsed because they have decided to stop allowing folks to work.” “Our payment systems have been taken over. We no longer can pay. We don’t have staff,” the USAID employee said, adding that has caused even supposedly exempt work to stop, in dire places like Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Ethiopia. The power to process payments has “been taken away from USAID,” the agency employee said. Some nongovernmental organizations operating in other countries have received waivers to continue parts of their work, they told CNN on the condition of anonymity, for fear of losing future US government funding. But even those limited activities have been disrupted because NGOs don’t have money to pay the salaries of aid workers and, in some cases, USAID stop-work orders are still in place. CNN has reached out to USAID for comment. When asked about several issues preventing lifesaving work from continuing following Trump’s executive order, the State Department directed CNN to Rubio’s comments in the Dominican Republic, where he said the department made it “clear in the guidance that there would be specially designated programs that would not be a part of that order, and we are working through the process of identifying them now, what those specially designated programs are. And we will continue to work through the process of finding them.” Meanwhile, food procurement in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has been halted, according to a coalition of humanitarian NGOs in the country. And nutrition services for malnourished children and adults have also been suspended, despite Rubio’s waiver for lifesaving food assistance. In Syrian refugee camps, the US funded coordination costs and services to protect aid workers. That money is now frozen, meaning even organizations with other funding have suspended operations, according to a source familiar with the situation. A man carries a USAID 50kg bag of sorghum delivered to a makeshift port meeting the flood water near the displaced persons camp in Bentiu, South Sudan, in July 2023. – The Washington Post/Getty Images One former contractor working on a project with USAID in Syria, which funded the volunteer nongovernmental organization the White Helmets, told CNN that their grant was frozen. Food kitchens funded by the US in Sudan are already shutting down, according to Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International and a former USAID official. “A lot of displaced people and a lot of people who are caught in famine and other crises could be harmed, if not gravely harmed, if not killed by this pullback of aid,” Konyndyk said, warning of the wide-reaching impact on refugees in Sudan, Syria and Gaza. Konyndyk also noted that USAID employees can’t act on the waivers if they are locked out of their government systems or placed on administrative leave. Waiver ‘100% meaningless,’ aid worker says Multiple aid workers told CNN that it’s the mechanics of the system and layoffs – not anyone’s incompetence – that has halted the humanitarian work. Many USAID projects are carried out by federal contractors, which typically cover costs up front and then submit invoices for reimbursement – but USAID isn’t currently processing those payments, a USAID official said Friday. “The waiver is 100% meaningless to us,” the USAID official told CNN earlier this week. Federal contractors at two US companies said their invoices have not been paid since Inauguration Day. “Everything has been shut down,” one source with knowledge of the operations at Chemonics, one of the largest USAID contractors, told CNN. “The work we do on behalf of the US government provides critical health commodities to address ****/AIDS and malaria around the world, supports efforts to curb migration from Central America, engages the US agriculture partners and know how to support Ukrainian food production, and supports democracies throughout the world,” a spokesperson for Chemonics said in a statement. “As a result of the stop-work order, we have been unable to withdraw funds from the letter of credit to pay vendors and for expenses incurred prior to the stop-work order.” According to the Professional Services Council, the trade association for many federal contractors, the US government owes its member companies about $500 million in unpaid invoices since the foreign aid freeze went into effect. “These payments would be for completed work required by existing contracts and for which contractors had already spent the money,” the council said in a statement, calling on the government to “pay its bills.” Some aid efforts are also being stopped because groups implementing the projects have not been given clarity on what activities are allowed to continue. “If a partner proceeds without clarity on what they are allowed to do under their award and under this executive order, then they are taking an enormous risk,” one USAID employee said. If they do something – even if it’s lifesaving – that is later deemed to go against the order, “they will get slammed down and maybe shut down.” CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Devan Cole, Alexander Marquardt, Sean Lyngaas and Casey Riddle contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Source link #State #Department #humanitarian #assistance #continue #Foreign #aid #workers #happening Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

****** says Israeli military withdraws from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor – Reuters ****** says Israeli military withdraws from Gaza's Netzarim Corridor – Reuters ****** says Israeli military withdraws from Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor ReutersIsrael withdraws troops from key Gaza corridor under fragile cease-fire POLITICO EuropeMiddle East crisis live: Israeli military completes withdrawal from Netzarim Corridor The GuardianIsrael completes withdrawal from key road dividing Gaza as part of ceasefire deal CNNLIVE: Israel kills 3 Palestinians in Gaza City, steps up West Bank raids Al Jazeera English Source link #****** #Israeli #military #withdraws #Gaza039s #Netzarim #Corridor #Reuters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump’s acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief halts all supervision of companies Trump’s acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief halts all supervision of companies Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, arrives for a meeting at the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in Hart building on Monday, December 16, 2024. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Russell Vought, President Donald Trump’s newly installed head of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, instructed staff on Saturday evening to suspend all activities including the supervision of companies overseen by the agency, escalating the new administration’s efforts to neutralize the government watchdog, according to a memo seen by Reuters. Vought also announced on Saturday evening on Elon Musk’s social media platform X that he was zeroing out the agency’s funding for the next fiscal quarter, saying the more than $700 billion in cash on hand was sufficient. The Office of Management and Budget, which Vought also leads, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did the CFPB, which Vought instructed to cease public communications. In his Saturday missive, Vought ordered staff to “cease all supervision and examination activity,” going a step further than a directive issued last week by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whom Trump had briefly put in charge after firing Rohit Chopra. The CFPB, which Congress created in the wake of the 2008 financial ******, supervises consumer-facing financial companies like banks, title lenders, mortgage originators and cash transfer services to prevent unfair, deceptive and abusive practices and other predatory conduct. Vought’s order leaves much of that business activity without federal government oversight. The weekend moves continued a lighting advance by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to remake the federal government that drew protests from agency workers on Saturday morning and condemnation from top Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Musk, whose platform X is seeking to enter the consumer financial marketplace, has vowed to destroy the CFPB and representatives of his Department of Government Efficiency have been granted administrative-level access to all of the agency’s IT systems, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Union officials said on Friday that Musk was effectively seeking to seize control of his own regulator. In a statement, Dennis Kelleher, head of Better Markets, which advocates for stricter government oversight of the financial sector, accused Trump of throwing his own voters “to the financial wolves.” “This latest attempt to kill the consumer bureau is another slap in the face for all Americans who depend on basic financial products and services, but especially for those in the multi-racial working-class coalition of Americans that helped elect President Trump,” Kelleher said. Source link #Trumps #acting #Consumer #Financial #Protection #Bureau #chief #halts #supervision #companies Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

This Wisconsin man with autism was ‘devastated’ after Social Security told him to pay back $35K. Is the system broken? This Wisconsin man with autism was ‘devastated’ after Social Security told him to pay back $35K. Is the system broken? Like many Americans with disabilities, 32-year-old Max Silber of Wisconsin regularly receives Social Security Income (SSI) benefits because of his autism. That is, until recently when he was unexpectedly notified they would stop. What’s more, he was instructed to repay $35,000 due to an overpayment “error” dating back to May 2022. Max’s father, Jeff, has appealed five times on his behalf without luck. Don’t miss “He’s always followed the rules and was never told that he was being overpaid,” Jeff told The Sun. “Their basis was that he was gainfully employed and made more than the amount allowed to earn and still get benefits. They also concluded that he would have to prove he still had autism. This put us over the top.” It was ‘their mistake’ Max was diagnosed with autism in preschool and qualified for Social Security disability benefits. Nothing has changed, so Jeff has tried to appeal the decision. As a retired autism therapist and current advocate for families impacted by autism, he deeply understands the struggle beyond Max’s specific situation. Throughout the repeated efforts, he’s become increasingly frustrated — particularly about the requirement to determine if his son still has autism. “To imply one recovers from autism is an insult to my son and an indication of the lack of knowledge about illnesses of the decision-makers,” Jeff asserted. In time, Max has become more independent, but he still faces challenges. He now works full-time and can drive and handle finances, but he can become “obsessive” about some things, Jeff said, and he still requires structure. “He has always lived with me and will likely never want to live alone, something that worries me as I age.” Jeff argued that Social Security needs doctors and subject matter experts who understand the complexities around disabilities such as autism and, without the right internal knowledge, the government agency “should not make random decisions affecting the lives of so many who then have to wait for months for resolution.” As for the overpayment, Jeff held that it “was their mistake, not Max’s, yet he is the victim like so many others. Social Security needs to be held accountable and responsible.” Read more: Home prices in America could fly through the roof in 2025 — here’s the big reason why and how to take full advantage (with as little as $10) Is the system broken? The SSI payments Max received are provided to millions of Americans. Aside from retired workers, several groups are eligible: Those with a qualifying disability The spouse or child of someone getting benefits The divorced spouse of someone getting or eligible for benefits A spouse, child, divorced spouse or dependent parent of a worker who died There are some restrictions though. Last year, the monthly income limit for SSI benefit recipients was $1,971 and the asset cap was $2,000. Plus, there can be complications in receiving SSI if a beneficiary works too much. Stipulations like these often result in beneficiaries unknowingly being removed from the program. The Sun article shared insight from Kevin Thompson, finance expert and CEO of 9i Capital Group, who seems to agree with Jeff. He told Newsweek, “The system in itself needs to be modernized and a substantial effort needs to be undertaken to improve [it].” Another issue is the shortage of funds available. With an aging population living longer and fewer people in the workforce, there will be fewer workers supporting retirees and therefore paying into Social Security. On top of this, the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees’ 2023 and 2024 reports predict that by 2033, Social Security’s retirement benefits trust fund will be depleted. By then, taxes should cover only 79% of scheduled benefits. Between the system’s stipulations, alleged lack of internal expertise and lack of funds available to support Americans long-term, beneficiaries like Max will likely continue to run into trouble or slip through the cracks. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Source link #Wisconsin #man #autism #devastated #Social #Security #told #pay #35K #system #broken Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump’s Second Term Requires a New Playbook for Equity Investors – Bloomberg Trump’s Second Term Requires a New Playbook for Equity Investors – Bloomberg Trump’s Second Term Requires a New Playbook for Equity Investors BloombergView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Trumps #Term #Requires #Playbook #Equity #Investors #Bloomberg Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Super Bowl 59 predictions: Why our staff leans toward a Chiefs victory Super Bowl 59 predictions: Why our staff leans toward a Chiefs victory The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. One thing is clear from our staff’s Super Bowl picks: It’s not easy picking against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. But it’s not as difficult to do as it was a year ago when 80 percent of our 50 voters predicted the Chiefs would beat the San Francisco 49ers (they were correct). This time, 63 percent of our 41 voters believe the Chiefs will win their third consecutive title and beat the Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. “The Chiefs have been running a marathon all season, a quest to be the NFL’s first three-peat champion in the Super Bowl era,” The Athletic’s Nate Taylor, who covers the Chiefs, says. “Mahomes has more than enough postseason experience and could be at the peak of his athletic powers to guide the Chiefs to another Super Bowl victory.” Mahomes is 17-3 as the Kansas City starter in the playoffs. That’s ridiculous. The Eagles lost three games this season — two before they got out of September and a third on a final-seconds touchdown against the Washington Commanders, the team they beat 55-23 in the NFC Championship Game. “The Eagles are built to beat the Chiefs. They seize control of games with Saquon Barkley and a run-oriented offense that helped lead the NFL in time of possession margin,” says Brooks Kubena, who covers the Eagles for The Athletic. “They haven’t turned the ball over yet in the playoffs with Jalen Hurts embracing a more conservative role in the pocket, and they leverage this security against a top-ranked defense that’s forced 10 turnovers in three playoff games. If they play to their strengths, they’ll be up two scores with less than two minutes to go. And that’s the only time they know Patrick Mahomes can’t kill them.” Now, our picks. Super Bowl 59 picks STAFF MEMBER WINNER SCORE Jim Ayello 26-24 Matt Barrows 27-24 James Boyd 27-24 Ken Bradley 30-24 Joe Buscaglia 26-20 Charlotte Carroll 27-24 Cale Clinton 26-24 David DeChant 27-24 Mike DeFabo 34-31 Paul Dehner Jr. 28-23 Dan Duggan 26-23 Jimmy Durkin 28-21 Kevin Fishbain 29-26 Chad Graff 21-20 Tim Graham 29-27 Jon Greenberg 29-23 Adam Hirshfield 27-23 Zac Jackson 27-24 Adam Jahns 26-23 Mike Jones 32-30 Zak Keefer 27-24 Josh Kendall 27-25 Nick Kosmider 21-19 RJ Kraft 27-20 Brooks Kubena 33-31 Alec Lewis 27-23 Jon Machota 27-24 Dave Niinemets 31-30 Joe Person 24-23 Dan Pompei 24-22 Tashan Reed 24-21 Joe Rexrode 27-23 Jourdan Rodrigue 24-21 Zack Rosenblatt 24-23 Mike Sando 24-20 Mike Sansone 28-24 Ben Standig 26-22 Vic Tafur 33-23 Nate Taylor 27-24 Saad Yousuf 31-28 Jeff Zrebiec 27-24 Why the Chiefs will win … I was tempted to write only the name of the Chiefs’ quarterback as my explanation. Instead, I’ll go with this: Patrick Mahomes and Steve Spagnuolo. The latter is the master of the crunch-time blitz that no one’s seen before. Expect something special from both late in the fourth quarter. — Matt Barrows, 49ers beat writer Travis Kelce pops the question on the field after the Chiefs offense pops for a season-high in points for the second week in a row. — Vic Tafur, Raiders beat writer The Chiefs reserved one of their best games of the year in the AFC Championship Game, with the offense playing as well as it has all year. If that holds true in the Super Bowl, look out. A Patrick Mahomes-led attack with great speed at receiver and Travis Kelce, combined with their defensive abilities and lack of injuries, has the table set for the incredible three-peat. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer GO DEEPER Super Bowl LIX key questions: What must the QBs do? Who will be the X-factor? This pick is about trust. When push comes to shove, who do you trust more? Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts? Mahomes. Andy Reid or Nick Sirianni? Reid. Matt Nagy and Steve Spagnuolo or Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio? This is probably the closest of the three matchups, and I respect the hell out of Fangio, but Spagnuolo still gets the nod for me. The nitty gritty scares me: Saquon, Eagles wideouts, Philly’s defensive front, etc. But the trust lies with the folks in red, so that’s the pick. — Alec Lewis, Vikings beat writer The Eagles have the best team. But the Chiefs have the best player, and that player can compensate for anything an opponent has that his team does not. If the game is close, and it assuredly will be, would you bet against Patrick Mahomes on a final drive? I would not. — Dan Pompei, NFL senior writer Philadelphia is 15-1 since its Week 5 bye, and the only loss in that stretch came in a game Jalen Hurts did not finish. This Eagles team could go down as one of the all-time greats. Except for the fact that Patrick Mahomes exists. Every statistical analysis would suggest Philadelphia is a better team than Kansas City, but it’s going to come down to Mahomes and Andy Reid against Hurts and Nick Sirianni. — Josh Kendall, Falcons beat writer I’ve picked against Kansas City twice this season (both Buffalo games) and can make a good case for Philadelphia here, but I’ll ride with the Chiefs’ situational superiority. All their key pieces — Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and Steve Spagnuolo — seem to have the right answers at the key times. The Eagles’ red zone defense is strong and could be Philly’s key to winning as an underdog. — Mike Sando, NFL senior writer The Chiefs are going to lose like 20 straight one-score games at some point. But it may have to wait until the 2030s. It definitely has to wait until after Sunday, when the Chiefs will once again find chunk plays, be a step ahead in the red zone and have timely curveballs for the opposing quarterback. The Eagles are more than capable of winning, the entire world has essentially been working the refs on behalf of the Eagles for the past two weeks, and yet: Chiefs in a close one. — Joe Rexrode, columnist Why the Eagles will win … The Eagles, in my mind, are clearly the more talented team at just about every position that matters. Saquon Barkley has been unstoppable. The defense is playing its best football of the year. The Chiefs, as always, have the better combo at head coach and quarterback — but it just feels like there’s something special about this Eagles team. If they can get pressure on Mahomes and make his life challenging — with Jalen Hurts taking care of the ball — that should be enough to win, even if it comes down to the very, very end which I think it will. — Zack Rosenblatt, Jets beat writer All of the disclaimers about betting against Mahomes certainly apply here, so call me foolish. I was tempted to go with a relative blowout, like Eagles 38, Chiefs 17, as I think there’s a better chance Philadelphia wins big than Kansas City wins big. But in all likelihood, this will come down to the final minutes, probably in a low-possession game that artificially deflates the score. I’ll say the Eagles kill the final 5:33 of clock before kicking the game-winning field goal. — David DeChant, NFL senior editor GO DEEPER NFL coaches pick the Super Bowl: Eagles better on paper, but is Mahomes the difference? Give me the ultimate home-run hitter. Saquon Barkley has seven touchdown runs of 60 or more yards this season, including three in Philadelphia’s last two postseason games. The total number of such runs produced by the rest of the players in the NFL this season, playoffs included: 10. It’s hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes with history on the line, but Barkley has been the NFL’s best player this season and he has one more jaw-dropping performance left in him. — Nick Kosmider, Broncos beat writer When the Eagles are “on,” they prove they are one of the deepest and most well-built teams we’ve seen in a while with “that dude” at nearly every position. Steve Spagnuolo has an edge over Kellen Moore, but Vic Fangio will have his say against Matt Nagy and Andy Reid. Am I crazy for picking against the Chiefs in a one-score game? Perhaps, but there’s something magical about the way Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia offensive line have rolled all year. They’ll need the full potential of their roster and some of that magic to get in the way of history. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Rams beat writer The Ravens played every AFC playoff team and several of the NFC postseason squads, and there was a widely-held belief in the locker room that the Eagles were the best team they played all year. It’s tough to go against Andy Reid, Steve Spagnuolo and Patrick Mahomes in a big game. It’s even tougher to pick the Chiefs’ opponent in a one-score affair. However, I think the Eagles are the better and more balanced team. They can control this game at the line of scrimmage with Saquon Barkley and their running attack. — Jeff Zrebiec, Ravens beat writer (Illustration by Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; top photos: Cooper Neill, Mitchell Leff / Getty Images and Diamond Images / Getty Images) Source link #Super #Bowl #predictions #staff #leans #Chiefs #victory Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Racial slur on Oak Creek car dealership’s oil change sticker Racial slur on Oak Creek car dealership’s oil change sticker The Brief A woman said she went for an oil change in Oak Creek and became a victim of racism. The N-word was printed on a sticker she received. A protest outside the dealership took place Saturday, and her attorney is calling for people to boycott the dealership. The dealership, Kunes Buick GMC, said the employee was immediately fired. OAK CREEK, Wis. – A Milwaukee County woman said she went for an oil change at an Oak Creek car dealership and, sadly, became a victim of racism. On Saturday, she and supporters protested outside. Racial slur The backstory “It was the N-word,” said Makayla Starks. “When I first saw the sticker, I cried – immediately – I just sat there in my car and cried.” SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Starks never expected to see the word glued to her windshield after her vehicle was serviced at the Kunes Buick GMC in Oak Creek. Starks told FOX6 News she purchased her vehicle from the dealership last fall. In early January, she went in for a complimentary oil change. Shortly after, she was told there was a problem. “While I was at work, the employees from Kunes started contacting me, and they were insisting that there was a tool in my vehicle and they were sending an employee out to retrieve the tool,” she said. “I told them there was no tool, and they were not welcomed on my property.” From there, Starks said she received calls – some from blocked numbers. She eventually got a message alerting her to check her sticker as another person, who she believes made the sticker, arrived at her home. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android “I knew it was a lie because one of their employees told me it was a lie,” she said. Starks also said her car was damaged, and she can’t access her safety features. Her vehicle also still notifies her that she’s in need of an oil change. Messages sent to Makayla Starks Kunes’ response The other side Kunes told FOX6 the employee responsible was immediately fired. In a since-deleted Facebook post, Kunes said in part: “It was supposed to be a joke to a co-worker and the individual did not realize it would print but regardless of intentions the message was incredibly offensive.” Kunes Buick GMC since-deleted Facebook post Also on Saturday, the Kunes team released the following statement: “We are deeply disturbed and saddened by the incident that has come to light involving one of our employees and a customer, her sense of safety and dignity. We want to be unequivocal: this behavior and the hateful sentiment it implies are absolutely against our values as a company. There is no place for racism or discrimination within our dealership or community. “Upon learning of these allegations we took immediate action. The employee known to be involved has been terminated, effective immediately. “We have been in contact with this customer over the last month to offer our apologies and have offered her credits for future service at other locations. “This incident stands in stark contrast to who we are as a company. We recognize the seriousness of this matter and accept our responsibility to ensure a safe, welcoming environment for every person who walks through our doors. While words are important, we know that real change comes from action, and we are fully committed to demonstrating our values through measurable steps. We are moving forward addressing this with our entire staff, reinforcing our corporate values.” Dealership protest What they’re saying Starks along with her supporters protested outside the dealership on Saturday. Her fiancé told FOX6 that, despite not filing a report, they got a visit from police on Friday. “Oak Creek *** drove all the way from Oak Creek to West Allis last night to pound on our door, and I thought that was kind of absurd,” said Joey Koepp. In a statement to FOX6 News, the Oak Creek Police Department said: “We cannot discuss open and ongoing investigations. However, it is our practice to make contact with those who are, or believed to be, victims in incidents in our community, that includes in person contact.” Protest outside Kunes Buick GMC, Oak Creek William Sulton is Starks’ attorney. He wants people to boycott the dealership. “We can’t be putting stickers with the N-word on it. That is just a thousand percent wrong,” he said. “Kunes is vicariously liable for misconduct of its employees.” Starks said she wants to see policies and procedures in place so it never happens to anyone else. She also wants to see everyone involved fired or disciplined, and she wants the names of those employees. The Source Information in this report is from FOX6 News interviews. Source link #Racial #slur #Oak #Creek #car #dealerships #oil #change #sticker Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

No, the Super Bowl isn’t rigged — just enjoy this Chiefs-Eagles showdown No, the Super Bowl isn’t rigged — just enjoy this Chiefs-Eagles showdown The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. NEW ORLEANS — Happy Super Sunday, and welcome to our epic showdown in the Big Easy, a battle for football supremacy between the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles and the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. And, of course, the eight officials (seven on the field, one in the replay booth) who will insidiously aid the two-time defending Super Bowl champs. As mandated by the NFL office — and as part of a secret conspiracy involving commissioner Roger Goodell, the owners who pay and control him, Taylor Swift, every woke individual in America, DEI proponents, (incongruously) Elon Musk, ESPN, the Dallas Mavericks front office, the military-industrial complex, Big Pharma, all seven of the NFL’s official gambling partners, Mexico and Canada (did I miss anyone?) — the fix is in for Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs. Mahomes is going to Disney World. Kelce will be onstage celebrating in front of the Swifties. And there’s nothing any of us can do about it, because we’ve all been duped, and the outcome is essentially scripted. All right, folks — deep breaths. Though I’ve never been accused of not relentlessly sticking with a bit, it’s time to take off the tin-foil hats and get real. No, NFL games aren’t rigged. Yes, dubious calls happen — some of which benefit Mahomes, one of the most transcendent players the sport has ever seen, and the team coached by Andy Reid, one of the most accomplished men in the history of his profession. GO DEEPER NFL refs: Questions about integrity ‘insulting and preposterous’ The real conspiracy is that our football-watching culture has devolved to this point — where a significant slice of the populace refuses to accept outcomes it considers loathsome and rushes to blame dark, powerful, string-pullers in the shadows. Yet here we are. If you watch Super Bowl LIX at a bar or house party, there’s a decent chance at least one person in attendance will voice the sentiment — preemptively or otherwise — that the Chiefs get favorable treatment from the officials. They might point to specific examples, such as the controversial fourth-down spot after a quarterback sneak by Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago, or a pair of pivotal personal-foul flags triggered by Houston Texans hits on Mahomes in the divisional round. They may even throw numbers around, citing Chiefs penalties relative to those of their opponents during Mahomes’ remarkable seven-season run as a starter, one which has resulted in five Super Bowl appearances and two overtime defeats in the AFC Championship Game. Some of this is intellectually lazy. Not all penalties are created equal, and some teams are more adept at playing the game in a manner that avoids infractions. And, let’s be honest, some of it is just visceral: Many people are sick of seeing the Chiefs win, just as they were fed up with the New England Patriots’ success before that. Throw in the fact that Kelce’s girlfriend is perhaps the biggest celebrity on the planet and there are all the ingredients for a persecution complex. GO DEEPER Hate ’em if you want, but Chiefs make no apologies while continuing pursuit of history If you’re one of those people, I’m not here to talk you out of your feelings — fandom, at its core, is irrational anyway — but I do feel it’s appropriate to point out the absurdity of the premise. Let’s start with motive: The NFL, as an entity, has no incentive to ensure that the Chiefs succeed. The league operates partly under a set of principles that ensure that each owner shares in the riches while fixing costs — essentially guaranteeing profit (combined with an appreciation in franchise value) for all. The game is rigged in this sense: The owners of the 32 teams all win, no matter who hoists the Lombardi Trophy. Goodell, and others at the league office, serve at the pleasure of the owners and don’t benefit from any specific team’s success. And while the whole big market/small market thing doesn’t really apply in the NFL, thanks to said revenue sharing, let’s just say that if one were conspiring to put a team that always wins in a specific location, Kansas City is not exactly a marquee metropolis. Sorry to break it to you: Patrick Mahomes has been hoisting Lombardi Trophies because he’s really good. (Jamie Squire / Getty Images) Even if you somehow still believe there’s a concerted push to make the Missouri-Kansas border the center of the pro football universe, there’s another huge flaw in the theory: execution. I’ll try to say this as nicely as I can. Though there are some truly accomplished powerbrokers in the league office, there are others who are regarded by people in the NFL community — and even some owners — as not the best and the brightest. This is a league that couldn’t even keep its plans to remove “End Racism” from being stenciled onto the Super Bowl end zone border under wraps. The notion that Goodell and his lieutenants could conjure, pull off and keep secret a blatant effort to boost one franchise’s fortunes at the expense of others is quite aspirational. Yes, I’m questioning some people’s competence, just as many of you routinely question the competence of the officials. Yet understand that if you’re buying into the conspiracy, you’re accusing the same officials whose competence you question of being able to execute a plan that, at times, results in the Chiefs winning by a very, very narrow margin of victory. Seems plausible. Look, I get that the officiating isn’t always perfect. I’m not one of those people who believe it should be; I’m against the increased proliferation of replay and trying to get every single call exactly right. The officials on the field should do their best to call it as they see it, and replay should be used to correct egregious, objective errors. I can live with the occasional bad call, as long as the overall context feels fair. Ideally, an unmerited flag or blatantly missed call will be one of many things that impact a game, and not the deciding factor. Sometimes, it can decide a championship. Remember that time in New Orleans six years ago when the Saints would have almost certainly celebrated under confetti, but the officials disregarded an obvious pass-interference penalty, allowing Mahomes and the Chiefs to win in overtime? Oh wait — it was actually Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams who benefited from that infamous officiating gaffe in the 2018 NFC Championship Game. It’s not unusual for fans to view less obvious gaffes as unconscionable. After a heartbreaking defeat, the fallback for many is to believe their team is being slighted. Two years ago, following a third-down defensive holding call that allowed the Chiefs to drain the clock and kick a walk-off field goal in Super Bowl LVII, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie believed his team had been screwed. The player who was flagged for the hold, James Bradberry, disagreed, telling reporters, “It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide.” We must also acknowledge that the NFL created an atmosphere for conspiracy theories when, in the wake of the 2018 Supreme Court decision that overturned a law that effectively banned commercial sports betting in most states, the league changed directions like Barry Sanders in his prime and embraced legalized gambling. It’s one thing for fans to bemoan a defeat they feel was stolen from them; people who’ve wagered and lost are even more susceptible to jumping to the worst-case scenario. I’m not naïve enough to believe that there’s no way gambling overtones could lead to a full-fledged cheating scandal in the NFL. Any player, coach or official with a gambling debt, or who’s enticed by a scheme to make money on a “sure thing,” could be susceptible to committing an act that tarnishes the integrity of the game. However, an entire operation designed to benefit the Chiefs seems like a high-risk, far-fetched way of doing illicit business. Conspiracy theories related to the NFL are nothing new. Remember the last time New Orleans hosted a Super Bowl, when a power outage derailed the Baltimore Ravens’ momentum, and the San Francisco 49ers very nearly pulled off a wild comeback? GO DEEPER When the lights went out in New Orleans: How a blackout nearly altered Super Bowl history Were some convinced that the league turned out the lights to allow Colin Kaepernick (feels weird reading that now, huh?) and his teammates to hoist the Lombardi Trophy? Absolutely. Were they tripping? I think you know the answer. While I reject conspiracy theories, I am open to the possibility that there are subconscious forces that surface in pivotal moments. Does Mahomes, as one of the sport’s luminous stars, get more favorable calls than, say, Aidan O’Connell or Will Levis? As in any sport, we can’t completely reject this premise. Anecdotally, that often seemed to be the case during Tom Brady’s storied career. Remember when Brady led the New England Patriots to a comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game? The Jags had six penalties for 98 yards, and had a potential Myles Jack defensive touchdown whistled dead. The Pats were penalized once for 10 yards — on a kickoff. I would also note that in their two most charged head-to-head meetings, Brady seemed to get the calls that Mahomes couldn’t, from the infamous Dee Ford offsides penalty (nullifying a game-clinching Brady interception) in the 2018 AFC Championship Game to the lopsided first-half tally in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV victory over Kansas City (the Chiefs were penalized a record eight times for 95 yards; the Bucs were flagged just once for 5 yards). Then again, such examples presume that each team’s on-field behavior is similar, discounting the possibility that one is better than the other at — you know — following the rules. After the Chiefs’ 32-29 victory over the Bills in the AFC Championship Game, veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins and I discussed the perception that the officials are helping Kansas City win. “It’s easy to say that about anyone who’s winning,” Hopkins said. “They don’t understand the preparation, the way we practice, the way we’re coached. I’ve been a few places now, and I’ve never had coaching like this. We put a lot into this, and we’re very, very precise.” Sometimes, there are even hard, persuasive numbers to support the sense that a team is being shafted over time. Here in New Orleans, they know all about that. During a four-season span from 2018 to 2021, the Saints finished 30th, 31st, 32nd and tied for 31st in terms of penalties called (both accepted and declined) against opponents. A Saints source was told by someone familiar with statistical probabilities that the chance of finishing in the bottom three of the league in that category for four consecutive years was 0.007725 percent. Did the league have it out for Sean Payton? Again, I reject the notion that there was a coordinated effort to impair the success of one team. However, in this case — and given the aforementioned 2018 NFC Championship Game fiasco — I can at least understand the paranoia. Now here’s one more thing to consider before the Chiefs and Eagles play for a Lombardi: Given all the noise, might the officials subconsciously swing the other way and be hesitant to make game-changing calls that work in Kansas City’s favor? Human nature suggests that, in an effort not to be viewed as unfair, these officials might err on the side of caution in such situations, possibly ignoring an Eagles infraction they’d typically call. If anything, all this conspiracy noise might have the same effect as a college basketball coach shamelessly working the refs in the hope of getting a favorable call later in the game. Perhaps it’s the Eagles who’ll actually have the folks in striped shirts on their side. Could Nick Sirianni working the officials help prevent the Chiefs from landing a favorable call? Perhaps. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images) More likely, the Super Bowl will come down to — wait for it — which team plays better. Sorry to spoil the storyline, but it should make your Super Sunday viewing experience more enjoyable. My advice is to enjoy the game, consume copious amounts of calories and try not to think about having to wake up for work Monday morning — and avoid getting caught up in the conspiratorial lunacy. And if Sunday’s clash plays out like most Chiefs postseason games during the Mahomes era, show some respect. It’ll be because the quarterback and his teammates are exceptionally cool under pressure, and not because of some sinister script. Trust me, it’s better this way. Just because Mahomes goes to Disney World doesn’t mean you have to go down that ridiculous rabbit hole. (Top illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; photo of Ronald Torbert: Diamond Images / Getty Images) Source link #Super #Bowl #isnt #rigged #enjoy #ChiefsEagles #showdown Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

‘Anora’ Wins Big at Producers and Directors Guild Awards – The New York Times ‘Anora’ Wins Big at Producers and Directors Guild Awards – The New York Times ‘Anora’ Wins Big at Producers and Directors Guild Awards The New York Times77th Annual DGA Awards Winners – dga.orgSean Baker’s ‘Anora’ Takes Top DGA & PGA Awards Prizes On Same Night – How This Could Predict Oscars Deadline2025 Producers Guild Awards: Full winners list (updating live) Gold Derby Source link #Anora #Wins #Big #Producers #Directors #Guild #Awards #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Super Bowl halftime shows ranked: Prince, Beyoncé, U2 — and Kendrick Lamar on deck Super Bowl halftime shows ranked: Prince, Beyoncé, U2 — and Kendrick Lamar on deck The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, and Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance. (Editor’s note: The Athletic baseball writer Levi Weaver is an accomplished singer, songwriter and musician who has played roughly 1,000 shows in 43 states and 10 countries.) On Sunday, as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs head to their locker rooms, crews will rapidly set the stage (literally) for what has become one of the most high-profile music performances of each year: the Super Bowl halftime show. This year, headlining will be Kendrick Lamar, who — let’s admit it — has had himself a year. Fresh off five Grammy Award wins for “Not Like Us,” Lamar is a consummate showman with a keen eye for detail. GO DEEPER Kendrick Lamar won 5 Grammys on Sunday. Now he prepares for his Super Bowl set list I have no idea what to expect, but I will be locked in when the lights come up. The big question: Where will it rank all time? In advance of this year’s performance, I watched every Super Bowl halftime show. (I do not recommend doing this.) There are some brilliant performances — by all means, rewatch those — but there are also a few that are … well, you’ll see. Here’s the rubric I used for the ranking. The most a show could score is 50 points. Music (1-10): Instrumentation, vocal performance Staging (1-10): Combination lighting/stage presentation and choreography Set list (1-5): Were the hits played? Was the energy high? Memorable (1-10): Ten points means we’re still talking about it; one point means the same thing, but for all the wrong reasons. “Vibes” (1-12): The most important (and least tangible) element … did it work? Geographic relevance (1-3): Was a local act incorporated? Or, did the locale contribute to the performance at all? In 1992, organizers had yet to learn that the Super Bowl could have much better production value. This one was so bad that it prompted organizers to shake things up the following year — bringing in Michael Jackson and changing the halftime show forever. Gloria Estefan’s performance was fine, but she didn’t even appear until late in the 13-minute show, after a snowflake army’s rendition of something called “Winter Magic,” followed by children rapping about Frosty the Snowman. I now believe that this is the video they show performers when asking, “Are you sure you don’t want to lip-sync it?” The “Indiana Jones”-themed set looked very expensive, and the costumes certainly were more involved than anything we’d seen before. But there was far too much bad acting: A faux Indiana Jones (not Harrison Ford) steals the Super Bowl trophy, and there is a fight scene, replete with movie sound bites playing. The whole thing felt like a half-baked promo put together by studio execs. Patti LaBelle and Tony Bennett deserved better, but both felt very shoehorned in, as if the organizers would have preferred not to include musical guests at all. They wrapped with “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” from “The Lion King.” Mercifully, that was the end. The halftime show sponsored by House of Blues. We could have had Wynton Marsalis, Dr. John, The Meters, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint or the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Instead, this show kicked off with another marketing scheme for an upcoming movie about a blues band (from Chicago). James Brown teamed with Jim Belushi — and ZZ Top in the background — during halftime of Super Bowl XXXI. (RVR Photos / USA Today) James Brown was good (albeit lip-synced, as evidenced here and elsewhere). ZZ Top was solid. Good choices, but sullied by the blues headliners. It should have worked. The halftime show was emerging from the apologize-for-2004-by-booking-older-acts era, and the presentation was decidedly modern — futuristic, even. All it lacked was an act that could sing on pitch. Fergie’s mic was cut for the first few seconds, but in retrospect, I’m not sure turning it on was the best remedy. This performance sounded like a group of college friends on a fun night out at a karaoke bar. Slash did fine in his cameo, and Usher was … well, he did the splits, so that was something. But aside from a flashy stage presentation, it was largely only memorable for unfortunate reasons. I absolutely hated this show in real time. I did my best to watch it with fresh eyes for this list. I still hate it. From the intro where Bruce Springsteen barks at us to “put the chicken fingers dowwwwn” to having a referee throw a delay of game flag just before Steven Van Zandt hollers, “It’s Boss tiiiiiiime!” … it’s just all so very cringe. The E Street Band is made up of some brilliant musicians, and Springsteen is a great songwriter. That should boost them higher on this list, but for me, none of that was able to shine through the cheesiness of the presentation. 28: Diana Ross (1996): 25 points It’s honestly remarkable how many of these feel like an attempt to correct a mistake made the year before. A year after the “Indiana Jones” debacle, organizers went back to a more traditional on-field setup: marching band members in formation as Diana Ross blasted through a medley of her numerous hits from a bare-bones stage. It was very straightforward, inoffensive and a reasonable marriage of old-style choreography with a big star at the center. But none of it felt very inventive or up to the scope of the event. The exit via helicopter was a nice touch, I guess. 27. The Who (2010): 26.5 points Sorry for getting in the music production weeds here, but I think I have a theory for why this set fell flat. They mixed a rock and roll band like a pop act: The vocals were way too prominent over the instrumentation. Given how much effort it took Pete Townshend to hit the high notes on “Baba O’Riley” and how half-baked Roger Daltrey’s harmonica solo sounded, it was a particularly egregious decision. At their best, The Who were at the forefront of the rock and roll revolution. Here, they come off as an anachronism on a futuristic light-show stage. The idea — celebrating 40 years of Motown — was solid. Mixing artists from the heyday of Motown (The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas) with current artists (Queen Latifah, Boyz II Men), I was interested. I like all of these acts. It was like seeing a living museum of the Motown era, with a modern wing for the kids. There’s value in that! But was it entertainment value? Not to the level you’d expect from a Super Bowl halftime show. This one scores high in stage presentation. The set looked closer to an Olympics opening ceremony than anything previously seen at a Super Bowl. Throw in the Disney orchestra, and the whole thing felt very grandiose. Unfortunately, once the artists took the stage, it started to feel very not-so-grandiose. The Super Bowl halftime show should be a party, not an emotional final scene of an inspirational film. When Edward James Olmos’ narration starts — he even used the phrase “the tapestry of magic”— it’s apparent: They want us to feel things. Just play the hits! Do the drum thing from “In The Air Tonight.” It’s so simple! A much better set list, but somehow, the sum was less than the parts. I can’t knock Shania Twain’s performance at all. Gwen Stefani was a bit pitchy from all the running around and dancing, but it was still pretty good. The Police should have gotten a longer set, and Sting’s attempt to replicate Nelly’s half-jersey from a few years prior wasn’t great. Overall, it lacked elements that would have made it memorable. I tried to rank on the merits of performance alone. Starting the show in a small club atmosphere below the stadium was a nice touch. But then, Justin Timberlake goes into “Rock Your Body” (the offending song from 2004 … more on that later), omitting the final line with a “hold up, stop.” And later in the set, “Cry Me a River” — written about Britney Spears — also hits differently, knowing what we know now. It’s a shame because devoid of context, this was an objectively brilliant performance. There was even a tribute to Prince, with a shot of Minneapolis lit up in purple! This is murky, and again, I really tried to rank on the merits of the performance — even though I know full well what everyone remembers. I think this was an objectively better halftime show than the Rolling Stones … but the metrics are the metrics, and everyone talked about this for the wrong reasons. Even before the “incident,” this halftime show already had a different vibe than any we’d seen before. We even got our first curse word in albeit a fairly tame “**** is bodacious” line by Nelly. In retrospect, hearing “I am getting so hot; I’m gonna take my clothes off” feels more like an omen than a singalong. Kid Rock even references “topless dancers” and “methadone clinics” in “Bawitdaba.” It was a modern, slightly more tawdry halftime show! And then … It’s a shame that the show as a whole is more or less forgotten thanks to controversy. Janet Jackson deserved better. This was the second year of the “vintage acts” era. It’s nowhere near “Winter Magic” bad, but after 2004’s controversy scuttled a blossoming trend of multiple megastars on stage at once, it was a bit of a letdown to see a shorter version of a standard show from a band whose peak was 25 or so years prior — even if they are one of the all-time great touring acts. Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performed during halftime of Super Bowl XL. (John David Mercer / USA Today) As Mick Jagger said before launching into “Satisfaction”: “This one, we coulda done at Super Bowl I.” If they had, it would be much higher on this list. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is a good example of how a band doesn’t have to be the biggest act in the world to succeed on a large stage. Swing music was going through a renaissance around this time, and they kicked off the show with a fun (if a bit dated) vibe. But what I really want to talk about is this: Stevie Wonder was driving a car. (Let’s throw it to Shaquille O’Neal for conspiracy theory story time.) Wonder’s set was uncharacteristically shaky — some echo issues that were out of his control and one botched high note — but still good. It was Estefan who stuck the landing. The Latin-infused set was a perfect fit for Miami. Overall, pretty good for the era! Adam Levine’s vocals are a big part of what makes Maroon 5 such a good band, so it was a bit disappointing for them to be just OK in the first half of the show. The falsetto in “She Will Be Loved” and “Moves Like Jagger” was strong — less so in “Sugar.” I can’t decide how I feel about the “SpongeBob SquarePants” introduction of Travis Scott. My gut says “bad,” but my heart tells me to stop being old and grumpy. My ******* issue was if you’re going to have to bleep out half of Scott’s performance, maybe just go with someone else? Points for getting Big Boi for an Atlanta Super Bowl, but otherwise (beyond Levine taking off his shirt) this was a fairly forgettable show. 18. Tom Petty (2008): 32.5 points It was a pretty good show by a great artist. Very few bells and whistles, just the hits. Get in, get out, passing grade, on to the next. Prince and Tom Petty played in back-to-back halftime shows. Following Prince probably hurts Petty’s ranking here. Not his fault, just a tough draw. A Beatle? Playing The Beatles songs? On a stage that actually took some effort to construct? Big pyrotechnics? Seems like a winning combination. I’m almost inclined to forgive an emotional ballad here, since an entire Super Bowl crowd singing along to “Hey Jude” is a moment that those in attendance surely haven’t forgotten. Unfortunately, it is painfully obvious that 2005 marked the beginning of a seven-year era of halftime shows that seemed designed to apologize to the public for the controversy of 2004. The goal appeared less to take the halftime show to new heights and more to simply avoid an international incident. Mission accomplished, but in context, it was a little boring compared to what it could have been. Country music was having a moment in 1994, and this lineup worked great for a southern Super Bowl in Atlanta. Clint ****** had ******* hits, but going with “Tuckered Out” before handing it off to the inimitable Tanya Tucker was a pun I can appreciate. The Judds had broken up four years prior, so it was cool to see Naomi join her daughter Wynonna on stage for “Love Can Build a Bridge” (though “Rockin’ With the Rhythm of the Rain” would have been better, in my opinion). While the music was solid, the production value was pretty mid for the first three performers, until the younger Judd took the stage to a sea of sword-length glow sticks that really emphasized the stadium-show feel. I’m not sure they could have done much more, though. Too many bells and whistles would have felt inauthentic. 2001 marked a sea change between safe and middle-of-the-road to finding the biggest stars of the day — and then adding some more big stars. Great in theory, but going back and forth between NSYNC and Aerosmith for the first half was vibes whiplash. Fortunately, it improved when the collaboration got started with “Walk This Way.” I would have loved to have seen Run-DMC here, but Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige filled in brilliantly. Nelly’s half-Ravens/half-Giants jersey was something we’ll all remember. It was at this point I realized that I prefer when the Super Bowl is not on the West Coast. We get a nighttime show instead of a mid-afternoon festival feel. Organizers did a good job employing a lot of bright colors and flowers into the staging, but it didn’t feel like a real party while the sun was up. I mean no offense to Coldplay when I say this: Their performance was exactly a Coldplay show, and they’re one of the biggest bands of this millennium. But when Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars hit the stage, the energy level soared. Mars was suited for this stage. So was Beyoncé, and the dance-off mashup between the two was the sort of pairing the halftime show should strive for. 13. Lady Gaga (2017): 36.5 points The choice to pair “God Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land” as an opener was not only low-energy, but a weird pairing. I get why one might have felt we needed some healing and unity in January 2017, but this felt forced and ill-advised. But then, the jump — followed by the descent to the stage while Lady Gaga kicked her legs like a frog mad about being picked up — lives rent-free in my head at least a half-dozen times a year. Had the show started around the 1:20 mark, it would have ranked higher, as the rest of the show was vintage Lady Gaga. Bold stage choices with art-school aesthetics, massive hits, good vocal performance … and even a keytar! The show even finished with Gaga jumping off something else, this time catching a ball in the process. I could have lived without slowing the show down with “Million Reasons,” but I’d be beating a dead horse about keeping the set list peppy. 12. Usher (2024): 37.5 points For as excellent as the second half of this show was, it will be easy to forget in a few years that it started pretty shaky. Usher’s vocals sounded uncharacteristically wobbly for the first couple of songs, as did Alicia Keys’. It made me wonder if there was a problem with the in-ear monitors. But after a quick page from the Maroon 5 playbook (vocals struggling? Take off your shirt!) the vibes pulled a 180-degree turn. While H.E.R. owned the moment with a killer guitar solo, Usher pulled off a quick costume change that included roller skates (points for unique props). Usher danced on skates during halftime of Super Bowl LVIII. (Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today) By the time Lil Jon and Ludacris showed up for “Yeah!,” it was a full-blown party. If they’d been able to bring that energy from the beginning, this could have ranked higher. 11. The Weeknd (2021): 39 points The performance that launched a million memes. I’m a big fan of mixing in some modern artists who don’t have the decades-long cache of hits to choose from. Performance-wise, it was good! His lower vocal register was a bit shaky, but my goodness did he blast out the high notes. Unfortunately (in direct contrast to The Who), the vocals were mixed too low. I feel like I can hear the drum cymbals above everything else for the first half of the show. But this show was more about the spectacle than the performance, and on that front, it delivered. Even the fact he spent so long in that lit-up corridor with the masked dancers was delightfully weird. At this point in halftime show history, the stages had been getting ******* and more elaborate. I thought this would be the apex, but the following year raised the bar even further (more on that later). This is The Weeknd’s meme-generator predecessor. We still remember Left Shark a decade later. Also, remember Katy Perry riding in on that big robotic-looking, Transformer/Mufasa thing? I’m not sure the second half of the show — with all the cartoonish, beach-ball mascot dancers and palm trees — would have worked for a halftime show had the shark on the left not forgotten the bulk of the dance routine. It was such a phenomenon that people tend to forget that Missy Elliott also put on a great performance of “Get Ur Freak On” and “Lose Control.” 9. Rihanna (2023): 41 points Some important context: Rihanna hadn’t played a show in five years. It was later revealed she also was pregnant with her second child. And yet, there she was, suspended high above the field at State Farm Stadium. If context benefits, it can also take away. If we could time-travel Rihanna back to 2006, it would have been among the most iconic performances of all time, on any stage. Floating stages. The dancers and the choreography. The number of certified bangers. The level of creativity and spectacle would have broken our collective psyche. But in 2023? The best show in the history of the world (circa 2006) was just a good halftime show. It was good! I have no nitpicks. But was it special? Well, it cracked this top 10, so … a little bit? Finally, the Material Girl arrived at the centerpiece of American excess. It was everything you’d expect from a Madonna show: hit after hit, slightly tawdry choreography, a gospel choir, centurions. Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. still were early in their careers but held their own as guest stars, as did CeeLo Green. A great halftime show, but I’d be remiss not to point out that M.I.A. flipped off the camera as she delivered the line “I don’t give a s—,” which caused the NFL to make the next move. This is by far the most, uh, “sensual” halftime show we’ve ever seen. From Shakira belly dancing with a rope to Jennifer Lopez’s pole routine above a writhing mass of backing dancers, it was definitely pushing envelopes. But it wasn’t all hip shaking and pelvic thrusts. The six-piece brass ensemble serving as Shakira’s backing dancers was a nice touch, and her vocal performance was one of the best we’ve seen. J-Lo’s vocal performance absolutely exceeded my expectations, as well, going full-throated rasp at times and staying on pitch. And then Shakira hopped on a drum kit and played it well? Dang! From a talent standpoint, I can’t deduct any points at all. The Latin-influenced dance finale was a perfect ending to a set that felt very Miami. As far as the general sexiness of it all, it wasn’t obscene, but it definitely pushed the boundaries of what we could expect from a halftime show. I had been saying for a while at this point that the Super Bowl needed a halftime show of Bruno Mars and Janelle Monáe. This show granted half of my request, and I felt vindicated. After a short intro with Mars playing a drum solo, it was time to party. Pedal down, start to finish. Mars’ persona and catalog are uniquely and perfectly suited for this occasion. The goal of his career seems to be getting everyone on the dance floor and having the night of their lives. It’s a true talent to be on the world’s biggest stage and still make the audience feel like the experience is about them. No offense to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who are consummate performers and did nothing wrong, but I would have been fine to let Mars do the whole thing. Still, the chaotic mashup of the two acts was a spectacle and deserves credit for working well as a one-off. Imagine that the only halftime shows you’ve ever seen involved marching bands or children rapping about snowmen. And then, one of the most transformative artists of all time starts his performance by defiantly posing on the stage in silence — for a minute and a half. Michael Jackson put on an unforgettable show during halftime of Super Bowl XXVII. (Steve Granitz / WireImage) It’s incredibly rare for something from 1993 to hold up more than 30 years later, but this performance does. The production value (by 1993 standards, anyway), the musicianship (bonus points for guitarist Jennifer Batten’s glam-rock hairstyle adding to the message that this was something different) … it absolutely changed the Super Bowl halftime show forever. And even though it’s clearly dated, it holds up. The only real deduction comes from shifting gears to an overwrought rendition of “We Are the World” when “Thriller,” “Bad” and others were right there for the taking. I’m going to get roasted for putting this ahead of Michael Jackson, but with points for stage presentation and set list, that’s how it shakes out. Beyoncé’s vocals were flawless, and the stage and lighting were immaculate, with video screens allowing Beyoncé to serve as her own backing dancer(s). Oh, and Destiny’s Child reunited after a seven-year (!) hiatus. From beginning to end, this was a flawless halftime show: a megastar, a reunion, a high-energy set and a beautiful stage. Also, it wasn’t until Beyoncé asked the crowd to put their hands together that I realized there hadn’t been much crowd participation in these shows. It’s a small thing, but it played well. This one had it all, with one exception: a moment that transcended the performance and elevated beyond greatness and into magic. 3. U2 (2002): 48 points There were no guest stars for this one, which felt exactly right. I’m hard-pressed to think of any other band that could handle the emotional gravitas of a Super Bowl that came less than six months after 9/11. U2 managed to pull off the impossible — performing a touching tribute to a moment that was, at the time, still too big and too new to fully process … but doing so without sacrificing an ounce of showmanship or delving into jingoism. The band opened with “Beautiful Day” before going into “MLK” as a large banner featuring the names of those who died in the attacks rose behind them to the top of the stadium. They wrapped with “Where the Streets Have No Name.” I remember audibly gasping as the banner fell at the end. It was the one halftime show where it was perfectly fine to be emotional. This lineup, in Los Angeles, had Dr. Dre kicking off proceedings sitting behind an all-white mixing board as a hat tip to the number of hits he has produced. It had a stage that was a map of the city, replete with vintage cars and houses with rooms. It had Anderson .Paak and band members playing along with the tracks. It had dancers. This is the greatest stage design in halftime show history, hands down. But a great stage is nothing without a performance to match, and among these legends, there were more than enough hits to make a set list that featured no weak spots. The spectacle was surreal perfection. Kendrick Lamar delivered a sharp performance with memorable choreography that contributed to organizers booking him as the headliner in 2025. The staging and upside-down 50 Cent were the most tweetable images of the night, but Lamar’s performance was underrated. Finish it with Dr. Dre playing the piano on “Still D.R.E.,” and it’s the second-best Super Bowl halftime show of all time. 1. Prince (2007): 50 points “(The stage) was slippery to begin with, and when it rained on it, it was treacherous.” The deluge began about 30 seconds before Prince took the stage, and organizers asked Prince if he wanted to cancel the performance due to safety concerns. Prince, per Super Bowl halftime show producer Don Mischer, answered the question with a question: “Can you make it rain harder?” When he launched into the guitar solo of “Purple Rain” as the heavens poured forth, it was one of those moments that nobody ever could have planned. Not just an all-time halftime show, but an all-time rock and roll performance. It was transcendent, and it’s a halftime show many have watched on multiple occasions since. (Top photo of Kendrick Lamar: Mike Coppola / Getty Images) Source link #Super #Bowl #halftime #shows #ranked #Prince #Beyoncé #Kendrick #Lamar #deck Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]