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Trump says he and Putin could do something ‘significant’ toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine Trump says he and Putin could do something ‘significant’ toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said his administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict. “We will be speaking, and I think will perhaps do something that’ll be significant,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. “We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.” Trump did not say who from his administration has been in contact with the Russians but insisted the two sides were “already talking.” 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. Asked if he has already spoken directly with Putin, Trump was coy: “I don’t want to say that.” Trump has said repeatedly he wouldn’t have allowed the conflict to start if he had been in office, even though he was president as fighting grew in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv’s forces and separatists backed by Moscow, ahead of Putin sending in tens of thousands of troops in 2022. Trump since returning to office has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he should have made a deal with Putin to avoid the conflict. The president in a Fox News interview earlier in January ridiculed Zelenskyy as “talking so brave,” when Ukraine was so dependent on U.S. aid to fight its war. “They were brave, but we gave them billions of dollars,” Trump said. In a recent interview with Russian state television, Putin praised Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” who is focused on U.S. interests. “We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president, if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.” The Russian’s president’s statement was also a blunt endorsement of Trump’s refusal to accept his defeat in the 2020 election. Numerous federal and local officials, a long list of courts, top former campaign staffers and even his own attorney general have all said there is no evidence of the fraud he alleges. Trump in his 2024 campaign vowed to bring a quick end to the war, and repeatedly criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for spending billions in U.S. taxpayer money on military and economic aide for Kyiv to help it fight back against Russia. Trump’s relationship with Putin has been scrutinized since his 2016 campaign for president, when he called on Russia to find and make public missing emails deleted by Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent. Trump publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence officials on whether Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help him, and Trump has praised the Russian leader and even called him “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine. Source link #Trump #Putin #significant #Russias #war #Ukraine Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

6 Feared Dead After Medical Plane Crashes Near Philadelphia Mall – The New York Times 6 Feared Dead After Medical Plane Crashes Near Philadelphia Mall – The New York Times 6 Feared Dead After Medical Plane Crashes Near Philadelphia Mall The New York TimesPhiladelphia plane ******: Medical transport jet carrying 6 people, including Shriners patient, crashes near Roosevelt Mall 6ABC PhiladelphiaDrone shows fires after Philadelphia small plane ****** Yahoo! VoicesLive Updates: Medical jet carrying 6, including girl, crashes in Northeast Philly NBC PhiladelphiaPhilly plane ****** live updates: 6 people onboard, including pediatric patient FOX 29 Philadelphia Source link #Feared #Dead #Medical #Plane #Crashes #Philadelphia #Mall #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Second body found in river in Aberdeen in search for missing sisters Second body found in river in Aberdeen in search for missing sisters Megan Bonar BBC Scotland News Huszti family Henrietta, left, and Eliza Huszti went missing on 7 January The body of a second woman has been found near where two missing sisters were last seen in Aberdeen. Henrietta and Eliza Huszti – both 32 and from a set of triplets – were last seen near the River Dee on 7 January. Officers found the second body in an area of the river near to the Victoria Bridge at about 21:05 on Friday. The first body had been found near Queen Elizabeth Bridge at about 07:55. Police Scotland said the Huszti family had been informed. Inquires are ongoing but there are no apparent suspicious circumstances. Supt David Howieson said: “Our thoughts remain with the Huszti family and we are keeping them fully updated following these recoveries. “We know how much of an impact this has had in Aberdeen and much further afield and I would like to thank everyone who has assisted with our investigation.” The disappearance of the two sisters – originally from Hungary – sparked a major search operation earlier this month. A police tent was set up at Aberdeen Boat Club near the spot where the first body was seen on Friday Both women were last seen on Market Street at the Victoria Bridge over the River Dee at about 02:12 on 7 January. Earlier this week, Police Scotland said searches of the river and the harbour area had ended. But the force said inquiries would be ongoing and coastal areas north and south of the city would continue to be searched. Detectives previously revealed the sisters visited the Victoria Bridge the day before they disappeared. They also texted their landlady from the bridge area in the early hours of 7 January to say they would not return to their flat. The Victoria Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Bridge are about half a mile apart on the River Dee. Source link #body #river #Aberdeen #search #missing #sisters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Despite Requests to Scrap Tokens, Pokémon TCG Pocket Devs “investigating ways to improve the feature” Despite Requests to Scrap Tokens, Pokémon TCG Pocket Devs “investigating ways to improve the feature” Pokémon TCG Pocket made a massive splash when it was first released, quickly gaining traction with its fun gameplay and the excitement of collecting cards. However, despite its early success, players were cautious about the new trading system, and unfortunately, they were right. Players are frustrated with the newly added system. | Image Credit: Creatures Inc. The trading update launched with an undesirable structure that frustrated the community. Thankfully, the developers have responded fairly quickly, but their tone-deaf statement failed to address the core concerns, leaving fans more disappointed and frustrated. Developers overlook the main issue with Pokémon TCG Pocket‘s trading system The developers missed the entire point of the backlash. | Image Credit: Creatures Inc. The introduction of the trading feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket added a much-anticipated layer to the game, but the mechanics left a lot to be desired. To engage in trading, players needed two types of in-game currency: Trade Stamina and Trade Tokens. Trade Stamina recovers over time, or players can buy more with real-world money. This alone raised red flags, but the real frustration came from Trade Token. Tokens can only be earned by selling cards in the player’s collection, but the amount of tokens needed to trade for rarer cards was outrageous. This system was immediately criticized for being exploitative and overly complicated. Players were frustrated that this system was not very intuitive and made the system hard for unnecessary reasons, rather than allowing them to trade freely with others. pic.twitter.com/ndBqjaZz3B — Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) January 31, 2025 In response to these concerns, Creatures Inc. issued a statement thanking players for their feedback. However, this response did little to address the main issue. Instead of reworking the system, they are just increasing the resources required for trading, overlooking the whole backlash. Even though the reaction to the developers’ response has been somewhat positive, there is still frustration among many who felt the developers had misunderstood the problem entirely and failed to offer a meaningful solution. A step in the right direction, but certainly not enough Players looking forward to the changes. | Image Credit: Creatures Inc. The promise of changes to the currency system sounded hopeful at first, with Creatures Inc. stating that they would offer additional ways to earn Trade Tokens, such as through event distributions. This seemed like a positive step, but it’s nowhere near the fix that players were hoping for. The real issue lies with the core mechanics of the trading system itself. Players still need to use Trade Stamina and Trade Tokens to trade high-rarity cards. Additionally, the token system remains highly limited, and the changes announced don’t address the fundamental frustration of the trading process. Players who are not spending real-world money to open packs, still don’t have enough cards to “shred” to meet the token requirements. On the other hand, paid players who have cards to burn to get those tokens likely don’t need this feature in the first place, making the system a waste of time with higher costs. While Creatures Inc. has claimed it is investigating ways to improve the feature even further, the developers’ initial response shows a lack of understanding of the community’s desires. In the end, players are left to wait and see if the developers will take the necessary steps to make trading a more enjoyable and fair experience for everyone. Source link #Requests #Scrap #Tokens #Pokémon #TCG #Pocket #Devs #investigating #ways #improve #feature Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Jake Santa Maria: Sri Lanka come it short in every metric in *********** domination Jake Santa Maria: Sri Lanka come it short in every metric in *********** domination This was an utter domination, a throwback to Steve Waugh’s days of mental disintegration and one that shows how far Sri Lanka still have to come, writes Jake Santa Maria. Source link #Jake #Santa #Maria #Sri #Lanka #short #metric #*********** #domination Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Philadelphia plane ****** debris flies through diner window, hitting customer in head Philadelphia plane ****** debris flies through diner window, hitting customer in head Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways PHILADELPHIA – A diner near the plane ****** site in Northeast Philadelphia has been evacuated after debris flew through one of the windows Friday evening. Cardboard was seen taped up on a window at a restaurant on Cottman Avenue after a small metal piece believed to be from the plane that crashed near Roosevelt Mall flew through the glass and hit a patron in the head, FOX 29’s Steve Keeley said. The diner is about half a mile from the ****** site. What happened? What we know A small plane carrying six people, including a pediatric patient, crashed at about 6:30 p.m. on Cottman Avenue and Bustleton Avenue. The plane was a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance and was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to the FAA. RELATED: Philadelphia plane ******, explosion caught on Ring video What we don’t know It is unclear if anyone near the ****** site inside their homes or businesses were injured at this time. The victims have yet to be identified and the cause is unknown. The Source Information for this article was gathered from a live report at the scene of a plane ****** in Northeast Philadelphia on Jan. 31, 2025. This story was reported from Los Angeles. Source link #Philadelphia #plane #****** #debris #flies #diner #window #hitting #customer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Rihanna attends the trial of her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, who is accused in a 2021 shooting – The Associated Press Rihanna attends the trial of her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, who is accused in a 2021 shooting – The Associated Press Rihanna attends the trial of her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, who is accused in a 2021 shooting The Associated PressView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Rihanna #attends #trial #partner #rapper #AAP #Rocky #accused #shooting #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Davis Cup: GB face relegation play-off after Japan defeat Davis Cup: GB face relegation play-off after Japan defeat Great Britain face a Davis Cup relegation play-off after losing their first-round tie 3-2 against Japan. With the tie level at 1-1 after Friday’s opening day, Britain took the lead when Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury won Saturday’s opening rubber 7-6 7-6 against Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki. But Jacob Fearnley, who beat former world number four Kei Nishikori on Friday, was beaten 6-3 7-6 by Yoshihito Nishioka to force a decider. The experienced Nishikori, 35, then cruised past Billy Harris 6-2 6-3 in an hour and 15 minutes to seal victory for the hosts in Miki, Japan. “Losing is difficult, but I can’t fault the efforts of the four players here over the last two days and for that matter the whole week,” said GB captain Leon Smith. “They’ve been great to work with, they gave everything they could on the match court. You win some, you lose some.” An inexperienced GB side were without British number one Jack Draper because of a hip injury, while British number two Cameron Norrie withdrew through illness. They need to win their relegation play-off tie in September to stay in the top world group next season. Source link #Davis #Cup #face #relegation #playoff #Japan #defeat Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Washington Post: Donald Trump sketches an unprecedented plan for sweeping tariffs The Washington Post: Donald Trump sketches an unprecedented plan for sweeping tariffs The comprehensive roster of products that may soon become noticeably more expensive for American consumers and businesses runs from industrial metals and commodities to wine, beer, lumber and medicine. Source link #Washington #Post #Donald #Trump #sketches #unprecedented #plan #sweeping #tariffs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

President Donald Trump Is Going to Break His Social Security Promise — and It’s Absolutely the Right Decision President Donald Trump Is Going to Break His Social Security Promise — and It’s Absolutely the Right Decision There isn’t a social program in this country that’s more important to the financial well-being of Americans than Social Security. In 2023, it singlehandedly pulled 22 million people above the federal poverty line, including 16.3 million adults aged 65 and above. More importantly, it’s a program an overwhelming percentage of retirees count on to make ends meet. Spanning 23 years of annual surveys by Gallup, 80% to 90% of retirees have consistently responded that Social Security accounts for a “major” or “minor” income source. Unfortunately, this prized 90-year-old program isn’t on the best financial footing. Strengthening Social Security will require action from our elected officials, which includes President Donald Trump. But while Trump has pledged to come through for seniors, one of his biggest Social Security promises is going to have to be broken. President Donald Trump addressing reporters. Image source: Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks, courtesy of the National Archives. Before digging any further, it’s important to understand the dynamics of how Social Security’s financial foundation has deteriorated over time. Over the previous 85 years, the Social Security Board of Trustees has released an annual report detailing the financial “health” of the program. This report allows anyone to break down how Social Security generates income, as well as track where those dollars end up. But the most valuable aspect of the annual Trustees Report is examining how monetary and fiscal policy changes, along with demographic shifts, have adjusted the long-term (75-year) solvency forecast for the trust funds. Keep in mind that Social Security is in no danger of going bankrupt, disappearing, or failing to pay eligible beneficiaries. What is at risk is the continuity of the existing payout schedule, including cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). According to the 2024 Trustees Report, the program’s long-term funding obligation shortfall rose $800 billion from the prior-year estimate to $23.2 trillion. In other words, program outlays — primarily benefits, but also administrative expenses to run Social Security — are expected to outpace estimated income collected from 2024 through 2098 by $23.2 trillion. Arguably even more worrisome is the projection that the Old-Age and Survivor’s Insurance Trust Fund (OASI) will exhaust its asset reserves by 2033. The OASI is responsible for paying monthly benefits to retired workers and survivors of deceased workers. If the OASI’s asset reserves deplete in eight years, sweeping benefit cuts of up to 21% may be necessary to sustain payouts through 2098 without the need for any further reductions. Story Continues The blame for Social Security’s weakening financial outlook has nothing to do with pervasive myths of Congressional theft and undocumented migrants receiving traditional benefits. Rather, it’s the result of numerous ongoing demographic changes, including a historically low U.S. birth rate, rising income inequality, and a significant decline in net legal migration into the U.S. The OASI’s asset reserves are forecast to be gone by 2033. US Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund Assets at End of Year data by YCharts. Most presidents tend to avoid proposing changes to Social Security, because any change will eventually result in some group of people being worse off than they were before. But this didn’t stop Trump from proclaiming on his social media platform Truth Social in late July that, “Seniors should not pay tax on Social Security.” In 1983, America’s leading retirement program found itself in a somewhat similar situation as today. Without action by lawmakers, Social Security’s trust funds were on track to deplete their asset reserves. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 ensured this wouldn’t happen. This last major bipartisan overhaul of Social Security provided for gradual increases to the payroll tax on earned income and the full retirement age, as well as introduced the taxation of benefits. Starting in 1984, up to 50% of Social Security benefits could be exposed to the federal tax rate if provisional income (adjusted gross income + tax-free interest + one-half of benefits) surpassed $25,000 for single filers and $32,000 for couples filing jointly. In 1993, a second tier was added allowing up to 85% of benefits to be exposed to federal taxation if provisional income topped $34,000 for single filers and $44,000 for jointly filing couples. While most Americans don’t enjoy paying taxes, the taxation of Social Security benefits is especially hated for one reason: These income thresholds have never been adjusted for inflation. When the taxation of benefits was introduced more than four decades ago, it was expected to affect around 10% of senior households. But as wages and COLAs have increased incomes over time, more and more retirees are now being exposed to some level of tax on their Social Security check. Trump’s post that intimates an end to the taxation of Social Security benefits would increase payouts for around half of all retirees. Image source: Getty Images. On paper, there’s plenty of support for ending the tax on benefits. But what’s popular isn’t always what’s best for Social Security. Though eliminating this hated tax on benefits would boost Social Security checks for select retirees, it would further cripple the program’s already weakening financial foundation. Social Security generates income in three ways: The 4% payroll tax on earned income (wages and salary, but not investment income) Interest earned on its asset reserves, which are invested in special-issue government bonds The taxation of Social Security benefits The payroll tax is the program’s undeniable breadwinner. In 2023, it accounted for 91.3% of the $1.351 trillion in income collected for the combined OASI and Disability Insurance trust fund. But over time, the taxation of benefits has been growing into a more important income source. If Trump’s promise were to be kept and this income source were eliminated, an estimated $943.9 billion (from 2024 through 2033) wouldn’t be collected by America’s leading retirement program over 10 years. Not only would this meaningfully widen the program’s $23.2 trillion long-term funding deficit, but it would expedite the OASI’s estimated asset reserve depletion date, and may even increase the magnitude by which benefits would need to be cut. There’s no fiscally responsible way Trump can keep this promise. To build on the above, the president would also need 60 votes in the Senate to amend the Social Security Act. The last time either of America’s political parties held a supermajority of votes (60) in the upper house of Congress was in 1979. In short, Trump would need bipartisan cooperation to amend Social Security, which is highly unlikely — and it’s not even clear what sort of support he’d have from his own party in the Senate. It’s simply a matter of time before Trump breaks his Social Security promise, and it’ll absolutely be the right decision. If you’re like most Americans, you’re a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known “Social Security secrets” could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $22,924 more… each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we’re all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies. View the “Social Security secrets” » The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: President Donald Trump Is Going to Break His Social Security Promise — and It’s Absolutely the Right Decision was originally published by The Motley Fool Source link #President #Donald #Trump #Break #Social #Security #Promise #Absolutely #Decision Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

7 Steps L.A. Could Take to Gird Against Future Wildfires 7 Steps L.A. Could Take to Gird Against Future Wildfires Fire and wind are certain to shape the future of Los Angeles as the world warms. Los Angeles had started taking steps to prepare. But there are lessons it can learn from other cities adapting to extreme fire weather: managing yards; taking care of neighbors; making it easier to get out of harm’s way. One big challenge, among many, is that plans like these need to be widely adopted. One home is only as safe as the home next door. “If your neighbor doesn’t do anything, and you do, if that home burns it will create so much radiant heat, yours will burn too,” said Kimiko Barrett of Headwaters Economics in Bozeman, Mont., a company that advises cities on reducing wildfire damage risk. Neighbors matter. Building codes and zoning rules matter. But perhaps most of all, money matters. Building for an age of fire can be expensive, and often out of reach for many homeowners living in fire-prone communities. Look hard at the landscape Boulder County, Colo., has learned some big lessons from recent fires. Pine needles and debris around a house quickly spread flames. Juniper bushes explode in fire. In fact, county officials call junipers “gasoline plants.” Firewood stuffed under a deck can ignite and destroy a house. The county has spent several years persuading people to clear debris and rip out junipers. Voters have agreed to a sales tax hike to help pay for it. Los Angeles has its own problem plant: palms. Many palm species, once they catch fire, are very hard to put out. In fire-prone areas, they should be avoided entirely, according to the Los Angeles County fire department. San Diego county prohibits greenery — even shrubs — around a five foot perimeter of a building and requires that tree canopies be at least 10 feet away., Berkeley, Calif., sends fire inspectors into its most fire-prone neighborhoods to suss out signs of danger: dead brush less than five feet from a house; flammable vegetation that leans over the fence line and threatens a neighbor’s property; high shrubs that can send flames racing up a tree. There are constraints. Live oaks are protected by law, which means they can’t be cut down. And local communities like Berkeley are still waiting for California state officials to issue regulations to implement a 2023 law designed to minimize fire damage by prescribing landscape-management standards. The city is due to tighten its regulations in the coming weeks, requiring homeowners to keep a five-foot fireproof perimeter around every house in the most fire-prone neighborhoods in the hills. That means no shrubs, no propane tanks, no wood mulch. Violations will be fined; the City Council has yet to determine how much. “If I can hold a lighter to it and it can smoke and flame, it shouldn’t be there,” said Colin Arnold, the assistant fire chief responsible for the city’s most fire-prone areas on the edge of the wilderness, known as the wildland urban interface Build safer houses Houses are flammable, but it’s possible to make them less flammable. Concrete, stucco, and engineered wood are better than old-fashioned wood frames. A few architects, including Abeer Sweis, in Santa Monica, work with compressed soil, also known as rammed earth, which offers both protection from fire and avoids the emissions of concrete. Roofs made of clay tiles, concrete or metal hold up well to flames. Laminated glass windows can reduce the radiant heat that presses up against a house during a fire. Design matters, too. Eaves and overhangs can trap embers, which is why architects building in fire-prone areas like them to be sealed. At a time when insurance coverage is becoming increasingly hard to procure in fire-prone communities, Mitchell Rocheleau, an architect based in Irvine, Calif., says fortifying your home is a “physical insurance policy.” Vents are frequent culprits. . Low-cost fixes, like fire-resistant vents with mesh screens, can keep big embers from flying in, but they’re not always effective, Ms. Sweis said, which is why she prefers vents that are coated with a material that melts in the heat and closes up. Building codes increasingly mandate noncombustible roofs and siding. (California has among the strictest.) The problem, though, is that most homes in the United States were built before modern building codes. Upgrading an existing house for the age of fire means getting rid of flammable siding and roofs. That’s an expensive proposition. Boast about improvements Think of it as a fire-smart version of keeping up with the Joneses. Boulder County has a way for homeowners to get certified by a nonprofit group, Wildfire Partners, for fireproofing practices like junking junipers, choosing less flammable shrubs, installing a fire-resistant roof or slathering fire-resistant sealant on a deck. Certification comes with a yard sign to display. It’s a way to nudge others in the neighborhood to adopt similar practices. There’s also a potential reward. Certification can be a way to not lose homeowner’s insurance, which is increasingly a risk in many communities in the American West. “The cost of retrofitting is very real,” Ashley Stolzmann, a county commissioner said. “The cost of losing insurance is also very real.” Upgrade dangerous power lines Power lines and utility poles have been responsible for some of California’s most destructive fires in recent years. Much of that infrastructure was built in the 1960s and 1970s and is in urgent need of repair. Utilities have faced a barrage of lawsuits in the aftermath of some of those fires, including in recent days when residents of Altadena sued Southern California Edison claiming that the utility’s equipment set off the Eaton Fire that destroyed 5,000 buildings in the area. (Edison said it is investigating the cause of the fires.) A range of fixes are possible, from fire-resistant poles to burying electricity lines (very expensive) to covering them in a protective layer (less expensive but less safe). The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law set aside $3.5 billion for electricity grid upgrades. That’s a fraction of the $250 billion price tag of the latest Los Angeles fires. Rethink roads ****-de-sacs and narrow, winding streets are a hallmark of many neighborhoods pressed up against wilderness, including the Berkeley Hills. That’s a problem when people need to get out, and first responders need to get in. “There’s nowhere to put new roads,” Mr. Arnold said. “It’s a very densely packed community built without evacuation in mind.” If you can’t widen roads, you can keep them clear for first responders to get in and out. The Los Angeles Fire Department prohibits street parking in some neighborhoods on windy days, when fire risk is high. Rancho Santa Fe, a wealthy suburb of San Diego, has tried to solve the problem by keeping most of its residential roads clear at all times. No street parking is allowed if the street isn’t wide enough for fire trucks to get in and out. Know when to leave Bushfires have long been common in hot, dry southeastern Australia. But none scarred its people like the ****** Saturday fires that broke out in Victoria state in February, 2009. The blazes killed more than 170 people and led to a rewriting of the state’s evacuation protocols. On days of high fire risk, people who live in forested communities are encouraged to leave their homes before there are signs of smoke and flame. Warnings are broadcast on television. Residents are encouraged to have the official state-government emergency-preparedness app, which highlights what areas should empty out when. A look at the app on a recent Thursday morning showed 10 notices across the state, from “leave immediately” warnings in some places to “monitor conditions” elsewhere. Los Angeles residents, by contrast, received erroneous evacuation warnings by text message on the some of the worst fire days. More reliable was a private app built by a nonprofit group. “We want people making good decisions before the fire rather than bad decisions during the fire,” said Luke Heagerty, a spokesman for the state control center. A handful of schools and fire stations are designated as community fire refuge facilities. And for those people who stay behind until a fire reaches their homes, there is the ominously named Bushfire Place of Last Resort. Usually it’s an open field with no trees or structures to catch fire. But as the county fire authority starkly warns on its website, the Bushfire Place of Last Resort sites “do not guarantee safety.” Build more homes Los Angeles has long faced an acute need for more housing. For years, it’s met the demand by allowing development in fire-prone areas and allowing homeowners to rebuild after fires have swept through those areas. The latest fires supersized the need. An estimated 10,000 homes were destroyed, leaving tens of thousands of people in need of shelter and driving up rents and home prices in one of the country’s most expensive real estate markets. And so among the toughest choices facing Los Angeles now is where to build homes that won’t easily go up in flames. “You have two options, both of which are politically very difficult, especially right after the fires,” said Michael Manville, a professor of urban planning at the University of California Los Angeles. One is to restrict development in fire-prone areas. The other is to allow more dense housing in less hazardous areas in the flatlands, in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes. That’s been “a political non-starter,” Mr. Manville said. Source link #Steps #L.A #Gird #Future #Wildfires Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

******* migration bill fails amid storm of controversy – DW (English) ******* migration bill fails amid storm of controversy – DW (English) ******* migration bill fails amid storm of controversy DW (English)******* Opposition Gambles With Far-Right on Immigration, and Loses The New York TimesMerkel, Musk and the far right: What is going on in Germany’s election? POLITICO EuropeGerman parliament rejects opposition’s draft migration law CNNGermany: Mass protests after far-right AfD helps CDU/CSU DW (English) Source link #******* #migration #bill #fails #storm #controversy #English Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Women’s Ashes 2025: England suffer humiliating innings defeat and lose series 16-0 Women’s Ashes 2025: England suffer humiliating innings defeat and lose series 16-0 England slumped to an embarrassing defeat by an innings and 122 runs in the one-off Test in Melbourne, handing Australia a 16-0 clean sweep in the Women’s Ashes. Australia were bowled out for 440 in their first innings after England impressed to take the last five wickets for nine runs in the first session, but still faced a deficit of 270. Leg-spinner Alana King then ripped through England’s batting once more with 5-53 as the visitors were skittled for 148, helping Australia wrap up yet another dominant win with a day to spare. It is the first time any team has won the multi-format Ashes 16-0 and has placed enormous pressure upon captain Heather Knight and coach Jon Lewis. After a tortuous day two spent entirely in the field, with seven catches dropped, England responded positively as Sophie Ecclestone finished with 5-143 after Beth Mooney converted her overnight 98 to become the first *********** woman to score a century in all three formats. Opener Maia Bouchier’s dismal tour continued as she was bowled by Darcie Brown for one in the first over of England’s reply, but Knight and Tammy Beaumont’s gritty stand of 73 showed much-needed signs of fight. The introduction of spin – England’s constant nemesis throughout the series – triggered a woeful collapse of eight wickets for 48 runs to end any hopes of them finishing the series with pride. Knight was caught at short leg off for 32 off Ash Gardner, King pinned Nat Sciver-Brunt lbw for 18 before bowling Sophia Dunkley with a sensational fizzing leg-break, and Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell softly by sweeping Gardner straight to short fine leg for two. Ecclestone withstood 50 ****** for her 18 until she was bounced out by Gardner, and after a tantalising passage of play of 11 overs with both spinners on four wickets and one wicket remaining, King had Lauren Filer caught for 14 to complete a memorable five-wicket haul. Source link #Womens #Ashes #England #suffer #humiliating #innings #defeat #lose #series Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Earthquakes May Explain Summerville Light’s Eerie Glow Earthquakes May Explain Summerville Light’s Eerie Glow Summerville, a town northwest of Charleston, S.C., has its share of ghost stories. One yarn that has stuck around for decades is the tale of the Summerville Light. In the dead of night, along a dirt road in the nearby pine forest following abandoned railroad tracks, people have observed mysterious lights, bobbing up and down, pulsing with a pale blue, green or orange hue. Along the tracks, the story goes, a woman waited for her husband, a railroad worker, to return. But he died, losing his head in an accident. Ever devoted, the widow searched for his remains. She continued — even after her own death: The flicker of her lantern was all that remained. It’s a goose-bumpy explanation of the Summerville Light. The remote road in the story even became known to locals as Light Road, a spot where specter seekers reported glowing orbs and unusual noises in the 1960s. Susan Hough, a seismologist at the U. S. Geological Survey, thinks this supernatural story can be explained by natural phenomena. While studying the area’s seismology, Dr. Hough scoured historical accounts, old newspaper articles, letters and diaries for mentions of earthquakes. One book she found, “Haunted Summerville,” mentioned a big 1886 quake. Could there be a connection between earthquakes and the area’s ghost stories? Some reports of the Summerville Light also mentioned that cars violently shook. “Well, to a seismologist, that sort of screams ‘shallow earthquake,’” Dr. Hough said. She reckoned that some reports of paranormal activity might be explained by earthquakes. In a house that hosted a tearoom and antiques shop, the owners described noises upstairs, doors slamming and objects that had been moved. Those observations echo how seismologists describe the results of certain low-level seismic activity. “It’s basically shaking that’s at the threshold of perceptibility,” she said. Though far from the edge of a tectonic plate, Summerville has seen major shaking. The big 1886 earthquake caused serious damage in Charleston, Dr. Hough said. But that temblor’s epicenter was closer to Summerville, she said. To better understand the area’s seismic risks, Dr. Hough and her colleagues have been studying its faults, a difficult task as they lie buried under swampy sediments. Historical sources have provided hints. An account of the 1886 event described how a railroad line south of Summerville had been yanked to the right by around 15 feet. That confirmed that a fault must run right through there, Dr. Hough said. The area is still seismically active, at a low level, but elevated compared with other places along the East Coast. But what about the ghostly lights? Summerville was jolted by at least three earthquakes in 1959 and 1960. And seismic rumblings can produce mysterious glows known as earthquake lights. In 2014, researchers examined reports on dozens of earthquakes and their luminous glows and found some trends. Earthquake lights tended to arise from quakes far from the edges of plates, in areas that have been stretched out and in places with rocks relatively rich in iron and magnesium. The Charleston area checks those boxes. “The ingredients are all there,” said Will Levandowski, a geophysicist at the consulting company Tetra Tech who was not part of the study. He added that it is “an appealing explanation for these ghost stories.” Researchers have come up with several hypotheses for earthquake lights. One says that, in the lead up to shaking, minerals within the earth deform, freeing up electrical charges. These charges can travel to the surface, where they create electrical fields strong enough to make molecules in the air glow. Another explanation involves gases, like methane, released by earthquakes. Friction, such as that from seismic motion, can create static electricity, said Yuji Enomoto, who studies earthquake science and disaster prevention at Shinshu University in Japan and was not involved in the work. The buildup of charge can provide the spark to combust the methane, producing colored light, including blue and orange hues. Radon gas, which is released along active faults, may also play a role. In Summerville, the old rail lines or debris left around the track could have been rubbing together to provide a spark for the lights, Dr. Hough noted in a paper she published last week in Seismological Research Letters. “It hangs together in the sense that the ghosts are hanging out near Summerville,” Dr. Hough said. “And, by all indications, Summerville was kind of ground zero — where the strongest shaking occurred.” Summerville’s widow isn’t alone in haunting rail lines. “When you start to look around, it turns out there’s quite a few ghosts wandering around railroad tracks,” Dr. Hough said. A story from Maco, N.C., that may predate Summerville’s seems curiously similar: It’s about another railroad worker who searches for his own lost head. Maco, near Wilmington, N.C., is in a seismically active area that has some similarities to Charleston. Perhaps places where apparitions are said to appear may reveal low-level seismic activity that has gone unnoticed. A highway offramp now blocks the stretch of Light Road where the lights were reported. But maybe, when the ground trembles, the ghostly gleams still visit the pine forest. Source link #Earthquakes #Explain #Summerville #Lights #Eerie #Glow Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

‘Cymbeline’ and F. Murray Abraham in ‘Beckett Briefs’ Delight Off Broadway ‘Cymbeline’ and F. Murray Abraham in ‘Beckett Briefs’ Delight Off Broadway “Cymbeline,” really? But why? That tends to be my reaction whenever I hear that the overstuffed late Shakespeare play is getting a revival. Surely there must be something to stage that’s less of a slog? Now along comes a “Cymbeline” to prove me wrong. The National Asian American Theater Company’s production, using a lucid modern verse translation by Andrea Thome, is frankly a delight: funny, absorbing, even affecting. And with not a single man among its wonderfully strong cast, it has both a sense of frolic in satirizing macho pride and an in-the-bones understanding of male menace. Directed by Stephen Brown-Fried at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater in Greenwich Village, with dramaturgy by John Dias, this “Cymbeline” is presented with Play on Shakespeare, a project dedicated to creating versions of Shakespeare’s plays in modern English. The freedom of that approach makes it a striking contrast to “Beckett Briefs,” slightly uptown at Irish Repertory Theater, where another dead canonical playwright, Samuel Beckett, retains his customary tight control to fine effect. More on that below. Thome imbues her translation with a light, graceful touch; her “Cymbeline” feels like Shakespeare, but our 21st-century ears acclimate to it faster. The plot is still, of course, ridiculous, and less about the title character, a British king (Amy Hill), than about his daughter, Imogen (Jennifer Lim), who has secretly wed her beloved Posthumus (KK Moggie). Cymbeline wanted Imogen to marry the son of his dreadful new queen (Maria-Christina Oliveras), the doltish Cloten (Jeena Yi), whose one selling point is the amusingly puckish lord (Purva Bedi) who makes up his retinue. The exiled Posthumus, tricked into believing Imogen has been unfaithful, commands his servant, Pisanio (Julyana Soelistyo), to ******* her. The honorable Pisanio secretly defies him. Adventure ensues, involving Imogen’s brothers, Arviragus (Annie Fang) and the heroic Guiderius (Sarah Suzuki), who were kidnapped as tiny children 20 years earlier and raised as rustics by Belarius (again the excellent Oliveras). There is also a war with the Romans. I defy you to care about that, even here. The rest of the performance is awfully entertaining, though, despite the fact that Imogen doesn’t deem Posthumus’s attempt to have her killed a marital deal breaker. She still considers him a prize. What’s interesting is how the spirit of forgiveness that pervades the play’s ending — and its faith that pardoned wrongdoers will simply learn their lessons and live better lives — lands right now: with a heavier meaning, for good or ill, because of our political moment. The running time, two hours and 40 minutes plus an intermission, gave me pause beforehand. That’s three hours of my life, I thought. But they do not drag — and a three-hour respite in a place where you actually have to put your phone away might be exactly what you need. Also worth your time, and asking less of it, is Irish Rep’s 75-minute “Beckett Briefs,” a collection of three one-acts about mortality and memory, smartly directed by Ciarán O’Reilly and including “Krapp’s Last Tape,” starring an understatedly masterful F. Murray Abraham. The program is constructed to open up as it goes on: first the stark, disorienting minimalism of “Not I,” in which we see only a mouth that speaks a word-vomit monologue from pitch-darkness; then three heads sticking out of identical urns for the fast-paced comedy “Play”; and finally, in “Krapp’s Last Tape,” a full body roaming a room filled with the detritus of a life. At the performance I saw, a cast member’s transit woes meant that the order of plays was rejiggered so that the show started with “Krapp’s Last Tape.” And there was Abraham, in a monochrome outfit in a monochrome space, his silver-gray hair fluffy as a clown’s — apt for the banana-peel slapstick Beckett so painstakingly choreographs in his stage directions. (Set design is by Charlie Corcoran, costumes by Orla Long.) Beckett specifies nearly every movement of the play, yet Abraham and O’Reilly locate its interstices. Looking back over his life, listening to his own tape-recorded voice from decades before, Krapp is a ruin, close to feral. But when he cradles that old reel-to-reel tape player as he once cradled a woman’s torso: There are his might-have-beens. Next, Sarah Street performed “Not I,” a torrent spoken by a woman who has been “practically speechless” all her sad, unloved life. And then came the funniest bit, “Play,” with Street, Roger Dominic Casey and Kate Forbes planted in their urns, rehashing a bitter love triangle. The man gets indigestion just talking about it. Even the lighting there (designed by Michael Gottlieb) is precisely as Beckett demands, and it works brilliantly: “a single mobile spot … swivelling at maximum speed from one face to another as required.” Unlike Shakespeare, whose plays are so hospitable to variation, Beckett knows exactly what he wants. You do it his way because he says so — and he’s right. Cymbeline Through Feb. 15 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater, Manhattan; naatco.org. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes. Beckett Briefs Through March 9 at Irish Repertory Theater, Manhattan; irishrep.org. Running time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Source link #Cymbeline #Murray #Abraham #Beckett #Briefs #Delight #Broadway Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Horoscope Today LIVE Updates on February 1, 2025 : Numerology Horoscope Today: Predictions for February 1, 2025 – Hindustan Times Horoscope Today LIVE Updates on February 1, 2025 : Numerology Horoscope Today: Predictions for February 1, 2025 – Hindustan Times Horoscope Today LIVE Updates on February 1, 2025 : Numerology Horoscope Today: Predictions for February 1, 2025 Hindustan TimesHoroscopes Today, February 1, 2025 USA TODAYYour Daily Work Horoscope for February 01, 2025 Yahoo LifeHoroscope Today: February 1, 2025 VOGUE IndiaLove and Relationship Horoscope for February 1, 2025 Hindustan Times Source link #Horoscope #Today #LIVE #Updates #February #Numerology #Horoscope #Today #Predictions #February #Hindustan #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

7 Steps L.A. Could Take to Gird Against Future Wildfires 7 Steps L.A. Could Take to Gird Against Future Wildfires Fire and wind are certain to shape the future of Los Angeles as the world warms. Los Angeles had started taking steps to prepare. But there are lessons it can learn from other cities adapting to extreme fire weather: managing yards; taking care of neighbors; making it easier to get out of harm’s way. One big challenge, among many, is that plans like these need to be widely adopted. One home is only as safe as the home next door. “If your neighbor doesn’t do anything, and you do, if that home burns it will create so much radiant heat, yours will burn too,” said Kimiko Barrett of Headwaters Economics in Bozeman, Mont., a company that advises cities on reducing wildfire damage risk. Neighbors matter. Building codes and zoning rules matter. But perhaps most of all, money matters. Building for an age of fire can be expensive, and often out of reach for many homeowners living in fire-prone communities. Look hard at the landscape Boulder County, Colo., has learned some big lessons from recent fires. Pine needles and debris around a house quickly spread flames. Juniper bushes explode in fire. In fact, county officials call junipers “gasoline plants.” Firewood stuffed under a deck can ignite and destroy a house. The county has spent several years persuading people to clear debris and rip out junipers. Voters have agreed to a sales tax hike to help pay for it. Los Angeles has its own problem plant: palms. Many palm species, once they catch fire, are very hard to put out. In fire-prone areas, they should be avoided entirely, according to the Los Angeles County fire department. San Diego county prohibits greenery — even shrubs — around a five foot perimeter of a building and requires that tree canopies be at least 10 feet away., Berkeley, Calif., sends fire inspectors into its most fire-prone neighborhoods to suss out signs of danger: dead brush less than five feet from a house; flammable vegetation that leans over the fence line and threatens a neighbor’s property; high shrubs that can send flames racing up a tree. There are constraints. Live oaks are protected by law, which means they can’t be cut down. And local communities like Berkeley are still waiting for California state officials to issue regulations to implement a 2023 law designed to minimize fire damage by prescribing landscape-management standards. The city is due to tighten its regulations in the coming weeks, requiring homeowners to keep a five-foot fireproof perimeter around every house in the most fire-prone neighborhoods in the hills. That means no shrubs, no propane tanks, no wood mulch. Violations will be fined; the City Council has yet to determine how much. “If I can hold a lighter to it and it can smoke and flame, it shouldn’t be there,” said Colin Arnold, the assistant fire chief responsible for the city’s most fire-prone areas on the edge of the wilderness, known as the wildland urban interface Build safer houses Houses are flammable, but it’s possible to make them less flammable. Concrete, stucco, and engineered wood are better than old-fashioned wood frames. A few architects, including Abeer Sweis, in Santa Monica, work with compressed soil, also known as rammed earth, which offers both protection from fire and avoids the emissions of concrete. Roofs made of clay tiles, concrete or metal hold up well to flames. Laminated glass windows can reduce the radiant heat that presses up against a house during a fire. Design matters, too. Eaves and overhangs can trap embers, which is why architects building in fire-prone areas like them to be sealed. At a time when insurance coverage is becoming increasingly hard to procure in fire-prone communities, Mitchell Rocheleau, an architect based in Irvine, Calif., says fortifying your home is a “physical insurance policy.” Vents are frequent culprits. . Low-cost fixes, like fire-resistant vents with mesh screens, can keep big embers from flying in, but they’re not always effective, Ms. Sweis said, which is why she prefers vents that are coated with a material that melts in the heat and closes up. Building codes increasingly mandate noncombustible roofs and siding. (California has among the strictest.) The problem, though, is that most homes in the United States were built before modern building codes. Upgrading an existing house for the age of fire means getting rid of flammable siding and roofs. That’s an expensive proposition. Boast about improvements Think of it as a fire-smart version of keeping up with the Joneses. Boulder County has a way for homeowners to get certified by a nonprofit group, Wildfire Partners, for fireproofing practices like junking junipers, choosing less flammable shrubs, installing a fire-resistant roof or slathering fire-resistant sealant on a deck. Certification comes with a yard sign to display. It’s a way to nudge others in the neighborhood to adopt similar practices. There’s also a potential reward. Certification can be a way to not lose homeowner’s insurance, which is increasingly a risk in many communities in the American West. “The cost of retrofitting is very real,” Ashley Stolzmann, a county commissioner said. “The cost of losing insurance is also very real.” Upgrade dangerous power lines Power lines and utility poles have been responsible for some of California’s most destructive fires in recent years. Much of that infrastructure was built in the 1960s and 1970s and is in urgent need of repair. Utilities have faced a barrage of lawsuits in the aftermath of some of those fires, including in recent days when residents of Altadena sued Southern California Edison claiming that the utility’s equipment set off the Eaton Fire that destroyed 5,000 buildings in the area. (Edison said it is investigating the cause of the fires.) A range of fixes are possible, from fire-resistant poles to burying electricity lines (very expensive) to covering them in a protective layer (less expensive but less safe). The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law set aside $3.5 billion for electricity grid upgrades. That’s a fraction of the $250 billion price tag of the latest Los Angeles fires. Rethink roads ****-de-sacs and narrow, winding streets are a hallmark of many neighborhoods pressed up against wilderness, including the Berkeley Hills. That’s a problem when people need to get out, and first responders need to get in. “There’s nowhere to put new roads,” Mr. Arnold said. “It’s a very densely packed community built without evacuation in mind.” If you can’t widen roads, you can keep them clear for first responders to get in and out. The Los Angeles Fire Department prohibits street parking in some neighborhoods on windy days, when fire risk is high. Rancho Santa Fe, a wealthy suburb of San Diego, has tried to solve the problem by keeping most of its residential roads clear at all times. No street parking is allowed if the street isn’t wide enough for fire trucks to get in and out. Know when to leave Bushfires have long been common in hot, dry southeastern Australia. But none scarred its people like the ****** Saturday fires that broke out in Victoria state in February, 2009. The blazes killed more than 170 people and led to a rewriting of the state’s evacuation protocols. On days of high fire risk, people who live in forested communities are encouraged to leave their homes before there are signs of smoke and flame. Warnings are broadcast on television. Residents are encouraged to have the official state-government emergency-preparedness app, which highlights what areas should empty out when. A look at the app on a recent Thursday morning showed 10 notices across the state, from “leave immediately” warnings in some places to “monitor conditions” elsewhere. Los Angeles residents, by contrast, received erroneous evacuation warnings by text message on the some of the worst fire days. More reliable was a private app built by a nonprofit group. “We want people making good decisions before the fire rather than bad decisions during the fire,” said Luke Heagerty, a spokesman for the state control center. A handful of schools and fire stations are designated as community fire refuge facilities. And for those people who stay behind until a fire reaches their homes, there is the ominously named Bushfire Place of Last Resort. Usually it’s an open field with no trees or structures to catch fire. But as the county fire authority starkly warns on its website, the Bushfire Place of Last Resort sites “do not guarantee safety.” Build more homes Los Angeles has long faced an acute need for more housing. For years, it’s met the demand by allowing development in fire-prone areas and allowing homeowners to rebuild after fires have swept through those areas. The latest fires supersized the need. An estimated 10,000 homes were destroyed, leaving tens of thousands of people in need of shelter and driving up rents and home prices in one of the country’s most expensive real estate markets. And so among the toughest choices facing Los Angeles now is where to build homes that won’t easily go up in flames. “You have two options, both of which are politically very difficult, especially right after the fires,” said Michael Manville, a professor of urban planning at the University of California Los Angeles. One is to restrict development in fire-prone areas. The other is to allow more dense housing in less hazardous areas in the flatlands, in neighborhoods zoned for single-family homes. That’s been “a political non-starter,” Mr. Manville said. Source link #Steps #L.A #Gird #Future #Wildfires Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Dynamic ****** Marching Bands Are Super Bowl Stalwarts Dynamic ****** Marching Bands Are Super Bowl Stalwarts Long before Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones and Rihanna, there was Freddie Colston. Colston was just a 20-year-old student from tiny Fairbanks, La., when he traveled to Los Angeles in January 1967. He had grown up in a home without indoor plumbing, but now he was staying in lavish accommodations with about 180 other members of the Grambling College marching band. Soon they would high-step onto the field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to perform in the halftime show of the very first Super Bowl. “When we heard that crowd, it was like a spirit got into us, and we were walking on a cloud,” said Colston, 77, who played the cymbals. “Our step was higher, and the beat was faster.” In the decades before the National Football League recruited stars to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show — the rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline on Feb. 9 at this year’s game in New Orleans — it frequently relied on dynamic marching bands from Grambling and other historically ****** colleges and universities. Lamar has not said if he will feature an H.B.C.U. band in his nearly 15-minute performance while the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles are recuperating. But there will be a presence at the Caesars Superdome when Southern University, from Baton Rouge, La., plays before Jon Batiste sings the national anthem. Each H.B.C.U. marching band has its own style and look, with vibrant uniforms that often match the school colors. But no matter the school, spectators have come to expect a rollicking show with high-stepping choreography, dancers often at the front, and trumpeters and drummers swaying in rhythm while blowing or pounding their instruments. “That particular style of performance has always had broad appeal, and marching bands and other musical groups have always been cultural ambassadors for ****** colleges,” said Steven Lewis, the curator of music and performing arts for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. Grambling’s band of all-****** students was invited to Los Angeles at the height of the civil rights movement, and to a city still reeling from the flames and mayhem of the Watts riots two years earlier. Some ****** leaders implored university administrators to reject the invitation. “There was a feeling early on that it was an empty gesture,” Lewis said of the invitation to Grambling, which is now known as Grambling State University. “But that criticism has been going on for quite a long time, and it’s something the league still has to work on.” After the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick repeatedly knelt during the national anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice, and a rancorous debate about patriotism and civil rights ensued, some ****** stars were hesitant to perform at the Super Bowl. In 2019, the N.F.L. began a partnership with Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment and sports company, that led to recent performances by the Weeknd, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and other prominent ****** artists. Marching bands carry outsize influence and pride at H.B.C.U.s, many of which were founded shortly after the Civil War and incorporated military marching in their curriculums. The bands are student-recruitment tools, garnering attention at the Rose Parade and presidential inaugurations, including Mississippi Valley State University’s performance at President Trump’s last month. Some groups compete against one another at events such as the Battle of the Bands, giving energetic flair to contemporary songs. They also caught the attention of football executives looking to infuse entertainment in a new event. When the champions of the National Football League and the American Football League met for the first time, the Super Bowl was not yet called the Super Bowl. “You looked at those bands, and it was the fact that they were more than just a marching band,” said Jim Steeg, the N.F.L.’s former vice president of special events, who oversaw the Super Bowl for more than two decades beginning in the mid-1970s. “They were just performing different than everybody else.” After Grambling’s longtime president, Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, decided that its band would play in the first Super Bowl halftime show, the musicians practiced through the university’s holiday break. In the 1960s, Colston said, 5 a.m. practices were not uncommon. “They said, ‘We don’t turn down no performances,’” Colston said. “‘We’re going to go anywhere.’” One day, Colston said, Jones gave a wad of cash to a drummer with instructions to dole out $2 to each band member for a spending allowance in Los Angeles. When the musicians flowed onto the football field at halftime, Grambling joined the marching band from the University of Arizona, a mostly white school, to depict a map of the United States. The bands played “This Is My Country” for the finale as a sea of balloons ascended. “We had to conduct ourselves in a professional way because this was a group of colored kids in a white society,” Colston said. “We were representing our schools, our churches, the towns we came from.” H.B.C.U. bands were included in the following three Super Bowl halftimes. After the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the director of the Florida A&M band created a set themed around American pride for Super Bowl III in Miami the following year. George Quillet, a clarinetist for Florida A&M, said many of his bandmates initially disagreed with the concept for the performance but later changed their minds. “We really got invigorated because our leaders guided us through the process of what we had to do,” said Quillet, now 76. The show included them marching into a formation shaped like a flying eagle. After marching into letters resembling “U.S.A.,” the students stood still as a speaker blared portions of President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. This Super Bowl is the 11th to be held in New Orleans: Southern University took on a Mardi Gras theme at halftime of the city’s first Super Bowl, in 1970, and Grambling performed a tribute to Duke Ellington in 1975. Three years later, Southern played a 12-minute pregame routine. Kenny Ricard, a Southern clarinetist who is now 67, said that before taking the field in 1978, the band’s members recited the chant they uttered ahead of every performance: “Pick up your feet, drive and blow, start thinking about the show.” In those decades, marching bands were eager and dependable entertainment options for the N.F.L., which was concerned with the logistics of creating a show that could entertain both an in-person and television audience. The starry gates swung open in 1993, when Michael Jackson stood motionless onstage for nearly a minute of raucous applause before singing a medley of his beloved hits with the pageantry of pyrotechnics. Steeg said the N.F.L. needed to bolster the halftime show to keep fans engaged and away from counterprogramming on other networks. As A-listers took center stage — the past two Super Bowls in New Orleans were headlined by U2 and Beyoncé — H.B.C.U. bands began taking a more complementary role. In 2007, Florida A&M supported Prince’s performance, supplying background music from below an elevated platform. Shelby Chipman, who was then on the band’s staff and is now its director, said Prince’s agent had called the band, asking it to play. His team sent musical information so the band could match the notes he would sing but otherwise gave it creative liberty for its dance routines and formations. Prince’s team visited Florida A&M a few weeks before the Super Bowl to see a rehearsal. The band practiced with Prince only once, less than 24 hours before the game. “Normally with these kinds of performances, they give us the green light,” Chipman said. Colston, who has worked in customer service for the N.F.L.’s Washington Commanders, still attends homecomings at Grambling State and relives memories of the first Super Bowl. He hopes that the celebrities who now dominate the stage know their history. “We opened the door for them,” he said. Source link #Dynamic #****** #Marching #Bands #Super #Bowl #Stalwarts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Perth YouTuber turned global superstar Troye Sivan has no problem telling the world who he is Perth YouTuber turned global superstar Troye Sivan has no problem telling the world who he is Troye Sivan has no problem letting people know who he is. In fact, he’s basking in the familiarity of it. At 29, Sivan has cemented himself as one of the country’s most striking pop stars, and is comfortably embracing the world’s current obsession with individuality. “I think what is being celebrated at the moment is the cult of personality and ‘niche’. That feels very familiar and comfortable to me, because I grew up on YouTube. That, literally, was how I got started — (by) letting people know who I am,” he said. The Perth YouTuber turned global superstar commands the February cover of Vogue Australia, with an intense, confident gaze, draped in a pearl-covered shawl. He’s well-practised at being unapologetically authentic and says he’s even put his fear about turning 30 behind him. “For me, one of the biggest fears was not feeling sexy, and I feel, humbly, sexier than ever,” Sivan said. “Not even in looks or anything like that. Just, I feel good about knowing who I am and my life and where it’s at. Knowing what’s important to me and the things I care about. That, I think, ended up soothing me, and now I’m really excited about it.” Camera IconAt 29, Sivan has cemented himself as one of the country’s most striking pop stars, and is comfortably embracing the world’s current obsession with individuality. Credit: Jamie Heath for Vogue Australia/supplied And he’s recently added one more thing to the list of what’s important. “I became an uncle late last year — it’s the most grounding thing in the world to me, and the thing that makes me take stock of everything,” Sivan said. “When I’m home in Australia, I feel much more like a brother and a son, and now an uncle, than I do anything else.” Vogue Australia’s February 2025 issue is on ***** Monday. Source link #Perth #YouTuber #turned #global #superstar #Troye #Sivan #problem #telling #world Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Takeaways from India's budget that slashes income tax on the salaried middle class to spur growth – The Associated Press Takeaways from India's budget that slashes income tax on the salaried middle class to spur growth – The Associated Press Takeaways from India’s budget that slashes income tax on the salaried middle class to spur growth The Associated PressModi government rolls out tax cuts in effort to stimulate growth Financial TimesIndia targets fiscal deficit at 4.4% for 2025-26, sets path to bring down debt CNBCNo Income Tax Up To Rs 12 Lakh: Internet Flags Questions, Confusion NDTVBudget 2025: What’s cheaper, what’s costlier Hindustan Times Source link #Takeaways #India039s #budget #slashes #income #tax #salaried #middle #class #spur #growth #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Far Cry: New Dawn Getting 60 FPS Update on Xbox Series and PS5 Far Cry: New Dawn Getting 60 FPS Update on Xbox Series and PS5 Ubisoft has revealed that Far Cry: New Dawn, the 2019 post-apocalyptic title, is getting a 60 FPS update on both Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 platforms. Fans of the franchise were quick to point out how ‘random’ the update is, with some stressing that other Ubisoft titles are in sore need of similar attention from the developer. It was recently confirmed that on February 4, Far Cry: New Dawn will land on the Game Pass subscription service, which could go some way to explaining the performance upgrade. Smoother is Better It has taken six years, but Ubisoft is finally getting around to upgrading one of the most underrated Far Cry games ever made. I’m a huge fan of the franchise, and New Dawn was a welcome addition to the series. Given that I love anything rooted in a post-apocalyptic environment, it made sense that New Dawn spoke to me quite nicely. It’s set in the aftermath of Far Cry 5, which sees the player plunged into a bunker as nuclear war erupts across the world. What emerges after the bombs have fallen is something incredible – a world taken over by nature, roving bandit gangs, and settlements of survivors trying to get by. It’s far outside the standard expectations of the Far Cry series, and it’s a twist on the post-apocalyptic vibe like no other. This isn’t a drab, woeful world like the ones portrayed in Fallout or Metro, for instance. It’s bursting with colour, representing an oversaturated take on the end of the world. The 60 FPS upgrade on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 is a welcome thing, and it might be enough to pull me back in for another loop around the game when it lands on Game Pass next week. On social media, Ubisoft announced that ‘this wasn’t how (they) planned’ to reveal the upgrade. They had to cut off ‘FPS Boost’ on Xbox consoles to roll out the change, and assuming that players would notice that, they were forced to make the announcement early. Have you played Far Cry: New Dawn before? Let us know your thoughts about the game on the Insider Gaming forum. While you’re here, stop by my list of the best Far Cry games ever, ranked. For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Ninja thinks Overwatch is ‘dead and gone’ SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Cry #Dawn #FPS #Update #Xbox #Series #PS5 Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

'That sums up the whole summer for England' – Gardner bouncer removes Ecclestone 'That sums up the whole summer for England' – Gardner bouncer removes Ecclestone Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner removes Sophie Ecclestone with a surprise bouncer in day three of the Women’s Ashes Test. Source link #039That #sums #summer #England039 #Gardner #bouncer #removes #Ecclestone Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘So excited’: Great-grandfather killed days before ‘dream cruise’ after alleged burglary ‘So excited’: Great-grandfather killed days before ‘dream cruise’ after alleged burglary A great-grandfather killed during an alleged burglary was “so excited” to set sail on his dream cruise just days later. Source link #excited #Greatgrandfather #killed #days #dream #cruise #alleged #burglary Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Grammy Awards 2025: It's another Beyoncé vs Taylor showdown – BBC.com Grammy Awards 2025: It's another Beyoncé vs Taylor showdown – BBC.com Grammy Awards 2025: It’s another Beyoncé vs Taylor showdown BBC.comInside the Grammys’ Decision to Go Ahead Amid L.A. Wildfires: ‘We Have to Do Everything We Can to Help’ Variety2025 Grammys Predictions: Will Beyoncé or Chappell Roan Win Big? The New York TimesAll artists performing at the Grammys so far CNNOfficial 2025 GRAMMYs Merch Is Here: Shop The Exclusive Collection Now The GRAMMYs Source link #Grammy #Awards #It039s #Beyoncé #Taylor #showdown #BBC.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sri Lanka fall to record defeat as Australia cruse to victory in first Test at Galle Sri Lanka fall to record defeat as Australia cruse to victory in first Test at Galle Australia have taken 15 wickets inside two sessions to consign Sri Lanka to their biggest-ever defeat in Test cricket and go one-nil up in the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy. Heading into day four weather was the biggest obstacle in the way of an *********** victory but back-to-back abject batting displays for the hosts ensured it was never going to be a factor. Having entered the day 5/136 Sri Lanka conspired to lose 15/276 as Matt Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon feasted on a scatterbrained batting line-up. Once Kuhnemann removed Kusal Mendis Sti Lanka lost 5/9 to close out their first innings with the Queensland spinner finishing with 5/63. Following on still 489 runs behind Mitchell Starc and Todd Muprhy removed both openers inside the first four overs before the spinners chipped away through the middle order. More to come Source link #Sri #Lanka #fall #record #defeat #Australia #cruse #victory #Test #Galle Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]