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☆ Ukrainian forces scattered around Bakhmut could retake the city after Wagner Group mercenaries evacuate and are replaced by regular Russian troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian forces around Bakhmut could retake the city after Wagner Group forces evacuate. Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut said fighting regular Russian troops won't be as hard as Wagner forces. Regular Russian troops will replace Wagner's forces, Prigozhin said. Now, they're saying those Ukrainian troops can continue to make gains around the city and stage a "semi-encirclement" to drive Russia out, according to The Washington Post. Nonetheless, the attrition-style fighting of Bakhmut has left Russian forces exhausted ahead of Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive.

☆ Alan Menken on ‘The Little Mermaid’ and the Mixed Blessing of Disney Fame
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Sarah Bahr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

What was it like working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on new songs for “The Little Mermaid”? I gave him a little Caribbean tune thinking he would lyricize that, and in fact, he rapped over it! In 1997, David Horn, now the executive producer of PBS’s “Great Performances” series, told The New York Times, “When there’s a Sondheim musical, everyone refers to it as a Sondheim musical. When it’s something Alan has done, they refer to it as a Disney musical.” Do you still mind your shows being known as Disney musicals? I sometimes would have a little resistance to simply being characterized as “Disney composer Alan Menken” because I already had a huge hit with “Little Shop of Horrors” before I went to Disney.

☆ Leicester City: From Premier League champion to Championship? 2016 title winner is on the brink of relegation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Leicester City’s Premier League triumph in 2015/16 remains one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport. With just one game left of the season, Leicester is in 18th place – the third and final relegation spot – on 31 points, two points adrift of Everton in 17th and safety. Former manager Brendan Rogers, who had been at the club since 2019, was sacked in April as Leicester made a last-ditch attempt to salvage its Premier League status by hiring Dean Smith. Of the teams facing relegation, Leicester certainly looks best placed to make an immediate return to the Premier League with some talented players and a potentially massive transfer budget from the sale of its stars. While Allardyce is known for his expertise in saving teams from relegation, his style of football could not be more different to Bielsa’s.

☆ Tina Turner, a Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll Covers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones got the treatment, too, and so did “Louie Louie,” with a sultry, little-known rendition which — I’m not even making this up — louielouie.net (“The blog for all things Louie Louie”) called “one of the essential Louie Louie recordings!” with some all-caps emphasis. Tina Turner was a seismic, once-in-a-lifetime musical force, but I don’t need to tell you that; I’ll let this playlist do the talking. And I’ll let my colleague Wesley Morris, who wrote an appraisal worthy of the queen, do some of it too: “They’re saying she was 83? It shot from her — from her feet, thighs, hands, arms, shoulders, out of her hair, out of her mouth.”Listen along on Spotify as you read. “Gimme, gimme, gimme a honky tonk man.” (Listen on YouTube)

☆ For an Unbeatable Music Scene, Head to Havana
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Tony Perrottet | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

IN TEMPO Dancers in the open-air ballroom at Los Jardines de la Tropical, one of Havana’s legendary music venues from the 1920s and ’30s. Illustration: Cookie Moon“ARE YOU sure it’s here?” the taxi driver asked doubtfully as he navigated his 1952 Chevrolet along a dark road in Puentes Grandes, a vibrant neighborhood in Havana. But all at once two stone pillars and an iron gate emblazoned with the words, Los Jardines de la Tropical, appeared, signaling the entrance to Cuba’s most fantastical nightlife venue, the Tropical Gardens. We could hear the sound of the music coming alive.

☆ The US Navy has its eyes on a new submarine base that will help it keep track of China's growing undersea fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

As part of the AUKUS agreement, US and British subs will operate out of western Australia by 2027. The deal on the base comes as rivals, mainly China, increase their submarine activity in the region. Ray Mabus, then US navy secretary, departs a Chinese Yuan-class submarine in Ningbo in November 2012. The Defense Department report also says China's six operational Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic-missile subs are likely already conducting "near-continuous at-sea deterrence patrols," a sign that China's submarine force continues to improve its operational capabilities. For the US Navy, those developments make the ability to base subs closer to the Western Pacific a greater priority.

☆ Why Do We Listen to Sad Songs?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Oliver Whang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Maybe sad songs have a similarly dual nature, thought Dr. Knobe and his former student, Tara Venkatesan, a cognitive scientist and operatic soprano. Certainly, research has found that our emotional response to music is multidimensional; you’re not just happy when you listen to a beautiful song, nor simply made sad by a sad one. In 2016, a survey of 363 listeners found that emotional responses to sad songs fell roughly into three categories: grief, including powerful negative feelings like anger, terror and despair; melancholia, a gentle sadness, longing or self-pity; and sweet sorrow, a pleasant pang of consolation or appreciation. (The researchers called their study “Fifty Shades of Blue.”)Given the layers of emotion and the imprecision of language, it’s perhaps no wonder that sad music lands as a paradox. “All our lives we’ve learned to map the relationships between our emotions and what we sound like,” said Tuomas Eerola, a musicologist at Durham University in England and a researcher on the “Fifty Shades” study.

☆ Nina Gold on creating film stars, audition tapes, and why she'll never act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This is the same Nina Gold who’s made a successful career casting some of the defining films and TV shows of this century. “I still don’t really understand what it is that makes acting good,” she says. For “Bad Sisters’” smarmy, abusive antagonist John Paul, Gold cast Claes Bang. For Gold and her team – rising to six people, depending on projects – it’s a lot of logistics and audition tapes. Gold cast Taylor-Johnson in his breakout role as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy” (2009) at age 18-20, she guesses, but had been auditioning him since about the age of nine.

☆ Russia-Ukraine War: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Smoke rises from the side of the Ilsky Oil Refinery manufacturing complex in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia. For the past several days, Russian infrastructure near Ukraine’s border and in Russian-controlled Crimea has been targeted repeatedly. But it has usually maintained ambiguity about involvement in attacks on Russian territory. Russian officials reported strikes on train lines in Russia’s Bryansk region on Monday and Tuesday. Four drones also attacked storage facilities on Thursday at one of the largest oil refineries in southern Russia’s Krasnodar Territory, according to Tass, the Russian state news agency.

Landing of aircraft at night and in bad weather, for instance - crucial to regular offshore carrier operations - remain far from routine, several of the attaches and analysts said. "Carrier operations are a very complicated game, and China's got to figure this out all by itself. A new plane, the KJ-600, designed to perform a similar role to the E-2C/D Hawkeye launched from U.S. carriers, is still in testing, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military. Several countries operate aircraft carriers but the U.S. remains the most dominant, running 11 carrier battlegroups with global reach. A September editorial published in a magazine run by a PLA weapons manufacturer, titled "Four great advantages the PLA has in attacking Taiwan", did not mention the role of Chinese carriers.

☆ Stolen or Original? Hear Songs From 7 Landmark Copyright Cases.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Here is a guide to some of the most consequential music copyright cases in recent decades, along with excerpts from their recordings. In cases like these, the only material in question are the songs’ underlying compositions: the melodies, chords and lyrics that can be notated on paper. Juries must decide not only if one song copies another, but whether the earlier song was original and distinctive enough to be protected by copyright. “The problem with cases like this is that people ask the wrong question,” said Joe Bennett, a professor at the Berklee College of Music who works as a forensic musicologist in legal cases. “They ask the question, ‘How similar is song B to song A,’ whereas what they should be asking is how original is song A.”Got that?

☆ April Stevens Dies at 93; Her ‘Deep Purple’ Became a Surprise Hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Daniel E. Slotnik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

April Stevens, whose rushed recording of “Deep Purple” with her brother, Nino Tempo, became a chart-topping single in 1963 and won a Grammy Award, died on April 17 at her home in Scottsdale, Ariz. She was 93. The Stevens-Tempo version of “Deep Purple” — a jazz standard that had been a hit for Bing Crosby — featured the siblings harmonizing over a mellow arrangement accented with a harmonica. In one section, Ms. Stevens recited the lyrics and Mr. Tempo sang them back in falsetto. Ms. Stevens then fed them to him during that session. A friend loved the effect, Mr. Tempo said in a phone interview, and “we knew we had backed into something magical.”

☆ Meet Jelly Roll, the Rapper Turned Country Singer Rousing Nashville
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Alan Light | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

1 on rock radio while the mid-tempo “Son of a Sinner” topped the country radio chart, and Jelly Roll held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s emerging artist chart for 25 straight weeks, the longest run in that ranking’s history. The Bridgestone show is chronicled in a new documentary, “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” premiering on Hulu on May 30. He’s living proof that anything is possible.”As Jelly Roll’s profile grows, he’s not slowing down his nonstop work habits. He is very strong in who he is and what he wants to say as an artist.

☆ Your Next Fitness Coach Could Be a Robot
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Hilary Achauer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Many of the apps also integrate data from fitness wearables or smart watches. In the last couple of years, fitness apps have been incorporating more complicated blends of heart rate, mileage and calories burned to create new workouts. One of the oldest and most popular of these, with more than 55 million subscribers, is Freeletics, which incorporated a form of A.I. One benefit of such a large subscriber base is that it has an extensive data pool from which to create workouts, helping the A.I. Fitness AI, Aaptiv (which is launching a new coach product in May) and FitBod all cost slightly less than $100 a year.

☆ UEFA Champions League: Erling Haaland breaks another scoring record as Manchester City humbles Bayern Munich
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The Norwegian superstar found the target yet again on Tuesday as Manchester City beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal at the Etihad Stadium. It’s yet another chapter in the 22-year-old’s astonishing debut season at City, which currently sees him top scorer in both the Premier League and Champions League. When we have the momentum, we are clinical.”Haaland scores his side's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinal first-leg. Tim Goode/APTuesday’s win was a major statement from City which looks serious about winning its first ever Champions League title this season. We need to understand and swallow this kind of defeat.”Elsewhere, Inter Milan beat Benfica 2-0 in Tuesday’s other Champions League quarterfinal first leg – Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku getting the goals.

☆ Kyiv denies Wagner Bakhmut claim, Russia says forces advancing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The claim by Russian entrepreneur Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner mercenary group had seized more than 80% of Bakhmut was untrue, it said. And Russian forces, it said, had struck Ukrainian army reserves trying to break through. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, dismissed Prigozhin's latest 80% claim in a comment to Reuters. Analyst Konrad Muzyka, director of the Rochan military consultancy in Poland, said his calculations bore out the Russian claim of 80%. Russian forces, it said, had tried unsuccessfully to move on two villages to the northwest.

The EU has progressively tightened limits since "Euro 1" in 1992. The Commission's proposal widens real-driving emissions (RDE) testing and adds continuous testing of emissions via an on-board monitoring system. Euro 7 would take effect in mid-2025 for cars and in mid-2027 for trucks and buses. The European Commission estimates Euro 7 could add up to 150 euros to car prices and 2,600 euros for trucks and buses. A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on executives' statements, but said Euro 7's real-driving emissions tests were important because of "scandals in the past about cheating devices".

☆ Man City beat Chelsea to move level with WSL leaders Man Utd
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANCHESTER, March 26 (Reuters) - Manchester City shook up the Women's Super League (WSL) title race with a 2-0 win over reigning champions Chelsea on Sunday to move up to second place behind leaders Manchester United, level on 38 points but behind on goal difference. Chelsea had the opportunity to move to the top of the standings with a victory but looked far from their best as the result dropped Emma Hayes's side to third, one point behind United and City. City took the lead in the 21st minute when Filippa Angeldahl scored her first WSL goal from the corner of the box, floating a shot past goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who stood rooted to the spot as she watched the ball sail into the top corner. The home side doubled the lead at the half-hour mark when Lauren Hemp, who assisted the opener, pounced on a poor clearance and took her shot on the half-volley to beat the keeper. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gordon Moore, Intel Co-Founder and Author of Moore’s Law, Dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Asa Fitch | Don Clark | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gordon Moore , the electronics pioneer who co-founded Intel Corp. and whose groundbreaking theories defined the tempo of innovation in semiconductors, has died at the age of 94. A 1965 article by Mr. Moore published in the trade journal Electronics predicted the pace of miniaturization in computer chips and anticipated the development of home computers, smart wristwatches, automatic controls for cars and other inventions as electronic components etched on squares of silicon become smaller, faster and cheaper. Moore’s Law, as his prediction became known, proved a remarkably accurate observation about how quickly engineers would create advances in digital technology that have led to countless fixtures of modern life.

☆ When Songs Sound Similar, Courts Look for Musical DNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the surface, Ed Sheeran and Led Zeppelin might not seem to have a lot in common. Led Zeppelin is a classic-rock colossus whose molten riffs are part of the foundation of heavy metal. Yet when it comes to the recent history of copyright litigation in music, Sheeran and Led Zeppelin are practically joined at the hip. In some ways, “Thinking Out Loud” bears an obvious resemblance to “Let’s Get It On.” They share nearly identical chord progressions and similar bass lines. (In this case, performance elements in the recordings are irrelevant; the suit involves only the underlying compositions.)

☆ Real Madrid hit five past Al Hilal to secure fifth Club World Cup title
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RABAT, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for a record extending fifth time after beating Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal 5-3 in the final on Saturday, with doubles from Federico Valverde and Vinicius Jr and a goal by Karim Benzema. Valverde extended Real's lead five minutes later on the rebound but Al Hilal hit back with a goal from Moussa Marega on the counter-attack. Vietto scored his second of the night 10 minutes later to round off a high-scoring encounter that delighted the Moroccan fans. Having also won three Intercontinental Cup trophies, a predecessor to the Club World Cup that pitched the European and South American champions against each other, Real have a combined total of eight global titles. For the eighth time Real Madrid is World Champion," manager Carlo Ancelotti told Telecinco.

☆ How to earn, redeem, and maximize Hilton Honors rewards points — from luxurious Conrad resorts to family-friendly Hampton Inns, there are options for every traveler
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Carissa Rawson | Freelance Writer | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +44 min

How to earn Hilton rewards pointsHilton has two main categories of points: bonus points, which help you earn rewards via special promotions, and elite-qualifying base points. You can do so at the following ratios:HawaiianMiles : 1 HawaiianMile = 1.5 Hilton Honors points: 1 HawaiianMile = 1.5 Hilton Honors points Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: 1 Virgin Atlantic point = 1.5 Hilton Honors pointsEarn Hilton points through your elite statusJoining Hilton Honors can be especially lucrative if you're on the road often. Finally, Lyft and Hilton have teamed up to offer 3x Hilton Honors points on Lyft rides, or 2x Hilton points for shared Lyft rides. Redeem Hilton Honors points for event creditsIt's also possible to redeem your points for events at a Hilton, though this isn't generally considered a good way to maximize your Hilton points value. Here's how much the credits cost:25,000 points = $5050,000 points = $10075,000 points = $150125,000 points = $250250,000 points = $500Exchange Hilton points for airline milesIf you'd rather have airline or rail points, you have the option to transfer Hilton points to partner airlines, though redemption rates vary.

☆ Philadelphia has Eagle eye on Super Bowl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PHOENIX, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Eagles will bring Philly's fighting spirit to Super Bowl 57 as their fans fly in droves to watch Jalen Hurts and the NFC champions take on Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Defensive end Brandon Graham and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, holdovers from the Eagles' successful Super Bowl campaign five years ago, add to the veteran credentials of a group the New York Post has dubbed the "Birds of Prey". And, you know, hit the ground rolling, we hit the ground rolling. 'DIEHARD FANS'The title game will be the ultimate test for 41-year-old head coach Nick Sirianni, at the helm for a Super Bowl for the first time. Hurts' breakout season saw him rack up 3,701 passing yards after getting the Eagles off to an impressive 8-0 start to the season.

Review: Is the Hilton Honors Surpass Card the Best Credit Card for You? The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card earns terrific rewards rates in multiple categories like Hilton hotel bookings, restaurants, gas stations, and more. Redeem Hilton points for experiences, events, merchandise, and moreOther options for redeeming Hilton points also won't get you the highest value, but they could be helpful in certain circumstances:Hilton experiences — Use points for exclusive events, dining, and toursUse Hilton points for event credits — Starting at 25,000 points for up to $50 creditRedeem Hilton points at Amazon — A poor value; you'll get just 0.2 cents per pointDonate Hilton points to charity — For every 10,000 points you donate, Hilton will send $25 to a charity of your choiceUse Hilton points toward Lyft rides — Again, not the best value; you'll typically get around 0.2 cents per pointPool or transfer Hilton points to a friend — Send up to 2 million points per year to friends or family with no fee, or pool your points with up to 11 people to save for a redemptionHilton points expire if there's no activity in your account for 24 months. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightFees and CostsThe Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has a 20.24% - 29.24% Variable APR. So, for example, if you already have The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, Hilton Honors American Express Card, or Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, you could still qualify for the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card.

American Express issues four co-branded Hilton credit cards, but only one — the Hilton Honors American Express Card — has a $0 annual fee. For example, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card and The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card also have excellent elevated welcome bonus offers and come with Hilton Gold status, which gets you free breakfast (currently awarded as a food and beverage credit at US hotels) and better perks. Amex OffersLike other American Express cards, the Hilton Honors American Express Card includes targeted discounts and bonus rewards at participating merchants through Amex Offers**. However, if you stay at Hilton hotels with any regularity, a card like the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card or The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card is a better choice. The Hilton Honors American Express Card is a great card for those who are skeptical about the value of travel rewards credit cards.

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