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Hip-hop greats weigh in on the music and its impact over the past 50 years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

By George Varga, The San Diego Union-TribuneAs hip-hop celebrates its first half-century, it’s an opportune time to have performers in the field reflect on the genre, its evolution and its strengths and weaknesses.The following quotes are from interviews with San Diego Union-Tribune music critic George Varga.Kanye West (2005)“I talk about very serious issues (in my songs), and hide them behind similes and metaphors. My mother always taught me about the kings and queens of Africa, and about the sacrifices and the accomplishments of the people in the civil rights movement. My dad told me about many songs in the African-American community, and what they addressed and meant. He broke down how it was for me, when I was 12. When it was time for me to rap, a lot of that came out.”De La Soul’s David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, who died early this year (1989)“We figured the more puzzling or humorous our music sounds, the more people will want to get into it. You don’t have to have a hard to...

Patriots CB Marcus Jones tight-lipped about offensive role, but ‘way ahead’ on defense

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

FOXBORO — Marcus Jones flashed something of a mischievous grin after the Patriots’ 12th training camp practice on Tuesday. The second-year, do-everything cornerback has, of course, practiced extensively in the secondary. He’s taken plenty of reps on special teams, where he was a first-team All-Pro as a rookie. But thus far, Jones has not seen a single snap on offense – where he showed promise in some opportunities last season, including scoring a touchdown on his first career offensive snap – during this camp.Jones was asked twice Tuesday how he may be preparing for a potential offensive role. If there, he’s keeping it a secret.“I find out when you guys find out. I can’t give you anything,” Jones said. “I don’t know anything right now, so whenever my number’s called, I’m going to make sure I’m going to be ready.”Has Jones had any conversations with Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien?“The most conversations I have with him is, ‘How’s your day going? My day’s going good,’” Jo...

Editorial: Under Biden, 401k accounts suffer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

President Biden continues to stump for Bidenomics on the campaign trail, touting inflation-spiking measures as a good thing for the economy.In his Nothing But Malarkey roadshow the Inflation Reduction Act is working, and trillion-plus spending costs nothing.He has his administration cheerleaders to back him up: The economy is on a “good path” to bring down inflation without a major weakening in the labor market, treasury secretary Janet Yellen told Bloomberg.What Biden doesn’t have in his corner is reality.And Bank of America data served up a big, troublesome serving Tuesday, reporting that more Americans are tapping into their 401ks because of financial woes.The number of people who made a hardship withdrawal on their 401k in the second quarter jumped to 15,950, up 36% from Q2 of last year, according to CNN.It’s a “pretty troubling development” if some people are turning to hardship withdrawals, said Matt Schultz, chief lending analyst for Lendin...

Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman glad arbitration behind him

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

As a goaltender, Jeremy Swayman is as focused and methodical in his training and preparation as one can get.It sounded like he took the same approach to his arbitration case.Swayman spoke with reporters for the first time since an arbitrator handed him a one-year $3.475 million contract last week. And it appeared that notoriously prickly process left no scratches on the young Bruin netminder – at least no visible ones.“It wasn’t a process I wanted to go through but I understand that it’s a business and, in the end, I’m grateful that I went through it because I have so many things to be grateful for. The main thing is my agent Lewis Gross, Mark Toof and Jamie Bozzo and what they did for me and seeing how much they cared for me as a player,” said Swayman, who threw bouquets to the NHLPA lawyers as well.Just the same, Swayman is glad it’s behind him. And though he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights again next year, he hopes he doesn̵...

Fatal Cape Cod boat crash under criminal investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

The boat crash into a jetty off a Cape Cod beach last month that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl is now the focus of a criminal investigation, the local district Attorney has announced.“Cape & Islands District Attorney Robert J. Galibois announced today that his office is conducting an investigation of the boat crash in Sesuit Harbor in Dennis,” the DA’s office said in a brief statement Tuesday. “Due to the ongoing nature of this investigation the Cape & Islands will not make any further comment at this time.”A boat carrying six people crashed at roughly 9 p.m. July 21 into the jetty off Cold Storage Beach, Sesuit Harbor, in Dennis, prompting a response from a slew of local and state authorities, according to the Massachusetts State Police. By 11:30 that night, the MSP said that the girl’s body had been found.One other boat passenger, a teenage boy, was transported to Cape Cod Hospital with a head laceration, according to MSP.Tuesday’s DA statement named several ...

Biden makes Grand Canyon monument designation, citing Arizona tribal heritage, climate concerns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and TERRY TANG (Associated Press)TUSAYAN, Ariz. (AP) — Declaring it good “not only for Arizona but for the planet,” President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a national monument designation for the greater Grand Canyon, turning the decades-long visions of Native American tribes and environmentalists into reality.Coming as Biden is on a three-state Western trip, the move will help preserve about 1,562 square miles (4,046 square kilometers) just to the north and south of Grand Canyon National Park. It was Biden’s fifth monument designation.Tribes in Arizona have been pushing the president to use his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create a new national monument called Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni. “Baaj Nwaavjo” means “where tribes roam,” for the Havasupai people, while “I’tah Kukveni” translates to “our footprints,” for the Hopi tribe.“Preserving these lands is good, not only for Arizona but for the planet,” said Biden, who spoke with a mountain...

DeSantis replaces campaign manager in another shake-up

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

Gov. Ron DeSantis shook up his presidential campaign staff again Tuesday, replacing his campaign manager with his chief of staff in the governor’s office.Outgoing manager Generra Peck, who shepherded DeSantis through his successful reelection campaign last year, will become chief strategist, The Messenger first reported.Chief of Staff James Uthmeier will take a leave of absence from the governor’s office to manage the DeSantis campaign, office spokesman Jeremy Redfern said. Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly will become acting chief of staff alongside Senior Advisor David Dewhirst, Redfern said.Uthmeier is the latest state official to take an important position with the campaign, including spokespeople Bryan Griffin and Christina Pushaw.The shake-up comes just two weeks after the campaign let go of 38 staffers, including speechwriter Nate Hochman, who reportedly made and boosted a video that included DeSantis superimposed against a Nazi symbol, and director of research Kyl...

DUI suspect arrested in Coronado park after crashing car with kids inside: police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

CORONADO, Calif. -- Coronado police arrested a woman on suspicion of driving under the influence after she crashed her car with two children inside, authorities said.Shortly before midnight Tuesday, an officer noticed a white sedan driving across the grass and through two chain-link fences at Tidelands Park, near the Coronado Bridge, police said in a Facebook post. The officer tried to stop the car but the driver kept going, eventually losing control and hitting a sign on the Orange Avenue median near Sixth Street, police said. Family demands answers after girl, 14, found in Camp Pendleton barracks The driver then crashed the car into a planter in Spreckels Park, police said. Two children, ages 3 and 15, got out of the front passenger seat.Officers arrested the woman on suspicion of DUI, felony child abuse, felony evading, reckless driving, delay/obstruct a peace officer and two warrants, police said.Coronado Fire Department personnel evaluated the two children before they were re...

A woman in Mexico City turns her apartment into a clinic for dozens of ailing hummingbirds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gently holding a baby hummingbird between her hands, Catia Lattouf says, “Hello, cute little guy. Are you very hungry?” It’s the newest patient at her apartment in a toney section of Mexico City where she has nursed hundreds of the tiny birds back to health over the past decade.Under Lattouf’s caress, the bird relaxes little by little, allowing her to evaluate it. A young man who rescued it after it fell from a nest onto his patio watched attentively.“It is a broad-billed hummingbird,” the 73-year-old Lattouf said, as she moved an eyedropper to its beak. “Oh, mama, you want to eat!”This is often how Lattouf’s days have gone since she turned her apartment in Mexico City’s Polanco neighborhood into a clinic for sick, injured or infant hummingbirds, about 60 of which currently flit around.Lattouf, who studied French literature, has become a reference source for bird lovers, amateur and professional alike, across Mexico and other parts of Latin America. Her improvised...

Local businesses in northern Nigeria feel the sting of regional sanctions against neighboring Niger

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:52 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A decision by a bloc of West African nations to shut down their borders with Niger as a way of sanctioning its coup plotters is harming local businesses in northern Nigeria, where a cross-border economy has boomed for years.The bloc known as ECOWAS restricted financial transactions and shut the borders between Niger and its member nations as part of measures to force the coup plotters to reinstate Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum who was overthrown last month by soldiers in his Presidential Guard.But the sting of the sanctions against the junta is being felt on the other side of the 1,600 kilometers (995 miles) -long border, in Nigeria.Niger accounts for 75% of the total value of exports from Nigeria’s cross-border informal trade, according to a study by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The bank’s latest report in 2016 valued goods traded across the border with Niger at 828 billion naira ($934 million) a year.In Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state, the bord...