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Smiths bassist Andy Rourke dies at 59

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Andy Rourke, bass guitarist of The Smiths, one of the most influential British bands of the 1980s, has died of pancreatic cancer, his former bandmate Johnny Marr said Friday. He was 59.In a lengthy post on Instagram, guitarist and songwriter Marr paid tribute to Rourke, who he first met when both were schoolboys in 1975.“Throughout our teens we played in various bands around south Manchester before making our reputations with The Smiths from 1982 to 1987, and it was on those Smiths records that Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player,” Marr said.During their short time together as a four-piece band, The Smiths deliberately stayed away from the mainstream of popular music, garnering a cult following on the independent music scene.Though much of the attention focused on the song-writing partnership of Marr and frontman Steven Patrick Morrissey, better known as Morrissey, the sound of The Smiths owed much to Rourke’s bass and his rhythm sec...

Skelton: Newsom, lawmakers need to take stance on reparations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature will soon receive a sweeping set of recommended reparations for African Americans whose ancestors suffered economically from slavery and racial discrimination. Then what?Then the governor and lawmakers will need to emerge from cover, face the public and devise a better response than we’ve been hearing: “I’m waiting for the final report of recommendations.”The report will be sent to the state Capitol by July 1. That’s the deadline for the California Reparations Task Force — created by Newsom and legislators — to finish its two years of often-acrimonious work.This will be a tough one for every politician and policymaker who tries to create a balance between providing some realistic semblance of justice without breaking the state bank. And there’ll be some who just flat-out think that major reparations are unreasonable but hesitate to say it publicly.“I’m a hard ‘no,’” one influential Sacramento Democrat told me. When asked whether I cou...

Opinion: Social media reform needed to protect children, democracy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

Technology has transformed the way we live, the way we communicate with one another and the way we relate to the world around us. It has also deepened the political and cultural divisions so prevalent in society today, but Americans are united on at least one point: Most people agree that social media is a social ill.A recent poll undertaken by the nonpartisan democracy-focused group Citizen Data found strong bipartisan evidence of this sentiment. Regardless of political party, the vast majority of Americans believe social media are toxic to our children and our democracy. A scant 7 in 100 respondents believe that social media’s benefits outweigh its harms.As former elected officials, we can confirm that a 7% approval rating is a clear call to action. It’s past time for legislators to pass social media reforms that increase transparency, ensure privacy and protect children. Waiting to act — or failing to act at all — will carry a steep cost, one that will be paid by our children, by...

Review: Moments of clarity in murky ‘Master Gardener’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

By Lindsey Bahr | Associated PressPaul Schrader plants the seeds of an intriguing melodrama in his latest creation ” Master Gardener.”Sigourney Weaver is a wealthy dowager with a stately name (Norma Haverhill), a large house and a dog she’s named porch dog. She also has a horticulturist (Joel Edgerton) in her employ who she occasionally calls on for extracurricular, indoor activities. There’s even a big charity auction coming up that she and the gardening staff are intensely focused on.But this being a Schrader film (he wrote and directed), it is mostly window dressing. There even is a palpable (and, I’d imagine, intentional) artificiality to the whole endeavor, creating an unease that looms over the most mundane and superficially pleasant interactions. The ceremony never feels quite right. The house, though grand, is also sparse in its décor. It feels like a set — not a place that a real human being lives. We don’t even get to see the charity auc...

Review: Jason Mamoa brings new energy to ‘Fast X’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

By Mark Kennedy | Associated PressFans and critics may disagree over when exactly the “Fast & Furious” franchise jumped the shark, but there is only one correct answer: When the Pontiac Fiero went into space.Weightless and violating every physical law, the floating car — tasked with bumping a satellite in the ninth installment — was the very symbol of how bloated and crazed the once-plucky series had become. There really was no way down after that.And yet we have come to 10, part of a planned series of films finally saying goodbye. “Fast X” is, thankfully, shackled to Earth’s gravity — sometimes tenuously, it must be said — but it has become almost camp, as if it breathed in too much of its own fumes.“Fast X” reaches into the fifth movie — 2011’s “Fast Five” — for the seeds to tell a new story. In a memorable moment five movies ago, Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto wrecked a bad guy and his team on a bridge in Rio de Jane...

Magical Montclair Mediterranean

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

This gorgeous Mediterranean in a prime Montclair location features a generous-size lot with a park-style level backyard, gardens and mature trees — great for entertaining, play and gardening.The home includes rich architectural details and spacious rooms. A charming front yard and garden welcomes you to this three-plus-bedroom, two-bathroom home packed with rich architectural details and spacious rooms. The entry level features an inviting living room, formal dining room, updated kitchen with breakfast nook, two bedrooms, a large bathroom with classic tile and a separate sunroom/office.The lower level includes an additional living/media room, a bedroom with an adjoining room ideal for a playroom, art studio or guests, a full bathroom, laundry room and bonus space with a built-in desk.Live in the coveted Fernwood neighborhood — blocks from Montclair Village shops, dining, farmers market, top-rated schools and close to all major transportation, trails and parks.Address: 1435 Moun...

Former Italian Premier Berlusconi leaves hospital after 45 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was discharged on Friday from a Milan hospital, nearly a month and a half after he was admitted with a lung infection.Berlusconi waved at journalists from behind a closed window as his car drove away from the San Raffaele Hospital. He arrived shortly later at his villa in the suburb of Arcore. The 86-yeaer-old three-time former premier and media mogul has been treated for chronic leukemia, in addition to the lung infection that landed him in the hospital on April 5. Berlusconi’s Forza Italia Party is part of Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, but he currently has no cabinet posts. He holds a seat in the senate.Meloni, who is in Japan for a Group of Seven summit, greeted Berlusconi’s return home with a social media message, telling Berlusconi, “We are waiting in the field to fight many battles together.” Source

Accidente múltiple deja siete muertos y varios heridos en Oregon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

Siete personas murieron y muchas más resultaron heridas en un accidente que involucró a varios vehículos el jueves en la Interestatal 5 en Oregon, según la policía.Los oficiales respondieron alrededor de las 2:05 p.m. al accidente que entre dos semirremolques y una camioneta en los carriles hacia el norte a unas 7 millas al norte de Albany, dijo la Policía Estatal de Oregón en un comunicado.Siete adultos murieron, dijo la policía, pero no especificó cuántas personas resultaron heridas. Se podían ver cuerpos cubiertos de plástico en un campo cercano y el médico forense del condado de Marion estaba en el lugar.La camioneta parecía haber sido aplastada por los camiones en un accidente tipo sándwich, dijo un testigo al Statesman Journal.La causa del choque está bajo investigación.Source

SouthGobi Resources: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (SGQRF) on Friday reported net income of $7.9 million in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said it had profit of 3 cents.The coal mining company posted revenue of $61.8 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SGQRF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SGQRFSource

Muere a los 59 años Andy Rourke, bajista de The Smiths

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:18:48 GMT

(CNN) — Andy Rourke, bajista de la legendaria banda de rock inglesa The Smiths, murió a los 59 años después de una batalla contra el cáncer de páncreas, anunció este viernes su excompañero de banda.“Con profunda tristeza anunciamos el fallecimiento de Andy Rourke después de una larga enfermedad con cáncer de páncreas”, escribió el guitarrista de The Smiths Johnny Marr en Twitter.La banda The Smiths: de izquierda a derecha Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, Morrissey y Johnny Marr en marzo de 1987 (Crédito: Andre Csillag/Shutterstock)“Andy será recordado como un alma bondadosa y hermosa por aquellos que lo conocieron y como un músico supremamente dotado por los fanáticos de la música”, dijo Marr.“Pedimos privacidad en este triste momento”, agregó.Rourke se unió a The Smiths en 1982 y tocó junto a la banda hasta su separación en 1987 antes del lanzamiento de su cuarto álbum de estudio, “Strangeways, Here We Come”.Durante una carrera musical de décadas, pasó a tocar con el líder de The Smi...