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Showing posts from April, 2025

Cyndi Lauper ‘Humbled' to Be Inducted Into Rock Hall, Points Out Women's ‘Many' Contributions to Rock

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 Cyndi Lauper is bopping into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , and she couldn't be happier. "I'm humbled to be in the company of so many of my heroes – Aretha, Tina, Chaka, Joni, Wanda, to name just a few," she shared in an Instagram post on Sunday (April 27), after the class of 2025 was announced on American Idol. "Women have made so many important contributions to music and to rock n roll and a win for one of us is a win for all of us. Thank you to the voting members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for this honor. And thank you to my fans for supporting me throughout my career. I could not do any of this without you." This was the second time that the pop icon was nominated to join the Rock Hall. She received her initial nomination in 2023. This year, for the fourth year in a row, four or more women are being inducted into the Rock Hall. Along with Lauper, The White Stripes' Meg White, Salt-N-Pepa and Carol Kaye are receiving the honors. The instit...

American volcano about to erupt after 66 earthquakes recorded in a week

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 Mount Spurr in Alaska has experienced 66 earthquakes in just one week, signaling increased instability around the volcano. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) released a report late last week detailing the heightened seismic activity, noting that an eruption cannot be ruled out. Last month, the AVO warned that the volcano could erupt within weeks, although ground deformation has slowed somewhat this month. "The likelihood of an eruption has decreased since March, but the volcano remains at an elevated level of unrest, and an explosive eruption (or eruptions) like those that occurred in 1953 and 1992 is still possible," the AVO said in its update. "We would expect to see weeks or more of elevated unrest that would provide advance warning of an eruption," it added. Mount Spurr is located about 125 kilometers (roughly 78 miles) from Anchorage, a city of 300,000 residents. Local authorities have recently issued guidelines for the public in preparation for a potentia...

Trump keeps claiming he’s working on a deal with China. Beijing says that it is all in his mind

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 President Donald Trump touted that the United States and China were at the negotiating table to reach a resolution to the trade war — but Beijing says that’s not true. Washington was “actively” having discussions with Beijing this week, and Trump said he planned to be “very nice” to reach a deal. He also called his 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods “too high” and vowed it would “come down substantially.” Two Chinese officials on Thursday contradicted the U.S. president’s claims. He Yadong, China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, said Thursday: “Any claims about the progress of China-U.S. trade negotiations are groundless as trying to catch the wind and have no factual basis.” Similarly, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China is prepared to negotiate only under certain conditions. “China’s attitude is consistent and clear: if you want to fight, we will fight to the end, if you want to talk, the door is open,” he said. Yet Trump, when pr...

Jim Cramer issues blunt warning to China

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 In a post on X, CNBC's Jim Cramer questioned whether China is miscalculating during the ongoing United States-China trade war, saying that if China decided to avoid talks, consequences could favor the hardliners in the White House. "Chinese overplaying their hand? Do they really want to be the country that doesn't talk as we go into the most fraught moments? The hardliners in the White House will win if the Chinese do not play ball... Don't they see that?" said Cramer.  These comments come amid an escalating trade mess, with tariffs as high as 245% imposed by the United States on Chinese goods and a 125% tariff imposed by China on U.S. goods. However, on April 22, Trump wanted to ease the ongoing tension between China and U.S. Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has stated he is open to talks but, like Washington, has vowed to "fight to the end" if provoked. But tariffs aside, there is a bigger fight for technological supremacy. Xi has invested billions...

Best signing since Rice: £58m goalscoring "monster" wants to join Arsenal

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 While he hasn't got everything right since taking the job at Arsenal, it would be fair to say Mikel Arteta has signed some incredible players. The likes of David Raya, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber have all played their part in taking the club forward, but when it comes to the Spaniard's best signing, one name stands out above all others: Declan Rice. There was plenty of pressure on the former West Ham United captain's shoulders when he moved to the Emirates for a club-record £105m in 2023, but since then, he's more than proven his worth, as exemplified by his two Man of the Match Awards against Real Madrid in the Champions League this month. So, fans should be excited about recent reports suggesting the manager could be about to make his best signing since the Englishman. Arsenal transfer news Regardless of what happens in Europe, this summer looks set to be a massive one for Arsenal, and as such, the club have been linked with a whole host of...

Chinese brands could be hit with huge tariffs on electric cars in bid to protect UK manufacturers

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 The UK could introduce tariffs against China in order to protect UK industry, an expert has claimed, as the world reacts to US President Donald Trump 's sweeping auto tariffs. The UK has so far resisted the temptation to slap China with tariffs on vehicles, despite international partners doing so, including Canada, the European Union and the United States. During the Biden Presidency, the United States slapped China with a huge 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles and solar cells after warning China's influence could "kill" the US auto industry. The European Union introduced similar levies on Chinese manufacturers following accusations that companies were benefitting from better sales because of much lower manufacturing and selling costs. Following an investigation, major brands were slapped with tariffs including Tesla (7.8 per cent), BYD (18 per cent), Geely (18.8 per cent) and SAIC (35.3 per cent). Companies which cooperated with the EU's investigation are...

The new 2,031bhp Venom F5 Evolution will do 0-200mph in 10.3s

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 What to give the car that has everything? More. Welcome to an ‘evo’, American-style: this is the uprated Hennessey Venom F5 ‘Evolution’, and it has enough power to shift tectonic plates. Probably. Nestled within this F5’s fresh suit of armour – more on that shortly – lurks an exceedingly dark heart. Hennessey has taken its 6.6-litre twin-turbo V8 nicknamed ‘Fury’, removed the puny human twin-turbos, and replaced them with Really Big Scary Ones. They’re via Next Gen, and are apparently the largest ‘mirror image’ turbos in the world. Stare into them and the secrets of the universe will be revealed, or at least that receding hairline. This type apparently allows for better symmetry in such applications. Here, it allows for massive power. Like, 2,031bhp. A full 214bhp more than the regular F5. To quote Martin Brundle, that’s enough to power a very decent family saloon. The 214bhp bit, not the 2,031bhp bit. 2,031bhp is enough to power a small moon mission. Here, it’s enough to power t...

Ryanair boss issues warning over Trump’s tariffs for aviation industry

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  Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has warned the budget airline could delay deliveries of Boeing aircraf if they become more expensive amid the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs. “If tariffs are imposed on those aircraft, there’s every likelihood we may delay the delivery,” Mr O’Leary told the Financial Times. Ryanair is due to receive another 25 aircraft from Boeing from August, but he said they are not needed until “kind of March, April 2026.” “We might delay them and hope that common sense will prevail,” he added. The US president imposed the steepest American tariffs on imports in over a century, with a baseline tariff on imports to the US of 10 per cent. Levies of 25 per cent have also been imposed on steel and aluminium, key materials in the production of aeroplanes. Planes that have finished production and parts imported into the US will be hit by the 10 per cent levy; meanwhile, building planes are set to become more expensive, as manufacturers rely on international supply cha...

Chelsea ready £50million plus a player transfer to re-sign former star this summer

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 Chelsea are ready to do a £50million cash-plus-player deal to recapture Marc Guehi this summer. Palace want £70m for the England defender, and would be willing to accept Trevor Chalobah, who has impressed on loan at Selhurst Park, as part of the deal. Chelsea value Chalobah at £30m, so a cash-plus-player swap would suit Palace, who are resigned to losing Guehi. The 24-year-old, who left Stamford Bridge for Crystal Palace four years ago for £18m, goes into this summer with one year left on his contract. Guehi has also been heavily tracked by Liverpool and Newcastle. Newcastle had a succession of bids, including one of £65m turned down, while Liverpool saw Guehi as a replacement for captain Virgil van Dijk if he left with his contract due up this summer. But it looks like the Holland captain is staying at Anfield, and that has put Chelsea in the box seat. Chelsea lost Wesley Fofana for the rest of the season this week, another injury for the French defender who simply hasn't been a...

Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal injury blow ahead of crucial Real Madrid match

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 Ben White is absent from Arsenal's squad to face Brentford in the Premier League after suffering an injury setback. White was a notable absentee when Mikel Arteta named his much-changed starting XI for the late kick-off on Saturday. The Arsenal defender has endured an injury-hit campaign, missing three months following knee surgery, and has now suffered a setback. The 27-year-old had appeared to be on the comeback, having started last weekend's 1-1 draw away at Everton and made an appearance off the bench against Real Madrid on Tuesday. But, speaking ahead of the Brentford game, Arteta confirmed that White was missing from his squad due to a fresh injury, with midfielder Thomas Partey forced to fill in at right-back. “Ben White couldn’t be in the squad because he felt something again post-training yesterday, so that limits the solutions we have because Jurrien [Timber] wasn’t ready to start the game either," he said. "Other players as well played a lot of minutes an...

Manchester City in 'historic' offer for Lamine Yamal: report

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  Manchester City are eyeing Lamine Yamal amid contract uncertainty, in what has been described as a potentially “historic” move. The teenager – ranked at no.12 in FourFourTwo's list of the best players in the world right now – has enjoyed a rapid rise in the last couple of years or so, becoming a regular for Barcelona, leading them in a title challenge this season, and winning Euro 2024 last summer with his native Spain. With Yamal a favourite for Ballon d'Or, Premier League champions Manchester City are eyeing an incredible swoop – in a move that could Barça “in a difficult situation”. Manchester City could make Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal “the most expensive transfer in the world” After breaking into the Barcelona side at just 16 years and 38 days old, Yamal has become the first name on the team-sheet for boss Hansi Flick, and was last summer ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season. Mundo Deportivo have reported that...

Troy Deeney blasts 'terrible' Man Utd star for having 'first touch of an elephant'

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 Troy Deeney has praised Alejandro Garnacho’s performance in the drab Manchester derby – but singled out Manchester United teammate Patrick Dorgu for having the first touch of a ‘baby elephant’. United and City shared a goalless stalemate at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon in a contest lacking any of the usual intensity you would associate with a derby. The hosts had the better chances to secure the victory but their profligacy in front of goal let them down again, passing up a host of opportunities. Garnaho almost in on goal inside the first minute before being brought down on the edge of the box by Ruben Dias. Later in the half, he was expertly picked out by Diogo Dalot’s cross but appeared to be caught in two minds over whether to head or volley the ball – in the end doing neither. While the Argentina international’s end product was again lacking, former Premier League star Deeney believes Garnacho is now delivering exactly what his manager is asking from him. Get personalised...

Nikola Jokic Makes NBA History in Nuggets vs Pacers

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 Riding a three-game winning streak, the Denver Nuggets went into a huge cross-conference matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. Desperate to get back in the win column, things did not go Denver's way. The Pacers marched into Denver to take down the Nuggets 125-120, despite an absurd performance from three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. In a losing effort, the 31-year-old Nuggets superstar dropped 41 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, and one block on 18-33 shooting from the field and 3-11 from beyond the arc. Jokic became the first player in NBA history to reach these numbers in a game, per Stathead. Over his last three games, Jokic is averaging 45.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists, and 2.0 steals with 62.0/44.8/80.0 shooting splits, but the Nuggets are 0-3 in that span. Jokic continues to put up historic numbers, but his supporting cast is not keeping up to help translate those stats to wins. Jokic is putting together another MVP campaign, looking to win h...

Arne Slot launches accusation after rare loss as VAR decision explained

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 It was not a happy weekend for Liverpool as they fell to just their second Premier League defeat of the season at Fulham. Arriving at Craven Cottage Arne Slot's side would have been hopeful of bringing the Premier League title a step closer. Arsenal had only managed a draw against Everton and the Reds had the opportunity to extend their lead. Alexis Mac Allister's strike set them on their way but the Whites hit back through Ryan Sessegnon, Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz, before Luis Diaz's made it a tense finish. Instead of being taken to task over possible championship celebrations, Slot was left to answer question on his side's form and that of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. Both players are set to see their contracts expire come the summer. And it is likely to be questions over their futures and the impact on the end of Liverpool's season that dominate until the Reds can return to winning ways. West Ham lie in wait at the weekend. With all of that said, Mirro...