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2024 was a year of stand-out music with fans’ lives soundtracked by redefining pop tunes, beefy diss tracks and viral songs taking off across social media platforms. With so much content to consider, narrowing down the world’s best five tunes of the past year proved challenging. However, some stood out above the others, not just on the charts but in the impact they could deliver. So, in no particular order, here’s our take on the best songs of 2024. Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar It debuted at No.1 on the Hot 100 and became the longest-running No.1 in the history of Billboard’s rap chart. It is none other than Lamar’s response to Drake’s seven-and-a-half-minute diss track that dragged his long-simmering beef with the fellow rapper even more into the public eye. The controversy centres around extremely serious allegations of paedophilia and exploitation aimed at Drake and his associates which remain unproven and are denied. Lamar’s vocals are sharp and relentless, matching the song’s intensity, synth and ratchet vibes. Pitchfork’s Paul A. Thompson described how Kendrick “tap dances across the beat, as nimble as he’s sounded since he signed to Interscope”. The feud between Lamar and Drake is among the biggest in hip-hop in recent years but many people are clearly enjoying singing along to it. Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan The 26-year-old has been a name in the music industry for almost a decade but this year she has really kicked off thanks to this song which was her first top 10 hit to make it onto the Billboard chart. The catchy heartbreak track consists of good wishes to a former lover in denial about their queerness. Billboard wrote: “The verses are every bit as strong as the glistening chorus, all playful, pillowy synths and easygoing ‘80s beats.” It’s just as glittery as her onstage costumes and awards outfits. Before she was Chappell Roan, she was Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, a closeted sad-girl singer-songwriter who got dropped by her label Atlantic Records in 2020. In 2023, she released her debut album via a new label and cued instant success which doesn’t seem to be waning. Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter Some music lovers have declared the former Disney Channel actress’ song as the hit of the summer. The catchphrase “That’s that me espresso” was the “foam on top of what was already one of the most unmistakable, invigorating and naturally addictive singles of 2024”, Billboard wrote. The play-on-words and lyricist queen demands to be heard with lines such as “walked in and dream-came-trued it for ya”, and “I can’t relate to desperation / My give-a-f---s are on vacation”. If it wasn’t the song itself garnering chatter online, it was the accompanying music video that featured a flirty Carpenter getting herself into all sorts of trouble. While the caffeine-injected hit didn’t earn her spot on the Billboard Hot 100, her breezy Please Please Please follow-up sure did making it a breakout year for the star. This year was also a big one for Carpenter having toured with Taylor Swift on her The Eras Tour. Max Corstorphan It’s Ok, I’m Ok by Tate McRae This generation’s so-called Britney Spears has said goodbye to her child-star days and is preparing to enter a fiery adulthood with this relatable and personal viral track. The 21-year-old is happy to tell the next girl in her ex’s life that she can have him with the line: “It’s okay, you can have him anyway.” McRae alludes that she’s detoxed herself from a past relationship and is letting both her ex and the other woman know she’s over it and onto bigger and better things. With humour and sarcasm shining through, the track was first teased to fans via TikTok with a snippet of the chorus doing the rounds on the video-sharing platform prior to its anticipated release. The pop star has well and truly risen up the ranks this year having completed her first world tour. And she even kicked off the Aussie leg right here in Perth last month. McRae has extended the tour with more dates in Europe, the UK and the US in celebration of a new album coming out on February 21. Girl, so confusing featuring Lorde by Charli XCX Rumours of a feud between UK pop star Charli XCX and New Zealand’s Lorde were finally addressed and put to bed when Charli released a remix of her song Girl, so confusing. She turned her original song about her fears of a frenemy’s intentions into an emotional moment of resolution between the two singers who not only have the same hair but also a lot of self-doubt and mutual admiration in common. Billboard wrote: “A song born out of real life that’s committed to remaining grounded in that messy and complicated reality. Equal parts reactionary and revelatory, ‘Girl, so confusing’ is a towering peek inside the psyches of two of pop’s most important women.”
A New Multiyear Partnership Between Discount Tire and Elite Clubs National LeagueNEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” he wrote. Setting clocks forward one hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall is intended to maximize daylight during summer months, but has long been subject to scrutiny. Daylight saving time was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. Lawmakers have occasionally proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the Sunshine Protection Act , had proposed making daylight saving time permanent. The measure was sponsored by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio , whom Trump has tapped to helm the State Department. “Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said as the Senate voted in favor of the measure. Health experts have said that lawmakers have it backward and that standard time should be made permanent. Some health groups , including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said that it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology. Most countries do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do, the date that clocks are changed varies, creating a complicated tapestry of changing time differences. Arizona and Hawaii don't change their clocks at all. Jill Colvin, The Associated Press
(BPT) - Tech gifts are consistently some of the most popular presents to give and receive during the holidays. In fact, according to the annual Consumer Technology Holiday Purchase Patterns report , a record 233 million U.S. adults (89%) will buy tech products during the 2024 holiday season. But with so many devices out there, it can be hard to decide on the perfect option for the loved one on your list. A tablet like the new Fire HD 8 from Amazon offers the versatility of an all-in-one device, with access to streaming, gaming, video chatting, reading or writing all at your fingertips. Fire HD 8 also features a vibrant 8-inch HD display and lightweight, portable design, for high-quality entertainment on the go. Plus, Fire HD 8 comes with three new AI features that can help you get the most out of your tablet experience. Check them out below and learn how they can help you with daily tasks this holiday season and beyond. 1. Meet your personal writing assistant Do you struggle with writing a heartfelt message or finessing a tricky email? Fear not! Writing Assist is here to help. Writing Assist works as part of your Fire tablet's device keyboard and compatible apps, including email, Word documents and social media. In just a few taps, you can transform your writing from good to great. Try Writing Assist's pre-set styles to turn a simple email into a professionally written note. Or, you can ask Writing Assist for grammar suggestions to make your writing more concise, or elaborate on your ideas. You can even "emojify" your writing to add more fun and personality. 2. Learn more in less time Say goodbye to scrolling through pages of information. The new Webpage Summaries feature allows you to learn pertinent information as quickly as possible. Available on the Silk browser on Fire tablets, Webpage Summaries provides quick insights on web articles. In a matter of seconds, this feature will distill the key points in an article or on a webpage into a clear, concise summary of what you need to know. 3. Get creative with your device wallpaper With Wallpaper Creator, you can easily add a touch of creative flair and customization to your tablet's home screen. You can choose from one of the curated prompts to get started on creating a unique background. Or, if you're ready to let your imagination run wild, type a description of what you'd like to see. For example, you can ask for an image of a tiger swimming underwater or a watercolor-style image of a desert landscape in space. Wallpaper Creator will then turn your vision into a reality, delivering a high-resolution image that you can use as your tablet's wallpaper. Celebrate an AI-powered holiday season Writing Assist, Webpage Summaries, and Wallpaper Creator are now available on Amazon's new Fire HD 8 and other compatible Fire tablet devices, including the latest Fire HD 10 and Fire Max 11 tablets. To learn more, or to order a new Fire tablet this gift-giving season, visit Amazon.com .Unwrap the latest AI features with Amazon Fire Tablets
2025 NFL Draft watch: Patriots move into top spot; Raiders keep slidingNoneThe last paycheque from a decades-long career arrives next Friday and the nest egg you built during those working years will now turn into a main source of income. It can be a jarring switch from saving for retirement to spending in retirement. Financial experts say that transition is a process. People need to psychologically prepare for retirement, says Kurt Rosentreter, senior financial adviser at Manulife Wealth. "It's not just stop one day and all of a sudden, start living off your savings," he said. Forecasting how much money you'll need for the next two to three decades and figuring out how to spend that money in your golden years can be challenging. Rosentreter said setting up a plan for retirement spending starts at least two years before bowing out of the job. That means knowing your cost of living, tax impacts and how to live off passive investment income or rental property income for the rest of your retired life. "All of a sudden, your food money and everything else -- your fund money -- is now tied to the stock market, bond market, politics, economics, tax rates," Rosentreter said. "That's pretty intimidating." Having confidence in your planned retirement cashflows is crucial when switching from saving to spending mode -- and helps maintain calm when stocks and bonds aren't doing well, Rosentreter said. "A written plan that says, 'Here's how much you have, here's how you will access it over the next month, next year, next 10 years, the rest of your life,"' Rosentreter said. Rosentreter asks his clients to split their costs of living into four categories -- fixed core costs such as shelter, utility bills, gas and food; fixed variable costs such as birthday gifts; discretionary expenses such as dining out and luxury costs such as driving an expensive SUV. "You start with the mathematics of what their cost of living is," he said. "You can't head into retirement without the numbers." Rosentreter then helps forecast cash flows to age 100 with all the information on expenses and income, he said. Marlene Buxton, the principal fee-only certified financial plannerat Buxton Financial for Retirement, agrees that having a plan is important in reducing the stress of spending. People often move a large amount of money into a checking account and spend from that, she said. "But when that happens, watching the value decrease each month, it's not psychologically good." Deciding which pot to tap into first depends on a person's retirement goals, Buxton said. For example, if a person has a locked-in retirement account, Buxton recommends moving it to a life income fund upon retirement and drawing income from it every month. A retiree can also withdraw a minimal amount from a registered retirement fund to supplement their income. Other income sources can be defined benefit pension plans and tax-free savings. Then, move to CPP and OAS at age 70, she added. Even when people think they have ample savings, there's a level of stress and some even begin to limit their day-to-day spending, Buxton said. But day-to-day spending is not what puts a dent in savings, she added. "It's the larger decisions around how long before downsizing or when to begin certain benefits such as CPP or OAS or what age to retire," that affects retirement cash flow, she said. Rosentreter said retirees need to revisit their cash flow plans once a year and gauge their progress. "You need some kind of dashboard that isn't just investment statements that come at the end of the month and show you (whether you're) up or you're down," he said. Financial plans can also change if someone gets divorced, widowed, or has health issues, Rosentreter said. "Whatever the factors are, you just have to kind of work that into the mathematical calculations," he said. "In the end, it's putting all this on a spreadsheet and working with it and moving the numbers back and forth to see where it works based on what starts the conversation," Rosentreter said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.
The Washington Commanders are searching for their 11th win of the season against the Atlanta Falcons. Though the team is playing some good football on Sunday, they will now continue the game without starting center Tyler Biadasz. More news: Jets Officially Replace Aaron Rodgers at Quarterback During Bills Blowout UPDATE: C Tyler Biadasz has an ankle injury. His return is questionable. More details to come. #RaiseHail #RiseUp #NFL #WashingtonInformer #NFLPrimetime #NFLonNBC #ATLvsWAS #nflfootball #SNFonNBC #SNFootball Biadasz was rolled on during a block, and his leg was trapped under a defender on the Atlanta Falcons. Following the play, he was on the ground for some time grimacing in pain. Biadasz was able to walk off the field, but he had a noticeable limp. Following a stint in the blue medical tent, he was immediately taken to the locker room for further evaluation. Losing Biadasz for the game is going to impact the offensive line strength for the Commanders. He has been solid in 2024, and now quarterback Jayden Daniels is down a starter that is key in protecting him. The Falcons' defense has been all over Daniels so far, securing two sacks so far on Sunday Night Football. C Tyler Biadasz (ankle) is questionable to return Per the Commanders' official X account, Biadasz is questionable to return to the game with an ankle injury. A camera cut showed the center being placed in the blue medical tent, and he was slamming his helmet on the table in clear frustration. Usually, when a player is showing that level of frustration, they know that the injury they suffered is significant. That is not always the case, but it does happen quite often. The hope is that Biadasz only suffered a minor injury. Even if Biadasz suffered a minor injury, he might not suit up for Week 18. This would be detrimental if the Commanders were still searching for a playoff spot. The easiest way to achieve a postseason berth is by winning on Sunday. At the time of this writing, the Commanders are losing to the Falcons 17-7. With Biadasz out, Washington will have Michae Deiter in for Biadasz. Deiter is a proven veteran but is still a backup. More news: NFL News: AFC Playoff Picture Gets More Complicated With Dolphins Win Daniels has been under duress in the game and has not been able to sling the ball in the same manner that he usually does in games. Through the first half of the game, he has thrown 92 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. The Commanders will need to tighten things up if they are going to get past the Falcons and lock up a playoff spot. Should Washington win, it will also lock up the NFC West for the Los Angeles Rams. For more on the Commanders, head to Newsweek Sports .