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Britney Spears joins Spotify’s ‘Billions Club’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

(CNN) — It’s been seven years since Britney Spears released her last album, but she’s still making news in the music space.Over the weekend Spears became a member of Spotify’s “Billions Club,” when her 2003 hit single “Toxic” hit a billion streams according to the streaming platform.She joins other artists – including ABBA with their 1976 single “Dancing Queen,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” from 1987 and DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” from 2017– to reach the achievement.The news comes on the heels of the recently released Spears collaboration with Will.i.am for a song titled “Mind Your Business.”The song marks Spears’ second collaboration since her 2016 solo album “Glory,” and since her conservatorship ended in 2021. Last year, she teamed with Elton John for a new remix based off his classic 1972 song “Tiny Dancer,” titled “Hold Me Closer.”Interesting fact on “Toxic,” which was off Spears’ 2003 album “In the Zone” – it was reportedly originally meant for singer Kylie...

That’s so Raven! Raven-Symoné says she’s psychic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

(CNN) — We really should have seen this one coming.During a recent episode of her and her wife Miranda Maday’s podcast “The Best Podcast Ever,” Raven-Symoné put out there that she believes she has psychic abilities.It came up during a game of “Spin the Wheel” with guest Keke Palmer. The wheel landed on the word “psychic,” and Raven-Symoné said she believed in it.“I truly believe,” she said. “I believe actually humans have the ability in their brain to tap into energy fields that allow for truth to connect when you know how to translate it correctly.”Of course in her younger years, the now 37-year-old actress starred as a psychic teen in the hit Disney series “That’s So Raven” that ran from 2003 to 2007, and now stars in the spinoff “Raven’s Home.”But in real life, Raven-Symoné said during the podcast, “I do have moments where I really will just stare and I will see a scene that is happening… that has happened to me or that is going to happen to me in another dimension and I feel it ...

Former director of finance at Scheck Hillel Community School arrested after being accused of embezzling funds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

A South Florida school’s finance director was arrested after been accused of embezzling funds.Jennifer Tirado, 43, appeared before a judge, Wednesday. She was charged with one count of grand theft and one count of organized scheme to defraud. Tirado was the former director of finance at the Scheck Hillel Community School, located at 19000 NE 25th Ave. According to the arrest warrant, in February of 2020, as the pandemic was becoming public knowledge, Tirado prepared to send 28 electronic transfers of school funds to her own accounts, as well as five business accounts. Most of the funds were transmitted to her accounts.The first four payments were made in three weeks. The value of her five month take home wages were over $53,000. In July 2020, she continued to divert money, which continued for 10 months. On Jan. 12, 2021, the interim director at the community school reported the theft of a quarter million dollars. The head of the school released a statement, which read in part...

Hunter Biden plea deal falls through, at least for now, after judge expresses concern over agreement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s plea deal on two tax charges fell apart on Wednesday, at least temporarily, after the federal judge hearing his case expressed concern over a related agreement on a more serious gun possession charge.The outcome leaves in jeopardy the yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings. He had been charged with two misdemeanor tax crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018, and he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation.Last month, Biden was charged with possession of a firearm by a person who is a known drug user, a felony. He had a Colt Cobra .38 Special for 11 days in October 2018. He agreed to enter into a diversion agreement, which means that he would not technically plead guilty to the crime. As long as he adhered to the terms of his agreement, the case would be wiped from his rec...

Domestic Visitors Fuel Rebound in Tourism Spending in Massachusetts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

International tourists to Massachusetts spent only about half as much money here in 2022 than they did before the pandemic, but a boost in spending among visitors from other parts of this country helped push the economic impact of the state’s travel and tourism industry to $24.2 billion in direct spending last year. The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism said Tuesday that 21 million domestic and international travelers spent money in Massachusetts last year, supporting 131,200 jobs and generating $1.9 billion in taxes for the state and its municipalities. Domestic tourists spent $22 billion, exceeding the pre-pandemic calendar year total of $20.8 billion in 2019, while international travelers spent $2.2 billion, still well shy of the $4 billion spent in 2019. “Tourism plays such an important role in our state’s economic vision, and we’re excited to see the industry had a positive impact in 2022, generating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in ...

Brennan: Congress must rein in swipe fees to help consumers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

As Massachusetts residents face higher and higher costs of living and stubbornly high prices for gas, food, beverages and other staple items, a bi-partisan coalition of senators is looking to give consumers and small businesses some much-needed relief.The Credit Card Competition Act would stop Visa and Mastercard from exacerbating inflation and hurting small business operators by reining in predatory swipe fees that are among the highest in the world. Americans pay more than double w00hat Canadians pay in credit and debit purchase fees and seven times more than consumers in Europe. The two credit card conglomerates have a duopoly in the retail industry, cashing in on extra fees that force retailers to hike prices to cover ever-escalating costs.Swipe fees paid by store merchants soared 17% in 2022 to $160 billion, and cost families on average $1,000 per year, all while the credit card companies raked in more than $25 billion in net profits. Visa Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu ...

Are you getting billed for COVID-19 tests you didn’t order? Here’s what you need to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

By Gisselle Medina, Los Angeles TimesIf 2022 was the year of free COVID-19 test kits, 2023 is shaping up to be the year of fraudulent COVID-19 test kits.Consider what happened to Judy, an 85-year-old Medicare recipient in Southern California (we’re withholding her last name because she’s concerned about being victimized further). One day this year, five COVID-19 test kits showed up at her home without her ever requesting them.“I didn’t pay any attention to the unsolicited COVID tests, so I threw them out,” Judy said. “It wasn’t until some months later that I received my Medicare summary bill and I saw charges for over-the-counter COVID tests I didn’t order.”Each kit cost $120 to $150 — and she was responsible for a portion of the bill.Judy is just one of hundreds of people who have fallen victim to a new scam involving COVID-19 test kits, part of the rising trend of fraudulent activity since the start of the pandemic.Here’s how it works: Scammers buy stolen Medicare numbers online o...

‘Jeopardy!’ winners refusing to join Tournament of Champions during WGA strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

By Dan Clarendon, New York Daily News“Jeopardy!” fans may not see some usual suspects in next season’s Tournament of Champions.As producers of the game show reportedly plan to recycle questions for the 2023–2024 season, former winners — including the four highest earners from last season — say they are declining invitations to the tournament out of solidarity with the WGA members on staff.Ray LaLonde, a TV set builder who took home $388,400 in winnings last season, announced in the “Jeopardy!” Reddit forum that he would opt out of Season 40′s Tournament of Champions should the showdown be filmed during the strike. (The tournament is typically filmed in late August and September, according to The Hollywood Reporter.)LaLonde prefaced his announcement by saying that he will always be grateful for his “Jeopardy!” experience and that the Tournament of Champions invitation is a dream come true.“That being said, I believe that the show’s writers are a vital part of the show and they are ju...

The death of the Obamas’ chef on Martha’s Vineyard is reportedly not suspicious, toxicology results take several weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

The death of the Obamas’ personal chef near the former president’s Martha’s Vineyard estate is reportedly not suspicious, according to Massachusetts State Police who found “no external trauma or injuries” on the 45-year-old man.Tafari Campbell, of Virginia, died after paddleboarding on Edgartown Great Pond Sunday evening. His body was recovered Monday morning by Mass State Police divers — about 100 feet from shore at a depth of about eight feet.Campbell was not wearing a personal flotation device and he was not leashed to the paddleboard when he lost balance and went underwater, a witness told police.“The Massachusetts State Police investigation into the death of Tafari Campbell, 45, of Virginia, who was recovered from Edgartown Great Pond on Monday, as well as an initial post-mortem examination by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, found no evidence that the death was suspicious,” a Mass State Police spokesperson said in a stat...

Alleged North End shooter Patrick Mendoza detention decision to come later today

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:18:08 GMT

The man accused of shooting at a man in front of Modern Pastry earlier this month is being held without bail until a judge makes a decision on his detention, which he promised to do by the end of the day today.Alleged shooter Patrick Mendoza, 54, faces charges including assault to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, intimidating a witness, and three charges related to unlawful possession of a gun.Police arrested Mendoza on July 21 — nine days after he allegedly fired three shots in front of Hanover Street’s Modern Pastry at a man he had a long-simmering relationship with. That history includes Mendoza previously striking the man on his head with a glass bottle in February 2019, for which he received six months probation.While Mendoza was able to hide away in the detention room next to for his arraignment on Friday, he appeared Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court wearing a lightly checkered gray suit — extensive hand tattoos visible, which includes the city of Boston seal on his...