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Why universities from UC Berkeley to Harvard are teaching courses on Taylor Swift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

By Scottie Andrew | CNNTaylor Swift once said that if she were not a record-breaking, hit-making, three-time-Grammy-album-of-the-year winning superstar (our adjectives, not hers), she would’ve liked to have returned to the classroom.“I would have gone to college, and I would probably be involved with a form of business where words and ideas are at the forefront,” she told GQ in 2015. “Such as marketing.”She might be a bit too famous now to sit in on a business class for a marketing degree. But her music and persona have proven ripe for academic dissection on college campuses, amongst Swifties or otherwise.Universities across the US, from Harvard to the University of Texas at Austin to Stanford, are now offering courses on Swift’s body of work and the decade-plus-long discourse her work and life have inspired. It’s a fitting honor for the singer-songwriter, whose stardom and success have reached new heights in 2023.Arizona State this semester offered a course on the psychology of Swi...

Ariana Grande's 'Last Christmas' is most dangerous Christmas song for driving: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

(KRON) -- Ariana Grande's "Last Christmas" is the most dangerous Christmas song for driving, according to a new study. The study, which was conducted by CSGOLuck, sourced the top 200 Christmas songs on Spotify and analyzed them by beats per minute.According to research cited by the survey, music between 50 to 80 beats per minute puts the brain into an "alpha state." This renders you more relaxed, focused and receptive, the study claimed. SantaCon, Haney fight in SF draws nearly 100K BART riders Conversely, songs with more beats per minute become more distracting because your brain has to work harder to process the sounds. With 206 beats per minute -- more than triple what experts recommend -- Grande's 2013 hit tops the list for most distracting. Another Grande hit, 2014's "Santa Tell Me,"also made it into the top 10 of most distracting Christmas songs.Other Christmas songs that are dangerous for driving include Bing Crosby's "Mele Kalikimaka," Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderf...

Santa Rosa schools to boost police presence following recent violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

(KRON) – The Santa Rosa City Schools announced Monday that all Santa Rosa high schools will have police officers stationed on campus and the middle schools will have police check-ins until winter break.   Superintendent Anna Trunnell requested that a Santa Rosa Police Department officer be stationed at each high school due to an “abundance of caution.” SRPD officers will also conduct check-ins at feeder middle schools: Herbert Slater, Santa Rosa, Hilliard Comstock, and Rincon Valley. Santa Rosa mall brawl ends with 3 teens arrested On Nov. 29, a Santa Rosa High School student was stabbed after a fight involving two students on campus. SRPD believed the two parties involved were from rival gangs. According to Santa Rosa police officials, a Santa Rosa middle school student brandished a knife during a potentially gang-related fight inside a classroom on Dec. 7. According to the Santa Rosa City Schools press release, Superintendent Trunnell is working with City Manager ...

Holiday gift crazes and fads of the past century

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

The holidays are about family, friends, feasting, and yes, if we're being honest, presents. Overall, holiday spending is expected to reach record levels in the 2023 season, up to $966.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's holiday forecast. (That's $37 billion more than in 2022.) The number is inclusive of gifts, food, decor, and other holiday-related purchases, but there's no doubt the first category is a hefty portion of the total spending.The memories may outlast the gifts themselves, but each year, it seems like a handful of items rise to the top of holiday wish lists. Who could forget getting the toy they wished for as a child years ago or scouring the store for the hottest gadget as a parent or grandparent today? To look back on those moments, Stacker researched the holiday gift crazes and fads of years past, from 1919 until 2023. 20 of the best Christmas albums of all time The information comes from lists of the hardest-to-find and the most popular gifts; ...

20 of the best Christmas albums of all time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

Perhaps more than any other holiday season, Christmas is full of nostalgia. As the years go on, whether anyone likes it or not, it can be nearly impossible to avoid memories of the seasons that have passed and Christmas traditions around the tree, whether spent with family or alone. As different as those holiday memories are for everyone, so, too, is the music often heard during this time, be it traditional Christmas carols or new tunes.With the holiday season fast approaching, Stacker dug into articles and data from various leading music websites and curated a list of great Christmas albums across various genres and eras as of November 2023. Ariana Grande’s ‘Last Christmas’ is most dangerous Christmas song for driving: study Of course, traditional Christmas music makes up the greatest Christmas albums. The tunes that generations have grown up with—from such recording artists as Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and Nat King Cole—have endured. More recent Christmas albums, such as Maria...

Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s parliament elected centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister on Monday, paving the way for a new pro-EU government after eight years of stormy national conservative rule.Tusk becomes prime minister nearly two months after a national election that was won by a coalition of parties ranging from left-wing to moderate conservative. The parties ran on separate tickets but promised to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic standards and improve ties with allies. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki’s government lost a confidence vote in parliament on Monday, paving the way to power for a broad pro-EU alliance under the leadership of the centrist political veteran Donald Tusk.Morawiecki’s government was defeated 266-190 in the 460-seat lower house, the Sejm. The vote marked the ended of eight tumultuous years in which the natio...

Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister after 8 years of stormy conservative rule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s parliament elects centrist party leader Donald Tusk as prime minister after 8 years of stormy conservative rule.Source

Special counsel Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether ex-President Trump is immune from prosecution

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Smith asks the Supreme Court to rule quickly on whether ex-President Trump is immune from prosecution.Source

Jury seated in election workers’ defamation damages trial against Rudy Giuliani

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A jury was sworn in Monday in the federal case that will determine how how much Rudy Giuliani might have to pay two Georgia election workers he falsely accused of fraud while pushing Donald Trump’s baseless claims after the 2020 election. The former New York City mayor has already been found liable in the defamation lawsuit brought by Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who endured threats and harassment after they became the target of a conspiracy theory spread by Trump and his allies. The only issue to be determined at the trial is the amount of damages, if any, Giuliani must pay. Giuliani did not speak to reporters as he entered Washington’s federal courthouse — the same building where Trump is set to stand trial in March on criminal charges accusing the former president of scheming to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden. Opening arguments in the case were expected to start Monday afternoon.Giuliani is expected to take the witne...

Colorado spot named one of the best ski restaurants in North America

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Gone are the days when the best food at a ski lodge is deli meat and french fries. Restaurants across North America now serve gourmet food near the slopes, and one of the best spots for post-ski grub is in Colorado.USAToday released winter surveys of the best cross-country skiing, ski resorts, places to learn how to ski and ski hotels in the U.S. and across North America. These Colorado spots are the best in US for cross-country skiing Unsurprisingly, Colorado made all of these lists.USAToday also surveyed experts and readers on the best ski restaurants across North America, and a restaurant in Crested Butte restaurant ranked. No 6 on the list.Here's the full list of the best ski restaurants in North America:The Reserve - Tamarack, IdahoCorbet's Cabin - Jackson Hole, WyomingThe Chalet at Alpine Meadows - Alpine Meadows, CaliforniaWhitehorn Bistro - Lake Louise, AlbertaThe Goldener Hirsch Restaurant - Park City, UtahUley's Cabin - Mt. Crested Butte, ColoradoThe Mar...