Kendrick Lamar tops Apple Music’s 2024 song charts and women make history

NEW YORK (AP) — Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” topped Apple Music’s global song charts in 2024 as the giant music streamer released year-end lists on Tuesday, providing listeners with data on their most listened to tracks. “Not Like Us” is Lamar’s first-ever No. 1 on the year-end global song charts. He is followed by Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” at number two, Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” at number three, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” at number four and Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” at number five. Of the 100 songs included on the list, 39 are by female-identifying artists, a record for the first time in the global chart’s seven-year history. In November, Apple Music named Billie Eilish Artist of the Year.

GM is recalling over 132,000 heavy-duty pickup trucks because of tailgates that can open unexpectedly

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is adding more than 132,000 heavy-duty pickup trucks in the U.S. to an earlier recall over tailgate release switches that can short out and open the gates while the trucks are in park. The recall adds certain 2024 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 trucks to a February recall of 323,000 pickups. Only trucks with manual gates and electric locking and unlocking are affected. The company states that water can get into the electronic gate openers and unlock them. Loads can fall onto the road and become a hazard. Until repairs are made, GM says owners should ensure the gate is closed and locked before driving. Dealers will replace the external touchpad switch assemblies with new ones that are more water resistant.

A chef whose van was stolen with 2,500 cakes inside is calling on the thieves to donate the loot

LONDON (AP) — A British chef is urging thieves who stole a van full of 2,500 savory pies to “do the right thing” and donate the edible haul to those in need. Tommy Banks said the van was stolen with 25,000 pounds ($32,000) worth of food inside. The shipment includes steak and ale, turkey and butternut squash pie, destined for a Christmas market in the city of York in northern England. Banks pleaded with the thieves to leave the food at a community center so it wouldn’t go to waste. He said the food could “feed a few thousand people” at Christmas. Banks owns two Michelin-starred restaurants and a pub in the northern English county of Yorkshire.

Do you think “brain rot” sums up 2024? Oxford agrees it was the word of the year

LONDON (AP) — Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” its word of the year. It is defined as a “perceived deterioration in a person’s mental or intellectual condition,” particularly through the consumption of too much low-quality online content. Oxford University Press said on Monday that use of the term had increased by 230% compared to last year. It was selected through a combination of public voting and linguistic analysis by Oxford lexicographers. The five other finalists for Word of the Year were understated, sloppy, dynamic pricing, romance and lore. Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said the choice of the phrase “feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology.”

Finnish police do not suspect any criminal activity in connection with damaged data cables in the south of the country

BERLIN (AP) — Finnish police do not suspect criminal activity in connection with the damage to two data cables that run across the land border between Sweden and Finland. They say the damage was caused by excavation work. A company that provides digital infrastructure and data communications in Northern Europe said on Tuesday that the data cables have now been repaired. Global Connect said internet cables were damaged in two different locations in southern Finland on Monday, affecting 6,000 residential customers and 100 businesses. The incident occurred after two data cables broke at the bottom of the Baltic Sea last month.

Elton John says he has lost his eyesight and is having difficulty seeing his new stage musical

LONDON (AP) — Elton John says he is having difficulty watching his new musical because he has “lost his eyesight” after an infection. The singer-songwriter attended the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada in London on Sunday. He told the audience: “I have a hard time watching it but I love hearing it and, boy, it sounded good tonight.” John, who is 77, announced in September that he “I could only see to a limited extent” due to an infection. in one eye.” John wrote the music for “The Devil Wears Prada,” a stage musical based on the popular 2006 fashion film “It’s Tars” and starring the fearsome editor Miranda Priestly, a role played by Meryl Streep in the film plays.

Kansas defends Auburn’s No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25, while the SEC takes three of the top four spots; UConn slips to 25th

Kansas continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press men’s college basketball top 25 poll. Auburn edges the Jayhawks in the final poll after winning the Maui Invitational and checking in at No. 2. Two-time reigning national champion UConn was almost eliminated entirely after an 0-3 week on Maui, falling from No. 2 to 25th. The Southeastern Conference had three of the top four teams with No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Kentucky behind the Tigers. Six new teams participated in the poll, led by No. 13 Oregon, No. 16 Memphis and No. 18 Pittsburgh.

TCU and Duke climb into top 10, Notre Dame falls into AP women’s top 25; UCLA and UConn remain 1-2

TCU has its best ranking ever in the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a convincing win over Notre Dame. The Horned Frogs moved up eight spots to No. 9, the first time the school has ever been ranked in the top 10. The Fighting Irish, third last week, fell seven spots to 10th after losses to TCU and Utah. UCLA remained No. 1, followed by UConn, South Carolina, Texas and LSU. USC, Maryland and Duke are next.

Houston’s Al-Shair apologizes for hit on Jacksonville’s Lawrence that resulted in concussion

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Azeez Al-Shair went to X to apologize to Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence after his violent hit on the quarterback’s facemask resulted in him being carried off the field with a concussion. After missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence was back in the starting lineup and scrambled to left on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter of Houston’s 23-20 win on Sunday. He initiated a slide before Al-Shair raised his forearm and unleashed it on the defenseless quarterback. In the lengthy post, Al-Shair says: “To Trevor, I sincerely apologize for what ultimately happened.”

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