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Spotify is hiking its prices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

New York (CNN) — Spotify is the latest streaming service to hike its prices.Beginning Monday, new subscribers will pay $1 more per month for its ad-free premium plan, rising to $10.99 per month. Current customers are being given a “one-month grace period before the new price becomes effective,” Spotify said.Spotify’s other tiers, like its family and student plans, are also getting a $1 per month bump. The monthly cost of Duo, a plan that lets two people split a premium plan, is rising by $2, to $14.99. The price increases are now in effect for subscribers in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.In a release, Sweden-based Spotify said the “market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched” in 2008, and that the price hikes “will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.” Subscribers will get an email on Monday alerting them to the new prices.Spotify (SPOT) will also continuing offering a fre...

TikTok brings in text posts to rival Elon Musk’s X

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

London (CNN) — TikTok will now allow users to post text-only content for the first time in a challenge to Elon Musk’s beleaguered X, formerly known as Twitter.Announcing the new post format Monday, the video streaming platform said it would broaden “options for creators to share their ideas and express their creativity.”“With text posts, we’re expanding the boundaries of content creation for everyone on TikTok, giving the written creativity we’ve seen in comments, captions, and videos a dedicated space to shine,” the company said in a statement.Users are now able to share “stories, poems, recipes, and other written content,” which can be customized by adding sound, stickers and background colors, among other features.In perhaps the most direct challenge to the X platform, text posts on TikTok will allow users to tag other accounts and add hashtags that relate to trending topics.The latest move by TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, may prove to be another kno...

Mega Millions jackpot is the 8th largest in the US at $820 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

Lottery players will have a shot at an estimated $820 million Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, less than a week after someone hit a Powerball prize that topped $1 billion.The huge Mega Millions jackpot is the eighth-largest U.S. lottery prize and follows a $1.08 billion prize won by a player Wednesday in Los Angeles. California lottery officials haven’t announced a winner of that prize, which was the sixth-largest in U.S. history.Jackpots in the two lottery games grow so large because the steep odds make winning so unlikely, allowing the grand prize to roll over again and again. The last time someone beat Mega Millions’ odds of 1 in 203.5 million and won a jackpot was April 18 — that’s 27 drawings without a big winner.The game pays out many more smaller prizes, which start at $2. The overall odds of winning any prize is 1 in 24.The $820 million prize for Tuesday night’s drawing is for a sole winner who chooses payment through...

McCarthy makes most direct impeachment threat against Biden to date

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

(CNN) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested that House Republicans may be approaching the point where they’d pursue an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, the California Republican’s most explicit threat of impeaching the president to date.“We’ve only followed where the information has taken us. But Hannity, this is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed,” McCarthy told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday.McCarthy’s comments come amid a series of congressional investigations in the Republican-led House that have targeted Biden, his administration and his family members – most prominently his son Hunter. House Republicans have demanded that US Attorney David Weiss, a Donald Trump appointee, answer questions about allegations from two IRS whistleblowers that the tax investigation in the Hunter Biden criminal probe was tainted by political int...

Bill Belichick provides training camp update on JuJu Smith-Schuster, other key starters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots have one less thing to worry about as they get ready for training camp practices to being Wednesday morning.Defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, who skipped mandatory minicamp, has reported for training camp, ESPN reported Tuesday morning. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was hopeful Tuesday morning that the circumstances that kept Guy out of minicamp — a situation reportedly believed to be “contract related,” per ESPN — were resolved.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots training camp 2023 preview: Bold predictions, breakout players and cut candidates New England Patriots | Patriots training camp countdown No. 1: What will Bill O’Brien’s offense look like? New England Patriots | Patriots 53-man roster projection: Pats keep just five receivers New England Patriots | Patriots sign WR Jalen Hurd, ex-Navy LB Diego Fagot to fill out roster New England Pa...

Bill Belichick explains why the Patriots extended DeVante Parker, Ja’Whaun Bentley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

FOXBORO — Between the time the Patriots last hit the field for minicamp and began preparing for their return this week with the start of training camp, the front office kept busy.In late June, the Patriots extended wide receiver DeVante Parker on a 2-year, $10.8 million contract with $9.1 million in guarantees. Parker can make up to $33 million over the length of his revised 3-year deal. Parker, who had been entering a contract year, caught 31 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns last season. He is now signed through 2025.A day later, the team inked linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley to another extension and kept him from hitting the open market next spring. His new deal adds two years worth $13.1 million, including $9 million guaranteed. Bentley is coming off a career year when he posted 125 tackles, three sacks, six QB hits and two pass deflections.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick expects Patriots CB Jack Jones to practice amid legal situa...

Bill Belichick expects Patriots CB Jack Jones to practice amid legal situation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

FOXBORO — Cornerback Jack Jones will be on the field as the Patriots open training camp at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday morning despite his ongoing legal situation.Patriots head coach Bill Belichick confirmed in his pre-training camp press conference Tuesday morning that Jones will continue to practice with the team.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots training camp 2023 preview: Bold predictions, breakout players and cut candidates New England Patriots | Patriots training camp countdown No. 1: What will Bill O’Brien’s offense look like? New England Patriots | Patriots 53-man roster projection: Pats keep just five receivers New England Patriots | Patriots sign WR Jalen Hurd, ex-Navy LB Diego Fagot to fill out roster New England Patriots | Patriots 2023 training camp: The top 5 position battles in Foxboro “Yeah, Jack will be out there,” Belichick said. “Legal situation that I...

Yankees, Mets enter Subway Series looking for more than bragging rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

The latest Subway Series comes with much more on the line than bragging rights for the Yankees and Mets.Both teams, built with win-now rosters filled with expensive veterans, enter this week’s two-game set at Yankee Stadium outside of the postseason picture and running out of time to establish themselves as the contenders many expected them to be.For the Yankees (53-47), Tuesday and Wednesday’s games represent the final soft spots on their schedule before back-to-back-to-back series against the likely postseason-bound Orioles, Rays and Astros.The Yankees are coming off a three-game sweep of the 28-73 Royals, but they’re still just 8-11 in July and two games behind the Blue Jays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.“Any team we play, we need to make sure we’re ready to go in this clubhouse before we take the field,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said after going 4-for-4 in Sunday’s win. “The Mets coming, it’s going...

Opposition in Kenya gathers evidence of ‘police atrocities’ against protesters to take to the ICC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Opposition parties in Kenya said on Tuesday they are filing charges against the government for “police atrocities” that left 30 people dead at the International Criminal Court in the wake of protests against the rising cost of living and the levying of new taxes.Opposition coalition leader Raila Odinga called for a press conference in the capital, Nairobi, announcing that his party was “assembling more evidence” of police brutality against protesters. He also said they were gathering evidence to prove “the targeting of people” from his “Luo ethnic community” living in western Kenya, where protesters were admitted to hospital with bullet-related injuries.Police have been accused of shooting at protesters using live bullets in areas where the opposition enjoys wide political support.There has been no immediate comment from the government.In the last three weeks, protests have spread across Kenya with people calling out President William Ruto’s administration over...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens mixed ahead of Big Tech earnings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:51:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening mixed Tuesday as Wall Street waits to hear from some of its most influential companies, and whether their huge rally this year was justified. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading, still near its highest level in more than 15 months. The Dow slipped 20 points, less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4%. General Electric jumped 6.5% after reporting stronger profit for the spring than analysts expected. GE also raised its forecasts. Alphabet and Microsoft report after trading closes. The Federal Reserve began its latest meeting on interest rates.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures were mixed Tuesday after China’s ruling Communist Party promised to shore up its sagging economy ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting traders hope will announce this interest rate cycle’s final increase.London and Shanghai advanced while Tokyo and Pari...