NEW YORK (AP) — It’s that time of year: Spotify has released its annual Wrapped, personalized recaps of users’ listening habits and year in audio. Spotify has been giving its listeners breakdowns of their data since 2016. And each year, it’s become a bigger production — and internet sensation. Spotify said was the “biggest ever created,” in terms of audience reach and the kind of data it provided. So, what does 2024 have in store? Here’s a look at what to know. What exactly is Spotify Wrapped? It’s the streaming service’s annual overview of individual listening trends, as well as trends around the world. Users learn their top artists, songs, genres, albums and podcasts, all wrapped into one interactive presentation. The campaign has become a social media sensation, as people share and compare their Wrapped data with their friends and followers online. Wrapped provides users with all kinds of breakdowns and facts, including whether they’re among an artist’s top listeners, as well as a personalized playlist of their top 100 songs of that year to save, share and listen to whenever they’re feeling nostalgic. Spotify also creates a series of playlists that reflect national and global listening trends, featuring the top streamed artists and songs. In 2023, , unseating Bad Bunny who had held the title for three years in a row. She followed by The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Drake and Billie Eilish. Where can I find my Spotify Wrapped? You should make sure your Spotify app is in order to get the full Wrapped experience. Wrapped is available to users with and without Premium subscriptions. Starting Wednesday, Spotify will prompt users to view their interactive data roundup on their smartphone or desktop app. You can also visit to find a QR code for that takes you straight to your data presentation. What else can I learn with my Spotify data? There are a handful of third-party sites that you can connect your Spotify account to that will analyze your Wrapped data. is an AI bot that judges your music taste. gives you your top songs on a sharable graphic that looks like, yes, a receipt. gives you your own personal music festival-style lineup based on your top artists. assesses how similar your music taste is to NPR Music’s. What if I don’t have Spotify? Other major streaming platforms such as Apple Music and YouTube Music have developed their own versions of Wrapped in recent years. not only gives its subscribers a year-end digest of their listening habits but monthly summaries as well — a feature that helps differentiate itself from the one-time Spotify recap. It was released on Dec. 3. YouTube Music, meanwhile, has a similar end-of-the-year release for its listeners, as well as periodic seasonal releases throughout the year. It released its annual Recap for users last month.NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Justin Thomas was long off the tee and made a few long putts on the back nine to overtake Scottie Scheffler with a 6-under 66 and build a one-shot lead Saturday over golf's best player going into the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Thomas is trying out a 46-inch driver — a little more than an inch longer than normal — that he previously used for practice at home to gain speed and length. He blasted a 361-yard drive to 8 feet on the par-4 seventh hole and led the field in driving distance. But it was a few long putts that put him ahead of Scheffler, who had a 69. Thomas was on the verge of falling two shots behind when he made an 18-foot par putt on the par-3 12th hole. On the reachable par-4 14th, he was in a nasty spot in a sandy area and could only splash it out to nearly 50 feet. He made that one for a most unlikely birdie, while behind him Scheffler muffed a chip on the 13th hole and made his lone bogey of a windy day. Scheffler never caught up to him, missing birdie chances on the reachable 14th and the par-5 15th. Thomas hit his approach to 3 feet for birdie on the 16th after a 343-yard drive. Scheffler made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th to close within one. Scheffler missed birdie chances on the last two holes from the 10-foot and 15-foot range, while Thomas missed an 8-foot birdie attempt at the last. “I had a stretch at 13, 14, 15 where I felt like I lost a shot or two there, but outside of that I did a lot of really good things today,” Scheffler said. Thomas hasn't won since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, and a victory at Albany Golf Club wouldn't count as an official win. But the two-time major champion has made steady progress toward getting his game back in order. “I'm driving it great. I've had a lot of confidence with it,” Thomas said of his longer driver. “I feel like I've been able to put myself in some pretty good spots going into the green. I’m still not taking advantage of some of them as much as I would like, but that’s golf and we're always going to say that.” Thomas was at 17-under 199 and will be in the final group Sunday with Scheffler, who is trying to end his spectacular season with a ninth title. Tom Kim put himself in the mix, which he might not have imagined Thursday when he was 3 over through six holes of the holiday tournament. Kim got back in the game with a 65 on Friday, and then followed with 12 birdies for a 62. He had a shot at the course record — Rickie Fowler shot 61 in the final round when he won at Albany in 2017 — until Kim found a bunker and took two shots to reach the green in making a double bogey on the par-3 17th. Even so, he was only two shots behind. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was four back. “Feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s all I can do,” Thomas said. “I can’t control everybody else or what’s going on, I’ve just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it’s enough come Sunday.” AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Two fourth-quarter touchdowns powered top-seeded Archbishop Shaw to 28-25 victory over E.D. White in the Division II select title game that opened Friday’s action at the LHSAA Prep Classic. Michigan signee Jasper Parker ran for 174 yards on 19 carries and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 62-yard run with 8:59 left in the game played at the Caesars Superdome. Shaw (12-2) won its first LHSAA title since 1987. Quarterback Mason Wilson added 88 yards on 16 carries and also completed 10 of 19 passes for 111 yards for the Eagles of coach Hank Tierney, who also coached to its 1987 title. E.D. White (11-3) was led by quarterback Grant Barbera, who accounted for 177 total yards. Barbera completed 12 of 17 passes for 133 yards and also ran for 40 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Benjamin Guidry led EDW with 52 rushing yards on four carries. It was the first Prep Classic appearance for Thibodaux-based E.D. White since 1981, the inaugural year of the Prep Classic. The Cardinals were the runner-up to John Curtis that year were the Division II select runners-up to University High in 2021 final played at UL’s Cajun Field.
An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look onDETROIT — Fifty years later, a man who grew up in suburban Detroit tried to return a very overdue baseball book to his boyhood library. The answer: You can keep it — and no fine. Chuck Hildebrandt, 63, of Chicago said he visited the public library in Warren while in town for Thanksgiving, carrying a book titled "Baseball's Zaniest Stars." He borrowed it in 1974 as a 13-year-old "baseball nut" but never returned it. Chuck Hildebrandt of Chicago holds the book "Baseball's Zaniest Stars," which was due Dec. 4, 1974, at the Warren, Mich., library, on Dec. 10. "When you're moving with a bunch of books, you're not examining every book. You throw them in a box and go," said Hildebrandt, who lived in many cities. "But five or six years ago, I was going through the bookshelf and there was a Dewey decimal library number on the book. 'What is this?'" Inside the book was a slip of paper indicating it was due back at the Warren library on Dec. 4, 1974. Hildebrandt told The Associated Press he decided to keep the book until 2024 — the 50th anniversary — and then try to return it. He figured the library might want to publicize the long overdue exchange. Chuck Hildebrandt of Chicago shows the library slip in the overdue book "Baseball's Zaniest Stars" on Dec. 10. He said he recently met library director Oksana Urban, who listened to his pitch. Hildebrandt said he hasn't heard anything since then, though Urban told the Detroit Free Press that all is forgiven. "Some people never come back to face the music," she said of patrons with overdue books. "But there was really no music to face because he and the book were erased from our system." So "Baseball's Zaniest Stars" is back on Hildebrandt's shelf. In return, he's now trying to raise $4,564 for Reading is Fundamental , a nonprofit literacy group. The amount roughly represents a 50-year overdue library fine. Hildebrandt seeded the effort with $457. The Major League Baseball draft is unique among professional sports drafts. The 30 organizations pick teenagers and college students who will not join their big league clubs for years—if ever. These athletes will spend that time honing their craft in the minor leagues, where long bus rides and minuscule paychecks are the norm. A few will move quickly up the ranks, seizing playing time opportunities to advance their careers and making their names known to scouts, fans, and other observers around the country. Some of the best will become MLB stars, but there's minimal correlation to draft position. Four of the players on this list were picked after hundreds of other diamond darlings, and only two were #1 overall selections. There's also more than a handful who didn't do much for the teams that drafted them, including superstars such as Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, and Randy Johnson. Each of these players was traded before they evolved into Hall of Famers. Still, calling the draft a "crapshoot" might be going too far. College players are " slightly more likely " than high schoolers to reach the revered stadiums of the majors, and third-rounders have a better chance than fifth-rounders, for example, though the margins are slim, as Vice reported. Teams not only make picks based on years-in-advance projections but also whether they can sign players, a step that must be completed before those youngsters begin playing professionally. To see how clubs have fared since the inaugural draft in 1965, ATS.io compiled a list of the best draft pick by each franchise using data from Baseball Reference . The players were ranked using career wins above replacement , so not one recent choice was named. The amazing Mike Trout, a 32-year-old selected in 2009, is the youngest player. Unsigned picks were not considered, and players who were traded as picks were credited to their acquiring teams. Data is as of June 5, 2024. - Draft: 11th overall pick in 2006 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 457 - Career stats: 214 wins, 3.15 earned run average, 1.08 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.) - Wins above replacement: 75.0 - Draft: 1st overall pick in 1990 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,499 - Career stats: 468 home runs, .303 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Fla.) - Wins above replacement: 85.3 - Draft: 48th overall pick in 1978 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 3,001 - Career stats: 431 home runs, .276 batting average, .788 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Aberdeen HS (Aberdeen, Md.) - Wins above replacement: 95.9 - Draft: 19th overall pick in 1983 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 709 - Career stats: 354 wins, 3.12 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 139.2 - Draft: 31st overall pick in 1984 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 744 - Career stats: 355 wins, 3.16 earned run average, 1.14 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Valley HS (Las Vegas, Nev.) - Wins above replacement: 106.6 - Draft: 7th overall pick in 1989 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 2,322 - Career stats: 521 home runs, .301 batting average, .974 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.) - Wins above replacement: 73.8 - Draft: 36th overall pick in 1965 - Position: Catcher - Games played: 2,158 - Career stats: 389 home runs, .267 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Binger HS (Binger, Okla.) - Wins above replacement: 75.1 - Draft: 333rd overall pick in 1989 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,543 - Career stats: 612 home runs, .276 batting average, .956 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Illinois Central College (East Peoria, Ill.) - Wins above replacement: 73.1 - Draft: 8th overall pick in 1995 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 2,247 - Career stats: 369 home runs, .316 batting average, .953 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) - Wins above replacement: 61.8 - Draft: 2nd overall pick in 2004 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 518 - Career stats: 260 wins, 3.25 earned run average, 1.12 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) - Wins above replacement: 81.7 - Draft: 428th overall pick in 1988 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 2,103 - Career stats: 130 home runs, .299 batting average, .794 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) - Wins above replacement: 68.4 - Draft: 29th overall pick in 1971 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,707 - Career stats: 317 home runs, .305 batting average, .857 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: El Segundo HS (El Segundo, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 88.6 - Draft: 7th overall pick in 2006 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 425 - Career stats: 210 wins, 2.48 earned run average, 1.00 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Highland Park HS (Dallas, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 79.7 - Draft: 76th overall pick in 2007 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 1,589 - Career stats: 417 home runs, .258 batting average, .874 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 44.3 - Draft: 3rd overall pick in 1973 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,856 - Career stats: 251 home runs, .285 batting average, .772 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: William Howard Taft Charter HS (Woodland Hills, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 77.4 - Draft: 55th overall pick in 1969 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 692 - Career stats: 287 wins, 3.31 earned run average, 1.20 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Santiago HS (Garden Grove, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 94.5 - Draft: 295th overall pick in 1965 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 807 - Career stats: 324 wins, 3.19 earned run average, 1.25 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Alvin HS (Alvin, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 81.3 - Draft: 6th overall pick in 1992 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,747 - Career stats: 260 home runs, .310 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Central HS (Kalamazoo, Mich.) - Wins above replacement: 71.3 - Draft: 96th overall pick in 1976 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 3,081 - Career stats: 297 home runs, .279 batting average, .820 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Oakland Technical HS (Oakland, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 111.1 - Draft: 30th overall pick in 1971 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,404 - Career stats: 548 home runs, .268 batting average, .908 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) - Wins above replacement: 106.9 - Draft: 6th overall pick in 1985 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 2,986 - Career stats: 762 home runs, .298 batting average, 1.051 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Arizona State University (Tempe, Ariz.) - Wins above replacement: 162.8 - Draft: 86th overall pick in 1977 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,573 - Career stats: 28 home runs, .262 batting average, .666 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 76.9 - Draft: 2nd overall pick in 1985 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 1,976 - Career stats: 284 home runs, .303 batting average, .880 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, Miss.) - Wins above replacement: 56.5 - Draft: 1st overall pick in 1993 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,784 - Career stats: 696 home runs, .295 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Westminster Christian School (Miami, Fla.) - Wins above replacement: 117.6 - Draft: 3rd overall pick in 2006 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 1,986 - Career stats: 342 home runs, .264 batting average, .804 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 58.6 - Draft: 4th overall pick in 1986 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 486 - Career stats: 211 wins, 3.28 earned run average, 1.22 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.) - Wins above replacement: 67.8 - Draft: 17th overall pick in 1995 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 416 - Career stats: 203 wins, 3.38 earned run average, 1.18 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Arvada West HS (Arvada, Colo.) - Wins above replacement: 64.2 - Draft: 36th overall pick in 1985 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 618 - Career stats: 303 wins, 3.29 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 101.1 Data reporting by Karim Noorani. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. - Draft: 25th overall pick in 2009 - Position: Centerfielder - Games played: 1,518 - Career stats: 378 home runs, .299 batting average, .991 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Millville Senior HS (Millville, N.J.) - Wins above replacement: 86.1 - Draft: 402nd overall pick in 1999 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 3,080 - Career stats: 703 home runs, .296 batting average, .918 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods (Kansas City, Mo.) - Wins above replacement: 101.4 Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At the Westonaria agricultural park near Bekkersdal, east of Johannesburg , farm workers are busy tilling the soil and planting tomatoes and lettuce. Despite the hive of activity, there is silence around the park. Most people here are deaf and communicate using sign language. They are members of the Voiceout Deaf farming collective, started by entrepreneur Matebogo Victoria, to create a platform where deaf people can develop their skills in agriculture and find sustainable work. Victoria, who has a hearing disability herself, understood perfectly the challenges faced by deaf people when competing for opportunities with their counterparts who do not face the same challenge. While studying at the Tshwane University of Technology in the country's capital, Pretoria, Victoria had to attend classes with a hearing partner, as the university could not make the lectures accessible for her. It is an all-too-common challenge for deaf people, according to Victoria. “The government does not have facilities for communication (for deaf people). A lot of deaf people did not finish school. They cannot afford to travel far to reach schools, so normally they decide to leave school early,” said Victoria. Across South Africa, there are 44 schools for the deaf, offering sign language as a subject and using it as a medium of instruction. Most are based far from where the students live, which sometimes leads to them dropping out of school as families struggle to afford the transportation costs. Victoria, who used to work for Standard Bank, decided to leave her corporate job and start Voiceout as a way of allowing deaf people to gain agricultural skills. “I make things simple for them, it is like a family when they are here. They become very much happy when they are here but when they go outside of this space, it becomes difficult for them,” she said. For Sibongile Maake, the opportunity to learn agriculture in a space where co-workers can easily communicate with her in sign language was transformational. It has also afforded her an opportunity to earn a living and rely less on the welfare disability grants that are paid out by the government. “I’m happy working here, it’s (a) pleasure working here in the farm. I’m working slowly but surely and I am learning while also getting a salary. I can do things for myself, I can afford myself,” said Maake. Another worker, who said in sign language his name was John, said the challenges of communication reduced his chances of getting a job but the Voiceout Deaf project became a lifeline for him. “Communication is always a barrier, so coming here at the farm is very much better because they are able to communicate in my own language so it makes life much easier for me,” said John. He and other workers are responsible for various activities at the farm including cleaning, ploughing, planting and harvesting the produce. The demand for their vegetables was so great that Voiceout Deaf has taken on two other farms, where John and his colleagues also work. The project is breaking even: the farms currently supply some of the local supermarkets and chain stores with fresh produce. In other South African provinces like Limpopo and North West, provincial governments are looking at farming as a source of training and employment for disabled people. The farming sector is emerging as a solace for those with disabilities who also face the dire levels of unemployment in Africa’s most developed economy. As she goes around giving instructions monitoring activities on the farm, which consists of 10 greenhouses, Victoria laments how difficult it often is for people using sign language to understand the jargon of developed industries. The Pan South African Language Board is responsible for setting the country's standards for sign language. A constitutionally mandated body responsible for promoting the development and use of South African languages, it recently scored a victory by having Parliament approve sign language as South Africa’s 12th official language. However, the board sometimes struggles to keep up with fast-evolving business language, Victoria says. “The difficulty is that sign language has not developed to an extent that it covers technical jargon used in various sectors. It is the same in agriculture. There are certain technical words used that are there in spoken language but not in sign language," she explains. But beyond changing official attitudes, Victoria wants to inspire change in the farmers themselves. “We need them (the deaf farmers) to think out of the box about agriculture. They need to be empowered to understand that agriculture is involved in the production of other products like toothpastes, perfumes, medicines. This is where we have to improvise and find ways to communicate with them in the simplest way possible,” said Victoria. ___ For more news on Africa: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse ___ The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .Clintons urge voters agitated by today’s politics to remain involved in public service
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