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The NBA has been playing to a hip-hop beat for nearly 50 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

From his booth at the corner of the court, Miami Heat disc jockey M Dot has a front-row look at the harmonious fusion of basketball and music.M Dot — real name Michael Hankerson — has watched LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to Jimmy Butler nod their heads in pregame layup lines to songs from artists like Drake and Jeezy. He’s seen fans mumble song lyrics between cheers, and rap artists hype up the crowd during timeouts.It’s a relationship that began in the late 1970s, early ’80s as hip-hop was taking flight, and so was a new NBA era.Today, basketball games are like a playground for the sounds of hip-hop — the unmistakable music genre infused with rhythmic beats and vivid storytelling.Just as a movie soundtrack helps viewers follow the action of the narrative through each plot twist, hip-hop has done the same for basketball via the NBA. Over the past five decades, the genre has inserted lyrics, beats and culture into the sport’s DNA. Now, as hip-hop reaches its 50th an...

Vertex Energy: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — HOUSTON (AP) — Vertex Energy Inc. (VTNR) on Wednesday reported a loss of $81.4 million in its second quarter.The Houston-based company said it had a loss of $1.03 per share. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 55 cents per share.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 32 cents per share.The environmental services company posted revenue of $734.9 million in the period, surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $729.2 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on VTNR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/VTNRSource

First Advantage: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — ATLANTA (AP) — First Advantage Corp. (FA) on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit of $9.8 million.The Atlanta-based company said it had net income of 7 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 24 cents per share.The results matched Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 24 cents per share.The provider of background screening services posted revenue of $185.3 million in the period.First Advantage expects full-year earnings in the range of $1 to $1.07 per share, with revenue in the range of $770 million to $810 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FASource

Los hijos del sospechoso de los asesinatos de Gilgo Beach son “testigos inocentes… atrapados en un infierno”, dice su abogado

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

(CNN) — Los hijos adultos del hombre acusado de homicidio en los asesinatos de Gilgo Beach en Nueva York son “testigos absolutamente inocentes que se vieron atrapados en un infierno”, dijo este martes a CNN el abogado que representa a los hijos del sospechoso, Rex Heuermann.El abogado, Vess Mitev, dijo que sus clientes Christopher Sheridan, de 34 años, y Victoria Heuermann, de 26 años, han estado luchando en los días transcurridos desde que su padre, Rex Heuermann, fue detenido el mes pasado en el caso de alto perfil.Los investigadores registraron de forma invasiva la casa de la familia en Long Island, y los hermanos no han tenido acceso a dinero ni siquiera para comprar comida porque las cuentas han estado bloqueadas por la investigación, dijo Mitev. Mitev está intentando garantizar la protección de sus derechos durante la investigación.“Tienen derechos y recursos que deben ser protegidos”, dijo Mitev. “Entre ellos se incluyen los siguientes paso...

Townsquare: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — PURCHASE, N.Y. (AP) — Townsquare Media Inc. (TSQ) on Wednesday reported a loss of $3.2 million in its second quarter.The Purchase, New York-based company said it had a loss of 19 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 18 cents per share.The operator of radio stations in small and mid-sized markets posted revenue of $121.2 million in the period.For the current quarter ending in September, Townsquare said it expects revenue in the range of $115 million to $117 million.The company expects full-year revenue in the range of $450 million to $470 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TSQ at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TSQSource

LifeStance Health: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — LifeStance Health Group Inc. (LFST) on Wednesday reported a loss of $45.5 million in its second quarter.The Scottsdale, Arizona-based company said it had a loss of 13 cents per share.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 9 cents per share.The outpatient mental health services provider posted revenue of $259.6 million in the period, which topped Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $254.7 million.For the current quarter ending in September, LifeStance Health said it expects revenue in the range of $250 million to $260 million.The company expects full-year revenue in the range of $1.01 billion to $1.04 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LFST at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LFSTSource

Hip-hop was born in the Bronx amid poverty, despair. 50 years later, there’s pride, still hard times

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

BRONX, NEW YORK (AP) — Before it was a global movement, it was simply an expression of life and struggle: a culture that was synonymous with hardship and suffering, but also grit, resilience and creativity. Hip-hop rose from the ashes of a borough ablaze with poverty, urban decay and gang violence. It was music that “had the sound of a city in collapse, but also had an air of defiance,” said Mark Naison, history professor at Fordham University in the Bronx. Block parties and the various elements of hip-hop served as an outlet for creativity and an escape from the hardships of daily life.The four foundational elements of hip-hop — DJing or turntablism, MCing or rapping, B-boying or break dancing and graffiti “writing” — emerged from the Bronx as a “cultural response to a community that was institutionally abandoned,” said Rodrigo Venegas, also known as “Rodstarz” of the hip-hop duo Rebel Diaz, made up of two Chilean brothers in the Bronx. “You want to cut our art programs? We’r...

Geo Group: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Geo Group Inc. (GEO) on Wednesday reported second-quarter earnings of $29.6 million.The Boca Raton, Florida-based company said it had net income of 20 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time items, came to 24 cents per share.The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 20 cents per share.The private prison operator posted revenue of $593.9 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $588.3 million.For the current quarter ending in September, Geo Group said it expects revenue in the range of $588 million to $603 million.The company expects full-year revenue of $2.4 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GEO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/GEOSource

Lumber Liquidators: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — LL Flooring Holdings, Inc. (LL) on Wednesday reported a loss of $39 million in its second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said it had a loss of $1.35. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.28 per share.The hardwood floors retailer posted revenue of $236.4 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LLSource

Hip-hop turns 50, reinventing itself and swaths of the world along the way

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:32:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It was born in the break, all those decades ago — that moment when a song’s vocals dropped, instruments quieted down and the beat took the stage. It was then that hip-hop came into the world, taking the moment and reinventing it. Something new, coming out of something familiar.At the hands of the DJs playing the albums, that break moment became something more: a composition in itself, repeated in an endless loop, back and forth between the turntables. The MCs got in on it, speaking their own clever rhymes and wordplay over it. So did the dancers, the b-boys and b-girls who hit the floor to break-dance. It took on its own visual style, with graffiti artists bringing it to the streets and subways of New York City.It didn’t stay there, of course. A musical form, a culture, with reinvention as its very DNA would never, could never. Hip-hop spread, from the parties to the parks, through New York City’s boroughs and then the region, around the country and the world.A...