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‘Naatu Naatu’ wins Oscar, brings musical spotlight to India

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — M.M. Keeravaani has brought the spotlight back to India after an Oscar musical win.Keeravaani won best original song for his joyously energetic anthem “Naatu Naatu” from the film “RRR.” The music was written by Keeravaani and lyrics by Chandrabose.Keeravaani delighted the Oscar audience by saying he grew up listening to The Carpenters and then began singing the band’s “Top of the World” with new lyrics, including “’RRR’ has to win/Pride of every Indian.”“Naatu Naatu” is one of the most memorable sequences from the the Telegu-language action epic “RRR” with its catchy tune and accompanying dance by actors Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.“Naatu Naatu” has become a viral sensation outside of the film, racking up more than 122 million views on YouTube and inspiring a TikTok challenge where users attempt to recreate the acrobatic dance-off. South Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok’s rendition went viral.In a recent interview, Keeravaani said he felt comp...

Deepika Padukone introduces ‘Naatu Naatu’ at Oscars

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bollywood star Deepika Padukone was on hand at the Oscars on Sunday to introduce the performance of best original song nominee (and later winner) “Naatu Naatu,” from “RRR.”In presenting the song, she noted its anti-colonialist themes — but it’s also “a total banger,” she said.The “Naatu Naatu” performance featured playback singers Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj flanking a squadron of high-energy dancers. The film’s lead actors, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan, did not perform.While Padukone is best known for her Hindi-language films, she got her start in South Indian cinema — her first movie was the Kannada-language “Aishwarya.” Already a global celebrity, the 37-year-old has had a major year outside of India. She also served on the jury at the 75th Cannes Film Festival last May and walked out the World Cup trophy alongside former Spain keeper Iker Casillas at the final in Qatar.She most recently starred opposite Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the hit “Pa...

Sunday rain and snow showers pepper Chicagoland area

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

Sunday: Overcast with snow/rain showers. Getting a bit breezy in the afternoon. SSE/SSW 10-20 mph. High: 37 Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Sunday night is looking cloudy with a few snow showers & breezy. 1" or less accumulation. W 10-20 mph with a low of 29. We are expecting snow showers Monday and colder weather. WNW 15-25, G30 mph with high of 32.Full forecast details at the WGN Weather CenterWe might have seen some snow but the current ice on the Great Lakes even less this week with only 8.8% surface coverage. Hardly any in Lake MI at all, none on the #Chicago shore where water temps are at 39 degrees.Extended outlook calls for some sunnier days for Tuesday and Wednesday with highs getting on Tuesday into the mid to upper 30s-- and Wednesday into the upper 40s with increasing clouds late in the day. Rain returns on Thursday with some mild temps in the mid to low 50s. Temps crash on Friday with rain/snow showers and temps falling into the 30s in the afternoo...

Political rallies draw mayoral candidates with runoff election just weeks away

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A pair of rallies involving mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas took place across Chicago Sunday.Community members from various organizations, including the Chicago Home Coalition, held an event Sunday afternoon in Logan Square to talk about community-led solutions to address housing and people facing homelessness in the city.“We are going to bring Chicago home and make sure that there’s affordable housing, public housing, a pathway to home ownership, and we’re gonna do it together," Johnson said at the event.Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa (35th), who was also in attendance Sunday in Logan Square, echoed Johnson's sentiments and called attention to helping the City's homeless population."It's a place we call home," Ramirez Rosa said. "For 65,611 Chicagoans, they do not have that sacred place. They do not have that hope."On the South Side, a rally took place Sunday evening at the Midwest Coalition for Stop the Violence in Englewood, the center of discussion bei...

'Everything' wins best picture, is everywhere at Oscars

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The metaphysical multiverse comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywood’s top prize Sunday, winning best picture at the 95th Academy Awards, along with awards for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.Though worlds away from Oscar bait, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s anarchic ballet of everything bagels, googly-eyed rocks and one messy tax audit emerged as an improbable Academy Awards heavyweight. The indie hit, A24’s second best-picture winner following “Moonlight,” won seven Oscars in all.Fifty years after “The Godfather” won at the Oscars, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” triumphed with a much different immigrant experience. Its eccentric tale about a Chinese immigrant family – just the second feature by the Daniels, as the filmmaking duo is known – blended science fiction and alternate realities in the story of an ordinary woman and laundromat owner.“Everything Everywhere,” released all the way back ...

New York declares March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, issues proclamation

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y.(NEWS10) - Buildings throughout New York were lit up in a hue of blue to shine a light on Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The Governor’s office issuing a proclamation on Sunday. Missing Mechanicville man found dead in abandoned Troy home The American Cancer Society says that colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the country. Affecting one out of 23 men and one out of 26 women.Capital Region man Jonny Puglia has been battling the cancer for 5 years.“I got diagnosed at 30 so and that's pretty alarming for colorectal cancer because you don't think of it that way we think of it as an older person disease,” said Puglia.In 2021 the age for a colonoscopy was lowered from 50 to 45 in an effort of early detection.At a time when most young folks are beginning life, Puglia says cancer victims like himself have other things to live for.““You're 30 years old and all the other friends are buying houses, getting relationships, getting married going on va...

Blue Alert: 2 Hermann police officers shot; suspect at large

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

HERMANN, Mo. - The Missouri State Highway Patrol issued a Blue Alert late Sunday evening after two officers with the Hermann Police Department were shot.The shooting happened just before 9:20 p.m. at the Casey's General Store in the 800 block of Market Street, in Hermann.Hermann is located approximately 75 miles west of St. Louis, along the Missouri River. Altercation inside Creve Coeur store leads to parking lot shooting Kenneth Lee SimpsonState police claim Kenneth Lee Simpson is the shooter.Simpson, 35, stands 5'10" tall and weighs approximately 180 pounds. He has hazel eyes and red hair.Simpson was driving a black 2014 Jeep Wrangler with Missouri license plates RF5A0P.The circumstances of the shooting were not disclosed. There's been no word on the condition of the officers, either.Anyone with information on Simpson's whereabouts is asked to contact their local law enforcement agency.

Back to the dance: CU Buffs women’s basketball earns No. 6 seed in NCAA Tournament

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

As a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, there should not have been many nerves from the Colorado women’s basketball team on Sunday.Being one of the last teams revealed for the field of 68 during ESPN’s selection show did create a bit of anxiety, however.“I just was excited to see our name pop up,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “We waited so long that a couple of our players said, ‘Are you sure we’re in?’ I’m like, ‘Yes we’re in, don’t worry.’”The 20th-ranked Buffaloes are in, landing the No. 6 seed in the Seattle 4 region. CU (23-8) will face 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee (28-4) on Saturday in Durham, N.C. The time of the game will be announced on Monday.The winner will face the winner of No. 3 seed Duke and No. 14 seed Iona on March 20. Duke is hosting the subregional.Middle Tennessee is ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, won the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles and brings a 10-game winning streak into the matchup with CU.The Buffs have never faced the Blue Raiders, and ...

College basketball: San Jose State Spartans return to postseason in CBI

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

San Jose State’s breakthrough season isn’t over yet, with the Spartans accepting a bid Sunday night to play in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).This is San Jose’s first postseason appearance since 2011, when the Spartans also played in the CBI. SJSU has reached the postseason for the sixth time in school history and the Spartans are still looking for their first win.In their second season under head coach Tim Miles, the Spartans (20-13) are the No. 2 seed in the 16-team, single-elimination tournament. They’ll face Southern Indiana (16-16) on Friday at 9:30 a.m. (Pacific). The game will be streamed live on FloHoops.com.San Jose State beat Nevada 81-77 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament last Thursday, giving the Spartans their first 20-win season since 1980-81. San Jose State finished fifth in the MWC during the regular season with a 10-8 record, and their win over Nevada was it’s first ever in the conference’s tournament.S...

Aleksei Navalny’s Stanford daughter honors dad on Oscars stage

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:29:40 GMT

The 21-year-old daughter of Aleksei Navalny joined her mother and brother on stage at the 95th Academy Awards Sunday to celebrate the best documentary award going to “Navalny,” a portrait of how the imprisoned Russian opposition leader investigated his own poisoning after he stood up to the dictatorship of President Vladimir Putin.Dasha Navalnaya, a junior at Stanford University, held back tears as “Navalny” director Daniel Rohrer praised their family’s courage and dedicated the award to her father, saying, “To all political prisoners around the world, Aleksei, the world has not forgotten your vital message to us all. We cannot, we must not be afraid to oppose dictatorship and authoritarianism whereever it reads its head.”Dasha Navalnaya and her brother, Zakhar, also listened as mother Yulia Navalnaya briefly went to the podium and said, “My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending dem...