We’re lifting off with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending Feb. 24, 2018.

Does our top song change this week? No. Do any songs change this week? No. So if you liked last week’s chart, you’ll love this one as well.

Number 5: Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage “Rockstar” 

Post Malone and 21 Savage hold in fifth place with their former champ “Rockstar.”

It seems to be the new trend: When two artists have a hit song, they take it on the road. Post and 21 Savage will tour together beginning on April 26 in Portland, Oregon. Twenty-eight dates later, it all ends on June 24 in San Francisco.

Number 4: Camila Cabello Featuring Young Thug “Havana”

Our fourth-place hit is “Havana” from Camila Cabello and Young Thug. Or should I say Camila Cabello and SEX. That’s right: This week, Young Thug took to Twitter to announce that he was changing his name to SEX — in capital letters. This may be a case of history repeating itself: Two years ago, he supposedly changed his name to “Jefferey,” which turned out to be the title of a mix tape.

Number 3: Bruno Mars & Cardi B. “Finesse”

Bruno Mars and Cardi B remain themselves this week, as “Finesse” stays put at No. 3.

Rumors have been swirling around a possible Cardi B pregnancy, but Offset of Migos just shut them down. Cardi B’s fiance tells TMZ that he already has three kids, and that Cardi is not expecting.

Number 2: Ed Sheeran “Perfect”

We all thought Ed Sheeran was Cherry Seaborn’s fiance — but is he much more?

Last month, Ed announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend Seaborn, but now fans think they may already be married. On February 19, Ed performed at the O2 in London, where he sparked marriage rumors by wearing a gold band on his ring finger. So far, the singer has made no comment.

Number 1: Drake “God’s Plan”

Up at No. 1, Drake rules the roost for a third week with “God’s Plan.” The video features Drake making nearly $1 million in charitable donations in the Miami area. Drake calls it the most important thing he’s done in his career — and it also earned high praise from fellow chart star Justin Bieber. On February 19, Justin took to Instagram to hail it as the best video he’s ever seen.

Can Drake last an even month at the top? We’ll find out next week.
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From: MeNeedIt

American cities are becoming safer as violent crime decreases nationwide. But the city of Baltimore is an exception. Amy Berbert, a local artist whose photography project “Remembering the Stains on the Sidewalk” aims to bring awareness and compassion to the frequently forgotten victims of Baltimore’s homicides. Gabrielle Weiss reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

More than 40,000 middle-school-aged engineering students from around the world recently competed to design the city of the future. The competition started in the fall of 2017 and culminated in a grand-prize ceremony this week in Washington. Arash Arabasadi has more.
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From: MeNeedIt

U.S. President Donald Trump has called a meeting early next week with key senators and Cabinet officials to discuss potential changes to biofuels policy, which is coming under increasing pressure after a Pennsylvania refiner blamed the regulation for its bankruptcy, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

The meeting comes as the oil industry and corn lobby clash over the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a decade-old regulation that requires refiners to cover the cost of mixing biofuels such as corn-based ethanol into their fuel.

Trump’s engagement reflects the high political stakes of protecting jobs in a key electoral state. Oil refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which employs more than 1,000 people in Philadelphia, declared bankruptcy last month and blamed the regulation for its demise.

Oil, farm state senators

The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, will include Republican Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa, along with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, and potentially Energy Secretary Rick Perry, according to the four sources, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

One source said the meeting would focus on short-term solutions to help PES continue operating. PES is asking a bankruptcy judge to shed roughly $350 million of its current RFS compliance costs, owed to the EPA which administers the program, as part of its restructuring package.

The other sources said the meeting will consider whether to cap prices for biofuel credits, let higher-ethanol blends be sold all year, and efforts to get speculators out of the market.

Officials at the EPA, Agriculture Department, and Energy Department declined to comment. A White House official, Kelly Love, said she had no announcement on the matter at this time.

The offices of Cruz, Ernst and Grassley did not immediately return requests for comment.

The sources said the options moving forward would be constrained by political and legal realities that have derailed previous efforts at reform.

The Trump administration has considered changes to the RFS sought by refiners this year, including reducing the amount of biofuels required to be blended annually under the regulation or shifting the responsibility for blending to supply terminals, only to retreat in the face of opposition from corn-state lawmakers.

​Narrow options, broad resistance

The EPA is expected to weigh in officially in the coming weeks on request by PES to the bankruptcy judge to be released from its compliance obligations. But any such move would likely draw a backlash from other U.S. refiners, who have no hope of receiving a waiver.

Under the RFS, refiners must earn or purchase blending credits called RINs to prove they are complying with the regulation. As biofuels volume quotas have increased, so have prices for the credits, meaning refiners that invested in blending facilities have benefited while those that have not, such as PES, have had to pay up.

PES said its RFS compliance costs exceeded its payroll last year, and ranked only behind the cost of purchasing crude oil.

Other issues may have contributed to PES’ financial difficulties. Reuters reported that PES’ investor backers withdrew from the company more than $594 million in a series of dividend-style distributions since 2012, even as regional refining economics slumped.

Regulators and lawmakers have been considering how to cut the cost of the RFS to the oil industry.

In recent months, for example, the EPA has contemplated expanding its use of an exemption available to small refineries, a move that would likely push down RIN prices, but which both the oil and corn industries have said would be unfair.

Cruz last year proposed limiting the price of RINs to 10 cents, a fraction of their current value — an idea that was roundly rejected by the ethanol industry as a disincentive for new ethanol blending infrastructure investment.

Senator John Cornyn, also a Texas Republican, is preparing draft legislation to overhaul the RFS in Congress that would include the creation of a new specialized RIN credit intended to push down prices, but it too faces resistance from both the corn and oil lobbies.
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From: MeNeedIt

The U.S. Defense Department supports moves by the Commerce Department to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, although it would prefer a system of targeted tariffs rather than a global quota or a global tariff.

The Commerce Department on Feb. 16 recommended that President Donald Trump impose steep curbs on steel imports from China and other countries and offered the three options to the president, who has yet to make a decision.

The Defense Department said in a statement issued Thursday that it was concerned about the potential impact on U.S. allies of the proposed measures and said that was the reason it preferred targeted tariffs.

It recommended that while the tariffs on steel should proceed, the administration should wait before pressing ahead with the measures on aluminum.

“The prospect of trade action on aluminum may be sufficient to coerce improved behavior of bad actors,” the department said.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said last week that Trump would have the final say on what measures to adopt.
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From: MeNeedIt

Malaysian police said a popular ethnic Chinese rapper has been detained over complaints that his latest music video featuring dancers wearing dog masks and performing “obscene” moves insulted Islam and could hurt racial harmony.

It was the second time in two years that Wee Meng Chee, popularly known as Namewee, has been investigated over his music videos.

Police said in a statement that Wee was detained Thursday after they received four public complaints that his video marking the Chinese year of the dog had “insulted Islam and could negatively impact racial unity and harmony.”

In the video entitled “Like a Dog,” Wee sits on a chair in a public square in the government administrative capital of Putrajaya with dancers wearing dog masks around him. Several of them mimic the “doggy-style” sex move. A green domed building in the background led some people to speculate it was filmed in front of a mosque, leading to criticism, but Wee later said it was the prime minister’s office.

The song includes the sounds of dog barks from various countries. In an apparent reference to government corruption, Wee sings that dogs in Malaysia go “mari mari, wang wang,” which in the Malay language means “come come, money money.”

Dogs are considered unclean by Muslims, who account for 60 percent of Malaysia’s 32 million people.

Several ministers have called for Wee to be arrested. He has defended the video as a form of entertainment and said he has no intention of disrespecting any race or religion.

Earlier Thursday, Wee posted a picture on Facebook of himself at the federal police headquarters as he was wanted by police for questioning.

“I am not afraid because I believe Malaysia has justice,” he said.

Previous controversies

In 2016, he was detained after enraged Malay Islamic activists lodged complaints that a video titled “Oh My God,” which was filmed in front of various places of worship and used the word “Allah,” which means God in the Malay language, was rude and disrespectful to Islam. He was not charged.

In one of his earliest videos, he mocked the national anthem and was criticized for racial slurs. He also produced a movie that was banned by the government in 2014 for portraying national agencies in a negative way.

Race and religion are sensitive issues in Malaysia, where the ethnic Malay majority has generally lived peacefully with large Chinese and Indian minorities since racial riots in 1969 left at least 200 people dead.
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From: MeNeedIt

Twenty years after winning the first Olympic gold medal in women’s ice hockey in Nagano, Japan, the United States defeated its archnemesis, Canada, in a 3-2 shootout Thursday in the gold medal game at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson scored the go-ahead goal in the sixth round of the shootout with a dazzling move against Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados, then watched as teammate and goalie Maddie Rooney stopped Meghan Agosta to snap Canada’s streak of four straight Olympic gold medals, as well as its 24-game Olympic winning streak. Thursday’s final was the first shootout in a women’s gold medal game, which has been dominated by the North American squads.

Finland won the bronze medal with a 3-2 win over the Russia on Wednesday.

The U.S. victory came 38 years to the day when the U.S. men’s team upset the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, New York, in the “Miracle on Ice” game.

​On the slopes

In Alpine skiing, Sweden’s Andre Myhrer was the surprise gold medalist in the men’s slalom, finishing 0.34 seconds ahead of silver medalist Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland. The 35-year-old Myhrer became the oldest man to win Olympic gold in the slalom after the favorites, Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen and Austria’s Marcel Hirscher, failed to complete their first runs. Austria’s Michael Matt, whose brother Mario won gold in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, took the bronze medal.

Twenty-four-year-old Michelle Giffin of Switzerland took the gold medal in the women’s combined, with Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States finishing nearly a second behind to win the silver medal, and compatriot Wendy Holdener taking home the bronze. American Lindsey Vonn, the leader in the downhill section, failed the finish the slalom portion in her final Winter Olympics.

Elsewhere, American freestyle skier David Wise won his second consecutive gold medal in the men’s half-pipe event, his score of 97.20 edging out compatriot Alex Ferreira, who took the silver. Sixteen-year-old Nico Porteous of New Zealand won the bronze.

Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser won the gold medal in the Olympic debut of the women’s Big Air snowboarding event, with American Jamie Anderson, who won gold last week in the slopestyle, coming in second. Another 16-year-old New Zealander, Zoi Sadowski Synnott, took home the bronze medal.

Doping violation

Away from the ice rinks and ski slopes, Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky has been stripped of his bronze medal after admitting to a doping violation. Krushelnitsky tested positive for the banned substance meldonium after winning the mixed doubles bronze with his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova.

Meldonium is a drug designed for people with heart problems and some believe it can help athletes increase stamina. It was banned in sports in 2016.

Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova was suspended for 15 months after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in 2016.

Russia’s national team was banned from Pyeongchang over a major doping scandal dating back to the Sochi Games, but 168 Russian athletes have been allowed to compete under the neutral Olympic Athletes from Russian banner. The latest incident could keep the Russians from being reinstated and marching under the national flag at Sunday’s closing ceremony.
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From: MeNeedIt

African-American moviegoers flocked into theaters across the country to watch the latest installment in Marvel’s cinematic universe, “Black Panther.” The film, featuring an African prince who becomes a superhero after his father’s death, shattered box office expectations, earning $242 million in its first four days. For many in the black community, the film has become an affirmation of pride in their African roots. Jesusemen Oni reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

Under the bright sun of a remote desert in Oman, a group of astronauts and scientists is simulating Life on Mars. They hope their experiments today will pave the way for an actual trip to Mars, the red planet, within decades. Faiza Elmasry has this story narrated by Faith Lapidus.
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From: MeNeedIt

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday updated guidance to public companies on how and when they should disclose cybersecurity risks and breaches, including potential weaknesses that have not yet been targeted by hackers.

The guidance also said company executives must not trade in a firm’s securities while possessing nonpublic information on cybersecurity attacks. The SEC encouraged companies to consider adopting specific policies restricting executive trading in shares while a hack is being investigated and before it is disclosed.

The SEC, in unanimously approving the additional guidance, said it would promote “clearer and more robust disclosure” by companies facing cybersecurity issues, according to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, a Republican.

Democrats on the commission reluctantly supported the guidance, describing it as a paltry step taken in the wake of a raft of high-profile hacks at major companies that exposed millions of Americans’ personal information. They called for much more rigorous rule-making to police disclosure around cybersecurity issues, or requiring certain cybersecurity policies at public companies.

Commissioner Robert Jackson said the new document “essentially reiterates years-old staff-level views on this issue,” and pointed to analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers that finds companies frequently under-report cybersecurity events to investors.

The SEC first issued guidance in 2011 on cybersecurity disclosures.

“It may provide investors a false sense of comfort that we, at the Commission, have done something more than we have,” Commissioner Kara Stein, another Democrat, said in a statement. Significant breaches have included those at Equifax Inc. consumer credit reporting agency, and at the SEC itself.

The agency announced in September its corporate filing system, known as EDGAR, was breached by hackers in 2016 and may have been used for insider trading. The matter is under review.

The new guidance will mean that corporations disclose more information about cyberattacks and risks and take steps to ensure no insider trading can occur around those events, said several attorneys who advise businesses on the subject.

“This essentially creates a mandatory new disclosure category — cybersecurity risks and incidents,” said Spencer Feldman, an attorney with Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP.

Craig A. Newman, a partner with Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, said the SEC guidance “makes clear that it doesn’t want a repeat of the Equifax situation.”
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From: MeNeedIt

Cigarettes are not the only type of tobacco products that can lead to premature death or fatalities from smoking-related cancers, a U.S. study confirms.

While people who exclusively smoke cigarettes have twice the risk of premature death from all causes compared to people who avoid tobacco altogether, exclusive cigar smokers have a 20 percent higher risk of early death, researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine.

When it comes to fatalities from specific cancers that have been tied to tobacco use, cigarette smokers have four times the risk of people who never used tobacco, but cigar smokers are 61 percent more likely to die of these cancers and pipe users have 58 percent higher odds.

“We knew exclusive users of cigars and pipes were at greater risk of disease than people who do not use tobacco,” said lead study author Carol Christensen of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products. “However, this study provides information that reflects today’s patterns of tobacco use.”

These data “underscore the importance of complete quitting,” Christensen said by email.

For the study, researchers examined nationally representative survey data, collected starting in 1985, from 357,420 participants who were followed through 2011. 

Overall, 203,071 people, or about 57 percent, never used tobacco at all. Another 57,251 participants were current daily cigarette smokers, while 9,414 said they had a less frequent habit and 77,773 were former cigarette smokers.

In addition, 531 people were current daily cigar smokers, while 608 individuals used cigars less frequently and 2,398 had quit.

For pipes, 1,099 participants had a current daily habit, while 78 people used pipes less often and 5,237 had quit.

During the study period, 51,150 people died of all causes.

With a daily cigarette, cigar or pipe habit, people had an elevated risk of death from tobacco-related cancers including malignancies of the bladder, esophagus, larynx, lung, mouth and throat, and pancreas.

Nondaily users

Even with a nondaily cigarette habit, people were more than six times more likely to die of lung cancer than individuals who never used tobacco. They also had more than seven times the risk of dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, more than four times the odds of death from oral cancers, and 43 percent higher odds of death from a circulatory system disorder.

Current cigar smokers had more than three times the odds of dying of lung cancer, and for current pipe smokers the risk was 51 percent higher, compared with never-smokers.

The results were limited, however, by the relatively small numbers of cigar and pipe smokers in the sample, the authors noted.

Another limitation was that survey questions about tobacco use changed over time and didn’t determine how often nondaily smokers might have used cigarettes, cigars or pipes.

Even so, the results suggest that doctors may need to broaden how they discuss smoking with patients to make sure people understand they’re at risk even when they don’t have a daily habit, said Dr. Michael Ong of the University of California-Los Angeles and VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare

System.

“Patients often do not associate occasional use of cigar or pipes with health risks, but this study shows that current, particularly daily, cigar use is associated with increased overall risk of death,” Ong, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

Doctors also need to broaden their message about smoking and cigarettes to include other tobacco products that are becoming more popular, said Judith Prochaska, a researcher at Stanford University in California who wasn’t involved in the study.

Traditionally, doctors have asked just whether people smoked cigarettes, but they should instead be questioning patients more broadly about tobacco use, Prochaska said by email.

“The tobacco landscape has been changing dramatically,” Prochaska added. “While cigarettes remain the primary tobacco product used, cigars, smokeless tobacco, e-cigarettes, hookah, and even pipe tobacco have seen gains in use, while cigarette use in the U.S. has been declining.”
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From: MeNeedIt

Award-winning chef Jose Andres is working on a book about his efforts to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.

Ecco told The Associated Press on Wednesday that it has acquired We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time. The book is scheduled for Sept. 11 and is co-written by Richard Wolffe. A portion of proceeds will be given to the Chef Relief Network of Andres’ nonprofit World Central Kitchen. We Fed an Island will be released through Anthony Bourdain’s imprint at Ecco.

Andres says he wanted to provide the “inside story” of the relief work by himself and World Central Kitchen last fall.
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From: MeNeedIt