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Along with contemporaries such as The Specials, The Selector and Madness, The English Beat helped pioneer a British revival of Jamaican sounds mixed with elements of pop and punk, becoming one of the most popular and influential bands of the UK ska movement. Fronted by singer, guitarist and principle songwriter Dave Wakeling, the band (simply known as the Beat in their native country) scored a hit with its first single, a high-octane cover of Smokey Robinson's Motown classic "Tears of a Clown" in 1978. With help from toaster and co-front man Ranking Roger and Jamaican saxophonist Saxa (who played on some of the original ska hits by the likes of Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker), the English Beat unleashed a string classic two-tone hits including "Mirror in the Bathroom," "Hands Off She's Mine," "Save It for Later" and "Tenderness," Over the course of the three albums, The English Beat achieved great success in their home country while also finding a solid base of young fans eager to dance to the their hypnotic rhythms in America. Their constant touring with iconic bands such as The Clash and The Police helped to boost their popularity in the States. Despite his huge success, Wakeling never stopped singing about political issues. The band donated all the profits from their highly successful single version of "Stand Down Margaret" to the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament and donated their music to causes including the anti-nuclear benefit album Life in The European Theatre as well as lending their voice to the Special AKA's anthemic song of freedom "Free Nelson Mandela." Wakeling disbanded The English Beat in 1983 after their third album, Special Beat Service , but would stay active with English Beat toaster Ranking Roger in the hit-making band General Public. Wakeling has led the U.S. version of his influential ska outfit since the '90s after an unusual agreement that gave Ranking Roger the rights to tour under the name in Europe and the U.K. (the singer sadly passed away last spring). The musician has remained an active performer on the touring circuit, delivering his classic songs to an audience that spans several generations. The English Beat had much of it's classic catalog reissued by Shout Factory a couple of years ago complete with additional b-sides and live cuts as well as a CD/DVD package of the band's live performances at the US Festival in 1982 and 1983, but a few years ago announced a crowd-funding campaign to finance the group's first new album in decades. The recording, entitled Here We Go Love , finally saw the light of day in 2018 and was met with glowing reviews. 2024 saw deluxe double-vinyl reissues of the albums Wha'appen and Special Beat Service for Record Store Day as well as dates as both part of the "Lost '80s Live" tour and as support for fellow British band Squeeze. Loyal Bay Area fans continue to pack local headlining concerts by Wakeling and company. The English Beat headlines two concerts at Cornerstone in Berkeley on Jan 10-11. The English Beat Friday-Saturday, Jan. 10-11, 7 p.m. $36 (Saturday show sold out) Cornerstone BerkeleyYoung people in China flock to civil service, but slow economy puts public jobs at risk

Senator Edgardo Kueider (Peronist-Entre Ríos), currently under house arrest in Paraguay on charges of currency contraband and money-laundering, was expelled from the Upper House as “morally unfit” by an overwhelming 60-6 votes last Thursday. On Monday Kueider had formally requested a leave of absence from Vice-President Victoria Villarruel last Monday but his former colleagues of the Unión por la Patria caucus electing him under the Frente de Todos label back in 2019 had already presented the bill for his expulsion while on Thursday morning federal judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado had requested that he be stripped of his parliamentary immunity so that she could order his arrest. President Javier Milei gave a nationwide broadcast to commemorate the first anniversary of his administration on the day last Tuesday, thanking Argentines for their “sacrifice which will not be in vain” and forecasting the advent of happy days with “the recession over and the country beginning to grow.” Flanked by his entire Cabinet with Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos and presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei seated by his side, Milei said: “Every day we draw closer to inflation becoming a bad memory” before detailing the “fiscal degeneracy” of his inheritance from Frente de Todos with uncontrolled money-printing. He then highlighted the work of the Deregulation Ministry created only half a year ago, assuring that his administration had produced eightfold the structural reforms of the 1989-99 Carlos Menem presidency with just “15 percent of the deputies and 10 percent of the senators.” For the future he pledged a “deep chainsaw” to streamline the state, along with tax, pension, labour and other reforms. His administration would slash the number of national taxes by 90 percent, he announced, as well introduce a free competition of currencies so that “every Argentine may use the currency they want in their daily transactions.” Finally, he confirmed that he would be seeking a free trade agreement with the United States, as well as pushing reforms in the Mercosur trade bloc, reducing its common external tariff. Milei concluded by saying that “the hour of the common man has arrived.” Last month’s inflation of 2.4 percent was the lowest since mid-2020 when the economy was paralysed by a coronavirus pandemic lockdown, falling well below all expectations which still forecast a figure below three percent but much closer to it. Inflation up to the final month of this year thus reaches 112 percent with an annual rate of 166 percent, according to the data posted by the INDEC national statistics bureau in midweek. The key item of food and beverages registered the lowest increases of all at 0.9 percent while the main deviations from the trend were education (5.1 percent) and water, electricity, gas and fuels (4.5 percent). A core inflation (excluding regulated and seasonal prices) of 2.7 percent indicates that the downward streak of four months running is unlikely to be sustained this month. The CNDC (Comisión Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia) anti-monopoly watchdog will initiate summary proceedings against seven prepaid health care schemes (Galeno, the British and German Hospitals, Medifé, Swiss Medical, Omint and OSDE) as well as the chamber grouping them and its then-president Claudio Belocopitt for presumed cartel practices between last December and April, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni said on Thursday. United States president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced his choice to head the US Embassy here, a Cuban-born South Florida doctor who already knows President Javier Milei. In Trump’s words, “I am pleased to announce that Dr. Peter Lamelas, MD, MBA, will serve as our United States Ambassador to Argentina. Peter is a physician, philanthropist and an incredible businessman, best known for founding the largest Urgent Care healthcare company in Florida. As a child, Peter and his family fled Communist Cuba and LEGALLY immigrated to the USA, starting with nothing and achieving the American dream,”receiving the rapid “Make America Great Again” thanks of the envoy-to-be. The weekend announcement by presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni that Florencia Misrahi had been removed from the helm of ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero) tax bureau was confirmed by Decree 1078/2024, published in the last Monday and confirming newly appointed Foreign Ministry official Juan Pazo as her successor. Adorni had attributed her ouster to her plans to tax streamers and influencers but the decree explained it as “deviation ... from the simplification of the tax system.” Effective control of the agency is expected to continue under DGI internal revenue chief Andrés Vázquez and Customs head José Andrés Velis, as it has done in the seven weeks since ARCA was born as a relaunch and a rebranding of the previous AFIP tax bureau. Despite tensions and infighting, the big guns of the Peronist movement – ex-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (formally taking over the party chair two days later), Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, last year’s presidential candidate Sergio Massa and La Cámpora leader Máximo Kirchner – all managed to hold a summit in Moreno last Monday with calm on the surface but not too much resolved beyond Kicillof’s plans to separate national and provincial elections being temporarily blocked. Party militants were not admitted to the conclave but had to congregate outside. Perhaps the most interesting note of the day was not anything at the summit but Kicillof’s statement that his province “will not permit” the privatisation of Aerolíneas Argentinas. Kicillof denied that the airline was a loss-making company which would burden provincial tax-payers if the La Plata government bought up shares, assuring that Aerolíneas had received no financial assistance from the national government in the course of this year. Supreme Court justice Juan Carlos Maqueda, who retires at the end of this month, last Monday pronounced himself as “seriously worried” about the future of democracy and the institutions with “clouds on the horizon” for constitutional democracy globally in a “disorganised world” where the Chinese model separating capitalism from democracy is admired. His comments were made at a Buenos Aires City Bar Association tribute to his legal career, including 22 years at the Supreme Court now ended by his reaching the statutory retirement age of 75 later this month. His Supreme Court colleagues Horacio Rosatti and Carlos Rosenkrantz were in the audience but not the third, Ricardo Lorenzetti. The age for legal firearm possession has been reduced from 21 to 18 years by Decree 1081/2024, published last Tuesday in the , although “psychic or physical abnormalities” also bar the ownership of guns at the younger age and weapons must be certified at the local police station to ensure no criminal record. Last May the government presented a bill to regularise firearm possession and simplify the paperwork. The veteran labour lawyer and former deputy Héctor Recalde died last Monday at the age of 86. Máximo Kirchner brought the news to the Peronist summit that same day in Moreno where a tribute was paid. Recalde was for many years the chief lawyer of the CGT union umbrella. President Javier Milei last Tuesday issued a decree forbidding the display of images on public buildings, as well as naming them after political personalities until 10 years after their death. The initiative is viewed as heading off any repetition of the gigantic images of Eva Perón on the former Social Development Ministry and the widespread use of the late Néstor Kirchner’s name both before and shortly after his death. Former first lady Fabiola Yáñez last week resumed her offensive against ex-president Alberto Fernández, reproaching him for never having apologised for all the times he bashed her, further accusing him of infidelity with up to 20 women and insisting: “No money can heal those wounds.” Pointing out the contradiction between the ex-president’s feminist discourse and gender violence, the former first lady also complained of the loneliness of life at the top. Despite tension with the government due to his adamant resistance to the entry of private capital into football clubs, AFA Argentine Football Association president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia not only invited presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei and presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni to join him last Wednesday at a CONMEBOL event in Luque, Paraguay, but also shared a cordial photo with the former. The event was to confirm South American participation as a minor partner in hosting the centennial 2030 World Cup, even if all but three of the 104 matches will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay hosting at least one each. Tapia further confirmed last Wednesday that Argentina’s single match would be played at the River Plate stadium. Ads Space Ads Space(All times Eastern) Schedule subject to change and/or blackouts Sunday, Dec. 29 COLLEGE BASKETBALL (MEN’S) Noon BTN — Indiana St. at Ohio St. 1 p.m. PEACOCK — Penn at Penn St. 1:30 p.m. PEACOCK — Northeastern at Northwestern 2 p.m. BTN — Chicago St. at Illinois PEACOCK — Morgan St. at Minnesota 3 p.m. ESPNU — Buffalo at Temple PEACOCK — NJIT at Washington 4 p.m. BTN — Winthrop at Indiana 6 p.m. BTN — Toledo at Purdue 8 p.m. ACCN — Campbell at North Carolina BTN — W. Kentucky at Michigan COLLEGE BASKETBALL (WOMEN’S) Noon ACCN — Virginia at Notre Dame, Noon SECN — Alabama A&M at Vanderbitl 1 p.m. ESPN2 — South Florida at Rice 2 p.m. ACCN — Louisville at Boston College SECN — Wofford at South Carolina 4 p.m. ACCN — North Carolina at Miami SECN — Texas Rio Grande Valley at Texas 6 p.m. ACCN — Clemson at NC State 10 p.m. BTN — Michigan at Southern Cal HORSE RACING 3 p.m. FS1 — NYRA: America’s Day at the Races IIHF HOCKEY (MEN’S) Noon NHLN — World Junior Championship Group Stage: Switzerland vs. Sweden, Group B, Toronto 2:30 p.m. NHLN — World Junior Championship Group Stage: U.S. vs. Finland, Group A, Ottawa, Ontario 5 p.m. NHLN — World Junior Championship Group Stage: Czechia vs. Slovakia, Group B, Toronto 7:30 p.m. NHLN — World Junior Championship Group Stage: Canada vs. Germany, Group A, Ottawa, Ontario NBA G-LEAGUE BASKETBALL 2 p.m. NBATV — Osceola at Raptors 905 NFL FOOTBALL 1 p.m. CBS — Regional Coverage: N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, Carolina at Tampa Bay, Tennessee at Jacksonville FOX — Regional Coverage: Las Vegas at New Orleans, Indianapolis at N.Y. Giants, Dallas at Philadelphia 4:05 p.m. CBS — Miami at Cleveland 4:25 p.m. FOX — Green Bay at Minnesota 8:20 p.m. NBC — Atlanta at Washington PEACOCK — Atlanta at Washington NHL HOCKEY 8:30 p.m. ESPN — Dallas at Chicago SOCCER (MEN’S) 10 a.m. USA — Premier League: Nottingham Forest at Everton 12:15 p.m. USA — Premier League: Liverpool at West Ham United 12:40 p.m. CBSSN — English League Championship: Leeds United at Derby Country TENNIS 6 a.m. TENNIS — Brisbane-ATP/WTA Early Rounds 6:30 p.m. TENNIS — United Cup: Britain v. Argentina; Brisbane-ATP/WTA Early Rounds; Hong Kong-ATP, Auckland-WTA Early Rounds 6 a.m. (Monday) TENNIS — Brisbane-ATP/WTA Early Rounds The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV . Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn each had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night. Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which had lost three of four. Jake Oettinger made 24 saves. Chicago dropped its fourth consecutive game. It lost three of four in its season series against Dallas. Connor Bedard scored his 10th goal for the Blackhawks, and Arvid Soderblom made 26 stops. Next up for Bedard and company is the Winter Classic on Tuesday against St. Louis. Dallas grabbed control after Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi was ejected 8:11 into the second period. Bertuzzi was sent off for elbowing Stars forward Colin Blackwell in the face. Robertson made it 2-1 when he converted a wrist shot from the right circle at 8:23. It was Robertson's first goal since Dec. 14 and No. 8 on the season. Dadonov got a slick pass from Duchene and scored his 10th goal with 5:14 left in the second. Takeaways Stars: Miro Heiskanen added two assists as the Stars used their superior depth to control much of the game. Blackhawks: Once again, not enough offensive opportunities. It has been a recurring problem for the Blackhawks for much of the season so far. Key moment Johnston's stick broke right before he scored his eighth goal 10 seconds into the third period. Duchene's pass went off Johnston and past Soderblom, giving the Stars a 3-1 lead. Key stat The Stars are 12-3-0 against the Blackhawks since the 2021-22 season. Up next Dallas opens a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against Buffalo. Chicago plays St. Louis on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl Jay Cohen, The Associated PressSan Francisco’s next mayor is staying mum about who should next lead its transportation agency. Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie will carry significant influence over whom the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board appoints as its next transportation director following Jeffrey Tumlin’s announcement Thursday that he will be stepping down from the position when his contract expires at the end of the year. Lurie, who nominates new members to the agency’s seven-member board of directors, did not signal where The City should go from here following Tumlin’s departure. “I appreciate Mr. Tumlin’s service to San Francisco and look forward to working with the next MTA leader to advance a world class transportation system,” Lurie told The Examiner in a statement Friday. Tumlin, a sustainability advocate who helmed the agency through an unprecedented economic shortfall following the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Thursday he will leave his post atop the agency that oversees The City’s ground transportation. Those efforts include biking, traffic and parking infrastructure, as well as public-transit systems such as the cable-car and Muni lines. SFMTA Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum will serve as the acting director of transportation beginning Jan. 1. The mayor is typically consulted when the board appoints a new transportation director. Lurie will need to nominate a new SFMTA board member when he takes office next month following the departure of board chair Amanda Eaken. Outgoing Mayor London Breed appointed Eaken, and she was key in appointing Tumlin in 2019. That new board member, then, will presumably have significant sway in determining the agency’s next transportation director. There is no timeline for when Tumlin’s longterm successor will be named, according to SFMTA officials. Tumlin called the serving in the position the greatest honor of my life.” “I’m extremely proud of what the SFMTA has accomplished during my tenure,” Tumlin said in a statement. “While we’ve faced many challenges over the past five years, we’ve also made historic progress.” Tumlin did not cite a specific reason for stepping aside. Formerly an executive at a sustainable transportation engineering and planning firm, Tumlin during his SFMTA tenure pushed policies that would incentivize San Franciscans to walk or bike and keep their cars at home. The City aims to be carbon-neutral — meaning it produces net-zero carbon emissions — by 2040. “Jeff has been a leader in building infrastructure, improving Muni operations, and making the hard decisions necessary for our city as we grow,” Breed said in a statement. “Change can be hard, but Jeff was not afraid to make those decisions necessary to allow people to move safely and efficiently across this city,” she said. Tumlin led the proliferation of The City’s Slow Streets program , a pandemic-era plan which limited car traffic on certain streets in order to promote recreational neighborhood activity, events and increase pedestrian safety. He also championed the fight to install a controversial center bike lane on a portion of Valencia Street and permanently shut down a busy section of Market Street and the JFK promenade to car traffic . Tumlin helped launch the biking and rolling plan , the agency’s blueprint to revamp The City’s biking infrastructure for the first time in nearly 30 years. But those projects also made Tumlin an enemy for many San Franciscans. The policies drew the ire of many local business owners, who argued the measures would drive down business amid an already-slow post-pandemic recovery. Tumlin’s SFMTA stint up being largely focused on pulling the SFMTA from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic — which briefly shut Muni down and caused ridership to plummet — that sent the agency into a historic financial hole. Collectively, the Bay Area’s three primary transit operators — BART, Muni and Caltrain — face a $700 million deficit in 2026 , nearly half of which SFMTA will take on alone. Weekday Muni ridership in November was down to 68% of the average from the same month in 2019, according to agency data, although it was still higher than every November since 2020. Tumlin and other transit leaders have warned that unless they receive additional support in the coming months, they will be forced to make wide-ranging service cuts . Last month, the SFMTA announced its plans to reduce the frequency of Muni buses and stops on a handful of lines early next year. Further service cuts are expected in June. Tumlin also cautioned that some cable-car lines might eventually be on the chopping block, a possibility Lurie immediately shot down. He called the historic vehicles“untouchable” in a social-media post last month. “The SFMTA is a challenging department to run, and I want to thank Jeff for leading this Department and serving our city through the difficult years of the pandemic and after to get us where we are today,” Breed said. California State Sen. Scott Wiener Muni has been “better than ever” said under Tumlin’s leadership. “Service is faster and more reliable due to Jeff’s focus on making Muni work, and as a result Muni rider satisfaction surveys are at historic highs,” Weiner said. According to SFMTA data, major subway delays are down 76% and short delays have fallen 89% since Tumlin took office in 2019. Muni also recorded its highest satisfaction from riders since it started issuing an annual survey, with 72% of riders rating Muni as excellent or good in the 2023 iteration. Under Tumlin’s watch, The City has installed 75 miles of transit lanes and more than 100 miles of overall transit priority improvements, the agency said. “San Francisco is one of the safest larger cities in the U.S. for walking and biking,” Tumlin said. “And we have one of the strongest paratransit programs in the country. There is still far more to be done but I have full faith that our talented and highly motivated staff and leadership, working alongside city and state partners, will shepherd the agency into a successful new chapter.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Duchene and Jamie Benn each had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night. Jason Robertson, Evgenii Dadonov and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist for Dallas, which had lost three of four. Jake Oettinger made 24 saves. Chicago dropped its fourth consecutive game. It lost three of four in its season series against Dallas. Connor Bedard scored his 10th goal for the Blackhawks, and Arvid Soderblom made 26 stops. Next up for Bedard and company is the Winter Classic on Tuesday against St. Louis. Dallas grabbed control after Chicago forward Tyler Bertuzzi was ejected 8:11 into the second period. Bertuzzi was sent off for elbowing Stars forward Colin Blackwell in the face. Robertson made it 2-1 when he converted a wrist shot from the right circle at 8:23. It was Robertson's first goal since Dec. 14 and No. 8 on the season. Dadonov got a slick pass from Duchene and scored his 10th goal with 5:14 left in the second. Takeaways Stars: Miro Heiskanen added two assists as the Stars used their superior depth to control much of the game. Blackhawks: Once again, not enough offensive opportunities. It has been a recurring problem for the Blackhawks for much of the season so far. Key moment Johnston's stick broke right before he scored his eighth goal 10 seconds into the third period. Duchene's pass went off Johnston and past Soderblom, giving the Stars a 3-1 lead. Key stat The Stars are 12-3-0 against the Blackhawks since the 2021-22 season. Up next Dallas opens a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against Buffalo. Chicago plays St. Louis on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. ___ AP NHL: Jay Cohen, The Associated Press