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The Super Bowl pregame show will open with a trio of standout performers in Northern California: Charlie Puth will hit the stage to sing the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will take on “America the Beautiful” and Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The performances will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, before the NFL’s championship matchup and halftime show featuring Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, the league announced Sunday. “These artists bring a distinct voice to the moment, helping set the tone for a day that will captivate fans around the world,” said Jon Barker, senior vice president of global event production for the NFL. The pregame performances will air on NBC, Telemundo and Peacock. The national anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be performed by deaf performing artist Fred Beam in American Sign Language. Julian Ortiz will sign “America the Beautiful.” In a historic first, the halftime show will include a multilingual signing program featuring Puerto Rican Sign Language, led by interpreter Celimar Rivera Cosme. All signed performances for the pregame and halftime shows will be presented in collaboration with Alexis Kashar of LOVE SIGN and Howard Rosenblum of Deaf Equality. sports Oct 29 NBC's Legendary February: Olympics, Super Bowl and NBA headline historic month NFL Oct 22 NFL moves Pro Bowl festivities to Super Bowl week in Bay Area NFL Nov 26 Should the Monday after Super Bowl be a national holiday? Tom Brady thinks so in new ad Puth is a four-time Grammy-nominated singer known for his songs “Attention,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore” and his 2015 breakout hit “See You Again,” with Wiz Khalifa, from the “Furious 7” movie soundtrack. His appearance will come ahead of his fourth studio album “Whatever’s Clever!” due on March 6. Carlile has won 11 Grammys and won praise for her eighth studio album “Returning to Myself,” which was released in October. She’s nominated for two Grammys with Elton John for their album “Who Believes in Angels?” released in April and their song “Never Too Late” from his documentary film “Elton John: Never Too Late.” Jones is an R&B star who won a Grammy in the best R&B performance category for her song “ICU” in 2024 and released her debut album “Why Not More?” which is nominated for best R&B album at next year’s ceremony. She also stars as Hilary Banks on Peacock’s television series “Bel-Air,” entering its last season. “Charlie, Brandi, and Coco are generational talents, and we are honored to have them — alongside our extraordinary deaf performers — on Super Bowl LX’s world stage,” said Desiree Perez, CEO of Roc Nation, which is producing the show with DPS and Jesse Collins. “This moment embodies the very best of culture, live performance and our country.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a pardon from the president during his trial on corruption charges that has long divided the country. The request was met with indignation Sunday by opposition politicians and government watchdogs, but some Israelis signaled support and indicated it is time to move on. The president’s office called the request “extraordinary,” with “significant implications.” At stake is the reputation of Israel’s justice system as well as Netanyahu’s hold on power. Here’s what to know. The charges Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israel’s history to stand trial. He is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters including a telecom company, a Hollywood producer and a newspaper publisher. The Justice Ministry announced the indictments in the three cases in 2019, after years of investigations, and the trial began in May 2020. Netanyahu rejects the allegations and has described the case as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary. He has not been convicted of anything. Netanyahu has repeatedly requested postponements of his testimony, citing diplomatic engagements or security issues around Israel’s wars in the past two years with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Earlier delays in the trial were caused in part by years of political crisis that gridlocked Israel, with Netanyahu returning to office in late 2022. The delays have angered many Israelis, including some parents of hostages long held in Gaza who accused Netanyahu of drawing out the war with Hamas as part of efforts to stay in office. Netanyahu’s argument The prime minister has portrayed himself in the trial as the victim of a “deep state” conspiracy trying to oust him. He said his pardon request would help unify Israel at a time of momentous change in the Middle East, and asserted that an “immediate conclusion of the trial would greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs.” Some government ministers, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, expressed support for his request. Israel 11 hours ago Netanyahu seeks pardon on corruption charges after getting Trump's backing Palestinian-Israeli relations Nov 4 How the arrest of the military's top lawyer over a leaked abuse video has rocked Israel Israel-Hamas War Oct 13 Trump to Israeli parliament: ‘This is the start of a new Middle East' Just weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly urged Israel to pardon Netanyahu, turning to President Isaac Herzog during his speech to Israel’s parliament last month. Earlier this month, Trump also sent a letter to Herzog calling the corruption case “political, unjustified prosecution.” Netanyahu mentioned Trump’s request in his statement Sunday. Herzog is a former political rival of Netanyahu, but the men have a good working relationship. Herzog in the past has said he believes the best way to end this legal chapter would be through a settlement between prosecutors and Netanyahu’s lawyers. Many Israelis are sensitive to issues involving Netanyahu and the law. Shortly after forming his current government in late 2022, the prime minister launched a plan to overhaul the justice system. That sparked huge anti-government protests as opponents accused him of trying to weaken the system of checks and balances and having a conflict of interest at a time when he was on trial. The plan was revived earlier this year after being put on hold after the outbreak of the war in Gaza. The criticism Opponents of the pardon request said it could weaken democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that some people in Israel are above the law. “He basically says, ‘I’m completely innocent, I’m sure that I can prove this innocence, but not for my own interest, for the country’s interest I’m requesting this pardon,’” said Yohanan Plesner, president of The Israel…

The aircraft carrying Pope Leo XIV is on its way to Beirut where he is about to begin the second leg of his apostolic journey to Türkiye and Lebanon. Read all  

Pope Leo XIV prays at the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in Istanbul, and thanks God for the courageous witness offered by Armenians throughout history, often amid tragic circumstances. Read all