Comment on Alien Earths — 2 billion of them are out there

The glorious Joni Mitchell was born on November 7, 1943 and continues to woo audiences to this day. Rolling Stone: Categories don’t apply to Joni Mitchell, and they never have. She became famous in the early Seventies as the ultimate confessional singer-songwriter, but she’ll go down as maybe the greatest formal innovator in modern pop.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco’s first Black female mayor, London Breed, conceded the race for mayor to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie on Thursday, pledging a smooth transition as he takes over the job. The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner because tens of thousand of ballots have not yet been counted and added to the ranked choice voting calculations. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Breed, who was raised by her grandmother in public housing, could not overcome deep voter discontent and was trailing Lurie, a philanthropist and anti-poverty nonprofit founder. “At the end of the day, this job is bigger than any one person and what matters is that we keep moving this City forward,” Breed said, adding that she had called Lurie to congratulate him.

Republican Dave McCormick defeated incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania’s pivotal Senate race, the Associated Press projected Thursday evening, delivering the GOP yet another win after it regained control of the Senate. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] McCormick’s projected victory marks a pivotal moment for the Republican Party, solidifying their gains in what was one of the nation’s most expensive Senate races and giving them a significant foothold in Pennsylvania, a state that has long been a key battleground in national elections. But with an estimated 91,000 votes still being counted, Casey’s campaign said it would not concede yet.

Javonte Williams heard his head coach. Sean Payton was asked Monday if he thought rookie running back Audric Estime would see an increased workload in the second half of the season. “That’s a good and fair question, and one that I think I would answer, ‘Yes,’” Payton said then. Of course, Payton said similar to Estime and other young players previously.

Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit announced Thursday that his beloved dog, Ben, died at age 10. Ben was a golden retriever who gained fame for regularly accompanying Herbstreit to games and even appearing on set and the sideline. Herbstreit, who calls college football on ESPN and NFL games on Amazon Prime Video, posted on X that cancer had spread through his dog’s organs and “there was nothing left we could do — we had to let him go.” The 55-year-old former Ohio State quarterback said he’s had dogs his whole life but “Ben was 1 on 1.” Ben last traveled to Bloomington, Indiana, for the Hoosiers’ game against Washington on Oct.

BUENOS AIRES — Three people have been charged in connection with the death of Liam Payne, a former member of musical group One Direction who died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires last month, Argentine prosecutors said Thursday. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Prosecutor Andrés Madrea charged the three suspects, whose identities were not revealed, with the crimes of “abandonment of a person followed by death” and “supplying and facilitating the use of narcotics,” the prosecutor’s office said.