Anita

As a critical California Horse Racing Board vote on Thursday approaches, 1/ST Racing, a subsidiary of the Stronach Group, made a not-so-veiled threat to consider selling or closing Santa Anita if the board authorizes racing in Northern California this year.It’s unclear if it’s a serious threat or just gamesmanship, but in a three-page letter sent Tuesday from Craig Fravel, executive vice-chairman of 1/ST Racing and Gaming, to CHRB board members, he said “An analysis of alternative uses for Santa Anita and San Luis Rey…

The "Sweet Love" icon praised Monét's song “How Does It Make You Feel" and called it a "melodic masterpiece" Victoria Monét, who garnered seven nominations for the 2024 Grammys, has received the ultimate nod from R&B legend Anita Baker. In February 2022 — prior to the release of Monét’s debut studio album, Jaguar II, this summer — the singer took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, “I wanna make a classic love song that Anita Baker would be proud of.” On Thursday, a year and half later,…

Near the end of the 1999 movie “Runaway Bride,” Julia Roberts, hops on the back of a FedEx truck fleeing yet another potential marriage.Those in attendance are dumbfounded but not surprised. The character played by Rita Wilson, the potential groom’s ex-wife, asks her husband, and the groom’s editor, played by Hector Elizondo: “Where is she going?”Elizondo responds: “I don’t know, but she’ll be there by 10:30 tomorrow.”If only it were that simple today.FedEx is now the only major air carrier that moves horses, but that…

What single-minded passion must it take to almost walk off a cliff while tracking a bird through a set of binoculars? Usha Ganguli-Lachungpa once did just that. It was only when the raptor suddenly veered to the other side that she looked down and realized she was at the very edge of a precipice in Sikkim’s Lashar Valley. A few steps more and she would have lost her footing. India’s first “bird woman”, Jamal Ara (1923-1995). (Courtesy Madhuca Singh) 271pp, ₹499; Indian Pitta Books Women in the Wild edited…

Police are investigating a robbery at a mall near the Santa Anita racetrack Sunday afternoon that shook crowds of holiday shoppers.“There was a smash-and-grab,” said Arcadia Police Lt. Tony Juarez. He said more detailed information would be released later. A security official at the Shops at Santa Anita also confirmed the robbery.“Everything is OK and everything is safe now,” said the official, who declined to give his name.On social media, posters reported shoppers running for cover and hiding in stores.This is a…

Anita Baker is dropping special guests and supporting acts from her Songstress tour after being harassed by fans of Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.In a Tuesday tweet, the R&B icon announced that she would tour solo “after silently enduring cyberbullying/verbal abuse and threats of violence” from Babyface’s fan base. “In the Interest of Personal Safety. I will continue, The Songstress Tour, alone. Appropriate refunds will be made. Blessings ABXO,” she wrote, posting her updated concert schedule.But earlier this week, the…

Anita Pointer, a longtime member of the Grammy-winning group the Pointer Sisters, passed away on Saturday after a battle with cancer. She was 74.“While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter, Jada and her sisters June & Bonnie and at peace,” Pointer’s family said in a statement. “She was the one that kept all of us close and together for so long. Her love of our family will live on in each of us. … Heaven is a more loving beautiful place with Anita…

Anita Pointer, one of four sibling singers who earned pop success and critical acclaim as The Pointer Sisters, died Saturday at the age of 74, her publicist announced.The Grammy winner passed away while she was with family members, publicist Roger Neal said in a statement. A cause of death was not immediately revealed.“While we are deeply saddened by the loss of Anita, we are comforted in knowing she is now with her daughter Jada and her sisters June & Bonnie and at peace. She was the one that kept all of us close and…

R&B icon Anita Baker is bringing her rapturous mezzo-soprano voice to Los Angeles next year.After a 28-year touring hiatus, Baker announced Thursday that she’ll return with a 15-show trek. Baker — one of the most prized vocalists to emerge in the 1980s — said she’ll make her way to the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 22, 2023.“2023 Coming Straight to YOU This time...With *My Own* catalog sO Grateful *MiraclesOfMusic* ABXO Special Guest, too,” she tweeted Thursday, referencing her public battle over…

Image: OrbitThe Stars Undying, the upcoming sci-fi debut from Emery Robin, introduces an interstellar princess forced into circumstances that’ll require every bit of royal strength she can muster to overcome. It’ll be released in November, but io9 is thrilled to share a generous excerpt from the book today.Here’s a description of the book, followed by its first two chapters.Princess Altagracia has lost everything. After a bloody civil war, her twin sister has claimed both the crown of their planet, Szayet, and the Pearl…