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Surveillance tech advances by Biden could aid in Trump’s promised crackdown on immigrationLima’s Walmart on Harding Highway is one of many designating parking spaces for Black Friday pick-up items. Craig Kelly | The Lima News LIMA — As the holiday season kicks off, shoppers are navigating the familiar frenzy of Black Friday deals and Small Business Saturday finds this holiday season. According to the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants (OCRM), shoppers, major retailers, and small businesses in and around Lima have something to be optimistic about. OCRM The Lima metro area is forecasted to see the third-highest growth rate, 2.7 percent, in holiday-relevant sales of the nine Ohio metro areas. In the U.S., 2024 Holiday Retail sales are expected to top $30.4 billion, marking the 12th consecutive year of sales growth. “Factors that impact consumer spending such as inflation, employment, and wages are trending in a positive direction in Ohio,” said Brad Evans, executive director of the University of Cincinnati Economics Center. Consumer confidence is still lower than pre-pandemic levels as inflation slows. Small Business Saturday Small Business Saturday, also known as Shop Small Saturday, is dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country and is part of the larger Shop Small Movement. Founded by American Express in 2010, the day is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Consumers have reported spending an estimated $200 billion at small businesses across the 14 annual events. The mayor of Lima, Sharetta Smith, encouraged residents to support Lima’s small businesses at a briefing on Nov. 20. “I highly encourage everyone to shop local, both throughout the holiday season and beyond. Your support of small, locally owned businesses amidst all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping creates new job opportunities for our community and encourages economic diversity. By supporting local businesses, you are not only helping our local economy, but our neighbors as well,” she said. “Together we can increase Lima’s community.” A handful of small businesses in and around Lima are hopeful for the holiday season. Small businesses during the holiday season Ev’Dera Bath and Body Care Owned by Michael Thompson and located on the second floor of the Central District, 207 S. Central Ave., Lima, Ev’Dera Bath and Body is anticipating a busy and festive end to 2024. The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Black Friday, offering 15 percent off all candles and other special deals. For Small Business Saturday, the store will open at 10 a.m. and close at 3 p.m. There will be raffles and a chance to get a percentage off products with proof of purchase in other stores located in the Central District. “Busy, thankful, lucky to be alive, anticipatory, festive, while at the same time mindful of people and thinking how to work with people with just a touch of being overwhelmed,” said Thompson via text message when asked about his feelings leading up to the holidays. The Meeting Place on Market A hang-out spot for gourmet coffee, light fare, and baked goods, The Meeting Place, 220 W. Market St., Lima, has a unique schedule for the holidays. “We are gearing up to ship out thousands of gift baskets and bags of coffee between now and Christmas,” said Jennifer Brogee, CEO, via email. They will have a Black Friday week sale, offering 20 percent off all gourmet coffees (whole bean or ground), as well as a Black Friday-specific deal offering a buy one get one free with mochas, smoothies, hot cocoas, lattes, coffees, and teas for “People to come and rest while shopping,” said Brogee. Customers can also receive $10 in “coffee bucks” for every $50 spent on items between now and Christmas. The Meeting Place has not participated in Small Business Saturday since the football game between Ohio State and Michigan was moved to the same day as Small Business Saturday, lowering customer traffic. “There is no use competing with the biggest Ohio State football game of the year,” Brogee said. Jean and Lilly’s Fashion Boutique Located at 220 N. Main St. in Lima, Jean and Lilly’s Fashion Boutique is set to kick off its Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sale, offering shoppers discounts of up to 70% on a wide range of items. The store is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The deals were confirmed via phone call with The Lima News. Whiskers & Wizards A Black Friday sale at Whiskers & Wizards will begin online at midnight and in-store at 226 N. Main St., Lima from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 29. Sales will continue into Small Business Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an open house featuring goodies such as free coloring pages, kids’ crafts, ornament creation, and chances for guests to win gift cards. “It’s a great way to support multiple small businesses at once as we have 15 local artisans that have items available for sale at our shop,” Whiskers & Wizards owner Emilee Evans said about Small Business Saturday. “I have also prepared by making sure we are well stocked on everyone’s famous retail items like the Funko Pop! Figures, dice sets, enamel pins, Warmies, and more.” The shop will participate in the Downtown, Lima Inc Holiday Festival on Dec. 7. Although Evans can’t personally attend, the shop will be open for deals such as $5 off a purchase of $20 or more, free kids’ crafts and coloring pages, free adult crafts, and a local artisan, Into My Mystics, hosting a premium craft for a small fee. Well Grounded Cafe According to Sandra Foreman, operations manager of Well-Grounded Cafe in Ottawa, 114 N. Main St, the cafe will be closed for Thanksgiving, and open Black Friday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. For Small Business Saturday, the shop is offering $1.50 off a 12 oz. bag of coffee beans and or $2.00 off a Well Grounded tumbler. The Cafe will be active in Once Upon Ottawa, offering a hot cocoa bar and other holiday beverages from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5. Toys for the Toys for Tots Drive are being collected and plans for the Giving Tree with Putnam County Council on Aging are other plans during the holiday season at the Cafe. Drinks released for the holiday season include the sugar cookie latte, Gingerbread Chai, Polar Espresso, Nutcracker Latte, and the Holiday Shaker (Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso). Santa will visit the shop Dec. 14. Walmart Black Friday sales for Walmart+ members started at noon on Nov. 25, and 5 p.m. for all others. Sales end on Dec. 1. Stores will open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday. Several parking spots have been designated for pickup, delivery, and large items at the Harding Highway location. Meijer A week-long Black Friday sale will last from Nov. 24 to Nov. 30, as well as a three-day sale from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30. Stores will be open on Thanksgiving from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stores will open at 6 a.m. Nov. 29. Menards Stores will open at 6 a.m. Nov. 29. Lowe’s A “Black Friday Build-up” began on Nov. 21. and will continue through Nov. 28. Stores will open at 6 a.m. Nov. 29. JCPenney’s Black Friday sales began on Nov. 22 and will continue until Dec. 1. Stores will open at 5 a.m. Nov. 29. Kohl’s Black Friday deals will continue until Nov. 29. Online doorbuster deals will start at 12:01 a.m. on November 28. Stores will open at 5 a.m. Nov. 29. Customers can receive an additional 15% off their orders, both in-store and online, by using the code SHOPS15. Best Buy Black Friday deals began on Nov. 21 and will continue until Dec. 1. Stores will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 27. Stores will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Black Friday. Stores will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 30. Cyber Monday deals will last from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dollar General “DG Deal Days” will run from Nov. 28 through 30. Tractor Supply Stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but deals can still be shopped online through Nov. 30. Stores open at 6 a.m. Nov. 29. Reach Cade Higgins at 567-242-0351NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The right frame can freeze a moment in time, creating meaning for the masses from a fist pump over a bloodied ear , a bridge crumbled by a ship , towns shredded by nature , and a victory sealed with an on-field kiss . In 2024, photographers across the U.S. captured glimpses of humanity, ranging from a deeply divisive presidential election , to hurricanes and fires that ravaged communities, to campus protests over the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The gallery from The Associated Press illustrates a new chapter of political history — the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump , the moment President Joe Biden announced he would no longer run again , the campaign sprint by Vice President Kamala Harris in Biden’s place, and the raw emotion from voters during a grueling contest ultimately won by Trump . Hurricanes whipped through the country with devastating imagery, leaving a path of wreckage and death from Florida to Appalachia . After Hurricane Helene , Lake Lure in North Carolina was shown in a jarring photo covered in shards of debris thick enough to hide the surface of the water. Hurricane Milton ripped apart the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, home to Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. The scale of destruction experienced in some corners of the country in 2024 was hard to capture and might have been harder to fathom. That was the case when a container ship slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse and crumple around the vessel, killing construction workers on the bridge. As flames torched the landscape in California , another image captured firefighters and sheriff’s deputies pushing a vintage car away from a burning home. Elsewhere in California , one photo is aglow with bright orange flames, broken up only by the subtle features of an animal running through them. But hope also persevered in the face of devastation. In Helene’s aftermath , an image from Crystal River, Florida, shows Dustin Holmes holding hands with his girlfriend, Hailey Morgan, as they sloshed through floodwaters with her 4- and 7-year-old children to return to their flooded home. And in Manasota Key, Florida, a family was lit up by the glow of flashlights as they walked to check on their home damaged by Milton. Other photos from 2024 also grabbed the darkness and shadows to emphasize light: among them, a rocket liftoff and a total solar eclipse . And, yes, eclipse glasses were back in style for a shared moment of skygazing. But many other photos delivered a blast of color, from the spectrum of the northern lights across a Maine sky to a crew of workers wading into the deep-red of a Massachusetts cranberry bog . And, once again, Taylor Swift captured the country’s attention, even as a part of the crowd. She rushed down from the stands to kiss her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, after the Chiefs won the AFC Championship , en route to another Super Bowl win.
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US expected to send £1 billion in weapons to Ukraine before Trump takes officeThe Portland Trail Blazers hope to head home for Thanksgiving on a happier and healthier note when they conclude a five-game trip Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers. The Trail Blazers stagger into Indianapolis after a short-handed 123-98 drubbing at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Five regulars -- Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, Donovan Clingan and Deandre Ayton -- all sat out with injuries. Things went from bad to worse when Portland lost two starters -- Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III -- during Monday's loss. Grant injured his left knee while Williams suffered a concussion. It's possible the Trail Blazers, playing for the fifth time in eight days on the road, could be as many as seven players down for the trip finale. Not having Grant might be the biggest blow. He went for 34 and 37 points when the Trail Blazers, who only won 21 games last year, shockingly swept the season series from the Pacers. Following Monday's defeat, Portland coach Chauncey Billups practiced a speech he might have to give again in Indianapolis. "We hung in. Couldn't make shots," he lamented. "We just, at the end of the day, didn't have enough bodies." The Trail Blazers did have two of their brightest prospects - Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe - together for just the seventh time this season against the Grizzlies. However, they were not able to duplicate the success of their previous game at Houston, when they teamed for 49 points, as they combined to shoot just 6-for-26 and total 20 points against the Grizzlies. Portland figures to need to have all guns blazing against the high-powered Pacers, who have scored 111 or more points in seven straight games, including 115 and 114 in their last two outings: wins over the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively. One game after balanced scoring led the way in the victory over the Wizards, Tyrese Haliburton surged out of a recent slump with 34 points and 13 assists. The positives for Haliburton are doubly good news for the Pacers. His 12-for-23 night from the field was a welcome relief after he'd shot just 32.9 percent over his previous five games and found himself addressing a possible slump. "It's part of basketball," he admitted. "I've just gotta keep trusting myself, working hard. I'll figure it out. Just put my head down, keep working. I'll figure it out." Not slumping in the least, Pascal Siakam contributed a total of 36 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists during the two-game winning streak. He made 13 of his 27 shots (48.1 percent) in those games. The Trail Blazers haven't seen the Pacers since the night Siakam made his Indiana debut in Portland last January. He had 21 points. Portland's win that night was its 12th of the season. The Trail Blazers went just 9-32 the rest of the way. Thanks in large part to Siakam, the Pacers rebounded from its loss in Portland to finish 23-17 and reach the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers haven't swept Portland in a season series since 2008. -Field Level Media
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Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has been ruled out for the second half of Saturday's SEC Championship Game against Texas after being injured on the final play of the first half. Texas' Trey Moore forced a fumble on Beck's pass attempt, appearing to injure the Georgia quarterback's throwing arm. Beck remained motionless on the field for a short time before joining the team in the locker room. Coach Kirby Smart told ESPN at halftime that Beck was done for the day. During the third quarter, Beck was seen with ice on his right elbow. Beck completed 7 of 13 passes for 56 yards and was sacked once before exiting. Georgia backup Gunner Stockton entered and led Georgia on a 10-play, 75-yard opening second-half drive, giving the Bulldogs their first lead at 10-6. Bulldogs punter Brett Thorson injured his left knee in the third quarter and was ruled out of the contest. He was taken off on a cart. --Field Level MediaFlag football scours nation with talent camps to uncover next wave of stars
Pep Guardiola’s side at least avoided the indignity of a sixth successive defeat in all competitions but alarm bells continue to ring at the Etihad Stadium after a dramatic late capitulation. A double from Erling Haaland – the first from the penalty spot – and a deflected effort from Ilkay Gundogan, all in the space of nine minutes either side of the break, looked to have ensured a return to winning ways. Yet Guardiola was left with his head in hands as Feyenoord roared back in the last 15 minutes with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Sergio Gimenez and David Hancko, two of them after Josko Gvardiol errors. City almost snatched a late winner when Jack Grealish hit the woodwork but there was no masking another dispiriting result. It was hardly the preparation City wanted for Sunday’s crunch trip to Liverpool, and the Feyenoord fans took great delight in rubbing that fact in. They sung the club anthem they share with Liverpool, You’ll Never Walk Alone, and chanted the name of their former manager Arne Slot, the current Reds boss. Guardiola arrived at the ground with a cut on the bridge of his nose and, once again, his side have been struck a nasty blow. Despite not being at their best, they had dominated early on against what seemed limited Dutch opposition. They threatened when a Gundogan shot was deflected wide and Haaland then went close to opening the scoring when he turned a header onto the post. Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther gifted City another chance when he passed straight to Bernardo Silva but Grealish’s fierce volley struck team-mate Phil Foden. Foden forced a save from Wellenreuther but City had a moment of alarm when Igor Paixao got behind the defence only to shoot tamely at Ederson. Nathan Ake missed the target with a header but some luck finally went City’s way just before the break when Quinten Timber, brother of Arsenal’s Jurrien, was harshly adjudged to have fouled Haaland. The Norwegian rammed home the resulting spot-kick and City returned re-energised for the second period. They won a corner when a Matheus Nunes shot was turned behind and Gundogan fired the hosts’ second – albeit with aid of a deflection – with a firm volley from the edge of the box. City turned up the heat and claimed their third soon after as Gundogan released Nunes with a long ball and his low cross was turned into the net by a sliding Haaland. It seemed City were heading for a morale-lifting victory but a couple of Gvardiol errors changed the script. The Croatian, who had a torrid time in Saturday’s 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham, first horribly misplaced a backpass and allowed Moussa to nip in and round Ederson. Ordinarily that 75th-minute reply would have been a mere consolation and City would close out the game, but Gvardiol had another moment to forget eight minutes from time. Again he gave the ball away and Feyenoord pounced. The ball was lofted into the box and Jordan Lotomba fired a shot that glanced the post and deflected across goal, where Gimenez chested in. Ederson then blundered as he raced out of his area and was beaten by Paixao, who crossed for Hancko to head into an empty net. Amid some moments of unrest in the crowd, when objects were thrown, City tried to rally in stoppage time. Grealish had an effort deflected onto the bar but the hosts had to settle for a draw.White House: Salt Typhoon hacks possible because telecoms lacked basic security measures
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By Greg Otto December 27, 2024 The White House said Friday that as the U.S. government continues to assess the damage caused by the Salt Typhoon hacks, the breach occurred in large part due to telecommunications companies failing to implement rudimentary cybersecurity measures across their IT infrastructure. Anne Neuberger, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters Friday that the Biden administration has further zeroed on how these companies can improve their cybersecurity, particularly by sharing threat-hunting guides and instructions for hardening of systems. These guides, shared with telecom companies, have unearthed a new victim, bringing the total of affected companies to nine. In a previous briefing this month , Neuberger said that while the impacted telecommunications companies are currently working to expel the hackers from their networks, the risk of further breaches remains high until cybersecurity gaps are fully addressed. In Friday’s briefing, she shared more details on some of the flaws that have been uncovered in telecom systems, which allowed the threat actors to carry out their actions. In one incident response case, it was found that the attackers, which are believed to be state-affiliated actors from China, obtained credentials to one administrator account that had access to over 100,000 routers. Additionally, the group erased logs of their actions, and the logs that did remain were inadequate for determining the size and scope of the hack. “The reality is that from what we’re seeing regarding the level of cybersecurity implemented across the telecom sector, those networks are not as defensible as they need to be to defend against a well-resourced, capable offensive cyber actor like China,” Neuberger said. The White House still cannot definitively say the actors have been removed from the telecom networks. Neuberger said the number of individuals directly impacted are “less than 100.” However, she said the Chinese were interested in a large number of individuals that were geo-located in the Washington, D.C. area, with “the goal of identifying who those phones belong to and if they were government targets of interest for follow-on espionage and intelligence collection of communications.” The attackers are believed to have targeted the phones and data of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice-president elect JD Vance, among others. In the aftermath of the breaches, Neuberger said the White House has outlined four areas where telecom companies can improve their cybersecurity: configuration management, vulnerability management, network segmentation, and sector-wide information sharing. She also expressed support for the new rules pushed forth by the Federal Communications Commission that would force telecoms to further harden their networks. The White House says these rules would follow similar regulations in Australia and the U.K., which have been in place since 2018 and 2022, respectively. “When I talked with our U.K. colleagues and I asked, ‘do you believe your regulations would have prevented the Salt Typhoon attack?’, their comment to me was, ‘we would have found it faster. We would have contained it faster, [and] it wouldn’t have spread as widely and had the impact and been as undiscovered for as long,’ had those regulations been in place,” Neuberger said. “That’s a powerful message.”RUBEN AMORIM gave Manchester United five out of ten for Sunday’s performance at Ipswich. The coach looked frustrated as the Red Devils struggled in the 1-1 draw — his first game in charge — against the Premier League new boys. 5 Ruben Amorim watched his side draw 1-1 with Ipswich in his opening game in charge Credit: PA 5 It was a frustrating afternoon for Garnacho and his fellow Red Devils Credit: Rex Amorim delivered his verdict on the average display in the Portman Road dressing room, where he also revealed he was blown away by the intensity of the top flight. A source said: "Amorim said their performance was a five out of ten. "He was impressed with Ipswich and thought the game was played at an incredible intensity. "But he added that it showed just how much United need to improve." READ MORE IN FOOTBALL KEANE OBSERVER Sky Sports launch Roy Keane probe and ask Redknapp and co for statements Former Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim, who replaced axed Erik ten Hag as boss this month, is realistic about the major task ahead of him. But he warned his players that they must improve and learn quickly. The Portuguese, 39, acknowledged that if 18th-placed Ipswich are one of the Prem’s lesser teams, then it showed the job he has on his hands to turn Man Utd 's fortunes around. He took his first training session last Monday , with the international break only halfway through. Most read in Football WRONG MOVE Joining Rangers was biggest mistake of my life - I could've played for Man Utd TICKED OFF McGinn's brief ultimatum for Villa v Celtic & prediction for Hoops v Club Brugge KEANE OBSERVER Sky Sports launch Roy Keane probe and ask Redknapp and co for statements VINDA-BLUES Gers greats from 9IAR era spotted at private meal with Helicopter Sunday heroes CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS 5 Marcus Rashford scored the first goal of the Amorim era after just 81 seconds Credit: Rex 5 Captain Bruno Fernandes struggled at Portman Road on Sunday evening Credit: Getty Man Utd player ratings vs Ipswich The source added: "He was critical of one or two players for losing the ball and not being in the right positions. "But he also said, ‘Some of you I’ve had for two days, some two weeks’, so he was realistic. "He did say they were going to have to learn quickly." 5 Man Utd ratings vs Ipswich as Onana saves Amorim from embarrassment in first game as boss MANCHESTER UNITED began the Ruben Amorim era with a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich. Marcus Rashford needed just 81 seconds to put the Red Devils in front at Portman Road, tapping home an Amad Diallo cross. But Ipswich hit back when Omari Hutchinson's strike flew in via a deflection off Noussair Mazraoui. And it was the newly-promoted side who looked likelier to get a winner in the second half. Here is how SunSport's Charlie Wyett saw the performances of the Man Utd players... ANDRE ONANA - 7/10 United’s best player. Two key stops to deny Liam Delap but no chance for the deflected Omari Hutchinson goal. Then delivered an 87th minute save to keep out an effort from Conor Chaplin. NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI - 5 Slotted in on the right of the three-man defence but unfortunate with the deflection for the goal. MATTHIJS DE LIGT - 5 Has been suspect this season and will probably be better suited to a back three although still given a tough time by Delap. JONNY EVANS - 5 The 36-year-old was targeted by Ipswich for his lack of pace and no surprise he was replaced. AMAD DIALLO - 6 Did incredibly well to bomb past Jens Cajuste and deliver the cross for Rashford’s early goal but offered little else. CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN - 5 Some nice touches going forward but too lightweight in this position in front of the back three. CASEMIRO - 4 Lucky to start ahead of Manuel Ugarte and was really poor. Struggled throughout before being subbed and could maybe have got a block to the Hutchinson shot. DIOGO DALOT - 5 Not suited to left wing-back although stayed there when Luke Shaw arrived because the English international replaced Evans in the back three. BRUNO FERNANDES - 5 Some of his link-up play was fine but United need a captain who can inspire this team and Fernandes is not the man. Sent a free-kick flashing past the post with 12 minutes left. ALEJANDRO GARNACHO - 5 Twice called over by Ruben Amorim in the first half for instructions. Denied by a decent save from Aro Muric 50 seconds into the second half. MARCUS RASHFORD - 6 Criticised for his basketball trip to New York so to score after 80 seconds was two fingers up at his critics - but did not offer much after that. Subs Ugarte (for Casemiro 56 mins) - 6 Shaw (for Evans 56 mins) - 6 Hojlund (for Rashford 67 mins) - 5 Zirkzee ( for Eriksen 67 mins) - 5 Mount (for Garnacho 87 mins) - 5
The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the Hawk air defence system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, officials said. The officials, who said they expect the announcement to be made on Monday, spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The new aid comes as Russia launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s power facilities in recent days, although Ukraine has said it intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones. Russian and Ukrainian forces are also still in a bitter battle around the Russian border region of Kursk, where Moscow has sent thousands of North Korean troops to help reclaim territory taken by Ukraine. Earlier this month, senior defence officials acknowledged that the US Defence Department may not be able to send all of the remaining 5.6 billion dollars (£4.5 billion) in Pentagon weapons and equipment stocks passed by Congress for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. Mr Trump has talked about getting some type of negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, and spoken about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many US and European leaders are concerned that it might result in a poor deal for Ukraine and they worry that he will not provide Ukraine with all the weapons funding approved by Congress. The aid in the new package is in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to take weapons off the shelves and send them quickly to Ukraine. This latest assistance would reduce the remaining amount to about 4.35 billion dollars (£3.46 billion). Officials have said they hope that an influx of aid will help strengthen Ukraine’s hand, should Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky decide it is time to negotiate. One senior defence official said that while the US will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine until January 20, there may well be funds remaining that will be available for the incoming Trump administration to spend. According to the Pentagon, there is also about 1.2 billion dollars (£0.9 billion) remaining in longer-term funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to pay for weapons contracts that would not be delivered for a year or more. Officials have said the administration anticipates releasing all of that money before the end of the calendar year. If the new package is included, the US will have provided more than 64 billion dollars (£50.8 billion) in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the Hawk air defence system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, officials said. The officials, who said they expect the announcement to be made on Monday, spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The new aid comes as Russia launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s power facilities in recent days, although Ukraine has said it intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones. Russian and Ukrainian forces are also still in a bitter battle around the Russian border region of Kursk, where Moscow has sent thousands of North Korean troops to help reclaim territory taken by Ukraine. Earlier this month, senior defence officials acknowledged that the US Defence Department may not be able to send all of the remaining 5.6 billion dollars (£4.5 billion) in Pentagon weapons and equipment stocks passed by Congress for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. Mr Trump has talked about getting some type of negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, and spoken about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Many US and European leaders are concerned that it might result in a poor deal for Ukraine and they worry that he will not provide Ukraine with all the weapons funding approved by Congress. The aid in the new package is in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to take weapons off the shelves and send them quickly to Ukraine. This latest assistance would reduce the remaining amount to about 4.35 billion dollars (£3.46 billion). Officials have said they hope that an influx of aid will help strengthen Ukraine’s hand, should Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky decide it is time to negotiate. One senior defence official said that while the US will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine until January 20, there may well be funds remaining that will be available for the incoming Trump administration to spend. According to the Pentagon, there is also about 1.2 billion dollars (£0.9 billion) remaining in longer-term funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to pay for weapons contracts that would not be delivered for a year or more. Officials have said the administration anticipates releasing all of that money before the end of the calendar year. If the new package is included, the US will have provided more than 64 billion dollars (£50.8 billion) in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.Stocks closed higher on Wall Street, giving the market its fifth gain in a row and notching another record high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The Dow added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tacked on 0.2%. Retailers had some of the biggest gains. Gap soared after reporting quarterly results that easily beat analysts’ estimates. EchoStar fell after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company’s Dish Network unit. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. On Friday: The S&P 500 rose 20.63 points, or 0.3%, to 5,969.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 426.16 points, or 1%, to 44,296.51. The Nasdaq composite rose 31.23 points, or 0.2%, to 19,003.65. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 42.65 points, or 1.8%, to 2,406.67. For the week: The S&P 500 is up 98.72 points, or 1.7%. The Dow is up 851.52 points, or 2%. The Nasdaq is up 323.53 points, or 1.7%. The Russell 2000 is up 102.84 points, or 4.5%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,199.51 points, or 25.1%. The Dow is up 6,606.97 points, or 17.5%. The Nasdaq is up 3,992.30 points, or 26.6%. The Russell 2000 is up 379.60 points, or 18.7%.FAZILKA: In a successful operation, the Border Security Force (BSF) intercepted a heroin consignment in Fazilka. The recovery, amounting to 532 grams of heroin, dropped by a drone from across the border. On seeing the movement of the drone, BSF fired a few shots besides ILU bombs but the drone managed to return to the Pakistan border side. The operation was a testament to the BSF's swift action on the ground. According to Shimla Rani, Station House Officer, Sadar police station in Fazilka, the BSF informed the police that there was a drone movement near Jhanger Bahini village. On getting the information the entire area was sealed and a massive search operation was launched for over six hours during which a packet of heroin (532 grams) was recovered from the field near the border. The consistent success of the prompt action highlights the strategic measures and technological countermeasures employed by the BSF to combat cross-border smuggling effectively. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Voters dejected by the presidential election results need to find a way to give back and remain involved, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Clinton presidential library. The former president urged audience members in a packed theater to remain engaged and find ways to communicate with those they disagree with despite a divisive political time. The two spoke about a month after former President Donald Trump's win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election. “We’re just passing through, and we all need to just calm down and do something that builds people up instead of tears them down,” Bill Clinton said. Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who was defeated by Trump in the 2016 election, said she understands the next couple of years are going to be challenging for voters who don't agree with the decisions being made. "In addition to staying involved and staying aware, it’s important to find something that makes you feel good about the day because if you’re in a constant state of agitation about our political situation, it is really going to shorten your life," she said. The Clintons spoke during a panel discussion with journalist Laura Ling, who the former president helped free in 2009 when she was detained in North Korea with another journalist. The event was held as part of a weekend of activities marking the 20th anniversary of the Clinton Presidential Library's opening in Little Rock. The library is preparing to undergo an update of its exhibits and an expansion that will include Hillary Clinton's personal archives. Hillary Clinton said part of the goal is to modernize the facility and expand it to make it a more open, inviting place for people for convene and make connections. When asked about advice he would give for people disappointed by the election results, Bill Clinton said people need to continue working toward bringing people together and improving others' lives. “If that's the way you keep score, then you ought to be trying to run up the score,” he said. “Not lamenting the fact that somebody else is winning a different game because they keep score a different way." “And in addition, figure out what we can do to win again,” Hillary Clinton added, eliciting cheers. The program featured a panel discussion with cast members of the hit NBC show “The West Wing” and former Clinton White House staffers. The weekend amounted to a reunion of former Clinton White House staffers, supporters and close friends, including former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and adviser James Carville. McAuliffe said he and Carville ate Friday at Doe's Eat Place, a downtown restaurant that was popular with Clinton aides and reporters during Clinton's 1992 White House run. He said he viewed the library and its planned expansion as important for the future. “This is not only about the past, but it's more importantly about the future," McAuliffe said. “We just went through a very tough election, and people are all saying we've got to get back to the Clinton model.”Demonstration of seed germination in outer space, a robotic arm to catch a tethered debris there, and testing of green propulsion systems are some of the experiments planned on the POEM-4 -- the fourth stage of ISRO's PSLV rocket that remains in orbit after launching a satellite. The PSLV-C60 mission, slated for an yearend launch, is scheduled to place the twin satellites 'Chaser and Target' to demonstrate the space docking technologies that are crucial for building India's space station. The PSLV Orbital Experiment Module (POEM) will carry 24 experiments -- 14 from various ISRO labs and 10 from private universities and start-ups -- to demonstrate various technologies in space. ISRO plans to grow eight cowpea seeds from seed germination and plant sustenance until the two-leaf stage in a closed-box environment with active thermal control as part of the Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies (CROPS) developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. The Amity Plant Experimental Module in Space (APEMS), developed by Amity University, Mumbai, plans to study the growth of spinach in a microgravity environment. Two parallel experiments will be carried out simultaneously -- one on POEM-4 in space and one on the ground at the university. The experiment's outcome will provide insights into how higher plants sense the direction of gravity and light. The Debris Capture Robotic Manipulator, developed by VSSC, will demonstrate the capturing of tethered debris by a robotic manipulator using visual serving and object motion prediction in the space environment. The robotic manipulator will be capable of capturing free-floating debris and refuelling tethered and free-floating spacecraft in future POEM missions. Mumbai-based start-up Manastu Space will test Vyom-2U, the green propulsion thruster, that uses a blend of hydrogen peroxide and in-house additives as fuel, with the goal of providing a safer and higher-performing alternative to hydrazine for space applications. The Varuna payload, developed by Piersight Space-Ahmedabad, is an in-orbit demonstration of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) in a CubeSat form factor. This mission marks the initial step towards establishing a constellation of SAR and Automatic Identification System (AIS) satellites, aiming to provide persistent, near real-time monitoring of all human and industrial activity at sea. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stepwell, Likely 150-Year-Old, Discovered During Excavation In UP's Sambhal ISRO ISRO PSLV C60 mission ISRO PSLV rocket ISRO Drafts Its First 'POEM' To Study How Life Works In Space ISRO-European Space Agency Sign Deal For Cooperation In Astronaut Training ISRO Begins Assembly of Human-Rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 for Gaganyaan Mission Is Safe Car Enough? Volvo Crash That Killed CEO, Family Sparks Big Question "Nothing Short Of Nightmare": Woman Misses Life Event, Slams Air India Snack Food Epigamia Founder Rohan Mirchandani Dies Of Cardiac Arrest At 41 India, Kuwait Sign 4 MoUs To Strengthen Cultural, Defence Cooperation Couple Caught Smuggling Luxury Watches Worth Rs 13 Crore In Gujarat "Saw Bouncers Behaving Recklessly": Cops On 'Pushpa 2' Premiere Stampede Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world . MORE Cricket Match Called Off After Ravindra Jadeja-Hindi Press Conference Row Is Safe Car Enough? Volvo Crash That Killed CEO, Family Sparks Big Question "Nothing Short Of Nightmare": Woman Misses Life Event, Slams Air India Snack Food Epigamia Founder Rohan Mirchandani Dies Of Cardiac Arrest At 41 Rahul Gandhi's Family Lunch At Iconic Delhi Restaurant "When Sundar Played In Perth, Ashwin Said...": Ex India Star On Retirement Tomatoes Thrown, Protest Outside Allu Arjun's Home Over Stampede Death India To Play Champions Trophy 2025 Matches At This Venue: Report Tea For Rs 10 At Kolkata Airport Soon, Raghav Chadha Says "Change Brewing" AAP vs BJP As Delhi Tableau Rejected For Republic Day Parade Yet Again Stepwell, Likely 150-Year-Old, Discovered During Excavation In UP's Sambhal Amid Stampede Row, CCTV Shows Cops Escorting Allu Arjun Out Of Theatre Jeff Bezos To Marry Lauren Sanchez In A Lavish $600M Ceremony: Report Smriti Mandhana Scripts History, Becomes First-Ever Woman Cricketer To... BJP Leader Who Lost To Priyanka Gandhi Challenges Election, Congress Reacts Blake Lively Sues Her Co-star Justin Baldoni For Sexual Harassment Retired Indian Army Dogs Get New Lease Of Life In Schools, Homes Real Madrid vs Sevilla Live Streaming, La Liga 2024/25 Live Telecast After Jadeja, Another Star Accused Of Refusing To Speak With Aussie Media ISRO Drafts Its First 'POEM' To Study How Life Works In Space
Plans for a huge new truck showroom and workshop have been given the green light. The 38,000-square-foot commercial facility is being built on the "iconic" site of a former Scottish steelworks. The new Motus Commercials facility, work on which is expected to start on the Ravenscraig site in January, will provide purpose-built space for the sales, service and parts support of DAF Trucks. Motus Commercials is the largest dealer group in the UK for DAF Trucks, a leading brand on the market. Read Scott Wright's analysis here Scottish economy decline revealed as UK impact flagged Kate Forbes (Image: PA) The Scottish economy contracted in October ahead of Labour’s Autumn Budget. Publishing the data this week, the Scottish Government’s chief economist directorate flagged a dampening impact as businesses anticipated the October 30 Budget from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Scotland’s onshore gross domestic product fell by 0.2% month-on-month in October, a slightly greater decline than one of 0.1% in the UK as a whole revealed in figures published by the Office for National Statistics. Onshore GDP in Scotland had risen by 0.3% in September. This was in contrast to a 0.1% decline in GDP in September in the UK as a whole. Read Ian McConnell's story here Scottish builder and manufacturer opens new £6m window and door factory The factory has been unveiled (Image: CCG) A Scottish builder and manufacturer has unveiled a new window and door manufacturing facility. The 25,000-square-foot facility forms part of a wider £6 million investment into the expansion of CCG’s manufacturing subsidiary. The business makes a range of enhanced window and door sets, and directly employs 60 skilled trade and technical staff at the Cambuslang manufacturing site. CCG has been mainstream in the fabrication of window and door products since 1995. Its precision-engineered products cater to CCG’s construction projects and large-scale housing improvement programmes in collaboration with housing associations and local authorities across Scotland. Read Brian Donnelly's story here AROUND THE GREENS Golf's answer to Wonka's chocolate factory Some of Scotland's busiest ranges use the Trackman technology (Image: Trackman) This article appears as part of Kristy Dorsey's Around the Greens series Trackman's iconic orange box is a familiar sight on tour ranges and fitting bays and is helping to drive the proliferation of tech-laden facilities offering players the opportunity to improve their game. The system was developed over several years and initially demonstrated to golf equipment manufacturers in the US. The first unit launched in 2004 and is said to be the first to track a golf ball's entire flight. In October the company released Virtual Golf 3, the latest evolution of its graphics engine for Trackman simulators. Steven Carmichael, director of strategic alliances, says there's plenty more yet to come.
Trump will return to power with a raft of tools at his disposal.Pakistan faces visa ban from Gulf countries following criminal allegations
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby: Spurs-Knicks Christmas game is also an animated one at Disney WorldDon’t say bye bye bye to your hopes for an *NSYNC reunion. While the boy band—consisting of Justin Timberlake , JC Chasez , Lance Bass , Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick —briefly reunited in 2023, Chasez revealed there may in fact be more in store. “I will say this,” he told Keltie Knight , Becca Tobin and Jac Vanek on the Nov. 26 episode of the LadyGang podcast. “I’m not trying to gaslight, I’m not trying to do any of that nonsense. But we are talking more than we’ve ever talked about it.” But Chasez emphasized that a reunion for the group—who released their last studio album Celebrity over 20 years ago—is still “not real right now.” And if it were to happen, the singer—who re-teamed with the band in 2023 for “Better Place,” off the Trolls Band Together soundtrack—would want it to be organically. “You go where inspiration is, right?” he continued. “Like, I’m not one of those people that fakes it very well. Whenever I’ve tried to fake it, I’ve always felt s--tty about it, to be honest with you.” And if that creativity did lead to new music, Chasez, 48, said they’d have to balance the fresh material with a healthy dose of the classics. “Look, everybody wants to go see the Rolling Stones ,” he said. “They’ve been doing it forever, but you still want to hear ‘Satisfaction.’ I want to give the people what they want, I do. It’s a part of my nature, I guess. But I also can’t lie to myself, so I have to be true to myself as well.” A post shared by LadyGang TM (@theladygang) In June, Fatone also weighed in on the possibility of hitting the road as a quintet again, noting how different their lives are now than in the early ‘00s. “Back in the day when we were younger, nobody was married, nobody had kids, but as we got older, we're married, we have kids,” he told E! News at the time. “But the thing is, for me, do we want to do it? Everybody's older, everybody has different personalities now. How do we deal with that? I'm not saying that it's bad. It's just a matter of making it cohesive.” If it’s tearin’ up your heart to wait for an *NSYNC reunion, keep reading for some little-known facts about the iconic boy band. 1. After Chris Kirkpatrick , 23 at the time, was passed over for the Backstreet Boys —the first instance of shady impresario Lou Pearlman capturing boy band lightning in a bottle—he dusted himself off and told Pearlman he was still interested in being in a group. Pearlman agreed to put up the money if Kirkpatrick would do the work of actually finding other talented guys to join him, and so the sifting through demos and watching countless hours of tapes began. They eventually happened upon The All New- Mickey Mouse Club alum and aspiring singer Justin Timberlake , 14, who recommended fellow former Mouseketeer JC Chasez , 19. ("JC was the cool older guy, and Justin wanted to be just like him," co-star Christina Aguilera remembered fondly to Rolling Stone .) They continued the search in Orlando, and Kirkpatrick thought of Joey Fatone , 18, who he knew from his days performing at Universal Studios—and who Chasez knew from his time living in Florida when he was working for Disney. But they still needed a deeper voice. Timberlake's vocal coach advised them to check out this kid from Mississippi, Lance Bass , who flew down to Florida on Oct. 1, 1995. Pearlman and Timberlake picked the appropriately named 16-year-old up at the airport in the former's black Rolls Royce. Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough , who knew Kirkpatrick way back when, gave himself a little pat on the back later on for all this serendipity, telling Pop Crush in 2015 that BSB asked Pearlman "to help [Chris] out in any way that he could and still fulfill his dream. He went back with Chris and formed a group and little by little that spun off to eventually be 'N Sync." 2. But wait, Lance wasn't the first fifth member of 'N Sync! That role was originally played by Jason Galasso , who had known Fatone from choir in their high school days and was dabbling in the singing-group arts when he got a page (1990s, FTW) out of nowhere from his old acquaintance. Coincidentally, he also knew Chasez because, as Galasso explained on The Digital Get Down podcast in 2019, he "used to kind of hang out with The Mickey Mouse Club " stars like Chase Hampton and Keri Russell . After they "locked in perfectly" on a rendition of Boyz II Men 's "End of the Road," that was it, he was in the as-yet unnamed group. "I remember I'm like, 'Dang, Justin's young!'" he recalled. "But then I heard him sing, I'm like 'Oh, it doesn't matter how old he is, he can sing his butt off." At the same time, however, the bass singer was also in a three-man group called Unreal, "so I'm still trying to decide, you know, what I want to do, what direction I want to go in as far as which group I want to go with," Galasso, who's in the mortgage loan business these days, recalled. "Because I remember, the first time Lou Pearlman brought over some music, he was thinking about the type of music that we would be doing, and I come from an R&B, hip-hop background. That's my love, my heart, my soul." So when Pearlman came over with "this European-style techno, I was just like, 'Hmm, okay.'" So, he went ahead and traveled with the other guys in Unreal to Atlanta to cut a demo, which he thought turned out great. Meanwhile, 'N Sync was starting to fashion a look and they were talking about putting a showcase together for Disney's Pleasure Island. They even took a field trip to Shaquille O'Neal 's house to check out his home studio in Orlando, but they had not yet recorded any music. And, more consequentially for Galasso, they hadn't yet signed any contracts. Pretty soon, both groups were trying to get him to sign. Galasso said he took the dueling contracts to a lawyer and, while the deal with the trio was pretty standard issue, Pearlman had himself written into the 'N Sync contract as a sixth member, and that contract was "thick as a phone book." He felt that the other members of 'N Sync were more gung-ho than he was about the deal—which was true, because they all proceeded to sign it, whether they truly understood what it entailed or not. So Galasso ultimately went with the group that wasn't 'N Sync. 3. Aside from Timberlake's mom complimenting that they sounded so "in sync," the group's name—sometimes NSYNC, other times *NSYNC, but for our purposes, 'N Sync—incorporates the last letter of their first names: Justi n , Chri s , Joe y , Jaso n and J C . Oh, wait...The guys asked Lance if he wouldn't mind tweaking his name a bit to make the whole 'N Sync thing still work. And so, Lanceton was born. "They did call me Lanceton for a good year, just basically as a joke," Bass told EW.com in 2015. "I think it was Justin who first was like, 'Okay, Lanceton.' Then it kinda faded out once we got a deal and then came out. It didn't stick very long. It was either Lanceton or Landon." 4. After a couple of years in which their biggest following was in Germany, ahead-of-their time fans of the Max Martin -penned "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart" ("In Europe, we were on the cover of every magazine," Bass recalled), 'N Sync finally got its big break in the U.S. when the Backstreet Boys turned down a "Disney Channel in Concert" gig. Instead, NSYNC in Concert came out in 1998 and—thank you, cable—Disney Channel aired it over and over again. "The Disney Channel concert really changed our career," Bass told 20/20 . "It was incredible, and that one gig right there, to me, is what made us in America." 5. While they were all in Miami to play in their Challenge for the Children charity basketball game, the guys ordered room service to their hotel room not long before they were due at a press call. Fatone showed up at least 15 minutes late because, as it turned out, he had been waiting for a fresh burger—because the one on his plate had a bite taken out of it! But it wasn't delivered that way, Bass recalled on the Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast. Timberlake had totally taken a bite out of it to screw with his pal. "It was so funny. I've never seen Joey get so upset about something like that," Bass said. He "was probably tired or something," but "we make fun of him all the time for that outburst. All the time." 6. Fatone may have blown up over a partially eaten burger, but Bass admitted he wasn't always the picture of patience. He told Rosenbaum that he sometimes lost his cool when Kirkpatrick would take his resident funnyman persona too far during interviews. "Chris, you know, he's very animated," Bass said, "and he's funny and he's always cracking a joke. But when someone is always cracking the joke in every single interview, and you do like 20 a day and there's five guys, your days get long and long and long." "So, there have been many times I'm like, 'Shut up. Just answer the question so we can move on because we are so tired right now.' So, he would always make all our interviews at least double the time." 7. At one point they were too busy to even stop by a barbershop for haircuts (or bleach jobs), so, Bass said, "that's when I started just kind of getting this bleach and putting it in my hair and just putting my fingertips in it, and that's how the frosted tips were born." Now you know. 8. In 2000, to celebrate the diamond-selling status of their 1997 debut 'N Sync , meaning 10 million copies sold, their manager Johnny Wright (who had previously been the road manager for New Kids on the Block along with his wife Donna ) gifted the five with diamond-and-platinum pendants. "We are diamond," Timberlake announced, mostly facetiously, according to Rolling Stone . "Screw all of you. I'm done. Forget this boy-band thing." 9. The members of 'N Sync did get rich—but not right away, and not until they took matters into their own hands. As it turned out, Pearlman, who died in prison in 2016 while serving a 25-year sentence for money laundering and other crimes committed in the running of a Ponzi scheme, was seemingly screwing them and the Backstreet Boys (and O-Town for that matter) out of money. Talking to ABC News' 20/20 in 2019, Bass recalled Pearlman flying the members of 'N Sync and their families to Los Angeles in 1998 for a promised check-presentation party. The amount: $10,000 apiece. "I was in the biggest band in the world and selling millions of records...but I can't even afford my apartment in Orlando. I couldn't even get a car," said Bass, who tried to be polite but then ripped up his check when he got back to his hotel room. Added Kirkpatrick, "With all the success you would think that we were making hand-over-fist money and we were printing money and whatever, and it just wasn't the case." After realizing their contracts, like the members of BSB, treated Pearlman as a sixth member, meaning he got one-sixth of the group's profits as well as management fees, 'N Sync jumped ship for Jive Records—and were promptly sued by TransContinental Records and RCA parent BMG Entertainment, which had distributed their first album. It was a $150 million lawsuit, but Pearlman's big goal was to prevent them from continuing to use the name 'N Sync. They countersued for $25 million and settled for an undisclosed amount in 1999—and, most importantly perhaps, they retained the right to press on with their name intact. 10. No Strings Attached , their smash-hit sophomore album released in March 2000, was metaphorical AF. " No Strings Attached just became the theme," Kirkpatrick, who thought of the concept after "I've Got No Strings" from Disney's Pinocchio popped into his head, told 20/20 . "It became our battle cry of, 'We don't owe anybody anymore...we have no ties to anything but each other...and our fans." Chasez, who won a talent show in the seventh grade singing Richard Marx 's "Right Here Waiting" only to have Marx write and produce "I Promise You" for No Strings , told Rolling Stone , "This album is really in your face. Nothing is sang passively; everything is chopped and punched. You can definitely hear a Michael Jackson influence in the way the words chop off—that's the way Michael delivers a line." Added Timberlake, "We're pissed off now—that's what it is. We're angry white boys who didn't get our props. No, I'm kidding—I'm kidding." Moreover, they were musically homeless for most of the time they were making it, unhappy with TransContinental and not yet ensconced at Jive, whose artists included Timberlake's then-secret (albeit a poorly kept one) girlfriend Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. No Strings Attached sold 2.4 million copies in its first week out, including 1.1 million on day one. 11. A year later, Jackson was delivering on stage with them— first at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, appearing just as 'N Sync was winding down its performance of "Pop" and sending the crowd into a frenzy even though he didn't sing—and then for real all together days later on "Dancing Machine" at the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration . The two-day concert event held at Madison Square Garden aired on CBS that November. In 2016, Bass revealed on The Meredith Vieira Show that Jackson didn't speak to him for a year after the MSG show because, when Jackson insisted that Bass and Fatone (who had a movie premiere to attend) stay until the end for a group rendition of "Heal the World," saying it was "for the children," Bass giggled, not realizing the King of Pop was perfectly serious. 12. Once they all had more money in the bank, naturally they started spending it. In March 2000, Timberlake bought a Mercedes jeep (his first big purchase) and a BMW M Roadster, and would add a Dodge Viper, an Audi TT, a Porsche 911 and a Cadillac Escalade to his collection by the following year. Fatone treated himself to a black Cadillac truck and homes and cars for his parents and siblings. Several of them purchased homes in Orlando, and Kirkpatrick bought a house for his mom, too. Bass got a house in Orlando, one in his home state of Mississippi, and one in the border area known as Floribama. "There's a white grand piano, a white couch and a tapestry of knights on horses, and I have this beautiful acrylic statue of a nude man and woman that my friend got me," Timberlake described the decor in his Orlando bachelor pad to Rolling Stone . "It's a beautiful piece: You shine a light on it and it shines right through. I've got a game room that we call the Jimmy Buffett room, because it's Orlando tropical, and I have a country kitchen to remind me of where I grew up. The bedroom is a whole safari motif, with a Japanese screen and a big sleigh bed." The following year, Chasez revealed he'd become a red wine aficionado, and had sprung for a $2,500 book of Helmut Newton photographs. 13. In 2000, just before No Strings Attached came out, Kirkpatrick was dating the girlfriend he'd had for about a year before 'N Sync became a global phenomenon. They weren't meant to be, as he married Karly Skladany in 2013 after three years together, with all of his former bandmates in attendance. Timberlake was still playing coy about whether he and Spears were actually dating ("Britney's a good friend of mine"), informing Rolling Stone , "If I do decide to have a personal relationship with someone, I think it's best to keep it that—personal." Bass had previously dated Boy Meets World Star Danielle Fishel , even accompanying her to her high school prom. He'd choose to wait until 2006 to publicly come out as gay, and he's now been married to Michael Turchin since 2014. Fatone had been on and off with high school sweetheart Kelly Baldwin since 1993—but they were decidedly back on when they welcomed daughter Briahna in March of 2001. They got married in 2004 and had second daughter Kloey Alexandra in 2010, but as of 2019 they were divorcing and Fatone was dating Izabel Araujo . Chasez, meanwhile, usually had girlfriends around (in 2001 he was dating Bobbie Thomas , who was inspired to start her own blog when she saw how the media treated Spears), but he has kept an impressively tight lid on his private life. 14. By 2000, Bass had started Freelance Management, hoping to develop country artists. Timberlake launched his eponymous foundation to benefit music and arts education in public schools. Chasez was producing music for girl group Wild Orchid and Kirkpatrick had started his own fashion and music production company called Fuman Skeeto. 15. Legions of screaming tween fans aside, they weren't trying to be extra adorable to appeal to as many kids (and their moms) as possible. "We don't try to make ourselves do cute, we just are who we are," Timberlake told Rolling Stone in 2000. "We're boys. We burp and fart, just like boys." 16. Kirkpatrick considered himself the stereotypical guy's guy among them, telling Rolling Stone in 2001, "I'm like a bunch of college guys got together and said, 'Let's make a dude, a crazy dude.' And they made me." The writer described Bass as a "supernice, humble, patient guy who's so pretty he almost looks like a girl, and who never, ever stops smiling." Chasez was said to be the one whose offstage personality was furthest from his onstage persona, "the one most likely to meander right past you so silently you wouldn't even notice him." Fatone was "a giant wild boy with a rambunctious electricity bubbling constantly beneath his skin, as if he's about to make a party break out anytime, anywhere." 17. During rehearsal in New Orleans in 2001, a platform shot up too early and Fatone's lower leg was caught between it and the stage, somehow not breaking the bone but exposing a lot of the interior of his leg. "There was a hole," Bass told Rolling Stone . "You could see the bone, you could see everything. So we applied pressure on it, and the fat was coming out, and it was not good. He can take pain good, but he was in pain. Oh, he screamed. It looked like a bullet went through his leg." Added Chasez, "He ended up going to the hospital and they cut a piece of his leg out and had to rinse the metal out because his leg was caught between two pieces of metal. I don't know how it didn't break. He's a tough kid." A few weeks later, Fatone, who had been using a cane to get around, was back on stage dancing. "He's in pain," Chasez observed. "But Joey's got great showmanship. He knows how to cover his steps 'cause he's been onstage longer than any of us." 18. When you think about it, 'N Sync had a relatively tame run. They're first to admit they had their fun, but they were not troublemakers, nor did trouble have a habit of "finding them." Bass liked a Jack and Coke, but would more likely volunteer to be the evening's designated driver. "If some twelve-year-old sees on the news that I got arrested for cocaine, that affects a lot of people," he told Rolling Stone . "I remember when I was ten and I caught my sister drinking. It was so devastating to me." He added, "I can have water and feel like I'm getting drunk." 19. Fame hadn't come overnight, but once it did, it was a whole new world. "You realize what hard work it is and that it's not glamorous," Bass told Rolling Stone . "It's like going to Disney World, going into the tunnels and seeing Cinderella smoking a cigarette. The whole magic is gone." Timberlake admitted, "It's been a little tough There's definitely been times when I was totally depressed. But, you know, my spirituality helped me through that. I just feel like there's two of me: the public-eye me and the guy-who-brushes-his-teeth-twice-a-day me. They're getting along all right now. Sometimes brush-his-teeth doesn't get enough attention, but it's worth it." "You don't want to say or do too much," acknowledged Fatone. "You know, it's like breaking the fans' hearts if there's something out there that they don't know about and might get upset about." 20. In case anyone was under the impression that 'N Sync was composed of five disparate parts who just got lucky, they'd be wrong. "We started out as best friends, and you know, I think it shows—it shows in everything we do," Kirkpatrick, sitting down on CNN's Larry King Live with the rest of the group, said in January 2001. "From when we're on stage, when we're clowning around, we do, like, so many shows that each show is so different because of the interaction amongst each other. And we'll goof around with each other." In response to King's observation that a lot of band members don't really get along behind the scenes, Timberlake added, "Well, the chemistry we have is unreal. I can't tell you, you know even with this tour last summer, I could just look at Chris and it could say 10 things at the same time, and he would know exactly what I meant just by looking at him, because we've been together...Even before everything took off, we were together, some of us working 9:00 to 5:00. But every day, singing, and you know, trying to get our act together." 21. The channeled their misgivings about living life in a fish bowl to varying effect with their third album, 2001's Celebrity . By then, Timberlake was openly dating Spears ("When we get together, that's just my girl, and I love her, and that's it. I don't think about what everybody's thinkin' about. She makes me happy. She's like salvation," he told Rolling Stone ; Bass added, "They're so perfect for each other, it's scary") and the group was making a reported $2.5 million a night on their PopOdyssey stadium tour. 22. In 2000, Timberlake told Rolling Stone , talking about the influx of boy bands onto the music scene, "I think the next couple of years will separate the boys from the men. What worries me is the oversaturation of the market." Well, the other boy bands wouldn't have to worry about it for long. 23. 'N Sync went on so-called "temporary hiatus" in 2002 after wrapping up their Celebrity Tour, mainly so Timberlake could focus on his solo career, and that turned out to be it. Though no one came right out and said it and the group never officially announced that they were disbanding. One Direction fans know the concept well. "After you do something for a certain amount of time, you get into a rhythm of it and then new things spark your curiosity; you need new brain food," Chasez, who had a solo hit that year with "Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)," reflected to Huffington Post in 2019. "At that time, we just felt like we had exhausted every kind of idea for what we were doing and we just felt like, 'OK, let's do something different.' So, that's what we did." As for Bass, he said, "me and the guys were never on bad terms at al...The thing I was most disappointed in was not just Justin leaving the band. It's that our whole team, our record label, our management, everything like that, they all knew. They all knew it was over for three years before they told me. "So, for three years, I'm sitting there getting ready for a new album as everyone else knows we're moving on." 24. The guys from 'N Sync pretty much went their separate ways as they embarked on their solo aspirations and Timberlake became a superstar in their own right (though that's not why none of them went to JT's wedding in Italy when he married Jessica Biel in 2012), having released Justified in November 2002 and never really looking back. So could their reunion performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards have been more hyped?! It was short but sweet, and their moves were intact. 25. Reflecting on why he didn't come out while he was in 'N Sync, Bass said at the group's Hollywood Walk of Fame induction in 2018 that "at the time, I thought that I would never be able to tell anyone because not only was I terrified of the lasting rejection—I was certain that that would happen—but more than that I didn't want to jeopardize the careers of these guys up here, much less the hundreds of amazing people who worked tirelessly to bring 'N Sync to the world." Bass continued, "I thought if I had come out, 'N Sync would be over. So I kept my secret. And our wildest dreams were coming true and we were so incredibly thankful—and I still am. But so many nights onstage, I'd see so many young, gay fans singing their hearts out and I wanted so badly to let you know, I was you. I just didn't have the strength then. But I do today and so let me say loud and proud to all my LGBT brothers and sisters, who embrace me and show me the way to be who I am, thank you so much." We can only imagine he's gained plenty of new fans since going public with his true self. And if he lost any, those people never deserved him in the first place.
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