Walker 3-8 4-6 10, Banks 3-7 3-5 10, Kinziger 2-6 4-4 10, Pence 5-9 2-3 14, Wolf 4-9 0-1 11, Poindexter 5-11 0-2 13, Boser 0-0 0-0 0, Barnes 0-0 0-0 0, Daugherty 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 13-21 68. Charles 3-6 1-2 8, Shumate 4-7 0-2 9, Cooper 1-2 1-1 3, Garcia 5-12 4-4 16, Murray 4-10 5-7 13, Parker 4-8 3-4 13, Richards 2-7 4-4 10, Selebangue 0-0 2-2 2, Copeland 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-54 20-26 76. Halftime_McNeese St. 43-36. 3-Point Goals_Illinois St. 11-26 (Wolf 3-6, Poindexter 3-8, Pence 2-4, Kinziger 2-5, Banks 1-3), McNeese St. 8-20 (Garcia 2-3, Parker 2-5, Richards 2-6, Charles 1-2, Shumate 1-3, Murray 0-1). Fouled Out_Kinziger. Rebounds_Illinois St. 26 (Pence 6), McNeese St. 34 (Shumate, Garcia 7). Assists_Illinois St. 14 (Banks 4), McNeese St. 10 (Cooper 5). Total Fouls_Illinois St. 19, McNeese St. 21.Labour housing plan in detail as targets for new homes unveiled - check your area
ENVESTNET INC. ANNOUNCES MAKE-WHOLE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE AND SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURES UNDER ITS 0.75% CONVERTIBLE NOTES DUE 2025 AND 2.625% CONVERTIBLE NOTES DUE 2027Paula Abdul has reached a settlement with American Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe following a year-long sexual assault legal battle. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. “I am grateful that this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can now put behind me...,” Abdul said in a statement. “I hope my experience can serve to inspire other women, facing similar struggles, to overcome their own challenges with dignity and respect, so that they too can turn the page and begin a new chapter of their lives.” Lythgoe continued to dispute Abdul’s accusations, claiming, “We live in a troubling time where a person is now automatically assumed to be guilty until proven innocent, a process that can take years,” in a statement. Abdul accused Lythgoe of groping her in an elevator nearly 20 years ago when she was a judge on American Idol. A decade later, when she was a judge on So You Think You Can Dance , she alleged Lythgoe invited her to his home and then attempted to forced himself on her. Lythgoe stepped down as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance in January after a second suit was filed accusing him of sexually assaulting two contestants on a different show. A third lawsuit was filed in March, accusing Lythgoe of sexually assaulting a woman at his home in 2018. It’s been some 26 years since Jennifer Love Hewitt’s ‘final girl’ faced off with a vengeful killer fisherman in the I Know What You Did Last Summe r series. (That was in the film’s sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer ; a third film is not considered canon by horror fans, while a related TV series aired in 2021.) But with filming on an official threequel—set for release, wait for it, next summer—currently underway, Hewitt confirmed Friday that she’ll be reprising her original role. “It’s never too late to go back,” Hewitt wrote in an Instagram caption confirming the casting news. Hewitt joins her former co-star Freddie Prinze Jr. in the forthcoming film, alongside a lineup of young Hollywood talent who will near inevitably end up as roadkill . Perhaps unsurprisingly, Prinze Jr.‘s wife Sarah Michelle Gellar —who also starred in the first IKWYDLS movie—had previously confirmed she won’t be returning, because her character died . Fair enough! That hasn’t stopped the Internet from wondering if she didn’t really want to see Love Hewitt back either, with commenters reading deeply into an apparently shady red carpet moment . A post shared by Jennifer Love Hewitt (@jenniferlovehewitt) Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Consuming cannabis as an adult feels very different than doing so as a fresh-faced 21-year-old—so why should your smoking habits make your space feel like a disheveled college dorm room? NWTN Home’s collection of chic smoking essentials offers a more elevated way to enjoy cannabis in the comfort of your home. NWTN Home is a smokeware brand bringing craftsmanship to the cannabis industry by designing what they call “homeware for the high-minded.” Its weed-associated products are built to double as elegant and functional houseware items , helping you upgrade your home into a full smoking sanctuary. Plus, they make the perfect holiday gifts for your favorite creative cannabis connoisseur! This hand-poured, marbled ashtray rests atop a sleek melamine rolling tray and includes a helpful brass tool that can assist in your rolling process, making it the perfect blend of form and function. This standout stackable flower pot ashtray set is a surefire solution to keep your space clean—and your houseguests impressed. No cannabis collection is complete without something to smoke out of! These avant-garde gravity bongs are inspired by vintage housewares and designed to seamlessly blend into your barware and greenware set-ups. BBC reported that Apple’s new AI notification system sent a message from the outlet that falsely claimed Luigi Mangione shot himself. The new technology aims to group together notifications; however, it falsely wrote that the suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s Manhattan slaying had shot himself. The BBC sent a message to Apple in regards to the notification, but the company declined to comment. A BBC spokesperson said, “It is essential to us that our audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name and that includes notifications.” The notification included other news stories, which were described correctly. The message read: “Luigi Mangione shoots himself; Syrian mother hopes Assad pays the price; South Korea police raid Yoon Suk Yeol’s office.” The BBC also reported that it’s seemingly not the only news organization dealing with the misleading summarizations. A screenshot allegedly showed that a New York Times grouped notification read that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arrested. The screenshot could not be independently verified by the BBC, and the New York Times declined to comment. The NFL wished Taylor Swift a Happy Birthday with a TikTok of her and Travis Kelce’s most memorable moments—on and off the field. Kelce’s employer posted the video of the singer and his relationship, which already has racked up over 1 million views. The caption read, “Karma is the guy on the @Chiefs saying happy bday to me.” The clips showed Kelce and Swift celebrating his wins at games, the pair at her concerts, and her glitzed out in Chiefs gear. “If you told me 2 years ago I would be following the NFL on tiktok and not falling asleep everytime a game is on TV... never would’ve believed it,” wrote one commenter. “Happy birthday Taylor. Thank you for uniting the Swifties and the Football Fans together in the name of art and sport,” another wrote. Swift has been seen at many Chiefs games since the beginning of her relationship with the tight end, with him visiting her at some of her tour dates. karma is the guy on the @Chiefs saying happy bday to me 🎶 #taylorswift #traviskelce #nfl #kansascitychiefs Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. 2025 is quickly approaching, and there’s no better way to celebrate the new year than with 2024’s cocktail du jour—the espresso martini. It’s the perfect way to toast 2025 with sophistication, flavor, and an energy boost. Think you can’t make the buzzy beverage at home because you’re not a bartender? Think again. You can create this beloved cocktail effortlessly with just a cocktail shaker, fresh espresso, vodka, coffee beans, and Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur . It all starts in the land Down Under—Australia. Mr Black sources its ingredients, including 100 percent specialty-grade Arabica coffee, from local farmers and cooperatives. The liqueur is then slowly brewed with purified cold water to preserve its delicate, complex flavors. The result? A bittersweet masterpiece with bold flavor, balanced sweetness, and a lasting coffee kick. Its rich, coffee-forward taste is a crowd-pleaser, and the sleek bottle design adds a touch of elegance to any bar cart. Making an espresso martini is simple. Combine Mr Black , vodka, and freshly brewed espresso in a shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until cold. Then, strain the mixture into a martini glass and finish with three coffee beans as a garnish. Skip the champagne toast this year and ensure you stay awake for the countdown to 2025 with a Mr Black espresso martini. Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson , known best to some for his past relationships with Kim Kardashian , Ariana Grande , Kate Beckinsale , and more famous women, now says he doesn’t want to be known as “this f---ing loser who just dates people,” in a new interview for W Magazine . to promote his new role as creative director for colorful sock brand Doublesoul, Davidson told the outlet his feeling that he was one of “a handful of celebs every couple of years” that the media “destroys,” after multiple run-ins with tabloids over his famous exes. “For some reason, I’m one of the people they chose to go after,” he said. But, he added, “It’s actually, in a way, a blessing, because it allowed me to take a step back and evaluate things. What do you want to be? Who are you?” Davidson said he only wants to be seen publicly “when it’s movie, stand-up, charity, or business ventures” and to focus on his stand-up career. “I’m someone who is from Staten Island, wanted to do stand-up, and if I got to do anything else because of stand-up, it was a miracle.” The iconic sitcom Malcolm in the Middle will hit screens for the first time in 18 years, with a limited run of four episodes set to premiere on Disney+ . Frankie Muniz, who will reprise his role as Malcolm, announced the reboot Friday, along with Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek, who play his parents. The original creator of the show will also return as a writer. The new series follows Malcolm returning home with his daughter for his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, according to Deadline . Christopher Kennedy Masterson, who played the eldest brother Francis, and Justin Berfield, who played the middle child Reese, are likely to be asked to reprise their roles. Though it’s unlikely that Erik Per Sullivan, who plays the youngest brother Dewey, will make an appearance. He quit acting in 2010 and has not appeared at any reunions. Malcolm in the Middle first premiered on Fox in 2000 and ran for seven seasons. Its success as a family comedy is credited with paving the way for other single-camera sitcoms. Legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers is finally opening up about his strained relationship with his family. In his new documentary, Aaron Rodgers: Enigma , Rodgers explained that he has “stunted emotional intelligence” because of the lack of open emotion in his home growing up. “I think I saw my dad cry when my grandfather passed. And that might have been it,” Rodgers shared. “There wasn’t space for emotion.” Rodgers’ brother, Jordan, first opened up about the family’s rift during his time on The Bachelorette in 2016. During a hometown date with his now-wife JoJo Fletcher, the family explained that while they “miss” Rodgers, they no longer have a relationship with him. In a 2017 profile with The New York Times , Rodgers’ father, Ed, confirmed that he hadn’t spoken to his son in three years. “Fame can change things,” he said. At the time, Rodgers said he didn’t want to talk about his family publicly. In the doc, Rodgers spoke about his family while participating in an ayahuasca ceremony. The quarterback said the psychedelic drug allows users to “model a new way of thinking about masculinity, or what it means to be a man.” Released bodycam footage shows Paris Hilton’s ex-fiancé, Chris Zylka, in a chaotic brawl with police after a failed carjacking. Police in a Cleveland suburb first responded to reports of a shirtless, barefoot man walking in traffic in freezing temperatures on Dec. 4, local outlet WKBN first reported. Zylka was found in the middle of an intersection, where he allegedly tried to break into a woman’s car. He pointed a cell phone at the cops and began foaming at the mouth, leading officers to believe he was under the influence of drugs, according to the police report. Footage shows Zylka struggling with police officers and resisting arrest even after being tasered in the leg twice. He was then put in an ambulance by paramedics. The actor is now facing felony charges of assault and attempt to commit an offense, as well as misdemeanor disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and aggravated menacing. Hilton and Zylka started dating in 2017 after being friends for years. He proposed in early 2018 during a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado, but they called off their engagement in November that same year. Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Apparently, boosting prostate health can actually be pleasurable—at least, that’s what premium sexual wellness brand MysteryVibe says. The Molto, an ultra-slim and bendable prostate vibrator designed by a doctor, is engineered to be the same size and width as a doctor’s finger and to mimic similar motions to that performed during an exam, allowing for not only intense prostate (the prostate is often hailed as the male ‘G-spot’) and anal stimulation but also a release of prostatic fluids. According to the brand, some studies have found that excess prostatic fluid can lead to inflammation and pressure, so not only is this a sex toy , but it’s also possibly an investment in your prostate health. Think of it almost like a lymphatic massage for your prostate—except one that can give you intense orgasms, too. Made with body-safe silicone, the multifunctional and gender-fluid vibrator is powered by one “anatomically-placed” motor that delivers potent yet precise vibration to the anus and prostate without feeling bulky or inflexible. It’s a great sex toy for those new to anal play or who are looking for an ultra-sleek vibrator with possible health-boosting benefits. The prostate vibrator is equipped with 16 vibration settings and eight pre-set vibration patterns, allowing for superior control and customization. Plus, the device comes with access to a catalog of vibration patterns with the free MysteryVibe smartphone app. Best of all? Because the Molto vibrator is an FDA-registered class II medical device, it’s also FSA/HSA eligible. Vanderpump Rules alum James Kennedy is refusing to apologize for his domestic violence arrest . “We are in the process of conducting our own investigation into the allegations levied by the Burbank Police Department against James,” Kennedy’s attorneys said in a statement to the Daily Mail . “We understand that there were no injuries and we are hoping that, after careful review, the city’s attorneys will decide not to file formal charges.” Police were called to Kennedy’s home on Tuesday because of an argument between Kennedy and a woman. That night, Kennedy attended Kathy Hilton’s Christmas party with girlfriend Ally Lewber, though it’s unknown if she is the victim. Police told People that after an investigation, they arrested the reality star for misdemeanor domestic violence. He later posted $20,000 bail. A source at the Christmas party told People that Kennedy was acting “super aggressive.” “He was acting so erratic, running back and forth to the bar and body-checking people along the way,” the source alleged. “He appeared inebriated. Spent the evening mostly alone but when he did speak to people, he appeared irritated and rude.” A doctor has rubbished Brandi Glanville’s scary medical theory about her “deflated” face , saying he’s concerned about an infection that started via an injection. The 52-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum claims doctor s told her that it may have been caused by “a parasite that jumps around my face.” But Dr. Terry Dubrow, from Botched , has said he’s “concerned about an infectious process”. He told TMZ : “It’s an infectious process or a foreign body reaction to something she’s had injected.” A foreign body reaction is the response of biological tissue to any foreign material in the tissue, despite it often being inert and nontoxic, according to ScienceDirect.com Dubrow added: “Brandi needs a diagnosis... she has to figure out if there’s a microorganism in there. It’s not gonna be a parasite, it’s not gonna be something she ate... it’s going to be something that got into her bloodstream though, and seeded some foreign body.” Dubrow thinks Glanville either has a micro bacterium, a type of bacteria, or a fungus, a type of organism. Sick it! pic.twitter.com/hrtAzRwOCWBathinda: Haryana cops on Sunday foiled protesting farmers’ second attempt within 3 days to march towards Delhi by firing teargas shells on them at the Punjab-Haryana border point in Shambhu, leaving scores injured and leading farmer forums Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha to suspend their march for a day. Tension gripped the site around 12 noon as a second jatha (group) of 101 farmers tried cross the multi-layered barricading on the national highway 44 to press for their demands, which include a legal guarantee for minimum support price. Cops offered tea, played hymns from Gurbani and even showered flowers from atop the barricading, but ultimately, resorted to use of pepper spray, teargas shells and water canons as farmers tried to pull apart iron grilles. The protesters, however, claimed the flowers were laced with chemicals and shells with no expiry date were fired at them, showing one of them as proof. We also published the following articles recently Haryana cops lob teargas shells, farmers halt march Farmers marching to Delhi from Punjab were halted at the Haryana border by police using tear gas and pepper spray, injuring several. The farmers, demanding guaranteed minimum support prices and talks with the Union agriculture minister, retreated but plan to resume their march on Sunday. One farmer died in a previous attempt. 6 farmers hospitalized after tear gas shelling at Punjab-Haryana border Clashes between farmers and Haryana police at the Shambhu border crossing continue, leaving six more farmers hospitalized on Sunday. Tear gas shelling by police resulted in injuries, with two farmers requiring transfers to higher medical facilities in Patiala and Chandigarh. Tension grips Shambhu border as farmers prepare for march; Haryana police on high alert Farmers protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border are planning to march to Delhi today, coinciding with a Sikh martyrdom day, to demand minimum support prices for crops. Haryana police have barricaded the highway to prevent the march, escalating tensions. This is the farmers' third attempt to reach Delhi, following a previous attempt that resulted in a fatality. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .
BELLINGHAM, Wash., Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- eXp Realty ® , "the most agent-centric real estate brokerage on the planetTM" and the core subsidiary of eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI , proudly welcomes Joshua Smith, a Phoenix-based real estate icon, to its global network of agents. Smith is known for his record-setting achievements, which include 297 closings in 2023 and recognition as both a finalist in NAR's "30 Under 30" and the Wall Street Journal's 30 th Top Realtor in the U.S. Smith brings with him a nearly 20-year legacy of excellence, a passion for mentorship and a vision to transform lives. He is shifting from a traditional team model to a coaching and collaboration-focused approach designed to empower agents to scale their businesses and create lasting impact. "eXp Realty is the perfect platform to take my mission global," he said. "For too long, I've been a big fish in a small pond. With eXp, I can expand nationally and internationally, build my network and plug into a company where everyone wins. Together, we'll revolutionize what's possible in real estate." Smith's move is fueled by eXp Realty's innovative model, robust tools and a culture of collaboration that mirrors his commitment to agent success. His personal goal to impact 40,000 agents and team leaders aligns seamlessly with eXp Realty's focus on growth, innovation, and shared success. Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty, met Joshua as part of the same 30 Under 30 class and is thrilled to have him join eXp. "Joshua's vision, drive and passion for empowering agents embody everything eXp stands for," said Pareja. "His ability to inspire others while achieving record-breaking success makes him a perfect fit for our global network. We're thrilled to support him as he builds a legacy of growth, mentorship and innovation." Over the years, Smith has mentored more than 5,000 agents and built a following through his popular GSD Mode Real Estate podcast, which has amassed over 31,000 subscribers and more than 5 million downloads. Joining eXp Realty allows him to amplify his impact through the company's unmatched tools, training, and global reach. "I've known Leo Pareja for 13 years, and he's the most brilliant person I've met in real estate," Smith shared. "I'm excited to collaborate with incredible leaders like Leo and (eXp Realty leader) Mike Sherrard to create the best coaching and mentorship experience for agents and team leaders at eXp." Smith's expertise in residential real estate, agent development, and team scaling is now turbocharged by eXp's global platform. His manager and eight-person team will also join eXp. "eXp isn't just a brokerage – it's a movement for growth, innovation, and shared success," Smith said. "This is where the best come to grow, and I couldn't be more excited to be part of it." About eXp World Holdings, Inc. eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI is the holding company for eXp Realty ® , FrameVR.io and SUCCESS ® Enterprises. eXp Realty is the largest independent real estate company in the world with more than 85,000 agents in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, India, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Italy, Hong Kong, Colombia, Spain, Israel, Panama, Germany, the Dominican Republic, Greece, New Zealand, Chile, Poland and Dubai and continues to scale internationally. As a publicly traded company, eXp World Holdings provides real estate professionals the unique opportunity to earn equity awards for production goals and contributions to overall company growth. eXp World Holdings and its businesses offer a full suite of brokerage and real estate tech solutions, including an innovative residential and commercial brokerage model, professional services, collaborative tools and personal development. The cloud-based brokerage is powered by FrameVR.io technology, offering immersive 3D platforms that are deeply social and collaborative, enabling agents to be more connected and productive. SUCCESS ® Enterprises, anchored by SUCCESS ® magazine and its related media properties, was established in 1897 and is a leading personal and professional development brand and publication. For more information, visit https://expworldholdings.com . Safe Harbor Statement The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, expectations related to future agent growth and attraction. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update them. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in forward-looking statements include the Company's ability to attract new agents and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K . Media Relations Contact: eXp World Holdings, Inc. mediarelations@expworldholdings.com Investor Relations Contact: Denise Garcia, Managing Partner Hayflower Partners investors@expworldholdings.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/acc78546-61c4-4751-8ffd-5852013986ae © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Sheridan College says it's putting 40 programs on hold and laying off staff as it faces a dramatic drop in enrolment. The college estimates that it will have about 30 per cent fewer students next year, resulting in a $112-million drop in revenue, according to a statement from its president, Janet Morrison. An additional 27 programs will under go an "efficiency review," Morrison said. "These changes are required for Sheridan to remain a financially sustainable and vibrant community in response to chronic underfunding, changing government policies, and social, technological, and economic disruption," Morrison said. "Sheridan will look different, but our commitment to learning, discovery and engagement remains the same." Canada's post-secondary industry predicts a storm ahead, as budget cuts shrink courses, staff Seneca Polytechnic to close Markham campus citing 'dramatic drop' in number of international students The programs being suspended include 13 in the faculty of applied science and technology, 13 business programs, six in the faculty of animation, arts and design, five in the faculty of applied health and community studies and three in humanities and social sciences. Students who are currently enrolled in these programs will still be able to graduate, the college's website says. Sheridan College is the latest school to face financial challenges after the federal government announced a cap on study permits for international post-secondary students. The government has said the cap is meant to reduce the number of new student visas by more than a third this year. The government said it would approve approximately 360,000 undergraduate study permits for 2024 — a 35 per cent reduction from 2023. Ontario colleges to face biggest hit from foreign student cap In September, the Liberal government said it would further slash the number of international student permits it issues by 10 per cent. Deciding how to divvy up the allocation of permits among post-secondary institutions is up to the provincial government, which announced in March that colleges would face the biggest drop in their international student numbers. The Ford government's 2024 budget revealed that Ontario's colleges will lose out on $3.1 billion in revenue over the next two years from the expected drop in international student enrolment. Morrison's statement doesn't blame the international student cap directly, but a backgrounder posted on the college's website does point to "shrinking domestic enrolment" and "dramatic shifts in government policy" as factors. Dayna Smockum, a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Colleges and Universities, said the province will continue to support the post-secondary sector to ensure students can get good paying, in-demand jobs once they graduate. She pointed out that in February, the government announced a $1.3-billion boost to post-secondary funding spread out over the next three years However, she said staffing decisions and human resource matters "lie solely with the institutions."
Trump’s no freak, he’s the ultimate American
Donal Lenihan: Even Toulouse would struggle against Leinster's galaxy of starsMembers of the Syrian community in Berlin celebrate the end of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's rule. BERLIN - Thousands of jubilant Syrians rallied in Berlin and cities across Europe on Dec 8, waving flags and barely able to contain their joy at the downfall of president Bashar al-Assad. “Finally we are free!” exclaimed Bassam Al-Hamada, 39, among 5,000 people at an exuberant rally in the capital of Germany, where the one million-plus Syrians makes it the largest diaspora in Europe. But Syrians in Athens, Belgrade, Istanbul, London, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna also waved flags in the green, red, black and white colours of the Syrian opposition and made clear their hostility to Mr Assad. Berlin police said more than 5,000 Syrians gathered in a square in the Kreuzberg district. Many waved flags and banners that read “Free Syria” and “Freedom”, flashed “V” for victory signs and chanted “Allahu Akbar! (God is Greatest!)”. Despite a cold drizzle, many came with their families. Children’s faces were painted in the Syrian colours. Passing cars honked their horns. Most Syrians in Germany fled their country after civil war erupted in 2011. A big community now lives in Berlin’s Neukoelln district. “We’re happy. The dictatorship is over. Assad has gone,” said 39-year-old Berlin resident Ahmed, who preferred not to give his last name. “All Syrians are together now,” said the railway technician, who fled the Syrian city of Aleppo in 2015. Members of the Syrian community in Berlin celebrate the end of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s rule. PHOTO: NYTIMES Mr Ahmad al-Hallabi, a 27-year-old mechanic from Aleppo, arrived in Germany through Turkey and Greece in 2015 at the peak of the migrant influx into Europe. “Ten years ago, I was in Syria and saw things no-one should have to see, things that are impossible to wipe from your memory,” he said. “Assad is the worst terrorist imaginable... I hope there’ll be peace and everything Assad and his men destroyed will be rebuilt.” ‘Relief for millions’ Germany’s far right, which has gained popularity on the back of its opposition to the arrival of Syrians and other migrants, quickly raised its fears about more arrivals. “The frontiers are closed, we will not accept any any more,” said Alternative for Germany co-leader Alice Weidel on the X social platform. Many Syrians say they want to return to their war-battered nation. “Like many Syrians, I would like to return to my country to help rebuild it,” said social worker Bassam Al-Hamada, who arrived in Germany in early 2016. Ms Sabreen, 36, an architect, said she planned to help from Germany. “They mainly need expertise and money. All of that, we can gather here for the moment,” added the woman. Like many of the stunned exiles in Berlin, Ms Sabreen called for Mr Assad to answer for the killing and torture of his people in the past 13 years. “He must be tried in the international court in The Hague,” she said. ‘Allah, Syria, freedom!’ Hundreds of ecstatic Syrians celebrated the fall of Assad on London’s Trafalgar Square, hugging each other and chanting “Mabrouk! (Congratulations!)”. Syrians greeted each other, many with the opposition flag, and singing: “Syria is ours, not the Assad family’s”. People wave Syrian opposition flags as they gather in Trafalgar Square, in London, on Dec 8. PHOTO: REUTERS Hundreds took part in joyous scenes outside the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, one of the focal points for their 500,000-strong Syrian community in the Turkish city. Several hundred Syrians also gathered outside parliament in central Athens. “Allah, Syria, freedom!” and “together, together, together,” they chanted. “I am happy after these 13 years of displacement, massacres and tens of thousands of people killed in prisons,” said Mr Adel Batal, 29. “I am in Greece because of this regime,” said the man from Aleppo. “My city has been destroyed by this regime.” Syrian residents in Turkey wave Syrian opposition flags as they celebrate, at the Fatih Mosque, in Istanbul, on Dec 8. PHOTO: AFP Syrians also celebrated in the Swiss capital Bern and in Geneva, where several hundred people gathered at the Place des Nations square in front of the United Nations, the RTS state broadcaster reported. Demonstrators sang and waved green-white-black-red opposition flags, while some stamped on pictures of Assad and his father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria before him. Around 300 jubilant people turned out at the Place de La Republique in Paris, chanting slogans, cheering and clapping. Thousands also gathered in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Vienna. Sweden has Europe’s second biggest Syrian diaspora. “I lost my homeland. My home, my family and my friends, and we fought for 14 years – so yes, today I am happy,” Noura Bittar told Danish television. “Of course, we are worried about what the next step will be, what kind of government will be put in place? But for now, we are just happy.” AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now
NEW YORK — Police don’t know who he is, where he is or why he did it. As the frustrating search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer continued for a fifth day Sunday, investigators reckoned with a tantalizing contradiction: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. One conclusion they are confident of, however: It was a targeted attack, not a random one. They know he ambushed Thompson at 6:44 a.m. Wednesday as the executive arrived at a Hilton hotel for his company’s annual investor conference, using a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. They know ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics. The fact that the shooter knew UnitedHealthcare group was holding a conference at the hotel and what route Thompson might take to get there suggested that he could be a disgruntled employee or client, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. Over the weekend, police divers were seen searching a pond in Central Park, where the killer fled after the shooting. Officers have been scouring the park for clues and found the man’s backpack there Friday. They didn’t immediately reveal what, if anything, it contained but said it would be tested and analyzed. Investigators have urged patience, saying the process of logging evidence that stands up in court isn’t as quick as it looks on TV. Hundreds of detectives are combing through video recordings and social media, vetting tips from the public and interviewing people who might have information, including Thompson’s family and coworkers and the shooter’s randomly assigned roommates at the Manhattan hostel where he stayed. Investigators caught a break when they came across security camera images of an unguarded moment at the hostel in which he briefly showed his face.PARADIGM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIVE WITH INDATAThese shows-within-the-show will bring luxury, exotics, art cars, and more to the 2024 event LOS ANGELES , Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Auto Show ® (LA Auto Show) is proud to announce details for two highly anticipated exhibitions at the 2024 event, presented in partnership with West Coast Customs and Monterey Motorsports Festival. These shows-within-the-show will feature over 30 show-stopping luxury vehicles, exotics, custom rides and art cars. West Coast Customs Experience Returning in 2024 is a supercharged display from West Coast Customs, featuring one-of-a-kind vehicles and a jaw-dropping selection of customs, lowriders, exotics, classics, cruisers, muscle cars, retrofits, and more. From roadsters, rims, and wraps to mobile services and mounts, West Coast Customs is bringing it all. The West Coast Customs Experience celebrates the future of the automotive industry – West Coast Customs Academy. This revolutionary curriculum provides hands-on, interactive workshops taught by West Coast Customs master craftsmen in a full array of automotive disciplines allowing students a chance to work alongside the master craftsmen. This year, in collaboration with the LA County Justice, Care and Opportunities Department, West Coast Customs will provide 12 program participants the student opportunity to work alongside West Coast Customs Mentors, gaining invaluable car customization experience, while replicating the revolutionary West Coast Customs Academy curriculum. LA Auto Show attendees will be able to view the latest West Coast Customs automotive art projects, in partnership with the New York -based CART Department, on display at this year's LA Auto Show alongside projects from the students of West Coast Customs Academy customization training program, including the 1966 Cadillac Calias, 2024 grads completed for the Peacock original series Fight Night: Million Dollar Heist. West Coast Customs commissioned builds making their LA Auto Show debut include: West Coast Customs Experience and LA Auto Show will showcase the following coveted art cars including: Monterey Motorsports Festival Concours Each year, the Monterey Motorsports Festival in Monterey, California takes place in late-summer, and is a must-attend event for car enthusiasts everywhere. The show features an impressive collection of classic and modern cars, including rare and exotic models from around the world. The event showcases not only the latest models from leading car manufacturers, but also vintage cars from the early 1900s, and everything in between, all of which are displayed in a lively and interactive environment. Taking up residence in the Los Angeles Convention Center's Concourse Hall and running for the duration of the 2024 LA Auto Show, the Monterey Motorsports Festival Concours exhibit will include: "The Los Angeles Auto Show consistently seeks out new and innovative ways to support our industry, and teaming up with the Monterey Motorsports Festival and West Coast Customs is yet another example of this mission in action," said Terri Toennies , president and chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Auto Show. "We are thrilled to welcome Monterey and West Coast Custom teams to this year's show, and cannot wait to see their ideas come to life!" For additional information and tickets, please visit laautoshow.com . About the Los Angeles Auto Show & AutoMobility LA Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto ShowTM is recognized as one of the world's most influential automotive events. The show celebrates the enduring love that Angelenos have for their cars and offers a global platform for industry debuts, technology, and innovation. Doors open to the public November 22 – December 1 and the show runs for 10 full days, including Thanksgiving Day. It is a must-attend event for prospective car buyers, industry executives, influencers, car enthusiasts, and for families wanting to enjoy an unforgettable day out during the holiday season. Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the LA Auto Show contributes several hundred million dollars to the city's economy, stimulates the local job market, and is the number one revenue generator for the Center. On November 21 , AutoMobility LA 2024 , the show's media and industry day, will include a range of groundbreaking debuts and announcements, and a conference program featuring the leading minds in automotive and technology. These experts will explore the most pressing industry issues in a series of presentations and panel discussions from AutoMobility LA's main stage. Media Contacts Kat Kirsch kat@katkirsch.com Tania Weinkle tania@taniaweinkle.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-west-coast-customs-experience-and-monterey-motorsports-festival-concours-bring-unique-exhibition-features-to-the-2024-los-angeles-auto-show-302314493.html SOURCE Los Angeles Auto ShowITV I'm A Celebrity fans 'gutted' for runner-up as they brand win 'inevitable'
Celebrations, Looting, And Statue Surfing: Scenes From Syria After Assad's FallTucker Carlson: Minister Lavrov, thank you for doing this. Do you believe the United States and Russia are at war with each other right now? Sergey Lavrov: I wouldn't say so. And in any case, this is not what we want. We would like to have normal relations with all our neighbors, of course, but generally with all countries especially with the great country like the United States. And President Vladimir Putin repeatedly expressed his respect for the American people, for the American history, for the American achievements in the world, and we don't see any reason why Russia and the United States cannot cooperate for the sake of the universe. Tucker Carlson: But the United States is funding a conflict that you're involved in, of course, and now is allowing attacks on Russia itself. So that doesn't constitute war? Sergey Lavrov: Well, we officially are not at war. But what is going on in Ukraine is that some people call it hybrid war. I would call it hybrid war as well, but it is obvious that the Ukrainians would not be able to do what they're doing with long-range modern weapons without direct participation of the American servicemen. And this is dangerous, no doubt about this. We don't want to aggravate the situation, but since ATACMS and other long-range weapons are being used against mainland Russia as it were, we are sending signals. We hope that the last one, a couple of weeks ago, the signal with the new weapon system called Oreshnik was taken seriously. However, we also know that some officials in the Pentagon and in other places, including NATO, started saying in the last few days something like that NATO is a defensive alliance, but sometimes you can strike first because the attack is the best defense. Some others in STRATCOM, Thomas Buchanan is his name, representative of STRATCOM, said something which allows for an eventuality of exchange of limited nuclear strikes. And this kind of threats are really worrying. Because if they are following the logic which some Westerners have been pronouncing lately, that don't believe that Russia has red lines, they announced their red lines, these red lines are being moved again and again. This is a very serious mistake. That's what I would like to say in response to this question. It is not us who started the war. Putin repeatedly said that we started the special military operation in order to end the war which Kiev regime was conducting against its own people in the parts of Donbass. And just in his latest statement, the President Putin clearly indicated that we are ready for any eventuality. But we strongly prefer peaceful solution through negotiations on the basis of respecting legitimate security interest of Russia, and on the basis of respecting the people who live in Ukraine, who still live in Ukraine being Russians, and their basic human rights, language rights, religious rights, have been exterminated by a series of legislation passed by the Ukrainian parliament. They started long before the special military operation. Since 2017, legislation was passed prohibiting Russian education in Russian, prohibiting Russian media operating in Ukraine, then prohibiting Ukrainian media working in Russian language, and the latest, of course there were also steps to cancel any cultural events in Russian, Russian books were thrown out of libraries and exterminated. The latest was the law prohibiting canonic Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church. You know it's very interesting when people in the West say we want this conflict to be resolved on the basis of the UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity of Ukraine, and Russia must withdraw. The Secretary General of the United Nations says similar things. Recently his representative repeated that the conflict must be resolved on the basis of international law, UN Charter, General Assembly resolutions, while respecting territorial integrity of Ukraine. It's a misnomer, because if you want to respect the United Nations Charter, you have to respect it in its entirety. The United Nations Charter, among other things, says that all countries must respect equality of states and right of people for self-determination. And they also mentioned the United Nations General Assembly resolutions, and this is clear that what they mean is the series of resolutions which they passed after the beginning of this special military operation and which demand condemnation of Russia, Russia to get out of Ukraine territory in 1991 borders. But there are other United Nations General Assembly resolutions which were not voted, but which were consensual, and among them is a Declaration on principles of relations between states on the basis of the Charter. And it clearly says, by consensus, everybody must respect territorial integrity of states whose governments respect the right of people for self-determination, and because of that represent the entire population living on a given territory. To argue that the people who came to power through military coup d'état in February 2014 represented Crimeans or the citizens of eastern and southern Ukraine is absolutely useless. It is obvious that Crimeans rejected the coup. They said, leave us alone, we don't want to have anything with you. So we did: Donbass, Crimeans held referendum, and they rejoined Russia. Donbass was declared by the putschists who came to power terrorist group. They were shelled, attacked by artillery. The war started, which was stopped in February 2015. The Minsk agreements were signed. We were very sincerely interested in closing this drama by seeing Minsk agreements implemented fully. It was sabotaged by the government, which was established after the coup d'état in Ukraine. There was a demand that they enter into a direct dialogue with the people who did not accept the coup. There was a demand that they promote economic relations with that part of Ukraine. And so on and so forth. None of this was done. The people in Kiev were saying we would never talk to them directly. And this is in spite of the fact that the demand to talk to them directly was endorsed by the Security Council. And putschists said they are terrorists, we would be fighting them, and they would be dying in cellars because we are stronger. Had the coup in February 2014 had it not happened and the deal which was reached the day before between the then president and the opposition implemented, Ukraine would have stayed one piece by now with Crimea in it. It's absolutely clear. They did not deliver on the deal. Instead they staged the coup. The deal, by the way, provided for creation of a government of national unity in February 2014, and holding early elections, which the then president would have lost. Everybody knew that. But they were impatient and took the government buildings next morning. They went to this Maidan Square and announced that they created the government of the winners. Compare the government of national unity to prepare for elections and the government of the winners. How can the people whom they, in their view, defeated, how can they pretend that they respect the authorities in Kiev? You know, the right for self-determination is the international legal basis for decolonization process, which took place in Africa on the basis of this charter principle, the right for self-determination. The people in the colonies, they never treated the colonial powers, colonial masters, as somebody who represent them, as somebody whom they want to see in the structures which govern those lands. By the same token, the people in east and south of Ukraine, people in Donbass and Novorossiya, they don't consider the Zelensky regime as something which represents their interests. How can they do that when their culture, their language, their traditions, their religion, all this was prohibited? And the last point is that if we speak about the UN Charter, resolutions, international law, the very first article of the UN Charter, which the West never, never recalls in the Ukrainian context, says, "Respect human rights of everybody, irrespective of race, gender, language, or religion." Take any conflict. The United States, UK, Brussels, they would interfere, saying, "Oh, human rights have been grossly violated. We must restore the human rights in such and such territory." On Ukraine, never, ever they mumbled the words "human rights," seeing these human rights for the Russian and Russian-speaking population being totally exterminated by law. So when people say, "Let's resolve the conflict on the basis of the Charter," - yes. But don't forget that the Charter is not only about territorial integrity. And territorial integrity must be respected only if the governments are legitimate and if they respect the rights of their own people. Tucker Carlson: I want to go back to what you said a moment ago about the introduction or the unveiling of the hypersonic weapons system that you said was a signal to the West. What signal exactly? I think many Americans are not even aware that this happened. What message were you sending by showing it to the world? Sergey Lavrov: Well, the message is that you, I mean the United States, and the allies of the United States who also provide this long-range weapons to the Kiev regime, they must understand that we would be ready to use any means not to allow them to succeed in what they call strategic defeat of Russia. They fight for keeping the hegemony over the world on any country, any region, any continent. We fight for our legitimate security interests. They say, for example, 1991 borders. Lindsey Graham, who visited some time ago Volodymyr Zelensky for another talk, he bluntly, in his presence said that Ukraine is very rich with rare earth metals and they cannot leave this richness to the Russians. We must take it. We fight. So they fight for the regime which is ready to sell or to give to the West all the natural and human resources. We fight for the people who have been living on these lands, whose ancestors were actually developing those lands, building cities, building factories for centuries and centuries. We care about people, not about natural resources which somebody in the United States would like to keep and to have Ukrainians just as servants sitting on these natural resources. So the message which we wanted to send by testing in real action this hypersonic system is that we will be ready to do anything to defend our legitimate interests. We hate even to think about war with the United States, which will take nuclear character. Our military doctrine says that the most important thing is to avoid a nuclear war. And it was us, by the way, who initiated in January 2022 the message, the joint statement by the leaders of the five permanent members of the Security Council saying that we will do anything to avoid confrontation between us, acknowledging and respecting each other's security interests and concerns. This was our initiative. And the security interests of Russia were totally ignored when they rejected about the same time the proposal to conclude a treaty on security guarantees for Russia, for Ukraine in the context of coexistence and in the context where Ukraine would not be ever member of NATO or any other military bloc. These security interests of Russia were presented to the West, to NATO and to the United States in December 2021. We discussed them several times, including during my meeting with Antony Blinken in Geneva in January 2022. And this was rejected. So we would certainly like to avoid any misunderstanding. And since the people, some people in Washington and some people in London, in Brussels, seemed to be not very capable to understand, we will send additional messages if they don't draw necessary conclusions. Tucker Carlson: The fact that we're having a conversation about a potential nuclear exchange and it's real thought I'd ever see. And it raises the question, how much back-channel dialogue is there between Russia and the United States? Has there been for the last two and a half years? Is there any conversation ongoing? Sergey Lavrov: There are several channels, but mostly on exchange of people who serve terms in Russia and in the United States. There were several swaps. There are also channels which are not advertised or publicized, but basically the Americans send through these channels the same message which they send publicly. You have to stop, you have to accept the way which will be based on the Ukrainian needs and position. They support this absolutely pointless ‘peace formula’ by Vladimir Zelensky, which was additioned recently by ‘victory plan’. They held several series of meetings, Copenhagen format, Burgenstock. And they brag that first half of next year they will convene another conference and they will graciously invite Russia that time. And then Russia would be presented an ultimatum. All this is seriously repeated through various confidential channels. Now we hear something different, including Volodymyr Zelensky's statements that we can stop now at the line of engagement, line of contact. The Ukrainian government will be admitted to NATO, but NATO guarantees at this stage would cover only the territory controlled by the government, and the rest would be subject to negotiations. But the end result of these negotiations must be total withdrawal of Russia from Ukrainian soil. Leaving Russian people to the Nazi regime, which exterminated all the rights of the Russian and Russian-speaking citizens of their own country. Tucker Carlson: If I could just go back to the question of nuclear exchange. So there is no mechanism by which the leaders of Russia and the United States can speak to each other to avoid the kind of misunderstanding that could kill hundreds of millions of people. Sergey Lavrov: No. We have this channel which is automatically engaged when ballistic missile launch is taking place. As regards this Oreshnik hypersonic mid-range ballistic missile. 30 minutes in advance the system sent the message to the United States. They knew that this was the case and that they don't mistake it for anything bigger and real dangerous. Tucker Carlson: I think the system sounds very dangerous. Sergey Lavrov: Well, it was a test launch, you know. Tucker Carlson: Yes. Oh, you're speaking of the test, okay. But I just wonder how worried you are that, considering there doesn't seem to be a lot of conversation between the two countries. Both sides are speaking about exterminating the other's populations. That this could somehow get out of control in a very short period and no one could stop it. It seems incredibly reckless. Sergey Lavrov: No, we are not talking about exterminating anybody's population. We did not start this war. We have been, for years and years and years, sending warnings that pushing NATO closer and closer to our borders is going to create a problem. In 2007, Putin started to explain to the people who seemed to be overtaken by the ‘end of history’ and being dominant, no challenge, and so on and so forth. And of course, when the coup took place, the Americans did not hide that they were behind it. There is a conversation between Victoria Nuland and the then American ambassador in Kiev when they discuss personalities to be included in the new government after the coup. The figure of $5 billion spent on Ukraine after independence was mentioned as the guarantee that everything would be like the Americans want. So we don't have any intention to exterminate Ukrainian people. They are brothers and sisters to the Russian people. Tucker Carlson: How many have died so far, do you think, on both sides? Sergey Lavrov: It is not disclosed by Ukrainians. Volodymyr Zelensky was saying that it is much less than 80,000 persons on Ukrainian side. But there is one very reliable figure. In Palestine during one year after the Israelis started their operation in response to this terrorist attack, which we condemned. And this operation, of course, acquired the proportion of collective punishment, which is against international humanitarian law as well. So during one year after the operation started in Palestine, the number of Palestinian civilians killed is estimated at 45,000. This is almost twice as many as the number of civilians on both sides of Ukrainian conflict who died during ten years after the coup. One year and ten years. So it is a tragedy in Ukraine. It's a disaster in Palestine, but we never, ever had as our goal killing people. And the Ukrainian regime did. The head of the office of Volodymyr Zelensky once said that we will make sure that cities like Kharkov, Nikolaev will forget what Russian means at all. Another guy in his office stated that Ukrainians must exterminate Russians through law or, if necessary, physically. Ukrainian former ambassador to Kazakhstan Petro Vrublevsky became famous when giving an interview and looking into the camera (being recorded and broadcast) he said: ”Our main task is to kill as many Russians as we can so that our children have less things to do”. And statements like this are all over the vocabulary of the regime. Tucker Carlson: How many Russians in Russia have been killed since February of 2022? Sergey Lavrov: It's not for me to disclose this information. In the time of military operations special rules exist. Our ministry of defense follows these rules. But there is a very interesting fact that when Volodymyr Zelensky was playing not in international arena, but at his comedy club or whatever it is called, he was (there are videos from that period) bluntly defending the Russian language. He was saying: “What is wrong with Russian language? I speak Russian. Russians are our neighbors. Russian is one of our languages”. And get lost, he said, to those who wanted to attack the Russian language and Russian culture. When Volodymyr Zelensky became president, he changed very fast. Before the military operation, in September 2021, he was interviewed, and at that time he was conducting war against Donbass in violation of the Minsk agreements. And the interviewer asked him what he thought about the people on the other side of the line of contact. He answered very thoughtfully there are people and there are species. And if you, living in Ukraine, feel associated with the Russian culture, my advice to you, for the sake of your kids, for the sake of your grandkids, get out to Russia. And if this guy wants to bring Russians and people of Russian culture back under his territorial integrity, I mean, it shows that he's not adequate. Tucker Carlson: So, what are the terms under which Russia would cease hostilities? What are you asking for? Sergey Lavrov: Ten years ago, in February 2014, we were asking only for the deal between the president and the opposition to have government of national unity, to hold early elections, to be implemented. The deal was signed. And we were asking for the implementation of this deal. They were absolutely impatient and aggressive. And they were, of course, pushed, I have no slightest doubt, by the Americans, because if Victoria Nuland and the U.S. ambassador agreed the composition of the government, why wait for five months to hold early elections? The next time we were in favor of something was when the Minsk Agreements were signed. I was there. The negotiations lasted for 17 hours (well, Crimea was lost by that time because of referendum). And nobody, including my colleague John Kerry, meeting with us, nobody in the West was worry about the issue of Crimea. Everybody was concentrated on Donbass. And the Minsk Agreements provided for territorial integrity of Ukraine, minus Crimea (this was not even raised) and a special status for a very tiny part of Donbass, not for the entire Donbass, not for Novorossiya at all. Part of Donbass, under these Minsk Agreements, endorsed by the Security Council, should have the right to speak Russian language, to teach Russian language, to study in Russian, to have local law enforcement (like in the states of U.S.), to be consulted when judges and prosecutors are appointed by the central authority, and to have some facilitated economic connections with neighboring regions of Russia. That's it. Something which President Macron promised to give to Corsica and still is considering how to do this. And when these agreements were sabotaged all along by Petro Poroshenko and then by Volodymyr Zelensky. Both of them, by the way, came to presidency, running on the promise of peace. And both of them lied. So when these Minsk Agreements were sabotaged to the extent that we saw the attempts to take this tiny part of Donbass by force, and we, as President Putin explained, at that time, we suggested these security arrangements to NATO and the United States, which was rejected. And when the Plan B was launched by Ukraine and its sponsors, trying to take this part of Donbass by force, it was then that we launched the special military operation. Had they implemented the Minsk Agreements Ukraine would be one piece, minus Crimea. But even then, when Ukrainians, after we started the operation, suggested to negotiate, we agreed, there were several rounds in Belarus, and one later they moved to Istanbul. And in Istanbul, Ukrainian delegation put a paper on the table saying: "Those are the principles on which we are ready to agree." And we accepted those principles. Tucker Carlson: The Minsk Principles? Sergey Lavrov: No. The Istanbul Principles. It was April 2022. Tucker Carlson: Right. Sergey Lavrov: Which was: no NATO, but security guarantees to Ukraine, collectively provided with the participation of Russia. And these security guarantees would not cover Crimea or the east of Ukraine. It was their proposal. And it was initialed. And the head of the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, who is now the chair of the Volodymyr Zelensky faction in the parliament, he recently (a few months ago) in an interview, confirmed that this was the case. And on the basis of these principles, we were ready to draft a treaty. But then this gentleman who headed the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul said that Boris Johnson visited and told them to continue to fight. Then there was... Tucker Carlson: But Boris Johnson, on behalf of... Sergey Lavrov: He said no. But the guy who initialed the paper, he said it was Boris Johnson. Other people say it was President Putin who ruined the deal because of the massacre in Bucha. But they never mentioned any more massacre in Bucha. I do. And we do. In a sense, they are on the defensive. Several times in the United Nations Security Council, sitting at the table with Antonio Guterres, I (last year and this year) at the General Assembly, I raised the issue of Bucha and said, guys, it is strange that you are silent about Bucha because you were very vocal when BBC team found itself on the street where the bodies were located. I inquired, can we get the names of the persons whose bodies were broadcast by BBC? Total silence. I addressed Antonio Guterres personally in the presence of the Security Council members. He did not respond. Then at my press conference in New York after the end of the General Assembly last September, I asked all the correspondents: guys, you are journalists. Maybe you're not an investigative journalists but journalists normally are interested to get the truth. And Bucha thing, which was played all over the media outlets condemning Russia, is not of any interest to anyone - politicians, UN officials. And now even journalists. I asked when I talked to them in September, please, as professional people, try to get the names of those whose bodies were shown in Bucha. No answer. Just like we don't have any answer to the question, where is the results of medical analysis of Alexey Navalny, who died recently, but who was treated in Germany in the fall of 2020. When he felt bad on a plane over Russia, the plane landed. He was treated by the Russian doctors in Siberia. Then the Germans wanted to take him. We immediately allowed the plane to come. They took him. In less than 24 hours, he was in Germany. And then the Germans continued to say that we poisoned him. And now the analysis confirmed that he was poisoned. We asked for the test results to be given to us. They said, no, we give it to the organization on chemical weapons. We went to this organization, we are members, and we said, can you show to us, because this is our citizen, we are accused of having poisoned him. They said that the Germans told us not to give it to you. They found nothing in the civilian hospital, and the announcement that he was poisoned was made after he was treated in the military Bundeswehr hospital. So it seems that this secret is not going... Tucker Carlson: So how did Navalny die? Sergey Lavrov: Well, he died serving the term in Russia. As far as it was reported, every now and then he felt not well. Which was another reason why we continued to ask the Germans: can you show us the results which you found? Because we did not find what they found. And what they did to him, I don't know. Tucker Carlson: What the Germans did to him? Sergey Lavrov: Yeah, because they don't explain to anybody, including us. Or maybe they explain to the Americans. Maybe this is credible. But they never told us how they treated him, what they found, and what methods they were using. Tucker Carlson: How do you think he died? Sergey Lavrov: I am not a doctor. But for anybody to guess, even for the doctors to try to guess, they need to have information. And if the person was taken to Germany to be treated after he had been poisoned, the results of the tests cannot be secret. We still cannot get anything credible on the fate of Skripals - Sergei Skripal and his daughter. The information is not provided to us. He is our citizen, she is our citizen. We have all the rights and the conventions which the UK is party to, to get information. Tucker Carlson: Why do you think that Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the UK, would have stopped the peace process in Istanbul? On whose behalf was he doing that? Sergey Lavrov: Well, I met with him a couple of times, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was motivated by some immediate desire or by some long-term strategy. He is not very predictable. Tucker Carlson: But do you think he was acting on behalf of the US government, on behalf of the Biden administration, or he was doing this independently. Sergey Lavrov: I don't know. And I wouldn't guess. The fact that the Americans and the Brits are leading in this "situation" is obvious. Now it is becoming also clear that there is a fatigue in some capitals, and there are talks every now and then that the Americans would like to leave it with the Europeans and to concentrate on something more important. I wouldn't guess. We would be judging by specific steps. It's obvious, though, that the Biden administration would like to leave a legacy to the Trump administration as bad as they can. And similar to what Barack Obama did to Donald Trump during his first term. Then late December 2016, President Obama expelled Russian diplomats. Just very late December. 120 persons with family members. Did it on purpose. Demanded them leave on the day when there was no direct flight from Washington to Moscow. So they had to move to New York by buses with all their luggage, with children, and so on and so forth. And at the same time, President Obama announced the arrest of pieces of diplomatic property of Russia. And we still never were able to come and see what is the state of this Russian property. Tucker Carlson: What was the property? Sergey Lavrov: Diplomatic. They never allowed us to come and see it though under all conventions. They just say that these pieces we don't consider as being covered by diplomatic immunity, which is a unilateral decision, never substantiated by any international court. Tucker Carlson: So you believe the Biden administration is doing something similar again to the incoming Trump administration. Sergey Lavrov: Because that episode with the expulsion and the seizure of property certainly did not create the promising ground for beginning of our relations with the Trump administration. So I think they're doing the same. Tucker Carlson: But this time President Trump was elected on the explicit promise to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. So I mean, he said that in appearance after appearance. So given that, there is hope for a resolution, it sounds like. What are the terms to which you'd agree? Sergey Lavrov: Well, the terms, I basically alluded to them. When President Putin spoke in this Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 14th of June he once again reiterated that we were ready to negotiate on the basis of the principles which were agreed in Istanbul and rejected by Boris Johnson, according to the statement of the head of the Ukrainian delegation. The key principle is non-block status of Ukraine. And we would be ready to be part of the group of countries who would provide collective security guarantees to Ukraine. Tucker Carlson: But no NATO? Sergey Lavrov: No NATO. Absolutely. No military bases, no military exercises on the Ukrainian soil with participation of foreign troops. And this is something which he reiterated. But of course, he said, it was April 2022, now some time has passed, and the realities on the ground would have to be taken into account and accepted. The realities on the ground are not only the line of contact, but also the changes in the Russian Constitution after referendum was held in Donetsk, Lugansk republics and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. And they are now part of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution. And this is a reality. And of course, we cannot tolerate a deal which would keep the legislation which are prohibiting Russian language, Russian media, Russian culture, Ukrainian Orthodox Church, because it is a violation of the obligations of Ukraine under the UN Charter, and something must be done about it. And the fact that the West (since this Russophobic legislative offensive started in 2017) was totally silent and it is silent until now, of course we would have to pay attention to this in a very special way. Tucker Carlson: Would sanctions against Russia be a condition? Sergey Lavrov: You know, I would say probably many people in Russia would like to make it a condition. But the more we live under sanctions, the more we understand that it is better to rely on yourself, and to develop mechanisms, platforms for cooperation with ‘normal’ countries who are not unfriendly to you, and don't mix economic interests and policies and especially politics. And we learned a lot after the sanctions started. The sanctions started under President Obama. They continued in a very big way under the first term of Donald Trump. And these sanctions under the Biden administration are absolutely unprecedented. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, you know. They would never kill us, so they are making us stronger. Tucker Carlson: And driving Russia east. And so the vision that I think same policymakers in Washington had 20 years ago is why not to bring Russia into a Western bloc, sort of as a balance against the rising east. But it doesn't seem like that. Do you think that's still possible? Sergey Lavrov: I don't think so. When recently President Putin was speaking at Valdai Club to politologists and experts, he said we would never be back at the situation of early 2022. That's when he realized (for himself, apparently, not only he, but he spoke publicly about this) that all attempts to be on equal terms with the West have failed. It started after the demise of the Soviet Union. There was euphoria, we are now part of the ‘liberal world’, democratic world, ‘end of history’. But very soon it became clear to most of the Russians that in the 1990s we were treated as - at best as junior partner, maybe not even as a partner, - but as a place where the West can organize things like it wants, striking deals with oligarchs, buying resources and assets. And then probably the Americans decided that Russia is in their pocket. Boris Yeltsin, Bill Clinton, buddies, laughing, joking. But even at the end of Boris Yeltsin's term, he started to contemplate that this was not something he wanted for Russia. And I think this was very obvious when he appointed Vladimir Putin prime minister, and then left earlier, and blessed Vladimir Putin as his successor for the elections which were coming and which Putin won. But when Vladimir Putin became president, he was very much open to cooperation with the West. And he mentions about this quite regularly when he speaks with interviewers or at some international events. I was present when he met with George Bush Jr., with Barack Obama. Well, after the meeting of NATO in Bucharest, which was followed by NATO-Russia summit meeting in 2008, when they announced that Georgia and Ukraine will be in NATO. And then they tried to sell it to us. We asked: why? There was lunch and President Putin asked what was the reason for this? Good question. And they said this is something which is not obligatory. How come? Well to start the process of joining NATO, you need a formal invitation. And this is a slogan - Ukraine and Georgia will be in NATO. But this slogan became obsession for some people in Tbilisi first, when Mikhail Saakashvili lost his senses and started the war against his own people under the protection of OSCE mission with the Russian peacekeepers on the ground. And the fact that he launched this was confirmed by the European Union investigation, which they launched and which concluded that he gave the order to start. And for Ukrainians, it took a bit longer. They were cultivating this pro-Western mood. Well, pro-Western is not bad, basically. Pro-Eastern is also not bad. What is bad is that you tell people, either/or, either you go with me or you're my enemy. What happened before the coup in Ukraine? In 2013, the president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych negotiated with the European Union some association agreement which would nullify tariffs on most of the Ukrainian goods to the European Union and the other way around. And at some point, when he was meeting with Russian counterparts, we told him, Ukraine was part of the free trade area of the Commonwealth of Independent States. No tariffs for everybody. And we, Russia, negotiated agreement with World Trade Organization for some 17 years, mostly because we bargained with European Union. And we achieved some protection for many of our sectors, agriculture and some others. We explained to the Ukrainians that if you go zero in your trade with European Union, we would have to protect our customs border with Ukraine. Otherwise the zero tariff European goods would flood and would be hurting our industries, which we tried to protect and agreed for some protection. And we suggested to the European Union: guys, Ukraine is our common neighbor. You want to have better trade with Ukraine. We want the same. Ukraine wants to have markets both in Europe and in Russia. Why don't we sit three of us and discuss it like grownups? The head of the European Commission was the Portuguese José Manuel Barroso. He responded it's none of your business what we do with Ukraine. We, for example, the European Union, we don't ask you to discuss with us your trade with Canada. Absolutely arrogant answer. And then the president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych convened his experts. And they said, yes, it would be not very good if we have opened the border with European Union, but the customs border with Russia would be closed. And they would be checking, you know, what is coming. So that the Russian market is not affected. So he announced in November 2013 that he cannot sign the deal immediately, and he asked the European Union to postpone it for until next year. That was the trigger for Maidan, which was immediately thrown up and ended by the coup. So my point is that this either/or. Actually, the first coup took place in 2004, when after second round of elections, the same Viktor Yanukovych won presidency. The West raised hell and put pressure on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to rule that there must be a third round. The Constitution of Ukraine says there may be only two rounds. But the Constitutional Court, under the pressure of the West, violated the Constitution for the first time then. And pro-Western candidate was chosen. At that time, when all this was taking place and boiling, the European leaders were publicly saying Ukrainian people must decide: are they with us or with Russia? Tucker Carlson: But it is the way that big countries behave. I mean, there are certain orbits, and now it's BRICS versus NATO, U.S. versus China. And it sounds like you're saying the Russian-Chinese alliance is permanent. Sergey Lavrov: Well, we are neighbors. And of course geography is very important. Tucker Carlson: But you're also neighbors with Western Europe. And you're part of it, in effect. Sergey Lavrov: Through Ukraine the Western Europe wants to come to our borders. And there were plans that were discussed almost openly to put British naval bases on the Sea of Azov. Crimea was eyed. Dreaming about creating NATO base in Crimea and so on and so forth. Look, we have been very friendly with Finland, for example. Overnight, the Finns came back to the early years of preparation for World War II when they were best allies of Hitler. And all this neutrality, all this friendship, going to sauna together, playing hockey together, all this disappeared overnight. So maybe this was deep in their hearts, and the neutrality was burdening them, and niceties were burdening for them. I don't know. Tucker Carlson: They're mad about the ‘winter war’. That's totally possible. Can you negotiate with Zelensky? You've pointed out that he has exceeded his term. He's not democratically elected president of Ukraine anymore. So do you consider him a suitable partner for negotiations? Sergey Lavrov: President Putin addressed many times this issue as well. In September 2022, during the first year of the special military operation, Vladimir Zelensky, in his conviction that he would be dictating the terms of the situation also to the West, he signed a decree prohibiting any negotiations with Putin's government. During public events after that episode, President Vladimir Putin is asked why Russia is not ready for negotiations. He said, don't turn it upside down. We are ready for negotiations, provided it will be based on the balance of interest, -tomorrow. But Volodymyr Zelensky signed this decree prohibiting negotiations. For starters, why don't you tell him to cancel it publicly? This will be a signal that he wants negotiations. Instead, Volodymyr Zelensky invented his ‘peace formula’. Lately, it was complemented by a ‘victory plan’. They keep saying, we know what they say when they meet with European Union ambassadors and in other formats, they say no deal unless the deal is on our terms. I mentioned to you that they are planning now the second summit on the basis of this peace formula, and they don't shy away from saying, we will invite Russia to put in front of it the deal which we agreed already with the West. When our Western colleagues sometimes say nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine in effect, this implies that anything about Russia without Russia. Because they discuss what kind of conditions we must accept. By the way, recently they already violated, tacitly, the concept nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. There are passes, there are messages. They know our position. We are not playing double game. What President Putin announced is the goal of our operation. It's fair. It's fully in line with the United Nations Charter. First of all, the rights: language rights, minority rights, national minority rights, religious rights, and it's fully in line with OSCE principles. There is an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe which is still alive. And well, several summits of this organization clearly stated that security must be indivisible, that nobody should expand his security at the expense of security of others, and that, most important, no organization in Euro-Atlantic space shall claim dominance. This was last time it was confirmed by OSCE in 2010. NATO was doing exactly the opposite. So we have legitimacy in our position. No NATO on our doorsteps because OSCE agreed that this should not be the case if it hurts us. And please restore the rights of Russians. Tucker Carlson: Who do you think has been making foreign policy decisions in the United States? This is a question in the United States. Who is making these decisions? Sergey Lavrov: I wouldn't guess. I haven't seen Antony Blinken for years. When it was the last time? Two years ago, I think, at the G20 summit. Was it in Rome or somewhere? In the margins. I was representing President Putin there. His assistant came up to me during a meeting and said that Antony wants to talk just for 10 minutes. I left the room. We shook hands, and he said something about the need to de-escalate and so on and so forth. I hope he's not going to be angry with me since I am disclosing this. But we were meeting in front of many people present in the room, and I said, "We don't want to escalate. You want to inflict strategic defeat upon Russia." He said, "No. It is not strategic defeat globally. It is only in Ukraine." Tucker Carlson: You've not spoken to him since? Sergey Lavrov: No. Tucker Carlson: Have you spoken to any officials in the Biden administration since then? Sergey Lavrov: I don't want to ruin their career. Tucker Carlson: But have you had meaningful conversations? Sergey Lavrov: No. Not at all. When I met in international events one or another person whom I know, an American, some of them say hello, some of them exchange a few words, but I never impose myself. It's becoming contagious when somebody sees an American talking to me or a European talking to me. Europeans are running away when they see me. During the last G20 meeting, it was ridiculous. Grown-up people, mature people. They behave like kids. So childish. Unbelievable. Tucker Carlson: So you said that when in 2016, in December, the final moments of the Biden administration, Biden made the relationship between the United States and Russia more difficult. Sergey Lavrov: Obama. Biden was vice-president. Tucker Carlson: Exactly. I'm so sorry. The Obama administration left a bunch of bombs, basically, for the incoming Trump administration. In the last month since the election, you have all sorts of things going on politically in bordering states in this region. In Georgia, in Belarus, in Romania, and then, of course, most dramatically in Syria, you have turmoil. Does this seem like part of an effort by the United States to make the resolution more difficult? Sergey Lavrov: There is nothing new, frankly. Because the U.S., historically, in foreign policy, was motivated by making some trouble and then to see if they can fish in the muddy water. Iraqi aggression, Libyan adventure - ruining the state, basically. Fleeing from Afghanistan. Now trying to get back through the back door, using the United Nations to organize some ‘event’ where the U.S. can be present, in spite of the fact that they left Afghanistan in very bad shape and arrested money and don't want to give it back. I think this is, if you analyze the American foreign policy steps, adventures, most of them are the right word - the pattern. They create some trouble, and then they see how to use it. When the OSCE monitors elections, when it used to monitor elections in Russia, they would always be very negative, and in other countries as well, Belarus, Kazakhstan. This time, in Georgia, the monitoring mission of OSCE presented a positive report. And it is being ignored. So when you need endorsement of the procedures, you do it when you like the results of the election. If you don't like the results of elections, you ignore it. It's like when the United States and other Western countries recognized unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, they said this is the self-determination being implemented. There was no referendum in Kosovo - unilateral declaration of independence. By the way, after that the Serbs approached International Court of Justice, which ruled that (well, normally they are not very specific in their judgment, but they ruled) that when part of a territory declares independence, it is not necessarily to be agreed with the central authorities. And when a few years later, Crimeans were holding referendum with invitation of many international observers, not from international organizations, but from parliamentarians in Europe, in Asia, in post-Soviet space, they said, no, we cannot accept this because this is violation of territorial integrity. You know, you pick and choose. The UN Charter is not a menu. You have to respect it in all its entirety. Tucker Carlson: So who's paying the rebels who've taken parts of Aleppo? Is the Assad government in danger of falling? What is happening exactly, in your view, in Syria? Sergey Lavrov: Well, we had a deal when this crisis started. We organized the Astana process (Russia, Turkiye and Iran). We meet regularly. Another meeting is being planned before the end of the year or early next year, to discuss the situation on the ground. The rules of the game are to help Syrians to come to terms with each other and to prevent separatist threats from getting strong. That's what the Americans are doing in the east of Syria when they groom some Kurdish separatists using the profits from oil and grain sold, the resources which they occupy. This Astana format is a useful combination of players, if you wish. We are very much concerned. And when this happened, with Aleppo and surroundings, I had a conversation with the Turkish minister of foreign affairs and with Iranian colleague. We agreed to try to meet this week. Hopefully in Doha at the margins of this international conference. We would like to discuss the need to come back to strict implementation of the deals on Idlib area, because Idlib de-escalation zone was the place from where the terrorists moved to take Aleppo. The arrangements reached in 2019 and 2020 provided for our Turkish friends to control the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone and to separate the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (former Nusra) from the opposition, which is non-terrorist and which cooperates with Turkiye. And another deal was the opening of M5 route from Damascus to Aleppo, which is also now taken completely by the terrorists. So we, as ministers of foreign affairs, would discuss the situation, hopefully, this coming Friday. And the military of all three countries and the security people are in contact with each other. Tucker Carlson: But the Islamist groups, the terrorists you just described, who is backing them? Sergey Lavrov: Well, we have some information. We would like to discuss with all our partners in this process the way to cut the channels of financing and arming them. The information which is being floated and it's in the public domain mentions among others the Americans, the Brits. Some people say that Israel is interested in making this situation aggravate. So that Gaza is not under very close scrutiny. It's a complicated game. Many actors are involved. I hope that the context which we are planning for this week will help stabilize the situation. Tucker Carlson: What do you think of Donald Trump? Sergey Lavrov: I met him several times when he was having meetings with President Putin and when he received me twice in the Oval Office when I was visiting for bilateral talks. Well, I think he's a very strong person. A person who wants results. Who doesn't like procrastination on anything. This is my impression. He's very friendly in discussions. But this does not mean that he's pro-Russian as some people try to present him. The amount of sanctions we received under the Trump administration was very big. We respect any choice which is made by the people when they vote. We respect the choice of American people. As President Putin said, we are and we have been open all along to the contacts with the current administration. We hope that when Donald Trump is inaugurated, we will understand. The ball, as President Putin said, is on their side. We never severed our contacts, our ties in the economy, trade, security, anything. Tucker Carlson: My final question is: how sincerely worried are you about an escalation in conflict between Russia and the United States, knowing what you do? Sergey Lavrov: Well, we started with this question, more or less. Tucker Carlson: It seems the central question. Sergey Lavrov: Yes. The Europeans whisper to each other that it is not for Volodymyr Zelensky to dictate the terms of the deal - it's for the US and Russia. I don't think we should be presenting our relations as two guys decide for everybody. Not at all. It is not our style. We prefer the manners which dominate in BRICS, in Shanghai Cooperation Organization, where the UN Charter principle of sovereign equality of states is really embodied. The US is not used to respect sovereign equality of states. When the US says we cannot allow Russia to win on Ukraine because this would undermine our rules-based world order. And rules-based world order is American domination. Now, by the way, NATO, at least under Biden administration, is eyeing the entire Eurasian continent, Indo-Pacific strategies, South China Sea, East China Sea, is already on NATO agenda. NATO is moving infrastructure there. AUKUS, building ‘quartet’ Indo-Pacific Four as they call it (Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea). US, South Korea, and Japan are building military alliance with some nuclear components. And Jens Stoltenberg, the former Secretary General of NATO, last year after the summit he said that the Atlantic security is indivisible from Indo-Pacific security. When he was asked does it mean that you go beyond territorial defense, he answered - no, it doesn't go beyond territorial defense, but to defend our territory, we need to be present there. This element of preemption is more and more present. We don't want war with anybody. And as I said, five nuclear states declared at the top level in January 2022 that we don't want confrontation with each other and that we shall respect each other's security interests and concerns. And it also stated nuclear war can never be won, and therefore nuclear war is not possible. And the same was reiterated bilaterally between Russia and the United States, Putin-Biden, when they met in 2021 in Geneva in June. Basically, they reproduced the statement by Reagan-Gorbachev of 1987 ‘no nuclear war’. And this is absolutely in our vital interest, and we hope that this is also in vital interest of the United States. I say so because some time ago John Kirby, who is the White House communications coordinator, was answering questions about escalation and about possibility of nuclear weapons being employed. And he said, "Oh, no, we don't want escalation because then if there is some nuclear element, then our European allies would suffer." So even mentally, he excludes that the United States can suffer. And this is something which makes the situation a bit risky. It might – if this mentality prevails, then some reckless steps would be taken, and this is bad. Tucker Carlson: What you're saying is American policy makers imagine there could be a nuclear exchange that doesn't directly affect the United States, and you're saying that's not true. Sergey Lavrov: That's what I said, yes. But professionals in deterrence, nuclear deterrence policy, they know very well that it's a very dangerous game. And to speak about limited exchange of nuclear strikes is an invitation to disaster, which we don't want to have.
1. The Book of Unusual Knowledge — a perfect gift option for your love who is forever rattling off random facts without rhyme or reason. Add some fuel to their fire with this 750-page (!!!) book that's packed to the brim with facts and trivia. Promising review: "My best friend is always telling me new facts about the most random things so when I saw this, I knew it had to be added to his bookshelf. And let me tell you the list of random facts keeps on coming. Yeah, yeah, I know... the internet... but sometimes it’s nice to disconnect from technology and read a real book. Couldn’t be happier with this purchase." — Gregory Get it from Amazon for $9.99 and if they already have it there are other versions to check out, such as: The Book of Extraordinary Facts , The Book of Incredible Information , The Book of Useless Information , The Book of Answers , The Book of Weird and Unusual Trivia and The Book of 10,000 Incredible Facts . 2. A slouchy faux-suede bag you might not be able to resist adding one into your cart for yourself as well (it is nearly the holidays, after all) — I'd apologize, but I'm truly not sorry because this bag is fab-u-lous, JW Pei is an Asian- and family-owned small biz with minimalist accessory designs made with sustainable and vegan materials. TikTok is LOVING this bag — check it out here ! BuzzFeed shopping editor Kayla Boyd is a huge fan and has written about her JW Pei collection so check it out! Get it from Amazon for $79.20 (available in four colors). 3. A jar of Momofuku's chili crunch they can use to jazz up everything from eggs to ice cream. It's made with three types of Mexican chilis, crunchy garlic, and shallots to add heat and texture to every bite — their tastebuds won't know what hit 'em. BuzzFeed editor Bek O'Connell really adores this jar of goodness: "I put this stuff on everything! It just makes food taste better. I highly recommend to any fellow spicy lovers looking for the perfect topping. This chili oil comes with seasoned salts, Mexican chilis, dried garlic, and shallots." Get it from Amazon for $10.39 (available in four flavors and as a multipack). 4. Rainbow drip taper candles that'll transform before their very eyes into a magical masterpiece as they burn — they can go ahead and put those boring old birthday candles aside. Promising review: " These have to be the coolest thing I have ever purchased. I have them in an empty wine bottle. I will be buying many more to cover the entire bottle in wax." — Bre Get them from Amazon for $6.99 . 5. COSRX Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence that’ll have them wondering if Gary the Snail has been the reason SpongeBob has been looking GOOOOOD for all of these years — it soothes damaged skin while also repairing dark spots and improving skin vitality. Promising review: "Um...WOW! I have used so many products to help with my dry, red, and inflamed skin. During the winter it is so hard to keep my skin moisturized through out the day. Within two days I saw such a huge difference. So calming and gives you a nice, moisturized glow. I feel so much better knowing my skin is healing. I will use this in my routine for the rest of my life!" — Christina A. Get it from Amazon for $19.50 . 6. A dimmable sad duck night-light guaranteed to bring a smile to their face each time they glance down at it. He'll not-so-happily become their daily desk companion. (We all need one, honestly.) Promising review : "I ordered this lamp because of its appearance. I didn't NEED a depressed duck lamp ... but it has totally filled a void in my life I didn't know existed. Everyone who sees it pokes it. The lamp is actually very functional. It's got a really nice set of brightness options and the glow is yellowish, which is much nicer than white in a dim/dark room. One thing that isn't mentioned in the description is that its legs are utterly floppy. It's terrific." — Literated Get it from Amazon for $15.99 . 7. Claw clips made to work with *all* hair types — yes, even if they've broken their hairbrush while trying to comb through your bedhead, they can rock one of these beauties! Promising review: "I have a LOT of hair and it’s pretty wavy and thick. I have a very hard time finding clips that can hold all of it. What’s nice about these particular clips is that the material is a little bit flexible . Usually the big clips are hard plastic and they’re constantly breaking. These won’t do that as they have some give to them and they clasp well. They have several colors that can coordinate with wardrobe. Glad I got them!!" — LeighAnn Get a pack of four from Amazon for $8.99+ (also available as a pack of eight and in three styles). 8. A set of the *new* lightweight wireless "floating" open-air earbuds designed to settle just over your ear instead of inside it. It might just be the perfect gift to your brother who's infamous for losing his headphones — and gets too in the zone when actually wearing said headphones. These keep you ~aware~ of what's going on around you. Reviewers who run or sweat a lot during workouts especially swear by these, because the flexible ear loops lock them in place! Check out a TikTok of the open air ear buds in action. Promising review: "Amazing sound quality! I have owned many headphones and none have been as good as these. There's always the problem with the in-ear ones that they tend to fall off, and the over-ear-ones are just too bulky or hurt to wear for long periods of time. And most importantly being able to wear them not only for audio but for calls too and have a good microphone. These headphones cover all of the above and more . They are lightweight, they don't bother my ears in any way, they don't fall off, they have a good mic, and no sound leaking at all!!!! Best purchase I've done! Now I'm tempted to try other headphones from Tozo ." — Cliente de Kindle Get it from Amazon for $45.99 (clip the $10 off coupon on the product page for this price; available in four colors). 9. A mug warmer because when it's cold outside there is nothing better than being able to wrap your hands around a hot bev — this lil' gadget won't take up much room at all and will ensure that their drink remains the perfect temperature. Promising review: "It's so nice to work on the computer and reach for the coffee ☕️ and it's still hot or warm your choice. Great buy." — Chip Wood Get it from Amazon for $19.98 . 10. And a Gilmore Girls mug if their life's goal is to drink as much coffee as Lorelai and Rory (good luck). Enter the Kirk TikTok sound : "I love your daughter" "What do you have to offer her?" "Nothing. Only this." This , being the mug, of course. Additionally, Silver Buffalo is a small business! Promising review: "It's a cup of happiness. LOL i believe there is a science in the mug you choose every morning for your coffee. Product wise, it is very good quality, colorful, dishwasher safe. Worth the purchase," — Dana Get it from Amazon for $25.99 . 11. An updated version of the Taylor Swift Little Golden Book fans will take one look and say I'm "enchanted to meet you." The new *~style~* comes with 22 (ooOoOh ooOoOh) bonus pages including stickers and fill-in-the-blank activities. You might find see a lil' Travis cameo within. 😉 I have this book (as pictured above) and by that I mean the second I saw it available for pre-order I added it to my cart faster than you could say "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." As the parent of a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old, I have many Little Golden Books in my home. However, this one is just STUNNING. I'm a big fan of Taylor (obviously) but was really enamored by how beautiful the pages in the first version was — so, naturally, I had to get the updated version! It's a short book, looks cute on my daughter's shelf, and is a hit for bedtime story time with my son who has, ahem, been mildly encouraged to *also* love Taylor Swift. What more could you want??? Get it from Amazon for $8.78 . Note: If they're a diehard Taylor fan here are some other book options they might enjoy: The Story of Taylor Swift: An Inspiring Biography for Young Readers You Are Fearless: A Book for the Littlest Taylor Swift Fans Let's Meet Taylor: Story of the Superstar Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras 12. A set of LED lightsaber chopsticks that'll make their weekly sushi lunches just a bit more fun. Promising review: "I purchased these for a friend's birthday present (he is a sushi waiter) and these are flippin' AMAZING. I ordered two sets by mistake, but I am totally keeping the second pair for another gift (or for myself!). These are sure to be great conversation pieces and attention-getters. Way to go!" — T. Redwood Get two pairs from Amazon for $12.97 . 13. A sleek time-marked water bottle they'll love for its aesthetic — must-have for anyone who has been very meticulous about what they display on their desk. Arcana is a small business that sells stylish, practical water bottles. Promising review: "Saw it on TikTok and thought it would be a great bottle for work. It is very sleek and lightweight enough to carry when you have other items in your hand. I love the modern look and cleans very easily! The time increments really do motivate, definitely ordering again for myself and gifts. Fast delivery and very nice packaging." — Rosa Get it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in three colors and two sizes). 14. An "Awakened Artifacts" puzzle from the TikTok-famous Magic Puzzle Company for the hardcore puzzler in your life *or* someone who just needs to zone out and lock into something fun. And this is even better than a regular puzzle because once it's assembled, you can use the easter eggs to solve the puzzle 's puzzle. Promising review: "Bought this as soon as I got the email that it dropped on Amazon! Love this series and will continue to purchase them. Was it the most challenging puzzle? No, but that didn't take away from the fun of putting it together. Great artwork, wacky pieces, two posters, you just can't go wrong with a magic puzzle!" — Jennifer Lawton Get it from Amazon for $22.99 . This is one of 14 puzzles from the Magic Puzzle Company , so there's lots of other ~puzzling~ possibilities once this one's finished! 15. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza — a card game they can play with their squad (turn it into a drinking game?!) on cold winter nights. You deal all the cards out to your two to four players, and everyone keeps their mini-deck face down. Everyone takes a turn putting a card down in the middle of the table, saying one of the words "taco," "cat," "goat," "cheese," and "pizza," in that order. If the picture on your card matches the word that's said, everyone slaps their hand on the card in a pile as quickly as possible. The last person on the pile has to take the stack and add 'em to their cards, and whoever runs out of cards first wins! Get it from Amazon for $9.95 . 16. A cleverly designed rechargeable electric candle lighter with a flexible neck to light every candle in their house to create the *perfect* ambiance without concern they'll run out of lighter fluid. Promising review: "I cook outside, and lighting a fire during wet and windy weather was a real pain. This lighter was a game changer! As long as the material is dry, this lighter will light regularly, consistently, and easily. Plus, it’s rechargeable! Love it!" — Sandra Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in seven colors and as a two-pack). 17. And a zodiac-inspired candle you can count on to make their home smell divine while also adding a pretty piece of decor to the room. Each one is adorned with three healing crystals and a crackling wood wick. Dancing Bear is a small business! Promising review: "I bought as a gift. Looks pretty, smells good and the crystals are lovely! Nice size and a great gift idea for someone hard to buy for. I will definitely be getting myself one!" — Lisa Menor Get it from Amazon for $19.95 (available in 24 styles). 18. A Birthdate pendant featuring gemstones and crystals based on their astrology and day of birth (obvs) because who doesn't love something customized JUST for them? Birthdate Co. is an Asian-owned small business! I have one of these necklaces and it really is gorgeous. I love layering it with other pieces of jewelry that I already own. I love that it comes with a complete explainer of each stone that is included in the necklace and why it was chosen. For example, my specific birth date features a sapphire (for presence of mind), a pearl (for purity), a white topaz (for focus and vision), and an emerald (my birth stone).Such a fun and special necklace anyone would be delighted to get as a gift! Get it from Birthdate Candles for $149 (available in gold or silver). 19. A " Grievance Journal ," aka a "burn book for the discerning misanthrope" that your friend with the darkest humor will find especially cathartic thanks to 52 prompts to express irritations over what's bothering them the most. Promising review : "Bought this intending to gift it to a friend but ended up getting really into the prompts and decided to keep it for myself. WOW, what an awesome way to vent and articulate the negativity you're feeling by actually forcing yourself to form coherent thoughts around your emotions. Cheaper and more effective than therapy, buying several more for friends and fam. " — Alex Get it from Amazon for $27.99 . If your recipient wants something a little less grim, check out this Burn After Writing book with a similar but lighter sentiment. 20. A handheld lamp they will surely find themselves *mooning* over each night. It'll bring a magical ambience to their room, just you wait. Check out a TikTok of the moon lamp in action. BuzzFeed writer Emma Lord is obsessed with this gadget: "UMMMM I bought this because it was on one of Amazon's top selling products pages for so long that I was like 'Why are people so obsessed with this moon!!' And now, my friends, I know. First of all, it really does look hyper realistically like a small moon and adds a chill vibe wherever you plant it. But it's also just so soothing to watch and have in the periphery . You can control dozens of different colors for it and either keep it on those colors or have them alternate, fade uickly, or fade gradually. It's super easy to charge and controlled by a remote, so you can move it off its stand and have it light up wherever you want. These days I tend to turn it on for my designed ~me time~ night every week, in which I will light a candle, pour a glass of red wine, read a romance novel, and, of course, light my lil' moon. Definitely one of my favorite 'the internet made me do it' purchases." Get it from Amazon for $19.98+ (available in six sizes). 21. A One Line a Day journal to provide anyone with a place to jot down a quick daily memory they can look back on for years to come — it'll last them five years! I was given one of these five years ago and it's become a cherished part of my nightly routine. The best part is when you get to the second year and can look back at what you did a year ago from that day. Promising review: "I am loving these journals! I got two — one for each of my boys (a baby and a toddler), and each day, I am writing down a short memory with each of them. I feel like it's the perfect solution for a tired mama who doesn't have time to journal pages and pages, but wants to hold onto sweet memories from when the kids are little . Can't wait to see how they grow over the five years contained in the journals!" — Kathy W. Kuegler Get it from Amazon for $15.26 . 22. A selfie-worthy carbonated clay mask that exfoliates blackheads along with other skin impurities while it bubbles up and looks downright hilarious. Promising review: "Wow! I purchased this on a whim after seeing one of my favorite YouTubers try it out. I didn't expect a lot from it. I tried it out and was shocked!!! The mask was simple (and fun) to use. I wasn't sure I felt a lot happening while it was on, but it was pretty cool how the bubbles started to grow off of my face. Upon inspection after using this mask I was completely amazed. My face felt cleaner than it has in a very long time AND my pores looked amazing! I don't remember a time when I felt like my pores looked great before using this mask. I would highly recommend this mask to anyone. It's also so much cheaper than the GlamGlow ones I have been using (and didn't see near these results from)." — Phil Textor Get it from Amazon for $8.65+ (available in multipacks). 23. Laneige glowy lip balm in a variety of delectable scents — regardless of whether you commit to "Gummy Bear" or "Grapefruit" you'll be rewarded with hydrated and soft lips all day long. Promising review: "I’ve been searching for the holy grail of lip balms, and THIS IS IT. Seriously. I’ve been on the hunt for years, using everything from fancy French balms to plain organic nut butter, and have always needed to reapply hourly. This stuff is magic. Just the tiniest dot is needed to keep my lips super soft and hydrated for hours, even through drinking and eating. The grapefruit smells great but isn’t overwhelming. I’ll never go back to anything else." — Spectacle Get it from Amazon for $19 (available in nine formulas). 24. A "Cup Cozy Pillow" — aka an absolute essential for achieving peak comfort goals in your pal's living room. It features a spot to hold their remote, two mugs, and two additional beverages. They honestly may never want to leave their couch again. Cup Cozy Pillow is a small business that specializes in family-friendly snack and drink organizers. Check out a TikTok of the Cup Cozy Deluxe Pillow in action. Promising review: "This thing is great! I’m home on maternity leave with my new baby and spend most of my time on the couch under a sleeping baby. This product makes it easy for me to keep my drinks, remote, etc close by even with dogs running around . It’s a little more expensive than I would have liked but it works and I love it so money well spent!" — Amber Get it from Amazon for $34.99 (available in eight styles). 25. A chunky knit chenille blanket to bury themselves under because it's simply that time of year – it comes in so many colors you'll absolutely be able to snag one that matches their room's vibe. It's also hypoallergenic *and* machine washable! It's big enough that the two of you can snuggle under it. Samiah Luxe is a small business! Promising review: "Love this look. Makes the room look and feel cozy. But then the blanket ACTUALLY is cozy! Super soft. Heavy. Warm. Worth the money." — Tracy W. Get it from Amazon for $49.99+ (available in three sizes and eight colors). 26. A foot heater for anyone with perpetually cold tootsies — fire this bad boy up, turn on The Great British Baking Show , and enjoy the warmth you’re guaranteed to feel from head-to-toe (literally). Promising review: "I love this product. It's well built, nice neutral colors to blend into my carpet so it's not an eyesore wherever I have it sitting. The fuzziness lends a cozy feel to it, as well. It offers a heat or no-heat setting and two directions for the shiatsu style massagers to work on your heels. The inside is roomy enough that you can even turn your feet on their side to get extra massage there as well. It's a gentle yet deep massage, so it's great for days where you've been standing for hours or walking on your feet a lot. I would recommend to anyone looking for a nice foot massager." — Gardener Get it from Amazon for $45.99 (available in two colors). 27. A self-stirring mug they can count on to flawlessly blend their sugar and creamer into their freshly brewed coffee. Check out a TikTok of the self-stirring mug in action. Promising review : "I'm a huge fan of coffee and I need it in daily life. Absolutely loving this new cup! Easy and quick to mix your coffee and milk, pretty handy! Cleaning the cup couldn't be easier with the self stirring function , just put a little dab of soap, fill the mug half way with water, turn it on and let it do its own thing." — Lina Get it from Amazon for $26.99 (available in five colors). 28. A sunrise alarm clock to wake them up so pleasantly they'll forget that they're supposed to be cranky about heading off to work. This lovely lil' gadget has seven different light settings, calming "wake up" noises, and can be set to gradually get brighter at 30, 20, or 10 minutes. Promising review: "I got this recommendation from TikTok and it really has helped especially with Oregon winters where the sun is not out by the time the alarm rings. It has several peaceful alarm settings and even has night music to put you to sleep. The sunrise with the alarm piano is what I play to wake me up every morning and it is a way better way than to wake up to an annoying phone alarm." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $39.98 . 29. A Kindle for any lit lover whose main goal at all times is to plow through a *ton* of books on their TBR list — this will ensure they can have *tons* of books at their fingertips at all times. I have a Kindle and surprisingly have become a big fan of it — especially when traveling. While I absolutely prefer a hardcover book, it's nearly impossible to put more than two (which is a stretch in itself) in my suitcase along with my clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc. I read most of my books these days through the Libby app (all you need is a library card for access) which can be used via your phone or Kindle. No need to spend tons of money on novels when I simply am not someone who rereads them! This latest version sports a 7-inch glare-free screen and a battery that'll last WEEKS! Get it from Amazon for $159 (available in three colors and with/without lock screen ads). 30. A subscription to Book of the Month because there are few things as soothing to a bibliophile as cracking open a hardcover book while kicking back in the sunshine. They also offer audiobooks if that's more their speed! I was gifted a BOTM subscription many years ago and I've stayed loyal since! It's the only subscription service I've kept up with and gifted to different people. Each month your gift recipient will be permitted to choose from a selection of books (and more recently, audiobooks!), all of which are different genres. Then the book they select will be delivered to their door. Half of my beautifully color coordinated bookcase is filled with books from BOTM and I couldn't be happier! Get three months from Book of the Month for $59.99 . 31. A Renpho percussion massager — a must-have if they're forever complaining about the knots in their back and wishing they could take a daily trip to the spa. Check out a TikTok of the massager in action. Promising review: " I have tried EVERYTHING for my feet, nothing works and I am always in pain. It came, I tried it out, and I thought wow, that feels AWESOME. But the true test is how do you feel the next day right? You cannot always walk around with a massage gun in your hand. The next day, I felt AMAZING. AMAZING. I used it on my hubby's back too, and he said he felt so much better today as well! In addition, this one is way QUIETER than my original massage gun. It's just really a quality piece. You won't be disappointed in this one. It really is what it says. I know it is hard to choose from all the models on the internet, but this one is the real deal. It's worth the money if you have pain." — L Johnson Get it from Amazon for $89.99 (available in three colors). 32. A reviewer-beloved ~croc~ veggie chopper they can use to dice onions in a flash — save the uncontrollable crying for the next Hallmark holiday movie. It can also spiralize, slice, and chop! Promising review: "I bought this as a gift for my husband, who loves cooking AND crocodiles! He loves it! Best of all, it works great too. We’ve used it so many times, and the blades are still sharp. It’s easy to use and clean. Love it!" — Niki Mitchell Get it from Amazon for $34.99 . 33. Crayola Globbles , a fun lil' toy they can use to burn off some steam in between meetings or when they just need a quick mental break. Don't worry, they won't leave residue on their walls. Check them out on TikTok ! Promising review : " My daughter is 4 and plays with these DAILY! YES they do attract dirt and hair HOWEVER they are so easy to rinse off, it's not a big deal! We took these to a family gathering and ended up giving two away because they were SO loved! The two we gave away went to a 12-year-old and my 19-year-old brother. They discovered throwing them at the ceiling fan and watching them shoot across the room which was pretty entertaining! None of these have busted or ripped and they are definitely NOT gentle with them! I will definitely be buying more! " — Kindle Customer Get a pack of six from Amazon for $9.53+ (also available in a pack of 16). 34. A Baby Nessie Loose Leaf Tea Infuser they'll want to show off to everyone and anyone, but especially their roommate who doesn't "believe in silly fairytales." Promising review: "So stinking cute and works great. I had no loose tea in my cup at all. Easy to clean." — Adriane R. Get it from Amazon for $14.95 . 35. AirPod cases designed to look like a classic roll of Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape and a mini can of Arizona Green Tea — aka what they likely spent all of their allowance on in the '90s. Promising review: "I love these so freaking much!! They look exactly like the pictures. They fit and work great. They are protective and I love the fact that there’s already a clip on them. Great quality, the details and text are clear." — Raven Get them from Amazon for $8.99 . 36. Lightning earrings with flat backing so they can lay down on the couch for a snooze without being poked with every turn of their head. I have a number of piercings in my ears (including these!) and wear my Maison Miru earrings daily. They don't tarnish or feel too heavy — it's not even an issue to sleep or workout in them! They're one of my go-to brands for delicate jewelry. Get them from Maison Miru for $85+ (available in 18-karat gold or silver). 37. A ceramic mug and saucer set that'll help them get their head out of the clouds and come back down to earth with every sip of coffee they take. Caffeine is queen, baby. The mug and saucer are dishwasher and microwave safe. Promising review: "Perfect. I am literally obsessed!! I saw this in a TikTok video and the reality is even better." — Sev Luke Get it from Amazon for $23.98+ (available in 17 styles). 38. Butterfly bandages , because they're an adult and know a kiss won't actually make their scrape better, but a bandage that looks a hug from a butterfly just might. Hug-a-BooBoo is a small business — check their other fun themed bandages here! Promising review: "The cutest and strongest bandaids I ever bought! My niece loves butterflies so I figured these are the perfect ones for her. It comes in a variety of colors and are super easy and comfortable to put on. They are excellent for young kids and adults who love butterflies. 🦋❤️" — Michelle Get a box of 24 from Amazon for $7.99 . 39. A "Gracula" garlic crusher they might accidentally mistake for a children's toy — but it's so much more! With a few twists they can use it to mince garlic, ginger, nuts, chilis, and herbs. See, no need to be afraid of this mythical creature. Promising review: "I love this little guy. I found him on a BuzzFeed list and had to have it as soon as I saw it! I’ve minced as many as five cloves in it in seconds. It’s a little tricky getting all of the garlic out once minced (I use a silicone basting brush to get most of it but I always use more than the recipe calls for anyway so it’s not a deal breaker). Cleanup is a breeze because he goes right in the dishwasher! " — Barbie Get it from Amazon for $18.95 . 40. A Bluetooth speaker with an adorable '90s feel to it they can program with fun pixelated messages, a clock, and animations galore! This lil' gadget has RGB-backlit buttons and, of course, has the ability to play music and podcasts. Check out an unboxing TikTok from @thatkawaiigrl ! BuzzFeed editor Jenae Sitzes loves hers! You can read more on why it's one of her favorite pieces of desk decor here . Promising reviews : "I actually impulsively purchased this because I saw it on TikTok. I have had it for a little over a month now, and it is actually the best item I have purchased in a while. I admit, there is a slight learning curve when setting it up because there is not a clear-cut instructions guide for all of the features, but once you figure it out, it’s so worth it. It is really multifunctional and you can customize it to your liking. I really love the mini games feature on here, like Tetris and Snake , because they all bring back childhood memories for me. My favorite part is the fact that it works as a speaker and when I play music, I can have little videos sync to the music. Who knew a tiny little speaker could bring me so much joy. It is a bit pricy though, but it is just so cute. If you’re looking for a sign to buy this, here’s your sign." — Khuyen Nguyen Get it from Amazon for $79.99 (available in five colors). 41. A darling glass water jug adorned in daisies that are s'cute they'll make them long for springtime all the time. Promising review: "Bought this to encourage my girlfriend to drink more water and it worked lol. And she's always telling me how she gets compliments from the 'girlies' in college lol. A great purchase." — Azi Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in six styles). 42. A set of moisturizing animal-themed sheet masks they won't be able to resist belly laughing over when they apply them — they can team up with their friends for a very strange spa night and get those giggles out! Promising review : "I bought these to do a spa day with my niece. We had so much fun, and my face was soft for days afterward. I enjoyed them so much that I bought them again and gave them out for Christmas. Then I bought another set for myself and even shared with co-workers. I don't think it is just the facemask that makes my face look brighter, but also the joy and fun of the prints when you wear them with family and friends. " — Nina M Munoz-Najera Get a set of six from Amazon for $13.75 (available in six packs). 43. A jewelry box designed to look like a frosted cake you'd imagine a toddler diving into hands-first on their birthday. It's likely what you would find in the dictionary next to "pretty in pink" and simply deserves a spot in their home. 2FACEDCAKES is a small business that sells nostalgic, handmade jewelry boxes. Promising review: "It’s even better than I could have hoped!!! I am obsessed with it" — kateeherald Get it from 2FACEDCAKES on Etsy for $46+ (available with or without glitter and with customization of the piping color/wording). 44. A pair of Apple AirPods Pro with noise cancellation to ensure their next flight is, in fact, a peaceful one. Thanks to these bad boys they can blast Taylor Swift for hours, watch endless episodes of Real Housewives and block out the sound of their annoying neighbor's snoring. They come with three sizes of silicone tips to comfortably fit your ears and a charging case that provides more than 24 hours of listening time. I absolutely could not live without these — the noise canceling is absolutely essential for working from home (with kids). I swear by these babies. BuzzFeed Shopping writer Emma Lord loves these: "I have a pair of these, and they're not playing around. Once they're securely in your ear, you can toggle the headphones between noise-cancelling and regular sound, depending on your situation. I've been working from home, and the noise canceling is so effective that I can work next to a window where my neighbor is doing heavy construction and I don't hear anything louder than a faint buzzing. It's quieter than if I'd just plugged my ears with my own fingers. I'm also a runner, and these don't budge when you're sweating, which is nice. It's also handy that these toggle out of noise-cancellation mode, because I feel better being able to hear traffic and other people around me when I'm out and about. The TL;DR is: I love these so much I have zero interest in owning another pair of headphones for as long as I live. " For more, read her full AirPod Pros review ! Get them from Amazon for $245 . 45. Or a pair of Beats Studio Pro wireless headphones you might want to say "screw it" and buy for yourself while you’re already filling your cart with gifts for everyone else. *Extremely Martin Short voice* "I like your Beats." Promising review: "Sounds quality is so good, sometimes it made my head hurt and ears bc of the fit, but it’s kinda comfortable, it’s very loud, and the bass is good. Noise-canceling is so good, I be thinking the earth is quiet, but it’s just the headphones that make it sound like that." — Lolo Get them from Amazon for $249.99 (available in eight colors) 46. A Nintendo Switch OLED with a 7-inch screen, a wide adjustable stand, enhanced audio, and an overall pleasant gaming experience they'll be thrilled to play. They can kickstart their "cozy gamer" lifestyle by purchasing soothing games like Disney Dreamlight Valley or take a more ambitious approach with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom . I have the Nintendo Switch OLED and am a big fan! My husband has the original Switch and I have the Switch Lite, but this newest version has definitely made a good impression on me. I wasn't always enthused with the original version (my hands are small!) but, despite this one being similar in size, the OLED feels a lot lighter and easy to hold. The colors are the screen are beautiful and *so* clear. It connects very easily to the TV, so you can play multiplayer games at any time! Promising review: "Starting off The OLED switch takes things to the next level. I used to play a lot of Mario games many years before, and I didn’t think I’d ever go back to playing Mario again. Nintendo has made it easy to play a lot of my favorite Mario games from back in the day through the online store. Amazon helped ensure that I had confidence with the delivery of my package, they sent me an OTP password through email to help ensure my package was delivered to the right person. I am very grateful to Amazon for helping provide me with a wonderful experience." — Jose A. Hernandez Get it from Amazon for $349 (available in two styles). 47. An iconic espresso martini phone case so they can look the part when they send out the weekly group text to rally the troops for tinis. Promising review: "Absolutely love this case! Looks even cuter in person that it does already online and I know my phone is well protected with it. A win win!" — Mary G. Get it from Velvet Caviar for $28 (available for iPhone and Galaxy devices and in four other designs). 48. A Ninja Creami they can use to pretend they're Cinderella's Fairy Godmother and turn a handful of ingredients into a delectable frozen treat. My apologies to Ben and Jerry, because they'll be whipping up their own dessert from here on out. Yuuuum! Check out a TikTok of the Ninja Creami in action. All you have to do put your fave foods into the containers and freeze them. After 24 hours in the freezer, hook up your machine, select the appropriate preset, and you'll have a yummy treat. Oh! And the containers, lids, and paddle are top-rack dishwasher safe. Check out what BuzzFeed Shopping contributor Jessica Hall thinks of it: "As a wannabe fitness girly, I have started paying a bit more attention to the foods I eat, specifically in terms of how much protein I eat. I find it to be somewhat difficult to consume my full day's worth of protein, and I am not a huge fan of protein bars or protein shakes. I decided to give this thing a try after seeing it literally all over TikTok and how people were making lower calorie protein ice cream in it. The TikTok influencers are *not* lying, you should absolutely get this thing. It comes with little pints, you mix up all your ingredients, pop it in the freezer for 24 hours and then put it in the machine. It legit makes a delicious treat with such a ~creamy~ texture. I have found my best recipe so far is a vanilla protein shake, a little bit of sugar free pudding mix (the fats in it help the texture...at least that's what the Internet told me, so obvi I believe it), and a dash of vanilla extract. Once that's all mixed, I'll throw in some Oreos or M&Ms to have myself a high-protein version of a McFlurry. You can also make delicious smoothie bowls, sorbets, milkshakes, and more. I definitely imagine I'll be using it even more often in the summer when it's hot and I want something cold and refreshing." Promising review: "Everyone needs a Ninja Creami. We love ours! I have made cherry, banana, raspberry, and blueberry sorbets plus churro and chocolate ice cream. The recipe book is full of easy-to-make recipes. Easy to clean and simple to use . Just push a button and then a minute later you have ice cream!" — julie krueger Get it from Amazon for $179.99 . 49. And a delicate initial necklace for anyone who prefers simple jewelry they can wear every day. Get your own initial, your partner's, your little one's, or allllll of the above! ...or so you can scream-sing the Taylor Swift lyrics "I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck not because he owns me but 'cause he really knows me." Either way! Fab item. Promising review: "The best necklace I’ve ever had!!! It’s the perfect size and length, so dainty! I was worried about the gold fading (because it’s so wonderfully affordable) but it hasn’t — not even a little bit!!! I’ve worn it every single day for about a month now, even accidentally wore it in a pool for a little bit but nothing happened and it’s never been damaged! Has become such a staple for me and my everyday outfit, don’t feel complete without it anymore. Would highly recommend and will be buying another if this one ever breaks!!" — Brittany Burrahm Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in 26 letters and 2 styles). Some reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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Indiana coach Mike Woodson is happy that his team has won three straight games but concerned that it's committing too many turnovers. Limiting miscues is at the top of his wish list for Monday night's Big Ten Conference opener against visiting Minnesota in Bloomington, Ind. While the Hoosiers (7-2) shot 53.8 percent and dominated Miami (Ohio) 46-29 on the glass during a 76-57 win at home Friday night, they also had more turnovers (16) than assists (15). Having played for Bob Knight at Indiana, Woodson is fanatical about his team executing its offense without making mistakes. "We were taking chances on passes that weren't there," Woodson said. "We have to fix it. If we start Big Ten play like that, it puts you in a hole." In between careless mistakes, the Hoosiers got a huge game out of Oumar Ballo, the Arizona transfer who had 14 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. It was his 35th career double-double but his first at Indiana. Ballo (12.7 points per game, 9.3 rebounds) is one of four players averaging double figures for the Hoosiers. They're led by Malik Reneau, who's hitting for 15.4 ppg on 58.9 percent shooting. While Indiana tries to fine-tune its game, the Golden Gophers (6-4, 0-1 Big Ten) aim to get to the .500 mark in conference play after absorbing a 90-72 beating Wednesday night against visiting Michigan State. There was good news for Minnesota in that game. Mike Mitchell Jr. returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a high ankle sprain and drilled 5 of 9 3-pointers in a 17-point performance. Mitchell's shooting should aid an attack that ranks 311th in Division I in 3-point percentage at 29.7 percent as of Sunday. "He's a difference-maker in terms of being able to space the floor," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said of Mitchell. "He provides offensive firepower and a guy who can make shots and take pressure off our offense." Dawson Garcia leads the team at 19 ppg, while Lu'Cye Patterson and Mitchell are scoring 10 ppg. The Hoosiers own a 109-69 lead in the all-time series. --Field Level Media