A councillor at the centre of former leader Doug Beattie’s resignation has removed any reference to the Ulster Unionist Party from his social media accounts. Cllr Darryl Wilson, who represents the Ballymoney area on , previously spoke of how he was “disillusioned and heartbroken” to be overlooked for the Assembly seat vacated by Robin Swann following the UK General Election. At the time, it had been reported that then party leader Doug Beattie favoured Cllr Wilson for the role only to be vetoed by party officers and the seat was then offered to Colin Crawford. Days later, Doug Beattie announced that he was to stand down as leader of the party, citing irreconcilable differences with party officers. When contacted by on Friday, Councillor Wilson refused to comment on his future within politics and if he had any plans to defect to another party. Later on Friday, Cllr Wilson removed all mention of the Ulster Unionist Party from his social media accounts, including changing his X handle from @DarrylUUP to @CllrDarrylW. Earlier this week, Cllr Wilson took to social media to reflect on the year that has passed and some of the challenges he faced. “This year has brought its challenges, with many high points and some low moments as well. However, I firmly believe that it is essential to focus on the positives and to learn from the less favorable [sic] experiences. A new year presents the perfect opportunity to reflect, adapt, and change what isn’t working,” he said. “As such, there will be some significant changes ahead for me in politics. That said, I want to assure you all that my commitment remains steadfast: to serve the people of Ballymoney and always put community and country above party politics.” The have been approached for comment. To remove this article -The Salvation Army and Supporters Show That Everyday Generosity Can Make a Change for 27 Million People in America
stockcam Overview The market values Duolingo ( NASDAQ: DUOL ) as an AI company (Figure 1). This is a company that is believed to benefit from the AI revolution. It is a small company that has ample opportunity for growth. I recommend Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, but may initiate a beneficial Long position through a purchase of the stock, or the purchase of call options or similar derivatives in DUOL over the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Shark's FlexStyle devices have a pretty impressive reputation for delivering salon-worthy tresses in rapid time and with minimal heat damage to your hair. In the brand's festive end of year sale, its stylers have been reduced massively, to help you see in 2025 in style. Now costing £239.99 from £299.99 at Shark, beating Boots and John Lewis ' price of £269.99 and £249.99, the Shark FlexStyle 5-in-1 Air Styler & Hair Dryer is a great investment piece that can give your hair bouncy curls - both naturally enhanced with the diffuser and manually with a barrel - volumise, smooth, and dry it effortlessly with less damage thanks to the device measuring heat 1,000 times per second, generating consistent air flow temperatures. The styler comes complete with auto-wrap curlers, a paddle brush, an oval brush, a concentrator, a diffuser and a storage case, meaning you can get five different styles in one fell swoop. Read more: Boots launches huge winter sale with 50% off top brands including Philips and Kylie Jenner Read more: Dunelm shoppers nab 'expensive looking' double bedding set for less than £14 using deal Now, I have this device - specifically the Wicked themed iteration that is currently out of stock (sob!) but I'm sure it'll be restocked in no time - and with shortish, curly and frizzy hair, I must admit I had relatively sceptical hopes for it to transform my hair into sumptuous locks in record time at home, as I'd seen all over social media. But I must say, I was proved well and truly wrong after testing it out for myself having given in to the hype. Let me tell you why. Firstly, the FlexStyler is a stunning piece to look at - it's not your regular, bulky hair dryer that is a faff to transport anywhere. It it long and sleek and has a button to fold it into a right angle (which is the position that dries your hair, rather than styles it). It can fit neatly into your bag without taking up too much room, making it great to travel with and isn't actually too loud. How it works is you need to dry your hair to about 70% with the dryer part of the hair styler in place, at a right angle, then, straighten it up (with the click of a button) to add your desired attachment. Packed with power, it dried my entire head of hair rapidly (taking drying time from 35 minutes to about 10) with its customisable heat and airflow settings to style with the various different attachments. I didn't even need to use the most powerful setting and it cut down my drying time immensely. I will say that using the attachments does take some getting used to - when using the curling barrel, it took several attempts to get the right angle to get the curl how I wanted it - and I've had a few times when the attachment has come out mid flow. Although, that may be my fault. Once you've nailed it, however, in my opinion you are left with enviable hair that looks like you've rolled out of the salon with just one styling device - my picture does not do it justice. My favourite attachment is the oval brush as, for someone with unruly curls, it's sometimes tricky to have silky smooth styles without using a pair of straighteners to get that soft finish, but the brush part cuts through the knots and leaves my hair super silky, it's really lovely. Plus, it gives it volume and makes me feel like I'm part of ABBA with its flicky finish. Although I would have enjoyed having a smaller oval brush to tackle my shorter layers. I enjoy the curler too as, if I want more Hollywood style curls, it's ideal for getting those big, bouncy barrels without the need for a curling tong. Although it is a bit of an investment at £239.99, one of the only negatives I've come across, it's one that I can see lasting for a long time and has all your styling needs in one piece of equipment. And, if it gives your hair that extra bit of protection from heat, it's worthwhile, no? Get the stone 5-IN-1 Flex-Styler here for £239.99 down from £299.99. Shark isn't the only place offering some pretty epic reductions on hair stylers of this calibre. Boots has reduced the price of the Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler And Dryer in Strawberry Bronze And Blush Pink to £399.99 from £479.99, meanwhile Bellissima Italia's Air Wonder 8 in 1 Hot Air Styler is now £69.99 down from £129.99.By DAVID BAUDER Time magazine gave Donald Trump something it has never done for a Person of the Year designee: a lengthy fact-check of claims he made in an accompanying interview. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s lawyers rebuff DA’s idea for upholding his hush money conviction, calling it ‘absurd’ National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg The fact-check accompanies a transcript of what the president-elect told the newsmagazine’s journalists. Described as a “12 minute read,” it calls into question 15 separate statements that Trump made. It was the second time Trump earned the Time accolade; he also won in 2016, the first year he was elected president. Time editors said it wasn’t a particularly hard choice over other finalists Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate Middleton. Time said Friday that no other Person of the Year has been fact-checked in the near-century that the magazine has annually written about the figure that has had the greatest impact on the news. But it has done the same for past interviews with the likes of Joe Biden, Netanyahu and Trump. Such corrections have been a sticking point for Trump and his team in the past, most notably when ABC News did it during his only debate with Democrat Kamala Harris this fall. There was no immediate response to a request for comment on Friday. In the piece, Time called into question statements Trump made about border security, autism and the size of a crowd at one of his rallies. When the president-elect talked about the “massive” mandate he had received from voters, Time pointed out that former President Barack Obama won more electoral votes the two times he had run for president. The magazine also questioned Trump’s claim that he would do interviews with anyone who asked during the campaign, if he had the time. The candidate rejected a request to speak to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the magazine said. “In the final months of his campaign, Trump prioritized interviews with podcasts over mainstream media,” reporters Simmone Shah and Leslie Dickstein wrote. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.
UM’s LGBTQ+ student group celebrates Lavender Graduation(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Maximilian Brichta , University of Southern California (THE CONVERSATION) Rockets aren’t the only thing Elon Musk is sending into the stratosphere. After a three-year plummet, Dogecoin is blasting off again , jumping 250% since the election of Donald Trump – part of a broader wave of optimism in the industry , due to Trump’s courting of crypto advocates during his campaign. Trump’s informal appointment of Musk to what he calls the Department of Government Efficiency – D.O.G.E for short – also helped pump the dog-themed meme coin . This isn’t the first time Musk, who styles himself as “ the Dogefather ,” has fueled interest in Dogecoin. In May 2021, its price shot up in anticipation of Musk’s guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” During one skit, Musk played a financial analyst in conversation with a Weekend Update host, who repeatedly asked him, “What is Dogecoin?” After some obfuscation, Musk’s character finally admitted that it was a hustle. The price of the coin went into a freefall . Just over a year later, it had shed over 90% of its peak value . The losses hit small investors hard. In 2022, one of them filed a class action lawsuit against Musk for market manipulation and insider trading, though the case was dismissed in August 2024. Why has Dogecoin – a meme coin that was never meant to be taken seriously as an investment – seen such extreme swings in value? We’re all in this together Dogecoin was launched in 2013 to spoof bitcoin and a slew of other cryptocurrencies that were claiming to disrupt the traditional world of finance. Two strangers from across the globe met online , copied the code of an existing coin, and branded it with the already popular Doge internet meme – a picture of a Shiba Inu dog surrounded by fragments of broken English: “wow much coin.” Although their main goal was to make the coin pointless and undesirable, it became one of the most popular and enduring cryptocurrencies on the market. Following Dogecoin’s previous surge in 2021, I studied how its fervent network of influencers and everyday investors worked together to draw tremendous attention – and capital – to the joke currency. To understand the appeal of these absurd investments, you have to look at the time and energy that users invest into these networks and the rewards, both financial and social, they get in return. Meme coins are collaborative enterprises. Members of these online communities have an economic incentive to become outspoken boosters: The more the value of Dogecoin rises, the more their investments grow. But they also receive social validation from other meme coin investors when they pump up the coin. In other words, behind every meme coin is a collective of strangers on a communal mission to make more money. Dogecoin and its imitators have been described by their leadership as crypto movements , shared journeys and community-owned projects. Beyond branding the assets with culturally resonant images, whether it’s a Shiba Inu dog or Pepe the Frog , successful crypto ventures are characterized by complex webs of trust. Trust in the technology. Trust in its potential for future appreciation. And trust that those holding power in the networks won’t exploit the rest. This loyalty is woven among a global network of users who collaborate around the clock to promote their coin and demonstrate their unwavering commitment to its success. In times of price appreciation, the collective buzzes with elation . During price dips, community members mutually reinforce their comrades’ – and their own – beliefs that this is just a bump in the road and that their collective efforts will eventually lead to a handsome payoff. Even in the coldest of crypto winters , this ritualistic behavior helps these speculative communities endure. Community serves as a substitute for financial loss. The investment strategies in these communities – and the conviction in their payoff – involve repeating and reposting what others have said, like any traditional internet meme. Trolling traditional valuation The real value of meme coins cannot be understood in the same way as traditional assets, such as stocks and physical commodities. These types of assets have fundamentals, such as a company’s financial statements, or public demand for basic goods, from coffee to oil. Conversely, the fundamentals of meme coins are reflected in their network activity, such as daily active users, and less concrete metrics, such as social sentiment and mindshare – how much public awareness a coin has generated compared with its rivals. Of course, the valuations of traditional assets are also affected by these social factors. The difference is that meme coins offer little by way of productive activity. They add nothing to the economy. Occasionally, their leadership will build financial services around them , but these are generally added as afterthoughts, especially as a way to drum up more speculative excitement. Meme coins troll the traditional conventions of valuation and mock the edicts and dogmas of mainstream investors. And that’s exactly the point. Participation in meme coin communities – or any crypto community, for that matter – entails embracing an alternative economic experience. They are speculative sandboxes for playing outside of the conventional rules of investment. Who let the Doge out? Musk is the quintessential meme coin influencer. As the richest man in the world, he’s viewed by many as a paragon of savvy investing. His massive following extends far beyond Dogecoin’s social network. And his promotional efforts are playful – so playful that the judge in his class-action case dismissed his Dogecoin tweets as mere “puffery” and that “no reasonable investor could rely upon them.” Dogecoin previously reached the peak of its memetic momentum when Musk appeared on “Saturday Night Live.” Now, instead of sitting at the Weekend Update news desk cracking jokes, he’s sitting in Trump’s office advising the president-elect. In other words, Dogecoin’s memetic resonance has ascended from pop culture to politics, helping it capture a bigger slice of the public’s mindshare. While Dogecoin has specifically benefited from Musk’s proximity to Trump, the broader crypto market is leaping with optimism for a crypto-friendly administration. Speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, the GOP candidate ensured he’d make the United States “ the crypto capital of the planet .” After pouring $131 million into this election cycle , the crypto industry can now claim 274 pro-crypto members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 20 pro-crypto U.S. senators. Between Musk buddying up with Trump and a shifting regulatory environment, the dog can once again run free. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/dogecoin-is-a-joke-so-whats-behind-its-rally-243686 .Wall St hit by sell-off at end of strong holiday-shortened week
Barbara Corcoran Says the Best Entrepreneurs Are Good at This One Thing
Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• Just when the Minnesota Legislature really needs practitioners of bipartisan cooperation and mutual respect — not to mention a good Bob Dylan impression — Frank Hornstein is retiring. This is not my customary farewell to an able and long-serving legislator, though Hornstein surely fills that bill. That’s what I might have offered, had not Minnesota voters (abetted by some long-ago judges, whom I’ll blast shortly) opted to send 67 DFLers and 67 Republicans to the 2025 Minnesota House. Come January — unless one pending court challenge in a Shakopee district results in an outcome reversal — the House will be tied, as it has not been since 1979. Suddenly the relationship-building skills that DFLer Hornstein from southwest Minneapolis exhibited through 22 years in office aren’t just pleasantries. They are vital governing tools. The ability of the 2025 Legislature to perform its minimal duty — that is, to balance the state budget in 2026-27 and beyond — may depend on the prevalence of those qualities among rank-and-file legislators. Hornstein gets that. He is a 65-year-old former community organizer, husband of a rabbi and son of two Holocaust survivors. All four of his grandparents died at the hands of the Nazis. His family’s story can be seen as a cautionary tale about what can happen when governments abandon tolerance in favor of ideological purity, scapegoating and violence. He came to the Legislature in 2003 as more than a nice guy with a knack for funny impersonations. He wanted to make government work, and he knew that required collaboration, compromise and patience. He worked for at least 15 years on the major transportation funding bill he shepherded into law in 2023, all the while making friends throughout the chamber. That’s why I asked Hornstein recently to do more than reminisce. I wanted to hear his tips for working effectively across the partisan aisle while simultaneously upholding his own policy priorities — in his case, on transportation, climate and the environment. “It’s really important to make the extra effort to connect with people on a human basis,” Hornstein told me. “A lot of legislators engage now and then with the other side of the aisle. But doing that on an ongoing basis is the critical thing. It’s really important to not just start a relationship, but keep the relationship going.” Get to know not just each other’s names, but the names of spouses and children, Hornstein advises. Acquire private phone numbers. (Hornstein memorizes them.) Visit each other’s districts. Don’t blindside the opposition with “gotcha” surprises. Go to funerals. That’s what Hornstein did when Republican Rep. John Petersburg of Waseca lost his wife in 2022. Though Hornstein does not drive, he arranged a ride to attend the funeral. “I’ll always remember,” Petersburg told Governing magazine . Petersburg also retired this year. He was one of two House Republicans who showed up at Hornstein’s Nov. 10 retirement party in Linden Hills. Hornstein’s advice would have sounded self-evident to legislators a few decades ago. The fact that his friendship regimen made him stand out among his 133 fellow House members in recent years attests to how much the partisanship of the last several decades has damaged the institution’s social norms. It’s likely no coincidence that as civility eroded, so did legislative productivity when government is divided. And the Legislature can’t get more divided than it will be in 2025: 67-67 in the House, and 34 DFLers to 33 Republicans in the Senate. Who would design a legislative branch of government that allowed for such a nasty split, you might ask? That would be a panel of federal appellate judges with Minnesota pedigrees in 1972 — all of whom I admired for their work on cases other than this one. Gerald Heaney of Duluth, Earl Larson of Minneapolis and Edward Devitt of St. Paul handled Minnesota’s decennial redistricting lawsuit that year. They first tried to shrink the Senate to 35 members and the House to 105 — an arithmetically elegant but politically toxic idea that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Then they decreed that Minnesota must end its practice of allowing one state Senate district to be served by three House members rather than the customary two. That took the House from 135 members to 134, creating the potential for an evenly divided body. The judges said they considered an even split highly unlikely. Just six years later, it happened. Now it has happened again. A systemic fix is possible. Minnesota could look again at what the three jurists tried, creating a 3:1 ratio of House to Senate members. The consequent political pain could be eased by enlarging the Legislature. That’s been done before. The Minnesota Legislature had 147 members in 1880, 183 in 1910, and 198 for a 40-year span in the mid-20th century . I expect ideas like those to simmer until 2031, when redistricting will again be on the Legislature’s front burner. For now, House members need to find a way to function with neither side clearly in charge. To do that, they’re going to need to shed some of the hyperpartisan bad habits of the last few decades. Hornstein’s advice: “People need to understand that they were elected to govern together. They can’t do their jobs alone.” Instead of working hard to make the other side look bad, they should aim together to make Minnesota look good. Lori Sturdevant is a retired Star Tribune editorial writer. She is at lsturdevant@startribune.com .
PS Plus Extra and Premium December 2024 games reveal TIME, date, leaks and predictions - Express
‘The Return’ Review: Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes Are Typically Magnetic in a Too-Stripped-Down Odysseus UpdateESCONDIDO, CA -- The stars of "Mufasa: The Lion King": Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Tiffany Boone opened up to On The Red Carpet about playing the three lead lions in the upcoming Disney adventure. Pierre voices the title character, Mufasa, the father of Simba who was first introduced in the original 'Lion King' movie in 1994. Harrison Jr. plays his adoptive brother Taka who fans know better as the villain, Scar. And Boone plays Sarabi, a female lion who attracts the attention of the two males, putting their brotherly bond to the test. The new film opening in theaters December 20, isn't the first time Pierre and Harrison Jr. have worked together. The pair also portrayed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in Nat Geo's "Genius: MLK/X." Harrison Jr. jokingly calls Pierre his "big brother" because they're "months apart." But! Pierre quickly clarified their birthdays are only a month apart. Boone revealed to On The Red Carpet what if feels like to see her character on screen as an animal singing, "Strange. Yes, when I finally saw it or even when we would see some of the sketches come to life it was like 'this is really, really strange' especially how intense the technology is. It's so life-like." Speaking of "intense," Pierre opened up about starring in a highly anticipated film hitting theaters before the holidays, "I'm very nervous but you know I'm really hopeful that people will connect with this and it resonates with people whether they choose to see it on their own or with their loved ones, I just hope people leave feeling inspired and feeling joyous!" Boone shared similar sentiments about voicing Sarabi. "It's an amazing opportunity to be in this cast of actors, to be working with (Lin-Manuel Miranda), to be working with (director) Barry (Jenkins). It's one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself and be like, 'oh, ok you are in this amazing opportunity, what are you gonna do with it and hopefully be present in it." Pierre says he's pinching himself too. "I still can't quite believe that this is a reality," He said. "So, I'm still pinching myself and I'm happy to be pinching myself with other people who are pinching themselves about this movie." "Mufasa: The Lion King" will be in theaters on December 20. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.
Despite unique headwinds in this year's giving season, nation's largest nongovernmental provider of social services remains hopeful for generous support to close gap of $13.5 million ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With five fewer days in the holiday season this year — which could equal a double-digit decrease in funds, based on daily gifts — and declining donations across the sector , The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign faces a potentially significant donation deficit. The iconic Christmas campaign provides the financial backbone of the organization's year-round social services at their 6,400 locations. An army of celebrity and corporate supporters are teaming up to bring awareness to the need and to the ways people can help. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get the latest need-to-know information delivered to your inbox as it happens. Our flagship newsletter. Get our front page stories each morning as well as the latest updates each afternoon during the week + more in-depth weekend editions on Saturdays & Sundays.Steve King says Summit threatened him for anti-pipeline speechThis Friday, University of Montana students who are wrapping up their college career at the end of this semester will walk across the stage at winter commencement, a large UM celebration. On Monday night in the University Center, UM’s LGBTQ+ student group, Lambda Alliance, gathered for a smaller, more intimate celebration of commencement. Lavender Graduation is a long-standing UM tradition. It celebrates queer student graduates in a separate ceremony, acknowledging their unique challenges and celebrating community. This semester, only one student graduated at the event: River Watson, the Lambda secretary. They received a laminated certificate, a sachet of dried lavender, and a rainbow braided cord slung around their neck. “When I moved to Montana, I was really scared because I didn’t know what the politics would be like. I didn’t know what kind of acceptance I would find here,” Lambda President Parker Mickel said. But then Mickel found Watson in a terrible English class, and felt safe and seen with someone like them. Watson would go on to help even more queer UM students feel safe and seen by teaming up with Mickel and Nicole Service to take over as the executive team of Lambda at a time when it didn’t have one and had basically no presence on campus. According to Devin Carpenter, Lambda’s adviser, Watson was a major reason that Lavender Graduation happened at all last spring. “They have been able to continue to make spaces of community and belonging despite some really long odds,” Carpenter said. Watson is a psychology major from Missoula who hopes to be a school psychologist, and is heading to grad school next. They said they found a lot of support and community at the University of Montana, and also got to know more about their own identity. “A lot of it was meeting people who also had this experience but were further along in the journey,” Watson said. Watson will be going to the larger winter commencement this weekend. But Lavender Graduation is a chance to celebrate with their peers who share their experiences. “There’s a lot of family obligations with commencement,” Watson pointed out. This means that graduates who aren’t fully out to their families can’t be their authentic selves at commencement. Mickel also found a broader community at UM. “I’ve found a lot of wonderfully supportive staff members, faculty members,” they said. “But it hasn’t been everyone.” According to those present, Lavender Graduation also acknowledges the unique challenges that queer students face on the path to graduation. For instance, deadnames (a person's name before transition) are still used in the university records systems, many buildings don’t have gender-neutral bathrooms, and Mickel said they were often misgendered during class. That’s on top of larger systems of discrimination still faced by queer people at large. “Community, I think, is one of the most important things for queer survival,” Mickel said. By the time Mickel graduates this spring, a new executive team will be elected. Though Watson will remain at UM for grad school, they plan on letting the undergrads take the lead at Lambda. But both say that they hope to help make sure Lavender Graduation takes place next semester, to give UM’s queer students a way to celebrate their community as they take their next steps.