A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, its also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. “Today’s decision is an important step in blocking the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to collect sensitive information about millions of Americans, to covertly manipulate the content delivered to American audiences, and to undermine our national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Friday. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republican and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three of them denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators - for which the company is covering legal costs - as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm - the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan - would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas investigation into the bottle-throwing incident that disrupted the Texas-Georgia game in October — and drew a harsh rebuke and fine from the Southeastern Conference — resulted in no one being caught or punished. In a report to the league sent last month, Texas officials said a video review did not identify any of the culprits. Texas and Georgia meet again Saturday in the SEC championship game in Atlanta. Their first meeting in Austin, a 30-15 Georgia win , produced one of the most chaotic and controversial scenes of the college football season. Longhorns fans upset about a pass interference penalty pelted the field with debris and briefly stopped the game, giving the officials time to huddle and reverse the call. The incident drew a $250,000 fine from the SEC , which also threatened to ban alcohol sales at future games. The SEC ordered the school to find those responsible and ban them from all athletic events the rest of the school year. In a Nov. 7 report to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said the school “reviewed all available video and other sources of information” to try to find the disruptive fans. “Despite our best effort, we have not been able to identify the individuals at issue. We will take action if new identifying information comes to light,” Del Conte wrote. The school's report was provided to The Associated Press this week. A university spokesman said he was unaware of any new information or punishments since it was sent to the SEC. Del Conte declined further comment Thursday. Del Conte told the SEC that Texas has added additional security cameras and personnel to watch the student section, updated its sportsmanship and fan code of conduct policies, and created digital messaging to encourage good behavior. “Respect, sportsmanship and fairness are values that drive us," Del Conte wrote. “We expect fans to uphold these standards as well.” Sankey declined comment on the investigation report and his conversations with Texas officials. But he praised Del Conte, school President Jay Hartzell and Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife “for being very clear immediately that that conduct failed to meet their own expectations.” Then-No. 1 Texas trailed No. 5 Georgia 23-7 when a pass interference call negated a Longhorns interception. Angry fans in or near the student section lobbed bottles and debris on the field and the game was halted for several minutes. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, who at first was angry about the penalty, crossed the field to plead with the fans to stop throwing things while stadium crews cleaned up the mess. The break gave the game officials time to reconsider and reverse the penalty, a decision that infuriated Georgia coach Kirby Smart. Texas then cut the Georgia lead to 23-15, before the Bulldogs later put together the game-clinching drive. “I will say that now we’ve set a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed,” Smart said after the game “That’s unfortunate because to me that’s dangerous." Texas officials were embarrassed and the SEC was angry. The league issued a statement that reversing the penalty was the correct decision , but condemned the bottle throwing. Critics wondered if similar scenes could happen again in the SEC or elsewhere, sarcastically noting the Texas slogan, "What starts here changes the world.” The SEC ordered Texas to investigate using "all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects onto the playing field or at the opposing team.” It told the school to report its findings to the league. Hartzell warned students the probe was coming. He said the incident had “embarrassed Longhorn Nation," and agreed with the SEC's demands to find those responsible. “Those involved will have ramifications for their actions,” Del Conte wrote in an Oct. 22 message to students. The Texas football stadium has long had an emergency operations room where staff monitor live feeds from security cameras. In 2009, Texas invited the AP into the room where a reporter observed staff watching feeds from 43 cameras. They could see if fans were drinking alcohol (which was prohibited at the time) or disruptive, or take note of unattended bags. Fifteen years later, the report to the SEC said Texas could not identify anyone responsible for throwing debris. The 10-page report includes a review of stadium policies and the administration's statements to students. It includes only a single paragraph about the investigation efforts, which were led by Derek Trabon, director of the campus Office of Emergency Management. The probe included help from game operations staff and campus police. The report offers no investigation details, such as how much video was reviewed, whether cameras actually caught fans throwing things, or if the school considered using facial recognition technology. The brief mention of the investigation does not explain why it was inconclusive. Sankey said Thursday that the SEC will have offseason talks with schools about fan behavior, from bottle throwing to multiple instances of fans rushing the field. “One of the learning experiences we’ve had, and this isn’t the only bottle throwing experience, we don’t always have cameras where there needs to be cameras," Sankey said. "We will work to see how our stadiums may adjust.” More Texas headlines:
In a recent segment on the '7 PM in Brooklyn' podcast, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony looked back on the trade that sent J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to play with LeBron James. Carmelo still resents the Knicks for that deal and recently described his reaction after hearing the news all those years ago: "F--k them! I told LeBron, I said 'That's what we doing?' When it happened, the only thing going through my mind was LeBron. I know this is a chess game... I gotta get these guys away from him," said Anthony . "Sh-t is f---ed up because I could have used Shump and J.R. to go win a championship. That's why I flipped out like that in the locker room because you do not touch this nucleus right here! I don't give a f--k what you do. I said 'Y'all can't say sh-t to me. Do y'all know what the f--k you just did? You're gonna send them to him?" The Knicks /Cavaliers trade happened back in January of 2015. It was a three-team deal that involved sending Dion Waiters to the Thunder , Shumpert, and Smith to the Cavaliers, while the Knicks received Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, Lance Thomas, and a 2019 second-round pick. The Knicks were not a championship team by any stretch, but many saw the deal as a step-down for the team, including Carmelo Anthony , who described how he went off in the locker room after finding out about the trade. The worst part about it for Melo is that they were sent to play with LeBron James, his biggest rival at the time. At the height of his career, Anthony was competing with LeBron James for supremacy in the East. With career averages of 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 44.7% shooting, Anthony was an expert three-level scorer who often went toe-to-toe with some of the game's top superstars. LeBron James, however, was arguably his biggest competitor. The two were known to be close friends, and it's a relationship that stands even now , but they were also rivals back in the day who played the same position in the same era of the game. When Carmelo forced his way to the Knicks in 2011, it put him in the same Conference as LeBron and he knew that it was going to take a massive effort to defeat him. Sadly, Carmelo never got further than the second round in his Knicks tenure. He eventually left the team in disgrace after a falling out with Phil Jackson and his career took a rapid decline from here. Meanwhile, LeBron James is still going strong to this day as a 4x MVP, 4x champion, and the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He defeated a lot of people on his way to victory and Carmelo was just one of many of them. Of course, the Knicks helped Lebron win all those years ago by gaining him the support he needed to beat the competition. If only they had done the same for Carmelo, his career might have taken a radically different turn. This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson, 57, says age gap with husband Aaron, 33, ‘doesn’t matter’
US stocks rose to records on Tuesday, as indexes recovered from Donald Trump's market-moving tariff plans announced Monday evening and as traders digested the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting. Investors were surprised on Monday evening by the President-elect's social media announcement that imports from China will face an extra 10% , while products from Mexico and Canada should expect a 25% duty. Trump said on Monday that these will stay in effect until drug and migrant flows are addressed by each country. Stocks sold off after hours before recovering early Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.57% and 0.63%, respectively, while the Dow Jones increased by over 100 points. The 10-year Treasury yield rose three basis points to 4.298%. against the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso. Meanwhile, international stocks slid on fears of a widening trade war, with European, Japanese, and South Korean indexes falling after Trump's posts. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo hinted that US tariffs would be met with retaliation, while Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for cooperation. Investors also cheered the news of a . The cease-fire will take effect Wednesday morning and bring an end to 14 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, US-oriented investors parsed through the latest minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting. Central bank officials shared consensus for "gradually" cutting rates moving forward. "Many participants highlighted that uncertainties concerning the equilibrium fed funds rate, or the final destination, have complicated the assessment of how restrictive monetary policy should be," wrote Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics. The market is awaiting several more data points this week. Initial jobless claims, a third-quarter GDP revision, and personal consumption expenditures data are scheduled for release Wednesday morning. Read the original article onA 32-year-old sales executive of an automobile company fell victim to cyber scamsters, losing ₹ 21.88 lakh after being lured with an opportunity to earn online. The fraudsters convinced the victim to invest money for booking luxury hotel rooms with promises of lucrative returns but instead siphoned funds from his bank accounts. The victim, Abhishek Sehgal of Aman Nagar near Jalandhar bypass, filed a complaint with the cybercrime police station on August 16, 2023. After a thorough investigation, now a case has been registered under Sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, and Section 66D the Information Technology (IT) Act. Sehgal stated he received a message on Telegram app on August 13, 2023, from an ID named ‘Ganikaishya,’ offering him a role in an online task to earn money. The fraudulent job involved booking rooms in luxury hotels to create artificial demand and inflated prices. Sehgal was promised a refund of the booking amount along with a commission. Initially, Sehgal invested ₹ 30,000 in booking hotel rooms but did not receive any return. Meanwhile, he noticed unauthorised transactions from his bank accounts and credit cards. By the time he raised the alarm with his bank, ₹ 21.88 lakh had already been transferred to at least nine different accounts linked to individuals and firms across the country. The fraudsters transferred the money to accounts shown as associated reportedly with One Star Metals, Indore, Madhya Pradesh; Skylark Properties, Pune, Maharashtra; Cokrun Flute (Proprietor Shubham Yadav), Jaipur, Rajasthan; Breakspot Enterprises, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh; AD Enterprises and Anand Kumar, Gurgaon; Zoya Plastic and Bhavsar Seema Ganesh Bhai, Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Sunita Patra, Berhampur, Odisha; and Masi Rig Services, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Inspector Jatinder Singh, SHO of the cyber crime police station, revealed that cybercriminals likely hacked Sehgal’s mobile phone, enabling them to carry out unauthorised transfers. The police have succeeded in freezing ₹ 3 lakh in suspect accounts and are continuing their probe. “I was duped into believing this was a legitimate job opportunity,” Sehgal said. “When I noticed the unauthorised transactions, I immediately reported the matter to the banks, but they failed to act swiftly. This allowed the criminals to steal a substantial amount from my accounts.” The police have warned citizens to remain vigilant against online job offers, particularly those requiring advance payments. “Cybercriminals use sophisticated tactics to exploit unsuspecting victims. We urge people not to click on unverified links or share sensitive information online,” said Inspector Jatinder Singh.
The Philadelphia Eagles ruled wide receiver DeVonta Smith out for Sunday night's game at the Los Angeles Rams due to a hamstring injury. Smith did not practice all week and will miss his second game of the season and just the third of his four-year NFL career. He was inactive in a Week 4 loss at Tampa Bay due to a concussion. Smith, 26, leads the Eagles with 41 receptions and four touchdown catches ands ranks second with 516 receiving yards in nine starts this season. The former Heisman Trophy winner has 281 catches for 3,694 yards and 23 scores in 59 games (58 starts) since the Eagles drafted him with the 10th overall pick in 2021. NFC East-leading Philadelphia (8-2) takes a six-game winning streak to Los Angeles (5-5), which has won four of its last five games. --Field Level Media
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming “border czar” on Thursday, with the Democratic mayor expressing an enthusiasm to work with the incoming administration to pursue violent criminals in the city while Trump promises mass deportations. The mayor's meeting with Tom Homan, who will oversee the southern and northern borders and be responsible for deportation efforts in the Trump administration, came as Adams has welcomed parts of the president-elect's hardline immigration platform. Adams told reporters at a brief news conference that he and Homan agreed on pursuing people who commit violent crimes in the city but did not disclose additional details or future plans. “We’re not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes against innocent migrants, immigrants and longstanding New Yorkers," he said. “That was my conversation today with the border czar, to figure out how to go after those individuals who are repeatedly committing crimes in our city.” The meeting marked Adams' latest and most definitive step toward collaborating with the Trump administration, a development that has startled critics in one of the country's most liberal cities. In the weeks since Trump’s election win, Adams has mused about potentially scaling back the city’s so-called sanctuary policies and coordinating with the incoming Trump administration on immigration. He has also said migrants accused of crimes shouldn’t have due process rights under the Constitution, though he eventually walked back those comments. The mayor further stunned Democrats when he sidestepped questions last week on whether he would consider changing parties to become a Republican, telling journalists that he was part of the “American party.” Adams later clarified that he would remain a Democrat. For Adams, a centrist Democrat known for quarreling with the city's progressive left, the recent comments on immigration follow frustration with the Biden Administration over its immigration policies and a surge of international migrants in the city. He has maintained that his positions have not changed and argues he is trying to protect New Yorkers, pointing to the law-and-order platform he has staked out throughout his political career and during his successful campaign for mayor. At his news conference Thursday, Adams reiterated his commitment to New York’s generous social safety net. “We’re going to tell those who are here, who are law-abiding, to continue to utilize the services that are open to the city, the services that they have a right to utilize, educating their children, health care, public protection,” he said. “But we will not be the safe haven for those who commit violent acts.” While the education of all children present in the U.S. is already guaranteed by a Supreme Court ruling, New York also offers social services like healthcare and emergency shelter to low-income residents, including those in the country illegally. City and state grants also provide significant access to lawyers, which is not guaranteed in the immigration court as they are in the criminal court. Still, Adams’ recent rhetoric has been seen by some critics as an attempt to cozy up to Trump, who could potentially offer a presidential pardon in his federal corruption case. Adams has been charged with accepting luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence. He has pleaded not guilty. Homan, who was Trump’s former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, also met this week with Republicans in Illinois, where he called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, to start negotiations over how Trump's mass deportation plans, according to local media. Separately, New York City officials this week announced continued efforts to shrink a huge emergency shelter system for migrants because of a steady decline in new arrivals. Among the planned shelter closures is a massive tent complex built on a federally owned former airport in Brooklyn, which advocates have warned could be a prime target for Trump's mass deportation plan. Elsewhere, Republican governors and lawmakers in some states are already rolling out proposals that could help him carry out his pledge to deport millions of people living in the U.S. illegally. Izaguirre reported from Albany, N.Y. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Sirianni wore the hat given to NFC East champions as he sat at the podium and considered all the greatness that his Eagles still could accomplish this season. Personal goals, sure. Saquon Barkley has Eric Dickerson's NFL rushing record in sight. Team goals, absolutely. There are playoff games and a Super Bowl to try and win — and this Philadelphia team sure plays like one that could win it all. “It’s cool, I’m not going to downplay it," Barkley said of the division crown. “At the end of the day, you’re not getting remembered for being a 2024 NFC East division champ.” Barkley rushed for 167 yards to top 2,000 on the season , backup quarterback Kenny Pickett ran and threw for scores before departing with injured ribs, and the Eagles clinched the division title by routing the Dallas Cowboys 41-7 on Sunday. Barkley has 2,005 yards and needs 101 in next Sunday's mostly meaningless regular-season finale to top Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. The Eagles (13-3) led 24-7 in the third quarter when Pickett was drilled by defensive end Micah Parsons, ending his first start in place of the concussed Jalen Hurts. Tanner McKee, a career third-stringer, entered the game and the Eagles finished the drive with a field goal. McKee later threw two TD passes, a 20-yarder to A.J. Brown and a 25-yarder to DeVonta Smith, in front of a roaring crowd delighted to watch the Eagles dominate their rivals to wrap up the division title and at least the No. 2 seed in the NFC. “We always want to do special things. I think winning the division is always a special thing, and then our goals are much bigger from here,” Sirianni said. “I think we’ve got special guys.” Hurts was injured in last week's loss at Washington and remains in the NFL's concussion protocol — he didn’t practice all week -- which opened the door for Pickett to start. Pickett, acquired from Pittsburgh in the offseason, played with extra protection under his jersey after he suffered a rib injury when he was pressed into service against the Commanders. Sore ribs or not, Pickett was pumped for this start all week. He was raised a diehard Eagles fan in central New Jersey about 80 miles from Lincoln Financial Field and recalled “great memories” of going to games with his dad and grandfather since he was 5 years old. The 26-year-old Pickett said he had plenty of family at the Linc to cheer him on against Dallas (7-9). More than 60,000 other Eagles rooted him on, too, but Pickett's dream day ended prematurely. He finished 10 of 15 for 143 yards. With the Eagles no longer having a division title to play for, it's likely Hurts will rest another week ahead of the playoffs. Now, Pickett could be sidelined as well — possibly forcing McKee into the starting lineup. Barkley had 31 carries and his last one went for 23 yards to push him over 2,000. He could also sit out rather than risk injury chasing Dickerson's record. Barkley, who left the Giants and signed a three-year deal with the Eagles for $26 million guaranteed, set the NFL mark for most yards rushing in a player's first season with a new team. The friends and family that traveled to see Pickett play had to wait a bit after Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson returned an interception 69 yards for a score on Dallas’ opening drive. Cooper Rush — who threw for 147 yards and had two interceptions — followed on the next drive for Dallas with a 4-yard TD pass to Jalen Tolbert. Pickett connected with Grant Calcaretta for 34 yards and then hit Smith — who had six catches total for 120 yards — for a 22-yard score and a 14-7 lead. The Eagles' defense broke the game open when a recovered fumble led to Jake Elliott’s 31-yard field goal and Gardner-Johnson’s second pick of the day set up Pickett's rushing score on a tush push. Just like Hurts. Pickett took two tough shots on the same drive on the third: Osa Odighizuwa was flagged for roughing the passer on a late hit and Parsons delivered the knockout blow. The Eagles were thrilled to have a capable backup QB who went 14-10 as a starter with the Steelers. His performance prompted Pittsburgh legend and Fox broadcaster Terry Bradshaw to say the Steelers never should have gotten rid of him. “All I wanted to accomplish today was to get the win, for the team, for the city,” Pickett said. Cowboys struggle The injury-depleted Cowboys had won four of five but were no match for Philadelphia. “We knew it was going to be a different game with the plan this week,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “To be honest with you, we didn’t really get to some of the things we’d hope to get to.” The teams scuffled late in the game, and Eagles defensive back Sydney Brown was ejected after an altercation in a stadium tunnel. Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Brooks and cornerback Troy Pride were also thrown out. Injuries Cowboys: S Donovan Wilson suffered a knee injury. ... All-Pro WR CeeDee Lamb was shut down for the final two weeks with a sprained right shoulder. Eagles: DE Bryce Huff briefly left with a shoulder injury sustained in his first game back since he was activated off the injured list. He had wrist surgery. Up next The Cowboys host Washington next Sunday in their final game of the season. The Eagles tune up for the playoffs with a home game against the Giants next Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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During the three years I spent struggling to get pregnant, the holidays always felt like they came at the worst time. I was either preparing to start a new cycle of in vitro fertilization, in the stressful middle of a cycle, mourning a failed round or – even worse – a miscarriage. I lost four pregnancies during those difficult years. I couldn’t muster any joy for Hanukkah’s Festival of Lights or friends’ Christmas parties, or even much of a smile for those around me: My thoughts were consumed with the pain and stresses of my own infertility. Most of the time I couldn’t drink alcohol, so I had no liquid courage to help me deal with large gatherings and the requisite small talk. “So what’s new with you?” people would ask. “Oh nothing much,” I’d be thinking ruefully to myself: “I just got my period, so that means another month that I’m not pregnant while all four of my cousins are.” My husband, on the other hand, always wanted to keep things as normal as possible. “What’s the point of going through all of this if we won’t have a life in the end?” he’d say. So instead of sitting home and counting my follicles (gallows humor for those of us who’ve been through fertility treatment), we would visit with family and friends. Even our childless friends’ parties depressed me: My husband and I used to enjoy them when we were looking for a partner or, later, in the throes of new love. Then we got married, got pregnant, miscarried and started fertility treatments that took up all our time, money and energy. Christina Wyman Nov. 19, 2024 I didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s good time by talking about what I was going through, especially since there was such a high risk that I would burst into tears. Instead, I would stand there with a cranberry seltzer, asking questions and nodding along at answers I wasn’t listening to, keeping an eye on the clock to decide when we could slip out the door. I wasn’t alone in finding the holidays a particularly tough time for people who are trying to have a baby. One in 7 women in the U.S. have trouble getting or staying pregnant during their child-bearing years, according to Resolve: the National Infertility Association , so gatherings of families with little ones running around or announcements of babies on the way only reminds couples experiencing infertility of what they so desperately want and don’t have. Now, almost a decade after our ordeal ended – and as a new one with a pre-teen girl is about to begin – there are so many things I wish I had done differently during the holidays while battling infertility. Focus on Close Family and Friends When I was undergoing back-to-back fertility treatments, it felt like I missed out on so much. It seemed impossible to plan for trips because of the uncertainty; even events and plans closer to home had to be cancelled at a moment’s notice when a doctors’ appointment – or, worst of all, a lost pregnancy – got in the way. Part of me felt resentful. Why should I miss holiday gatherings? Or endure a great-aunt cornering me to ask, yet again, “So when are you two going to start a family already?” I wish I had limited my socializing to close family and friends, where I could be myself and not feel pressured to pretend I was feeling something I wasn’t. Isn’t that what close friends are for? I wish I had spent time only with people who already knew what I was going through and wouldn’t pry. That would have given me a modicum of control at a time when I felt I had little. Leave Conversations When Necessary Then there are the comments you endure that are usually meant well but come out all wrong. “I heard you had a miscarriage,” one friend declared without warning at a holiday party. I realize she meant well, but it was the last thing I could talk about at a mirth-filled gathering where people were popping champagne and laughing. So I did what I assumed any coward would do: I turned on my heel and cried in the bathroom. Anthony Gianni Vaccaro Sept. 20, 2024 I now understand that my reaction was not cowardly – it was an act of courage to remove myself and not waste emotional energy trying to make excuses for my actions. Alice Domar, a health psychologist and chief compassion officer at Inception Fertility , a Houston-based, global provider of fertility products and services, said her patients often ask her how to handle intrusive questions and difficult situations, especially around the holidays. “I tell them to approach the questions in whatever way makes them comfortable: If they are open about their fertility journey, but don't feel emotionally up to sharing details, they can respond with ‘I’d rather not think about this right now.’” Or, if you believe the person is just being nosy, you can shut down painful conversation by politely letting them know that it’s probably none of their business: “Building a family is very private” would do the trick. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to say that, but I didn’t need to. I needed to understand that I was empowering myself by walking away, and that I shouldn’t beat myself up about it. Stay Home – Or Travel Solo My husband’s desire to keep things “normal” while we were trying to get pregnant was a valiant goal, but also a source of conflict for us – like when I wanted to do more research on doctors or treatments (“You’re being obsessive!” he’d say). Many couples fight during infertility, especially if they handle emotions differently. In retrospect, I wish I had sent my husband to most of the parties while I stayed home, ordering in Chinese food and watching escapist holiday movies like “Love Actually” or “Die Hard” (neither of which have any pregnancy or infertility to trigger more sadness). I wish I had taken more time for myself in general and used the holidays, when clinics are often closed, to take a solo trip where I could have hiked, vegged out or even just privately “obsessed.” That would have allowed me to return home refreshed and ready for a new IVF cycle. Have Compassion for Others – and Yourself When you’re going through infertility, it feels all-encompassing, and you forget what others may be going through. I wish I had recognized that the holidays can be hard for many people for many reasons – illness, death, divorce, aging, job loss, to name a few – and I should have been more forgiving of what I perceived to be others’ insensitivity. But I also needed to be a little more forgiving of myself. If you’re struggling with infertility, don’t put too many expectations on yourself to appear a certain way or engage in every tradition. I was happy to see that Hanukah falls during Christmas and New Year’s this winter, which is good news for anyone who celebrates these holidays and is suffering from infertility: You’ll only have one week of holiday gatherings to get through. Amy Klein is the author of “The Trying Game: Get Through Infertility and Get Pregnant Without Losing Your Mind.”
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Booking Holdings Inc. stock rises Friday, outperforms marketIn matches like these, the scoreline is what counts. Bayern Munich might not have been perfect, but earned three critical points in this Champions League campaign. It was by no means a bad performance, but the team still isn’t fully clicking yet. Defenders turned strikers Kim Min-Jae has now scored his third goal for the club, after just recently scoring along with Dayot Upamecano. Bayern Munich have finally got some well-rounded goal scoring after a lack of defensive goals last season. It is a breath of fresh air seeing Kane and company getting a bit of extra help. Coman needs to improve his finishing Call us a broken record. Yes, finishing has remained Coman’s primary issue for his entire career. Tonight it could have costed Bayern yet another win. Coman should’ve scored without a doubt from his chances tonight. Olise almost certainly would have scored, but everyone has their off days. It seems as though Coman’s leash is a bit longer than most. Midfield depth paid off With Aleksander Pavlovic and João Palhinha out, Leon Goretzka and Konrad Laimer held their own. It is times like this when a lack of depth can cost teams matches, but Bayern’s depth paid off when players like Laimer and Goretzka can step in. Bayern have a hard time putting away games When Dembele was sent off for a second yellow, it should have solidified the victory. Yet, Bayern struggled for a second goal while PSG threatened to equalize. Not every game can be 7-0, but this was probably too close than it needed to be. What did you think about the match? Let us know in the comments below!