(NAPSI)—The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, but when the average American is spending nearly $1,000 on gifts, food, and decorations, they can also be the most stressful. For many, the pressure to create a picture-perfect holiday can stretch budgets a bit too far. Many of today’s shoppers seek advice from their favorite online influencers, sourcing creative hacks, recipes, DIY projects, and tips to keep the holidays magical without overspending. In fact, 69% of consumers say they value and actively seek out influencer recommendations. Now, questions don’t need to get buried in the comments. This December, TextNow is flipping the script on holiday stress by introducing the Holiday Hotline , a free resource to help you navigate the season, with advice a mere text away. Whether it’s finding affordable gifts, creating a festive dinner on a budget, or even learning how to save on your monthly bills, the Holiday Hotline can make things simpler, cheaper, and—perhaps most importantly—more joyful. TextNow Holiday Hotline: Expert Advice at Your Fingertips From December 5–10, TextNow’s Holiday Hotline connects you with relatable experts (aka some of your favorite influencers including social media creator and podcast host Remi Cruz, Kayla Savings, and Melissa Weiss) who will share their go-to tips for a budget-friendly holiday. Here’s what you can expect: • Holiday Budgeting 101: Learn simple ways to stretch every dollar and avoid those dreaded post-holiday bills. • Affordable Gift-Giving Ideas: Thoughtful, creative gifts that won’t break the bank. • Festive Decorating on a Dime: Transform your home into a holiday wonderland with budget-friendly hacks. • Stress-Free Holiday Cooking: Recipes and meal-planning tips to impress your guests. Need more advice? Just text the hotline at 310-299-3584, and you’ll get personalized, practical tips sent straight to your phone. Win $1,000 for Your Holiday Dinner As if free expert advice wasn’t enough, TextNow is also giving you the chance to win big this holiday season. Enter the $1,000 Dinner Giveaway for a shot at a $1,000 gift card to cover your holiday expenses—whether it’s for food, gifts, travel, or whatever else makes your season special. Entering is simple: 1.Head to TextNow’s Instagram . 2.Like the giveaway post. 3.Share your best holiday tip in the comments (bonus: share the post to your story for an extra entry). 4.The giveaway runs from December 5-12, with winners announced from December 13-16. Save More This Holiday Season TextNow is more than just a phone service—it’s a way to take control of your budget, not just during the holidays but year-round. • Free Phone Service: Unlimited calling and texting on the nation’s largest 5G network free. No gimmicks, no contracts. • Free Essential Data: Get free data for such essential apps as maps, rideshare, and email when you activate your SIM card. • Additional Flexible Data Plans: Add extra data only when you need it, with hourly, daily, or monthly passes. Getting started with TextNow is easy. Download the app to call and text for free over Wi-Fi or unlock free cellular service with a $4.99 SIM card. Learn More For more details, visit www.TextNow.com . Word Count: 491Microsoft holds last Patch Tuesday of the year with 72 gifts for admins
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info After her successful stint on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! , Coleen Rooney could be set for more TV appearances. The mum-of-four, who is married to former footballer Wayne Rooney , is reportedly at the centre of a bidding war for a new reality TV show. It's believed that the Rooney's could front a Kardashian -style show in the near future and companies are "desperate" to secure any deal. Coleen, 38, and Wayne, 39, share four children - Kai, 15, Klay, 11, Kit, eight, and Cass, six. While the family has long been in the public eye, it's thought any new series could show a brand new side to the clan. Speaking to The Sun , a source said: "All the top channels and streaming services are desperate to sign the family for a Kardashian-style reality show. Streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime are all moving into non-scripted content, with celebrity-led shows like Holly Willoughby 's Bear Hunt and the Molly-Mae : Behind It All documentary in the works." The insider claimed any Rooney show would have "the potential to become a global hit," adding the couple are being sure to evaluate their options before making any decision. The source added Coleen is set on making an authentic show that will truly show her family's values. OK! has contacted representatives of Coleen for comment. Despite coming second to McFly's Danny Jones in this year's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, Coleen's popularity has soared. An expert suggests she could soon out-earn her footballer husband, thanks to a savvy investment before heading to the Australian jungle. Coleen purchased a significant number of shares in Liverpool-based sports health company Applied Nutrition, where she is an ambassador. She's also set to launch her own line of proteins, collagen, and vitamin supplements with the firm in January. Before jetting off to Oz, she expressed her excitement that her range would be stocked by Holland and Barrett, with more supermarkets to follow. A source close to Coleen revealed last month: "With the company now valued at a staggering £350million, Coleen stands to do incredibly well from this investment." After her stint on I'm A Celebrity, Coleen appeared on Good Morning Britain on December 9, where she chatted with hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley about her time in camp. She confessed: "The first week was a real struggle but then it picked up after that and it wasn't so bad because we started eating. We got used to the rice and beans and we started frying them and doing different things to them but I don't think I'll ever cook rice and beans again."ORLANDO, Fla. — UCF coach Gus Malzahn is resigning after four seasons with the school. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the move, which will see Malzahn to leave to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State. Malzahn previously worked with FSU coach Mike Norvell during their time at Tulsa under then-coach Todd Graham from 2007-08. The Knights ended a disappointing 4-8 season in which they lost eight of their last nine games, the longest losing streak since 2015. Malzahn, 59, was in the fourth year of a contract through 2028. His buyout, it is reported, would have been $13.75 million. He finished 27-25 at UCF but lost 16 of his last 22 games and was a dismal 4-14 in two seasons in the Big 12. After back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2021-22, the Knights went 6-7 in 2023 and 4-8 in 2024. This season started with high expectations as Malzahn made sweeping changes to the program. He retooled the strength and conditioning department and hired Ted Roof and Tim Harris Jr. as defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively. He also added nearly 50 new players to the roster, leaning heavily on the transfer market. UCF started by winning its first three games against New Hampshire, Sam Houston and a thrilling comeback at TCU, but offensive struggles saw the Knights tumble through a TBD-game losing streak to finish the season. Terry Mohajir hired Malzahn on Feb. 15, 2021, six days after he was hired to replace Danny White. The move came eight weeks after Malzahn had been fired at Auburn after eight seasons of coaching the Tigers. The two briefly worked together at Arkansas State in 2012 before Malzahn left for the Auburn job. “When he [Mohajir] offered the job, I was like, ‘I’m in.’ There wasn’t thinking about or talking about ...,” Malzahn said during his introductory press conference. “This will be one of the best programs in college football in a short time. This is a job that I plan on being here and building it.” UCF opened the 2021 season with non-conference wins over Boise State and Bethune-Cookman before traveling to Louisville on Sept. 17, where quarterback Dillon Gabriel suffered a fractured collarbone in the final minute of a 42-35 loss. Backup Mikey Keene would finish out the season as Gabriel announced his intention to transfer. The Knights would finish the season on the plus side by accepting a bid to join the Big 12 Conference in September and then by defeating Florida 29-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl. Malzahn struck transfer portal gold in the offseason when he signed former Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. Plumlee, a two-sport star with the Rebels, helped guide UCF to the American Athletic Conference Championship in its final season. However, Plumlee’s injury forced the Knights to go with Keene and freshman Thomas Castellanos. The team finished with losses to Tulane in the conference championship and Duke in the Military Bowl. Plumlee would return in 2023 as UCF transitioned to the Big 12 but would go down with a knee injury in the final minute of the Knights’ 18-16 win at Boise State on Sept. 9. He would miss the next four games as backup Timmy McClain took over the team. Even on his return, Plumlee couldn’t help UCF, on a five-game losing streak to open conference play. The Knights got their first Big 12 win at Cincinnati on Nov. 4 and upset No. 15 Oklahoma State the following week, but the team still needed a win over Houston in the regular-season finale to secure a bowl bid for the eighth straight season. From the moment Malzahn stepped on campus, he prioritized recruiting, particularly in Central Florida. “We’re going to recruit like our hair’s on fire,” Malzahn said at the time. “We’re going to go after the best players in America and we’re not backing down to anybody.” From 2007 to 2020, UCF signed 10 four-star high school and junior college prospects. Eight four-star prospects were in the three recruiting classes signed under Malzahn. The 2024 recruiting class earned a composite ranking of 39 from 247Sports, the highest-ranked class in school history. The 2025 recruiting class is ranked No. 41 and has commitments from three four-star prospects. Malzahn has always leaned on the transfer market, signing 60 players over the past three seasons. Some have paid huge dividends, such as Javon Baker, Lee Hunter, Kobe Hudson, Tylan Grable, Bula Schmidt, Amari Kight, Marcellus Marshall, Trent Whittemore, Gage King, Ethan Barr, Deshawn Pace and Plumlee. Others haven’t been as successful, such as quarterback KJ Jefferson, who started the first five games of this season before being benched for poor performance. Jefferson’s struggles forced the Knights to play musical chairs at quarterback, with true freshman EJ Colson, redshirt sophomore Jacurri Brown and redshirt freshman Dylan Rizk all seeing action at one point or another this season. This season’s struggles led to several players utilizing the NCAA’s redshirt rule after four games, including starting slot receiver Xavier Townsend and kicker Colton Boomer, who have also entered the transfer portal. Defensive end Kaven Call posted a letter to Malzahn on Twitter in which he accused the UCF coaching staff of recently kicking him off the team when he requested to be redshirted.Florida Lawmaker's Party Switch Increases Republican Supermajority in the House
Trump threatens jail time for Jan. 6 committee members. How did Schiff respond?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — returned home Saturday after his meeting with Donald Trump without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. After the leaders’ hastily arranged dinner Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation” but offered no details. Trump said in a Truth Social post later Saturday that they discussed “many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.” For issues in need of such cooperation, Trump cited fentanyl and the “Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration," fair trade deals "that do not jeopardize American Workers” and the U.S. trade deficit with its ally to the north. Trump asserted that the prime minister had made “a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation” of American families from fentanyl from China reaching the United States through its neighbors. The U.S., he said, “will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic.” The Republican president-elect has a 25% tax on all products from Canada and as one of his first executive orders when he takes office in January. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024 — and Canadian officials say they are ready to make new investments in border security. Trudeau called Trump after the Republican's social media posts about the tariffs last Monday and they agreed to meet, according to a official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss detail of the private talks. The official said other countries are calling Canadian officials to hear how about how the meeting was arranged and to ask for advice. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, after speaking with Trump on the telephone, said Thursday she was confident would be averted. At the dinner that was said to last three hours, Trump said he and Trudeau also discussed energy, trade and the Arctic. A second official cited defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Mideast, pipelines and the Group of Seven meeting in Canada next year as other issues that arose. Trump, during his first term as president, once called Trudeau but it was the prime minister who was the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the Nov. 5 election. "Tariffs are a crucial issue for Canada and a bold move was in order. Perhaps it was a risk, but a risk worth taking,” Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. Trudeau had said before leaving from Friday that Trump was elected because he promised to bring down the cost of groceries but now was talking about adding 25% to the cost of all kinds of products, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. “It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said. “Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for Americans citizens as well and hurting American industry and business,” he added. The threatened tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade pact that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau noted they were able to successfully renegotiate the deal, which he calls a “win win” for both countries. When Trump imposed higher tariffs as president, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced against the U.S. in a response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US $2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security. Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and 77% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. ___ Gillies reported from Toronto.XRP's market cap hits $108 billion – Is $2.1 next for the altcoin?
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine court on Tuesday dropped aggravated sexual assault charges against two professional French rugby players accused of raping a woman after playing a match in the country earlier this year. The judge in Mendoza, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) west of the capital, Buenos Aires, dismissed the case against the 21-year-old athletes, Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jégou, citing insufficient evidence. “The facts under investigation do not constitute a crime," the court said. The explosive case began in July, when a 39-year-old Argentine woman filed a police complaint alleging that she was beaten, choked and repeatedly raped by the rugby players in their Mendoza hotel room. The rugby players have admitted to having sex with the plaintiff — whom they met at during an alcohol-fueled club night after their July 7 victory against Argentina’s Pumas — but insisted that the encounter was consensual. They were held in preventive custody, then placed under house arrest, for a month. The defense said the dismissal reinforced their faith in the justice system. “I think it will be a turning point,” Germán Hnatow, an attorney representing one of the two players, told Radio Mitre Mendoza, a local radio station. "There are many false accusations in terms of sexual crimes, in terms of gender violence, which cause harm.” The plaintiff can appeal the ruling. She has not said whether she intends to and her defense lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Over the past few months, the case slowly unraveled as the defense punched holes in the woman’s description of events. Citing questionable evidence presented before the court — including WhatsApp voice messages the plaintiff sent to her friend joking and boasting about the rough sex she had with them — the prosecution in September approved the athletes' return to France under certain conditions . The plaintiff's lawyer has explained any inconsistencies in her account as the result of her “shock and extreme stress.” She underwent physical examinations as part of the investigation and was found to have an acute bleeding ulcer and other injuries that she claimed were related to her assault. Dragging on for several months, the investigation has stunned the French rugby world. The French Rugby Federation expressed its “relief and satisfaction" with the judge's decision. It said the athletes, who had been suspended due to the seriousness of the allegations, would be eligible to return to the national team “if their sporting performances allow for it.” It wasn't the only scandal to hit the touring French team during its stay in Argentina. The federation separately fined and suspended French fullback Melvyn Jaminet for 34 weeks over a racist outburst that he posted on social media. The federation said that this close shave with the law served as a reminder “of the need to create new conditions to prevent and avoid risky behavior in high-level rugby, in order to train responsible and exemplary players.” Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-americaNone
Judge halts $25 billion Kroger-Albertsons mergerIt’s an intriguing vision for the future of renewable energy. Giant white blimps slipping silently through the air carrying containers of solar panels, or, more likely, wind turbine blades which are expensive and devilishly tricky to move by road. One of the biggest logistical challenges for renewable energy projects – and wind farms in particular – is the task of transporting heavy towers and turbine planes from ports to the project sites. And finding a solution to this is the aim of French company Flying Whales, founded by entrepreneur Sébastien Bougon, who has already established bases in France and Canada and is now looking at opportunities in Australia. “We looked at the market in Australia and there was a fantastic surprise, how much you are revamping your energy generation and energy network,” Bougon told “What we do today is work with all players to look at their business cases. For instance, wind farms in Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland or in Western Australia, and work with those companies to check out the technical feasibility, to check out the financial feasibility, and to confirm that when we [start operations in] 2028, everything is OK.” Bougon is focused on metrics like the huge numbers of turbine blades needing to be installed in Queensland alone – as many as 40,000 in the coming year. Mt Isa in Queensland’s north-west has already been announced as one of the company’s six operations sites, with a second site imminent. Bougon also sees opportunity in new and replacement transmission infrastructure along Australia’s strung out grid. A helicopter can carry 5 tonnes of weight, or a fifth of a transmission tower. Bougon says one of his airships could carry the whole thing – in a cargo hold inside the “belly of the whale” or attached to the bottom if it’s more than 100m long – to a remote site fully assembled, and do it more cheaply. Flying Whales is yet to take ownership of a completed model; engineering is complete, testing is underway, assembly is next and the first airship – a 200m long behemoth called LCA60T – will be ready in 2026 for certification. Cutting out road transportation could improve project economics, says aviation researcher Craig Neal, who wrote a paper on the feasibility of heavy airship transport in 2016. “Using airships to move renewable energy equipment is definitely feasible,” he told “What’s attractive with airships is they can make the actual transportation much simpler. It’s extremely complicated, takes a lot of planning, there is a lot of cost involved, and it’s very slow.” But there are also some big question marks over critical details. A wind industry source from a large global company suggested that airships would require their own set of infrastructure, such as a suitable lay-down ‘airport’ area with a tethering tower and a similar set-up at port, and all would need to be approved by aviation regulator CASA. And as another pointed out, wind sites tend to be windy. Figuring out how to deal with an aircraft that is lighter than air to deliver equipment to those areas could be the sticking point in any future featuring blimps. “Wow, incredible. It’s a pretty wild idea,” were the first comments out of the mouth of Stromlo Energy cofounder Garth Heron when asked about the prospect of airship deliveries. Airships wouldn’t be suitable for moving a giant 477 tonne grid transformer, in New South Wales (NSW), although the third iteration of a model proposed by US company AT2 Aero could carry up to 450 tonnes. But Heron points out that shipping wind turbine blades by air could be more dangerous than other methods. “The component that they will be thinking of moving that are the most difficult to move are things like turbine blades,” he told . ‘What wind turbines are very good at is catching wind. [So] on the safety aspects they would have some incredible challenges.” Heron says the amount of movement that can happen even when lifting a blade from the ground with a crane is “quite scary”, so safety while loading and unloading is the biggest problem an airlifted blade would pose for airship transportation. Another wind industry source says deliveries would be reliant on wind speeds on the day, potentially making airship deliveries less reliable than the more laborious road method. While some companies are proposing models that are loaded while on the ground, Flying Whales’ method is to use a “sling” to lift and lower cargo into an airship’s hold while in the air. Bougon acknowledges the concerns around wind and reliability, but says they have built in safeguards against this as part of the original design brief. “Our airship is actually a flying crane and when a crane installs blades on masts there can’t be a lot of wind, so it’s exactly the same for us,” he says. The wind speed limitation while loading is the same as for a helicopter, of 40km/hour, if a helicopter was doing the same job. The wind speed limit a Flying Whales airship could take during flight is 100km/hour, he says. The whole thing is stabilised with 4 megawatts (MW) of engines placed around the airship. “We have 4 MW of embedded power around the airship [in] 32 electrical engines [powering] 32 propellers in order to stabilise it and ensure perfect behaviour,” Bougon says. “Electric engines can distribute the forces all around and you can stablise the drone much easier than it’s exactaly the same as the aisrship, as soon as we could have electrical engines,... we could have complete stabilisation. “It’s the evolution of the electric propellers and engines that could make drones happen, that could make this large airship feasible in terms of stabilisation when you load and unload.” Other challenges also abound, such as the issue of variable buoyancy. This is where an airship needs to account for the change in weight during drop off and pick up of loads. Releasing helium – priced at $35/cubic metre – isn’t feasible. Flying Whales plans to carry up to 60T of water as ballast, while LA-based Aeros has developed a compression system, where helium is compressed and released inside the airship depending on the need. If airshippers can convince renewables developers of their safety, they will then be able to appeal to their wallets: cutting out some tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in road upgrades between ports and sites. “The issue is really about the cost of the road upgrade. That’s the problem this could potentially solve,” Heron says. Logjams on roads is an issue that wind developers in Queensland are already worried about. A last year into wind equipment transportation by the Queensland Transport and Logistics Council outlined just how complicated the process is to move very heavy items from port, through towns and into regional areas. “QTLC members have raised concerns regarding inefficiencies and constraints in current wind farm development processes, from the initial development application process through to the transportation of componentry and materials,’ the report said. “If nothing is done, with the increase in wind farm projects coming online, these inefficiencies and constraints have the potential to significantly impact wind farm project delivery and increase costs.” Flying Whales is the only airship proponent seriously targeting Australia as yet, but it’s not the only company out there. Hybrid Air Vehicles in the UK has already built and tested its pilot “flying bum” airship. Also in the UK are SkyLifter, Varialift Airships and Aeromechanics. Lockheed Martin spun its airship division out into AT2 Aerospace in the US, while Aeros, Blimp Works and Solar Ship are also based in North America. Israel has Atlas LTA Advanced Technology, Argentina has Aero Vehicles and France also has Euro Airship. Aviation researcher Neal speculated in his 2016 paper that airships would be doing the heavy lifting in Australia by 2020. He says today the reason why that forecast didn’t happen is money. “I think it’s been the age old story of investment. The funding has always been the issue,” he says. “When Boeing developed the Boeing 787 [Dreamliner] it was some phenomenal amount of money they spent, something like $35 billion or something. If you had a fraction of that money going into airships we’d have different models running.” Neal’s 2016 research focused purely on the economics of what airships might be useful for, and said the oversize overmass (OSOM) market was where gains could be made. “They have the ability to vertically takeoff and land like a helicopter; to operate over long distances; and to carry vast cargo loads in terms of weight, volume and dimensions. Yet, depending upon the size and model of cargo airship, their cost per freight tonne kilometer (FTK) may be at a comparable cost to general road freight and significantly cheaper than current air freight,” he wrote at the time. “The nature of the item being transported, the level of difficulty in the route taken, time of year, weather conditions and many other variables can make the level of planning and coordination required for these movements highly resource intensive. “To date there hasn’t been a practical alternative to get an OSOM item to site, as rail and traditional air (both fixed wing aircraft and rotary wing) have limitations which make their employment unfeasible.”
Last-gasp Mukiele goal gives Leverkusen 1-0 win over Inter MilanNone
Trump threatens 100% tariff on BRICS countries over currency plansNoneTHE POWER OF ALLO'S ALL-FIBER NETWORK COMING TO FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA
LONDON -- Emma Hayes oversaw a dominant display from her United States team at a packed Wembley Stadium without tasting victory on her return to England on Saturday. Hayes, a Londoner who coached the U.S. women to the Olympic soccer gold medal this summer after 14 major trophies at Chelsea, came home for a friendly against European champion England. In a matchup of the two best women's teams in the FIFA rankings, the U.S. had the best chances but the game ended in a goalless draw. “I'm super proud of the way we imposed ourselves on the game, it's just the last part of the pitch,” Hayes said. “Generally, I'm pleased with the performance.” The U.S. was without its injured attacking trio of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. But the quality among the visitors still overwhelmed England, which had injury issues, too. Forward Lauren Hemp and defender Maya Le Tissier were ruled out. Alyssa Thompson's curling shot forced an early parry from England goalkeeper Mary Earps as the U.S. pinned England in its half and turned over England ball too easily in midfield. The Americans dominated possession and earned a lot of space to develop their game and press high. But they lacked an edge in the final third and could not break the deadlock. Sam Coffey's shot from the edge of the box in the 44th minute was easily stopped by Earps, and at the start of the second half U.S. captain Lindsey Horan had a goal disallowed then missed the target with an angled shot. The U.S. also received a penalty but it was reversed after the VAR showed the ball hit Alex Greenwood’s chest and not her arm. But one of the most successful coaches in the women’s game was left satisfied. Hayes won seven Women’s Super Leagues in a 12-year reign at Chelsea. During that time, the men’s team had 11 different managers. She was asked how she felt about being in the away dugout and listening to the English national anthem. “You can be two things at once,” Hayes said. “I'm a proud Englishwoman who is proud to coach America. I don't have to choose, I definitely love both countries.” ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni: A timeline of ‘It Ends With Us’ drama and complaint
Syria’s new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad. In a brief address on state television, Mohammed al-Bashir, a figure little known across most of Syria who previously governed a small pocket of the northwest controlled by rebels during Assad’s reign, said he would lead the interim authority until March 1. He is set to lead a small cabinet to ensure public services can resume. It comes as some government agencies in the country have asked civil servants and health workers to resume duties. “Today we had a meeting for the cabinet and we invited members from the old government and some directors from the administration in Idlib and its surrounding areas, in order to facilitate all the necessary works for the next two months until we have a constitutional system to be able to serve the Syrian people,” he told Al Jazeera. “We had other meetings to restart the institutions to be able to serve our people in Syria.” Behind him were two flags - the green, black and white flag flown by opponents of Assad throughout the civil war, and a white flag with the Islamic oath of faith in black writing, typically flown in Syria by Sunni Islamist fighters. The move came as the rebel leader who led the insurgency that toppled Assad claimed Syria is heading towards stability and Western fears of future chaos and violence are unfounded. In his first comments to a Western news organisation, Abu Mohammed al Jolani, the head of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), told Sky News that there will be “no return to panic” now that they have overthrown the oppressive Assad regime. “The country will be rebuilt,” he said. “The fear was from the presence of the regime. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It’s going towards stability. “People are exhausted from war. So the country isn’t ready for another one and it’s not going to get into another one.” Two sources close to the rebels said their command had ordered fighters to withdraw from cities, and for police and internal security forces affiliated with the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Shams (HTS) to deploy there. In the Syrian capital, banks reopened for the first time since Assad was overthrown. Shops were also opening up again, traffic returned to the roads, and cleaners were out sweeping the streets and there were fewer armed men about. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington fully supports Syria’s political transition process and wants it to lead to inclusive and non-sectarian governance. The process must prevent Syria being used as a base for terrorism and ensure any chemical or biological weapons stocks are safely destroyed, he said. It came as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the new rulers in Syria not to follow the Assad regime by allowing Iran a foothold in the country. “If this regime allows Iran to re-establish itself in Syria, or permits the transfer of Iranian weapons or any other weapons to Hezbollah, or if it attacks us — we will respond forcefully, and we will exact a heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a video statement from Tel Aviv. “What happened to the previous regime will happen to this one.” The Israeli military earlier said it had carried out strikes against 320 “strategic targets” in Syria since Saturday. It claimed that more than 70 per cent of the Assad regime’s strategic military capabilities had been destroyed Israel , which has sent forces across the border into a demilitarised zone inside Syria , acknowledged on Tuesday that troops had also taken up some positions beyond the buffer zone, though it denied they were advancing towards Damascus. In a sign foreigners are ready to work with HTS, the former al Qaeda affiliate that led the anti-Assad revolt and has lately emphasised its break with its jihadist roots, the U.N. envoy to Syria played down its designation as a terrorist organisation. “The reality is so far that HTS and also the other armed groups have been sending good messages to the Syrian people ... of unity, of inclusiveness,” Geir Pedersen told a briefing in Geneva. The United States is still working out how it will engage with the rebel groups, US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer told Reuters, adding that as yet there had been no formal change of policy and that actions were what counted. The fact that HTS is banned in the UK does not prevent the Government from talking with it in the future, Downing Street has said. It is proscribed in the UK because of its past association with al Qaida, the terrorist organisation once led by Osama bin Laden. The fact that the group which has taken power in Syria is banned in the UK does not prevent the Government from talking with it in the future, Downing Street has said. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who took power in Syria after the weekend's events, is proscribed in the UK because of its past association with al Qaida, the terrorist organisation once led by Osama bin Laden. But the group's leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, cut ties with al Qaida years ago and has sough to present his group as more moderate and inclusive. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said on Tuesday: "The fact that HTS is a proscribed terrorist group does not prevent the Government from engaging with HTS in the future." Pointing to terrorism legislation, he added: "There's no absolute offence of meeting a proscribed organisation" He said that engagement with such organisations "could for example include meetings designed to encourage a designated group to engage in a peace process or facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid". The spokesman added: "More broadly we keep proscriptions under review and we're obviously monitoring the situation closely." On Monday, the Prime Minister suggested that the UK is not considering whether to remove the group from the proscribed list. Sir Keir Starmer told reporters while on a visit to the Middle East that there was "no decision pending at all" on the matter, and described it as "far too early". It came after Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said that any decision on the group needed to be taken quickly. Meanwhile Turkey’s intelligence agency, MIT, attacked a convoy of trucks on Tuesday that was allegedly carrying missiles, heavy weapons and ammunition that were abandoned by the Syrian government and reportedly seized by Syrian Kurdish militias, Turkish security officials have said. The officials said 12 trucks, two tanks and two ammunition depots were “destroyed” in aerial strikes in the city of Qamishli, near the border with Turkey in northeastern Syria. The officials provided the information on condition of anonymity in line with Turkish regulations. They did not say when the attack occurred. The officials said the intelligence agency detected that weapons left by the Syrian government forces were being moved to warehouses belonging to the Syrian Kurdish People’s Defence Units, or YPG. Turkey views the group as a terrorist organisation because of its links to the banned Kurdish militants that have led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey. According to the officials, the group was allegedly planning to use the equipment and supplies against Turkish security forces.Pathstone Holdings LLC Grows Stake in Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE:MRO)