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Game-changing holiday gifts for building fires, printing photos, watching birds and moreA WOMAN who's paid to sleep with men has left people stunned after sharing how she was booked as a "birthday treat" for one woman's husband. Lucy is a sex worker, and was contacted a few months ago by a woman who had come across her page on TikTok, before she'd decided to take the plunge and make a booking. But the booking wasn't for herself - instead she had decided to gift her spouse a session with Lucy for his big day. It was a two-hour booking, which began with Lucy sitting down with the couple in a hotel bar for a few drinks, before she took the birthday boy upstairs to the room. The woman had told her husband about the birthday surprise last week, and had even told Lucy about his likes and dislikes in the bedroom - down to the kind of lingerie that turns him on. "And now I get to surprise him by doing things he likes without him having to ask for it, which I think is gonna be super fun," she explained in a video on her TikTok page. She'd then headed out for the booking, before returning to the social media site to share an update later on. Kicking off the clip , Lucy insisted that the booking had gone "really well", and she'd had "so much in common" with the wife. After around 45 minutes drinking together, the wife headed off, so that they could get down to business. "It turns out that this was actually their first dip into non-monogamy," Lucy said, adding that they'd been married for over a decade. But it was the woman who had decided "she was interested in her husband being with someone else" and it was "something that she's really into". "I felt very honoured to be a part of their first experience," Lucy grinned. "And yeah, it was a super lovely time, and I hope that I get to see them again." However, people in the comments section weren't convinced that the session was an ideal birthday treat, with one writing emphatically: "Love is dead". "May this kind of love never find me," another added. "If I was married, I would never share my husband with another person, even if she was a professional," a third commented. "I would die of jealousy and anger. "I don't know how people do it!" By Emma Kenny, a TV presenter and psychologist Raucous Role Play: If your partner enjoys dressing up for fun, it shows creativity and a desire to keep things exciting. However, it might signal that he struggles with responsibility. Multi-Partner Fantasies: Craving variety doesn't always mean he wants to cheat. However, it could indicate deeper feelings of unfulfillment. Power & Control: A little dominance is normal, but if it's always about control, it may hide insecurities. Adventure: Men seeking thrills may push boundaries, so be sure your comfort zone is respected. Passion: If he’s romantic, he’s emotionally tuned in—though occasionally avoiding tough conversations. Flexibility: Openness to new experiences is great, but constant novelty-seeking could mean avoiding emotional connection. Red Flag: If control is his ultimate fantasy, it may signal a deeper struggle with power dynamics. "Same! Just the thought of it makes me angry and uncomfortable," someone else agreed. "It’s so gross," another raged. But others were more on board with the idea. "I wish everyone was this open-minded," one said. "This is real love," another wrote. As a third added: "There are kinks that make this fun for both partners. "Just because YOU do not like it does not mean the couple in question does not either."
Game-changing holiday gifts for building fires, printing photos, watching birds and more
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Shares of Match Group, Inc. ( NASDAQ:MTCH – Get Free Report ) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.68. MTCH has been the subject of several recent research reports. New Street Research downgraded Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Match Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Match Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Match Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. View Our Latest Research Report on Match Group Match Group Stock Performance Match Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 19% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued. Match Group Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Match Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.93%. Insider Activity In other news, Director Stephen Bailey sold 801 shares of Match Group stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.61, for a total value of $25,319.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $391,900.78. The trade was a 6.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . Insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTCH. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Match Group during the third quarter valued at about $361,605,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Match Group by 88.5% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,263,311 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $190,279,000 after acquiring an additional 2,940,667 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Match Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,053,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Match Group by 2,732.1% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,659,718 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Match Group by 75.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,271,787 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $69,018,000 after purchasing an additional 977,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.05% of the company’s stock. Match Group Company Profile ( Get Free Report Match Group, Inc engages in the provision of dating products. Its portfolio of brands includes Tinder, Hinge, Match, Meetic, OkCupid, Pairs, Plenty Of Fish, Azar, BLK, and Hakuna, as well as a various other brands, each built to increase users' likelihood of connecting with others. Its services are available in over 40 languages to users worldwide. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Match Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Match Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Can’t afford to buy a home solo? This Bay Area company wants to help friends buy real estate togetherA federal proposal that would redistribute the overall quota for catching highly lucrative baby eels to individual fishers will not compensate commercial licence-holders who employ those workers, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says, leaving owners feeling betrayed by the government. The department first informed Maritime commercial groups and fishermen of the proposed pilot project in a letter in mid-October, designed to combat unlicensed fishing of the baby eels, known as elvers , and violent confrontations that have shut down the last two seasons. The letter of intent said consultations would be held and asked for feedback on the proposal. At the time, the department told elver fishers the quota redistribution program sought to “broaden the distribution of benefits” and “would not be accompanied by financial assistance or compensation to existing licence holders,” according to the letter. More than a month later, a DFO spokesperson told Global News the department is still not considering compensation. “Fisheries and Oceans Canada is currently conducting consultations on the reallocation of elver quota, without compensation,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday. “Given the significant increases in elver value and relatively low input costs, the commercial elver fishery presents a unique opportunity to broaden the distribution of the prosperity that can be generated among various types of harvesters, potentially including young harvesters, employees of existing commercial licence holders, and harvesters who participate in co-operative commercial enterprises.” Commercial licence-holders in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick say the proposal would not only further harm their bottom line but also upset the industry as a whole. “It’s definitely going to be hard to keep employees on,” Stanley King, a commercial licence-holder with Atlantic Elver Fishery and spokesperson for the Canadian Committee for a Sustainable Eel Fishery, told Global News. The DFO proposal would offer 120 fishers currently employed by the nine commercial licence-holders their own small elver licences for next year’s season, and would also offer elver licences to 30 fishers currently licensed to catch adult eels. The pilot would last for three years and accompany new regulatory changes to the elver fishery the DFO is working to put in place for 2025. The new redistribution scheme would be on top of an earlier proposal in June that would redistribute 50 per cent of the overall quota to local Indigenous groups to recognize their court-approved right to make a moderate living from hunting, gathering and fishing. Combined, King said that could mean 75 per cent of the overall quota — which hasn’t changed since 2005 — will be redistributed away from commercial licensees. The department told Global News in an earlier statement last week that it will set the overall quota before the season opens in the spring. In its October letter of intent, the DFO said it sought to redistribute the quota “without increasing fishing pressure on the stock.” The DFO said last week that consultations on the proposed redistribution program would seek comments on “the potential impacts a pilot might have on existing licence holders’ operations.” The Fisheries Council of Canada wrote to the DFO earlier this month expressing “strong concerns” about the proposal, which it said is “disruptive, lacks a thoughtful policy foundation, and seems driven by objectives that do not consider the full ramifications for the industry.” A meeting held between DFO officials and Nova Scotia elver fishers in late October about the proposal — a recording of which was reviewed by Global News — grew heated as fishers angrily accused the government of putting their livelihoods at risk. “It’s frustrating to have DFO continually say, ‘We realize what your opinion is, we hear you, and we’re going to go ahead and do it anyway,” King said. Elvers are fished at night from coastal rivers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Maine. They are harvested in the springtime as they return to the rivers from their ocean spawning areas. They can be harvested using minimal equipment, often with a bucket and a fine funnel-shaped net called a fyke net or a dip net, making entry into the lucrative market easy. The federal government closed the commercial baby eel fishery on March 11 after violence and intimidation plagued last year’s fishing season in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The 2020 season was also shut down for similar reasons. At peak value, elvers have sold at about $5,000 per kilogram, according to DFO — more than lobsters, scallops or salmon — making them the most valuable fish by weight in Canada. King and other commercial fishers say the current value is well below that and fluctuates year to year and within seasons. But the potential for sky-high prices has made the fishery highly susceptible to poaching and bad actors from abroad. China is the dominant market for elvers, and some buyers will both under-pay on the black market and overpay for licensed catches, driving out legitimate Chinese buyers, King said. The fear among commercial groups is that individual fishers will sell to the highest bidder rather than resisting the encroachment of bad actors. “The government is going down a path that not only will destroy the incumbent businesses and their futures, but it’s going to basically lead to a situation where the entire landscape of the Canadian glass eel fishery is going to be dominated by numbered companies,” said Mitchell Feigenbaum, an eel exporter and commercial elver licence holder who runs South Shore Trading in Port Elgin, N.B. In May, federal officers seized a shipment of over 100 kilograms of elvers at Toronto Pearson International Airport they said was destined for overseas, valued between $400,000 and $500,000. King said that seizure was “a drop in the bucket” and that overall enforcement of illegal fishing and exporting is nearly non-existent, particularly along the rivers where elvers are actually caught. He said individual licences will make fishers more susceptible not just to the bad actors buying the product, but also the potential of losing entire catches if personal storage and transportation equipment fails. Smaller quotas will also mean lower salaries than what large companies have been able to pay those same workers. “What the government has done with these employees is they have increased their risk dramatically,” King said. Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier defended the quota redistribution proposal at a House of Commons fisheries committee meeting in October, telling MPs in French that licences “should be expanded to enable economic prosperity.” Conservative MP Rick Perkins compared the proposed pilot program to the government telling a Tim Hortons franchisee, “‘Well, I think it’s unfair that you make a lot of money from that franchise, so I will take three-quarters of that business and give it to your employees. It’s too bad you invested all this in the business — so sad — but I’m going to make it more equitable,’ in some strange socialist world.” Lebouthillier said Perkins’ analogy was “not true at all” and that “young people, the next generation, will have access to the resource” under the new program. “She thinks she’s playing Robin Hood, and in actuality, she’s putting these fishermen in a worse-off situation than they currently are,” King said. Perkins also suggested at the committee meeting the increase in licensees will make it harder for the government to enforce the law and stop bad actors, to which the minister promised new regulations that will address the issue. King said Lebouthillier has refused to meet with the elver industry despite multiple requests. Feigenbaum said offer letters for individual licences are being sent to his recent, part-time contract workers, rather than to the career employees who have worked for him for decades. “How do I even explain this to DFO?” he said. “I fired a guy (for drug use) and he got a letter... I’ve got 25-year employees that are getting ignored. “In 2024 we lost all our income; 100 per cent of our earnings was destroyed. And in the year 2023, we lost like 75 per cent of our earnings. So after two years in a row of this kind of treatment, we basically had to eliminate our payroll. We mothballed a lot of our facilities. We’re working on a skeleton staff.” Commercial fishers say they have tried to work with the DFO on solutions to the elver fishery for years, but have seen their proposals — which include collaboration with First Nations — shut down by the government. “We think there’s something very stinky going on,” Feigenbaum said. —With files from Global’s Heidi Petracek and The Canadian PressHouse approves $895B defense bill with military pay raise, ban on transgender care for minors
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ESTERO, Fla. (AP) — Kennard Davis' 15 points helped Southern Illinois defeat Florida Tech 81-54 on Wednesday. Davis shot 6 for 13, including 1 for 5 from beyond the arc for the Salukis (3-5). Jarrett Hensley added 14 points while going 6 of 9 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and he also had six rebounds. Sheridan Sharp finished 5 of 6 from the floor to finish with 12 points. The Panthers were led in scoring by Donovan Brown, who finished with 17 points. Elhadji Thiam added 14 points, six rebounds and two steals for Florida Tech. Max Polk finished with 14 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .NoneBarca's Yamal vows to 'come back better' after ankle injury
Penn State notes: Linemen Anthony Donkoh, Alonzo Ford Jr. suffer long-term injuries
Analysis: Week 12 full of sloppy play, especially on special teams
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A jetliner skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames Sunday in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of the country’s worst aviation disasters , officials said. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok and crashed while attempting to land in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television showed the plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, evidently with its landing gear still closed, and slamming into the wall, triggering an explosion and generating plumes of thick, black smoke. The crash killed 179 people, the South Korean fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled two crew members to safety. They were conscious and did not appear to have any life-threatening injuries, health officials said. The chief of the Muan fire station, Lee Jeong-hyeon, told a televised briefing that the plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly still recognizable in the wreckage. Officials were investigating the cause of the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds, Lee said. The control tower issued a warning about birds to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave the crew permission to land in a different area, Transport Ministry officials said. The crew sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash, officials said. Investigators retrieved the jet’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders, said senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan. He said it may take months to complete the probe into the crash. The runway will be closed until Jan. 1, the ministry said. Video of the crash indicated that the pilots did not deploy flaps or slats to slow the aircraft, suggesting a possible hydraulic failure, and they did not manually lower the landing gear, suggesting they did not have time, said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. Despite that, the jetliner was under control and traveling in a straight line, and damage and injuries likely would have been minimized if not for a barrier being so close to the runway, Cox said. “It’s all in one piece. Everything is coming along fine until it hits that wall, at which point it disintegrates into a catastrophe,” he said. Another aviation expert said videos showed the aircraft had used up much of the runway before touching down. With little braking ability, the aircraft skidded atop its engine cowlings, said Ross “Rusty” Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts. “It’s basically like skidding on ice,” he said. The Boeing 737-800 is a “proven airplane” that belongs to a different class of aircraft than the Boeing 737 Max jetliner that was linked to fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, added Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines and now a consultant. More than 4,500 of the planes are in service around the world, according to the aviation analytics company Cirium. One of the survivors was being treated for fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine, said Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital. Ju said the man, whose name was not released, told doctors he “woke up to find (himself) rescued.” Details on the other survivor were not immediately available. The passengers were predominantly South Korean and included two people from Thailand. Officials identified 88 of them in the hours after the crash, the fire agency said. Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed condolences to the families of those aboard the plane in a post on X. Paetongtarn said she ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance. Boonchuay Duangmanee, the father of a Thai passenger, told The Associated Press that his daughter, Jongluk, had been working in a factory in South Korea for several years and returned to Thailand to visit her family. “I never thought that this would be the last time we would see each other forever,” he said. Kerati Kijmanawat, the director of Thailand’s airports, confirmed in a statement that Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 departed from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport with no reports of anything abnormal aboard the aircraft or on the runway. Jeju Air in a statement expressed its “deep apology” over the crash and said it will do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident.” In a televised news conference, the company’s president, Kim E-bae, bowed deeply with other senior company officials as he apologized to bereaved families and said he feels “full responsibility” for the crash. He said the company had not identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular checkups and that he would wait for the results of government investigations. Family members wailed as officials announced the names of some victims at a lounge in the Muan airport. Boeing said in a statement on X that it was in contact with Jeju Air and was ready to support the company in dealing with the crash. The crash happened as South Korea is embroiled in a political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning imposition of martial law and ensuing impeachment . South Korean lawmakers on Friday impeached acting President Han Duck-soo and suspended his duties, leading Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over. Choi, who traveled to the site in Muan, called for officials to use all available resources to identify the dead as soon as possible. The government declared Muan a special disaster zone and designated a weeklong national mourning period. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, presided over an emergency meeting between senior presidential staff to discuss the crash and reported the details to Choi. Yoon expressed condolences to the victims in a Facebook post. In Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he joined in “prayer for the survivors and the dead.” U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was ready to offer “any necessary assistance.” The Muan crash is one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board. In 2013, an Asiana Airlines plane crash-landed in San Francisco, killing three and injuring about 200. Sunday’s accident was also one of the worst landing disasters since a July 2007 crash that killed all 187 people on board and 12 others on the ground when an Airbus A320 slid off a slick airstrip in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and hit a nearby building, according to data compiled by the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group aimed at improving air safety. In 2010, 158 people died when an Air India Express aircraft overshot a runway in Mangalore, India, and plummeted into a gorge before erupting into flames, according to the safety foundation.Bristol Motor Speedway team members, with help from their mischievous mascots Bump and Run, unveiled the official MLB Speedway Classic countdown clock that is clicking down the days, hours and minutes until the ceremonial first pitch is thrown out on August, 2, 2025 and play gets started in the historic Major League Baseball game featuring the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves at BMS. For social media enthusiasts, baseball fans and ticketholders who would like to grab a selfie with the new clock, The MLB Speedway Classic Countdown Clock is located at BMS Entrance 1 just off Volunteer Parkway next to the It’s Bristol Baby! monument. Sports fans will need to hustle on over to MLB.com/SpeedwayClassic if they want to be a part of the historic national regular season game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds that will be played at iconic Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 7 p.m. (ET). The game at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile will be the first American or National League game ever played in the Volunteer state. Tennessee becomes the fifth different state across the United States to host an MLB game for the first time since 2016. General public tickets for the MLB Speedway Classic presented by BuildSubmarines.com are available for purchase by visiting MLB.com/SpeedwayClassic. A maximum of eight tickets are allowed per order and all ticket sales will be conducted online. All tickets will be delivered digitally and available on mobile devices through the MLB Ballpark app and the Ticketmaster app. *** The NAPA AUTO PARTS Atlantic City Indoor Race is more than just a race, it’s an event. This January 31 and February 1, the connection between the racing and the after party, will be stronger than ever. Thanks to support from The West at Caesars Atlantic City (formerly Wild Wild West) and the Atlantic City Sports Commission, the TQ Midget winner’s share on both Friday and Saturday night will be increased by $1,500. “The Atlantic City races are special, everytime I walk into the arena on race weekend I get goosebumps, the building has so much history and over the past 20 years we have made history of our own,” stated event promoter Len Sammons. The Atlantic City Indoor Races, are held annually the last weekend in January, inside famous Boardwalk Hall, located right on the inconic boardwalk and steps away from the casinos and resorts that have made the town famous. In 2025, the ‘Race Hard, Play Hard’ post-event parties will help to raise the stakes for the winner of Friday and Saturday night’s TQ Midget A-Main. Should a driver sweep the weekend, the winner’s will exceed $10,000. “Starting in 2025, the race winner of Friday and Saturday night will not only go on stage at The West, but they will both be presented with a $1,500 bonus check as well.” The lively hub of nightlife during race weekend is only a two minute walk away at Caesars Atlantic City. The West at Caesars features live music, casino gaming, beer pong, sports betting, bull riding, arcade games, and much more. Tickets for the event are on sale now via Ticketmaster and the Boardwalk Hall box office.In addition to the high-speed TQ Midgets—purpose-built race cars powered by 750cc motorcycle engines—three support divisions will also race: Slingshots, Champ Karts and Dirt 600 Micro Sprints. Family-Friendly Pricing: Tickets start at just $20 for adults, with general admission for children available for only $5 on the day of the event. Premium front-row seating and reserved seats are also available for an additional fee. Pricing excludes facility and ticketing fees. Fans can enjoy an exclusive pre-race FanFest on the arena floor, where lower-level reserved ticket holders can walk the track and meet their favorite drivers before Saturday night’s race. The 2005 Indoor Auto Racing Series opens with a two-day show inside Allentown, PA’s PPL Center on Friday and Saturday, January 4th and 5th. The stars will then head to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The series will conclude its season on a clay oval at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ, on February 21 and 22. For more information about the Indoor Auto Racing Series, including hotel deals at nearby casinos and hotels, racer rules, and entry forms, visit IndoorAutoRacing.com. *** Driving 101, which operates the NASCAR Racing Experience, the leader in authentic NASCAR driving experiences, is thrilled to unveil its highly anticipated 2025 schedule. Race fans across the country can now plan their NASCAR dream experience with the release of dates at 17 premier speedways nationwide, including iconic tracks like Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2025 schedule kicks off in January and runs through December, offering fans more opportunities than ever before to take the wheel of a real NASCAR race car. Whether fans are looking to fulfill a lifelong racing dream or searching for the perfect gift for the adrenaline junkie in their life, this experience puts fans in the driver’s seat to feel the thrill of NASCAR firsthand. With 17 locations on the calendar, NASCAR Racing Experience continues to expand its reach, giving fans coast to coast the opportunity to drive on the same tracks where NASCAR legends have raced. Spots are limited at each speedway, so early booking is highly encouraged. For the full 2025 schedule, pricing, and booking details, visit www.NASCARRacingExperience.com. About NASCAR Racing Experience: NASCAR Racing Experience is the leading experiential racing company in North America, offering the most realistic racing programs available to motorsports fans nationwide. There’s no lead car to follow and drivers race without an instructor alongside. The drivers compete in real NASCAR race cars driven by NASCAR drivers including Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Corey Lajoie, among others. Reservations can be made at www.NASCARRacingExperience.com. Gift Cards are available for any amount and never expire. The customer service department is available seven days a week. NASCAR Racing Experience programs are conducted at 17 race tracks across the United States and offer a vast array of corporate outings and motorsports themed events. For more information call 704-886-2400 or visit www.NASCARRacingExperience.com *** Following a successful meeting with its race teams, the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars are poised to continue bringing the excitement and thrills of non-wing sprint car competition to race tracks in the Northeastern United States for the 2025 season...and beyond. A solid turnout of competitors and their car owners and crews were in place for a recent meeting that focused on the series structure and rules, and now the focus of attention shifts to off-season motorsports shows and the building of a 2025 season schedule. “We’re very close to completing the 2025 season schedule,” said USAC East Coast Sprint Cars President Ed Aikin. “We’re anticipating somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 races for the season, and based on what we heard at our first competitor meeting, we’re expecting a solid field of cars to follow the series next season. Our race teams gave us some great feedback at the competitor meeting, and cars are already being prepared for racing. It’s good to see this level of excitement before the first green flag flies for 2025!” The series schedule is expected to be released prior to the Motorsports 2025 event in Oaks, PA on January 24th and 25th, where the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars will have a booth and display as one of a few scheduled motorsports show appearances for the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars in the off-season. “Motorsports is always one of the biggest gatherings for race fans and racers during the winter months, and we’re happy to be able to be a part of it,” stated Aikin. “We’re also going to be a part of the annual Racing Xtravaganza show in York, PA and may make some other appearances in the region during the off-season months.” The series has retained the services of motorsports announcer and PR person “Cowboy” Paul Szmal for the 2025 season. “I had a chance to call some USAC non-wing shows when I lived in the Midwest and I was hooked,” said Szmal. “I’m looking forward to calling the action in 2025 for the series, as well as introducing fans to the drivers in a way that they’ll be more than just a person wearing a firesuit and helmet.” The USAC East Coast Sprint Cars official web site (http://usaceastcoastsprintcars.myracepass.com) will continue to serve as a source of information for fans and racers alike. For further information on the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars for 2025, please contact Paul Szmal at (315) 759-0176 or via email at drwho941@yahoo.com *** The 2025 Kubota High Limit Racing schedule has been finalized with 61 events planned at 36 unique facilities across 20 states for the second-year national sprint car series. The 2025 campaign is once again headlined by a trio of six-figure paydays between the Joker’s Jackpot at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on July 16-17, the 71st Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California on August 21-23, and the Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Burlington, Washington on August 28-30. Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, AKA “The Speed Palace,” will remain a staple on the Kubota High Limit Racing calendar with the Bob Weikert Memorial expanding to a three-day event on May 23-25 and the 58th edition of the famed Tuscarora 50 continuing on September 4-6. New in 2025 – in fitting fashion – Kubota High Limit Racing will shift the season-opening event to “The Entertainment Capital of the World,” bringing Sprint Cars back to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on NASCAR weekend. The Nevada 1/2-mile will host races on Thursday, March 13 and Saturday, March 15, culminating in a $25,000-to-win finale.He is the man behind 3bn streams, a string of chart-topping artists – and Wetherspoon’s newest brand of tequila. Ask Michael Adex how he has achieved all this by the age of 28 and he gives some credit to his “immovable” will to make things happen. But the Manchester-raised entertainment mogul, who first tasted success as the talent manager behind rapper Aitch before founding a talent agency, record label and global music publishing business, is acutely aware that no matter how powerful the vision, or how good the idea, fledgling companies need cash to survive. The UK aims to be a leader in “deep tech”, the field of innovation that includes advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. But the pathway from bright idea to commercial success can be a fraught one, especially for black entrepreneurs. Research from Digital Catapult , which works with government, industry and academia to grow businesses through the use of deep tech, has found just 0.2% of overall investment in the UK goes to black-founded companies. Adex, who last year was named one of Forbes’ magazine’s “30 under 30”, is out to change that, acting as ambassador for Digital Catapult’s Black Founders programme, which is supporting 10 businesses on their commercial journey. Companies previously selected have gone into partnership with large corporates and attracted interest from angel investors. It caps a busy year of deal-making for Adex. Wetherspoon’s is stocking MODA, the tequila brand he founded, in more than 800 pubs, while Sypz, the bottled water brand Adex co-founded with Aitch, has been picked up by Iceland. Adex has also taken his entertainment agency, NQ, into partnership with Columbia Records UK, in a deal aimed at giving the label access to the hottest emerging music stars in the north of England. “Even with ambition ... if you want to get to certain levels, as I have done independently, you need resources to be able to grow,” Adex says. “That’s why programmes like [Black Founders] are so important – to give people the understanding of how to go about raising money and being able to articulate their vision.” The potential for deep tech to further the UK’s success in the creative industries can be seen in the startups Digital Capital has selected for the Black Founders programme. Each of the companies applies immersive technologies to fields including music production, gaming, storytelling and education. They include TwoShot, which uses voice detection technology to tackle copyright issues related to AI-generated music; Mismatch Studios, which creates digital clothing for virtual worlds, giving designers a sustainable way of prototyping designs; and Immersely, which uses biometrics and AI to create “hyper-personalised” games. Adex’s own journey to success in the music industry – NQ’s producers have worked with artists such as Central Cee, ArrDee, Tion Wayne, Bryson Tiller, Mist, Blanco and Anne-Marie – began when he was at school. “It was natural,” he says. “I had quite a lot of contacts and friends, I had family in London, every summer I would go and make connections. And from there I started making relationships and hanging out with artists. “Having loads of talent around me in Manchester , it made me want to put them on –because I was going to London and seeing so many opportunities and seeing, in Manchester, a lack of that.” “It’s important to show what things black entrepreneurs can get involved in,” Adex adds. “I never want anyone to feel as if they should limit themselves,” he says, on the importance of Black Founders. “I have always been strong-willed, I never looked at any barriers, thinking I couldn’t do something because of where I’m from, my background, or what I look like. But again, looking at it now, six or seven years down the line, and seeing what I have achieved, I almost look at it now with more disbelief.” Speaking of the Black Founders programme, Jessica Rushworth, the chief policy and strategy officer at Digital Catapult, said “breaking down barriers to successful scaling for underrepresented entrepreneurs” was “at the heart of it”, adding: “The new cohort’s innovative new solutions will undoubtedly unlock new opportunities to grow the UK’s creative economy.”