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  • What to know about Lego Fortnite if you’re just getting started

    What to know about Lego Fortnite if you’re just getting started

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    The people behind Fortnite, the popular build-and-battle-royale game, have released a new, kid-friendly take on the game: Lego Fortnite. The game uses Lego bricks and characters to give players a different kind of experience that focuses on long-term survival, crafting, building, and online cooperation with friends. It’s a lot like another survival/crafting game, Minecraft, but powered by Lego bricks and familiar characters.

    Lego Fortnite was a hit from day one; Millions of players are building and battling monsters together in online worlds full of characters to meet, creatures to slay, and mysteries to discover. It’s also free (unlike Minecraft), and co-developers Epic Games and The Lego Group have gone to great lengths to make it safe for kids to enjoy.

    Here’s a quick rundown of what Lego Fortnite is, where to download it, and everything else you should need to know about Fortnite’s popular new spinoff.

    What is Lego Fortnite?

    While the popular version of Fortnite is a battle royale game where players fight each other to be the last player standing, Lego Fortnite isn’t a shooter or a battle royale at all. It’s a game of exploration, building with Lego bricks, and crafting items (like pickaxes and torches).

    In Survival mode, players take on the role of a little Lego hero character. They’ll gather resources, build structures, tools, and weapons, and explore a huge open world. They’ll also interact with other Lego characters who will join their group and help them out with missions. There’s some combat too, but it’s mainly against Lego versions of skeletons, wolves, spiders, and other beasts. This mode is called Survival because players have to gather and craft what they need: food to stave off hunger, wood to build structures and craft tools, and other elements to create more complex items.

    There’s also a non-violent Sandbox mode, where players can simply build whatever they want with Lego bricks to get creative and explore the world freely.

    How to download Lego Fortnite

    Playing and downloading Lego Fortnite is free. You’ll need an Epic Games account to play, which is also free. All you have to do is download the main Fortnite game client, and you’ll find Lego Fortnite on the main screen of a menu that looks like a Netflix library screen.

    On game consoles like Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, you can download Fortnite by searching each platform’s store, or by using the links below from a web browser:

    Note that if you find and download Lego Fortnite from one of the above online stores, you’re actually downloading the full Fortnite game client, through which you can play Lego Fortnite. Confusing, yes, but at least everything’s centralized.

    How to get and activate an Epic Games account

    To play Lego Fortnite (or any Fortnite game), you’ll need an Epic Games account. You can sign up for one using an email address at the Epic Games website, use an existing login from Apple, Facebook, Lego.com, or Google, or log in with an existing account from Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, or Steam.

    You can also create a version of that account called a Cabined Account, which is intended for children 13 years old or younger. Players with Cabined Accounts can play Lego Fortnite, but they won’t be able to access features like voice chat or make in-game purchases with money until their parent or guardian provides consent. You can read more about parental controls in Fortnite games at Epic’s website.

    How V-Bucks work with Lego Fortnite (and how to redeem them)

    Epic Games’ virtual currency for Fortnite, known as V-Bucks, works in the core version of Fortnite and new experiences like Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival. V-Bucks can be spent on in-game items, like outfits and other virtual items.

    V-Bucks can be purchased within Fortnite and via gift cards. You can redeem V-Bucks gift cards at the official Fortnite website.

    If you (or your child) have spent V-Bucks in Fortnite battle royale, most of the cosmetics in that game carry over to Lego Fortnite. There are some exceptions, like characters in Fortnite who have guns as part of their design, but many cosmetics tied to a core Fortnite account can be used across games.

    Lego Fortnite multiplayer and playing with friends

    You can play Lego Fortnite with friends online. Up to eight players can play together cooperatively in the same game world.

    But you can’t play Lego Fortnite (yet) in split-screen mode on the same platform. If you have multiple kids playing Lego Fortnite, they’ll all need their own console, tablet, or PC to play. Lego Fortnite supports cross-play across all platforms, so players on Switch, for example, can play with their friends on PlayStation 5, Android, PC, and anywhere else Fortnite is available.

    Do you need a separate online subscription to play Lego Fortnite?

    Lego Fortnite, like other Fortnite games, does not require an online subscription like Nintendo Switch Online, PlayStation Plus, or Xbox Live Gold/Xbox Game Pass to play.

    Guides for Lego Fortnite

    Lego Fortnite is new, but already pretty big. Here’s how to get started, with some answers to a few tricky questions:

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    Michael McWhertor

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  • Israel says Gaza war is like WWII. Experts say it’s ‘justifying brutality’

    Israel says Gaza war is like WWII. Experts say it’s ‘justifying brutality’

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    Israel’s campaign of relentless bombardment against the Gaza Strip had been raging for three weeks when the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked to address the heavy civilian death toll in the Palestinian enclave.

    Netanyahu, who had earlier evoked the 9/11 attacks on New York’s Twin Towers and the Pentagon in 2001 to describe the deadly Hamas assault on southern Israel on October 7, looked to the second world war for validation, on this occasion.

    The hawkish Israeli premier referred to the time in 1945 – he mistakenly mentioned 1944 – when a British air raid, which had been targeting a Gestapo site, erroneously hit a school in Copenhagen killing 86 children. “That is not a war crime,” he told reporters. “That is not something you blame Britain for doing. That was a legitimate act of war with tragic consequences that accompany such legitimate actions.”

    Since then, the Allied campaign against Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II has become something of an historical precedent for an Israeli state seeking to justify the large-scale killings of the people of Gaza as it ostensibly pursues Hamas fighters. Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipi Hotovely, has compared Israel’s campaign with the devastating Allied bombing of Dresden, which, conducted over three nights in 1945, was intended to force the Nazis into surrender, and led to the deaths of some 25,000-35,000 Germans. Non-state affiliated advocates of Israel have also drawn similar comparisons.

    Yet, these attempts erase the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948, the destruction of 500 towns and villages at the time, and the subsequent illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. They also ignore how World War II led to a new international law regime, and serve to dehumanise Palestinians while justifying Israel’s decades-long violence and discrimination — described by many international rights groups as akin to apartheid — against Palestinians, say historians and analysts.

    Israeli historian and socialist activist Ilan Pappé told Al Jazeera that these efforts by Israel are aimed “as a justification for its brutal policies towards” Palestinians and that they represent an old playbook used by the country.

    He cited the instance when former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin compared the then-leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yasser Arafat, to Hitler, and war-torn Beirut to Berlin, following Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982.

    “I feel as a prime minister empowered to instruct a valiant army facing ‘Berlin’ where, amongst innocent civilians, Hitler and his henchmen hide in a bunker deep beneath the surface,” Begin said in a telegram to then-United States President Ronald Reagan in early August 1982.

    But Begin’s words prompted criticism from many in his own country, with Israeli novelist Amos Oz writing that “the urge to revive Hitler, only to kill him again and again, is the result of pain that poets can permit themselves to use, but not statesmen”.

    Reaching into the past to legitimise modern-day conflicts can also be ahistorical. Scott Lucas, a specialist in US and British foreign policy at the University of Birmingham, said the relentless use of World War II by Israel and its supporters to mitigate criticism of its bloody war on Gaza suggests that Israel wants to “wish away the post-1945 pledge – by lawyers, NGOs, activists and politicians – to say we need a better system so civilians do not suffer needlessly in war zones”.

    He added that Israel’s decision to opt out of membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its attempts to “actively … undermine [the authority] of the United Nations”, founded after the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, make its claims to be part of an Allied-like struggle disingenuous.

    Israel has repeatedly accused the UN’s agencies and its officials, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, of bias because they have called for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israeli bombs have killed more UN staff members in Gaza since October 7 than in any conflict in the history of the organisation.

    “Civilians will be killed in wartime,” Lucas acknowledged, but added that Israel appeared to be breaching the international law requirement of proportionality. In essence, a military whose war leads to civilian deaths, including through attacks on hospitals, schools and shelters – targets Israel has repeatedly struck during this war – must be able to show proportionate military gains through those strikes. That’s a bar Israel hasn’t met, according to many experts.

    “You are currently having an excessive number of civilians who are being killed because there are not adequate protections that are being applied by the power that is carrying out the attack,” Lucas said. “And that’s what the Israelis should be judged by. Bringing in World War II and other narratives is [just] peripheral.”

    Israel’s supporters continue to argue that the parallel with World War II holds. Jake Wallis Simons, editor of the London-based Jewish Chronicle, said that there were “two points of similarity” between the conflicts.

    “The first is a sense of existential threat both during World War II and in the attacks by Hamas upon Israel,” claimed Wallis Simons. “The other is the nature of the aggressor.” He described Hamas’s actions as “barbarism”.

    But UN experts, international human rights groups and many nations around the world have warned that it is Israel’s actions since October 7 – more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and almost the entire population of 2.3 million people has been displaced – that could constitute modern-day genocide. Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using food as a weapon of war. Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza since 2007, and since the start of the current war, has made it even more difficult for aid to enter the Strip. Right at the start of the current war, Israel also imposed a strict block on the entry of fuel and water – a restriction it has largely kept in place.

    Against that backdrop, it’s useful for Israel to project World War II onto the conflict with Palestine, suggested German-Palestinian academic Anna Younes. It helps Israel dehumanise Palestinians and blunts sensitivity towards their suffering.

    “By conflating Israel with Jewishness, it’s easy to project Nazism … onto Palestinians, but also onto all of their supporters,” Younes told Al Jazeera. “Nazism has thus become a globalised Eurocentric rhetorical vessel for everything … which doesn’t deserve empathy and context, and is free to be killed.”

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  • What to Know About Zack Snyder's Action-Packed Space Epic Rebel Moon

    What to Know About Zack Snyder's Action-Packed Space Epic Rebel Moon

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    If you’ve ever wanted to watch a movie that could reasonably be described as “intergalactic 300,” then boy does Zack Snyder have the film for you.

    Over the course of the two-hour-and-15-minute runtime of Rebel Moon, which begins a limited theatrical run Dec. 15 before streaming on Netflix Dec. 22, a band of space-traveling revolutionaries join forces to rise up against the brutal and tyrannical Motherworld empire—despite the overwhelming odds stacked against them.

    Born from a one-line pitch for “The Dirty Dozen in space” that director and co-writer Snyder came up with in college, the $160-million-plus sci-fi epic has been in development for more than 20 years. At one point in time, Snyder considered re-engineering the project to become an entry in the Star Wars franchise. But following Disney’s 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, the filmmaker ultimately decided to set his story in an original universe.

    The final result is an action-packed space opera shaped by cinematic influences ranging from Seven Samurai to Heavy Metal to Dune to—you guessed it—Star Wars. “I don’t think you can make a sci-fi movie now that’s not going to be compared to a Star Wars movie in some way,” Snyder told Screen Rant of Rebel Moon‘s relationship to the galaxy far, far away.

    Friday’s release, Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire, is only the first chapter in a planned two-part saga, with Part Two – The Scargiver set to hit Netflix on April 19, 2024.

    What is Rebel Moon – Part One about?

    (L-R): Charlie Hunnam as Kai, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, Sofia Boutella as Kora, Staz Nair as Tarak, and Djimon Hounsou as Titus in Rebel Moon

    Courtesy of Netflix

    Opening on a peaceful farming colony located on the distant moon Veldt, the first installment of Rebel Moon centers on the reluctant hero’s journey of former Motherworld soldier Kora (Sofia Boutella).

    As a child, Kora was forced to watch as imperial forces murdered her family and destroyed her home world. In the aftermath of the slaughter, she was hand-picked by ruthless warlord Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee) to become his surrogate daughter. Balisarius raised Kora in his image, molding her into the Motherworld’s most formidable warrior. But when her ship crash-landed on Veldt a few years prior to the events of the movie, Kora realized she was tired of killing in the Motherworld’s name and took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a more harmonious existence among the moon’s settlers.

    “Not only has she been part of the soldier world she was forced into, but she wanted nothing to do with it and there was no chance she would open that door again, at all costs,” Boutella told Hero magazine of Kora’s motivations. “You can see how she’s trying to escape it….It’s interesting to see the reluctance and inner turmoil in a hero.”

    Unfortunately for Kora, when a warship captained by Balisarius’ sadistic emissary Admiral Noble (Ed Skrein) arrives on Veldt seeking to gain control of the moon’s resources, her dreams of living out her life in peace go out the window. With the lives of her settlement’s people hanging in the balance, Kora and her fellow farmer/love interest Gunnar (Michiel Huisman) set out on planet-hopping mission to recruit a band of ragtag rebels to their cause, including former Motherworld general Titus (Djimon Hounsou), master swordswoman Nemesis (Doona Bae), and a brother-sister insurgent duo known as the Bloodaxes (Ray Fisher and Cleopatra Coleman).

    What to expect from Rebel Moon – Part 2

    Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble in <em>Rebel Moon</em> (Courtesy of Netflix)

    Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble in Rebel Moon

    Courtesy of Netflix

    Following the getting-the-gang-together-style journey of the first movie, The Scargiver will see Kora and her allies attempt to bring down the almighty Motherworld.

    “The second movie is really a war movie,” Snyder told Screen Rant. “At the beginning they harvest the crops, and we have a bunch of stuff in the village, sort of the ‘Why We Fight’ aspect of the movie. We have time for relationships. Then the next thing is the big battle. It’s really fun.”

    As for Kora’s personal story arc, Boutella told Hero that Part 2 will reveal more about Kora’s life as a solder and why she was given the nickname Scargiver.

    “We find out something quite tumultuous about Kora in the second movie and I wonder how the audience will react to that,” Boutella said. “It took me a little bit to come to terms with Kora, it took me a while to understand her, forgive her and not judge her because I wanted it to come from a place of full compassion and forgiveness for the character.”

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    Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com.

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    Megan McCluskey

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  • Dengue Fever Is Soaring Worldwide: What to Know and How to Protect Yourself

    Dengue Fever Is Soaring Worldwide: What to Know and How to Protect Yourself

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    Governments and public health experts around the world are sounding the alarm about the record-high spread of one of the most notorious—and incurable—diseases, which about half the world is at risk of catching: dengue.

    The mosquito-borne virus has a long history in warm climates but is now also emerging in regions where it had been generally unheard of—such as in Europe and parts of the U.S. By early December, there had already been more than five million dengue infections worldwide this year—a dramatic increase from some 500,000 cases in 2000—recorded across at least 80 countries and territories. More than 5,500 people have died so far in 2023, according to Save the Children.

    In October, California announced its first case of locally-transmitted dengue virus. In March, dengue was found in Sudan’s capital Khartoum for the first time in the city’s record, putting its already underfunded healthcare system under serious strain. 

    Meanwhile, in countries where dengue was already endemic, this year has seen the virus spread at an unprecedented scale. Amid the worst outbreak in Bangladesh’s history, dengue cases were reported in all 64 of the country’s districts, and by mid-November the disease had infected 291,832 people and killed 1,476. Peru’s health minister, who in June declared a state of emergency in most parts of the country to deal with a raging dengue outbreak, resigned the same month as infections and deaths continued to mount.

    Patients suffering from dengue fever are treated inside the Mugdha General Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sept. 17, 2023.

    Mamunur Rashid—NurPhoto/Getty Images

    A risk assessment report published Tuesday by the Pan-American Health Organization noted that the “lack of robust dengue surveillance and management systems raises concerns about potential undetected cases or unrecorded travel movements that could contribute to unnoticed disease spread.”

    There is currently no antiviral treatment for dengue, though the symptoms can usually be managed with medicine. Here’s what to know about the disease—and how to keep yourself safe.

    What are the symptoms of dengue fever?

    The symptoms experienced by those infected with dengue can vary widely: up to 80% of dengue cases are asymptomatic, and while some infections may trigger only flu-like symptoms, more serious cases can result in internal bleeding that could lead to death. 

    Some of the more common symptoms of dengue infections include high fever, nausea, vomiting, and severe muscle and joint pain—the latter of which is how the disease earned the nickname “breakbone fever.” 

    When detected early and with access to medical care, the mortality rate of dengue is less than 1%—though that figure rises to 2-5% for severe dengue cases. If left untreated, however, the mortality rate of dengue can reach 20%.

    How does dengue spread and why is it on the rise?

    Dengue is typically spread through infected female Aedes aegypti (Egyptian tiger) mosquitoes that thrive in stagnant water, passing from one person to another through mosquito bites. The disease can also be transmitted from pregnant women to their babies, and, in rare cases, through blood transfusions, organ transplants, or needle injuries.

    An adult <em>Wolbachia</em>-infected <em>Aedes aegypti</em> mosquito is seen under a microscope at the insectarium of Universitas Gajah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 8, 2023. (Dasril Roszandi—Anadolu/Getty Images)

    An adult Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen under a microscope at the insectarium of Universitas Gajah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Dec. 8, 2023.

    Dasril Roszandi—Anadolu/Getty Images

    The disease, which has long been a public health concern in Asia and Latin America, has seen an uptick attributed in part to the resurgence of global travel after the COVID pandemic. This year’s El Niño weather phenomenon, which contributes to warmer temperatures, is also believed to have exacerbated dengue outbreaks in tropical countries.

    Amid rising global temperatures due to climate change that have made more parts of the world suitable for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to breed, experts are increasingly warning about the threat dengue is set to pose to the southern parts of the U.S. and Europe, as well as new regions in Africa.

    Researchers have also pointed to the impact of urbanization on dengue transmission. 

    Besides simply increasing population density, the expansion of informal urban settlements with no access to plumbing networks has fostered among stagnant stored water and exposed litter prime breeding and feeding grounds for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are already well-adapted to urban environments.

    Battling the record surge in dengue cases, healthcare systems across the world are being tested in unprecedented ways—some buckling under overwhelming demand, as experts raise concerns about the human costs of poor governmental dengue responses. Public anxiety and anger is also mounting: in September, opposition party members in India staged a public protest in Kolkata criticizing the government’s response to dengue.

    What are authorities around the world doing to combat dengue?

    Fumigation remains one of the oldest and most widely used methods to kill mosquitoes around the world. However, mosquito fogging is seeing waning effectiveness. Despite decades of chemical control, researchers warn, dengue outbreaks have intensified as mosquitoes develop resistance to chemical compounds.

    A city worker fumigates a market at night in the fight against the <em>Aedes aegypti </em>mosquito, which transmits the dengue virus, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on Aug. 31, 2023. (Sandra Sebastian—picture-alliance/dpa/AP)

    A city worker fumigates a market at night in the fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the dengue virus, in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on Aug. 31, 2023.

    Sandra Sebastian—picture-alliance/dpa/AP

    An innovative effort led by the World Mosquito Program, currently being tested in over a dozen countries, aims to fight mosquito-borne viruses with mosquitoes. Under the program, authorities release special mosquitoes bred to carry a bacteria called Wolbachia, which blocks the transmission of viruses that cause dengue, zika, and yellow fever. 

    However, not all are welcoming of the ambitious plan. When Indonesian authorities announced the release of 200 million Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes in Bali, the plan was met with vehement opposition from both experts and locals, who had little trust in the results of a small-scale pilot study held in another Indonesian city and were worried that Bali residents would be made “lab rats.”

    Nearby in Singapore, where the Wolbachia project is in full swing, environmental agency personnel conduct regular inspections of homes and other sites to check for potential mosquito breeding grounds and collect water samples for laboratory tests. Owners of premises that are found to have mosquito breeding may be fined or imprisoned. 

    Singapore also tracks dengue clusters emerging in the city-state. A similar initiative is run by Boston Children’s Hospital to track global reports of dengue cases in the media, and researchers in London announced earlier this month the world’s first “dengue dashboard” to model and predict the spread of the disease across the world, which is expected to launch next year. 

    “We need local plans to fight dengue—at village and city level—and with the involvement of communities,” said Yasir Arafat, a health advisor at Save the Children, in a statement spotlighting the danger of this year’s dengue infections. “Funding needs to better anticipate extreme weather and climate shocks to manage the risk and not just the crisis.”

    How can you protect yourself against dengue?

    Authorities recommend using insect repellent to try to avoid dengue infection. (Black Lollipop—Getty Images)

    Authorities recommend using insect repellent to try to avoid dengue infection.

    Black Lollipop—Getty Images

    With scientists anticipating dengue to reach places that have not been acquainted with the disease, governments around the world have been sharing best practices to prevent the spread of dengue. These include using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, using insect screens on windows and doors, and performing regular checks in your home for stagnant water. 

    There are currently two dengue vaccines commercially available: Qdenga, which is recommended by the World Health Organization for children aged six to 16 or those living in places with high risk of dengue transmission, and Dengvaxia, which is recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for children aged nine to 16 who have had previous dengue infection. (The world’s first dengue vaccination program, launched in the Philippines in 2016, however, was found to increase the severity of the disease for recipients of Dengvaxia who were later infected with dengue, resulting in decreased confidence in all vaccines in the country.) 

    For those who have been infected with dengue, the WHO recommends drinking plenty of liquids, getting adequate rest, avoiding using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin—instead, opt for paracetamol for pain relief—and seeking medical attention if you experience any severe symptoms.

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    Contact us at letters@time.com.

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    Koh Ewe

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  • Fans were as influential in 2023 as the things they loved

    Fans were as influential in 2023 as the things they loved

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    Fandom might be something people participate in during their spare time, maybe in the privacy of online communities or convention halls, but it undoubtedly has an impact on the wider world. In the past few years, the types of strategies deployed by politicians and those leading social movements have increasingly started to look like those used in fandom. This is particularly true of tactics pioneered within the digital and physical fan spaces in order to increase visibility and impact. All the while, fandom itself is continuing to change and evolve.

    Powered by passion, fans make things happen. Sometimes those accomplishments are only important within each individual fandom — producing a zine, making a character or celebrity trend, starting a new meme. But other times they reach further than expected, outside fan spaces, and make things really move.

    Taking a look at the accomplishments of fandom communities this year is a good way to get a bird’s-eye view of what exactly fandom is, at a time when more people engage in fandom than ever. In 2023, fans showed up and made their voices heard. They launched projects, saved shows, supported strikes, and even rescued historical figures from obscurity. Here are just a few of fandom’s most impressive accomplishments from this year.

    Fans on strike

    When the Writers Guild of America announced that its members would be going on strike in May of this year, fans took the news in stride. Of course, it was disappointing to hear that production on many fan-favorite shows, like Stranger Things, would be pausing thanks to the strike action. But it was more important that fans supported the actions of the WGA, and later SAG-AFTRA, which were necessary for writers and actors to earn protections and fair wages in their industry.

    Though some troll posts led people to believe that fans were against the strike, that couldn’t have been more untrue. It was precisely the opposite: Fans worked hard to spread information about how best to support the striking writers and actors. Independent, fan-run blogs like sagwgastrikeupdates and fans4wga consistently communicated the latest news on the strikes and answered questions about how best to avoid crossing the picket line with fan activity.

    And while some fans were sad that shows that came out during the strike, like fan favorites Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death, never got traditional actor- and writer-centric press tours that fans could obsess over alongside the new episodes, fans put their feelings aside in support of fairness. OFMD fans showed up in person to picket lines and were rewarded, when the strike ended, with a deluge of behind-the-scenes content that stars like Vico Ortiz and Leslie Jones shared on TikTok.

    A plaque for Hester Leggatt

    West End comedy musical Operation Mincemeat has fostered a fandom of Mincefluencers ever since its off-West End days at Riverside Studios. It’s an oddball show, which, much like the Broadway hit Six, was written and developed by a company of Fringe Festival stalwarts. And like Six it was also inspired by real history. Like the Colin Firth film of the same name (which it otherwise shares no connection with) Operation Mincemeat was inspired by real events during World War II, when a group of MI5 operatives successfully diverted the Nazis by planting false information on a corpse.

    The musical’s main characters are based on real historical figures, including Hester Leggatt, a secretary at MI5. She contributed to the wartime operation by helping create the false identity of the corpse, writing love letters to “Bill Martin” that were planted on the body. In the musical this work is immortalized in the tearjerker song “Dear Bill.” In the song “Useful,” Hester thinks that instead of a statue she might like to be recognized by “just a small plaque / Something tasteful and small.”

    Unlike the male protagonists of the story, about whom biographical details abound, little was known about the real Hester Leggatt — just enough to create her character in the musical. But fans went much, much further, digging up biographical records at the National Archives and London’s Imperial War Museum in order to illuminate details of Leggatt’s life. Fans found census records, exam results, and handwriting samples that matched the real letter to “Bill.”

    Finally, their research culminated in a letter from MI5 confirming Legatt’s employment, which had been classified information up until then. A plaque honoring Leggatt is set to be unveiled outside the Fortune Theater, where Operation Mincemeat is playing, on Dec. 11. Hester Leggatt is finally getting the recognition she long deserved, thanks to fans’ hard work uncovering her story.

    Save the sapphic show

    Fan campaigns aren’t new, but their persistence year after year is a demonstration not only of fans’ ability to self-organize and persevere, but the continued divergence of studios, networks, and streaming platform priorities from the desires of passionate fan communities. In 2023, the shows that fans rallied behind included animated show Star Trek: Prodigy and the CW’s Supernatural prequel The Winchesters. But the most notable fan campaigns have been behind the canceled shows A League of Their Own and Warrior Nun.

    Passionate fans hungry for queer representation have helped rescue shows like Sense8; fans have also banded together to campaign for The 100 to change certain plotlines. A League of Their Own was renewed only to be un-renewed by Amazon in August of this year, and fans immediately started organizing, seeing that it was worth the effort to push back against this cavalier treatment. Fan campaigners behind accounts like @ALOTOHomeRun have kept the show trending, hoping for a second season that will continue to explore the queer and Black characters that made the show a powerful adaptation of the original 1992 film. They have kept the show trending on X (formerly Twitter), and in return the showrunners have promised that they’re still trying to find a way forward for the show.

    Fans’ impressive show of support for Warrior Nun began late last year, when Netflix confirmed the beloved drama about an ass-kicking nun (played by Alba Baptista) would not return for a third season. After creating a Discord server called Sapphics in Pain, the fans began to organize — and didn’t stop. Well into 2023, they were spending hours of volunteer labor on professional-level analytics research papers and strategic analysis, aiming to prove conclusively to network stakeholders that their beloved show was well worth picking up for a new season. Their hard work was rewarded when executive producer Dean English announced the series would return as a trilogy of feature films — though, because of the lack of involvement of the original series’ writers, it’s a cautious victory for the hardworking fans.

    Swifties united

    Photo: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

    Thanks to the kickoff of the ubiquitous Eras Tour, and the steady (re)releases of Taylor’s Version albums, Swifties consolidated their power and emerged as an unshakeable and unstoppable bloc in 2023. Swifties are behind trends like trading friendship bracelets and wearing glittery boots, but there’s more to it than aesthetics — the huge community of Taylor Swift’s die-hard fans have also used their influence to attempt to create visible change and move the needle on issues that are important to them.

    In early November, Swifties in Argentina spoke out against the right-wing political candidate Javier Milei, forming a group called “Swifties Against Freedom Advances” to try and convince other fans not to vote for him. However, in the end it wasn’t enough to move the needle, and he ended up winning.

    Other Swifty fan efforts in South America are ongoing. A fan, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, died at one of Swift’s Brazilian shows during an extreme heat wave. Fan outcry after this event was widespread, but American-language media was slow to report on the incident beyond Swift’s initial statement about the tragedy. Fans rose to the occasion in order to translate Brazilian news stories regarding the timeline of events and venue issues, and even raised money for the family of the fan who passed. This culminated in Swift paying for the family to come from their rural home to see her concert, where they posed for a picture with her wearing shirts with Ana’s face on them.

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    Allegra Rosenberg

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  • Rewards and interest and fees, oh my! For which credit card should I apply?

    Rewards and interest and fees, oh my! For which credit card should I apply?

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    Analysis paralysis: It’s more than just an obnoxious little rhyme. It’s the thing standing in between you and the credit card of your dreams.

    There are dozens and dozens of credit cards to choose from. If you’re asking, “What credit card should I get?” we have the perfect checklist for you. Use this post as a questionnaire and you’ll be united with your new plastic companion before you know it.

    Which credit card is best for me?

    There will never be a one-size-fits-all credit card, as each has wildly different value propositions based entirely on your lifestyle. A card that saves one person thousands of dollars per year may be virtually useless to someone else.

    To find your perfect credit card, follow these four steps.

    1. Check your credit score

    Checking your credit score as a first step to choosing a credit card is critical for a couple of reasons.

    First, you don’t want to apply for a card that’s simply out of your league. “[Y]our credit score…is a number that helps show how well you manage your financial obligations,” says Jason Gaughan, head of consumer credit card products at Bank of America. “Make sure your credit score and credit history align with the requirements [of the credit card you want] before signing up to avoid hurting your credit score [for no reason].” Knowing your credit score will quickly narrow your search.

    It will also give you a clue as to what interest rates you can expect. Credit cards often provide a wide range of APR–the low end is reserved for those with the best credit, and the high end for those with the worst credit. If you’ve got an excellent credit score in the 800s, you should be able to reasonably anticipate your card’s terms.

    2. Whittle down your card options

    Before your search begins, decide which of the following describes your financial goals.

    Establish or rebuild your credit

    Whether you’re just dipping your toe into the wonderful world of credit or atoning for your previous credit-related sins, there’s a credit card to help you build a strong credit profile.

    There are myriad credit cards designed for those with bad credit. They’ve often got borderline predatory interest rates, high annual fees, and virtually no benefits to speak of. But they do one thing well: they report to the credit bureaus to help you create a positive track record.

    If you can float the money, secured credit cards can be a better way to build credit. By making a refundable security deposit to the card issuer (usually between $200 and $5,000), you can receive a credit line in the amount of your deposit. Many offer rewards for spending, various complimentary subscriptions, and even annual statement credits.

    And if you’re a student, you’ve got plenty of options–some of which require no credit history whatsoever to be approved.

    Transfer a balance

    So you’ve currently got a credit card (or other loan) for which you’re paying out the nose in interest charges? You can get a breather from all the fees by opening a balance transfer credit card that offers 0% intro APR for a lengthy period of time. Some cards, such as the Citi Simplicity® Card, offer 0% APR on balance transfer for an incredible 21 months.

    Earn cash back

    If your goal is to simply discount your everyday purchases, you’re likely in the market for a cash back credit card. These cards work as a sort of rebate. Some cards offer bonus cash back for specific spending categories, while others offer a flat rate for everything.

    For example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express earns 6% back at supermarkets (on up to $6,000 in spending per calendar year, then 1%). For those that spend $500 per month on groceries, this card is a great option. Meanwhile, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns 2% cash back on all purchases–ideal for someone whose spending doesn’t fall into a common bonus category.

    Earn travel perks

    More than any other credit card category, travel rewards credit cards offer the most value from ongoing benefits like statement credits, elite status-like perks, memberships, and travel insurance. Not to mention, the cards collect rewards that can often be exponentially more valuable than cash back–if you know the best ways to use them.

    If you’re a frequent traveler–or even if you board a plane just once or twice per year to visit family a few states away–a travel credit card could save you many hundreds of dollars per year from benefits like free checked bags, reimbursements for airline incidentals, and airport lounge access.

    Score business benefits

    Whether you’ve got an s corporation with dozens of employees or a simple for-profit side-gig like driving for Uber, you qualify for a small business credit card. These cards are critical for keeping your personal and business expenses separate–a big deal when tax season rolls around. Plus, they often come with bonus categories that align with common business expenses (office supply stores, shipping, internet, and more).

    It’s also worth mentioning that these cards offer some of the largest welcome bonuses on the market.

    3. Read the fine print

    Don’t grab the first credit card you see that’s covered in glitter and sequins. There’s always a fair bit of mice type to examine before you formally submit your application, such as APR, annual fees, and more.

    Annual fee

    A credit card’s annual fee is less consequential than you might think. Is it infuriating to pay a fee each year just for the privilege of holding a specific credit card? No doubt. But all you’ve got to do is perform some quick and straightforward arithmetic to decide if an annual fee is worth it.

    “Some credit cards do charge annual fees, and if [the cash back that you earn each year] doesn’t equal that, then you might as well find a card with no cash back that’s free because it’s of the same benefit,” says Leslie Tayne, founder and head attorney at Tayne Law Group. All that to say, if you organically save (or earn) more than you pay for the annual fee, the credit card is worth it.

    Promotional offers

    Credit cards are known to publish various promotions surrounding things like welcome bonuses and  0% APR. A crude Google search of the card you’re interested in should be able to tell you if you’re getting the best deal or if you should wait a month or two when a superior offer will likely emerge.

    Interest rate

    Credit cards advertise a wide range of potential interest rates on their application pages. It’s worth noting them in case you ever find yourself in a situation where you’ve got to carry a balance.

    Also be aware of the specific type of interest the card charges. One thing to watch out for is “deferred interest,” which sometimes crops up for 0% APR offers. Deferred interest effectively delays all interest payments until the end of the 0% APR window. If you haven’t paid your balance in full, you will be retroactively charged all the interest that was previously waived. In other words, failure to pay on time can result in a lump fee amounting to hundreds of dollars.

    How rewards work

    Just because a credit card’s rewards currency is marketed as super valuable doesn’t mean you’ll be able to achieve the same value. Some rewards are more complicated to redeem than others.

    For example, if you earn cash back, you can (usually) easily redeem it as a statement credit on your credit card, a direct deposit into your bank account, or as a check mailed to your home. But hotel points may only be used for specific hotels during specific dates.

    4. Apply for the card that best meets your needs

    By now, you’ve likely narrowed your future credit card down to a handful of options. Remember–you don’t necessarily have to choose just one.

    If nothing else, you’ve identified the category of credit card that will best suit you–whether it’s cash back, free travel, 0% APR, or a simple credit-building tool. You should now be comparing things like welcome bonuses, bonus spending categories, and APR. You may even check to see if you pre-qualify for a few of your top choices.

    When you go to apply, be ready to enter the following information:

    • Full name
    • Mailing address
    • Date of birth
    • Social Security number
    • Annual household income

    You may also need to reveal whether you rent or own your home and your monthly housing payments. 

    If you’re applying for a small business credit card, you’ll have to enter details such as your business name and structure, your current annual revenue, the age of your business, and your number of employees. You’ll also have the option to enter your Employee Identification Number (EIN) which can help you build business credit.

    The takeaway

    Finding the perfect credit card for your situation takes a fair bit of soul-searching. But by starting with a quick glance at your credit score, you’ll get an idea of which credit cards you can qualify for. You can then focus on your financial and lifestyle goals: Do you want to travel? Do you want cash back? Are you trying to bolster your low/nonexistent credit history?

    When you’ve pared down your preferences to just a few cards, you can start comparing things like welcome bonuses and interest rates. After all, your application will ideally end in a long and happy relationship for years to come–long after the card’s intro offer has been spent.

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    Joseph Hostetler

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  • Macy’s new Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons: Adam Sandler, Luffy, and an NFT

    Macy’s new Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons: Adam Sandler, Luffy, and an NFT

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    Thanksgiving in the United States comes with a number of traditional televised events, but maybe none as seamless and low-key entertaining as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

    This year marks the department store’s 97th parade down the streets of New York City, and the event once again promises floats, musical numbers, and big cartoon balloons, albeit with an extremely 2023 touch. Here’s what to know — and a few things you may never think about while watching.

    How to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade stream

    The official telecast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on NBC and be simulcast on Peacock. Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker will be back per usual to yap about the floats. A Spanish language simulcast will air on Telemundo, hosted by Carlos Adyan and Andrea Meza.

    What time does the Thanksgiving Day Parade start

    This year’s parade starts a little earlier than usual: the simulcast runs from 8:30 a.m. ET to 12 p.m. ET., but will also begin at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones, so no need to wake up at the crack of dawn. NBC will also air an encore of the parade at 2 p.m. ET.

    The new parade balloons and how they got here

    Photo: Macy’s, Inc/Getty Images

    This year’s balloon lineup sees a number of returning Giant and Novelty favorites, including Spongebob, Grogu, Bluey, and Smokey the Bear. The commerce of it all means a number of unfamiliar faces will join the lineup, too, including Leo, Adam Sandler’s 74-year-old lizard from the upcoming Netflix animated film; Uncle Dan, the mallard main character of Illumination’s new movie Migration; and Blue Cat & Chugs, the mascots of the Web3 company Cool Cats Group and the winner of a Macy’s contest to decide which NFT brand should earn a coveted character in the parade. 2023, baby! Anime continues its mainstream takeover as well, with legacy balloons Goku and Pikachu joined for the first time by One Piece’s Monkey D. Luffy.

    Time has not just modernized the balloon characters, but the process itself. Kathleen Wright, Macy’s director of production operations, tells Polygon that the journey of devising a balloon, rendering it in inflatable form, then parading it along Central Park has taken on the quality of a Seal Team 6 operation. Computers allow designers to test balloon concepts in various weather conditions to determine the appropriate center of gravity and lift, all while minding the dimension requirements that allow it to float through New York.

    In the week leading up to the parade, Wright and her team walk through the route with various city departments to size up potential hindrances for the buoyant stars, including any protruding lamp posts, which are manually swung in the opposite direction by city workers on the eve of the parade. On the day-of, the balloons — once made of rubber, but now built as modular polyurethane pieces that are heat sealed together and painted — are inflated with a combination of helium and regular air, based on required lift. Ninety handlers are assigned to each balloon, with 40-50 people securing the handling lines at any given time (and you thought pop stars were needy). By the time you watch the parade at home, a balloon’s “flight envelope” has been completely broken down and considered. There is no room for error, and based on Wright’s description, they don’t leave any.

    The rest of the parade lineup

    Along with the balloons and fleet of floats (including a sadly inedible Wonka one), the Thanksgiving Day Parade will once again tout a ton of talent shivering in their knickers while performing on the street. The show kicks off with a performance by Jon Batiste, with expected performances by Bell Biv DeVoe; Brandy; Chicago; En Vogue; David Foster and Katharine McPhee; Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors; Jessie James Decker; Ashley Park and the monsters of Sesame Street; Pentatonix; Paul Russell; Amanda Shaw and Alex Smith; and Manuel Turizo. Oh, and ENHYPEN will be there — so if you hear an inordinate amount of screaming from the crowd, it’s because the parade has gone full K-Pop, bless.

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    Matt Patches

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  • Venezuela’s opposition primary: Will Maduro finally be challenged?

    Venezuela’s opposition primary: Will Maduro finally be challenged?

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    On Sunday, Venezuela’s opposition parties held their first primary in 11 years to select a candidate to face current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in the 2024 presidential election.

    Here is all we know about the Venezuelan opposition primary, and why it matters.

    What happened at the primary?

    Opposition politicians held the primary without state assistance after the National Electoral Council took months to respond to a request for logistical help. Venezuelans voted using paper ballots instead of electronic machines in voting centres at homes, churches, private schools and other facilities.

    A poll earlier this month by the Venezuela-based research firm Delphos indicated more than half of people identified as likely to participate did not know where to vote.

    What’s at stake?

    Last week, Venezuela’s government and a faction of the opposition formally agreed to work together to reach a series of basic conditions for the next presidential election. The government and the opposition said in a joint agreement that each side can choose its candidate according to its own internal rules.

    The primary could be a chance for the opposition to rally support from voters in Venezuela, whose economy has been in deep crisis for years.

    What is a banned candidate?

    Officials who are found guilty of corruption are banned from holding public office for up to 15 years.

    Venezuela’s opposition says the government uses bans unlawfully to prevent them from competing in elections.

    Two of the 13 originally registered candidates for the primary have dropped out because they were barred from holding public office.

    Who is Maria Corina Machado?

    Maria Corina Machado is an opposition member of the Venezuelan National Assembly, a free-market advocate, and an adversary of Venezuela’s leftist government.

    Despite being barred from holding public office, Machado, 56, has chosen to stay in the race.

    The industrial engineer and former lawmaker has been barred for 15 years since June. This is due to her support for United States sanctions on the Maduro government and her backing of former opposition leader Juan Guaido.

    Has anyone won the primary?

    While the final results are still pending, Machado is leading the polls, tallying 93 percent of the vote, with over 26 percent of ballot boxes counted.

    The count – delayed due to a server blockage – was expected to continue on Monday. It was unclear when the next results update would be given.

    Machado’s nearest rival, former lawmaker and democratic action candidate Carlos Prosperi, had 4.75 percent of the vote. Machado has claimed victory, saying that she has a mandate to take on Maduro.

    How is the relationship between Venezuela and the US shaping this vote?

    The US eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector in response to the deal reached between the government and opposition parties for the 2024 election. These sanctions were especially tightened back in 2019 under former US President Donald Trump.

    The US has insisted that Maduro’s government lift the ban on opposition candidates contesting in the 2024 election. So far, Maduro has refused to budge.

    What happens if Machado wins the election?

    It is unclear what would happen if a barred candidate wins the primary.

    However, Machado has said that if she wins the primary, she will be able to pressure the electoral council to let her register for the general election.

    Meanwhile, Reuters quoted an anonymous, senior US Department of State official threatening to reverse sanctions relief measures unless Maduro lifts bans on the electoral participation of opposition candidates.

    Alternatively, if Machado is unable to register for the general election, another candidate from the opposition could fight in her place. Several candidates have said there is no unified decision about what to do and it is unclear whether the opposition will put forward a candidate of Machado’s choosing.

    Will Maduro finally be challenged?

    The opposition has an opportunity to put Maduro off balance “with the help of the United States and international community,” according to US think-tank the Atlantic Council. The opposition has the chance to mobilise voters who are tired of the stasis of current politics.

    “What Maduro fears most, more than any one political opponent, is a disciplined opposition that is popular, organized, and ready to mobilize its base in 2024,” added the Atlantic Council report.

    However, if Machado does not register for the general election, the odds could tilt in Maduro’s favour. “A fractured opposition with lowered turnout could allow Maduro to win a plurality,” said a report by the United States Institute of Peace.

    When is the presidential election?

    The presidential election will be held in the latter half of 2024, with the exact date unspecified so far.

    Venezuela’s elections usually take place in December, though in 2018 voting was brought forward to May.

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  • Who Is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman? Net Worth, Education | Entrepreneur

    Who Is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman? Net Worth, Education | Entrepreneur

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    In a few short years, Sam Altman has become one of the most influential names in the artificial intelligence movement.

    The 38-year-old is the CEO of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence lab that created and released ChatGPT in November, which is an AI chatbot that produces human-like responses to questions.

    The product launch generated 100 million users in its first two months and sparked competition with others releasing similar products like Google’s Bard. The launch also brought in $17.9 Billion in AI funding in Silicon Valley, according to Bloomberg.

    “I can’t imagine that this would have happened to me,” Altman told Intelligencer about his new role as leader of the artificial intelligence movement.

    Keep scrolling to see more details about Altman’s rise to tech entrepreneurship.

    Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | OpenAI CEO Sam Altman gives a thumbs-up as he departs the closed-door “AI Insight Forum” outside the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.

    Who Is Sam Altman?

    Sam Altman was born in Chicago in 1985.

    He learned to program and disassemble computers at age 8, according to the New Yorker. He came out as gay when he was 16, and says it was in part due to the help of “transformative” AOL chatrooms.

    Altman attended Stanford in the early aughts but dropped out in 2005 to start Loopt, an app that allowed users to share their location with others, per the Washington Post. He went on to sell the company for $43.4 million to Green Dot in 2012, according to Intelligencer.

    He went on to become the president of Y Combinator, which helps raise money for tech startups in 2014. Prior to stepping on as president, Y Combinator helped raise money for Loopt in the app’s early days, per Intelligencer.

    During his time as president, the company saw 40,000 startup applications each year.

    RELATED: According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, This Is The Skill That Entrepreneurs Must Absolutely Have To Ensure Their Success

    When did Sam Altman start OpenAI?

    Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Elon Musk, Ilya Sutskever, Greg Brockman, John Schulman, and Wojciech Zaremba. The company started as a non-profit with the goal of creating “a computer that can think like a human in every way and use that for the maximal benefit of humanity.” Additionally, the tech founders wanted to dominate the AI field before the technology was used for ill will, according to Intelligencer.

    Altman became CEO of OpenAI and left Y Combinator in 2019 after Musk walked away from the project in 2018 over fears the company was falling behind Google, per the outlet.

    RELATED: Microsoft Invests Billions in OpenAI, Creator of ChatGPT

    Under Altman’s leadership, the company switched to a for-profit business in 2019, and within a few months, raised $1 billion from Microsoft.

    OpenAI sold its ChatGPT software to businesses before releasing it to the public in November 2022, according to Intelligencer.

    “The exciting parts are almost too long to list,” Altman told Time magazine in June when discussing his product that can do anything from automating mundane tasks to helping with medical diagnoses from a single prompt.

    OpenAI has been subjected to criticism

    While the launch of ChatGPT proved to be a massive success, with 100 million users in the first two months, it has also been met with great pushback.

    Incorporating AI into society has raised questions about intellectual property and one’s right to their name and likeness. It is also a major aspect in the current SAG-AFTRA actors strike with actors fearing they will be replaced by AI, according to Variety. Notable celebrities and influencers have also been speaking out about the possible dangers of AI, including Tom Hanks and MrBeast.

    RELATED: ‘This Is a Serious Problem’: Mr. Beast Slams AI Deepfake Asking Fans to Donate Money to Win a New iPhone

    “The scary part is just sort of putting this lever into the world will for sure have unpredictable consequences,” he added when he spoke to Time.

    The tool has been under fire for generating false information about various individuals, in addition to security concerns following a bug that allowed some users to see other users’ chat history and payment-related information, according to NPR.

    In July, an FTC investigation was launched into the company after allegedly using datasets of copyrighted works to train its models. First reported by the Washington Post, author Michael Chabon filed a class action lawsuit against the company after learning just books were used without his permission to teach ChatGPT.

    Altman is now advocating for government regulation.

    “I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong, and we want to be vocal about that. We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening,” Altman said before a Senate subcommittee while discussing regulating artificial intelligence in May, according to a transcript obtained by NPR. “But we try to be very clear-eyed about what the downside case is and the work that we have to do to mitigate that.”

    What Is Sam Altman’s Net Worth?

    Sam Altman has been keeping his life private, but TheStreet reported that he has a net worth of $500 million.

    Apart from OpenAI, Altman has invested in several other companies in anticipation of the rise of the artificial intelligence industry.

    According to Intelligencer, Altman invested $375 million in nuclear fusion company Helicon Energy, which is building the world’s first fusion power plant to create unlimited clean electricity. As an early investor, he could control one of the world’s cheapest energy sources, per Intelligencer.

    RELATED: Hiring Managers Are Looking for ChatGPT Experience — And Some Are Willing to Pay Up to $800,000 For It

    He also invested $180 million in Retro Biosciences, which is studying how to add ten years to the human lifespan. According to a company press release, it is researching cellular reprogramming and plasma therapies to one day develop “therapeutics eventually capable of multi-disease prevention.”

    In addition to OpenAI, Altman founded Worldcoin, an iris biometric cryptocurrency project, in 2019 and raised $115 million for its development. Worldcoin’s technology would scan people’s irises to link to a crypto wallet and allow Worldcoin to make deposits using one’s iris as a key. This technology could potentially help identify humans from nonhumans as artificial intelligence grows in sophistication.

    Aside from his investments, he spends his earnings racing cars, including a Lexus LFA which could cost upwards of $375,000, according to the Kelley Blue Book.

    He also owns a ranch in Napa with his partner Oliver Mulherin and he purchased a $27 million home in the upscale San Francisco neighborhood Russian Hill.

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    Sam Silverman

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  • What is the Nobel Prize and what to expect this year?

    What is the Nobel Prize and what to expect this year?

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    There are 351 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

    The Nobel Prizes are slated to be announced this week with the first award in medicine or physiology won by Hungary’s Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman of the United States on Monday.

    Their research led to the first mRNA vaccines to fight COVID-19, made by Pfizer and Moderna, according to the awarding body.

    Here is what we know about the Nobel Prizes:

    What are the Nobel Prizes?

    The Nobel Prizes were created by Alfred Nobel, a wealthy 19th-century businessman, inventor and chemist from Sweden. In his will, Nobel dictated that his estate should be used to fund “prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.

    The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after his death.

    Nobel named the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to award the prizes for chemistry and physics, the Swedish Academy for literature, Sweden’s Karolinska Institute medical university for physiology or medicine and the Norwegian parliament for peace.

    In 1968, Sweden’s central bank introduced the Prize in Economic Sciences with a donation to the Nobel Foundation. The prize is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, according to the same principles as the other prizes. It is now presented with the other prizes despite Nobel purists’ assertion that the economics prize is not a Nobel Prize.

    What to expect this year

    Six Nobel Prizes are awarded each year, recognising an individual’s or group’s contribution to a specific field.

    • The award for physics will be announced on Tuesday no earlier than 09:45 GMT.
    • The award for chemistry will be announced on Wednesday no earlier than 09:45 GMT.
    • The award for literature will be announced on Thursday no earlier than 11:00 GMT.
    • The award for peace will be announced on Friday no earlier than 09:00 GMT.
    • The award for economics will be announced on October 9 no earlier than 09:45 GMT.

    All of the announcements will be livestreamed at nobelprize.org.

    The Nobel Peace Prize

    There are 351 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. This is the second highest number of nominees since 2016, when 376 candidates were nominated. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian dissident Alexey Navalny are among bookmakers’ favorites for this year’s peace prize.

    However, peace researchers predicted that the honour could go to activists working towards women’s rights and the environment.

    Historically, the vast majority of Nobel Prize winners have been white men. With Monday’s announcement, 61 women have won Nobel Prizes out of the 956 individuals who have been honoured, including 26 in the scientific categories.

    What do Nobel laureates receive?

    Nobel Prize winners receive a Nobel Prize diploma, a gold medal and a cheque. The amount on the cheque this year is about $1m. Each diploma is a unique work of art, created by Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers.

    The laureates collect these prizes in an official ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.

    The peace prize is handed out by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel committee in Oslo while the other prizes are presented by the Swedish king in Stockholm’s Concert Hall.

    (Al Jazeera)

    Previous Nobel laureates

    Notable Nobel laureates include scientists like Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Marie Curie, authors like Ernest Hemingway and Albert Camus, and inspirational leaders like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr and Mother Teresa.

    While most achievements are still celebrated, some awards have not aged well, such as Egas Moniz’s 1949 prize in physiology or medicine for the since banned and discredited practice of lobotomy.

    Two winners have refused their Nobel Prizes in the past: French writer Jean-Paul Sartre, who turned down the literature prize in 1964, and Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho, who declined the peace prize that he was meant to share with US diplomat Henry Kissinger in 1973.

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  • What were the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians?

    What were the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians?

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    Thirty years ago, Israeli and Palestinian leaders met on the lawn of the White House in Washington to sign a deal many believed could be a precursor for peace in the region.

    The first Oslo Accord brought together Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the former was the Israeli Prime Minister, and the latter was the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).

    A handshake was to follow between them – a significant gesture and the deal would lead them to both receive the Nobel Peace Prize, along with then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, the following year.

    All three men are now dead, Rabin in circumstances directly related to the Accords. The peace process that the deal was supposed to begin has been stillborn, with Israel continuing its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, and the Palestinian people no closer to – and some would argue further away from – an independent state.

    Here’s everything you need to know about the historic agreement and why it has seemingly failed:

    What were the Oslo Accords?

    The first Oslo Accord, known as Oslo I, was signed on September 13, 1993. The agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian leadership saw each side recognise the other for the first time. Both sides also pledged to end their decades-long conflict.

    A second accord, known as Oslo II, was signed in September 1995 and went into more detail on the structure of the bodies that the peace process was supposed to form.

    The Oslo Accords were supposed to bring about Palestinian self-determination, in the form of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. This would mean that Israel, which was formed on the land of historic Palestine in 1948 in an event Palestinians know as the Nakba, would accept Palestinian claims to national sovereignty. The claims, however, would only be limited to a fraction of historic Palestine, with the rest left to Israel’s sovereignty.

    To meet that goal several steps would need to be taken, including the phased withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Palestinian territories it had illegally occupied since 1967, and the transfer of authority to a Palestinian administration, except for final status issues, including the status of Jerusalem (the eastern half of which is occupied Palestinian land) and Israel’s illegal settlements, which would be negotiated at a later date.

    The accords therefore led to the creation of the supposedly temporary Palestinian Authority (PA), and the division of territory in the West Bank into Areas A, B and C, denoting how much control the PA has in each. which to this day administers limited rule over the two areas.

    A final treaty was to be reached in five years – but that has not happened.

    Arafat (left), Peres (centre) and Rabin (left) jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 after the first Oslo Accord was signed the previous year [File: Jerry Lampen/Reuters]

    Who was opposed to the deal?

    Right-wing Israelis had no desire to give the Palestinians any concessions, and did not want any agreements with the PLO, which they considered a “terrorist organisation”. Israeli settlers also feared it would lead to their eviction from the illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

    Elements of the far-right were so opposed to the Oslo Accords that Rabin himself was assassinated in 1995 for signing them. Among the people who had threatened Rabin before his death was Itamar Ben-Gvir, now Israel’s National Security Minister.

    Meanwhile, Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, warned that a two-state solution would forgo the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the historic lands seized from them in 1948 when Israel was created.

    The late prominent Palestinian literary critic and activist Edward Said was among its most vocal critics, calling it “an instrument of Palestinian surrender, a Palestinian Versailles”.

    Israelis take part in a rally commemorating the 20th anniversary of the assassination of late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv Israel
    Israelis take part in a rally in 2015 commemorating the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Rabin [File: Baz Ratner/Reuters]

    How did the accords break down?

    The Oslo Accords witnessed a slow decline, with Israel continuing its occupation of Palestinian land and refusing to withdraw militarily from the majority of the West Bank while continuing to conduct raids into land considered under the full administration of the PA.

    Following Rabin’s death, a number of Israeli leaders who opposed the accords came to power, among them current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Ariel Sharon.

    A second intifada from 2000 to 2005 in turn led to heavy casualties, particularly on the Palestinian side, and made both sides less willing to agree to move the deal along.

    Any attempt at restarting talks failed in the decade after, and the accords’ interim clauses have become the status quo.

    How are the accords viewed now?

    Many Palestinians believe that Israel has used the Oslo Accords to justify its expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank.

    In fact, as the Oslo Accords slowly broke down, Israel tripled its settlement building. Between 1993 and 2000, the Israeli population in the West Bank reached its fastest pace of growth ever, according to Dror Etkes, an Israeli peace campaigner.

    Today, the Israeli government is dominated by far-right religious and ultranationalist politicians who have close ties to the settlement movement. In recent months, they have approved thousands of new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

    In fact, according to the left-wing Israeli movement Peace Now, Israel this year set a record for its settlement approvals, with at least 12,855 settler housing units approved since January.

    Thirty years on, Palestinian statehood is unlikely in the short and even medium term, as final-status negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli leaders have continuously failed.

    The West Bank lies fragmented, the blockaded Gaza Strip stands isolated in what many call an “open-air prison”, and Israel has no plans to relinquish occupied East Jerusalem.

    Many people, in both Israel and Palestine, believe the two-state solution is dead.

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  • Who Is Jessica Pegula? ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ Interrupts Tennis Pro | Entrepreneur

    Who Is Jessica Pegula? ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ Interrupts Tennis Pro | Entrepreneur

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    Tennis champion Jessica Pegula has made headlines for her game on the court, no matter the distraction. On Sunday, she won the National Bank Open marking her third WTA Tour victory.

    However, Pegula is known for more than just her tennis skills as the daughter of Buffalo Bill’s co-owner and billionaire Terry Pegula. The tennis star also made headlines after sipping a beer following her loss at last year’s US Open.

    Last week, her semi-final match at the Open went viral after it was interrupted by the sound of “Cotton Eye Joe” playing over the loudspeaker.

    From her game to her family, keep scrolling for more details about Jessica Pegula.

    Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images | Jessica Pegula of the United States of America holds up the National Bank Open trophy after her 6-1, 6-0 victory against Liudmila Samsonova in the final round on Day 7 during the National Bank Open at Stade IGA on August 13, 2023 in Montreal, Canada.

    Who Is Jessica Pegula?

    As of press time, Jessica Pegula is ranked No. 3 in the world for Women’s Singles and No. 5 for Women’s Doubles, according to WTA Tennis.

    The athlete has been playing tennis since she was seven years old.

    RELATED: Venus Williams’ Approach to Success Goes Against Everything You’ve Been Told: ‘You Don’t Have to Go All-In.’

    She won her first WTA title in 2019, before winning her second title in 2022 after defeating four Grand Slam champions at Guadalajara.

    She made headlines after a video of her sipping a beer after her loss at last year’s US Open against Iga Swiatek went viral.

    What happened at Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek’s “Cotton Eye Joe” Interrupted Match?

    During Jessica Pegula’s heated match against Iga Swiatek at the National Bank Open in Canada on Saturday, the second-set tiebreaker was derailed by “Cotton Eye Joe.”

    The song, which was played at New York Yankees’ games during the 8th inning for years, was blasted over a loudspeaker while the two were in the middle of a rally, forcing them to replay the point.

    Clips of the unlikely incident have since gone viral on social media.

    “I just thought it was funny,” Pegula said about the “Cotton Eye Joe” interruption, per Reuters. “I’ve never had that happen let alone with ‘Cotton-Eye Joe’. I was like, ‘Is this really happening right now?’ Of all the songs. It was just like, ‘What is going on?’”

    RELATED: 4 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Roger Federer

    Swiatek won the tiebreaker, forcing a third match where Pegula beat the No. 1 women’s singles star 6 to 4. Pegula went on to win her third WTA 1000 final on Sunday after beating Liudmila Samsonova in the finals.

    Who Are Jessica Pegula’s Parents and Family?

    While Pegula has made a name for herself on the court, she isn’t the only one invested in athletics in her family.

    The tennis star is the daughter of Buffalo Bill’s co-owners Terry and Kim Pegula. Terry is ranked No. 255 on Bloomberg’s Billionaire’s Index with an estimated fortune of $8.66 billion. Terry earned his riches after founding natural gas producer, East Resources, in 1983. He sold the company to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion, per Bloomberg.

    He went on to buy the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres pro hockey franchise and the team’s arena for $189 million in 2011.

    He and his wife are also the principal owners of the Buffalo Bills football franchise after purchasing the team for $1.4 billion in 2014.

    Jessica Pegula married Taylor Gahagen in 2021. He’s worked as a senior investment analyst and has been an executive at the family’s investment firm, Pegula Sports and Entertainment, since 2013, according to his LinkedIn.

    What Is Jessica Pegula’s Net Worth?

    To date, Pegula has taken home $10,184,118 million in prize money, per WTA Tennis, and has an estimated net worth of $7 to $10 million according to various sources.

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    Sam Silverman

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  • Rex Orange County Controversy, Explained | The Mary Sue

    Rex Orange County Controversy, Explained | The Mary Sue

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    There are so many indie musicians out there that I guarantee you’ve heard most of them at least once, even if you think you haven’t. In this case, if you’re on Instagram and/or TikTok, you’ve probably heard Rex Orange County’s songs multiple times. He’s got a distinct sound and style that give the impression of an endearing, soft-hearted sort who’s just out there lookin’ for love. This made him one of mainstream indie’s most endearing figures of the last decade, and one I used to be a fan of, too.

    Alas, a tale as old as time: A “good boy” aesthetic doth not a “good boy” make.

    Rex (real name: Alexander O’Connor) has been charged with assaulting a woman six times over the course of two days. I’ll spare you the more horrific details, but the crux of it is that the facts are pretty damning, and O’Connor will be going to trial on January 3, 2023.

    Fans were wondering what was going on this past July when he suddenly canceled all upcoming tour dates. O’Connor went on to lament this cancellation because he loves touring and didn’t want to let anyone down—a willfully careless statement if not for the fact that he’s apparently eager to “clear his name” and prove his innocence in court.

    And sure, we weren’t there and we don’t know the whole story, but again, the facts are damning. It’s an unfortunate aspect of these kinds of music scenes that so many “good boys” end up power-tripping to the degree that they feel they’re untouchable. Often, it’s the people they sleep with who bear the brunt of it, as consent can become blurred when someone strongly believes in their “inherent” goodness. It happened to me, and it’s happened to many people I know.

    If you want more examples, well damn, where do we even start? We could start with Burger Records dissolving after so many of their artists turned out to be serial users and abusers. More recently, we could talk about Arcade Fire and the allegations of sexual misconduct against frontman Win Butler. Off the top of my head, I can think of several other “sweetheart” artists who’ve been accused of heinous behavior, including members of Summer Salt, Bane’s World, Sun Kil Moon, PWR BTTM, The Growlers, and on and on and on.

    Many survivors feel vindicated regarding the charges against O’Connor. We’ve been saying for years that just seeming like a good, sensitive person doesn’t actually make you one. Putting on that façade is, in our experience, often just an obvious tell for covert abusive behavior. People are complicated and aren’t always capable of softness, so when someone really goes the extra mile to seem “sweeter than the rest,” it should set off alarm bells. They probably want something from you, and they want to disarm you so they can get it. Maybe it’s money, fame, affection—whatever, the bottom line is: Don’t trust that shit.

    And look, I get the appeal. I was obviously there once. We want to believe that everyone in the world is capable of such beauty and sweetness. But no genuine goodness could ever come at such a dire expense.

    Regardless of how the trial pans out, I wish the best for O’Connor’s accuser and hope she finds some peace in the coming year.

    (featured image: RCA Records)

    —The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

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    Madeline Carpou

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