Selena Gomez stunned in satin at the 2025 Rare Impact Fund BenefitCredit: GettyThe singer draped in purple at the LA eventCredit: Getty
The former Disney star, who recently celebrated one month of marriage to music producer and songwritter Benny Blanco, launched the Rare Impact Fund in 2020 to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health globally.
According to Vogue, the event, hosted by US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, raised more than $600,000.
Earlier in the week, Selena’s ‘unnecessarily cruel’ comments landed her in hot water.
The star came under fire for boasting that herbillion-dollar branddoesn’t “use real models” for its beauty campaigns.
While Selena, was attempting to deliver a positive message about how Rare Beauty highlights real, natural features, many took offence to the comments.
The company had used hundreds of different models since it launched in September 2020 – making many feel Selena’s comments disregard their talents and professions.
Her remarks caught the eye of one Rare Beauty model who spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun about hearing Selena’s comments.
The model, who did not wish to be named due to fear of not being hired for future campaigns, has been working with the brand since 2024.
“I actually cried when I heard Selena’s comments,” the model claimed, who then added: “I was already having a bad day and was feeling really sensitive and emotional.”
She continued: “I was feeling nervous about some career stuff, and then I saw that video of her saying I’m not even a real model.
“It hit me at the worst time because now I’m like… ‘what am I even doing?’
“I thought this would be a big break for me, and to be told by the founder of the company that I look up to that I am not ‘real’ at my job?
“It’s degrading and embarrassing. The number of family and friends who sent me that clip after was mortifying.”
The global star launched the Rare Impact Fund in 2020 to raise funds and awareness for youth mental health globallyCredit: GettyThe event, hosted by US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, raised more than $600,000Credit: GettySelena looked like one of the popular Quality Street treatsCredit: Alamy
Chelsea captain Reece James explains how Thiago Silva’s influence continues to have an impact on his career, and how it was good to catch up at the Club World Cup, as he sits down with Kelly Somers for The Football Interview.
If you want to see a player whose impact is growing, go watch South Gate junior quarterback Michael Gonzalez. He’s listed as 5 feet 9 on the Rams’ roster, but what an arm he has and he can run, too.
He passed for 273 yards last week in a loss to Garfield. He has passed for 1,999 yards and 22 touchdowns in eight games. He’s also scored six touchdowns.
Receiver Nicholas Fonseca, another junior, has 52 receptions for 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was the City Section Division II player of the year last season.
South Gate is 5-3, with the duo leading the way. The Rams’ passing attack could set them apart for the Division I playoffs.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Usher Travel Worldchoice is the latest UK travel firm to cease trading this year, after Balkan Holidays Ltd (April 2025), Jetline Travel (March 2025), and Great Little Escapes LLP (June 2025) all shut their doors.
Bookings have been impacted by the closure of Usher Travel Worldchoice(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
An independent travel agent has ceased trading – the latest in a worrying run.
Now, Usher Travel Worldchoice is joining them. The independent firm, based in Wallasey, Merseyside, has ceased trading. Usher shut up shop on 16 October 2025. “We are now treating this company as a financial failure,” announced ABTA, the UK’s largest travel association that offers financial protection to holidaymakers.
The news was followed by an emotional message from director Gavin Morton, who has been with the business for 35 of the 60 Usher was trading. He described the decision to close as “quite literally one of the most heartbreaking moments” of his life.
“Covid took much away from us. And while we came through the other side, three years of heavy travel restrictions and in many cases a loss of client confidence in travel left a financial burden that was becoming more and more difficult to manage,” he said.
“The loyal clients, many of whom have become friends and helped create the relaxing and fun atmosphere in the office, will be something the team will miss in our day-to-day lives.”
Anyone who has a holiday booked with the firm will be contacted shortly with regards to ticket arrangements. Forward bookings will be transferred from the agency to clients’ tour operators, Mr Morton said.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused, but rest assured we will be assisting ABTA and Worldchoice in the smooth transition of booking ownership.”
ABTA has the following advice for Usher customers:
“If you booked a holiday through Usher Travel Service Ltd, the tour operator or principal travel business with whom Usher Travel Service Ltd booked your holiday will be named on your paperwork or ATOL Certificate if it was a flight-inclusive holiday; this would be stated on your ATOL certificate under ‘Who is protecting your trip.’
“To ensure your holiday can continue as planned, you will need to contact your tour operator or other principal travel business with whom you have a contract (you should ask to speak to the credit control department). They should confirm that your booking will continue as normal and they will now be your direct point of contact.
“If you booked a flight-only with Usher Travel Service Ltd and were issued with a ticket or e-ticket, you will need to contact the airline, but your tickets should be valid for travel.”
The Facebook announcement on Friday prompted an outpouring of support from loyal customers and rivals.
Mary Dibbert wrote: “So sorry to hear this. You have been part of Wallasey for so long. All of the staff there were always friendly and you all went out of your way to help people. I wish you Gavin, Barry and Laura every best wish for the future. Many thanks for all the times you booked my trips and gave holiday advice.”
Travel Counsellor George Triggs, who worked at Going Places in the same town, added: “Ushers were always our biggest competitors. But truth be told, one of the most respected too. You and your team were always spoken about with such admiration locally, and that’s something to be incredibly proud of.”
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) annual symposium has seen some notable appearances by autonomous launchers, underscoring the service’s growing interest in this class of system. On show at the event were a new Family of Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicles (FMAV) from Oshkosh Defense, as well as Raytheon’s DeepFires. Between them, these platforms can be armed with a wide variety of offensive and defensive weapons, including Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot surface-to-air missiles.
A promotional image shows the three-strong Family of Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicles (FMAV) from Oshkosh Defense. Oshkosh
Extreme Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicle (X-MAV)
The FMAV series from Oshkosh Defense comprises three different truck chassis that can carry a wide variety of weapons. The three vehicles are described as being “production-ready” by the manufacturer and comprise the following:
The largest of the FMAV series, the purpose-built X-MAV is able to support long-range munitions, including a podded launcher with four Tomahawk missiles. The 10×10 wheeled chassis offers off-road mobility, as well as integrated onboard power. Oshkosh is aiming the X-MAV at the U.S. Army’s Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher Heavy (CAML-H) program.
In August, the Army revealed more details of CAML-H, which aims to integrate a launcher onto a 15-ton class chassis that will fire either Tomahawk missiles or the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptor.
It is also worth noting here that the Army is already fielding the Typhon missile system, which includes tractor-trailer launchers capable of firing Tomahawks and SM-6s. Meanwhile, however, the Army has begun looking at smaller launchers that are easier to deploy as companions to Typhon, something we have reported on in the past.
Medium Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicle (M-MAV). Oshkosh
“M-MAV delivers advanced navigation, remote operation, and automated resupply capabilities to increase survivability, reduce crew burden, and enable dispersed, resilient fires formations,” Oshkosh said in its press release.
Light Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicle (L-MAV)
The L-MAV is derived from the U.S. Marine Corps ROGUE-Fires and is a 4×4 autonomous carrier. It uses a modular design, so it can be rapidly configured for missions. These include counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS), electronic warfare, or resupply, for example. Examples of payloads shown at AUSA were the AeroVironment Switchblade 600 loitering munition and the Titan C-UAS.
“The Army has been clear on the need for autonomous, payload-agnostic platforms that are ready now,” said Pat Williams, chief programs officer at Oshkosh Defense, as he outlined the FMAV series. “The Oshkosh Family of Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicles is engineered on proven tactical vehicles, with scalable autonomy and payload versatility to deliver what the Army needs today with the flexibility to adapt as the battlefield evolves.”
Raytheon DeepFires
Meanwhile, Raytheon revealed more details of its DeepFires autonomous launcher, which uses the Oshkosh FMTV A2 — the same platform employed by the middle-tier M-MAV. Raytheon has already been using the FMTV A2 platform for its DeepStrike autonomous launcher, which you can read more about here.
Raytheon’s uncrewed launcher vehicle fires a Joint Reduced Range Rocket (JR3) at the Army’s recent Project Convergence-Capstone 5 (PC-C5) test exercise at the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, earlier this year. The uncrewed launcher vehicle is also a cooperative development with Forterra and Oshkosh Defense. Raytheon
As for DeepFires, this has been designed for modularity, able to pivot very quickly from offensive or defensive fires. The vehicle is also designed for optionally crewed or fully autonomous operations and has already been tested.
Weapons payloads for DeepFires range from the AIM-9X Sidewinder for air defense all the way up to the Tomahawk. Raytheon has been tight-lipped about exactly how many rounds of each type of missile can be loaded on a single vehicle, although a promotional video from the company shows one of the trucks carrying two containerized Tomahawk rounds. Meanwhile, one of the DeepFires vehicles exhibited at AUSA was loaded with four Patriot missiles.
A still from a promotional video shows DeepFires with two containerized Tomahawk cruise missiles. Raytheon screencap
Speaking to media, including TWZ, at AUSA, Brian Burton, vice president, Precision Fires and Maneuver at Raytheon, hinted at the possibility of carrying significant numbers of smaller weapons, like the AIM-9X:
“One of the big things when we got feedback from the warfighters was more magazine depth. Not a surprise. We hear that all the time. So, this is something that we’ve been looking at from the very beginning — how do we increase that? So, it can vary, but you’re looking at a significant increase in magazine depth, and that’s obviously important to whether you’re putting additional fires down range or it’s just defending your area.”
Another key requirement that emerged from Army feedback on DeepFires was onboard vehicle power. Not only does the onboard power allow for the handling, including reloading, of missile rounds, but it also provides additional mobility, since the vehicle is not tied to a separate generator. “That was a key piece that came out of touchpoints with the customer and feedback that we incorporated, and they’re really excited about that,” Burton said.
Raytheon’s DeepFires at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual symposium. The vehicle is loaded with a four-round Patriot missile launcher. Howard Altman
Also built into the DeepFires concept, from the outset, is air transportability, including by the C-130 airlifter. “We wanted to put something together that could be very mobile,” Burton explained, “and [to] be able to get on that [C-130] platform gives the warfighters a lot more flexibility as to where they can get to and how quickly they can get there, and how quickly they can get out.”
The air transportability of DeepFires also helps answer broader U.S. military concerns about establishing diverse, distributed logistics chains. These are seen as an essential requirement for supporting future operations in contested environments, especially in the context of a potential future high-end conflict, including in the Pacific.
The relevance of DeepFires to the Indo-Pacific theater is something that was referenced directly by Scott Sanders, chief growth officer at Forterra, the company that provides the autonomous capabilities for the system. “The only thing more terrifying than a fleet of unmanned vehicles hiding in the Indo-PACOM somewhere is probably a B-21,” he said.
Front view of Raytheon’s DeepFires. Howard Altman
At the same time, a system such as this could be highly relevant for contingencies in the European theater, where long-range precision fires are increasingly seen as necessary to offset potential Russian aggression. In the near future, it may also be possible that Ukraine will need a launcher of this kind, should it be approved to receive Tomahawks. Ukraine has some experience in this area, having already been successful with remote Patriot launcher operations.
For autonomous operations, an operator is able to control between one to six DeepFires vehicles, depending on theater requirements. The vehicles can be controlled independently, using a route-following approach. In this mode, they will be given endpoint goals where the firing battery is required, and they will self-navigate from point A to point B.
Alternatively, Raytheon is proposing a “follower technique,” in which the first vehicle is crewed. “You can pick up a string of [uncrewed] vehicles behind you, move really quickly to your firing point, disperse via waypoint-based navigation into your firing points, and regroup,” Burton explained. In terms of command and control, DeepFires is intended to be “relatively comms agnostic,” Burton said, meaning that it can be operated using a variety of different networks and bandwidths, including via satellite link.
When asked whether DeepFires is being pitched directly at the Army’s Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (CAML) program, Burton said that Raytheon is “100 percent tracking and pursuing the CAML opportunity. They’ve seen this as an opportunity, and they are moving out quickly to get this capability into their hands.”
An Army uncrewed Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (AML) fires a rocket during an exercise. U.S. Army
Since DeepFires is designed around scalability, Burton said that the launcher could be optimized for both the Medium and Heavy segments of that program: CAML-M and CAML-H.
“We can scale and, working with Oshkosh and with Forterra, bring that to a larger, heavier vehicle, if that’s what the demand and the means are for the Army,” Burton observed.
Other options for DeepFires could include the possibility of a separate autonomous launcher that would be dedicated to air defense, building upon the planned integration of the AIM-9X and Patriot on the basic platform. “Certainly, we’re looking at both,” Burton said, noting that Raytheon also provides a lot of in-house air defense capabilities, including counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS). These include the Coyote Block 2, a jet-powered drone-like loitering interceptor that the Army currently fields as part of the mobile and fixed-site versions of its Low, Slow, Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (LIDS).
With a growing focus on battlefield survivability in the face of drone proliferation, of the kind that’s been seen in the war in Ukraine, Raytheon says it’s considering C-UAS capabilities that are indigenous to the platform itself, or mounted on a different, dedicated platform.
The appearance of these somewhat-related autonomous launchers at AUSA points again to the U.S. military’s interest in flexible, highly mobile, very hard to target systems that offer significant reach and relevant magazine capacity, and which are optimized for future scenarios in the Indo-Pacific region.
Already, the Army has explored this concept with an uncrewed derivative of the HIMARS launcher vehicle called the Autonomous Multi-domain Launcher (AML).
The Autonomous Multi-domain Launcher (AML) prototype. U.S. Army
Building on the prototype AML, the Army has since put out a contracting notice outlining a potential family of uncrewed launcher vehicles — the aforementioned CAML, which the Oshkosh and Raytheon options may well end up competing for.
Various kinds of autonomous launchers would be particularly relevant in future expeditionary or distributed operations, especially across the broad expanses of the Pacific during a future major conflict with China, or for trying to deter one. This is a reality that is clearly not lost on the various companies presenting systems in this class at AUSA this week.
At 5:37 p.m. Wednesday, Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good” blared from the Dodger Stadium speakers.
Shohei Ohtani came strolling to the plate with a bat in his hands.
There was no one in the stands, of course. Nor an opposing pitcher on the mound. The Dodgers, on this workout day after returning from Milwaukee, were still some 22 hours away from resuming their National League Championship Series against the Brewers. For any other player, it would have been a routine affair.
Ohtani, however, is not just any player.
And among the many things that make him unique, his habit of almost never taking batting practice on the field is one of the small but notable ones.
Which made his decision to do so Wednesday a telling development.
Over the last two weeks, Ohtani has been in a slump. Since the start of the NL Division Series, he is just two-for-25 with a whopping 12 strikeouts. He has been smothered by left-handed pitching. He has made poor swing decisions and failed to slug the ball.
Last week, manager Dave Roberts went so far as to say the Dodgers were “not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance” from their $700-million slugger.
Thus, out Ohtani came for batting practice on Wednesday in the most visible sign yet of his urgency for a turnaround.
“The other way to say it is that, if I hit, we will win,” Ohtani said in Japanese when asked about Roberts’ World Series quote earlier Wednesday afternoon. “I think he thinks that if I hit, we will win. I’d like to do my best to do that.”
In Roberts’ view, Ohtani has already started improving from his woeful NLDS, when he struck out nine times in 18 trips to the plate against a left-handed-heavy Philadelphia Phillies staff that, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman emphatically put it, had “the most impressive execution against a hitter I’ve ever seen.”
In Game 1 of the NLCS against the Brewers, Ohtani was 0-for-two but walked three times; twice intentionally but another on a more disciplined five-pitch at-bat to lead off the game against left-handed opener Aaron Ashby.
The following night, he went only one-for-five with three more strikeouts, giving him 15 this postseason, second-most in the playoffs. But he did have an RBI single, marking his first run driven in since Game 2 of the NLDS. He followed that with a steal, swiping his first bag of the playoffs. And earlier in the game, he scorched a lineout to right at 115.2 mph, the hardest he’d hit a ball since taking Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene deep in the team’s postseason opener.
“The first two games in Milwaukee, his at-bats have been fantastic,” Roberts said Wednesday, before heading out to the field and watching Ohtani’s impromptu BP session.
“That’s what I’ve been looking for. That’s what I’m counting on,” he added, while noting the careful approach the Brewers have also taken with the soon-to-be four-time MVP. “You can only take what they give you. So for me, I think he’s in a good spot right now.”
Shohei Ohtani puts the ball in play in the third inning during Game 4 of the NLDS.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Ohtani’s overall numbers, of course, continue to suggest otherwise. His .147 postseason batting average is second-worst on the team, ahead of only Andy Pages. His seven-game drought without an extra-base hit is longer than any he endured in the regular season.
“The first thing I have to do is increase the level of my at-bats,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “Swing at strikes and not swing at balls.”
On Wednesday, Ohtani’s slump also led to questions about his role as a two-way player, and whether his return to pitching this season (and, this October, doing it for the first time in the playoffs) has contributed to his sudden struggles at the plate.
After all, on days Ohtani pitched this season, he hit .222 with four home runs but 21 strikeouts. On the days immediately following an outing, he batted .147 with two home runs and 10 strikeouts.
His current slump began with a hitless, four-strikeout dud in Game 1 of the NLDS, when he also made a six-inning, three-run start on the mound.
And in days since, Roberts has acknowledged some likely correlation between Ohtani’s two roles.
“[His offense] hasn’t been good when he’s pitched,” Roberts said following the NLDS. “We’ve got to think through this and come up with a better game plan.”
Ohtani, on the other hand, pushed back somewhat on that narrative during Wednesday’s workout, in which he also threw a bullpen session in preparation for his next start in Game 4 of the NLCS on Friday.
While it is “more physically strenuous” to handle both roles, he conceded, he countered that “I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation.”
“Physically,” he added, “I don’t feel like there’s a connection.”
Instead, Ohtani on Wednesday went about fixing his swing the way any other normal hitter would. He went out on the field for his rare session of batting practice. Of his 32 swings, he sent 14 over the fence, including one that clanked off the roof of the right-field pavilion.
“Certainly, there’s frustration,” Roberts said of how he’s seen Ohtani handle his uncharacteristic lack of performance.
But, he added, “that’s expected. I don’t mind it. I like the edge.”
“He’s obviously a very, very talented player, and we’re counting on him,” Roberts continued. “He’s just a great competitor. He’s very prepared. And there’s still a lot of baseball left.”
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Some airports around the country are refusing to play a video with a message from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on TSA operations because of its political content.
Airports in Las Vegas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle and more say the video goes against their airport policy or regulations that prohibit political messaging in their facilities.
Various government agencies, in emails to workers and on websites, have adopted language that blames Democrats for the shutdown, with some experts arguing it could be in violation of the 1939 Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees.
The shutdown has halted routine operations and left airports scrambling with flight disruptions. Democrats say any deal to reopen the government has to address their healthcare demands, and Republicans say they won’t negotiate until they agree to fund the government. Insurance premiums would double if Congress fails to renew the subsidy payments that expire Dec. 31.
In the video, Noem says that TSA’s “top priority” is to help make travel pleasant and efficient while keeping passengers safe.
“However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay,” she continues.
The Transportation Security Administration falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Roughly 61,000 of the agency’s 64,130 employees are required to continue working during the shutdown. The Department said Friday that the video is being rolled out to airports across the country.
A DHS spokeswoman responded to a request for comment restating some of the message from Noem’s video.
“It’s unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.
The Harry Reid International Airport, in Las Vegas, said it had to “remain mindful of the Hatch Act’s restrictions.”
“Per airport regulations, the terminals and surrounding areas are not designated public forums, and the airport’s intent is to avoid the use of the facility for political or religious advocacy,” the statement said.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said the county north of New York City won’t play the video at its local airport. In a statement, he called the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials,” and said its tone is “unnecessarily alarmist” as it relates to operations at Westchester County Airport.
“At a time when we should be focused on ensuring stability, collaboration and preparedness, this type of messaging only distracts from the real issues, and undermines public trust,” he said.
Even in red states, airports weren’t showing the video for various reasons. Salt Lake City International Airport wasn’t playing the video because state law prohibits using city-owned property for political purposes, said airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer.
The airport in Billings, Mont., “politely declined” even though it has screens that could show the video with audio, assistant aviation director Paul Khera said Tuesday.
“We don’t want to get in the middle of partisan politics,” Khera said. “We like to stay middle of the road, we didn’t want to play that video.”
Gomez Licon writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colo. contributed to this report.
Vicky Pattison has explained why her husband, Ercan Ramadan, is desperate for her to be booted from Strictly Come Dancing – and the impact the show is having on their married life
Vicky Pattison’s husband, Ercan Ramadan, wants her to be axed from the show(Image: Getty Images for BFC)
Vicky Pattison says husband Ercan Ramadan secretly hopes she gets the Strictly boot – so he can see more of his wife again. She says the couple have barely been together since she started on the BBC show as she trains for 14 hours a day – and it’s taken its toll on their sex life.
“After a full day doing the Charleston the last thing you feel like is going home to do the Mattress Mambo,” I’m A Celebrity winner Vicky laughed.
“He’s having to be a bit patient at the moment. I think he’s the only person in my inner circle who is secretly hoping I get booted out. He’s my number one supporter though. I am really lucky but he’s probably hoping he gets sex soon.”
Vicky, 37, admits she’s been miffed with Ercan, 32, this week after he jetted off on holiday without her. “He’s actually in the dog house at the moment,” she admitted. “Obviously I love my husband but he’s been on holiday to see his family.
“We had this trip booked and then I got Strictly so I told him to go because all I’ve been doing is rehearsing, coming home knackered, whinging and going to bed. I told him to go away because he deserved a break putting up with me.
“So he went and I’ve been coming home to an empty house. He’s not there. The dogs are in day care because I’m working 14-hours a day. I’m coming home alone and it’s dark and cold.
“You need that normality coming home to your lovely partner or your dogs when you are out of your comfort zone, scared, lonely, working hard. It’s been really hard without him but he’s back now.”
Dancing the Charleston to A Little Party Never Killed Nobody from The Great Gatsby, Vicky and partner Kai Widd have been getting lots of good luck messages from their celeb pals.
Angela Rippon, who danced with Kai last year, sent her best wishes to the pair. “We did have a call from Angela,” said Kai, 30. “She gave Vicky some words of advice.”
“She’s wicked for an older bird,” said Vicky. Kai continued: “I made it to Blackpool with Angela and I hope to think Vicky and I can go further. Vicky is what Strictly is all about. No dance experience. Starting from scratch. We have such a great relationship.”
Vicky has been open about her struggles with anxiety but say Kai has been amazing at settling her nerves.
“He does say this really lovely thing to me each week, he says: ‘It’s just me and you dancing’, and that helps because I get in my head. Everything I’ve learnt in the week just goes out of me head. I’m thinking about the judges, the audience, the people at home, all the things that are out of my control. So he’s a really good egg like that.”
It’s been a tough week for the pair, as they battled illness. Vicky also suffered a chipped tooth and a cut to the face after having a fall in rehearsals practising a “spicy lift”.
Undeterred, Vicky ploughed on and is eyeing up her best score yet this weekend, with a cheeky plan to try and get it. “I’ve been flirting with Anton (Du Beke),” she revealed. “I just want a seven and I’ve been flirting with him but he’s not bothered.”
Watch the Strictly results tonight at 7.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Rajesh and Akash share how Intellect supports banks and financial institutions in achieving full digital transformation, navigating global uncertainties, improving cost efficiency, and staying on schedule.
GF: What specific challenges do banks face in their digital transformation initiatives?
Rajesh Saxena: When you look at digital transformation and large-scale transformation, I think the most important aspect is that it has to be driven right from the top – the board, the management and the CEO have to be totally vested in this for it to be successful. Sometimes we see a misalignment from that perspective and that leads to problems.
The second thing is that it involves a lot of legacy platforms, interfaces with external ecosystem and data migration. That could sometimes be a challenge.
The third thing we have noticed is that, in many cases, when the bank or the financial institution starts the transformation, they are looking to adapt, but as we go through the process, they want the new system to look exactly the same as the old one, and that can create issues.
Finally, banks have to realise that large-scale transformations require a dedicated team. Sometimes they don’t have a team, and sometimes they do, but that team is also doing other activities. That inadequate focus can also result in challenges.
Rajesh Saxena, CEO of Intellect Consumer Banking
GF: Could you provide us with specific examples of how Intellect has been able to help banks overcome challenges and implement their digital strategies?
Rajesh Saxena; Our delivery framework has really improved over the years. Our starting point is design thinking, first principles thinking, and systemic thinking. This helps us really understand the customer’s requirement, both stated and, more importantly, his unstated needs. Then our products are built on the latest architecture. We call it eMACH.ai which stands for events, microservices, API, cloud and headless – with artificial intelligence built into it. This underlying architecture allows banks to have composability, extensibility and integration via APIs.
We have also realised that when you’re doing a large transformation, you need a team of people very close to the customer and in the same location. So our model is local delivery with a team on the ground, while our factory stays in India. Recently, we successfully launched several projects: we went live with the Central Bank of Seychelles, implementing our eMACH.ai Core Banking system; we partnered with Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt for the implementation of eMACH.ai DEP; and we collaborated with First Abu Dhabi Bank to implement our eMACH.ai Lending solution. Those are just a few projects where we’ve been able to deliver business impact to the bank.
GF : You spoke about unstated needs. How can you identify and target the clients’ unstated needs?
Rajesh Saxena: Understanding the unstated needs of clients and the industry is crucial and requires deep domain expertise combined with a focus on human-centered solutions. Design thinking provides a structured approach to asking the right questions, allowing us to uncover these hidden needs. At Intellect, we have established a 30,000-square-foot design center at our headquarters in Chennai, India. We invite our prospects and clients to participate in various design thinking sessions held in this space. During these sessions, we encourage discussions, analyze patterns and anti-patterns, and apply prioritization theories to identify both the stated and unstated needs of our clients.
GF: How can Intellect’s distinctive delivery model ensure that digital transformation projects get delivered on time and within budget?
Akash Gupta: We have built our delivery model around two approaches which we call space and speed. Speed stands for Sprint-based eMACH enabled delivery while Space stands for Secure, Predictable, Assured, Complete, eMACH enabled delivery. These methods give us flexibility to match the execution style to what the bank really needs. Large transformational projects typically go through the space methodology, whereas the quick delivery models, or digital ones, will go through a speed execution model. In the speed model, we are not starting from scratch; we have a ready suite of offerings for the customer with a very flexible architecture, the eMACH.ai. Hence the development efforts are lower and the costs are also very predictable.
Akash Gupta, Global Delivery Head of Intellect Consumer Banking
We also keep our governance very tight with monthly, sometimes fortnightly, steering committee meetings. These meetings take place between the customers’ teams and our teams to ensure good progress and it allows for risks to be visible very early in the program.
On the execution methodology, we follow Agile and DevOps, so there is continuous integration and development. It’s a sprint-based approach, so we get a view of the delivery very early in the program, and things take place in an accelerated manner.
A very good example of this was a few years ago when we helped a new African digital bank go live on our core platform in just 16 weeks. Usually, it takes a bank a year to a year and a half.
Finally, I would say we continuously monitor cost, schedule, effort and risk. This enforces discipline and helps us deliver projects in a timely manner and within budget. This ensures us to offer Delivery certainity to our customers from Time, Cost and quality perspective.
GF: You spoke about cost. How can Intellect manage cost controls while meeting overall project goals?
Akash Gupta: We are dealing with banks that must face global uncertainties, and to them, two things matter: cost visibility upfront and the support post “go-live”. So, we have a very transparent pricing methodology. We give the banks the pricing down to the feature level so they can choose and pick what they really need. They don’t have any hidden surprises.
But beyond pricing, really matters is the relationship. For us, it’s not just “deliver and walk away” and here I’ll give you an example: Last year we had a bank in Zimbabwe that was going to go live with our core banking transformation and four days before, the government announced a currency change. We were able to seamlessly migrate them to the new currency with no glitches. This is something even the established banks in that market were not able to achieve. It was like doing an open-heart surgery! So, clear pricing and long-term relationship-based support are what keep us going with those kinds of uncertainties.
GF: Tell us about the continuity of operations, any examples from the advanced markets?
Akash Gupta: One of the largest e-commerce companies in Europe, offers short-term loans to its online customers. The company utilized our core banking and lending solutions, enabling the business unit to implement a comprehensive Credit Lifecycle Management system. This system features fully automated processes from loan origination to maturity, instant updates for customers and partners, flexible product configuration, and a scalable AWS EKS and Fargate infrastructure for cost-effective, on-demand scaling.
During Black Friday, the company processes close to a million loans in a single day, highlighting the importance of having scalable solutions to meet such high demand. They have achieved success year after year with our solution. This is just one of many examples of how our customers across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas have transformed into secure, sustainable, and future-ready financial organizations.
Max Bretos is a soccer broadcaster who has witnessed all the big arrivals in MLS, from David Beckham to Lionel Messi, and believes Son’s immediate acclimatisation makes his arrival unique.
“He landed on a Tuesday. On Wednesday he had the introductory press conference, and his visa process went through quickly, so by Friday he was on his way to Chicago to play his first game,” says Bretos.
“Then he played in the game, off the bench, and you could see it there. His second game was in New England, where they play on [artificial] turf. Generally, when the big stars arrive, they don’t want to put them on turf right away, for obvious reasons, but he started, played 90 minutes and assisted a goal.
“He’s played every game, and he’s played almost every minute of every game. This is unheard of. He was on the field immediately, and you can see the reaction of his team-mates – they loved him. It’s like he’d already been there for months.”
Big signings in MLS can often become the defining aspect of the franchise they join as everything becomes all about one player, but this has not been the case in LA.
“If a player like Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in MLS, he would move the needle in many ways, but if he arrived it kind of becomes his club,” adds Bretos.
“Much like in Miami with Messi – which is fine. But I think LAFC maintains its identity as Son Heung-min just blends into it, which I think is what he wanted. It’s a perfect marriage.”
A good example of this teamwork is the form of forward Denis Bouanga.
Since Son’s arrival, Gabon international Bouanga has scored 11 goals in nine games. This run has made him the first player with three consecutive 20-goal seasons in MLS, and put him level with Messi at the top of the 2025 Golden Boot race.
Between them, Son and Bouanga have scored LAFC’s past 18 goals, and with the end-of-season MLS Cup play-offs just around the corner, there are now shouts that LAFC could win it.
Millions of retirees are waiting to learn how their benefits could change next year.
The government has been shut down since Oct. 1, after Congress was unable to pass a funding bill for the new fiscal year that started this month. With severe disagreements between Republicans and Democrats, many government agencies will remain closed indefinitely. Only essential services are allowed to continue operating, and government workers who aren’t furloughed are expected to continue working without pay until the shutdown is resolved.
Thankfully for the 70 million Americans receiving monthly Social Security benefits, those payments are considered essential. And for many households that’s the absolute truth. An important aspect of the program for households relying on Social Security to make ends meet is the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. Without it, many of those recipients would find their finances falling behind the rising prices stemming from inflation.
While payments are continuing amid the shutdown, many may be wondering what it means for next year’s COLA.
Image source: Getty Images.
The key data provider for next year’s COLA is shut down
The Social Security Administration is in charge of calculating the annual COLA, but it relies on data provided by another government agency — the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every month, the BLS publishes a report detailing changes in the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, which is one of the most common metrics used to assess inflation.
The annual COLA is based on a specific version of the CPI, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The Social Security Administration takes the average increase in the CPI-W during the third quarter (July through September), and that number becomes the COLA for next year.
Unfortunately, the BLS is not considered an essential service. As a result, it’s not releasing new data, including the jobs report that was supposed to come out the first Friday of the month. The most recent update on its website simply states, “This website is currently not being updated due to the suspension of Federal government services.”
While we received an update on July and August’s CPI readings, September’s is currently scheduled for Oct. 15. If the government shutdown isn’t resolved by then, we’ll face a delay in the release of September’s CPI data, and, as a result, the 2026 COLA calculation. (Even if Congress resolves the shutdown earlier, it could take several days to compile the data and publish the report, resulting in a delay.)
The good news is the BLS likely completed its September data collection to get an accurate picture of price inflation during the last month of the quarter. BLS workers collect data throughout the month, dividing it into 10-day periods. With the government shutdown going into effect on Oct. 1, it likely collected all or most of the data needed to accurately calculate the CPI numbers for September.
That means the government shutdown is unlikely to have any impact on the 2026 COLA, even if the release of the information is delayed.
Here’s how big the 2026 COLA could be
Despite the potential delay, the 2026 Social Security COLA is shaping up to be a relatively large boost to benefits. As mentioned, we already have CPI reports for July and August, and those have provided a pretty clear picture on where inflation is heading.
The July CPI-W reading came in 2.5% higher than last year and the August reading climbed 2.8%. With fairly soft inflation over the summer last year, many expect the inflation rate continued accelerating in September. The Cleveland Fed’s NowCast estimates the September CPI-U reading (which is slightly different than the CPI-W used for the COLA) climbed 3%, up from 2.9% in August.
A similar bump in the CPI-W reading would result in a COLA of 2.7%. That’s in line with analyst expectations from The Senior Citizens League. Independent analyst Mary Johnson and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget project a 2.8% COLA.
Either way, Social Security beneficiaries are in line for a bigger raise than 2025’s 2.5% COLA. But that also means that prices have climbed faster this year, leaving many retirees trying to stretch their monthly payments further.
With most of the data available to make a fairly good guess as to what the 2026 COLA will be, retirees can start planning now even though the actual COLA release may be delayed due to the government shutdown.
The shutdown of the U.S. government has brought work determined by the Trump administration to be “nonessential” to a halt across the country as thousands of federal employees have been furloughed and ordered not to do their jobs.
The shutdown — the first in six years — began late Tuesday and could last days if not weeks. Many employees may not return to work at all, as the White House’s Office of Management and Budget recently advised federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs in the event of a shutdown.
While much of the fallout remains to be seen, federal agencies that deal with wildfires, weather and disaster response — including the U.S. Forest Service, the National Weather Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency — expect to see some impacts.
Here’s what we know:
The U.S. Forest Service will shut down activities on more than 193 million acres of land across 46 states, including at least 154 national forests, according to the agency’s most recent contingency plan, published in September. Hundreds of recreational sites and facilities will be closed, while work on operations such as timber sales and restoration projects will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Forest Service — the largest federal firefighting entity in the country — will continue its work geared toward responding to and preparing for wildfires, according to the plan. However, the agency will reduce some work related to fire prevention, including prescribed burns and the treatment of vegetation to reduce fire risk.
What’s more, the shutdown will delay state grants for forest management and wildland fire preparedness; delay reimbursement for ongoing forest management work on non-federal lands; and may affect states’ ability to train firefighters and acquire necessary equipment, among other impacts, the plan says.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection works closely with the Forest Service to manage fire preparation and response. Cal Fire officials said it does not anticipate any impacts to its ability to respond to blazes, and that the agency is fully staffed.
However, effects may be seen when it comes to federal grant programs that support fire prevention work in the state. For example, private property owners in California who rely on federal funds to conduct vegetation reduction work or create defensible space on their land may have to “front the money themselves” while they await reimbursement said Jesse Torres, deputy chief of communications with Cal Fire.
“The other thing is there are a lot of unknowns,” Torres said. “We don’t know what this is going to look like — is it going to be two days, two weeks, two months?”
Other agencies that play key roles in California’s disaster response and preparation — including the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency — are largely deemed essential and will face fewer interruptions, according to their contingency plans.
“We are still operating in our core mission function and providing most of our normal services,” said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. That includes weather forecasts and extreme weather watches and warnings.
“The things that we do for public safety will continue as normal,” Kittell said.
About 84% of FEMA employees, meanwhile, are exempt from shutdown-related furloughs, according to its plan, which provides few additional details about which operations will cease or proceed.
Officials with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said FEMA staff have advised them that they will continue to make payments for existing disaster declarations made by President Trump, but there’s no guarantee that new or additional disaster declarations or funding will be made available.
FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund — the main source of funding for response and recovery efforts following major disasters — is also running low and is not likely to be replenished during the shutdown. It requires congressional approval for additional funds.
What’s more, FEMA, the National Weather Service and the Forest Service have already been affected by significant budget cuts and layoffs this year as part of the Trump administration’s larger reorganization of the federal government, which it says will help save taxpayers money.
These agencies, including NWS’ parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have lost thousands of employees to layoffs and buyouts and have experienced reduced operations, grant cancellations and the closure of offices and research arms.
The same is true for the EPA, which has undergone staff cuts and layoffs in addition to a considerable shift in its organizational priorities. The nation’s top environmental agency has spent the last several months loosening regulations that govern air and water quality, electric vehicle initiatives, pollution monitoring and greenhouse gas reporting, among other changes.
Experts said the shutdown could further weaken the EPA’s capabilities, as nearly all of its employees — about 90% — will be furloughed. While the EPA’s imminent disaster response work will continue, such as work on oil spills and chemical releases, longer-term efforts including research projects and facility inspections will halt, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, H.D. Palmer, a spokesman with the California Department of Finance, said impacts to the California EPA’s environmental programs should be minimal if the shutdown is brief, but that problems could arise if it drags on long enough to create backlogs and funding lapses.
The average length of government shutdowns over the last 50 years was seven days, Palmer said. However, he noted that the most recent federal shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019 — during Trump’s first term — lasted 35 days.
Hurricane Humberto is expected to intensify into a major hurricane sometime Saturday. Photo courtesy of NOAA
Sept. 26 (UPI) — Humberto strengthened into a hurricane Friday morning and could reach major hurricane status by the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said.
The eye of the storm was located about 465 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving northwest at 3 mph, the NHC said in its 5 a.m. AST update.
The forecast track has Humberto moving northward toward the island of Bermuda in the coming days.
The NHC described Humberto as “better organized” over the previous several hours, with signs of “steady-to-rapid intensification.”
No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.
Humberto became the Atlantic hurricane season’s eighth named storm Wednesday. It’s the third official hurricane after Erin and Gabrielle.
In August, Erin intensified into a Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds spreading across a 500-mile area. It did not make landfall in the United States but caused dangerous surf, rip currents and coastal flooding along the East Coast, with the worst conditions in North Carolina and Virginia.
Gabrielle formed in mid-September and also became a major hurricane, a Category 4. The storm dissipated into a post-tropical cyclone near the Azores on Friday.
Tropical Storm Chantal was the only storm to make landfall in the U.S. — South Carolina on July 6.
Ryanair has announced that it will be banning the use of paper boarding passes from November 3, with digital boarding passes replacing the paper version
Milo Boyd Digital Travel Reporter and Courtney Eales
13:42, 24 Sep 2025
Ryanair has moved the date to avoid school holidays (Image: Dmitri Zelenevski via Getty Images)
Ryanair has changed the date that it will introduce a significant change that will impact all passengers.
The airline has decided to ban the use of paper boarding passes, which will no longer be accepted at the gate. Instead, digital boarding passes will become mandatory for all.
All travellers flying to or from any destination with Ryanair must download their boarding pass via the Ryanair app. These digital boarding passes will provide real-time updates to “minimise” disruption, store travel documents for “simple” check-in and offer access to features like Travel Assistant, live flight updates and Order To Seat.
Today, the budget airline announced that it “will move to 100% digital boarding passes from Wednesday, November 12, instead of Monday, November 3, ensuring a seamless transition for customers in the less busy travel period after the mid-term break.”
Are you concerned about the new policy? Comment below or email [email protected]
Ireland’s mid-term break, like the UK’s half-term, takes place at the beginning of October this year.
Earlier this year, Michael O’Leary, the airline’s chief executive, announced his plans to eliminate almost all airport check-in desks, stating it would “create a smoother, easier journey for everybody”. Back in July, the airline estimated that roughly 25% of Ryanair passengers still rely on printed boarding passes.
However, not all countries are ready to accept digital boarding passes. According to Ryanair’s website, airports in Morocco and Turkey (except Dalaman), and Tirana airport in Albania do not yet accept mobile passes. If you’re travelling from or through these airports, you should download your boarding pass from your email confirmation or from the app, print it out and keep it handy.
Speaking to The Independent’s daily travel podcast, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: “Between 85 and 90% of passengers show up with smartphones. Almost 100% of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that the smartphone technology. The big concern that people have is: “What happens if I lose my battery or whatever I lose my phone?”
He added: “If you lose your phone, no issue. As long as you’ve checked in before you got to the airport, we’ll reissue a paper boarding pass at the airport free of charge. But you have to have checked in before you got to the airport.
“Also, if your battery dies or something happens, once you’ve checked in, we’ll have your sequence number anyway at the boarding gate, we’ll take you you’ll get on. So nobody should worry about it. Just make sure you check in online before you get to the airport and then all will be fine.”
The airline claims that utilising the myRyanair app improves passengers’ journey as they gain access to various useful in-app tools and services.
The budget airline has issued a warning to all passengers travelling to the EU from October 12, as the new Entry/Exit System will replace manual passport stamping with an automated process
The airline has flagged the “important changes” to border checks set to impact millions of Brits from next month(Image: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
EasyJet has sounded the alarm over a series of “important changes” to border controls for Brits heading to the EU from next month.
The budget airline is warning passengers that from October 12 the fresh Entry/Exit System (EES) will swap manual passport stamping for an automated system that gathers biometric information.
This means your face will be photographed and fingerprints taken to help handle travellers “more efficiently,” the low-cost carrier explained, no matter which airline you’re flying with. It continued by making clear that youngsters under 12 won’t need to undergo the fingerprinting process.
EasyJet’s announcement stated: “From October 12, 2025, the Entry/Exit System (EES) will replace manual passport stamping with an automated process that collects biometric data (facial photo and fingerprints) to help process travellers more efficiently. Children under 12 are exempt from fingerprinting.”
It explained: “Non-EU nationals visiting one of the 25 EU Member States or 4 Schengen Associated Countries for short stays may be affected – read the full list of participating countries. You may experience longer wait times at passport control while the system is being rolled out.”
The Foreign Office had previously issued fresh guidance for all affected Schengen nations: “New Schengen entry requirements.”
From October 12 2025, the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) will commence. When journeying into and out of the Schengen zone, for brief visits, you may be required to: “If you enter the Schengen area through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or St Pancras International, this information will be taken at the border, before you leave the UK.”
“You may also need to provide either your fingerprint or photo when you leave the Schengen area. EES may take each passenger a few extra minutes to complete so be prepared to wait longer than usual at the border once the system starts.”
The European Commission has also previously outlined the reasoning behind the scheme, with a spokesperson explaining: “The EES is an advanced technological system that will digitally record the entries and exits of non-EU nationals travelling to 29 European countries, including Schengen Associated ones, for short stays.”
“It will capture biometric data, such as fingerprints, facial image, and other travel information, gradually replacing the current system of passport stamping. The EES will modernise and improve the management of EU external borders. It will provide reliable data on border crossings, systematically detect overstayers as well as cases of document and identity fraud.”
It continued: “The EES will thus contribute to preventing irregular migration and protecting the security of European citizens. Additionally, with the increased use of automated border checks, travelling will become smoother and safer for all. The new system meets the highest standards of data and privacy protection, ensuring that travellers’ personal data remain protected and secure.”
By the end of the six-month process for the EES scheme, it is anticipated that the rollout will be complete., reports Birmingham Live. This gradual approach is deemed crucial to allow border authorities, the transport industry, and travellers to adapt to the new procedure step by step.
When things seem too good to be true for the stock market, they usually are.
Move over, Superman! The only thing more powerful than a locomotive at the moment is the U.S. stock market, which, seemingly faster than a speeding bullet, has rallied to new heights.
When the closing bell tolled on Sept. 11, the benchmark S&P 500(^GSPC -0.05%), iconic Dow Jones Industrial Average(^DJI -0.59%), and growth stock-dependent Nasdaq Composite(^IXIC 0.44%) all catapulted to record closing highs. Everything from the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) — a potentially $15.7 trillion global addressable opportunity by 2030, according to PwC — to the growing prospect of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September has fueled optimism and risk-taking.
But the tricky thing about Wall Street is that when things seem too good to be true, they usually are.
President Trump delivering remarks. Image source: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, courtesy of the National Archives.
Donald Trump’s tariff and trade policy is in the spotlight
Although the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq Composite have soared year to date, things looked a lot different in early April. Following the close of trading on April 2, President Trump unveiled his widely touted trade policy, which included a 10% global base tariff, as well as the implementation of higher “reciprocal tariffs” on dozens of countries deemed to have adverse trade imbalances with America. The stock market plunged in the subsequent days, with the S&P 500 tallying its fifth-steepest two-day decline since 1950.
To be fair, what Trump unveiled on April 2 and the current tariff policies in place today look markedly different. A number of countries/regions have hashed out trade deals with America, and the president has delayed the implementation date of reciprocal tariffs for select countries.
Additionally, there’s no guarantee Trump’s tariffs will legally remain in place. In November, the Supreme Court will consider the validity of the president’s tariffs following an appeal from the Trump administration after lower courts ruled most of his tariffs were illegal.
Despite these uncertainties, worry about Donald Trump’s tariff and trade policy, specifically pertaining to its effect on inflation, is heightened.
The domestic rate of inflation has moved decisively higher as the president’s tariffs take effect. US Inflation Rate data by YCharts.
In the three months since Trump’s tariffs began having a discernable impact on the U.S. economy, the inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), jumped from 2.35% to 2.92%. It’s quite the jump, and it’s certainly raising eyebrows amid a weakening job market.
The biggest issue with Trump’s tariff policy, as told by four New York Federal Reserve economists who published a study in December 2024 for Liberty Street Economics, is that it does a poor job of separating output and input tariffs.
In their study, Do Import Tariffs Protect U.S. Firms?, the four New York Fed economists examined the impact of Trump’s China tariffs in 2018-2019 on the U.S. economy and businesses. What they found was added pricing pressure on domestic manufacturers caused by the China trade war. Whereas output tariffs are placed on finished products, an input tariff is a duty for a good used to complete the manufacture of a product in the U.S. This type of tariff runs the risk of increasing production costs and reigniting the prevailing rate of inflation.
While some degree of pricing power is a good thing for businesses, the inflationary ramp-up we’ve witnessed over the previous three months is a bit concerning.
Image source: Getty Images.
Wall Street’s ticking time bomb is nearing historic levels
But even though Donald Trump’s tariffs are pretty consistently in the headlines, they’re not Wall Street’s biggest concern. Based on historical precedent, valuation is the ticking time bomb ready to pull the rug out from beneath the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite at any moment.
Truth be told, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all blueprint when it comes to valuing stocks. That you might find a stock to be expensive while another investor believes it to be a bargain is precisely what makes the stock market a market in the first place.
However, there’s one valuation tool that leaves little interpretative wiggle room: the S&P 500’s Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, also referred to as the cyclically adjusted P/E (CAPE) ratio.
The most familiar of all valuation tools is the P/E ratio, which divides a company’s share price by its trailing-12-month earnings per share (EPS). While this is a handy valuation measure for mature businesses, it often fails to pass muster during recessions and for high-growth companies. This isn’t a problem for the S&P 500’s Shiller P/E since it’s based on average inflation-adjusted EPS over the prior 10 years. It means shock events have minimal impact on the Shiller P/E ratio.
When back-tested 154 years to January 1871, the Shiller P/E has averaged a multiple of 17.28. As of the closing bell on Sept. 11, it clocked in at 39.58, which is the highest reading during the current bull market and the third-priciest multiple during a continuous bull market in over 150 years. The only two times the CAPE ratio has been higher are when it fractionally topped 40 during the first week of January 2022 and when it peaked at its all-time high of 44.19 in December 1999.
Admittedly, the S&P 500’s Shiller P/E isn’t a timing tool. Just because stocks are historically pricey, it doesn’t mean a game-changing innovation like artificial intelligence can’t keep valuations at nosebleed levels for months, perhaps even a few years. However, history is unmistakably clear in showing that premium valuations eventually end in short-term disaster.
Including the present, there have been six instances since 1871 where the Shiller P/E ratio has topped 30 for at least a two-month period. Following each of the previous five instances, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and/or Nasdaq Composite tumbled between 20% and 89%. While the 89% is an outlier for the Dow during the Great Depression, plunges of 50% or more are not out of the question, as was witnessed during the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s.
If there’s a silver lining for this ticking time bomb, it’s that bear markets are historically short-lived.
In June 2023, Bespoke Investment Group calculated the calendar-day length of every S&P 500 bull and bear market dating back to the start of the Great Depression in September 1929. Bespoke found that the average length of 27 documented S&P 500 bear markets was just 286 calendar days, or less than 10 months. In comparison, the average bull market stuck around for 3.5 times as long, or 1,011 calendar days.
Even though history is quite clear that trouble is brewing on Wall Street, long-term investors remain in the driver’s seat.
Argentine President Javier Milei (C) is guarded during an election campaign event in Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, on Wednesday. Milei was evacuated during the event after opposition protesters threw objects at the open-top vehicle in which he he was traveling, leading to clashes between some protesters and police officers. Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA
Aug. 29 (UPI) — For the first time since taking office, Argentine President Javier Milei’s approval rating has fallen below 40%, according to a recent opinion poll.
The drop is no coincidence. In recent weeks, Milei has faced a series of corruption scandals affecting his inner circle, including his sister, Karina Milei, who serves as secretary general of the presidency and who the president calls “the boss.”
A poll by the Argentine consulting firm Tres Punto Zero, published this week, showed a sharp drop in the president’s approval rating after the scandals. In July, 48% of Argentines viewed his administration positively. However, three weeks later, that number fell to 39.8%, while 57% said they disapprove of his presidency.
The report also found that corruption has become the top concern for Argentines at 44.5%, far ahead of poverty at 16.1% and insecurity at 13.2%.
The results strike at the core of Milei’s campaign promise to end what he calls the “political caste,” a derogatory label he uses for an elite he says lives off and benefits from the state and political system.
Milei’s image has taken a major hit after the leak of audio recordings attributed to his lawyer, Diego Spagnuolo, recorded while he was executive director of the National Disability Agency, in which he allegedly referred to requests for bribes.
The recordings suggest a bribery scheme in the agency’s purchase of medicines, with 8% of contracts allegedly set aside for illicit payments to officials close to the president, including his sister, who also is hit top aide..
The fallout deepened because the leak coincided with Milei’s veto of a law declaring a “disability emergency” — a measure that, among other provisions, would have updated fees and created a non-contributory pension.
While the administration argued the veto stemmed from lack of funding, the opposition called it a budget cut aimed solely at meeting the government’s zero-deficit goal.
In that context, the leaked recordings became ammunition for critics who question the government’s consistency on the issue and fueled tensions in congress and in the streets, to the point that on Wednesday, Milei suspended a campaign event for the upcoming legislative elections in Buenos Aires after protesters threw stones at the presidential motorcade.
“Everything [Spagnuolo] says is a lie. We will take him to court and prove he lied,” Milei told reporters Thursday.
He added that the violence against him comes amid “crude defamatory accusations,” which he said “faithfully reflect the behavior of the caste in a new attempt to stop the process of change the country is undergoing.”
Public opinion analyst Shila Vilker, director of the consulting firm Tres Punto Zero, said the poll results were not surprising, noting that Milei has been embroiled in several controversies that have eroded his image while pursuing fiscal austerity measures that affected parts of the population, including vetoes of benefits for retirees and people with disabilities.
“There has been an overlap of problems. You have the pension veto, tensions over disability, pressure from the rising dollar and higher prices. And now there’s this new chapter, with corruption starting to surface,” she said.
Even so, Vilker stressed, Milei has not lost the trust of his base, as more than 75% of those who voted for him remain convinced of their choice.
“Three out of four are confident in their vote. They have not regretted it,” Vilker said.
Santiago Giorgetta, director of the consulting firm Proyección, said thst “those who support the president are also having a hard time.”
According to a national survey by his firm, only 35% of respondents consider Milei credible, while perceptions of his honesty have dropped to 32%.
He said the turning point in public opinion came in February, when the president promoted on social media the cryptocurrency $Libra, which was later accused of fraud.
“Before that, Milei had all the indicators in the green. After $Libra, they turned red,” Giorgetta said.
Emergency food supplies are running out in Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, Save the Children warns.
Millions of children across four African countries could die of malnutrition in the next three months, Save the Children has warned, as emergency food supplies dwindle as a result of international aid cuts.
Save the Children said on Thursday that Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan were expected to run out of so-called “ready-to-use therapeutic food” (RUTF), a nutritional paste that has a long shelf life and does not need refrigeration.
In Nigeria alone, the lives of 3.5 million children under age five who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition will be under threat without access to treatment and nutrition support, the humanitarian group said.
“Imagine being a parent with a severely malnourished child,” Yvonne Arunga, Save the Children’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, said in a statement.
“Now imagine that the only thing that could help your child bounce back from the brink of death is therapeutic food and that food is out of stock when it was once available.”
The warning comes just months after the United Nations announced sweeping programme cuts in June amid what the UN’s humanitarian office described as “the deepest funding cuts ever to hit the international humanitarian sector”.
“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said at the time.
“The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given.”
Key international donors, led notably by the United States, have drastically scaled back foreign aid funding, leading to widespread concern that critical aid – from food and healthcare to poverty reduction – will be affected in countries around the world.
In July, as part of US President Donald Trump’s push to scale back federal spending, Congress approved a package that slashed the country’s foreign aid expenditures by about $8bn.
Last month, Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) reported that at least 652 malnourished children had died at its facilities in northern Nigeria in the first half of 2025 due to a lack of timely care.
“We are currently witnessing massive budget cuts, particularly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European countries, which are having a real impact on the treatment of malnourished children,” said Ahmed Aldikhari, MSF’s country representative in Nigeria.
On Thursday, Save the Children said staff at one of its clinics in northwestern Kenya have been forced to try to get food from other facilities to help feed malnourished children.
“And if [the children] are not supported, I know very soon [we] will be losing them,” said Sister Winnie, who runs the facility in Turkana.
About 105,000 RUTF cartons are needed through the end of the year across Kenya, Save the Children said, but only about 79,000 have been secured so far, with stocks expected to run out in October.
The group said that overall, shortfalls in nutrition funding could cut off treatment to 15.6 million people in 18 countries around the world, including more than 2.3 million severely malnourished children this year.
The situation is expected to deteriorate further in 2026, it added.
