USC RB Woody Marks exits in first half vs. Notre DameSure beats more socks. You won’t find the hot new gift this holiday season on store shelves, or your favorite e-commerce site — unless they sell bulk loads of unclaimed mail where you shop. And you don’t even have to deal with the USPS — companies are snapping up the forgotten finds and selling them off to people who like surprises. For instance, Florida-based Fundelivered has retailed 90,000 bundles in three years, according to founders Rebecca Dallman and Jena Butler — offloading everything from a $39.98 “mini” sampler to a “party-sized” box of hopefully lucrative loot. Some customers are hooked on the homeless hauls, like shopper Rachelle Harris, told the Wall Street Journal she plans to give her family unclaimed mail for the second Christmas in a row this year. And before you laugh, consider the potential — Harris said that last year, her purchase yielded her everything from a knock-off Chanel bag to a human-size Bowser suit, not to mention a bunch of fake IDs. Mostly, for her family, she said, it was about the laughs. “Almost everything that we opened was something funny,” Harris said. “I posted the videos on Facebook and my sister-in-law said she can’t stop watching them because we were laughing so much.” However, one woman, Susan Shuweihat, learned the hard way that not every gamble pays off. Shuweihat told the outlet that her boss adamantly didn’t want a birthday gift, but she went above and beyond regardless. The eager employee hand-delivered a box of unclaimed mail to his home and watched him and his wife open it inside. Like what Buddy the Elf got Walter Hobbs, first a sexy piece of lingerie came out of the box — followed by a much raunchier Fleshlight. “They thought I’d set the whole thing up,” she said. Others, like medical professional Anna Antonopulos of Oregon, have had more professional success with the game of random mystery. She routinely leaves boxes of unclaimed mail in her workplace breakroom. “At the end of the shift, we open them and get some really funny stuff,” she said. Antonopulos boldly gave a box to her 11-year-old niece on her birthday as well. While age-appropriate, it certainly wasn’t a gift most tweens would be clamoring over. The package was a blanket with photos of a bearded man, his partner, and a baby with the message “Happy Mother’s Day, Tiffy.” Regardless, the aunt of the year said, “It’s her favorite blanket.” “She sleeps with it every night.”
Online shoppers bombarded with scam shipping notifications this holiday season. The conservative Republican announced Wednesday that he would , essentially bowing to political pressure from President-elect Donald Trump. Bowing to political pressure is precisely what FBI directors are supposed to do. Trump’s intense displeasure with Wray has been on full display for years, most recently on Sunday, when in an with host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he falsely claimed that Wray “invaded my home” and that “crime is at an all-time high.” Violent crime is , and a the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate because he retained and refused to return reams of classified documents he was not entitled to still have in his possession. The search is one of Trump had about the FBI during Wray’s tenure. So Wray, Trump’s own pick to lead the FBI, had two choices: resign before Trump takes office again or stay until Trump fired him. He should have chosen the second, more principled path. But Wray chose against being a profile in courage. He folded instead of defending the FBI’s honor and its staunchly nonpartisan record over the last seven years. Instead of showing the country what it means to swear an oath to a country — and not a person— he did exactly what a would-be autocrat wants: He obeyed in advance. Wray’s resignation deprives the country of a conversation that would be sure to happen if Trump were to follow through on his threat and fire the apolitical FBI director. His firing would have arrested the nation’s attention and forced Trump to defend replacing a dyed-in-the-wool constitutionalist with Kash Patel, an unrepentant Trump loyalist, as head of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency. Wray’s departure is now wrapped in the frame of the normal comings-and-goings of presidential administrations. is the operative word here. Wray is helping normalize Trump’s way of governing. In all candor, I understand why Wray is leaving. No one wants to endure a firestorm of Trump falsehoods, which will surely escalate in frequency and fervor as Inauguration Day approaches. I can only imagine how painful it would be for Wray’s family to watch the most powerful person in the world try to destroy the reputation of the father and husband who has served his country honorably for decades. But Christopher Wray volunteered to be FBI director. He knew the assignment and history — . And Wray promised the country not to let politics guide his actions: “If I am given the honor of leading this agency, , the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop,” he said in his confirmation hearing. And yet here we are, watching him make decisions driven by Trump’s political grievances and his stated desire to use the federal law enforcement apparatus to go after his perceived political enemies. With this resignation, Wray has joined a long list of conservatives who bended a knee to Trump, like those who in 2021 refused to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial for inciting an insurrection or those who ruled that presidents have absolute immunity for official acts committed as president, and presumptive immunity for official acts within the outer perimeter of their office; or those senators currently considering Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, someone who is still embracing Trump’s big lie that he won the 2020 election. In normal times, election denialism — by more than 60 court rulings — would be disqualifying for the nation’s would-be chief law enforcement officer. Trump has clearly learned a fundamental truth about Washington: People are policy. In his first term, Trump appointed conservative Republicans like Wray to high government positions. Thankfully, when it mattered most, many of these conservatives resisted Trump’s worst instincts and put their oath to the Constitution before their loyalty to him. Trump 2.0 will be different. With Wray’s imminent resignation, the country is witnessing the latest episode in the systematic unraveling of the rule of law. By bowing to Trump instead of standing up to him, Wray is teaching others to give in to Trump’s erratic behavior and lies and making it even easier for Trump to install a loyalist who may put Trump’s interests ahead of those of the nation.
UCF coach Gus Malzahn reportedly resigning to take Florida State OC jobIf you don't like people telling you what you can and can't have access to, especially for streaming content in different regions, VPNs provide a great way to gain that access and privacy. A VPN , or Virtual Private Network, encrypts your internet traffic, providing a layer of security. Cyber security is more important now than ever, and one way to keep yourself safe is to hide your IP address. When you do that with a VPN, it becomes much harder for hostile forces on the internet to gain access to your information. Pair that with the ability to gain access to streaming (and other content) options from other places in the world, and you get a lot of bang for your buck. There are many high-quality VPN services to consider, each with different subscription options that are heavily discounted for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 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There's a 30-day money-back guarantee for peace of mind here too. 1-Year Plans (71-81% Off) Starter : $2.99/mo + 4 months One : $3.39/mo + 4 months One+ : $5.99/mo + 4 months IP Vanish VPN Deals 2-Year Plans (Biggest Discounts) Essential : $2.19 per month Advanced : $3.29 per month Unlike NordVPN and Surfshark, IPVanish deals focus on fewer tiers and don't include any extra months for signing up for longer plans. The IPVanish Essential plan is a 70% discount at $2.19 per month, while the Advanced plan is 64% off at $3.29 per month. 1-Year Plans (51-55% Off) Essential : $3.33/mo Advanced : $4.49/mo 70% Off Proton VPN Proton VPN only has one deal, but it's pretty good. A 1-year plan is 70% off, down from $9.99/mo to $2.99/mo, and it lets you protect 10 devices at the same time on the plan, so you can cover all your devices or share it with friends or family. CyberGhost VPN Deals CyberGhost is the last deal worth looking at on our VPN deals list, but it's certainly worth considering. At 84% off, this 2-year plan is just $2.04 per month, with a bonus four months included. Why a VPN? Protect your privacy - block web trackers, protect your identity and data Protect yourself from cyberattacks - block malicious sites and ads, malware, and online threats Protect yourself on public Wi-Fi Access content and websites from anywhere - stream while traveling What to Expect for Cyber Monday As Black Friday continues for big retailers throughout the weekend, keep an eye on video game Black Friday deals from Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox . Waiting for Cyber Monday is risky as the hottest gaming deals tend to sell out fast. This is why Black Friday tends to be the better time to buy video games . What's the Deal? When does Black Friday end & Cyber Monday begin? As we inch closer to the end of the biggest consumer holiday, it's smart to keep in mind what each big retailer is planning, when their Black Friday sales end, and when certain Cyber Monday deals begin. As IGN's Commerce Manager, Eric Song states in his Black Friday deals post: "I've worked through numerous Black Fridays over the years, and my experience has always been the same: about half of the deals end on Black Friday at midnight, and the other half will stay live through the weekend and end on Cyber Monday." Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN , GameSpot , & Kotaku. You can get more than your fair share of him on Bluesky & Backloggd , & enjoy his absurd video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts .Google is ramping up its push into smart glasses and augmented reality headgear, taking on rivals Apple and Meta with help from its sophisticated Gemini artificial intelligence. The internet titan on Thursday unveiled an Android XR operating system created in a collaboration with Samsung, which will use it in a device being built in what is called internally “Project Moohan,” according to Google. The software is designed to power augmented and virtual reality experiences enhanced with artificial intelligence, XR vice president Shahram Izadi said in a blog post. “With headsets, you can effortlessly switch between being fully immersed in a virtual environment and staying present in the real world,” Izadi said. “You can fill the space around you with apps and content, and with Gemini, our AI assistant, you can even have conversations about what you’re seeing or control your device.” Google this week announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to date, as the world’s tech giants race to take the lead in the fast-developing technology. CEO Sundar Pichai said the new model would mark what the company calls “a new agentic era” in AI development, with AI models designed to understand and make decisions about the world around you. Android XR infused with Gemini promises to put digital assistants into eyewear, tapping into what users are seeing and hearing. An AI “agent,” the latest Silicon Valley trend, is a digital helper that is supposed to sense surroundings, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals. “Gemini can understand your intent, helping you plan, research topics and guide you through tasks,” Izadi said. “Android XR will first launch on headsets that transform how you watch, work and explore.” The Android XR release was a preview for developers so they can start building games and other apps for headgear, ideally fun or useful enough to get people to buy the hardware. This is not Google’s first foray into smart eyewear. Its first offering, Google Glass, debuted in 2013 only to be treated as an unflattering tech status symbol and met with privacy concerns due to camera capabilities. The market has evolved since then, with Meta investing heavily in a Quest virtual reality headgear line priced for mainstream adoption and Apple hitting the market with pricey Vision Pro “spacial reality” gear. Google plans to soon begin testing prototype Android XR-powered glasses with a small group of users. Google will also adapt popular apps such as YouTube, Photos, Maps, and Google TV for immersive experiences using Android XR, according to Izadi. Gemini AI in glasses will enable tasks like directions and language translations, he added. “It’s all within your line of sight, or directly in your ear,” Izadi said. With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.‘We didn’t have a good day’: Greens set to suffer significant election losses
Trump Jr. didn’t like Kimberly Guilfoyle’s ‘style,’ family happy to see her go: reportsAP Trending SummaryBrief at 5:02 p.m. EST
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A fight broke out at midfield after Michigan stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday as Wolverines players attempted to plant their flag and were met by Buckeyes who confronted them. Police had to use pepper spray to break up the players, who threw punches and shoves in the melee that overshadowed the rivalry game. Ohio State police said in a statement “multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.” Ohio State police will investigate the fight, according to the statement. After the Ohio State players confronted their bitter rivals at midfield, defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines' flag and ripped it off the pole as the brawl moved toward the Michigan bench. Eventually, police officers rushed into the ugly scene. Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he understood the actions of his players. “There are some prideful guys on our team who weren't going to sit back and let that happen,” Day said. The two Ohio State players made available after the game brushed off questions about it. Michigan running back Kalel Mullings, who rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, didn't like how the Buckeyes players involved themselves in the Wolverines' postgame celebration. He called it “classless.” “For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game," he said in an on-field interview with Fox Sports. “It’s just bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, you know some people got to — they got to learn how to lose, man. ... We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters, to do all that fighting.” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said everybody needs to do better. “So much emotions on both sides," he said. "Rivalry games get heated, especially this one. It’s the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that better.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballB.C. aims to hang onto 'Hollywood north' title by boosting film and TV tax incentives