Hezbollah fires about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel in heaviest barrage in weeksSocial Development Ministry, AWO launch 16-day campaign to combat gender-based violence
Liverpool FC news roundup: Slot's BIGGEST decisions & Salah contract HINT - Anfield Watch
Easy upgrades that won’t break the bank. Remember how it felt to see your home for the first time? You probably knew right away that you wanted to rent or buy it. Over time, though, sometimes you need a special item or a new way to organize to remind you of that lost charm. These genius finds will surely make you fall in love with your space again, and even better, they all fall cost $30 or less. 01 A retractable drying rack with a nonslip base Take care of your cutlery with this retractable drying rack . Made of a high-quality material, it protects your cups and plates from scratches. With a nonslip base, it won’t slip or slide away. It's retractable to save space when it's not in use. That makes it perfect for apartments and dorms. 02 A silicone mat that keeps coffee spills from staining your counters For cleaner countertops, try this versatile mat . It catches coffee spills, so they won’t stain, but can be used wherever you need extra countertop protection. It has a small raised lip to prevent overflow. Made of flexible silicone, it's durable and built to last. Wipe it down with a damp cloth or paper towel for an easy clean. It fits coffee machines of almost any shape and size. 03 Rustproof shower caddies that hold up to 40 pounds each These rustproof shower caddies are strong enough for your whole hair care collection. Each caddy holds up to 40 pounds. Made of stainless steel, they’re rustproof, waterproof, and won’t scratch. No drilling is needed to install them, which landlords love. They also have hanging hooks for loofahs. 04 A rechargeable night-light with a motion sensor & 5 brightness levels Scared of the dark? With this rechargeable nightlight , the dark should be scared of you. Its motion sensor turns it on when you walk past, and it turns off when you're gone. Fully charged after four hours, it shines brightly for up to 80 hours. Choose between five brightness levels for a customizable glow. 05 A collapsible colander that saves space in cabinets & on countertops If you’re short on kitchen space, try this collapsible colander . It folds completely flat, so you can store it almost anywhere. Use it to wash fruits and veggies or strain pasta. Its rubber material is food-safe and odor-free. Handles on both sides make it easy to strain your food. Wash it with warm water for an easy clean. 06 A genius cutting board & defrosting tray with a 4-in-1 design Save space in your kitchen with this genius cutting board and defrosting tray . You'll get four convenient tools (a defrosting tray, a cutting board, a knife sharpener, and a garlic grater) in one. It's made of durable polypropylene plastic, which won't bend or warp over time. Choose from three colors — the pink is especially chic. 07 Over-the-door hooks that can hold 4 hangers These over-the-door hooks will streamline your morning routine. The night before, use them to set out your outfit. Their vertical design takes up no closet space. Made of sturdy steel, they're strong enough for heavy garments. Each hook has four grooves to fit four hangers. 08 A shower drain hair catcher to prevent expensive clogs This shower drain hair catcher is a smart investment. Instead of letting hair build up in your pipes, it stops clogs in their tracks. This saves you money on future visits from the plumber. Made of durable silicone, it won't get moldy or gross. After a shower, simply wipe hair away, and you’re good to go. 09 An adjustable kitchen organizer for boxes & bags This adjustable kitchen organizer is perfect for your pantry. With eight wire holders, it fits boxes of all shapes and sizes (up to three and a half inches wide). Move it around with its built-in handle. No tools are needed to set it up — just adjust its wire holders to fit your boxes. From snack bags to gallon bags, you can store so many essentials. 10 A powerful Wi-Fi extender for faster coverage that reaches a wider area Make the most of your modem with this powerful Wi-Fi extender . From thick walls to cement floors, it gets rid of dead zones for speed and stability. You can use it with over 45 devices at once. Streaming services and FaceTime will be faster than ever. It also strengthens connections for your TVs and smart home devices. 11 Garbage disposal drops with a fresh lemon scent to eliminate bad smells These garbage disposal drops come in a cost-effective pack of 50. Simply run your disposal with hot water, turn it off, add a drop, and turn it back on for a fresh-smelling kitchen. D-Limonene, its active ingredient, breaks up food particles and rinses them away. Buying them in bulk like this will save you money. 12 A waterproof shoe organizer box with side handles & adjustable compartments This shoe organizer , which has an overall score of 4.7 out of five stars on Amazon, holds footwear of every size. With adjustable compartments, it’ll store sneakers and heels alike. Its open top lets you see your whole collection at a glance. Dustproof and waterproof, it protects shoes from damage. Carry it around easily with its four side handles. 13 A double soap dispenser set with a built-in sponge caddy & brush holder Wash dishes and hands with this double soap dispenser set . Its dual pump design has two separate soap bottles, which are clearly labeled. It also has a built-in sponge caddy and brush holder for easy washing. Dirt and water will flow into its drainage base. This makes it super easy to clean. 14 Mold & mildew cleaning gel for a bathroom that sparkles & shines Breathe new life into your bathroom with this mold and mildew cleaning gel . Its concentrated gel formula works on tiles, silicone sealant, and more. Just apply it to the desired area, let it sit for three to five hours, and wipe it away. It's bleach-free and doesn't smell bad. Your sink will be sparkling in no time. 15 An LED table lamp that’s so chic, it looks like a vintage heirloom This LED table lamp proves that nice decor doesn’t have to be expensive. Tap the top of the lamp to choose between three color settings. It lasts about 20 hours on a full charge. Turn the metal cap to adjust its brightness. If you love vintage furniture and modern creature comforts, this is the way to go. 16 Mixing bowls with silicone bases that hold them in place while you stir Every baker should try these mixing bowls . With silicone bases, they stay put while you whip up a delicious batter. Each set comes with five bowls, which nest into one another for easy storage. Their polished mirror finish looks so chic. “I know it sounds silly to love a set of stainless steel bowls, but I do,” said one reviewer . “I love that there are five of them, their wide shape, the nonslip silicone bases that are different colors, and how easily they clean up. I keep asking myself why I waited this long to buy them.” 17 An oil dispenser with a food-grade silicone basting brush Cook a gourmet meal at home with this oil dispenser . Use its built-basting brush to evenly coat your food with flavor. It's made of food-grade silicone, which resists high heat. It's easy to control how much oil you use. Try it with olive oil, chili oil, or even soy sauce. Disassemble it for a quick clean. 18 A fridge deodorizer that works for up to 10 years If baking soda isn’t cutting it, try this fridge deodorizer . It eliminates odor at the source by absorbing bad smells, lasting up to 10 years. With its small size, it fits into full fridges. You can also use it in cars, gym bags, and suitcases. There’s nothing to switch out or replace, so it saves you money. 19 Silicone lids that resist heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit & are dishwasher-safe Downsize your kitchen and switch to these universal silicone lids . Whether you're storing leftovers, keeping food warm before dinner, or covering pots while you cook, they get the job done. Each one resists heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. They're also dishwasher-safe and stain-resistant. Plus, they come in aesthetically pleasing colors. 20 An automatic trash can with a touchless lid Keep your hands clean with this automatic trash can . When you activate its motion sensor, the lid opens on its own. Five seconds after you're finished, it closes again. It’s waterproof, and it’s equipped to hold heavy trash bags. Plus, its modern design looks so chic in your kitchen or bathroom. 21 Fabric drawer organizers for easy access to all your socks, underwear, & accessories If you struggle to find socks that match, try these drawer organizers . Their convenient compartments make it easy to get dressed in the morning. Each fabric organizer has 24 cells to save space. Their strong nonwoven material won’t rip or tear. When they're not in use, you can collapse them completely flat. 22 A durable wall-mounted organizer that can hold up to 10 pounds This wall-mount organizer adds storage space to any room. Its sturdy plastic holds up to 10 pounds at once. Peel off its backing and press it onto a flat surface. It sticks to metal, glass, tile, and more. Its compact size fits into most spaces. Since it’s so inexpensive, you might as well buy more than one. 23 An automatic can opener that has a built-in knife sharpener & cord storage holder Go easy on your joints and use this automatic can opener . Its SureCut technology works on the first try. When you're finished, it shuts off on its own. It’s great for chefs with impaired mobility. A built-in knife sharpener and cord storage holder make it even more convenient. Oh, and this is the top can opener brand in the US. 24 A magnetic paper towel holder you can stick to your fridge or washer Whether you’re cooking or cleaning, this magnetic paper towel holder can help. Install it vertically or horizontally. When you tear off a paper towel, it won't budge. No magnetic surface? No problem. Use its self-adhesive backing to stick it on. With its universal fit, it holds rolls of any size. 25 A grout pen to refresh your kitchen or bathroom in minutes If you’re new to home improvement, try this grout pen . Its user-friendly design lets you clean with ease. Simply press down on its tip, color in your grout lines, and admire your handiwork. Each pen covers up to 150 feet of thin grout. Its colorant is nontoxic and water-based, with a quick dry time. 26 Absorbent chenille towels that are more stylish than standard hand towels Tea towels are great for decor, but they’re not always absorbent — unlike these chenille ball towels , which thoroughly dry your hands. Built-in lanyards let you hang them by the sink. Their soft chenille is also gentle on sensitive skin. Your houseguests are bound to be impressed. 27 An electric spin scrubber with 6 replaceable heads & a bright LED display Use this electric spin scrubber for your next Sunday reset. Its powerful motor scrubs oil, mud, and grout off any surface. On its highest speed, its battery life lasts up to an hour. Its bright LED display shows you how much battery is left. With its six replaceable heads, you can tackle any job. 28 Shrink-proof cloth dish towels that are lightweight & super absorbent Lightweight and absorbent, these cloth dish towels are a kitchen staple. Their microfiber material picks up liquids in seconds. You can also use them to dust, dry dishes, or wipe down windows. When you're finished cleaning, toss them in the washing machine. They won't shrink or fade over time. 29 A sofa tray with stainless steel hinges to hold heavy snacks & drinks Take your TV-watching to the next level with this sofa tray . Measuring 13-by-9.5 inches, it's large enough for snacks, drinks, and miscellaneous items. Stainless steel hinges make it strong and sturdy. You can also use its phone stand to watch a show or FaceTime a friend. Adjust it to fit your couch, and wipe it down if it gets dirty. 30 Nonslip adhesive rug pads for less than $1 each If your carpets tend to slip and slide, try these nonslip rug pads . Their triangle design and strong adhesive keep your rugs in place. They'll also prevent bunching and curling, so your carpet will stay flat. If you rearrange your space, you can remove them with ease, and they won't leave any residue behind. 31 A shower mat with suction cups for a secure grip in the tub With over 250 suction cups on its base, this shower mat sticks to your shower floor for maximum safety. Drainage holes prevent mold and mildew. It also comes with two self-adhesive hooks, so you can hang it up to dry after a shower. Choose from 16 colors to best match your decor. 32 Magnetic door stoppers that protect against damage & allow airflow These magnetic door stoppers have a wide array of benefits. For one, their soft-catch design stops doors from slamming shut. This protects your walls, your doors, and your peace of mind. They can also keep your door open, allowing airflow. Install them with screws or adhesive stickers. 33 A wall outlet extender shelf that lets you charge all your devices at once Big families will appreciate this wall outlet extender shelf . With six AC outlets and two USB ports, it lets you charge up to eight devices at once. Before a long road trip, that could be a lifesaver. Its built-in shelf adds storage space where there was none. Surge protection adds a safety element, which helps your devices last longer. 34 A minimalist metal toilet paper shelf that ensures you’ll always have a roll when you need one This toilet paper shelf is a must-have in any bathroom. Mount it on your wall with screws or adhesive tape. Made of rust-resistant metal, it withstands water and humidity to last over time. Its minimalist design looks so chic on your wall. Keep it by your toilet, so you'll always have a roll when you need one. 35 Nonstick bakeware with built-in dividers to separate by ingredient With this nonstick bakeware , complicated recipes will be a breeze. Its built-in dividers let you separate ingredients with different cook times. They resist heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and they're dishwasher safe. You can also stack them for easy storage. Meal preppers will be obsessed. 36 A wood fiber cutting board with nonslip silicone corners & a groove for liquids This wood fiber cutting board is stylish, sturdy, and easy to use. Nonslip silicone corners keep it from sliding away. Its durable material is dishwasher-safe and lasts for years. Liquids will flow into its groove, keeping your countertops clean. Its resists heat up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus, its material is gentle on knives. 37 A 2-in-1 sink stopper with a silicone basket & a tough stainless steel ring This two-in-one sink stopper costs way less than a plumber. Its strainer function traps food scraps, which prevents clogging, and its stopper function lets you fill the sink with water. Flip its silicone basket inside out to dispose of food. Its stainless steel ring lasts for years. Plus, it’s BPA and PVC-free. 38 Wall-mounted soap holders that keep your bars in great condition Add a little flair to your bathroom with these wall-mounted soap holders . With their slight downward slant, they drain excess water away. They're made of polypropylene plastic, which is durable and lasts forever. Stick them on your wall with their strong adhesive backing. You can use them on marble, tile, glass, and more. 39 A no-waste laundry soap station that’s big enough to hold value-size bottles Buying in bulk saves you money, and so does this laundry soap station . It holds big bottles on a downward slope. This way, you can use every last drop. Rubber feet and a fastening strap secure your bottle in place. Its molded edge catches spills, so your floor will be as clean as your clothes. 40 A nonslip indoor doormat that’s really chic Party hosts will appreciate this indoor doormat . It gives guests a place to wipe their feet, so your floors will stay clean during the festivities. Its nonslip backing keeps it from sliding around. Woven with two layers, it's built to last, standing up to wear and tear over time. Choose from 11 cool designs. 41 An under-shelf basket to instantly increase your pantry or cabinet space Overflowing kitchens will benefit from this under-shelf basket . It's so easy to install: just slide it onto a shelf for instant storage space. Use it for sandwich bags, tinfoil boxes, and more. Its steel material is sturdy and strong. You can also use it in the office for more space under your desk. It also comes in a single pack, as well as a pack of six. 42 Adjustable stacking basket bins you can use in any room of the house for more storage Declutter any room with these adjustable stacking basket bins . They take up almost no floor space, but they hold so many things. Use them in the bathroom for personal care products, the kitchen for fresh produce, or the office for pens and paper. They’re made of strong plastic. This company is all about realistic organization — if you’re intimidated by your space, start here. 43 An absorbent faucet mat made of microfiber to keep water from building up When you're doing the dishes, this faucet mat is essential. Made of absorbent microfiber, it catches excess water, keeping countertops clean. Snap it into place with its built-in buttons. It’s designed to fit most sinks. Use it in your kitchen, bathroom, or RV. If it gets dirty, wash it by hand or in the washing machine. 44 Tank top hangers that hold up to 24 pieces each If you consider yourself a shopaholic, try these tank top hangers to help sort out your latest haul. They hold up to 24 items each, helping you declutter your closet. Convenient hooks give you easy access to your clothes. Made of metal and wood, they stand the test of time. Your stuff won't slip or fall, even when you rummage through, looking for that perfect piece. 45 A dry food storage container with a 3.5-pound capacity Buy groceries in bulk, then keep them in this dry food storage container . Its ergonomic grooves and spout let you pour cereal, rice, and pasta with ease. Since it's clear, you can tell when you need a refill. Its locking lid keeps food fresh. Plus, it holds three and a half pounds at once. Time to make the most of that Costco membership. 46 Heat-resistant food storage containers that collapse down when not in use Restaurants are expensive — these collapsible food storage containers can help. Their lids are leakproof and secure, keeping your leftovers fresher for longer. Food-safe silicone stands up to everyday wear and tear, and it's heat-resistant. Pop these containers in the freezer, microwave, or dishwasher. When you’re finished, fold them flat for easy storage. 47 A wall-mounted broom holder made of stainless steel that holds 30 pounds This wall-mount broom holder is a great addition to any garage. Made of durable stainless steel, it holds up against the elements. With five slots and four hooks, it holds up to 11 tools at once, not to mention its 30-pound weight capacity. Install it with screws or a strong adhesive — both are included. 48 Flexible silicone draft stoppers that can lower your energy bills If your energy bill is too expensive, try these draft stoppers . They keep air conditioning and heat inside your space, making every room more energy-efficient. Seal them to your door with their 3M super glue. Their flexible silicone sticks to most materials. Cut them down for a perfect fit. 49 Soft felt pot & pan prevant scratches These pot and pan protectors make your cookware last longer. Made of soft polyester felt, they keep pots and pans from scratching one another. When you buy, you'll receive 12 protectors in three different sizes. Use them with cookware, bakeware, and other kitchen essentials. They’re also great for glass and ceramic. 50 A 2-tier organizer that fits seamlessly under your sink Add this two-tier organizer to your kitchen or bathroom. It fits seamlessly under your sink. You can slide out the bottom basket for easy access. Take it apart or put it together in no time flat. You'll always know where to find your cleaning products. Made of sturdy plastic and stainless steel, it’s built to last. 51 Powder-coated hooks that hang over your cabinets & won't rust or scratch over time For instant storage space in any room, try these hooks . They hang over cabinets and doors, holding up to 30 pounds each. Coated with powder, they won’t rust or scratch over time. The installation process is so easy — simply slide them into place. Use them to hang clothes, towels, and accessories. 52 A stainless steel towel rack with 4 arms that swivel for easy access This stainless steel towel rack is a great addition to any modern bathroom. It has four arms, all of which swivel to give you easy access. It comes with all the screws and instructions you need for an easy installation. Made of a strong and sturdy material, it won’t rust or corrode. Each rack holds up to 31 pounds at once. 53 Magnetic spice jars that come with 120 stickers to label your whole collection Ambitious chefs will be obsessed with these magnetic spice jars . They come with 120 stickers, so you can label your whole collection. Stick their magnetic base to any smooth surface, and clean it with a damp cloth if it gets dirty. Transparent lids let you see what’s inside. 54 An aluminum nonstick grill pan you can even put in the oven This nonstick grill pan brings the barbecue to you. Crafted from aluminum, it won’t warp or bend over time. It works on any stovetop, indoor or outdoor, and has a high heat capacity, as it’s oven-safe up to 302 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though it’s nonstick, it’s free of PFOA and PFOS. You’ll be flipping burgers like a pro in no time. 55 A universal knife block with a weighted base that can fit up to 12 blades at a time Cut down on countertop clutter with this universal knife block . It holds up to 12 knives with blades of up to eight inches. With its weighted base, you know it’ll stay in place. Knives don’t touch the surface of the block itself, keeping blades sharper for longer. A chic chrome finish makes it a stunning staple in any kitchen. MoneyLSU outlasts UCF 109-102 in triple-OT affairTrump taps Rollins as agriculture chief, completing proposed slate of Cabinet secretaries
China’s Exclusive Museums Offer Unrivaled Insights into the Nation’s Rich and Diverse HeritageHighly touted quarterback recruit Bryce Underwood flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan on Thursday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter . The signal-caller appeared to confirm the decision on Instagram. Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore was also quick to react to the news: Underwood is considered the No. 1 quarterback as well as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings . On3 previously reported on Nov. 14 that Michigan offered him a four-year, $10.5 million NIL deal in an attempt to flip his commitment to the Tigers. Underwood initially committed to LSU on Jan. 6. That didn't stop the Wolverines from attempting to flip the Belleville, Michigan, native. ESPN's Eli Lederman reported that Michigan was in contact with the passer throughout his senior season at Belleville High School. The program "intensified" the pursuit of Underwood "over the past two months" before he switched on Thursday, per Lederman. The Wolverines also flipped the commitment of 4-star safety Elijah Dotson, Underwood's high school teammate, on Wednesday. The quarterback position hasn't exactly been a bright spot for Michigan in 2024 following the departure of J.J. McCarthy. Alex Orji has made most of his impact on the ground, while senior Davis Warren has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 869 yards and five touchdowns to go along with six interceptions in six appearances. As the Wolverines sit at 5-5 through 10 games, Underwood should immediately be able to compete for a starting job and help the team return towards contention in the Big Ten once again. Following his commitment, Michigan's 2025 recruiting class earned the No. 9 ranking in the country (via 247Sports ). While it's unknown if the Wolverines swayed Underwood with the exact $10.5 million NIL offer that was previously reported, the team's strong push to flip his decision to join LSU paid off.
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BEIRUT — Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the militant group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. An Israeli bomb squad policeman carries the remains of a rocket that was fired from Lebanon on Sunday in Kibbutz Kfar Blum, northern Israel. Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said. The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the militants. Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war. Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups. The Israeli police bomb squad inspects the site after a missile fired from Lebanon hit the area Sunday in Petah Tikva, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there. In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing. The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether injuries and damage were caused by rockets or interceptors. Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later. Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. A flock of birds flies above the smoke from Israeli airstrikes Sunday in Dahiyeh, Beirut. Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted command centers for Hezbollah and its intelligence unit in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, where the militants have a strong presence. Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to the Lebanese c... The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.” U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week. Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group. Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate $208 million to assist the Lebanese military. But Borrell later said that he did not “see the Israeli government interested clearly in reaching an agreement for a cease-fire" and that it seemed Israel was seeking new conditions. He pointed to Israel’s refusal to accept France as a member of the international committee that would oversee the cease-fire's implementation. The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers. With talks for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza stalled, freed hostages and families of those held marked a year since the war's only hostage-release deal. “It’s hard to hold on to hope, certainly after so long and as another winter is about to begin," said Yifat Zailer, cousin of Shiri Bibas, who is held along with her husband and two young sons. Around 100 hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Most of the rest of the 250 who were abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack were released in last year's cease-fire. Talks for another deal recently had several setbacks, including the firing of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who pushed for a deal, and Qatar’s decision to suspend its mediation. Hamas wants Israel to end the war and withdraw all troops from Gaza. Israel has offered only to pause its offensive. The Palestinian death toll from the war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. On Sunday, six people were killed in strikes in central Gaza, according to AP journalists at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. How often do you buy something online ? A couple of times a month? A couple of times a week? A couple of times a day? Everybody's answer will be different, but collectively, it's done a lot: Online retail accounted for over $1 trillion of purchases in the U.S. in 2022 and a record $277.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Retailers ranging from titans like Amazon and Walmart, down to local small-town shops work very hard to land their share of that business. Sadly and inevitably—so do criminals and scammers. At any given moment, they operate millions of bogus sites. So how can you spot those fake online shopping sites? Spokeo provides a guide. In the early days of the internet , it took some genuine skills to set up a website, but those days are gone. A quick search will show that there are lots of apps and services offering websites on a prefabricated "fill in the blanks" basis, and most web hosts provide those tools as part of the service when someone signs up with them. It's even easier on social media . If you were opening a "side hustle" business tomorrow from your home, you could set up your own Facebook page tonight in under an hour, with exactly zero knowledge of websites. Once that page is set up, you just need to throw a few dollars in the direction of Facebook's advertising department, and they'll start advertising your page to users. It's no harder to promote a website, except in that case, you'd give your advertising dollars to Google. This is a simplified overview, but the main point holds: Establishing a presence online has become a very democratized process, open to anyone with minimal skills and even the smallest budget for advertising. That's been a boon for legitimate entrepreneurs, but it also makes life very easy indeed for scammers. There are multiple types of bogus websites . Some are imposters, created to look very much like a legitimate commercial or government site that you're familiar with, such as Amazon or Netflix. Others don't imitate a specific site, but instead attempt to capture the look and feel of those sites in general (whether that be a retail site, a government or bank page, or even something relatively shady like a gambling or porn site). Next, scammers find ways to drive traffic to their site. Often that's through phishing texts or emails, but deceptive ads on social media or search engines like Google and Bing work just as well. Once a browser arrives at the criminals' site (or, in some cases, downloads their app), any number of bad things can happen. One is that they'll download malware onto your devices, which can capture passwords or steal personal information. A more straightforward risk is that the browser will cheerfully enter their personal and banking/credit card information, thinking they're making a legitimate purchase. That's largely why fake online shopping sites are so dangerous, and so useful to scammers and identity thieves. Most bogus sites share some or all of those characteristics, but shopping sites are a very specific type of bogus site with some quirks of their own. One characteristic to count on—whether the website directly impersonates a major retailer like Amazon, a niche retailer like MEC, or just positions itself as an anonymously general retail site—is that it will offer unusually low pricing on high-demand products. That might be a mass-market item like the latest gaming console, a suddenly in-demand item that's unavailable through normal channels (remember trying to get masks and sanitizing wipes during COVID-19?), or something as mundane as disposable diapers or high-capacity computer drives. Whatever the product, the advertised price will be low enough to get attention. The bogus site will have any number of ways to transfer a browser's money to its coffers, depending on the scammers' intentions and skillset. A few of the most common include: These are all aside from the potential to infect devices or steal payment information . Sites focused on identity theft might consider a faux purchase to be just the added gravy. How common is online shopping fraud? Well, the news is pretty bad. The FTC's 2022 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book recorded over 327,000 online shopping complaints, the fourth-highest category for overall complaints and second among fraud categories. You would expect these sites to be more prevalent during the final quarter of the year, corresponding to the holiday gift-giving season—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas itself—and they are, but that doesn't mean you can relax during the other nine months of the year. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, or APWG, identified nearly a million fake or phishing websites during the first quarter of 2022 alone (not a busy time of year for shopping), for example. To be clear, only 14.6% of those were eCommerce sites, but that still translates to well over 140,000 bogus shopping sites. The true number is almost certainly higher because the APWG only tracks the ones that use a phishing approach. Many opt to simply buy advertising instead (or as well), and those won't be captured in the APWG's statistics. However you slice it, there's a definite risk of encountering these sites when you shop. The good news is that bogus shopping sites aren't hard to spot, once you're aware of the risk. They aren't built for permanence; scammers pull them together quickly and cheaply and then abandon them once they stop producing.That "just good enough" approach leaves plenty of visible signs you can detect. Below, here's what to look for when recognizing fake online shopping sites. Bad images Bogus sites don't have direct access to the real products' manufacturing images, so they resort to copying and pasting from legitimate sites. \That means bogus sites' product images (and often their fake logos, if they impersonate a legitimate site) are fuzzy and low-res. A URL that's slightly "off" Imposter sites obviously can't have the same URL as the legitimate site, so they'll usually have a URL that looks right, but isn't quite. They might have a typo in the name, or incorporate the real company's name into their URL in a non-standard way ("myfakesite.amazon.com.123xyz.com"), or—sneakiest of all—use a letter from a different language's character set , which looks the same to the eye, but not to the computer. Broken links The scammers may have simply copied and pasted user interface elements from a legitimate site, in which case many links on the site may be broken (or simply not clickable). Lots of missing elements A legitimate retail website will have several pages of legalese, often starting with a pop-up about its cookie policy or privacy policy. You should certainly expect to see a detailed document spelling out shipping policies, return and refund policies, and similar details. If those are missing or brief and vapid, it's probably a fake site. Limited options for payment Sites that plan to take your money and run will often show oddly specific payment options, from wire transfers to gift cards to cryptocurrency. The thing those payment methods have in common is that it's very difficult to get money back once it's spent. Sites geared around capturing your personal or payment information, on the other hand, may insist on getting your credit card. Typos, grammar, and linguistic errors Simple, silly language errors are often a red flag. Scammers may not be native English speakers, and it shows up in awkward or sometimes inappropriate phrasing. Errors in actual product listings aren't necessarily a smoking gun—you'll see them frequently on real Amazon pages—because they come from the manufacturers, who are often not English speakers. Language errors on the rest of the site are more of a concern. HTTP vs. HTTPS In the address bar of your browser, a legitimate retail site's URL will start with HTTPS, rather than HTTP, and will show a closed lock symbol. The majority of fake sites now also have an HTTPS URL and will show the lock (so this isn't as helpful as it used to be), but less-sophisticated scammers may miss that detail. You can automatically rule those ones out. And, of course, the biggest red flag of all is an unrealistically low price on the product you're looking for. We all want to get a really good deal, but that impulse will often lead you astray. If a shopping site fails those basic "eyeball" tests, the smart thing to do is just close that browser tab and walk away. If you want to dig deeper, or if you aren't sure, there are a few quick and easy ways to verify a site's legitimacy. Use a URL/website checker Remember those really sneaky fake URLs that use a letter from another alphabet? The best way to check those (and other problematic elements in a URL) is through a URL verifier/website reputation service, like the ones from URLVoid and Google . Just copy (don't click!) the link, and paste it into the checker. If the site is sketchy, they'll tell you. Look up the site on a registry Domain names all need to be registered and there are several lookup tools to check this, like ICANN's registration lookup (think of it as Spokeo for websites). If a site claims to be Amazon but was registered just a few weeks ago, that's a really big red flag. Similarly, if the site isn't located where it should be, or if the ownership data is obscured, that's grounds for concern. Turn to Google If you have a bad feeling about a particular site, do a quick Google or Bing (or whatever) search that pairs the site's name with keywords like "scam," "fraud," "bogus" or "ripoff" and see what comes up. If you get a lot of hits, that's definitely grounds for concern. Go Forth and Shop (Safely) If a given site fails any or all of those tests, then keeping your wallet in your pocket is definitely the smart choice. Instead of making the purchase, report the site instead to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the FTC's Report Fraud website. That will get the investigative wheels turning and may help protect someone less wary from falling victim to the scammers. As always, wariness and skepticism are your friends when it comes to avoiding scams. Don't click on links in emails, texts , or social media messages; instead, go to the company's site by typing the URL directly. If you search a company's page on Google, scroll down through the actual search results until you find it instead of clicking on the sponsored results or advertisements at the top. Most of all, remember the golden rule of scam avoidance: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Keeping those principles in mind, and using the tips given here to screen out dubious sites means you'll be able to shop 'til you drop (safely), despite the vast number of scammers out there. And that—as the credit card ads like to say—is priceless. This story was produced by Spokeo and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Saints vs. Rams Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread – Week 13Cam Carter put LSU ahead for good with a jumper 1:08 into the third overtime and the Tigers came away with a wild 109-102 win over UCF on Sunday in the third-place game of the Greenbrier Tip-Off in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Carter's make sparked a 5-0 spurt for LSU (5-1), which mounted a ferocious second-half rally that began after Darius Johnson drilled a 3-pointer to put the Knights up 52-34 with 12:57 to play in regulation. UCF (4-2) got back within two in the third overtime, but it never found a way to draw even. Vyctorius Miller and Jordan Sears sealed the victory, combining for three buckets down low that gave the Tigers a 106-99 cushion with 17 seconds remaining. Carter was the late-game hero for LSU, scoring the final four points of regulation to forge a 70-70 tie. He also knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:19 left in the first extra session to give the Tigers a 76-75 advantage. Sears gave LSU a four-point edge with a triple of his own with 2:10 to go, but the Tigers failed to stay in front, and UCF's Keyshawn Hall kept the game going by sinking two free throws with six seconds remaining to make it 82-82. Neither team led by more than three in the second overtime, with Hall again coming to the Knights' rescue. He made two layups in the final 52 seconds of the frame to knot things at 93 and send the teams to a third OT. Few could have predicted 15 minutes of extra basketball after UCF put together a 25-3 first-half run that lifted it to a 38-18 advantage with 2:12 left until the break. LSU responded with seven unanswered points, but the Knights still led comfortably, 40-25, at intermission. Sears finished with a game-high-tying 25 points to go along with nine boards, while Jalen Reed recorded a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double for the Tigers. Carter netted 20 points, Miller had 16 and Dji Bailey chipped in 14. Johnson collected 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals for UCF. Hall totaled 21 points and 10 boards, and Jordan Ivy-Curry supplied 20 points. LSU outshot UCF 43.2 percent to 40.7 percent and had narrow advantages from behind the arc (12 made shots to 10) and the free-throw line (21-18). --Field Level Media
BEIRUT — Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the militant group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with cease-fire efforts to halt the all-out war. An Israeli bomb squad policeman carries the remains of a rocket that was fired from Lebanon on Sunday in Kibbutz Kfar Blum, northern Israel. Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said. The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the militants. Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on U.S.-led cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war. Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups. The Israeli police bomb squad inspects the site after a missile fired from Lebanon hit the area Sunday in Petah Tikva, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there. In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing. The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether injuries and damage were caused by rockets or interceptors. Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later. Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. A flock of birds flies above the smoke from Israeli airstrikes Sunday in Dahiyeh, Beirut. Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted command centers for Hezbollah and its intelligence unit in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, where the militants have a strong presence. Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to the Lebanese c... The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.” U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week. Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group. Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate $208 million to assist the Lebanese military. But Borrell later said that he did not “see the Israeli government interested clearly in reaching an agreement for a cease-fire" and that it seemed Israel was seeking new conditions. He pointed to Israel’s refusal to accept France as a member of the international committee that would oversee the cease-fire's implementation. The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers. With talks for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza stalled, freed hostages and families of those held marked a year since the war's only hostage-release deal. “It’s hard to hold on to hope, certainly after so long and as another winter is about to begin," said Yifat Zailer, cousin of Shiri Bibas, who is held along with her husband and two young sons. Around 100 hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Most of the rest of the 250 who were abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack were released in last year's cease-fire. Talks for another deal recently had several setbacks, including the firing of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who pushed for a deal, and Qatar’s decision to suspend its mediation. Hamas wants Israel to end the war and withdraw all troops from Gaza. Israel has offered only to pause its offensive. The Palestinian death toll from the war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. On Sunday, six people were killed in strikes in central Gaza, according to AP journalists at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. How often do you buy something online ? A couple of times a month? A couple of times a week? A couple of times a day? Everybody's answer will be different, but collectively, it's done a lot: Online retail accounted for over $1 trillion of purchases in the U.S. in 2022 and a record $277.6 billion in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Retailers ranging from titans like Amazon and Walmart, down to local small-town shops work very hard to land their share of that business. Sadly and inevitably—so do criminals and scammers. At any given moment, they operate millions of bogus sites. So how can you spot those fake online shopping sites? Spokeo provides a guide. In the early days of the internet , it took some genuine skills to set up a website, but those days are gone. A quick search will show that there are lots of apps and services offering websites on a prefabricated "fill in the blanks" basis, and most web hosts provide those tools as part of the service when someone signs up with them. It's even easier on social media . If you were opening a "side hustle" business tomorrow from your home, you could set up your own Facebook page tonight in under an hour, with exactly zero knowledge of websites. Once that page is set up, you just need to throw a few dollars in the direction of Facebook's advertising department, and they'll start advertising your page to users. It's no harder to promote a website, except in that case, you'd give your advertising dollars to Google. This is a simplified overview, but the main point holds: Establishing a presence online has become a very democratized process, open to anyone with minimal skills and even the smallest budget for advertising. That's been a boon for legitimate entrepreneurs, but it also makes life very easy indeed for scammers. There are multiple types of bogus websites . Some are imposters, created to look very much like a legitimate commercial or government site that you're familiar with, such as Amazon or Netflix. Others don't imitate a specific site, but instead attempt to capture the look and feel of those sites in general (whether that be a retail site, a government or bank page, or even something relatively shady like a gambling or porn site). Next, scammers find ways to drive traffic to their site. Often that's through phishing texts or emails, but deceptive ads on social media or search engines like Google and Bing work just as well. Once a browser arrives at the criminals' site (or, in some cases, downloads their app), any number of bad things can happen. One is that they'll download malware onto your devices, which can capture passwords or steal personal information. A more straightforward risk is that the browser will cheerfully enter their personal and banking/credit card information, thinking they're making a legitimate purchase. That's largely why fake online shopping sites are so dangerous, and so useful to scammers and identity thieves. Most bogus sites share some or all of those characteristics, but shopping sites are a very specific type of bogus site with some quirks of their own. One characteristic to count on—whether the website directly impersonates a major retailer like Amazon, a niche retailer like MEC, or just positions itself as an anonymously general retail site—is that it will offer unusually low pricing on high-demand products. That might be a mass-market item like the latest gaming console, a suddenly in-demand item that's unavailable through normal channels (remember trying to get masks and sanitizing wipes during COVID-19?), or something as mundane as disposable diapers or high-capacity computer drives. Whatever the product, the advertised price will be low enough to get attention. The bogus site will have any number of ways to transfer a browser's money to its coffers, depending on the scammers' intentions and skillset. A few of the most common include: These are all aside from the potential to infect devices or steal payment information . Sites focused on identity theft might consider a faux purchase to be just the added gravy. How common is online shopping fraud? Well, the news is pretty bad. The FTC's 2022 Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book recorded over 327,000 online shopping complaints, the fourth-highest category for overall complaints and second among fraud categories. You would expect these sites to be more prevalent during the final quarter of the year, corresponding to the holiday gift-giving season—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas itself—and they are, but that doesn't mean you can relax during the other nine months of the year. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, or APWG, identified nearly a million fake or phishing websites during the first quarter of 2022 alone (not a busy time of year for shopping), for example. To be clear, only 14.6% of those were eCommerce sites, but that still translates to well over 140,000 bogus shopping sites. The true number is almost certainly higher because the APWG only tracks the ones that use a phishing approach. Many opt to simply buy advertising instead (or as well), and those won't be captured in the APWG's statistics. However you slice it, there's a definite risk of encountering these sites when you shop. The good news is that bogus shopping sites aren't hard to spot, once you're aware of the risk. They aren't built for permanence; scammers pull them together quickly and cheaply and then abandon them once they stop producing.That "just good enough" approach leaves plenty of visible signs you can detect. Below, here's what to look for when recognizing fake online shopping sites. Bad images Bogus sites don't have direct access to the real products' manufacturing images, so they resort to copying and pasting from legitimate sites. \That means bogus sites' product images (and often their fake logos, if they impersonate a legitimate site) are fuzzy and low-res. A URL that's slightly "off" Imposter sites obviously can't have the same URL as the legitimate site, so they'll usually have a URL that looks right, but isn't quite. They might have a typo in the name, or incorporate the real company's name into their URL in a non-standard way ("myfakesite.amazon.com.123xyz.com"), or—sneakiest of all—use a letter from a different language's character set , which looks the same to the eye, but not to the computer. Broken links The scammers may have simply copied and pasted user interface elements from a legitimate site, in which case many links on the site may be broken (or simply not clickable). Lots of missing elements A legitimate retail website will have several pages of legalese, often starting with a pop-up about its cookie policy or privacy policy. You should certainly expect to see a detailed document spelling out shipping policies, return and refund policies, and similar details. If those are missing or brief and vapid, it's probably a fake site. Limited options for payment Sites that plan to take your money and run will often show oddly specific payment options, from wire transfers to gift cards to cryptocurrency. The thing those payment methods have in common is that it's very difficult to get money back once it's spent. Sites geared around capturing your personal or payment information, on the other hand, may insist on getting your credit card. Typos, grammar, and linguistic errors Simple, silly language errors are often a red flag. Scammers may not be native English speakers, and it shows up in awkward or sometimes inappropriate phrasing. Errors in actual product listings aren't necessarily a smoking gun—you'll see them frequently on real Amazon pages—because they come from the manufacturers, who are often not English speakers. Language errors on the rest of the site are more of a concern. HTTP vs. HTTPS In the address bar of your browser, a legitimate retail site's URL will start with HTTPS, rather than HTTP, and will show a closed lock symbol. The majority of fake sites now also have an HTTPS URL and will show the lock (so this isn't as helpful as it used to be), but less-sophisticated scammers may miss that detail. You can automatically rule those ones out. And, of course, the biggest red flag of all is an unrealistically low price on the product you're looking for. We all want to get a really good deal, but that impulse will often lead you astray. If a shopping site fails those basic "eyeball" tests, the smart thing to do is just close that browser tab and walk away. If you want to dig deeper, or if you aren't sure, there are a few quick and easy ways to verify a site's legitimacy. Use a URL/website checker Remember those really sneaky fake URLs that use a letter from another alphabet? The best way to check those (and other problematic elements in a URL) is through a URL verifier/website reputation service, like the ones from URLVoid and Google . Just copy (don't click!) the link, and paste it into the checker. If the site is sketchy, they'll tell you. Look up the site on a registry Domain names all need to be registered and there are several lookup tools to check this, like ICANN's registration lookup (think of it as Spokeo for websites). If a site claims to be Amazon but was registered just a few weeks ago, that's a really big red flag. Similarly, if the site isn't located where it should be, or if the ownership data is obscured, that's grounds for concern. Turn to Google If you have a bad feeling about a particular site, do a quick Google or Bing (or whatever) search that pairs the site's name with keywords like "scam," "fraud," "bogus" or "ripoff" and see what comes up. If you get a lot of hits, that's definitely grounds for concern. Go Forth and Shop (Safely) If a given site fails any or all of those tests, then keeping your wallet in your pocket is definitely the smart choice. Instead of making the purchase, report the site instead to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and the FTC's Report Fraud website. That will get the investigative wheels turning and may help protect someone less wary from falling victim to the scammers. As always, wariness and skepticism are your friends when it comes to avoiding scams. Don't click on links in emails, texts , or social media messages; instead, go to the company's site by typing the URL directly. If you search a company's page on Google, scroll down through the actual search results until you find it instead of clicking on the sponsored results or advertisements at the top. Most of all, remember the golden rule of scam avoidance: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Keeping those principles in mind, and using the tips given here to screen out dubious sites means you'll be able to shop 'til you drop (safely), despite the vast number of scammers out there. And that—as the credit card ads like to say—is priceless. This story was produced by Spokeo and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
After Maharashtra Poll Debacle, What Lies In Future For Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar?
B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty, Inc. ( NASDAQ:ULTA – Free Report ) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,442 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,339,000. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 66 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock. Ulta Beauty Price Performance Shares of NASDAQ ULTA opened at $338.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $376.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $377.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.33. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $318.17 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several brokerages have commented on ULTA. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $425.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.71. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Ulta Beauty Ulta Beauty Profile ( Free Report ) Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Ulta Beauty Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ulta Beauty and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Vikings vs. Cardinals Predictions & Picks: Odds, Moneyline, Spread – Week 13
NEW DELHI: Government is pitching roads, renewables and rapid transit projects for development under the India-UK investment bridge and is willing to tailor the design based on feedback so that there is greater participation from global investors. Representatives from the City of London Corporation, officials from Niti Aayog and other ministries and companies from the UK and India, including foreign companies operating in India, discussed how projects could be identified. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who got whom IPL 2025 Auction: Updated Full Team Squads Govt sources, however, said that the projects will not be given by nomination and companies from across the world, including the UK, will have to bid for them. Sectors such as roads and highways have seen foreign players virtually vanish from the space and instead small Indian developers fill that space. "We are receiving presentations from Indian partner companies and also from the UK companies. We have got major engineering firms like Mott Macdonald and Arup, which have global companies with huge global experience in infra projects. The plan is, between now and March next year, we are going to identify three projects with Indian govt which are likely to be in the sectors of roads, rapid transit and renewables. "Once those are agreed, we will be bringing to the table the expertise that the project management firms can supply. In due course, we expect that to expand to capital investment and capital coming out of London and out of the UK to support PM Modi's sustainable transport strategy. This is a two-year agreement initially, but we hope that it would blossom into a long-term partnership between London and the Indian govt because the growth in India is so spectacular and so fast that India needs friend and partners to support in delivering infrastructure ambitions," said Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation. Hayward is the political leader of the entity. He added that a project pipeline is being readied, while insisting that it has to be a "win-win deal" for both sides. Hayward said that there is greater confidence in India now. "One of the challenges of this bridge is that British and other firms have had their fingers burnt. The whole market in India has developed or changed since those days. But, of course, the first thing is confidence building in the British companies that they are not going to get their fingers burnt." Asked if a bilateral investment treaty that is acceptable to the UK was a pre-requisite, he said: "There are negotiations still in play. For this to succeed, the Indian govt has to make it as easy as possible for UK businesses to participate. If barriers are put up that are unacceptable, then it will not work. Regulatory certainty is important for everything, the world over." Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET's Workshop is just around the corner!Pre-arrest bails of IK’s sisters extended