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Lindsay Hubbard is unapologetic about her decision to turn her pregnancy announcement into a paid partnership. The Summer House reality star, who welcomed her first child, Gemma Britt Kufe, earlier this month, reflected on the mixed reactions to her July Instagram announcement, which was posted in partnership with Clearblue pregnancy tests. The post, shared with her 700,000 Instagram followers, featured Hubbard posing with a Clearblue Digital Early Pregnancy Test, which she confirmed was the same brand she used in April when she discovered she was pregnant. The caption read in part: “WE’RE PREGNANT!!!!! The second I had a feeling, I took a @clearblue Early Digital Pregnancy Test, and getting a clear result, in words, made the next steps sooo much easier.” In a Monday (December 23) appearance on the Trading Secrets podcast with Bachelor alum Jason Tartick, the 38-year-old said the collaboration was part of her broader shift into social media income. “People were very torn up about this,” Hubbard told Tartick. “They were like, ‘I can’t believe she monetized her pregnancy announcement.’ And it’s like, why not? I’m gonna make the announcement anyway, why not make money from it?” After confirming she made more than $100,000 in social media income this year, Hubbard elaborated on her decision to reach out to Clearblue for the announcement. “I used Clearblue. I used the digital test,” she said. “So why not go to them and say, ‘Hey, I used your test, I’m about to announce my pregnancy—do you want to sponsor this?’” Hubbard explained that monetizing her announcement was a practical decision. “This is how I’m making my money,” said the reality star who transitioned from a career in public relations to focus on social media. Hubbard also revealed that her Clearblue partnership tied another campaign as her largest deal to date. Hubbard’s boyfriend, a private doctor, joined her in celebrating their daughter’s arrival on December 8. In an Instagram post featuring the couple holding their newborn’s hand, Hubbard wrote, “She’s here!! Gemma Britt Kufe.” Hubbard previously opened up to People about her path to motherhood after calling off her engagement to fellow Summer House star Carl Radke in 2023. “The journey is really just crazy,” she said. “For a girl who’s always wanted to be a mom, there I was at 37, staring down the barrel of being single and questioning when dreams of having a family would happen. And then this incredible man comes back into my life, and next thing you know, I’m pregnant. It’s like the universe was saying, ‘See? This is the time. This is the guy.’” Hubbard and Radke’s engagement ended abruptly in September 2023, with Radke reportedly calling it off just weeks before their wedding date. In a since-deleted Instagram statement shared at the time, Hubbard said the breakup “was not [her] decision” and left her feeling “humiliated” as her entire life and future plans were upended. However, by mid-2024, the former PR professional indicated in an interview with Glamour that she had moved on, saying she felt “indifferent” towards Radke. She said, “I’ve completely moved on in my life and I have so much to focus on in my future.” The fallout from the end of their relationship will be addressed in Summer House season 9. In the trailer released earlier this month, Hubbard accused Radke of infidelity during their engagement. The clip shows her confronting him, saying, “You’ve been talking to this girl since before we broke up,” and labels him a “fraud and cheater.”President-elect Donald Trump has extended a surprising invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his upcoming inauguration. This diplomatic gesture occurs as Trump threatens significant tariffs on Chinese goods, exemplifying his strategy of negotiating with both allies and adversaries. Karoline Leavitt, Trump's incoming press secretary, confirmed the invitation but noted uncertainty about Xi's attendance. Trump's approach to foreign policy mirrors business negotiations, aiming to leverage the United States' relationships with competitors for favorable terms. Reactions to the invitation have been mixed. Some view it as a potential diplomatic breakthrough, while others, including historians, question the appropriateness of inviting adversarial leaders. The move aligns with Trump's brand as a dealmaker, yet poses questions about American values in foreign policy. (With inputs from agencies.)S&P 500 2025 Market Forecast: Growth Remains Intact

ISLAMABAD: Calling the decision “biased”, Pakistan on Thursday vociferously reacted to the imposition of United States (US) sanctions on National Development Complex (NDC) and three other commercial entities. ‘’Pakistan considers the US decision to impose sanctions on NDC and three commercial entities as unfortunate and biased’’, said the Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday. She said that Pakistan’s strategic capabilities are meant to defend its sovereignty and preserve peace and stability in South Asia. The latest installment of sanctions defies the objective of peace and security by aiming to accentuate military asymmetries. ‘’Such policies have dangerous implications for strategic stability of our region and beyond’’, Mumtaz added. The FO spokesperson emphasised that Pakistan’s strategic programme is a sacred trust bestowed by 240 million people upon its leadership. The sanctity of this trust, held in the highest esteem across the entire political spectrum, cannot be compromised. Pakistan terms US sanctions on entities as unfortunate, biased “We also regret the imposition of sanctions on private commercial entities. Similar listings of commercial entities in the past were based on mere doubts and suspicion without any evidence whatsoever, ”she pointed out, while claiming strict adherence to non-proliferation norms, licensing requirement for advanced military technology to other countries have been waived off in the past. She elaborated that such double standards and discriminatory practices not only undermine the credibility of non-proliferation regimes but also endanger regional and international peace and security. On Wednesday, in light of the continuing proliferation threat of Pakistan’s long-range missile development, the United States designated four entities for sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The NDC, located in Islamabad, Pakistan, has worked to acquire items in furtherance of Pakistan’s long range ballistic missile programme - including special vehicle chassis intended to be used as launch support equipment for ballistic missiles and missile testing equipment. The United States assesses NDC is responsible for Pakistan’s development of ballistic missiles, including the SHAHEEN-series ballistic missiles. Akhtar and Sons Private Limited, located in Karachi, Pakistan, has worked for NDC to supply a range of equipment to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile program. Affiliates International, located in Karachi, Pakistan, has facilitated procurements of missile-applicable items for NDC and others in support of Pakistan’s ballistic missile programme. Additionally, Rockside Enterprise, located in Karachi, Pakistan, has worked for NDC to supply a range of equipment to Pakistan’s long-range ballistic missile programme. Copyright Business Recorder, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden kicked off his final holiday season at the White House on Monday by issuing the traditional reprieve to two turkeys who will bypass the Thanksgiving table to live out their days in southern Minnesota. Biden welcomed 2,500 guests to the South Lawn under sunny skies as he cracked jokes about the fates of “Peach” and “Blossom” and sounded wistful tones about the last weeks of his presidency after a half-century in Washington power circles. “It’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful,” Biden said, taking note of his impending departure on Jan. 20, 2025. That's when power will transfer to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, the man Biden defeated four years ago and was battling again until he was pressured to bow out of the race amid concerns about his age and viability. Biden is 82. Until Inauguration Day, the president and first lady Jill Biden will continue a busy run of festivities that will double as their long goodbye. The White House schedule in December is replete with holiday parties for various constituencies, from West Wing staff to members of Congress and the White House press corps. Biden relished the brief ceremony with the pardoned turkeys, named for the official flower of the president's home state of Delaware. “The peach pie in my state is one of my favorites,” he said during remarks that were occasionally interrupted by Peach gobbling atop the table to Biden's right. “Peach is making a last-minute plea,” Biden said at one point, drawing laughter from an overflow crowd that included Cabinet members, White House staff and their families, and students from 4H programs and Future Farmers of America chapters. Biden introduced Peach as a bird who “lives by the motto, ‘Keep calm and gobble on.’” Blossom, the president said, has a different motto: “No fowl play. Just Minnesota nice.” Peach and Blossom came from the farm of John Zimmerman, near the southern Minnesota city of Northfield. Zimmerman, who has raised about 4 million turkeys, is president of the National Turkey Federation, the group that has gifted U.S. presidents Thanksgiving turkeys since the Truman administration after World War II. President Harry Truman, however, preferred to eat the birds. Official pardon ceremonies did not become an annual White House tradition until the administration of President George H.W. Bush in 1989. With their presidential reprieve, Peach and Blossom will live out their days at Farmamerica, an agriculture interpretative center near Waseca in southern Minnesota. The center's aim is to promote agriculture and educate future farmers and others about agriculture in America. Separately Monday, first lady Jill Biden received the official White House Christmas tree that will be decorated and put on display in the Blue Room. The 18.5 foot (5.64 meters) Fraser fir came from a farm in an area of western North Carolina that recently was devastated by Hurricane Helene . Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm lost thousands of trees in the storm “but this one remained standing and they named it ‘Tremendous’ for the extraordinary hope that it represents,” Jill Biden said at the event. The Bidens were also traveling to New York City on Monday for an evening “Friendsgiving” event at a Coast Guard station on Staten Island. Biden began his valedictory calendar Friday night with a gala for hundreds of his friends, supporters and staff members who gathered in a pavilion erected on the South Lawn, with a view out to the Lincoln Memorial. Cabinet secretaries, Democratic donors and his longest-serving staff members came together to hear from the president and pay tribute, with no evidence that Biden was effectively forced from the Democratic ticket this summer and watched Vice President Kamala Harris suffer defeat on Nov. 5. “I’m so proud that we’ve done all of this with a deep belief in the core values of America,” said Biden, sporting a tuxedo for the black-tie event. Setting aside his criticisms of Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, Biden added his characteristic national cheerleading: “I fully believe that America is better positioned to lead the world today than at any point in my 50 years of public service.” The first lady toasted her husband with a nod to his 2020 campaign promise to “restore the soul of the nation,” in Trump’s aftermath. With the results on Election Day, however, Biden’s four years now become sandwiched in the middle of an era dominated by Trump's presence on the national stage and in the White House. Even as the first couple avoided the context surrounding the president's coming exit, those political realities were nonetheless apparent, as younger Democrats like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore , Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Biden's Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg not only raised their glasses to the president but held forth with many attendees who could remain in the party's power circles in the 2028 election cycle and beyond. ___ Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.Undefeated Oregon and No. 23 Texas A&M will collide Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas in the second game of the new Players Era Festival. Both teams are in the "Power" group of the eight-team event. All eight teams are receiving $1 million for their name, image and likeness (NIL) collectives, but placing fourth or higher in the tourney in order will net them anywhere from $1.1 million to $1.5 million. The Aggies (4-1) opened the season with a three-point loss at UCF, but since then have won four straight, all in convincing fashion. Texas A&M upset then-No. 21 Ohio State 78-64 on Nov. 15 at home in College Station, Texas. Then the Aggies crushed Southern 71-54 last Wednesday, when Wade Taylor IV led the way with 17 points and six assists. All of Texas A&M's wins have been by double digits. The Aggies and Ducks (5-0) have split the two previous meetings against each other. Until March 2022 in an NIT second-round game, they had not met since the 1970-71 season. Texas A&M tied the overall series with a 75-60 win at home in 2022. The only player on the Ducks' current roster who played in that game was 7-foot senior Nate Bittle, who has been one of Oregon's best players so far this season. Bittle's 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game lead the Ducks so far this season, and the big man also averages two blocked shots per game. Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps, a transfer from SMU, leads the Aggies in scoring at 16 points per game. Taylor adds 14 points per game. The Aggies could be the best defensive team the Ducks will have seen this season. A&M is allowing teams to shoot only 36.6 percent in games. Head coach Buzz Williams and his staff are hoping the team gets better at taking charges on defense, as the Aggies have just one so far this season. "I guess the thing that you work on most is verticality around the rim," Texas A&M assistant coach Steve Roccaforte told KBTX television. "‘Hey, once you get there, if you try and take a charge, it's going to be a block. Just jump as high as you can, stay vertical, try to go chest-to-chest. Make it a hard shot.'" Oregon is coming off a 78-75 win at Oregon State, the Ducks' first road game of the season. The Ducks trailed by 10 points at halftime but, as they have in several games this season, they found a rhythm on offense in the second half and came up with a comeback win. Bittle's 23 points and 14 rebounds led the way. Jackson Shelstad had 15 points and Jadrian Tracey and Keeshawn Barthelemy both added 10. "We started rebounding the ball a little better. Nate really got it going inside and our guys got him the ball," Oregon head coach Dana Altman told the school's athletics website. "He had a heck of a game." --Field Level MediaAxios CEO Jim VandeHei got fired up over Elon Musk ’s claims that users on Twitter-turned-X are replacing legacy media. While delivering a fervent speech at the National Press Club last Thursday, VandeHei slammed the tech billionaire for suggesting that social media users who aren’t professional journalists can provide news coverage without formal training. “Everything we do is under fire. Elon Musk sits on Twitter every day — or X today — saying like, ‘We are the media,’ ‘You are the media,’” VandeHei, a former political reporter for The Washington Post and co-founder of Politico, said at the time. “My message to Elon Musk is: Bullshit. You are not the media.” VandeHei added, “You having a blue checkmark, a Twitter handle and 300 words of cleverness doesn’t make you a reporter. ... You don’t do that by popping off on Twitter. You don’t do that by having an opinion. You do it by doing the hard work.” In the clip, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough cosigned VandeHei’s speech, noting it “needed to be said.” On Monday, Musk publicly disagreed with VandeHei’s response in a post on X , the platform he purchased in 2022 . “Yeah, whatever lmao. You are the media now. And legacy media know it,” the Tesla CEO wrote alongside a clip of VandeHei’s speech. Musk has ramped up his use of the phrase “you are the media” since Donald Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. “The reality of this election was plain to see on X, while most legacy media lied relentlessly to the public,” Musk posted days after the election. “You are the media now.” Trump tasked Musk to co-head his proposed “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside biotech entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy . “Please encourage more citizen journalism! You can do live video easily from your phone,” the SpaceX founder wrote in a separate post on X in September 2023. “More on-the-ground reporting from regular citizens will change the world.” Don't let this be the end of the free press. The free press is under attack — and America's future hangs in the balance. As other newsrooms bow to political pressure, HuffPost is not backing down. Would you help us keep our news free for all? We can't do it without you. Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you. Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. In a clip uploaded to X on Nov. 2, Musk claimed “citizen journalism” is “better than conventional journalism” because “you’ve got real-time aggregation of the collective wisdom of tens of millions of people.” Watch a clip of VandeHei’s speech below. Related From Our Partner

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