Have you seen The First Wives Club? It’s not on Netflix right now, but it probably will be someday soon — it’s the precise kind of ’90s nostalgia that would sit cozy next to Friends and Hocus Pocus in your watch queue. It’ll make you feel good, especially that grand finale where Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton all belt out “You Don’t Own Me” dressed in fabulous white ensembles.
Ariana Grande has seen The First Wives Club. You can tell because Tuesday (November 6), she brought her best white outfit and two finest back-up singers to Ellen to debut her new self-actualized single “Thank U, Next” in a sequence that played like her very own major cinematic moment.
Ari’s made quite a few TV appearances lately, but both her orchestral BBC special and Wicked tribute were pre-taped weeks ago. This Ellen performance was our first chance to get a glimpse at the 25-year-old artist after a harrowing few months where she ended an engagement and lost an ex to an accidental overdose.
All of this is addressed in the song, naturally, and on Ellen, Ari’s poise and control make her delivery of the song an event. It’s one thing to sing the words, “I’m so fucking grateful for my ex,” and it’s another to really look like you mean them.
It’s quite another thing to do this all in stilettos, nearly trip, exclaim, “Oh my god!,” laugh about it, and then finish the rest of the routine without a hitch. Bless her.
Watch the entire performance above, then maybe go see if The First Wives Club is on Hulu or something?
A sporting contest involving Britain and Germany always brings a special feel as two great rivals meet.
The Games of Remembrance double header on Thursday, 8 November holds even more significance as military teams from the respective sides meet to mark 100 years since the end of World War One.
Nottingham is playing host to both matches, which are being streamed live on the BBC Sport website and on the Red Button. There will also be live text commentary of both games on the BBC Sport website.
The women’s match between the British Army Football Association and the German Bundeswehr gets under way at Notts County’s Meadow Lane at 12:00 GMT on Thursday, 8 November.
Nottingham Forest’s City Ground then stages the men’s fixture at 19:00 GMT.
Former England midfielder Steve Hodge, who will be commentating on both matches for the BBC, said he was thrilled to be involved.
Hodge, whose grandfather Tommy served in World War Two in the Royal Engineers in Palestine, said: “England fixtures against Germany are wonderful occasions and this will be no exception.
“The matches are a fitting tribute at a particularly poignant time, just days before the 100th Armistice Day. I am really looking forward to being a part of it.”
Hebei Province, China – Deep in the polluted flatlands of Hebei Province in northern China, Mengjie School for the Blind is home for around 100 visually impaired students from rural regions.
“I am determined and confident that I can provide blind people with the skills they need to enter society. They don’t need to be thought of as a burden, and indeed they can become the pillars of the family,” says Mu Mengjie, who founded the school in 1999.
The World Health Organization estimates that there are 75 million visually impaired people in China, 8 million of whom are completely blind.
Outside of major urban centres on the country’s prosperous east coast, most schools are ill-prepared to provide for students like these, and those that do enter the classroom often attend special schools isolated from the rest of society.
The issue is particularly pronounced in rural areas. A chronic lack of infrastructural resources means many visually impaired children remain at home with little to no schooling.
In this context, Mu’s school is an anomaly. It offers a free education and accommodation for disabled children whose families struggle to provide for them.
“At the beginning, the students didn’t even know how to use chopsticks, we’ve come a long way since the school started,” says Mu Lifei, a teacher at the school.
“When they first arrive it can be difficult to build a relationship. Their parents often only provide for their very basic needs and at first, they pull away from us.”
The school has struggled to find qualified teachers willing to live and work far away from major cities, but a close network of teachers and family members have come forward to help the students.
For many of the older students, the school provides vocational training in massage.
Mu claims that over 300 students have graduated from the school to go on and find work. Employment opportunities are extremely limited outside of massage, but Mu believes the financial independence has made a real difference in graduating students’ lives.
“Many of the parents say they regret only finding out about the school so late. They never thought their blind children could earn their own money – sometimes even more than normal people.”
James Lawrence joined Anderlecht from Slovakian club AS Trencin in August 2018 for £405,000
Perhaps it is in keeping with his playing pedigree as one of the great left wingers that Ryan Giggs would make such a left-field selection.
James Lawrence of Anderlecht was not so much a name unfamiliar to Wales fans but one that had to be quickly hammered into internet search engines when manager Giggs named his squad for the games with Denmark and Albania.
Out of the blue and into a red shirt. Not even the football hipsters could make a confident claim on this one.
“I’m not well known in Wales or the UK so I could see how it would come as a surprise to many, but I knew it was in the works and there was a possibility of it happening,” says the 26-year-old Lawrence.
It is a fair bet to say Lawrence’s footballing story and rise to his recent international selection would be met with nods of approval from those who like their back stories more continentally quirky than conventional.
After all, the centre-back from Henley-on-Thames will arrive in the Cardiff camp next week via a European education in the Netherlands and Slovakia.
And that’s before mentioning studying for a degree, being inspired by Johann Cruyff and having survived a heart scare.
“Yeah, I’ve definitely been though a lot,” says Lawrence, who left behind youth football at Arsenal – where he was a very early team-mate of Harry Kane – and QPR when his parents Steve and Lynne moved to Amsterdam 10 years ago, sending off emails in the hope of a trial.
“We got a reply from a small club called Haarlem and I went there just to continue playing football and to enjoy it and it turned into something much, much more.
“I got scouted for Ajax and it was then I thought ‘Wow, I can make a go of this’.”
Within a short time at the iconic Eredivisie club, Lawrence was staring starry-eyed at his new coach and looking ahead to a very different career than he might have imagined.
“Working with Dennis Bergkamp was a dream come true,” Lawrence says.
“I’d looked up to him for most of my childhood and, although I already had expectations of such a big club like Ajax, they were completely blown out of the water when he walked in.
“My time there was very educational; it took my playing and thinking about the game to another level.
“The Dutch way and their idea of football really helped me develop my game into the player I am now. It’s why I think I’ve fitted into things so well in Belgium with Anderlecht.”
James Lawrence (right) played in the Europa League for Slovakian side Trencin
His transfer this summer came after a move from Dutch youth football to the senior game in Slovakia with AS Trencin, where he spent four years and collected two domestic titles, playing in Europe along the way.
Again, hardly the conventional route.
“I’ve always just gone with the flow,” Lawrence says.
“I’ve not thought too much about where I was but more what I was doing.
“To me the decisions were easy to move to Europe and try to play at the highest level I could. It was the same moving to Slovakia, playing for the champions and winning the double and playing in Europe.
“In England there’s no way I would be doing that.”
Perhaps the leaps into the unknown make a little more sense given the jolt Lawrence received a year into his time with Ajax when a health scare saw him require heart surgery.
First put down to a flutter, the step-up in intensity after going full-time saw him diagnosed with tachycardia, where his heart rate would worryingly race during training.
“It was pretty scary at the time. I was a young lad and I had to have an operation to burn a piece of the wall of the heart off so it could function normally,” he recalls.
“It was scary not knowing whether I could continue and I was very lucky that it could be operated on. I managed to come back fit and I’ve not had any trouble since so I count my blessings.”
As a back-up to his career – and with one eye on the future – Lawrence undertook a masters degree in international sports business management at the Johan Cruyff Institute in Amsterdam.
His father still works as a consultant for the Johan Cruyff Foundation that provides and supports sporting activities for disadvantaged children, where Lawrence also spent time volunteering and got to meet the icon of ‘Total Football’.
“He was a huge inspiration, someone who had a real presence about them – when he had something to say, you listened,” he says.
Since his father and agent made the Football Association of Wales aware of his eligibility, via a grandmother from Pembrokeshire, Lawrence has been listening out for the phone call from Giggs.
“I knew they were having a look at me and to get the call and the chance to work with such prestigious players and coaches is a dream come true,” he adds.
“I do think that my time in Europe can help. I’ve experienced different styles from youth football in England, Dutch football, Slovakian, Belgium, European, and I think it makes me more adaptable which coaches like.
“I can look back and think how far I’ve come and what I’ve been through to make it to this point and l think it can help.”
As he prepares to join up with his new Wales team-mates, the European unknown with the unconventional route to the red shirt is ready for his next step.
The chief of Houthi rebels in Yemen has said he will “never surrender” to Saudi-backed pro-government forces as a fierce battle for control of a key port city deepens the humanitarian crisis.
“Does the enemy think that penetrating this or that area, or seizing this or that area, means we will be convinced that we should surrender and hand over control?” Abdulmalik al-Houthi said on Wednesday in a televised address.
“This is not happening and will not happen ever,” he said, according to AFP news agency.
Hodeidah is a strategic port for humanitarian aid and is the entry point for over 70 percent of imports into Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world.
Nearly 200 fighters have been killed in the fierce battleon the outskirts of rebel-held Hodeidah since last week, including at least 27 Houthi rebels and 12 pro-government fighters in the past 24 hours.
The Houthi rebels appeared to acknowledge they have lost ground in the battle for Hodeidah and accused pro-government forces of provoking an escalation in violence.
“The enemy benefits from its numbers, which it has increased even further to pressure the city of Hodeidah,” said the chief of the Houthi rebels.
His statement came shortly after Saudi-backed forces said they have pounded rebel positions with airstrikes and a ground assault, and now control a major road leading to the port city.
Yemeni military officials and witnesses on both sides of the Hodeidah front line on Wednesday said the alliance secured an urban area along 50th Street, which leads to the Red Sea port about 5km away.
Talks expected
The clashes came as the United Nations pushed to restart negotiations between the warring parties, after the September talks in Geneva collapsed before they even began.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded an “immediate” halt to the fighting, warning that the country stands on a “precipice” and could face the world’s “worst famine” for decades if violence continues unabated.
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by the Houthis, who toppled the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The coalition forces – which include Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and are backed by the United States – intervened in 2015 to reinstall Hadi’s government.
In June, the coalition launched a new offensive to retake Hodeidah, held by the Houthis since 2014.
‘Humanitarian crisis’
Yemen is now home to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, which has killed at least 10,000 people since 2015, according to the UN.
The death toll, however, has not been updated in years and is likely to be much higher.
The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, an independent watchdog, recently said around 56,000 Yemenis had been killed in the violence.
On Tuesday, UNICEF said the battle for Hodeidah placed the “lives of 59 children, including 25 in the intensive care unit, at imminent risk of death“.
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday appealed for warring parties to “spare civilians and civilian infrastructure” including ambulances, hospitals, electricity and water plants.
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Summertime freedom for kids can mean an extra scheduling burden on parents who are juggling work and home life.
Especially when parents don’t have predictable schedules, their kids’ summer activities can alter an already chaotic flow.
Fortunately, numerous childcare apps and websites can help solve your babysitting needs.
A Zum sitter opens the door for a child.
Zum is a new app that helps parents find babysitting and rides for their children to and from activities. It might be ideal for shuttling the kids back and forth between summer camp schedules. The downside is the app is only for parents in the San Francisco Bay Area, and while the app itself is free, the cost per hour for help is higher than minimum wage. The company reports that all its drivers have childcare experience and pass extensive background checks.
Urbansitter searches your area to find the top-rated babysitters and shows recommendations from your neighbors. The site boasts that most requests receive a response in 15 minutes. Using the site is free and if you live in a major metropolitan area, you’ll find many babysitters across a range of cost options.
Care.com is a matchmaking site for parents and sitters. Started as a website, Care.com also has an app that makes searching profiles and messaging potential sitters quick and easy. The site has been around since 2007, and is trusted by sitters and parents alike, though use of the service costs $26 for the first three months. Once you sign up, canceling your account is a little tricky. As far as safety, Care.com lets sitters put in references and will do background checks for an additional fee. However, a 2012 investigation of the Care.com’s and Sittercity’s background checks found they missed key information.
Like Care.com, Sittercity is a site that matches parents and care providers. The site has been around since 2001 and because of its longevity is more likely to be in your town if you live outside a major metropolitan area. The site also allows parents to review a sitter and request background and motor vehicle checks. But as mentioned above, online background checks don’t always catch everything.
Okay, forget babysitting. Maybe the thing you really need help with is laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping or odd jobs around the house. TaskRabbit connects you to local people who will help you get the job done and maybe free up some time for the pool. Taskrabbit might also be more affordable than a sitter, because there is a wider range of prices. Also, the people performing the tasks are vetted by TaskRabbit and all jobs are insured.
While Taskrabbit will connect you with anyone willing to do the job, its competitor Handylinks users to local professionals who will do anything from clean your home to decorate its interior. Handy has no monthly fee, but reviews of the app report a lot of missed appointments and subpar work.
Babysitting is expensive and a luxury not everyone can afford. If you aren’t interested in a regular sitter, Sitting Around is a site that connects you to local babysitting coops, where you and other parents you know can trade sitting hours. Membership to the site costs $15 per year and the babysitting is free.
Sitter is another babysitting app that works to connect parents and caregivers, but Sitter works a little differently by allowing parents to send a message to multiple sitters at once. The first sitter who accepts is the first to get the job. Sitter is a free app. You add the sitters you know from your contact list. You can also view the sitters of your friends (if they use the app) so you can add those people as well.
Seeking Sitters is a one-stop-shop website that, for one-time fee of $59.99, will match you to your perfect sitter. That doesn’t include the cost of the sitter. The site is more expensive but it boasts enhanced safety, noting that each sitter is checked by a private investigator instead of an online background check.
eNannysource connects parents with qualified nannies. Much like Care.com or Sittercity, eNannysource is mostly web-based and allows for background checks and messaging within the service. The service also offers more comprehensive background services for a fee. But know, this site is specifically for people who can hire a full-time nanny; you won’t find part-time or occasional sitters here.
Babysitters4Hire boasts over 20 years in the babysitter matchmaking game. It is also the priciest option, with a $99.99 annual fee. It is affiliated with Care4Hire and Nannies4Hire. The site says it is used by the Dr. Phil Show. It encourages parents to do their own digging into sitters’ backgrounds and references.
This story was originally published in 2016 and updated in 2018.
England bowled out Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test to move into a dominant position in Galle.
Debutant Ben Foakes reached his first Test century before falling for 107 as England added 21 to their overnight total to post 342.
The tourists then produced a fine all-round bowling performance, with Moeen Ali taking 4-66, to bowl the hosts out for 203 in 68 overs.
England reached 38-0 at the close, 177 runs ahead.
Jack Leach and Adil Rashid took two wickets each for England, with seamers James Anderson and Sam Curran getting one apiece.
Sri Lanka were 64-4 at lunch before a patient partnership of 75 between Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews, which was ended when Rashid dismissed Chandimal for 33 shortly before tea.
Moeen then had Mathews caught at short leg from the first ball after tea and the final five wickets fell in 18.3 overs in the evening session.
England are now in a strong position to secure their first overseas Test victory since October 2016 and end a 13-game winless run away from home.
England’s spinners shine
England have not won any of their past four away Test series – drawing against Bangladesh and losing to India, Australia and New Zealand
England’s first-innings total had looked like a par score at best but their bowlers have put Joe Root’s side in one of their most dominant positions in an overseas Test in recent years.
The team’s quick bowlers are expected to play a less significant role in this series as spin comes to the fore but Anderson had Dimuth Karunaratne caught behind from the second ball of the hosts’ innings.
For a few overs at least, both he and Sam Curran, who shared the new ball, found a hint of swing; the latter trapped Kaushal Silva lbw in the fourth over.
Once the swing stopped, Root introduced his spinners, with Jack Leach coming into the attack after the seventh over, and all three impressed.
Playing in his second Test, Leach bowled accurately and had Kusal Mendis caught at slip for his first wicket of the match, while Moeen bowled Dhananjaya de Silva in his first over shortly before lunch.
Mathews and Chandimal offered some resistance but then Rashid produced a fine leg-spinner that dipped and turned sharply to have Chandimal stumped.
After tea Moeen then turned the game decisively in England’s favour. He took the three quick wickets of Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella and Akila Dananjaya before Leach and Rashid returned to take the final two wickets.
Leach and Moeen did the majority of the work throughout the day, bowling 39 overs combined to Rashid’s nine, but all three were impressive.
Foakes impresses with bat and gloves
Foakes hit 10 fours, four of which came on day two, in his 107
Foakes had done the majority of the work needed to reach his century on day one by helping his team recover from 103-5 to close on 321-8, and without him England’s dominant position would not have been possible.
He had been calm throughout his first day in Test cricket and continued in that vein on day two, stroking the first ball of the day for four through extra cover.
Leach was dismissed with Foakes on 95, increasing the possibility of Foakes being left stranded before reaching three figures but Anderson survived the remainder of the over, giving Foakes the chance to reach the landmark.
The Surrey wicketkeeper-batsman then pulled a boundary behind square on the leg side to move to 99 and hit a fine back-foot drive through mid-on to complete his century from 200 balls.
In doing so he became only the second England wicketkeeper to score a hundred on his debut – following Matt Prior in 2007 – and just the fifth wicketkeeper to do so for any team in Tests.
He then claimed the joint-fastest dismissal by a keeper on his Test debut when taking a catch off Anderson to dismiss Karunaratne on the second ball of the hosts’ innings.
Foakes also showed good glovework to stump Chandimal off Rashid and took a smart catch when standing up to the stumps as Moeen claimed the scalp of Akila.
Sri Lanka fall flat
For Sri Lanka this was a seriously disappointing day.
The hosts had England in trouble at 103-5 on day one but might now need rain to avoid defeat.
Their batsmen seemed not to learn from the wickets of the England top order on day one, with a number of them also falling to attacking shots.
Dhananjaya departed in a similar fashion to Ben Stokes on day one, trying to sweep fine but getting bowled around his legs, and Chandimal, struggling with an injury, came aggressively down the pitch and was stranded out of his ground.
And where England’s lower order – Foakes, Curran and Rashid notably – were able to drag the tourists to a respectable total, Sri Lanka’s final batsmen fell chipping to close fielders.
England gave Rangana Herath a guard of honour when he walked to the crease to bat in his final Test match
‘I was nervous when Jimmy came out’ – reaction
England spinner Jack Leach, speaking to BBC Sport: “A great day. It couldn’t have gone much more to plan really. The guys had a word and said we did what we set out to do today.
“Foakesy got his hundred which was great and we got as many runs as we could, and then it was a case of trying to build some pressure on them and get some early inroads. We managed to do that, Jimmy and Sammy bowled brilliantly and that took a lot of pressure off us spinners.
“Mo, Rash and myself bowled well. Mo deserved his four wickets. It was great to be involved in that group of spinners, I really enjoyed it.
“I feel like we complement each other nicely. We have a good relationship off the field which helps, we are always trying to bounce ideas off each other. It’s a fun group to be part of with Saqqy [England’s spin bowling coach Saqlain Mushtaq] as well. It’s been good so far.”
England centurion Ben Foakes, speaking to Sky Sports: “I was pretty calm this morning and I got a bit nervous when Jimmy Anderson came out with five to go. It was meant to be my day!
“It was amazing to get a hundred – such a relief and a great feeling. My brother got here last night. That’s amazing and my mum is getting here in about an hour.
“Getting a few runs settled me down and with Jimmy bowling you know you’re in the game, so to get a catch early was great. As the wicket dried out it is spinning more and staying low. It’s tricky.”
James Anderson responded to Foakes’ comments that he was “nervous” when Anderson came to the crease by joking on Instagram that it was “nice when your team-mates have faith in your ability”
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has expressed his readiness to hold talks with neighbouring Algeria, a long-time regional rival.
In a speech delivered on Tuesday, the king said dialogue was necessary to overcome the two countries’ differences, as he proposed setting up a joint political consultation mechanism to resolve the ongoing dispute.
“I should like to say today, in a very straightforward and responsible way that Morocco stands ready for a direct and frank dialogue with our sister nation, Algeria, in order to settle the transient and objective differences impeding the development of relations between the two countries,” the 55-year-old monarch said.
WATCH: Morocco’s teachers debate – classical Arabic or local dialect? (01:58)
The king added that Rabat is willing to consider initiatives brought forth by Algiers to break the political stalemate and restore full ties, including the re-opening of land borders.
The border between Morocco and Algeria, which runs for about 1,600km, is one of the longest closed frontiers in the world. Algeria shut its border with Morocco in 1994 after Rabat imposed visa regulations on Algerian visitors in the wake of a deadly attack on the Atlas Asni Hotel in Marrakech.
King Mohammed said the joint consultation mechanism would allow both countries to analyse the issues at hand in good faith “using an open-ended agenda, without conditions or exceptions”.
Western Sahara issue
The king’s televised address came on the 43rd anniversary of the Green March, when thousands of Moroccans marched on the Western Sahara demanding an end to what they saw as Spanish occupation of Moroccan territory.
While the Spanish government voluntarily relinquished control of the area in 1975, the Polisario Front, a secessionist movement backed by Algeria, has been calling for the right to self-determination ever since.
Rabat maintains the territory is an integral part of the country.
This has been a major bone of contention in relations between the two states, both founding members of the Arab Maghreb Union comprised additionally of Mauritania, Tunisia and Libya.
On Tuesday, Morocco’s king hinted that his country’s position would remain unchanged and that its decision to join the African Union anew – after an absence of some 33 years – was informed by the country’s African identity and is not aimed at defending its position regarding the Western Sahara.
“[…] No stone is being left unturned in the pursuit of progress in our Southern Provinces under the new development model. The aim is to make sure the Moroccan Sahara can once again play its historical role as an effective link between Morocco and its sub-Saharan African roots, be it from the geographical or historical perspective,” the king said.
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