Nikki Haley at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Former Republican presidential candidate and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley will join public relations firm Edelman. Why it matters: It's a surprising move for a once-rumored vice presidential contender and someone who Trump has said will be on his team "in some form" should he win the election. The intrigue: Even though Haley endorsed Trump after the assassination attempt on him at...

Right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson used the latest episode of his online talk show to interview a self-proclaimed “historian” who promoted falsehoods about the Holocaust. The episode of Carlson’s eponymous show on the social network X/Twitter earned plaudits from the site’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, who wrote in a since-deleted post that it was “Very interesting. Worth watching.”  In the interview, Darryl Cooper, author of a Substack with around 112,000 subscribers, told...

When parents choose their baby’s name, they are (hopefully) putting a lot of thought into their decision—weighing out all the pros and cons of how that name would theoretically serve them throughout their entire life. Rather than, say, basing their pick off of a viral TikTok trend. But hey, to each their own.Still, even the most meticulous parent has a chance of feeling baby name regret. In fact, a recent survey from Baby Center found that nearly 1 in 10 wish they’d chosen a different name for their child. While every situation is different, there are some reasons why parents might begin to second guess. Negative Feedback15% of the 450 moms surveyed said their baby’s name was critiqued or mocked. "I named my son Kyan (rhymes with Ryan), but every time I introduce him, most people say, 'Like cayenne pepper?'" one mom shared. An “easier” name was just, well, easier.Another 11% reported choosing culturally-specific names they genuinely love, but ultimately used an English name in everyday life. No doubt some have had to deal with some folks refusing to pronounce those culturally specific names. It simply doesn't fit their child’s personalityTen percent of moms noted that the original name they picked just didn’t seem to gel with the little human they brought into the world. One mom shared that she tried using her original name of “MJ” for her son for “several months,” but eventually started calling him Maverick Dean, Dean being his dad’s middle name, which fit him much better. 20% of parents felt their baby name choice was “too common.”Photo credit: CanvaAnother survey from the UK, created by Mumsnet in 2020, showed that 20% of parents regretted their baby name choice because it was “too common.” While another 20% reported never liking the name, but merely caving in to pressure. The good news: if there is to be baby name regret, it tends to show up within a month of giving birth to the first birthday. So if you’ve made it that far without any doubts, you’re pretty much in the clear. Clever WorkaroundsOf course, while legally changing a kid’s name is always an option, it is a lengthy one. Which is probably why only 1 in 20 moms reported actually doing it. Instead, many moms (20%) opt for a nickname. Middle names are also a frequent alternative, with 15% of moms saying they prefer their child's middle name. Expert Tips For Choosing a Baby NameWhile baby name regret can’t always be avoided, experts do have some tips for avoiding it. Professional baby name consultant Taylor Humphrey suggests on the “Tamron Hall Show” that parents make a categorized list of “Names I Love,” and “Names I Hate.”Hall says that parents rarely take the time to do this simple task, which can really help make those preferences easy to see. On that note, Laura Wattenberg, founder of Namerology and author of “The Baby Name Wizard,” told Today.com that parents could take their list one step further by focusing on (and presumably, writing down) what they love about each name. That alone can reveal a lot about why a name should be a winner. Sherri Suzanne, founder of My Name for Life, also told Today.com that parents should practice saying the potential name outloud, going so far as to practice introductions, “This is our son ___” or “This is our daughter_____,” and seeing how that feels. It’s worth noting that while baby name regret is a possibility, it’s still not common. So odds are, you and your little one will be perfectly happy with whatever name choice you come up with. Especially if you do your homework!

I recently saw someone say that the Olympics are the warm-up for the Paralympics.After tuning in to some of the coverage, I have to say — they're right!Research from the UK's Channel 4 showed more people tend to tune in to the Paralympics to see people overcoming their disabilities than to watch exciting sports competition.While it's great that folks are watching (in record numbers, in fact), respectfully, they've got it all wrong.When you really sit down and watch some of the competitions, you start to realize that the Paralympics is anything but an afterthought — it is, in its own right, a display of world-class athleticism and skill, not to mention diversity and community and inclusiveness.Here are some of the most incredible feats from the Paris games so far.1. This blind football penalty kick that had the world in awe.Blind football, or blind soccer, is a sport that bears a lot of resemblance to the football/soccer we're used to, except its modified for the visually impaired.All the participants compete on an even playing field by wearing full black-out masks and must navigate the pitch using only their other senses.A video of a penalty kick posted by NBC recently took Twitter/X by storm. — (@) It's impossible to emphasize how difficult this is.2. This incredible archery shot that broke the internet.You just have to watch Sheetal Devi, a 17-year-old from India, nail a perfect bullseye in Para archery. You must see it with your own eyes.She's the only woman with no arms competing in the games, and the extraordinary display of athleticism as she uses her feet, shoulder, and mouth to fire an arrow is truly hard to believe. — (@) 3. This unreal one-legged high jump.A video of Polish high jumper Łukasz Mamczarz went viral on Reddit this week, and it's easy to see why.It's an astounding display of power and coordination as Mamczarz chose to compete without a prosthetic. from nextfuckinglevel Sadly, Mamczarz did not medal in the event. However, American high-jumper Ezra Frech won Gold with a Paralympic world record of 1.94 meters!4. This world-record shattering wheelchair race.American Samantha Kingborn brought home the gold with an amazing performance in her 100m final.She completed the race in 15.64 seconds — an astonishing speed to achieve with arm power alone! — (@) (Seriously, just look how fast the athletes are moving by the end. Wow!)5. This clip that shows what championship-level breakdancing is supposed to look like.Not to continue piling on poor RayGun, but you don't need a PhD to know that these breakdance athletes are just on another level.(Full disclosure: This group, Ill Abilities, performed their routine at the 2024 Olympics — breakdancing was controversially excluded from the Paralympics this year.)Check out the casual backflip done on one leg! — (@) 6. This video that explains the genius way visually impaired fans can follow goalball.Paralympic athletes aren't just changing the game on the court or field. The games are also pushing the boundaries for how we can watch and consume sports.TikToker Lucy Edwards recently shared the brilliant device used at the Paralympic games that allows visually impaired fans to follow along while watching goalball — another sport played completely blind that requires complete silence, as the athletes need to focus on hearing bells inside the ball.These tactile magnet boards, called Vision Pads, allow people in the audience to follow all the action without the need for announcers. @lucyedwards I am still so emotional I was able to do this… I have never had an experience this inclusive with a live event. I came out of the arena and cried like a baby. Vision Pad you are amazing. [PR Event with @Channel 4 @paralympics ] #Paralympics #ParalympicsC4 #AccessibleSport #Sport #Goalball Meanwhile NFL games can't get basic closed captioning right half the time.It's time to ditch the idea that the Paralympics are an inferior athletic product, or that the level of competition is somehow watered down from the Olympics.Thinking of the games as a way for athletes to overcome their disabilities drastically underestimates them as athletes.Take the time to watch the events and you'll be absolutely astonished with what you see. Not to mention incredibly entertained!

The debate as to whether or not parents should supply classroom supplies is not new. But as prices continue to rise, parents are growing more baffled as to how they can be expected by teachers to provide all the various glue sticks, colored pencils, rulers and other various items the incoming students might need. What’s even more perplexing, however, is penalizing the children of parents who won’t (or can’t) provide them.This was the case for Shanitta Nicole, who discovered her son received a zero grade in his new school for not bringing school supplies for the entire classroom.Nicole was especially surprised by this reaction since she had already gone through the effort of making sure her son had every supply he needed from the school’s list, which was slightly different than the one they previously had. And yet, the 7th grade teacher informed her son that he was still expected to provide for the classroom, not just himself. And, thus, a zero grade, for failing the assignment, so to speak. Even though Nicole thought the rule was “weird,” she went out and bought the bulk items, which included tissues, Clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, pencils, Expo markers, and red pens.And yet, the next week—her son still has a zero. Concerned, Nicole emailed her son’s teacher. “I’m like, ‘hey…my student has a 83 in the class and everything else in the class is 100s and 98s and he still has a zero for something called ‘classroom supplies.’” she said in a video. “‘We bought the supplies anyways, but I don't feel like it's the parents' responsibility to supply your classroom. And I definitely don't think it's appropriate to assign a grade to students based off of whether or not they've supplied your class with supplies. That doesn't make any sense.’” @shanittanicole Am I doing too much? #fyp #school ♬ original sound - Shanitta Nicolee ? And while Nicole’s email did get the teacher to reconcile the grade, there was no mention to her other concern regarding the responsibility for parents to provide the entire class with supplies. “So, I emailed the principal because I just, I might be extra, but I just want to see what's going on. Why do I have to buy supplies for the classroom?” the frustrated mom concluded. Nicole’s video quickly went viral on TikTok, and several weighed in to agree that the teacher’s actions were misguided. “That is so unfair!! Especially for the kids whose parents CANT afford groceries let alone classroom supplies,” one user wrote. Another added, “You are not wrong. It is 100% ok for [the teacher] to ask for supplies, but mandate it for a grade? Absolutely not.”And this point is truly what Nicole took umbrage with, as she noted several times in the comments. It has less to do with being asked to help and more to do with her son’s grade depending on it. In a follow-up video, Nicole shared that the school principal did end up reaching out, notifying her that while, yes, teachers are allowed to ask for donations, it should never be mandated. @shanittanicole Replying to @yafavv._.dancer?????? Graded Supplies Update #fyp #school ♬ original sound - Shanitta Nicolee ? “What the teacher was trying to accomplish, but it definitely wasn't appropriate,” the principal told Nicole. While the teacher might have not handled this situation in the best way, it goes without saying that this is a larger systemic issue—one that isn’t exactly fair to parents, teachers and students alike. Most public school teachers spend a significant amount of their own money on classroom supplies, to an average of $673 per year, according to a recent survey of more than 1,100 educators by the Association of American Educators (AAE). That number only goes up for teachers in high poverty schools.At the same time, according to a 2022 survey with Savings.com, the typical parent also spends nearly $600 on school supplies. Plus things like clothes, backpacks, haircuts etc. In the grand scheme of things, there’s no use placing full responsibility or blame onto teachers or parents. Because either way, students get caught in the crossfire. This is clearly a universal burden that needs attention. This article originally appeared on 10.5.23

A blueprint for 1970s rock 'n' roll. The post The prog-rock album Pete Townshend described as an “uncanny masterpiece” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.

“They’re really strange.” The post Geddy Lee shares his favourite modern bands: “They’re really strange” first appeared on Far Out Magazine.