List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

An overview of the media in Palau, including links to broadcasters and newspapers.

A new milkshake inspired by McDonald’s mascot Grimace has taken the internet by storm after inspiring a new TikTok trend. The limited-edition milkshake is part of the new Grimace Birthday meal that was rolled out in the US this month to mark the 52nd anniversary of the character’s introduction. Who is Grimace and what is in his viral milkshake? Grimace is a purple character first revealed by McDonald’s on 12 June 1972 when he appeared in an advert where he was known as “Evil Grimace” after running off with milkshakes. In 2012, Roy T. Bergold Jr., the company’s previous vice president of advertising, described Grimace as “a soft, plush, two-armed blob of a sweetheart”. McDonald's explained: “Grimace is from Grimace Island and comes from a huge family (including his Grandma Winky, aunts Millie and Tillie and his Uncle O’Grimacey!).” Since he stopped appearing in adverts in 2003, the grinning purple blob began fading into obscurity, aside from the odd Thanksgiving parade appearance or Twitter mention. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Now, his character has remerged in a major way, helping to spark a trend thanks to the birthday meal which features a purple-coloured milkshake. The Grimace milkshake is a purple limited edition berry-flavoured drink, “inspired by Grimace’s iconic colour and sweetness”, according to McDonald’s. It contains berry flavouring, vanilla soft serve and whipped cream. It is available with the Grimace Birthday Meal, available in the US, where customers can choose either a Big Mac or 10-piece Chicken McNuggets with fries. The limited-edition shake is available only “while supplies last”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Kim Kardashian’s underwear label Skims plans to open its first permanent stores next year as it plots retail

The world is full of ridiculous gender stereotypes and tropes: girls like pink and Barbies; boys like blue and cars, to name but two of the most obvious. And yet, when it comes to masculinity, we didn’t know hydration could prove such a fraught subject. However, one Twitter user (named only as Chloe) has sparked an impassioned debate after publicly announcing: “Men who carry water bottles out in public give me the ick. Especially at the airport.” She then added, by way of explanation: “You can’t go a few hours without having your little sips of water? Carrying around anything is a feminine trait. “The only things men should be carrying around are his wallet and a pocketknife.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Her tweet racked up 6.5 million views and more than 4,220 shares in less than two days as commentators shared their take on her assessment. Inevitably it was met with fury by many, who suggested it be added to a seemingly endless list of things “masculine men aren’t allowed to do (according to social media)”. “Now we can’t even enjoy the most vital nutrient known to mankind,” lamented another. Others pointed out that carrying a penknife in an airport was far from advisable, with one writing: “This idiot is missing her flight because her man tried to bring a pocketknife through security and along with his uncomfortable strip search is gonna have to buy a $7 bottle of water to quench his thirst after a tense hour in the TSA’s custody.” Others described Chloe as “Andrew Tate’s dream girl”, and pointed to laughably ridiculous comments he once made about men who carry water bottles not being “combat ready”. Meanwhile, Chloe doubled down on her original statement, writing that men should “take [their] sips of water in private”. In response to another comment which read: “Real men drink sparkling water at nice dinner [sic],” she wrote simply: “Yes, this is true.” Her replies prompted numerous commentators to suggest the whole thing was either a joke or a sneaky attack on masculinity itself. One such observer wrote: “I truly think the way to defeat patriarchy would just be to make up increasingly impossible and random standards of masculinity until men break and admit they aren't into this whole masculinity thing anyway.” However, if you glance through one of Chloe’s Substack blogs, you’ll note it’s not the first time she’s expressed a belief in polarising gender standards. In one piece, in which she analyses the cult right-wing book ‘Bronze Age Mindset’, she writes: Every man should read this book if they wish to reclaim their masculinity and innate life-force that modern society has taken away from them.” All we can say is, we need more than a sip of water after all this. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The UK and EU pact is being seen as a step towards better relations over financial services.

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and rapper Stormzy are set to become joint owners of non-League club AFC Croydon. The pair are part of a three-man consortium, along with former Palace head of player care Danny Young, that has agreed a deal to acquire the assets of the south London side, who play in the Combined Counties Football League Premier South Division – the ninth tier of English football. Croydon announced contracts had been exchanged with the existing ownership and the consortium “will own, operate and develop their childhood hometown football club”. A statement added: “Whilst completion is subject to legislative and governance procedures, the three consortium members are excited about developing a community asset in the borough that gave them their own opportunities. “They hope to take the entire community on this exciting journey with them.” Zaha, 30, was born in Ivory Coast but raised in the borough of Croydon. He is already involved in community projects in the area through his own charitable foundation and an Academy. Zaha tweeted: “May the journey begin.” The latest announcement comes at a time of uncertainty of over Zaha’s playing future, with his Palace contract set to expire at the end of this month. The player has been offered a new deal at Selhurst Park but is yet to commit and has been linked with other clubs in the Premier League, elsewhere in Europe and Saudi Arabia. Stormzy, 29, also hails from Croydon and has a long-standing friendship with Zaha.

Bayern Munich make opening bid for Harry Kane to test Tottenham's resolve to keep the striker.

TikTok star Alix Earle is dating Braxton Berrios, Connor McDavid won his third Hart Trophy, Shohei Ohtani hit his 26th home run and more in the Roundup.

The USDA gave two brands, Good Meat and Upside Foods, the green light last week to start producing and selling lab-grown, or cultivated, chicken in the United States. But is that kosher, literally?

By Omar Younis LOS ANGELES Rescued from the beach, a sick sea lion and her newborn pup are

Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Jurrien Timber after Ajax agreed to lower their asking price to €50m. The Gunners' most recent offer is worth €48m.

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Flagging world markets got a lift