List of All Articles with Tag 'vi'

Wall Street pointed toward gains ahead of a closely watched U.S. inflation report

Stocks usually rise when companies make more in profit than analysts expected

A model has shared her battle with an incurable condition that causes struggles when walking – saying evil bullies call her “penguin.” Victoria Matosa used to work out tirelessly in the gym but didn’t notice any results, leaving her feeling deflated. She had no idea that a health condition was standing in the way of her fitness progress. At school, the influencer, who now has 4.3 million followers on Instagram (@soyvictoriamatosa), was bullied for the appearance of her “thick” legs, with peers giving her cruel nicknames. Feeling too “ashamed” to leave the house and wear certain clothes, such as shorts, Victoria sought out medical advice and was diagnosed with lipedema, an incurable disease that causes abnormal fatty deposits to build up unevenly in the body. Now, the 26-year-old is hoping to raise awareness about the condition and help others accept themselves. “I always had thick legs but it started to get worse after [I started getting] my period [and] I couldn’t even wear shorts outside the house, I felt too ashamed,” Victoria told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “I started to avoid going to the beach and only [wore] leggings and jeans, which made me very uncomfortable, [as well as] distancing myself from friends out of embarrassment. “Due to bullying and pressure to always be doing a lot of exercise to lose weight, I tried many restrictive diets, which resulted in me binge-eating. “I [used to] spend three hours in the gym until I reached exhaustion, giving up and then eating compulsively.” Victoria, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was diagnosed in February 2023. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Since then, she has experienced “heavy pain” in her swollen, inflamed legs, as well as feeling very tired in the knees. While “relieved” to finally have an answer for her unusual symptoms, she’s also been left sad knowing that the only options are to either have surgery or go on a restricted diet for the rest of her life. The influencer said: “It was a mixture of feelings – before, I blamed myself for not being able to lose weight in my legs, even working out intensely. “Now, I go to the gym and have an anti-inflammatory diet, but I don’t feel ready to [have an] operation, as I’d have to do three liposuctions. “I feel sad and discouraged with each passing day [but] I try to accept and love myself more.” While sharing her health battle online, Victoria has received lots of praise but has also experienced her fair share of verbal “attacks”. She added: “I’ve already suffered a lot of bullying on the internet, people didn’t like me because of my weight and my body. “I got tired of receiving messages of curses that only had the objective of hurting me. “This continues to be routine in my life, only different than before, because I don’t let these people make me feel like a monster. “In my love life, I’ve been very lucky. “I haven’t dated much but the relationships I have had never had insecurities with my body and they [my partners] made me feel very secure about myself. “I want to be able to help other women, because after revealing lipedema on Instagram, I had several reports from women who felt bad and didn’t know they had 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.

A man discovered he has a whole second family after taking a DNA test just for the fun of it and uncovering a long-held secret. The man was left utterly shocked by the results of an at-home DNA test, ordered on a whim, that uncovered his grandmother’s past. In a post on Reddit, the anonymous man said he had heard stories of people uncovering family secrets, but truly believed it would not be him as he thought he knew all there was to know about his family. The man explained: “We had family secrets - my grandfather had been married before and had a child, my great aunt had a child who she had adopted. As far as we knew all those secrets were now known.” But, after he submitted his DNA, he soon found out there was a lot more to his family history. He continued: “One day I got a message from a woman saying she couldn't figure out how we were matched and I looked and realised there was a group of matches that didn't make sense. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Between us we used DNA painter to create a ‘what are the odds’, it took quite a while to do and by this point, I thought one of my grandparent's fathers wasn't who we thought. I ask my parents but no one seemed any the wiser. “One day DNA painter just clicked and I realised my mum's dad wasn't the person we thought it was. My grandmother is still alive, nearly 90. I spoke to her and told her I knew. She has dementia but her memory of these events are crystal clear.” The poster revealed that his mother was the result of a holiday romance between his grandmother and another man. The man had wanted to marry her, but the Redditor's grandmother had told him she was not in love with him. When the news finally came out due to the DNA test, it was difficult for the family to comprehend, but there were some positives alongside it. He explained: “It was a very tough month, my mum cried a lot but there was a huge relief too. The man she thought was her dad wasn't very nice to her and treated her differently to her siblings. Although it didn't make it right it did allow her to at least know why.” He added: “I am so glad this came out whilst my Nan was alive. She was able to tell us a lot of detail we would never have known. In all honestly it's brought a lot of peace to my mum and it's worked out well but it was still a huge shock which I couldn't have predicted.” Although his story had a relatively positive ending, the Redditor warned others about the possibility of finding out family secrets and urged people to be mindful of that eventuality. 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.

Tapestry, parent company of luxury handbag and accessories retailer Coach, is buying the owner of fashion brands including Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo, Capri Holdings

Virgin Galactic is finally taking its first space tourists on a rocket ship ride after years of delays

People on TikTok are hating on “pink and grey” dorm room aesthetics after a video went viral, and here’s why. Moving into your room and decorating it to your taste is one of the most exciting moments of a young person’s time at university. But, according to a viral TikTok, your choice can communicate a lot about you to the people you are meeting for the first time. A clip that was shared by @abigailand_ and has been viewed 8.5 million mocked her sister, who is freshman at college, for choosing a pink and grey colour scheme for her dorm room. Text overlaying the clip read: “Watching my college freshman sister pick out pink and gray for her dorm room colors (I can’t interfere it’s a canon event).” The term “canon event” on TikTok refers to an event from your past, typically embarrassing or bad, that helps shape the person you become. The clip showed her sister sitting among her items such as cushions, bedding and even Tupperware in the pink and grey scheme. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @abigailand_ According to comments on the post, the pink and grey colour scheme is the choice of a “basic” person, as people argue that loads of girls decorate their dorm in the same way. Some have previously said it is similar to the way lots of young men have navy blue bed sheets. The pink and grey dorm interior has been referred to for years, with one tweet from 2020 reading: “Are there any incoming college freshmen who AREN’T doing pink and gray themed dorm rooms lol” Another suggested: “Fun drinking game: take a shot every time you see a pink/grey themed dorm room.” According to TikTok, having a pink and grey dorm room is a right of passage for many girls and the trend apparently shows no sign of slowing down. 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.

Jamie Dornan accepts that he "can't control" the public's "pre-ordained perception" of him.

A young woman whose health “deteriorated rapidly” after being diagnosed with long Covid and suffering a liver bleed is now in a wheelchair, feeds herself through a tube in her chest and has been unable to urinate in three years. Abigail Snowball, 29, was told she suffered from a rare condition known as Fowler’s Syndrome a few months after she was diagnosed with long Covid in July 2020 and her bladder stopped working. The social worker, from Northumberland, says she was “never sick” and enjoyed long runs before testing positive for coronavirus in early 2020 and feeling a sharp pain under her ribs which scans showed was a bleed on her liver. Abigail had not fully recovered from the virus and since the diagnosis, her health has gone from bad to worse, to the point where she has not been able to urinate in three years. She now depends on her husband Mark, 34, to carry her to the bathroom so she can empty her bladder, which can take up to four hours, and has not been able to enjoy a mouthful of food for nearly a year. “I had never really been ill before,” Abigail told PA Real Life. “As a child, I was always really lucky and never poorly. I look back at pictures from before Covid and I don’t even recognise myself.” Abigail had completed a 20-mile race, the Run Northumberland BIG 20, just a week before testing positive for Covid and having to quarantine away from Mark, who works in maintenance for Nissan. “It was very much at the start of the pandemic, back at the time when there weren’t any vaccines or much testing,” she said. “It was just tiredness like I’ve never felt before in my entire life. I remember having a cup of tea and struggling to lift the mug up.” Like many other people’s experience of catching Covid, Abigail’s health improved over the next 10 days. “I did get better, but I never fully recovered,” she said. But a couple of months later, while visiting her parents, Jane and Ray Cresswell, in Cornwall on holiday, she suddenly began feeling a sharp pain under her ribs. “It was a really strange location to have pain,” she added. She visited the GP a week later and was admitted to Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH) in July 2020, where scans revealed Abigail had suffered a bleed on her liver. “That’s when they diagnosed me with long Covid,” she said. “There was no other explanation, because they tested for blood disorders and carried out a scan. “They asked me if I had a fall or accident, but there was literally nothing.” Abigail was recovering from her liver bleed in hospital late one evening when a nurse asked when the last time she urinated was. “I actually thought, ‘god, it wasn’t since this morning’,” she said. “From that point, my bladder never regained any function. That was really the start of my health declining quickly.” Doctors hoped her bladder block was simply a result of the liver “trauma” and that she would be on the mend soon. But, sadly, this was not the case. A few months later, Abigail was diagnosed with a rare condition called Fowler’s Syndrome, which causes women to have problems passing urine. Abigail’s condition has deteriorated over the past few weeks and she is now losing weight rapidly. “I am now sleeping on the sofa downstairs and my husband Mark is having to carry me to the toilet and back again,” she said. “We can spend up to four hours at a time trying to drain my bladder, and the pain is just unbearable. “I went from running 20 miles to using a wheelchair. You don’t realise how inaccessible the world is until you are in that position.” Since the diagnosis, Abigail has spent more than 350 days in hospital and undergone 12 surgeries, including one in October 2021 to try and reconstruct her bladder. To make matters worse, she developed intestinal failure last year, which means she can no longer eat food. “I haven’t eaten anything in a year now,” she said. Instead, she is fed through TPN (total parenteral nutrition), a tube in her chest which delivers nutrients directly into the blood stream. Abigail and Mark, who married earlier this year in May, both received close to six months of training on how to perform the feeding procedure given there is a high risk of infection. “We had never even heard of that – being fed through a line into your heart,” she said. Abigail has been told by doctors that her liver bleed was “extremely likely” to have been caused by Covid. While Covid is known to harm the lungs, it has also been found to affect other organs, including the heart, liver and kidneys, but wider research is needed to better understand its long-term effects. Liver problems are common among patients with Covid-19, according to a study carried out by researchers at Oxford University and published in the peer-reviewed journal Hepatology Communications. Abigail, whose condition is considered “severe”, is hoping to receive specialist treatment in London, known as bladder Botox, which involves injecting Botox into the bladder every three to nine months, but there is no guarantee this will work. “Because of how severe and complex my case is, we’ve exhausted all our options here and the doctors are saying that I need to see the specialists in London,” she said. “Removing my bladder completely remains on the cards, but it’s incredibly high risk because of my intestinal problems. “There is no cure for Fowler’s, so it’s about managing it in the best way possible.” The combination of health conditions has left Abigail unable to perform everyday tasks. “It’s funny because the things I want to be able to do are so normal,” she said. “Just being able to wake up, take the dog for a walk and go to work. “Things that in the past, I completely took for granted.” To help cover the costs, Abigail’s friend Emma Holt has set up a GoFundMe which has received thousands of pounds in donations. “We never imagined in our wildest dreams that we would raise the amount of money that we have already,” she said. “It’s the one thing that really keeps us going, when things are really difficult. “Knowing that we have so many people behind us and supporting us is amazing.” Fowler’s Syndrome is most often caused by infection or following surgery or trauma, but a link to long Covid has yet to be established and more research is needed. Dani Coombe, CEO, Fowler’s Syndrome UK said: “It’s too early to say if long Covid is a trigger for Fowler’s syndrome; we haven’t seen an increase in Fowler’s and retention post-Covid yet, and there is no indicator that urinary retention gets worse. “Our research into what patients believe triggered their urinary retention shows that infection is the most common trigger at 57 per cent, followed by surgery in 32 per cent of patients and trauma at 19 per cent. “It would be noteworthy to see in coming years if there is an increase in women with Fowler’s because of the trauma of Covid-19.” Read More Fake meat is dying, but that shouldn’t mean the end of veganism What I gained (and lost) from walking 10,000 steps a day for five months Woman behind ‘not real’ plane tirade identified as marketing executive with $2m home Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

China has increased the number of countries that its big-spending tourists can visit by more than 70 following the lifting of its last COVID-19 travel restrictions

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s revenue beat expectations after its core e-commerce arm returned to growth, a big step

The American Airlines 'not real' woman, identified as marketing exec Tiffany Gomas, has gone viral yet again in newly surfaced footage. To recap, on 2 July a distressed Gomas was recorded leaving her seat and heading towards the front of the plane. She pointed at a passenger and shouted: "That mother f**ker back there is not real." After weeks of online speculation and attempts to identify the passenger, she was eventually named. There have since been conspiracies, TikTok trends and even merch dedicated to Gomas' phrase. But, the reason behind her meltdown remains in the air. Now, in a closer angle shared on YouTube from a fellow passenger, Gomas can be seen talking with a flight attendant. "Stop the f***ing plane. Stop the f***ing plane, stop the plane," she said. Later in the clip, a passenger can be heard asking: "What’s her problem?!" Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter American Airlines “Not Real” Lady (Full Footage) www.youtube.com Another part of the clip shows Gomas attempting to walk down the aisle, but an attendant stops her and tries to calm her down. "I need to get the f*** off this plane right now," she said. She then refuses to return to her seat, saying: "I’m not sitting by that man." When Gomas walks back to her seat, she tells a fellow passenger: "See what happens after this. See what happens. See what the f*** happens after this." "Things aren’t right, I’m telling you, things aren’t right," she continued. The attendant calmly tells her: "What we’re going to do is, you accused someone of taking your belongings, you can file a report. That’s what I’m trying to tell you." "I’m getting the f*** off because there is a stupid f***ing dude on here." According to The New York Post, which viewed documents linked to the incident, the 38-year-old refused to leave the plane despite suggesting in her rant that she wanted to get off. "The female then started claiming the aircraft was not safe and did not want the aircraft to leave due to her believing it would not make it to its destination," the 2 July complaint read. "Due to the statements the flight attendants felt the aircraft needed to be rescreened. [The airline manager] explained that the passenger was denied boarding and they wanted her escorted to the public side." 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.