Joonmo Kwon , a former CEO of Nexon, is an example of an established game developer who decided to march into the wilds of Web3 gaming. He started Delabs Games in South Korea back in 2020 and moved into Web3 at the end of 2021. He raised a round of funding March 2023 ($12 million to date) and then went to work on a variety of games. He is also chairman of 4:33 Creative Lab (parent company of Delabs Games), which saw 70 million downloads for its hit game Boxing Star. Earlier this year, his company launched Rumble Racing Star, a Web3 kart racer on both PC and mobile. The game has reached nearly 10,000 daily active players who have played 2.4 million races during that time, and I had a chance to catch up with him on the state of blockchain gaming. We had an interesting conversation, especially around why Web3 gaming is taking a while to catch on in the West. Rumble Racing Star is one of the games that bridges Web2 free-to-play gaming with Web3 player ownership. Kwon thinks of it as “challenge to earn” when it comes to Web3 gaming. Kwon said the company’s Metabolts NFTs sold out in May and the firm is working on Space Frontier. Key partnership include Ambrus Studio, Batching AI, Cow Cup, and Proof of Play. Delabs is building on the Arbitrum protocol and is working on the the Delabs Playable Layer. What has he learned? Web3 gaming has a loyal following but a relatively small community. The games need to be fun, have a sensible economy, and they also need marketing. And while it has taken a lot longer to reach the mass market in the West than imagined, there are bright spots like the viral nature of mini-games on Telegram, Kwon said. The company has 30 people, and it’s working on an RPG survival game, an anime game and updates to the racing game. The game has nearly 10,000 daily active users and retention is high. He expects real success will come in 2024 or 2025. And Kwon is pivoting to focus on games on Telegram using the TON blockchain, with launches coming for Ragnarok (not the same as Ragnarok: Monster World from Zero X/Gravity) and Boxing Star on Telegram, which has seen a surge in blockchain gamers in 2024 because of the success of other companies’ games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin. Delabs Games’ titles will see beta tests soon. This past July, Delabs Games launched its first game on Telegram with the baseball game Giga Chad Bat . The idea is to take games to where gamers are already connecting. The company is planning to launch the Delabs Games Platform Mini App, designed as a gateway for Web3 integration in its games. This platform is set to debut in December, initially targeting Telegram users to build momentum before the official game launches. Here’s an edited transcript of our interview. GamesBeat: We spoke when you first announced Delabs Games. Joonmo Kwon: Yes, Delabs founded in May 2020. We started out in Web3 games at the end of 2021. This year we’re marketing aggressively. GamesBeat: What’s happened since you started? How much progress have you made since unveiling the web3 focus? Kwon: In Web3 gaming, the product is most important. You need sensible economics around NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the game economy. But we also need marketing. We’ve been doing a lot of marketing and building community. We have a very solid, loyal community on Twitter and elsewhere. We launched our first game, Rumble Racing Star, last December and in January on PC and smartphones. We’ve had very good traction so far. The users are very engaged. We’ve seen good revenue. We launched a mini-game on Telegram. We’ve been polishing that. We plan to launch more games this year and early next year, including more Telegram games in the fall. ( He explained this move in a recent tweet). GamesBeat: In the spring of 2023 you mentioned a racing game, an RPG survival game, and an anime-style game. Kwon: Right, those are our three major games. Rumble Racing Star is an arcade racing game. It’s good for streaming, tournaments, and esports. The second game, Space Frontier, is a survival MMORPG game, and the third game is also an MMORPG. They’re in good shape and ready to be launched soon. GamesBeat: How many people work for you now? Kwon: We have 30 people in-house now. We outsource some graphics work, but 90% of the work is done in-house. GamesBeat: How much money did you raise altogether? Kwon: It was about $12 million. GamesBeat: The Web3 element, how does that work? You mentioned NFTs. What do people get that they can use in a racing game? Kwon: We like sport value tokens (SVTs) and achievements. They get SVTs and NFTs. We have the genesis NFT for Delabs called Adventure Pass. If you have this Adventure Pass, you get special parts for the racing game. You also get multipliers for boosting your points. It’s like a pass in Disneyland. Every game will have benefits for the Adventure Pass. GamesBeat: Part of the game is free to play, and then part of the game relates to the Web3 purchases? Kwon: It’s mostly free to play. That’s much more easily accessible to users. We have three billion gamers around the world. We wanted to make it much easier to access. A smooth experience for gamers is the most important thing. GamesBeat: When did Rumble Racing Star first launch? Kwon: Last November we launched the PC version. The mobile version followed in January. GamesBeat: How many races have you had now? Kwon: It keeps growing. We’re at (2.4 million) now. GamesBeat: In what context do you consider that to be a success? Is it the engagement? Kwon: Not only engagement, but also the core gameplay loop. This is our first web3 game. We have about 10,000 DAUs, which is very satisfactory. Our users enjoy playing the game. Retention is pretty high. A lot of them stream. In terms of revenue, we’re not super successful yet, but in terms of gameplay and user satisfaction and community satisfaction, we’ve been very successful. We’ve gained a lot of experience and learned a lot on this game. GamesBeat: How widely available is the game now? Is it worldwide? Kwon: It’s worldwide on both mobile and PC, except for a few countries that prohibit Web3 gaming. In those cases we just block the web3 parts. You can still enjoy the game without any Web3 elements. GamesBeat: How large a market cap does the game have, the token market cap? Kwon: We plan to have more than five games, but we won’t launch them all until early next year. We use only one native token. But the token isn’t out yet. GamesBeat: How are you able to get on the app stores? Are there limitations related to the Web3 functions so you can get on the app stores? Kwon: Yes, we don’t include the Web3 elements on the iOS App Store or the Google Play Store. You have to connect through our website, Star Garage. Then you can play with the Web3 features – connect your wallet, access NFTs, get the SVTs and so on. GamesBeat: I talked to the folks who do the NFL Rivals game. It’s another Web3 game on iOS and Android. Apple lets them on the App Store because the functionality stays the same between Web2 and Web3. Players don’t get a different game or more features in the Web3 version. That gives them access to the App Store, but it’s a limitation on what the Web3 game can be. Is it the same with what you have to do with your Web3 version? Kwon: Exactly. We separate the Web3 and NFT elements. To connect your Web3 wallet you have to use our separate website. It’s not a very smooth experience for users. GamesBeat: The way this stays within the rules of the app stores, you have to buy a virtual currency with a credit card or some other way that allows Apple and Google to get their 30%? Then you can use that currency in the web3 game if you want. Kwon: Yes, that’s right. GamesBeat: Are you satisfied with this? Do you think being able to access the app stores this way will help you have successful games in the longer term? Kwon: No, I don’t think so. Gaming is all about experiences. We analyze our data and look at the funnel our users enter. When there’s any kind of friction around login or payment, or something like a tutorial that players feel is too long, they just leave. It’s free to play. It takes about a minute to download a new game. If players aren’t satisfied after a few minutes, they can just delete it and move on. Added friction is not good for the user experience. There’s still a lot of friction in Web3 games. That’s why the Telegram platform is getting a lot of attention from web3 game developers. They find much less friction there. GamesBeat: I’ve heard that about Telegram, that it feels like the old Facebook with how frictionless it is. Games can spread very easily. Kwon: Exactly. There’s much less friction. They have more than a billion users. Chat apps like WeChat, Kakao, the old Facebook, or LINE have been very successful platforms for games. In terms of friction, it’s easy to log in. It’s easy to make and connect a wallet. It’s a social platform. It has that virality. You can do things like set up leaderboards with your friends. GamesBeat: How far along are you with Telegram? What have you done there so far? Kwon: We launched a game called Giga Chad Bat, a Pokemon-like battle game. There’s a PvP element with scoreboards and guilds. The important part is the virality. You can invite your friends and play together. It’s just a test launch so far. We’ll keep polishing the game. We got a new build yesterday. We’re going to launch a major future project in Telegram. What we’re doing right now is very simple, but we’ve been watching the evolution of these chat app games. They started with hypercasual, but the user base has expanded. With mass adoption, they’ve slowly evolved into casual and mid-core games. GamesBeat: Do you expect Telegram games to progress in terms of the kind of gameplay you can create? Or do you think it will still stay relatively casual? Kwon: It’ll definitely evolve. If you look at what’s happened with WeChat, which is the largest chat app in China with 1.3 billion users, or Kakao, which has something like 99% adoption in South Korea, it’ll definitely evolve. We’re looking at the next generation of Telegram games. They’re going to be more like mid-core games, but with very short game loops, around five minutes, and very social. You can invite your friends, collaborate with your friends, play with your friends. GamesBeat: How large do you think Web3 games can get in terms of audience size, given the friction involved for new players? Do you think it’s still possible for them to grow to very large sizes through the mobile app stores? Kwon: Web2 gamers aren’t very happy right now. The Web2 industry is shrinking. We’ve seen about a 10% minus trend in the Korean market. Games have been commodified by the platforms, and there are so many games. We’re seeing as many as 250,000 or 300,000 new games every year. Games are becoming more and more aggressive with their monetization because the platforms take too much, and because they have to spend so much on marketing. They need to find ways to make more money. We see broader changes in media consumption, too. A younger generation is used to things like TikTok and YouTube shorts. When I ride the subway in Korea, I used to see people playing smartphone games, but these days I feel like 80-90% of what I see is people watching short videos on their phones. Their attention spans are very short, and they want to engage with socially interactive media. GamesBeat: In South Korea, what is the Web3 audience like? Can you compare it to the western or American view of web3 gaming? Is it more accepted in South Korea? Kwon: Koreans are always early adopters of technology. In terms of the crypto market, Korea is the second-largest individual country in the world. The Korean won is the second-most traded currency on crypto exchanges. We have about six million active crypto investors. That’s about 20% of the voting population in Korea. There have been times, during a bull market, that the daily trading volume of the crypto market in Korea was bigger than the stock market. At the same time, South Korea is the fourth-largest gaming market. There was a backlash around the collapse of Terra, though. Investors lost a lot of money on Terra and Luna in Korea. The government tried to create more clarity through regulation. I think that’s a good thing in the long term. GamesBeat: Are there things that you can or can’t do in the Korean market when it comes to Web3, compared to other markets like the U.S.? Are there restrictions you have to work around? Kwon: Right now, play-to-earn games are not allowed. But I think this is going to change. The government’s outlook right now is pretty harsh about crypto games after the Terra experience and some other scam tokens. Again, though, we expect it to change. GamesBeat: Where are most of your Web3 players, then? Are they in the U.S. or elsewhere? Kwon: They’re all over the world. We have players in the U.S., Russia, southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe. We have some in Japan. A few Chinese users come in through VPNs as well. GamesBeat: What’s your expectation as far as how your company can grow and how this market can grow? What do you see in the coming years when it comes to web3 games? Kwon: I’m bullish on Web3 games. In Web2 games, the market is already a red ocean. Users aren’t satisfied. A lot of Korean game companies are spending a lot of money on security, real-world security, because of angry users. We’ve had users coming to companies to demonstrate. Web3 feels like the direction that the game industry will go. But we need good products. We need fun games. We need smart economics to make these economies work, inside and outside of our games. We need the right marketing for web3. I’ve been through many years of innovations in the game industry. I’ve experienced stand-alone online games, paid downloadable games, free-to-play games. The innovation around web3 can be much bigger than those combined. GamesBeat: There are some very interesting features web2 games can’t match, like player ownership and the ability to resell items. Wreck League had a very interesting structure, where the Web2 players needed the Web3 players, because they could buy more special mechs from the Web3 players, while the Web3 players had that ability to create their own mechs and sell them, but also enter those mechs into esports tournaments. They could fight for pink slips, essentially. But each side benefited. There was a symbiotic relationship between both groups of players. (Editor’s note: The game did not quite go as expected). Kwon: It’s a smart way to structure a game. I believe that in the near future, though, players won’t necessarily even know that they’re playing a game that’s Web2 or Web3. They’ll engage with a game, and they won’t look at an item as an NFT. It just won’t be a rental from a company. They’ll truly own it, and they can trade it or use it to participate in a community, in a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). I believe in user-generated content as well, and in interoperability, where items from one game can be used in other games. That’s how the ecosystem of Web3 gaming as a whole can expand. GamesBeat: Are there other successful Korean Web3 game companies so far? It feels like Koreans have been much more aggressive at moving into Web3. Kwon: Korea is a small country, with only about 50 million people, but it’s been leading innovation in the game industry for years. Free-to-play was invented here. The first esports competitions here were in 1998. We had some of the first pro gamers. Parents were freaked out at the time. We had the first 24-hour cable TV gaming channel. We had some of the first internet cafes, 30,000 internet cafes by 2000. Japan is still big in animation and in console games, but in terms of online games and free-to-play games, Korea and China have been innovating much faster. There’s been a leapfrog effect. When you look at the hit rate in games, the chances of making a blockbuster, it’s very low. Even with the best team, the best developers. With a web3 game there are more things you have to do right. You have to get the economics right. You have to get the Web3 part right. It’s a much bigger challenge. GamesBeat: I wonder if something like Hamster Kombat could end up being the biggest Web3 game. Kwon: It’s an interesting movement. Those kinds of games–can you even call it a game? But it’s off to a good start. I’ve looked at the data on one of the biggest Telegram games. I heard from the founder that 40% of their new users have never experienced Web3 games. That’s a very interesting, exciting data point. That might be a platform where mass adoption can happen. GamesBeat: Do you see a major benefit to having that adoption happen on mobile or PC instead of Telegram? Kwon: I don’t really care where that mass adoption happens, which platform. Once players experience Web3 gaming, then it’s hard for them to go back. It’s like free-to-play. Once players experienced that, once they didn’t have to pay, the market just got bigger and bigger. You can truly own your in-game items. You can participate in governance. You can make your own content, your own skins and costumes, and sell those items. Why would you go back to centralized games? Once people experience Web3, whether it’s through browser or PC or smartphone or Telegram, they’ll keep looking for Web3 games. GamesBeat: Looking back at the history of free-to-play, what was the moment when that succeeded? When did that overcome the friction, or the fear of change? Kwon: The first free-to-play game was invented by Nexon. That was QuizQuiz. It was very small at first. I think the monthly revenue was maybe $10,000. But everyone could access it without any payment. They could play it and decide whether they wanted to keep going or stop. Online games grew alongside free-to-play. With online games, you needed more users, more concurrent users. It’s a virtual society, or a virtual party. The more, the merrier. Everyone enjoys these games in a different way. A doctor, one hour of his time is worth more to him than, say, a high-school kid. Spending some money to reduce your grinding time just creates a more fair competition. I like spending an hour or so playing a game, but I don’t have the time to grind. An earlier generation of gamers, especially console gamers, they criticized free-to-play at first. They said that it was just paying to win, that it wasn’t fair. But look at it now. Three-fourths of the market is free-to-play. GamesBeat: Do you expect a similar moment for Web3 games any time soon, when we can say this is clearly successful? Kwon: I think it will be this year or the next. Once we have a huge, successful game–that’s what happened in Korea. The first free-to-play games was very small in terms of revenue. But when Maple Story launched, when all the FPS games launched in 2003 to 2005, they built a critical mass of users. The paradigm shift happened very quickly. It’s all about user experience. The big challenge for Web3 is that smooth experience, a frictionless experience. I think Telegram can be one of the platforms that provides a catalyst to create that. GamesBeat: I caught up with the nWay people recently when they launched a new game, and I asked them about Wreck League. They felt like the Web3 players right now are not as hardcore. They like more casual games. It’s more difficult to make a hardcore Web3 game succeed. That was one of their interesting observations about launching Wreck League. They haven’t given up on it, but they feel like it might be too early for that style of game in Web3. It takes a lot of skill. It’s not a super easy game to play. What do you think? Kwon: Yeah, I agree. I know the founder of nWay (Taehoon Kim, who is now former CEO) very well. He’s a very insightful developer. Web3 gamers are not highly committed gamers yet. They don’t necessarily want complicated games. The big difference in Web3 is about true ownership of in-game assets. If it’s too casual a game, there isn’t an opportunity to own those assets. We need games that involve progression, like RPGs, where you grow and collect items and upgrade equipment and level up your characters. But it should start very casually. As you progress and own more assets, you’re likely to settle down in a game. In real life, you’re more likely to stay someplace once you have more assets there – a car, an apartment. It’s the same in a game. Once you’ve invested more of your time and energy, you’re going to stay with it. A lot of Web3 gamers aren’t necessarily even gamers at all, in a way. They’re grinders. It’s not a game. It’s more like a job for them. That’s okay. They’re just extrinsically motivated users. As they grow and progress and gain more items and so on, they’ll settle down as well. That extrinsic motivation can convert into an intrinsic motivation. It happened to me when I was young. My mom wanted me to read books, so she’d give me some money every time I read a book and told her about the story. Later on she stopped giving me money, but I still loved to read. It’s just about finding that primary motivation. It can be extrinsic, earning money and trading items, and intrinsic as well, enjoying that activity more than other ways of making money. It’s a primary and secondary thing, not 100% one way or the other. GamesBeat: We had a lot of Web3 game companies that got started, and they found a lot of funding. When I looked at that funding, at one point 50% of all the companies receiving venture capital were Web3 game companies. It hasn’t taken off as fast as some of those companies and investors expected, though, and a lot of those companies just went out of business. The market has taken off too slowly. How many successful Web3 game companies do you think we’re going to see? Kwon: Number one, when you look at Web2, it’s really tough, as I say, to launch a game and be successful. The same is going to be true with Web3 games. You need a good product, a fun game, and that’s tough. Plus, with Web3 you have to have smart economics, inside and outside the game. You need to build a community. You have to maintain that decentralized governance. There are so many more things you have to do. A lot of the Web3 game projects I see — some of them don’t have the product. They just have hype and speculation. For a time it was easy to draw investment that way. Some companies have a good product, but they don’t know how to make it a good Web3 game. But once one of these games hits big, the returns will be huge. This can be a perpetual game, an autonomous world. Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily By subscribing, you agree to VentureBeat's Terms of Service. Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here . An error occured.Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, took to social media Monday to criticize President Joe Biden for pardoning his own son, Hunter Biden. “No one is above the law except the Presidents nepo baby is a helluva parting message for democrats...” McCain wrote on X. The president’s son was convicted earlier this year on tax evasion and drug charges. ADVERTISEMENT Some commenters pointed out that McCain herself has enjoyed a career as a political commentator at least partly because of her father’s successful career in Washington. “You’re a nepo baby and no one would have known you were it not for your dad,” one commenter said. “Says the nepo baby,” another commenter wrote. McCain launched her career in 2008 during her father’s unsuccessful run for president with a blog about life on the campaign trail. She then worked for multiple news organizations as a columnist and commentator, including the Daily Beast, ABC News, Fox News and MSNBC. She also was a co-host of daytime talk show The View from 2017 to 2021, and famously left the program after feuding on-air with Joy Behar. Many Republicans have criticized Biden’s sweeping pardon of his son, a surprising move that happened just days before Hunter’s sentencing in separate tax and gun cases. Biden pardoned his son for all offenses he “committed or may have committed or taken part in” from January 2014 to December 2024, writing in a statement that he believed politics had infected both cases and that his son had been “treated differently” than other defendants charged with similar crimes. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” Biden said.The Detroit Lions have arguably been the best team in the NFL this season, as Dan Campbell's squad is 11-1 and atop the NFC North through 13 weeks. The Lions have won ten consecutive games after a 1-1 start and tallied a scrappy 23-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day in Week 13. One of the primary reasons for the Lions' success in 2024 has been the impressive play of the defense, especially the interior defensive line. Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike have been one of the better defensive tackle duos in the league this season, as the tandem admirably anchors the middle of Detroit's injury-riddled defensive line. The Lions signed McNeill to a four-year, $97 million contract extension on Oct.16 , but Onwuzurike is set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. If general manager Brad Holmes fails to retain the 2021 second-round pick this offseason, Bleacher Report's Matt Holder believes New York Jets defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw could sign with Detroit. Detroit wisely signed Alim McNeill to a contract extension, but Levi Onwuzurike and John Cominsky are impending free agents. So the team will still need to add some depth on the interior defensive line this offseason. Kinlaw isn't a game-changer by any means. However, he has been a solid player throughout his career. In other words, the 27-year-old could contribute off the bench and should be affordable in free agency. Though Kinlaw isn't an elite player, the 2020 No.14 overall pick would be an adequate replacement for Onwuzurike if the star defensive tackle departs Detroit this offseason. Kinlaw spent the first four seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the Jets in the 2024 offseason. The former South Carolina standout saw limited playing time in San Francisco till his final year with the team in 2023, when he posted 3.5 sacks and 31 quarterback pressures in six starts. Thus far in 2024, Kinlaw has started every game for the Jets and has tallied 2.5 sacks and 21 quarterback pressures . The 27-year-old has been inconsistent this season but is set to have his most productive campaign yet and should be relatively cheap to acquire. Overall, signing Kinlaw to a low-risk, high-reward deal would be a savvy move from Brad Holmes if Onwuzurike walks in free agency. MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS Lions injury updates: Carlton Davis, D.J. Reader, Taylor Decker, more Multiple Detroit Lions players among leaders in Pro Bowl voting Dan Campbell has blunt stance on Jahmyr Gibbs leaking sensitive Lions info
President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden drew sharp criticism from Republicans but also from fellow Democrats, who said the move sets a bad precedent and sows doubt in a U.S. justice system they have tried to defend against President-elect Donald Trump's attacks. Biden, a Democrat whose term ends on Jan. 20, signed an unconditional pardon for Hunter, 54, on Sunday and said he believed his son had been selectively prosecuted and targeted unfairly by the president's political opponents. On Monday, the White House said Biden also feared his political opponents would continue to persecute the younger Biden in the future. Biden previously pledged not to intervene in the two criminal convictions against his son. Many of his own allies said they sympathized with the president's urge to help out his troubled son but couldn't back the move.As TikTok bill steams forward, online influencers put on their lobbying hats to visit Washington
Former city councilman Reggie Harris to become Rep. Greg Landsman's chief of staffHow South Korean gaming veteran Joonmo Kwon sees the new reality for Web3 games | The DeanBeatPitt received a verbal commitment Monday from offensive tackle Kendall Stanley, who will arrive from Charlotte with three seasons of eligibility. Offensive line will be one of coach Pat Narduzzi’s priorties in the transfer portal this offseason after spotty play created problems this season, coupled with the losses of senior left tackle Branson Taylor and backup center Terrence Moore, who left for Toledo. Stanley (6-foot-5, 290 pounds) started 12 games at right tackle for Charlotte this season and was named honorable mention All-American Athletic Conference. He redshirted in 2022 and started one game in 2023 as a redshirt freshman. Ryan Baer, who will return next season as a redshirt junior, has played left and right tackle for Pitt, but moved to the left after Taylor was lost for the season with an injury. Stanley potentially can fill a need for Narduzzi in the starting lineup, even if Baer returns to the right side. Stanley also had scholarship offers from Virginia Tech, Oregon State, Kansas, Memphis, Texas-San Antonio, BYU, Miami (Fla.) and Michigan State, according to Rivals.com. He is Pitt’s third verbal commitment from the portal since the end of the season, joining kicker James London (Murray State) and wide receiver Deuce Spann (Florida State).
Boxing Day shopper footfall was down 7.9% from last year across all UK retail destinations up until 5pm, MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index found. However, this year’s data had been compared with an unusual spike in footfall as 2023 was the first “proper Christmas” period without Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, an analyst at the retail technology company said. It found £4.6 billion will be spent overall on the festive sales. Before the pandemic the number of Boxing Day shoppers on the streets had been declining year on year. The last uplift recorded by MRI was in 2015. Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, told the PA news agency: “We’ve got to bear in mind that (last year) was our first proper Christmas without any (Covid-19) restrictions or limitations. “Figures have come out that things have stabilised, we’re almost back to what we saw pre-pandemic.” There were year-on-year declines in footfall anywhere between 5% and 12% before Covid-19 restrictions, she said. MRI found 12% fewer people were out shopping on Boxing Day in 2019 than in 2018, and there were 3% fewer in 2018 than in 2017, Ms Matthews added. She said: “It’s the shift to online shopping, it’s the convenience, you’ve got the family days that take place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.” People are also increasingly stocking-up before Christmas, Ms Matthews said, and MRI found an 18% increase in footfall at all UK retail destinations on Christmas Eve this year compared with 2023. Ms Matthews said: “We see the shops are full of people all the way up to Christmas Eve, so they’ve probably got a couple of good days of food, goodies, everything that they need, and they don’t really need to go out again until later on in that week. “We did see that big boost on Christmas Eve. It looks like shoppers may have concentrated much of their spending in that pre-Christmas rush.” Many online sales kicked off between December 23 and the night of Christmas Day and “a lot of people would have grabbed those bargains from the comfort of their own home”, she said. She added: “I feel like it’s becoming more and more common that people are grabbing the bargains pre-Christmas.” Footfall is expected to rise on December 27 as people emerge from family visits and shops re-open, including Next, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis that all shut for Boxing Day. It will also be payday for some as it is the last Friday of the month. A study by Barclays Consumer Spend had forecast that shoppers would spend £236 each on average in the Boxing Day sales this year, but that the majority of purchases would be made online. Nearly half of respondents said the cost-of-living crisis will affect their post-Christmas shopping but the forecast average spend is still £50 more per person than it was before the pandemic, with some of that figure because of inflation, Barclays said. Amid the financial pressures, many people are planning to buy practical, perishable and essential items such as food and kitchenware. A total of 65% of shoppers are expecting to spend the majority of their sales budget online. Last year, Barclays found 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were made online. However, a quarter of respondents aim to spend mostly in store – an 11% rise compared with last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: “Despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it is encouraging to hear that consumers will be actively participating in the post-Christmas sales. “This year, we’re likely to see a shift towards practicality and sustainability, with more shoppers looking to bag bargains on kitchen appliances and second-hand goods.” Consumers choose in-store shopping largely because they enjoy the social aspect and touching items before they buy, Barclays said, adding that high streets and shopping centres are the most popular destinations.Kansas holds off Auburn for No. 1 in AP Top 25 as SEC grabs 3 of top 4 spots; UConn slides to No. 25 Kansas continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. Auburn is pushing the Jayhawks in the latest poll after winning the Maui Invitational and checked in at No. 2. Two-time reigning national champion UConn nearly fell out entirely after an 0-3 week at Maui, falling from No. 2 to 25th. The Southeastern Conference had three of the top four teams with No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Kentucky behind the Tigers. The poll featured six new teams, headlined by No. 13 Oregon, No. 16 Memphis and No. 18 Pittsburgh. TCU, Duke climb into top 10, Notre Dame drops in women's AP Top 25; UCLA and UConn remain 1-2 TCU has its best ranking ever in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a convincing win over Notre Dame. The Horned Frogs jumped eight spots to No. 9, the first time the school has ever been in the top 10. The Fighting Irish, who were third last week, fell seven spots to 10th after losses to TCU and Utah. UCLA remained No. 1, followed by UConn, South Carolina, Texas and LSU. USC, Maryland and Duke are next. Houston's Al-Shaair apologizes for hit on Jacksonville's Lawrence that led to concussion HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair took to X to apologize to Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence after his violent blow to the quarterback’s facemask led to him being carted off the field with a concussion. Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence scrambled left on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter of Houston’s 23-20 win on Sunday. He initiated a slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and unleashed on the defenseless quarterback. In the long post, Al-Shaair says "To Trevor I genuinely apologize to you for what ended up happening.” Philadelphia ready to go the distance with RockyFest week dedicated to 'Rocky' movies PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rocky Balboa fans are ready to go the distance to honor Philly’s favorite fictional fighter almost 50 years after the first movie launched the enduring series of an underdog boxer persevering despite the odds. The city Rocky called home at last has a week dedicated to the box office heavyweight champion of the world a year after the inaugural Rocky Day was held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps. RockyFest officially kicks off Tuesday and a series of events dedicated to the movies series are set to be held around the city. How to sum up 2024? The Oxford University Press word of the year is 'brain rot' LONDON (AP) — Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” its word of the year. It's defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state,” especially from consuming too much low-grade online content. Oxford University Press said Monday that the phrase “gained new prominence in 2024,” with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before. It was chosen by a combination of public vote and language analysis by Oxford lexicographers. The five other word-of-the-year finalists were demure, slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy and lore. Oxford Languages President Casper Grathwohl said the choice of phrase “feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology.” Scientists gather to decode puzzle of the world's rarest whale in 'extraordinary' New Zealand study WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Scientists and culture experts in New Zealand have begun the first-ever dissection of a spade-toothed whale, the world's rarest whale species. The creature, which washed up dead on a beach on New Zealand's South Island in July, is only the seventh specimen ever found. None has ever been seen alive at sea. Almost nothing is known about it but scientists, working with Māori cultural experts, hope to answer some of the many lingering questions this week, including where they live, what they eat, how they produce sound and how this specimen died. Hong Kong launches panda sculpture tour as the city hopes the bear craze boosts tourism HONG KONG (AP) — Thousands of giant panda sculptures will greet residents and tourists starting on Saturday in Hong Kong, where enthusiasm for the bears has grown since two cubs were born in a local theme park. The 2,500 exhibits will be publicly displayed at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of Hong Kong’s popular shopping districts, this weekend before setting their footprint at three other locations this month. The displays reflect Hong Kong’s use of pandas to boost its economy as the Chinese financial hub works to regain its position as one of Asia’s top tourism destinations. Violent hit on Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence 'has no business being in our league,' coach says JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was carted off the field after taking a violent elbow to the facemask from Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. It prompted two sideline-clearing scuffles. Lawrence clenched both fists after the hit, movements consistent with what’s referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury. Lawrence was on the ground for several minutes as teammates came to his defense and mobbed Al-Shaair. Lawrence eventually was helped to his feet and loaded into the front seat of a cart to be taken off the field. He was not transported to a hospital. He was quickly ruled out with a concussion, though. Al-Shaair and Jaguars rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones were ejected after the first altercation. Big Ten fines Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 each for postgame melee ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — The Big Ten Conference has announced it fined Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 each for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy for the on-field melee at the end of the Wolverines’ win in Columbus .A fight broke out at midfield Saturday after the Wolverines’ 13-10 victory when Michigan players attempted to plant their flag on the OSU logo and were confronted by the Buckeyes. Police used pepper spray to break up the players, who threw punches and shoves. One officer suffered a head injury when he was “knocked down and trampled while trying to separate players fighting." The officer was taken to a hospital and has since been released. Marshall Brickman, who co-wrote 'Annie Hall' with Woody Allen, dies at 85 NEW YORK (AP) — The Oscar-winning screenwriter Marshall Brickman, whose wide-ranging career spanned some of Woody Allen’s best films, the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” and a number of Johnny Carson’s most beloved sketches, has died. He was 85. Brickman died Friday in Manhattan, his daughter Sophie Brickman told The New York Times. No cause of death was cited. Brickman was best known for his extensive collaboration with Allen, beginning with the 1973 film “Sleeper.” Together, they co-wrote “Annie Hall," “Manhattan” and “Manhattan Murder Mystery." The loosely structured script for “Annie Hall,” in particular, has been hailed as one of the wittiest comedies. It won Brickman and Allen an Oscar for best original screenplay.
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Early Point Spread Released for No. 7 Alabama vs. Auburn
CoreNest Capital, Sologenic's VC partner, invests in Texture, a U.S.-based broker-dealer, to launch SoloTex, a new platform for trading tokenized equitiesElon Musk has called on his followers to stop donating to Wikipedia which he derogatorily referred to as ‘Wokepedia’ due to its significant budget allocation for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, reported New York Post. ET Year-end Special Reads Corporate Kalesh: Top family disputes of India Inc in 2024 The world of business lost these eminent people in 2024 Fast, faster, fastest: How 2024 put more speed into your shopping According to New York Post, the comments of Tesla CEO Elon Musk eventually came after the Wikimedia Foundation announced that nearly 30% of its $177 million budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year would be directed towards DEI efforts which will be amounting to over $50 million. This certain move has actually drawn heavy criticism from the conservatives who argue that such initiatives promote reverse discrimination. The remarks of SpaceX CEO were in response to a post by the right leaning commentator ‘Libs of TikTok’ which highlighted the budget breakdown, asserted New York Post. He also expressed his belief that Wikipedia is actually biased and is being controlled by left leaning activists while asserting that the organization needs to restore balance in its editorial practices. The Wikimedia Foundation has faced accusations of political bias in its content with studies suggesting a tendency to portray right leaning figures negatively compared to their left leaning counterparts, noted New York Post. The controversy surrounding Wikipedia reflects broader tensions over DEI policies in the corporate US where several companies have recently rolled back similar initiatives amidst public pressure from conservative influencers. 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View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program FAQs: What did Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently post on his X account? Elon Musk has called on his followers to stop donating to Wikipedia which he derogatorily referred to as ‘Wokepedia’ due to its significant budget allocation for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. How much percentage of the budget of Wikimedia Foundation is directed towards DEI efforts? Wikimedia Foundation announced that nearly 30% of its $177 million budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year would be directed towards DEI efforts which will be amounting to over $50 million. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Liverpool capped a brilliant Boxing Day for them with what turned out to be a comfortable victory over Leicester. They’re gonna win it and they bloody know it. The Liverpool hubris reached its peak ahead of kick-off. Boxing Day had seen Manchester City fail to win again , Chelsea miss the chance to go within a point of Arne Slot’s side as Fulham scored in the last minute to claim victory at Stamford Bridge , and Manchester United fall to their fifth defeat in ten games under their new manager in a result that makes no difference whatsoever to Liverpool’s chances of winning their second Premier League title, but will have made for delightful pre-game viewing for the Anfield masses, who must all have been chuckling in disbelief at how wonderful the world can be. Bruno Fernandes even got a red card, FFS . ‘Some tasty results in the Prem today’ accompanied by the wide-eyes emoji was the thinly-veiled dig from one Liverpool-supporting pal in a WhatsApp group featuring very quiet fans of rival clubs. I can tell you now there wasn’t a soul in that group that a) thought there was any point in watching this Liverpool game at Anfield against one of the Premier League’s worst teams, and b) wasn’t desperate for a Miracle On Easy Street so we could send him at least one put-down in a season of far too few opportunities to do so: ‘None more tasty than that one, mate.’ But no such luck. The entirely rational arrogance of the fans made for a very strange atmosphere at Anfield after Leicester took an early lead. Stephy Mavididi found Jordan Ayew in the box after a fine run and cross, and the Leicester forward took a touch, swivelled and found the corner of Alisson’s net via a slight but crucial Virgil van Dijk deflection. ‘What the hell is this?’ appeared to be the Anfield consensus. ‘Do they not realise this is our day in our season?’ By the 35th minute Slot’s side had put 27 crosses into the box but had had just one shot on target, and there was a mixture of frustration and amazement emanating from the stands that Liverpool weren’t just swatting Leicester aside with the disdain the difference in their points tallies called for. The Reds dominated the ball but Leicester held a threat, with Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side a slightly more accurate or better-weighted pass away from a decent chance on at least three occasions in the 30 minutes after they opened the scoring, as Anfield groans provided the soundtrack. Before Cody Gakpo drew them level with a beautiful curled shot into the far corner, and without the context of Liverpool being four points clear with a game in hand that obviously rules this out as a possibility, it felt like the sort of mood in a stadium that precedes a side being booed off at half-time. It was really very weird. MORE LIVERPOOL COVERAGE ON F365... 👉 Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle already know their greatest January signing ever 👉 Liverpool transfers: Curtis Jones ‘exchange’ for Inter star ‘could occur in summer’ 👉 Liverpool ‘especially’ want PSG star with January transfer a ‘done deal’ James Justin definitely shouldn’t have let Gakpo cut inside him so easily but it was a lovely finish from the Netherlands international, who deservedly claimed the Man of the Match award after a game in which he was comfortably the best player on the pitch; no mean feat with Mohamed Salah playing on the opposite wing. Salah did get his goal; a very Salah goal at that, cutting in and spinning the ball into the corner with his left foot. But it was made by Gakpo, who turned away from two Leicester players in midfield before drifting the ball out wide for the unstoppable winger. Curtis Jones had already given Liverpool the lead by that point with a very neat first-time finish from a driven Alexis Mac Allister cross after Slot had apparently told his side to stop p*ssing about and win yet another game of football. And it was never really in doubt. The Liverpool fans knew it. The Liverpool players knew it. Arne Slot knew it. They are a thoroughly well-oiled machine with so many brilliant footballers, particularly in those forward positions, that off-days for individuals make no difference to the outcome as at least one of them – Gakpo in this case – will put in a performance that makes anything other than victory very unlikely against teams like Leicester. The wait for something to go wrong continues, but the more we see of Liverpool under Slot the more it feels as though they could cope with setbacks; even significant injuries to key players. Winning games of football is now ingrained to the point where anything else just feels wrong, with minor bumps in the road as was the case in the first half here against Leicester met with brief incredulity ahead of a swift return to the norm. They’re gonna win it, aren’t they?
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A Picture Says a Thousand Words: Stephen Ross Doesn’t Get ItWill Trump take Christopher Rufo’s conservative Florida vision nationwide?People are being encouraged to prioritise their mental health this Christmas and to avoid engaging in conversations involving potentially inflammatory topics. Chief executive of Turn2Me, Fiona O'Malley, said people should generally avoid discussing politics, religion, and money at the dinner table. Advertisement "They're generally the topics that can cause division. So, if you pivot into other topics, that can be a good way to keep tensions low," she said. "Toxic family dynamics can be emotionally draining and remember that you do have the right to set boundaries and to prioritise your own mental health." The mental health charity said this time of year can magnify tensions, especially in family dynamics where "unresolved issues or dysfunctional patterns exist". Those who are forced to socialise with 'toxic' family members can find Christmas particularly tough, the charity said.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Freshman wide receiver George Dimopoulos threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dane Pardridge on the first play of double overtime and Jordan Hansen ended the game on a fourth-down sack to give Northern Illinois a 28-20 victory over Fresno State on Monday in the Idaho Potato Bowl. Dimopoulos, who played quarterback in high school, also converted the two-point conversion when he passed it to quarterback Josh Holst for his second completion of the season. Holst, a freshman walk-on, was making just his third start at quarterback as NIU was without starter Ethan Hampton, who entered with 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with six interceptions. Holst completed 18 of 30 passes for 182 and two touchdowns for Northern Illinois (8-5). He was also intercepted on the first play of the game. Both teams missed a 35-yard field goal in the final three minutes of regulation, including Dylan Lynch's third miss of the game on the final play to send it to overtime. Fresno State started overtime with a touchdown when Bryson Donelson was left wide open out of the backfield to haul in a 9-yard touchdown pass. NIU needed five plays, and a defensive holding penalty, to score as Holst found Grayson Barnes for a 3-yard touchdown. Donelson finished with 15 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown for Fresno State (6-7). He added three catches for 28 yards and another score. Dual-threat quarterback Joshua Wood was 16 of 23 for 180 yards and a touchdown. Mac Dalena made six catches for 118 yards to help go over 1,000 yards for the season. Fresno State was without 14 players, including starting quarterback Mikey Keene after he transferred to Michigan. Two top-three receivers, Jalen Moss and Raylen Sharpe, also did not play as the Bulldogs were forced to use five new starters. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballJoe Biden commutes death sentences of 37 inmates but three still face lethal injectionMagicOS 9.0 Closed Beta Program Opens for Six Honor Devices!Britney Spears has been dating Paul Soliz on-again and off-again. According to the latest findings of In Touch , Paul’s ex-wife, Nicole Mancilla, has been able to track down estranged husband for months. Nonetheless, Nicole had asked the court to not dismiss the divorce she filed against Paul in October after eight years of marriage. In her petition, she filed “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. As fans will be aware, the 38-year-old contractor, met Britney Spears in 2022 while doing maintenance work at her mansion. However, the 42-year-old songstress’ inner circle reportedly does not trust Paul due to his criminal record. “But he always weasels his way back in. Paul has taken on the job of Brit’s social media manager, and now he has some of his kids [he has nine total] living at her house,” the source also dished, Before conclusion, they maintained that Britney is ignoring the red flags, which could leave her shattered and heartbroken once again.
NoneOklahoma State's 3-point accuracy sends Miami to defeat
A of farmers voted for Donald Trump, even though the president-elect’s economic agenda is antithetical to the financial interests of American agriculture. Since the dawn of this century, the for the production of food grains, feed grains and oil seeds. Much of that acreage has been in tropical regions. At the same time, population growth in China, a primary buyer of U.S. agricultural goods, has slowed, and its population is aging. Similar trends can be seen in other countries that have been traditional importers of U.S. goods. We also face major geopolitical events, such as the Ukraine-Russia war, and most resolutions of that war would likely adversely affect U.S. farmers. The world has changed. Competition among major producing nations has changed the ability of American agriculture to be a preferred and low-cost provider of grains to other nations. Against this backdrop, one must ponder the question of how an isolationist foreign policy and the use of heavy tariffs could possibly lead to anything other than serious adverse consequences for our U.S. agricultural sector. History teaches us lessons, and sadly we often forget them while drunk on the political cocktail of the moment. During the first Trump presidency, significant tariffs were imposed on China. This led to major negative impacts on U.S. farmers. What did the government do? The Trump administration created an ad hoc disaster relief program that paid billions to U.S. farmers. “Ad hoc” is just a shiny term for an administration not being able to get its act together to have a consistent and logical approach to setting policy. It is akin to government by chaos — going from one fire drill to another. Trump was elected based on many promises, one of which was to “drain the swamp.” There is a lot of chatter about reducing government outlays for all sorts of programs. Trump wants to put America “first.” Setting aside political differences, the reality is that America is not an island. It is an important part of the larger world. Withdrawal from engagement with other nations, whether in the context of trade or overall foreign relations, cannot lead to good consequences for America’s economic security, nor for our nation’s ability to play a strong role in maintaining a stable and peaceful world. My fellow farmers, it is time for a reality check. We face way more than a theoretical risk of losing a large share of the markets for our grains and livestock. Don’t count on that brown envelope from Uncle Sam in your mailbox to bail you out from hardship. From the extensive reading that I have done on the topic of the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs, no credible economist paints any picture other than one of significant detrimental consequences to our agricultural sector. The same is true for many other segments of the economy. America has to maintain a global perspective — rather than one that stops at our shores — to stay competitive and to remain in its role as a world leader. The proposed paths of Trump’s next presidency are antithetical to those roles. Palen is a Kansas native and a fifth-generation farmer and agriculture consultant in Colorado and Kansas. He wrote this for the , and it was distributed by the Kansas City Star and Tribune Content Agency. Get local news delivered to your inbox!