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It’s not quite the “sports equinox” that we had a few months ago, but there are lots of sports on television today. This is concerning. We’ll get into why shortly. First, let’s look at the sports day we’re having: In college football, it’s championship Saturday. The Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC and AAC are all playing their conference championship games today. There’s also lots of college basketball being played today with No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 3 Iowa headlining today. And on top of that, we get Saturday NFL football today. The Bills are playing the Broncos in the first leg of a doubleheader on NFL Network. Carolina and Green Bay will cap off the night with their matchup right after.Here’s a look at the full schedule. That is, indeed, a lot of sports. And that doesn’t even include the preseason NBA basketball going on today. Lots of people are going to enjoy this. Yet I can’t help but feel uncomfortable about the sheer amount of games that are being played today, in the midst of a global pandemic that isn’t going away anytime soon. Months of postponements and game cancelations have resulted in a compressed schedule, yet many of these leagues still don’t have an effective plan to stop the spread of COVID-19 among its athletes. So we have tons of sports, but at the cost of accepting that many of the athletes we’re cheering on may get sick by participating. Even worse, many of the athletes you’re watching play their respective sports today are unpaid, risking their health so that their universities and conferences can profit off of their talent. Maybe this changes soon. Earlier this week, there was a bill introduced in the Senate earlier this week giving college athletes a “bill of rights.” It includes provisions that would give athletes a share of the revenue from their sports, commissions and permission to profit off of their likeness. And, while this may not happen for a bit, yes, money is important. Watching the pro athletes today, you can at least maybe feel better about the fact that they are supporting their families and earning cash by participating, even if it is dangerous. The college athletes, however, are still playing games with no financial protection from their institutions. So, yes, appreciate your sports today. But also recognize that everyone who steps on a field or court today is putting a lot at risk to make this happen. This is the “This is Fine” meme in real life.

Rudy Giuliani is the man tasked with the seemingly impossible job of trying to prove Donald Trump was the alleged victim of voting fraud. The President’s personal lawyer has been scrambling around in a desperate bid to overturn the US election results since Joe Biden was announced president elect on November 8. But it seems his daughter Caroline – a loud and proud Democrat (and major fan of Kamala Harris, the first ever female vice-president elect) – thinks her dad should let it go. The 31-year-old has penned a humorous list of “self-care tips” to help “Trumpworld” accept defeat. And in light of her dad’s recent public downfall, which include the former 9/11 hero and New York mayor suffering an embarrassing hair dye fail and a humiliating cameo in the latest Borat film, people are urging Mr Giuliani to take note. RELATED: Should Donald Trump concede? Have your say in our online poll Among the many zingers Caroline wrote in her piece for Vanity Fairis a plea to stay away from artificial dyes while making “false claims of voter fraud in Philadelphia” – a clear message for her dad who was photographed with dark steams of dye rolling down his face at a recent press conference. She also urged to him to “take stock of your failures” – writing that “only sociopathic narcissists have delusions of grandeur, blaming others for their failings, often with tragic consequences”. Caroline also poked fun at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping fiasco, which saw her dad holding a press conference at a garden centre situated between a crematorium and an adult sex shop called Fantasy Island, rather than at – as had been expected – Philadelphia’s Four Seasons hotel. Some of her helpful nuggets of advice appear to be aimed at social media fan Donald Trump as she suggested staying off Twitter for a minimum of eight years, adding “forever” would be better. “Pack up any and all belongings from the White House. Then trek into the wilderness until you lose cell service and Twitter will no longer refresh. Stay until America is back on track. This may take anywhere from eight years to forever,” she wrote. She also implored sore losers to take up a new hobby, but stated “whining, lying, and grabbing women by the pussy are not skills”, which appears to be another not-so-subtle stab at the outbound president. Among all the laughs seemed to be a personal plea from Caroline to her dad. “Stop ignoring your relatives who just want you to allow the democratic process to unfold unobstructed. (Artsy daughters are especially insightful.)” Understandably, Twitter has erupted over the “hilarious” piece with many branding it “clever and courageous”.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a news conference in response to the ongoing situation with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, inside 10 Downing Street, London ,Britain, Dec. 19, 2020. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed new coronavirus lockdown measures in England Saturday, reversing initial plans to ease restrictions during the holiday season after a new strain of the coronavirus was detected in the country. “I know how much emotion people invest in this time of year ...I know how disappointing this will be,” Johnson said at a news conference. “There is no alternative open to me.” Johnson imposed tighter controls after England’s chief medical officer confirmed Saturday that a new strain of the coronavirus in the country could spread faster and lead to even more surges in infections if left unchecked. The prime minister noted the new strain is up to 70% more transmissible than previous strains. Dr. Chris Whitty said in a statement there was no evidence the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or was more resistant to newly approved vaccines, but that urgent efforts were underway to confirm that. Whitty said Britain has alerted the World Health Organization about the strain, which British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday was detected in the south of England. As a result of the new measures that become effective at midnight Saturday night, people in London and southeast England are now under a new higher tier of restrictions, affecting about one-third of the country’s po[CENSORED]tion. They will be required to remain at home except for essential reasons, such as work. Non-essential retail stores will close, along with leisure and entertainment venues. In the U.S., American drug maker Moderna, Inc. and partners have started distributing its COVID-19 vaccine, the second approved for emergency use in the country. Trucks will begin shipping the vaccine to more than 3,700 U.S. locations on Sunday, U.S. Army General Gustave Perna said Saturday during a virtual news conference.

2020 might’ve been a dreadful year for most of us but keeping certain traditions alive is one way to cope with. That’s why December is still, even in 2020, the award season and BMW managed to claim some valuable wins this time around too. The German car maker won multiple awards in competitions set up by Auto Bild, Computer Bild and Auto moto und sport, all of them reputable magazines from their homeland.In the Connected Car Awards presented by Auto Bild and Computer Bild, the BMW Digital Key was recognized as the winner, a feature that will make your life considerably easier with the integration of your key fob into your smartphone. The BMW 3 Series was also deemed the car with the most innovative connectivity features in the ‘Connected Cars’ category by some 11,000 readers who completed the survey carried out by the auto, motor und sport and Moove magazines.The BMW Driving Assistant Professional collected the most votes from readers in the “Driver Assistance Systems Safety” category as well, marking yet another win. The ongoing expansion of connectivity towards a digital, emission-free future is – according to BMW – one of the central areas of activity through which the company is driving forward its strategic transformation of the mobility sector.Christoph Grote, Senior Vice President Digital Car, BMW Group, expressed his appreciation for the awards: “On behalf of the whole team at BMW I would like to sincerely thank all the readers involved for the three awards,” he said. “For us, these distinctions represent the best reward and motivation – above all, because the readers have decided the outcome. This vote of confidence from you confirms to us that we are heading in the right direction, and we will continue to do everything we can to delight our customers over and over again.”

When I first met with the staff at the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) in December of 2019 to map out stories for the upcoming year, the most common refrain I received from the staff was “high school sports, more than a game.” Never before have those words been more true than in 2020.The following are some of my fondest memories from the stories we published on Bham Now this past year. As a run-up to the AHSAA Basketball State Finals in Birmingham last February, we published a story about four officials who were chosen to referee the finals. Yes, we spotlighted the refs, the people some fans undeservedly love to boo and half the fans may disagree with every call. The refs understand, however, and steadfastly continue to do their jobs. Along with their passion for basketball, I was most impressed by their backgrounds. A second-grade teacher. A retired combat vet. An auto manufacturer. A paramedic. I still remember teacher Alganese Gaston talking to me in between class periods at Birmingham’s Hemphill Elementary School. My favorite quote from the story came from Marius Dockery, who works as a military contractor at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. “Officiating has enhanced my leadership abilities in corporate America. Being able to deal with different personalities, backgrounds, ethnic groups, understanding adversity and what the players are going through—I’ve blended that into my workplace as well. I take skills I’ve learned on the court and transfer them to my job.” Like many of us, high school sports in Alabama faced major challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic that struck our nation and our world in mid-March. Who can ever forget the moment when Governor Kay Ivey, along with State Superintendent Dr. Eric MacKey, closed the schools statewide. After a few weeks, it was evident the spring sports season was over. In May, we talked with McAdory High School Athletic Director and head football coach Bart Sessions about the heartbreaking day spring sports ended in 2020. Here is a passage from that story: On March 13th, a Friday, the state announced it would be closing schools the following Wednesday, the 18th. Despite the mid-week closure, Sessions and his coaches were hopeful that they would squeeze in a couple of baseball, softball and soccer games. They even looked at participating in a track meet. It was not to be. By the end of the weekend, school was canceled. “We can’t even let people back into the building. Literally, half the teams at McAdory have cleats left in their athletic lockers. Books were left in their locker up at the school, things you don’t think about. We haven’t been able to let them back in the school to get their items,” Sessions noted. This past spring Sessions reinforced what he teaches on the football field—you don’t know when your last play is going to be. The same goes for life. Hillcrest High School softball players at the Patriot Classic February 2020. (L to R) Haley Hollyhand, Gracie Vanderford, M’Kay Gidley, Ty McGee, Ayslan Blake, and Sara Kate Nichols. Photo courtesy of Hillcrest High School In our June edition, we featured the impact girls’ sports has on a community. We featured the Ramsay High School girls’ basketball team’s courage to overcome the tragic death of a classmate. Meanwhile, over at Oak Mountain High School, junior Emily Cox, who was born with a life-threatening congenital heart defect, overcame it and then turned her journey into supporting the local chapter of the American Heart Association. Then, there are the remarkable Lady Patriots at Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, who raised over $22,000 for Breast Cancer research. The money is raised via the school’s annual Patriot Softball Classic. Over the years, funds have gone toward: Funding and maintaining two dedicated rooms at the DCH Women’s Pavilion. Enabling women without insurance the opportunity to receive annual mammograms and other much-needed health care services. Each story was about teamwork—everyone pulling together.Ramsay High School’s girls’ 2019-2020 team and coaches. L-R Back Row Standing: Head Coach J.Ward, Asst.-Rodger Smitherman, Naomi Smitherman, Tahli King, Jaleigh Miller, Sydnei Clemon, Bryanna Williams, Kamiyah Manyama (bending down), Zoe Cooper, J’Kala Wallace, Yari Sigler, Christilyn Lumzy, Asst. Coach-Christina Watson, Strength Coach-Triston Pearson Front Row: Keiara Griffin, Mekayla Lumpkin, Elisa Saffold, DK Sanders, Faith Reynolds & Kiyla Calvin. Photo courtesy of Ramsay High School One other nice thing about the story in June: for the first time in nearly four months, we actually got to see a practice with student-athletes. The student-athletes and coaches were returning. Sports in 2020 were coming back. By late July, the AHSAA implemented protocols and rule changes to keep coaches, staff, student-athletes and fans safe. Football returned, as well as volleyball, cross country and swimming and diving. It was a huge task, but the kids were able to play. Meanwhile, in August, we featured the NFHS Network, a live-streaming service that gives schools the opportunity to produce their own events via the NFHS Network School Broadcast Program Platform and also gives fans and families an alternative to attending the games, especially if they have underlying health issues. 289 AHSAA schools are now members of the NFHS Network, and the AHSAA’s schools currently rank fifth nationally in the Network for events produced this school year.While football season was in full swing, we profiled Buddy Anderson, Alabama’s high school winningest football coach of all time. He retired after this season, ending up with a state-record 346 wins during his storied career at VHHS where he served as head coach from 1978-2020. What made that story difficult to write was the number of people who wanted to be interviewed. Once word got out a story was being written about him, folks started calling me, even rival coaches, wanting to offer a comment or two about the positive impact he has had on the community. We rarely talked about football games or wins. Top: Left to Right Abby Waldrep, Addisyn Smothers, Dacey Baker, Lydia Ergle, Sunny Snoddy, Gracie Manley, Coach Kaydi Woodard – Bottom: Left to Right Bailee Ory, Bracie Rodgers, Hadley Butler, Anna Grace Luker, Katie Barrett, Molly Gilbreath. Photo courtesy of Addison High School In late October, I got to see first-hand the Addison High School Bulldogs play the 2A girls’ volleyball state championship at the Bill Battle Coliseum in Birmingham. Located in Winston County, the town of Addison has one stoplight. On the day of the finals, I bet half the student body was in the stands. They won, notching their 12th Class 2A volleyball state championship since 2003. The Fall Sports season successfully ended in early December with the Super 7 Football Championships in early December. Each game was special, but the first game of the 2020 Championships (the Class 7A finals between Thompson High School and Auburn High School) has been called one of the greatest finishes ever and even made ESPN’s Sportscenter that night. Thompson, the defending state champions, scored 10 points in the last 18 seconds to win 29-28 and closed out a perfect 14-0 season. Here are the highlights:

“Mama, how many sleeps until Santa comes?” I look at my seven-year-old daughter; her eyes are alive with excitement and her smile reveals her missing front tooth. It’s only a matter of time before the other one falls out. When it does, I know I will indulge in a good cry. My baby with the gummy grin is long gone. The young girl before me still believes in St. Nick—for now. By this time next year, she might not, and as her mother, I want to do everything in my power to make this time of year extra-magical and memorable for her. Why? Because this is my first Christmas as a single mom. ALSO SEE: 27 amazing last-minute gift ideas for the hard to shop for people on your list If you had asked me last year if I thought my marriage would crumble amidst the chaos and loss of a global virus, I would have called the idea farfetched. If you had told me my little family of three would be split down the middle, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet here we are. “Fifteen,” I finally answer her, counting down the days in my own head to see how much time I have left to mentally prepare for the holidays. It’s always been such a special time of year for me, ever since I was a little girl growing up. I remember my sister and I laying out our stockings, waking up at five in the morning, nearly bursting from the thrill of it all. Waiting for my parents to get up so we could head downstairs and see all the gifts Santa had delivered. Once my daughter came along, I wanted to continue some of the same traditions I had grown up with, like my dad reading “The Night Before Christmas” after we left out some cookies and milk for St. Nick. My ex’s family always celebrated on Christmas Eve, however, so sometimes we would get home quite late, and my daughter would be half-asleep and worn out, in no mood to put out food or hear an old-fashioned story. The lack of time that night always hurt my heart a bit, and I knew I had the next day to follow our other Christmas traditions as we celebrated with my side of the family.

By Alistair Smout and William James LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday he hoped that England would not need to go into a third lockdown after Christmas and follow Wales and Northern Ireland in imposing the measure to stop the growing spread of COVID-19. Northern Ireland and Wales have both outlined plans to head back into lockdown after Christmas to control infection rates, raising suggestions that England might follow suit. "Obviously we're hoping very much that we'll be able to avoid anything like that," Johnson told reporters. "But the reality is that the rates of infection have increased very much in the last few weeks." Earlier schools minister Nick Gibb had said nothing was ruled out, but defended the tier system of restrictions as working well. Swathes of England's po[CENSORED]tion, including London, have either entered or will enter the highest tier of restrictions this week, Tier 3, which requires all hospitality venues such as pubs and restaurants to close except for takeaways. Data released on Friday showed infections were spiking. The Office for National Statistics Infection Survey said cases had increased after England's latest national lockdown ended on Dec. 2. Talk of tighter restrictions comes as Britain prepares to relax all measures over Christmas. Johnson resisted pressure to change the law, keeping a promise to allow three households to meet up over five days next week, but urging people to exercise extreme caution. John Edmunds, epidemiologist at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said the Christmas relaxation was a risk as prevalence was still high. "It doesn't look like the tier system is holding the epidemic wave back, unfortunately" he told Sky News. "I think we are going to have to look at these measures and perhaps tighten them up." (additional reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Giles Elgood)

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There are more than 600 million internet users in India, but only a fraction of this po[CENSORED]tion is fluent in English. Most online services and much of the content on the web currently, however, are available exclusively in English. This language barrier continues to contribute to a digital divide in the world’s second-largest internet market that has limited hundreds of millions of users’ rendition of the world wide web to a select few websites and services. So it comes as no surprise that American tech giants, which are counting on emerging markets such as India to continue their growth, are increasingly attempting to make the web and their services accessible to more people. Case in point: A feature that Google provides to quickly translate the content of a web page from English to Indian languages has been used more than 17 billion times by users in India in the past year. Google, which has so far led this effort, on Thursday unveiled some of its new efforts. The company — which counts India as its biggest market by users, and this year committed to invest more than $10 billion in the country over the coming years — said it plans to invest more in machine learning and AI efforts at Google’s research center in India and make its AI models accessible to everyone across the ecosystem. The company also plans to partner with local startups that are serving users in local languages, and “drastically” improve the experience of Google products and services for Indian language users.

The auto manufacturers have started to recover post the coronavirus pandemic. The earnings of the automotive segment are expected to rise further in 2021. German luxury carmaker BMW expects the operating profit margin at its automotive segment to come in at the upper end of its guidance in 2020, finance chief Nicolas Peter said, adding that business had recovered faster than expected. The group now expects the segment's margin on earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to come in at 2%-3%, having previously expected 0%-3%, Peter said. "The year has developed better than expected," Peter told journalists on Wednesday, adding volumes were now expected to decline by around 10%, compared with a forecast of at least 10% earlier. Volumes will rise in 2021, Peter said. (Also read | BMW takes its iX electric car to Arctic Circle) "We've also got a real pickup in order intake," he said, adding the group was preparing for a strong first quarter in Asia, including China. The group last month said Chinese demand for luxury cars had helped third-quarter profits rise nearly 10%, though it warned a new wave of coronavirus infections sweeping Europe and the United States posed a "considerable" risk to business. "We can see it in our order intake, but it's definitely not of the same magnitude we saw in spring." This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

Sports TV ratings plummeted this year, and it doesn’t look like they’ll surge back 2021, either. The pandemic has likely changed viewing habits forever. While sports leagues will still reap the rewards of multibillion-dollar TV contracts well into the next decade, they will be forced to adjust. The landscape is dramatically shifting. The 2020 sports calendar was one of the most chaotic in history. The coronavirus halted the entire sports world this spring, with leagues returning to play in June and July. We saw the NBA, WNBA and NHL play in Covid bubbles; MLB teams play in front of empty stadiums and cardboard cutouts; NBA Finals games getting tipped off in October. The tumult did not help ratings. Viewership for the Stanley Cup Finals dipped by 61%, and the NBA Finals were down 49%. It was the least-watched World Series on record. Even the almighty NFL is scuffling, with ratings down 7% through Week 14. The lower-than-expected numbers are causing NFL TV partners to give away some free advertising spots and present other make-good offers to sponsors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some surveys show players’ embrace of social justice causes like Black lives matter hurt ratings this year, while there’s little doubt our divisive presidential election also siphoned viewers away from games. Cable news networks enjoyed record performances this fall; Fox News made history as the most-watched TV network from May-September. The peculiar timing of events probably contributed to the ratings slide, too. The NBA playoffs are typically played in the springtime. This year, they took place during the TV doldrums of August. MORE FOR YOU ‘We Want Them All Infected’: HHS Distances Itself From Trump Appointee Who Repeatedly Pushed For ‘Herd Immunity’ Top U.S. CEOs Deliberate The Unthinkable: What Would Happen If Trump Won’t Leave The White House? Dwyane Wade, Travis Kelce, Dak Prescott Are Among Athlete Investors Scoring With $800 Million Cholula Sale Ravens-Steelers, which was scheduled to take place Thanksgiving night, wound up getting played on a Wednesday afternoon. The ratings were roughly half of last year’s Thanksgiving night affair. But it would be naive to view the 2020 sports ratings dip as an anomaly, says Dennis Deninger, a sports communicators professor at Syracuse University and Emmy-award winning producer. “We’ve seen major disruptions in people’s behavior patterns,” he told me on the phone. “As a result, even after people have been vaccinated and sports are being played as scheduled again, I think there is going to be for a number of years, a discernible leveling off of sport not returning to the same viewership levels it had pre-pandemic.” The acceleration of cord-cutting is killing TV The phenomenon of people cutting the cord and going with streaming services is not new. For years, cable networks have been confronted with fewer subscribers, leading to widespread cuts. ESPN laid off about 300 people in October 2015, and cut loose scores of well-known personalities and journalists in April 2017. At the time, ESPN had lost more than 10 million subscribers over multi-year period. The pandemic has accelerated many changes in our consumption habits across the retail industry. For example, it pushed forward our shift to e-commerce by five years, according to data from IBM’s U.S. Retail Index. As a result, the brick-and-mortar business has been devastated. Analysts predict brick-and-mortar closures could reach 25,000 by year’s end. Cable TV is another industry that’s been heavily impacted. The TV industry is on track to lose its most ever subscribers this year, with an estimated 6 million households cutting the cord. The number of cord-cutting households is now over 31 million. Last month, ESPN announced it was laying off an additional 300 people, and not filling 200 more positions. The WorldWide Leader was in nearly 100 million homes in 2013; now, the number stands at around 83 million. With fewer people watching linear TV, there are obviously fewer eyeballs on televised sporting events. Dramatically changing habits hurt sports TV ratings Changed behavior causes viewing habits to change as well. So much of the TV industry is based off ritual: network morning-news shows air as people are getting ready for work; primetime events air when people are settling in at night. But now, we are home a lot more — to say the least. In September, 23% of employed people teleworked, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The firm Global Workplace Analytics estimates 20-25% of the workforce will be working from home at least a couple of days per week by the end of 2021. With more flexible work schedules, our viewing habits have become increasingly non-linear. Nielsen reports streaming is up 74.4% year-to-year. “Flexibility and freedom are the definition of streaming services,” Deninger says. Sports, with their scheduled games, are rigidly timed. In other words, they offer the opposite of flexibility. “In the pre-pandemic era, when people were living more on schedules, watching a game in the evening became part of your schedule,” Deninger says. “Now if you have a big flexible schedule, your viewing patterns have changed tremendously.” In the streaming world, Netflix is the brand name, and accounted for 34% of total streaming time in Q2. It has everything: classic movies, new releases, dramatic series ... but it’s missing sports. In general, sports are receding from our daily lives. Participation in youth sports has fallen dramatically since March. Overall, there’s been nearly a 50% drop in physical activity among American children since the start of the pandemic, according to the Aspen Institute. Already, sports participation among Generation Z was declining. The pandemic could push them further away from the fields, and into their digital worlds. “These people didn’t get a chance to play high school basketball or soccer or football. The team disbanded,” Deninger said. “And when it reformed, there was less interest, because ‘I’m going to go home and watch Netflix.’” The Gen Z problem is real Sports leagues have been grappling with aging audiences for years. A 2017 study from Sports Business Journal found the age of the average viewer for each major league — with the exception of WTA Tennis — increased from 2000 to 2016. In some cases, the number increased dramatically: the NHL went from 33 to 49; MLB went from 52 to 57; the NFL went from 44 to 50. Mark Beal, an assistant professor at the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information who has written two books on Gen Z, says the kids will never settle into the habit of watching a three-hour football game. They didn’t grow up with the routine. After a landmark television event, such as the Super Bowl or Oscars, Beal says he’ll often ask his students whether they tuned in for a sizable duration of time. Each year, the number of raised hands dwindles. “Gen Z will tell you time is very valuable,” Beal says. “They don’t see the value in sitting and watching something for three hours, whether that’s a baseball game, the Super Bowl, or the Oscars.” This is more of a long-term concern for sports leagues, since Generation X and older millennials still hold the spending power. But Gen Z can’t be ignored. They are now the biggest generation in the world. And they don’t follow sports as closely as their elders. According to ESPN’s internal data, the number of 12-17-year-olds who identify as “avid sports fans” has dropped from 42% a decade ago to 34% last year. When analyzing Gen Z, Beal says it’s important to keep in mind when they’re coming of age. College students grew up with the Great Recession and were introduced to politics in the Trump years. The pandemic is happening in the most formative years of their lives. Given all that, they may view sports as less important. “Yes, all of us, whether you’re a millennial or X or a Boomer, we’ve all been impacted by the pandemic,” Beal says. “We’ve all been impacted by

“Mama, how many sleeps until Santa comes?” I look at my seven-year-old daughter; her eyes are alive with excitement and her smile reveals her missing front tooth. It’s only a matter of time before the other one falls out. When it does, I know I will indulge in a good cry. My baby with the gummy grin is long gone. The young girl before me still believes in St. Nick—for now. By this time next year, she might not, and as her mother, I want to do everything in my power to make this time of year extra-magical and memorable for her. Why? Because this is my first Christmas as a single mom. ALSO SEE: 27 amazing last-minute gift ideas for the hard to shop for people on your list If you had asked me last year if I thought my marriage would crumble amidst the chaos and loss of a global virus, I would have called the idea farfetched. If you had told me my little family of three would be split down the middle, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet here we are. “Fifteen,” I finally answer her, counting down the days in my own head to see how much time I have left to mentally prepare for the holidays. It’s always been such a special time of year for me, ever since I was a little girl growing up. I remember my sister and I laying out our stockings, waking up at five in the morning, nearly bursting from the thrill of it all. Waiting for my parents to get up so we could head downstairs and see all the gifts Santa had delivered. Once my daughter came along, I wanted to continue some of the same traditions I had grown up with, like my dad reading “The Night Before Christmas” after we left out some cookies and milk for St. Nick. My ex’s family always celebrated on Christmas Eve, however, so sometimes we would get home quite late, and my daughter would be half-asleep and worn out, in no mood to put out food or hear an old-fashioned story. The lack of time that night always hurt my heart a bit, and I knew I had the next day to follow our other Christmas traditions as we celebrated with my side of the family.

It's not every day you drive to the lyrical strains of an Oscar-winning composer who has pulled out all the stops just for you. But such was my fate when I got behind the wheel of BMW's new iX3 sports utility vehicle to take it for its first drive on UK roads before it reaches customers in Summer. That's because it's the first BMW car for which Academy Award-winning movie composer Hans Zimmer has written a soundtrack in collaboration with the firm's sound designer Renzo Vitale. And once underway, driver and occupants of the near-silent vehicle enjoy a strong cinematic sense of rising crescendo from the synthetic sound as velocity increases. In future, it will also warn pedestrians of its imminent approach. But does the iX3 strike the right note? It's certainly entering a busy market with the likes of the Tesla Model-X, Ford's Mustang Mach-E, VW's ID4, Nissan's Ariya and the Skoda Enyaq, as well as Audi's e-tron, Mercedes-Benz's EQC, and Jaguar's I-Pace. Many may be relieved that the iX3 looks so normal. It lacks the much debated massive cartoonish grille on some of the most recent BMWs which have divided opinion. Other than seeing the driver on the 'wrong' side of the road, the left-hand drive version of the iX3 I drove is one BMW electric car that is unlikely ever to shock. Its looks are entirely conventional. Apart from the covered grille, the lack of exhaust and some specific trim and exterior tweaks, you'd be hard pushed to tell it from its petrol, diesel and hybrid siblings. That's not necessarily a bad thing unless you really want to boast about your eco-credentials. The rear end has also been sculpted to reduce air resistance and aerodynamically designed light-alloy wheels help reduce drag coefficient by around 5 per cent adding around 6 miles to the range. Order books for the iX3 are open now with prices from £58,850 for the electric BMW iX3 Premier Edition and from £61,850 for the Premier Edition Pro (which includes the synthetic sound). The iX3 does not qualify for the Government's tax-payer funded UK plug-in car grant of £3,000, which is capped at £50,000. Other variants are set to follow. The iX3 is part the first BMW range to offer customers a choice of pure electric drive, plug-in hybrid, petrol or diesel options – emulating a 'pick'n'mix' power choice strategy pioneered by French rivals Peugeot. By comparison, petrol and diesel combustion iX3 models start from £42,115 and hybrids from £49,250 – suggesting an electric mark up from around £16,000 and £9,000 respectively. The iX3 also the first model to be built for export at BMW's Shenyang factory in China operated by the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive. The mantra of the firm with plants in the UK, US and beyond has long been that quality depends on being 'built by BMW' not 'built in Germany'. Out on the road the sprightly new 'green' SUV is sufficiently butch to be considered a bimmer – sprinting from rest to 62mph in 6.8 seconds up to a top speed limited at 112mph. It's comfortable and pretty engaging to drive but don't expect the ultimate driving machine. It's for active owners and small families, not would be racers. Running on 20 inch black aerodynamic wheels the iX3 offers drivers a range of up to 279 miles (on the new 'real-world' WLTP test cycle) – which would leave you about 21 miles short and needing a top up on a 300 mile run from London to Newcastle. BMW said the storage capacity of the battery has been 'substantially increased' with a gross energy content of 80 kWh delivering 74kWh of useable charge. On a fast DC charger of up to 150 kW it will charge up to 80 per cent in 34 minutes. Or you can give a 62 miles boost to the car's driving range with a swift 10 minute burst. But BMW says it would still need to make fewer and shorter charging stops than a comparable electric vehicle whose efficiency is compromised by larger and heavier high-voltage batteries. The slim, low-slung high-voltage battery sits low down in the underbody and lowers the car's centre of gravity by around 7.5 centimetres – or about three inches - compared with its conventionally powered BMW X3 siblings. Acceleration is pretty brisk, sporty and engaging. You can also fine-tune your driving style. Pull the drive-lever down to 'D' and the driver can choose a high, medium or low brake energy regeneration setting – increasing or decreasing the amount of resistance you feel when you take your foot off the accelerator. The higher the resistance, the more energy you recuperate for your battery. But slide it left into driving position 'B' allows you to drive with 'one pedal' style – with your foot only on the accelerator. Take it off and the intense braking kicks in immediately, boosting energy gain. In an adaptive setting, the intensity of the car's brake energy regeneration can also adjust according to the road conditions using data gleaned from the navigation system and the driver assistance system sensors. So it is maximised if you are approaching a junction or a vehicle on the road ahead. Out on the open road, it coasts if you take your foot off the accelerator. ' The same electric motor, power electronics, charging technology and high-voltage battery used in the iX3 to boost performance, power consumption and range will be fitted in the new BMW iX and BMW i4 models from 2021. The electric motor's power density is 30 per cent higher than existing fully electric vehicles and up to 93 per cent efficient - compared with under 40 per cent for combustion engines. The 188-cell battery is 20 per cent more powerful than existing ones. Inside is a fully-digital high-resolution 12.3 inch instrument cluster behind the steering wheel and a 10.25-inch central display with a choice of control via touchscreen, buttons, voice or gesture. Spoken commands are possible via the latest version of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant by saying 'Hey BMW' or your personal call.

Voting is now open for the Athlete of the Week, presented by Mercy Health. Enquirer/Cincinnati.com readers can now vote for their favorite high school athletes of the week on their desktop, the Cincinnati.com mobile web or Cincinnati.com App once per hour by scrolling down to ballots listed below. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. The Athlete of the Week voting occurs each week during high school sports competition and recognizes athletes across all sports. If you can't see the ballot when you scroll to the bottom of this story, try refreshing the link or clearing the cache in your browser. Voters can cast one vote per hour per device. You do not have to be a subscriber to vote. More:Here's how to nominate Greater Cincinnati high school sports athletes of the week Athletes were nominated over the past week for the Monday, Dec. 14, vote. You can nominate athletes for their performances this week for the vote next Monday, Dec. 21, vote. Winter Twitter hashtags for team and player nominations: #cincyhoops for girls and boys basketball. #cincybowling for bowling. #cincyswimdive for swimming and diving. #cincyicehockey for ice hockey and #cincywrestling for wrestling. Please do not email your votes; they will not count. Nominations and votes are not the same things. More:Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky high school sports scores, Dec. 7-13 Readers can join The Enquirer's Preps Plus Facebook group to get into the high school sports conversation. There is also a group, Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Sports Parents, for related topics.

Single Indians are now ready to dip their toes back into dating in real life (IRL) as India unlocks. However, how does one do that in the midst of this ongoing pandemic? The pandemic has changed how we communicate with each other but what hasnt changed is the need for making meaningful connections. Also Read - Ira Khan Dating Aamir Khan’s Fitness Coach Nupur Shikhare? Here’s What We Know So Far! Bumble’s new study has found that one in two people claim they are ready to go on an in-person date. As India unlocks, Shahzeen Shivdasani, Bumble India’s relationship expert and the author of ‘Love, Lust and Lemons’, shares a handy guide and tips to help you navigate the new rules of dating in 2020. Also Read - Bigg Boss 14 November 3 Episode Highlights: Jasmin Bhasin, Aly Goni Go Emotional Seeing Each Other, Are They Dating? Virtual dating is the way to go! Also Read - Akshay Kumar Spills Beans on Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra Dating Rumours, Says 'Yeh Siddhanto Wali Ladki Hai' Meeting people at bars, going out with your friends, or even bumping into old acquaintances, now seems like a way of the past. Since finding love is as important as ever during such tough times, virtual dating is the way to go! It is through this realm that people seem more at ease with getting to know new people. Virtual dating allows you to set the boundaries and decide when you’re ready to take the next step to meet. You can plan your next virtual date on Bumble, the social networking app where women make the first move, using the apps Video Call and Voice Chat features without sharing any personal information! Understanding each other’s lifestyle is crucial No matter how attracted you are to a person, it’s essential to understand whether their everyday habits align with yours, especially during a pandemic. Asking questions like � do you have a social bubble? Do you go to work? Do you attend large gatherings? Are you ready or feel comfortable to meet in person? � help you understand whether you would even be interested in forming a connection with them. If you’re seeking to find a new connection on a dating app, Bumble’s recently-launched badges are a great way to communicate how you would like to date during this pandemic – you can opt to show your potential matches your dating preferences such as virtual, socially-distanced, or socially distanced with a mask . Setting a timeline to meet Once you have found someone that you are interested in getting to know more, most people are left wondering, “if I only get to know them virtually, will this fizzle out”? Discussing a timeline for when you are willing to meet is key. Virtual dating during the pandemic has given us a chance to not rush the dating process by getting to know people on an emotional level before getting to know them on a physical one. This change in the dating sphere has allowed more meaningful connections to blossom. Let your crush know how long you would like to get to know them online before discussing a meeting in-person. Don’t forget to ask them what they are comfortable with as well. Protocols for IRL dates Your health and safety matters but so do the relationships you make. So, how do you make this work? Discussing protocols that are mutually agreed upon prior to the date is a must! During these testing times, there are a lot of do’s and don’ts that one must keep in mind. It’s important to establish mutual boundaries so both sides feel comfortable on a date. The best way to ensure this is by addressing questions like how many people you both have interacted with, whether they should get tested, or where they’d be most comfortable meeting. Even staying in a two-week quarantine before the date could be an option to consider. Outdoor and ready for distance-dating! First dates can be nerve-wracking for a lot of people. And now, we have to do it with special gear on! However, regardless of the dilemma you might face with this required accessory, your safety comes first and wearing your mask is a must! Socially distance when you meet in-person. Although this is certainly not what you are used to, by following these few protocols you will begin to feel at ease, and once that feeling sets in, you will only be able to enjoy your date. The new rules of dating might be different from the old ones, we have to find a way to strike a balance and adapt to whatever life may throw at us. The best part about being single is that you get to choose the person you wish to embark on a new adventure with. So, take your time to get to know someone better and when you do, if you’re comfortable to date in-person, make sure you follow all safety measures.

Experts say the emergence of a new strain of the virus behind COVID-19 shouldn't be anything to worry about - but nothing can be certain until more data is collected. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancocks says more than 1000 cases of the mutated SARS-CoV-2 virus have been found in the south of the country, and could be behind the recent rapid rise in infections in "London, Kent, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire". According to the latest data on the UK government website, the virus' reproduction number in London and southeast England could be above one - meaning the outbreak is getting larger, despite the strict lockdown across the region. There are fears the new variant could make existing vaccines less effective too. The UK last week was the first country in the world to approve the rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but the mutation is on the virus' spike protein, which is also the region targeted by the vaccines. A previous mutation - known as D614G - made the virus more infectious, but no deadlier. Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said it would be of "grave concern" if the latest mutation made the virus more infectious, even if it wasn't any deadlier. "While Hancock states that there is 'nothing to suggest' this variant will cause more serious disease, if it spreads more readily than other versions, infecting more people, it could eventually take a bigger toll on human health." Many experts praised the UK's health service for picking up the new variant so early, allowing research into whether it is indeed more infectious, any deadlier, or more resistant to vaccines it could be. "It is important to keep a calm and rational perspective on the strain as this is normal virus evolution and we expect new variants to come and go and emerge over time," said microbiology professor Alan McNally of the University of Birmingham. "It's too early to be worried or not by this new variant, but I am in awe of the surveillance efforts in the UK that allowed this to be picked up so fast."

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Is Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5? CD Projekt Red's open world role-playing game was announced over seven years ago, but it didn't enter full development until around 2017. It was back then that the title was locked for PS4, as the PS5 wouldn't be officially acknowledged until a couple of years later. Is Cyberpunk 2077 coming to PS5? Cyberpunk 2077 is set to release on the 10th December 2020 for PS4 — but what about PS5? At launch, the game will be playable on PS5 via PS5 backwards compatibility. Technically, you'll still be playing the PS4 version on your PS5, but the more powerful console should ensure better technical performance. A full PS5 version of Cyberpunk 2077 will launch at some point in 2021 — we don't have a date or release window yet. If you buy Cyberpunk 2077 on PS4, you'll be able to upgrade to the PS5 version when it arrives. This will be a free upgrade, so you won't have to pay anything extra. For a list of all PS4 games that have free PS5 upgrades, check out the following guide: PS4 to PS5: All Games with Confirmed Free Upgrades. How will Cyberpunk 2077 run on PS5? Through backwards compatibility, Cyberpunk 2077 should run better on PS5. When played on PS5, PS4 games can benefit from smoother frame-rates and faster loading speeds. That said, we don't know exactly how Cyberpunk 2077 will perform on PS5 yet, as only a small amount of console gameplay has been released. Here's an official Cyberpunk 2077 video that shows the game running on both PS4 Pro and PS5 — the latter via backwards compatibility:

GTA Online’s biggest ever update will launch on 15th December on the PlayStation 5, as Rockstar Games readies the Cayo Perico Heist – a massive branch of missions set on an entirely new island. The press release teases: “Prepare to infiltrate the remote island compound of the world’s most notorious drug dealer in Grand Theft Auto Online’s biggest, most daring, and action-packed addition yet: the Cayo Perico Heist.” The blurb continues: “It’s up to you to find a way to breach Cayo Perico, one of the most secure private islands in the entire world, evade or neutralise the heavily armed security forces stationed there, and escape with valuable evidence along with as much art, gold, and drug money as you can carry. Choose your tools. Choose your approach. Choose your crew – or even go it entirely alone. Just make it back to Los Santos in one piece.” It doesn’t sound like you’ll be able to explore the island unless you’re running the heist, but obviously the change of scenery unlocks the possibility for some all-new experiences. Rockstar Games says that you’ll be able to “acquire new vehicles and tactical weapons, experience new social spaces to dance and party with friends and new world-class DJs, and listen to new radio stations with over 100 new songs”. As alluded above, you’ll also be able to play solo. And as teased in the trailer, there’s a bad ass new submarine HQ that you’ll be able to unlock, with “plenty of other surprises”. Will all of this convince you to return to Los Santos? Let us know in the comments section below.