The Philadelphia 76ers have some high hopes heading into the 2024-25 campaign, and while that’s due to the strong offseason the team has put together, the main reason for their high hopes is superstar center Joel Embiid. The Cameroonian big man is arguably the most dominant player in the league, and when he’s on the […]
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Denver Broncos in Week 3 looking to improve to 3-0. The NFC South is starting to take shape and eyes are fixed on Baker Mayfield in crew as they sit tied for the lead. Ahead of the Buccaneers and Broncos game, we’ll make our Buccaneers Week 3 bold predictions. […]
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JEN Affleck rose to fame after the “swinger sex scandal” but now fans are questioning if she is related to this American actor.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star is a self-proclaimed “cool mum” on her Instagram which has 1.5 million followers, as of September 2024.
Jen was one of the eight original Utah Tiktokers who were selected to appear in the first season of the Hulu breakout reality show.
Ever since the first airing on Friday, September 6 2024, fans have questioned whether her surname relates to Ben Affleck, the two time Academy Award winner.
Others may know the Californian BAFTA winner from when he starred in Gone Girl, Good Will Hunting, The Accountant and Pearl Harbour among many more.
Jen was born on May 29, 1999, into the Mormon faith.
She has admitted that she has struggled in the past to abstain from alcohol, something that the religion believes is vital to uphold.
Describing herself as a “conservative Mormon” she claims that making mistakes has allowed her to strengthen her faith.
Aged 21, Jen and her husband Zac Affleck, became parents to their first child, Nora.
The pair have since welcomed a second, Luca.
On Wednesday, September 19, 2024 Jen posted a photo of the couple on Instagram to reflect the realities of having a family at such a young age.
She wrote: “We were just kids when we got married.
“Young, naïve and inexperienced we truly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
“Coming from completely different backgrounds, families, upbringings, it didn’t seem to make sense. We were polar opposites.
“But I can confidently say he’s always supported and believed in me more than anyone else.”
The post comes after fans were quick to question the relationship and the pair faced backlash.
Following Hulu’s airing of an episode, Zac was criticised for how he treated his wife during the show in particular because he threatened divorce.
Before appearing on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jen was a social media influencer.
She also created her own videography business and has credited her husband for buying her first camera when she told him about her career dreams.
Jen told Vulture that she chose the career path to be able to support her family while lacking traditional work experience.
Many may recognise the TikToker from her videos where she is dancing on the kitchen counter, singing to her children.
Her videos often accumulate millions of views, including one where she danced to the Dallas Cheerleaders choreography to Thunderstruck which gathered 7.3 million.
Jen Affleck is just one cast member that has gained traction on social media.
A group of the Mormon women all began posting on TikTok in 2020.
Although they gained a following, it was only after the swinging scandal was revealed that they rose to fame.
Taylor Frankie Paul, Camille Munday and Miranda McWhorter are part of the core group who found a social media presence before the show and have even dubbed themselves “the sister wives”.
Whilst Hulu’s exclusive eight-part series was apparently inspired by the swinging scandal which Taylor Frankie Paul exposed, the show features cast members who were not involved in the controversy.
The cast includes Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor, Whitney Leavitt, Mayci Neeley, Demi Engemann, Jessi Ngatikaura and of course Jen Affleck.
Despite some questioning the tenuous link to the famous actor, it seems Jen’s husband, Zac, ensures a relation between them.
According to the Mormon couple, Zac Affleck is Ben and Casey’s second cousin.
Jen confirmed the familial link in an interview with People magazine.
It seems Zac is the son of the famous actors’ cousin, Dave Affleck.
SEPTEMBER is here, and of course that means a new entry in the EA Sports FC series.
For those who purchased the Ultimate Edition, EA FC 25 is out now (September 20, 2024), but Standard Edition players will have to wait a week longer.
While everyone who bought the game can gain full access to it on September 27, 2024, there is a way to grab it at the same time as Ultimate Edition players.
Even those who have not purchased a copy of EA FC 25 can still take advantage of this early play offer.
EA is giving 10-hours access to EA Play subscribers, meaning that they can get in a week ahead of the full launch.
Better yet, you can carry over your save data to the full game if you choose to purchase it.
This means you can set yourself up for success when the full game launches, and you might already be subscribed to EA Play without knowing.
If you are an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass for PC subscriber then EA Play is already included in your subscription.
Those who aren’t signed up to Game Pass, or who have a Game Pass Core or Game Pass Standard subscription will need to first subscribe to EA Play.
This costs $5.99/£5.99 for a month, so you’ll still save money over upgrading to the Ultimate Edition.
Here’s how to claim your free trial depending on your console.
Players should note that the timer for the 10-hour trial starts as soon as you boot up the game, and will continue ticking even in menus.
Make sure you don’t pause the game and walk away if you want to make the most of your trial.
If you want to read more about the game, check out the EA FC 25 companion app.
Get the lowdown on more of the latest Xbox releases from our expert reviewers.
For PS5 and Nintendo Switch, check out our full game reviews section.
AN ANCIENT board game believed to be the oldest in the world has striking similarities to a popular modern favourite.
Dubbed Hounds & Jackals, this millennia-old pastime has long been believed to have originated in Egypt.
About 60 examples of the game have been discovered in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel, Syria, Iran, and Azerbaijan, and it has been known to modern academics since 1890.
Hounds & Jackals shares several core similarities to the modern Indian game 58 Holes, as both are part of the broader family of race games.
In both games, the primary objective is to move a set number of pieces (pegs) from a starting point to the goal by following a path of holes.
The first player to successfully move all of their pieces to the finish wins, making both games focused on a race to the end.
The number of holes and the movement of pieces in both games are also very similar.
Hounds & Jackals typically has 29 holes per player, amounting to 58 holes in total, which mirrors the explicit number of holes in the modern 58 Holes game.
Players in both games navigate their pieces through these spaces, advancing toward the goal as they move along the board.
In Hounds & Jackals, players use dice, knucklebones, or another randomizing tool to determine how far they move their pieces.
Meanwhile in 58 Holes, players also roll cowrie shells or dice to decide how many spaces their piece advances.
The games combine luck with strategy, as players must adapt their movements based on the random outcomes.
Both games feature special spaces that affect gameplay.
In Hounds & Jackals, certain holes on the board are marked as special, offering bonuses or protection from capture.
Likewise, in 58 Holes, there are safe zones where pieces cannot be captured by the opponent, adding a strategic layer to each move.
Both also allow for the possibility of capturing an opponent’s piece.
It comes as a version of Hounds & Jackals discovered in present-day Azerbaijan could indicate that the game originated in Asia instead of ancient Egypt.
The earliest version of the game ever found dates to the period between 2064 and 19552 BCE, during the reign of Mentuhotep II.
But archaeologist Walter Crist found a gaming board near Gobustan, Azerbaijan, in 2018, that could date back to even earlier.
He studied numerous rock shelters, the best of which was at the Çapmalı rock shelter at the Western shore of the Caspian Sea, engraved with dot patterns that closely mirrored game boards found in southwestern Asia and Egypt.
Crist and Rahman Abdullayev, his co-author, came to the conclusion that the carving was connected to the Middle Age Bronze layer present at the location.
This suggests that the game was played long before it was discovered in Egypt, the pair wrote in their study published by Cambridge University Press.
Sites in Ağdaşdüzü, Yeni Türkan, and Dübęndi have yielded six more discoveries of Hounds and Jackals game boards.
The game appears to have been a frequent diversion for shepherds who took refuge in the area during the winter, based on pottery shards found at the sites.
The authors said that it can be challenging to determine accurate dates during this time.
They wrote: “Clearly, further early evidence for the game from precisely dated contexts is required to credit a specific culture for inventing the game.”
Crist and Abdullayev went on to say that regardless of where the game originated, “it was quickly adopted by a wide variety of people….
“The fast spread of this game attests to the ability of games to act as social lubricants, facilitating interactions across social boundaries.”
HOUNDS & Jackals is an ancient board game believed to have originated in Egypt.
It is a race game where two players compete to move their pieces (pegs) from a starting point to a goal.
Historians and archaeologists have reconstructed possible basic rules based on similar ancient games and the design of the board.
The goal of Hounds & Jackals is for each player to move their five pegs from the start to the finish (marked by holes) on their side of the board, avoiding obstacles and using strategy to outmanoeuvre the opponent.
Believed to be a two-player game, each has five pieces (pegs), which are often shaped like hounds (dogs) and jackals (foxes).
The players each control a set of pieces of one shape (e.g., one player controls all hounds, the other all jackals).
Players take turns rolling dice, sticks, or another ancient form of random number generation (like throwing knucklebones).
Each turn, a player moves one of their pieces forward along the track by the number indicated by the roll.
Certain holes on the board may be marked with symbols (such as palm trees or circles) that act as safe zones, giving the player a bonus, or causing some kind of setback, like forcing the piece back or skipping a turn.
A player’s piece landing in a special hole might also allow another bonus move or protection from being captured.
The first player to get all their pieces from the starting hole to the goal wins the game.
THE mystery of an “alien song” heard coming from the deepest point on Earth has finally been revealed.
The Mariana Trench is one of the most mysterious places on Earth, measuring over 36,000ft deep.
The trench sits at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and is so hard to reach only a select few have ever been able to venture down there.
Bizarre noises emerging from the trench were first recorded a decade ago and fears of alien life sprung up as a response.
They lasted between 2.5 and 3.5 seconds and were dubbed “Biotwangs”.
They were deep moans at extremely low frequencies like 38 hertz and a had a sharp finish that pushed as high as a whopping 8,000 hertz – but their source remained unknown for years.
In 2016, experts believed it could be a mating call from a Baleen whale, but no one was ever certain due to the randomness of the noises.
Sharon Nieukirk, a marine bioacoustics expert at Oregon State said: “If it’s a mating call, why are we getting it year round? That’s a mystery.”
The sound is “very distinct, with all these crazy parts” she added.
Now, after reanalysing the sounds, experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) believe they finally have an answer.
Instead of the noise being produced by Baleen whales, a new study suggests that Bryde’s whales could be responsible.
These kind of creatures can be found around warm, temperate oceans worldwide like the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific.
The researchers saw 10 of the whales swimming in the area and consequently recorded nine making the distinctive noises.
But to prove the Bryde’s were the source of the alien-like clamour, experts used artificial intelligence.
In the study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the team said: “It was assumed to be produced by a baleen whale, but without visual verification it was impossible to assign a species.
“Using a combination of visual and acoustic survey data collected in the Mariana Archipelago, we determined that Biotwangs are produced by Bryde’s whales.
“We used a combination of manual and machine learning annotation methods to detect Biotwangs in our extensive historical passive acoustic monitoring datasets collected across the central and western North Pacific.
“We identified a consistent seasonal presence of Biotwangs in the Mariana Archipelago and to the east at Wake Island, with occasional occurrence as far away as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and near the equator (Howland Island).”
While it remains unconfirmed why the whales do this, expert Dr Allen told Popular Science that the creatures could be using the Biotwang as a contact call.
The expert called it “a sort of “Marco Polo” of the ocean” but said they’d “need more information” before confirming.
CELEBRITY MasterChef has been rocked by fix claims after competitor Craig made a spectacular error with his lemon tart as he mixed up sugar and salt.
Viewers have called out the BBC programme after TV and radio presenter Craig Doyle made it into the final alongside Line of Duty actor Rochenda Sandall and Strictly professional dancer Vito Coppola made it to the final, jilting one other competitor.
Fans were left fuming after last night’s (Thursday 19) “disgraceful” episode which saw Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey axed from Celebrity MasterChef instead of Craig, 53, despite his monumental blunder.
Battling it out for a place in the final three, Craig, Rochenda, Vito and Harry were tasked by judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace with creating a dish inspired by someone special, before then progressing to Chef’s Table to cook under the guidance of legendary chef Adam Smith.
In honour of his mum, Harry, 36, baked an apple and plum oat crumble with vanilla custard.
Meanwhile, Craig produced what looked to be a perfect lemon tart, which he completed with four meringues to represent each of his children.
However, Craig’s tart did not live up to its presentation as he made a terrible error in the kitchen, as he mistook the salt for the sugar turning his sweet treat into a savoury mess.
Craig thought there was no coming back from his blunder, admitting he “made peace with going home” and had booked an afternoon of golf.
However, in a shocking twist of events, judges John, 59, and Gregg, 59, decided to eliminate Harry from Celebrity MasterChef.
It turned out Craig had only salted the filling of his tart, so the crust was still perfectly baked. While John called out the presenter for his silly blunder, the judges were impressed with the sweet half of the tart.
And in a shock twist, it seems Harry’s crumble wasn’t up to scratch, leading to him being eliminated from the cooking competition.
Reacting to John and Gregg’s decision on X, formerly Twitter, one viewer fumed: “What are you talking about? He put salt on the lemon tart!”
“I’m sorry…. but that’s a bloody disgrace – so you can make a MASSIVE mistake and put salt over your food and not sugar, but still get through. I feel so sorry for Harry – he should’ve gone through. I’m disgusted with this appalling decision,” another raged.
While a third pointed out: “At this stage of the MasterChef competition, if you do such a silly thing as put salt on your dessert, that should’ve been an elimination. Harry’s desserts were a bit mismatched but there was nothing wrong with them. He should’ve stayed.”
“How can you put salt on a desert instead of sugar and not be eliminated from a cooking competition??” a fourth agreed.
Harry took his defeat gracefully, hugging his fellow competitor Craig before departing.
Gregg Wallace has been a familiar face on TV for years now thanks to his role as a judge on MasterChef - but let's take a closer look at his career so far...
Harry now joins the other axed celebs from this year’s Celebrity MasterChef competition, including Diane Carson from The Traitors, Love Island star Chloe Burrows, model and TV personality Christine McGuinness and Sugababes singer Mutya Buena.
Now the celebs have been whittled down to the final three. Craig, Rochenda and Vito will face off for one final challenge where the winner takes all tonight at 9pm.
MARK Robinson, the lieutenant governor of North Carolina and top Donald Trump ally, has reportedly described himself as a ‘black Nazi’.
Here we get to know the under-fire Republican’s wife — Yolanda Hill Robinson.
Yolanda Hill Robinson is the wife of Mark Robinson, the current Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina and Republican gubernatorial candidate in the November 5, 2024 election.
Before entering public life, she earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina, Greensborough.
In August 2024, the couple addressed a personal abortion experience.
In 1989, before their marriage, Robinson paid for his future wife to have an abortion.
This revelation came to light in the context of Robinson’s strong anti-abortion stance as a politician.
In 2024, the Robinson campaign also released an ad featuring the couple discussing this personal experience.
Hill Robinson has been a prominent figure in her own right, particularly due to her involvement with a controversial nonprofit organization.
The Robinson family has faced numerous financial challenges over the years:
Hill Robinson is a trained accountant and former non-profit executive, but what she is doing for work right now hasn’t been reported.
Hill Robinson was previously the chief officer of a charity called Balanced Nutrition Inc.
This organization assisted daycare centres to secure federal funding in order to feed low-income children through the Child and Adult Food Care Program.
Balanced Nutrition Inc. has been the subject of significant scrutiny and regulatory action.
In April 2024, Hill Robinson announced the closure of the nonprofit, citing her husband’s busy schedule as the reason.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) conducted a compliance review of Balanced Nutrition Inc., revealing several issues.
The nonprofit was ordered to repay over $132,000 for what regulators deemed unauthorized expenditures.
Regulators identified “serious deficiencies” including inadequate documentation and failure to submit legitimate claims.
The organization failed to disclose and obtain approval for Hill Robinson’s daughter’s employment.
Balanced Nutrition Inc’s operations raised questions about potential conflicts of interest and financial management.
Since 2017, the charity has received approximately $7million in government funding, with substantial salaries paid to Hill, Robinson, and other family members.
The couple has been married since 1990 and they have two children together.
Their first child, daughter Kimberly, was born in 1990.
The pair’s second — a boy whose name is yet to be reported — was born in 1992.
Daughter Kimberly worked for her mother’s controversial nonprofit Balanced Nutrition Inc.