Norwegian author Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his innovative plays and prose which

UPDATE: Oct. 30, 2023, 2:17 p.m. EDT Target's Black Friday sale, which contains its biggest

We’re always looking for the magic solution that will get us organized but as anyone who’s ever spent a small fortune at Ban.do knows, finding the perfect planner isn’t going to alter our personality or our proclivity for procrastination. That’s why Clare Kumar, a productivity coach and professional organizer who takes an inclusive approach to her work, advises her clients to “tune in before you lean in.”

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday she would support limitations on abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy, breaking with many Democrats in Congress who have been hesitant to offer specifics on abortion limitations.

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A woman is going to be a surrogate mother for the fourth time at the age of 50, even though the birth could be the ‘hardest yet’. Dawn Allen, a surrogate applications and agreement co-ordinator for Surrogacy UK, who lives in Derbyshire with her husband, Matthew Allen, 51, an archivist’s assistant, and has two of her own children, Alex, 17, and Sam, 27, offered to become a surrogate for the first time at the age of 36 after being inspired by a documentary over 20 years ago. Dawn has had three surrogate babies and three unsuccessful attempts, one of which ended in miscarriage, but all of her births have been “moments that will stick with (her) forever”. She was unsure if she was going to do it again until she met a friendly couple, Nicky Spence, 39, an operatic tenor and broadcaster, and Dylan Perez, 33, a classical pianist, through Surrogacy UK. Dawn makes sure her husband is on board with the surrogacies and bonds with the intended parents, as he is “as much a part of this as (she is)”, and has to “support” her through the pregnancy. She is not too worried about her age affecting her likelihood of becoming pregnant and has said she “wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t feel physically able” but is aware that the birth could be the hardest yet. “I know it’s going to be hard because I’m older now, but, at the end of the day, nine months out of my life is nothing when you’ve got a chance to give parents a lifetime of happiness,” Dawn said. Dawn was first drawn to becoming a surrogate more than 20 years ago, explaining: “I watched a documentary in the late 90s all about surrogacy and I thought, one day I’m going (to) do that. “I met Matthew, my husband, 23 years ago, and about a month into dating I said, ‘Oh, by the way, one day I’m going to be a surrogate’ – he looked at me like it was completely crazy.” Before Dawn became a surrogate, she had two sons of her own. She said: “About 18 months after having Alex, I brought the subject up about surrogacy, and we looked into it.” In 2008, Dawn joined Surrogacy UK, the UK’s leading not-for-profit surrogacy organisation, and soon began to use their online platform for surrogates and intended parents, as well as going to face-to-face socials, to see if she could find a couple she connected with. Dawn explained: “It’s just about meeting up with people and finding people that you connect with and have things in common with. “You then have a getting-to-know phase, where you hang out with the intended parents for about three months, and then you can make the decision if you’d like to proceed.” Dawn’s husband was very supportive of her decision, and she thinks it is important he connects with the intended parents too. She said: “Matthew is my main support – he’s as much a part of this as I am. “He’s the one that’s got to support me, as well as my children, so it’s important to me that they all get on with the people we decide to help.” A year after signing up to Surrogacy UK, in 2009, Dawn had an unsuccessful surrogacy as the embryos were of poor quality, but in 2012 she had a surrogate baby for a same-sex couple, using her own egg. An attempt to help a third couple in 2013 failed, but in 2015 she gave birth to a daughter for a same-sex couple – the same year, she began working for Surrogacy UK as a surrogate applications and agreement co-ordinator as she wanted to help other surrogates and intended parents. In 2017 Dawn miscarried a surrogate baby, but that couple has since had two children with another surrogate, and in 2021 she had a surrogate baby for another same-sex couple. Dawn explained how she has felt after giving birth: “I think, for me, it’s one of those moments that will stick with me forever. “You’re seeing people that you’ve become really good friends with, become parents, and you’re there in the moment they get to look at their child for the first time and hold them for the first time,” she said. “It was really, really emotional – there were lots of tears every time.” Dawn never felt it difficult to give the baby to the intended parents, explaining: “It was very clear in my head that baby wasn’t mine – it was the intended parents’ pregnancy, it was their baby. “I think you bond with your intended parents more than the baby.” Now, aged 50, Dawn is hoping to become a surrogate again, after meeting same-sex couple Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez on Surrogacy UK’s platform in November 2022. She explained: “I hadn’t made my mind up 100% if I was going to do it again, but I started chatting to Nicky and I asked my husband if he’d like to come along to a social online to meet them. “They were both lovely and my husband thought they were really nice too, so I made them the offer to start the official getting-to-know period the next day.” Nicky added: “We feel so lucky to have become friends with Dawn through Surrogacy UK and when she offered to help complete our family we couldn’t believe it. “We feel in very safe hands as she’s the kindest and most experienced surrogate you could wish for. ” Dawn did not have any doubts about her age affecting the likelihood of her getting pregnant. “So luckily, we’re using the same clinic that I used in my last journey, so they know my medical history,” she said. “Yes, I’m a lot older now, but after all the checks and tests they’ve done, they’re happy with me from a medical viewpoint. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t feel physically able.” After doing some background digging on the future fathers, Dawn discovered that Nicky is an opera singer and broadcaster and his husband, Dylan, is a classical pianist. Dawn’s last surrogate baby was Luca, who was also for someone in the public eye – Aled Haydn Jones, the head of BBC Radio 1, and his partner, Emile Doxey. She said: “I have been teased about I only do celebrities now. But I had no idea that they were quite well known – I just knew Dylan played the piano and Nicky was a singer. “Nicky has performed with Shirley Bassey and lots of other people.” From November 2022 to February 2023, Dawn, her husband and the two intended parents have been getting to know each other. Dawn said: “We hang out all the time, they come and stay at our house or we meet up for meals, we’ve even been to Berlin with them and ended up in a bierkeller.” I think the pressure comes from, we want it as much as they do Dawn Allen In January 2023 they drew up an agreement regarding the pregnancy and the birth, and everyone was happy to proceed. Now, embryos are being created, using the intended parents’ family member’s eggs, and Dawn is hoping to get pregnant in the next few months. Dawn said: “I’m feeling really positive, there’s no pressure from them at all, but I do sometimes put a bit of pressure on myself because I really want to give them a baby. “I think the pressure comes from, we want it as much as they do.” Dawn thinks it is unlikely that she will have another surrogacy, saying: “I think this has probably got to be it with my age. “I think the only way I could do it was if we got pregnant really quickly this time around, and Nicky and Dylan wanted the baby to have a sibling more or less straight away.” Read More ‘You always feel like you’ve done something wrong’: Why UK surrogacy laws need a ‘real overhaul’ Children born via surrogacy or egg or sperm donation ‘should be told when young’ Tom Daley unveils photographs of newborn son Phoenix Rose: ‘He’s just perfect’ Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

India imposed a 40% levy on the export of onions as Prime Minister Narendra Modi escalates efforts to

Amazon's next Prime Day may be right around the corner, but the mega-retailer isn't the

HAMBURG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 3, 2023--

Brian Austin Green has revealed he suffered from stroke-like symptoms for four years that were ultimately caused by his diet. The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 50, recently opened up about his major health struggles - which included vertigo and ulcerative colitis - that led him to be bedridden for three months and unable to speak, read, or write. In an episode of the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast with Dancing With the Stars dancer Cheryl Burke, released on 2 October, Green revealed that it wasn’t until a “kinesiology and Eastern medicine” specialist discovered he had “internal inflammation” from his diet of gluten and dairy that he was able to take control of his health. “I spent four and a half years recovering from stroke-like symptoms without ever having had a stroke,” the Anger Management star said. “I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t read. I couldn’t write.” When asked by podcast host Burke if his “neurological” issues were a result of having vertigo - a sensation that the environment is spinning in circles - Green explained that his vertigo symptoms were just “one stage” of his health problems. “I had ulcerative colitis and then I had vertigo,” he said. According to the Mayo Clinic, ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract. “I was bedridden for like three months but both things were undiagnosable,” he continued. “Nobody could figure it out, all the specialists that I saw.” Burke asked whether his symptoms were a result of a car accident, seemingly referring to when Green and his ex-wife, Megan Fox, were struck in their vehicle by a drunk driver in December 2014. “No. It was dietary,” he replied. Despite getting an opinion from one of the top neurologists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and undergoing nearly 200 blood tests and two MRIs, his doctor was still unsure of what Green’s health issue could be. The actor recalled that his symptoms of “brain fog” were so bad that he once reintroduced his best friend of 25 years to his sister, who his friend had also known for more than two decades. Green shared that even reading Dr Seuss books to his children was difficult for his brain. “It was all undiagnosed by Western medicine, so I ended up having to finally find a doctor that is much more into, like, kinesiology and Eastern medicine,” he said. Once finding a specialist, the doctor told Green that his health condition was a combination of stress and consuming “gluten and dairy”, which caused “internal inflammation” in his system. These days, Green shared that he’s “fully recovered” from his stroke-like symptoms and his health has been “100 per cent” since then. Green is a father to five children. He shares son Kassius Lijah, 21, with ex-girlfriend Vanessa Marcil. The Desperate Housewives alum also shares sons Noah Shannon, 11, Bodhi Ransom, nine, and Journey River, seven, with ex-wife Fox. He and the Jennifer’s Body star were married from 2010 to 2021. In June 2022, Green welcomed his fifth child, son Zane Walker, with fiancée Sharna Burgess. Read More Brian Austin Green gets candid about how great co-parenting is with ex Megan Fox Brian Austin Green shuts down claim he’s a ‘bad father’ after defending Megan Fox over sons’ outfits Megan Fox hits back at US politician’s claim about her children’s clothes Woman reveals how she discovered she’s allergic to water More than a quarter of middle-aged women living with ‘metabolically healthy obesity’ – study Idris Elba reveals he’s been in therapy for over a year after work realisation

F1 returns to the Circuit of the Americas this weekend for the US Grand Prix – and the fifth sprint weekend of the season. Max Verstappen sealed the 2023 world title last time out in Qatar and also claimed his 14th grand prix victory of the season. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was driver of the weekend, however, winning the sprint race and coming second in the grand prix on Sunday. PREVIEW: Daniel Ricciardo must prove he still belongs on the F1 grid Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget, crashing into Mercedes team-mate George Russell, while the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were among the chasing pack. Lando Norris finished third to secure a double podium for McLaren. Verstappen won a thrilling race at COTA last year, edging out Lewis Hamilton who has still not won a race since the 2021 season. Hamilton is, however, a five-time winner at the circuit. Charles Leclerc grabbed pole for Sunday’s grand prix after qualifying on Friday. Follow live updates from the United States Grand Prix with The Independent Read More Daniel Ricciardo must prove he still belongs on the F1 grid Charles Leclerc grabs pole position as Max Verstappen rages in Austin Max Verstappen fumes with Red Bull team towards end of US qualifying

From Halloween to New Year's, the holidays are prime time for house guests. Guests who