List of All Articles with Tag 'so'

The Republican lieutenant governor's race in Mississippi has turned nasty with primary elections just under three weeks away

Namibian lawmakers on Wednesday approved legislation to ban same-sex marriage and punish its supporters, in what critics said was an unconstitutional...

The Soul Cap has gotten the green light from swimming’s top governing body, which figures to be a huge step toward bringing more diversity to a largely white sport

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's bid to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) hinges on a month-long trial

If you've ever read an Agatha Christie mystery (or watched Jonathan Creek or Scooby Doo),

Five European Union countries will extend their ban on Ukrainian grain to protect their farmers’ interests

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON Senator Ed Markey on Wednesday said he is proposing additional taxes on private jet

Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company Skims is now worth US$4bn (approximately £3.09bn) after a new funding round raised US$270m (£209m). This makes Skims a unicorn company four times over. A unicorn company refers to startup companies with a value of more than $1bn. The company, co-owned by Kardashian, 42, and her business partner Jens Grede, plans to announce its new valuation today (Wednesday 19 July), according to the New York Times. Its previous valuation given by investors was $3.2bn. The reality TV star, best known for starring in 20 seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians and The Kardashians, said in an interview: “It has grown quickly and we’re so proud of that. We’ve had a really good flow of product launches.” Kardashian launched Skims in 2019 as she wanted to create shapewear that fits her own skin tone and body type. The brand has since released numerous ranges, including loungewear, maternity wear and swimwear. In 2021, the success of the brand increased Kardashian’s net worth to US$1bn, which earned her a spot on Forbes’ World Billionaires List. Last year, when Skims hit its US$3.2bn valuation, it was estimated that Kardashian became US$600m richer. The company secured US$240m in a funding round led by hedge fund Lone Pine Capital, as well as previous investors. Grede, who is Skims’s chief executive, said in an interview that the company was now profitable and on track for US$750 million in sales this year, up from US$500 million in 2022. Grede said nearly 70 per cent of the company’s overall customers are millennials or Gen Zs, while about 15 per cent of the company’s online customers come from outside of the US. Over the last year, he said that 11 million people have joined waiting lists to buy the brand’s most popular items, which regularly sell out. Skims’ bestseller products include its viral “seamless sculpt bodysuit”, which comes with extra compression at the core and waist areas to create a “figure-enhancing” look. The product description says the bodysuit will “flatter your bust, and rounded butt pockets for a lifted look”. Another bestseller is the “soft lounge long slip dress”, a basic maxi slip dress with a body-hugging fit. For a recent collection launched by the brand, British singer-songwriters Raye and PinkPantheress were enlisted to promote it, along with Bronx rapper Ice Spice. The Kardashian family are also responsible for a myriad of viral beauty and fashion companies. Kim also owns a skincare brand named SKKN BY KIM, which sells a nine-product step-by-step routine for “radiant skin”. Kim’s half-sister, Kylie Kenner, is the founder of beauty brand Kylie Cosmetics, which sells makeup and skincare products. Meanwhile, Khloe Kardashian is the co-founder of Good American, a self-claimed “fully inclusive fashion brand” and Kendall Jenner owns the alcohol brand 818 Tequila. Read More Between Brexit and Covid, London’s food scene has become a dog’s dinner – can it be saved? Influencer Annabelle Ham dies at age 22: ‘A light to the world’ Cruise line apologises after passengers witness dozens of pilot whales being slaughtered Woman claims Skims bodysuit ‘saved’ her life after she was shot four times TikTokers are showing off pink outfits they’re going to wear to watch Barbie movie Florence Pugh’s fans praise star for saving Emily Blunt from wardrobe malfunction

Daniel Ricciardo is pondering. This year, a presence in the paddock – but not on the racetrack – has been a curiously flummoxing existence for someone so synonymous with a seat at the 20-man table. In his own words, he has been doing “everything the drivers are doing… other than the driving.” So aside from the obvious of the lights-to-flag racing, what has the Australian found the most difficult about his eight months away from Formula 1? “I’d say the starting grid on Sunday,” he says, a glint in his eye, a longing for something previous. “I love that feeling before you’re about to race. It’s intense, it’s nerve-racking but it’s awesome. I miss that buzz.” Well, miss it no longer. The Honey Badger is back. Officially on loan from Red Bull to sister team AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season, Ricciardo last week replaced the axed Nyck de Vries and will be in the cockpit in Hungary this weekend. It represents a lifeline – his lifeline – back into the sport, a carving of an opportunity so desperately craved. In the end, he only missed 10 races. And all it took was one Silverstone tyre test after the British Grand Prix, at the wheel of the fastest car in F1 this year. A pace which would have put him on the front row of the grid a few days earlier. Never a duo to hesitate, Red Bull chiefs Helmut Marko and Christian Horner made the call swiftly. “After Abu Dhabi last year, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever race again,” he reveals to The Independent, with a casualness which implies a deep-down admittance that he wasn’t done just yet. “But coming back this year, I removed all ego and status. “I do think this year will be the best thing that’s ever happened to me and it will boost me now for the rest of my career. It honestly came at the right time… everything happens for a reason.” How a career can change in a year. Because, although we didn’t know it at the time, last year’s British Grand Prix was the breaking point for McLaren and Ricciardo’s uncomfortable marriage. A day after the Aussie finished second-last out of all the finishers at Silverstone, McLaren big boss Zak Brown made initial contact with Oscar Piastri. As Ricciardo interjects, this is where “all the s*** went down!” Nothing short of gutted at the time – “it sucked” – the 34-year-old now takes the judgement call as a positive. A chance to regroup, reassess and especially in the initial stages, relax. “I’ve really enjoyed this time off, to have the time for myself,” he says. “Last week I went home to Australia for my birthday, I haven’t done that since I was 17… so 17 years ago. “It honestly came at the right time. Look, I wish those two years were better. But it’s given me a mental break because the competition is intense, as much as we love it. It consumes a lot of you so I feel for me to bring my cortisol levels down a little bit, I just feel a lot more balanced this year.” Ricciardo hadn’t missed a grand prix since June 2011. 11 years, 232 races later and so came to pass a rest he now admits was much-needed and well-utilised. A huge NFL fan and a supporter of the Buffalo Bills, he attended the Super Bowl in Arizona. The same week, he thrived in the modern anarchy of golf’s WM Phoenix Open. He even went to the prestigious Met Gala in New York. But more than any showbiz spectacles, he felt like a normal human being again. “I didn’t want to see a gym for a while,” he says. “I just wanted to eat and drink with my mates. Out of principle, I wanted to give myself a break. Just to allow myself to put on a few kgs. It felt really good, I trained just once in December and January.” But then, around the launch of Red Bull’s 2023 car in New York, a flip. “I got to February and remember thinking ‘yeah, I’m done.’ I’d had enough. I didn’t feel like drinking every weekend and partying all the time. I wasn’t going crazy but I thought ‘this life isn’t for me just yet’. “And then I became very self-motivated. I wanted it to come from me, I didn’t want someone telling me to run. I had this urge and desire to be back on the grid – and I’ve never enjoyed training so much. I’ve got more energy to train and the desire has increased, especially not being jet-lagged every fricking week!” Much to the surprise of many, while Ricciardo did take up the “third driver” role with a Red Bull team he claimed seven of his eight grand prix wins with from 2014-2018, he opted against racing even part-time in other racing series. For a lover of America, the likes of IndyCar and NASCAR were not explored. Not even a one-time jaunt at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Why? “Two reasons,” he starts. “Still a big part of me wanted a break from competition. It’s probably the thing I love most in life is competition, it’s why I race. But equally, it’s really tiring and draining. The last few years did take it out of me. “The other element is I still feel really strongly about being in this sport. The moment I start to engage in something else, the perception is: ‘Is he thinking of an alternative career?’ “There’s been times where I’ve been really keen to do Le Mans. I was desperate in 2015, speaking to Andreas Seidl who was running the Porsche project and was asking Red Bull to let me do it. But now, it’s not something that I need to do before I die. “I’ve given so much to F1 that I don’t have the capacity to do something else at the level and effort that I’ve put into this sport.” And how Ricciardo’s decision has bore fruit. Attaching himself back in the ecosystem where it all began with Toro Rosso, the Australian who has catapulted himself into a sporting celebrity with his warm, charming personality has ended up back at the modern-day equivalent team in AlphaTauri. Simulator sessions – even with ex-race engineer Simon Rennie now running the programme at Red Bull – are never enough for any racer. Cue the second coming. Now entering the twilight years of his career, can he see himself ‘doing an Alonso’ and racing into his 40s? Given his perseverance to reclaim a spot on the grid this year, the response is something of a surprise. “Ideally not,” he says. “Ideally, I’d have had enough success in the next five years. I think there’s something cool about going out on top. “This is my element but what this year has shown is I’m OK after retirement, I do have hobbies and other things going on. For lots of athletes, the thought of retirement is scary – what do you do now? You’ve lived this crazy life for so long that it can be daunting. “But for me, let’s say the next 3-5 years of awesome success and then… peace!” Now up against Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri, with Max Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez already under pressure after a string of poor performances, a spot with Red Bull next year is not the ludicrous suggestion it may have been six months ago. 2025 may still be the more realistic target. Ricciardo admits “if one step here then gets me here… then I have to be open-minded” with regards to future seats. Nice guys come last, as the episode title for his McLaren demise in Netflix’s Drive to Survive insinuates. Yet for Ricciardo, a re-opening of a door which looked closed could trigger a renaissance. A planned road trip across the United States will have to wait. Instead, a chance to race in his beloved Las Vegas in November has come to fruition – and a chance to get back to the front. The ultimate ambition – race wins, maybe even a world championship – is still at the forefront of his mind. “That is the reason I would come back,” he signs off. “I still believe I can do it. I feel like the Red Bull Daniel. He is still here.” Read More Red Bull has handed Daniel Ricciardo the first step to Sergio Perez’s seat Daniel Ricciardo returns to F1 as he replaces Nyck de Vries Daniel Ricciardo shaped void will take some filling by Oscar Piastri at Australian GP Daniel Ricciardo: I thought I’d never race in F1 again Sebastian Vettel hints at return to F1: ‘I have some ideas’ Red Bull has handed Daniel Ricciardo the first step to Sergio Perez’s seat

Dear Mark Zuckerberg: Sincere congratulations on gaining 100 million users in week one of your

The lyrics “I’m a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world” have never felt more true. Between the inescapable hot pink trend and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie as the titular character, Mattel’s favorite doll is everywhere (not that we’re complaining). That extends to the shelves (and websites) of some of our favorite brands and retailers, with a new Barbie fashion collaboration dropping seemingly every week this summer.

The president and CEO of Gucci is stepping down later this year