Loose Women panellist Andrea McLean has revealed that she is working on an exciting new project.

The Scottish telly star, who is best known for hosting the ITV chat show, took to Instagram this week to announce details of her new efforts, revealing she has launched a marketplace in conjunction with her womens website, This Girl Is On Fire.

The online platform, aimed at inspiring females, has launched the online shop, which is set to offer products and experiences to help women enrich their lives.

READ MORE:Linda Robson reveals why she had to take a break from Loose Women ahead of her return to the show

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#AD I am so excited to announce the launch of This Girl Is On Fires Marketplace an online shop where women can buy amazing products, download courses and experience events to help equip them to go out and live, learn, thrive in a life they love. And I am looking for business owners like you who share my mission to get involved. Everything we do at TGIOF is built around 3 core pillars Live, Learn, Thrive and all the products we sell empower women to do just this. Why am I doing this? I am passionate about empowering women and making them feel great about themselves, helping them learn new skills and encouraging them to grow into unstoppable Girls On Fire. If you are too, youre my kind of people, so join me! WIIFM the chance to put your product/service in front of our community of 1000s of women who are all looking to live, learn, thrive in a life they love. We offer curated collections and features via our website, newsletters and social posts to help promote your products. And only when youre successful, are we. What we mean to Live: products that makes my life easier; life hacks & small wins What we mean to Learn: products that help my personal growth and development What we mean to Thrive: products that make me feel the best I can, both inside & out my happy place If you feel your product/service fits in with my mission and would like to be part of the TGIOF marketplace, then apply via the link in my bio. I cant wait to welcome you! #womeninbusiness #strongwomen #womensupportingwomen #femaleentrepreneur #joinme

A post shared by Andrea McLean (@andreamclean1) on Dec 2, 2019 at 10:54am PST

Explaining the new business venture to her 232 thousand followers, the author and mum-of-two said, Im so excited to announce the launch of the This Girl Is on Fire marketplace. An online shop where women can buy products, download courses and experience events thatll help them live, learn and thrive in a life they love.

And Im looking for business owners like you who share my mission to come and get involved. Everything we do at This Girl Is on Fire is built around three core pillars: live, learn thrive.

And everything we sell will empower women to do just this. Why am I doing this? Well, I am passionate about empowering women to feel great about themselves. If you are too, youre my kind of people. If you feel like your product or service fits in with my mission, then click on the link in my bio.

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This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, which makes it the perfect time to celebrate some incredible women who are striking out and doing their own thing in the business world. As a woman running a business which is all about empowering others to live, learn and thrive it was hugely important to me to inspire you all by showing you that there is no set path when it comes to making a success of your passion. So, I approached women who have interesting and varied stories to tell about their experience of running their own business and asked them all exactly the same questions. Their answers are as unique as the women themselves and give a fascinating insight into what makes them tick as women, and as businesswomen. Some run huge companies with hundreds of staff, others are just starting out on their journey, but I know all of them will inspire you with their determination, tenacity and passion for what they do. Over at my website http://www.thisgirlisonfire.co.uk we will be bringing you a different woman every day this week, all of them united in being the very thing we love they are all on fire! Check out todays Q&A with founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association @iamcarriegreen by clicking on the link at @officialtgiof I promise you will be inspired! Coming up this week, inspiring answers from @lizearleme @karenmillen_obe @fionalambertstyle @terrasaunders and @donnamaymakeup #globalentrepreneurshipweek #entrepreneur #business #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #femaleempowerment #strongwomen

A post shared by Andrea McLean (@andreamclean1) on Nov 17, 2019 at 11:00pm PST

Andreas supportive fans made sure to congratulate her on her achievement in the comment section, with lots praising her for spreading the important message of female empowerment.

Ive just started following this site!! What an inspiration! Thank you x, wrote one.

You go Girl more power to women and female entrepreneurs! Where would I be without them, I love how you can juggle 7 things at once while men struggle with 1 at a time, joked a second.

Good luck, good wishes and every success with the launch , sweetly chipped in a third.

Well done, Andrea!

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Loose Womens Andrea McLean reveals lovely news in exciting post - woman&home

When I was a teenager, I was in two abusive relationships one with my then-boyfriend, and one with God.

My fathers side of the family is Jewish and my mothers side is Christian; I was raised Christian. When I was 13, I was confirmed into the Lutheran church a decision that was essentially made for me and then at age 15, I started dating my ex.

We had been best friends growing up in our small town, and we dated for a little under four years until we broke up while I was in college. After our first few months of dating, I found myself deferring more and more of my decisions and opinions to his will. After a while, I was expected to defend his bullying of others and allow for his belittling of me, and to say nothing when he was hours late or cancelled on me altogether. He manipulated me into doing exactly what he wanted. Soon, he began to interrogate me about what I wore, if I drank, and who I spent time with.

At 16, I was at something of a crossroads. While it would take me two more years to escape a relationship rooted in gaslighting a behavior defined by Psychology Today as a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality I was already undergoing a break-up with God.

I remember sitting on my bed sobbing, having decided that later that night I would lose my virginity and terrified that the decision would condemn me to Hell. I remember typing the words will God hate me if I have sex? into Google. I was scared to the point of sickness about God and the consequences of sinning.

As I later learned, such a relationship one of fear, imbalanced power, and insecurity instead of love and acceptance is abusive.

In the weeks after I lost my virginity, I attended church every Sunday. I was never afforded the freedom growing up to question the belief that Jesus was the messiah. It was expected that I would be an obedient Christian. That was the way things were from when I was a child arguing about having to attend Sunday school, to my high school years getting grounded for fighting about having to go to church when all I wanted to do was sleep in.

But those Sundays after I felt I had done something inexcusable, while I was clinging to any shard of hope that I could be forgiven in Gods eyes, I became angry and began to examine the tradition I had grown up with through a critical lens.

Unlike what I eventually learned through Judaism, my Christian upbringing taught me that being pious meant being God-fearing. In many ways, being constantly fearful of what my then-partner might say or do taught me to act in ways that would avoid conflict and keep me in good standing. But in both my relationship with God and with my ex, I was fundamentally being told that my very existence was something to apologize for. To be born was to be born a Sinner.

In my freshman year of college, I made the personal decision to disconnect from Christianity. On Easter, arguably the holiest day of the Christian calendar, I made a vocal declaration to myself that I would not be celebrating. I still put on my floral springtime dress and sat in the decorated pews of my church as the organ music echoed around me, but I wasnt having it anymore.

I was not going to celebrate the way that the miracle of Christs resurrection made me feel about myself, how it made me feel guilty for sins outside my control. In my mind, being born and living a human life was not a sin. But in order to be grateful for Easter, I felt that I needed to internalize and accept a fundamental flaw within my being.

The summer after that Easter, I went on Birthright to learn more about another religion, one just as much a part of my ancestry as Christianity. The Judaism presented to me on that trip was incredibly non-conditional. There are some ambiguous teachings about the afterlife, but the focus of the tradition lies elsewhere. The core of Jewish practice, I learned, was the continuous interpretation, questioning, and re-interpretation of the Torah, the repair of the world, and performing mitzvot for yourself and others. This was the first time I felt free within a religion to examine it critically and accept what worked for me. It was exactly what I needed.

Through years of keeping up appearances while allowing myself to be controlled by others expectations, I had lost my sense of self. I was just finishing my freshman year of college and was finally coming into myself, thanks to the many miles separating me from my family and former partner.

Something was compelling me, empowering me to become more than the dependent, complacent, and demure mouse of a human I had been for so long. During this period, I was struggling. My grades were slipping rapidly, and I was living with anxiety that manifested in an eating disorder. I didnt like myself, which I now realize enabled others to exert power over me. It was obvious that something in my life had to change.

5,000 miles away from home, I finally found my community. A week into my Birthright trip, the support of people who have now become my best friends allowed me to break up with my abuser after almost four years of doubting my own sense of reality.

I prayed and cried at the Kotel as I slipped a piece of crumpled paper that read help me, give me clarity, please in ink distorted by fat drops of tears into the Walls ancient cracks. In the most vulnerable moment of my life, I followed through with the decision I had known for some time had to be made.

That night, we hiked into the vast desert, and I sobbed under the enormity of the sky. It was the closest I have ever felt to God. God was not asking anything of me. I was allowed to forgive myself. The next day, atop Masada, I chose my Hebrew name and began my Jewish life. I was Rivkah, Matriarch; I was done taking shit from any human, institution, or supreme being. The Judaism I found gave me space to be newly brazen, and radically myself.

Because I was still new to Judaism, it wasnt until the following year that I decided to observe Yom Kippur. In all honesty, it was probably good that I waited because I wasnt in a strong enough place emotionally to handle a holiday of atonement. I had also at first misunderstood the point of fasting I thought of it as a punishment, instead of as an opportunity to transcend the body.

This is the fast I desire: To unlock fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of the yoke to let the oppressed go free; to break off every yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to ignore your own kin. (Isaiah 58)

Making this distinction was necessary before I made the choice to fast. When I was finally ready the following year, I felt empowerment rather than a vague and empty shame.

For much of my life, I was told that I was wrong and less-than, but such self-flagellation didnt actually allow me the opportunity to face the real ways I had erred, and the steps I could take to build a better life.

Judaism, and the teachings of teshuva, not only allowed me to see that what I was living through both religiously and romantically was not sustainable, but my Jewish practice has also given me a path forward.

Judaism has granted me the immense clarity that a former version of myself prayed for at her most battered and defeated. As the possibilities of what healthy relationships can look like with others, with God, and with myself have blossomed, I have too.

Featured image credit: Canva.com/Aaron Northcott.

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I Found God When I Learned to Love Myself - New Voices

The royal family appears to be moving in a new direction and Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William, and Kate Middleton are being credited for the change. One source close to the Sussexes even believes that Prince Harry and Markle have single-handedly modernized the monarchy.

During the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the Sussexes shared some of the emotional fallout of living in the spotlight.

Markle pointed to the unfair criticism from the press, while Prince Harry addressed rumors of a feud between himself and Prince William. The candid interviews humanized the monarchy in a way we dont usually see.

A source told CNN: The institution around the British Royal Family is full of people afraid of and inexperienced at how to best help harness and deploy the value of the royal couple who have single-handedly modernized the monarchy.

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South Africa After months of planning, Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in South Africa today for their official Royal Tour of Southern Africa focusing on community, grassroots leadership, womens and girls rights, mental health, HIV/AIDS and the environment. Their first stop was to the incredible Justice Desk Project which works to make women and children safer in Nyanga. Its an issue of vital importance in South Africa and across the globe, their Royal Highnesses wanted to learn first-hand about the issues people face and the work being done on the ground. One of the workshops Their Royal Highnesses saw was the Mbokodo project which provides self-defense classes and female empowerment workshops to young girls who are overcoming major traumas. This project's powerful motto is "wathint' abafazi wathint' imbokodo" which means "you strike a woman; you strike a rock" And just on one personal note, may I just say that while I am here with my husband as a member of The Royal Family, I want you to know that for me I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour and as your sister. The Duchess of Sussex @TheJusticeDesk Project is supported by the @Queens_Commonwealth_Trust and works with community leaders in Nyanga, with the firm belief that if you can change the mindset of a community, you can change the mindset of a country. #SussexRoyalTour #RoyalVisitSouthAfrica Photo PA images / SussexRoyal video SussexRoyal

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Sep 23, 2019 at 10:54am PDT

Prince Harry and Markles royal tour of Africa earned them rave reviews following a period of intense scrutiny. In an interview with Nine News Australia, royal expert Juliette Rieden shared: After all those criticisms and jibes that weve been covering for weeks on end here is Meghan and Harry doing what they both do best, which is meeting people, inspiring people, changing the face of the royal family, I think.

She continued, They dont meet people with a handshake, weve seen that, they go in for the hug every time. And they love it, everybody loves it, everybody loves that personal contact.

Rieden further explained how its evident that the Sussexes and Cambridges are making a huge splash, sharing: There is no question that Harry and Meghan are very important members of the monarchy They, along with William and Kate, are the young royals that are going to move the monarchy forward.

Yes, theyre doing it in their own way and, largely, the public like that, Rieden noted, adding, They are so impressive when theyre meeting people, they really do care, they really do listen, they really do want to interact and get involved and make a difference. Its not just handshakes, its not just cutting ribbons with them.

Winning public support can be challenging, but Middleton has tapped into a method Princess Diana used. Royal commentator Neil Sean told Australias Today Show how Middleton has taken a page from Diana, explaining: She sort of made sure that William and Harry had normal lives if you like. There was a very famous picture of them queuing in McDonalds in Kensington and then there was the other picture of them at funfairs and amusement parks. Well, Kate has done the same thing, she has taken the same route.

He pointed to the way Middleton is seen in non-royal situations with the children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, giving them a normal life which endears the Cambridges to the public and helps to modernize the royal family. This sense of normalcy makes it easier to identify with them.

Sean continued: According to a royal source, she wants her children to experience the reality of life. There was actually a picture of Kate shopping forHalloween treats with George and Charlottein a local supermarket near to where they were staying. This really endears people not just to William and Catherine but to the Royal Family in general.

He added: Although people werent allowed to take pictures, youve got to appreciate and I think Kate is very clever at this that the Royal Family has to modernize. By that, they have to get within the people, and I think thats a good trade Diana has given to William who passed it on to Catherine.

A royal insider told The Sun that Princess Diana was very unstuffy and wanted William and Harry to fit in with their school friends and experience normality. Thats the baton she handed to Kate.

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The Major Ways Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William, and Kate Middleton Have Changed the Monarchy - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

There is a path the Scriptures reveal, where the pain of the past can be transformed in daily life, through an apprenticeship relationship with Jesus

HUDSON, Ill. (PRWEB) December 05, 2019

Bret Hansons book You Were Made For More: Finding Redemption & Eternal Purpose Amidst Our Struggles & Lifes Pain ($14.99, paperback, 9781545600078; $7.99, e-book, 9781545600085), is available for purchase.

You Were Made For More gives readers the first step in identifying the underlying causes of their brokenness. It helps lay out a big-picture perspective for how God can help them become whole again. Readers will become more transparent and authentic in the admission of their own personal brokenness. In that honest state, healing and wholeness is available from God.

There is a path the Scriptures reveal, where the pain of the past can be transformed in daily life, through an apprenticeship relationship with Jesus said Hanson.

Brent Hanson is a counselor, teacher, and apprentice of Jesus. He has spent 27 years counseling and teaching the pathway of love, grace, freedom, rest, and empowerment. After six years in full-time private practice, he helped found The Moriah Foundation, where he currently serves as Executive Director. # # #

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date You Were Made For More: Finding Redemption & Eternal Purpose Amidst Our Struggles & Lifes Pain is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

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Readers Will See God Heal Their Difficult and Painful Past Experiences in Powerful Ways - PR Web

Insider is looking back on the last decade of musical greats with a series of opinion essays. Next up: Lady Gaga.

It's 2010, and everyone is angry. Lady Gaga, you see, has stepped out at the MTV Video Music Awards artfully smothered in raw beef.

The "meat dress," as it came to be known, immediately entered the pantheon of infamous media moments, drawing condemnation and fascination. It was a bizarre and delightfully garish example of Gaga's signature talent for breaking the rules. It also marked the beginning of a decade she would come to dominate.

That's the thing about Gaga: She's a mover and a shaker, and she elevates the conversation. You can argue that the meat dress was a savvy stunt that it was nothing but an attention grab but you can't argue that it didn't work. She's an entertainer in the purest sense of the word, and oozes glitz and glamour from every pore. And while she may draw comparisons to Cher or Madonna thanks to her audacious style, she's a true original in a decade populated by carbon copies.

Mother Monster is more than just a pop star she's a pioneer. Her unparalleled sense of who she is and uncompromised artistry make Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta the most influential artist of the decade.

Unlike the inoffensive bubblegum pop and monotonous club-happy dance music, Gaga's hits had personality and edge. The essence of her music loud, flamboyant, unignorable made her someone you couldn't take your eyes off of.

She's also no stranger to breaking records. At the top of the decade, she scored the most MTV Video Music Award nominations ever in a single year, when she was nominated 13 times. More recently, Gaga broke another record, when she became the first female artist with four No. 1 albums this decade.

What makes her special, though, is that she's crafted a career that far exceeds the boundaries of music. Gaga's creative genius has seeped into cinemas, runways, television screens, and even retail stores.

In 2019, she stole hearts and scooped up a number of awards thanks to her evocative performance in "A Star Is Born." She took home the award for best original song at the Oscars after writing and recording the much-memed "Shallow," and was also nominated for best actress. She also starred as a vampiric countess on "American Horror Story," and the dark role proved that she was capable of being as much of a chameleon onscreen as she is on the radio.

She's a bona fide fashion icon and a muse to countless designers. She even launched her own beauty line, Haus Laboratories, in 2019 and it's rooted in the fact that the power of makeup is what inspired her artistry to begin with. (She's said she'll "never" become a clothing designer herself because she respects their craft too much.)

Accolades and ostentatious public persona aside, her fans know that Gaga's true self is quite separate from Stefani Germanotta the person. "It's a bit of a creation," as she's admitted, but if you peel back the layers, the woman underneath is just as interesting: Take, for example, the time she stripped everything down to the core for 2016's "Joanne." With the more minimalist side of Gaga exposed to the world, she delivered some of her most personal songwriting to date.

The record proved that Gaga isn't afraid to kick her persona to the curb at times. In her earlier years, she demolished the pop star stereotype with her daring ensembles. (Billboard's collection of her wackiest outfits has a whopping 120 entries on it.) In more recent years, however, she quietly turned herself into a jeans-and-white-tee-shirt woman. And all the while, she manages to maintain her instantly recognizable Gaga-ness.

The name she has given herself says it all: "Mother Monster." Part of her cultural power comes from her innate ability to make people she's never even met feel like friends. She has the uncanny ability to make all of her 38 million Instagram followers feel like she is speaking directly to them, even when she's not, and they cling to her messages of love and empowerment.

One of the most impactful ways she's made a difference is through her relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. In 2011, she and her mother created the Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on community building and advocates for acceptance. While she's received criticism in the past for the shifting language around her own identity she publicly came out as bisexual in 2009, but has also called herself an ally it has also opened up conversations about bisexual erasure within the LGBTQ+ community.

Her most recent endeavor is the Enigma Las Vegas residency, following in the footsteps of Celine Dion, Diana Ross, and Mariah Carey women who have arguably had many more years to build up their careers.

In a world of diet tea hawkers, Instagram personalities, and high-profile "influencers," Gaga has maintained an authenticity that can't be taught. Lady Gaga embodies the qualities a pop star should have, and as this decade comes to a close, she's still just getting started.

Brandy Robidoux is a contributing writer for Insider. In addition to Insider, her words can be read at HollywoodLife, Billboard, Elite Daily, Stylecaster, and more. Say hi to her on Instagram: @thebrandybaye

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Lady Gaga is the artist of the decade - INSIDER

In 2018, the UFC put on 38 events. Each event featured 10-15 fights, which means there were 450 fights last year, give or take. Of those 450, 18 were for title belts. So fans got to see a championship fight about once every three weeks. Even during this golden age of mixed martial arts and on-demand entertainment, meetings between the two best fighters in the world are rare.

Which makes UFC 245which features Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington in a main event that you can live stream on ESPN+something of an MMA miracle. As if making up for all those barren weeks and months, the event will feature not one but three title fights. The last time the UFC put that many championship fights on the same card, at UFC 217 in November 2017, all three belts changed hands.

Rose Namajunas knocked out the seemingly indestructible Joanna Jedrzejczyk, TJ Dillashaw reclaimed his bantamweight belt from arch-nemesis Cody Garbrandt, and former welterweight legend George St-Pierre reappeared after a three-year hiatus to beat Michael Bisping for the middleweight championship. The night was so full of tension and drama, it was almost unbearable to watch. And while theres no guarantee UFC 245 will provide anything like that, the chance to witness the greatest female fighter the world has ever known defending her belt, a prodigy angling to become the greatest featherweight the UFC has ever known, and a blood feud dripping with sociopolitical significance all in one night is too much to miss.

Heres everything you need to know to watch UFC 245 without cable.

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When UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman (15-1) faces Colby Covington (15-1) in Las Vegas, their fight will be fraught with all kinds of extra-Octagon resonance. Of course, fight writers love to say that. We live to ascribe metaphorical, political, even spiritual meaning to bouts for the sake of literature. But every once in a while, a fight actually does become something more, a stand-in for some bigger struggle. Like in 1936, when boxing heavyweights Joe Louis and Max Schmeling were the unwilling representatives of American pluralism and German racial tyranny in the run-up to World War II. Or 1962, when the first bout between Floyd Patterson and contender Sonny Liston became a battlefield in the Civil Rights-era war over black identity. Or 1971, when Muhammad Ali made racial politics the selling point for his first fight against Joe Frazier.

If the Usman-Covington fight had happened a few years ago, there would have been no such added significance. It would have been a straightforward battle between two wrestlers that would have attracted almost no attention outside the MMA communityand even some indifference inside of it. As great as they were as fighters during the early years of their UFC careers, Usman and Covington didnt make much of an impression as personalitiesthis being the curse of wrestling-heavy fighting styles and genial dispositions. That all changed two years ago when Covington got tired of being just another mild-mannered soul lost among the UFC roster and rebranded himself as a MAGA hat-wearing troll, a caricature straight out of professional wrestling: the living id of Trumpian racial animus and paranoia.

Like Ali and early pro wrestling star Gorgeous George before him, Covington realized that pushing buttons meant more attention, higher pay, and more opportunitiesthat people would pay for the chance to watch him loseso he began going after foreigners and immigrants, even his own teammates, with an assault as fiery as it was incoherent. He called Brazilians angry animals and denounced NFL and NBA players who refused to visit the White House. He bragged about his sexual prowess in a barrage of shameless and excruciating self-promotion. And it worked. People began talking about him. Opportunities started coming his way.

None of which sat well with Usman, an American born in Nigeria who sees himself as a representative of Africa and a defender of immigrants against the Trumpist hate he sees embodied in men like Covington. He views their upcoming fight as a symbol of a larger struggle against xenophobia and white entitlement. But he, like Covington, surely also sees the dollar signs. By tapping into the anxieties of our anxious age, Usman and Covington have convinced the public that whats at stake next Saturday night isnt just for a title belt but for the soul of the country, raising a fight between two wrestlers to the level of historical drama.

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Whats a stronger indication of athletic genius: Reaching the highest levels of a sport at an impossibly early age or getting there with only a few years of training after starting late? Being a child prodigy or a brilliant late bloomer? I suppose its a question of nurture vs. nature. The best example for the nurture argument in MMA is UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway (21-4), who was raised from his youth to be a great mixed martial artist. He came up in the vanguard of MMAs renaissance generation. That was when fighters were raised in a world where MMA was established, where the early secrets had already been discovered and divulged. They were trained not as specialists, like their predecessors, but as masters of all fighting skills. He arrived in the UFC at the tender age of 20 with an air of inevitability about him. Of course he would win a championship; of course he would one day be listed among the best ever. It was fated.

On the other end of the debate stands Alexander Volkanovski (20-1), a born athlete of such innate physical gifts that he could take his first MMA class at 22, an age when Holloway was already five fights into his UFC run, and just a few years later find himself standing opposite the man. A professional rugby player in a previous life, Volkanovski is blessed with a kind of natural athleticism even most fighting geniuses could never hope to touch. His speed and punching power are God-given. But for all his athletic brilliance, for all his natural, unteachable physical prowess, hes going to need to pull off a perfect fight if he hopes to beat Holloway: perfect in strategy and in execution. Its a huge advantage to be a great athlete, but Holloway is an artist and a prodigy.

If the difference between the souls of fighters can be seen in their reactions to the same opponent, consider this: After Germaine de Randamie won the inaugural UFC womens featherweight belt in February 2017, she refused to fight No. 1 contender Cris Cyborg, claiming Cyborgs long-ago dalliance with performance-enhancing drugs disqualified her from a shot at the belt. MMA fans and pundits didnt buy de Randamies argument, branding her a coward for refusing to fight the woman most MMA fans had long considered the most dangerous and intimidating in the sport.

Nunes, on the other hand, dared to leave the relative safety of the bantamweight division, where she was (and still is) the dominant champion, to go up a weight class and fight Cyborg at 145 pounds. She not only took on that enormous challenge, she knocked out the previously unbeatable Cyborg in under two minutes, becoming the first-ever two-division womens champion in UFC history. Whether this signals a difference in disposition between Nunes (18-4) and de Randamie (9-3) is open to interpretation. What is clear, though, is that Nunes is the greatest female fighter in MMA history and de Ranadamie is now in the unenviable position of having to beat her just to salvage her reputation.

MMA legends dont get much bigger than that of former longtime featherweight champion Jose Aldo (28-5). He was a dominant champion for what seemed like forever, and any list of the top fighters of all time has to include him. But time and anatomy dont care about who you were or what youve done. They conspire against everybody, slowing both reflexes and metabolisms. Which makes Aldos strategy in the face of his inevitable physical decline so surprising. Most aging mixed martial artists opt to move up a class, where they wont have to put their bodies through painful weight cuts and the people theyll be fighting wont be quite as terrifyingly fast.

But Aldo has chosen to spend his twilight years a weight class down, hoping to capitalize on his power against lighter, flightier men. Waiting to welcome him to his new home is Marlon Moraes, who, like Aldo, is in something of a bind. Though Moraes (22-6-1) is still very much in his prime, the man who holds the bantamweight belt, Henry Cejudo, beat him soundly in June, meaning hes got to re-create himself if he hopes to get another title fight. Unfortunately for Moraes, the road to redemption leads through Jose Aldo, a sentence no MMA fighter ever wants to read.

When Urijah Faber (35-10) retired from mixed martial arts in 2016, his timing seemed perfect. The perennial bantamweight contender had been a professional fighter for 13 years but had escaped relatively unscathed, both physically and neurologically, which was a miracle. He was still good enough to compete in the UFC but no longer great enough to compete for a title, so he wasnt leaving opportunities on the table. Plus, hed had a legendary career. Hed been a longtime champion in the WEC and was the first true superstar of MMAs smaller weight classes, a pioneer of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions at a time when no one, not even the UFC, seemed to care. Add to this the fact that Faber had made plenty of money, owned and ran one of the most successful fight teams in the world, and had a stake in at least 10 companies, and it was clear the smart thing for him to do was get out with his body intact and his wits about him.

But fighters are notoriously awful at staying retired, and Faber turned out to be no exception. Earlier this year, he returned to the Octagon after more than two years to fight Ricky Simon, winning by first-round knockout. Now, Faber is signed on to face 26-year-old Russian bruiser Petr Yan (13-1). It might sound ridiculous for Faber to try his luck against Yan, considering hes now 40 and has a brand-new daughter and considering Yan is known for his heavy hands. But the same pathology that leads people to fight professionally in the first place, that feeling of indestructibility and risk, is what keeps them coming back even when logic and the evolutionary demands of self-preservation are crying out against them. Faber is living proof that fighting is both a disease and its cure.

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Theres only one legal way you can watch UFC 245 from your home: ESPN+. While the prelims will be split between ESPN2 and UFC Fight Pass, the main event will exclusively be broadcast on ESPNs subscription streaming service. The good news is that its incredibly simple to use and works with pretty much every streaming device you might own.

There are two purchase options for UFC 245: You can pay $59.99 for that one PPV or you can get a full year of ESPN+ along with UFC 245 by paying $79.99. For UFC fans, you should really invest in the latter. ESPN+ now hosts 20 UFC Fight Nights per year, along with the exclusive series UFC Destined, Ariel Helwanis MMA Show, and Dana Whites Contender Series.

Need more convincing? ESPN+ also hosts Top Rank Boxing cards, daily MLB games, every out-0f-market MLS game, and tons of college football and basketball. Youll also be able to stream the complete 30 for 30 catalog on demand.

All times in ET.

Main card | 10pm on ESPN+

Prelims | 8pm on ESPN2

Early Prelims | 6:30pm on Fight Pass

TRY ESPN+

For a year-round sports fix, sign up here and check the sports box to receive our weekly boxing newsletter. Youll hear about all the biggest fights and best knockouts from the Daily Dots streaming sports guru Josh Katzowitz.

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Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington at UFC 245 highlights the best MMA card in years - The Daily Dot

Education is critical to growth, and online learning beyond traditional walls is transforming business unlike ever before. The relationship between learning and work is becoming more blurred as the two become part of the same integrated ecosystem.

So why is owning education so transformational for a business, its employees and customers?

Companies that invest in online learning have 218% higher revenue and 24% better profit margins. Thus, companies that arent already integrating online learning, are scrambling to catch up. By 2025 the global elearning market is expected to reach $325 billion.

On this episode of EdTech by MarketScale we talk with JW Marshall, a B2B Online Learning Consultant, about the technology and content in todays online learning management systems and the importance of integrating education into an organization.

There is a shift away from old school learning management systems that traditionally were thought of as a compliance tool by HR for employees to comply with rules. Today, online learning is meant to be so engaging that people want to learn to build more skills and advance their careers. IBM found that for every dollar they spent on eLearning, they saw $30 in increased productivity.

[In the] early stages of learning management, systems got a bad rap that they are boring, not engaging and a have-to. In the new digital world of Netflix and YouTube, you can binge-watch almost anything and now and we hope that training and online learning are moving that direction. That theyre so engaging that you want to learn more, says Marshall

Online learning helps people learn without an agenda. The missing link? Companies providing the platform for their employees so they dont have to go somewhere else to get it.

Unlocking the potential of online learning

Science and creativity are both vital in executing content for online learning systems. A lot of companies have great ideas but dont know how to create engaging content and design in engaging sequences with video, text, assessments, says Marshall.

Today is the golden age of online learning. The eLearning industry has grown by 900% since 2000. Learning has evolved from simple text-based documents, to PDFs, to powerpoints to what we have today video that is not just animated, but also 3D and interactive.

Historically, higher education had been the early adopter of online learning with technologies slowly trickling down to high schools, middle schools, elementary schools and lastly businesses. But in last two years the gaps are beginning to close and companies themselves are starting to innovate more and prioritize learning.

Why? Digital natives have entered the workforces and the status quo is no longer good enough. Today, 80% of US companies are using online learning.

Being able to curate content to guide employees and extend learning beyond just the core of a business helps in building a culture of learning which is incredibly powerful. Why? So you dont end up with workers that dont want to change, evolve and progress.

But its not just employees. Learners can be customers, employees, channel distribution partners really anyone that is taking the course, says Marshall.

Customer training is becoming more and more important as you want to make sure your customers know everything they need to know about your products, your services, that youre continuing to train them as your products evolve and that youre building that relationship so that they stay with you, says Marshall.

So why should a business invest in education not just for their company, but for their industry? Listen to the full episode of EdTech by MarketScale on Apple and Spotify, and learn more here.

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in theEducation Technology Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B! Twitter @MarketScale Facebook facebook.com/marketscale LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/marketscale

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Why You Should Be Investing In Online Learning for Your Customers and Employees - MarketScale

Punishing kids for bad behavior often doesn't correct the problem.

A dramatic rise in e-cigarette use among middle and high school students nationwide has prompted some suburban districts to take a different approach.

They are going beyond detention, suspensions and punitive measures when students are caught vaping.

Schools are using online vaping education curriculum through VapeEducate and 3rd Millennium designed to help students and families understand the dangers of e-cigarettes and learn strategies to prevent its use. Topics covered include vaping health risks, how e-cigarette marketing targets youths, addiction, and vaping marijuana and THC -- the main psychoactive compound that produces marijuana's high.

Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and Prospect High School in Mount Prospect are the first in Northwest Suburban High School District 214 to adopt VapeEducate's curriculum this year. Provided it's successful, officials might roll it out districtwide.

"We have a lot of different ways we are being proactive. This is one of the tools we are using," said Nick Olson, Prospect division head for student success, safety and wellness.

Huntley Unit District 158 has taken a comprehensive approach to addressing the vaping problem through education for teachers, parents and students since last school year. As a result, fewer students have been caught vaping this year, said Tony Venetico, principal of Marlowe Middle School in Lake in the Hills.

"We're going to handle it on a case-by-case basis," Venetico said. "Sitting in suspension doesn't teach students anything. We're hoping they walk away from this and make better choices and help educate their friends as well. That is how we are going to have a lasting impact on this epidemic."

3rd Millennium's course can take between 45 minutes and two hours to complete depending on the student's ability and focus. It includes a test that students can take at home or during non-class times at school, said Janet Cook, Glenbard District 87's director of student services.

Students placed in detention for having or using vaping devices can complete the course to get out of detention.

"We're trying to use this as part of restorative justice," Cook said. "Our hope is that it changes future decisions."

VapeEducate's online course also is self-paced and includes six lessons and a test after each unit. Students must score a minimum of 80% to pass a unit. The course takes about 5 hours to complete and can be done at home or at school. Results are sent to school administrators and parents, and students receive a certificate of completion.

The McHenry County Substance Abuse Coalition used federal grant funding to purchase 1,000 licenses of VapeEducate's course, which it is providing for free to middle and high schools countywide. Each license can be used only once.

Health officials have been providing five weekly presentations in schools on the risks of tobacco use, vaping and nicotine addiction. But it's hard to gauge how much information students absorb or retain, said Laura Crain, Drug Free Program coordinator for the coalition.

"VapeEducate is similar in content, but it is more you watch and learn," Crain said. "It's just one more way of really reaching the students that we know are engaged in (vaping)."

Some high school athletic coaches are considering having entire sports teams take the course rather than just the players who might be vaping, Crain said.

VapeEducate's curriculum is developed by Ohio-based school administrators and teachers. It is updated frequently with new information about vaping-related health issues, the vaping industry and new laws.

"We have an average of about 25,000 online users that we are educating. ... It's growing immensely," said Dorothy Bishop, chief operating officer. "Some schools are being very proactive and using it to educate students in orientation, health class."

Many schools that piloted the program are returning to purchase additional licenses. "That's a strong signal that it's helping," she said.

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How schools are using online education, rather than punishment, to curb vaping - Chicago Daily Herald

BOSTON, Dec. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Berkeley Executive Education is collaborating with online education provider EMERITUS to offer Artificial Intelligence: Business Strategies and Applications, which launches December 5, 2019.

This online certificate is for professionals eager to upskill and boost their careers with recent advancements in applications of AI in business. A two-month program, this introduces basic applications of AI to those in business. AI: Business Strategies and Applications (Online) requires four to six hours of study per week and costs $2,800, which makes it both affordable and convenient for working professionals.

CEO of Berkeley Executive Education, Mike Rielly says, "We are building a growing portfolio of online courses in partnership with EMERITUS across the domains of digital transformation and data science within business applications. The AI program is a logical addition to the portfolio as we aim to extend the critical work of our faculty to industry professionals across the globe where AI is, and will penetrate almost every aspect of business need and opportunity."

Lisa Rohrer, Director of University partnerships at EMERITUS, adds, "We are inspired by the suite of courses we are developing with the Berkeley Executive Education team and we're thrilled to be able to bring this world-class learning to a global audience."

AI is transforming the personal and professional lives of people across the world. By 2025, the global AI market is expected to expand to almost $60 billion. There aren't enough trained professionals to fill the jobs needed in this new industry.

In addition to learning about the basics and potential of AI, participants will develop an AI-related project that they can apply to their own organization, will learn how to organize and manage successful AI application projects, grasp technical aspects of AI well enough to communicate effectively with technical teams, and learn how to avoid pitfalls associated with these new technologies.

A team of distinguished UC Berkeley faculty at the forefront of information and communication technology teach the program. Participants will learn from Haas School of Business faculty members including Associate Professor and Faculty Director of the Fisher Center for Business Analytics, Zsolt Katona; Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Computational Culture Lab, Sameer B. Srivastava; Adjunct Professor and Research Scientist, Thomas Lee; and Visiting Scholar and Executive in Residence, Matthew Stepka. Participants will also learn from Engineering Professor and Director of UC Berkeley's Robot Learning Lab, Pieter Abbeel

For more information on Artificial Intelligence: Business Strategies and Applications (Online) by Berkeley Executive Education, interested applicants can apply and learn more here.

Berkeley Executive Education serves leaders and organizations who aspire to redefine the future of business. The organization's profound and unique learning experiences, led by renowned Berkeley Executive Education faculty, equip global executives and their organizations with the vision, culture, and capabilities to thrive in an ever-changing world. Its immersive programs offer both global and industry relevance that executives can immediately apply to shape their career to put themselves and their company ahead of the curve. Working with EMERITUS broadens access beyond on-campus offerings in a collaborative and engaging format that stays true to the quality of University of California, Berkeley.

EMERITUS (www.emeritus.org) offers professional education courses in collaboration with top-ranked universities: MIT, Columbia, Dartmouth, Wharton, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, London Business School and others. Using technology and curriculum innovation, EMERITUS enables working professionals who cannot enroll in full-time courses to access a top-tier, affordable education that will give them the skills needed to be the business leaders of tomorrow. EMERITUS' global team includes 550+ employees located in Boston, Dubai, Mexico City, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai and Singapore.

Contact: Kiki Keating Kiki@kikinetwork.com 1-603-858-2733

SOURCE Emeritus

Emeritus

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EMERITUS Partners with UC Berkeley Executive Education to Offer New Online Artificial Intelligence Course in Business Strategies and Applications -...

As advances in artificial intelligence and automation continue, the distance between high-skilled elites and everyone else will only grow. To counter this bifurcation, we should be using new technologies to educate more people at lower cost.

LONDON In 2007, Harvard University economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz published The Race Between Education and Technology. Americas once-great education system, Goldin and Katz argued, was failing to keep pace with technological change and the economic disparity that comes with it. Even more concerning, they would likely make the same argument today. As we enter the third decade of this century, students in the United States and around the world are struggling to get an education that prepares them for a rapidly changing workplace.

Technology is clearly winning the race between man and machine. The current wave of technological change is affecting every industry, requiring skills that are far more advanced and diverse than what was expected of workers just a generation ago. With demand for high-skilled labor outpacing supply, a global elite of highly educated, highly paid professionals has emerged, leading increasingly insulated lives. Worse, access to basic education is still being denied to the bulk of school-age children in developing countries, and a university-level education lies far beyond the reach of millions around the world. We estimate that even in 2040, only 25% of the worlds adult population will have secondary education qualifications or degrees and that a higher percentage, 27%, will either have had no schooling at all or at best an incomplete primary education.

This divide between an education-rich elite with university degrees and the education-poor is thus likely to deepen, exacerbating within-country inequalities. Globally, higher education can increase ones wage earnings by 16% on average, and by as much as 27% in low-income countries. But with advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, this gap will widen even further, by boosting the capabilities (or augmented intelligence) of the privileged few who already have the skills to use the new technologies.

But this doesnt have to be the case. By leveraging technology in the service of education, we can end todays winner-takes-all race. Since 2012, the burgeoning MOOC (massive open online course) movement has demonstrated that high-quality education can be provided affordably and at scale to students around the world. Online education platforms have already helped millions of people achieve college readiness or upgrade their skills at prices far below those of more traditional approaches. For example, edX, a project backed by Harvard University, MIT, and other top institutions, has enrolled 25 million people, from every country in the world, and has so far awarded 1.6 million certificates of completion.

Digital technologies can also help us reach new audiences and reimagine the delivery of education. By making major investments to improve access to digital technology and fund tuitions, we can significantly expand the opportunities for more young people to pursue higher education, regardless of where they are.

Looking ahead, digital technology will play a critical role in supporting free or low-cost general education, by providing an on-ramp to college for traditional and non-traditional students in developed and developing countries alike. Institutions such as Arizona State University in the US are developing a new model for online courses. Together with edX, ASU has created the first MOOC program to offer first-year college-level courses for academic credit. The Global Freshman Academy is geared toward older adults who are returning to earn their Bachelors degree, as well as to high school-age students who want to prepare for college or reduce the cost of their undergraduate education.

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Innovation is also underway at the post-graduate level, where one can find competitively priced online Masters programs in cutting-edge fields like data science, computer science, AI, and business administration. Top-ranked universities such as Georgia Tech, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Queensland, and Boston University offer many of these courses, at a cost of just 20-25% of an on-campus course. Given this progress, the next natural step is to introduce online degrees at the undergraduate level, with curricula sub-divided into stackable, modular programs and credentials, enabling students to learn on-demand and affordably throughout their lifetimes.

Of course, such educational opportunities that should involve person-to-person coaching and mentoring what some call high-tech high-touch courses should also be accompanied by more opportunities for fulfilling work at decent wages. But in addition to nurturing new work opportunities, we also need to ensure that the education we deliver is a proper fit for future jobs, and that the accompanying credentials serve as effective labor-market signals. Just one-fifth of respondents to a recent edX survey believe that all of the knowledge from their college major is translatable to their current field. To stay ahead of the labor-displacing effects of AI and automation, digital-learning opportunities must be developed with employability in mind.

The rising popularity of coding boot camps and part-time, post-college online micro-credential programs shows that more workers are taking upskilling into their own hands. Job-relevant credentials from online programs like edX are also on the rise, with more than three million people having enrolled in various MicroMasters programs since this certification was launched by MIT on edX in 2015. This grassroots momentum can be maintained through support from employers, who should recognize the obvious advantages of lifelong educational opportunities for their employees.

But it is also time for governments and public policymakers to wake up. The inequality caused by lack of access to education is simply unsustainable. Now is the time to leverage digital technologies to improve college readiness and expand opportunities for students and workers at all points in their careers, and particularly for those who can least afford traditional educational channels.

Policymakers should see the growing skills gap as an urgent threat to social and political stability, as well as to economic growth. In addition to the divide between the educational haves and have-nots is a misalignment between what people are learning and what employers need. Closing these gaps will yield benefits for everyone and bring us closer to achieving the global Sustainable Development Goal for education. With the power of technology, we can reduce current economic disparities and become the first generation in history to have made universal, lifelong education a reality.

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Closing the Education-Technology Gap | by Gordon Brown & Anant Agarwal - Project Syndicate