The National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) has partnered the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) on six priority crops to enhance food security in Nigeria. The six crops include: maize, rice, cowpeas, cassava, millet, and oil palm across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, minister of state for agriculture and food security, noted that climate change is real and has become inevitable in integrating modern seed technology to ensure sustainability and food security “We are witnessing a clear and existential threats of climate change and its impact on our local food systems,” he said. He emphasised the need for urgent integration of modern seed technology to counter the existential threats posed by climate change on Nigeria’s food systems. The minister gave the emphasis on the second day of a two-day workshop on ‘Enhancing Seed Systems for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Nigeria,’ organised by the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) in collaboration with the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), which held from Monday to Wednesday, in Abuja. The minister, while highlighting the critical role of innovation and collaboration in shaping the future of Nigeria’s seed sector, tied the initiative to the federal government’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. “This gathering speaks to the critical role that innovation and collaboration play in the future of our seed sector in the face of our present challenges as a nation,” he said. Abdullahi also outlined the hurdles Nigeria faces in transforming its seed system, including poor distribution channels, inadequate infrastructure, and widespread mistrust in the quality and health impacts of improved seeds. He commended NADF for its leadership in addressing these issues, stating, “The National Agricultural Development Fund is commended for taking the bull by the horn in addressing critical issues hampering our agricultural development.” Mohammed Abu, executive secretary, National Agricultural Development Fund, said the six priority crops are staples in different geopolitical zones in Nigeria and are crucial for achieving food security in the country. “Through the Seed Systems Enhancement Programme, we aim to provide financial support to drive this transformation. This includes funding for agricultural research institutes to develop and scale breeder seeds for priority crops,” said Abu Ibrahim. Ishak Khalid, acting director-general, NASC, while emphasising the private sector’s pivotal role, lauded the government’s commitment to enacting policies that strengthen the seed sector. “As the private sector, we need to be more organised to give life to the beautiful policies and shun any kind of circumvention that may collapse the system.”Trump taps Rollins as agriculture chief, completing proposed slate of Cabinet secretariesShopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse. A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency. Pages from the Shein website, left, and from the Temu site, right. Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit is always just a click away. By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival , supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand. The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season. A Christmas tree ornament purchased on Temu. Software company Salesforce said it expects roughly one in five online purchases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to be made through four online marketplaces based or founded in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop — the e-commerce arm of video-sharing platform TikTok — and AliExpress. Analysts with Salesforce said they are expected to pull in roughly $160 billion in global sales outside of China. Most of the sales will go to Temu and Shein, a privately held company which is thought to lead the worldwide fast fashion market in revenue. Lisa Xiaoli Neville, a nonprofit manager who lives in Los Angeles, is sold on Shein. The bedroom of her home is stocked with jeans, shoes, press-on nails and other items from the ultra-fast fashion retailer, all of which she amassed after getting on the platform to buy a $2 pair of earrings she saw in a Facebook ad. Neville, 46, estimates she spends at least $75 a month on products from Shein. A $2 eggshell opener, a portable apple peeler and an apple corer, both costing less than $5, are among the quirky, single-use kitchen tools taking up drawer space. She acknowledges she doesn’t need them because she “doesn’t even cook like that.” Plus, she’s allergic to apples. “I won’t eat apples. It will kill me,” Neville said, laughing. “But I still want the coring thing.” Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same web design features as Temu’s, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to persuade shoppers to keep clicking, but it appears a bit more restrained in its approach. Shein primarily targets young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Searching the company's name on video platforms turns up creators promoting Shein's Black Friday sales event and displaying the dozens of of trendy clothes and accessories they got for comparatively little money. But the Shein-focused content also includes videos of TikTokers saying they're embarrassed to admit they shopped there and critics lashing out at fans for not taking into account the environmental harms or potential labor abuses associated with products that are churned out and shipped worldwide at a speedy pace. Neville has already picked out holiday gifts for family and friends from the site. Most of the products in her online cart cost under $10, including graphic T-shirts she intends to buy for her son and jeans and loafers for her daughter. All told, she plans to spend about $200 on gifts, significantly less than $500 she used to shell out at other stores in prior years. “The visuals just make you want to spend more money,” she said, referring to the clothes on Shein's site. “They're very cheap and everything is just so cute.” Unlike Shein, Temu's appeal cuts across age groups and gender. The platform is the world’s second most-visited online shopping site, software company Similarweb reported in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey flask shaped like a vintage cellphone from the 1990s. Temu advertised Black Friday bargains for some items at upwards of 70% off the recommended retail price. Making a purchase can quickly result in receiving dozens of emails offering free giveaways. The caveat: customers have to buy more products. Despite their rise, Temu and Shein have proven particularly ripe for pushback. Last year, a coalition of unnamed brands and organizations launched a campaign to oppose Shein in Washington. U.S. lawmakers also have raised the possibility that Temu is allowing goods made with forced labor to enter the country. More recently, the Biden administration put forward rules that would crack down on a trade rule known as the de minimis exception, which has allowed a lot of cheap products to come into the U.S. duty-free. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to slap high tariffs on goods from China, a move that would likely raise prices across the retail world. Both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the U.S. to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with Amazon, which is trying to erode their price advantage through a new storefront that also ships products directly from China. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
Musk-Altman Rivalry Intensifies With Trump's Appointment of David SacksPresident-elect Donald Trump and his allies have vowed to radically shift American policy from Day 1. From mass deportations to eliminating the Department of Education, Trump's policies could impact millions of people and communities across the country. However, experts say there is a big obstacle that will make it harder -- if not impossible -- for the incoming administration to implement these plans: States and municipalities. Alison LaCroix, professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School, told ABC News that the power to regulate and implement key laws lies strictly within the states and many local leaders have already been working to prepare for a possible future Trump administration. "The states have a lot of levers in the constitutional system, legal system and other systems," she said. "This usually comes as a lot of shock to people who don't know how much power they wield but we're going to soon find out how valuable they are." MORE: How Democrats are planning to fight Trump's mass deportation plan Other experts who have focused on some of the biggest sectors targeted by Trump, such as public health and immigration, agreed but said they are likely gearing up for a legal and policy fight that could last a long time. Immigration For example, Trump and his allies have been very open about their proposals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants . Trump has said he aims to remove at least 1 million immigrants living in the country illegally from the U.S. as soon as possible. Elora Mukherjee, the director of Columbia Law School's immigration clinic, told ABC News that states can't outright act as immigration enforcement for the federal government without an agreement. "It is the principle that the federal government cannot order local law enforcement to enact federal priorities," she said. Democratic governors like Gavin Newsom of California and JB Pritzker of Illinois have vowed not to assist Trump with any mass deportation plan, and Mukherjee said their claims are not empty words. She said states already showed their power during the first Trump administration by blocking Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering courthouses for potential raids and denying the agency detainers that would have kept jailed immigrants in custody longer without an arraignment. She added that any attempts by the Republican-controlled Congress to change immigration and deportation laws to take away rights from the states will take some time and likely be met with resistance even among Republican members who think it is too extreme. "The Trump administration will issue many executive orders, but a large number that will be illegal and unconstitutional," Mukherjee added. At the same time, Mukherjee said that conservative states and municipalities may bolster anti-immigrant policies and make it harder for migrants and asylum seekers to gain a path to citizenship. Sixty counties and police districts, many of them in Florida, have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE, in which local law enforcement can conduct immigration policies on behalf of the federal government such as executing warrants and detaining undocumented immigrants, according to Mukherjee. Florida also passed SB 1718 last year which cracks down on undocumented immigration with several provisions, including making it illegal to transport undocumented immigrants and requiring hospitals to ask patients for their immigration status. Mukherjee stressed that states cannot try to enforce their own laws in other jurisdictions due to the 1842 Supreme Court case Prigg vs. Pennsylvania. That case, which overturned the conviction of a man convicted under a state law that prevented slave-catching, held that while federal law supersedes state law, states are not required to use their resources to uphold federal laws. "It's extremely difficult and illegal for one state to impose their laws onto another," Mukherjee said. Even when it comes to executive orders, Mukherjee said the laws are mostly on the side of states and municipalities. Trump’s "border czar" choice Tom Homan has already threatened to go after states and cities that refuse to comply with the president-elect's deportation plans, including arresting mayors . Mukherjee said there is no legal mechanism or modern legal precedent that allows the federal government to incarcerate local leaders for not adhering to an administration's policy. "Sanctuary city laws are entirely allowed within the U.S. Constitution," she said. "The 10th Amendment is extremely clear. The powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people. This is a bedrock principle of U.S. constitutional law." Public education State education officials are in the same boat when it comes to federal oversight, experts said. MORE: Can Trump deliver on his promise to ax the Department of Education? Although Trump and other allies have made it clear that they want to eliminate or weaken the federal Department of Education , funding for schools and education programs lies mostly in the hands of state legislatures and local school boards, according to Alice O'Brien, the general counsel for the National Education Association. "Those campaign promises in reality are much harder to achieve," O'Brien told ABC News. "They would require federal legislation to accomplish." Federal oversight has little control over local school curriculum policies, she added. O'Brien noted that much of the federal oversight on public schools lies outside of the jurisdiction of the Department of Education. For example, state school districts must adhere to laws set forth at the federal level such as non-discrimination against race and religion and disabilities. "States and school systems can not run in any way that conflicts with the federal Constitution," O'Brien said. When it comes to funding, although the federal DOE does provide funding as a floor to many school districts, it is a small fraction compared to the funding that comes from city and state coffers, O'Brien explained. Public health "It really comes down to a state-by-state basis in terms of how much dollars are allocated to the schools," she said. "Ultimately it really comes down to how much money the state budgets have." Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association and former Maryland health secretary, told ABC News that state public health offices operate under the same localized jurisdiction and thus would have more autonomy on health policies. Trump's pick for the head of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been a staunch promoter of anti-vaccination policies and has pushed for the end of fluoride in water supplies. Benjamin said he is worried about the effects of having someone with no professional health experience and public dismissiveness of proven health policies, however, he remarked that states and municipalities still hold immense power in implementing policies. Georges noted that fluoride levels in the water supply are dictated at a local level, and many counties have chosen not to implement them. Federal health agencies can make recommendations but cannot block a municipality from implementing fluoridation, he said. "There is no fiscal penalty for not following it," Benjamin said of federal recommendations. The same rules govern local vaccination requirements, he added. "[The federal government does] control vaccine mandates at the federal level, with the federal workforce, but they don't control the bulk of childhood mandates," Benjamin said. MORE: Boom, now bust: Budget cuts and layoffs take hold in public health He noted that the country saw the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of state-run public health systems during the two years that COVID-19 hit the nation and the rollout of the vaccines. Republican and Democratic states all instituted shelter-in-place and social distancing rules during the peak of cases, Benjamin said. "I do think we have a wait-and-see attitude," he said. In the meantime, several states have taken measures to bolster their state health policies, particularly when it comes to reproductive rights, through legislative action and ballot measures. Power in state prosecutors One of the biggest ways that states will be able to "Trump-proof" their laws and policies is through state prosecutors and the courts, LaCroix said. "We will see a lot of arguments in local government and what they can do," she said. Mukherjee said several state attorneys general were able to take Trump to court during his first administration and push back against immigration proposals such as his ban on residents from Muslim countries and deportation plans. Mukherjee said despite the increase in Trump-backed judges in the federal courts, there is still the rule of law when it comes to immigration. For example, earlier this year, a federal judge struck down the provision in Florida's SB 1718 that threatens felony charges for people who transport an undocumented immigrant. U.S. District Judge Roy Altman, a Trump-appointed judge, issued an injunction against that provision stating that immigration-related enforcement was not in the state's power. "It will be harder this time around to win sweeping victories for immigrants and non-citizens ... but federal judges across party lines reined in the worst abuses of the Trump administration the first time around," she said. MORE: Trump confirms plan to declare national emergency, use military for mass deportations LaCroix echoed that statement and said that partisanship can only go so far, especially when it comes to laws enshrined in the state and federal constitutions. "Judges still have to give reasons for what they do and 'because our party is in charge' doesn't hold weight," she said.
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Stock market today: Wall Street rises toward records despite tariff talkNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward records Tuesday after Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and was on track to top its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or 0.2%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher, with less than an hour remaining in trading. Stock markets abroad were down, but mostly only modestly, after President-elect Trump said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada's main index edged down by just 0.1%. Trump has often praised the use of tariffs , but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries. General Motors sank 8.2%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.9%. Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support to the job market . While lower interest rates can boost the overall economy and prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation. “Many” officials at the Fed's last meeting earlier this month said they should lower rates gradually, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday afternoon. Unlike tariffs in Trump's first term, his proposal from Monday night would affect products across the board. Trump’s tariff talk came almost immediately after U.S. stocks rose Monday amid excitement about his pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. The hope was the hedge-fund manager could steer Trump away from policies that balloon the U.S. government deficit, which is how much more it spends than it takes in through taxes and other revenue. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another set of mixed profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They’ll need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates instituted by the Fed to get inflation under control. Kohl’s tumbled 17.6% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him. Best Buy fell 4.7% after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations. Dick’s Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1.4%. A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. J.M. Smucker jumped 5.4% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo and Jif brands. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 2.8% for Amazon and 2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.30% from 4.28% late Monday, but it’s still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week. In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It's since dipped back toward $91,600, according to CoinDesk. It’s a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that initially took over the crypto market following Trump’s election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed “retail” investors. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
Katie Holmes didn't want to wait too long until people got the wrong idea about her and ex Tom Cruise 's daughter Suri 's financial situation. So days after a Dec. 5 media report signaling that the 18-year-old is now a "millionaire" due to an alleged trust fund from her father that had "kicked in" once she became a legal adult, the Dawson's Creek alum set the record straight. "Completely false," Katie wrote on Instagram Dec. 8, over a screenshot of the article, and added in the caption, "Enough." The Batman Begins actress has largely kept Suri out of the spotlight since she and Tom finalized their divorce in 2012 after more than five years of marriage. In recent years, Katie has begun to share more anecdotes about the teen, the former couple's only child together. "What has been really important for me with my daughter, because she was so visible at a young age, is I really like to protect her," the 45-year-old told Glamour in 2023. "I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent. She's an incredible person." This past summer, Katie made a rare comment about their bond as Suri headed off to college. "I’m proud of my daughter," the Broadway actress told Town & Country in an interview published in August. "Of course, I will miss the close proximity, but I’m really proud of her and I’m happy." Suri is the youngest of Tom's three children. The Mission: Impossible star is also the father of daughter Bella Kidman Cruise , 31, and son Connor Cruise , 29—his kids from his past marriage to Nicole Kidman . Read on to find out more about the actor's family... This past summer, Katie made a rare comment about their bond as Suri headed off to college. "I’m proud of my daughter," the Broadway actress told Town & Country in an interview published in August. "Of course, I will miss the close proximity, but I’m really proud of her and I’m happy." Suri is the youngest of Tom's three children. The Mission: Impossible star is also the father of daughter Bella Kidman Cruise , 31, and son Connor Cruise , 29—his kids from his past marriage to Nicole Kidman . Read on to find out more about the actor's family... Marriage to Nicole Kidman Tom Cruise was in the process of divorcing first wife Mimi Rogers when he met Nicole Kidman making the racing movie Days of Thunder in early 1990. He proposed to the Australian actress once he was officially single and they tied the knot that year on Christmas Eve. "It was that special connection when you recognize your soul mate," Tom told Vanity Fair in 1994. "She is a person who understands. It was as if a whole new life had started for me." They announced their divorce in February 2001 with a press release citing the "difficulties inherent of diverging careers which constantly keep them apart." Though it's unclear if Nicole agreed with that rationale. "I'm starting to understand now [why we broke up]," she told Vanity Fair toward the end of 2002. "At the time I didn't." Her ex, meanwhile, had told the publication earlier that year, "She knows why, and I know why. She's the mother of my children, and I wish her well. And I think that you just move on. And I don't say that lightly. I don't say that with anything." Isabella Cruise Tom and Nicole adopted their eldest child, Isabella , when she was born on Dec. 22, 1992. Admittedly "scared to death" the first time he changed a diaper, Tom told VF in 1994 that he and Nicole "talked about children from time to time, but there was always the work. But then we went, When is it ever going to be the right time? That's how the conversation started. You're lying in bed at night and you're trying to sleep, so you roll over and you go, What would happen if we had this in our life?... One of the things that Nic and I talk about is that now suddenly we're a family ." Nicole said they definitely planned on having more kids, whether by birth or adoption, preferably both. "Isabella was meant for us," she told the magazine. "I think when things come into your life at a certain time you have to take them. It's destiny." She later revealed to VF in 2007 that they decided to adopt after she lost a pregnancy. "From the minute Tom and I were married, I wanted to have babies," she said. "And we lost a baby early on, so that was really very traumatic. And that's when we would adopt Bella." "There's a complicated background to that," she added, "given that I never speak much about many things. One day maybe that story will be told." Isabella Cruise Isabella, an artist and graduate of London's Delamar Academy of Make-Up and Hair, lives in England with husband Max Parker . It raised a few eyebrows when the bride's parents didn't attend the couple's 2015 wedding at the Dorchester hotel in London. "Of course, they're my parents," she fired back at Daily Mail Online when the newlywed was asked if she spoke to Tom and Nicole. "Anyone who says otherwise is full of s--t." Moreover, only a few close friends attended and the groom's parents weren't there, either, his mom Beverly Parker telling the Mail they stayed away to avoid "a media circus." Calling the pair "lovely," she said, "I'm very pleased for them both and they're very happy." Max told the publication that "you could say" his wife had foregone the spotlight, but it was "more of a weird situation for everyone else" than it was for them. Meanwhile, sources told People that Tom approved of Max, was OK with not being there and he paid for the wedding, while Nicole was just glad her daughter seemed happy. Connor Cruise Connor rounded out the family when he was adopted at birth on Jan. 17, 1995. He's a musician and DJ, and reportedly lives in Miami. Nicole married Keith Urban in 2006 and they share daughters Sunday Rose , born July 7, 2008, and Faith Margaret , born via gestational surrogate Dec. 28, 2010. Reflecting on how Connor and Isabella chose to live with their dad after the divorce, she told HELLO! , "I'd love them to live with us, but what can you do?" (They did attend the Kidman-Urban nuptials in Australia.) Talking to Now to Love in 2014, Nicole called Isabella and Connor "generous, kind and hardworking," all "traits that I love to see in my children." Several years later she acknowledged that both of her older kids were practicing Scientologists, like their father, but—contrary to rumors that religion had driven a wedge between them—that was neither here nor there. "They are adults," the Oscar winner told Australia's Who in 2018. "They are able to make their own decisions. They have made choices to be Scientologists and as a mother, it's my job to love them." And, like his sister, Connor has never said a cross word about his mom. "I love my mum," he told Australia's Woman's Day in 2014 while in town to deejay at a festival. "I don't care what people say, I know that me and mum are solid. I love her a lot. My family means everything." He also loved music, he added, "but the family comes before everything else." Marriage to Katie Holmes Tom was in a sharing mood when he started dating the Dawson's Creek alum in 2005, boisterously telling Oprah Winfrey and her sofa that he was in love with the actress. "Here's the thing, you can't think about it in terms of what people are going to do or say," he told MTV News that June of the PR perils of wearing his heart on his sleeve. "It's 'I want to share my life with this woman. This woman is exceptional, she's special, she's extraordinary and I have great respect for her.' It's someone who's saying 'I've got nothing to hide, I'm happy.' I'm happy, man!" The Top Gun star proposed atop the Eiffel Tower in June 2005, reportedly within eight weeks of their first date. Their lavish Nov. 18, 2006, nuptials were held at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy. Suri, Connor and Bella were in attendance, along with the likes of the Beckhams, Jennifer Lopez and then-husband Marc Anthony , Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith , and Brooke Shields and spouse Chris Henchy . Suri Cruise Tom and Katie's daughter was born April 18, 2006. The October 2006 cover of Vanity Fair , first revealed on the CBS Evening News Sept. 5, introduced Suri to the world. The portrait by Annie Leibovitz featured the 3-month-old tucked into her dad's leather aviator jacket, an homage to Linda McCartney 's famous shot of Paul McCartney with their baby daughter Mary from his 1970 album McCartney . "She's a glorious girl," Katie told the magazine. "She's the miracle of our life." Tom shared that they found the name in a baby book sent to them by friends and just loved it. "We later found out that it meant 'red rose,' and that was just a bonus," he added. "Suri—it was perfect." The article noted that the family, including Conor and Bella, were all gathered cozily at Tom's house in Telluride (which he sold in 2021 for $39.5 million). "It's really special to see them holding their little sister," Katie said. "To hear them talk about all of the fun things they are going to do together." Added Tom, "It's very moving to me too. I look at those moments of watching Bella and Connor grow up and you get a sense of what kind of people they are going to be as adults." Katie filed for divorce in June 2012, her attorney saying in a statement her "primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter's best interest." Tom's rep told E! News that he "is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children." The proceedings were settled relatively quickly , with both sides agreeing on Suri living primarily with her mom while her dad got generous visitation rights. Katie started splitting time between New York and L.A. and resettled Suri on the East Coast for school. The Batman Begins actress set about giving her kid the most normal life possible, ferrying her to school and gymnastics like any other Manhattan mom. While the paparazzi never stopped clicking away, Katie shared only a handful of glimpses of Suri on social media over the years. But they also were seen at sporting events and have made many a pilgrimage to Broadway to catch a show. "My child is the most important person to me, and her upbringing is paramount to my work right now," she told Town & Country in 2017 . "It's very important that I'm present and she has a stable, innocent childhood. I feel so blessed to do what I do, but there's nothing in the world better than watching your child succeed." At the same time, she said, "Every day, kids get a little further away from you. That's a positive thing. They should be becoming more independent, but it's heartbreaking." Suri may not have caught the acting bug yet, but she did sing the cover of "Blue Moon" that opens Alone Together , the rom-com her mom was inspired to write during the pandemic and then also starred in and directed. Suri also provided a vocal for her movie Rare Objects . "I hope she always does something on my films," Katie told Glamour in March 2023. "I always ask her. But both of those experiences came out of the same sense of what I love about our industry, which is, you have these projects and you become a family with people. And it's this safe, beautiful, creative space." With Suri about to turn 17 at the time, she noted, "What has been really important for me with my daughter, because she was so visible at a young age, is I really like to protect her. I'm very grateful to be a parent, to be her parent. She's an incredible person."10 hot-ticket gifts we predict will sell out on Black Friday 2024
Scientists have developed a hand-y way to spot a lush. Researchers in the UK have found that someone’s love of the sauce may be linked to testosterone exposure in the womb — which has a distinct effect on a baby’s hand development, per a boozy study published in the American Journal Of Human Biology. “It is possible that differences in alcohol consumption are set in the womb,” said study author John Manning, who teaches evolutionary biology at Swansea University in Wales, the Daily Mail reported. To determine how people get draughted at such an early age, the scientists surveyed more than 258 students — 169 women and 58 men — on their weekly boozing habits. They then measured the length of their fingers, which are thought to reveal how much testosterone (the male sex hormone) or estrogen (the female sex hormone) we were exposed to in the womb, and therefore our so-called level of “masculinity.” Manning specifically used the somewhat disputed method of gauging 2D:4D digit ratios, the discrepancy in length between the index and ring finger. He believed that having a longer ring finger compared to the index one correlated to more prenatal testosterone exposure while having a longer pointer digit was linked to a higher level of estrogen in the womb. “This ratio is considered to be a biomarker of the balance between fetal testosterone and estrogen,” the professor explained while describing these so-called booze clues. The bar exam found that the heavier drinkers tended to have a “low digit ratio” — meaning their ring finger is longer than their index finger — and were therefore exposed to higher levels of male sex hormones in the prenatal chamber. From this, Manning suggested that higher testosterone — referred to in the study as a “prenatal sex steroid” — results in increased alcohol tolerance and therefore boozing habits. “Enzymes in male stomachs can reduce the absorption of alcohol by 30 percent whereas females absorb more into the bloodstream,” he said. However, the study was not so men could have bragging rights about their hepatic fortitude, but rather to shed light on the prevalent issue of alcohol abuse. “Alcohol consumption is a major social and economic problem,” explained Manning. “Therefore, it is important to understand why alcohol use shows considerable differences across individuals.” One major caveat is that the study sampled only students, which may represent a small portion of the population in terms of drinking habits. He explained that more studies will be needed to determine whether the link between prenatal testosterone exposure and adult drinking is causal rather than correlational. In the past, the 2D:4D ratio has been used to predict everything from penis size t o whether someone’s mother had an above-average income.
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