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Hugh Jackman may spend some of the Christmas holidays either without his two children or his rumored new girlfriend, Sutton Foster, because his ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness isn’t ready to created a “blended,” “modern-family” dynamic with all of them celebrating together. The 56-year-old Jackman reportedly wanted to introduce Foster, 49, to his adult children, Oscar, 24, and Ava,19, but Furness is not “keen” on the idea, Woman’s Day reported. “It’s going to take more time for loved ones to adjust to the new normal and so that means Hugh and Sutton are bracing themselves for way less time together than they’d like during the holidays,” an insider told Woman’s Day. Even without saying anything publicly, Furness, 68, has reportedly made it clear that she’s not happy with how her marriage ended. A report last month said she appeared to confirm a social media post that said that Jackman’s alleged backstage affair with Foster , his co-star in the hit Broadway revival of “The Music Man,” is the reason behind their divorce after 27 years of marriage. For that reason, Furness feels like Jackman is “moving on quickly” even after she “gave so much of herself to their marriage,” the Woman’s Day source said. She definitely doesn’t want a “blended” Christmas, in which she’d presumably include Foster and even her 7-year-old daughter in their family celebrations. “Hugh and Sutton would love to get together with their kids for the holidays, but it’s still awkward, and Hugh is conscious of respecting Deb’s feelings,” the source said. Tensions are “still simmering,” according to Woman’s Day. “Deb feels like Hugh hasn’t properly acknowledged the hurt he caused by moving on so quickly,” the insider also said. Jackman and Furness shocked fans when they announced their separation in September 2023. One of a few Hollywood couples known for a long and seemingly happy marriage, they issued a statement that sounded polite and amicable, saying that their journey together was “shifting,” and they had “decided to separate to pursue our individual growth.” But then came reports in October, saying that Jackman had developed a “close relationship” with Sutton when they starred together in “The Music Man,” which ran from late 2021 to January 2023 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Manhattan. At the time, both were married to other people. The reports about a rumored affair began as soon as the Tony Award-winning Foster filed for divorce from screenwriter Ted Griffin after 10 years of marriage. A source close to Foster told Us Weekly: “Sutton and Hugh’s relationship is the reason Hugh and Deb (separated).” In October, gossip blogger Tasha Lustig also said that Furness was “blindsided” by her husband’s romance with his co-star, even after she had given her “whole life and career to him,” Us Weekly also reported. Lustig said that the Broadway stars were planning to “soft launch” their relationship publicly. But even if Furness was “blindsided” by her husband’s alleged romance, she had concerns about him working with Foster, the Daily Mail reported . A source told the Daily Mail that the relationship was “not a secret to her.” The relationship also was “not a secret” among the New York theater community. It was in fact an “open secret” in Broadway circles, multiple reports said. The romance allegedly developed while Jackman and Foster were working together on the classic musical comedy, which is set in small-town America at the turn of the 20th century. His conman and her librarian fall in love through a series of music and dance numbers. As Jackman and Foster promoted the show, they didn’t hide their regard for each other. During a 2022 interview on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” Foster admitted that she and Jackman developed a very close bond and explained how they started a pre-performance ritual that took place when they were alone in her dressing room. “We call it carpet chat,” Foster revealed in the interview. Woman’s Day reported that Jackman and Furness’s children are handling the upheaval with “remarkable maturity.” The source said, “They just want peace and happiness for their parents. But they’re definitely aware of the tension.” Meanwhile, Jackman and Foster are “shocked by the backlash,” another insider told Woman’s Day. With a blended family Christmas off the table, the new couple are reportedly planning a romantic getaway in the New Year. “They’re determined to make it work, but for now, they’re trying to keep things as low-key as possible out of respect for everyone involved,” the source said.wow galing meme 。

The right investment can supercharge your portfolio, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be a simple way to generate wealth with next to no effort. An ETF is a basket of securities grouped into a single fund, meaning you can instantly invest in dozens of stocks with just one investment. Whether you're short on time or are simply looking for a low-maintenance way to invest, opting for ETFs can help build a diversified portfolio with far less effort than buying individual stocks. There are countless ETFs to choose from, and the right option for you will depend on your goals and individual preferences. But there's one powerful ETF I'm stocking up on in 2025 and beyond: the Vanguard Information Technology ETF ( VGT 0.52% ) . A tech powerhouse to supercharge your savings The Vanguard Information Technology ETF is a tech-specific fund containing 314 stocks from all corners of the technology industry. This fund is heavily focused on major players in the tech sector, with its three largest holdings ( Apple , Nvidia , and Microsoft , respectively) making up close to 45% of the entire fund. The other 311 stocks, then, each make up a much smaller percentage of the ETF. This mix of industry leaders with smaller corporations can help balance risk and reward. You'll gain a stake in tech titans like Apple and Nvidia, but you can also take advantage of the diversification perks of investing in hundreds of stocks at once. If you're looking for a way to buy into the tech sector with less effort, this ETF could be a smart option. This industry, specifically, has had an enormous impact on the market overall, accounting for much of the gains we've seen in recent years. In fact, over the last 10 years, the Vanguard Information Technology ETF has earned an average rate of return of 20.59% per year. At that rate, if you were to invest, say, $200 per month, you could accumulate more than $1.2 million after 25 years. One major risk to consider before you buy Perhaps the biggest risk with investing in a tech-focused ETF is that this industry tends to be more volatile than more established sectors of the market. The tech field often experiences explosive returns when the market is thriving, but the downturns tend to be more severe, too. Case in point: During the last bear market between January and October 2022, the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC 0.25% ) fell by around 25%. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF, though, dropped by nearly 35% in that time. ^SPX data by YCharts. Again, though, the good times can often make up for these slumps. Since the new bull market began in October 2022, this ETF is up by 114% compared to around 70% for the S&P 500. ^SPX data by YCharts. Of course, nobody knows whether these returns will stay consistent going forward, and there's always a chance this ETF may not beat the market at all. But when you're investing in more volatile funds, be prepared to ride out lower lows before you reach the higher highs. The easiest way to protect your portfolio If you do choose to invest in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF, it's wise to double-check that the rest of your portfolio is properly diversified. Investing solely in the tech sector raises your risk substantially, so you'll want to ensure you're also investing in plenty of stocks from other industries to better protect against volatility. That could mean investing in a broad-market fund like an S&P 500 ETF or total stock market ETF, which would instantly expose you to stocks from a wide range of industries. Or you may choose to build a custom portfolio filled with individual stocks from areas outside of the tech sector. If you're willing to take on slightly more risk for the chance at earning above-average returns, the Vanguard Information Technology ETF could be a fantastic buy heading into 2025. As part of a well-diversified portfolio, it could potentially supercharge your earnings with practically zero effort on your part.Pakistani police arrest thousands of Imran Khan supporters ahead of rally in the capitalBaker Mayfield has put together a strong sophomore season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after breaking onto the scene last year with a Pro Bowl season. Why's Baker - and the Buccaneers under his leadership - been so successful in Tampa? A five-second span during the Bucs' 30-7 win over the New York Giants was a microcosm of that reason. With the Bucs leading 30-7 in the fourth quarter and the game obviously well out of hand, Mayfield handed off to Bucky Irving, who broke free and took off in a footrace towards the end zone. Out of nowhere, Mayfield comes flying onto the screen and throws a lead block about 40 yards from the line of scrimmage. Watch Baker on the lead block How can you not love Baker Mayfield?! : #TBvsNYG on CBS/Paramount+ : https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/wuCgzLl5kn . @BakerMayfield as the lead blocker for @BuckyIrving : #TBvsNYG on CBS pic.twitter.com/xiglUhxeFV Mayfield's block downfield wasn't ceremonial either. He managed to dislodge a Giants defender from Irving's back and get his running back another 15 yards or so down the field. That's exactly why Mayfield has been so successful and so well liked in Tampa. His effort. His passion. His intensity. There's no doubt that the locker room is bought in on #6 as the unquestioned leader on the roster. Mayfield has also been smart about using his legs and athleticism as a tool in his bag this season, particularly on Sunday. He took off several times on the run to help move the sticks with his legs. He also completed 24/30 attempts passing for 294 yards on the day. Now, at 5-6 and just a game behind the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South, the Bucs are trending the right way coming out of the bye with the second-lowest winning percentage in the league for their remaining opponents coming into Sunday. And if today's showing was any indication, the Bucs are going to go down swinging - one way or another - with #6 leading the charge as they try to claim their fourth straight division crown and fifth playoff spot in a row. This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

Scientific results demonstrate the company's achievements in creating fusion through MTF, providing foundation for its LM26 fusion demonstration, which will begin compressing large-scale plasmas in early 2025 to achieve transformative milestones RICHMOND, British Columbia, Nov. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- General Fusion has published peer-reviewed scientific results confirming world-first achievements in plasma compression using its uniquely practical Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology. The results, published in Nuclear Fusion , verify that during the company's Plasma Compression Science (PCS) experiment series, it successfully produced significant fusion neutron yield by compressing plasmas in the spherical tokamak configuration required for its MTF approach. The results demonstrated a method that ensures plasma stability and symmetry during compression and verified the company's predictions for the rate of plasma heating and increased neutron yield. The tests proved the effectiveness of the company's technology for plasma formation and compression using a metal liner, providing the foundation for its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) - the company's large-scale fusion demonstration. LM26 will begin integrated operations in early 2025 and is on target to achieve key milestones of 1 keV, then 10 keV (fusion conditions of over 100 million degrees Celsius), and, ultimately, scientific breakeven equivalent (100 per cent Lawson criterion) in the next two years. In the PCS experiment, General Fusion's high-performing plasmas remained stable and maintained magnetic flux while the fusion neutron yield increased significantly. The experiment results demonstrated that significant volumetric compression of a spherical tokamak plasma is practical, de-risking the company's LM26, which will compress plasmas at large scale to reach higher fusion yields. Key Experiment Results: General Fusion is a world leader in plasma research. Twenty-four prototypes and over 200,000 plasma shots have helped the company build the world's largest and most powerful operational fusion plasma injector for LM26. The company's multi-year PCS series, conducted from 2013 to 2019, was the first of its kind to study the behavior of a magnetized plasma during rapid compression. Custom experimental systems and testbeds were built in-house to reliably compress a high-performance compact spherical tokamak plasma within an imploding metal wall. A robust suite of diagnostics provided data for each compression test. The peer-reviewed results from the experiment closely align with the company's advanced predictive simulation and modelling, providing confidence that LM26 will achieve its targets of 1 keV, 10 keV, and scientific breakeven equivalent (100 per cent Lawson criterion). "We've demonstrated the viability of a stable fusion process using our MTF approach, laying the foundation for our groundbreaking LM26,” said Mike Donaldson, Senior Vice President, Technology Development, General Fusion. "These achievements in plasma compression are a testament to our team's deep expertise and capabilities, accumulated over two decades of fusion technology development. Through our PCS series, we also made major advances in plasma systems, materials, coatings, and diagnostics. Now we're ready for the next step - demonstrating fusion and significant heating at large scale with LM26! Our incredibly talented team has made it all possible, building a practical, clean energy technology with world-changing potential from the ground up.” Quick Facts General Fusion is pursuing a fast and practical approach to commercial fusion energy and is headquartered in Richmond, B.C., Canada. The company was established in 2002 and is funded by a global syndicate of leading energy venture capital firms, industry leaders, and technology pioneers. Learn more at www.generalfusion.com . General Fusion Media Relations [email protected] +1-866-904-0995 Follow General Fusion twitter.com/generalfusion instagram.com/generalfusion linkedin.com/company/general-fusion facebook.com/generalfusion

Trucordia is proud to serve a founding sponsor of the National Hockey League's Utah Hockey Club during the team's inaugural season in Salt Lake City . LINDON, Utah , Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Trucordia is proud to serve a founding sponsor of the National Hockey League's Utah Hockey Club during the team's inaugural season in Salt Lake City . "We are excited to be part of the action at the Delta Center this season," said Trucordia CEO Felix Morgan . "Much like our hometown NHL team is striving for excellence on the ice, Trucordia's talented insurance professionals in 200-plus offices across the U.S. are driven to deliver results and redefine what an insurance brokerage can achieve." The Utah Hockey Club, a member of the NHL's Central Division in the Western Conference, opened its regular season on October 8 . Fans will experience the Trucordia brand on gamedays through in-arena signage, giveaways, and more. "Just as the Utah Hockey Club is writing the next chapter of professional hockey in the Beehive State, Trucordia is at a pivotal moment in our company's history and is poised to ascend to new heights," added Morgan. "We remain committed to being an economic driver within the state while continuing to expand our presence nationwide." About Trucordia Trucordia, formerly PCF Insurance Services, is the group name for a top 20 U.S. insurance brokerage headquartered in Lindon, Utah . The Trucordia group of companies offers a broad array of commercial and personal lines, life and health, and employee benefits insurance solutions. Trucordia is an integrated organization united by a passion to deliver extraordinary opportunities and exceptional experiences for its clients, partners and each other. With more than 5,000 team members across the U.S., Trucordia is a notable leader in the insurance brokerage space, ranking #19 on Business Insurance's 2024 Top 100 Brokers and #13 on Insurance Journal's 2024 Top Property/Casualty Agencies. Visit trucordia.com for more information. About Smith Entertainment Group Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) is a sports, technology, and entertainment investment group focused primarily on the state of Utah . SEG's portfolio includes the Utah Hockey Club (NHL), Utah Jazz (NBA), Real Salt Lake (MLS), Delta Center, America First Credit Union Field , the Salt Lake City Stars (NBA G League), Utah Jazz Gaming (NBA 2K League), Real Monarchs (MLS NEXT Pro), the Zone Sports Radio Network, SEG Media, the Utah Royals (NWSL), and other Utah -centric business ventures. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and the NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks, including the foregoing, and NHL team logos and marks, as well as all other proprietary materials depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective NHL teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © National Hockey League. All rights reserved. Media Contact Trucordia Media Relations, Trucordia, 385-273-2270, communications@trucordia.com , www.trucordia.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prweb.com/releases/trucordia-teams-up-with-nhls-utah-hockey-club-as-founding-sponsor-302321410.html SOURCE Trucordia; TrucordiaJB Bagelry brings new bagel & cream cheese flavors to Mayfield Heights

NORTH CLARENDON — Mill River Union High School announced its has hired Marley Rosario as the school's next softball coach. The Minutemen are coming off a 4-11 season this past spring. WOMEN'S HOCKEY Spartans honored MARSHFIELD, Mass. — Taylor Adams and Victoria Bakopanos of Vermont State University Castleton women's hockey team have been named to the New England Hockey Conference's weekly honor awards, as per the league Monday afternoon. Adams was named Player of the Week after collecting her first career hat trick and the game-winning goal in Castleton's 6-2 victory over Worcester State. The Frankford, Ontario native earns her third NEHC weekly accolade to her career. Bakopanos was named Co-Goalie of the Week after exploding for 88 saves in two games for the Spartans this past week. She set a new career high 63 stops against Williams college, which is the most by a Spartan since 2015 and just the second goalie to surpass 60+ saves in program history. She then followed up with a 25-save performance against Worcester State to secure her third victory of the season. This is Bakopanos' second career NEHC weekly honor. VTSU Castleton returns to action after the holiday break to host The Bagley Invitational on January 3 and 4. MEN'S HOCKEY McHardy tabbed MARSHFIELD, Mass. — Emmett McHardy of Vermont State University Castleton men's hockey team was named New England Hockey Conference Rookie of the Week, per the league announcement Monday afternoon. McHardy earned his first-career conference accolade after a three goal, two assist performance in VTSU Castleton's series against New England Hockey Conference opponent Salve Regina University. The Vancouver, British Columbia native provided one assist in game one against SRU . He then followed up the next day with three goals to earn his first career hat trick and an assist to help Castleton secure their first NEHC victory of the year, taking game two 5-3 against the Seahawks. MEN'S SOCCER Middlebury staff The Middlebury men's soccer coaching staff has earned United Soccer Coaches Division III Region I Staff of the Year. Head coach Alex Elias, along with assistant coaches Tim Peng, Ben Potter, and Leland Gazo, led the Panthers to a 17-2-4 record and their second NCAA Semifinal appearance in program history. The group guided the squad to the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history and the seventh-straight campaign. Middlebury advanced to the NCAA Semifinals for the second time ever. The staff led the team to a 13-0-3 mark in the regular season and a combined 25-0-7 record over the past two years. It is the first time since the 1972 (9-0-1) and 1973 (10-0-0) campaigns that the team went into postseason action unblemished in consecutive seasons. The Panthers found the back of the net a program-record 55 times this fall. Middlebury has conceded just 14 goals all season, its lowest total since allowing nine in 2021. The team has tallied the second-most shutouts in a campaign (14) with only the 2007 NCAA Championship team ending a campaign with more (17). Elias owns a 74-21-25 record and holds a .721 winning percentage over his seven seasons at the helm. Middlebury swept the top NESCAC individual awards with Luke Madden being tabbed the league's player of the year and Keagan Harder earning the conference's rookie of the year. The Panthers had five all-conference selections, headlined by Madden and William O'Brien on the first team. Madden became the 41st player in program history to earn an All-American honor with his first-team selection. He is the first field player to be named to the first team since Deklan Robinson in 2015. Middlebury tallied five College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees (Shane Farrell, Madden, Kyle Nilsson, Gavin Randolph and Joey Waterman). Five players earned spots on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region teams.

FBI whistleblower who brought down global drug cartel slams Mark Wahlberg for painting him as a ‘crook’ in upcoming docEDMONTON - LGBTQ+ advocate organizations say they're working as quickly as possible to ask a court to stop the Alberta government from bringing into force a transgender law they say will cause immediate harm. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * EDMONTON - LGBTQ+ advocate organizations say they're working as quickly as possible to ask a court to stop the Alberta government from bringing into force a transgender law they say will cause immediate harm. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? EDMONTON – LGBTQ+ advocate organizations say they’re working as quickly as possible to ask a court to stop the Alberta government from bringing into force a transgender law they say will cause immediate harm. The Alberta government’s law will ban doctors from providing gender-affirming treatment such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under 16. Bennett Jensen, legal director at Egale Canada, said the groups, which also include Skipping Stone and five Alberta families, will call for an injunction to protect young people’s access to health care while the courts decide whether the law is constitutional. “This is harmful immediately, and there’s enough reason to doubt the constitutionality of this for the judge to preserve the status quo while they consider the broader arguments,” Jensen told The Canadian Press on Monday. In documents filed with the Court of King’s Bench on Monday, they cite five transgender youth who will be directly affected. One applicant, kept anonymous in the legal filing, is 10 years old, transgender and intersex. She was assigned male at birth but was born with a chromosome abnormality. Under the law, she will be prevented from accessing puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones for six years, until she is 16. Another applicant described in the filing is 11 years old, was assigned male at birth, but uses the pronouns she and her. She, too, will be prevented from accessing puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones until she is 16 years old. The filing says that if puberty blockers are delayed, irreversible physical development will occur. None of the individual applicants will be able to access gender-affirming “top surgery” until they are 18 years old. The surgical ban went into effect as soon as the bill received royal assent Thursday, but other prohibitions are expected to come into force in the coming months. The LGBTQ+ groups argue changes to health law violate gender-diverse young people’s Section 7 Charter right to security of the person, their Section 12 right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment and their Section 15 right to equality. They also say it also violates the Alberta Bill of Rights. A spokesperson for Alberta’s justice minister said in an email Monday the government believes this legislation “strikes an appropriate balance,” but that it would be inappropriate to comment further since the matter is now before the courts. A Court of King’s Bench of Alberta hearing scheduled for Dec. 16 in Calgary is expected to outline the next procedural steps. The health-care bill is one of three that will affect transgender people in the province and were passed last week by Premier Danielle Smith’s government. Among other new requirements in two other bills expected to come into force next fall, children under 16 will need parental consent if they want to change their names or pronouns at school. A similar law governs school policy in Saskatchewan, where the government invoked the notwithstanding clause last year, a measure that allows governments to override certain Charter rights for up to five years. Smith has said she doesn’t believe she’ll need to invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield her government’s bills from legal challenges. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. “We will put forward a robust case — that this (legislation) is reasonable in a free, democratic society, that it’s evidence-based, and that we’re protecting children and their right to be able to make adult decisions as adults,” Smith said last week. Smith has said it’s about preserving that adult choice, and that making “permanent and irreversible decisions” about one’s biological sex while still a child can limit that. The bills also state parents will also have to opt in for their children to receive lessons in school on sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. Transgender athletes will no longer be allowed to compete in female amateur sports, and sports organizations would be required to report eligibility complaints to the government. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement

ST LOUIS: Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with US companies - workers who then funnelled their wages to North Korea for the development of ballistic missiles and other weapons, the head of the FBI office in St Louis said on Thursday (Dec 12). The scheme involving thousands of IT workers generated more than US$88 million for the North Korean government, Ashley T Johnson, special agent in charge of the St Louis FBI office, said at a news conference. In addition to their wages, the workers stole sensitive information from companies or threatened to leak information in exchange for extortion payments, Johnson said. Victims included defrauded companies and people whose identities were stolen from across the US, including Missouri, Johnson said. The indictments were filed on Wednesday in US District Court in St Louis. All 14 people face wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and other charges. Most of those accused are believed to be in North Korea. Johnson acknowledged that bringing them to justice would be difficult. To help, the US Department of State is offering a US$5 million reward for information leading to any of the suspects. Federal authorities said the scheme worked like this: North Korea dispatched thousands of IT workers to get hired and work remotely or as freelancers for US companies. The IT workers involved in the scheme sometimes used stolen identities. In other instances, they paid Americans to use their home Wi-Fi connections, or to pose in on-camera job interviews as the IT workers. Johnson said the FBI is going after those “domestic enablers,” too. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Johnson said. “If your company has hired fully remote IT workers, more likely than not, you have hired or at least interviewed a North Korean national working on behalf of the North Korean government,” Johnson said. The Justice Department in recent years has sought to expose and disrupt a broad variety of criminal schemes aimed at bolstering the North Korean regime, including its nuclear weapons program. In 2021, the Justice Department charged three North Korean computer programmers and members of the government’s military intelligence agency in a broad range of global hacks that officials say were carried out at the behest of the regime. Law enforcement officials said at the time that the prosecution highlighted the profit-driven motive behind North Korea’s criminal hacking, a contrast from other adversarial nations like Russia, China and Iran that are generally more interested in espionage, intellectual property theft or even disrupting democracy. In May 2022, the State Department, Department of the Treasury, and the FBI issued an advisory warning of attempts by North Koreans “to obtain employment while posing as non-North Korean nationals.” The advisory noted that in recent years, the regime of Kim Jong Un “has placed increased focus on education and training” in IT-related subjects. In October 2023, the FBI in St. Louis announced the seizure of US$1.5 million and 17 domain names as part of the investigation. The indictments announced Tuesday were the first stemming from the investigation. Johnson urged companies to thoroughly vet IT workers hired to work remotely. “One of the ways to help minimize your risk is to insist current and future IT workers appear on camera as often as possible if they are fully remote,” she said. Officials did not name the companies that unknowingly hired North Korean workers.Only Child review – this bittersweet comedy is absolutely packed with laughs

And single people are more likely to use mobility tools compared to those who are married, according to researchers from University College London (UCL) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Researchers looked at information from a group of more than 12,000 adults in England aged 50 to 89 who were tracked over a 13-year period. At the start of the study, 8,225 adults had no mobility difficulty and did not use mobility assistive products (MAPs). Some 2,480 were deemed to have “unmet need” and 1,375 were using mobility aids. During the follow-up period, there were 2,313 “transitions” where people went from having no mobility issues to needing some help with getting around. And 1,274 people started to use mobility aids. Compared with men, women were 49% more likely to transition from not needing mobility aids to needing to use them, according to the study which has been published in The Lancet Public Health. But were 21% less likely to go on to use mobility aids when they needed them. The authors said their study showed “barriers to access” for women. For both men and women, with every year that passed during the study period the need for mobility aids increased. People who were older, less educated, less wealthy or reported being disabled were more likely to “transition from no need to unmet need, and from unmet need to use”, the authors said, with this indicating a “higher prevalence of mobility limitations and MAP need overall among these groups”. They added: “Finally, marital or partnership status was not associated with transitioning to unmet need; however, single people were more likely to transition from unmet need to use compared with married or partnered people.” Jamie Danemayer, first author of the study from UCL Computer Science and UCL’s Global Disability Innovation Hub, said: “Our analysis suggests that there is a clear gender gap in access to mobility aids. “Though our data didn’t ascertain the reason why participants weren’t using mobility aids, other research tells us that women are often more likely than men to face obstacles such as cost barriers as a result of well-documented income disparities between genders. “Many mobility aids are designed for men rather than women, which we think may be a factor. “Using mobility aids can also make a disability visible, which can impact the safety and stigma experienced by women, in particular. “There’s a critical need for further research to identify and break down the barriers preventing women from accessing mobility aids that would improve their quality of life.” Professor Cathy Holloway, also from UCL, added: “Not having access to mobility aids when a person needs one can have a big impact on their independence, well-being and quality of life. “Our analysis suggests that women, in particular, regardless of other factors such as education and employment status, are not getting the support that they need.” Professor Shereen Hussein, senior author of the study and lead of the social care group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “The research provides compelling evidence of gender disparities in accessing assistive technology, suggesting that cost, design bias, and social stigma are likely to disproportionally affect women. “This underscores the need for inclusive, gender-sensitive approaches in the design, production and inclusivity of assistive technologies.”The GQ guide to shopping Cos in 2024Home-made super heavy-duty cone crusher unveiled in ConMine 2024