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7 career mistakes that stop smart people from growing, and how to fix them

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7 career mistakes that stop smart people from growing, and how to fix them



“Titles fade. Skills stay,” Warikoo reminds us. Impressively sounding job names may pump up your ego for a while, but they fade quickly, while the actual skills you build stay with you for years. Some professionals chase designations instead of depth, which creates a thin, fragile career that can’t weather change. The healthier approach is to treat every role as a learning opportunity, not just a title to put on your LinkedIn. Focus on what you can do better tomorrow, not what your badge will say. Over time, genuine capability will pull along the right opportunities—and the right titles will follow.



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Universal Music targeted in takeover bid by hedge fund Pershing Square

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Universal Music targeted in takeover bid by hedge fund Pershing Square


American hedge fund Pershing Square, led by the activist investor Bill Ackman, announced Tuesday that it had offered to buy Universal Music Group in a merger, saying it believed the world’s biggest music label was undervalued by stock markets.

Pershing Square said its offer to Universal shareholders included 9.4 billion euros ($10.9 billion) in cash plus 0.77 shares in the new entity for each UMG share. After a merger with Pershing Square SPARC Holdings, an acquisition company, the new entity would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Universal currently trades on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

The Reuters news agency says Pershing Square’s cash-and-shares offer values Universal Music at around 30.40 euros ($35) per share, 78% over its last closing price of 17.10 euros and making the deal worth 55.75 billion euros ($64.31 billion).

The merged company would boast a stable of top artists including Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish and Drake.

Pershing Square hopes to close the deal by the end of 2026.

“UMG’s stock price has languished due to a combination of issues that are unrelated to the performance of its music business,” Ackman said in a statement.

The company pointed to uncertainty about French conglomerate Bollore’s plans for its 18 percent stake in Universal, delay in listing on the U.S. stock market, and “underutilization of UMG’s balance sheet” among concerns that have held back the shares’ performance.




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Experts reveal hidden link between poor sleep and Alzheimer’s disease risk

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Experts reveal hidden link between poor sleep and Alzheimer’s disease risk


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There’s a known link between sleep and brain health – but recent research has specifically highlighted the impact of rest on neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

A study published in NPJ Dementia found that tau pathology – the buildup of toxic brain proteins that is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s – is also linked to hyperactive brain activity and poor sleep.

This could be a reason why people with Alzheimer’s often struggle with sleep before memory loss begins, according to researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

SLEEPING 11 MINUTES LONGER EACH NIGHT SHOWS SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFIT, STUDY FINDS

In a press release, the scientists revealed how tau “hijacks” the brain’s energy supply, which leads to a “state of overactive excitability that prevents restorative rest.”

Using female mouse models, the study authors measured time spent in sleep stages.

Tau “hijacks” the brain’s energy supply, which keeps the brain in a “state of overactive excitability that prevents restorative rest,” the researchers found. (iStock)

At six months, the mice with tau pathology spent more time awake and less time in NREM sleep (non-rapid eye movement), which is the calm and restorative first phase of a sleep cycle. By nine months, the results showed even less REM sleep, pointing toward a progressive decline.

Tau changes how the brain uses glucose to stimulate brain activity, the researchers concluded.

POPULAR DIET TIED TO LOWER DEMENTIA RISK FOR SOME GROUPS, STUDY REVEALS

“It’s like a petulant toddler who just won’t calm down and go to sleep,” principal investigator Shannon Macauley, PhD, associate professor of physiology, commented in a statement.

“The brain is hijacking all your glucose to make glutamate (a chemical neurotransmitter) over and over again, keeping the system awake and preventing it from reaching the deep, restorative stages of sleep necessary for recovery and memory formation,” she added.

A white lab mouse held by a gloved hand in a laboratory setting

The mice with tau experienced shortened NREM and REM sleep at nine months. (iStock)

This leads to a vicious cycle, as the disease causes sleep disruption, and sleep disruption then worsens the disease, according to the researchers.

The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged. It identifies associations between tau pathology, brain activity and poor sleep, but does not establish a clear causal relationship. It is also unclear whether these findings apply to human populations.

ONE TYPE OF OLIVE OIL HAS A SURPRISING EFFECT ON BRAINPOWER DURING AGING

Dr. Wendy Troxel, a Utah-based licensed clinical psychologist and senior behavioral scientist at RAND, commented on the Alzheimer’s-sleep connection in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“We know that sleep is critical for our cognitive health and our ability to age well,” she said. “And research shows that short sleep duration, fragmented sleep and irregular sleep schedules can increase the risk of dementia.”

A man sleeping soundly in bed on a pillow.

“Research shows that short sleep duration, fragmented sleep and irregular sleep schedules can increase the risk of dementia,” a sleep expert said. (iStock)

Other lab studies have shown that deep sleep activates the glymphatic system, which is responsible for flushing out toxins that accumulate in the brain, according to Troxel.

This includes tau and amyloid beta, the neurotoxins associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

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“If you sacrifice sleep, you’re not just sacrificing this passive state – you’re actually sacrificing this critical brain-flushing mechanism, because the glymphatic system predominantly works while asleep,” the expert said.

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“So, it’s really important to protect sleep for your cognitive health, for your cardiovascular health, for your mental health and overall well-being.”

In her own clinical psychology practice, Troxel said she has patients who experience insufficient or low-quality sleep due to stress.

“If we’re constantly thinking about, ‘Oh my gosh, if I don’t get enough sleep, I’m going to develop Alzheimer’s disease,’ that’s not going to serve you well,” she said. “We do have to recognize the risks, but also recognize that sleep is imperfect.”

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The sleep expert encourages aiming for progress instead of perfection.

“If we invade our brains with these worries about the consequences of not sleeping well, that’s going to increase pressure and anxiety, and contribute to more restless nights,” Troxel cautioned.

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“Sometimes, we have to just throw our hands up, practice the good behaviors that are going to set the conditions for a good night of sleep, and not obsess about it.”

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.



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Top 7 investment-friendly cities in India for maximum property returns

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Top 7 investment-friendly cities in India for maximum property returns



India’s real estate industry right now is in boom due to infrastructure development, job prospects, and urbanisation. While metro cities continue to dominate, investors are also exploring emerging cities that offer good value. Cities with active economies, good connectivity, and high rental demands usually offer strong capital growth and income streams.

Selecting the right city is an important aspect when planning property investments. The factors which have a direct impact on the value of property include IT development, coming up of new infrastructure, and population flow. Here is a list of some of the best cities where investors can get high returns on their investments in property.



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1 gunman shot dead outside Israeli consulate in Istanbul, 2 other gunmen injured, police say

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1 gunman shot dead outside Israeli consulate in Istanbul, 2 other gunmen injured, police say



One gunman was shot dead outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul and two other gunmen were injured on Tuesday, Turkish police told ABC News.



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JP Morgan Chase head warns of unexpected interest rate shocks as a result of Iran war

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JP Morgan Chase head warns of unexpected interest rate shocks as a result of Iran war


The head of JPMorgan Chase has warned the world will face “significant” interest rate shocks as a consequence of Donald Trump’s war on Iran.

Jamie Dimon said spiralling oil and gas prices, which have skyrocketed following Iran’s blockade of the key shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, and its attacks on regional energy infrastructure, would lead to “stickier” inflation that could push up interest rates.

Higher interest rates mean more costly borrowing of money for loans and investments, as well as mortgages, government borrowing costs and more. They are also associated with lower economic growth, as firms do not spend as much on new projects or hiring, and consumers spend less on non-essential items as they manage household finances amid rising essential bills.

Mr Dimon warned: “Now, because of the war in Iran, we additionally face the potential for significant ongoing oil and commodity price shocks, along with the reshaping of global supply chains, which may lead to stickier inflation and ultimately higher interest rates than markets currently expect.

“Nations that are heavily dependent upon imported energy are already seeing the effects. And it’s not just energy, it’s commodity products that are byproducts of oil and gas, like fertiliser and helium.”

“Given our complex global supply chains, countries are experiencing disruptions in shipbuilding, food and farming, among others.

“The outcome of current geopolitical events may very well be the defining factor in how the future global economic order unfolds – then again, it may not.”

(AFP/Getty)

Brent crude oil prices fell to below $100 again at the start of April, but have since risen once more. On Tuesday, it sits at $110.

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Last month, the Bank of England (BoE) voted 9-0 to maintain interest rates at 3.75 per cent, due to the uncertainty over the war in the Middle East, which had only just started. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which votes on any such rate changes, is set to meet again on 30 April, with a big division currently visible between economists and market rates.

Traders in money markets are currently betting on two interest rate increases this year, but as recently as two weeks ago, that was close to four rate increases. However, what traders bet on is not always the same as an expectation of what will actually happen.

Most major economists have so far stuck to expectations of the BoE maintaining rates for the first half of 2026 at least, while some were even still pricing in a cut later in the year.

An extra problem for the MPC is that while lifting rates is the usual response to inflation, cutting them is typically the antidote to poorly performing economies and rising unemployment – both of which the UK currently faces.

Likely, some domestic-focused analysts may now update their outlook in the coming weeks, with the new financial year getting underway and the MPC vote on the horizon, as well as Mr Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait, which expires on Tuesday night.

Prolonged oil prices at elevated levels are far worse than high spikes when it comes to energy prices and subsequently raised expectations for inflation, which is expected to hit somewhere around 4 per cent for the UK this year, but more than double that level when it comes to food prices.

Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last week predicted both the BoE and the US Federal Reserve would maintain rates at their present levels throughout this year.

The Bank of Japan is expected to lift interest rates this month, while the European Central Bank is forecast to raise rates up to three times this year by several major banks – including Dimon’s JPMorgan Chase.

The Bank of England will vote late in April on interest rates
The Bank of England will vote late in April on interest rates (Getty)

Writing in his annual letter to shareholders of the world’s biggest bank, Mr Dimon also appeared to criticise the combative approach taken by Mr Trump, who has complained about world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, for not helping out in the attack on the Middle East and has even suggested the US could look to leave Nato.

Such a move could not only weaken the US, the Wall Street giant said, but could in time make other nations susceptible to the whims of “bad actors”.

“Economic weakening of the world’s democracies or a fragmentation of their economic bonds could lead to truly adverse consequences. This is precisely what some of our adversaries and many autocratic nations want – it is their stated objective,” he said.

“They would like to see all of our allies far less dependent on the United States and therefore far more dependent on them. In this scenario, many countries would be compelled to seek deeper economic bonds with some possible bad actors – over time, they could become vassals of these countries and unable to avoid coercion from them.”



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The exercise at least four times more efficient than walking

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The exercise at least four times more efficient than walking


You’re standing at your front door, facing a five-kilometre commute to work. But you don’t have your car, and there’s no bus route.

You can walk for an hour, or jump on your bicycle and arrive in 15 minutes, barely breaking a sweat. You choose the latter.

Many people would make the same choice. It’s estimated that there are more than a billion bikes in the world.

Cycling represents one of the most energy-efficient forms of transport ever invented, allowing humans to travel faster and farther while using less energy than walking or running.

But why exactly does pedalling feel so much easier than pounding the pavement? The answer lies in the elegant biomechanics of how our bodies interact with this two-wheeled machine.

A wonderfully simple machine

At its heart, a bicycle is wonderfully simple: two wheels (hence “bi-cycle”), pedals that transfer power through a chain to the rear wheel, and gears that let us fine-tune our effort. But this simplicity masks an engineering that perfectly complements human physiology.

When we walk or run, we essentially fall forward in a controlled manner, catching ourselves with each step. Our legs must swing through large arcs, lifting our heavy limbs against gravity with every stride. This swinging motion alone consumes a lot of energy. Imagine: how tiring would it be to even swing your arms continuously for an hour?

On a bicycle, your legs move through a much smaller, circular motion. Instead of swinging your entire leg weight with each step, you’re simply rotating your thighs and calves through a compact pedalling cycle. The energy savings are immediately noticeable.

But the real efficiency gains come from how bicycles transfer human power to forward motion. When you walk or run, each footstep involves a mini-collision with the ground. You can hear it as the slap of your shoe against the road, and you can feel it as vibrations running through your body. This is energy being lost, literally dissipated as sound and heat after being sent through your muscles and joints.

Walking and running also involve another source of inefficiency: with each step, you actually brake yourself slightly before propelling forward. As your foot lands ahead of your body, it creates a backwards force that momentarily slows you down. Your muscles then have to work extra hard to overcome this self-imposed braking and accelerate you forward again.

Kissing the road

Bicycles use one of the world’s great inventions to solve these problems – wheels.

Instead of a collision, you get rolling contact – each part of the tyre gently “kisses” the road surface before lifting off. No energy is lost to impact. And because the wheel rotates smoothly so the force acts perfectly vertically on the ground, there’s no stop-start braking action. The force from your pedalling translates directly into forward motion.

About the author

Anthony Blazevich is a Professor of Biomechanics at Edith Cowan University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

But bicycles also help our muscles work at their best. Human muscles have a fundamental limitation: the faster they contract, the weaker they become and the more energy they consume.

This is the famous force-velocity relationship of muscles. And it’s why sprinting feels so much harder than jogging or walking – your muscles are working near their speed limit, becoming less efficient with every stride.

Bicycle gears solve this problem for us. As you go faster, you can shift to a higher gear so your muscles don’t have to work faster while the bike accelerates. Your muscles can stay in their sweet spot for both force production and energy cost. It’s like having a personal assistant that continuously adjusts your workload to keep you in the peak performance zone.

Walking sometimes wins out

But bicycles aren’t always superior.

On very steep hills of more than about 15 per cent gradient (so you rise 1.5 metres every 10 metres of distance), your legs struggle to generate enough force through the circular pedalling motion to lift you and the bike up the hill. We can produce more force by pushing our legs straight out, so walking (or climbing) becomes more effective.

Even if roads were built, we wouldn’t pedal up Mount Everest.

Walking (or climbing) becomes more effective on very steep hills of more than about 15 per cent gradient (Getty/iStock)

This isn’t the case for downhills. While cycling downhill becomes progressively easier (eventually requiring no energy at all), walking down steep slopes actually becomes harder.

Once the gradient exceeds about 10 per cent (it drops by one metre for every ten metres of distance), each downhill step creates jarring impacts that waste energy and stress your joints. Walking and running downhill isn’t always as easy as we’d expect.

Not just a transportation device

The numbers speak for themselves. Cycling can be at least four times more energy-efficient than walking and eight times more efficient than running. This efficiency comes from minimising three major energy drains: limb movement, ground impact and muscle speed limitations.

So next time you effortlessly cruise past pedestrians on your morning bike commute, take a moment to appreciate the biomechanical work of art beneath you. Your bicycle isn’t just a transport device, but a perfectly evolved machine that works in partnership with your physiology, turning your raw muscle power into efficient motion.



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Yale athletics allegedly pushed administrator to retire to open a job for deputy’s alleged romantic partner

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Yale athletics allegedly pushed administrator to retire to open a job for deputy’s alleged romantic partner


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EXCLUSIVE: Two of Yale’s top athletic officials bought a house together a year before one of them was hired by the university, a deed obtained by Fox News Digital shows. Former colleagues have alleged the two officials are in a romantic relationship, and alleged that a former administrator was pushed to retire to vacate a position for one of the partners.

Yale’s Executive Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer of Athletics Ann-Marie Guglieri and Deputy Director of Athletics Mary Berdo, who are the second and third top-ranked positions in the athletic department under Athletic Director Victoria Chun, purchased a house together in Milford, Connecticut, in June 2018, the deed shows. Berdo was then hired by the university in April 2019.

Chun, Guglieri and Berdo previously worked together at Colgate University’s athletic department. Yale’s then-president appointed Chun as athletics director in February 2018, and she joined Yale in July 2018. Guglieri started that same month.

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Over 54,000 filled the Yale Bowl for the second half of the 141st “The Game” between the Yale Bulldogs and the Harvard Crimson on November 22, 2025, in New Haven, Connecticut. (Sean D. Elliot/Getty Images)

Two former employees of the Yale athletics department have alleged that Guglieri and Berdo are in a romantic relationship. Additional former employees have alleged a former administrator was pressured to accept a voluntary retirement package, which then created an opening for Berdo.

Guglieri and Berdo’s relationship does not appear to violate Yale’s workplace policies, which state: “Staff are expected to avoid romantic or sexual relationships with employees and trainees for whom they have or might reasonably expect to have supervisory or reporting responsibilities.”

A Yale athletics organization chart obtained by Fox News Digital, created some time after 2019, shows that Berdo and Guglieri do not have a reporting or supervisory relationship with each other. Instead, both report directly to Chun.

Although the relationship does not violate Yale policy, one former Yale coach opined that it is “totally unprofessional” that two people with leadership roles in the Athletics Department “are in a relationship with each other.”

The former coach told Fox News Digital, on the condition of anonymity, that it was “well-known” in the department that Guglieri and Berdo were “a couple,” even though “they didn’t make it obvious.” He said they “came as a packaged deal.”

A former Yale athletic administrator told Fox News Digital under the condition of anonymity that the relationship was “widely known” in the athletic department.

Two former employees said the athletics department could not increase its headcount to hire Berdo at the same time it hired Guglieri. But Fox News Digital learned that a former athletics department administrator reluctantly accepted a voluntary retirement package, and then Berdo was hired shortly thereafter. 

The former senior associate athletic director was allegedly given “no choice” but to accept the voluntary retirement package in the fall of 2018, creating a vacancy in the department’s front office prior to Berdo’s hiring, according to a former Yale Athletics employee with firsthand knowledge of the situation.

“A senior associate athletic director was called in in October of 2018 and was pressured to accept a retirement package, and this person had no choice but to take this retirement package and give 90-day notice, and just after the 90-day notice, Mary Berdo was hired,” the former employee said.

Former Yale men’s hockey head coach Keith Allain told Fox News Digital that the former employee’s recollection of the pressured retirement and eventual hiring of Berdo is consistent with what he had been told by individuals within the athletics department. Allain declined further comment.

Yale fans watching their team's loss at Harvard Stadium in Boston

Yale fans watching their side’s loss during the Harvard vs Yale game at Harvard Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts, on Nov. 22, 2014. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Sources with whom Fox News Digital spoke did not claim that Guglieri participated in the selection process for Berdo. But one said there was “a huge question mark surrounding the convenient hiring of Mary Berdo, also from Colgate,” and whether the process was completely objective.

While Yale declined to comment “on individual personnel matters,” a spokesman for the university president’s office told Fox News Digital: “We can confirm that Yale has a robust set of personnel and disclosure policies that it followed.”

Before she joined Yale, Berdo was the senior associate athletic director at Colgate University and a member of the department’s executive senior staff. She previously worked at the NCAA national headquarters and as assistant director of events and championships at the University of Michigan. She played basketball for the University of Iowa.

“Vicky was only able to bring one director, Ann-Marie, with her at the start of her Yale tenure,” another former Yale Athletics employee told Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity.

The employee said he had left Yale by the time Berdo was hired but questioned whether the process may have involved “preferential treatment,” as “Mary’s hire seemed to be predetermined a year in advance.”

YALE ATHLETICS SAGA TAKES NEW TWIST AS EMAILS SHOW LEGAL CONFRONTATION WITH EX-COACH’S LAWYER

Fox News Digital has reached out to Guglieri and Berdo via their university email addresses and to an email address believed to belong to Chun, but has not received a response.

Fox News Digital has verified the identity of the former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity and that they worked at Yale in the provided timeframes. Other sources contacted by Fox News Digital did not dispute or contradict any of the above allegations.

 

Former Yale coaches have had issues with current leadership

Head coach Keith Allain of USA standing on ice during practice at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York

Head coach Keith Allain of the USA looks on during practice before the 2011 IIHF World U20 Championship Group A game between the USA and Finland on December 26, 2010, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

A letter signed by Allain addressed to Yale President Maurie McInnis alleged that Chun has created a “toxic environment“ for the university’s sports teams.

Fox News Digital published the letter last Monday after confirming with Allain that he sent the letter to McInnis via email in October, shortly after his retirement.

“I am writing to you at the urging of several head coaches in our Athletic Department. They told me that you were soliciting feedback from a few coaches regarding extending the contract of our athletic director, and are concerned, that with the culture of fear that permeates the athletic department, you will not receive candid feedback,” the letter began.

The letter later wrote, “Vicky’s singular talent is self promotion and has created a toxic environment within the department where she is insulated by a cadre of administrators whose main task seems to be silencing any dissent,” the letter continued.

Newman’s lawyer did not allege that either Chun or Guglieri were responsible for making the recording.

The letter — sent approximately four years after Newsman’s departure from the university in 2021 — requested a “settlement dialogue, including both financial and non-financial terms.” Newman has not taken legal action against Yale or any representatives of Yale, and Fox News Digital does not know whether the parties have settled their dispute.

As part of the letter exchange, a former deputy general counsel for Yale confirmed to Granovsky: “A former employee recorded a portion of a meeting with your client, without the university’s knowledge.” The attorney for Yale denied various other allegations made by Granovsky.

A subsequent letter indicates that Yale later provided a copy of an audio file to Granovsky on October 28, 2025. Granovsky responded on November 17 with questions about the recording and noted that Yale’s policy prohibits “surreptitious” recordings.

The current version of Yale’s recording policy, which took effect in 2024, states: “Except as authorized by University personnel, participants in meetings in the course of employment or curricular or extracurricular activities may not record such meetings without the permission of all participants.”

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Fox News Digital cannot confirm if any additional letters were exchanged between Newman’s attorneys and representatives of Yale.

A source provided copies of the letter and email exchange between Granovsky and Yale to Fox News Digital, and Newman confirmed their authenticity.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.





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Dior, Louis Vuitton decline sale to Russian Olympian at Milan airport: Here’s what happened – The Times of India

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Dior, Louis Vuitton decline sale to Russian Olympian at Milan airport: Here’s what happened – The Times of India


Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian was reportedly refused service at Milan airport boutiques of Dior and Louis Vuitton due to her Russian passport. This incident highlights how geopolitical sanctions, specifically EU restrictions on luxury goods exports to Russia, are impacting individual experiences and blurring the lines between fashion and politics.

Luxury shopping at airports is usually a quick, indulgent ritual – especially during something as high-profile as the Winter Olympics. But for Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian, a stop at Milan airport turned into something far more uncomfortable.The 18-year-old athlete recently shared that she was refused service at boutiques of Dior and Louis Vuitton after staff saw her Russian passport – and the internet has been reacting ever since.

A shopping stop that didn’t go as planned

Petrosian had travelled to Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics and, like many athletes and travellers, decided to browse through the airport’s luxury stores. She walked into a Dior boutique hoping to pick up a ring and a pair of earrings – nothing out of the ordinary.But things took a turn when the staff asked to see her passport.Speaking on the ALEKÓ In My Bag show, she recalled the moment quite plainly. The sales assistant noticed her burgundy Russian passport and told her they wouldn’t be able to sell anything to her. Just like that, the purchase was off the table.“I still feel a bit bitter about what happened,” she admitted, adding that the experience stayed with her long after she left the store.

Not just Dior

What made the situation more surprising was that it wasn’t limited to one brand.According to Petrosian, Louis Vuitton follows a similar policy. Hoping to work around the issue, she even asked a friend from Georgia to buy the items for her – but that didn’t work either. Store staff reportedly refused the sale again after noticing that the friend was travelling onward to Moscow.“They apologised and still said no,” she shared. “It just felt strange.”And honestly, you can see why. For someone used to the global, welcoming image of luxury fashion, the experience felt jarring.

The bigger picture behind the refusal

While the situation might feel personal in the moment, it’s actually tied to much larger geopolitical decisions.The European Union has placed strict sanctions on Russia following the Ukraine invasion. One of those rules includes banning the export of luxury goods priced above €300 to Russia. That covers everything from designer bags to jewellery—essentially, the very items sold at brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton.These sanctions are part of a wider effort by the EU and G7 nations to limit Russia’s economic access globally. Instead of simply increasing trade tariffs, they’ve restricted both imports and exports – especially in sectors like luxury, technology, and industrial goods.So, while it might feel like a store-level decision, it’s actually a compliance issue that luxury brands are expected to follow closely.

When fashion meets politics

The incident also highlights how deeply politics has started to intersect with fashion and lifestyle – something that wasn’t always this visible.Luxury brands have long positioned themselves as global and inclusive, but situations like this show that they are still very much influenced by international policies. And for individuals like Petrosian, who competed at the Olympics as a neutral athlete, the lines can feel even more blurred.It’s also worth noting that Russian athletes have already faced restrictions on the global stage, including limitations on participation in major sporting events.

A moment that sparked conversation

Petrosian’s experience has struck a chord online – not just because it involves big names like Dior and Louis Vuitton, but because it raises bigger questions.Can luxury ever be truly apolitical?Where do brands draw the line between policy and personal experience?And how does it feel for customers caught in the middle?For now, there are no easy answers. But one thing is clear – what was meant to be a simple shopping moment turned into a conversation far bigger than fashion.And in today’s world, even a passport colour can change everything.



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John Cartwright: Hull FC head coach to leave at end of season

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John Cartwright: Hull FC head coach to leave at end of season



Hull FC head coach John Cartwright will leave the club at the end of the year, after two seasons in the position.



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