15 popular gifts to buy now before they sell out

Amanda Tarlton | Reviewed

— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.

This holiday season, experts are predicting product shortages and shipping delays galore in the weeks ahead due to high demand. That means that waiting until the last minute—or even the last few weeks—could leave you desperately searching for one of the few products still available or paying out the nose for rush shipping.

Tackle your holiday shopping early with deals and expert advice delivered straight to your phone. Sign up for text message alerts from the deal-hunting team at Reviewed.

The smart solution is to start your holiday shopping ASAP, especially if you have your eye on one of the year's most popular gifts. Below are 15 of the top gifts that everyone will be buying this year that could sell out quickly once peak shopping season hits. We recommend snagging these items—which includes everything from the coveted AirPods Pro to the celebrity-loved Ugg slippers—now while you still can.

►Hate returns? Kohl's feels your pain and is doing something about this ahead of the holiday season

►Holiday shopping: 38% expect to spend more this year. Here's how to avoid going into debt.

1. Apple AirPods Pro

Walk into any gym or just stroll down the street and you're bound to see a lot of people sporting tiny white buds in their ears. Help your music-obsessed giftee jump on the Apple bandwagon with a pair of the wildly popular AirPods Pro, which our experts ranked as the top wireless earbuds. When we tested them, the upgraded version of the iconic white buds performed the best in all categories, including sound quality, battery life and range.

Get the Apple AirPods Pro from Walmart for $189.99

2. Keurig Coffee Maker

A coffee maker is one of those gifts you could get pretty much anyone on your list—which is why they tend to fly off the shelves. If you're buying one now, we recommend the Keurig K-Cafe, which our experts dubbed the most versatile single-serve coffee maker out there. It brewed the most flavorful cup of joe in just minutes and even has an attached milk frother for when your giftee wants to get a little fancy.

Get the Keurig K-Cafe from Amazon for $199.99

3. Amazon Echo Dot

If last year was the year of the Echo, this year is the year of the Echo Dot. It has all of the features of the Amazon Echo, but at a fraction of the price, making it the best entry-level smart speaker, according to our experts. The newest 4th Gen. Dot, while still a tiny four inches in diameter, even has a majorly improved speaker for better sound quality and is a great gift for anyone who wants their first smart speaker or who already has an Echo and wants a complementary device for another room.

Get the Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) from Amazon for $49.99

4. Gravity Weighted Blanket

Regular blankets are great, but weighted blankets are even better—or at least they make for an even better gift in 2021. Of all the ones on the market (and there are a lot thanks to the growing trend), we found the Gravity Blanket to be the best. It has a super soft velvet exterior that's made for curling up in and provides just the right amount of pressure that's not too light, but not too heavy.

Get the Gravity Weighted Blanket from Gravity for $195

5. Kindle Paperwhite

If you own—or have ever used—the Kindle Paperwhite (11th gen), you understand the hype. It's our experts' top Kindle because it features a larger display, lighting temperature controls and fast USB-C charging. It's likely to be one of the most popular gifts this year, so don't hesitate to buy one now for the reader on your list.

Get the Kindle Paperwhite (11th gen) from Amazon for $139.99

6. Ugg Slippers

Slippers are always a great gift—but this year, it seems they're at the top of everyone's lists as we're spending more time at home. For women, popular styles include the super plush Fluff Yeah slide (which celebrities from Selena Gomez to Madonna are obsessed with) and the Cozette slipper (which sold out at Nordstrom during its annual sale last month). For men, the Ascot slipper continues to be a top seller, with over 13,000 rave reviews on Amazon.

7. Instant Pot

Some things (or rather, some appliances) never go out of style when it comes to gifts. Like the Instant Pot, which is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser this holiday season yet again. There are plenty of models to choose from but our favorite is the Instant Pot Ultra, which has 10 different cook settings (from pressure cooking to steaming to slow cooking) and can have a meal that usually takes an hour on the table in just 20 minutes. It's perfect for anyone who finds themselves cooking at home more often these days.

Get the Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1 from Amazon for $134.99

8. Roku Ultra

Anyone who owns a TV could benefit from a Roku Ultra, which delivered the best experience of all the streaming devices we tested. It has an easy-to-use remote and is compatible with nearly every TV, making it a great gift for any person on your list. Psst: If you want one, buy it sooner rather than later—the Roku sold out at many retailers on Black Friday last year.

Get the Roku Ultra from Amazon for $69

9. Fitbit Charge

According to a Gallup poll, one in five people wear a fitness tracker and this year, we could all use some extra motivation to get out of our seats and go for a walk. The Fitbit Charge 5 will help your giftee to do just that. It's performs so well that we crowned it our new favorite fitness tracker, dethroning its predecessor, the Charge 4. It'd make a great gift for anyone who is obsessed with getting fit and healthy in 2022.

Get the Fitbit Charge 5 from Amazon for $178.95

10. Always Pan

Every year, there's always (no pun intended) one cooking product that everyone can't stop talking about. This year, it's the Always Pan from Our Place, which claims to replace eight pieces of cookware and can do everything from sautéing, frying, boiling pasta, and so much more. After testing it, our cooking expert loved how versatile it was as well as how absolutely gorgeous it looked with its terracotta finish and Instagrammable vibe.

Get the Always Pan from Our Place for $99

11. Nintendo Switch

If you've been on the hunt for a Nintendo Switch this year, you're all too aware that it's been hard to find. The popular gaming console—which was a top-selling gift last year, as well—has skyrocketed once again in past months. Stock continues to be limited, so you'll want to scoop one up while you can, or opt for the handheld Nintendo Switch Lite.

Get the Nintendo Switch from Amazon for $299.99

12. Barefoot Dreams Throw Blanket

More time at home means more time to spend cozying up on the couch with a super soft throw blanket. Of all the ones you can buy, the Barefoot Dreams CozyChic Throw Blanket is by far the most popular (and the trendiest!) with celebrities like Chrissy Teigen, the Kardashians, and Selena Gomez raving about it. The blanket will be hard to find in select colors (like the popular animal print), so if you want to get it for someone, act sooner than later.

Get the Barefoot Dreams CozyChic In The Wild Throw Blanket at Nordstrom for $180

13. iRobot Roomba j7+

Home might be where the heart is, but it's also where the clean floors are (or should be). People love robot vacuums because they do your cleaning for you and make life a lot easier—which we could all use this year especially. Our experts put some of the most popular ones to the test and found the Roomba j7+ to be the best thanks to its ability to deftly maneuver around furniture and avoid dog feces with ease. Not to mention, it's highly programmable which means you can set it and forget it to maintain a constantly clean home.

Get the iRobot Roomba j7+ Robot Vacuum from Amazon for $699

14. Loungewear

Loungewear has become a hot commodity now that more people are working from home. Some of the most sought-after pieces include the super soft sets from Lou & Grey, the cult-favorite Nordstrom Moonlight pajamas, and the ever-popular Parachute bathrobe for both men and women (which some of our Reviewed writers own and love!).

15. Laugh & Learn Grow-the-Fun Garden to Kitchen

One of the most popular toys this year according to our experts? This adorable playset, which is recommended for kids 12 to 36 months and has both a garden side and a kitchen side, so kiddos can cook what they "grow." Our parenting editor, Anna Lane, believes this will be a hot item amongst younger kids this year and will probably sell out.

Get the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Grow-the-Fun Garden to Kitchen from Amazon for $69.98

Don’t get thwarted by shipping delays or sold-out favorites this holiday season. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and get the product reviews, deals and holiday gift guides you need to start shopping now.

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

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The Verge’s favorite holiday gifts under $25

The

It should go without saying, but the best gifts aren’t always the most expensive. There are plenty of affordable pieces of tech and non-tech items that would make for great gifts or stocking stuffers, which is why we polled The Verge staff to curate a budget-based wishlist that spans our favorite tools, gadgets, and other goodies that can typically be had for around $25 or less.

The responses we got ranged from practical to personal, from helpful to hilarious. Whether you’re in the market for a vest to keep your beverage from getting chilly or chopsticks from a galaxy far, far away, our budget-friendly gift guide is a manifestation of everything that you want, but nothing you need. Even if you’re shopping for yourself instead of someone special, we know that our suggestions will help make your life a little easier or, at the very least, coax out a smile. After all, pens that say what we’re all thinking tend to have that effect on people.

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Price Range

$10 to $20 $20 to $25 $25+

Anchor headphone hook

The real estate on your desk is valuable, so stop monopolizing it with your headphones. This hook comes with a secure 3M adhesive and can hold two pairs of headphones wherever you stick it. The sturdy wood and silicon construction also ensures that the hooks will likely outlive whatever you decide to hang on them.
Price: $12

Elevation Lab

Tile Mate

The Tile Mate, a now-ubiquitous tracking device compatible with Android and iOS, is a fantastic way to keep tabs on anything located within 200 feet of you. You can secure the tiny Bluetooth tracker to just about anything, ensuring that your most important items never go missing.
Price: $25

Amazon

Target

AirPods cleaning kit

Anyone who has ever looked at their earbuds knows how gross they can get even after just a week of sustained use. With this 203-piece cleaning kit, however, your giftee will never have to tote around a pair of AirPods that look anything less than spotless.
Price: $13

Amazon

Best Buy

RDS Game Traveler Deluxe Case

Whether you've been a longtime Nintendo Switch owner or recently picked up the new OLED model, it pays to have a protective case to stash it in. Thankfully, this durable hardshell case from RDS Industries can house both your Switch and a cartridge case. There's also an adjustable viewing stand for propping up your Switch while inside — a nice touch given the flimsy kickstand on the original model.
Price: $20

Amazon

Best Buy

Gerber Shard

Stop opening your Amazon packages with a pen like a scrub and invest in this keychain tool from Gerber. You'll never be without something to poke, prod, pry, or slice something open when the need arises.
Price: $8

Amazon

Puffin beverage vest

Arguably functional but definitely adorable, the Puffin beverage vest might be the cutest koozie we've ever seen. This beverage accessory is available in a variety of colors and styles, including flannels, parkas, and life vests.
Price: $13

REI

Puffin

Comfyable slim protective laptop sleeve

A classy sleeve for any 13- to 16-inch laptop, this slim, waterproof, faux-leather cover comes in a variety of colors. The inside lining is also covered in microfiber to prevent scuffs and scratches, making it a great accessory for anyone who wants to add a little professional flair to their laptop.
Price: $19 to $26

Amazon

Comfyable

Skullcandy Dime

These itty-bitty, inexpensive headphones from Skullcandy come in a wide array of fun colors and feature IPX4 water resistance. Moreover, the true wireless earbuds can last for up to three hours on a single charge or 12 hours with the included charging case.
Price: $26

Amazon

Best Buy

Manfrotto Pixi Mini Tripod

Not only is Manfrotto's Pixi Mini the cutest of tripods, but it gives you a stable shooting platform for both stationary and mobile use. The featherweight device can easily fit in your back pocket, too, and can even be adapted for use with smartphones.
Price: $23

Amazon

B&H Photo

TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug

This adapter is a quick and simple way to add smart home connectivity to any device that uses a wall outlet. The TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug can pair with Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, allowing you to toggle power states with simple voice commands.
Price: $10 to $18

Amazon

Anxiety Pen Set

The Anxiety Pen Set is the ideal gift for anyone whose life is constantly on fire. Each pack comes with five, medium-tip ballpoint pens, providing just the right amount of levity for when your life is falling apart at the seams.
Price: $12

Etsy

Turtle Beach Battle Buds

These unique earbuds from Turtle Beach — which are typically on sale for under $25 — are some of the only earbuds that come with their own boom mic. Because they use a 3.5mm audio jack, the Battle Buds are also compatible with any console, and they come packaged with a number of ear tips to ensure a comfortable fit.
Price: $28 to $30

Amazon

Best Buy

Target

Creative Pebble 2.0 speakers

These diminutive, wired speakers from Creative are a great way to punch up the sound of your laptop without having to put on headphones. The Pebble 2.0 are compatible with any laptop or device that has a USB port and 3.5mm headphone jack, and their small footprint and minimalist design make them perfect for desks of any size.
Price: $20

Amazon

GameStop

Dell

Echogear On-Wall Surge Protector

Echogear's surge protector lays flat against your existing wall outlet, doubling the number of outlets and adding a pair of USB ports to charge your phone and other gadgets. Perhaps its best feature, however, is that the wall outlets can pivot 45 degrees, which is especially handy when a cord is preventing you from laying something flush against the wall.
Price: $20

Amazon

Echogear

Sharper Image Word Clock

It doesn't tell time, it spells it out for you. This LED clock from Sharper Image is a clever little conversation piece available in matte black or wood grain. Perhaps the best feature of this clock, however, is that it uses a USB-C port for power, making it easy to hook up without a dedicated outlet.
Price: $25

Amazon

Chop Sabers

If you're buying for a foodie who also happens to be a Star Wars fan, a pair of battery-powered Chop Sabers isn't a bad way to go. While it might be tempting to use the light-up chopsticks on a bowl of glass noodles, a more creative application would be to use them to tie up your hair. Just a thought.
Price: $10

Amazon

Haitral Retro Vintage Table Lamp

For anyone who's a fan of simpler times and rugged design, this industrial desk lamp is the perfect accent to any table or desk. Composed of wood and iron, Haitral's steampunk-inspired lamp is built to last and can accomodate a variety of bulbs.
Price: $20

Amazon

Tlinna LED coffee thermos

Tlinna's thermos is a smart take on the classic, double-walled design that proliferates coffee shops across the country. The thermos comes in a variety of fun colors, each with an LED display on top of the lid that shows you how hot or cold your liquid is. Plus, each stainless-steel bottle comes with a built-in tea infuser.
Price: $22

Amazon

Keyboard brush

A more eco-friendly way of cleaning out the crud that accumulates under your keyboard, this soft bristle brush comes with a keycap puller and a wedge-shaped cleaning tip for getting dirt out of those hard-to-reach places without damaging your keyboard.
Price: $14

Amazon

Newegg

Nanoleaf Essentials A19 Bulb

For those looking to bring intelligent lighting into their home for just $20, there's Nanoleaf's hub-free smart bulbs. Each LED bulb is compatible with a number of virtual assistants — including Amazon's Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit — and can be adjusted to suit a variety of scenes and vibrant colors via the Nanoleaf app or your voice.
Price: $20

GameStop

Apple

Anker PowerCore Slim

If you've got room for a phone, you've got room for the Anker PowerCore Slim. The 1,000mAh battery pack is roughly the same size as your typical smartphone yet provides enough power to top off most phones at least once, ensuring you'll never be without juice when you need it most. Just make sure you have your own USB-C or Micro USB cable to go with it.
Price: $22

Amazon

Personalized journal

Everyone has at least one obsessive journaler in their life, so why not gift them something that's unique to them? This personalized journal from Etsy has a virtually limitless number of customization options. You can tailor everything from the color to the font to the overall design, making it easy to pick out a notebook that's perfect for your friend or loved one.
Price: $21

Etsy

EXPLAINER: Here is why crowd surges can kill people - Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The crowd deaths at a Houston music festival added even more names to the long list of people who have been crushed at a major event.

Tragedies like the one Friday night at the Astroworld Music Festival have been happening for a long time. In 1979, 11 people died in a scramble to enter a Cincinnati, Ohio, concert by The Who. At the Hillsborough soccer stadium in England, a human crush in 1989 led to nearly 100 deaths. In 2015, a collision of two crowds at the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia caused more than 2,400 deaths, based on an Associated Press count of media reports and officials’ comments.

Now that more people are heading out of their homes and back into crowds after many months of being cooped up because of the pandemic, the risks are rising again.

Most major events happen without a death, of course, but experts say they see common traits within the tragedies. Here’s a look at how they happen:

HOW ARE PEOPLE DYING IN THESE EVENTS?

They’re often getting squeezed so hard that they can’t get any oxygen. It’s usually not because they’re getting trampled.

When a crowd surges, the force can be strong enough to bend steel. It can also hit people from two directions: one from the rear of the crowd pushing forward and another from the front of the crowd trying to escape. If some people have fallen, causing a pileup, pressure can even come from above. Caught in the middle are people’s lungs.

ratio

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE SWEPT IN?

A U.K. inquiry into the Hillsborough tragedy found that a form of asphyxiation was listed as an underlying cause in the vast majority of the deaths. Other listed causes included “inhalation of stomach contents.”

The deaths occurred as more than 50,000 fans streamed into the stadium for a soccer match on a warm, sunny day. Some of them packed into a tunnel and were getting pressed so hard into perimeter fencing that their faces got distorted by the mesh, the inquiry found.

“Survivors described being gradually compressed, unable to move, their heads ‘locked between arms and shoulders ... faces gasping in panic,’” the report said. “They were aware that people were dying and they were helpless to save themselves.”

WHAT CAUSES SUCH EVENTS?

“My research covers over 100 years of disasters, and invariably they all come down to very similar characteristics,” said G. Keith Still, a visiting professor of crowd science at the University of Suffolk in England who has testified as an expert witness in court cases involving crowds.

First is the design of the event, including making sure that the density of the crowd doesn’t exceed guidelines set by the National Fire Protection Association and others. That includes having enough space for everyone and large enough gaps for people to move about.

Some venues will take precautions when they know a particularly high-energy crowd is coming to an event. Still pointed to how some will set up pens around stages in order to break large crowds into smaller groups. That can also allow for pathways for security officers or for emergency exits.

WHAT ARE OTHER CAUSES?

The crowd’s density may be the most important factor in a deadly surge, but it usually needs a catalyst to get everyone rushing in the same direction.

A sudden downpour of rain or hail could send everyone running for cover, as was the case when 93 soccer fans in Nepal were killed while surging toward locked stadium exits in 1988. Or, in an example that Still said is much more common in the United States than other countries, someone yells, “He has a gun!”

Surges don’t always happen because people are running away from something. Sometimes they’re caused by a crowd moving toward something, such as a performer on the stage, before they hit a barrier.

Still also cited poor crowd-management systems, where event organizers don’t have strong procedures in place to report red flags or warnings, among the reasons deadly surges happen.

HOW HAS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTED THINGS?

Steve Allen of Crowd Safety, a U.K.-based consultancy engaged in major events around the world, said it’s always important to monitor the crowd, but especially so now that events are ramping up in size following the the pandemic lockdown.

“As soon as you add people into the mix, there will always be a risk,” he said of crowds.

He recommends that events have trained crowd spotters with noise-cancelling headsets who are in direct communication with someone in close proximity to the performer who’s willing to temporarily stop the event if there’s a life-threatening situation. That could be a crowd surge, structural collapse, fire or something else.

Allen said he has personally stopped about 25 performances by the likes of Oasis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eminem.

WHY AREN’T PEOPLE CALLING THIS A STAMPEDE?

Professionals don’t use the words “stampede” or “panic” to describe such scenarios because that can put the blame for the deaths on the people in the crowd. Instead, they more often point at the event’s organizers for failing to provide a safe environment.

“Safety has no profit,” Still said, “so it tends to be the last thing in the budget.”

___

Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.

Sesame Street Welcomes its First Asian American Muppet

Sesame

Sesame Street Welcomes its First Asian American Muppet

Ernie, a muppet from the popular children's series "Sesame Street," appears with new character Ji-Young, the first Asian American muppet, on the set of the long-running children's program in New York on Nov. 1, 2021.

Noreen Nasir—AP

By Terry Tang/AP

November 15, 2021 12:21 PM EST

What’s in a name? Well, for Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of “Sesame Street,” her name is a sign she was meant to live there.

“So, in Korean traditionally the two syllables they each mean something different and Ji means, like, smart or wise. And Young means, like, brave or courageous and strong,” Ji-Young explained during a recent interview. “But we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame.”

At only 7 years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet in the “Sesame Street” canon. She is Korean American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. The children’s TV program, which first aired 52 years ago this month, gave The Associated Press a first look at its adorable new occupant.

Ji-Young will formally be introduced in “See Us Coming Together: A Sesame Street Special.” Simu Liu, Padma Lakshmi and Naomi Osaka are among the celebrities appearing in the special, which will drop Thanksgiving Day on HBO Max, “Sesame Street” social media platforms and on local PBS stations.

Some of Ji-Young’s personality comes from her puppeteer. Kathleen Kim, 41 and Korean American, got into puppetry in her 30s. In 2014, she was accepted into a “Sesame Street” workshop. That evolved into a mentorship and becoming part of the team the following year. Being a puppeteer on a show Kim watched growing up was a dream come true. But helping shape an original muppet is a whole other feat.

“I feel like I have a lot of weight that maybe I’m putting on myself to teach these lessons and to be this representative that I did not have as a kid,” Kim said. But fellow puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph — who performs Abby Cadabby — reminded her, “It’s not about us … It’s about this message.”

Ji-Young’s existence is the culmination of a lot of discussions after the events of 2020 — George Floyd’s death and anti-Asian hate incidents. Like a lot of companies, “Sesame Street” reflected on how it could “meet the moment,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, executive vice-president of Creative and Production for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind “Sesame Street.”

Sesame Workshop established two task forces — one to look at its content and another to look at its own diversity. What developed was Coming Together, a multi-year initiative addressing how to talk to children about race, ethnicity and culture.

One result was 8-year-old Tamir. While not the show’s first Black muppet, he was one of the first used to talk about subjects like racism.

“When we knew we were going to be doing this work that was going to focus on the Asian and Pacific Islanders experience, we of course knew we needed to create an Asian muppet as well,” Stallings said.

These newer muppets — their personalities and their looks — were remarkably constructed in a matter of a months. The process normally takes at least a couple of years. There are outside experts and a cross-section of employees known as the “culture trust” who weigh in on every aspect of a new muppet, Stallings said.

For Kim, it was crucial that Ji-Young not be “generically pan-Asian.”

“Because that’s something that all Asian Americans have experienced. They kind of want to lump us into this monolithic ‘Asian,'” Kim said. “So it was very important that she was specifically Korean American, not just like, generically Korean, but she was born here.”

One thing Ji-Young will help teach children is how to be a good “upstander.” “Sesame Street” first used the term on its “The Power of We” TV special last year, which featured Tamir.

“Being an upstander means you point out things that are wrong or something that someone does or says that is based on their negative attitude towards the person because of the color of their skin or the language they speak or where they’re from,” Stallings said. “We want our audience to understand they can be upstanders.”

In “See Us Coming Together,” Sesame Street is preparing for Neighbor Day where everyone shares food, music or dance from their culture. Ji-Young becomes upset after a kid, off screen, tells her “to go back home,” an insult commonly flung at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. But she feels empowered after Sesame Street’s other Asian American residents, guest stars and friends like Elmo assure her that she belongs as much as anyone else.

The fact that Ji-Young was created to counter anti-Asian sentiment makes her more special to Kim in some ways.

“I remember like the Atlanta shootings and how terrifying that was for me,” Kim said. “My one hope, obviously, is to actually help teach what racism is, help teach kids to be able to recognize it and then speak out against it. But then my other hope for Ji-Young is that she just normalizes seeing different kinds of looking kids on TV.”

Vanessa Leung, co-executive director of Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, is excited about Ji-Young. The organization was not involved in Ji-Young’s creation but previously consulted on anti-racism content for Sesame Workshop. It matters when Asian American families, especially with many of them being immigrant families, can see themselves reflected in an institution like “Sesame Street,” Leung said.

“It sparks curiosity and early understanding of the diversity of our community, the beauty in the diversity of our community,” Leung said.

Ji-Young will be heavily present throughout the show’s 53rd season next year, Stallings reassured. She also won’t just be utilized for content related to racial justice. She will pop up in various digital programs, live-action and animated.

As the new kid on the street, Ji-Young is looking forward to showing her friends and neighbors aspects of Korean culture such as the food. She loves cooking dishes like tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes) with her halmoni (grandmother). And she already has one “Sesame Street” friend who wants a sample.

“I would love to try it,” said Ernie, who joined Ji-Young’s interview. “You know, I’ve tried bulgogi. I really like bulgogi. I’m gonna guess that maybe old buddy Bert has not tried Korean food.”

Having already made several famous friends on “Sesame Street,” is there anyone Ji-Young still really wants to meet?

“The Linda Lindas because they’re so cool,” Ji-Young said, referring to the teenage punk rock band. “And they rock out and they’re cool girls and most of them are Asian. They’re my heroes. If we can get the Linda Lindas on ‘Sesame Street,’ I would show them around.”

Blackstone hits goal of hiring 100,000 Vets

This is news that brings a smile to our faces at Hot Topic Boom!

The Blackstone Group will announce Thursday that it has reached its goal of having its portfolio companies hire 100,000 military veterans and spouses over the past eight years.

Why it matters: U.S. military veterans have higher rates of unemployment and suicide than do nonveterans.

History: Blackstone's initiative dates back to 2013, when Michelle Obama made a presentation to the Business Roundtable that included information about veteran suicides.

"I was sitting in the front row and she was talking about 22 military people per day killing themselves, and asking the business community to make a five-year commitment to help do something about it," remembers Blackstone founder and CEO Steve Schwarzman, who once served in the Army Reserves. "I was really affected by it because it's such a big deal to serve, as opposed to being in the private sector."
Schwarzman flew home to New York and, before he reached his apartment, dictated a note to Michelle Obama that Blackstone would commit to hiring 50,000 vets over the next five years.
"It was a very atypical thing for me to do, and not how we normally make decisions at Blackstone," he explains. "I went into our management committee meeting the next day and everyone was suitably surprised."
Blackstone then worked with government officials at Defense and Labor, plus Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, to develop an infrastructure to connect vets with Blackstone job opportunities. It also created a veterans affinity group inside of Blackstone, and worked with portfolio companies on issues of onboarding and integration.

By the numbers: Blackstone hit its 50,000 goal within four years, and then set out to do the same thing again.

Overall, the firm's portfolio companies (non-real estate) employ around 560,000 people around the world. Recent acquisitions include Allstate Life Insurance, Bumble and Signature Aviation.

Look ahead: Blackstone doesn't plan to set a new veteran hiring goal, instead folding the initiative into a program called "Career Pathways" that's designed to help portfolio companies expand their job applicant pools beyond traditional candidates.

Are You Ready for a Reckoning

By Oscar Smith

11/19/2021 (c) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

After over 40 years in ministry this is fact certain there is satanic strongholds over countries and communities, and there are strongholds that even influence, to some degree, churches and individuals. Wherever a stronghold exists, it is a demonically induced pattern of thinking. Specifically, it is a "house made of thoughts" that has become a dwelling place for satanic activity.

We Must Remove the enemy's Armor!
"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are undisturbed. But when someone stronger than he or she attacks him or her and overpowers them, he takes away from them all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder" (Luke 11:21-22).

Before we were saved, Satan was like a fully armed "strong man" guarding the homestead of our souls. On the day of our salvation, however, "someone stronger," the Lord Jesus Christ, attacked and overpowered Satan and stripped him of his armor. Our born-again experiences may be widely varied, but in the spirit-realm, a very similar war was waged and won for each of us. If we could have seen into the invisible world, we would have observed the Holy Spirit working with the angels of God to overpower and destroy the enemy's "armor."

What exactly was this armor that protected the devil and kept us from salvation? The armor upon which demons rely consists of our own thoughts, attitudes and opinions that are in agreement with evil.

What Jesus described as "armor," the apostle Paul classified as "strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:1-4 NKJV). It is important to recognize that, in speaking of strongholds, the apostle was addressing the church. It is foolish to assume that there are no strongholds in our hearts and minds. Our salvation experience has overpowered the enemy, but it has not eliminated all the wrong ideas and attitudes -- the strongholds -- that are still influencing our perception and behavior. Yes, old things passed away; true, new things have come. But until we are walking in the fullness of Christ, we should not assume that the process of transformational change is over.

On an individual level, the foundation of our continued success in warfare comes from yielding to the Lord as He reveals these strongholds and agreeing with Him through repentance in pulling them down.

It is important to recognize that when we speak of strongholds we are not talking about random thoughts or occasional sins. Perhaps the strongholds that affect us most are those that are so blended into our thinking patterns that we do not recognize them nor identify them as evil. Remember, in our initial text, Jesus revealed that unclean spirits are seeking "rest." The sense of rest they seek originates from being in harmony with their environment. In other words, when our thought-life is in agreement with unbelief, fear or habitual sin, the enemy has rest.

It is significant that when the Holy Spirit enters our lives many changes occur suddenly. However, we should not be surprised if the process of deliverance should involve a season of inner conflict and turmoil. This is a good sign, signifying the individual's will desires to be free. We should expect a time where we must exercise our authority in Christ as we "resist" the devil (1 Pet. 5:8-9). Paul speaks of the "struggle" of the church against principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12). There will be a period of fighting involved in the process of pulling down strongholds, for you are breaking your agreement with a foe who will fight to remain in your life.

Taking Every Thought Captive to Christ
While we may find comfort in being Christians, being a Christian has not made us perfect. There are still many strongholds or unchristian attitudes within us. Therefore, let us identify some of these spiritual fortresses. Rare is the Christian who is not limited by at least one of the following strongholds: unbelief, cold love, fear, pride, unforgiveness, lust, greed, or any combination of these, as well as the possibility of many others.

Because we excuse ourselves so readily, it is difficult to discern the areas of oppression in our lives. After all, these are our thoughts, attitudes and perceptions; we justify and defend our thoughts with the same degree of intensity with which we justify and defend ourselves. As it is written, "As [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7 KJV). In other words, the nature of who we are exists in our thought-life. Therefore, before any lasting deliverance can truly be accomplished, we must honestly recognize and confess our need and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, begin to capture our unchristlike thoughts.

Indeed, the first stronghold that God must remove is pride. For until one is willing to admit that he needs deliverance, he will never seek to be free from strongholds. However, at the same time, our journey is envisioned by the Holy Spirit. For as Christ emerges in our lives, the mystery of man's identity is unveiled: man in the image of God. Christ, the pattern Son, is the "firstborn among many brethren." He is the very seed of God growing in us (Rom. 8:28-29).

Let us also realize that only Jesus can be Jesus. As we yield to Him in increasing degrees of surrender, as we abide in Him and His Word abides in us, He brings forth life that is not simply like His own but is His very life. Christ Himself living within us fulfills the Father's eternal purpose. It is the presence of the Lord Jesus coming forth in us that makes the weapons of our warfare mighty, empowering our words with authority as we pull down strongholds.

Let us pray together as God's Family:

: Lord Jesus, I submit to You. I declare, according to the Word of God, that because of Your power to subject all things unto Yourself, the weapons of my warfare are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:3-4). I repent for using the lie, "I will never be like Jesus," as an excuse to sin and compromise my convictions. In Jesus' name, I renounce my flawed, sinful old nature, and by the grace of God and the power of Your Spirit, I pull down the stronghold of unbelief that exists in my mind. Because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I am a new creation. And I believe that I will go from glory to glory, being continually transformed into Christ's image as I walk with Him in His grace. AMEN

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