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Winner of the 2011 Big Brother Africa, Karen Igho, has made a plea for help on social media, revealing her struggles with homelessness, abuse, and marital struggles.

Igho confirmed her situation in a video shared on X.com on Wednesday, showing herself in a shelter.

“I want to prove that it is me, and indeed I am homeless,” she said. “I woke up in my homeless shelter, and I’ve been here for more than one year. I’ve been going up and down from shelter to shelter.”

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Nike (NKE) shares tumbled in extended trading Tuesday after the company withdrew its full-year outlook ahead of its transition to a new CEO later this month.

The athletic apparel giant reported net income of $1.1 billion for the fiscal first quarter of 2025, down 28% from the year-ago period but above analysts' expectations. However, Nike's revenue of $11.59 billion, which fell 10% year-over-year, slightly missed the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha.

The year-over-year declines were largely anticipated, and investors will be watching how Elliott Hill leads the company when he takes the reins as CEO in mid-October. Hill is returning to Nike after retiring in 2020. 

The company did not offer guidance for the full fiscal year on its earnings call, saying the decision was made to give Hill more time in the CEO role. The company also said it would push back its investor day originally scheduled for Nov. 19.

Nike still offered a forecast for the second quarter, which fell short of expectations. Nike said it anticipates its revenue will decline 8% to 10% year-over-year in the period, compared to estimates of a 6.7% drop.

“A comeback at this scale takes time, but we see early wins—from momentum in key sports to accelerating our pace of newness and innovation," CFO Matthew Friend said.

Shares of Nike plunged over 7% in extended trading Tuesday following the news.

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Nigerian superstar musician Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has declared that he’s officially off the market.

Addressing his female fans at a recent concert, the singer stated that he’s married. “Baby girl, I am a married man. Don’t come close to me; I am married. I have kids at home,” the 34-year-old hitmaker said.

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The newest stock to join the S&P 500 has had a volatile introduction to the stock market. After skyrocketing more than 22% to lead the benchmark index in their first day of trading on Monday, shares of Amentum Holdings (AMTM) gave up most of those gains Tuesday.

Amentum began trading this week as an independent public company following a spinoff from the engineering and construction firm Jacobs Solutions (J). Jacobs announced last year that it would separate its Critical Mission Solutions as well as its Cyber and Intelligence businesses to combine them with Virginia-based technology services provider Amentum to form the new entity. The merger between Amentum and the former Jacobs divisions was finalized last Friday.

Coinciding with the Amentum stock's first day of trading on Monday, the government services firm also became the newest addition to the S&P 500, replacing fragrance and personal care products retailer Bath & Body Works (BBWI) on the benchmark index.

With more than 20% upward and downward swings, the rise and fall of Amentum shares in their first two days of trading proved a dramatic welcome to the stock market. However, it is common for stocks joining the S&P 500 to experience a temporary rise as funds that track the widely followed index purchase the new constituent.

Amentum finished Tuesday at $25.75, off 20%. Jacobs shares, meanwhile, avoided any major price swings, ticking about 1.6% higher over the two sessions since the completion of the spinoff, ending Tuesday at $132.04. The company said the transformation will allow it to streamline operations and focus on higher-margin opportunities related to critical infrastructure and sustainability.

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Several evenings a week, as Tyler VanderWeele gathers around the dinner table with his wife and two young kids, the family deliberately pauses during the meal to do something simple but profound. Each member shares several things for which they're grateful — an act that VanderWeele, co-director of the Initiative on Health, Spirituality, and Religion at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, feels changes his family dynamic for the better.

"I do think it makes a difference and can be a very powerful practice," he says. "Even on those bad days where life seems difficult, that effort is worthwhile."

Gratitude, health, and longevity

How can the power of gratitude affect our lives? Recent research has pointed to gratitude's myriad positive health effects, including greater emotional and social well-being, better sleep quality, lower depression risks, and favorable markers of cardiovascular health. Now, new data from the long-term Nurses' Health Study shows that it may extend lives.

"Gratitude has been one of the most widely studied activities contributing to well-being, but we couldn't find a single prior study that looked at its effects on mortality and longevity, much to our surprise," says VanderWeele, co-author of the new research.

What did the study look at?

Published July 2024 in JAMA Psychiatry, the new study drew on data from 49,275 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study. Their average age was 79. In 2016, participants completed a six-item gratitude questionnaire in which they ranked their agreement with statements such as, "I have so much in life to be thankful for," and "If I had to list everything I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list."

Four years later, researchers combed through participants' medical records to determine who had died. There were 4,608 deaths from all causes, as well as from specific causes such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, neurodegenerative disease, infection, and injury. Deaths from cardiovascular disease — a top killer of women and men in the United States — were the most common cause.

What did the researchers find?

Participants with gratitude scores in the highest third at the study's start had a 9% lower risk of dying over the following four years than participants who scored in the bottom third. This did not change after controlling for physical health, economic circumstances, and other aspects of mental health and well-being. Gratitude seemed to help protect participants from every cause of death studied — including cardiovascular disease.

But what does this actually mean?

"A 9% reduction in mortality risk is meaningful, but not huge," VanderWeele says. "But what's remarkable about gratitude is that just about anyone can practice it. Anyone can recognize what's around them and express thanks to others for what's good in their life."

While the study couldn't pinpoint why gratitude is associated with longer life, VanderWeele believes several factors may contribute.

"We know that gratitude makes people feel happier. That in itself has a small effect on mortality risk," he says. "Practicing gratitude may also make someone a bit more motivated to take care of their health. Maybe they're more likely to show up for medical appointments or exercise. It may also help with relationships and social support, which we know contribute to health."

What are the study's limitations and strengths?

The study was observational. This means it can't prove that gratitude helps people live longer — only that an association exists. And the particular sample of people analyzed is both the biggest strength and limitation of the research, VanderWeele says. All were older female nurses with high socioeconomic status. The vast majority were white.

"Does the longevity effect extend to men, to those who are younger, and to those with lower socioeconomic resources?" VanderWeele asks. "Those are all open questions."

On the plus side, he says, the study sample's large size is one of its biggest strengths. So is the extensive data gathered on potential confounding factors such as participants' physical health, social characteristics, and other aspects of psychological well-being.

"Between the quality of the data and the size of the sample, we were able to provide reasonable evidence for this modest longevity effect," he says.

Try this: Six questions to evoke gratitude

Not feeling especially grateful today? You have the power to change that. Asking yourself certain questions can evoke gratitude, such as

Similarly, a few simple actions can infuse gratitude into your days. Try VanderWeele's family routine of regularly expressing gratitude around the dinner table. Another well-known practice — that's perhaps becoming forgotten in this digital age — is penning thank-you notes.

"I do think writing a thank-you note or gratitude letter gets your mind to dwell on something positive for a longer period, to think more deeply about it, because you have to put it not just in words, but in writing," VanderWeele says. "It also deepens the relationship and builds that bond."

One less-recognized but valuable gratitude practice is called a "savoring exercise," which builds on aspects of mindfulness. All that's required is "pausing, looking around you, and taking in and enjoying everything that's good in your current setting," VanderWeele says. "It's not a big leap to go from recognizing the good to expressing gratitude for what you have."

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will leave Abuja today, October 2, for the United Kingdom to kick off a two-week vacation as part of his annual leave.

Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga in a statement said he will use the two weeks as a working vacation, and a retreat to reflect on his administration’s economic reforms.

He will return to the country after the leave expires.

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