That's how Michael Jordan concluded the iconic 1993 McDonald's commercial, " The Showdown ," alongside fellow basketball legend Larry Bird, competing for a Big Mac and Fresh fries. The basketball's wild, roundabout journey to reach the hoop in that commercial was just how Morgan Stanley's top US market-watcher, Michael Wilson, described getting the stock market right in the last year. ADVERTISEMENT "Calling the market's direction this past year reminds us of one of the greatest commercials of all time - 1993's The Showdown - where Michael Jordan and Larry Bird compete to make a series of successively harder shots through a basketball hoop,"

A swear word is like a linguistic punch in the nose. Virtually every language and culture has them—and virtually every language and culture formally disapproves of them. But that doesn’t stop them from being used widely, loudly, and lustily. What gives a swear word its power is partly its meaning—typically referring coarsely to bodily parts and functions—and partly its sound. In English, for example, studies have shown that swear words contain a higher ratio of so-called plosive sounds—including P, T, and K.

It’s getting harder to avoid COVID-19, thanks to the dominance of BA.5 in the U.S. and the growing number of other Omicron subvariants. Fortunately, Pfizer’s antiviral treatment Paxlovid can minimize illness from the disease. But it’s not meant for everyone. Only those who are at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19 qualify for the drug, including people over age 12 who have weakened immune systems or other health conditions that increase risk of serious effects of COVID-19—like asthma, cancer, liver disease, lung disease, heart disease, and obesity.

Karen O is set to release her first solo album “Crush Songs,” the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ lead singer announced Wednesday. #CrushSongs will first be available pre-release as a ltd, special edition vinyl on @CultRecords pic.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. At first glance, Kendall Roy, the adult child from “Succession” looking to take over his father’s media empire, and Che Diaz from “…And Just Like That,” a non-binary standup comic with a podcast, couldn’t be more different.