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Microsoft has come up with a solution for when you're too pressed for time to tidy your room before hopping in to a video call. The tech company's new "decorate your room" feature for Microsoft Teams, announced at the Ignite 2023 conference this week, will launch next year. For those wanting a festive touch to their background, the tool can even place fairy lights and a Christmas tree into the picture. "Meeting participants can now use generative background effects in Teams to show up their best – even when the space they're working from isn't at its best," Microsoft said.

As the temperature drops (in many places), the holiday TV calendar is heating up with a variety of festive options

The federal government has opened civil rights investigations at seven schools and universities over allegations of antisemitism or Islamophobia since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war

Thanksgiving is only days away, and families all across America are in the midst of building their dinner menus for the feast. While you’re heading to the grocery store to pick up your turkey and sweet potatoes, there’s one aspect of Thanksgiving that’s important to consider while planning out the big day: When will dinner be served? Over the years, Americans have opted to host their dinners at different times, with many families starting the meal at 3pm on the fourth Thursday in November. On the other hand, some people decide to eat dinner as they normally would, by hosting Thanksgiving at 6pm or 7pm. The question of when to have your Thanksgiving dinner may be tied to one major factor - that large meals can make you a bit sleepy. There’s constant discussion surrounding the star of Thanksgiving, turkey, and how it makes you tired. Turkey contains tryptophan, an amino acid in our bodies that helps make melatonin to regulate sleep schedules, according to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. There’s no arguing that eating a Thanksgiving meal full of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes would make anyone ready for a nap. Still, the question remains as to whether the chemicals in turkey actually make us susceptible to tiredness, or whether other factors are at play in our post-meal slumber. Speaking to The Independent, professional chefs have discussed the drowsiness that comes from eating a hefty meal, and how that feeling can affect your upcoming Thanksgiving plans. According to the Cleveland Clinic, tryptophan is an essential acid that’s found in food containing high levels of protein, such as chicken, eggs, cheese, and fish. Since there’s tryptophan in turkey, the amino acid can affect our body’s levels of both melatonin and serotonin, neurotransmitters that control our moods. Speaking to The Independent, California-based chef Brendan Collins acknowledged that the tryptophan in turkey is an amino acid that affects our sleep schedule. However, he clarified that turkey isn’t the reason for the drowsiness, and rather our eating habits on Thanksgiving could be the culprit. “I think the truth is that we can end up overeating on Thanksgiving, in comparison to our normal eating schedule, and we get food comas,” he explained. “We need to sleep because of that. Not because of the small amount of tryptophan found in the turkey itself.” John Carpenter - an executive chef at Signature Restaurant at La Cantera Resort and Spa in Texas - agreed that stuffing our faces with food on Thanksgiving may be more likely to blame for our tiredness. He noted that it’s easy to feel sleepy after a big meal and specified that a range of foods and beverages can contribute to the drowsiness, from pumpkin pie to wine. “Thanksgiving dinner is quite heavy, between stuffing and large amounts of meat we eat, whether that be turkey or ham,” he explained. “It’s also usually surrounded by friends and family, and there’s some alcohol drinking usually involved, which isn’t exactly known to keep us awake.” With the side effects of eating a big Thanksgiving meal in mind, chefs have shared their advice on when to plan your dinner. It’s important to note that the day before Thanksgiving can be relatively busy, from buying your ingredients to decorating your home. In addition to managing physical tasks, Carpenter said there’s another routine he usually takes on to prepare for the holiday - changing up his eating habits. “For me personally, I definitely prefer to change my eating schedule, leading up not only the day of Thanksgiving, but also a couple of days before,” he said. “I always eat a little bit lighter, leading up in anticipation of a big meal. And personally, I normally don’t even eat breakfast on Thanksgiving because I know I’m going to eat so much.” The morning of Thanksgiving tends to be quite hectic, so Collins urged families to give themselves enough preparation time before dinner. He recommended giving yourself a good two and a half to three hours of cooking time, when you can prepare all your vegetables while the turkey is in the oven. So, when is the best opportunity to serve the food to your guests? Professional chefs recommend the daytime, rather than evening, as the best time to host your dinner, taking both meal preparation time and drowsiness into account. “Normally for me, it’s early in the afternoon or early in the day,” Carpenter explained. “I have two children so I prefer earlier because it gives us the rest of the day for them to wind down from a big meal and all that. And then you have more time during Thanksgiving day to be with your family.” When you decide to host your Thanksgiving dinner is entirely up to you, but Collins acknowledged that the age of your guests is another factor to consider. He noted that children are generally accustomed to having their meals earlier in the day, even though that might not be the case for adults. “I think if there’s a lot of children under 10 years of age, having your dinner at 2pm or 3pm would be good,” Collins said. “If it’s more towards the adult scene, then I think it’s more of an early dinner, late lunch kind of thing. I’d personally go for 4pm or 5pm.” Thanksgiving aside, studies have found that late-night dinners may not be the best idea. In a 2022 study published in peer-reviewed journal Cell Metabolism, researchers examined 16 patients who were overweight and obese as they ate the same exact meals on two schedules - one group eating as late as 9pm. Results showed that eating later had a large effect on how patients regulated their “energy intake, expenditure, and storage”. Since there’s so many different types of food served on Thanksgiving, eating dinner on the earlier side could ultimately be better for your physical health. “Personally, I know you shouldn’t be eating a huge meal later at night, especially the size of a normal Thanksgiving meal,” Collins added. “So definitely give yourself the time for your food to settle down.” Although there are various factors to consider when planning the timing of your Thanksgiving dinner, it’s important to remember not to let the stress of it ruin the day. “Don’t stress out too much about the food,” Collins said. “I know sometimes Thanksgiving is one of the first times you’ve seen friends or family in a long time. So I think the idea is that it’s celebratory, and make sure you do that. Buy really good wine or champagne and enjoy yourself.” Read More 10 Thanksgiving traditions and where they come from The French have rules, and they have camembert rules – mess with them at your peril Pearly Cow, Margate, restaurant review: Go for the steak, but stay for the potatoes The French have rules, and they have camembert rules – mess with them at your peril Pearly Cow, Margate, restaurant review: Go for the steak, but stay for the potatoes We must stop Big Cranberry Sauce’s reign of terror over Christmas sandwiches

The 1976 book “The Hite Report” was a bestseller from the beginning

E-40 created his own lane with an unorthodox rap flow that’s worked for more than 30 years

Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve married his partner in the Las Vegas Grand Prix paddock on Thursday night (16 November). The official F1 Las Vegas X/Twitter account confirmed the news on 17 November, sharing photos of the couple, with the caption: “Married in Vegas: F1 style.” A few days before the wedding, F1 also released a short clip of the chapel created inside the circuit featuring the slogan “Race to the Altar”. Couples and race fans can now say “I do” at the chapel through a special wedding package. The space is embellished with racing-themed decorations and the couples that do get a chance to get married there will be presented with a bouquet of roses inspired by racing cars. “Love in the fast lane. Introducing the first-ever #F1 wedding chapel.” the caption in the post said. In another post featured on F1 Las Vegas’s Instagram stories, Villeneuve’s partner Giulia is seen dazzling her guests wearing a classic white gown as she walks down the aisle. The short video also shows the happy couple posing for photos with friends and family members. Former Williams engineer, Jock Clear, was reportedly Villeneuve’s best man for the occasion and the newlyweds enjoyed their moment together as an Elvis impersonator sang ‘Here Comes The Bride.’ Villeneuve won the Formula One World Championship with Williams in 1997. According to Planet F1, the champion made his comeback earlier this year - 17 years on from his final race. Speaking to Planet F1 in an exclusive interview back in February, the champion said: “I’ve never been retired!” “So it’s not even semi-retirement. I know a lot of people think that I haven’t been racing. After F1, I moved to North America to focus on that. “Ever since, I’ve been doing just piecemeal races – never full championships. Ice racing in France, V8 Supercars in Australia, Nascar, I did some Formula E, EuroNascar, the Indy 500… so I actually never retired, it was just very complicated to get full-time race seats, mostly because I was busy building up a family,” he added. Villeneuve’s wedding came hours before a chaotic first practice session was abandoned and the second session delayed due to Carlos Sainz striking a manhole cover which destroyed the bottom of his car - and resulted in him getting a ten-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. Detailing what had gone wrong an FIA spokesman said: “Following inspection, it was the concrete frame around a manhole cover that has failed. We now need to check all of the other manhole covers which will take some time – we will be discussing with the local circuit engineering team about the length of time it will take to resolve.” The on-track action eventually resumed two-and-a-half hours late and finished up at 4am local time - after fans had been told to leave at 1:30am in what was an all-round disaster of an opening night. Read More F1 enters new Las Vegas dawn with disaster on opening night Watch: Sparks fly as Sainz’s Ferrari hits drain cover on Las Vegas F1 circuit Empty grandstands at Las Vegas GP as chaotic practice session takes place at 3am Carlos Sainz handed ‘ridiculous’ penalty after drain cover crash at Las Vegas GP Las Vegas GP resumes in front of empty stands as fans sent home at 1:30am Ferrari team boss fumes over damage to Sainz car: ‘Just unacceptable’

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff lost his cool in a wild and chaotic defence of the shambolic start to this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix. On Formula One’s much-anticipated return to Sin City after more than 40 years away, opening practice was scrapped with just eight minutes on the clock when Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari was damaged by a drain cover at 210mph. Second practice was delayed by two and a half hours as repairs were carried out. The running then took place in front of empty grandstands after disgruntled spectators were ejected to comply with local employment laws. However, Wolff – whose position at Mercedes is under scrutiny following his team’s abysmal performance at the last round in Brazil – elected to fight Formula One’s corner. “This is not a black eye (for F1),” said the Mercedes team principal. “This is nothing. “It is Thursday night. We have one practice session that we are not doing. They are going to seal the drain covers and nobody will talk about that tomorrow.” A journalist described Wolff’s comments as “absolute rubbish”, leading the Austrian, 51, to hit back: “Did you ask the question? It’s completely ridiculous, completely ridiculous. “How can you even dare to talk badly about an event that sets the new standard? You’re speaking about a f****** drain cover that’s been undone, and that has happened in F1 before. “It is first practice. Give credit to the people that have set up this Grand Prix, and that have made the sport much bigger than it ever was. “(F1’s owners’) Liberty Media have done an awesome job, and just because a drain cover has become undone, we shouldn’t be moaning. “We need to analyse how we can make sure that this doesn’t happen again. But sitting here talking about a black eye for the sport on a Thursday evening… nobody watches that in European time anyway.” Read More Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton ‘counting down days’ to end of season after another poor race

Formula One bosses were facing up to one of the most embarrassing days in the sport’s recent history after practice for the much-anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix was completed at 4am in an empty arena. After months of hype leading up to the £500million race, the first running was abandoned with just eight minutes on the clock. Second practice was then delayed by two and a half hours, and played out in front of vacant grandstands after furious fans were ejected to comply with local laws. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the order, with Max Verstappen sixth and Lewis Hamilton ninth, but the event - billed by F1 chiefs as the greatest show on earth - dramatically unravelled more than seven hours previously. A water valve cover broke free from the newly laid tarmac and tore into the underbelly of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari at 210mph on the Las Vegas Boulevard. The force of the impact visibly jolted Sainz in the cockpit and, amid a flurry of white smoke and orange sparks, disabled his machine. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the session, but not before Esteban Ocon also struck the debris. On-board footage from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin captured the 42-year-old dramatically dodging the loose drain cover. Eleven minutes later, at 8:49pm, it was announced practice would not be resumed. Both Sainz and Ocon escaped without injury - but their cars were severely damaged. A giant hole tore through Sainz’s Ferrari leaving his mechanics facing an extensive repair job. Team principal Frederic Vasseur, who appeared in a pre-arranged press conference moments later, was furious. “We completely damaged the monocoque, engine and battery,” he said. “It is just unacceptable.” Second practice had originally been scheduled to start at midnight. But it was postponed as all 30 drain covers along the 1.2-mile Las Vegas Boulevard - which runs against the backdrop of Caesars Palace, Bellagio and Venetian hotels - were inspected. The covers were removed and holes filled with concrete and quick-drying resin in a hasty repair job. The track was finally deemed fit-for-purpose at 2:30am local time. However, when the running resumed the stands were empty after strict labour laws posed a security risk. Some disgruntled fans, who refused to leave, were moved on by police. A general admission ticket for the three-day event costs 500 US dollars (£400), while a hospitality suite was sold at an eye-watering 150,000 US dollars (£120,000) for the three days. The disastrous failure in Las Vegas comes 48 hours after a Superbowl-like opening ceremony, and a day on from triple world champion Verstappen heavily criticising the staging of the Grand Prix - the first here in four decades - as “99 per cent show, and one per cent sport”. F1 executives are keen to build on the sport’s growing popularity in the United States. The race in Nevada joins Austin and Miami as the third in America. Yet the mess here drew parallels with the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis where only six drivers took part amid tyre safety fears. Leclerc finished half-a-second clear of team-mate Sainz. Verstappen, a winner of 17 of the 20 rounds so far, was nine tenths adrift with Hamilton 1.3 sec back in his Mercedes. Third practice is due to begin at 8.30pm on Friday (4.30am GMT on Saturday) with qualifying for Saturday’s 50-lap race taking place at midnight (8.00am GMT on Sunday). PA Read More Carlos Sainz handed ‘ridiculous’ penalty after drain cover crash at Las Vegas GP Empty grandstands at Las Vegas GP as chaotic practice session takes place at 3am Toto Wolff launches furious defence of F1 after absurd start to Las Vegas GP Empty grandstands at Las Vegas GP as chaotic practice session takes place at 3am Toto Wolff launches furious defence of F1 after absurd start to Las Vegas GP Ferrari boss rages at F1 after ‘unacceptable’ loose drain cover wrecks Sainz’s car

Formula One bosses were facing up to one of the most embarrassing days in the sport’s recent history after practice for the much-anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix was completed at 4am in an empty arena. After months of hype leading up to the £500million race, the first running was abandoned with just eight minutes on the clock. Second practice was then delayed by two and a half hours, and played out in front of vacant grandstands after furious fans were ejected to comply with local laws. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the order, with Max Verstappen sixth and Lewis Hamilton ninth, but the event – billed by F1 chiefs as the greatest show on earth – dramatically unravelled more than seven hours previously. A water valve cover broke free from the newly laid tarmac and tore into the underbelly of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari at 210mph on the Las Vegas Boulevard. The force of the impact visibly jolted Sainz in the cockpit and, amid a flurry of white smoke and orange sparks, disabled his machine. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the session, but not before Esteban Ocon also struck the debris. On-board footage from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin captured the 42-year-old dramatically dodging the loose drain cover. Eleven minutes later, at 8:49pm, it was announced practice would not be resumed. Both Sainz and Ocon escaped without injury – but their cars were severely damaged. A giant hole tore through Sainz’s Ferrari leaving his mechanics facing an extensive repair job. Team principal Frederic Vasseur, who appeared in a pre-arranged press conference moments later, was furious. “We completely damaged the monocoque, engine and battery,” he said. “It is just unacceptable.” Second practice had originally been scheduled to start at midnight. But it was postponed as all 30 drain covers along the 1.2-mile Las Vegas Boulevard – which runs against the backdrop of Caesars Palace, Bellagio and Venetian hotels – were inspected. The covers were removed and holes filled with concrete and quick-drying resin in a hasty repair job. The track was finally deemed fit-for-purpose at 2:30am local time. However, when the running resumed the stands were empty after strict labour laws posed a security risk. Some disgruntled fans, who refused to leave, were moved on by police. A general admission ticket for the three-day event costs 500 US dollars (£400), while a hospitality suite was sold at an eye-watering 150,000 US dollars (£120,000) for the three days. The disastrous failure in Las Vegas comes 48 hours after a Superbowl-like opening ceremony, and a day on from triple world champion Verstappen heavily criticising the staging of the Grand Prix – the first here in four decades – as “99 per cent show, and one per cent sport”. F1 executives are keen to build on the sport’s growing popularity in the United States. The race in Nevada joins Austin and Miami as the third in America. Yet the mess here drew parallels with the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis where only six drivers took part amid tyre safety fears. Leclerc finished half-a-second clear of team-mate Sainz. Verstappen, a winner of 17 of the 20 rounds so far, was nine tenths adrift with Hamilton 1.3 sec back in his Mercedes. Third practice is due to begin at 8.30pm on Friday (4.30am GMT on Saturday) with qualifying for Saturday’s 50-lap race taking place at midnight (8.00am GMT on Sunday). Read More Toto Wolff fuelled by ‘personal anger’ to help Lewis Hamilton win eighth title On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton ‘counting down days’ to end of season after another poor race Max Verstappen thwarts Lando Norris’ bid for first F1 win with sprint victory On this day in 2015: Susie Wolff ends her bid to get on an F1 starting grid Lando Norris ‘gutted’ to miss out on Brazilian GP pole after McLaren blunder

It was billed as the glistening jewel in Formula 1’s crown. In all but name, this was the new Monaco. But the biggest race on the sport’s 2023 calendar – the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix on the streets of Sin City – descended into a total disaster on opening night. Even for the entertainment capital of the world, nobody could have conjured up this story of incompetence. Make no mistake: this was a shambles. A complete and utter shambles. What started with Carlos Sainz’s car substantially damaged by a loose water valve cover just after 8:30pm on Thursday night ended at 4am on Friday morning in front of empty grandstands, with fans instructed at 1:30am to head for the exits. Put out of their misery, they trudged home having seen just eight minutes of cars on track. For two men with their heads exhaustingly bowed downwards on a fan zone table, it was finally home time. A refund must surely be imminent. F1, so we were told, had left no stone unturned in preparation for this racing extravaganza. A new $500m pit building was built. Unlike their previous forgettable experience in Vegas back in the 1980s, they had cajoled all the major casinos and hotels into a favourable position. The third of three races in the United States this year, the Netflix-inspired American audience waited eagerly for action to commence. But for all the relentless marketing, self-promotion and hype, the fundamental basics of the sport were ruefully ignored here. A day on from an opening ceremony which made three-time world champion Max Verstappen feel like a “clown”, confusion immediately reigned when Sainz pulled his Ferrari car over on the Vegas strip, eight minutes into the first of two practice sessions scheduled. Yet replays quickly showed that the Spaniard had not made a mistake. He had instead run over a loose manhole cover, triggering a complete failure of the engine. The floor of the car was also badly damaged and, frankly, he was lucky the car did not spear off into the wall. With safety coming first – and every drain cover now needing to be double-checked on the strip section of the circuit – the session was cancelled. To add salt to the wounds, Sainz was later given a time penalty due to taking a new gearbox as a result of the incident. Sometimes, common sense fails to prevail. Usually so softly spoken, Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur was livid with F1 and labelled the farcical start to proceedings as “unacceptable” in an exquisitely timed team principals’ press conference. Sat next to him was Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, who took the opposite view and hit the roof when asked if the evening’s events represented a “black eye” for F1. “It’s completely ridiculous,” he said. “How can you even dare talk bad about an event that sets the new standards to everything?” Really, Toto? New standards? With a second one-hour practice session scheduled for midnight, the updates coming through were inadequately sparse. Every hour was amateur hour. Spectators who had paid thousands of dollars to experience night one in Vegas were left in the dark. Would we have any cars on track? The answer was yes – but there would be no fans to see it. Following delay after delay, a start time of 2:30am was eventually pencilled in. But an hour earlier, fans were told over the tannoy to leave owing to “logistical considerations.” In reality, staff had to depart in order to return for their scheduled start time later on Friday – meaning the fans were given their marching orders too. So the obvious question begs: why on earth was that decision not made sooner? By the time cars entered the track, manholes suitably covered, there was an eerie emptiness on the terraces. For an event anticipated to attract 100,000 people a day, it felt like the pandemic once again. It did not matter that Charles Leclerc was fastest; what mattered was that by the time the day finally concluded, nobody really cared. All in all, it represents a mighty old screw-up from Formula 1. Verstappen said on Wednesday the whole event felt like “99% show, 1% sporting event” and on this evidence it is hard not to agree with him. The start times were late enough before it alienated an entire American audience eager for some sleep. There are some serious lessons to be learned. And looking ahead to two more days, as team personnel and reporters alike trundle home with glimpses of the sun on the horizon, it may well take something special to reinvigorate proceedings this weekend. It is recoverable – it has to be, given the investment made here. But let there be no doubt: with the eyes of the world on F1 and the bright lights of Vegas, they dropped the ball tonight. This morning. Whatever the time is. Read More Carlos Sainz handed ‘ridiculous’ penalty after drain cover crash at Las Vegas GP Las Vegas GP resumes in front of empty stands as fans sent home at 1:30am Ferrari team boss fumes over damage to Sainz car: ‘Just unacceptable’ Jacques Villeneuve becomes first F1 driver to get married in paddock at Las Vegas GP Five times a manhole cover stopped F1 in its tracks Watch: Sainz hits loose drain cover on Las Vegas track as F1 practice turns to chaos

There are a few ways to interpret the news that the annual November New York auctions sold more