FANS were on the edge of their seats waiting for the Beast Games to drop on Amazon Prime.

The first-two episodes of the hotly-awaited MrBeast TV show were released in December 2024, and it took a VERY big budget to make.

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Beast Games has started to drop on Amazon Prime Video[/caption]

Beast Games is a reality TV competition that is like no other game that has come before it.

The series is hosted by YouTube sensation MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson.

The contest features 1,000 contestants battling for a $5M cash prize.

Beast budget

The Beast Games cost an eyewatering $100M to make.

MrBeast revealed on his Instagram that the city that was built just for the show cost over $14 million to construct.

The fake city, aptly named Beast City, serves as somewhere for the contestants to eat and sleep.

It comes complete with its own roundabouts and mini chalets.

The amount of prize money also factors into the enormous budget.

No other gameshow has seen contestants competing for $5M.

In fact. the show earned a Guinness World Record for the largest single pot of prize money in television history.

Speaking about the show Mr Beast said: “My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms.

“Amazon gave me the creative control I need to try and make it happen. I hope to make the YouTube community proud.”

He added that the show “broke 40 World Records” while filming.

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How the Beast Games work

The show is based on MrBeast’s popular YouTube competitions, where he gives away money.

Players in the new series compete in nail-biting, physical, mental, and social challenges.

Speaking about the new show, Amazon said: “Week by week, contestants will use their strength and wit to stay in the game, with the hope of being the multi-million-dollar winner.”

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MrBeast runs the most subscribed channel on YouTube[/caption]

Beast Games episode schedule

The 10-part series kicked off on December 19, 2024 with the first two episodes.

From now on there will be a weekly drop of the show for fans to enjoy until February 13, 2025.

Here’s the full schedule:

• Episode one – December 19, 2024
• Episode two – December 19, 2024
• Episode three – December 26, 2024
• Episode four – January 2, 2025
• Episode five – January 9, 2025
• Episode six – January 16, 2025
• Episode seven – January 23, 2025
• Episode eight – January 30, 2025
• Episode nine – February 6, 2025
• Episode ten – February 13, 2025

How to watch Beast Games

The series is only available on Amazon Prime Video so fans will need a Prime Video subscription to tune in.

Prime Video plans start at $8.99 per month or $10.99 monthly for an ad-free version.

People who have Amazon’s full Prime membership will also be able to watch the series.

These plans start at $14.99 per month or $139 annually.

‘HALIEY Welch missing’ has been trending online since the internet sensation seemingly went underground following the dramatic collapse of her memecoin $HAWK.

While there is no suggestion that the “Hawk Tuah” star is actually missing, here we take a look at how this hoax spread and the truth behind the fiction.

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Haliey Welch hasn’t been seen online since her memecoin fiasco[/caption]

Where is Haliey Welch?

Haliey Welch, the internet sensation behind the viral “Hawk Tuah” catchphrase, has mysteriously vanished from the public eye following the collapse of her memecoin $HAWK.

It collapsed from almost $500 million to below $60 million shortly after its launch on December 4, 2024, wiping out the investments of a large number of Haliey‘s fans.

It has been described by critics as a “one-day pump and dump”.

The last episode of her popular podcast “Talk Tuah” aired on December 3, and since then, Haliey has gone completely silent.

Her sudden ‘disappearance’ has left millions of fans puzzled and concerned, especially given the timing of her vanishing act.

Rise to fame

Haliey‘s meteoric rise to fame began with a viral video featuring her “Hawk Tuah” catchphrase.

Capitalizing on her newfound popularity, she quickly expanded her brand, launching merchandise and a weekly podcast that topped Spotify charts.

Her success seemed unstoppable until the launch of her own cryptocurrency, the $HAWK memecoin, on December 4.

Memecoin launch & collapse

Initially, the $HAWK coin appeared to be another triumph for Haliey, with its value skyrocketing and reaching a market cap of hundreds of millions of dollars within minutes of its launch.

However, this success was short-lived — the coin’s value plummeted just as quickly as it had risen, wiping out the investments of numerous fans who had bought into the hype.

This led to speculation that insiders had dumped their tokens, profiting from the crash while leaving regular investors to bear the losses.

Haliey’s ‘final appearance’

Haliey’s attempt to address the controversy only deepened the mystery surrounding her subsequent ‘disappearance’ from the spotlight.

On December 5, the day after her coin crashed, during a live audio stream on X/Twitter with her $HAWK partners at OverHere, who helped Haliey launch the memecoin, she made the briefest of appearances.

She interrupted the conversation, saying: “Hey guys! I hate to interrupt you, Nick, but hello there.

“Anywho, I’m gonna go to bed and I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

I have no sympathy for people who trusted the ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl for financial advice

online commenterX/Twitter

She then abruptly left and has not surfaced in the public eye since, leading to the ‘missing’ hoax and jokes about her possible whereabouts.

Reaction

Haliey’s sudden exit from the public eye has sparked a range of reactions online.

One commenter called it a “career-ending move.”

Others have taken a more lighthearted approach, jokingly referring to her as “Sleeping Beauty”.

But there seems to be online consensus over those foolhardy enough to invest in Haliey’s currency.

TikTok/ iamdlaney

The internet sensation behind the viral “Hawk Tuah” catchphrase has mysteriously vanished from the public eye[/caption]

One joked: “I thought this BJ coin was certainly going to be the next global reserve currency.”

While another said: “I have no sympathy for people who trusted the ‘Hawk Tuah’ girl for financial advice.”

And a third added: “She really screwed them hard!”

Legal implications

The aftermath of the $HAWK memecoin collapse has been chaotic.

Her crypto partners have made public statements attempting to shift blame onto Alex Larson Schultz, known as “Doc Hollywood”.

They allege that he was responsible for key decisions related to the coin, including token distribution and financial management.

Investors who lost money in the $HAWK collapse filed a lawsuit on December 7, accusing the creators of selling unregistered securities.

Haliey hasn’t yet publicly commented on the memecoin crash or the ongoing lawsuit.

NETFLIX has agreed a historic deal to broadcast the next Women’s World Cup in the United States.

The global streaming giant has also been granted the rights to the 2031 tournament.

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Netflix has secured the rights for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups[/caption]

An official statement from FIFA read: “The historic deal will provide US-based fans with unparalleled access to every match live and to immersive coverage, including star-studded studio shows in what is set to be an unprecedented celebration of the women’s game.”

Major tournaments such as the World Cup are traditionally broadcast on free-to-air public networks in order to maximise audience reach.

However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino previously criticised broadcasters – especially in Europe – for undervaluing the right to broadcast the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

On Friday, Infantino said: “This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the global women’s game.”

FIFA will likely use the Netflix deal to drive talks with European broadcasters.

ITV and the BBC have shared the rights to the tournament in recent years.

Meanwhile, FOX broadcast the World Cup across the US last year.

The 2027 tournament will take place in Brazil from June to July and is set to involve 32 teams.

Spain are the reigning champions, having defeated England in the 2023 final.

Netflix dipped into live sports last month by showcasing the blockbuster boxing bout between YouTuber Jake Paul and heavyweight legend Mike Tyson at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.

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TYSON FURY, a boxing historian, is aware the record book shows he has less than an even-money shot at regaining his world title from Oleksandr Usyk.

Fellow heavyweights Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis achieved it in fights straight after being dethroned.

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Tyson Fury is set to do battle with Oleksandr Usyk once again on Saturday night[/caption]

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Muhammad Ali famously took on Sonny Liston[/caption]

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Mike Tyson’s rematch with Evander Holyfield went down in infamy[/caption]

But Patterson was also among the failures — along with Mike Tyson, Larry Holmes, Deontay Wilder and Jack Dempsey.

Movie sequels are rarely as good as the originals but where the world heavyweight title is concerned, some of the return battles have been sensational.

If Fury and Usyk provide the same edge-of-the-seat excitement — and controversy — when they meet again, it will captivate fans.

It’s not difficult to pick out the most scandalous, outrageous and unforgettable clash since the first champion John L Sullivan laced on his gloves 135 years ago.

Evander Holyfield defied the odds in 1996 and stopped Tyson in 11 rounds to lift the WBA belt.

They met again in the same Las Vegas ring seven months later in the hideous Bite Fight.

That nauseating image of Tyson chewing an inch of flesh out of Holyfield’s right ear, and spitting it on the canvas, is still fresh in my mind.

Disqualified by referee Mills Lane, Mike claimed he did it in frustration because Holyfield had been head-butting him.

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It cost him a $3million fine and 12-month ban — and he never ruled the division again.

Just as contentious was what occurred in Maine in May 1965, 14 months after Cassius Clay did the unthinkable by stopping Sonny Liston to become champ.

When they met again, Clay had changed his name to Muhammad Ali and Liston was favourite to crush the Louisville Lip.

But that opening round left the 4,000-strong crowd shocked and bewildered. An innocuous Ali right cross clipped Liston and left him lying on his back.

Ali stood over him yelling “Get up Sucker” — and it became known as the Phantom Punch.

New York sports writer Jimmy Cannon wrote that the punch “couldn’t have crushed a grape”.

Liston eventually got to his feet but referee Jersey Joe Walcott stopped the fight after two minutes and declared Ali the winner.

Because of Liston’s long links to the Mob and doubts over that punch, arguments rage to this day about the fight being fixed.

ALI vs SPINKS

Roll on thirteen years to Las Vegas, Ali barely bothered to train when challenged by Olympic gold medallist Leon Spinks having only his eighth pro fight.

Astonishingly Spinks deservedly beat him on points.

Seven months later in New Orleans Ali reversed the points decision and, for the third time, was top of the world.

DEMPSEY vs TUNNEY

Mention the Long Count and any student of the Noble Art will know what you are talking about.

Jack Dempsey, having lost his title to Gene Tunney in 1926, tried to get it back a year later.

Dempsey floored Tunney in the seventh but didn’t obey the referee’s command to go to a neutral corner.

It meant Tunney was on the canvas for about 14 seconds before getting up — and those extra seconds enabled him to recover and repeat another points win. Dempsey never fought again.

PATTERSON vs JOHANSSON

In June 1960, Patterson KO’d Ingemar Johansson to become the first man to regain the heavyweight world title.

It was sweet revenge for losing to Johansson the first time.

PATTERSON vs LISTON

But two years later, Patterson was KO’d by Liston in just 126 seconds of the first round.

Patterson, bidding to win back the title for a second time ten months later, lasted only four seconds longer against him.

HOLMES vs SPINKS

Larry Holmes had reigned for seven years and was expected to beat Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record.

But in September 1985, Michael Spinks became the first world light-heavyweight champ to win boxing’s richest prize when he outpointed Holmes over 15 rounds.

Spinks repeated his triumph seven months later.

FURY vs WILDER

Wilder, despite picking himself off the floor twice and putting Fury down twice, found the Gypsy King too good.

He suffered an 11-round KO in his bid to resurrect his title, in the third fight of their trilogy.

LEWIS vs RAHMAN

In April 2001, Lennox Lewis paid the price for not preparing properly to fight at Johannesburg’s 5,500ft altitude.

And 20-1 outsider Hasim Rahman flattened him in five rounds to score one of the greatest heavyweight upsets.

He had to take Rahman to court to force him to honour the return fight clause in the deal.

Rahman’s eminence lasted just seven months — Lewis joined the short list of regainers by knocking him out in the seventh round in Las Vegas.

It’s highly unlikely there will be any ear-biting, disqualifications, long counts or Phantom Punches in Riyadh on Saturday night.

Instead, let’s hope Fury and Usyk’s fight will be a memorable, quality contest with no disputes whoever is named winner.

Fury vs Usyk 2: Ring walk time, TV channels and undercard – all you need to know for big rematch

HEARTWARMING footage shows the moment Charles joked “I’m still alive” after he was asked about his health during his final engagement before Christmas.

Charles and Camilla met with local community volunteers, young people, emergency services, and faith representatives, at Waltham Forest Town Hall, north London.

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King Charles with Harvinder Rattan today[/caption]

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The monarch waved towards well-wishers as he arrives in Fellowship Square to attend a reception at Waltham Forest Town Hall[/caption]

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Caroline Akuffo shows Britain’s King Charles an old photo of them meeting in Japan in 1970[/caption]

Sikh faith representative, Harvinder Rattan, said: “Your Majesty, good morning, how are you?”

The King, 76, smiled and jokingly replied: “I’m still alive.”

It comes as it was confirmed King Charles‘s cancer treatment will be ongoing in the New Year.

Charles and Camillla will meet locals at a reception where refreshments were provided by Havens Café, whose owner Usman Khalid is a former asylum seeker who now trains refugees to be baristas.

Charles spoke to Usman and said his coffee “looks good.”

Camilla handed two bags of Buckingham Palace teddy bears to community group Citizens UK who will donate the toys to local children.

George Gaillett, community organiser at Citizens UK, said afterwards: “The Queen said ‘we hope you can distribute this and they can go to the right people’.”

Alexandra Martinelli-Kinmouth, of charity The Together Space, made the King a cup of tea.

She said afterwards: “I said to him I hope it’s not too cold and spoke about my charity.

“He smiled and said he hoped it had some honey in, which it did.”

The donated food to Tracey Rogers, of Highams Park Hub, to be handed out at a food bank.

Tracey said afterwards: “I went to the Coronation and told him the atmosphere was absolutely phenomenal.”

Monwara Ali, CEO of Waltham Forest Community Hub, gave the King a high-five.

She said afterwards: “It’s important that our generation, particularly those in leadership roles, need to engage with the younger generation; it’s part of our succession plan.

“He was happy to do it and the fact he agreed was amazing.”

Outside, the King enjoyed a rendition by A Little Choir of Joy, a children’s choir made up of 8 to 12 year-olds from across schools in the borough.

He went to speak to the youngsters and said: “I hope you have a Happy Christmas. And also to your poor teachers.”

The King went to speak to dozens of well-wishers who turned out while the Queen waited in the car as it was too cold.

Caroline Akuffo, 77, showed the King a black and white photo she had kept framed on her wall from a meeting in Osaka, Japan, in 1970.

She said: “It was a trade fair. He came to the pavilion and I remember shaking his hands and they were so soft it was like holding cotton wool.

“He was so happy to see the photo and said I was wearing a lovely dress.”

Thousands of residents in Waltham Forest held a peaceful anti-racism protest following the nationwide disorder after the stabbing of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed party in Southport.

Waltham Forest was officially recognised as a Borough of Sanctuary by the national charity City of Sanctuary in December 2023.

It is the final royal engagement before the King and Queen take a Christmas break.

It comes after news that King Charles’ cancer treatment will reportedly continue into next year.

The King’s recovery is “moving in a positive direction” but is still ongoing, Sky News reports.

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The King spoke with Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader of Borough Waltham Forest[/caption]

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King Charles III meets members of local community as he leaves Waltham Forest Town Hall[/caption]

A CHRISTMAS-THEMED plushie has gone viral after a shopper spotted the ‘ugly’ creature at CVS.

A shopper named Devin, who goes by the pronouns they/them, claimed that they ‘cried’ when they found the soft toy.

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Met Cookie – this year’s new holiday symbol[/caption]

Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images - AFP - Getty

The festive-themed plushie has gone viral after a CVS shopper spotted the ‘ugly’ creature and was left ‘crying’, but still bought it[/caption]

Devin, who has 29.k followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, took to the social media site to share a snap of their purchase, leaving many open-mouthed.

It’s this year’s new holiday symbol – as the festive-themed gingerbread man is selling out fast. 

Alongside a picture of the gingerbread Ty plush toy, which has now become a holiday sensation after going viral online, Devin kicked off the cookie-craze and penned: “Saw this guy and said Ew ew ew ew ew ew ugly and then felt so bad I cried and bought him.”

Devin bought the gingerbread plushie, dubbed Cookie, which has signature Beanie Baby bright blue eyes, a large red nose and a big smile.

The toy’s round face has a frosting border as well as around its hands and feet and on Cookie’s stomach are two buttons in green and yellow.

The shopper later wrote: “Some things to note: his name is Cookie on the tag.

“I actually did cry.”

Devin, who found Cookie in their local CVS, also added: “You have to believe me he was hanging on one of those peg stands and he looked so freakish it was scary.”

The keyring Cookie retails at $3.99 on the Ty website. 

Meanwhile, the larger version, Nutmeg, is priced at $5.99.

Whilst other X users shared pictures of their gingerbread plushies, Devin recognized: “Mine looks a bit messed up.” 

X users were left divided by the soft toy – and many were keen to share their thoughts in response to Devin’s tweet. 

One person said: “He is not ugly….. say sorry.”

To this, Devin replied and claimed: “I apologized over and over when I started crying.”

He is ugly but at least he has got a home now

X user

Another added: “I think it’s just the nose because if you cover it up, he doesn’t look that bad.”

A third commented: “Well sure he is ugly but at least he has got a home now.” 

Whilst another chimed in: “It is indeed ugly.” 

At the same time, someone else penned: “Just so you know I woke up from a bad dream and immediately looked up this post so he can cheer me up and it’s working.” 

He looked so freakish it was scary

Devin

Meanwhile, another user claimed: “My cats love these fellows.”

The untraditional Ty toy has become a hit with many and is now selling out in numerous stores. 

Devin’s love of the adorable plush toy spurred a rush of people trying to find and purchase the toy too – resulting in the keyring version selling out on the Ty website.

Even Ty took to X and confirmed: “Cookie has sold out.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reaffirmed his commitment to the Armed Forces of the Philippines amid evolving challenges to the country’s national security.

There are no plans yet to demonetize current Philippine currency bills bearing the faces of heroes and former presidents, according to the central bank.

Magnolia has regained its winning ways in the 2024-25 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Singer Gary Valenciano performed in front of fans in his concert at the Araneta Coliseum despite battling an illness.