A Woman's Family Thought They Were Celebrating Her Birthday. She Snuck Life-Changing News on Her Own Cake (Exclusive)

A Woman's Family Thought They Were Celebrating Her Birthday. She Snuck Life-Changing News on Her Own Cake (Exclusive)

Rachel Miller A woman surprised her family by sneaking a message with exciting news on top of her own birthday cake Rachel Miller recorded her family members' reactions when she and her husband Ben revealed the announcement "We wanted to tell the parents in a special way, but couldn't figure out the best way to do it," she tells PEOPLE A woman managed to make a cheerfulbirthday celebrationeven more joyous when she hid a special message on her owncake. Rachel Miller and her husband Ben, both 31, learned they were expecting their first baby in December 2024. When the time came for the pair to announce their exciting news, Rachel, who works as producer and director and makes videos in her spare time, knew she wanted to record the moment she revealed her pregnancy — and when inspiration struck, she ran with it. "We wanted to tell the parents in a special way, but couldn't figure out the best way to do it. And so I decided, my birthday's coming up, so nobody would expect it if we turned my birthday into the announcement," Rachel tells PEOPLE. The couple, who is based in Orlando, Fla., stopped by a Publix grocery store and asked an employee to write "We're Pregnant" on a cake, which they then brought to Rachel's birthday celebration. "It was super easy," says Rachel, who also runs a travelInstagramaccount where she and Ben post content from their trips around the globe. https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cu Tucking the cake into the back of the fridge behind the food, where "nobody was peeking," Rachel even pretended to drink alcohol, appearing to sip seltzer out of an empty can to "fool" her mother-in-law, to make the reveal even more of a surprise. When the time for the big announcement came, Ben walked into a room holding the birthday cake, which he then set down on the table. For a few seconds, nobody seemed to notice the message written in red frosting on top, but their faces quickly changed once they realized what it said. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Rachel Miller Rachel tells PEOPLE her loved ones were "happy and grateful" after the pregnancy reveal. "They knew we were trying, but they didn't want to ask every time they came over," she says. When it was time to reveal the news, Rachel recalls that she was excited, but right before, her hands couldn't stop shaking, and she was sweating. Rachel Miller Rachel and Ben's baby boy Camden was born on April 24. His name has a special meaning linked to the pair's love of travel. A couple of years ago, Rachel and Ben took a 102-mile hike through England on the Cotswold Way, which began in a town called Chipping Campden. "We loved that trip, and we think about it all the time, and it made sense. As soon as we thought about it, we knew that was the name," Rachel tells PEOPLE of choosing her son's moniker. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. These days, Rachel says her son "mostly just eats and sleeps," but she adds, "We hope to turn him into a traveler like us." While his parents most recently traveled to Guatemala, when Camden is old enough, Rachel and Ben hope to take him to England to ride narrowboats down the canals. Rachel Miller Rachel says she has also loved watching her husband interact with their son, explaining, "You don't know you're missing that part of your relationship until you become a parent, and then you see somebody you've been doing life with, just love someone so much." Ben and Rachel plan to continue posting moments from their life with Camden on social media. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Rachel Miller "We're okay with documenting things just because that's kind of how we have a scrapbook of our life, making videos and sharing that. Really, how that started is we were sharing our life with our family, and then more people just found it," she says. The new mom, who previously shared videos throughout her pregnancy about her experience with gestational diabetes, adds that her goal is "to be educational" — not an influencer. "That's not what we're looking to do. We're just having fun and sharing that with the world," Rachel explains. Read the original article onPeople

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

A Woman's Family Thought They Were Celebrating Her Birthday. She Snuck Life-Changing News on Her Own Cake (Exclusive)

A Woman's Family Thought They Were Celebrating Her Birthday. She Snuck Life-Changing News on Her Own Cake (Exclusive) Rachel Miller A wo...

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Controversial Comedian Purchases 'One of the Most Prominent Properties in Paranormal History'

Controversial Comedian Purchases 'One of the Most Prominent Properties in Paranormal History'

Controversial Comedian Purchases 'One of the Most Prominent Properties in Paranormal History'originally appeared onParade. Matt Rife, a comedian with a history of controversy surrounding him, announced on Friday, Aug. 1, that he, along with YouTuberElton Castee, has purchased "one of the most prominent properties in paranormal history:"EdandLorraine Warren'shome and Occult Museum. According to the polarizing figure—who faced massive backlash back in 2023 for a joke about domestic violence—revealed that he's become "the legal guardian for at least the next 5 years" of all of the reportedly haunted paraphernalia housed in the Warrens' museum, includingthe infamous Annabelle dollmade famous inThe Conjuringseries. "If you know me, you know I'm obsessed with the paranormal and all things haunted," he shared with his followers alongside several photos from his new property. "You also may know The Conjuring films are my favorite scary movies of all time. So I'm incredibly honored to have taken over one of the most prominent properties in paranormal history." "Ed and Lorain Warren arguably put demonology and paranormal into the mainstream and are the very heart of some of the most famous haunted stories of all time," he continued, revealing that the pair plans to "open the house for overnight stays and museum tours" so any other fans of the occult "can experience and learn all the haunted history surrounding this amazing place." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Matt Rife (@mattrife) Fans weren't all as excited as the pair, with one quipping, "RIP buddy. It's been nice knowing ya 😂," and another writing, "I do not claim any negative energy from this post." It's certainly an interesting new career venture for the stand-up, but fans seem to be on board—or at least interested in seeing how it all plays out—as long as the pair are "extra cautious with the home" and take the legacy of the place seriously. Related: 'Law & Order: SVU' Star 'Scared' Fans With Photo From 'First Scene' of New Season: 'Had Me Nervous' Controversial Comedian Purchases 'One of the Most Prominent Properties in Paranormal History'first appeared on Parade on Aug 2, 2025 This story was originally reported byParadeon Aug 2, 2025, where it first appeared.

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

Controversial Comedian Purchases 'One of the Most Prominent Properties in Paranormal History'

Controversial Comedian Purchases 'One of the Most Prominent Properties in Paranormal History' Controversial Comedian Purchases '...

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Has Trump made it harder to become a doctor or lawyer?

Has Trump made it harder to become a doctor or lawyer?

Dalea Tran has dreamed of law school for years, but she's never known how she might pay for it. Unlikemany aspiring lawyers, she wouldn't be following in her parents' footsteps. An accountant and a hair stylist, they arrived in San Diego with their families as child refugees from Vietnam. Tran, a 19-year-old rising sophomore at the University of California, San Diego, knew if she decided to go to law school, she'd have to work her way through amazeofstudent loansandfinancial aid packages. For people like her, navigating that maze justbecame far more challenging. Major changes are coming to higher education in the United States after PresidentDonald Trumpsigned hismajor domestic policy billinto law. Among them is an end toGrad PLUS loans, a program that helps people pay for medical school and law school. Since Congress created the loans, direct from the federal government, in 2006, they have covered the full cost of attending graduate and professional school fornearly 2 million students. Beginning July 1, 2026, that won't be an option anymore. Trump's tax and spending law will eliminate the Grad PLUS program for new borrowers (students who take out loans before that date will be grandfathered in for up to three years). The measure imposes new borrowing caps – $50,000 annually and $200,000 overall – on the amount of federal direct loans students can take out for degrees in law and medicine. And it limits their repayment options after they graduate. Read more:Trump just made it harder to close the Education Department All those technicalities mean that some students like Tran may have fewer options for law school or medical school – or could be steered down a different career path altogether. "There's no way I can graduate early enough to avoid the Grad PLUS change," she said. The reforms represent the culmination of years of conservative efforts to rein in student lending. However, there has been bipartisan consensus about the causes of the underlying problem Republicans are trying to solve. Left-leaning groups and policymakers have also beenhighlycriticalin recent years of the crippling debt that some graduate programs impose on students. Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a doctor from Louisiana and chairman of the Senate education committee, said the new legislation will put a stop to a vicious cycle that has kept college costs too high. "The increasing availability of federal loans has resulted in skyrocketing tuition prices, trapping students in a cycle of overwhelming debt that they can't pay back," he said in a statement to USA TODAY. "By capping inflationary graduate loan programs, we prevent students from overborrowing and put downward pressure on rising college costs." Read more:Is grad school worth the investment? Our exclusive data shows some surprising answers. In 2024, the average annual law school tuition at a private university was nearly $60,000, according to American Bar Association dataanalyzed by the Law School Admission Council. For in-state residents attending public institutions, it was roughly $32,000. It's hard to know exactly how the loan limits will impact law schools, said Austen Parrish, dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. It's likely, in his view, that higher-ranked, more expensive schools will enroll a greater number of wealthy students who won't be as reliant on loans. Other, less privileged students may have to trade prestige for cost, he said. "You're going to see students having to make difficult decisions," he said. Watching from north-central Montana as Congress passed Trump's spending bill, Julianna Lindquist was happy she started medical school when she did. The 23-year-old, originally from Connecticut, is in her second year at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Montana. (Of the two types of medical schools, osteopathic programs are the less-common version; their coursework is similar to that of other medical schools, but instead emphasizes amore holistic approachto patient care.) This semester, Lindquist is taking out the full amount of Grad PLUS loans she's eligible for – roughly $24,000. "I would not be anywhere without student loans," she said. "There's financial aid, but it's not enough." About half of all medical students rely on the Grad PLUS program, borrowing more than $1 billion annually, according to theAssociation of American Medical Colleges. Graduates of osteopathic schools, the vast majority of which take on Grad PLUS loans, often go onto serve rural areas or become primary care providers. With federal support disappearing, it'll be up to the private lending market to make up the difference, said Jane Carreiro, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of New England in Portland, Maine. "How are students going to navigate that?" she said. "That's a question that we're all asking." Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Why it just got harder to become a doctor or lawyer

byAlpha World

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August 02, 2025

Has Trump made it harder to become a doctor or lawyer?

Has Trump made it harder to become a doctor or lawyer? Dalea Tran has dreamed of law school for years, but she's never known how she mig...

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No more GI Joe trucks: Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle

No more GI Joe trucks: Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle

WASHINGTON – The Army is swapping an icon – the 40-year-old Humvee – for a lighter, faster, cheaper truck designed for future battlefields. The Infantry Squad Vehicle, more dune buggy than armored truck, is one of the most visible signs of the Army's transition from Cold War-era equipment that has defined it for generations. The grinding insurgencies that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union demanded more and more armor to protect troops from roadside bombs. In their place: a range of vehicles and drones that can be fielded quickly, and, in many cases, with commercial, off-the-shelf technology. "The Humvee is the quintessential G.I. Joe vehicle," said Alex Miller, the chief technical adviser to Army leadership for transforming its equipment. "It is the quintessential Army vehicle we've had in the inventory since 1985. So, 40 years of Humvee. It was good for what it was built for, which was high mobility at the time. It is not good for the fight we think we're going to be in." That fight, to Pentagon officials like Miller, likely involves China and will require speed and agility to survive. Battles will also almost certainly resemble the combat sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lethal drones have turned slow-moving trucks and even tanks into death traps. Enter the Infantry Squad Vehicle. It's basically a stretched-out, stripped-down all-terrain vehicle without doors or a roof with seating for as many as nine soldiers. The Army plans to equip its light infantry units with the trucks, along with hundreds of drones to spy on and attack enemies. During World War II and for most of the 40 years that followed, the olive-drab Jeep became synonymous with the Army. The small, rugged truck crossed over into civilian use and is the ancestor of the off-road vehicles and SUVs that patrol suburbs and ferry kids to the frontlines of soccer games. The High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle, better known as the Humvee, had another 40-year run as the Army's workhorse truck beginning in 1985. The Pentagon bought more than 300,000 Humvees, and nearly 100,000 remain in service. Soldiers have driven them in operations from Afghanistan to Alaska. More versatile than a Jeep, the Humvee offered multiple versions, including one that could hunt and destroy a tank with a missile. They gained infamy, though, in Iraq and Afghanistan, where insurgents relentlessly attacked their chief vulnerability: a flat bottom made of aluminum easily shredded by explosives buried in roads.Improvised explosive devices, IEDs, became the number one killer of U.S. troops in both wars. The Pentagon, underDefense Secretary Robert Gates, made replacing the Humvee the military's top priority during the George W. Bush administration. The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, a heavy truck with a V-shaped hull that deflected the blast from bombs, saved the lives and limbs of thousands of troops. In 2012, then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carterreleased datato USA TODAY on the effectiveness of MRAPs in IED attacks. "You are between nine and 14 times less likely to be killed if you were in an MRAP than if you were in a Humvee," Carter said. But the protection the MRAP offered came at the cost of speed and agility. The Pentagon bought smaller, armored trucks such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Though nimbler than MRAPs, JLTV's bulk meant it couldn't be sped to battlefields. Thousands of pounds lighter and $80,000 cheaper than the Humvee, the Infantry Squad Vehicle is based on the Chevrolet Colorado truck built in Missouri. It's basically the same truck that consumers can buy at a local dealership. Only about 20% of the Infantry Squad Vehicle's components, including communication and electronic gear, are unique to the Army. That's a key difference compared to trucks such as Humvees and JLTVs, which were custom-built for the military. "You can repair it anywhere on earth as long as you have access to commercial parts rather than a special military vehicle with special military parts," said Miller, the Army's top technical adviser. Some Pentagon officials, however, acknowledge that the tradeoff for speed and expense is losing the armor that saved lives and limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Infantry Squad Vehicle represents the Army's latest assessment of what soldiers will need for the next war. The new drones and robots accompanying the truck can be sent ahead of it to help soldiers avoid ambushes. Speed, not armor, is what will save soldiers' lives in the next fight, Miller said. "The longer you sit and the slower you are, the easier it is to kill you," he said. The Infantry Squad Vehicle represents the Army's best guess, based on decades of combat experience, of what will work best for future combat, according to a senior Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The vehicle isn't meant to withstand an attack, the official said. It's designed to whisk soldiers within a few miles of the frontline and allow them to walk a short distance to the fight. If the Army gets drawn back into a bloody, urban fight with IEDs? We'll buy something else, the official said. Michael O'Hanlon, a national security expert at the Brookings Institution, counts himself a skeptic of the ISV. He recalled that 20 years ago, the Army sank billions into what it called Future Combat Systems. The initiative was intended to replace Abrams tanks and Bradley Infantry Fighting vehicles with a fleet of manned and unmanned systems. It failed. "Worked great on Powerpoint," O'Hanlon said. "But the technology wasn't there then (to find everything before it exploded or impacted) and it still isn't.  Like Muhammad Ali said, 'I'll float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.'  Except the technology may not deliver. "They had to cut something but I'm wary about this choice." Soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division were among the first in the Army to drive the trucks. Many swear by it. Its light weight, relative to a Humvee, means the Infantry Squad Vehicle can be carried by a Black Hawk helicopter for a short distance with a sling. A twin-rotor Chinook helicopter can carry two of the trucks inside its cargo bay for a greater distance. A Humvee's weight requires a Chinook, and then just one can be carried in a sling. On the ground, the Infantry Squad Vehicle is faster than a Humvee and more fuel-efficient. Speed helps infantry soldiers keep pace with armored units traveling to war, said Col. Trevor Voelkel, who commands the 1st Mobile Brigade Combat Team for the 101st Airborne Division. Voelkel's brigade tested new equipment, including about 200 of the trucks, at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk in Louisiana in May. "We're getting back to our original concept of the Humvee," Voelkel said. "But with a newer, lighter, more commercial vehicle that's going to be easier to repair, cheaper to repair." William Melko, a 1st sergeant in Voelkel's brigade, had experience driving other Army trucks in Afghanistan. None of them, he said, gave his soldiers a better view of potential threats around them. It's easier to drive, too, especially for younger soldiers. "The best way that I can describe it is like a normal pickup," Melko said. Last year, after Hurricane Helene swamped the southeast, Lt. Col. Jonathan Nielsen commanded a battalion of the 101st that responded to the flooding in North Carolina. His soldiers drove Infantry Squad Vehicles on damaged roads inaccessible to a Humvee, he said. The trucks also maneuvered through city streets better than Humvees. "ISV is going to be an iconic vehicle," Nielsen said. Contributing: Ramon Padilla, Graphics This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Army's replacement for the iconic Humvee is faster, cheaper and lighter

byAlpha World

in

August 02, 2025

No more GI Joe trucks: Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle

No more GI Joe trucks: Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle WASHINGTON – The Army is swapping an icon – the 40-year-old Hu...

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Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025

Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025

Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025originally appeared onParade. If you're stuck on today's Wordle answer, we're here to help—but beware of spoilers for Wordle #1505 ahead.Let's start with a few hints. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 There are three vowels out of the five letters in the word today. Today's Wordle begins with a consonant. No, there are no double letters in today's Wordle. Synonyms to this word would be "intimidate" or "ruffle." OK, that's it for hints—I don't want to totally give it away before revealing the answer!Related:16 Games Like Wordle To Give You Your Word Game Fix More Than Once Every 24 HoursWe'll have the answer below this friendly reminder ofhow to play the game.SPOILERS BELOW—do not scroll any further if you don't want the answer revealed. Today's Wordle answer on Saturday, August 22, 2025, isDAUNT.How'd you do? Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025first appeared on Parade on Aug 2, 2025 This story was originally reported byParadeon Aug 2, 2025, where it first appeared.

byAlpha World

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August 02, 2025

Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025

Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025 Today's Wordle Hint, Answer for #1505 on Saturday, August 2, 2025o...

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