The best ‘Doctor Who’ themed gifts for 2018

Doctor Who fans are especially hard to shop for.

Like many franchises, Doctor Who has a plethora of official and unofficial material that directly relates to the show — Blu-rays, comics, books, audio adventures, and more — but in the case of Doctor Who, there’s just so much of it. The show has had 55 years to build itself, which is wondrous, but as a gift-giver, you can pretty much toss all of that out since you never know what they already have.

However, Who also has an advantage: The show renews itself every few years, creating a ton more new merchandise in the process. And this past year has been a doozy, with Jodie Whittaker taking over as the Doctor, the first woman in the title role. That means a lot more interest, and plenty of new merchandise.

Still, you need to be selective. For this list, we did our best to provide a selection of Who-themed gifts that were least likely for a fan to already own, and if they did, there would be little to no complaints about receiving an extra.

Here are some great — and reliable — holiday gifts for Doctor Who fans new and old in 2018:

1. Doctor Who Barbie Doll: The Thirteenth Doctor

There's an official Doctor Who Barbie doll. — There’s an official Doctor Who Barbie doll.

Whatever you may think of Barbie, there’s no question she’s a cultural institution for young girls, so it makes complete sense that the BBC would partner with Mattel to create an official Barbie version of the 13th Doctor, complete with Whittaker’s signature bob. The coat, rainbow shirt, and sonic screwdriver are spot-on, too. The doll doesn’t debut until Dec. 16, so it’s a fairly safe bet the fan on your list doesn’t have it yet.

Price: $49.99 at Mattel

2. Kurt Adler mini ornament set

A Doctor Who fan’s Christmas tree isn’t complete without various monsters from the show, and this set definitely has those, comprising a Dalek, Cyberman, Adipose, and Weeping Angel. The monster gallery is a few years old now, but the price is Secret Santa-friendly, and no Whovian ever complained about having too many Doctor Who-themed Christmas ornaments.

Price: $11.12 at Amazon

3. TARDIS holiday figure

This TARDIS holiday figure looks delicious!

Ornaments aren’t just for trees — spread your Doctor Who-themed Christmas spirit around the house with this cute mini TARDIS adorned with holiday decorations. The layer of snow and wreath on the door look so cookie-perfect your party guests will wonder if gingerbread comes in blue.

Price: $14.98 at BBC Shop

4. 13th Doctor sonic screwdriver

No fan's sonic screwdriver collection is complete without the 13th Doctor's model. — No fan’s sonic screwdriver collection is complete without the 13th Doctor’s model.

Jodie Whittaker already has many firsts under her belt, one of them being the playing first Doctor that builds her own sonic screwdriver onscreen. If that challenge sounds a little above your skill level, the BBC sells a very good replica, complete with authentic lights and sounds from the show. Constant state of crisis not included.

Price: $29.98 at BBC Shop

5. Mr. Men: Dr. Thirteenth

The popular Doctor Who Mr. Men books are great fun for kids and adults alike, and collectors will love extending the collection with the latest volume, which adds Whittaker’s Doctor to the mix. Though she’s neither a mister or a man, Doctor Thirteenth is definitely ready to be as excitable and fun as any of her predecessors.

Price: $5.99 at Amazon

6. ‘She is the Doctor’ coffee mug

That's one reassuring cup of Doctor Who coffee. — That’s one reassuring cup of Doctor Who coffee.

Indeed she is! Even if you’re not a female superfan who could use a well-deserved latte after finishing your PhD, this mug will showcase your appreciation for the Whittaker’s status as the first female Doctor in the show’s history.

Price: $11.77 at Etsy

7. TARDIS console motion light

Did you get this light for you or for your cat?

Lava lamps go in and out of style depending on the current taste of retro culture, but this TARDIS-ified take on the idea is definitely more timeless. If the funky lights from the central tube don’t start a conversation, the classic TARDIS console styling of the exterior will. The true fan won’t mind having one of these in every room.

Price: $57.99 at Amazon

8. Doctor Who socks

You can never have too many socks, Doctor Who fans included!

If there’s one thing you need to go adventuring with the Doctor, it’s plenty of clean socks. From running through alien forests to wading knee-deep through trouble on a daily basis, being part of the TARDIS crew can be hard on your footwear, so fans will definitely appreciate these cleverly designed Who-themed socks helping fill their drawers.

Price: $14.95 at Amazon

9. 13th Doctor Crystal TARDIS

The 13th Doctor gets her own crystal TARDIS.

A favorite decoration of the Capaldi era gets a makeover for Whittaker’s Doctor: Her ghostly figure subtly occupies this crystal reproduction of the TARDIS, but it really comes alive when you switch on the blue LED in the stand (complete with the updated logo), which turns a dark room into an alien world. We’re pretty sure it’s Metebelis 3.

Price: $99.98 at BBC Shop

10. Loungefly Doctor Who chibi duffle bag

There’s no shortage of cute interpretations of Doctor Who, but the chibi-style characters on this Loungefly bag are definitely one of the most adorbs. At 10 x 7 x 7.5 inches, it’s generously sized for a handbag, making it all the better to store sonic screwdrivers, psychic paper, and TARDIS keys that every adventurer needs. The detachable crossbody strap lets you drape it over your shoulder when you need hustle away from some Daleks.

Price: $64.98 at BBC Shop

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Facial recognition tech spreads to car rentals

Disclosure

Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work.

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By Sasha Lekach2018-12-12 02:53:51 UTC

Why take out your wallet and photo ID if a camera and software program can scan your face, verify your identity, and send you on your way in 30 seconds?

That’s what Hertz rental cars is asking with its new partnership with Clear, the biometric face and fingerprint scanning company you’ve seen at airport security checkpoints.

At the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport this month, you can check out and drive off in your rental car with just a scan of your face (or a fingerprint reading). The offer only applies, however, if you’re a Gold Plus Rewards program member who’s signed up for Clear. Instead of showing an ID, you just look up at the camera from the car window and after scanning your face it matches the images against the database where your info is already logged.

The Fast Lane service will expand to 40 other airport rental locations in the next six months.

Hertz and Clear executives emphasized in a phone call Tuesday how this was about speeding up the check-out process. Instead of a two-minute average exit time to leave with your rented vehicle, the scan brings it down to 30 seconds, a 75 percent reduction in time.

“Consumers expect less friction and more convenience,” Clear president Ken Cornick said.

“How it works, I don’t know, but I’m just glad it does,” a woman said in a testimonial video taken at the new check-out lanes last week.

It’s able to work so quickly because the software and cameras identifies you almost instantaneously. Ignorance around how it works, however, can be dangerous, especially if people don’t realize the unintended consequences of having their face or fingerprints trackable and potentially hackable.

“Biometrics are the best way to prove one’s identity,” Cornick said, adding that plastic ID cards are “outdated.”

The rental car scans come less than a week after Microsoft president Brad Smith warned about the dangers of facial recognition tech. Privacy issues — like situations recently seen in China with publicly shaming law-breakers — discrimination, and government misuse are all possibilities that stem from this convenience.

Granted, the Hertz use-case is fairly harmless. But that’s how it always starts. Live Nation started using face scanning at its venues earlier this year, in yet another situation ripe for abuse and misuse.

On iPhones the pervasive use of facial recognition is becoming mainstream and essentially priming a society for the tech in our everyday tools and devices. Even Facebook uses facial recognition to tag photos and posts.

But as Microsoft warned, “The facial recognition genie… is just emerging from the bottle,” and it might be driving off in a rented Ford Taurus.

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Flynn pleads with judge for no jail time

Michael Flynn’s attorneys asked a federal judge on Tuesday to spare the former Trump national security adviser any jail time because of his “extensive cooperation” with special counsel Robert Mueller.

In a 178-page sentencing memo, Flynn’s attorneys pleaded for leniency by citing their client’s “exceptional record of military service” and “his genuine contrition for the uncharacteristic error in judgment that brought him before this court.”

Story Continued Below

Flynn, who pleaded guilty last December to lying to the FBI during the early stages of its counterintelligence investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, should instead be sentenced to one year of probation with minimal supervision conditions and 200 hours of community service, his lawyers said.

The retired Army general, his lawyers added, has shown he has a “deep respect for the law, as reflected in his extensive cooperation with the government’s efforts to get to the truth and to enforce the laws.”

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan is scheduled to sentence Flynn on Dec. 18 for his guilty plea for making false statements to the FBI.

Mueller’s office last week highlighted Flynn’s cooperation — including 19 interviews with the special counsel and other Justice Department prosecutors — in their own memo suggesting that Flynn get little or no jail time for his behavior.

Adding new details to the extent of Flynn’s cooperation, his lawyers said he spent about 62 hours and 45 minutes meeting with the government. Flynn also produced thousands of documents for the Justice Department, including materials before he pleaded guilty dealing with his two security companies. He also made five additional document productions to the government after his plea agreement last December.

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Pelosi on verge of deal with rebels to reclaim speakership

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s newfound support would enable a host of incoming freshmen who campaigned against her on the trail to vote against her on the floor without sinking her speakership. | M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

Congress

A tentative term-limits agreement could deliver Pelosi the final votes she needs to be speaker.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is on the verge of a deal with Democratic rebels once intent on denying her the speakership, an accord that could deliver her the decisive votes needed to reclaim the gavel, according to multiple Democratic sources Tuesday.

The California Democrat and some of her fiercest party critics have tentatively agreed to limit her speakership to four years at most, these sources said. In return, several lawmakers who had vowed publicly to vote against Pelosi on the House floor in a critical Jan. 3 roll call, will instead back her ascent to the position she held eight years ago.

Story Continued Below

While the agreement was still being finalized Tuesday night, it could be unveiled as early as Wednesday morning. Both sides were haggling about the rollout of the deal rather than the substance of the terms, these sources said.

“It’s pretty much done,” a source with knowledge of the agreement said. “The issue is how do we wrap this up. What are the procedural steps that we need to get this done?”

Under the tentative terms of the deal, the top Democratic leaders would only be allowed to serve for three terms. If any leader wants to exceed that limit by one term, he or she would need a two-thirds majority in the Democratic caucus. They currently only need a simple majority to do so. After this time frame, the lawmaker would need to run for another position or vacate leadership altogether.

Under Pelosi’s agreement with rebels, the deal would be retroactive. That means Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) would already be entering their third term in leadership during the next Congress. They would need two-thirds approval from the caucus to serve beyond 2020 — and the longest they could remain in place in their current jobs is four years.

Pelosi has agreed to publicly support this deal, which would require a change to caucus rules, the sources said. Pelosi will whip to try to pass it inside the caucus, they continued. And should the caucus reject the agreement, she has promised to abide by it anyway.

“Ultimately their goal is to have a clear declaration for when Nancy Pelosi will exit,” the Democratic source said.

The agreement is expected to deliver Pelosi at least five rebel votes, which would almost certainly give Pelosi the support she needs to be speaker. Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) hammered out the final provisions with Pelosi in a 45-minute meeting Tuesday afternoon and will back the agreement. Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who organized a conference call Tuesday morning in which the rebels agreed on an offer the trio would later take to Pelosi, also will back the deal. So too will Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas), these sources said.

Until now, all five of these members have publicly opposed Pelosi, insisting that she would cost them the majority in 2020. Picking off these members would be a major coup for the leader.

Rebel supporters of the deal are also lobbying Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), though it is unclear if they will sign on to the agreement.

Pelosi’s newfound support will enable a host of incoming freshmen who campaigned against her on the trail to vote against her on the floor without sinking her speakership. In fact, that was a driving force behind the agreement, multiple Democratic rebel sources said.

The deal will likely cause serious tension in Democratic leadership, and, potentially, in the broader caucus. Hoyer, whose future in leadership would be jeopardized under this agreement, has made clear he wants no part of term limits.

“She’s not negotiating for me,” the Maryland Democrat told reporters at his own press conference.

Hoyer added: “I’m not for term limits. Is anybody confused? I am not for term limits. I … am … not … for … term … limits.”

In the Democratic Caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Perlmutter spoke in favor of term limits, focusing only on limits for leadership. Perlmutter and some Pelosi critics had also floated term limits for committee chairmen in recent days, but lawmakers agreed to postpone any action on that until next Congress at the earliest — in part because of a serious backlash to the chairmen term limits idea.

Following Perlmutter’s comments, however, a number of senior Democrats — including several who belong to the Congressional Black Caucus — criticized the proposal. There is a fear among some Democrats that term limits for leaders will open cause more probems than it resolves and eventually lead to chairmanship term limits they despise.

Opponents who spoke up against the idea included Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and David Scott (D-Ga.), said Democratic sources who attended the meeting. Pallone is slated to become chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee next year, while Waters will take over the top position at Financial Services.

The resistance to the idea of leadership term limits signifies the uphill battle Pelosi faces as she works to whip support for this idea. While she may be on the cusp of an accord with her fiercest critics, the agreement will not assure adoption of the rule.

That’s why the rebels have pushed for a commitment from Pelosi to leave her post even if the rule is rejected.

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Selena Quintanilla’s Family Is Bringing Her Life Story To Netflix

Arlene Richie/Media Sources/Media Sources/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images

Selena Quintanilla‘s celebrated life is once again getting the Hollywood treatment. Netflix and Campanario Entertainment have announced their upcoming scripted show, Selena: The Series, to be produced in part by the late Tejano superstar’s family.

“Selena will always have a lasting place in music history and we feel great responsibility to do justice to her memory. With this series, viewers will finally get the full history of Selena, our family, and the impact she has had on all of our lives,” Suzette Quintanilla, Selena’s sister, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Campanario and Netflix to give fans a never-before-seen glimpse at our story and highlight why Selena will remain a legend for generations to come.”

With over 65 million albums sold, Selena is the best-selling female artist in Latin music history, despite her early death at the age of 23. (The artist was murdered by her best friend Yolanda Saldivar in 1995. Saldivar is still serving life in prison.)

The coming-of-age story “will focus on the incredible story of a Mexican-American family and how an extraordinary young woman transcended categories and borders to become a global star,” Campanario president Jaime Davila said, referencing the career Selena built in the ’80s and early ’90s.

The icon’s life was previously shown on the big screen in 1997’s Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez in what is largely considered her breakout role. The well-received and beloved film has set a high bar for the upcoming series, and the excitement already has our hearts going “bidi bidi bom bom!”

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102-year-old woman may just be the oldest skydiver ever

This badass lady didn’t let her age stand in the way of a thrill.

Irene O’Shea became what seems to be the oldest person to skydive at 102 years old and 194 days. The previous oldest skydiver, according to news reports, was Kenneth Meyer, who landed a jump in 2017 at 102 years and 172 days.

On Sunday, O’Shea bundled up, boarded a helicopter, and while strapped to her instructor, she jumped out at 14,000 feet — all for a good cause.

After her daughter died of motor neuron disease — a degenerative disorder also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease — 10 years ago, O’Shea began raising awareness and funds for research. This is her third dive for the Motor Neurone Disease Association of South Australia. Her first was on her 100th birthday in 2016.

According to a report by SA Skydiving, the dive went perfectly.

O’Shea and her instructor Jed “completed a smooth, beautiful freefall … through wispy clouds, before a smooth parachute opening.”

“They then cruised around the beautiful skies above Langhorne Creek, enjoying the views of Lake Alexandrina, the Coorong, and the Murray Mouth,” the report adds. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were waiting for her at the landing area with hugs.

Though O’Shea and Meyer beat the previously held world records, they aren’t recorded in the Guinness World Records for respective female and male oldest tandem parachute jumpers. It’s unclear why, but as Business Insider notes, there’s an application process for the organization to review attempts at breaking records before they officially record it.

O’Shea doesn’t think she’s an “extraordinary adrenaline junkie.” During an interview with Channel 9, she shrugged off the stunt with “As far as I’m concerned I’m the same as everybody else, just a normal person.”

You can help O’Shea reach her $10,000 fundraising goal here.

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From Myanmar jail, Wa Lone pens children’s book on exposing truth

The mood in the village was tense.

The locals’ animals were dropping dead and their paddy fields were being wiped out. With their livelihoods at risk, the panicking villagers sought help in prayers, blaming evil spirits for the grave calamity that had gripped their community.

But a young schoolboy reporter, known to his peers and teachers for his insatiable curiosity, wasn’t convinced, so he set out to uncover the true cause of the disaster. A few interviews and a boat journey later, he discovered that his village’s plight was due to factories polluting a nearby river. The boy’s outstanding reporting, published in the school newspaper, prompted authorities to act, raised awareness about environmental risks and earned him the plaudits of his community.

This is the story of Jay Jay, the main character of an illustrated children’s book recently published in Myanmar. His fortunes, however, could not be further away from the fate of his creator – Wa Lone, a 32-year-old Reuters journalist incarcerated in a Yangon prison.

One year behind bars

Wednesday marks one year since Wa Lone, along with his colleague Kyaw Soe Oo, was detained while investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya men and boys by Myanmar’s security forces in the village of Inn Din during a campaign launched in August 2017 in response to attacks by an armed group.

The savage crackdown – during which the military carried out mass killings and gang rapes with “genocidal intent”, according to UN-mandated investigators – forced more than 700,000 members of the long-persecuted, mostly Muslim minority to flee their homes in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state for neighbouring Bangladesh.

Kyaw Soe Oo (L) and Wa Lone (R) escorted by police out of the Yangon court in September [Thein Zaw/The Associated Press]

In September, a Yangon court sentenced Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years in prison, sparking an international outcry over a closely-watched case seen by many as a test of Myanmar’s fledgeling democracy and an alarming attack on media freedoms.

The journalists were convicted for breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act by allegedly obtaining confidential documents during their reporting. The pair pleaded not guilty, insisting that they had been framed by the police.

The Myanmar army, meanwhile, acknowledged the executions of the 10 Rohingya villagers following the arrest of the two reporters, whose investigative work has been lauded internationally with a string of prestigious awards.

Encouraging critical thinking

It was against this backdrop that Ei Pwint Rhi Zan, director of the Third Story Project, a social enterprise Wa Lone co-founded in 2014 to produce books and distribute them free of charge to disadvantaged children across Myanmar, thought of reaching out to her jailed friend and collaborator.

Her idea? Get Wa Lone to write a story about a curious boy always hunting for answers in a bid to encourage critical thinking in children and introduce them to the profession of journalism.

“At first, we were afraid to ask him since he was under a lot of pressure and in an unpleasant situation,” Ei Pwint Rhi Zan recalls.

“But we also wanted to cheer him up and knew that he could write it. So we dared to ask him – he was so excited and he started writing right away.”

In fact, Wa Lone was so eager that his first version was way too long for a children’s book and had to be cut down substantially.

Third Story Project says they printed 6,000 copies of the book and has so far donated more than half of them [Courtesy Kar Gyi/Al Jazeera]

More than just putting down the words, in the end, Wa Lone became immersed in the entire process – from identifying the book’s editor (Shwe Mi) and illustrator (Kar Gyi) to suggesting what the illustrations should look like, even what clothes the characters should wear.

Drafts were exchanged via his wife Pan Ei Mon, who in August gave birth to the couple’s first child, a baby daughter Wa Lone has yet to see in person. Pan Ei Mon acted as the intermediary between him and the publishing house during her visits to him at Insein Prison.

“We were really careful not to change what he wanted to express, so we followed his script very closely,” Ei Pwint Rhi Zan says. “Besides, we were afraid that people would tell bad things about him and things would get worse. But luckily, everything is OK and everyone loved the book he wrote.”

‘Committed and courageous reporter’

The son of rice farmers, Wa Lone grew up in Kin Pyit, a small village of some 500 people in Shwebo district north of Mandalay. A good and inquisitive student, he eventually settled in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, in 2010 and launched a photo service business with one of his brothers.

Soon afterwards, he began working for local newspapers, making a name for himself by reporting on Myanmar’s bloody internal conflicts and going on to cover the historic 2015 election win of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s party after decades of military rule.

Wa Lone spent a lot of his free time doing charity work, including distributing books to children [Courtesy Yangon Based Youth Volunteers Network/Al Jazeera]

“Wa Lone was always thoughtful and conscientious, and very committed to his work as a journalist,” says Thomas Kean, his former editor at Myanmar Times, which he joined in 2014, two years before he joined Reuters.

“He saw it as his responsibility to keep society informed and to fight abuses of power and I think this is reflected in his great courage in reporting on the killings at Inn Din,” added Kean.

“It’s notable that he was one of the leaders of the protests in 2014 over the sentencing of journalists to 14 years’ imprisonment under the Official Secrets Act – the same law that would be used to imprison him and Kyaw Soe Oo four years later. He always recognised the threat that these laws posed to his work, and to journalism and democracy more broadly.”

Described by those close to him as a good friend and a kind and humble person, the journalist would volunteer much of his spare time doing charity work – especially helping orphans. Wa Lone himself lost his mother to cancer at a young age.

“He is determined, brave and willing to help people … without hoping to receive anything back,” says Ei Pwint Rhi Zan, who met him as a community volunteer in 2012.

Since then, she says, they’ve worked together on a range of humanitarian projects – from supporting educational activities and building schools to raising money for wells and holding events at camps for internally displaced persons and even taking part in flood rescue missions.

“He never says ‘no’ when we need help for volunteering, and he never says ‘no’ when children need help, too,” Ei Pwint Rhi Zan says.

“Whenever he’d travel, he’d bring the storybooks, read them to children and distribute them. He really loves children and he expressed his love by helping them in different ways.”

Journalists and activists have been calling for the journalists’ release [File: Chan Naing/EPA-EFE]

DNC hustles to line up donors as 2020 pack starts to form

“It’s important the DNC ratchets up so when we turn the keys over to the nominee, there are sufficient resources,” said Jamie Harrison, associate chair at the DNC. | David Zalubowski/AP Photo

Elections

The committee gathered its top donors earlier than usual to make the pitch that it will need unprecedented funds to take on Trump.

The Democratic National Committee, financially crippled at the end of the 2016 elections and working to rebuild, is hustling to line up donors for 2020 before the dozens of Democrats eyeing presidential bids start scooping them up.

The DNC gathered its top donors at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington Tuesday for a meeting of its finance committee, an unusually early date for such an event during a political cycle. Their pitch: The committee will need unprecedented funds to take on President Donald Trump.

Story Continued Below

“Donald Trump has about $100 million in the bank right now in terms of 2020,” Jamie Harrison, associate chair at the DNC, told POLITICO. “It’s important the DNC ratchets up so when we turn the keys over to the nominee, there are sufficient resources.”

The party had some of its rising stars on hand Tuesday to make that pitch, including former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Sen.-elect Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). Panel discussions had titles such as “2018- How we won” and “Defining Trump,” according to an agenda obtained by POLITICO.

Gillum — who lost his recent bid for governor of Florida but was nonetheless introduced as a “rock star” by DNC chairman Tom Perez — received a standing ovation from the crowd and posed for photos with attendees in the lobby.

The DNC could use the help. A slew of Democrats is expected to make bids for president in the coming months, setting up steep competition for donors’ money. Many of those politicians have been seeking a leg up for months by getting face-time with wealthy donors via fundraising for other candidates or organizations during the midterms. Others, such as Gillum, built relationships with the moneyed class during their own 2018 runs for office.

On Tuesday, supporters were cautiously optimistic about the DNC’s prospects.

“I feel fine about giving to the DNC. I feel better than I would have in some years past. It’s a functioning organization that’s thinking strategically,” said one donor, who declined to be named, citing privacy concerns.

The most important thing the DNC can do in the coming months is “keep their house in order” amid Trump’s reelection campaign and a potentially divisive Democratic primary, the donor said: “Uniting the Democratic Party is key.”

The DNC struggled to raise money in the wake of the 2016 election, when the organization — which held a lower status during Barack Obama’s presidency than his own political operation — was rebuilding with new staff and trying to stage a comeback from Hillary Clinton’s loss.

It eventually received checks from several of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, including George Soros and Donald Sussman, during the midterms, raising $170 million. Still, that sum was only roughly half of the $317 million haul brought in by its Republican counterpart, which proved especially adept at raising money from small-dollar donors.

Now, the DNC, which will eventually support the Democratic nominee to take on Trump, does not want to be lost amid the candidates’ 2020 cash grab. And it’s trying to convince donors it’s capable of becoming a crucial piece of infrastructure supporting the Democrats’ eventual choice for president.

In addition to flashy speeches, donors on Tuesday listened to hours of strategy talks about data, field programs and opposition research. Operatives warned of the size and power of the Republican Party, which runs a large field operation and a centralized voter data system. (Democrats are bitterly divided over whether to try to replicate that data model.) And they boasted of the research into Trump they’ve been accumulating since 2015, which they’ll deploy on behalf of the 2020 nominee.

Mel Heifetz, a Pennsylvania-based donor and philanthropist, said he would be most motivated to give more money if he saw promising action from politicians next year, when Democrats will again control the House of Representatives.

“They’re talking a lot about the technical aspect of elections,” Heifetz said of the DNC’s pitch. “I care more about what people are doing.”

“We are still in 2018. Maybe they’d like to see 2019 pop up before they write more checks,” he said of his fellow donors. “We haven’t had Christmas yet.”

David Siders contributed to this report.

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Miley Cyrus’s Next Album Will Probably Sound More Like Bangerz Than Younger Now

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After cruising down the country lane for last year’s Younger Now, Miley Cyrus will pivot back to pop and hip-hop for a portion of her next album. And she’s bringing one of her most trusted Bangerz collaborators along for the ride.

The 26-year-old has been hard at work this week promoting “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart,” her stellar collaboration with Mark Ronson that’s set to appear on his upcoming album. She’s also, however, taken the opportunity to shed some light on her own impending project, which sounds like it’ll be a return to form of sorts.

“[Younger Now] was obviously a little bit more country influenced, but I still really love pop music and I love music that can be played at the club,” she explained on New York’s 103.5 KTU. She added of last year’s LP, “I felt like that wasn’t exactly the home for me, and I think that Mark helped me carve out my sound, where I could do everything that I want, which is more modern.”

As for what her seventh album will sound like, Miley had more to say during a conversation with New York’s 95.5 PLJ, where she revealed that the record will be produced by Ronson, Mike Will Made-It, and Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow.

“I think [“Nothing Breaks Like A Heart”] is a nice introduction to the sound that we’ve got going on the next record,” she said. “One song that [Ronson] and I have done together is more rock-driven; kind of like modern Debbie Harry and Joan Jett. Then we’ve got songs with Mike Will that lean more hip-hop, and songs with Andrew Wyatt that lean more pop and alternative. I just have kind of everything, and then just some down-the-middle pop records too.”

Reuniting with Mike Will — who contributed a handful of tracks to 2013’s Bangerz, but none to Miley’s last two albums — is sure to turn some heads, after the singer distanced herself from rap music last year. In a 2017 interview with Billboard, she said she no longer subscribed to the genre’s materialism and explicit sexual content, saying, “It was too much ‘Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my cock’ — I am so not that.” However, she later walked back those comments after receiving criticism from fans who felt she was guilty of appropriating hip-hop culture.

As for when we can finally hear the fruits of Miley and Mike Will’s labor, she says new music is coming “sometime next year.” She explained, “I’ll definitely put out a record next year, but when and how is still up in the air for me, just ’cause I never like to feel that pressure or think too far ahead.”

In the meantime, I’ll be getting hype for album No. 7 by revisiting this Bangerz classic:

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Facebook is still trying to find new places to put ads

It might seem like there’s already tons of ads on Facebook, but the company is still searching for new places to put more of them.

The latest method that’s materializing is in search results, where Facebook is now experimenting with ads, the company confirmed.

“We’re running a small test to place ads in Facebook search results, and we’ll be evaluating whether these ads are beneficial for people and businesses before deciding whether to expand it,” Facebook product manager Zoheb Hajiyani said in a statement.

Though not the first time Facebook had dabbled in search ads, it’s a significant move for the company, which is facing declining revenue growth.

For now, the ads will be an extension of those in Facebook’s News Feed. They’ll only be available to a limited number of people in the automotive and retail industry, according to the company. Facebook’s early partners can opt in to the new ads via the same ad manager tools they use to promote ads in the News Feed.

The new ad format is the latest sign that Facebook is still eagerly searching for new places to put ads. The company has been warning investors for some time that ads in News Feed are pretty much at capacity and that they still haven’t figured out how to monetize Stories effectively.

Combine that with slowing user growth, and the only option left open to the company is to tap into new places on Facebook, which are not currently being monetized. (Likewise, the company is also eyeing new places to put ads in Instagram.)

So search, which is featured prominently and used by just about everyone on the service, is certainly a promising place to start.

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Facebook is still trying to find new places to put ads