That's the key takeaway from a new analysis of social-media sentiment shared exclusively with Business Insider. The data comes from the social-monitoring firm Sprout Social, which tracks posts on X, YouTube, Reddit, and Tumblr and categorizes them as negative, neutral, or positive.
Lively's 80-page complaint, filed December 21, impressed some public-relations pros, who, in interviews with BI,Β calledΒ it well-timed and detailed. They said at the time it would be hard for Baldoni to come back from it. Lively accused her "It Ends With Us" costar Baldoni of sexually harassing her and engaging in a smear campaign against her. Her allegations were detailed in a The New York Times article published the same day the complaint was filed.
Baldoni hit back in a lawsuit filed against the Times, which accused the paper of libeling him and said Lively embarked on a negative PR campaign against him.
Sprout Social data showed that the volume of social-media mentions of both stars soared after Lively's complaint was filed and the Times story was published. Most of the commentary was negative, the firm's analysis found.
Lively saw negative sentiment jump 29 percentage points to 61% in the immediate aftermath of her complaint (from December 21 to 26), the data showed, compared with the period just before (December 15 to 20).
Baldoni's largely positive sentiment flipped to mostly negative, increasing 41 percentage points to 63% negative during that time.
Baldoni's lawsuit brought a fresh round of negative sentiment on social media for both stars.
Negative sentiment around Lively jumped from 39% right before Baldoni's suit (from December 26 to 31) to 52% right after (from January 1 to Monday). Baldoni saw a similar jump, from 42% just before his lawsuit to 52% after.
The positive sentiment around both stars languished at 6% for Lively and 7% for Baldoni during the period following his suit.
In their legal filings, Lively and Baldoni accused each other of using PR pros to plant negative stories about them, supported by screenshots of conversations.
Lively's complaint alleges Baldoni's camp engaged in "astroturfing," aΒ controversial PR tacticΒ that involves planting online comments while making them look as if they're occurring organically.
The new data suggests that negative sentiment reached its highest point, however, after the stars went to war in legal filings and in the press.
A photo shared by Ukraine's Air Force Command when said that one of its F-16 pilots took out six Russian cruise missiles at once.
Facebook/@Air Force Command of UA Armed Forces
Ukraine said one of its pilots downed a record-breaking six cruise missiles in a single mission.
The pilot said he downed two of them with his gun, something experts said took great skill and risk.
Getting close enough to shoot down missiles requires skill to avoid getting hit with dangerous debris.
The Ukrainian F-16 pilot said to have shot down half a dozen Russian cruise missiles in a single mission showed remarkable skill, particularly during a risky gun battle, a former US Air Force pilot told Business Insider.
Ukraine's air force command said that an F-16 pilot took out six Russian cruise missiles during a single flight in December, calling it a first for the jet. It said that during the historic engagement, the pilot shot down two missiles with the F-16's M61A1 six-barrel 20 mm cannon.
Ret. Col. John Venable, a 25-year veteran of the US Air Force and a former F-16 pilot, told BI that the pilot's ability to gun down the Russian missiles without putting his own aircraft at risk required a lot of skill.
He said "the fact that he did that without fragging himself" says "a lot about his skill set."
Switching to guns raises risks
Ukraine's F-16s have been repeatedly seen flying with an air-defense loadout of two AIM-9 Sidewinders and two AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles. The country's air force said the pilot had used up all of his missiles and was low on fuel after destroying four Russian missiles, but he then saw another Russian missile going toward Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.
He moved to intercept it, firing his gun at the missile that was traveling over 400 miles an hour, the air force said. There was more than one explosion, and the pilot realized that he had actually eliminated two Russian missiles.
The Ukrainian F-16 pilot, per a translation by RBC-Ukraine, said that there was a danger in doing that because "shooting down cruise missiles with a cannon is very risky because of the high speed of the target and the danger of detonation. But I did what the instructors in the US taught me, and I managed to hit it."
Venable said the risk of debris makes this kind of engagement more dangerous for the pilot. He said that pilots must get close to missiles to get a good shot.
He said that if the intercepting aircraft is behind the target and it explodes when hit, "you're going to be what we call fragged," meaning that the aircraft absorbs some of the explosive debris. Pilots have to come in at an angle. Venable said that there being two missiles meant the situation required greater skill.
Ukrainian Air Force's F-16 fighter jet flies in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File
Tim Robinson, a military aviation specialist at the UK's Royal Aeronautical Society, likewise said that fighter pilots using guns must get "pretty close" to their target. That brings danger, with cruise missiles "packed with explosives."
"If you're firing at something and it's at close range and that thing goes off β you've got to be pretty aggressive and pretty brave to be doing that," he said.
It takes skill to fly this mission
Retired US Army Maj. Gen. Gordon "Skip" Davis, the former deputy assistant secretary-general for NATO's defense-investment division, told BI "shooting two cruise missiles with aircraft guns is quite impressive."
Venable said that pilots who are shooting at a missile but want to protect their aircraft must approach the missile like they are coming onto a highway from an off-ramp, "where you're at 90 degrees out, and then you start to actually align your car with the highway as that on-ramp turns onto the road."
"That's where you want to take the shot, not when you are right behind the aircraft." And doing that "takes skill," he said.
Ukraine has not commented on the aircraft's state but said the pilot landed at an airfield, indicating it was intact.
Ukraine's air force command said pilots learned to shoot missiles with aircraft cannons in US simulators but never tried it before in combat, the Kyiv Post reported.
Ukrainian Air Force's F-16 fighter jets fly in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and a former Royal Australian Air Force officer, told BI the gun kill was "good flying."
He said that it's "easier now with modern radars in fighters than in World War II, but the fighter still needs to close with the cruise missile and fire very accurately."
The jets are likely to continue to fight as missile shields
Battling Russian aircraft would be the better test because they shoot back, but Venable said the reported achievement, which he said was "more than plausible," says a lot "about how far Ukraine's air force has come" and the Ukrainian air force's capabilities.
This mission carries risks, and Ukraine has already lost at least one of its F-16s and one of its trained pilots.
The aftermath of a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.
Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser on the International Security Program at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told BI that Ukraine is facing threats Western pilots haven't.
"None have faced the numbers of simultaneous incoming missiles that the Ukrainians have," he said. "US and Western pilots have faced one or two incoming missiles at a time."
Ukraine has a limited F-16 fleet that arrived later than desired. Partner nations have pledged more than 85, far fewer than what the Ukrainians likely need. Many of the jets, older versions of what Western nations fly, still haven't been delivered.
Ukraine probably won't receive enough fighters to use them the way the West does, but it can use them to strengthen its air defenses.
Venable said Ukraine does not have enough aircraft, stealth platforms, and other assets to be able to really use its jets to press against Russia. He said partners had to be conscious of leaving enough jets in their own fleets.
Col. Yuriy Ihnat, the head of the Ukrainian air force command's public relations service, said Ukraine wants more powerful modifications and missiles for its F-16s to compete with Russia, but said the headline-making intercept showed the skill of Ukrainian pilots and how formidable Ukraine's air force could be with more powerful jets.
Macy's has announced the locations of 66 stores slated to close across 22 states.
Scott Olson / Getty Images
Macy's just announced the list of locations it will shutter this year.
The 66 closures are part of a broader plan to shutter 150 stores by the end of 2026.
The department store chain has struggled as shoppers turn to lower-priced rivals and online retailers.
Macy'sΒ just revealed a list of 66 stores across 22 states that will close this year.
The company said most of the locations on the list are expected to close before May.
The stores announced Thursday are the first of 150 locations that the retailer plans to shutter through 2026. Following the closings, there will be about 350 Macy's left.
"We are closing underproductive Macy's stores to allow us to focus our resources and prioritize investments in our go-forward stores, where customers are already responding positively to better product offerings and elevated service," CEO Tony Spring said in a statement.
Macy's has struggled for years as online shopping and lower-priced options have grown and the chain's in-store experience floundered. Over the past decade, its share price has been down more than 50%.
The department store chain said its closure plan will allow it to focus on its best-performing locations and online experience, where it will refresh its merchandising assortment and modernize the shopping experience.
Macy's isn't the only department store struggling. Kohl's announced this week that it would close more than two dozen stores this year, and over the past five years, Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy.
Here's a full list of the Macy's stores that will close this year.
Arizona
Superstition Springs Center 6535 E Southern Ave, Mesa
California
Broadway Plaza Β 750 W 7th St., Los Angeles
Hillsdale Furniture (Closed in FY2024.) Β 2838 South El Camino Real, San Mateo
Our kid's birth mother had been born in Costa Rica and adopted by a US couple two decades before she got pregnant and relinquished her infant to the state.
When she was 4 years old, I had an even bigger idea for how we might be able to do so: We could move to Costa Rica. It would be an adventure, I thought, a perfect escape from the cold, rainy Northwest winters in our tiny Oregon cottage!
Call it a revelation or call it a midlife crisis, but my husband took a six-month leave of absence, I quit my job, and we found a short-term renter who would care for our cats until we found a new house to purchase.
In December 2011, we moved from the US to Playas del Coco with two backpacks and a bag of kids' science books.
We spent weeks trying to embrace the local culture and fall in love with our new home
We spent a lot of time at beaches in Costa Rica, but none felt quite right.
Jonathan B. Smith
For the first few weeks in Costa Rica, we spent our days at the beach or taking the public bus throughout the Pacific side of the country, searching for the ideal place to put down roots.
However, we hadn't prepared for Christmas. We'd spent past holidays at my mother's house in California, drinking eggnog and opening presents.
In an unfamiliar country, Jonathan and I wandered through the aisles of the local supermarket looking for last-minute small, portable gifts for our daughter.
We picked up a makeshift cardboard tree and tried to feel merry without our handmade stockings hanging over the fireplace and our 6-foot tree covered in ornaments rich with memories.
Our new condo was still empty and felt soulless, so we wandered out for some classic Christmas cheer. We found ourselves on the beach clutching cups of shaved ice in sweaty palms while red-faced children in suits and taffeta dresses sang and swayed on hot sands to "Let It Snow."
"I miss my friends," our small daughter whimpered. "I miss our cats."
I missed our pets and my own friends horribly, but we'd resolved to surround her with the people, music, and traditions of her birth mother's country.
Instead of commiserating, I suggested we head out for dinner.
We tried to find our footing in Playa Samara.
Beth Harvey/Shutterstock
We sat down to plates of gallo pinto β Costa Rica's ubiquitous rice-and-bean dish β and pan-fried plantains in a pastel-painted room full of empty tables and a neon-purple Christmas tree.
We hadn't met any other families yet, so we walked home alone, pointing out holiday light displays on our new neighbors' houses and trying to feel celebratory.
For another seven weeks, we traveled the country by bus and occasionally in a rented Jeep. We spent most of our time in Playa Samara, where we enrolled our daughter in a bilingual kindergarten.
We roamed the beautiful beaches, kayaked on rivers, and introduced our child to the animals, birds, trees, and insects of her birth mother's country. She met local kids of all ages and shopkeepers who pinched her cheeks and slipped her complimentary bags of fried plantains.
Still, our daughter was miserable. "I want to go home!" she said daily.
After 3 months in Costa Rica, we headed back to the US
Early in March, Jonathan turned to me, red-faced and sweating. "It's broiling by eight in the morning," he said. "Makes me almost miss winter in Oregon."
"I do miss winter in Oregon," I replied. "I miss the rain and the cold. I think I even miss the mud!"
We walked down to the beach, our daughter riding his shoulders, and crossed a rickety little bridge to a new restaurant we'd heard about.
Outside, we stopped and stared. Oregon Ducks flags β the green and yellow emblems in our college town back home β hung everywhere. The owner, we learned, had relocated from our part of the world.
As our child eyed the flags wistfully over yet another bowl of gallo pinto, I stared out at the dark ocean. This felt like a sign that Oregon was our perfect place, and my husband agreed.
By mid-month, we'd moved back to the US. We acknowledged our change of heart with chagrin, but our friends and neighbors welcomed us back with joy.
Now that we were home, I studied what other adoptive parents did to honor their children's culture β everything from special summer camps to weekly dinners, church services, and festivals. We set about creating a community of kids who looked like our daughter and began taking Spanish classes.
There were less extreme ways, I found, to celebrate our daughter's heritage and bolster her against the inevitable sorrow that can come with being adopted. We didn't need to relocate 4,000 miles away from all that she loved.
The next Christmas, Jonathan hung our stockings over the fireplace in a cottage that now struck me as charming, shaded by graceful firs and cedars.
We sewed catnip mice and tucked them into small stockings. We set up our big tree and excitedly hung the ornaments we'd been exchanging for years.
Then, I led my daughter into the kitchen where I got out the stepstool and the cast-iron pan. "Open this can of black beans," I told her. "We're going to learn to make gallo pinto."
Fighting intensifies near Pokrovsk and many have speculated whether Russia can sustain the war effort in Donetsk due to a loss of soldiers and equipment.
Firefighters are continuing to battle a series of major fires ravaging the Los Angeles area that have left at least 10 people dead and devastated communities.
