Chinese artists perform a lion dance at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)2025-01-29T05:54:53Z BEIJING (AP) Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday including in Moscow.Hundreds of people lined up in the hours before midnight at the Wong Tai Sin Taoist temple in Hong Kong in a bid to be among the first to put incense sticks in the stands in front of the temples main hall.I wish my family will be blessed. I hope my business will run well. I pray for my country and wish people peace. I hope this coming year is a better year, said Ming So, who visits the temple annually on the eve of the Lunar New Year.The holiday known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world. The snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, follows the just-ended Year of the Dragon. The pop-pop-pop of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple in Malaysias capital, Kuala Lumpur, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals. Ethnic Chinese holding incense sticks in front of them bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips. Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the worlds biggest annual movement of humanity. Beijing, Chinas capital, has turned into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied out. Traditionally, Chinese have a family dinner at home on New Years Eve and visit temple fairs on the Lunar New Year to watch performances and buy snacks, toys and other trinkets from booths.Many Chinese take advantage of the extended holiday to travel both in the country and abroad. Ctrip, an online booking agency that operates Trip.com, said the most popular overseas destinations this year are Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Macao and Vietnam. Russians cheered, waved and took smartphone photos of a colorful procession with drummers, costumed dancers and large dragon and snake figures held aloft that kicked off a 10-day Lunar New Year festival in Moscow on Tuesday night.The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties since 2022, in part to push back against what they see as U.S. dominance of the world order.Visitors shouted Happy New Year in Russian and expressed delight at being able to experience Chinese food and culture in Moscow, including folk performances and booths selling snacks and artwork.___Associated Press video journalists Alice Fung in Hong Kong and Syawalludin Zain in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this story. KEN MORITSUGU Moritsugu covers political, economic and social issues from Beijing for The Associated Press. He has also reported from New Delhi, Bangkok and Tokyo and is the APs former news director for Greater China and for Japan and the Koreas. twitter

The Palisades Fire ravages a neighborhood amid high winds in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)2025-01-29T05:03:44Z LOS ANGELES (AP) When disaster strikes, government emergency alert systems offer a simple promise: Residents will get information about nearby dangers and instructions to help them stay safe.As the deadly LA wildfires and other major emergencies have shown, alerts rely on a complicated chain of communication between first responders, government administrators, third-party companies and the public. Sometimes, the chain breaks.After the wind-driven wildfires broke out in Southern California on Jan. 7, evacuation orders for some neighborhoods including the part of Altadena where the majority of deaths occurred came long after houses were reported on fire. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County officials approved an outside review of how alerts functioned in the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire in response to residents demands. City officials declined to answer APs questions about a lag in some Palisades Fire alerts, though Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said responding to a fire and determining evacuation needs can take some time. Its an increasingly common issue: After-action reports and investigations revealed issues with alert systems in other California blazes: in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, which killed 22 people in Santa Rosa; the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people in Paradise; the Woolsey fire, which started the same day and killed three in Malibu; as well as in Colorados 2021 Marshall Fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes outside Denver; and in Hawaiis 2023 Lahaina Fire, which decimated that historic town and killed 102. It could take months to know why some evacuation orders lagged in the Los Angeles fires. Several residents who lost homes in the Eaton Fire told The Associated Press they received no notifications about their neighborhoods. For others, the first warning was an urgent text message in the middle of the night. Susan Lee Streets, who signed up for the alert app Nixle, did not get any alerts specific to her west Altadena neighborhood before she and her family left of their own accord around 10 p.m. after losing power and cell reception.If we had even been informed that houses and other structures were burning down, we would have known better what was happening, she said. We almost went to sleep that night with two kids and a dog and two cats in the house.Only after 3 a.m. did an alert hit her phone. Destroyed along with the house are the Christmas ornaments she saved for her children, and countless other family keepsakes. We lost everything, everything, Streets said, breaking into tears. Tricia Wachtendorf, director of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware, said alerts have to be specific and clear. Research has shown that for them to be effective, people have to hear, understand, believe, personalize and confirm them before they react.Just because you send the message at 3 a.m. doesnt mean someone is hearing it, Wachtendorf said.The hours between midnight and 3:30 a.m. appear to have been particularly challenging for first responders in Los Angeles County, based on an AP review of scanner traffic recordings and data from CalFire, the states chief fire agency; the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA; and the Watch Duty app. Resources were stretched thin, and hurricane-force winds had grounded air support, limiting authorities ability to get a top-down perspective on the flames.Calls reporting burning homes were flooding in as embers blew onto roofs and yards. During one half-hour period, 17 new addresses were relayed to firefighters, even as some crews ran low on fuel. By 12:07 a.m., CalFire records show, dozens of neighborhoods had been ordered to evacuate because of the Eaton Fire, all of them east of Altadenas North Lake Avenue. None of the neighborhoods to the west where all of the 17 confirmed fatalities occurred, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times had received evacuation warnings or orders, despite house fires being reported there more than an hour earlier. Over the next three hours, fire crews would go from begging for resources on the eastern flank of the blaze to radioing the command center to make sure it knew the fire was spreading west along the foothills near Sunset Ridge. Just before 3:30 a.m., evacuation orders expanded significantly, with residents in 12 areas of Altadena and elsewhere told to leave now.Jodi and Jeff Moreno first heard about the fire from a neighborhood app. But the first official warning only came around 2:30 a.m., when authorities yelled through a bullhorn to evacuate. The couple grabbed their three daughters, their dog and some important papers, and fled. There were no text alerts until after they were gone. On the neighborhood apps, some people were going, some people were staying. It was a wide variety of responses. We were navigating it on our own, Jodi Moreno said. Its hard for us to gauge where exactly is that fire, where are the embers blowing. ... Those are things I would rely on people who are monitoring it for information. Desperate for more information, both the Morenos and Streets downloaded the Watch Duty app, which maps evacuation zones and consolidates information from multiple sources into a single stream. Launched in 2021 and today covering 22 states, it became a lifeline for them.The ideal system for warning people is informing them, right? said Nick Russell, vice president for operations at Watch Duty. Theres certainly diligence necessary in the execution of official evacuation warning and orders or shelter in place, whatever the condition might be, he said. But telling people why that discussion is taking place between law enforcement and fire is important. And thats what were doing.The process of issuing evacuation notices starts with firefighters or other personnel on the ground recommending action, Russell said. It then moves up the chain of command to sheriffs, who ultimately put out any order. During major emergencies that communication can be hampered by issues such as limited radio connectivity, wind noise or other technical problems. Incident command stations may have trouble synthesizing the large amounts of information they are getting from different agencies, something that is critical for understanding the scope of an emergency like a fire.In Los Angeles County, residents who sign up for emergency notifications through the AlertLACounty website are then directed to a list of 57 links to other specific neighborhood or city alert system signups, as well as a general one covering 19 other cities. The city of Los Angeles and the Sheriffs Department also have alert systems.It is not clear how the overlapping systems, which use different software programs, work together, or whether officials coordinate. A 2024 Hazard Mitigation plan directed the citys Emergency Management Department to assess gaps in alert and warning systems in areas with poor cellphone connectivity and then implement a solution to ensure alerts reach people. But that goal was given a medium priority level and a long-term timeline, with completion expected sometime in the next 10 years. Meanwhile the countys Hazard Mitigation Plan, last updated in 2020, did not include a focus on emergency alerts or public notifications. Instead its high-priority goals had to do with educating people about winds impact on wildfire risk and with community wildfire protection. Officials at the Countys Coordinated Joint Information Center declined to comment other than to say that an independent review of evacuations and emergency notifications is planned and the Office of Emergency Management, County Fire Department and Sheriffs Department plan to fully engage with it. CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER Keller works with reporters and editors to find stories in data and documents and contributes context to spot and breaking news stories for The Associated Press. mailto REBECCA BOONE Rebecca is a correspondent based in Idaho. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The narrative that OpenAI, Microsoft, and freshly minted White House AI czar David Sacks are now pushing to explain why DeepSeek was able to create a large language model that outpaces OpenAIs while spending orders of magnitude less money and using older chips is that DeepSeek used OpenAIs data unfairly and without compensation. Sound familiar?Both Bloomberg and the Financial Times are reporting that Microsoft and OpenAI have been probing whether DeepSeek improperly trained the R1 model that is taking the AI world by storm on the outputs of OpenAI models.Here is how the Bloomberg article begins: Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAIs technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek, according to people familiar with the matter. The story goes on to say that Such activity could violate OpenAIs terms of service or could indicate the group acted to remove OpenAIs restrictions on how much data they could obtain, the people said.The venture capitalist and new Trump administration member David Sacks, meanwhile, said that there is substantial evidence that DeepSeek distilled the knowledge out of OpenAIs models.Theres a technique in AI called distillation, which youre going to hear a lot about, and its when one model learns from another model, effectively what happens is that the student model asks the parent model a lot of questions, just like a human would learn, but AIs can do this asking millions of questions, and they can essentially mimic the reasoning process they learn from the parent model and they can kind of suck the knowledge of the parent model, Sacks told Fox News. Theres substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled the knowledge out of OpenAIs models and I dont think OpenAI is very happy about this.I will explain what this means in a moment, but first: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahhahahahahahahahahahahaha. It is, as many have already pointed out, incredibly ironic that OpenAI, a company that has been obtaining large amounts of data from all of humankind largely in an unauthorized manner, and, in some cases, in violation of the terms of service of those from whom they have been taking from, is now complaining about the very practices by which it has built its company.The argument that OpenAI, and every artificial intelligence company who has been sued for surreptitiously and indiscriminately sucking up whatever data it can find on the internet is not that they are not sucking up all of this data, it is that they are sucking up this data and they are allowed to do so.OpenAI is currently being sued by the New York Times for training on its articles, and its argument is that this is perfectly fine under copyright law fair use protections.Training AI models using publicly available internet materials is fair use, as supported by long-standing and widely accepted precedents. We view this principle as fair to creators, necessary for innovators, and critical for US competitiveness, OpenAI wrote in a blog post. In its motion to dismiss in court, OpenAI wrote it has long been clear that the non-consumptive use of copyrighted material (like large language model training) is protected by fair use.OpenAI and Microsoft are essentially now whining about being beaten at its own game by DeepSeek. But additionally, part of OpenAIs argument in the New York Times case is that the only way to make a generalist large language model that performs well is by sucking up gigantic amounts of data. It tells the court that it needs a huge amount of data to make a generalist language model, meaning any one source of data is not that important. This is funny, because DeepSeek managed to make a large language model that rivals and outpaces OpenAIs own without falling into the more data = better model trap. Instead, DeepSeek used a reinforcement learning strategy that its paper claims is far more efficient than weve seen other AI companies do.OpenAIs motion to dismiss the New York Times lawsuit states as part of its argument that the key to generalist language models is scale, meaning that part of its argument is that any individual piece of stolen content cannot make a large language model, and that what allows OpenAI to make industry-leading large language models is this idea of scale. OpenAIs lawyers quote from a New York Times article about this strategy as part of their argument: The amount of data needed was staggering to create GPT-3, it wrote. It was that unprecedented scale that allowed the model to internalize not only a map of human language, but achieve a level of adaptabilityand emergent intelligencethat no one thought possible.As Sacks mentioned, distillation is an established principle in artificial intelligence research, and its something that is done all the time to refine and improve the accuracy of smaller large language models. This process is so normalized in deep learning that the most often cited paper about it was coauthored by Geoffrey Hinton, part of a body of work that just earned him the Nobel Prize. Hintons paper specifically suggests that distillation is a way to make large language models more efficient, and that distilling works very well for transferring knowledge from an ensemble or from a large highly regularized model into a smaller, distilled model.An IBM article on distillation notes The LLMs with the highest capabilities are, in most cases, too costly and computationally demanding to be accessible to many would-be users like hobbyists, startups or research institutions knowledge distillation has emerged as an important means of transferring the advanced capabilities of large, often proprietary models to smaller, often open-source models. As such, it has become an important tool in the democratization of generative AI.In late December, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took what many people saw as a veiled shot at DeepSeek, immediately after the release of DeepSeek V3, an earlier DeepSeek model. It is (relatively) easy to copy something that you know works, Altman tweeted. It is extremely hard to do something new, risky, and difficult when you dont know if it will work.Its also extremely hard to rally a big talented research team to charge a new hill in the fog together, he added. This is the key to driving progress forward.Even this is ridiculous, though. Besides being trained on huge amounts of other peoples data, OpenAIs work builds on research pioneered by Google, which itself builds on earlier academic research. This is, simply, how artificial intelligence research (and scientific research more broadly) works.This is all to say that, if OpenAI argues that it is legal for the company to train on whatever it wants for whatever reason it wants, then it stands to reason that it doesnt have much of a leg to stand on when competitors use common strategies used in the world of machine learning to make their own models. But of course, it is going with the argument that it must protect [its] IP.We know PRC based companies and others are constantly trying to distill the models of leading US AI companies, an OpenAI spokesperson told Bloomberg. As the leading builder of AI, we engage in countermeasures to protect our IP, including a careful process for which frontier capabilities to include in released models, and believe as we go forward that it is critically important that we are working closely with the US government to best protect the most capable models from efforts by adversaries and competitors to take US technology.

Palestinians who have returned walk among the rubble of buildings largely destroyed by Israeli army bombardments in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, after Israel began allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged area last Monday.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-01-29T15:35:30Z JERUSALEM (AP) An Israeli official said Wednesday that Hamas will release three Israelis, including two women and an 80-year-old man, and five Thai nationals in the next hostage release, slated for Thursday.The official named the Israel women as Arbel Yehoud, 29, Agam Berger, 19, and the man as Gadi Mozes, 80. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, said the hostages families had approved publication of their names.The official did not name the Thai nationals set to be freed.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.CAIRO (AP) The leader of important U.S. ally Egypt on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trumps suggestion that Egypt take in displaced Palestinians from Gaza, defying a U.S. president who has shown little patience for dissent from international partners. Trump over the weekend told reporters that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from war-torn Gaza, an idea that has long been rejected by those countries and the Palestinians themselves because they say it would undermine the notion of Palestinian statehood and foment instability in their states. Trump said he would urge the leaders of both countries, which are key allies to the U.S. in the Middle East and major recipients of American aid in the region, to accept the idea, saying the resettlement could be temporary or long term. It is not clear if Trump could force Egypt or Jordan to agree, but he has in his first days in office and on the campaign threatened hefty tariffs against American allies to get his way.In his first public comments since Trump floated the suggestion Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi called the idea an injustice which Egypt would not be party to. In a news conference in Cairo with the visiting Kenyan president, el-Sissi said the transfer of Palestinians cant ever be tolerated or allowed. The solution to this issue is the two-state solution. It is the establishment of a Palestinian state, he said. The solution is not to remove the Palestinian people from their place.He said his government would work with the Trump administration to achieve peace that is based on the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.Trump on Saturday said he would urge Egypt and Jordan to accept people from Gaza so that we just clean out that whole thing, calling the territory a demolition site. The debate over the fate of displaced Palestinians came as hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza were streaming toward the north of the war-ravaged territory to return to what is left of their homes, after being told to evacuate the area earlier on in Israels war against Hamas.The return was taking place as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas which began earlier this month and has allowed for a pause in the fighting, the scheduled release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza and freedom for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned or detained by Israel. The 15-monthlong war, set off by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants in their count. The fighting has obliterated vast areas of Gaza, displacing some 90% of its 2.3 million population, often multiple times.The theme of displacement has been recurrent in Palestinian history and the idea of staying steadfast on ones land is an integral element of the Palestinian identity. Palestinians fear that if they leave their land, they may never be allowed to return.Those fears have been compounded by far-right members of Israels government who support rebuilding Jewish settlements in Gaza, from which Israel withdrew troops and settlers from in 2005. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that idea is unrealistic.Egypt and Jordan have each made peace with Israel but support the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. They fear that the permanent displacement of Gazas population could make that impossible.Egypt and Jordan receive billions of dollars in American aid each year. Military assistance to Egypt and Israel was exempted from a U.S. funding freeze to global aid programs.

A student raises their hand in a classroom at Tussahaw Elementary school Aug. 4, 2021, in McDonough, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)2025-01-29T05:02:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) Americas children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nations report card.The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind.Given every two years to a sample of Americas children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on math and reading. The news is not good, said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic. Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. Its still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, yet some states and districts made significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points. For the most part, however, American schools have not yet begun to make progress. Growing numbers of students lack basic reading skillsThe average math score for eighth grade students was unchanged from 2022, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below basic in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a characters motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word industrious means to be hard working.Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.It was most pronounced in eighth grade math: While the top 10% of students saw their scores increased by 3 points, the lowest 10% decreased by 6 points.We are deeply concerned about our low-performing students, said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policies for the exam. For a decade, these students have been on the decline. They need our urgent attention and our best effort. The drop in scores continues a post-pandemic slideThe latest setbacks follow a historic backslide in 2022. In that years exam, student achievement fell across both subjects and grade levels, in some cases by unprecedented levels.This round of testing again featured students whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic. When COVID hit in 2020, the fourth graders were in kindergarten, and the eighth graders were in fourth grade. But Carr said poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning that the nations education system faces complex challenges.A survey done alongside the exam found in 2022 that fewer young students were reading for enjoyment, which is linked to lower reading scores. And new survey results found that students who are often absent from class a persistent problem nationwide are struggling the most.The data are clear, Carr said. Students who dont come to school are not improving.The results provide fresh fuel for a national debate over the impact of pandemic school closures, though theyre unlikely to add clarity. Some studies have found that longer closures led to bigger academic setbacks. Those slower to reopen were often in urban and Democratic-led areas, while more rural and Republican-led areas were quicker. The new results dont show a direct link on the topic, Carr said, though she said students clearly do better when theyre in school.Among the states that saw reading scores fall in 2024 are Florida and Arizona, which were among the first to return to the classroom during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some big school systems that had longer closures made strides in fourth grade math, including Los Angeles and New York City.The success of big urban districts 14 of which saw notable improvement in fourth-grade math when the nation as a whole saw only minor gains can be credited to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief, said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools. Investing in efforts like intensive tutoring programs and curriculum updates is really proving to make a difference, he said. Republican lawmakers cast blame on Biden administrationThe U.S. Education Department said the results are heartbreaking and reflect an education system that is failing students despite billions of dollars in annual funding and more than $190 billion in federal pandemic relief.The Trump Administration is committed to reorienting our education system to fully empower states, to prioritize meaningful learning, and provide universal access to high-quality instruction, the department said in a statement. Change must happen, and it must happen now.Republicans in Congress were quick to cast blame on former President Joe Bidens administration.Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the decline is clearly a reflection of the education bureaucracy continuing to focus on woke policies rather than helping students learn and grow.Im thankful we have an administration that is looking to reverse course, he said in a reference to President Donald Trump.Compared with 2019 results, eighth grade reading scores are now down 8 points. Reading scores are down 5 points in both grades. And in fourth grade math, scores are down 3 points.Yet officials say theres reason to be optimistic. Carr highlighted improvement in Louisiana, where fourth grade reading is now back above pre-pandemic levels, and in Alabama, which accomplished that feat in fourth grade math.Carr was especially laudatory of Louisiana, where a campaign to improve reading proficiency resulted in both higher- and lower-performing students exceeding 2019 scores.She drew attention to the states focus on the science of reading a research-backed approach that focuses on teaching phonics, or the building blocks of words, as children build toward literacy. The concept has been embraced by a growing number of blue and red states and has been credited for gains in some states.I would not say that hope is lost, and I would not say that we cannot turn this around, Carr said. Its been demonstrated that we can.___Annie Ma contributed reporting from Washington, and Sharon Lurye contributed from New Orleans.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto

This image provided by NASA shows a top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. (NASA via AP)2025-01-29T16:00:04Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.The findings provide the strongest evidence yet that asteroids may have planted the seeds of life on Earth and that these ingredients were mingling with water almost right from the start.Thats the kind of environment that could have been essential to the steps that lead from elements to life, said the Smithsonian Institutions Tim McCoy, one of the lead study authors.NASAs Osiris-Rex spacecraft returned 122 grams (4 ounces) of dust and pebbles from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, delivering the sample canister to the Utah desert in 2023 before swooping off after another space rock. It remains the biggest cosmic haul from beyond the moon. The two previous asteroid sample missions, by Japan, yielded considerably less material. Small amounts of Bennus precious black grains leftovers from the solar systems formation 4.5 billion years ago were doled out to the two separate research teams whose studies appeared in the journals Nature and Nature Astronomy. But it was more than enough to tease out the sodium-rich minerals and confirm the presence of amino acids, nitrogen in the form of ammonia and even parts of the genetic code. Some if not all of the delicate salts found at Bennu similar to whats in the dry lakebeds of Californias Mojave Desert and Africas Sahara would be stripped away if present in falling meteorites. This discovery was only possible by analyzing samples that were collected directly from the asteroid then carefully preserved back on Earth, the Institute of Science Tokyos Yasuhito Sekine, who was not involved in the studies, said in an accompanying editorial.Combining the ingredients of life with an environment of sodium-rich salt water, or brines, thats really the pathway to life, said McCoy, the National Museum of Natural Historys curator of meteorites. These processes probably occurred much earlier and were much more widespread than we had thought before. NASAs Daniel Glavin said one of the biggest surprises was the relatively high abundance of nitrogen, including ammonia. While all of the organic molecules found in the Bennu samples have been identified before in meteorites, Glavin said the ones from Bennu are valid real extraterrestrial organic material formed in space and not a result of contamination from Earth.Bennu a rubble pile just one-third of a mile (one-half of a kilometer) across was originally part of a much larger asteroid that got clobbered by other space rocks. The latest results suggest this parent body had an extensive underground network of lakes or even oceans, and that the water evaporated away, leaving behind the salty clues.Sixty labs around the world are analyzing bits of Bennu as part of initial studies, said the University of Arizonas Dante Lauretta, the missions chief scientist who took part in both studies. Most of the $1 billion missions cache has been set aside for future analysis. Scientists stress more testing is needed to better understand the Bennu samples, as well as more asteroid and comet sample returns. China plans to launch an asteroid sample return mission this year.Many are pushing for a mission to collect rocks and dirt from the potentially waterlogged dwarf planet Ceres in the main asteroid belt. Jupiters moon Europa and Saturns moon Enceladus also beckon as enticing water worlds. Meanwhile, NASA has core samples awaiting pickup at Mars, but their delivery is on hold while the space agency studies the quickest and cheapest way to get them here.Are we alone? McCoy said. Thats one of the questions were trying to answer.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This image provided by Budweiser shows the Budweiser 2025 Super Bowl NFL football spot. (Budweiser via AP)2025-01-29T13:00:06Z NEW YORK (AP) Get ready for an onslaught of ads full of celebrities, cute animals and snack brands during breaks in the action at Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9, when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Anheuser-Busch, Meta, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, Taco Bell, Uber Eats and others will vie to win over the more than 120 million viewers expected to tune in for the broadcast on Fox and via the free livestream on Tubi.Demand for ad space was robust this year, said Mark Evans, executive vice president of ad sales for Fox Sports, with ad space selling out in November and a waitlist for marketers ready to take the space of anyone who pulled out.The high demand seems to have pushed prices to a record, with a few ad spots reportedly selling for a record $8 million and even $8 million-plus for 30 seconds. Fox declined to comment on the specific price tag for 30 seconds, which can vary depending on placement and other factors. But in an earnings call in November, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said ad space had sold out at record pricing. Last year, a 30-second spot went for around a reported $7 million. The Super Bowl is a hot ticket for advertisers because the live viewing audience is so large. Last year, an estimated 123.7 million viewers tuned into the game, according to Nielsen. Evans said the mix of ad categories for the most part includes the usual suspects: beverages, snacks, tech companies and telcos. There will be a focus on AI in more commercials, he said, and slightly more pharmaceutical companies advertising this year. One category thats down is movie promos and streamers. Another traditionally big category for the Super Bowl, automakers, are mainly sitting it out after a tough year in the sector, with only Stellantis Jeep and Ram brands having announced an appearance.The California wildfires in January made the lead up to the game less predictable than usual. State Farm pulled out of its planned advertising to focus on the fires. And some other advertisers faced production delays. But Evans said accommodations were made wherever possible. These are unique circumstances. ... So were being as accommodating as possible to try to make sure that everybody can get done what they need to get done, he said. But more importantly, you know, dont put themselves or anybody else in harms way because of it.Advertisers are expected to begin releasing their ads in the days ahead of the game. One of the first ads to debut was an ad for Budweiser which wont air nationally but will air in some regional markets featuring a Clydesdale foal that helps make a beer delivery.Another Anheuser-Busch brand, Michelob Ultra, also released its ad, which shows Willem Dafoe and Catherine OHara as pickleball hustlers.Hellmanns ad brings Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal back together for a reprise of the Katzs Deli scene in When Harry Met Sally.Teasers have abounded this year, from an Uber Eats teaser starring Charli XCX and Martha Stewart to Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt touting Metas Smart Glasses. MAE ANDERSON Anderson reports for The Associated Press on a wide range of issues that small businesses face. She is based in New York. twitter mailto

Solar panels system funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are seen in the Lebanese-Syrian border town of Majdal Anjar, eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Nov. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)2025-01-29T17:11:13Z NEW YORK (AP) Freezing foreign aid. Withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement. Prohibiting nonprofits that receive U.S. foreign aid from providing abortions.Then Monday, the new Trump administration announced a freeze on all federal loans and grants, though a judge has paused that until next Monday. Nonprofits of all sizes are now grappling with how these changes will impact their missions with some even stepping in to replace a very small part of the funding the U.S. government is withholding. The pause on federal funding is creating a tremendous amount of confusion, and we dont have clarity about what happens from here, said Fatimah Loren Dreier, executive director of the HAVI, a public health organization that specializes in stopping gun violence. And that confusion has ripple effects on communities that are particularly vulnerable to shifts. The U.S. government is the largest single global humanitarian funder, giving $ 13.9 billion in 2024, and largest supporter of U.N. agencies, meaning any changes to foreign assistance have sweeping impacts across geographies and issues. The State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development are the main agencies that oversee foreign assistance, which Trump paused for 90 days to review if every grant and dollar aligns with his foreign policy. Yuriy Boyechko, who founded the New Jersey-based nonprofit, Hope for Ukraine, said he woke up to a barrage of messages on Sunday from the grassroots organizations he works with in Ukraine. They feared what would happen if USAID stops making grants there. He pointed specifically to programs that send trucks of firewood to rural areas that dont have electricity. The people who remain are often elderly and poor, he said, and use the wood both to heat their homes and to cook.I really dont know how theyre going to get through the winter, he said. The organizations that make the deliveries are mostly volunteer run, Boyechko said, and dont have the capacity to buy the wood or fuel needed to transfer it without regular funding from USAIDs office in Kyiv. He suggested that anyone who is concerned about the funding for humanitarian aid in Ukraine call their representatives or the White House.What made America great and what makes America great is generosity. And this is not a good move for America, and this is not a good move for humanity as a whole, he said, noting that Ukraine has really relied on the U.S. for its support.USAID said all programs and grants without a waiver approved by the Secretary of State, are paused, but did not specifically say whether humanitarian aid to Ukraine would be halted.In fiscal year 2023, the most recent data available, $68 billion had been obligated in U.S. foreign aid to programs that range from disaster relief to health and pro-democracy initiatives in 204 countries and regions.It is not the first time billionaire philanthropist Mike Bloomberg has stepped in after Trump announced he was withdrawing from the landmark Paris climate agreement. The former New York City mayor pledged on Jan. 23 to fund the U.S. governments share of the budget for the main offices of U.N. Climate Change. He also covered the cost of the U.S. commitment from 2016 to 2019, in the amount of $10.25 million. Being able to step in to be nimble and quick, not to replace the role of government, but just to show whats possible and to continue to move progress forward when governments are not, is really important to Bloomberg Philanthropies, said Antha Williams, who leads its environment program. The U.N. climate body was established as part of the historic 2015 climate agreement that aims to keep warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. It organizes the annual climate negotiations, where countries set emissions reduction targets and commit to financing climate adaptation and mitigation measures, and tracks progress toward those goals. Williams said Bloomberg Philanthropies wanted to offer certainty to U.N. Climate Change that their budget would be met. In addition to funding the U.N. Climate Change secretariat, Bloomberg Philanthropies will continue to support a coalition now named America is All In. It brings together local governments, companies and universities, who report on progress toward climate goals, which the federal government will stop doing after pulling out of the agreement. Joanna Depledge, a historian of international climate negotiations, called that reporting critical, as it provides a picture of trends in emissions and therefore progress made toward, the Paris agreement targets.Communication from USAID and the State Department with their grantees and contractors has been sparse, according to attorneys and consultants who work with foreign aid recipients. The publication Devex, which reports on international development, convened a webinar of experts on foreign aid on Monday to field questions about how to comply with stop work orders, how to manage cash flows, the likelihood of receiving a waiver. Susan Reichle, a retired senior USAID officer, said organizations need to make the case that their work is important not just to the agency, but to the American people and to Congress. Every day that goes by that the U.S. is not leading and meeting its obligations, whether contractual obligations or cooperative agreements or grants, we are actually hurting our national security, she said. Some organizations are hit by both the pause on foreign aid and the order called the Global Gag Rule that prohibits nonprofits receiving U.S. foreign assistance from providing abortion services or even talking about abortion as a potential option. MSI Reproductive Choices, an international nonprofit that provides reproductive health services, did not sign onto the rule under the last Trump administration, meaning that it hasnt won that much U.S. funding in recent years. Still, a mobile health clinic they run in Zimbabwe is funded through the U.S. embassy there, and Beth Schlachter, senior director of U.S. external relations, said that work would stop unless another funder comes forward. However, she said no amount of philanthropic funding can make up for the loss or pause of U.S. funds, meaning large donors are facing very difficult choices. Given the breadth of whats just happened in the last week, its not as if other donors are only looking at gaps in reproductive health services now. Theyre looking across the range of their development concerns, she said.___Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and non-profits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. THALIA BEATY Beaty reports on philanthropy for The Associated Press and is based in New York.

The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-01-29T17:00:51Z WASHINGTON (AP) Private school vouchers and other school choice initiatives would expand under an order coming from President Donald Trump telling government agencies to repurpose federal dollars.The Education Department is being told to use discretionary money to prioritize school choice programs and give states new guidance on how they can use federal money to support K-12 voucher programs. The executive order that he plans to sign Wednesday could free up some pockets of federal money to be used on school choice, but it is not clear how far he could move the needle with federal money alone. The vast majority of school funding comes from state and local sources, and school choice policies are generally the purview of state governments.The order says traditional public schools have failed students and that the new administration will reverse course by opening up opportunities for students to attend the school that best fits their needs. Other agencies, including the departments of Defense and Health and Human Services and the Bureau of Indian Education, would be directed to help states and families find ways to use existing federal money for school choice programs. The signing, as conservative groups are celebrating National School Choice, comes the same day that results from a national exam found that Americas students have continued to fall behind in reading and made little improvement in math in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order cites the National Assessment of Educational Progress finding that 70% of eighth-grade students were not proficient in reading and 72% were not proficient in math. Responding to the results, the Trump administration said it is committed to reorienting our education system to fully empower states, to prioritize meaningful learning and provide universal access to high-quality instruction. Trump campaigned on a promise to expand school choice, long a key part of the Republican education agenda. He promised to create massive funding preferences for states that adopt universal school choice a policy that lets almost all families use taxpayer-funded education money to attend private schools, homeschooling or other options beyond local public schools.Arizona became the first state to adopt universal school choice in 2022 and several Republican-states have followed. Opponents say the policy is designed to gut public education.During his first term, Trump also tried to expand school choice and he made Betsy DeVos, a prominent school choice advocate, as education secretary. DeVos worked with governors to expand state policies but failed to get Congress to pass legislation that would have provided tax breaks for donations made to scholarships for private schools or other education options.Trump has nominated billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to serve as his next education chief. McMahon, whose Senate hearing has not been scheduled yet, has called for an expansion of school choice policies.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender and gender-nonconforming youth from receiving gender-affirming medical care. This order would also penalize any institution that receives federal research or education grants if they provide gender-affirming care to anyone under the age of 19.The order begins by stating that medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a childs sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.It goes on to say that countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding.On average, approximately 1% of people report regretting their transition.The ban includes any surgical and medical intervention, including puberty blockers, estrogen, progesterone or testosterone.In the section titled, Ending Junk Science the order denounces the work and research done by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health as lacking in scientific integrity and instructs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a review of existing literature on best practices for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion.The HHS has been instructed to remove the HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights and Patient Privacy and issue new guidance.Congress and the HHS are instructed to develop private right of action legislation, which would allow parents or children who have received gender affirming surgical or medical care, to sue medical professionals for damage.In response to the order, GLAAD released a statement saying, The Trump administrations unhinged obsession with attacking transgender people and their health care does not reflect medical fact and does not represent the reality of trans people, youth, and their freedom to be themselves, and make their own health care decisions, without being discriminated against and lied about.Read the full statement here.Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said this about the ban.Everyone deserves the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions for themselves and their families no matter your income, zip code, or health coverage. This executive order is a brazen attempt to put politicians in between people and their doctors, preventing them from accessing evidence-based healthcare supported by every major medical association in the country. It is deeply unfair to play politics with peoples lives and strip transgender young people, their families, and their providers of the freedom to make necessary health care decisions. Questions about this care should be answered by doctorsnot politiciansand decisions must rest with families, doctors, and the patient.Advocates for Trans Equality also released a statement.Only 8 days into his second term, President Donald Trump has blood on his hands, said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director for Advocates for Trans Equality. This executive order not only prohibits but intends to set forth a path to potentially criminalize the provision of safe, evidence-based, medically necessary gender-affirming care, endangering the lives of tens of thousands of transgender adolescents under the age of 19.Trumps executive order comes one day after a previous order banning trans people from serving in the military.The post Trump moves to restrict trans youth health care, one day after military ban appeared first on News Is Out.

This combination of photos provided by the International Transport Workers Federation shows conditions on board the Sister 12, a cargo ship whose workers say they haven't been paid in more than a year. (ITF via AP)2025-01-29T14:00:19Z More ships than ever are being abandoned around the world by their owners, according to the United Nations labor and maritime organizations, leaving thousands of workers stuck on board without pay or the means to travel home to their families.Cases have doubled in the past three years, impacting more than 3,000 seafarers across some 230 ships in 2024, according to an Associated Press analysis of U.N. data. Last years figures could rise even further given the time that can elapse before vulnerable, frustrated workers reach out to report their plight.By international guidelines, workers are considered abandoned if shipowners fail to pay two or more months of wages, provide basic supplies or otherwise stop communicating with the crew.The only leverage seafarers have sometimes is to stay on a vessel until they get paid, said Helen Meldrum, a ship inspector with the International Transport Workers Federation, which advocates for ship workers rights. A sailor gives a tour of the deteriorating conditions on board the Sister 12, the cargo ship where he has worked for more than a year without pay. (ITF) Its a phenomenon rarely visible from shore, and one hitting hardest the smaller shipping companies servicing less profitable trade routes. Many crews reporting a lack of pay are on corroded ships built decades ago. The top countries for cases last year were the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.The worst cases have seen entire crews suffering weeks without adequate food or fresh water, or living on dark ships without electricity. Some workers languish on board for years, such as Abdul Nasser Saleh, whom the Associated Press profiled last year in a story exploring abandonment in U.S. ports and abroad. This image from video provided by Abdul Nasser Saleh shows him in his bedroom aboard the cargo ship Al-Maha at the seaport of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in January 2024. Saleh lived and worked on the ship for nearly a decade without pay. (Courtesy Abdul Nasser Saleh via AP) This image from video provided by Abdul Nasser Saleh shows him in his bedroom aboard the cargo ship Al-Maha at the seaport of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in January 2024. Saleh lived and worked on the ship for nearly a decade without pay. (Courtesy Abdul Nasser Saleh via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The AP found that shipowners often stopped paying workers when their costs skyrocketed or business dried up. Owners commonly left ships docked in ports where crews lacked immigration paperwork to step foot on land or at anchorages only reachable by boat.The number of abandonment cases in 2024 surpassed the earlier record set in 2023.Governments and organizations like Meldrums can report abandoned ships to the U.N., which verifies the basic facts and petitions the owner and relevant authorities to find a resolution. Meldrum has recently been appealing to authorities for help getting proper food, fuel and back-pay for crews on three cargo ships run by a company called Friends Shipping. Workers on board the Sister 12, now moored off the coast of Yemen, have been confined to the ship for more than a year without receiving a paycheck, according to her review. Theyre essentially imprisoned on these vessels, Meldrum said. It goes way beyond exploitation.Abdul Razzaq Abdul Khaliq, a Syrian sailor on board the Sister 12, wrote to AP over WhatsApp that the ship was full of insects and the crew had to use seawater for bathing. Photos and videos he shared show the faucets spewing cloudy brown water, rust blanketing the deck and only a few rotting pieces of produce in the pantry.(T)here is no food on the ship, there is no water, there is no life, he wrote. Friends Shipping, which has offices in Turkey and Dubai, has a pattern of abandonment linked to its fleet. Nineteen of the 22 ships listed on its website have been named in abandonment cases, according to U.N. data, though some of those ships may have since been sold. The company boasts a slogan of We Make the World Smaller.Meldrum said Friends Shipping hires workers who are unaware of the companys reputation, then leaves them in such dire conditions that many are willing to go home at the first chance even without pay. A new crew will be staffed and the same thing happens, she said. This combination of photos provided by Abdul Nasser Saleh shows the deck of the cargo ship Al-Maha, abandoned by its owners, at the seaport of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in January 2024. (Courtesy Abdul Nasser Saleh via AP, File) This combination of photos provided by Abdul Nasser Saleh shows the deck of the cargo ship Al-Maha, abandoned by its owners, at the seaport of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in January 2024. (Courtesy Abdul Nasser Saleh via AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Friends Shipping didnt respond to APs questions about abandonment on their fleet or the welfare of their crews. A person who responded to messages sent to the companys WhatsApp number in Turkey said that provisions were supplied to the crew on the Sister 12 and all workers on the ship would be disembarked, without providing details.Despite global treaties on labor rights, there are few avenues for holding owners accountable in an industry where ships are often registered under nondescript shell companies and fly the flags of countries unrelated to their operations.Flag registries are expected to act as first responders to help repatriate seafarers and ensure they have food and medical care, according to U.N. guidelines. A decade-old amendment to the Maritime Labor Convention signed by more than 90 nations also requires the flag states to vouch for the ships they register by requiring insurance to cover several months of wages if business goes south. APs reporting found many flag states still dont intervene. Panama, Palau and Tanzania each registered dozens of the ships reported as abandoned in 2024.The yearslong rise in abandonment cases could mean more seafarers are becoming willing to report abuse by their employers, but the overall figures likely underestimate the true picture of worker exploitation at sea. Cases first spiked amid the global pandemic and have kept rising as shipowners are pinched by inflation and other rising costs.The ITF, the group that advocates for workers, said it helped workers recover more than $10 million in back-pay last year. Inspectors were still fighting for another $10 million they say is owed.Associated Press reporter Aaron Kessler contributed to this report.This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.__Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/ HELEN WIEFFERING Wieffering is a reporter on the Global Investigations team. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., leaves Manhattan federal court, May, 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)2025-01-29T05:05:54Z NEW YORK (AP) Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez faces the likelihood of a long prison term when he is sentenced Wednesday for selling his once-considerable clout in Washington for gold bars, a luxury car and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash bribes.Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to give the Democrat 15 years behind bars for crimes that include acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.Menendezs lawyers say he deserves less than two years in prison, citing his decades of public service and a life largely well-lived after the son of Cuban immigrants rose from poverty to become the epitome of the American Dream.In the morning, Judge Sidney H. Stein signaled that a stiffer penalty was likely on the way when he gave a seven-year prison sentence to Fred Daibes, 67, one of two New Jersey businessmen convicted of paying bribes to the senator. Prosecutors had requested a nine-year prison term while his lawyers had asked for less than two years in prison, similar to the request for leniency by Menendezs attorneys. Stein also fined the real estate developer $1.75 million. Prior to the announcement of his sentence, a tearful Daibes told Stein that the jury verdict had left him borderline suicidal, and requested leniency so that he could care for his 30-year-old autistic son. In the early afternoon, the judge imposed a sentence of eight years on the second businessman, Wael Hana, and fined him $1.25 million and ordered him to forfeit $125,000. That sentence was announced minutes after Hana told the judge: I am an innocent man. First and foremost, I never bribed Senator Menendez or asked his office for influence.The judge, though, said the jurys verdict was very, very substantial.Stein was scheduled to sentence Menendez in the afternoon. A third businessman pleaded guilty and testified against Menendez at a trial last year. Menendez resigned from the Senate after his conviction last year, though he lost much of his power in fall 2023 when the charges against him were revealed and he was forced to surrender his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.The trial traced Menendezs dealings with Egyptian officials and his quest to aid three men who showered him with lucrative gifts found during a 2022 raid on the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home he shared with his wife, Nadine.FBI agents who searched the house found $480,000 in cash, some of it stuffed inside boots and the pockets of clothing hung in the couples closets. They also seized gold bars worth an estimated $150,000. Prosecutors said Menendez had put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes, including by serving Egypts interests as he worked to protect a meat certification monopoly Hana had established with the Egyptian government.Among other things, Menendez provided Egyptian officials with information about the staff at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwrote a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in military aid to Egypt. Prosecutors said that for other bribes, Menendez attempted to persuade a federal prosecutor in New Jersey to go easy on Daibes, a politically influential real estate developer accused of bank fraud.And at the trial, another businessman, Jose Uribe, testified that he helped Nadine Menendez get a Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator sought to pressure state prosecutors to drop criminal probes of his associates.Menendez has insisted that he is innocent of any crime, saying repeatedly that his interactions with Egyptian officials were normal for the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, and that he always put American interests first. He denied taking any bribes and said the gold bars belonged to his wife.Nadine Menendez faces trial in March on many of the same charges as her husband after spending the last year battling breast cancer.Prosecutors said in a court filing that long prison terms are a warranted punishment for this extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of the public trust. The defendants engaged, for years, in a corruption and foreign influence scheme of stunning brazenness, breadth, and duration, resulting in exceptionally grave abuses of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government, they wrote.Menendezs lawyers, in a presentence submission, said he had already suffered greatly.Unsurprisingly, Senator Menendezs conviction has rendered him a national punchline and stripped him of every conceivable personal, professional, and financial benefit, his lawyers wrote. Bob is now 71, with his long-built reputation in tatters. He has suffered financial and professional ruin.Menendezs law license has been suspended and will be revoked if his conviction stands. His state pension is in jeopardy. His name has already been stripped from an elementary school in New Jersey. His once broad circle of friends and political allies have largely disappeared, his lawyers said. While all defendants suffer inevitable personal and professional consequences if convicted of serious federal crimes, Senator Menendez in many important respects has already been punished relatively more harshly due to his position.In court papers, the lawyers described how Menendez devoted much of his life to his country and his community after he was scarred by the early loss of his father, who killed himself when Menendez was 23 after he was unable to pay off gambling debts.They described a 50-year history of public service in heroic terms, tracing a career in which Menendez was mayor of Union City, New Jersey, a state lawmaker, a member of the U.S. House and then a senator from 2006 to 2024.Yet he also had the distinction of being the only U.S. senator indicted twice.In 2015, he was charged with selling his influence to a wealthy Florida eye doctor and entrepreneur who prosecutors said lavished him with luxury vacations and campaign contributions. But the jury in that case couldnt reach a unanimous verdict. Federal prosecutors dropped the case rather than put him on trial again. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto

Dario Amodei, the CEO of the AI company Anthropic, has responded to the current hysteria in his industry and the financial markets around a new and surprisingly advanced Chinese AI model called DeepSeek by saying it proves the United States needs export controls on chips to China in order to ensure China doesnt take a commanding lead on the global stage, not just for AI but for everything.As I wrote earlier this week, Amodei believes that DeepSeeks current advantages over American AI companies are overstated and temporary. The true cost of the DeepSeek R1 is not entirely clear and almost certainly much higher than DeepSeeks paper claims because it is building on previous research published by American companies and DeepSeeks own previously released V3 model. Additionally, Amodei argues that American companies will be able to recreate the same efficiencies in their model training soon, if they havent already, and then gain the lead again when those efficiencies are paired with American companies much greater access to more and better. The US already has export controls on chips to China, and Amodei argues that DeepSeek shows that they are more existentially important than they were a week ago.At the same time, Amodei believes that making AI that is smarter than almost all humans at almost all things will require millions of chips, tens of billions of dollars (at least), and is most likely to happen in 2026-2027. Multiple American companies, Amodei says, will definitely have the money and chips this requires. The important question, and the reason the US needs export controls on chips, is whether China will be able to get millions of chips in order to do this as well.If they can, we'll live in a bipolar world, where both the US and China have powerful AI models that will cause extremely rapid advances in science and technologywhat I've called countries of geniuses in a datacenter. A bipolar world would not necessarily be balanced indefinitely. Even if the US and China were at parity in AI systems, it seems likely that China could direct more talent, capital, and focus to military applications of the technology. Combined with its large industrial base and military-strategic advantages, this could help China take a commanding lead on the global stage, not just for AI but for everything.In one of his footnotes, Amodei expands on this: To be clear, the goal here is not to deny China or any other authoritarian country the immense benefits in science, medicine, quality of life, etc that come from very powerful AI systems, he said. Everyone should be able to benefit from AI. The goal is to prevent them from gaining military dominance.To state the obvious here, its not just China that can direct talent, capital, and focus to military applications of the technology. OpenAI, arguably the leading AI company in the United States and the world, has already partnered with American military defense technology company Anduril to deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions. the US Military is already purchasing OpenAI software for war, and companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are always competing for US military contracts. AI could have a lot of uses but the military is definitely one of them for US companies. Thats not something only China is doing.Overall, Amodei piece is pretty diplomatic. It doesnt vilify DeepSeek and Chinese researchers and respects their contributions to computer science. It acknowledges that societies deserve the benefits of technology even if we disagree with their governments. But the ultimatum Amodei says we are facing is: Do we want to live in a world in which an all powerful US owned AI is dominating the world or do we want to live in a world in which an all powerful China-owned AI is dominating the world.If China can't get millions of chips, we'll (at least temporarily) live in a unipolar world, where only the US and its allies have these models. It's unclear whether the unipolar world will last, but there's at least the possibility that, because AI systems can eventually help make even smarter AI systems, a temporary lead could be parlayed into a durable advantage. Thus, in this world, the US and its allies might take a commanding and long-lasting lead on the global stage [...] Well-enforced export controls are the only thing that can prevent China from getting millions of chips, and are therefore the most important determinant of whether we end up in a unipolar or bipolar world.If I had to choose, I guess I would choose the US AI dystopia over the Chinese AI dystopia. But those arent really the only choices available to us. Even if we just accept the assumption that AI will be as powerful as Amodei and other AI company CEOs tell us they are, are we really unable to even imagine a world in which we choose not to weaponize and militarize them in ways that brings humanity to the brink? Would preventing our own homegrown AI companies from doing exactly that not be a good place to start?

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.Blues singer Gladys Bentley was a dazzling star of the Harlem Renaissance, a period in the 1920s and 30s when African American culture flourished in New York City. Bentleys risqu performances intrigued audiences. So did the entertainers relationships with women.There are many ways to read Bentleys life, fashion historian Eleanor Medhurst explains in Unsuitable: A History of Lesbian Fashion, but mine is, of course, through clothing.She is referring to Bentleys embrace of mens attire. The exquisite tuxedo captured in Bentleys iconic publicity photographs reveals the power of dress for a masculine woman, a male impersonator, and an unabashed lesbian.Medhurst began developing her ideas about fashion on her blog Dressing Dykes and has popularised her work on social media via TikTok. In Unsuitable she offers an engaging history that ranges across centuries and continents, beginning with the ancient Greek poet Sappho and continuing to the present day. Her book draws together lesbian dress styles from monocles and sailors attire to dyke t-shirts and more.Gladys Bentley (c.1930) Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsMedhursts preference is for the term lesbian, ahead of queer, gay women or sapphic. She acknowledges the relatively recent emergence of the term, which only came into common usage in its contemporary sense towards the end of the 19th century.Many women in these pages called themselves lesbian, while others might have used different labels or none at all. Yet for Medhurst they all remain part of a heritage that informs the lesbian present, to which she adds her distinctive voice.Her aim with Unsuitable is to recover lesbian fashion, though this is not a simple task. Some women strove to blend in rather than stand out. They chose, carefully and deliberately, to fit the feminine conventions of the day to escape detection, and the homophobia and violence that could accompany it.Medhurst notes that for much of history, lesbians have had to hide themselves in a way that has made it impossible for new trends to arise as they do in mainstream fashion, evolving from those that came before. She grapples with how to recover this sometimes hidden fashion history. In doing so, she proves that there is plenty to explore, but that it takes a sharp eye and knowing where to look.Violet flowers and lavender huesThe violet is a recurring motif. Sappho used the flower in her romantic poetry, writing of crowns of violets. But Medhurst is also interested in Sapphos afterlives, as the poets image was harnessed by lesbians and her story was retold and reclaimed.Violets have appeared in multiple queer cultural contexts. In Paris, in the first decades of the 20th century, they were pinned to clothing as part of the lesbian vernacular. Violets continue to feature today as fashionable Sappho-inspired flower tattoos.The colour purple has also become a powerful symbol. Members of the Lavender Menace, a lesbian activist group from New York founded in 1970, dyed their t-shirts purple in a bathtub. They then emblazoned the groups name in bold capital letters across the chest. This was part of their protest against the exclusion of lesbians from the womens movement at the Second Congress to Unite Women.With their purple t-shirts, the Lavender Menace wore their message of resistance. So did those who donned protest t-shirts in decades to come, including the Lesbian Avengers in the 1990s. But Medhurst reminds her readers that those who wear t-shirts reclaiming the word dyke do so not only to represent struggle sometimes, they represent joy.Masculine looksRadclyffe Hall (c.1930) Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsAt the same time as Gladys Bentley was enthralling New York City in her tuxedo, paired with the essential accoutrements of top hat, cane and stiff shirt collar, lesbians in interwar Paris were exploring other masculine looks.Some favoured the monocle. They tucked the single eyeglass under their arched brow as they mingled at Le Monocle, a night club on Pariss left bank. One photograph capturing a euphoric evening at the club documented a striking preference for this eye-wear. The photograph, Medhurst suggests, might mark the womens affiliation to the club or the lesbian culture that had accepted monocles as a tiny part of itself: a shining, glittering truth.Others wore sailors attire at their favoured Parisian nightspots, but also beyond them. Whether Breton stripes or sailors collars, nautical wear became a lesbian look. It was popularised by sea-shanty-singing French performer Suzy Solidor and Mabel Hampton on New Yorks queer waterfront.Una Troubridge Romaine Brooks (1924) Public domain, via Wikimendia CommonsSome donned starched white collars with sharply tailored suits, like those worn by English author Radclyffe Hall and her partner Una Troubridge. Troubridges portrait by Romaine Brooks, in which she posed with her dachshunds, captured the sleek lines of her black suit against a luminous white shirt. Its collar framed her face, with its one monocled eye.The sartorial lineMore than 100 years earlier, Englishwoman Anne Lister navigated a murky sartorial line between masculine and feminine dress. Medhurst tenderly recounts the life of Lister, a landowner and businesswoman born in 1791.Lister documented her intimate relationships in code across her diaries, leaving behind a remarkably rich account of a woman now considered the first modern lesbian. Medhursts contribution to the ample commentary on Listers writing is to consider how clothes are a window to her heart. As Medhurst puts it:When we consider what she wore and why she chose to wear it, it is easier to see the ways that she was different, and the ways that she strived not to be.Anne Lister Joshua Horner (c.1830) Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsLister wore black in the period before it became fashionable for women, but was common for men. Her clothes appeared starkly different to the colourful femininity of her contemporaries. When she adopted her dramatic look, Lister gifted her coloured gowns to other homes. She also adopted certain mens accessories, including braces.Lister explained to a companion that her move to black was a result of trying to better dress her bad figure. Few other women would be so bold until Queen Victoria popularised wearing black for mourning in 1861, following the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert.Femme styleButches stand out in lesbian history far more than any femme, Medhurst observes. Yet women like American-born writer Natalie Barney welcomed bohemian guests to her celebrated Parisian literary salon (for a time) in elegant, white, bias-cut, curve-hugging gowns designed by couturier Madeleine Vionnet.Natalie Barney Alice Hughes (1899) Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsA disdain for or suspicion of feminine dress emerged in the 20th century when femmes, through association with fashion, were considered an enemy to the lesbian cause. In selecting heels or flat shoes, skirts or baggy pants, makeup or a bare face, lesbians could conform to or resist heterosexual norms.Medhurst draws her history to a close in the 21st century, with a personal account of her fondness for the colour pink. In 2018, she donated an outfit of her own for the Queer Looks exhibition at the Brighton Museum, which explored 50 years of LGBTQ fashion in the British city. Other contributions by Brightons LGBTQ community included drag outfits, fetish gear and protest badges. Medhursts outfit represented my love of the colour and the femininity that especially in my late teens and early twenties was integral to my personal expression of lesbian identity.Pink is a colour with baggage, Medhurst reminds us.Gender norms tell women that they should be feminine, but also that this makes them lesser than men. They then tell queer women that they are inherently unfeminine but that this makes them lesser too. For a woman to be queer, yet hyper-feminine, is to reclaim and speak with both sides of her oppression.Medhursts survey of lesbian fashion does not extend to Australia. Her gaze is firmly focused on Britain, Europe and North America, together with one chapter concentrating on Hiratsuka Raich and Otake Kkichi, feminist writers in early 20th century Japan.This is a result of (among other things) her use of available sources and funding. It is an expensive exercise to undertake a global history. And writing a comprehensive fashion history of a place, period or group of people is an unruly task. It involves making difficult decisions about what to bring in, who to leave out, and how to give space to diverse stories, lives and fashions.Yet Medhursts research underlines the exciting potential for further work on Australian lesbian fashion one that might explore the clothes, accessories and bodily styling that helped to shape and define lesbian identity here. This is especially the case when excellent work on Australias queer clothing exists and exhibitions celebrating queer creativity and fashion as a form of queer expression are growing.If our selves are evidence of lesbian lives, our clothes spell out our history, our stories sewn into the seams, Medhurst concludes. As Unsuitable takes its readers on a tour of lesbian clothing across centuries, it reveals the power of dress to shape the lives of those who wear it and to challenge, provoke and bring people together along the way.The post From tuxedos to tattoos, Eleanor Medhursts Unsuitable traces a hidden history of lesbianfashion appeared first on News Is Out.

David Coote, once a Premier League referee overseeing some of soccers biggest clashes in the UK, has blown the whistle on his own past this time, not for a dodgy call on the pitch, but rather for the secret hes been carrying his whole life.In a bombshell interview with The Sun, Coote publicly came out as gay, revealing that hiding his sexuality in the hyper-macho world of professional soccer drove him to self-destructive behavior. Ive had issues around my self-esteem and that relates to my sexuality, Coote admitted. Im gay and Ive struggled with feeling proud of being me over a long period of time.This revelation comes after a stunning fall from grace. Coote was sacked by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in December following a series of controversies that sent his career into a tailspin. The tipping point? A video of him calling former Liverpool manager Jrgen Klopp a c*** while, as he later admitted, not sober. That was bad enough, but then The Sun published a separate video allegedly showing him snorting white powder at Euro 2024. The Premier League swiftly showed him the red card.Yet, Coote insists his behavior was symptomatic of deeper struggles. My sexuality isnt the only reason that led me to be in that position, he said. But Im not telling an authentic story if I dont say that Im gay, and that Ive had real struggles dealing with hiding that.See on InstagramThe fear of coming out in soccers notoriously aggressive environment weighed heavily on him. I have received deeply unpleasant abuse during my career as a ref, he revealed. And to add my sexuality to that would have been really difficult.He describes his years as an official as living a double sense of being capable of keeping his emotions locked up while making tough calls on the field, but struggling to reconcile his personal truth off it.In his interview, Coote admitted that he used cocaine as a form of escape, especially as the pressures of his job officiating over 90 games in a single season became unbearable.Since his dismissal, he has sought therapy and kicked his drug habit, reflecting on how far he fell. I dont recognize myself in the cocaine video, he said. I cant resonate with how I felt then, but that was me. I was struggling with the schedule, and there was no opportunity to stop. And so I found myself in that position escaping.Despite everything, Coote is owning his past and moving forward. To other people in my situation, Id say seek help and talk to somebody because if you bottle it up like I have done it has to come out in some way.The news, of course, has been met with some mixed reactions from the online world. Keep scrolling for some of our favorites. (@) "David Coote this weekend when PGMOL give him his job back after coming out" (@) "David coote woke up this morning in the mood" (@) "David Coote: But, Im actually gay! Football fans -" (@) "David Coote insulted Jurgen Klopp and took cocaine because he was gay?" (@) "David Coote at Anfield yesterday" (@) "Im confused, is David Coote saying he snorted coke and slagged off scousers and Klopp because hes.. gay?" (@) "Phillip Schofield and David coote dropping the gay card to get out of allegations ." (@) "The PGMOL making David Coote come out as gay just after he ruined their reputation" (@) "David Coote came out for no reason [crying emoji] [crying emoji] [broken heart emoji]" (@) "David Coote Hangs Up His Whistle [kissy face emoji] [eyes covered emoji]"

RuPaul Drag Race star Trixie Mattel's hyper-exaggerated makeup look is so iconic that many of her fellow Ru Girls have tried painting their faces to mimic hers.Mattel got her start in beauty school and then as an employee at Sephora before diving into drag. Since then, the comedy queen went on to be a break out star on the seventh season of Drag Race, eventually taking home the crown on All Stars season 3. Now, she's also a country music singer and has launched her own successful makeup line.In fact, her makeup is so recognizable and iconic yesterday that Kennedy Davenport who has had a long-standing feud with Mattel even joined the ranks of queens who have taken her look for a spin. In a newly released YouTube video, chaotic queen Mistress Isabelle Brooks painted Davenport's face in Mattel's unforgettable style while the two gossiped about what happened to cause the feud. "I was the one with the beef," Davenport explained. "My heart was broken. When I befriend somebody, I really take that to heart. I just felt, in the instances of filming [All Stars 3], not one time did she tell me she was reading me every chance she got. I really thought that we had created a bond that we weren't able to create during season 7." From Bob the Drag Queen to Kim Chi to her Bald and the Beautiful podcast co-host Katya, a dozen queens have given her arched brows, white under eyes, and extreme lashes a try!Eva Le QueenSee on InstagramDrag Race Philippines and Global All Stars alum Eva Le Queen tried out a Trixie mug for her YouTube series, appropriately titled MUG. You can watch the transformation here. Kennedy DavenportMistress Isabelle Brooks gave Kennedy Davenport the Trixie makeover on her her YouTube show and we haven't stopped giggling at Kennedy's reaction since. Watch the full transformation here!PlasmaDrag Race season 16 star Plasma went full Trixie while guest hosting Trixie's YouTube show while she was on hiatus. She kinda nailed it! Watch the full transformation here! Luxx Noir LondonSeason 15 star Luxx Noir London's take on Trixie's mug is a thing of beauty. Watch the transformation here. Maddy MorphosisSeason 14 star Maddy Morphosis also gave her best Trixie mug while guest hosting the queen's show. Watch the full transformation here! Krystal VersaceDrag Race UK season three winner Krystal Versace turned Trxie into a total sex bomb in her take on the iconic makeup. Watch the full transformation here.Marcia Marcia MarciaNothing like getting made over by Trixie herself! As season 15 star Marcia Marcia Marcia learned while guesting on Trixie's YouTube channel. Watch the full transformation here!Jaremi Carey FKA Phi Phi OHaraSee on InstagramJaremi Lee Carey formerly known as Phi Phi O'Hara gave her interpretation of Trixie's lewk, and we're living! Orion StorySee on InstagramSeason 14 star Orion Story may have one of the most gorgeous faces in Drag Race herstory, so of course her take on Trixie's makeup was stunning. Bob the Drag QueenWe're not sure which of these lewks is a bigger crime against cosmetics, but we also kind of love them both. Mo HeartHappy birthday to my handsome sister @trixiemattel pic.twitter.com/1KwBbN7RAO Mo Heart (@IAmMoniqueHeart) August 23, 2021 America, this is beauty. Facts are facts. Kim ChiWatching besties Kim Chi and Trixie as dueling Trixie's is the future liberals want. Katya+ Oh wow! Thanks @gottmik for the terrifying paint job! #skinnylegend: katya_zamo pic.twitter.com/0NR5kz0bSz Daily Trixie & Katya (@trixandkatdaily) February 16, 2019 Katya as Trixie? We have thoughts. Jaymes MansfieldTrixie stopped by Jaymes Mansfield's YouTube channel to give her the Trixie Makeover, and seriously they are twinning. Watch the full transformation here!Monet X Change Your browser does not support the video tag. Monet X Change stirred up drama and controversy when she posted her Trixie makeover! Rita BagaCanada's Drag Race star turned Belgique host Rita Baga shared her Trixie transformation. Manila LuzonManila as Trixie Mattel is the best thing since Manila as Raven. @manilaluzon pic.twitter.com/Mm6d4xaKOW Trixie Mattel (@trixiemattel) May 4, 2020 Um. Yeah, lets just move on. Trinity the TuckTrinity the Tuck absolutely killled this Trixie Mattel homage which was a part of her winner's series. AlaskaAlaska as Trixie Mattel byu/death4birthday inrupaulsdragraceHonestly, Alaska as Trixie is a total serve. WillamSee on InstagramHowever her Race Chaser podcast cohost Willam, was maybe less so. Still love you though, girl! Lawrence ChaneyPosts from the rupaulsdragrace community on RedditWhat can we say about Drag Race UK winner Lawrence Cheney's Trixie mug? Well, an attempt was made.

Palestinians gather outside of a health clinic run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, in the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)2025-01-29T18:58:55Z JERUSALEM (AP) In the Shuafat refugee camp, a hardscrabble district in east Jerusalem surrounded by a concrete wall, cars inched their way toward an Israeli checkpoint.Intense security makes venturing out of the camp exasperating. But 42-year-old Areej Taha didnt need to leave for medical treatment Monday. She had her toothache treated and picked up her insulin shots at a U.N.-run neighborhood clinic a block from where her kids were finishing their day at a U.N.-run school. In the absence of municipal services, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, is the main provider of decent free healthcare and education to residents of Shuafat camp. If UNRWA left, Taha said, I dont want to have to think about what we would do.But those services and everything from garbage pickup to water-system maintenance may begin disappearing after a pair of Israeli laws come into effect Thursday banning UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory and prohibiting Israeli officials from any contact with the agency. The most immediate impact will be in east Jerusalem, which Israel seized during the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in a move not recognized by most of the world. UNRWAs headquarters there faces immediate shutdown. The bans passed by the Israeli legislature in October also threaten UNRWAs operations across the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where it is the lifeline for some 2 million Palestinians, most of whome are homeless from the 15-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel has long criticized UNRWA, contending it perpetuates Palestinians refugee status. The campaign against the agency has intensified from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other right-wing politicians since Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Israeli claims that around a dozen of UNRWAs 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the attack and that many others support or sympathize with Hamas.The agency denies knowingly aiding armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants among its staff. Palestinian parents are flabbergasted How the legislation will be implemented and whether UNRWA operations will have to halt was unclear Wednesday, hours before the laws go into effect. Even UNRWA officials said they didnt know what will happen.Israeli government spokesman David Mencer flatly said Wednesday that UNRWA will be banned from operating in Israel in 48 hours. Leeron Iflah, deputy director-general of Israels Jerusalem Affairs Office, told The Associated Press that starting next week, all the kids in UNRWA schools will get placed in all kinds of schools in east Jerusalem.But an Israeli government official with knowledge of the laws details said there was no intention to physically shut institutions, only that it will become harder for the agency to operate without coordinating with Israeli authorities. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans.A total shutdown would end primary healthcare for up to 80,000 Palestinians in east Jerusalem through some two dozen medical centers, UNRWA officials say. It would also halt education and vocational training for up to 1,000 kids in the middle of a school year. Now hes supposed to leave school? Go where? How? He just started liking school, said municipal worker Karim Hawash, looking over at his 13-year-old son who was kicking a soccer ball against the wall in Shuafat camp. Already the schools here are so overcrowded.There are no municipal schools inside the camp, meaning kids who leave UNRWA schools would have to make their way in and out daily through the Israeli checkpoints to still-unknown destinations.Beginning of the end? The immediate effect on UNRWAs work in the West Bank or Gaza Strip is unknown but aid workers say the crackdown threatens UNRWAs role as the backbone of humanitarian logistics in the region. Shutting down the headquarters will impact everything that we are able to do, Jonathan Fowler, UNRWAs senior communications manager, said from the east Jerusalem compound. The agency provides a vast sweep of basic services to 1.1 million Palestinians in the West Bank and 2 million in Gaza. During the Israel-Hamas war, it has been the main agency ensuring delivery of food, medical supplies and other aid that Gazas population relies on to survive. UNRWA uses storage facilities in Israel for Gaza-bound aid convoys and needs to communicate with Israeli authorities who control access to Gaza to move material in and out now threatened by the crackdown.Mencer said aid needs to be redirected to other U.N. agencies and other NGOs operating in Gaza.In the West Bank as well, UNRWA employees wont have freedom of movement like they did before, said Arieh King, a deputy mayor of Jerusalem. They cannot get in and out of Israel through the borders, the checkpoints. Controversial agencyBorn from one of the most sensitive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the fate of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA is no stranger to controversy.When roughly 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes during the 1948 war over Israels creation, an event Arabs call the Nakba, or catastrophe, Israel refused to let them return. Arab governments resisted their integration.In 1949, the U.N. General Assembly created UNRWA to help this population sleeping in the open and clutching their house keys. It was meant to be temporary, until a political end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be reached. But the system became permanent.The roughly 1 million Palestinians who landed on UNRWAs rolls after fleeing the wars in 1948 and 1967 have become almost 6 million, in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The dozens of tent camps that UNRWA set up decades ago across the Middle East have been built up into dense neighborhoods of apartment blocks and humming markets.The international community has decided over and over that we should continue doing what we do because there has not been a just and lasting solution, Fowler said. There are not the sort of functioning state structures that can provide these kinds of services. Israel has long argued that the agency perpetuates the conflict by maintaining a steadily growing refugee population. President Donald Trump has also been hostile to the agency, cutting off funding during his first term.UNRWAs defenders believe Israels efforts to eliminate the agency have to do with wanting Palestinian refugees to give up hopes of returning to old homes in what is now Israel. Home to 7 million Jews, Israel says a large-scale return of Palestinian refugees would end its Jewish majority.In Shuafat refugee camp, Palestinians whose families fled there in 1948 have the coveted blue IDs of Jerusalem residents, allowing them to travel anywhere Israeli citizens may go. They pay taxes to the Israeli municipality and are subject to Israeli law. But in 2002, when Israel erected its separation barrier with the stated purpose of keeping out suicide bombers, Shuafat camp was left outside the wall, severed from the rest of the city by checkpoints and stranded in a political and bureaucratic limbo.The camps population exploded as Palestinians from the West Bank, although not allowed to live there, realized that no one was enforcing the rules.Israeli officials insist theyre committed to improving services for Palestinians in east Jerusalem but say its a long road. It cant work in one day, Iflah said when asked how the municipality planned to replace UNRWA in Shuafat camp. In just a few days, though, Taha will need more insulin. With no blue ID meaning she cant enter Jerusalem she doesnt know what shell do. ISABEL DEBRE DeBre writes about Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for The Associated Press, based in Buenos Aires. Before moving to South America in 2024, she covered the Middle East reporting from Jerusalem, Cairo and Dubai. twitter mailto

FILE- The seal of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System is displayed in the ground at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, Feb. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)2025-01-29T05:05:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday after cutting it three times in a row last year, a sign of a more cautious approach as the Fed seeks to gauge where inflation is headed and what policies President Donald Trump may pursue. The Fed reduced its rate last year to 4.3% from 5.3%, in part out of concern that the job market was weakening. Hiring had slowed in the summer and the unemployment rate ticked up, leading Fed officials to approve an outsized half-point cut in September. Yet hiring rebounded last month and the unemployment rate declined slightly, to a low 4.1%. In its statement Wednesday, the Fed upgraded its assessment of the job market, calling it solid, and noting that the unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months. The Fed also appeared to toughen its assessment of inflation, saying that it remains somewhat elevated. Both a healthier job market and more stubborn inflation typically would imply fewer Fed rate cuts in the coming months. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said it is harder to gauge where inflation is headed, in part because of increased uncertainty around what policies Trump will adopt and how quickly they will affect the economy. Trump has promised widespread tariffs, tax cuts, and mass deportation of immigrants, all of which could push prices higher. The Fed typically keeps interest rates high to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation. Powell said in December that the central bank has entered a new phase, in which it expects to move more deliberately. In December, Fed officials signaled they may reduce their rate just twice more this year. Goldman Sachs economists believes those cuts wont happen until June and December. In November, inflation was just 2.4%, according to the Feds preferred measure, not far from its 2% target. But excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose a more painful 2.8% from a year earlier. The Fed pays close attention to core prices because they are often a better guide to inflations future path. Its unclear how of if Trump will respond to the Feds decision to stand pat. Last week in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that he would bring down energy prices, then demand that the Fed lower borrowing costs. Later, when asked by reporters if he expected the Fed to listen to him, he said, yes. Presidents in recent decades have avoided publicly pressuring the Fed out of deference to its political independence. Most other central banks in developed countries are cutting their interest rates. The European Central Bank, for example, is widely expected to reduce borrowing costs at its next meeting on Thursday. The Bank of Canada said Wednesday it has also cut its rate, and the Bank of England is also expected to do so next month.The Bank of Japan, however, is actually raising its rate from a rock-bottom level. Japan has finally experienced some inflation after decades of slower growth and bouts of deflation. A Fed rate cut in March is still possible, though financial markets futures pricing puts the odds of that happening at just one-third. As a result, American households and businesses are unlikely to see much relief from high borrowing costs anytime soon. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage slipped to just below 7% last week after rising for five straight weeks. The costs of borrowing money have remained high economywide even after the Fed reduced its benchmark rate. That is because investors expect healthy economic growth and stubborn inflation will forestall future rate cuts. They recently bid up the 10-year Treasury above 4.80%, its highest level since 2023. Another reason for caution among Fed policymakers this year is that they will want to evaluate any changes in economic policy by the Trump administration. Trump has said he could slap tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico as early as Feb. 1. During his presidential campaign he threatened to impose taxes on all imports. The Trump administration has also said it will carry out mass deportations of migrants, which could push up inflation by reducing the economys ability to produce goods and services. At the same time, some economists say Trumps promises to deregulate the economy could lower prices over time. When Trump imposed tariffs on a limited number of imports in 2018 and 2019, Fed economists expected the biggest impact to fall on economic growth, with the inflationary impact being relatively minor. As a result, when growth did slow, the Fed ended up cutting its key rate in 2019, rather than raising it to fight off any inflationary impact. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nearly two years after the death of legendary San Francisco drag queen Heklina, her friends believe her case has been largely ignored by the police due to homophobic bias.Close friend and fellow drag performer Peaches Christ (Joshua Grannell) discovered Heklinas body in a flat they were sharing in London on April 3, 2023, but there hasnt been any significant news to come from the police investigation into her death until now. The London police have released CCTV surveillance footage of three men leaving the Soho flat early in the morning on the day Heklina whose birth name was Stefan Grygelko was found and are asking for the men who appear in the video to come forward with any information they have about the drag performers death. Peaches Christ told the San Francisco Chronicle that she was shocked to learn about the video footage and thinks that the London police havent fully investigated the case because of anti-LGBTQ+ bias.What I believe happened is so upsetting. Ive been keeping my mouth shut for all this time and trying to have some sort of reconciliation with an official autopsy report or certificate of death that says how she died, and two years later, I still dont have that, Peaches Christ said in an interview with the Chronicle. The lack of closure and my anger is indescribable.At the time of her death, the 55-year-old queen was rehearsing for an upcoming two-week run of the musical parody Mommy Dearest at the Soho Theatre alongside Peaches Christ. The two were sharing an apartment and spending their time preparing for the show.Peaches Christ said she returned to their Soho flat on Monday after spending the weekend at a nearby hotel while Heklina arranged a sexual encounter. When Peaches Christ came to pick up Heklina, the front door was ajar, and she found her in the living room and still wearing drag. When Heklina was found by me, she was in drag in a very compromising position, Peaches Christ said. I think the bias started happening from the moment she was found. This was considered a dismissed case from the moment we started going down this road.After Peaches Christ was cleared as a suspect and allowed to return to the U.S., communication with the London Metropolitan Police slowed to a trickle. She and Nancy French, another close friend and executor of Heklinas estate, often went months without hearing from the police and had no substantive news about the case until the CCTV footage was released.French said that although she is listed as Heklinas next of kin she has yet to receive a cause of death, autopsy report, or final death certificate.This CCTV footage should have been released 21 months ago, she told the Chronicle. Releasing it now just proves their ineptitude and mismanagement that weve been dealing with for almost 2 years.Peaches Christ said that shes been frustrated by the polices seeming indifference to Heklinas case, telling SFGATE that she doesnt think detectives took it seriously or cared.Its like taking a knife thats already stabbed me a million times, Peaches Christ said. When I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the morning, its what I think about. Weve been demanding answers and getting nothing, and Im pissed at them for dragging it out. Initially Peaches Christ didnt want to go public with details about Heklinas death because she didnt want people to jump to conclusions, but then she remembered how open Heklina was about her personal life. This is one person who was shameless when it came to her private life, she said. I am not airing her dirty laundry. Her escapades with straight men in drag is not news to anyone who knew and loved her, including her family.Heklina was also found with drugs at the time of her death, but Peaches Christ said she didnt know the drag icon had relapsed. A postmortem at the time indicated that foul play was not suspected in Heklinas death, SFGATE reports. Our thoughts are with [Stefans] family and friends who still have a lot of unanswered questions about what happened to him, Detective Chief Inspector Dean Purvis of the Central West Command Unit said in the news release. We know that the three men in the CCTV images were at the flat in the early hours of 3 April 2023. I am asking them to contact police. We need to establish what happened, and how [Stefan] was when they left.Heklina had been an icon within the San Francisco and international drag community since the 90s. Over the course of her long career, her aesthetic influenced drag culture, and she helped launch popular club nights including Trannyshack (later renamed T-Shack and then Mother) which became an institution and ran for over 10 years. She and Peaches Christ also performed together for decades doing hilarious drag parodies and touring internationally. After her death, her influence could be felt when a memorial card appeared on an episode of RuPauls Drag Race and the famous Castro Theatre had a funeral that was so well attended that they had to close off the street so overflow crowds could watch the event of a jumbo screen.Peaches Christ said she intends to continue pushing for answers from the police and is in talks with filmmaker Brian Benson about making a documentary about Heklina.

Rapper A$AP Rocky arrives at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)2025-01-29T05:00:26Z Rihanna has made her first appearance at the Los Angeles trial of her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, with whom she has two toddlers. The singer superstar on Wednesday morning sat out of view of the courtrooms cameras, next to Rockys mother and sister in the downtown Los Angeles criminal courthouse. Security brought her into the courtroom surreptitiously to avoid crowds.Rocky has been standing trial on two felony charges that he fired a handgun at a former friend, known by the name A$AP Relli, who testified Wednesday about the moment Rocky allegedly fired a gun at him on a Hollywood street in 2021. I was hit. Or I was grazed. I didnt have a hole or nothing, Relli told jurors.The trials key witness said he grabbed one of their mutual friends who were with Rocky after the first shot was fired and stood behind him for protection. He said he did not see Rocky fire the second shot, and Rocky ran away moments later. Relli then testified he was walking after Rocky and shouting at him when Rocky turned around and fired. Rocky had lifted the gun up and aimed downward, Relli said.When jurors were being selected, prosecutors asked them whether Rihannas connection to the case, especially if she appeared in court, would affect their ability to deliver a guilty verdict. Nearly all those questioned had heard of her far more than had heard of Rocky and some described themselves as fans, but all said they felt it would not affect their decisions. Rocky, whose legal name is Rakim Athelston Mayers, could get up to 24 years in prison if hes convicted of two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Earlier in the trial, which began on Jan. 21, Relli, born Terell Ephron, said he and Rocky, members of A$AP, a crew of creators at a New York high school, had been close but their relationship eroded after Rocky became famous.He said their relationship had been strained for years and was getting worse in the previous days, but he was still furious when Rocky pulled a gun on him after a scuffle that began the moment the two met up near the W Hotel. I told him to use it. Because mentally I couldnt believe it, Relli testified, with his old friend staring at him intently from the defense table. I physically could not believe there was a gun in my face. That was the breaking point for me.He said he had expected to argue but also to reconcile with Rocky, and the last thing he wanted to do was to get into a fight that could ruin the modest music management business he had built. His lawyer says the shots he fired were blanks from a starter pistol that he carried as a prop. Hes famous, Relli said. Im nobody.Raised in Harlem, Rockys rap songs became a phenomenon in New York in 2011. He had his mainstream breakthrough when his first studio album went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2013. The second one, in 2015, did the same.Hes set to have his biggest career year as a multimedia star. This Sunday, hes nominated for a Grammy Award for best music video for his song Tailor Swif, at the ceremony at Crypto.com Arena just two miles (3 kilometers) from the Los Angeles courthouse where his trials being held. Hes also set to headline the Rolling Loud Music Festival, to star opposite Denzel Washington in a film directed by Spike Lee, and to co-chair the Met Gala in May. But the prospect of a conviction and the possibility of lengthy prison sentence casts a shadow over all of it. Rocky and Rihanna, both 36, have two sons together: 2-year-old RZA Athelston Mayers and 1-year-old Riot Rose Mayers. She revealed she was pregnant with the younger boy after headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023 with a visible baby bump. The singer and the rapper, who are both fashion moguls, first became close when he provided a verse to her 2012 song Cockiness (Love It) and they performed it at the MTV Video Music Awards. They became a couple in 2020. ANDREW DALTON Dalton covers entertainment for The Associated Press, with an emphasis on crime, courts and obituaries. He has worked for the AP for 20 years and is based in Los Angeles. mailto

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-01-29T18:23:06Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trumps return to Washington WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps budget office on Wednesday rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country. The Monday evening memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldnt be subject to a pause in funding. The White House confirmed that OMB pulled the memo Wednesday in a two sentence notice sent to agencies and departments, but said that Trumps underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change, remained in place.Administration officials said the notice to halt loans and grants was necessary to conduct a review to ensure that spending complies with Trumps recent blitz of executive orders. Agencies had been directed to answer a series of yes or no questions on each federal program by Feb. 7. The questions included does this program promote gender ideology? and does this program promote or support in any way abortion? Still, the vaguely worded memo, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services. The freeze was scheduled to go into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday, but was stayed by a federal judge until at least Monday after an emergency hearing requested by nonprofit groups that receive federal grants. An additional lawsuit by Democratic state attorneys general was also pending. The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, blaming the confusion on the courts and news outlets, not the administration. This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the Presidents orders on controlling federal spending. Trump administration officials said programs that provide direct assistance to Americans, including Medicare, Social Security, student loans and food stamps, would not be affected. But they sometimes struggled to provide a clear picture.Leavitt initially would not say whether Medicaid was exempted from the freeze, but the administration later clarified that it was.Although Trump had promised to turn Washington upside down if elected to a second term, the effects of his effort to pause funding were being felt far from the nations capital. Organizations like Meals on Wheels, which receives federal money to deliver food to the elderly, and Head Start which provides early childcare in lower income communities, were worried about getting cut off. Democratic critics of the order moved swiftly to celebrate the action.This is an important victory for the American people whose voices were heard after massive pressure from every corner of this countryreal people made a difference by speaking out, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Still, the Trump administrationthrough a combination of sheer incompetence, cruel intentions, and a willful disregard of the lawcaused real harm and chaos for millions over the span of the last 48 hours which is still ongoing.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that Americans fought back and Donald Trump backed off. CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

A declassified World War II-era CIA guide to simple sabotage is currently one of the most popular open source books on the internet. The book, called Simple Sabotage Field Manual, was declassified in 2008 by the CIA and describes ways to train normal people to be purposefully annoying telephone operators, dysfunctional train conductors, befuddling middle managers, blundering factory workers, unruly movie theater patrons, and so on. In other words, teaching people to do their jobs badly.Over the last week, the guide has surged to become the 5th-most-accessed book on Project Gutenberg, an open source repository of free and public domain ebooks. It is also the fifth most popular ebook on the site over the last 30 days, having been accessed nearly 60,000 times over the last month (just behind Romeo and Juliet).Sabotage varies from highly technical coup de main acts that require detailed planning and the use of specially-trained operatives, to innumerable simple acts which the ordinary individual citizen-saboteur can perform, the guide begins. Simple sabotage does not require specially prepared tools or equipment; it is executed by an ordinary citizen who may or may not act individually and without the necessity for active connection with an organized group; and it is carried out in such a way as to involve a minimum danger of injury, detection, and reprisal.Do you work for the federal government? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +1 202 505 1702. Otherwise, send me an email at jason@404media.co.The guides intro was written by William Wild Bill Donovan, who was the head of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, which later became the CIA. The motivating factor for writing the guide, according to a passage within it, is that citizen saboteurs were highly effective at resisting the Nazis during World War II, and the Office of Strategic Services wanted to detail other ways sabotage could be done: Acts of simple sabotage are occurring throughout Europe. An effort should be made to add to their efficiency, lessen their detectability, and increase their number, the guide states. Widespread practice of simple sabotage will harass and demoralize enemy administrators and police, the guide states, adding that citizens often undertake acts of sabotage not for their own immediate personal gain, but to resist particularly obnoxious decrees.Because it was written during active wartime, the book includes various suggestions for causing physical violence and destruction, such as starting fires, flooding warehouses, breaking tools, etc. But it also includes many suggestions for how to just generally be annoying within a bureaucracy or office setting. Simple sabotage ideas include:Insist on doing everything through channels. Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.Make speeches. Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your points by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate patriotic comments.Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.Misunderstand orders. Ask endless questions or engage in long correspondence about such orders. Quibble over them when you can.In making work assignments, always sign out the unimportant jobs first. See that the important jobs are assigned to inefficient workers of poor machines.To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.Multiply paperwork in plausible ways.Make mistakes in quantities of material when you are copying orders. Confuse similar names. Use wrong addresses.Work slowly. Think out ways to increase the number of movements necessary on your jobPretend that instructions are hard to understand, and ask to have them repeated more than once. Or pretend that you are particularly anxious to do your work, and pester the foreman with unnecessary questions.Snarl up administration in every possible way. Fill out forms illegibly so that they will have to be done over; make mistakes or omit requested information in forms.The guide also suggests general devices for lowering morale and creating confusion, which include Report imaginary spies or danger to the Gestapo or police, act stupid, Be as irritable and quarrelsome as possible without getting yourself into trouble, Stop all conversation when axis nationals or quislings enter a cafe, Cry and sob hysterically at every occasion, especially when confronted by government clerks.It is impossible to say why this book is currently going viral at this moment in time and why it may feel particularly relevant to a workforce of millions of people who have suddenly been asked to agree to be loyal and work under the quasi leadership of the worlds richest man, have been asked to take a buyout that may or may not exist, have had their jobs repeatedly denigrated and threatened, have suddenly been required to return to office, have been prevented from spending money, have had to turn off critical functions that help people, and have been asked to destroy years worth of work and to rid their workplaces of DEI programs. Maybe it's worth wondering why the most popular post in a subreddit for federal workers is titled To my fellow Feds, especially veterans: were at war.

During the third season of Bravos Southern Hospitality, resident bartender TJ Dinch and new assistant general manager Michols Pea shared a kiss which resulted in a friendship rather than a partnership. It was very nice to finally, you know, just be able to break the ice and be super transparent about my story, Pea [...]The post WATCH: Southern Hospitalitys TJ & Michols Say Their Flirtashionship, Has Become Strong Gay Friendship first appeared on GLAAD.

A person heads into a Target store Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)2025-01-28T22:40:53Z NEW YORK (AP) Targets rollback on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is raising questions about the retail giants philanthropic commitment to fighting racial disparities and promoting progressive values in liberal Minneapolis, where it is based, and beyond.Target and the Target Foundation have made six-figure donations in recent years to groups working on Black economic empowerment and LGBTQ+ acceptance. Racial equity is still listed as a cornerstone of the foundations local grantmaking. But some fundraisers now wonder whether those types of gifts remain a primary concern for the brand, as Target joins other major American companies in curtailing internal DEI efforts attacked most prominently by President Donald Trumps administration.Billions of dollars are spent annually on DEI, but rather than reducing bias and promoting inclusion, DEI creates and then amplifies prejudicial hostility and exacerbates interpersonal conflict, The White House said in a statement accompanying Trumps executive orders. Corporations including Walmart, Amazon and Meta are retreating from policies intended to counter discrimination, many of which were implemented after the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in 2020. Philanthropic advisors say the conservative backlash is also chilling support from some funders who fear that backing race-based nonprofit work could bring legal challenges like the one that successfully shuttered the Fearless Funds grant contest for Black women business owners. Target announced Jan. 24 that it would conclude the DEI goals previously set to increase Black employees representation and advancement, improve Black shoppers experiences and promote Black-owned businesses. The company plans to stop submitting reports to external diversity surveys and named Human Rights Campaigns Corporate Equality Index as an example. It is also further evaluating our corporate partnerships to ensure they are directly connected to our roadmap for growth, according to a memo posted on its website. Target did not share publicly what those changes meant for its philanthropy which totaled $384 million last year in cash and products from the corporation and its foundation, according to the company. In response to an Associated Press inquiry, the company described philanthropy as a key way Target engages with communities, whether in our hometown of Minneapolis-St. Paul, in the communities surrounding our stores, or in the countries where our supply chain exists. A company spokesperson told AP that the recent update does not impact Target Foundation giving but added that, as always, the foundation will continue to evaluate how it best supports organizations, coalitions and networks. Also unchanged is the Target Circle community giving program that allows loyalty members to decide which nonprofits the company supports. Target did not say what impact the internal changes might have on its corporate giving.Whenever you see corporate leadership making shifts in priorities, it worries folks in the foundation space about what impacts that might have on both existing giving and future initiatives, said OutFront Minnesota Executive Director Kat Rohn, who said their LGBTQ+ advocacy group is not a Target partner. The changes have already influenced how one longtime partner sees their relationship. Twin Cities Pride Executive Director Andi Otto said he learned about the changes when he contacted Target about re-upping its sponsorship of his nonprofits programming celebrating the LGBTQ community. Target had consistently contributed around $50,000, Otto said.As he pitched Target on recommitting this year, Otto said he was asked to set up a meeting with company leaders. On the call, according to Otto, executives explained that they still wanted to sponsor Twin Cities Pride but let him know they would be removing internal DEI policies.Otto said he appreciated the heads up but chose to reject Targets sponsorship after his board discussed the impact of the companys moves on the community they serve. Inclusion falls by the wayside when there arent checks to ensure it, he added.It isnt always just about the money that they give to us as a nonprofit, but its about what they are doing for the community in getting small, BIPOC- or LGBTQ-owned businesses into their stores and giving them a platform to do so, Otto said.Twin Cities Pride had seen this coming. Otto recalled that Target didnt carry Pride Month merchandise at its stores last June after the collection received backlash in 2023 and said the nonprofit feared things would just continue down that slope.Progressive activists are now calling for a boycott of Target. Nina Turners working-class advocacy group We Are Somebody is asking customers to instead purchase directly from minority-owned brands. At least one Black-owned brand, Oh Happy Dani, has begun the process of removing our remaining products from Target shelves, according to a LinkedIn update from founder Danielle Coke Balfour. Corporate philanthropy can be a reliable source of significant nonprofit funding. Target has long had a very significant presence in the Twin Cities and is notable for its support of education, arts and other diversity efforts. Target and the Target Foundation together were the fifth-largest corporate giver in the state in 2022, according to the Minnesota Council on Foundations.But Rohn, the LGBTQ advocate and fundraiser, said corporate philanthropy can sometimes put nonprofits in a tough spot by pitting their values against the need to sustain their programs. She expects that more nonprofits will step back from corporate relationships as Twin Cities Pride did when their missions no longer align with their sponsors.To that point, Twin Cities Pride shared Monday that more than $50,000 had been raised since the nonprofit cut Target as a sponsor. Individuals donated more than half the total, according to Otto. The Minneapolis Foundation also contributed.Right now, all of us in the LGBTQ nonprofit sector are afraid because we dont know what companies will choose to do and what the outcome is going to be, Otto said. I think everybody right now agrees that it was the best decision to make, and that (if) we stick together, well see things on the other side.___Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. JAMES POLLARD Pollard covers philanthropy for The Associated Press with a focus on Gen Zs giving habits and technologys uses in charitable work. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

People follow a virtual speech of President Donald Trump at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)2025-01-29T16:26:43Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administrations push for a sweeping pause on federal grants and loans totaling potentially trillions of dollars is on hold for now, on the order of a federal judge. But the legal battle over the plan that set off panic and confusion across the country is just beginning, and it could become a constitutional clash over control of taxpayer money and expansion of executive power before the Supreme Court.Heres a look at the legal issues at play: The power of the purse The Constitution gives Congress control over federal spending, a setup key to the framers vision of separating major powers between branches of government. Once appropriations are approved, the White House has the job of doling out money to states, agencies and nonprofits through the Office of Management and Budget. Typically, the White House sends out money according to the priorities laid out in Congress, though there have been times when presidents have refused to spend all the cash they get. Thomas Jefferson, for example, declined to use money set aside for gunboats in the early 1800s. When the president wont spend money that Congress has set aside, its called impoundment.Trumps Republican administration has framed the halt to federal grants and loans as a brief pause that would allow for an across-the-board review to align spending with his ideological agenda, rather than an impoundment. What does the law say? A showdown between Congress and President Richard Nixon in the 1970s led to a law laying out specific rules around impoundment. Nixon had tried to halt billions of dollars in federal funding for things ranging from social programs to water treatment. The administration faced a wave of lawsuits that it overwhelmingly lost, said William Ford, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan group Protect Democracy. Congress also passed the Impoundment Control Act in response. The act says that if theres a delay in sending out federal money, the White House is supposed to tell Congress about the pause and how much money is involved. There are some exceptions for logistical issues related to specific programs. The law also says any longer-term freeze has to get congressional approval. While duels over spending have continued since then, the law has rarely been invoked, Ford said. The issue could head to the Supreme Court Trump allies have suggested in the past that the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional, arguing the White House should have more control over spending. The clash could end with the administration pursuing specific funding cuts, or it could end up challenging before the conservative-majority Supreme Court, said John Yoo, a Berkeley Law professor who served in the George W. Bush administration. The justices weighed in on the Nixon funding fight in a case known as Train v. New York. The court unanimously found that the president couldnt block sewage treatment funding that had already been approved by Congress. What else might happen next? The White House has said that the funding freeze wouldnt affect programs that send money to individual people, like Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.It could still affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in a wide range of programs, from the National Science Foundation to Meals on Wheels. Its also set off at least two lawsuits, one helmed by the group Democracy Forward representing nonprofits that get federal funding and another from nearly two dozen Democratic states. They say the pause is clearly unconstitutional and breaks federal contracting law. The nonprofits say ideological bent of the proposed review also violates their freedom of speech. The temporary stay issued by U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan in Washington lasts until Feb. 3, when shell consider whether to extend the block or let the plan go forward. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Commander Emily Shilling, a U.S. Naval aviator who is also an out transgender woman, is already serving in the military, already making our country safer and stronger, already well qualified. I have dedicated about 19.5 years of service. It was my dream to join and fly for the Navy since I was little, Commander Shilling [...]The post Transgender Military Service Member: I am proof that we are qualified to serve first appeared on GLAAD.

Following his inauguration on January 20, 2025, President Trump issued full commutations and pardons to those indicted and/or sentenced in relation to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The order explicitly granted clemency for nine members of the Oath Keepers and five members of the Proud Boys, two well-known violent extremist [...]The post Fact Sheet for Reporters: Trumps Pardon of Jan 6th Insurrectionists first appeared on GLAAD.

On Monday night, President Donald Trump caused his MAGA base to start questioning their allegiance when his administration announced an abrupt halt of federal grants and loans that many Republican voters realized they've been relying on.Today, the White House rescinded the executive order its directive that froze trillions of dollars in federal funding an attempt to purge the government of waste and the woke ideology Trump has been railing against shortly before a federal judge temporarily blocked it, the New York Times reports.Between his desire to slash the federal budget and the mass deportation plans he already has underway, many MAGA supporters were still in Trumps corner until some began to realize how detrimental his policies (and their support of him) could be to their lives.From a xenophobic Republicans offensive comments in support of Trumps policies that are separating families at the border to an elderly woman realizing that her vote for Trump could mean she loses her food stamps to a woman leaving her husband after he voted for Trump, these MAGA die-hards are starting to seriously regret their votes.Regardless of your political affiliation or how you cast your ballot last November, you deserve access to social safety nets and federal programs, but there is no denying that actions have consequences. As the internet loves to point out, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.Keep scrolling to experience the catharsis of people finding out that a vote for Trump might have really been a vote against themselves! (@) April Martinson (@hot_take_melody) was fired from her job at Bidadoo, a global remarketing company based in Kent, Washington, after making offensive comments about immigrants being separated from their families because of Trump's new policies in a now-viral TikTok video. (@) Trump voter Lucinda Krosnicki posted a series of messages on X on January 28, decrying Trump's new federal funding policy that will take "away food stamps and WIC," writing that the MAGA leader is only fighting for billionaires. She later posted that she is an elderly woman and will be impacted by losing food stamps if Trump's freeze on federal funding stands. (@) A woman on TikTok said that she left her husband after he voted for Trump and joked that she is now planning to sleep with all of his liberal friends. from LeopardsAteMyFacePosted on the LeopardsAteMyFace subreddit, someone from conservative Reddit complained that the churches they work for have "about a million dollars in projects between all the churches, through federal grants," and they won't be able to pay the bills if the federal grant money doesn't come in now that Trump has instituted the funding freeze.Trans Bluesky user Ashe wrote that their conservative parents own a business writing federal grants, so now that Trump has put a freeze on them, all of the work has dried up. "The leopards are having an absolute FEAST," Ashe posted.On Bluesky, Cori Classen wrote that her college's dean was sure "was going to be a good thing for out college" and wondered if she should "laugh in her face" now that Trump froze federal student loans. (@) Yesterday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry took to X and posted a link to an article about Trump shutting down FEMA to do a review, writing that Trump understands "that we have regulated ourselves into disfunction in this country," but people on social media were quick to point out that Lousiana is one of three red states that receive more FEMA assistance than any other state.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, walks in the presidential palace ahead of his meeting with Walid Ellafi, Libyan minister of state for communication and political affairs, in Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)2025-01-29T19:00:03Z DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) The Syrian factions that toppled President Bashar Assad last month named an Islamist former rebel leader as the countrys interim president on Wednesday in a push to project a united front as they face the monumental task of rebuilding Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war.The former insurgents also threw out Syrias constitution, adopted under Assad, saying a new charter would be drafted soon.The appointment of Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaida, as Syrias president in the transitional phase came after a meeting of the former insurgent factions in Damascus, the Syrian capital. The announcement was made by the spokesperson for Syrias new, de facto governments military operations sector, Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, the state-run SANA news agency said. The exact mechanism under which the factions selected al-Sharra as interim president was not clear. Formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa is the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in early December. The group was once affiliated with al-Qaida but has since denounced its former ties. In recent years, al-Sharaa has sought to cast himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance and promised to protect the rights of women and religious minorities.The United States had previously placed a $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa but canceled it last month after a U.S. delegation visited Damascus and met with him. Top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf said after the meeting that al-Sharaa came across as pragmatic. Speaking at Wednesdays meeting, al-Sharaa, who was in military uniform, stressed the heavy task and a great responsibility that Syrias new rulers face.If the victor is arrogant after his victory and forgets the favor of Allah upon him, it will lead him to tyranny, he said, according to a video released hours later. Among the priorities for rebuilding Syria, he said, will be filling the power vacuum legitimately and legally and maintaining civil peace by seeking transitional justice and preventing revenge attacks in the wake of Assads disastrous reign. Syrians took to the streets in Damascus and elsewhere to celebrate the announcement, honking car horns and in some cases firing in the air. Many expressed support for al-Sharaa. This person is someone who is intelligent and has a good understanding and he was the leader of the battle that freed Syria, said Abdallah al-Sweid, who was among those celebrating at Umayyad Square in Damascus. He is someone who deserves to be president.Others even those who had rejoiced at Assads ouster appeared critical of the way the appointment was made and the lack of clarity on next steps.The problem is not in the decisions. The problem is in the timing, the previous promises and the confusion, said Mohammad Salim Alkhateb, an official with the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces a group formed by members of the opposition to Assad in exile. Qatar was the first to react to al-Sharaas appointment, which had been expected, saying it welcomed decisions aimed at enhancing consensus and unity among all Syrian parties. The statement added that this should help pave the way for a peaceful transfer of power through a comprehensive political process.Western nations, although they have moved to restore ties with Damascus after Assad was overthrown, are still somewhat circumspect about Syrias new Islamist rulers. Abdul Ghani, the spokesman, also announced Wednesday that Syrias constitution adopted in 2012, under Assads rule was annulled. He said al-Sharaa would be authorized to form a temporary legislative council until a new constitution is drafted.All the armed factions in the country would be disbanded, Abdul Ghani said, and would be absorbed into state institutions. Since Assads fall, HTS has become the de facto ruling party and has set up an interim government largely composed of officials from the local government it previously ran in rebel-held Idlib province. The interim authorities have promised they would launch an inclusive process to set up a new government and constitution, including convening a national dialogue conference and invite Syrias different communities, though no date has been set.As the former Syrian army collapsed with Assads downfall, al-Sharaa has called for creation of a new unified national army and security forces, but questions have loomed over how the interim administration can bring together a patchwork of former rebel groups, each with their own leaders and ideology.Even knottier is the question of the U.S.-backed Kurdish groups that have carved out an autonomous enclave early in Syrias civil war, never fully siding with the Assad government or the rebels seeking to topple him. Since Assads fall, there has been an escalation in clashes between the Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups allied with HTS in northern Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were not present at Wednesdays meeting of the countrys armed factions Wednesday and there was no immediate comment from the group.At the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos this month, Asaad al-Shibani, Syrias new foreign minister and HTS official, said the country needs the international communitys help as it begins rebuilding after the brutal civil war.___Sewell reported from Beirut. ABBY SEWELL Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-01-29T21:56:04Z WASHINGTON (AP) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities in the first of two Senate hearings as he tries to make the case to become President Donald Trumps health secretary.Kennedy is seeking to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the $1.7 trillion agency that funds medical research, public health outreach, food and drug safety, hospital oversight, funding for community health care clinics as well as Medicare and Medicaid.Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee expressed hope Kennedy could help reduce chronic diseases and health care costs. Democrats repeatedly used quotes and transcripts from his books and public appearances to pin him down on several issues, especially vaccines and abortion. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, argued that from abortion to universal health care, Mr. Kennedy has changed his views so often its nearly impossible to know where he stands. On Thursday Kennedy will appear before the Senates Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.Some takeaways from Wednesdays hearing: Senators wanted to know: Where does Kennedy stand on vaccines now?Kennedy insisted hes not opposed to vaccines despite a long history of calling them dangerous and Democrats werent buying it.Frankly you frighten people, said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.I am not anti-vaccine, Kennedy told the committee. He also said, I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines. But before he was nominated, Kennedy sought to discredit vaccines. He has said COVID shots are a crime against humanity, told FOX News he still believes in the debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism, and urged people in 2021 to resist CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.And during the hearing Kennedy said that most experts agree that 6-year-olds shouldnt get COVID-19 vaccines because theyre not at risk. Thats not true of the experts who set vaccine policy: The Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 shots for children as young as age 6 months and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get vaccinated. Most experts agree that COVID vaccines are safe and effective for children, Dr. James Campbell of the American Academy of Pediatrics said after hearing Kennedys remark.Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, grilled Kennedy about changing his position.There is no reason that any of us should believe that you have reversed the anti-vaccine views that you have promoted for 25 years, she said. Kennedy was pressed on his shifting views on abortionKennedys nomination has been met with criticism from both abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion forces as his stance seemed to have shifted. During the hearing, several Democrats pushed Kennedy about changing his views to better appeal to Trump. Ive never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when Trump asked you to be HHS secretary, said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, questioned Kennedys shifting views on abortion by quoting his previous statements that abortion should be left up to the pregnant woman, not the government. Hassan said she was confused: You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is: Do you stand for this value or not? Kennedy repeatedly leaned on the phrase: I have always believed abortion is a tragedy including during questioning from Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.Republicans expressed hope Kennedy could fix a troubled health care systemIn his opening remarks, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the Finance committees chairman, praised Kennedys commitment to combatting chronic conditions and said prioritizing disease prevention will save lives, reduce costs and build a healthier, stronger country.Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who was vocal in criticizing vaccine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, brought up a conversation he had with Kennedy when the former Democrat was considering joining forces with Trump. The senator called it an answer to his prayers.We need to heal and unify this divided nation, Johnson said. Cant we come together as a nation and do this? Kennedy repeatedly called for more research on long-established therapiesAgain and again on Wednesday, Kennedy suggested he simply wants to do more research on vaccines, drugs and other products that have already been vigorously studied by government and independent scientists.Kennedy said that Trump asked him to study the safety of mifepristone, the abortion pill that has been used more than 6 million times in the U.S. to terminate pregnancies.The FDA approved the drug in 2000 after a four-year review and has repeatedly reaffirmed its safety after reviewing dozens of studies in tens of thousands of women.Here are the safety studies that tell us mifepristone is safe and effective, Hassan said, brandishing a pile of what she said were 40 of them. Kennedy again called for additional research when questioned about his unsupported claims that increased school shootings could be related to higher prescribing of antidepressants.Kennedy said his remarks were misrepresented and that he was suggesting antidepressants might play a role among other factors, such as social media.I dont think anyone can answer that question right now Kennedy said.Antidepressants and other prescription drugs are subject to multiple, large clinical trials that evaluate their safety and efficacy before they are approved. Additionally, the FDA has multiple systems for monitoring emerging side effects with drugs after they are on the market and regularly issues updates and alerts to address risks.On Alzheimers, Kennedy also misstated the state of the science and research.A sticky gunk called amyloid plays a role in Alzheimers disease but Kennedy wrongly claimed the National Institutes of Health ignores any other potential culprits.The NIH shut down studies of any other hypothesis, Kennedy said.But the NIHs $3.8 billion budget for Alzheimers and similar dementias includes researching a range of other factors that may underlie how Alzheimers develops.Senators used Kennedys own words against himReading from podcast transcripts and his own writings, Bennet asked Kennedy about his prior statement that COVID-19 was engineered to target white and Black people while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.Kennedy denied saying it was deliberately targeted. Bennet also asked Kennedy about a claim that Lyme disease is likely a militarily engineered bioweapon.I probably did say that, Kennedy responded.___Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this report. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

See our fact sheet on this topic for reporters here. On January 20, 2025, newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump issued a series of sweeping executive orders that included disinformation about transgender people and demanding federal agencies begin to roll back measures to support diversity, equity, and inclusion across the federal government. In the chaos that followed [...]The post Donald Trumps Dangerous Pardon of Jan 6th Insurrectionists first appeared on GLAAD.

Cade Maddox has no signs of slowing down.Seven years into his impressive career as an adult entertainer, the star is still cranking out sexy content that his fans can't enough of.With countless amounts of steamy scenes created over the years, Maddox has found a new genre of gay porn that's keeping him excited on set."Lately, I've been finding myself more turned on by more sketchy and anonymous scenes. I've come out with a lot of gloryhole scenes this year. Those turn me on a lot as opposed to the whole production. It gives me more of an adrenaline rush," Maddox tells PRIDE. See on Instagram As Maddox continues to evolve in the adult entertainment industry, his fans are coming along for the ride. The model secured the most fan-voted awards at the 2025 GayVN Awards by winning Favorite C*ck, Favorite Body, and Favorite Top."It's always an honor, especially how long I've been doing this. It's an honor to still be nominated with the young meat that's still coming up, but it's even cooler to win something. The big honor is just being nominated."Although the star has filmed plenty of sexy scenes over the years, Maddox is still focusing his time and energy on pleasuring just one partner at a time."I've never been part of a group scene, but that's not something that really interests me. I like to focus my energy on one hole. Group scenes are overwhelming to me."Sex workers come and go, but fans shouldn't expect Maddox to retire from the industry any time soon."Whenever it stops being fun for me, that's when it'd be time to opt out. I'm still finding it exciting and fun. I still get that adrenaline rush. Thank you to the gloryholes!" Fans can keep up with Cade Maddox on Instagram here. To see the full interview, check out the video at the top of the page.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as former Republican presidential candidate, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, speaks on stage during a campaign event in Laconia, N.H., Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-01-30T19:19:28Z BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) When North Dakotas petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trumps pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event at the governors mansion. And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgums office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that combating such regulations required a one-two punch from industry and government. While it is not surprising that the governor of the third-largest oil producing state would have a close relationship with fossil fuel producers, records obtained by the Associated Press reveal Burgums administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. And his assistance came at a time when Burgum was leaning on those very connections to build his national profile in the Republican Party. If confirmed to run the Interior Department as soon as Thursday Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels. Those ties concern Democrats and environmentalists who say his zeal to expand drilling was troubling. Are you going to protect our resources, or are you going to drill, baby, drill? Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, asked during Burgums confirmation hearing this month. The selection of Burgum, who briefly pursued the presidency in 2023 before endorsing Trump, represents an abrupt pivot from Bidens emphasis on combating climate change. It also signals that Trump intends to follow through on a proposal made last spring when he urged oil and gas CEOs to donate $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for the dismantling of Bidens environmental agenda. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for Burgum declined to make him available for an interview. Governor Burgum worked tirelessly to build a prosperous economy in North Dakota, spokesman Rob Lockwood said in a statement. This economic growth included sustainably developing natural resources. As governor, he met with job creators and leaders who generated opportunities for the people of North Dakota.Under the partisan glare of Washington, and faced with stricter federal ethics rules governing conflicts of interest, Burgum has pledged to sell his interest in his familys lease with the shale oil giant Continental Resources, as well as another one with Hess, a Chevron subsidiary. He has also pledged to sell stock held in a handful of energy companies, some of which he interacted with as governor, which are worth as much as $200,000 according to his 2023 financial disclosures. Close ties to an industry titanThere is perhaps no better demonstration of Burgums close ties to oil and gas producers than his friendship with Harold Hamm, the founder of Continental Resources who is responsible for much of North Dakotas fracking boom. The billionaire Oklahoma wildcatter advises Trump on energy policy and is widely viewed as playing a role in helping Burgum secure the nomination to lead Interior.Hamm did not respond to a request for comment made through his company. During his 2023 state-of-the-state speech, Burgum likened Hamm to Teddy Roosevelt for his grit, resilience, hard work and determination that he said changed North Dakota and our nation. The shout-out came after Hamm had donated $50 million toward a library honoring Roosevelt in western North Dakota a passion project of Burgums. The documents obtained by AP reveal that several months later Hamm gifted Burgum a set of cuff links along with a note thanking Burgum for his friendship and willingness to take a break from the grueling task of running for president to speak at an energy conference that Hamm had hosted in Oklahoma City. These were not his only displays of patronage. Though Burgum, an independently wealthy former software company CEO, had a dim chance of winning the Republican presidential primary, Hamms Continental Resources contributed $250,000 in the summer of 2023 to a super PAC supporting Burgum, campaign finance disclosures show. He also contributed to Burgums campaign for governor.Emails between Burgum and Hamms offices reveal the two communicated often. In a May 2020 email, Hamms executive assistant asked if Burgum had time to talk with Hamm and shared a briefing document that railed against wind power, blasting wind turbines as a blight on our special places and sacred lands while excoriating tax breaks for wind energy providers as unconscionable. This does NOTHING to Make America Great Again! the document states. Though Burgum set a goal in 2021 to make North Dakota carbon neutral by 2030, he has adopted Hamms tone. During his Senate confirmation hearing this month, he was dismissive of renewable energy, such as wind power, suggesting such sources were unreliable when compared to fossil fuels. In early 2023, as Hamm prepared to publish a memoir, Continental lobbyist Blu Hulsey emailed to ask if Burgum could write a blurb praising the book, the newly obtained records show. Burgum happily complied, heaping praise on the memoir, which the governor called an inspiring story worthy of sharing. Burgum added that Hamms impact was immeasurable. Ethics experts say there are other aspects of their relationship that pose a greater conflict of interest. As governor, Burgum never disclosed that his family leased roughly 200 acres of farmland to Continental for well drilling, as previously reported by CNBC. When Burgum ran for president and faced greater transparency requirements, he revealed making $50,000 in royalties from Continental in 2023. Despite this relationship, Burgum routinely took action that benefited Hamms company. As chairman of North Dakotas Industrial Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, he voted nearly a dozen times or more on measures that had favorable outcomes for Continental, records show. North Dakota is a leading energy producing state, Lockwood, the Burgum spokesman said. Tens of thousands of families and mineral owners have similar arrangements. As the publicly available disclosures show: the cited agreement began many years before he became governor.Burgum also used the governors office to support a proposed pipeline that received $250 million in financial backing from Hamm. If completed, it will transport earth-warming CO2 gas that is the byproduct of ethanol fuel production to North Dakota, where it will be stored deep underground. Its been touted as a way to decarbonize the atmosphere, but has also run into stiff resistance from landowners, who fear their property will be seized to complete the project.Sarah Vogel, a Democrat and former North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner who previously sat on the commission, said Burgum seemed more like a cheerleader of the industry than a regulator. I dont think he had a regulators mindset. He had a promoters mindset, which has probably made him beloved in the oil and gas industry, Vogel said.Other executives have ties to BurgumHamm is not the only oil executive or lobbyist who has cultivated ties with Burgum, emails and office schedules show. Ryan Berger, a lobbyist for Occidental Petroleum, emailed Burgums staff last year seeking a meeting for Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub after Burgum moderated a panel she participated in at an oil industry conference. In an ideal world, a face-to-face over lunch or dinner would be amazing, Berger wrote in a May 2024 email. He added that Hollub had recently discussed energy issues directly with President Trump and we thought you would benefit from hearing from her to see if there are mutually shared policies and perspectives that could be amplified this year.Berger declined to comment on the email. Lockwood, the spokesman, declined to say if Burgum a meeting with Hollub happened. The records revealed that a Whos Who of oil executives had calls scheduled with Burgum. The include: CEOs of Chevron and Exxon; Marathon Oil officials had an audience with Burgum in 2022; and the governor also spoke before the Hess Corporations board of directors dinner. Burgums family also has an oil lease with Hess that paid him as much as $1,000, according to his financial disclosure. Burgum turned down an invitation to address an American Petroleum Institute convention in Washington, the records show, but agreed to speak at a private dinner for the American Exploration and Production Council in 2023, which drew top executives from Conoco Phillips, Devon Energy, Hilcorp and others. When Burgum was a leading contender last year to be Trumps vice presidential pick, he co-hosted a banquet at the governors mansion with the North Dakota Petroleum Council that drew fracking industry heavy hitters, lobbyists and executives. Burgum, Hamm and Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy who is now Trumps pick for energy secretary, addressed attendees as they dined on beef, walleye cakes and bourbon caramel-topped cobbler.On Inauguration Day, Burgum declined an invitation to attend a party at the posh Hay-Adams Hotel that was hosted by Hamm and a number of petroleum trade associations and oil companies. Burgums presence may not have been missed. Many of those executives and lobbyists, who will have business before the Interior Department, can reach him.___Slodysko reported from Washington. BRIAN SLODYSKO Slodysko is an investigative reporter for the Associated Press based in Washington. mailto JACK DURA Dura covers the North Dakota state government for The Associated Press. He is based in Bismarck, North Dakota. twitter mailto

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-01-30T05:06:12Z WASHINGTON (AP) Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trumps pick to be director of national intelligence, faced sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike Thursday during a fiery confirmation hearing focused on her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting with Syrias now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden.Gabbard started her hearing by telling lawmakers that big changes are needed to address years of failures of Americas intelligence service. She said too often intelligence has been false or politicized, leading to wars, foreign policy failures and the misuse of espionage. And she said those lapses have continued as the U.S. faces renewed threats from Russia and China.The bottom line is this must end. President Trumps reelection is a clear mandate from the American people to break this cycle of failure and the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community, Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee. Gabbard promised to be objective and noted her military service, saying she would bring the same sense of duty and responsibility to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees and coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies. The questions raised by senators about Gabbards judgment and experience make her one of the more contentious of Trumps Cabinet nominees. Given thin Republican margins in the Senate, she will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes in order to win confirmation. A former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who deployed twice to the Middle East and ran for president in 2020. She has no formal intelligence experience, however, and has never run a government agency or department. Its Gabbards comments, however, that have posed the biggest challenge to her confirmation. She has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine and in the past opposed a key U.S. surveillance program. In a back-and-forth Thursday that at times grew heated, lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about her statements supportive of Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who fled to Russia after he was charged with revealing classified information about surveillance programs.Several senators, including Republicans James Lankford of Oklahoma and Susan Collins of Maine, pressed Gabbard on whether she would push to pardon Snowden, or whether she considered him a traitor. On the last question, Gabbard repeatedly declined to answer.Yes or no, is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? asked Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.As someone who has served in uniform in combat, I understand how critical our national security is, Gabbard responded, before Bennet cut her off, saying Apparently, you dont.Gabbard said that while Snowden revealed important facts about surveillance programs she believes are unconstitutional, he violated rules about protecting classified secrets. Edward Snowden broke the law, she said. Gabbard has been accused of spreading Russian disinformation by Republican lawmakers and has even won praise in Russian state-controlled media. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, asked Gabbard on Thursday whether Russia would get a pass from her.Senator Im offended by the question, Gabbard responded. Because my sole focus, commitment and responsibility is about our own nation, our own security and the interests of the American people.A 2017 visit with Syrian President Bashar Assad is another point of contention. Assad was recently deposed as his countrys leader following a brutal civil war in which he was accused of using chemical weapons. Following her visit, Gabbard faced criticism that she was legitimizing a dictator and then more questions when she said she was skeptical that Assad had used chemical weapons.I just do not understand show you can blame NATO for (Russian President Vladimir) Putins brutal invasion of Ukraine, and when Assad used chemical weapons against his own people, you didnt condemn him, said the committees senior Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. Gabbard defended her meeting with Assad, saying she used the opportunity to press the Syrian leader on his human rights record.I asked him tough questions about his own regimes actions, Gabbard said.Senators also pressed her about her changing views of the surveillance program known as Section 702, which allows authorities to collect the communications of suspected terrorists overseas. As a lawmaker, Gabbard sponsored legislation that would have repealed it. She argued then that the program could be violating the rights of Americans whose communications are swept up inadvertently, but national security officials say the program has saved lives. She now says she supports the program, noting new safeguards designed to protect Americans privacy.Gabbard defended her change of opinion, and said her critics are opposed to her nomination because she asks tough questions and doesnt always follow Washington dogma.The fact is what truly unsettles my political opponents is that I refuse to be their puppet, she said.Gabbard is among a couple of nominees who are facing more difficultly gaining unanimous support from Republican senators. Sens. Todd Young, Susan Collins and James Lankford were among the most aggressive questioners Thursday, but it remained unclear if they were satisfied enough by her responses to move her out of committee and confirm her on the Senate floor. The committee has not yet scheduled a vote. There has been much discussion over whether the committee vote on Gabbard should be made in public or in private as the panel usually operates. Many of Trumps supporters want it to be public to pressure any GOP senator who is considering opposing her nomination.Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, supports Gabbards nomination and said at the start of Thursdays hearing that he hopes she can rein in an office that he said has grown too large and bureaucratic.Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is now larger, in terms of staffing, than any of the agencies it was created to oversee.Look at where conventional thinking has got us. Maybe Washington could use a little more unconventional thinking, Cotton said. Ms. Gabbard, I submit that, if confirmed, the measure of your success will largely depend on whether you can return the ODNI to its original size, scope, and mission.__Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Byron Tau contributed to this report. FARNOUSH AMIRI Amiri covers Congress for The Associated Press, with a focus on foreign policy and congressional investigations. She previously covered politics for AP as a statehouse reporter based in Columbus, Ohio. twitter mailto

Subscribe Join the newsletter to get the latest updates. Success Great! Check your inbox and click the link. Error Please enter a valid email address. At an all hands meeting inside Meta Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg did not address Metas $25 million settlement with Donald Trump that will see the company paying $22 million for the eventual establishment of the Trump Presidential Library. But Zuckerberg did say that he had to be increasingly careful about what he says internally at Meta because everything I say leaks. And it sucks, right?Meta made changes to the question-and-answer section of the company all hands meeting because of the leaks, Zuckerberg said, according to meeting audio obtained by 404 Media.I want to be able to be able to talk about stuff openly, but I am also trying to like, well, were trying to build stuff and create value in the world, not destroy value by talking about stuff that inevitably leaks, he said. So rather than take direct questions, the company used a poll system, where questions asked beforehand were voted on so that main themes of questions were addressed.There are a bunch of things that I think are value-destroying for me to talk about, so Im not going to talk about those. But I think itll be good. You all can give us feedback later, he added. Maybe its just the nature of running a company at scale, but its a little bit of a bummer.

Datasets aggregated on data.gov, the largest repository of U.S. government open data on the internet, are being deleted, according to the websites own information. Since Donald Trump was inaugurated as president, more than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from the database. As people in the Data Hoarding and archiving communities have pointed out, on January 21, there were 307,854 datasets on data.gov. As of Thursday, there are 305,564 datasets. Many of the deletions happened immediately after Trump was inaugurated, according to snapshots of the website saved on the Internet Archives Wayback Machine. Harvard University researcher Jack Cushman has been taking snapshots of Data.govs datasets both before and after the inauguration, and has worked to create a full archive of the data.Because data.gov is an aggregator that doesnt always host the data itself, this doesnt always mean that the data itself has been deleted, that it doesnt exist elsewhere on federal government websites, or that it wont be re-hosted elsewhere. Further research will be necessary to determine what has happened to any given dataset, or to see if it turns up elsewhere on a government website. For example, 404 Media found some datasets in Cushmans analysis that are no longer accessible on data.gov but can still be found on individual agency websites; we also found some datasets that seem to still exist because data.gov links to working websites but give a file-not-found error message when trying to download the file itself.Disproportionately, the datasets that are no longer accessible through the portal come from the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. But determining what is actually gone and what has simply moved or is backed up elsewhere by the government is a manual task, and it's too early to say for sure what is gone and what may have been renamed or updated with a newer version.This is because data.gov doesnt always host the data that it is indexing. Sometimes the data is hosted directly on data.gov, but other times it links to an individual agencys website, where the data is actually hosted. This means archiving and analyzing data.gov is not straightforward.Some of [the entries link to] actual data, Cushman told 404 Media. And some of them link to a landing page [where the data is hosted]. And the question iswhen things are disappearing, is it the data it points to that is gone? Or is it just the index to it thats gone?For example, National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Water Temperature Data from Subsurface Temperature Recorders (STRs) deployed at coral reef sites in the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2005 to 2019, a NOAA dataset, can no longer be found on data.gov but can be found on one of NOAAs websites by Googling the title.Stetson Flower Garden Banks Benthic_Covage Monitoring 1993-2018 - OBIS Event, another NOAA dataset, can no longer be found on data.gov and also appears to have been deleted from the internet. Three Dimensional Thermal Model of Newberry Volcano, Oregon, a Department of Energy resource, is no longer available via the Department of Energy but can be found backed up on third-party websites.Determining what is gone, why its gone, and where it went seems like it would be straightforward, and it would seem like you could attribute all of it to malice on the part of an administration that has declared war on climate change and government equity efforts. But archivists who have been working on analyzing the deletions and archiving the data it held say that while some of the deletions are surely malicious information scrubbing, some are likely routine artifacts of an administration change, and they are working to determine which is which. For example, in the days after Joe Biden was inaugurated, data.gov showed about 1,000 datasets being deleted as compared to a day before his inauguration, according to the Wayback Machine.Because of the overall large number of datasets as well as the way that data.gov works, it is still too early to say what, specifically, has been deleted, though archivists and academics like Cushman are working on triaging the situation. It can reasonably be surmised that climate and environmental research and data, as well as research about marginalized communities and minorities are among the datasets that have been purged. This is in part because the Trump administration deleted huge swaths of climate data during his first term, and because Trump issued an executive order asking all federal agencies to delete anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion.Data.gov serves as an aggregator of datasets and research across the entire government, meaning it isnt a single database. This makes it slightly harder to archive than any individual database, according to Mark Phillips, a University of Northern Texas researcher who works on the End of Term Web Archive, a project that archives as much as possible from government websites before a new administration takes over.Some of this falls into the We dont know what we dont know, Phillips told 404 Media. It is very challenging to know exactly what, where, how often it changes, and what is new, gone, or going to move. Saving content from an aggregator like data.gov is a bit more challenging for the End of Term work because often the data is only identified and registered as a metadata record with data.gov but the actual data could live on another website, a state .gov, a university website, cloud provider like Amazon or Microsoft or any other location. This makes the crawling even more difficult.Phillips said that, for this round of archiving (which the team does every administration change), the project has been crawling government websites since January 2024, and that they have been doing large-scale crawls with help from our partners at the Internet Archive, Common Crawl, and the University of North Texas. Weve worked to collect 100s of terabytes of web content, which includes datasets from domains like data.gov.The Environmental Data & Governance Institute (EDGI) published a report in 2019 detailing How the Trump administration has undermined federal web infrastructures for climate information, which included not just deleting datasets but also, in some cases, not deleting datasets but deleting the links to them, changing descriptions of them, or making them much harder to find. For example, during Trumps first term, the Department of Transportations information on climate change was deleted, republished in a different form elsewhere, then deleted again from that new place, the report found.James Jacobs, a Stanford Libraries researcher who also works with a group called Free Government Information, told 404 Media in an email that data.gov has always been kind of a government data junk drawer (I call it that lovingly ;-)). That is, it was a really great effort to get the vast federal apparatus to start to think about collecting and preserving data. But there are no specific regulations that tell agencies that they *have to* use data.gov. Some agencies use it heavily, some put up a few excel spreadsheets and called it a day.I assume some of those datasets in data.gov have bad urls to old agency pages that no longer exist (its really problematic when an agency decides to redesign its site and its base domain changes and all the links to important information and data are broken), Jacobs added. Some of it is probably link rot and content drift and some of it is no doubt Trump admin policy driven (e.g. anything having to do with DEI).Harvards Cushman said that, because this is the internet, there are always things that are being added, breaking, changing, or vanishing, and that some of this happens on purpose and some of it happens on accident. So determining what is being purged, when there are so many data points, is not always trivial. If you want to answer why any given thing is gone, it becomes an individual research question. Cushman said he is working on compiling this info now and will publish it soon.All of this is to say that even under the best circumstances, government datasets and research can get lost or deleted, and archiving it is not always easy. When an administration specifically makes a point of deleting research, this already fragile ecosystem is stressed even further. All of these suddenly disappeared datasets must be taken in with the context that we know the Trump administration has ordered agencies to delete and edit specific webpages, and 404 Medias own reporting has shown targeted deletions of pages relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as climate change.In a post from this week on Free Government Information, Jacobs explained that the government information crisis is bigger than you think.There is a difference between the government changing a policy and the government erasing information, but the line between those two has blurred in the digital age, Jacobs wrote. He explained that before the internet, government documents were printed and were archived by being distributed among many different libraries as part of the Federal Depository Library Program. The internet has made a lot of government information more accessible, but it has also made it a lot more fragile.In the print era, libraries did a good (but not perfect) job of preservation through inertia (ie collect and catalog a document, put it on a shelf, and leave it there until a patron wanted it), Jacobs told 404 Media in an email. In the digital era, that system of distribution/preservation/access has broken down because digital publications are no longer distributed to libraries, and government entities a) publish a LOT more on the internet; but b) have no clear regulations or policies regarding preservation.It is absolutely true that the Trump administration is deleting government data and research and is making it harder to access. But determining what is gone, where it went, whether its been preserved somewhere, and why it was taken down is a process that is time intensive and going to take a while.One thing that is clear to me about datasets coming down from data.gov is that when we rely on one place for collecting, hosting, and making available these datasets, we will always have an issue with data disappearing, Phillips said. Historically the federal government would distribute information to libraries across the country to provide greater access and also a safeguard against loss. That isn't done in the same way for this government data.

Subscribe nowOver the weekend, we published an interview with Peter Boykin, the Founder of Gays for Trump. It was by far the most-read story weve published so far, and we received a lot of feedback. Some readers felt it was the most important and interesting story we have done because they heard from someone typically only seen on right-wing, uber-MAGA channels. They were grateful to learn about where Boykin was coming from: How can he be gay and still love Trump?Even if Boykins response didnt make sense to the readers, they were grateful to feel a bit more informed by someones POV that is typically left out of queer publications entirely. Boykin also spoke to infighting among LGBTQ Trump supporters and talked about how he believes Trump is talking to the wrong people and needs to stop all the social conservative B.S.Other readers felt we shouldnt be platforming folks like Boykin at all. They felt I should have pushed back on him more aggressively. Some folks on Reddit even asked for Uncloseted to be banned (i.e., canceled) because Boykin has used anti-LGBTQ language in the past.Finding the tone of a new journalism publication is very difficult. Finding the tone of a new LGBTQ news publication is even more challenging. Our ultimate goal with any story is: Will readers be interested? And Will it inform them about the people, the money, and the power fueling Americas anti-LGBTQ ecosystem?We promise to do our best and always look to challenge our sources. Can we do better? Always. Do we welcome your feedback? Always!Our ultimate goal is to break out of the queer media echo chamber and reach all Americans in all 50 states. To do that, engaging with folks of all perspectives rather than omitting half the countrys views from our reporting is a critical part of that. As one journalist told me this week, Refusing to cover Boykin wont hurt him. Rather, it hurts the people trying to defeat him because they wont have the relevant information to help them do that.Donate to support our workBessent Makes History at Treasury as Highest-ranking LGBTQ Official (The Hill)On Monday, the Senate confirmed billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Scott Bessent as President Trumps Treasury secretary, making him the highest-ranking LGBTQ official in the nations history.Trump Signs Order to End Federal Support for Care for Transgender Minors (CBS)On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at cutting federal support for certain types of gender-affirming care for people under age 19, his latest move to roll back protections for transgender people across the country.Anti-HIV program in crisis as Trump aid pause sows confusion (The Washington Post)The State Department issued a waiver for lifesaving aid, but HIV clinics remain shut, and uncertainty lingers over the future of PEPFAR, which has saved 25 million lives.Transgender Service Members Challenge Trump's Military Ban (NBC)GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed a federal suit on behalf of six transgender service members and two trans people seeking to enlist.State Department Suspends Processing Passport Applications with X Gender Marker (CNN)The move aligns with an executive order signed by Trump last week that says it is US government policy to recognize two sexes, male and female and that these sexes are not changeable.I was profiled by Vada Magazine this week to talk about why I started Uncloseted and the urgent need for independent LGBTQ journalismespecially as we head into a second Trump presidency. Check out the full interview here!Alaina Kupec, a military veteran and Founder of GRACE, a trans advocacy organization, told us about how Trumps transgender military ban is affecting her and her family: We are seriously evaluating leaving the country I fought to defend here we [are again with] an administration that is purposely dehumanizing me and my community. And that is how it starts.But it won't end here. Marriage equality is in jeopardy in states like Idaho and others. These attacks have started with the smallest and least visible of the LGBTQ community. But it is their first step. And people are standing by and saying nothing to defend my right to exist. So mark my words, the world will look back and one day recognize it started with the transgender community, and far too many are saying nothing. This is not who we are as a country. At least not what I thought we were. So I am left with shock and sadness. But after the last eight years, not surprised.We passed 5,000 subscribers this week! Thank you to everyone who has subscribed, commented, shared, and read our work. Subscribe nowThis weekend, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting: So often, the legislation and the policy we investigate affect LGBTQ youth, and yet we rarely hear from them directly. This weekend, were passing the mic to six queer youth to hear their thoughts on being an LGBTQ kid in the U.S. in 2025. Black women in the U.S. are contracting HIV at an alarming rateten times higher than their white counterparts. Why? In this eye-opening investigation, we follow the stories of women like Kennedi Lowman and Mia Allison, whose unexpected diagnoses changed their lives. Experts say systemic racism, medical bias, stigma, and lack of targeted prevention efforts are key factors driving this crisis. Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints, tips, and story ideas! Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chiefspencer@unclosetedmedia.comIf objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

President Donald Trump has issued his third executive order in one week aimed at restricting rights for the transgender community. Trump previously issued orders banning trans people from serving in the military and restricting gender-affirming care for those under 19.On Wednesday, Trump signed the Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling order, which would restrict gender-affirming policies in public schools, limit funding to schools that support gender-affirming practices and instruct state attorneys general to take legal action against educators or school officials who facilitate social transition or unlawfully practicing medicine by offering diagnoses and treatment.These directives would mean teachers and staff would be restricted from using pronouns that align with a students gender identity and instead only use the pronoun of the students gender assigned at birth. The order also requires trans and nonbinary students to use bathrooms or locker rooms that match their gender assigned at birth, and bars trans students from playing sports that align with their gender.Schools that do not follow the guidelines in this order risk losing federal and grant funding.In the order, the Trump administration accuses schools of indoctrinating students with radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight. This is something Trump said often on the campaign trail, along with claiming that teachers were performing gender-affirming operations on students.LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign issued the following response to the order.All students deserve to feel safe and welcome in school, said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign.But this new administration is making it clear they want to dictate to children, their parents, and educators what they can read, what they can learn, what they can say, and who they can be. They want to limit the ability to talk about the very existence of LGBTQ+ people in our schools and keep all our children from being taught an honest, accurate history of our nation. All young peopleincluding LGBTQ+ students and the children of LGBTQ+ parents, who are accepted by the adults in their life have much better outcomes for mental health and other metrics. We owe it to them to ensure that they feel safe, respected and ready to learn when theyre at school.Lambda Legal, which has already said they plan to take legal action against Trumps previous orders, said this about yesterdays order.Compelling federally-funded schools to disrespect the identities of LGBTQ+ youth, particularly trans youth, not only opens them up to harassment, bullying, and abuse, but in fact encourages it.In a statement, Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen referred to Trump as a bully and said that the order disrespects students pronouns and violates the constitution.The scapegoating of trans students and developmentally appropriate curricula is from an old playbook, said Heng-Lehtinen. Trump and his Project 2025 cronies want to erode public good and divest from public education, and they have opted for the most spineless approach by attacking trans young people. This executive order does not change the law, but it sends a harmful message to trans young people and could make school harder for students who are already struggling to get through each day.The post Trump moves to restrict transgender students rights in schools appeared first on News Is Out.

Leading this years Oscar contenders by the sheer number of nominations, the musical comedy Emilia Prez is eliciting criticism in addition to critical acclaim for its portrayal of transgender people and Mexican culture. The film won the best musical/comedy at the recent Golden Globes, setting it up as a strong Academy Awards contender.The film garnered 13 Oscar nominations when they were announced January 23. The Academy Awards will be broadcast Sunday, March 2, on ABC and hosted by comedian and former TV late night host Conan OBrien.Even before the Netflix-distributed film by French director-writer Jacques Audiard started getting awards chatter, people expressed their issues with the movie. That has only heightened with the current buzz.What I saw just throughout is really the axes people have to the entertainment industry and in this case, obviously, Netflix, Bamby Salcedo, a trans woman who is founder of the TransLatin@ Coalition in Los Angeles, said during a recent phone interview. Theres this French writer who doesnt even understand the culture of Mexico and wrote a movie mind you, a fiction, but it really contributes to the stereotypes of Mexican people.Audiards film is about the leader of a drug cartel (Karla Sofa Gascn) who with the help of an attorney (Zoe Saldaa) disappears so that she can undergo a gender transition. Gascn became the first transgender actress to be nominated for the best actress Oscar.Gascn told NPR she brought her own experience to the role.Had I gotten this role about 20 years ago, I dont think that [I] would have been able to give it the same depth that Im giving it now at 52, she said.The film won four awards at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards on January 5 besting the box office hit Wicked in the Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy category. During her speech at the Golden Globes, Gascn used the films triumph as an opportunity to rally on behalf of the trans community.Wearing a yellow-orange dress, she said, I chose these colors the Buddhist colors tonight because I have a message for you: The light always wins over darkness. She continued, Say, I am who I am, not who you want.But regarding the film, Salcedo said that the truth is even the story is not necessarily the story of many of us who are trans.Many of us dont have a lot of money to have surgeries and be completely transformed, Salcedo said.GLAAD blasted the film, too. The LGBTQ media organization called it a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman and a step backward for trans representation shortly after it started streaming in November.Drew Burnett Gregory, a trans woman, stated in an online film review, Whether made by us or about us, I want more trans stories that are audacious, ambitious, and new. The problem with Emilia Prez is that while its new in some ways its very, very tired in others. The film hits just about every trans trope you can imagine.Gregory said that these tropes were Trans woman killer, Tragic trans woman, Trans woman abandons her wife and children to transition, Transition treated as a death, Deadnaming and misgendering at pivotal moments, and Trans woman described as half male/half female.Continued Gregory, Im not offended by anything on that list. Its not about offense or something being not allowed. Its that its boring. This shallow understanding of trans people cant still be interesting to cis people. How many times do cis people have to learn about us before a portrayal like this one rings as false to them as it does to me?During a piece about the film on NPR, Reanna Cruz, who is also trans, said, The movie failed in multiple ways, I think in large ways too. I thought it was stereotyping Mexicans. I thought it was stereotyping trans women.Cruz added, The entire time I was watching it I had a really weird feeling in my stomach because to me it seemed like the filmmaker was painting trans women as liars. Liars and people that cant tell the truth and they dont know who they are. And the songs kind of lean into that. Where half of the songs you have Emilia singing Who am I? or talking about I was a he and now Im a she.When asked about the criticism that the film didnt properly portray the culture of Mexico, Salcedo told the B.A.R. that, Mexico is much more than just the cartels and the drugs and all of that, right?Theres a procession that happens after Emilia passed away, and thats something they just got from somewhere, Salcedo said. Yes, theres celebrations for Mexican people, but just the scene itself looked very poorly done.Selena Gomez, who also appears in the film, is of Mexican descent, and was criticized for her lack of Spanish fluency, USA Today reported.Asked about what Hollywood should do, Salcedo said, Theres a lot of talent in the trans community. Theres a lot of actors of trans experience who should be highlighted and consulted going forward.I think the fact Karla has been highlighted is great for her, Salcedo said. But, again, if the funds invested in promoting this movie the access you have to people who make decisions and what stories are told there has been a full campaign to make sure this movie is received, and it kind of fits, because of what were going through politically. Its just a way for Netflix to say theyre investing in something like this, but what theyre not doing is investing in the community.Netflix didnt immediately return a request for comment for this report.Audiard seems to have heard some of the criticism. The Guardian reported January 16 that he said the film isnt intended to be realistic. If there are things that seem shocking in Emilia Prez then I am sorry Cinema doesnt provide answers, it only asks questions, he said, according to the paper. But maybe the questions in Emilia Prez are incorrect.However, the Guardian noted that Audiard has been defended by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, who described him as one of the most amazing film-makers alive today.Gascn, who is Spanish, wrote on social media, Its a pity that [critics] use so many profiles to (uselessly) attack a film with such a beautiful message and representation, instead of using them to support Mexican films and creators.The post Critical acclaim for Emilia Prez comes with criticism, too appeared first on News Is Out.

Living up to President Trumps campaign promise to upend education, the endangered U.S. Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced last week the dismissal of 11 complaints and six pending cases filed against school book bans as meritless claim[s] premised upon a dubious legal theory. Additionally, OCR fired book ban coordinator Matt Nosanchuk [...]The post Federal Agency, Former Champion for Intellectual Freedom, Parrots Book Ban Misinformation first appeared on GLAAD.

Audibles newest podcast series The Unusual Suspects With Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell is pullingback the curtain to offer listeners unprecedented access to the minds of the worlds most extraordinary individuals and their distinct paths to success. Premiering January 30th, writer, actor, and producer Kenya Barrisand journalist and author Malcom Gladwellare joining forces andbypassing pleasantries [...]The post GLAAD Exclusive: WNBA Legend Sue Bird Talks Coming Out on Audibles The Unusual Suspects With Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell first appeared on GLAAD.

Its always Monsoon season! Jinkx Monsoon and Liam Krug celebrated the night away earlier this week when their original sketch comedy series Sketchy Queens celebrated its season two premiere at World of Wonders WOW Presents Plus Studios, situated along the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, January 28th. Celebrating alongside Jinkx and Krug were drag queens BenDeLaCreme, Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Crystal Methyd, Farrah Moan, and more. After the red carpet, the night also featured a performance by Jinkx, an advanced screening of the premiere episode of Sketchy Queens, and a reception where the House Of Love cocktails and mocktails flowed. Keep scrolling for a peek at the nights festivities and check out Sketchy Queens season 2, now on WOW Presents Plus. The cast is here!The cast of Sketchy Queens season 2 absolutely owned the red carpet! Crystal MethydSeason 12 fan fave Crystal Methyd hit the red carpet. Jinkx Monsoon and Liam KrugJinkx and Liam Krug were in their element on the stage.Angeria Paris VanMichealsOur current reigning All Stars winner Angeria Paris VanMicheals joined the fun. BenDeLaCremeBenDeLaCreme showed their support that night. The cast of 'Sketchy Queens' season 2 have their moment!The cast of Sketchy Queens took to the stage.Brandon RodgersActor and comic Brandon Rogers hit the red carpet. Liam Krug and Jinkx MonsoonLiam Krug and Jinkx Monsoon looked gorgeous! Jinkx MonsoonJinkx Monsoon owned all the notes that night! Farrah MoanDrag Race season 9 star Farrah Moan looked stunning on the red carpet. Jinkx Monsoon and Liam KrugJinkx Monsoon and Liam Krug get silly on the red carpet. Jinkx MonsoonShe owns everything! Jinkx served opulence on the red carpet!

Elliot Page is stepping back into the world of Beyond: Two Souls, but this time, hes calling the shots. The actor-turned-producer is developing a TV adaptation of the 2013 Quantic Dream video game through his company, Pageboy Productions, as reported by Deadline.For those unfamiliar, Beyond: Two Souls starred Page alongside Willem Dafoe in a cinematic, choice-driven narrative that followed Jodie Holmes, a young woman with a supernatural connection to a mysterious entity named Aiden. The game was known for its ambitious storytelling, and while critics had mixed opinions on its execution, one thing was undeniable: Pages performance, as usual, was a standout.Filming the game was one of the most challenging and fulfilling acting experiences of my career, Page told Deadline. The storys rich narrative and emotional depth offer us a fantastic foundation. We want to create a unique vision of the characters and their journeys that resonates with fans and newcomers. (@) Theres something poetic about this adaptation. Page originally lent his likeness to the game a decade before coming out as transgender, and now, hes reclaiming the story on his own terms. Its a fitting full-circle moment and one that could open the door to fresh interpretations of Jodies journey and identity.Matt Jordan Smith, Pageboys Head of Development and Production, emphasized that the series will honor the games legacy while inviting fresh perspectives. Given Pages personal evolution and Hollywoods slow but growing embrace of trans narratives, this project has the potential to push boundaries in a way the game never quite did.No word yet on whether Page will reprise his role on-screen, but at least the second coming of Beyond: Two Souls is in the right hands.

Pop star Troye Sivan is the star of Grindrs latest ad campaign, which invites a playful exploration of queer experiences through the game Tap or Block. The campaign, directed by Jake Wilson, features Sivan alongside several dancers from his recent Something to Give Each Other tour. The spot was filmed backstage at the tours final show and presents an upbeat, candid conversation about dating, hookups, and sexual preferences.The games premise is simple. Sivan asks his tour dancers a series of questions, and they must respond with either Tap or Block, depending on whether theyre into the scenario or not. If youre into it, you say Tap, if youre not, you say Block, Sivan explains to the dancers, setting the tone for a lighthearted and humorous discussion.The six dancersTheo, Simone, Samuel, Ben, Ainsley, and Maurotake turns responding to a series of direct, often cheeky, questions. Topics range from hotel sex and body hair preferences to open relationships and whether they prefer satin sheets. Other questions touch on the dynamics of dating apps and personal preferences, such as Do you have Masc in your bio? or Do you call your partner bro or dude?This playful exchange underscores Grindrs mission to celebrate the diversity of queer experiences in an authentic and humorous way. Sivan, known for his candid and honest approach to discussions about sexuality, embraces the opportunity to engage in a conversation that highlights the messiness and complexity of queer dating.Dating and hooking up can be complex, sexy, messy, intoxicating and confusing, Sivan said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. I love how Grindr and this campaign celebrate all of this with humor, honesty, and through community. Its refreshing to show these conversations in an authentic way.Troye Sivan for Grindr. Photo: GrindrSivans involvement in the campaign speaks to his ongoing commitment to authenticity and inclusivity within the LGBTQ+ community. As an artist, hes been vocal about his own experiences and struggles within the queer community, often using his platform to promote open dialogue and acceptance.Behind the Scenes of the CampaignThe campaign was produced by Charlie Wilson and features music by Leland. Creative direction was led by Luke Anderson, co-founder of Juxtapose Studio. Anderson previously collaborated with Sivan on the music video for Got Me Started, which also prominently featured Explorer Cold Brew. The new campaign is a further extension of Sivans partnership with Anderson and his creative team, and it embraces a fun, no-holds-barred approach to discussing intimate topics.Sivans tour dancers, who appear alongside him in the video, bring an element of camaraderie and playfulness that makes the campaign feel lighthearted and inclusive. Each dancers candid answers add a layer of authenticity to the conversation, reinforcing the campaigns message that queer people dont have to conform to one specific identity or experience.As a Grammy-nominated artist, Sivan is no stranger to success and visibility. He recently earned a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Recording for his hit song Got Me Started, which was also featured in the campaign. This nomination marks another milestone in his evolving music career, showcasing his versatility and appeal across multiple genres.Grindrs Continued Commitment to AuthenticityGrindrs Tap or Block campaign is just the latest initiative from the popular LGBTQ+ dating app to highlight and celebrate diverse queer experiences. By using humor and honesty, the campaign aims to foster a sense of community among Grindrs users while encouraging openness in conversations around dating, sex, and relationships.The app, which boasts millions of users worldwide, continues to be a crucial platform for LGBTQ+ individuals to connect, communicate, and explore their identities in a safe and inclusive environment. With this campaign, Grindr reaffirms its commitment to authenticity, inclusivity, and the diversity of its user base, embracing the fact that everyone has different preferences, desires, and experiences in their personal lives.As the ad gains traction, its clear that this fun, unfiltered approach is resonating with audiences. The mix of celebrity, humor, and candid conversation offers a refreshing take on queer dating culture, making the Tap or Block game more than just an adits a celebration of freedom and self-expression in the LGBTQ+ community.Troye Sivans collaboration with Grindr in the Tap or Block campaign brings a unique, fun, and authentic perspective to queer dating. With its direct approach and playful tone, the campaign encourages open dialogue while celebrating the diverse experiences of the LGBTQ+ community. Sivans involvement highlights his continued advocacy for inclusivity, making this campaign both a creative endeavor and an important conversation starter in the world of queer identity and relationships.The post Troye Sivan and His Tour Dancers Play Tap or Block in New Grindr Campaign appeared first on Gayety.

Netflix has just announced its much-anticipated 2025 film slate, promising an exciting year of content that spans across multiple genres, star-studded performances, and high-profile directorial projects. In its latest Next on Netflix presentation, which included appearances from Tina Fey, Ben Affleck, John Mulaney, and the Duffer Brothers, the streaming giant unveiled a robust lineup of films that will hit the platform in 2025. From heartwarming comedies to gripping documentaries and thrilling sequels, Netflix is preparing to captivate global audiences throughout the year.Following a strong 2024, which saw critical successes such as Emilia Prezwhich nabbed 13 Academy Award nominationsNetflix is gearing up to deliver a year of diverse and compelling films. According to film chief Dan Lin, the pressure is on to continue the momentum with a mix of high-profile original films and returning fan-favorite franchises.Major Films, TV Series, and Star-Studded ReleasesOne of the most buzzed-about titles in Netflixs 2025 slate is Guillermo del Toros highly anticipated Frankenstein, slated for a November release. This gothic retelling will star Oscar Isaac as the mad scientist Victor Frankenstein, while Jacob Elordi will portray the iconic monster. The film promises to be a visually stunning and emotionally charged reimagining of Mary Shelleys classic, with Mia Goth and Christoph Waltz rounding out the impressive cast.The series You starring Penn Badgley has also dropped its trailer for the highly anticipated season 5.Also generating a lot of attention is Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, a continuation of Rian Johnsons wildly popular Knives Out franchise. Daniel Craig returns as the brilliant detective Benoit Blanc in the third installment of the series, which will feature an ensemble cast including Josh OConnor, Glenn Close, and Jeremy Renner. Fans of the first two films can expect another thrilling whodunit with plenty of twists and turns.George Clooney fans will also get their fix with Jay Kelly, a comedy from Noah Baumbach, which stars Clooney in a leading role. The film will also feature an all-star cast including Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, and Greta Gerwig, ensuring a starry lineup for this intriguing comedy.Notable DocumentariesIn addition to its blockbuster films, Netflix is also set to release a slate of compelling documentaries. Among the most anticipated is a film about legendary comedian Eddie Murphy, offering an in-depth look at his career and influence on comedy and pop culture. Other documentaries include a deep dive into the Manson murders, a chronicle of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and a gripping account of Osama Bin Ladens capture.Additionally, viewers will get an inside look at the Air Forces elite Thunderbirds squadron and a documentary about the Long Island serial killer. Netflix will also explore environmental issues with a film about endangered pangolins and a chilling examination of the Titan submersible disaster.Highlights of Netflixs 2025 Film ScheduleWinter 2025:Kinda Pregnant (Feb. 5): Amy Schumer stars in this romantic comedy about a woman who wears a fake pregnancy belly and ends up meeting the man of her dreams. The film also features Jillian Bell and Damon Wayans Jr.The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (Feb. 11): This animated fantasy series expands Netflixs The Witcher universe. Geralt of Rivia faces a new threat as hes pulled into a conflict between humans and merpeople, setting the stage for an epic battle to avoid war.La Dolce Villa (Feb. 13): Scott Foley stars in this romantic comedy about a businessman who travels to Italy to stop his daughter from restoring a crumbling villaonly to discover romance and magic in the process.Spring 2025:Plankton: The Movie (March 7): The latest installment in the SpongeBob SquarePants universe, focusing on Planktons thwarted plans for world domination.The Electric State (March 14): A sci-fi thriller starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, set in an alternate 1990s following a robot uprising. The film follows a teenager and her robot companion as they embark on a journey to find her brother.The Life List (March 28): A heartwarming romance starring Sofia Carson and Connie Britton, following a womans journey to complete her childhood bucket list, discovering romance and family secrets along the way.Summer 2025:The Old Guard 2 (July 2): Fans of the first movie will be thrilled to see Charlize Theron return as Andy, the immortal mercenary, facing a new enemy in this highly anticipated sequel.Fear Street: Prom Queen (Summer 2025): The latest installment in the Fear Street franchise, set during prom season at Shadyside High. A mysterious series of disappearances turns a prom night into a deadly nightmare.Fall 2025:Frankenstein (November 2025): Guillermo del Toros take on the iconic monster story, starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi.RIP (Fall 2025): Ben Affleck and Matt Damon team up in this intense thriller about Miami cops discovering millions of dollars in a drug stash house, leading to fractured trust and a web of corruption.Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for RipThe Woman in Cabin 10 (Fall 2025): Keira Knightley stars in this adaptation of Ruth Wares thriller, where a journalist witnesses a murder at sea but no one believes her, sparking a dangerous investigation.Animated Features and Special ProjectsIn addition to the live-action films, Netflix is also launching several highly anticipated animated features in 2025. Highlights include K-Pop: Demon Hunters, which follows a K-pop girl group leading double lives as demon hunters, and In Your Dreams, a whimsical adventure about two siblings navigating their dream world. Animated rom-coms like Lost in Starlight and Pookoo will also appeal to audiences seeking unique storytelling in the animated space.The post Netflix Unveils Star-Studded 2025 Film Slate with Blockbusters, Documentaries, and Highly Anticipated Sequels appeared first on Gayety.

Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India on April 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Satyajeet Singh Rathore, File)2025-01-30T19:02:16Z BENGALURU, India (AP) India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and increasing communities living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.The study in the journal Science says Indias success offers important lessons for tiger-range countries that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities. The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations, said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the studys lead author. What the research shows is that its not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more. Wildlife conservationists and ecologists welcomed the study but said that tigers and other wildlife in India would benefit if source data were made available to a larger group of scientists. The study was based on data collected by Indian government-supported institutions. A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it at the Ranthambhore national park in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India, on June 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Deepak Sharma, File) A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it at the Ranthambhore national park in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India, on June 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Deepak Sharma, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Arjun Gopalaswamy, an ecologist with expertise in wildlife population estimation, said estimates from Indias official tiger monitoring program have been chaotic and contradictory. He said some of the figures in the study are significantly higher than previous estimates of tiger distribution from the same datasets. But he added that the papers findings seem to have corrected an anomaly flagged repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their geographic spread. Tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed increased urbanization, increased human use of forest resources and higher frequency of armed conflicts, the study said. Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country, said Jhala. Tigers are spread across around 138,200 square kilometers (53,359 square miles) in India, about the size of the state of New York. But just 25% of the area is prey-rich and protected, and another 45% of tiger habitats are shared with roughly 60 million people, the study said.Strong wildlife protection legislation is the backbone of tiger conservation in India, said Jhala. Habitat is not a constraint, its the quality of the habitat which is a constraint, he said. Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who wasnt part of the study, said that while tiger conservation efforts are promising, they need to be extended to other species to better maintain the entire ecosystem. There are several species, including the great Indian bustard and caracal which are all on the edge, Chellam said. And there is really not enough focus on that. ___Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. SIBI ARASU Sibi reports on climate change from India and South Asia twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

British actress and singer Marianne Faithfull poses during a photo-call for her movie 'Irina Palm' at the 57th International Film Festival Berlin 'Berlinale' in Berlin, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)2025-01-30T18:53:37Z NEW YORK (AP) Marianne Faithfull, the British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul who inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied, has died. She was 78.Faithfull passed away Thursday in London, her music promotion company Republic Media said. It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull, a company spokesperson said in a statement. Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.The blonde, voluptuous Faithfull was a celebrity before turning 17, homeless by her mid-20s and an inspiration to peers and younger artists by her early 30s, when her raw, explicit Broken English album brought her the kinds of reviews the Stones had received. Over the following decades, her admirers would include Beck, Billy Corgan, Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, although her history would always be closely tied to the Stones and to the years she dated Mick Jagger. One of the first songs written by Jagger and Keith Richards, the melancholy As Tears Go By, was her breakthrough hit when released in 1964 and the start of her close and tormented relationship with the band. She and Jagger began seeing each other in 1966 and became one of the most glamorous and notorious couples of Swinging London, with Faithfull once declaring that if LSD wasnt meant to happen, it wouldnt have been invented. Their rejection of conventional values was defined by a widely publicized 1967 drug bust that left Jagger and Richards briefly in jail and Faithfull identified in tabloids as Naked Girl At Stones Party, a label she would find humiliating and inescapable. One of the hazards of reforming your evil ways is that some people wont let go of their minds eye of you as a wild thing, she wrote in Memories, Dreams and Reflections, a 2007 memoir. Jagger and Richards often cited bluesmen and early rock n rollers as their prime influences, but Faithfull and her close friend Anita Pallenberg, Richards longtime partner, also opened the band to new ways of thinking. Both were worldlier than their boyfriends at the time, and helped transform the Stones songwriting and personas, whether as muses or as collaborators.Faithfull helped inspire such Stones songs as the mellow tribute She Smiled Sweetly and the lustful Lets Spend the Night Together. It was Faithful who lent Jagger the Russian novel The Master and Margarita that was the basis for Sympathy for the Devil and who first recorded and contributed lyrics to the Stones dire Sister Morphine, notably the opening line, Here I lie in my hospital bed. Faithfulls drug use helped shape such jaded takes on the London rock scene as You Cant Always Get What You Want and Live with Me, while her time with Jagger also coincided with one of his most vulnerable love songs, Wild Horses.On her own, the London-born Faithfull specialized at first in genteel ballads, among them Come Stay With Me, Summer Nights and This Little Bird. But even in her teens, Faithfull sang in a fragile alto that suggested knowledge and burdens far beyond her years. Her voice would later crack and coarsen, and her life and work after splitting with Jagger in 1970 was one of looking back and carrying on through emotional and physical pain. She had become addicted to heroin in the late 60s, suffered a miscarriage while seven months pregnant and nearly died from an overdose of sleeping pills. (Jagger, meanwhile, had an affair with Pallenberg and had a baby with actor Marsha Hunt). By the early 70s, Faithfull was living in the streets of London and had lost custody of the son, Nicholas, she had with her estranged husband, the gallery owner John Dunbar. She would also battle anorexia and hepatitis, was treated for breast cancer, broke her hip in a fall and was hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020.She shared everything, uncensored, in her memoirs and in her music, notably Broken English, which came out in 1979 and featured her seething Whyd Ya Do It and conflicted Guilt, in which she chants I feel guilt, I feel guilt, though I know Ive done no wrong. Other albums included Dangerous Acquaintances, Strange Weather, the live Blazing Away and, most recently, She Walks in Beauty. Though Faithfull was defined by the 1960s, her sensibility often reached back to the pre-rock world of German cabaret, and she covered numerous songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, including Ballad of the Soldiers Wife and the sung ballet The Seven Deadly Sins. Her interests extended to theater, film and television. Faithfull began acting in the 1960s, including an appearance in Jean-Luc Godards Made In U.S.A. and stage roles in Hamlet and Chekhovs Three Sisters. She would later appear in such films as Marie Antoinette and The Girl from Nagasaki, and the TV series Absolutely Fabulous, in which she was cast as and did not flinch from playing God. Faithful was married three times, and in recent years dated her manager, Francois Ravard. Jagger was her most famous lover, but other men in her life included Richards (so great and memorable, she would say of their one-night stand), David Bowie and the early rock star Gene Pitney. Among the rejected: Bob Dylan, who had been so taken that he was writing a song about her, until Faithfull, pregnant with her son at the time, turned him down.Without warning, he turned into Rumpelstiltskin, she wrote in Faithfull, published in 1994. He went over to the typewriter, took a sheaf of papers and began ripping them up into smaller and smaller pieces, after which he let them fall into the wastepaper basket.Faithfulls heritage was one of intrigue, decadence and fallen empires. Her father was a British intelligence officer during World War II who helped saved her mother from the Nazis in Vienna. Faithfulls more distant ancestors included various Austro-Hungarian aristocrats and Count Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, a 19th century Austrian whose last name and scandalous novel Venus in Furs helped create the term masochism.Faithfulls parents separated when she was 6 and her childhood would include time in a convent and in what she would call a nutty sex-obsessed commune. By her teens, she was reading Simone de Beauvoir, listening to Odetta and Joan Baez and singing in folk clubs. Through the London art scene, she met Dunbar, who introduced her to Paul McCartney and other celebrities. Dunbar also co-founded the Indica Gallery, where John Lennon would say he met Yoko Ono.The threads of a dozen little scenes were invisibly twining together, she wrote in her memoir. All these people gallery owners, photographers, pop stars, aristocrats and assorted talented layabouts more or less invented the scene in London, so I guess I was present at the creation.Her future was set in March 1964, when she attended a recording party for one of Londons hot young bands, the Rolling Stones. Scorning the idea that she and Jagger immediately fell for each other, she would regard the Stones as yobby schoolboys and witnessed Jagger fighting with his then-girlfriend, the model Chrissie Shrimpton, so in tears that her false eyelashes were peeling off.But she was deeply impressed by one man, Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who looked powerful and dangerous and very sure of himself. A week later, Oldham sent her a telegram, asking her to come to Londons Olympic Studios. With Jagger and Richards looking on, Oldham played her a demo of a very primitive song, A Tears Go By, which Faithfull needed just two takes to complete.Its an absolutely astonishing thing for a boy of 20 to have written, Faithfull wrote in her 1994 memoir. A song about a woman looking back nostalgically on her life. The uncanny thing is that Mick should have written those words so long before everything happened. Its almost as is if our whole relationship was prefigured in that song.___Brian Melley contributed from London.

In 2015, a federal worker named Katherine Spivey gave colleagues a presentation about how to write plainly, so that the general public can more easily understand content on government websites. One of her pieces of advice, among many, was to use pronouns such as the word you to describe the reader rather than jargon like beneficiary or purchaser.Theres already a great barrier between citizens and the government, Spivey said.Remember, your reader is a person, not an entity use pronouns to speak directly to your readers. It requires a lot less work and it requires a lot less words.Spiveys presentation had nothing to do with gender identity, gender pronouns, diversity, equity, or inclusion. It was about the broad concept of pronouns, the part of speech we (a pronoun!) use constantly. And yet, after Donald Trump was inaugurated, the government webpage archiving a video of Spiveys presentation was first edited to remove a timestamp link that went to the section of the video about pronouns. Later, the page archiving the video was deleted entirely (a copy of the video is still available on YouTube and on the Internet Archive).The tweak is one of hundreds that have been revealed across government via Githubs commit tracking, which shows version changes to code, websites, and other projects managed on the site. Github is also revealing a widespread, scattershot effort to not only change government policies on DEI but also to wholesale nuke language that actually has nothing to do with it and are retroactively changing descriptions of research and events that happened in the past to remove any reference to DEI. The Github pages reveal not only the imprecision with which these changes are being made but also a willingness to literally rewrite and delete history. 0:00 /65:02 1 Many of the deletions catalogued on Github demonstrate the pettiness and lengths to which the Trump administration is going to seek and destroy anything that it could possibly conceive as being related to DEI. They also show that the government has hundreds of employees and contractors who have been tasked with being the anti-DEI police across the entire government. Many of the changes are frivolous, but many of them are not, and represent the destruction of critical institutions, research, and public data.There are far more alarming deletions than Spiveys video, of course.The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology, an office of the government that determines how the federal government should carry out statistical research to, for example, determine if a federal program is working, has nuked its page about best practices for researching sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. This page had years of research about how to best do basic government research about the American people for the Census, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies to allow for better understanding of how sexual and gender minority populations [are faring] relative to the general or other population groups, including economic, housing, health, and other differences. These insights can lead to potential resources and interventions needed to better serve the community. These data meet critical needs to understand trends within larger population groups.Similarly, the National Institutes of Health deleted a page about the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office, which has done critical research about the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people.It is impossible to catalog everything that has been deleted, tweaked, or scrubbed. But here are some more:The U.S. Web Design System has deleted its pages on inclusive web design, which many web designers referred to when thinking about how to make their websites more accessible. The Github shows that much of the research and underlying principles that went into it were also deleted.According to Github, a page about behavioral guidelines for government employees is slated to get rid of a bullet point that says dont make derogatory comments on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, though the change has not appeared on the live site yet.GSA research about how much money the federal government spends at businesses owned by women, veterans, and other groups as been deleted from the internetThe description of a government panel at a conference from 2022 about neurodiversity has been edited to remove the term DEIA from its description. Similarly, the word inclusion has been deleted from a government training about why the Americans with Disabilities Act is important for accessibility at sports venues.

President Donald Trump has signed a number of harmful executive orders (EOs) since his January 20 inauguration, but his attack against transgender people, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, has sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community. Framing gender-affirming care as mutilation, the order bans access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries for anyone under 19, defunds institutions that support such care, and seeks to delegitimize transgender health guidelines. It's demoralizing, to say the least. But that is likely part of the point. Activists, however, refuse to back down. We spoke with three LGBTQ+ advocates on how to navigate this moment, support trans youth, and fight back against this sweeping attack on transgender rights.Hope is not lost, even if it feels that wayDespite the grim reality of this executive order, advocates insist that this fight is far from over.Amethysta Herrick, Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Purplepaw Publications, LLC, which produces Gender Identity Today, stresses that legal battles are inevitable. Trumps Executive Order limits access to health care, which will be challenged under the 14th Amendment as well as Title VII and XI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, she says. There is very little chance this EO will become the law of the land.Mell McCracken, Executive Director at No Matter What Recovery, echoes this sentiment. Theres always hope, though sometimes it appears that theres very little to cling onto, they say. We must remember all of the strides weve made in terms of social progress including civil rights, LGBTQ rights, gay marriage, etc. were initially met with extreme aversion and hostility. Despite these seemingly insurmountable challenges, we won these fights through perseverance, determination and patience.Supporting trans youth in the wake of this banThe best way to counteract the harm caused by this policy is through direct support. Dont forget, your voice still matters even if others try to silence it, and Herrick reminds us, Adding every voice to the fight helpsone voice can inspire another ten voices, and every chance we have is worth it.Dylan Thomas Cotter, a transgender rights advocate and publicist with The Cotter Creative, emphasizes community engagement. Get connected with your local PFLAG and LGBTQIA+ centers, he advises. Follow trans activists and creators as we are sharing community updates as they arise in real-time.McCracken also stresses the importance of education and outreach. Reach out to congressmen and your local legislators to express your support for the trans communitythey need to hear from you, they say. Enlist your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow church members, fellow students, etc., by educating them about the daily struggles faced by this vulnerable population.Taking action in both blue and red statesYou may feel like youre a lone wolf in a sea of red if youre waving a blue flag in a conservative state. Heck, you may even feel like a lone wolf waving the blue flag around progressive people, too!Regardless of location, there are actions that can be taken to push back against these policies. Cotter notes that in all states, people can get involved with local government. You can speak at public meetings and hearings, start petitions, donate to nonprofits like the ACLU to support their work defending trans peoples rights, and provide mutual aid, he says. Continue to speak out.McCracken adds that political mobilization is key. We must fight any unfair, discriminatory policies, ordinances, and practices targeting the trans community by mounting petitions, speaking out at city council meetings, writing op-eds in local newspapers, speaking out on social media networks, etc., they say. We must also mobilize our efforts politically by running for public office (including school boards).Fighting back from homeActivism isnt limited to in-person efforts. Herrick highlights the power of visibility and online advocacy, encouraging people to come out as transgender. When the random person meets a real transgender person, it makes hate and discrimination that much more difficult.Cotter urges people to get involved digitally. Volunteer with your local LGBTQIA+ friendly politicians, sign petitions, share your thoughts with the world on social media in solidarity, he says. While the policy is a direct attack, resources still exist. McCracken points to national organizations like Lambda Legal, GLAAD, and the ACLU. For those in crisis situations, the Trevor Project has proven to be a lifesaver, they add.Pushing back against Trumps shock and awe strategyTrumps barrage of executive orders is designed to overwhelm and discourage activists. Herrick, like those of us on the sane side of the spectrum, sees through this tactic. Trumps sudden deluge of Executive Orders makes it easy to feel defeated because thats the purpose, she says. By throwing out 200 EOs, all with vague and indefensible verbiage, we are overwhelmed by the amount of misinformation we must combat.Cotter offers a different form of resistance: Joy. He says he celebrates trans joy in every moment I have, either public or private, because the opposition hates to see us win, but every day, by existing in our authenticity, we do. Honoring our trans joy unapologetically is, in my opinion, the best pushback.McCracken agrees. Setbacks are part and parcel with any progressive movement, they say. We must acknowledge that fact and refuse to be defeated by it. The best way to face these challenges is by taking action.Take a deep breath well get through this (somehow)The Trump administrations executive orders are an outright attack on transgender lives, but this fight hasnt even started yet, my darlings. Legal battles are ahead, support systems remain strong, and the most powerful tool remains resistancewhether thats through direct activism, community care, or simply refusing to be erased.As Herrick put it: We are not beaten, and we are not going away. We are citizens of the United States and possess the same rights as any Trump supporter. We must just choose our battles.And in choosing those battles, we must always remind them of our ability to come together as a community, which is more important now than ever.

If, like me, you love a cozy night watching gay stuff on Netflix, then good news, the streaming platform has begun mapping out all of its content coming this year. Among the new originals and films are lots of queer programming we are going to have our eyes glued to all year long.Listen, we need a little escapism and queer joy! So heres what we know is coming this year, when it premieres and the latest photos and videos Netflix has released. All all film and TV descriptions courtesy of Netflix. This story is developing check back for updates.La Dolce Vita - February 13Successful businessman, Eric travels to Italy to stop his daydreaming daughter Olivia from restoring a crumbling villa. Italy, however, has different plans for him as it delivers on its legendary promise of beauty, magic, and romance.Valeria (season 4) - February 14As the four close friends venture into their thirties, their lives face new challenges that make it increasingly difficult to meet up. Yet, despite everything, sticking together remains the only thing that keeps them sane. In this final season, Valeria (Diana Gmez) will have to make a pivotal decision both for her love life, choosing between Vctor (Maxi Iglesias) and Bruno (Federico Aguado), and for her professional career; Carmen (Paula Malia) will have to tackle motherhood alongside Borja (Juanlu Gonzlez) and all the changes that a baby entails; Nerea (Teresa Riott) will seek balance between her professional life as a freelancer and stability with Georgina (Mima Riera), and meanwhile, Lola (Silma Lpez) will try to overcome a new life crisis: everything that changes when you turn 30, especially when your partner, Rai (Jos Pastor), is at a very different point in life.Running Point - February 27When a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, and her family business. Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board, and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job.Ginny & Georgia (season 3) - June 5While there is no official synopsis for Ginny & Georgia season three yet, creator and executive producer Sarah Lampert teased what to expect in an interview with Tudum. We ended Season 2 with Georgia arrested for murder ruining her fairy-tale wedding and leaving the fate of the Miller family hanging in the balance, she said. Its always been Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and Georgia against the world, but the world has never come for them quite as hard as it will in Season 3. Squid Game (Season 3) - June 27Picking up where the second season left off, Season 3 explores the choices Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) will make amidst overwhelming despair. As the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) plots his next move, the surviving players find their decisions leading to increasingly dire consequences with each round of the deadly games.The Old Guard 2 - July 2Andy and her team of immortal warriors return to protect humanity from a formidable new enemy who threatens their existence.Fear Street: Prom Queen - Summer 2025Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the schools wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider puts herself in the running, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of 88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.Frankenstein - November 2025Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro adapts Mary Shelleys classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.Larissa: The Other Side Of Anitta - TBA 2025You already know Anitta, but have you met Larissa? Larissa: The Other Side of Anitta tells the story and conflicts of Larissa de Macedo Machado, also known as Anitta. Coming 2025.Stranger Things 5 - TBA 2025The first four seasons are now streaming with the series set to return for a fifth and final season in 2025.Wayward - TBD 2025Toni Collette plays the enigmatic leader of a school for troubled teens in Wayward, a new limited series from executive producer, co-showrunner, and star, Mae Martin.Wednesday - TBA 2025Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega), returns to prowl the Gothic halls of Nevermore Academy, where fresh foes and woes await. This season, Wednesday must navigate family, friends and old adversaries, propelling her into another year of delightfully dark and kooky mayhem. Armed with her signature razor-sharp wit and deadpan charm, Wednesday is also plunged into a new bone-chilling supernatural mystery.