This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)2025-03-25T15:22:47Z CAIRO (AP) An airstrike blamed on the Sudanese military hit a local market in Sudans western region, igniting a huge fire and killing at least 54 people, aid groups said Tuesday. The military denied targeting civilians.The strike took place Monday in the village of Tora, north of el-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province, said Adam Rejal, a spokesman for the General Coordination, a local group helping displaced people in Darfur.Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah, a spokesperson for the Sudanese military, denied that they targeted civilians.He told The Associated Press that these allegations were incorrect, which are raised whenever our forces exercise their constitutional and legal right to deal with hostile targets. The strike tore apart a large part of the villages weekly market, leaving many bodies charred, according to footage shared by Support Darfur Victims, a local group that provides support to victims of the Darfur conflict. More than half of the dead were women, according to a list of casualties provided by Rejal. At least 23 people were wounded and seven were missing, the list showed. Tora is located 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the city of el-Fasher, which remains held by the Sudanese military despite near-daily strikes by the powerful rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. The strike was the latest deadly attack in a war that started in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country. The war wrecked the capital, and other urban cities across the country. It has killed more than 28,000 people, forced millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine sweeps parts of the country. Other estimates suggest a far higher death toll.The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.The military has made steady field advances in recent months against the RSF in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. In March, It regained control of most of the strategic and government buildings in the capital, including the Republican Palace the seat of the pre-war government. SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Demonstrators gather outside of the Edward A. Garmatz United States District Courthouse in Baltimore, on Friday, March 14, 2025, before a hearing regarding the Department of Government Efficiency's access to Social Security data. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-03-25T14:57:13Z WASHINGTON (AP) Frank Bisignano, a self-professed DOGE person, faces questions about whether the Trump administration plans to privatize Social Security as he appears before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday for his hearing to serve as commissioner of the Social Security Administration.Bisignano, a Wall Street veteran and one-time defender of corporate policies to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination, will be called to account for the upheaval at the agency in the weeks since President Donald Trumps election. The agency has taken center stage in the debate over the usefulness of Department of Government Efficiency cuts to taxpayer services and their effect on Social Security, the social welfare program long regarded as the third rail of national politics touch it and you get shocked.The hearing follows a series of announcements of mass federal layoffs, cuts to programs, and a planned cut to nationwide Social Security phone services. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a letter to Bisignano this week asking him to commit to protecting all Social Security components from privatization. Bisignano has served as chairman of Fiserv, a payments and financial services tech firm since 2020. He told CNBC in February that he is fundamentally a DOGE person but the objective isnt to touch benefits. Roughly 72.5 million people receive Social Security benefits, which include retirees and children who receive retirement and disability payments.The chaos at the Social Security Administration began shortly after acting commissioner Michelle King stepped down in February DOGE, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, sought access to Social Security recipient information. Then later that month, the agency announced plans to cut 7,000 people from the agency payroll through layoffs, employee reassignments and an offer of voluntary separation agreements, as part of an intensified effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce through DOGE. Most recently, the agencys acting commissioner, DOGE supporter Leland Dudek, announced a plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices. That sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population.The Social Security program faces a looming bankruptcy date if it is not addressed by Congress. The May 2024 trustees report states that Social Securitys trust funds will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2035. Then, Social Security would only be able to pay 83% of benefits, absent changes. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08908-0MFSD6 is an entry receptor for enterovirus D68

A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)2025-03-25T16:23:21Z NEW YORK (AP) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was rocked by five high-level departures on Tuesday in the latest turmoil for the nations top public health agency. The departures were announced at a meeting of agency senior leaders. The Atlanta-based CDC has two dozen centers and offices. The heads of five of them are stepping down, and that follows three other departures in recent weeks. This means close to a third of the agencys top management is leaving or left recently.The departures described as retirements were not announced publicly. The Associated Press confirmed the news with two CDC officials who were not authorized to discuss it and spoke on condition of anonymity. The announcements come a day after the White House announced it is nominating Susan Monarez to be CDC director. But its not clear how much, if any, influence that had on the leaders decision to leave. The Trump administration earlier this month withdrew its nomination of former Florida congressman Dr. David Weldon just before a Senate hearing. The latest departures include: Leslie Ann Dauphin, who oversees the Public Health Infrastructure Center and its more than 500 employees. That center coordinates CDC funding, strategy, and technical assistance to state, local and territorial health departments. Dr. Karen Remley, who heads the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. At the beginning of the year, the center had more than 220 full-time employees. Sam Posner, who heads the Office of Science. More than 100 CDC employees work on research and science policy, and publish the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Debra Lubar, who runs the 65-person Office of Policy, Performance and Evaluation. Leandris Liburd, head of the Office of Health Equity, with about 40 employees. Liburd took the role in 2020, as part of an effort to address the COVID-19 pandemics disproportionate death toll on Black, Hispanic and Native Americans. Adding to that: Kevin Griffis, head of CDC communications, left last week. Robin Bailey, the agencys chief operating officer, left late last month. So did Dr. Nirav Shah, a former CDC principal deputy director who last year was the agencys primary voice about an evolving bird flu epidemic in animals that has also sickened at least 70 people in the U.S.___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.

Actor Gerard Depardieu returns ti the court with his lawyer Jeremie Assous during his trial for the alleged sexual assaults of two women on a film set in 2021, Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)2025-03-25T15:55:50Z PARIS (AP) Grard Depardieu once seemed larger than France itself. With his hulking frame, crooked nose, and volcanic charisma, he reigned over cinema for half a century a national icon as familiar as the baguette. But this week, the actor who starred in more than 230 films and who inspired writer John Updike to lament, I think that I shall never view / a French film without Depardieu sat slumped on a special orthopedic stool in a Paris courtroom.He faces two counts of sexual assault. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a 75,000 ($81,000) fine.But more than Depardieu is on trial.For many in France, this case marks the countrys ultimate litmus test a question not just of guilt or innocence, but of readiness. Can a nation famed for its culture of seduction and long criticized for shielding its male artists finally hold one of them accountable? The Fall of a GiantDepardieu, 76, is accused of groping two women a set dresser and an assistant during the 2021 filming of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters). According to complaints and witness statements, he trapped one woman with his legs, grabbed her breasts and waist, and shouted: I cant even get it up because of this heat! before crudely inviting her to touch his big parasol.He denies all allegations. Never, but never, have I abused a woman, he wrote in Le Figaro. I have only ever been guilty of being too loving, too generous, or having a temperament that is too strong.But this is the first time one of the more than 20 accusations against him has reached court.Once a symbol of Frances creative power, Depardieus career now shadows the nations delayed reckoning with #MeToo. The courtroom has become the stage for something deeper: a country finally confronting the myths it has long told itself about art, power, and male genius. A Life of ExtremesBorn in 1948 to a working-class family in Chteauroux, Depardieus rise was the stuff of legend. A stuttering teen with no formal education, he drifted into acting and exploded onto the French stage with Les Valseuses (Going Places), a 1974 film so provocative it remains banned in some countries.From there came a blur of hits: Jean de Florette, Cyrano de Bergerac, Green Card, The Last Metro, Danton. He won a Golden Globe, an Oscar nomination, and the adoration of millions. He played Columbus, Jean Valjean, and even Oblix in the Asterix films. He was prolific, omnipresent messy, magnetic, and untouchable.But the excess was real off-screen too. He crashed his motorcycle while drunk, accepted a Russian passport from Vladimir Putin during a tax dispute, and once urinated in a plane aisle. He boasted of his appetites. France seemed to cheer them on.That myth of the lovable brute is now unraveling. The Unfinished RevolutionIn Hollywood, #MeToo toppled titans. In France, the movement was met with a wary eye. When #BalanceTonPorc (Expose Your Pig) emerged in 2017, it rattled the countrys self-image particularly in the arts, where seduction and transgression had long been celebrated.Some warned that #MeToo was killing romance. In 2018, screen legend Catherine Deneuve and 99 other prominent French women published an open letter in Le Monde, scolding the movement for going, in their words, too far. They championed la libert dimportuner the freedom to bother as a pillar of French life, defending the right of men to pursue women without fear of consequence. To many, it sounded less like a defense of flirtation than a permission slip for harassment, cloaked in perfume and nostalgia.Even President Emmanuel Macron echoed the sentiment. In Dec. 2023 shortly after a documentary aired footage of Depardieu making sexually suggestive comments about a young girl in North Korea Macron defended the actor on national television, condemning the backlash as a manhunt. Grard Depardieu makes France proud, he said.The remark sparked national outrage not just for its timing, but for what it revealed: the instinct to protect cultural giants, no matter the cost. A Safe Haven for the FamousFrances reluctance to confront sexual misconduct among its stars has long set it apart.Roman Polanski, convicted of statutory rape in the U.S. and accused by several other women, continues to work and live freely in France. In 2020, his Csar Award win prompted walkouts but also a standing ovation. There was little institutional pushback.Johnny Depp, dropped from US production Pirates of the Caribbean after domestic abuse allegations by ex-wife Amber Heard (he was exonerated), was embraced in France. In 2023, he played Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry, the opening film at the French Cannes Film Festival. Amid the trial, Dior, the luxury French fashion house, not only kept him on as the face of its Sauvage fragrance it signed him to a multiyear, seven-figure deal in 2022. A Cultural EarthquakeDepardieus trial isnt the only case shaking French cinema. In recent months, a string of high-profile convictions have suggested that the shield of fame may finally be cracking.Director Christophe Ruggia was sentenced in 2024 for sexually abusing actress Adle Haenel when she was a child. Nicolas Bedos was handed house arrest in 2023 after groping multiple women.Actor-director Judith Godrche soon followed. Testifying before parliament, she accused two renowned directors of exploiting her as a teenager. This is not about desire, she told lawmakers. Its about power. About silence. About a system that protects itself.That same commission has since summoned major actors including Jean Dujardin. Some reportedly asked to testify behind closed doors.The ReckoningAnouk Grinberg, who appeared in Les Volets Verts, has publicly supported the two women accusing Depardieu. What I saw on set was not seduction, she said. It was shameful.The case has become a national mirror reflecting everything France has tolerated, denied, and excused.On the Parisian sidewalks, opinions still diverge. Were losing our culture of flirtation, said Alain Morel, 62, sipping an espresso at a caf near the Arc de Triomphe. Flirting isnt a crime its part of who we are.But across the street, 28-year-old student Yasmine Bensalem shook her head. We called it charm, she said. But it was always about power.A Verdict Beyond the CourtroomThe trial continues. Depardieu, who has diabetes and heart disease, attends with medical accommodations. His lawyer claims the case is a political vendetta a plot to make Depardieu fall.But whether he is convicted or not, the deeper judgment is already underway.For decades, Frances artists were seen as untouchable their genius a shield. That shield is cracking. The myth is dying. And in its place, a question rises:Can France finally hold its most powerful men to account?This is not just the trial of Grard Depardieu. This is the trial of a country and whether its unfinished revolution will finish at last.

This article contains potentially disturbing graphics and descriptions that are nonetheless viral on Instagram and other major platforms.These are words I never thought I would type, and the people in my life who I have said them to have told me to immediately stop speaking. But here is how I would describe the type of AI generated reels that are popular on Instagram right now: Dora the Explorer feet mukbang; Peppa the Pig Skibidi toilet explosion; Steph Curry and LeBron James Ahegao Drakedom threesome; LeBron James and Diddy raping Steph Curry in prison; anthropomorphic fried egg strippers; iPhone case made of human skin; any number of sexualized Disney princesses doing anything you can imagine and lots of things you cant; mermaids making out with fish; demon monster eating a womans head; face-swapped AI adult influencers with Down syndrome, and, unfortunately, this. Unfortunately, I swear to you that the screengrabs and videos I am including and linking to in this article are not the worst that I have seen on Instagram.Other niches that have become popular on Instagram and which have begun to regularly pop up on my feed are wildly racist AI videos of Black men whose faces are put on dogs or gorillas, Black men storming KFC restaurants and chasing after watermelon, George Floyd opening a Fent-Donalds, Martin Luther King Jr. in a tub of green sludge, Anne Frank as a zionist cyborg, etc. As I wrote last week, the strategy with these types of posts is to make a human linger on them long enough to say to themselves what the fuck, or to be so horrified as to comment what the fuck, or send it to a friend saying what the fuck, all of which are signals to the algorithm that it should boost this type of content but are decidedly not signals that the average person actually wants to see this type of thing. The type of content that I am seeing right now makes Elsagate, the YouTube scandal in which disturbing videos were targeted to kids and resulted in various YouTube reforms, look quaint.Brainrot and creepypasta AI-generated reels are currently some of the most popular metas, or hyper-specific niches of content being made by the community of people who are creating and monetizing AI slop en masse.I was able to find the creators of some of the viral brainrot Instagram reels I described above discussing their process for making them on a Discord called Interlink AI, which costs $30 to join and comes with guides to making AI reels. The Discord has specific guides for brainrot videos, realistic videos, and pov videos. As we have reported before, the creation of AI slop is very mechanical and replicable, which is why we see so much of it. Once a method for going viral is discovered, the person who discovered it often makes guides that they then advertise and sell, and other people in the community then begin copying them.Instagram, of course, is doing nothing to stop the spread of this type of AI, and the Discord tells users that one of the best ways to make money from this type of AI is through Instagrams Bonus program which offers direct payouts. This type of content is most popular on Instagram, but is also on YouTube and TikTok, though, anecdotally, it does not seem to perform nearly as well there. The Interlink Discord also warns people not to post real people or copyrighted characters to TikTok: "Steer clear of using protected characters or content that could violate intellectual property rights, such as popular TV or movie figures (like SpongeBob)." 0:00 /0:16 1 In the Discord, members post evidence of their wins, meaning videos that have gone viral. I would say 50 [Cent] liking this is a win, a user who goes by Dude on Discord and DudeOnGPT on Instagram wrote next to a screenshot of an AI generated Diddy in prison. The screenshot shows the reel had been viewed 6.2 million times and liked 188,000 times, including by the rapper 50 Cent. The actual video that had gone viral was an AI generated video of Diddy raping Steph Curry in prison.Kiss me on my hot mouth, Im feeling romantical, the AI Diddy says in the video. An AI Steph Curry says to the camera LeBron, I dont like prison.Just relax, Steph, an AI LeBron says. Aint no party like a Diddy party. The next scene suggests Diddy and/or LeBron is raping Steph Curry in the shower. The Instagram caption for the video reads LEARN AI VIDEOS IN BIO!Nearly every reel uploaded by the account, called DudeonGPT, features an AI-generated LeBron James, Diddy, Andrew Tate, Steph Curry, Mr. Beast, and other celebrities, and the profile links to a signup page for the Interlink Discord. DudeonGPT has 43,000 followers. Thumbnails on his page include Andrew Tate holding a cardboard sign that reads Quick Suck for a Quick Buck, LeBron on his knees with his tongue out, LeBron holding a sign that says Will Goon for Food, George Floyd trapped in the backrooms meme, etc.A user on the Interlink Discord also notes that animal style videos have been doing well recently, on a screenshot of an Instagram post they uploaded where Steph Currys head is inside a polar bears mouth, which has more than 7.5 million views.Users have recently discussed how it is easy to generate AI videos of either Steph Curry or LeBron James, but that it is hard to have both of them in the same frame at the same time: I try and it makes a weird mixture of them lmao, DudeonGPT posted.Unfortunately this feature isn't great with LeBron and Curry yet, that's why we have them separate in each scene.The reason why you see accurate images of Ronaldo and Messi together is because the Ideogram image generator is really great at creating Messi and Ronaldo only," another user responds. "We are looking into ways to make them into the same scene, but for now we think it's not worth adjusting the scale to make them in one scene."The same user then notes that a Chinese tool called Ideogram "is great at creating realistic images of LeBron, but is terrible at creating Curry or any other NBA players. Like you could put LeBron, Messi, Ronaldo, Trump all in one image generation, and it would be good."Brainrot AI relies on specific, very popular AI tools that are doing little or nothing to prevent abuse, social media algorithms that promote this type of content, and the fact that seemingly no consequences have come to the platforms or AI tools for not moderating against AI content that uses real people or copyrighted characters owned by multibillion dollar corporations. The creation of AI reels has gotten both easier and more sophisticated over time, with spammers chaining together different tools to create reels with identifiable people and copyrighted characters.What spammers have realized, for example, is that ChatGPT's anti abuse filters will prevent it from making realistic videos of real people, but that ChatGPT is good at actually writing the image creation prompts that can then be used in other tools. So ChatGPT is writing AI prompts to generate real people and copyrighted characters, but is not actually generating the images themselves.A guide in the Interlink Discord suggests copy pasting a templatized version of a prompt into ChatGPT. "The image I want to generate is an image of LeBron laughing in the Lakers' training facility," a guide video says. "So you should write 'I want a prompt for LeBron James, in his yellow Lakers uniform, wearing number 23, to be laughing in the Lakers training facility. ChatGPT will generate a detailed, ultra realistic prompt to help bring your image to life."That ChatGPT-generated prompt is then dumped into a tool called Krea, which uses an image generation model called Flux. The image that comes out of Krea is then put into a Chinese video creation model called Kling, which makes the actual video. The Discord contains additional guides for how to troubleshoot anything that goes wrong, and has separate base prompts for making AI videos of cartoon characters like SpongeBob, Shrek, Dora the Explorer, Peppa Pig, etc. "Make me a prompt for a large group of SpongeBobs running toward a tall neon KFC building at night," one instruction to ChatGPT reads.Victor Perez, the CEO of Krea, markets his software with lofty ideals: Ideas get lost if we lack the means to bring them to life. Self expression becomes limited by creative mediums. Our work gives full creative freedom to anyone with something to tell. AI handles the how, while you focus on the what.The what is brainrot of Dora the Explorer riding a surfboard of shit and the imagined prison sexual assault of real-life basketball player Steph Curry. Monetized brainrot reels is generative AIs killer app; this type of content is how people are making money with AI, and its the ability to create this type of content that its users are so excited about.

Gay men are continuing to dominate the music industry!Troye Sivan, Lil Nas X, JORDY, and many more queer pop stars are making a splash on the charts, but Olly Alexander's new record Polari is giving the gays everything they want.Many of his fans may know him as Years & Years, but Polari serves as a bit of a rebirth for the talented singer. Known as just Olly Alexander now, the musician's latest project is unapologetically queer and simply pop perfection."I set out to make the gayest album I could! It's like a love letter to being gay. I'm so lucky I get to express myself like this. I'm so inspired by other queer people and my elders," Alexander tells PRIDE. See on Instagram With themes including love, lust, desire, heartbreak, and so much more... Polari will certainly resonate with many people in the LGBTQ+ community. The album's title is even a reference to the thrill of cruising and gay intimacy."It's a really fascinating thing that has a long history. Obviously, the reasons why gay people cruised in the first place is because they couldn't meet safely anywhere. It's an important part of the story [and] the rich tapestry of gay life."Alexander is proudly ushering in a liberating and exciting era, but he hopes all of his fans take away some positivity and escapism through his new record."I want people to feel free and alive! They can move their body and do what they want. That's, to me, what pop music should be. If I get to do that for anyone, that's amazing."Polari is streaming now on all platforms. To see the full interview with Olly Alexander, check out the video at the top of the page.

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00939-xWorking with multi-dimensional entities could make calculations more efficient and reduce errors.

President Donald Trump gestures as he departs a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-03-25T17:03:09Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the texting of sensitive plans for a military strike against Yemens Houthis this month to a group chat that included a journalist, saying it was the only glitch in two months of his administration as Democratic lawmakers heaped criticism on the administration for handling highly sensitive information carelessly.Trump told NBC News that the lapse turned out not to be a serious one, and articulated his continued support for national security adviser Mike Waltz, who mistakenly added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to the chain that included 18 senior administration officials discussing planning for the strike.Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and hes a good man, Trump said in the NBC interview. The president also appeared to point blame on an unnamed Waltz aide for Goldberg being added to the chain. It was one of Michaels people on the phone. A staffer had his number on there. But the use of messaging app Signal to discuss a sensitive operation has opened the administration to blistering criticism from Democratic lawmakers who expressed outrage at the White Houses and senior administration officials insistence that no classified information was shared. Senior administration officials have struggled to explain why the publicly available app was used to discuss such a delicate matter. One Democrat calls the mistake an embarrassmentOne official on the Signal chain, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, acknowledged during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday that she was traveling overseas during the exchange. She wouldnt say whether she was using her personal or government-issued phone because the matter is under review by the White House National Security Council.Both Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who also was a participant in the Signal exchange and also testified at Tuesdays intelligence hearing, faced blistering criticism from lawmakers.This is an embarrassment, said Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat. This is utterly unprofessional. Theres been no apology. Theres been no recognition of the gravity of this error.In the run-up to his 2016 election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump urged criminal prosecution of the former secretary of state for communicating about classified information with her aides on a private email server she set up. The matter was investigated, but the FBI ultimately recommended against charges. None were brought.Clinton was among Democrats this week to criticize Trump administration officials use of Signal.You have got to be kidding me, Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.Trump also faced charges for mishandling classified information at his Mar-a-Lago resort following his first White House term. Those charges were later dismissed. Administration says Democrats shouldnt be outragedBut on Tuesday, top administration officials were insistent the Democratic outrage about the matter was misplaced.On Capitol Hill, Ratcliffe and Gabbard told lawmakers that no classified information was included in the texts about U.S. attack plans in the message chain.Democrats pushed back, saying the leaked military plans show a sloppy disregard for security, but Ratcliffe insisted no rules were violated.My communications to be clear in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information, Ratcliffe told lawmakers in the hearing that was supposed to be focused on global security threats.Facing heated questions from Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, Gabbard said theres a difference between inadvertent releases of information and intentional leaks. There was no classified material that was shared, Gabbard said.Warner, though, said the lapse in security could have cost lives. If this information had gotten out, American lives could have been lost. If the Houthis had this information they could reposition their defensive systems, Warner said.In response to questions from Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Gabbard and Ratcliffe said they would participate in an audit looking into administration officials use of Signal. Wyden said the matter must be investigated. Im of the view that there ought to be resignations, Wyden said.FBI Director Kash Patel, appearing with Ratcliffe and Gabbard at the hearing, said he was only recently briefed on the Signal chat matter and doesnt have an update on whether the FBI has opened an investigation into it. Warner asked for an update by the end of the day.The White House in a statement Tuesday called the uproar a coordinated effort to distract from the successful actions taken by President Trump and his administration to make Americas enemies pay and keep Americans safe.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in his first comments on the matter on Monday, attacked the journalist who received the messages, Goldberg, as deceitful and a discredited so-called journalist while alluding to previous critical reporting of Trump from the publication. Nobody was texting war plans and thats all I have to say about that, Hegseth said in an exchange with reporters on Monday. Examining the security of SignalSignal is an app that can be used for direct messaging and group chats as well as phone and video calls. It uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services that prevents any third party from viewing conversation content or listening in on calls.In other words, messages and calls sent on Signal are scrambled; only the sender and recipient at each end will have the key to decipher them.Signals encryption protocol is open source, meaning that its freely available for anyone to inspect, use or modify. The encryption protocol is also used by another popular chat service, social media company Metas WhatsApp platform.Government officials have used Signal for organizational correspondence, such as scheduling sensitive meetings. But in the Biden administration, people who had permission to download it on their White House-issued phones were instructed to use the app sparingly, according to a former national security official who served in the administration.The official, who requested anonymity to speak about methods used to share sensitive information, said Signal was most commonly used to notify someone that they should check for a classified message sent through other means.The use of Signal became more prevalent during the last year of the Biden administration after federal law enforcement officials warned that China and Iran were hacking the White House as well as officials in the first Trump administration, according to the official.Sen. Angus King, a Maine Independent, questioned Ratcliffe and Gabbard over their assertion that no classified information was included in the chat.Its hard for me to believe that targets and timing and weapons would not have been classified, he said.___AP writer Kelvin Chan in London contributed reporting. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Shoppers make their ways down an aisle lined with clothing and shoes in a Costco warehouse Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Sheridan, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)2025-03-25T14:14:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation.The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. Analysts were expecting a decline to a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet.The Conference Boards report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2. It is the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. However, the proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in the next year held steady at a nine-month high, the board reported. Consumers optimism about future income which had held up quite strongly in the past few months largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers assessments of their personal situations, said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board. The boards survey showed that purchasing plans for both homes and cars declined. However, in somewhat of a surprise given respondents anxiety about the future, intentions to buy big-ticket items like appliances increased. The board said that could reflect a desire to buy before Trumps tariffs kick in, leading to price increases. While inflation has retreated from the highs during the post-pandemic rebound, it has remained above the Federal Reserves 2% target. Those still-elevated prices, combined with President Donald Trumps announced tariffs on many imported goods, has Americans feeling sour about spending as concerns about the economy mount. Consumers appeared increasingly confident heading into the end of 2024 and spent generously during the holiday season. However, U.S. retail sales dropped sharply in January, with cold weather taking some of the blame. Earlier this month, the government reported that Americans modestly stepped up their spending in February after a sharp pullback the previous month. The board reported Tuesday that consumers view of current conditions decreased 3.6 points to 134.5.The consumer confidence index measures both Americans assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity and is closely watched by economists for signs about how the American consumer is feeling. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Jon Paul Higgins, Ed.D, is an educator, cultural critic, social justice leaderand now, an author. If youve spent any time on queer social media in the last few years, youre likely already familiar with Higgins, also known as Doctor Jon Paul. But if not, the release of their debut book,Black. Fat. Femme: Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices in Media and Learning to Love Yourself, will be the perfect introduction.InBlack. Fat. Femme., Doctor Jon Paul delivers a powerful and personal exploration of what it means to live at the intersection of Black, fat, femme, and queer identity. Through sharp media critique and vulnerable storytelling, they spotlight how authentic representationand the lack of itshapes how we see ourselves and each other.The Power of Queer KinshipDuring a particularly weary political momentabout two years into Donald Trumps presidencyDoctor Jon Paul came across drag starLatrice Royaleon X (then still Twitter). The two soon struck up a kinship.She ends up following me on social media, and were going back and forth, just sharing love with one anotherand you know, again, still in this really weary, rocky place, said Doctor Jon Paul in an interview withNews is Out.After meeting in person at DragCon, the connection only deepened.So I meet her, and like I said, it was very much just immediateboth of us. Like, I didnt expect her to cry, said Doctor Jon Paul. Im crying, shes crying, were hugging each other. And it very much just kind of became: Latrice Royale is now my sister. Shes my family.When Doctor Jon Paul was writingBlack. Fat. Femme., it was clear that Latrice needed to be a part of it. After reading the chapter about her in the book, Latrice said yesand penned the introduction.Who the Book Is ForBlack. Fat. Femme.is, in some ways, a memoir. Stories and lessons from Doctor Jon Pauls upbringing in rural Compton, California, find the right inroads to connect to the heartno matter who you are or where you come from.I wrote this book for the 16-year-old Black kid in the South who is also struggling with finding themselves, said Doctor Jon Paul. I was living in a very rural part of Southern California at the time I was growing up, and so as much as I dont know the South, I know what its like to feel like youre looking around and you dont see yourself. I wrote this book for not only that kid who doesnt see themselves and whos scared to be themselves, but I also wrote this book for the dreamerfor the kid who believes in themselves more than the world does.For Doctor Jon Paul, its about the exploration of lovingand believingin yourself.We all know what it feels like to not be it, they said. You knowthe worlds telling you to be thin. The world is telling you to starve yourself. The world is telling you to be less this and more that. A lot of the voices we have in our head are not ours, and I thinkI want folks to read this book and say, Wow, it helps me find my voice. The voice thats talking to me in my head, the voice I love hearing. The voice that is telling me, No, girl, eat the donut. Youre okay. Youll be fine. The voice in my head that tells me your Blackness is fine.This book really is for everyone, because we all know what it feels like to be the other. Becoming That B*tchIn the chapter called Becoming That B*tch, Doctor Jon Paul reflects on the journey theyve been onnot just of self-love, but of taking up space and creating the life they deserve.I used to feel very guilty about liking myself or loving myself, they said. I used to feel guilty about the femininity I had. I used to feel guilty about wanting to celebrate my Blackness the way that I celebrated. I used to feel guilty about being a big mouth, right? The world used to make me feel like I was the problem. And I think, in a way, becoming that bitchin the joking wayI walk into rooms and Im like, Move, bitch. Get out my way. Im in here, and if you dont like it, then leave. Thats the kind of energy.On promoting yourself as a queer authorDoctor Jon Paul has been working hard to get the word out about their bookand has some real talk for other queer writers doing the same.I think it is imperative that if you are a queer author, regardless of how else you identify, being a queer authorthere has to be this element of having the same energy of a white cis het man, they said. Who just kind of knows that theyre important. You kind of have to embody that energy.In other words: You have to have audacity.But that constant self-advocacy can be exhausting.Ive always had to advocate for myself, and I hate it. I hate that Im always having to be my biggest cheerleader and having to push my own boulder up the hill, while also trying to help other people push theirs.Lessons learnedWriting a book is a lesson in self-discovery all on its own. So, what did Doctor Jon Paul learn about themselves while writingBlack. Fat. Femme.?Im just moving different, you know, they said. I think every dayshes behind me, they added, referring to a poster of the book on the wall opposite their desk. I come into my office and I look at her I wrote the book in four months, and I fought like hell to get it published. I dont feel like its a masterpiece. There are so many things that I could critique, but I feel like, goddammit, I did it. I mean, against the grain.I think, for me, I look at myselfand like I said, I dont get the support, or I dont get the like, people dont I dontpeople dont hold Dr. Jon Paul up the way that some other folks do. And I go, but I still show up every day, and I still keep doing it. And its likeIm justI think this book really taught me how proud of myself I should be.Black. Fat. Femme. is available now wherever you buy your books.The post Doctor Jon Paul is here to help you love yourself inBlack. Fat. Femme. appeared first on News Is Out.

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00878-7Greek engineers who moved to Egypt in the fourth century BC might have imported the devices.

President Donald Trump speaks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-03-25T18:40:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) An appeals court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to suspend entry of new refugees as a lawsuit plays out over the presidents executive order halting the nations refugee admissions system.Refugees conditionally approved before President Donald Trump took office must still be processed under the order from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but it allows the Republican administration to suspend new approvals.The appeals court panel halted a ruling from U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead. He found that Trump could not nullify the law passed by Congress establishing the program.

In this March 23, 2025, photo released by the U.S. National Guard shows a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion, 59th Aviation Troop Command, McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover executing its fire suppression mission in support of the South Carolina Forestry Commission at Persimmon Ridge Fire near Greenville, S.C. (Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Di Giovine/U.S. Army National Guard via AP)2025-03-25T14:40:26Z Dry conditions, wind and trees downed by Hurricane Helene fueled wildfires in North Carolina and South Carolina, where evacuation orders were in effect Tuesday.About 80 miles (129 kilometers) west of Charlotte, North Carolina, officials ordered mandatory evacuations for roughly 165 properties in rural Polk County. Three fires there have burned at least 9 square miles (23 square kilometers). The North Carolina Forest Service says two of the fires are uncontained as of Monday night.The Black Cove Fire is one of the larger blazes. Officials said a downed power line sparked that fire, but the causes of the other two fires are under investigation.Neighboring Henderson County issued voluntary evacuation orders and opened an emergency shelter. Volunteer fire departments were on standby, Henderson County spokesperson Mike Morgan told WLOS-TV. Especially near some of the homes where if the fire did jump, we can be there to help protect those homes, Morgan said. Were here to monitor the situation very closely.Two fires were burning in the mountains of South Carolina. The fires in Table Rock State Park and nearby Persimmon Ridge have burned a combined 2.3 square miles (5.9 square kilometers), the South Carolina Forestry Commission said. Officials said both fires were ignited by human activity and neither were contained as of Monday night. No injuries were reported, and no structures were imminently threatened as of Monday night, but voluntary evacuations were issued for about 100 homes over the weekend. On Tuesday morning, the forestry commission updated an earlier announcement to say no evacuations were planned near the Persimmon Ridge Fire, but residents were urged to be prepared to leave their homes if an evacuation is suggested in the future. The weather over the next few days remains concerning, as relative humidities are expected to remain very low, and the forecasted wind speeds will still be conducive to spreading the fire, the forestry commission said. Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller. Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane.Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground, Scheller said. Then these flash droughts allow that fuel to dry out very fast.Despite recent rain, most of the Carolinas are abnormally dry or experiencing a moderate drought, according to federal monitors.___This story has been corrected to show that officials were not recommending evacuations near the Persimmon Ridge Fire, but residents should be prepared to leave their homes if one is suggested.

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00753-5Climate researchers collaborated with the trip-hop band Massive Attack to reduce the climate impact of live music.

FIL:E - Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (48) leaves a baseball game during the first inning against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Monday, June 26, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)2025-03-25T13:14:40Z GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) Figuring out a cause for the skyrocketing number of arm injuries among pitchers is easy.Finding a solution could prove much more challenging.Major League Baseball issued a 62-page report in December that showed how the focus on throwing with increased velocity and using maximum effort on every pitch was a likely reason for the increase in injuries. The study provided numerical data backing a thesis already supported by conventional wisdom.It makes sense, Cleveland Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee said. You do anything at a max capacity, youre going to be at more risk for injury. If you try to squat your absolute max, youre going to get hurt more often than if youre squatting a plate and a bar. Its just kind of the nature of anything you do in life.The study showed that major league pitcher injured list placements increased from 212 in 2005 to 485 in 2024. Days on the IL rose from 13,666 to 32,257. Tommy John surgeries for major and minor league players increased from 104 in 2010 to a peak of 314 in 2020, though they slipped to 281 last year. The study recommended considering rule changes at the professional level that shift the incentives for clubs and pitchers to prioritize health and longevity. Instituting those types of rule changes could prove challenging when pitchers of all ages understand how much MLB organizations are emphasizing velocity. I dont know if rules are the right way to go about it, said Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023. You cant tell someone to throw softer. But I was a guy in college that threw high 80s. I would randomly throw a hard number, but I didnt know how to do it consistently right. But I got outs. But I knew that some wise people ahead of me told me outs are going to get you to the big leagues, velocitys going to get you drafted. So therein lies the problem. Perhaps most concerning were the statistics involving younger pitchers. Prospects who threw 95 mph or higher at the Perfect Game National Showcase for top high school players increased from three in 2018 to 36 in 2024. Thirty-five players selected in the top 10 rounds of last years amateur draft had Tommy John surgery, up from four in 2005.The evidence of increasing injuries isnt limited to this study. An Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine study showed there were five times as many injuries among Pac-12 baseball players in 2021 as in 2016, though that applied to all players and not just pitchers.Problems are starting early in the pipelineThose numbers help explain why one school of thought suggests any changes need to start at the youth level. That idea has the support of Eric Cressey, who trains more than 100 pro baseball players though his Cressey Sports Performance facilities in Florida and Massachusetts.Cressey also is the New York Yankees director of player health and performance, but he was speaking only on his own behalf and wasnt representing the Yankees on this issue.Ive long maintained that everything begins with fixing whats happening at the younger levels, and there will eventually be a trickle-up to the big leagues, Cressey said. Cressey noted the problems at the youth level by citing the videos he sees of young pitchers with arms and legs flying everywhere as they enter throwing programs when their bodies arent prepared to handle it. He believes that young pitchers throwing max-effort showcases in the offseason and disregarding basic warmup guidance has contributed to significant injuries.Thirteen-year-olds should never be blowing out ligaments, Cressey said. That should just not be happening. And every time it happens, its because someone made a terrible, terrible decision on that childs behalf, whether its a coach or a parent. Just like you or I wouldnt let our kids have candy for dinner or run with scissors or something like that, some of the things that I see in the youth space are nothing short of embarrassing.Cressey recommends imposing a scouting dead period for the months of October, November and December. Its absurd for us to ask a still immature 17-year-old to go out and throw 95 miles an hour in November when major league players are resting during that time period, he said.Of course, not all MLB pitchers rest during that time.Pro pitchers dont rest like they used toSan Francisco Giants pitching coach J.P. Martinez says he doesnt have a problem with major leaguers throwing throughout the year, though he acknowledges high-effort throwing year-round could make them more susceptible to injury.Theres quite a lot of guys that dont shut down throwing at all nowadays, Martinez said. I think that gets vilified a little bit when a lot of the time theyre just keeping the arm moving and keeping the range of motion and workload at a certain level, so when they do ramp up, its less of a transition. Youre not going from zero to 60. You might be going from 30 to 60. The level of workload pitchers attempt in the offseason is notable because data shows that more injuries happen at the start of the season or in the preseason than at any other time of the year. The MLB study released in December showed that over 40% of the injured list placements due to elbow injuries from 2010-24 came in either March or April.That is generally because I dont think guys are ramping up correctly, Martinez said.The challenge with going old schoolGuardians pitching coach Carl Willis said hed like to see an industry-wide emphasis on turning the clock a little bit to a more old-school and traditional type of way that relies on locating pitches and changing speeds and shapes. Willis believes that approach could allow pitchers to realize they dont have to go full-throttle every time they release the ball. To prevent some of these injuries, thats kind of the direction we have to go, Willis said. You cant take away the power and the profiles that these guys can create, but you can take a little bit of the pressure off.That pressure can start at the youth levels, which explains why MLB has established Pitch Smart initiatives that set recommended workload limits for pitchers. The idea is to limit the likelihood they would pitch with fatigue since that increases injury risk. The trick is making sure those recommendations get followed, particularly at a time when pitching prospects across the world believe velocity is whats going to make an impression on scouts.Whats challenging right now is its hard to close Pandoras box, Cressey said. A lot of these kids who are 25 and blowing out in the big leagues, they were kids who were doing a lot of things incorrectly in their teenage years, and now theyre just bigger, stronger and are in higher-pressure situations.___AP Baseball Writer David Brandt contributed to this report.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Comedian and TikTok star Benito Skinner (a.k.a. Benny Drama) is set to to star in his own gay jock TV series Overcompensating, and the raunchy first trailer just debuted! Sign up for the PRIDE.com Newsletter to get a candid take on whats fresh and fun in LGBTQ+ culture this week!"College... come as you aren't," reads the tagline.According to the official description, "Overcompensating is a college-set ensemble comedy about the wild, chaotic journey of Benny (Skinner), a closeted former football player and homecoming king, as he becomes fast friends with Carmen (Wally Baram), a high school outsider on a mission to fit in at all costs. With guidance from Bennys older sister (Mary Beth Barone) and her campus-legend boyfriend (Adam DiMarco), Benny and Carmen juggle horrible hookups, flavored vodka, and fake IDs. Deeply funny and personal, the show explores the lengths to which we all overcompensate while on the path to finding out who we really are."The cast includes Skinner, who created, wrote, and is executive producing the series, Wally Baram (Shrinking), Mary Beth Barone (Black Mirror), Adam DiMarco (The White Lotus) and Rish Shah (Ms. Marvel). Guest stars include Connie Britton, Kyle MacLachlan, Kaia Gerber, Andrea Martin, Julia Shiplett, Tommy Do, Alexandra Beaton, Claire Qute, Elias Azimi and Maddie Phillips. Holmes, Corteon Moore, Owen Thiele, and Nell Verlaque.Brat pioneer Charli XCX, who was announced as an executive music producer and executive producer for the series, also makes a surprise cameo in the trailer! "You think I fucking want to play 'Boom Clap' in a fucking college Are you joking?" the Grammy Award winner yells.A24 and Amazon MGM Studios are producing the series. Overcompensating premieres May 15, 2025 on Prime Video and you can watch the first teaser of the series below!

Ethel Cain has announced her second album of 2025, Willoughby Tucker, Ill Always Love You, set to release this August. The album follows Januarys Perverts, an experimental project that marked a departure from her earlier work. The upcoming record is billed as a prequel to her 2022 debut, Preachers Daughter, and will be supported by an extensive North American and European tour.Source

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00881-yTwo faculty organizations file suit after university makes concessions to Trump officials.

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00876-9Machine-learning method shows declining oxygen levels in thousands of lakes as their waters warm.

Vice President JD Vance leaves after speaking at the Congressional Cities Conference of the National League of Cities on Monday, March 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)2025-03-25T20:12:20Z WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that hes joining his wife on a Friday trip to Greenland, suggesting in an online video that global security is at stake.Were going to check out how things are going there, Vance said in a video shared Tuesday. Speaking for President Trump, we want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think its important to protecting the security of the entire world.U.S. President Donald Trump irked much of Europe by suggesting that his country should in some form control the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of American ally Denmark. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia also seek access to its waterways and the nearby natural resources.The office of second lady Usha Vance said Sunday that she would depart Thursday for Greenland and return Saturday. Vance and one of her three children had planned to visit historic sites and learn about Greenlands culture, but her husbands participation has reoriented the trip around national security. The U.S. vice president said he didnt want to let his wife have all that fun by herself and said he plans to visit a Space Force outpost in the northwest coast of Greenland. Vance said that other countries have threatened Greenland as well as the United States and Canada. Vance said that leaders in Denmark and North America had ignored Greenland for far too long. During his first term, Trump floated the idea of purchasing the worlds largest island, even as Denmark, a NATO ally, insisted it wasnt for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Trumps plans.Usha Vance and a U.S. delegation were scheduled to visit Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenlands national dogsled race, which would include about 37 mushers and 444 dogs. Trumps return to the White House has included a desire with territorial expansion, with the U.S. president seeking to add Canada as a 51st state and resume control of the Panama Canal. He has also indicated that U.S. interests could take over the land in the war-torn Gaza Strip from Israel and convert it into a luxury outpost. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Womens sports are definitely having a moment. Between WNBA star Angel Reese scoring her own signature meal and commercial at McDonald's, rugby finally getting a semi-pro womens league with Womens Elite Rugby starting this month, the Professional Womens Hockey League gaining popularity, and people finally paying attention to the womens side of March Madness, female athletes are finally getting their due.But as March Madness ramps up, one question is on the minds of sapphic basketball fans everywhere: are these coaches gay? TikTok star Coach Jackie J (@jcubedhax), who has devoted her platform to celebrating womens sports, has created a new series called Is She Gay or Does She Just Coach Womens Basketball? to answer this very question, and fans are obsessed.Unlike most sports, collegiate womens basketball is mostly coached by women, so coach Jackie is spending the entire month of March Madness investigating whether or not these coaches are queer, and the funny, tongue-in-cheek videos have become so popular theyre quickly racking up views on the social media app.@jcubedhaxReplying to @Julia something silly to distract from injury despair #wbb #marchmadness #wlw #gayIn the videos, Coach Jackie picks a female coach and looks through their social media to analyze their photos in an attempt to figure out if they swim in the lady pond. Crouching on the sidelines? Gay. Thin belt? Straight. Single hairband on the wrist? Gay. Blousy shirt? Straight. Muscular arms on display? Definitely gay!So far, Coach Jackie made episodes of Is She Gay or Does She Just Coach Womens Basketball? on Princeton University coach Carla Berube, Michigans Kim Barnes, Baylor head coach Nicki Collen, and the newest episode is on Harvards Carrie Moore.@jcubedhaxReplying to @alabamafella whos next? #wlw #wbb #ncaa #marchmadness #gayIf youre keeping track, so far, Coach Jackie has found that Berube and Moore are both sapphic ladies, while Collen and Barnes are sadly straight as an arrow.By far, the most entertaining part of each video in the series is when she finally announces what team these coaches play for, and we mean that metaphorically, not literally!Coach Jackies made-up songs at the end of the videos are hilarious. Her video on Berube ends with her singing, Yes, shes gay. Shes got a wife named Meghan, and theyve got three kids, and theyre a big happy gay family.@jcubedhaxwho should I do next??? #wbb #ncaa #marchmadness #wlw #gayThe popular videos have been picking up steam with her video on Berube siting at 1.3 million views on TikTok and even more on Instagram Reels.These arent the only videos Coach Jackie makes. She also posts videos on breaking womens sports news, highlights under-represented sports, celebrates big wins, and makes heartwarming and inspirational videos about women beating the odds to have successful careers in sports. But the real reason she seems to be so popular among womens sports enthusiasts, casual viewers, and brand-new sports fans is because of her infectious energy and passion for women's sports. Her love of sports and women athletes is contagious.@jcubedhaxReplying to @soph its honor code to keep track of how many you get right this season!!#wbb #wlw #marchmadness #ncaaCoach Jackie isnt done with March Madness yet, though. Not only is she covering all of the breaking news to come out of the NCAA tournament, but she plans to keep this fun series going for the rest of the month!So, in the words of resident womens sports expert and super fan Coach Jackie, Athletes play in March Madness, fans play Is She Gay or Does She Just Coach Womens Basketball.

Orlando Prides Barbra Banda has once again become the target of transphobic vitriol among fans, despite not being trans herself."I attended the Gotham-Pride game in NJ last night and was shocked and disgusted by the fan conduct in my section (107)," Redditor u/mitzibitsy alleged via a post in the National Women's Soccer League subreddit. "Multiple Gotham season ticket holders expressed bigotry towards Barbra Banda that stemmed from the racist, transphobic conspiracies that were spread about her after she earned the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year award last year."The 25-year-old soccer star signed with Orlando last March. Since then, shes made one hell of an impact, even scoring the goal that led her team to victory in the 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup. She was named the Most Valuable Player and, as u/mitzibitsy said, was crowned the Womens Footballer of the Year by the BBC.That honor drew unwanted attention from the type of transphobes who believe they can tell when somebody is trans simply by looking at them. And they decided Banda fit the bill, despite the fact that she is a cisgender woman.Conspiracy theories insisting otherwise began to spread, spurred on by the likes of ultra-loud anti-trans activist J.K. Rowling.See on InstagramThe NWSL and Gotham FC said that the incident is under investigation and that they will "take additional action where appropriate under the leagues Fan Code of Conduct."The Orlando Pride further added that "Barbra is an outstanding role model and an influential advocate for soccer both in Africa and here in the United States. We look forward to continuing to celebrate and support her on and off the pitch."Although the statements were appreciated, concerned fans are still uncertain as to how the league and individual clubs plan to address similar situations moving forward. Several questioned why any involved fans werent ejected immediately, although its unclear whether anyone with the authority to do so was made aware at the time.u/mitzibitsy, however, followed up their post alleging that Gothams chief business officer reached out to them via phone to gather more details about what happened and the fans involved, leaving them with the impression that further action was indeed a possibility."He assured me that he understands WHY this rhetoric was racist and transphobic (a nuance I had worried might get missed), and he said flat out that this is the opposite of the culture they are trying to build at Gotham," the Redditor wrote. "I felt really reassure by this conversation." (@) Unfortunately, it would appear this bigotry and derision has continued to be directed Bandas way into the new year. After the reddit post gained traction, the NWSL, Gotham FC, and Orlando Pride all issued seemingly coordinated statements acknowledging "an incident involving hateful language.""We are united in our message: this behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our league or in our stadiums," it reads.

The premiere of The Last of Us season 2 took place in Los Angeles last night, and Pedro Pascal made a bold statement on the red carpet with his eye-catching fashion choices. The 49-year-old actor, who stars as Joel in the hit HBO series, turned heads in an outfit that combined high fashion with an edgy twist. Pascals ensemble featured thigh-high leather boots worn over leather pantsSource

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a television interview outside the White House, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-03-25T20:13:36Z LONDON (AP) As wake-up calls go, the alarms dont get much louder.Allies of the United States see the group chat between top U.S. officials about a planned attack in Yemen that accidentally included a journalist as a jaw-dropping security breach which casts doubt on intelligence-sharing with Washington and the security of joint military operations.Scary and reckless was the verdict of one European diplomat about the discussion on the Signal messaging app about strikes on Houthi rebels. Neil Melvin, a security expert at defense think tank the Royal United Services Institute, called it pretty shocking.Its some of the most high-ranking U.S. officials seeming to display a complete disregard for the normal security protocols, he said.Beyond the security concerns raised by the leaked chat, U.S. officials addressed the countrys trans-Atlantic allies with disdain as Vice President JD Vance complained about bailing out Europe and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed pathetic European freeloading. The criticism is another blow to a long-standing relationship already strained by President Donald Trumps blunt America First approach and disregard for friendly nations. Melvin said that for Americas allies, the alarm clocks been ringing for a long time.In public, however, European officials insisted all was well in the trans-Atlantic relationship. We have a very close relationship with the U.S. on matters of security, defense and intelligence, said British Prime Minister Keir Starmers spokesman, Dave Pares. They are our closest ally when it comes to these matters, have been for many years and will be for many years to come.Frances Foreign Ministry said the United States is our ally, and France intends to continue its cooperation with Washington, as well as with all its allies and European partners, in order to address current challenges particularly in the area of European security. A growing divideSince taking office, the Trump administration has halted government funding for programs that support democratic principles around the world and presented a less welcoming face to visitors.U.S. embassies in at least 17 countries have posted warnings for would-be travelers that engaging in behavior deemed harmful by the government could get them deported. Several European countries have issued warnings about visiting the United States after international tourists were caught up in Trumps border crackdown.Trump has appalled allies with his repeatedly stated aim of taking over Greenland an autonomous Danish territory that Vance and second lady Usha Vance are due to visit this week and his desire to make Canada the 51st state.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country has to take greater ownership of its own defense in the face of threats: We have to look out for ourselves.Nathalie Loiseau, a member of the European parliament, told the BBC that she was flabbergasted by the breach.If I was (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, I would feel jobless. Russia has nothing more to do. You dont even need to spy on the U.S. administration. They leak by themselves, she said. US reliability questionedThe European diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, suggested the security breach could make allies question the reliability of the U.S. as a partner.The diplomat expressed hope that the Signal lapse was due to a lack of experience in government rather than a deliberate disregard for security.Asked if he had concerns about sharing intelligence with the U.S. after the Signal incident, Carney said its a serious, serious issue and all lessons must be taken. He said it would be important to see how people react to those mistakes and how they tighten them up.Britain could be particularly exposed by U.S. security breaches. Its intelligence network is entwined with the U.S. in the Five Eyes alliance, and the countries militaries work more closely than those of almost any other nations.Britains Royal Air Force provided air-to-air refueling for U.S. planes during the strike on the Houthis, but U.K. Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard insisted British personnel had not been put at risk by the breach. Weve got high confidence that the measures that we have got with our allies, including the United States, remain intact, he told lawmakers.Ed Davey, the leader of Britains opposition Liberal Democrats, said the lapse showed the Trump administration cant be trusted to protect its own intelligence and it could only be a matter of time until our own intelligence shared with them is also leaked. This could put British lives at risk, he said.Alex Clarkson, a lecturer in European and international studies at Kings College London, said the professionals and old hands who contained the damage during Trumps first term are largely gone.So what were having now is a manifestation of tendencies that were held in check that we already saw in the first round, he said. American frustrationThe U.S. has underpinned European security since World War II, and Trump is not the first president to bristle at the burden.From the Obama administration (onward), theres been quite some frustrations in the U.S. security apparatus about the failure of the Europeans to step up, Melvin said.Trump has gone much further than his predecessors in upending the decades-old security arrangements. He has long contended the U.S. needs to completely rethink its relationship with the rest of the world, saying other countries have been taking advantage of the nations military might by not paying enough for their own defense.Trump has praised autocrats including Putin and sent chills through NATO during last years election campaign with his comment that Russia should do whatever the hell it wants to members that dont meet military spending targets.Theres a real sense of divorce, that America is not just disinterested in the trans-Atlantic alliance but views Europe fundamentally as an adversary, said Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who now works at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Its very clear at this point, abundantly clear, that it will be next to impossible to count on the United States for the cause of defending democracy in the world, said Kevin Casas-Zamora, secretary-general of the pro-democracy group International IDEA.NATO leaders point out that Trumps criticism and the war in Ukraine have led to a majority of member states meeting the target of spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.Trumps reelection and rapprochement with Putin has hastened European military plans, with nations scrambling to ramp up weapons production and create their own security structures including a U.K.- and France-led coalition of the willing to help guarantee a future ceasefire in Ukraine. Clarkson said Europe has more strength than many give it credit for, and severing the trans-Atlantic bond would hurt the U.S., too.One shouldnt underestimate European military industrial capacity, he said. There are all kinds of things that can go wrong but there is an element here also that the Americans are awakening a sleeping giant.___Riccardi reported from Denver, Colorado. Associated Press writers Ali Swenson in New York, Chris Megerian in Washington. John Leicester in Paris and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto EMMA BURROWS Burrows is an Associated Press reporter covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is based in London. twitter

Mourners visit a makeshift memorial on Aug. 12, 2019, near the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where people were killed in a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)2025-03-25T20:52:05Z The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 in one of the the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history has been offered a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, a Texas prosecutor said Tuesday. The announcement by El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya is a significant turn in the criminal case of Patrick Crusius, 26, who was already sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty in 2023 to federal hate crime charges.Under the Biden administration, federal prosecutors also took the death penalty off the table but did not explain why. In addition to the federal case, Crusius was also charged in state court with capital murder.Montoya said he supports the death penalty and believes Crusius deserves it. But he said he met with the families of the victims and there was an overriding desire to conclude the process, though some relatives were willing to wait as long as it took for a death sentence. The vast majority of them want this case over and done with as quickly as possible, he said. Montoya also said pursuing the death penalty would mean a long and drawn-out legal battle with many hearings and appeals. I could see a worst-case scenario where this would not go to trial until 2028 if we continued to seek the death penalty, he said. Montoya, a Democrat, took office in January after defeating a Republican incumbent who was appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Montoyas predecessors supported sending Crusius to death row. Ive heard about it. I think the guy does deserve the death penalty, to be honest, Abbott said Tuesday about the decision. Any shooting like that is what capital punishment is for.Crusius, who is white, was 21 years old and had dropped out of community college when police say he drove more than 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) from his home near Dallas to target Hispanics in El Paso. Moments after posting a racist screed online that warned of a Hispanic invasion of the state, he opened fire with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store.Before the shooting, Crusius appears to have been consumed by the immigration debate, posting online in support of building the border wall and other messages praising the hardline border policies of President Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time. He went further in the rant he posted before the attack, saying Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy.In the years since the shooting, Republicans have called migrants crossing the southern border an invasion and dismissed criticism that such rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.In the U.S. governments case, Crusius received a life sentence for each of the 90 charges against him, half of which were classified as hate crimes. Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said after the sentencing that no one in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence. One of his attorneys told the judge before the sentencing that his client had a broken brain and his thinking was at odds with reality. Federal prosecutors did not formally explain their decision not to seek the death penalty, but they did acknowledge that Crusius suffered from schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings.The people who were killed ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to several grandparents. They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, teachers, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips.In 2023, Crusius agreed to pay more than $5 million to his victims. Court records showed that his attorneys and the Justice Department reached an agreement over the restitution amount, which was then approved by a U.S. district judge. There was no indication that he had significant assets.

While were getting more sapphic representation on both the big and small screen these days, good butch lesbian characters are still few and far between. Which is a shame!But over the years, there have been a handful of great butch characters that have helped shine a light on an oft-misunderstood segment of the lesbian population. There are movies like Bound and Love Lies Bleeding and TV shows like Orange is the New Black and A League of Her Own that have complex butch characters that help explore the complexities of sexuality and gender expression. So whether youre looking for a character to make you feel seen as a fellow butch or you need a new hot butch to lust after, these shows and movies are worth a watch.Vazquez in 'Alien'While the legendary sci-fi horror movie has rightly been criticized for casting a white actress in the role, Vasquez in Alien is one of the earliest and most iconic butch characters. Her sexuality may never have been discussed in the film, but Vasquez radiates butch energy, which is why she was a queer awakening for many Gen X and millennial sapphics.Where to watch: HuluCorky in 'Bound'One of the earliest Be Gay Do Crimes movies, the Wachowskis Neo-noir erotic thriller Bound gifted us with a taut plot line, steamy lesbian sex scenes, and a hot ex-con butch named Corky, played by the endlessly sexy Gina Gershon opposite her femme love interest Violet (Jennifer Tilly). This one is so hot it will have you grabbing for a fan and hoping for a tough butch of your very own. Where to watch: Pluto.tv or rent on Amazon PrimeLou in 'Love Lies Bleeding'Bound walked so Love Lies Bleeding could run. Kristen Stewarts career trajectory has been a blast to watch, going from Twilight teen girl to the all-grown-up butch lesbian Lou, the erotic thriller, set in the world of crime and professional bodybuilding. Both Katy OBrian and Stewart are spectacular (and sexy!) in this film, but its the way Lou fiercely protects her girl, as well as her collection of sleeveless t-shirts and mullet, that will have you drooling.Where to watch: MaxAnne Lister in 'Gentleman Jack'We never knew how much we needed to see a Victorian-era butch lesbian until Gentleman Jacks Anne Lister took over our screens. Butch might not have been a term back then, but between her penchant for wearing masculine clothing at a time when women wore elaborate dresses, her refusal to marry a man, and being the one to collect the rent on her familys estate, she is the dapper butch dreams are made of.Where to watch: MaxA League of Their Own was one of the queerest shows on TV with so many lesbian, bisexual, and trans characters, including butch lesbian Max, who spent the season trying to fight her way into baseball as a Black woman and figuring out her own sexuality. Sadly the series was canceled after a single season, but Maxs storyline isnt one well soon forgetWhere to watch: Prime VideoCarrie in 'The L Word: Generation Q'Rosie ODonnell played butch lesbian Carrie on The L Word: Generation Q and was formerly engaged to L Word mainstay Tina Kennard. With Carrie we not only got great butch representation, but an older lesbian too, who takes masculine lesbian Finley under her wing.Where to watch: Rent on Amazon Prime.Poussey Washington in 'Orange is the New Black'Black Masc characters are few and far between, especially on TV, but Poussey Washington, played by Samira Wiley, fit the bill and was adored by fans before she met an untimely end. Poussey wasnt the only butch character on Orange is the New Black, but audiences connected with her storyline loved her outspoken, strong-willed, and funny personality and were excited to get to see different takes on non-feminine gender expression. Where to watch: NetflixBig Boo in 'Orange is the New Black'Played by real-life but lesbian Lea DeLaria played Big Boo in Orange is the New Black, which although sometimes the show fell back on queer stereotypes, also had a wide range of different sapphic characters. Big Boo is loud, brash, intimidating, and full of bravado but she turned out to be a more complex and nuanced character as the show went along. Where to watch: NetflixCleo in 'Set It Off'In Set it Off, Queen Latifah plays a butch lesbian who becomes a bank robber alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. Its uncommon today to have Black butch characters on screen, but this was even more true for the groundbreaking Set it Off which was relapsed way back in 1996. So if you want to see butch rep and get the catharsis of watching poor women striking back against the financial system, this movie is for you!Where to watch: tubiAmy in 'If These Walls Could Talk 2'In If These Walls Could Talk 2, the sequel to the 1996 original, Chlo Sevigny plays a leather-jacket-wearing butch lesbian with a greaser hairstyle in the segment set in 1972. Not only is Sevigny responsible for many a queer awakening both for this role and many others, but her character Amy highlights the complexities of identity and gender expression, especially in the 70s.Where to watch: YouTube

Actress Kelly Marie Tran has revealed that her role in the upcoming queer comedy The Wedding Banquet played a significant part in her decision to come out publicly as queer. The actress, who rose to fame with her role as Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, shared her personal journey in an interview with Vanity Fair last November, and now, in a conversation with Attitude magazineSource

Nathan Lane, the acclaimed actor known for his roles in both comedy and drama, has once again spoken candidly about his experiences as an openly gay man in Hollywood. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Lane, who stars in the upcoming queer sitcom Mid-Century Modern, discussed the ongoing issue of homophobia in the entertainment industry and shared an unfortunate experience where his sexualitySource

Mourners visit a makeshift memorial on Aug. 12, 2019, near the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where people were killed in a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio, File)2025-03-25T21:15:23Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive action to overhaul elections in the U.S., including requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demanding that all ballots be received by Election Day.The order says the U.S. has failed to enforce basic and necessary election protections and calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials who dont comply.The move, which is likely to face swift challenges from voting rights organizations, is consistent with Trumps long history of railing against election processes. He often claims elections are being rigged, even before the results are known, and has waged battles against certain voting methods since he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden and falsely blamed it on widespread fraud. Trump has focused particularly on mail voting, arguing without evidence that its insecure and invites fraud even as he has shifted his position on the issue given its popularity with voters, including Republicans. While fraud occurs, its rare, limited in scope and gets prosecuted.After signing, Trump said that more election actions would be taken in coming weeks. ALI SWENSON Swenson covers politics and the information landscape for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Unsuccessful candidate Sebastian Coe speaks to the media after he failed in his bid to become the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Nikolas Kominis)2025-03-25T17:29:36Z NANJING, China (AP) World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Tuesday that the track and fields governing body has approved the introduction of cheek swabs and dry blood-spot tests for female athletes in order to maintain the integrity of competition.The planned changes include reinstating a version of chromosome testing that was discontinued in the 1990s, requiring athletes who compete in the female category to submit to a cheek swab or dry blood-spot test for the presence of a gene that indicates whether the athlete has a Y chromosome present in males.Coe told a news conference that athletes will have to take the test just once during their career.Its important to do it because it maintains everything that weve been talking about, and particularly recently, about not just talking about the integrity of female womens sport, but actually guaranteeing it, Coe said after a two-day meeting of the World Athletics Council in Nanjing. We feel this is a really important way of providing confidence and maintaining that absolute focus on the integrity of competition. Its unclear whether the tests will be in place before the world championships in September. Coe said that the new regulations will be drafted and that a testing provider will be confirmed over the next few weeks. Coe, the two-time Olympic champion who was unsuccessful last week in his bid to become IOC president, has been vocal about protecting the female category in track and field. He has said the International Olympic Committee needs to take a leadership role in the transgender debate instead of letting each individual sport decide their own regulations. World Athletics, which in 2023 banned transgender athletes who had transitioned male to female and gone through male puberty, announced in February proposed recommendations that would apply strict transgender rules to athletes who were born female but had what the organization describes as naturally occurring testosterone levels in the typical male range.Those recommendations came only days after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing in girls sports in the U.S. and pressured the Olympics to do the same. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Games. Legal challengesAsked whether World Athletics felt the policy would withstand legal challenges, Coe said he was confident after an exhaustive review.I would never have set off down this path in 2016-2017 to protect the female category in sport without being prepared to take the challenge head on, Coe said.He added: Weve been to the Court of Arbitration on our DSD (differences in sex development) regulations. They have been upheld, and they have again been upheld after appeal. So we will doggedly protect the female category, and well do whatever is necessary to do it.___AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

For a kinkster, the upcoming International Mr. Leather is a beautiful event. Kinky folks of all stripes make lifelong friendships at the competition and community event and sometimes fall in love. But this year, one IML regular will not be present. Durk Dehner was removed as a judge of the worlds oldest leather gathering in January after photos of him wearing Nazi regalia circulated online. Following public outcry, Dehner stepped down from his role at the Tom of Finland Foundation, an organization he founded in 1984 with Touko Laaksonen, the original Tom of Finland arguably the most famous gay erotic artist in history. Since its founding, ToFF has preserved Laaksonens art and legacy, and every year it supports emerging erotic artists, often giving them the career boost they need to find success, and many have been people of color. The organization released a statement apologizing for Dehners actions and stating that it does not support hate in any form. Even so, the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. Heres the truth: I love Tom of Finland. I love the dirty comics of men in leather having wild sex. Im not alone. Many gay men feel a strange affinity for the hypermasculine fantasy Laaksonens art depicts.Sign up for the PRIDE.com Newsletter to get a candid take on whats fresh and fun in LGBTQ+ culture this week!But Dehner actually knew Tom of Finland! They were contemporaries, friends, and former lovers. Laaksonen was born in Kaarina, Finland, and came of age in the 1930s and 40s. He had his first gay sex experiences in the blackouts of World War II, when he enjoyed the irresistible black boots of German soldiers, according to his bio on the ToFF website. Before he died in 1991, Laaksonen admitted on more than one occasion that some of his art was inspired by SS uniforms.Suddenly, Laaksonens art seemed to need a second look. A disturbing question emerged: If Tom of Finland art suggested something sinister, what did that say about leather culture? Many gay leathermen myself included were first drawn to the scene by his drawings. I thought of all my past visits to IML, where one experiences the uncanny sensation of being in a room filled with men in identical leather uniforms. Did it always look thisNazi? Pup-Diego Onyx, who holds the title of Mr. Bullet Leather 2024, was the first to post the images, in which Dehner clearly wears a leather cap featuring a tiny gold swastika. I asked Onyx what he thought. The first time I saw the photos a few years ago, they made me extremely uneasy and uncomfortable, he said. I mentioned it to others in the Los Angeles leather scene and most people brushed it off. But when he saw Dehner would be a judge at this years IML, he decided to make a Facebook post. I didnt believe it was going to make a huge impact, he said. As a trans person of color, our voices are often silenced or not taken into consideration. When IML removed him as a judge 12 hours later, I couldn't believe it. For once, I felt like our voices were heard. This felt like justice its true that trans voices go ignored too often within the queer community, and I am certain that parts of the leather scene celebrating hypermasculine stereotypes remain unfriendly to my transgender siblings. But Onyx was also, like me, a fan of ToF art: It was meaningful to me as a young kinkster, seeing something that represented a subculture I was involved in. Remembering my art history lessons at university, I decided Tom of Finland art itself cant be canceled it cannot be objectively good or bad. Its art. Good art should, if anything, provoke debate, not quell it. Its the Picasso problem: Can one judge art apart from its artist? Im an author, so that answer has always been clear for me: Yes. Many writers in history were monstrous in their personal lives but made great and necessary literature. Their work is not rendered less meaningful by their personal transgressions. If we only celebrated art made by people who appease our modern sensibilities and mores, wed have a world without rock and roll and countless great books, films, paintings, buildings, and more: a bland, censorious, ugly world. I felt certain of two things. The first: Leather culture and broader kink culture is good and healthy, and is more commonly a safe space for the kinds of people Nazis tried (and still try) to erase and destroy, not Nazis themselves. The second: Dehner did something wrong. (If I had to list a third thing I felt sure of, itd be that Tom of Finland did what many queer artists before and after him have done: He took images of power which were, in his day, militaristic men in uniforms and queered them. In doing so, he subverted fascists. Subversion and glorification can look similar, but they are profoundly different.) Context is important. Distressingly, the worlds richest man, Elon Musk, invited Nazi comparisons when he did a very suspicious salute twice on national television. That was a political gesture at a political event in service of a political figure, Donald Trump, who has borrowed pages from Hitlers playbook since he took office in January (charm followers with charisma, invent a domestic enemy and attack it, and threaten to take other lands). In contrast to Musk, Dehner was a public figure in the leather scene, so his choice to appear in public in Nazi imagery as part of a leather look suggests a Nazi fetish. Was that better? Worse? Neither? I consulted the brilliant mind of Beatrice Stonebanks a growth revenue officer for Fortune 500 companies as well as a longtime BDSM dominant (Stonebankss pronouns are she, her, and sir). Stonebanks is part of the San Francisco organization Divine Deviance, which last year published the book Kink Is with Unbound Edition Press a collection of personal confessions and antidotes from kinksters across the world. (For full transparency, Im one of them.) The book proves that kink is more diverse, healthy, global, and, well, normal than most people think. Kinks more than Tom of Finland, more (and better) than a bunch of cis men in black leather. Stonebanks herself a woman in her 60s with kind eyes and a firm, gentle voice disproves what many think the leather scene is. First, we talked about ToF art. When Tom of Finland came along, gay culture was diminished and made fun of, so his hypersexualized imagery brought power to gay men, she said. But what about Dehner? Here, she got quieter. She reminded me of what kink really is: the craft of navigating consent. The safe, sane, and consensual mantra of kink sets a boundary between acceptable play and wrongdoing, an ethical hardline drawn at consent, not social mores or mainstream acceptability. Race play is real and in the kink community, she said of fetish roleplay that involves racist language and even racist stereotypes and imagery, done willingly by consenting adults for erotic purposes. There are lots of people who want to engage in race play and even play that involves Nazi imagery. I dont condone it, but with consent, get your kink on! She stressed that this is a hard thing for mainstream audiences to grasp, because most people dont have an understanding of what this respect-based, boundary-driven, consensual realm is. Whatever Dehners personal beliefs, he wore Nazi imagery, and he involved the public in an experience seeing that imagery without our consent, and that imagery hurt and offended. It hurt Pup-Diego Onyx and made him feel unwelcome in a culture he calls home. It hurt me. This suggests that consent matters even at the level of information and exposure and that nonconsent happens the moment one sees someone eroticizing Nazi imagery when they did not consent to that. Absolutely, Stonebanks agreed. In business, Stonebanks brings the communication strategies of kink to the workplace without ever crossing an HR line. I never say words like BDSM or sex because that crosses a boundary, she said. Even so, she takes the principles of being a dominant and brings them to boardrooms without directly stating where these principles come from. Everyone wants respect-based communication, she said. Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone wants clear boundaries, and they want those boundaries honored. I have spent my life in the kinky world of negotiation, consent, and asking how we discuss this stuff and make it work for us, she added. Dehner did it to himself and deserved to be removed as a judge, she said, because he did not consider or respect others boundaries. In the end, I decided that kink was not ruined because one person did wrong. Kink remains an empowering human endeavor of love and mutual care, one that extends across generations and cultures a global effort among people with weird turn-ons and pervy fetishes to play joyfully and healthily. But the Durk Dehner controversy reminded me that nothing I love not even sexy gay comics is safe from fascism. And maybe thats the truth of fascism: Its always there, a threat to the freedom and joy of the gay and kinky life I revel in. But when I get my kink on with the people I love, I know we are everything Nazis hate: fiercely queer, free-loving, joyful humans trying to please each other in a world that misunderstands us. We take care of each other. Thats what kink is. Alexander Cheves is a writer, sex educator, and author of My Love Is a Beast: Confessions from Unbound Edition Press. @badalexchevesNeed dating advice? Email your question to Cheves at askbeastly@gmail.com you may get an answer in a future column!This article is part of the Out March/April issue, which hits newsstands April 1. Support queer media and subscribe or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting March 20.

Internet sensation Benito Skinner, also known as Benny Drama, is stepping into the spotlight with his highly anticipated TV debut in the semi-autobiographical comedy series Overcompensating on Prime Video. Skinner not only stars in the show but also writes and executive produces it. The series follows a college-set narrative with an ensemble cast that includes notable names like Connie BrittonSource

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is inviting the community to celebrate Womens History Month with a vibrant, immersive experience at Juice Box on Saturday, March 29. This event, presented in partnership with Cuties Los Angeles and sponsored by women-owned Curvy Couture, will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and promises to be an afternoon full of sensory delights, creativitySource

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson talks to reporters following an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)2025-03-25T23:16:51Z Russell Wilson has agreed on a one-year contract with the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the signing hasnt been finalized, said Wilsons deal is worth up to $21 million with $10.5 million guaranteed.The Giants signed veteran Jameis Winston to a two-year contract last week and have the third pick in next months NFL draft. They went 3-14 in 2024 and released 2019 first-round pick Daniel Jones during the season. Before signing Winston and Wilson, Tommy DeVito was the only quarterback on the teams roster.The Giants have missed the playoffs in 11 of the last 13 seasons since Eli Manning won his second Super Bowl following the 2011 season. General manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll are under pressure to win right away while potentially developing a rookie quarterback. Shedeur Sanders is a possibility for the Giants with the No. 3 overall pick. With Wilson and Winston ahead of him, Sanders could be eased into a starting role for 2026 if New York selects him.The 36-year-old Wilson, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection, joins his fourth team in five years. He helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to the playoffs last year but the team lost five in a row to end the season after starting 6-1 with Wilson. Wilson threw for 2,482 yards with 16 touchdown passes, five interceptions and a 96.5 passer rating for the Steelers. He had 3,070 yards passing, 26 TDs, eight picks and a 98 passer rating for the Broncos in 2023 but was dumped after two disappointing seasons in Denver.Wilson averaged 3,706 yards, 29 TDs and had a 101.8 passer rating in 10 seasons with Seattle, leading the Seahawks to one Super Bowl title and within one yard of another.Wilson is 121-77-1 in 199 career starts in the regular season and 9-8 in the playoffs. He has 46,135 yards passing, 350 TDs, 111 interceptions and a 99.8 career passer rating. Wilson also has rushed for 5,462 yards and 31 TDs.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl ROB MAADDI Maaddi is senior NFL writer for The Associated Press. Hes covered the league for 24 years, including the first two decades as the Eagles beat writer. mailto

President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listen at the annual St. Patrick's Day luncheon at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-03-25T21:30:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) Angry over the crush of court rulings against the Trump administration, Republicans in Congress are trying to slap back at the federal judiciary with proposals to limit the reach of its rulings, cut funding and even impeach judges, tightening the GOPs grip on government.House GOP leaders say all options are under consideration as they rush to rein in judges who are halting President Donald Trumps actions at a rapid pace. In many cases, the courts are questioning whether the firings of federal workers, freezing of federal funds and shuttering of long-running federal offices are unlawful actions by the executive branch and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency.In perhaps the most high-profile case, Judge James E. Boasberg ordered planeloads of deported immigrants to be turned around, raising the ire of Trump, who called for his impeachment, and billionaire Musk, who is funneling campaign cash to House Republicans backing impeachment efforts. The president calls the judges lunatics. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that desperate times call for desperate measures without mentioning impeachment. We do have authority over the federal courts, as you know, the Republican speaker said. We can eliminate an entire district court. We have power of funding over the courts, and all these other things. Not yet 100 days into the new administration, the unusual attack on the federal judiciary is the start of what is expected to be a protracted battle between the co-equal branches of government, unmatched in modern memory. As the White House tests the judiciary, trying to bend it to Trumps demands, the Congress, controlled by the presidents own Republican Party, appears ready to back him up. It all comes as the Supreme Court last summer granted the executive broad immunity from prosecution, setting the stage for the challenges to come. But Chief Justice John Roberts warned more recently that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. Democrats are warning against what they view as an assault on the judicial branch, which so far has been the only check against Trump and DOGEs far-reaching federal actions. Threats against the federal judges, already on the rise, remain of high concern.It is outrageous to even think of defunding the courts, said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, reacting to the House speakers claims. The courts are the bulwark against Trump, and the Republicans cant stand it.House GOP leaders met Tuesday with Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which will hold a hearing on the issue next week. The House is also expected to vote on a bill from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that would limit the geographic reach of certain federal rulings, to prevent temporary restraining orders from being enacted nationwide.Jordan said he also spoke Saturday with Trump during college wrestling championships in Philadelphia.All options are on the table, Jordan said late Monday. We want to get the facts. Gather the facts. Since Trump took office, and with Musk, on a mission to dramatically reduce the size and scope of the federal government, the administrations tech-inspired move-fast-and-break-things ethos has run up against the constraints of federal law. An onslaught of court cases has been filed by employee groups, democracy organizations and advocacy groups trying to keep federal programs from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Education Department from being dismantled. Judges have issued various types of restraints on Trumps actions. Trumps first administration alone accounted for 66 percent of all the injunctions issued on presidential actions between 2001 and 2023, according to data from a Harvard Law Review piece circulated by Republicans. The legislation from Issa had no support from Democrats when it was approved by the Judiciary Committee last month. A similar bill was introduced Monday by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel, said Trump is being hit with injunctions because he is engaged in terrible, irresponsible and lawless violations of peoples rights.We are winning in court, Raskin said in a video address. Weve got make sure we defend the integrity of the judiciary.When it comes to actually impeaching the judges, however, top Republicans have stopped short of backing what would be a severe action. Impeachments are rare in Congress, particularly of judges, but several rank-and-file House Republicans have proposed legislation to launch impeachment proceedings against various federal judges who have ruled in ways unfavorable to the Trump administration. Musk has rewarded House Republicans who signed onto impeachment legislation with political donations, according to a person familiar with information first reported by the New York Times. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the matter. Republicans are particularly focused on Boasberg, the chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., who Jordan said is in a somewhat unique in that, you know, his decision was crazy.The judge is weighing whether the Trump administration defied his order after the planes of migrants landed in El Salvador, turned over to that countrys notorious mega-prison system. The Trump administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a war-time authority used during World War II against Japanese Americans, for the deportations the judge said lacked due process.Any impeachment effort would also require backing from the Senate, where GOP leaders also panned the effort.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., echoed the advice of Roberts in allowing normal legal procedures to play out.At the end of the day, there is a process, and theres an appeals process, and you know, I suspect thats ultimately how this will get handled, Thune said._____Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Pete Hegseth has faced harsh rebukes from critics since before he became the secretary of defense, but now the entire internet is roasting him for accidentally including an Atlantic reporter in a group chat where he was discussing plans for the United States to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen.The former Fox News host and current head of the Pentagon wrote about weapons, targets, and timing of the Yemen attack in a group chat on Signal a commercially available encrypted messaging platform that also included Vice President JD Vance, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, billionaire hedge fund manager-turned-Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, plus 13 more key figures, including national security advisor Michael Walz, who was the one who sent the Signal invitation to The Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, the New York Times reports.The information shared was so priviledged that The Atlantic decided not to publish some of the content of the group chat in their scathing expos because it posed a risk to servicemen and operations within the Middle East.The blunder was so big that today, Trumps top national security officials, including Hegseth, Ratcliffe, and Gabbard, were brought before a Senate Intelligence Committee today to answer questions about why classified information about the plans to bomb Yemen was shared in the group chat. Not only did people sprint to X (formerly Twitter) to compare sharing the countrys war plans in a group chat to an episode of Veep or posting that the incident is "like Watergate, only in this version Nixon directly mails the tapes to Woodward and Bernstein, but it also prompted Democratic politicians to get in on the action. Hillary Clinton, who was harshly criticized by Republicans for using a private email server for State Department business, posted a screenshot from The Atlantic article with the caption Youve got to be kidding me, and Tim Walz joked on X, Pete Hegseth texting out war plans like invites to a frat party." Keep scrolling to see the funniest reactions to Pete Hegseth's big national security mistake! (@) "You have got to be kidding me." (@) "Pete Hegseth texting out war plans like invites to a frat party." (@) "there's a reporter in the group chat" (@) "Pete Hegseth after sending war plans to a reporter" (@) "Its like Watergate, only in this version Nixon directly mails the tapes to Woodward and Bernstein" (@) "In a perfect world, the town drunk and the Secretary of Defense would be two different people." (@) "Possibly my favourite #SignalGate meme so far" (@) "Ladies and gents, it's time for some "Houthi PC small group" memes!" (@) (@) (@) (@) "Me in the group chat for top secret air strikes" (@) "Girls groupchat names: 'The Girlies' Boys groupchat names:" (@) "Circling back on this" (@) "Only took 3 days for this to age like milk" (@) "Me in the group chat with Pete Hegseth" (@) "Lurking in the chat like" (@) "People are now referring to Pete Hegseth as WhiskiLeaks and Im kinda pissed that I didnt think of it first." (@) "biggest 'more Veep than House of Cards' moment i've ever seen" (@) "dance like no one is watching text like the editor of the Atlantic was accidentally added to the group chat and is reading everything" (@) "me reading national security secrets bc i've been accidentally added to a group chat" (@) "Your in her DM's He's adding me to national security group chats" (@) "Here are the secret war plans of the United States. Reply STOP to opt out of these texts." (@) "Pete Hegseths morning routine just dropped." (@) (@) "Jeff Goldberg better than me tho bc I would have stayed on that chain until Jan 2029" (@) "Big day for the BuT HeR EmAiLs folks." (@) "Pete Hegseth is messy."

Olly Alexander, the talented frontman of the British electropop group Years & Years, has shared how a rekindled relationship with a former boyfriend has influenced the sound and themes of his latest album, Polari. Released last Friday, the album explores love, identity, and emotional growth, with many of the tracks drawing inspiration from the singers personal experiences. AlexanderSource

Ayo Edebiri, known for her breakout roles in The Bear and Bottoms, isnt shy when it comes to sharing personal stories. In a recent interview, the actress revealed the details of her first kiss, which happened at a party during her younger years. The moment occurred while playing a game of spin the bottle at a friends house. My first kiss was in my friends house playing spin the bottleSource

Houses burn in a village after being engulfed by a wildfire fueled by strong winds in Uiseong, South Korea, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Yoon Gwan-shick/Yonhap via AP)2025-03-25T22:54:04Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Wind-driven wildfires that were among South Koreas worst ever were ravaging the countrys southern regions, killing 18 people, destroying more than 200 structures and forcing 27,000 people to evacuate, officials said Wednesday.A 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple, houses, factories and vehicles were among the structures destroyed in the wildfires that have burned 43,330 acres and injured 19 people, the governments emergency response center said. In a televised address, South Koreas acting President Han Duck-soo said the wildfires that began last Friday were causing worse damage than many other past wildfires.Damages are snowballing, Han said. There are concerns that well have wildfire damages that weve never experienced, so we have to concentrate all our capabilities to put out the wildfires in the rest of this week. Han said crews were struggling to extinguish the wildfires because strong winds swept the areas overnight. Han said about 4,650 firefighters, soldiers and other personnel were working Wednesday to extinguish the wildfires with the help of about 130 helicopters. He said that a small amount of 5-10 millimeters of rain was expected Thursday. Observers say the ongoing wildfires are the third biggest in South Korea in terms of land burned. Officials in several southeastern cities and towns had ordered residents to evacuate Tuesday as firefighters struggled to contain multiple blazes fueled by dry winds. The largest fires were in Andong, the neighboring counties of Uiseong and Sancheong, and the city of Ulsan, according to South Koreas Interior Ministry. Earlier on Tuesday, officials had said firefighters had extinguished most of the flames from the largest wildfires in those areas, but wind and dry conditions allowed the blazes to spread again. But efforts to fight the fires were partially suspended overnight as the winds strengthened. The blaze in Uiseong destroyed Gounsa, a temple built in the 7th century, according to officials from the Korea Heritage Service. Some of the temples treasures, including a stone Buddha statue, were evacuated before the fire reached the wooden buildings.The Korea Forest Service said it had raised its wildfire warning to the highest serious level nationwide Tuesday, requiring local governments to assign more workers to emergency response, tighten entry restrictions for forests and parks, and recommend that military units withhold live-fire exercises. The 18 dead include four firefighters and government workers who were killed in Sancheong on Saturday after being trapped by fast-moving flames driven by strong winds, according to officials. Government officials suspect human error was the cause of several of the fires, possibly due to the use of fire while clearing overgrown grass in family tombs or sparks from welding work. KIM TONG-HYUNG Kim has been covering the Koreas for the AP since 2014. He has published widely read stories on North Koreas nuclear ambitions, the dark side of South Koreas economic rise and international adoptions of Korean children. twitter mailto HYUNG-JIN KIM Hyung-jin is an Associated Press reporter in Seoul, South Korea. He reports on security, political and other general news on the Korean Peninsula. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00954-yStudies on climate change and South Africa are also on the latest list of grants to be terminated, according to updated documents obtained by Nature.

President Donald Trump attends a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, Monday, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-03-26T04:01:28Z WASHINGTON (AP) The attempts by President Donald Trump and top leaders of his administration to downplay a security breach that revealed military strike plans in a Signal group chat including a journalist stand in stark contrast to their reaction to Hillary Clintons use of a home server as secretary of state.This time, theyve largely focused their ire not on sweeping potential security lapses, or punishments as a result, but on the journalist who was errantly added to the group text and reported on it: editor-in-chief for The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. Some of the texts participants who spoke out against Clinton havent commented publicly at all about the Signal leak.One of the chief concerns about Clintons email server was that it was insecure, and that sensitive information could fall into the wrong hands. But former FBI Director James Comey said in recommending that no charges be brought against Clinton that there was no evidence that her email account had been hacked by hostile actors. Trump insisted Tuesday that no classified information was divulged in the group chat, though Goldberg wrote that messaging revealed precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing of strikes in Yemen. The White Houses National Security Council has said it is investigating. For her part, Clintons reaction to Goldbergs reporting was one of astonishment: You have got to be kidding me, Clinton said in an X post that spotlighted The Atlantic article and included an eyes emoji.Heres a look at what some of the officials in the group chat, and some of those steadfastly standing by them, are saying now versus then. TrumpNow: The main thing was nothing happened. The attack was totally successful, Trump said during a meeting with a group of his ambassadors at the White House on Tuesday. He also called his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, a very good man and insisted he will continue to do a very good job, while adding, I think its very unfair how they attacked Michael and labeling Goldberg a total sleazebag. Later, in an interview with Newsmax, Trump said a Waltz aide had Goldbergs number and this guy ended up on the call. He also added that he felt good about what occurred. I can only go by what Ive been told ... but I feel very comfortable, actually.Then: Hillary is the one who sent and received classified information on an insecure server, putting the safety of the American people under threat, Trump said in an October 2016 speech in Warren, Michigan.The rigged system refused to prosecute her for conduct that put all of us, everybody in this room, everybody in this country at risk. Hillary Clinton went to great lengths to create a private email server and to bypass government security in order to keep her emails from being read by the public and by federal officials, he said in a November 2016 speech in Virginia Beach, Virginia.And, during a Florida rally in July 2016, he even urged Russian hackers to help find a batch of emails said to have vanished from Clintons private server. Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. WaltzNow: I think theres a lot in the lessons for a lot of journalists in this city who have made big names for themselves making up lies about this president, Waltz said during Tuesdays White House meeting with Trump and the ambassadors. He also said of Goldberg, This journalist, Mr. President, wants the world talking about more hoaxes.In a subsequent interview on Fox News Channels The Ingraham Angle, Waltz said, I take full responsibility. I built the group. He also contradicted Trump by saying that no staffer was responsible. Waltz further acknowledged, embarrassing, yes and said, We made a mistake. Were moving forward.Then: How is it Hillary Clinton can delete 33,000 government emails on a private server, yet President Trump gets indicted for having documents he could declassify? Waltz posted in June 2023, referencing charges against Trump for mishandling classified documents. The case was scrapped after Trump won a second term. Defense Secretary Pete HegsethNow: Nobody was texting war plans, Hegseth told journalists traveling with him in Hawaii on Monday. He said of Goldberg, Youre talking about a deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist whos made a profession of peddling hoaxes.Then: Any security professional, military, government or otherwise, would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless with this kind of information, Hegseth, then a regular contributor for Fox News Channel, said of Clintons emails on the network in 2016. That same year, Hegseth asked on Fox News, How damaging is it to your ability to recruit or build allies with others when they are worried that our leaders may be exposing them because of their gross negligence or their recklessness in handling information? In another 2016 Fox News segment, Hegseth said, If it was anyone other than Hillary Clinton, they would be in jail right now for what has been done. Because the assumption is, in the intelligence community, if you are using unclassified means, there is the potential for, and likelihood, that foreign governments are targeting those accounts and gathering intelligence from them.Secretary of State Marco RubioNow: No public comment on the Signal group chat. Then: Nobody is above the law, not even Hillary Clinton even though she thinks she is, Rubio told Fox News in January 2016. The previous year in a Fox News interview, Rubio referred to the same emails when he said, What they did is reckless its complete recklessness and incompetence.Deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen MillerNow: No public comment on the Signal leak. Then: Miller posted in 2022: One point that doesnt get made enough about Hillarys unsecured server illegally used to conduct state business (obviously created to hide the Clintons corrupt pay-for-play): foreign adversaries could easily hack classified ops & intel in real time from other side of the globe. CIA Director John RatcliffeNow: My communications, to be clear, in a Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information, Ratcliffe said at a Tuesday congressional hearing. Then: On Fox News in 2018, Ratcliffe suggested of officials who mishandle sensitive information: Its always a good thing that we see that there is investigation and prosecution of folks if theyre not handling that information appropriately.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi GabbardNow: Theres a difference between inadvertent release versus careless and sloppy, malicious leaks of classified information, Gabbard said at the same congressional hearing. Then: Gabbard posted on X earlier this month, Any unauthorized release of classified information is a violation of the law and will be treated as such. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP)2025-03-26T04:18:20Z BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) Ivana Ilic Sunderic had never heard anything quite so alarming and disturbing at a protest as the sound that broke a commemorative silence during a huge anti-government rally in Serbias capital, Belgrade.It was quiet and peaceful and then we heard something we could not see like a sound rolling toward us, a whiz, Ilic Sunderic said about the March 15 incident. People started rushing for safety toward the pavement, feeling that something was moving toward us down the street.It was a subdued sound lasting only 2-3 seconds but very unusual and very frightening, like a sound from hell, she said.Ilic Sunderic was not alone in describing the panic. Hundreds of others have offered similar accounts, triggering accusations that the police, military or security services under the tight control of authoritarian Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic used an acoustic crowd control weapon to target peaceful protesters. People observe 15 minutes of silence during a massive anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) People observe 15 minutes of silence during a massive anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The weapons, which are illegal in Serbia, emit sound waves which can trigger sharp ear pain, disorientation, eardrum ruptures or even irreversible hearing damage. The incident piled more pressure on Vucic, who has been rattled by nearly five months of anti-corruption protests over the collapse in November of a concrete canopy at a railway station in the northern town of Novi Sad that killed 16 people.Serbias officials have issued often contradictory denials that an acoustic weapon was directed at the demonstrators. Calls have been mounting for answers as to what caused the sudden commotion, if not a sonic device. An Associated Press video shows thousands of protesters holding up their lit mobile phones in silence when they suddenly start running away in panic. A swooshing sound can then be heard.I have been going to protests for 30 years but Ive never heard anything like this, Ilic Sunderic said. Lies and fabricationsA defiant Vucic has rejected what he called lies and fabrications that the security services targeted the demonstrators with a sonic device. He said that such accusations are part of an alleged Western-orchestrated ploy to topple him.If there was a single piece of evidence that a sound cannon was used against demonstrators, then I would no longer be president, he said.Serbias police, army and the state security agency, BIA, initially all denied possessing the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), which is illegal in Serbia and some other countries. When presented with photos of the device mounted on an off-road vehicle and deployed at the rally of hundreds of thousands of protesters, officials admitted possessing a sonic weapon, but insisted it was not used against the protesters. In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The photos showed nothing more than loudspeakers that also are available on eBay, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said. The rectangular devices, purchased from a U.S. supplier in 2021, serve to emit warnings to the crowds in case of major trouble, he said.Serbian police have never, including March 15, used any illegal or unallowed device that is not envisaged by the law, including the device known as a sound cannon, Dacic said. Police only use sound devices for warnings.Sonic weapons use sound waves to incapacitate, disorient or harm individuals by harnessing acoustic energy, causing both physical and psychological effects, such as dizziness, disorientation or severe headaches. In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) In this photo provided by the Serbian Interior Ministry, Serbian Gendarmerie officers show the U.S.-made Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) which is illegal in Serbia and many other countries, in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Although often described as non-lethal, their use in military, law enforcement and covert operations has raised serious ethical concerns.More recently, sonic devices have been used against Somali pirates as well as migrants in Greece and reportedly in Serbia. Images from the Belgrade protest show what appears to be an LRAD 450XL.The California-based manufacturer, Genasys, said on X that the video and audio evidence we have seen and heard thus far does not support the use of an LRAD during the March 15th incident in Belgrade, Serbia. Hundreds complained of consequencesMany who were in the crowd later complained of headaches, confusion, ear pressure or nausea. Sasa Cvrkovic, a 23-year-old political science student from Belgrade, described the sound as a jet that flew past like some kind of wind. He said that it created panic and a brief stampede: One young man next to me broke his leg.Cvrkovic said he felt nauseous all through the day after the demonstration. Ilic Sunderic said she felt pressure in her head and ears.Reports also have emerged of pressure on doctors at Serbias emergency clinics to withhold records of hundreds of people who sought medical help and advice after the rally. People observe 15 minutes of silence during a massive anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) People observe 15 minutes of silence during a massive anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Experts doubt the official versionThomas Withington, an expert in electronic warfare, radar and military communications at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said he reviewed some of the videos from the Belgrade stampede. Extraordinary film of people gathering, protesting in the streets peacefully, the demonstration, he said in an interview. And suddenly, an almost kind of biblical passing of a huge number of people in a very panicked rush, very sudden and very panicked movement, and the likes of which I must confess Ive never seen before.He said it was clear that something caused several hundred people to suddenly panic and move in a very specific way, rushing for cover to the pavement and abandoning the middle of the street. So certainly, the behavior that you see on the film does appear to be consistent with people reacting en masse to something that is making them feel deeply unsettled or deeply uncomfortable, he said. People observe 15 minutes of silence during a massive anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) People observe 15 minutes of silence during a massive anti-government rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Predrag Petrovic, a research manager at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, a think tank, said, We can claim with huge probability that some unconventional weapon, some version of a sonic cannon, was used.I have a lot of experience in participating and monitoring street protests and I have never seen a stampede happen in a second and along an almost straight line, Petrovic said.In an online petition signed by over half a million people, the Serbian opposition Move-Change movement asked the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for an independent investigation.Several Serbian rights groups announced Tuesday they have taken the issue to the European Court of Human Rights, saying that they collected more than 4,000 testimonies from people who complained of various physical and psychological problems after the incident on March 15. The court in Strasbourg has given Serbia until the end of the month to respond, the groups said in a joint statement.Vucics pro-Russia government, however, invited the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Russias Federal Security Service, the FSB, to investigate. There has been no immediate answer from the American and Russian security agencies.

Israeli soldiers stand by a truck packed with bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainees, in Gaza, Dec. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Moti Milrod, Haaretz, File)2025-03-26T05:04:14Z JERUSALEM (AP) Under pressure from Israels top court to improve conditions at a facility notorious for mistreating Palestinians seized in Gaza, the military transferred hundreds of detainees to newly opened camps.But abuses at these camps were just as bad, according to Israeli human rights organizations that interviewed dozens of current and former detainees and are now asking the same court to force the military to fix the problem once and for all.What the detainees testimonies show, rights groups say, is that instead of correcting alleged abuses against Palestinians held without charge or trial including beatings, excessive handcuffing, and poor diet and health care -- Israels military just shifted where they take place.What weve seen is the erosion of the basic standards for humane detention, said Jessica Montell, the director of Hamoked, one of the rights groups petitioning the Israeli government. Asked for a response, the military said it complies with international law and completely rejects allegations regarding the systematic abuse of detainees.The sprawling Ofer Camp and the smaller Anatot Camp, both built in the West Bank, were supposed to resolve problems rights groups documented at a detention center in the Negev desert called Sde Teiman. That site was intended to temporarily hold and treat militants captured during Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. But it morphed into a long-term detention center infamous for brutalizing Palestinians rounded up in Gaza, often without being charged. Detainees transferred to Ofer and Anatot say conditions there were no better, according to more than 30 who were interviewed by lawyers for Hamoked and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. AP is the first international news organization to report on the affidavits from PHRI. They would punish you for anything said Khaled Alserr, 32, a surgeon from Gaza who spent months at Ofer Camp and agreed to speak about his experiences. He was released after six months without charge. Alserr said he lost count of the beatings he endured from soldiers after being rounded up in March of last year during a raid at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Youd be punished for making eye contact, for asking for medicine, for looking up towards the sky, said Alserr.Other detainees accounts to the rights groups remain anonymous. Their accounts could not be independently confirmed, but their testimonies given separately were similar.The Supreme Court has given the military until the end of March to respond to the alleged abuses at Ofer.Leaving Sde TeimanSince the war began, Israel has seized thousands in Gaza that it suspects of links to Hamas. Thousands have also been released, often after months of detention. Hundreds of detainees were freed during the ceasefire that began in January. But with ground operations recently restarted in Gaza, arrests continue. The military wont say how many detainees it holds.After Israels Supreme Court ordered better treatment at Sde Teiman, the military said in June it was transferring hundreds of detainees, including 500 sent to Ofer. Ofer was built on an empty lot next to a civilian prison of the same name. Satellite photos from January show a paved, walled compound, with 24 mobile homes that serve as cells.Anatot, built on a military base in a Jewish settlement, has two barracks, each with room for about 50 people, according to Hamoked.Under wartime Israeli law, the military can hold Palestinians from Gaza for 45 days without access to the outside world. In practice, many go far longer.Whenever detainees met with Hamoked lawyers, they were dragged violently into a cell sometimes barefoot and often blindfolded, and their hands and feet remained shackled throughout the meetings, the rights group said in a letter to the militarys advocate general.I dont know where I am, one detainee told a lawyer.Newly freed Israeli hostages have spoken out about their own harsh conditions in Gaza. Eli Sharabi, who emerged gaunt after 15 months of captivity, told Israels Channel 12 news that his captors said hostages conditions were influenced by Israels treatment of Palestinian prisoners. Detainees allege regular beatingsAlserr said he was kept with 21 others from Gaza in a 40-square-meter cell with eight bunk beds. Some slept on the floor on camping mattresses soldiers had punctured so they couldnt inflate, he said. Scabies and lice were rampant. He said he was only allowed outside his cell once a week.Detainees from Ofer and Anatot said they were regularly beaten with fists and batons. Some said they were kept in handcuffs for months, including while they slept and ate and unshackled only when allowed to shower once a week. Three prisoners held in Anatot told the lawyers that they were blindfolded constantly. One Anatot detainee said that soldiers woke them every hour during the night and made them stand for a half-hour. In response to questions from AP, the military said it was unaware of claims that soldiers woke detainees up. It said detainees have regular shower access and are allowed daily yard time. It said occasional overcrowding meant some detainees were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor.The military said it closed Anatot in early February because it was no longer needed for short-term incarceration when other facilities were full. Sde Teiman, which has been upgraded, is still in use.Nutrition and health careAlserr said the worst thing about Ofer was medical care. He said guards refused to give him antacids for a chronic ulcer. After 40 days, he felt a rupture. In the truck heading to the hospital, soldiers tied a bag around his head.They beat me all the way to the hospital, he said. At the hospital they refused to remove the bag, even when they were treating me.The military said all detainees receive checkups and proper medical care. It said prolonged restraint during detention was only used in exceptional cases and taking into account the condition of each detainee. Many detainees complained of hunger. They said they received three meals a day of a few slices of white bread with a cucumber or tomato, and sometimes some chocolate or custard.That amounts to about 1,000 calories a day, or half what is necessary, said Lihi Joffe, an Israeli pediatric dietician who read some of the Ofer testimonies and called the diet not humane. After rights groups complained in November, Joffe said she saw new menus at Ofer with greater variety, including potatoes and falafel an improvement, she said, but still not enough.The military said a nutritionist approves detainees meals, and that they always have access to water.Punished for seeing a lawyerTwo months into his detention, Alserr had a 5-minute videoconference with a judge, who said he would stay in prison for the foreseeable future.Such hearings are systematically brief, according to Nadia Daqqa, a Hamoked attorney. No lawyers are present and detainees are not allowed to talk, she said.Several months later, Alserr was allowed to meet with a lawyer. But he said he was forced to kneel in the sun for hours beforehand.Another detainee told the lawyer from Physicians for Human Rights that he underwent the same punishment. All the time, he has been threatening to take his own life, the lawyer wrote in notes affixed to the affidavit. Since his release in September, Alserr has returned to work at the hospital in Gaza.The memories are still painful, but caring for patients again helps, he said. Im starting to forget ... to feel myself again as a human being.AP correspondents Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed reporting. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto SAM MEDNICK Mednick is the AP correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. Mednick formerly covered West & Central Africa and South Sudan. twitter

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00894-7Artificial intelligence software is increasingly involved in reviewing papers, provoking interest and unease.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00893-8Rather than assuming that relatives of older people will step up to fill systemic gaps in health care, communities need research and policies that align with families existing routines.

News is Out, the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ media collaborative, is proud to welcome six new affiliate members. This expansion strengthens the collaboratives mission to amplify LGBTQ+ voices and ensure equitable, community-centered journalism across the country.The six new affiliate members are:Buckeye Flame(Ohio)Between the Lines/Pridesource(Michigan)Lookout(Arizona)OutSFL(Southern Florida)QNotesCarolinas(Carolinas)Watermark Out News(Central Florida)The addition of these incredible affiliate members to News is Out is a landmark moment for the collaborative, said Dana Piccoli, managing director of News is Out. After three years of growth, were thrilled to take this next step and continue working for a more sustainable future for all queer media, alongside our new partners.The affiliates, who are important sources of information for the LGBTQ+ community in their regions, will actively participate in shaping the collaboratives future impact. Affiliates will have opportunities to contribute to fundraising efforts, take part in branded content campaigns to grow revenue and collaborate on joint applications for philanthropic support. Affiliates will also act as ambassadors for the program, and play a key role in2025 LGBTQ+ Media Day, both in fundraising and sharing in the proceeds.Penny Riordan, LMAs director of Local News Fund and collaboration, said she is glad that the publishers were eager to expand the group. These outlets are also leaders in the queer media space, just as our founding publishers are. Its a true sign of collaboration if the group votes to add more members.Buckeye Flame founder and affiliate Ken Schneck said, There is such collective power to queer newsrooms working together, and that power is especially and acutely needed right now. The Buckeye Flame is proud to be a part of News is Outs vital efforts to amplify LGBTQ+ individuals and issues.Qnotes is pleased and excited to be a member of News is Out and looks forward to working with legacy LGBTQ+ media veterans throughout the country as well as a great group of media professionals at the Local Media Association, said Jim Yarbrough, publisher of Qnotes & QnotesCarolinas.com.Leo Cusimano, owner of the Dallas Voice and a longtime member of News is Out is looking forward to expanding the collaborations efforts and mission. At a time when independent queer media is more vital than ever, expanding our collaborative means we can uplift even more voices, share resources, and strengthen the future of LGBTQ+ media. Were thrilled to welcome our new partners and excited for the impact we can make together.About News is OutNews is Out is a pioneering national collaborative of six of the legendary local queer news publishers. We deliver compelling journalism, which engages, amplifies and connects the LGBTQ+ community.newsisout.comAbout Local Media Association / Local Media FoundationLocal Media Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable trust, serves as the innovation and transformation affiliate of LMA. Incorporating our fourstrategic pillarsbusiness transformation,journalism funded by philanthropy,industry collaboration, andsustainability for publishers of color LMF helps provide local media companies the strategies and resources for meaningful innovation and impactful journalism projects.Local Media Associationbrings all media together to share, network, collaborate and more. More than 3,000 newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, digital pure-plays, and research and development partners engage with LMA as members or constituents of our programs. As a 501(c)(6) trade association, LMA is focused on the business side of local media. Its programs and labs focus on revenue growth and new business models. LMA helps local media companies develop their strategies via cutting-edge programs, conferences, webinars, research and training.The post News is Out expands: Welcoming 6 new affiliates to our groundbreaking LGBTQ+ media collaborative appeared first on News Is Out.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00949-9Masaki Kashiwara is the first Japanese person to be awarded the most prestigious prize in mathematics.

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00956-wAlzheimers disease might be partly linked to the hormonal changes that accompany menopause. Plus, the brain might temporarily eat its own myelin to power through marathons and scientists in the United States and abroad are feeling anxious about crossing the US border.