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Published by OK Magazine mega Setting the record straight! Michael Phelps‘ transgender ex-girlfriend, Taylor Lianne Chandler, is calling out the former Olympian for his “hypocritical” views on trans athletes. Phelps, 36, recently went on the record in an interview with CNN and called transgender swimmer Lia Thomas‘ participation in organized sports “complicated”. He later added that “sports should all be played on an even playing field,” in reference to the continued discussion of which gendered teams trans athletes should be allowed to play on in school and college sports. “He doesn’t fully understand the science, advantages or disadvantages,” Chandler exclusively told Radar, noting her ex was “a hypocrite for saying it should be a level playing field.” JAZZ JENNINGS CLAPS BACK AT HATERS CLAIMING REALITY STAR DIDN’T DESERVE TO BE READMITTED TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY: ‘PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO DENY MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS “He is genetically superior with his 6’7 wingspan, double-jointed ankles and huge feet,” she argued of the decorated swimmer. “His chemical composition allows him to breathe in and fill his lungs and hold his breath longer [than his competitors].” Chandler noted that despite understanding Phelps was likely put on the spot and uncomfortable with answering the hard-hitting questions, the whole interview was still deeply hurtful for her to watch, given their history. mega “In that moment of watching and hearing him say those things, it felt like a literal slap in the face,” she candidly told the outlet. “I felt like I was good enough to love, lay with and be with, but not be respected or allowed in the women’s sport of swimming – like I was not a woman, but rather an alien or God-knows-what. It can’t be a woman’s sport if it doesn’t include all women, period!” MICHAEL PHELPS DETAILS HIS STRUGGLES WITH DEPRESSION & ANXIETY — ‘I’VE NEVER OPENLY TALKED ABOUT IT’ “People against women in trans sports have like five examples to choose from,” Chandler further explained. “It’s not like trans women are dominating any sport overall. It is a pocket here and there around the country that the press jumps on to make it seem like it is a world pandemic.” As for her own beliefs surrounding the highly debated subject of trans athletes, Chandler believes there should be standards, but it should be determined on a “case by case” basis according to both the individual as well as the sport involved. “There should be standards, but I don’t believe they are fair enough at the moment, especially for someone who started the physical and medical transition a year ago,” she said, referring to Thomas, who only began their transition in 2019 and competed on the university swim team a year later. “One year on blockers and estrogen isn’t enough to undue the advantage of masculinization during puberty that at 18 you would still be undergoing.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jessica Chastain felt guilty for judging Tammy Faye Bakker before playing her on screen. The 44-year-old actress portrays the late televangelist in the new movie ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ and believes it the way to atone for her “harsh” views of her alter ego when she was younger. Jessica said of Tammy Faye: “I didn’t watch religious television, but I knew she was silly and easy to make fun of. “She was on the cover of tabloid magazines, so I thought she must be a terrible person.” The ‘Molly’s Game’ actress explained that her opinion on Tammy Faye changed after she had watched a documentary about her life – which serves as inspiration for the film. Jessica told the Daily Mail newspaper’s Baz Bamigboye column: “I felt guilty I’d judged her so harshly.” Tammy Faye’s marriage to her husband Jim Bakker (played by Andrew Garfield in the flick) fell apart after he was convicted of fraud but Jessica feels that her character was harshly treated for Jim’s mistakes due to her looks. She explained: “Her husband made some mistakes – and Tammy was vilified for it. “But really, it was because of her appearance. Women have been commodified in society. So much is about physical appearance and that’s how women have been judged.” The ‘355’ star continued: “She was shamed, and Tammy’s the physical embodiment of that shame. “People would look at her and go: ‘She’s the kid from a broken family.’ That’s how it was. “She knew what it was like to be unloved and unwelcome. Her thought was to connect and reach out to strangers, because she believes in God’s good grace.” View the full article

Published by DPA 1,850 euros for a digital snippet of a famous artwork: An Austrian museum is selling off 10,000 NFTs of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss". Ouriel Morgensztern/Belvedere/dpa One of the world’s most famous romantic artworks is the latest to be sold as unique digital versions, as Vienna’s Belvedere museum prepares to sell NFTs of Gustav Klimt’s legendary Art Nouveau painting “The Kiss”. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the museum has announced that it will begin selling digital romance in the form of 10,000 NFTs of Klimt’s “The Kiss”, each costing around 1,850 euros (2,060 dollars). Hyped by some and dismissed as a money-making scheme by others after NFT artworks fetched millions at auction, these so-called non-fungible tokens are digital certificates of authenticity meant to prove this is the original, even if countless other digital copies of Klimt’s artwork still exist. With this project, Belverede is tapping into a new source of income, a spokeswoman said of the campaign, which could bring in a total of up to 18.5 million euros. The museum says buyers can register for a chance to pay and “own a fraction of the digitalized image” and use these registrations as “a digital declaration of love” on Valentine’s Day (February 14). The Belvedere’s project is only the latest in a string of high-profile NFT sales following a boom in this new technology. Proponents say that even though there can be any number of identical copies of a work of art or object, only one NFT can be considered the original. The authenticity of the files in most current NFTs is secured with the tamper-proof blockchain data chain of the cryptocurrency Ethereum. “The conversion of digital reproductions into virtual originals opens up new forms of participation that, in financial terms, should be taken seriously, yet can also be viewed playfully,” said Belvedere Director General Stella Rollig. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden family finally has a cat. First lady Jill Biden’s office has announced America’s first family is excited to welcome a two-year-old, gray-and-white-striped feline named Willow to the White House. Biden, a community college professor, named the cat after her hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, the first lady’s spokesperson Michael LaRosa said. “A farm cat from Pennsylvania, Willow made quite an impression on Dr. Biden in 2020 when she jumped up on the stage and interrupted her remarks during a campaign stop,” LaRosa said. “Seeing their immediate bond, the owner of the farm knew that Willow belonged with Dr. Biden.” Dr. Biden had said in April that the family had a female cat “waiting in the wings.” The green-eyed, short-haired tabby cat was settling in well at the White House with “her favorite toys, treats, and plenty of room to smell and explore,” LaRosa said. In December the Bidens welcomed a new dog family, a German Shepherd named Commander, who was four months old at the time. Their dog Champ died earlier in 2021. Major, a rescue the family adopted before coming to the White House, is living offsite with family friends after reported biting incidents at the White House. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and Karishma Singh) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jamie Dornan has been “in a perpetual state of drag” his entire life. The 39-year-old actor – who has daughters Dulcie, eight, Elva, five, and Alberta, two, with wife Amelia Warner – admitted growing up in largely female households led to him having to dress up to get involved with the games of his sisters and then later his children. He said: “I’ve two sisters, so I’ve gone from my sisters dressing me up in wigs and lipstick to my kids doing the same thing. I’ve basically been in a perpetual state of drag for 39 years.” The ‘Belfast’ star joked he and his wife are only “capable of making” girls and he’s doubtful he’ll ever have a son. Speaking on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’, he quipped: “That’s all we’re capable of making. “No, I’ll keep trying maybe but I don’t think we’re going to have another boy.” But having another child may be unlikely because Jamie admitted he and Amelia have their hands full with their three girls, particularly because the youngest is such a “hurricane” of energy. He said: “She’s going to be three in February, we call her the hurricane. She’s a lot. She’s amazing, but she has a lot of energy… “Two is a crazy age, there’s a lot of energy there but it’s compounded by the fact we’ve got two other girls, so there’s Tazmanian Devil energy around us all the time.” Jamie has been nominated for a string of awards for his role in Sir Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical drama ‘Belfast’ and he believes his late father – who died of COVID-19 before the film was released – has had a hand in “the love” the movie has received. He said of his dad not being able to see the film: “It’s brutal but I take some comfort in the fact he knew I was doing it, we filmed it before he passed and I think in some way he’s having some control over the love we’re getting. “He was just happy that I was working with, like, Judi Dench, the legend, Dame Judi Dench plays my mother in this and I think he was just happy I was working with someone he knew. “I ‘ve worked with some cool people and he was just like, ‘Nope, I don’t know who that is’. On this I was like, ‘I’m working with Dame Judi Dench’ and he was like, ‘Whaaaat?’ “[And] I grew up with a picture of Kenneth Branagh and my dad together on the bookshelf in our living room. My dad was a doctor and Kenneth had come to cut the ribbon and open a new maternity ward at the hospital where my dad worked. Little did I know that I’d end up working with Ken, crazy.” View the full article

Published by AFP Dog-lovers Jill and Joe Biden have fulfilled a key White House pledge by getting a cat — a short-haired tabby named Willow Washington (AFP) – The dog-loving Bidens have finally fulfilled a key White House pledge — they got a cat. The political pussycat is a short-haired tabby named Willow, a spokesman for Jill Biden said Friday. Pictures posted by the first lady on Twitter showed the gray-and-white-striped pet prowling in the red-carpeted splendor of the presidential residence. It was the kind of soft, even cuddly Friday news the White House might need in these days of tension with Russia, soaring inflation and a stubborn, if receding, Covid-19 pandemic. “We’re waiting for a bad news day,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki joked back in June about going through with the long-expected cat plan. “If you see a tail wagging coming out of the briefing room, you’ll know something bad is about to happen.” Willow brings serious political chops: she’s a farm cat from Pennsylvania — ground zero in tight presidential elections — and was first encountered in 2020 when she jumped onto a stage where the future first lady was campaigning. “Willow made quite an impression on Dr Biden,” Michael LaRosa, the first lady’s press secretary, said. “Seeing their immediate bond, the owner of the farm knew that Willow belonged with Dr Biden.” LaRosa said, “Willow is settling into the White House with her favorite toys, treats, and plenty of room to smell and explore.” There was no answer to questions on Willow’s ability to bridge the bipartisan divide with dogs, but Washington probably won’t have to wait long to find out: the Bidens got a new German Shepherd puppy, Commander, just before Christmas. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sean Penn thinks men have become “quite feminised”. The ‘Flag Day’ actor-and-director has hit out at “cowardly genes” and suggested males have changed themselves to please females, but insisted the “strong women” he knows don’t view “masculinity” as a way of “oppressing” them. He said: “I think that men have, in my view, become quite feminised. I have these very strong women in my life who do not take masculinity as a sign of oppression toward them. There are a lot of, I think, cowardly genes that lead to people surrendering their jeans and putting on a skirt.” Sean’s daughter, Dylan Penn, was also present for the interview and went “quiet” and “stared into space” following her father’s comments. Elsewhere during the interview, the 61-year-old star criticised the “failed citizens” who live in “privileged countries” such as the US and have declined to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Sean – who has “enormous faith” in the vaccination programme – told Independent.co.uk: “Sometimes people take their privilege and freedom as a right to be anti-citizen, to be failed citizens – those who will search out the kind of bogus science that would give them legitimacy [when it comes to] not being vaccinated.” The ‘Milk’ actor’s non-profit organisation, CORE (Community Organised Relief Effort), was founded in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake but has recently focused efforts on testing and vaccination in the wake of the pandemic, and he’s hopeful they can make a difference. He said: We plug along. We continually try to educate and to incentivise more people to accept the vaccine. And we advocate for the distribution of vaccines in places where people are hungry for it.” And while Sean wants people to see ‘Flag Day’ in cinemas, he thinks it’s important theatregoers are vaccinated. He said: “I mean, what value are we to ask people into a theatre to have a growing experience – or we hope it can be – if their body is being affected in a degraded way? “So yeah, we all have to be thinking about that and in doing so, get through this so that going to the theatre is not a reluctant experience anymore.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Marie Osmond is turning into her mother. The 62-year-old star admitted she is finally embracing her mother’s positivity as she explained how Olive May – who sadly died in 2004 – always “chose to find the good” even during difficult times. She told America’s Closer magazine: “My mother was a very positive person. “Looking back, I realised she had a lot of tough things happen in her life, but she chose to find the good. “Now I find, I’m her. If your life is happier, it’s because you choose to see the happy in your life.” Marie’s comments come after she recently released solo album ‘Unexpected’, but her priority is on her home life with husband Steve Craig and their family. She said: “I want to play first and work second, which I have never done in my life. I really want to play. That’s my number one goal.” After a life in the spotlight, Marie – who released her first single at the age of 14 – is learning to say “no”. She added: I think sometimes we are afraid to move from something that may be good in a job but not good due to the environment or your physical happiness. “I am not afraid to close the door. I have learned not to be afraid to say, ‘No, this does not work for me.’ “ She’s striving to make up for lost time, and she described the last decade after remarrying first husband Steve in 2011 after 25 years part as the “best time” of her life. She explained: “I have friends that say, ‘Oh my gosh, the kids are gone. I don’t know what to do.’ I’m like, ‘Connect. Be with the love of your life. Fall back in love!’ “ And the loved-up couple are looking to travel across America in a new motorhome complete with a king-size bed, while she’s embracing being a grandmother to eight kids. She said: “You know, you get to do all the loving and none of the discipline. It’s really fun.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine MEGA Kanye West has reportedly sunk to a new level of petty. Sources revealed to TMZ that the rapper, 44, has allegedly been going around falsely telling pals his ex-wife Kim Kardashian‘s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, has AIDS. MEGA Insiders close to the Saturday Night Live star, 28, told the outlet that DJ Akademiks claimed earlier this week, “Kanye’s been telling everybody within earshot” that Davidson has AIDS. KHLOE KARDASHIAN JOINS KIM KARDASHIAN & PETE DAVIDSON FOR DINNER FOLLOWED BY AN ESCAPE ROOM WITH FRIENDS AMID TRISTAN THOMPSON DRAMA According to the outlet, the comedian and West’s mutual friends have been confused and disturbed by the outlandish and untrue claims made by the “Jesus Walks” musician. As OK! previously reported, this is not the first time West, who is currently dating actress Julia Fox, has taken a shot at Davidson, who has been linked to the Skims founder, 41, since October 2021. MEGA In his newly released track “Eazy,” the Grammy Award winner raps: “God saved me from the crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s a**” — which friends were hardly shocked by. But, his latest threat towards The King of Staten Island star has raised new levels of concern. Meanwhile, a source close to West reportedly stated the allegations of him spreading the rumor are “nonsense.” KIM KARDASHIAN & KANYE WEST ‘ARE NOT ON GOOD TERMS RIGHT NOW’ FOLLOWING CHICAGO’S BIRTHDAY PARTY DRAMA AND NEW SONG, SOURCE SPILLS OK! exclusively learned it’s not only Davidson who Westhas been running his mouth about, as he’s also been making unwarranted comments about Kardashian’s appearance to his new crew. MEGA “He’s constantly making lewd jokes about her appearance and doing cruel impersonations of her whiny voice,” a source dished about Ye’s alleged trash talk. “He’s got Julia and his hangers-on rolling around in laughter, but the truth is he’s still angry at Kim for calling it quits on their marriage.” “Kanye wants to impress his new crew by taking these mean potshots at Kim, and it’s working,” the insider said. “They’re eating out of his hands, so the trash-talking is only bound to get worse!” View the full article

Published by AFP Art Spiegelman, author of the acclaimed graphic Holocaust novel Washington (AFP) – A school board in Tennessee has added to a surge in book bans by conservatives with an order to remove the award-winning 1986 graphic novel on the Holocaust, “Maus,” from local student libraries. Author Art Spiegelman told CNN Thursday — coincidentally International Holocaust Remembrance Day — that the ban of his book for crude language was “myopic” and represents a “bigger and stupider” problem than any with his specific work. The ban, decided by the McMinn County Board of Education in eastern Tennessee on January 10, sparked a national uproar among advocates of literary freedom after it became widely known in the past few days. It was the most recent controversy over conservatives seeking to purge school libraries of books they find objectionable, with the focus on works that offer alternatives to traditional views of US history and culture, particularly from the viewpoints of African Americans, LGBTQ youths, and other minorities. “Maus” was highly acclaimed when it was published as a compilation of Spiegelman’s serialized tale of the experiences of his father, a Polish Jew, with the Nazis and in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. The book, which depicted characters in the story as animals — Jews are mice and Germans are cats — won a Pulitzer Prize and other awards, and was accepted in many secondary schools as a powerful and accurate depiction of the Nazi murder of millions of Jews during World War II. The ban by the McMinn County school authority though focused on the use of eight crude words like “damn” and “bitch” and one scene of nudity, which some parents said were inappropriate for schoolchildren. “There is some rough, objectionable language in this book,” said school board director Lee Parkison, who proposed just redacting those parts of the book. But others argued that, while teaching teens about the Holocaust was necessary, a different book was needed. “It shows people hanging, it shows them killing kids; why does the educational system promote this kind of stuff, it is not wise or healthy,” asked board member Tony Allman. ‘Beyond comprehension’ Others defended the book. But they recognized the possible legal challenges over copyright and censorship that redacting could bring, and voted along with opponents to remove it from school libraries altogether. “They are totally focused on some bad words that are in the book…. I can’t believe that,” Spiegelman told CNN from his home in Switzerland. Jewish groups were deeply critical. “Given the pronounced lack of knowledge about the Holocaust in the US, especially among younger Americans, a Tennessee school board decision to ban Maus… is beyond comprehension,” said David Harris, chief executive of the American Jewish Committee. In a statement Thursday the McMinn school board defended its decision. “Maus” was banned “because of its unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide,” they said. “Taken as a whole, the board felt this work was simply too adult-oriented for use in a schools.” They stressed they were seeking other works that will teach about the Holocaust “in a more age-appropriate fashion.” “We all have an obligation to ensure that younger generations learn of its horrors to ensure that such an event is never repeated,” they said. Culture wars The “Maus” ban added to the list of so-called culture war fights in which conservatives have forced local schools to proscribe books, particularly those written with the perspectives of ethnic and gender minorities. In October, a Texas school district temporarily withdrew copies of a book, “New Kid,” that explains the unintentional “micro-aggressions” an African-American child suffers because of the color of their skin. In Virginia, parents fought to have the widely lauded book “Beloved” by Black author Toni Morrison, a winner of the Nobel prize for literature, removed from reading lists. In York County, Pennsylvania in October, students battled to reverse a ban on several books, including works about South African icon Nelson Mandela and Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, and many about minority children. While nearly all recent attacks on books for students has come from the right, in recent years the left has also acted to force schools to drop some longtime popular classics. Targets have included “Huckleberry Finn” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” because of their use of anti-Black epithets and negative characterizations of African Americans in relation to whites. View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English Benji B says the “genius” of Virgil Abloh inspired the soundtrack to his last ever Louis Vuitton show. The BBC Radio 1 DJ and long-time collaborator of the late creative director – who passed away in November following a private cancer diagnosis, aged 41 – reflected on using Virgil’s memory and wishes to create the music for ‘Louis’ Dreamhouse’ at Paris Fashion Week. The 42-year-old music producer told i-D: “The genius of V is the fact that all of these thoughts that he empowered us to have just manifested into reality.” Benji – who worked with Tyler the Creator, Lupe Fiasco and others on the event – had a lot of notes from Virgil to work with. He said: “Virgil was like, ‘I want it to be theatrical, I want there to be elements of choreography and one of the references that was often talked about in many of the million WhatsApp groups that we’ve shared was ‘orchestra’, ‘orchestra pits’, ‘the magic of the orchestra’.” Benji doubted if bringing Virgil’s dream to life was something the team could pull off. He admitted: “I had no idea, honestly, if it was going to work or not.” He found it “heartbreaking” when they couldn’t tell Virgil about their achievements, such as securing the legendary Arthur Verocai, 76, to arrange the music. He said: “There’s many, many, obviously heartbreaking things about this week, but one of the things I really wish I could have done most is just send that WhatsApp message. You know, ‘We got Verocai, exploding head emoji,’” Benji admitted finding out that Virgil had also contacted the orchestra they booked to perform – the Chineke! Orchestra, the first majority Black and ethnic minority orchestra in Europe – was “a moment of beautiful synchronicity”. After the musical group’s founder Chi-Chi Nwanoku told him Virgil had spoken to him about potentially playing the show, Benji said: He never told me that. It was a moment of beautiful synchronicity.” Despite the loss of the Off-White creator – who is survived by his childhood sweetheart and wife, Shannon and their two daughters, Lowe and Grey – Benji believed that he was there in spirit. He said: “I think he was watching, and smiling, for sure.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lady Gaga stayed in her ‘A Star Is Born’ character for years. The 35-year-old star featured in the 2018 movie as Ally Maine and admitted that she kept up the persona for much longer than her ‘House of Gucci’ alter ego Patrizia Reggiani – who spent months living every waking moment as. Speaking during a Variety Actors on Actors conversation with Jake Gyllenhaal, Gaga said: “I would actually say playing a character for me is like living one long song, one long song that lasts for months. For ‘A Star Is Born’, it was years for me.” The ‘Bad Romance’ hitmaker revealed that she was keen to shed her ‘House of Gucci’ persona as Patrizia is a convicted killer. Gaga explained: “I dropped her faster because she was a killer and there were some things about the transformation for me psychologically that were super challenging. “When I watch the movie, it looks like I’m watching a montage of my life. I don’t feel like I’m watching a film.” The star also revealed that she was immediately drawn to Patrizia after being approached to feature in Ridley Scott’s film, which tells the story of how Patrizia masterminded the murder of her former husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). Gaga said: “The first thing I thought when I read the script was ‘OK, they want some woman to use her body and her manipulation to get money from this incredibly wealthy man.’ “And the more that I dug through it, I realised that she was really in love with him. And women are complex creatures, and we’re complicated, and it’s never one single story. It’s many stories.” She continued: “I wanted to inject a reality into her that was multifaceted and broken. When I think about her as a character, I think of me taking little bits of glass from tons of different women and encapsulating them into one character that I still believe to be truly her, but I think insanity is subjective.” View the full article

Published by AFP Hopes of an HIV vaccine have been stirred with the success of mRNA technology, which allowed for the development of Covid-19 vaccines in record time, including one from Moderna Washington (AFP) – Testing in humans of an HIV vaccine that uses messenger RNA technology has begun, the biotech firm Moderna and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative said Thursday. This Phase 1 trial is being carried out in the United States among 56 healthy adults who are HIV negative. Despite four decades of research, doctors have yet to develop a vaccine to protect people from the virus that causes AIDS, which kills hundreds of thousands of people around the world each year. But hopes have been stirred with the success of mRNA technology, which allowed for the development of Covid-19 vaccines in record time, including one from Moderna. The goal of the vaccine now being tested is to stimulate production of a kind of antibody called “broadly neutralizing antibodies,” or bnAbs, which can act against the many variants of HIV that are circulating today. The vaccine is supposed to teach B lymphocytes, which are part of the immune system, to generate these antibodies. In this trial, participants are injected with an immunogen — a substance that can trigger an immune response — and then a booster immunogen later. These substances will be delivered with mRNA technology. “The induction of bnAbs is widely considered to be a goal of HIV vaccination, and this is the first step in that process,” Moderna and the IAVI, a research organization, said in a statement. “Further immunogens will be needed to guide the immune system on this path, but this prime-boost combination could be the first key element of an eventual HIV immunization regimen,” said David Diemert, a lead investigator at one of the four sites where the trial is being carried out, George Washington University in the US capital. The immunogens used in this trial were developed by IAVI and the Scripps Research Institute, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Moderna. A first trial last year tested the first immunogen but without employing mRNA technology. It showed that the desired immune response was triggered in dozens of people taking part in the research. The next step was to bring in Moderna with its new mRNA technique. “Given the speed with which mRNA vaccines can be produced, this platform offers a more nimble and responsive approach to vaccine design and testing,” the Moderna-IAVI statement said. “The search for an HIV vaccine has been long and challenging, and having new tools in terms of immunogens and platforms could be the key to making rapid progress toward an urgently needed, effective HIV vaccine,” said Mark Feinberg, the CEO of IAVI. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said on Thursday 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance since Nov. 1, attributing the progress to the passage of his pandemic relief package and the re-opening of an online health insurance marketplace last year. The data includes more than 10 million who enrolled through a U.S government website HealthCare.gov during an open enrollment period, Biden said in a statement. He said the numbers were the “highest ever produced” during such an event. The president also said one in seven uninsured Americans got covered between the end of 2020 and September 2021, with lower-income Americans gaining coverage at the highest rate, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “This did not happen by accident,” Biden said. He said his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan did more to lower costs and expand health care access for Americans than any action since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Biden also said the opportunity to enroll for health insurance has been extended through Jan. 31 for Americans living in California, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC — places with their own health insurance marketplaces. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economy notched its strongest growth in nearly four decades in 2021 after the government injected trillions of dollars in COVID-19 relief, and is seen soldiering on this year despite headwinds from the pandemic, strained supply chains as well as high inflation. The Commerce Department’s report on Thursday showed the economy accelerating in the fourth quarter as businesses replenished depleted inventories to meet strong demand for goods. Last year’s robust growth supports the Federal Reserve’s pivot towards raising interest rates in March. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday after a two-day policy meeting that “the economy no longer needs sustained high levels of monetary policy support,” and that “it will soon be appropriate to raise” rates. The sharp rebound in growth last year could offer some cheer for President Joe Biden whose popularity is falling amid a stalled domestic economic agenda after the U.S. Congress failed to pass his signature $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation. It, however, could diminish prospects of more money from the government. The government pumped nearly $6 trillion in pandemic relief. “While Omicron will lead to weaker growth in the first quarter, activity is expected to rebound nicely once the latest pandemic wave abates and supply-chain glitches ease,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “The Fed will need to be ‘humble and nimble’ as it navigates underlying economic strength, worsening labor shortages, and stubbornly high inflation.” The economy grew 5.7% in 2021, the strongest since 1984. It contracted 3.4% in 2020, the biggest drop in 74 years. The stunning reversal came as gross domestic product increased at a 6.9% annualized rate in the fourth quarter. That followed a 2.3% growth pace in the third quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP growth rising at a 5.5% rate last quarter. Estimates ranged from as low as a 3.4% rate to as high as a 7.0% pace. The momentum, however, appears to have faded by December amid an onslaught of COVID-19 infections, fueled by the Omicron variant, which contributed to undercutting spending as well as disrupting activity at factories and services businesses. Inventory investment increased at a $173.5 billion rate, contributing 4.90 percentage points to GDP growth, the most since the third quarter of 2020. Businesses had been drawing down inventories since the first quarter of 2021. Spending shifted during the pandemic to goods from services, a demand boom that pressured supply chains. Excluding inventories, GDP grew at a moderate 1.9% rate. JOBLESS CLAIMS FALL Growth last quarter was also lifted by a jump in consumer spending in October before retreating considerably as Omicron spread across the country. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, grew at a 3.3% rate after rising at a 2.0% pace in the third quarter. It has been hampered by shortages of motor vehicles and other goods. A global chip shortage is hurting production. Reduced household purchasing power, with inflation way above the Fed’s 2% target, also hindered consumer spending at the tail end of the fourth quarter. Support to GDP growth last quarter also came from business spending on equipment, which rebounded after being held back in the July-September period by shortages of trucks. Trade made no contribution after being a drag on GDP growth for five straight quarters, while investment in homebuilding contracted for a third consecutive quarter. The sector is being constrained by expensive building materials, which has resulted in a record backlog of homes yet to be built. There are, however, signs that the impact from the Omicron-driven outbreak in infections is easing. A separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed initial claims for jobless benefits dropped 30,000 to a seasonally adjusted 260,000 during the week ended Jan. 22. Claims shot up to a three-month high in early January. Unadjusted claims tumbled 73,357 to 267,573 last week. There were sharp declines in Illinois, Kentucky, Texas, New Jersey, New York as well as Pennsylvania. The labor market is viewed as being at or close to maximum employment. Employers are desperate for workers, with 10.6 million job openings at the end of November. Though the economy appears to have hit a soft patch in the first quarter because of challenges from the never-ending pandemic, the worst inflation in decades, supply chain bottlenecks and upcoming interest rate increases, a pickup is anticipated by the second quarter. Growth estimates for the year are as high as 3.9%. “We see the economy continuing to grow above its natural speed limit through this year amid still-solid demand, a need to replenish severely depleted inventory levels and manufacturers’ obligation to meet record levels of backlogged orders,” said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci) View the full article

Published by AFP Former US police officer De Lacy Davis says that the current culture among law enforcement officers (such as these pictured May 2020 in Washington) is one that enforces the 'blue code of silence' Washington (AFP) – US police officer Cariol Horne intervened when a colleague started choking a Black suspect during an arrest in 2006. “Fifteen years of hell” ensued for Horne, also African-American, as she was punished for stepping out of rank. In the United States, police have a “duty to intervene” when another officer uses excessive force in their presence and can be prosecuted if they do not step in, according to half-century-old case law developed by the courts. Three former Minneapolis police officers are currently on trial in such a case: the federal justice system accuses them of failing to act in May 2020 when George Floyd, a Black man, suffocated as another officer knelt on his neck for nearly 10 minutes. In the video of the incident, which sparked anti-racism protests around America and the world, their passivity was almost as shocking as their colleague’s actions. In the face of public outrage, many municipalities changed their rules in order to codify their officers’ duty to intervene and give the regulation more weight. According to the Police Use of Force Project, 72 out of the 100 largest US police forces now have this clause, compared to 51 before Floyd’s death. But for De Lacy Davis, a former police officer who founded the organization Black Cops Against Police Brutality, these reforms are superficial. He says they won’t accomplish anything without a fundamental change in the culture of law enforcement, which he says currently has no intention of breaking the “blue wall of silence.” ‘Punched me in the face’ That expression, which refers to the color of police uniforms, implies complete solidarity among officers — even towards the black sheep of the force. And woe betide anyone who dares to break away. Horne has lived through the bitter experience. In 2006, working as an officer in Buffalo, New York, she says her colleague swung at a Black man in his 50s during an arrest and “tried to strangle him.” “I intervened and he punched me in the face,” Horne told AFP. A fight ensued, and paradoxically, “I became the one investigated. They came after me for having stopped him,” she said. After a long trial, Horne was dismissed in 2008, just before reaching 20 years’ seniority that would have entitled her to a pension. At the time, she was 40 and had five young children to support. Without her pension, she had to rely on federal assistance. Disgusted by the injustice of her situation, “I went through a depression,” said Horne, recalling “15 years of hell” as she fought to vindicate herself. No regrets In 2018, she got some indirect satisfaction when her former colleague was sentenced to prison for violence against four Black teenagers. Floyd’s murder shone new light on her own case, and in the fall of 2020, Buffalo City Hall adopted a new regulation dubbed the “Cariol Law” that would require police to step in when a fellow officer is overly abusive — and would also protect those who intervene from repercussions. Finally, in 2021, a judge overturned Horne’s firing and restored her pension rights. “While the Eric Garners and the George Floyds of the world never had a chance for a ‘do-over,’ at least here the correction can be done,” said Judge Dennis Ward. Garner suffocated to death in 2014 when a New York officer put him in a choke hold. The African-American man pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” which has become a rallying cry at protests against police brutality and racism. Today, Horne is still waiting for her pension payments, and is following the former Minneapolis officers’ trial without high expectations. Even if the court sends a message by convicting them, nothing will change “until the officers who try to intervene are… protected” from reprisal, she said. “What we need are ‘Cariol Laws’ in the whole nation.” But even though she paid a high price, Horne remains convinced she made the right choice. “Never would I ever regret that a man lived because I intervened.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday called on Congress to immediately enshrine the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. Constitution and formally protect women’s rights nearly a century after lawmakers first raised them. In a statement, Biden urged Congress “to pass a resolution recognizing ratification of the ERA,” saying recent legal analysis showed there was nothing preventing lawmakers from acting. The Democratic president’s call comes amid jostling over the deadline to enact the ERA, which passed Congress in 1972 with a 1982 deadline to be enacted if 38 state legislatures voted to approve. Nearly 100 years have passed since it was first introduced in 1923. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives separately unveiled a resolution to enshrine the ERA, but it could fall short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate, where Democrats control just 50 seats. While supporters say the ERA is needed to protect against sexual discrimination and would help achieve equal pay, opponents argue the original timetable has passed and that the amendment is no longer needed. Virginia became the 38th state in 2020 to adopt the ERA, but Republican then-President Donald Trump sought to block ratification with a legal memo saying the process must begin anew. A new Justice Department legal analysis, however, allows the process to move forward and “makes clear, there is nothing standing in Congress’s way from doing so,” Biden said. House oversight panel Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and other Democrats argue that the ERA made clear it takes effect two years after the final state’s ratification, with Thursday marking two years since Virginia’s vote. The resolution “reaffirms what we already know to be true: the Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Maloney said. The issue also remains entangled in the federal courts: Virginia, Illinois and Nevada sued to have the ERA declared valid. In a statement, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration said it would abide by the Justice Department’s legal opinion unless otherwise directed by a final court order. (This story removes extraneous word in 1st paragraph.) (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by David Morgan and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has violated New York City’s isolation guidelines by eating at a restaurant hours after testing positive for COVID-19. MEGA On Monday, Palin tested positive for the virus while in the Big Apple for her defamation trial against the New York Times. She was required to take a test because she planned to remove the mask during the hearing. After getting the positive result, her trial was delayed to February 3, 2022. But that didn’t stop the conservative politician from experiencing all of NY’s fine dining. According to NYC guidelines, a person who has contracted COVID-19 is recommended to remain in isolation for five days after their positive test. However, on Tuesday night, Palin was spotted eating at Campagnola. On Wednesday, she went to Elio’s. Both restaurants are located on the Upper East Side. While dining out at Elio’s, she was joined by Ron Duguay, a former New York Rangers player. She ate outside on both occasions, but that wasn’t the case over the weekend. MEGA There are photos floating around showing Palin eating inside Eilo’s on Saturday; however, she’s unvaccinated — a big no-no in NYC. According to reports, the restaurant could be on the hook for $1,000 after allowing the controversial Alaskan to eat indoors because she hasn’t gotten the jab. Elio’s manager, Luca Guaitolini, told CNN he was not working that night but was informed the employee on duty checked 150 to 200 vaccination cards that evening. He called the incident with Palin an “oversight.” “We are taking this isolated incident — an unfortunate oversight — very seriously,” he addressed. “Elio’s adheres to and believes in the vaccine mandate, and all it is doing to protect our staff, regulars and the dining public. My focus right now is on the safety of my staff who worked the floor that night, and on our guests.” An NYC spokesperson slammed Palin, calling her actions “irresponsible.” “Our goal has always been to incentivize isolation for those testing positive for Covid and providing them multiple resources,” the representative claimed. “That being said, we hope that anybody who has Cpvid is isolating for their own safety and the safety of all new Yorkers and find it highly irresponsible that Sarah Palin refuses to do so.” MEGA View the full article

Published by DPA Olly Alexander (left) as Ritchie Tozer in a scene from “It’s a Sin”. The miniseries from 2021 depicts the tragic fate of a group of young gay men in 1980s London who are caught up one by one in the HIV virus. Ben Blackall/Starzplay/RED Production Company & All3Media International/dpa Forty years ago a mysterious new illness, first reported by the US public health agency CDC in June 1981, was given the name AIDS. In the weeks and months that followed more and more fell ill and died, leading to at least 32 million lives being lost in the 40 years up to today. In 1983, the causative virus was discovered, which has been called HIV since 1986. For four decades, the infection and disease have been part of the reality of life, with the effects having been documented on the screen or in books many times. Early films are sure to leave an impression, including Rosa von Praunheim’s 1986 film “A Virus Knows No Morals”. Some works also tell the story of prominent HIV victims, such as Freddie Mercury (“Bohemian Rhapsody” with Rami Malek) or the musician Liberace (“Liberace – Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful” with Michael Douglas). With filmmakers like Pedro Almodovàr (“All About My Mother”) or Xavier Dolan (“It’s Only the End of the World”), HIV sometimes appears very prominently, sometimes only in passing. Now, with another pandemic raging, these are a few of the most important films and series that have dealt with the HIV and AIDS pandemic over the past four decades. – “Philadelphia”: Jonathan Demme’s 1993 film was the first major Hollywood picture to acknowledge AIDS and the people affected by it. It won numerous accolades, including a Best Actor Oscar for Tom Hanks and an Oscar for Best Original Song for Bruce Springsteen (“Streets of Philadelphia”). – “Dallas Buyers Club”: The film directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, who died in 2021, brought Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto Oscars for their performances in 2014. Set in the early years of the AIDS crisis in Texas in the 80s, homophobic rodeo cowboy and go-getter Ron Woodroof (McConaughey) learns that he is HIV-positive. He starts smuggling drugs that are still being tested. – “It’s A Sin”: The miniseries from 2021 depicts the tragic fate of a group of young gay men in 1980s London who are caught up one by one in the HIV virus. It was written and freated by screenwriter Russell T Davies (“Queer as Folk”). – “BPM (Beats per Minute)”: This French feature film by Robin Campillo from 2017 is set in the early 1990s. It tells the struggle of Parisian ACT UP activists against the pharmaceutical lobby and discrimination. – “Beloved”: In this 2011 melodrama, Christophe Honoré spans the 1960s to the turn of the millennium, telling the story of Véra, who falls in love with Henderson, a gay American with AIDS living in London. The film has an excellent cast including Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Louis Garrel and Miloš Forman. – “Sorry Angel”: In this 2018 film, Christophe Honoré shows how an HIV-positive man (Pierre Deladonchamps), who knows he is going to die, falls in love with a younger man (Vincent Lacoste). – “Precious”: The 2009 social drama by Lee Daniels, starring Gabourey Sidibe, tells the story of the self-liberation of an HIV-positive 16-year-old New Yorker who is raped by her father, abused by her mother and bullied at school. – “Kids”: This 1995 coming-of-age drama by Larry Clark, deemed controversial at the time, portrays a group of bored American teenagers taking drugs and having unprotected sex, and thus how HIV can spread. – “Same Same But Different”: This 2009 German film by Detlev Buck is based on the true story of Benjamin Prüfer, who fell in love with a young woman during a trip to Cambodia who turns out to be HIV positive. Forty years ago, an entirely different pandemic began when the first few of at least 32 million people fell ill and died of what was then still a mysterious new illness. Inga Kjer / dpa View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Christine Baranski wants to star in another ‘Mamma Mia!’ film. The 69-year-old actress has portrayed Tanya Chesham-Leigh in the original 2008 movie and the 2018 sequel ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ – which features the music of ABBA – and hopes to star in a third flick. Christine told Entertainment Weekly: “If we could go back and have the same amount of good fun and be on a Greek island filming and dining together at night at some wonderful trattoria or tavern, I don’t think anybody would give you an argument.” The ‘Gilded Age’ actress did concede that reassembling the all-star cast – which includes Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan – would be a difficult task. Christine said: “It’s a nightmare to get that sort of cast together.” She suggested that an easier way to get the cast assembled again would be in a similar manner to the recent ‘Friends’ and ‘Harry Potter’ reunions. Christine shared: “I always think wouldn’t it be fun just to get back together on that Greek island and maybe film all of us having dinner and telling the stories and singing all ABBA songs? And then just have it filmed as a great night out.” Amanda previously said that she hoped to make more ‘Mamma Mia!’ movies as she wants to keep playing her character Sophie rather than having another baby. The 36-year-old star quipped: “Definitely third ‘Mamma Mia!’, definitely no third child. “If it was up to me, yes, of course, there would be eight ‘Mamma Mia!’s. Do you know how much fun that is?” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Disney is “taking a different approach” to the dwarfs in ‘Snow White’. The studio has responded after Peter Dinklage blasted the upcoming live action remake and criticised the fairytale’s “backwards” depictions of dwarfism. In a statement, a Disney spokesperson told Variety: “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. “We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.” The upcoming movie is being directed by ‘500 Days of Summer’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ filmmaker Marc Webb, while ‘West Side Story’ actress Rachel Zegler has been cast in the lead role alongside Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. This week, Dinklage admitted he was “a little taken aback” by the sudio celebrating casting “a Latina actress as Snow White” despite the story’s problematic representation of people with dwarfism. The ‘Game of Thrones’ star – who suffers from a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia – said: “There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on. “Literally no offence to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. But you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.” Dinklage admits that he was perplexed by Disney’s positivity towards the flick and suggested that he hadn’t campaigned hard enough for people suffering with dwarfism to be given better acting roles. He added: “You’re progressive in one way but then you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I’m not loud enough. “I don’t know which studio that is but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I’m just like, what are you doing?” View the full article