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Published by The Street By Daniel Kline Las Vegas nostalgia has always been about reaching back into a sort of kitschy past. Wayne Newton and Barry Manilow, both of whom play Las Vegas residencies, exist in that sort of “cool because they were never cool” space. Acts like Donny Osmond and Carrot Top, who also headline long-running Las Vegas Strip shows, don’t exactly speak to cutting-edge entertainment. They’re throwbacks in a city that has increasingly become home to more current artists. DON’T MISS: Disastrous Las Vegas Strip Venue Has Another Huge Problem Numerous big names headline various Strip properties and, i… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine MEGA Aging like fine wine! Cher has made another trip around the sun, celebrating her 77th birthday on Saturday, May 20. The Goddess of Pop took to social media on her special day in utter disbelief by her increasing age. MEGA “Ok, will someone PLEASE tell me… When will I feel OLD?” Cher asked her 3.9 million Twitter followers on Saturday afternoon. “This is ridiculous. I keep hearing these numbers, but I honestly can’t understand them,” quipped the “Believe” singer, who’s known for living a much-younger lifestyle than her peers. “WHATS THE DEAL WITH #’s,” Cher exclaimed, admitting, “I’m dyslexic & #’s are hard 4 me.” The mom-of-two — who shares Chaz Bono, 54, with ex-husband Sonny Bono, and Exeter Blue I, 46, with ex-husband Gregg Allman — then expressed gratitude for her fans who have stuck by her side through decades of award-winning music. MEGA Jennifer Aniston Recalls Cher Poking Fun At Her For Eating All The Cold Cuts In Her Home During Actress’ High School Days Cher, 76, & Boyfriend Alexander Edwards, 37, Split After 5 Months, Debunk Engagement Rumors Cher’s Ex Alexander ‘AE’ Edwards ‘Mouthing Off and Telling Everyone They Were Never Engaged,’ Source Spills (Both of Cher’s exes are deceased. Sonny devastatingly died in 1998 at age 62 during a tragic skiing incident, while Gregg passed in 2017 at age 69 from liver cancer.) “Thank you for staying, I know it’s been hard,” the “After All” vocalist wrote, before closing out the post “to go work out.” Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! “Twitter is harder for me than TweetBot,” Cher jokingly concluded. The Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again star has used the social media app as a place to share her disregard for age in the past, specifically when she was dating her most recent boyfriend, Alexander “AE” Edwards, 37. MEGA After haters criticized the former flames’ 40-year age gap, Cher took to Twitter to dish her feelings on the matter. “Love doesn’t know math,” the “I Got You Babe” performer confessed during her steamy romance with Edwards — which lasted a short six months before their split was confirmed on Monday, May 1. “I DONT GIVE AF**** WHAT ANYONE THINKS. I’m Not Defending us. Haters are Gonna Hate…Doesn’t Matter That we’re Happy & Not Bothering Anyone,” Cher insisted at the time. Cher and Edwards first went public with their relationship in November 2022. View the full article

Published by AFP Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters hold placards and shout slogans during a march on the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, in Brooklyn, New York Washington (AFP) – If there’s one thing we should all be able to agree on, it’s that all human beings belong to the same species, Homo sapiens. But a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on Monday has found a yawning gap between what people claim to believe and what they actually hold true. A team from Harvard and Tufts gathered data from more than 60,000 subjects who took part in 13 experiments that tested their implicit biases. An overwhelming majority — over 90 percent — explicitly stated that white people and non-white people are equally human. But on an implicit measure, white US participants, as well as white participants from other countries, consistently associated the attribute “human” (as opposed to “animal”) with their own group more than other racial groups. Conversely, Black, Asian and Hispanic participants showed no such bias, equally associating their own group and white people with “human.” “The biggest takeaway for me is that we’re still grappling in a new form with sentiments that have been around for centuries,” first author Kirsten Morehouse, a PhD student at Harvard University, told AFP. Throughout history, the dehumanization of other races has been used as a pretext for unequal treatment, ranging from police brutality all the way to genocide. Implicit Association Test – The research relied on the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a tool developed in the 1990s and now widely used in the field. A computer-based measure, it tests the strength of associations between two concepts — for example Black and white people or gay and straight people — and two attributes like good or bad. The idea is that easier pairings, as measured by faster key responses, are more strongly associated in the mind than difficult pairings, as measured by slower responses. Researchers believe IAT tests reveal attitudes that people would be unwilling to state publicly, or might not even be aware of on a conscious level. Across all the experiments, 61 percent of white participants associated white people more with “human” and Black people more with “animal.” An even greater number — 69 percent of white participants — associated white participants more with humans and Asians more with animals, and the same result occurred for white people taking a white-Hispanic test. These effects held true across age, religion and education of participants, but did vary by political affiliation and gender. Self-identified conservatives and men expressed slightly stronger implicit “human = white” associations. Non-white people did not show an implicit bias in favor of their own racial groups compared to white people. But they did show a bias towards whites as more human when the test was between white people and another minority group, for example Asians asked to take a test that assessed their attitudes towards white people versus Black people. Social hierarchy – Morehouse attributed these findings to the fact that white people are socially and economically dominant in the United States, where 85 percent of the participants were from (8.5 percent were from Western Europe). She theorized that while you might expect all races to be more biased in favor of their own “in-group,” such sentiments might be canceled out by their lower standing in American society, resulting in overall neutrality. The fact that “third party” participants were biased in favor of white people when assessed against another race “demonstrates how powerful these social hierarchies are,” she said. Similar tests to those used in the experiment are available to take at https://implicit.harvard.edu/ Morehouse said that while the results could be uncomfortable for some, awareness was a first step that could help individuals break patterns of stereotyping. View the full article

Published by Raw Story The latest installment of the Duggar family’s life story is about to be screened in an Amazon documentary, coming two years after the head of the family, Josh Duggar, was found guilty of possession of child pornography. As he serves more than 12 years in prison, “Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets” walks through the issues that stemmed from Josh and the links the family – made famous in the TLC reality series“19 Kids and Counting” – has to a radical religious sect that People Magazine characterized as “concerning.” The documentary outlines the controversial Institute in Basic Life Princ… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Danni Button Bud Light’s parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (BUD) – Get Free Report has been working hard to distance itself from the recent controversy surrounding a one-time promotional campaign with transgender TikTok celebrity Dylan Mulvaney. And while the dust has yet to settle, the company’s CEO has assured shareholders that Anheuser-Busch’s losses were minimal. In the wake of the conservative backlash over the partnership, Anheuser-Busch offered up a tepid response, claiming that the company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.” For consumers, the state… Read More View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel Hamburger Mary’s in Orlando is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida in federal court, claiming the restaurant has been deprived of its First Amendment rights and is already losing customers under a new law affecting drag shows. Gov. DeSantis signed bills last Wednesday taking aim at transgender treatments for minors, pronouns in schools, bathroom use and children attending drag shows. The changes included penalties for venues letting children into “adult live performances” and potential first-degree misdemeanor charges for violators. Hamburger Mary’s filed the lawsuit Monday, which… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was not amused by the NAACP issuing a travel advisory for Florida in direct response to his policies. “As Governor DeSantis announced last week, Florida is seeing record-breaking tourism,” his spokesman told Fox News Monday. “This is nothing more than a stunt.” Over the weekend, the NAACP issued a travel advisory for the Sunshine State, writing that DeSantis and Florida’s Republican-dominated legislature had made the state “openly hostile toward African-Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.” “Under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, the State of Flo… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Two Republican senators have opened an investigation into the relationship between Bud Light and trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, adding fuel to a wave of transphobic hate sparked by a short video shared on her Instagram account in early April. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee are accusing Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch of marketing beer to teenagers by partnering up with the 26-year-old TikTok star. Mulvaney, a social media superstar with nearly 11 million followers on TikTok and 1.8 million on Twitter, became the subject of much anti-trans hate after partnering up wi… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Brittney Griner made an emotional return to competitive WNBA basketball following her incarceration in Russia Los Angeles (AFP) – Brittney Griner made an emotional return to women’s basketball on Friday, playing her first competitive game in nearly two years following her incarceration in Russia. Griner, who was released by Russia as part of a prisoner swap last year, made her first appearance in a WNBA game in 579 days as the Phoenix Mercury faced the Los Angeles Sparks in a season opener in California. US Vice President Kamala Harris was among the well-wishers at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles as the WNBA superstar finally returned to action. The two-time Olympic gold medalist made an instant impression on her return, winning the tip-off and scoring four points as the Mercury jumped into an early 7-0 lead. “It felt good,” Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter. “It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played.” Griner eventually finished with 18 points and six rebounds but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a comprehensive 94-71 loss. The result, however, was almost a footnote to an occasion that Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard described as a “day of joy.” “All last season I opened every press conference with how many days she is gone,” Nygaard said in pre-game remarks. “And until the day when we got the news in the morning that she was on her way home, no one thought that it was going to happen. “We did our jobs probably with less joy than professional athletes do. It was heavy every day. But it’s great to have this game today. Today it’s a day of joy. “I’m just so glad she’s home. It’s a miracle that she’s here and everyone going to see this game today is going to witness a miracle that she’s returned from a Russian jail and is playing basketball in the WNBA again.” Celebrities at courtside on Friday included tennis legend Billie Jean King, Los Angeles Lakers icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson and current Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. ‘A team is a team’ Shortly before tip-off, Vice President Harris congratulated Phoenix’s players for ensuring that Griner’s case was not forgotten. “Thank you for all that you did for supporting Brittney, because I know that was rough,” Harris said in a locker room address. “That was so difficult for you because a team is a team — that’s family.” WNBA players union chief and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike thanked Harris and the Biden administration for helping to secure Griner’s release. “Tonight is a game but we’re also celebrating the return of one of our own,” Ogwumike said. Griner, 32, a WNBA champion and LGBTQ trailblazer, was arrested on drug charges at a Moscow airport in February 2022 against a backdrop of soaring tensions over Ukraine. At the time of her arrest, Griner had been playing for a professional team in Russia, as a number of WNBA players do in the off-season. She was accused of possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil and sentenced in August to nine years in prison. She pleaded guilty to the charges, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the banned substance in Russia. Griner was eventually released as part of a deal that saw her swapped for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout — known as the “Merchant of Death” — in December. Phoenix coach Nygaard, meanwhile, said she hoped her team would benefit from the feel-good factor surrounding Griner’s return. “We went around every city last year and B.G. was the story,” Nygaard said. “This year it will be a story of joy, and love and happiness. “So that positive energy will probably help our team and be less of a distraction.” “We brought back this woman, this Black, gay woman from a Russian jail, and America did that because they valued her,” Nygaard said. “Just to be part of a group that values people at that level, it makes me very proud to be an American. I see B.G. and I see hope and I see the future.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Andy Cohen “broke down” over his feelings of vulnerability as a single parent. The 54-year-old TV star has children Benjamin, four, and Lucy, 12 months and admitted that growing his family has been tough. Speaking on the podcast ‘Two T’s in a Pod’ with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge, he explained: “The thing has been for me in the last year is when Lucy came, I think it really changed me as a parent. I felt way more in control when I had just one. Then when I had two, I not only felt… I don’t want to say I felt out of control, but I just felt the experience got a little lonelier for me. I started to feel more vulnerable.” Speaking about an incident during a day out at the park with other families, he said: “The sprinklers went off, and I didn’t know to have a change of clothes. I looked around, and I’m the only single parent there. I’m the only gay dad. I just felt like I was on an island, and I went back to my house, and I cried. “It was just a trigger, it opened up a vulnerability.” Meanwhile, Andy previously revealed his priorities have changed since welcoming a second child. He told PEOPLE: “I’m choosing to stay home with them so much more than I ever would have. I was not someone who ever stayed at home, so my priorities have just totally changed.” View the full article

Published by SI Swim By Cara O’Bleness Leyna Bloom sure knows how to work a room, and the SI Swimsuit model did just that at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on Friday night. The three-time franchise star hit Friday’s red carpet event in Hollywood, Fla., and absolutely dazzled in a black form-fitting gown by Lia Stublla. The gorgeous number featured a single off-the-shoulder strap and a hip-high slit on one leg. Stylist Margot Zamet paired the monochromatic look with gold earrings and an incredible pair of black-and-gold heels. Bloom returns to the 2023 SI Swimsuit Issue after her historic cover in … Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Daniel Kline Walt Disney never wanted a war with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The right-wing political leader, however, went after the biggest single-site employer in his state after its former CEO Bob Chapek made a statement criticizing DeSantis’ so-called “don’t say gay” legislation. Hundreds (321 in total) of other companies have signed a petition from the Human Rights Campaign that broadly condemns anti-LGBTQ legislation, but those companies did not specifically call out DeSantis. So, the governor — in a move that plays to his political base — has made a bunch of petty moves against Wal… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA People take part in the Brussels pride parade 2023. Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/dpa Thousands of people celebrated Pride on the streets of Brussels on Saturday, marching in a parade with the slogan “Protect the Protest.” “Pride is a great party where everyone can be themselves,” Radjiny Schiltz, spokeswoman for Brussels Pride said, according to Belga, the Belgian press agency. “But there is still a lot to be done to to ensure equality for the LGBTQIA+ community”, Schiltz added. Belgian media reported a playful and colourful crowd of 150,000 people taking part in the celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of same-sex marriage in Belgium. Schiltz said the parade’s slogan “Protect the Protest” was taken from Amnesty International’s campaign to protect the right to protest. She stressed too many people take the right for granted. “Everyone thinks that this right is guaranteed everywhere, but this is definitely not the case. There is still a lot to do for freedom and diversity,” Schiltz said. The festival began at Mont des Arts in Brussels’ city centre at 2pm (1200 GMT) near where Pride Village, a forum set up to inform the public about the struggles of the queer community, is also located. Concerts and DJ sets have also been organized, featuring artists like iNess, Manz, DJ Alex Chesko, DJ Aero Plane and members of the Drag Race Belgium cast. Hundreds of associations, artists and partners took part. Pride was organized by gay rights advocacy groups çavaria, Prisme, Rainbowhouse Brussels and Brussels Rainbow Village. People take part in the Brussels pride parade 2023. Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/dpa People take part in Brussels pride parade 2023. Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga/dpa View the full article

Published by PsyPost New research sheds light on bi+ identity visibility and its relationship with psychological well-being. The findings have been published in Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. The term “bi+” is an inclusive term used to encompass various identities that fall under the bisexual spectrum. It is an expansion of the traditional label “bisexual” to recognize and include individuals who are attracted to more than one gender or who may use alternative identity labels such as pansexual, fluid, or queer. Despitecomprising the largest proportion of the U.S. LGBT population, bi+ indivi… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawyers for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican mulling a 2024 presidential run, are asking that a federal judge be disqualified from overseeing a dispute between DeSantis and Walt Disney Co, questioning the judge’s impartiality in the case. Lawyers for DeSantis, who is being sued for allegedly targeting Disney for company leadership’s political views, filed a motion on Friday in Tallahassee, Florida, asking U.S. District Judge Mark Walker be recused in the case. Disney sued DeSantis in April for allegedly “weaponizing” state government in retaliation for the company’s criticism of a law that banned classroom discussion of sexuality and gender identity with younger children. Opponents labeled the measure the “don’t say gay” law. The company alleged DeSantis rallied the Republican-controlled legislature to strike back at “woke Disney” and seize control of an administrative district, created in 1967, that helped Disney develop theme parks and resorts. The district, originally known as Reedy Creek Improvement District, was also named as a defendant. DeSantis’ lawyers argued on Friday that the judge overseeing that case demonstrated potential partiality while handling separate cases in which the judge mentioned Disney as an example of state retaliation. Considering Walker’s statements, “the court’s impartiality in this matter might reasonably be questioned,” DeSantis’ lawyers said in the their motion. DeSantis is expected to jump in to the Republican presidential nomination contest in the coming days and could be a potentially tough challenger to front-runner Donald Trump. The eventual Republican nominee is expected to challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in November 2024. (Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Timothy Gardner (Reuters) – A transgender Mississippi girl declined to participate in high school graduation on Saturday after a U.S. District Judge said the school district could bar her unless she dressed in clothes required for boys, a lawyer for the girl said. U.S. District Judge Taylor McNeel, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump, said in filing late on Friday after a hearing that he would not stop the Harrison County School District from barring the 17-year-old girl, local media reported. The girl was listed as L.B. in court papers. “Our client is being shamed and humiliated for explicitly discriminatory reasons, and her family is being denied a once-in-a-lifetime milestone in their daughter’s life,” Linda Morris, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) Women’s Rights Project, said in an email. “No one should be forced to miss their graduation because of their gender.” The ACLU sued the school district this week, on behalf of L.B., saying that it informed her she should could not attend the ceremony while wearing a dress and heeled shoes, the Mississippi Free Press said in a report. The school district’s dress code requires boys to wear a white button-down shirt, black dress plants, black shoes and a tie or bowtie. Mississippi lawmakers have introduced more than 30 bills this year seeking to limit rights of LGBTQ citizens. In 2021, Mississippi became the first U.S. state to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girl’s sports, when Republican Governor Tate Reeves signed legislation. The Harrison County School Board attorney Wynn Clark said in court papers that participating in a graduation was voluntary and not a constitutionally protected right, the Associated Press reported. Efforts to reach the school district and Clark on Saturday were unsuccessful. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Britney Spears has responded to the bombshell TMZ documentary detailing her life post-conservatorship. Days after the special — which claimed Spears and Sam Asghari‘s marriage is in trouble, that the songstress sleeps with a knife under her pillow and “binge” sleeps while living in “virtual isolation” — aired on Monday, May 15, the princess of pop took to social media to hit back at the news outlet. mega Spears, whose 13-year conservatorship was terminated in November 2021, began her Instagram rant by shaming the media for airing such wild allegations, “Considering what happened to me during the conservatorship and how hard I work everyday to be a better person since it’s been over !!!” “The concern and just effort on TMZ’s part of being the trashiest news channel for news !!! Damn I’m flattered !!! These men who I have no idea who they are, are talking about me as if they have any right at all to do so !!!” she seethed, referring to the documentary producers that claimed Spears has gotten physical with her husband among other “big problems” that she’s allegedly dealing with. The “Toxic” musician explained her girlfriend called her after seeing the special, titled Britney Spears: The Price of Freedom, and said, “‘because I know you I was laughing at these men and what they were saying.'” “But she also said it was really disturbing how incredibly conniving and foolish it was !!!” Spears continued. “The media has always been cruel to me and most people probably wouldn’t even comment on it but I do think some people might believe this and I care !!!” Britney Spears Awkwardly Makes Out With ‘Incredible Husband’ Sam Asghari as Rumors of Toxic Marriage Mount Britney Spears and Sam Asghari Put on United Front in First Sighting Since Rumors of Toxic Marriage Britney Spears Strangely Dances Without Pants After Documentary Reveals She Lives in ‘Virtual Isolation’: Watch mega Comparing her “life in the business” to that of a “girl at school who was bullied and laughed at,” the mother-of-two pointed out: “But in my case there is no superior person to set it straight.” “My dad was supposedly the one who was supposed to protect my mind and heart from things of this matter but he was the main one who was secretly loving it,” she ranted, referring to Jamie Spears, who served as the conservator of estate until he was suspended in September 2021. Spears, who has accused her estranged father of conservator abuse, speculated that “some people” are wanting to hear her story — “either through a book or what have you ???” “I’ve had to stop a couple of times,” she wrote, hinting at the delay in her upcoming memoir due to legal threats and push backs from a few celebrities said to be mentioned in the bombshell book. “It may take me a year, maybe longer who knows … to share my story !!!” Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! The Grammy winner concluded: “My great grandmother told me two things that I will never forget !!! People come here for two reasons … either for a lesson or a blessing and she said ‘Dear sweetheart the real key to happiness is to forget every f**king thing that ever happened’ !!! It’s a new day y’all !!!” View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) Queen Bey is back with her spectacular Renaissance World Tour, the megastar’s first solo tour in seven years. She kicked things off with her first performance in Stockholm, Sweden last week (10 May), but the 41-year-old singer is currently in the UK, having played to colossal, cowboy hat-wearing crowds in the Welsh capital Cardiff on 17 May. “You could have been anywhere in the world tonight, but you choose to be here with me,” Beyoncé told the audience after taking to the stage. The tour’s 43-date run, which is due to end in September 2023, is a no-expenses spared extravaganza of out of this … Read More View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) Pics: https://randomhouse.box.com/s/9yb9nzx9xyxlfeiuiis3wtmp6wvsy0r8 Eva Baltasar seems almost nonchalant when she talks about her nomination for the International Booker Prize. Already a well-known writer and poet in Spain, she seems unimpressed that she may be about to walk off with one of the literary world’s most prestigious awards for her novel Boulder. Baltasar’s second novel in a triptych is one of the finalists for the prize whose winner will be unveiled on May 23. When we meet she mentions, almost in passing, that the Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar has said he wants to… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Miley Cyrus has been undergoing eye movement therapy for a year. The ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer, 30, who is dating musician Maxx Morando, 24, after divorcing actor Liam Hemsworth, 33, in 2020, added she has been working with “amazing” healers as part of her counselling. She told British Vogue: “I did a lot of EMDR. It’s so helpful. Essentially, you delete the physical sensations associated with these painful memories. The EMDR really helped me.” EMDR is short for Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing and is said to help people come to terms with traumatic experiences. Miley added in the chat she is now “sober” and hasn’t been drinking, and only hangs around with “gay men” as part of her fitness obsession. She said: “I only hang out with, like, gay men. So they come over, and we do a whole class based off of Nicki Minaj or we have a Britney series. “I have a Madonna ‘Vogue’ series, which is doing the entire bow choreography with, like, our little weights.” She added about being asked for fitness advice: “I actually had this idea of doing kind of like a wellness comedy, which was me basically saying, ‘I’m Miley Cyrus and I’m a pop star and I can’t tell you what to eat or what supplements to take because I haven’t seen your lab work.’” The singer is also a big fan of journaling, and her British Vogue interviewer said she read out a recent entry from her phone during their interview. It said: “I make choices that I’m proud of that protect me… I put my mental and physical health before a paycheque… I freed up space for myself to be with friends and family doing what I love, which is working out, eating well, learning ways about how to enhance my life, staying dedicated to practices and protocols that are specifically designed for me.” The June 2023 issue of British Vogue is on newsstands from Tuesday 23 May and at https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/miley-cyrus-british-vogue-interview. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Tim Scott, the sole Black Republican in the Senate, on Friday filed official paperwork launching his run for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024. The impoverished child of a single mother Scott of South Carolina often points to his personal story as proof that America remains a land of promise. He filed his declaration of candidacy with the Federal Election Committee on Friday. On the campaign trail, his sunny disposition presents a major contrast with other declared and prospective candidates, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. (Reporting by Jason Lange and Gram Slattery; Editing by Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by AlterNet MSNBC’s Emmy-award winning anchor and host Chris Hayes dissected then disintegrated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the Republican Party in general, for their authoritarian lunge and overall hypocrisy. For nearly eight minutes Thursday evening, Hayes explained to viewers how DeSantis peddles fake claims about freedom, while enacting some the most hypocritically “authoritarian” and “dystopian” laws in the country. Hayes says that “in Ron DeSantis’ Florida, the state will decide what books your child can or cannot leave their school library by threatening teachers and librarians with time in … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Eric Andre has remained tight-lipped over his romance with Emily Ratajkowski. The 40-year-old comedian dated ‘Gone Girl’ actress Emily, 31, for a short period of time earlier this year and when pressed for details on the dalliance, quipped that “a gentleman never tells” but did joke that he would like to date former First Lady Michelle Obama and split her up from the former President. Speaking on SiriusXM’s ‘The Howard Stern Show’, he said “A gentleman never tells! I need to respect her privacy and boundaries. Michelle Obama is the one. I think if I can date Michelle and get her to break up with Barack!” The comedy show host went on to add that he thinks it is “time” to settle down and potentially have children, as he noted that his life is “out of balance” without a woman in it and teased that he is currently “hanging out” with a certain someone. He added: “I think it’s time. I’m getting the itch [to settle down], maybe have kids. Kids are a big responsibility. A woman in your life brings you balance though, your life is out of balance without that in your life. I’m hanging out with somebody.” On Valentine’s Day, a revealing photo of Andre that appeared to have been taken by Emily surfaced online but a source later claimed to E! News that the photo had been taken in the days before the annual romantic holiday and that she had in fact “broke up with Eric days before he posted that photo.” Just weeks later, Eric explained to Rolling Stone: “I was drinking wine, she started dying laughing, and she was like, ‘I have to take a picture of this. She took the picture, we both started cracking up, and she was like, ‘This is iconic’—she kept saying ‘iconic.’ We both agreed this was a beautiful image that we had to share with the world.” View the full article

Published by AFP Spore room: psilocybe cubsensis can now be commerically grown in Oregon Portland (AFP) – Tori Armbrust grows magic mushrooms. Not secretly or furtively, but commercially. Because in the western US state of Oregon, it’s legal. Anywhere else in the United States “I would get in big trouble for this, 1,000 percent,” she laughs. From this year, licensed growers like Armbrust have been able to sell what the Aztecs called the “flesh of the gods” to centers offering psychedelic therapy sessions, a legalization that proponents say could offer real help to people struggling with psychological problems. Hallucinogenic mushrooms have long been associated with America’s counterculture, most closely with Timothy Leary, whose phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out” helped define the 1960s. After decades of being socially frowned upon, the active ingredient of such fungi, psilocybin, is now the subject of increasing research interest: a promising possible treatment for depression, addiction or post-traumatic stress. Oregon, a rugged, rural state with a distinctly liberal streak, is defying a federal ban to allow people over the age of 21 access to magic mushrooms without a prescription, as long as they are ingested under the auspices of a certified facilitator. A ‘shroom trip under these circumstances lasts about six hours and must be followed by at least one — non-trippy — session of counselling. Tool Certification requires the completion of a 160-hour training course, and appeals to mental health professionals like Tyler Case, who paid around $10,000 for the qualification in the hope of being able to offer an alternative to patients with personality disorders that are often considered incurable. Psilocybin is “a tool that can help people who… haven’t found help anywhere else,” the 44-year-old counsellor told AFP. “We use powerful psychotropic medications all the time, do things that will alter the way people’s brains function. Why not try this too?” Scientists are still studying how psilocybin works, and little is known about its long-term use. But research suggests that — in common with other psychedelics such as LSD (acid) or MDMA (ecstasy) — it increases neural connections, effectively re-formatting the brain and encouraging new ways of processing information that can help users resolve longstanding emotional or behavioral problems. Tobias Shea thinks this re-formatting helped pull him out of a deep depression. Two tours of Afghanistan with the US Army in which he lost comrades left Shea with debilitating anxiety that sometimes meant he was unable even to leave the house. Psychotherapy and antidepressants did not work for him, so more than a decade before Oregon’s legalization, he twice took mushrooms. “My experience in both sessions involved visual hallucinations that resembled a colorful prism, like a rainbow that covered everything in my visual field,” he said. “Emotionally, I felt an abundant joy, and also an overwhelming sense of awe at the vastness and complexity of the universe, and wonder at how I was connected to everything around me.” Working with a facilitator, he “unpacked that scary content in my head” and was able to process it in a way that he is now comfortable with. ‘Vulnerability’ Such off-the-books use of mushrooms has long existed on the fringes of psychotherapy. But operating in grey areas left patients open to abuse. Curbing bad behavior and establishing a legal framework is one of the main advantages of Oregon’s move, says Elizabeth Nielson, a psychologist and founder of Fluence, one of the companies approved to train new supervisors. In her workshops, trainers emphasize the “extreme vulnerability” of patients during their transcendental journeys. Would-be facilitators are taught to intervene as little as possible so as not to influence their clients. They must also agree beforehand which parts of the body can be touched, especially in cases where someone might be experiencing a bad trip. While Oregon is out in front, the experiment in legalization is gaining ground elsewhere in the United States. In November, Colorado voted to decriminalize hallucinogenic mushrooms and create “treatment centers.” A dozen other states, including New York and California, are considering similar measures. But beyond the therapeutic promises, there is another question: who will be able to afford such services? The $3,500 sessions offered by Oregon’s first licensed center, which has only just opened, are outrageous to some locals like Don, who runs a fungiculture shop in Portland. “You can grow your own for $40,” says the 49-year-old, who declined to give his last name. “I feel that it’s gonna be mainly towards the tourists.” View the full article

Published by AFP While US politicians voice concerns that China could get TikTok user data, the lack of national data privacy law leaves brokers free to gather and sell information about what people do online San Francisco (AFP) – A total ban of TikTok in the US state of Montana is set up to face an epic battle in the courts, but many experts wonder whether the law is even technically possible. Montana is the first US state to ban TikTok, with the law set to take effect next year as debate escalates over the impact and security of the popular video app that is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. “You would have to build a Great Fire Wall of Montana,” said Tarah Wheeler, chief of cyber security firm Red Queen Dynamics and a senior fellow for Global Cyber Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. “Maintaining a ban in the state and remaining free of the kind of surveillance you are trying to escape is not possible,” she added. The prohibition will serve as a legal test for a national ban of the Chinese-owned platform, something that lawmakers in Washington are increasingly calling for. Five TikTok creators in the state have already filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing the ban is illegal and violates free speech rights. The app is accused by a wide swathe of US politicians of being under the tutelage of the Chinese government and a tool of espionage by Beijing, something TikTok furiously denies. Despite its immense popularity, TikTok faces an ultimatum by the White House that it split from its Chinese owners or stop operating in America. According to the law, which was signed on Wednesday by Governor Greg Gianforte, a violation takes place each time “a user accesses TikTok, is offered the ability to access TikTok, or is offered the ability to download TikTok.” Montana could not enforce the ban “without doing a whole bunch of other things we don’t want the governments of any level in the United States being able to do,” said Cyber Threat Alliance chief Michael Daniel. Causing further trouble, young TikTok fans are likely to take advantage of free virtual private network (VPN) software that lets people disguise where devices are. Technically adept teenagers in Montana will suddenly use VPNs to be seen logging from other states, Wheeler said, which also introduces vulnerabilities to spyware or malware, which are known to lurk in some VPNs. Teens being teens While the ban was passed under the auspices of protecting TikTok users in Montana from China snooping, no clear evidence of that has been shown, according to Jason Kelley, acting activism director at internet rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation. It is the lack of national data privacy law in the United States that leaves users vulnerable, with brokers free to gather and sell internet user information, Kelley noted. “If China wants data on users, they could just go buy it,” Kelley told AFP. The bill behind the ban mentioned TikTok pranks referred to as “challenges,” and one Montana legislator lamented his son taking part in one of those. “Reading between the lines, I think these legislators are angry that they don’t understand the culture of TikTok and how young people use it,” Kelley said. “Montana legislators wanted to do anything to push back on the negative impact of teenagers being teenagers and the influence of TikTok to do stupid things.” And, while the law bans Apple or Google from making TikTok available for download in Montana there are other places online to get apps for Android-powered smartphones. “There is no chance this law will work, even if it is implemented by TikTok to the extent possible,” Kelley said. The ban will take effect in 2024, but be voided if TikTok is acquired by a company incorporated in a country not designated by the United States as a foreign adversary, the law read. This was an invitation by Montana legislators for TikTok and the White House to come up with some sort of arrangement that would see the app divest from ByteDance. Lyrissa Lidsky, professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, told AFP that the ban will easily be seen to violate fundamental free speech laws in the US where companies are afforded the same rights on speech as individuals. “The politicians think that this is a successful political strategy whether it’s constitutional or not,” she added. View the full article