Parkland school shooting survivor, Sam Fuentes, advocates for gun violence prevention and shares her thoughts on recent mass shootings.
LGBTQ+ social media content creators are increasingly complaining about their posts being taken down, a practice labeled as “the digital closet” by researcher Alexander Monea. Monea, who is a professor of English and cultural studies at George Mason University, spent two years digging through data sets and tracking down different anecdotes from users of major social media platforms who reported being censored, silenced or demonetized in different ways to write his book, “The Digital Closet,” which details the policing of online spaces focused on the LGBTQ+ community. “It has historically been the case that these companies never release damning information unless absolutely compelled to,” said Monea.
Scientists are hopeful that the endangered red wolf population, absent from the wild for decades, could be revived now that a significant portion of its DNA has been found in wild coyote populations. Red wolves have not existed in the wild along the Gulf Coast -- southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas -- since the last known members of the species were captured in 1980 to establish a captive breeding population, according to a study published in Science Advances on Wednesday. Researchers who studied coyotes in Louisiana that historically mated with the red wolves found that pockets of the coyote populations carry diverse red wolf "ghost alleles," a genetic variant that has disappeared from a population, which could help bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
As many people prepare for a long summer weekend ahead, it's also the perfect time to take advantage of lots amazing Fourth of July sales. Adding to the list of retailers offering steep discounts this year is BaubleBar which has marked down more than 100 amazing styles. Accessories lovers can snag unbelievable deals on everything from stylish summer jewels to popular picks from BaubleBar's Disney collections.
As Americans head to crowded airports for a revival of European summer vacations, it looks like next year will be more expensive for those headed to the European Union. A 7 euro fee, translating to $7.42, is expected to go into effect in May 2023 for foreign visitors aged 18 to 70 years old as part of a new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), according to the European Commission. As part of the system, travelers will have to apply for authorization through the official website or app before their trip abroad.
The widow of a Chinese food delivery worker who was fatally shot is speaking out after her husband's alleged killer was released on bail. Glenn Hirsch, 51, was arrested in New York City on June 1 for the alleged murder of Zhiwen Yan, a Chinese food delivery worker, who was shot in the chest on April 30 while riding his scooter in the neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens. A judge ordered Hirsch to be released to home confinement on Monday after posting $500,000 in bail.
Taco Bell is testing a new concoction with Cheez-It for its latest menu update, creating a giant tostada out of the iconic cheesy cracker. The two brands announced the collaboration, which tops an oversized Cheez-It -- 16 times the size of the original toasted snack, to be exact -- with layers of Taco Bell flavors and ingredients. For a limited time, the so-called Big Cheez-It Tostada will come with a serving of seasoned beef, reduced-fat sour cream, fresh diced tomatoes, crisp lettuce and shredded cheddar cheese, priced at $2.49.
The mysterious deaths of 21 teenagers at a popular nightclub in South Africa has swirled speculation and left many unanswered questions. The South African Police Service said its officers were called to the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, a suburb on the edge of East London in Eastern Cape province, on Sunday morning at around 4 a.m. local time. The local government, the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, has offered burial assistance to the victims' families.
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, the most senior member of the U.S. Supreme Court's liberal wing, said he will officially step down from the bench at noon on Thursday, relinquishing his duties as a justice and clearing the way for the swearing-in of the nation's first Black female justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. "It has been my great honor to participate as a judge in the effort to maintain our Constitution and the Rule of Law," Breyer wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden dated Wednesday. Breyer's retirement fulfills the wish of Democrats who lobbied for his exit to make way for Biden's first nominee to the court.
Federal investigators are working to determine if an Amtrak train was traveling at a speed limit of 90 mph when it plowed into a dump truck at a Missouri railroad crossing, killing four people and injuring 150, officials said. Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said she expects investigators to know by the end of Wednesday the exact speed of the train after analyzing information from its event recorder. "In this area the speed limit is 90 miles per hour," Homendy said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The Supreme Court's landmark ruling overturning Roe v. Wade has sparked protests and fiery debates across the country -- even putting families at odds over the issue. Jessica Stamas, daughter of a Republican state senator from Michigan, posted a video on TikTok Friday after the ruling calling on women who have family members who are senators and representatives to "show them this affects their lives too," likely referring to a possible state decision on abortion. Stamas specifically called out Michigan's Democratic governor in her post.
Chris Pratt has addressed, for the first time, online backlash he received from a previous comment he made about his wife and eldest daughter. In November, Pratt had posted a photo of himself and wife Katherine Schwarzenegger on Instagram, gushing about their relationship in the caption and thanking Schwarzenegger for, among other things, giving him "a gorgeous healthy daughter," referring to their first child together, Lyla. In a new interview with Men's Health, Pratt discussed how he felt about those reactions.
Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the House Jan. 6 committee Tuesday added a new layer of political consequences for Donald Trump after she detailed a defiant president she said wanted to lead supporters from his rally on the Ellipse to the Capitol even after being warned they were armed. There are political ramifications as well for several vulnerable members of Congress, notably five of the 35 GOP members of the House of Representatives who voted in May 2021 in favor of a bipartisan commission to probe what surrounded the attack on U.S. Capitol and who faced a primary or runoff contest Tuesday night. Inconsistent results in these primaries show Republican voters' political fealty is unclear: Are they steadfastly loyal to Trump or are they satisfied with elements of Trumpism paired with more home-grown politics?
A spike in internet searches for abortion pills may indicate women in the United States will try to obtain the medication without a doctor's oversight, a new study finds. Researchers from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and the University of California, San Diego examined online searches following a leaked draft opinion on May 2 from the Supreme Court indicating Roe v. Wade would be overturned. The team analyzed Google search trends that mentioned "abortion pill" or "abortion medications" from Jan. 1, 2004 -- when the search engine first began collecting data -- through May 8, 2022.
A Virginia father died by an apparent suicide after finding his son dead inside his hot car, authorities said. It appears the father accidentally left the 18-month-old in the car for at least three hours on Tuesday, leading to the child's death, Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley of the Chesterfield Police Department said at a news conference.
After testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he has joined a growing group of people experiencing a Paxlovid rebound, following treatment with Pfizer's antiviral. Fauci, 81, said that when he first tested positive two weeks ago, he had very minimal symptoms. Other than fatigue and a bit of congestion, Fauci reported that he felt "really quite well," and after his five-day course of Paxlovid, he tested negative with a rapid test.
At least 700 firefighters are battling the Rices Fire in northern California on Wednesday, where hundreds of residents have been evacuated from their homes, officials said. The fire, which has burned 769 acres and is 0% contained as of Wednesday morning, has led to mandatory and warning evacuation orders, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office. The fire is expected to be fully contained on July 1, according to a Cal Fire Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit report on Wednesday.
Country singer Ashley McBryde is taking a break from the road for a few weeks. According to a statement posted by her team on Facebook Tuesday, McBryde will not be performing for the next several weeks due to "personal reasons." The singer had dates scheduled across the U.S. and Canada in the month of July as part of Dierks Bentley's Beers on Me Tour, as well as an appearance at Blame My Roots Country Music Festival in Ohio on July 16, among other shows.
Two women have been arrested in Thailand for allegedly attempting to smuggle at least 109 live animals in their luggage -- including porcupines, armadillos, turtles, chameleons and snakes -- as they tried to board a flight to India. The incident occurred on Monday at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as two Indian women tried to make their way through airport security when officials spotted a couple of suspicious items in their suitcases following a routine x-ray inspection, according to a statement released by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. Upon further investigation, authorities discovered a total of at least 109 animals including “two white porcupines, two armadillos, 35 turtles, 50 chameleons and 20 snakes,” read the statement.
Mandy Moore says she's putting her health first amid her pregnancy and canceling the remainder of her tour. Taking to Instagram Tuesday, the singer and actress, who is expecting her second child with husband Taylor Goldsmith, shared, "It is with a heavy heart and much consideration that I have to let you all know that I am cancelling my remaining show dates in 2022." "It has been an honor and an absolute dream to return to the stage again this past month, performing for all of you," she continued.
Three tropical systems are churning in the Atlantic basin that could develop into a tropical storm or tropical depression over the next two days. It has a 40% chance of strengthening into a tropical depression as it moves on shore just south of Houston in the next 24 hours. Up to six inches of rain is possible south of Houston and three to four inches is expected for Houston itself Wednesday night through Friday morning.
