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☆ A 'Saturday Night Live' actor breaks down how TikTok has influenced the show's approach to hiring and content
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

He landed the gig through a personal connection but said TikTok has greatly influenced hiring since. He breaks down how the short-video app has influenced the show's filming style and talent. If Madray were trying to land a spot on "SNL" today, though, he might have taken a different route. Now, "SNL" uses the app to spot talent like Marcello Hernandez, who blew up on TikTok and became a regular cast member on the show. Recently, he said, the show has been experimenting with shooting content vertically so it can fit the frame of a TikTok video.

☆ RuPaul opens the doors to his maximalist Beverly Hills mansion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In a four-poster canopy bed — or velvet claw-foot daybed — in the Beverly Hills mansion he shares with husband Georges LeBar. The property is more than worthy of royalty, with grand airy rooms and neoclassical details dressed up in bold colors and maximalist glamour. RuPaul and LeBar bought the European-style estate in 2019, and enlisted interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard — a longtime friend — and architect Christopher Hatch McLean to work their magic. RuPaul and Georges LeBar transformed their Beverly Hills estate with the help of interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard. Orange is the drag icon's favorite color and appears in velvet, lacquer or painted accents through the home.

☆ Can Reparations Bring Black Residents Back to San Francisco?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Tim Arango | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO — Standing at the stoop of her childhood home — a slim but stately Victorian shaded by an evergreen pear tree — Lynette Mackey pulled up a photo of a family gathering from nearly 50 years ago. The men were all in suits, the women in skirts. Ms. Mackey, a teenager in red bell bottoms, stretched her arms wide and had a beaming smile. Soon after that time, in the 1960s and 1970s, Ms. Mackey watched the slow erasure of Black culture from the Fillmore District, once celebrated as “the Harlem of the West.” The jazz clubs that drew the likes of Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington disappeared, and so, too, did the soul food restaurants. In many cases, the old Victorian homes were torn down and replaced with housing projects, but the city kept Ms. Mackey’s home standing, and it has since been renovated into government-subsidized apartments.

☆ Taco Bell is fighting to cancel the ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Taco Bell wants to liberate the “Taco Tuesday” trademark from a smaller, rival chain. The taco chain filed a petition Tuesday (naturally) with the US Patent and Trademark office to cancel the trademark, owned by rival Taco John’s for 34 years, because Taco Bell claims the commonly used phrase “should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”Since Taco John’s owns the trademark, other restaurants and companies must seek permission to use “Taco Tuesday” in branding and advertising. Taco Bell added that “nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase.”Maggie Mettler, director of legal for Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! And it may have a strong case, because “Taco Tuesday” has become a commonly used phrase, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben. “Taco John’s would like to thank our worthy competitors at Taco Bell for reminding everyone that ‘Taco Tuesday’ is best celebrated at Taco John’s – the trademark owner of Taco Tuesday.”In response, Taco John’s is selling a “Taco Tuesday” deal of 2 tacos for $2 everyday until May 31.

Revisit some of the predominant trends in music that came to define a mercurial decade, from pop-rap and boy bands to aesthetic sadness and protest anthems. Rap goes the viral pop routeAt the beginning of the 2010s, rap stars had trouble scoring their own No. Dark and dreary pop blows upLana Del Rey helped to usher in a new era of downbeat and dark pop. Karl Walter/Getty ImagesBoth the Weeknd and Del Rey have pivoted since their debuts, with their images becoming more complicated than their indie origins belie. Del Rey, meanwhile, has only burrowed deeper into her niche, crafting intensely personal records that have matured with her listeners.

☆ Owen Davidson, Who Won 8 Grand Slams With Billie Jean King, Dies at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Alex Traub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Owen Davidson, an Australian tennis player who formed a dominant mixed doubles team with Billie Jean King in the 1960s and ’70s, winning eight Grand Slam titles with her, along with five doubles titles with other partners, died on Friday in Conroe, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Davidson came of age during a heyday for Australian tennis, with peers like Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson, John Newcombe and Margaret Court. Unlike those players, Davidson did not have significant success in singles tennis, never advancing beyond the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. From 1965 to 1974, he won 11 major mixed doubles titles and two men’s doubles titles. In 1967, he swept every major mixed doubles event, winning the Australian Open with his countrywoman Lesley Turner Bowrey and then winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with King.

☆ Dog named Buddy Holly is first of its breed to win Westminster show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A six-year-old male from Palm Springs, California, Buddy Holly became the first of his breed to win. "Buddy Holly is the epitome of the dog show." Each breed produces a winner, representing the best of what artificial selection can create from the descendants of wolves. Breed winners are separated into seven groups to determine the best of show finalists: hound, toy, non-sporting, herding, sporting, working and terrier. Buddy Holly won the hound group.

☆ Inflation headwinds still present in labor and specialized material, says Edgewell Personal Care CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailInflation headwinds still present in labor and specialized material, says Edgewell Personal Care CEORod Little, Edgewell Personal Care CEO, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss the Little's vantage point on the consumer, where prices go from here on consumer staple products and the Edgewell's acquisition of Billie, Inc.

☆ Seville to host 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Tennis - Billie Jean King Cup Finals - Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - November 9, 2022 General view of the trophy during the group stage match between Italy's Jasmine Paolini and... Read moreLONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Seville will host the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the International Tennis Federation announced on Wednesday. The showpiece women's team event, featuring 12 nations, will take place from Nov. 7-12. It is the first time since 2008 that Spain has hosted the finals of the competition, known until 2020 as the Fed Cup. Teams will compete in four round-robin groups of three, with the four group winners progressing to the semi-finals. Seville will also host the Finals in 2024.

☆ Behind the Scenes at the Westminster Dog Show
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Calla Kessler | Desiree Rios | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

It still isn’t Madison Square Garden, but at least the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is back in New York City. Just a 7 train ride away from Midtown, champion dogs invaded the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, this weekend for the 147th edition of the competition, which organizers claim is the second oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States. The very good dogs (they are all very good dogs) competed in agility and obedience championships over the weekend before moving to two days of judging to determine the best in each breed and group and, of course, best in show, which will be judged Tuesday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

☆ Lewis Capaldi Will Break Your Heart. (But Don’t Take Him Too Seriously.)
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Jon Caramanica | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the Grammys in 2020, he had an Andy Kaufmanesque face-off on the red carpet with an unsuspecting Ryan Seacrest. Sometimes, they happen when he’s onstage — at one recent concert, the crowd finished the songs that he couldn’t. But the tics subside when he’s at ease: When fans came up to him outside the Ear Inn to chat, they all but disappeared. “Every piece of content or thing I see with my name next to it is closely followed by Tourette’s. Which is mental, ’cause then I’m like, Billie Eilish has Tourette’s, and she doesn’t bang on about it like I do.”He continued, “It feels dirty.

☆ A Tennis Match That’s Also a College Program’s Farewell
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Victor Mather | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

This is where a college tennis team has the greatest moment in its history. For the first time, the men’s team from St. Francis of Brooklyn was playing in the N.C.A.A. But after the first-round match was over on Friday, and St. Francis had fallen, 4-0, to Columbia, the program was no more. St. Francis is dropping all of its sports at the end of the school year for budgetary reasons. Chad Davis played at St. Francis and has been the men’s tennis coach for 19 years.

☆ On 'Star Wars' day, Carrie Fisher receives posthumous star on Walk of Fame
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A dress featuring actor Carrie Fisher as Star Wars character Princess Leia, is worn by her daughter Billie Lourd as she attends the posthumous unveiling of the star of Carrie Fisher, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLOS ANGELES, May 4 (Reuters) - May the 4th, the annual unofficial "Star Wars" day, was bittersweet for fans in Hollywood as Princess Leia actress Carrie Fisher, who died at age 60 in 2016, received a posthumous star on the Walk of Fame on Thursday. Along with a large group of fans, "Star Wars" droids R2-D2 and C-3PO and a pair of Stormtroopers came to the ceremony, as did actor Mark Hamill, director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. "My mom is a double whammy, a Pez dispenser and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Watching her mother in "Star Wars" as Princess Leia changed Lourd's perception of her.

☆ Met Gala 2023 fashion: The best looks from the red carpet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Met Gala theme is based on the Costume Institute’s spring show “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” which is a posthumous retrospective of the German fashion designer’s work. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesIce Spice Jamie McCarthy/Getty ImagesOlivia Wilde opted for a Chloé "violin" dress — one of Lagerfeld's designs from the 1980s — in white and gold. John Shearer/WireImage/Getty ImagesActor Ariana DeBose made an entrance in an Altuzarra fur-trimmed yellow hooded gown, arriving with designer Joseph Altuzarra. John Shearer/WireImage/Getty ImagesMet Gala co-chair Dua Lipa in a voluminous Chanel corset dress. Evan Agostini/Invision/APTop Photo: Gisele Bündchen (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

☆ Halep questions long delay in doping hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Aug 29, 2022; Flushing, NY, USA; Simona Halep of Romania hits to Daria Snigur of Ukraine on day one of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In an interview with Tennis Majors, her first since learning of her failed drugs test, Halep said she has so far been denied her right to be heard by an independent court. Halep says she has undertaken 10 tests since her positive result, with all of them coming back negative. She now hopes to have a hearing in May but fears that may also be cancelled. I really want to play again because I love this sport and I want to play for the big titles again."

☆ Swiatek beats Sabalenka in straight sets to win Stuttgart title
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STUTTGART, Germany, April 23 (Reuters) - World number one Iga Swiatek cruised past Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-4 to win the Stuttgart Open on Sunday in a repeat of last year's final to confirm her status as a French Open favourite. The Pole, back from injury and gearing up for her French Open title defence next month, and world number two Sabalenka traded powerful baseline blows before Swiatek earned a second breakpoint at 4-3. She whipped a superb forehand down the line to go 5-3 up before easily holding serve to clinch the first set on her second set point. Belarusian Sabalenka started to pile up unforced errors and struggled with her serve at 2-0 before firing a cross-court forehand to hold. But she could not break Swiatek back and the Pole held serve at 5-4 to seal her second title of the year.

☆ Zendaya and Sia join Labrinth on stage for surprise Coachella performance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“Euphoria” star Zendaya surprised festival-goers on Saturday night during Labrinth’s Coachella Weekend 2 set to sing two songs they collaborated on from the hit HBO show. “I just wanted to say thank you again for such a magical beautiful night,” she said on her Instagram story, going on to thank Labrinth for the “last minute” invitation. In her signature wig and bow, Sia joined him onstage to perform “Thunderclouds,” a track off of the 2019 album “Audio,” which Sia, Labrinth and Diplo collaborated on after forming their super-group called LSD. “Dance Moms” star Maddie Ziegler also joined them onstage during the song to perform a dance number. Sia and Ziegler last performed on the Coachella stage together in 2016, and Ziegler often appears in Sia’s music videos and during the singer-songwriter’s on-stage performances.

☆ Rybakina retires with lower back injury in Stuttgart
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina suffered an injury setback ahead of the French Open after she retired with a lower back issue in her last 16 match against Beatriz Haddad Maia at the Stuttgart Open on Thursday. After play resumed, Haddad Maia won another game before Rybakina decided to retire trailing 6-1 3-1. Last week, Rybakina helped Kazakhstan advance to the Billie Jean King Cup finals for the second time after defeating Poland 3-1 in their qualifier. The French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, will be held from May 28 to June 11. Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iga Świątek returns from injury and wins in Stuttgart
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

1 Iga Świątek enjoyed a winning return from injury as she defeated China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-1 6-4 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Świątek, who is defending her title in Stuttgart in preparation for the French Open next month, broke Zheng’s serve four times over the course of the match. “I’m pretty happy that I’m not rusty and I could perform good tennis, even though I had a break,” Świątek said after the win. Świątek will be looking to win her third French Open title and fourth grand slam overall when the tournament gets underway in Paris on May 28. She was forced to withdraw from the Miami Open and Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers in recent weeks but announced before competing in Stuttgart that she is now injury free.

☆ Opinion: The untold story about Anne Frank’s hiding place
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Opinion Roy Schwartz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

British actors Bel Powley and Joe Cole play Miep and Jan, with Liev Schreiber as Otto Frank. Only Otto Frank survived. Anne Frank's (1929-1945) world famous diary charts two years of her life from 1942 to 1944, when her family were hiding in Amsterdam from German Nazis. Anne Frank has particularly been in the zeitgeist in recent years, with the 2021 French animated film “Where Is Anne Frank,” a magical retelling of her story loosely based on the 2018 graphic novel; the 2022 Dutch Netflix movie “My Best Friend Anne Frank,” based on the book “Memories of Anne Frank: Reflections of a Childhood Friend”; the controversial, eventually pulled 2022 book “The Betrayal of Anne Frank”; and “After the Annex: Anne Frank, Auschwitz and Beyond,” coming out in May. While 89% have heard of Anne Frank, 32% don’t know she died in a concentration camp.

☆ U.S. finishes Billie Jean King Cup qualifying unbeaten
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Each best-of-five series consists of two singles matches on the first day, then the reverse singles matches followed by a doubles match on the second day. The doubles match pitting Juvan and Zidansek against Irina Bara and Monica Niculescu was suspended at 3-3 in the first set. Jule Niemeier posted a three-set win over Beatriz Haddad Maia, and then Anna-Lena Friedsam lost only one game in defeating Laura Pigossi. Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina handed Poland's Magda Linette her second loss in two days to clinch the 3-1 series win in Astana, Kazakhstan. After Fernandez's three-set win over Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgium's Greet Minnen again knotted the match with a three-set win over Katherine Sebov.

☆ Slovenia stage comeback to beat Romania in delayed BJK Cup qualifier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Tennis - Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers - Slovenia v Romania - Sport Park Bonifika, Koper, Slovenia - April 14, 2023 Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek reacts during her singles match against Romania's Jaqueline Cristian REUTERS/Borut ZivulovicApril 16 (Reuters) - Slovenia pulled off a remarkable comeback to beat Romania and reach the Billie Jean King Cup finals in a qualifying tie that was held over to Sunday because of rain. The deciding doubles rubber in Koper saw home pair Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek come from a set down to beat Romanian duo Irina Maria Bara and Monica Niculescu 4-6 6-2 6-4. Slovenia joined eight other nations who qualified for the 12-nation final that will be contested in November. Romania looked in complete control after winning both of Friday's singles rubbers, but Slovenia hit back on Saturday. Zidansek beat Ana Bogdan 3-6 7-6(4) 7-5 and Juvan overcame Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets to take it to a decider.

☆ Kazakhstan through to Billie Jean King Cup finals, France ease past Britain
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Tennis - Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers - Kazakhstan v Poland - National Tennis Centre - Beeline Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan - April 15, 2023 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina celebrates with teammates after winning her singles match against Poland's Magda Linette REUTERS/Pavel MikheyevApril 15 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan advanced to the Billie Jean King Cup finals for the second time after defeating Poland 3-1 in their qualifier on Saturday while France brushed aside last year's semi-finalists Britain. Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina had helped Kazakhstan build a 2-0 lead on Friday and the world number seven had no trouble dispatching Magda Linette 6-4 6-2 to give her side an unassailable lead in Astana. The best-of-five qualifiers featured two singles matches on Friday and two reverse singles plus a doubles rubber on Saturday. Poland, without injured world number one Iga Swiatek, finally got on the board as Weronika Falkowska and Alicja Rosolska won 6-4 6-4 in what was essentially a dead rubber. Garcia got the double break and the world number five served out the set to secure France's place in the Finals.

☆ Keothavong hopes Peng safe but says WTA's China return good for the game's finances
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Shrivathsa Sridhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 14 (Reuters) - The WTA's decision to end its China boycott over concerns about Peng Shuai will generate much-needed revenue for the women's tennis tour and provide more financial opportunities for players, Britain's Anne Keothavong said. Former player Keothavong, now captain of Britain's Billie Jean King Cup team, said she hoped Peng was safe but that ultimately "tennis is a business". The WTA's decision to suspend tournaments in the country is expected to have cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcasting and sponsorship revenue. "One is that we hope Peng is OK and secondly it's just an excitement to have tournaments on the calendar. Yaqiu Wang, a senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the WTA's decision was a "huge disappointment" and called for Peng's case to be kept in the public eye.

☆ Krejcikova to donate Billie Jean King Cup earnings to Turkey earthquake victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Tennis - Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers - Ukraine v Czech Republic - Megasary Club Belek, Antalya, Turkey - April 14, 2023 Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova and Ukraine's Katarina Zavatska shake hands after their singles match REUTERS/Umit BektasApril 14 (Reuters) - Czech tennis player Barbora Krejcikova said on Friday she will donate her Billie Jean King Cup earnings to Turkey's earthquake victims. The earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 killed more than 55,000 people. Former French Open champion Krejcikova, who is currently playing in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers against Ukraine in the Turkish city of Antalya, said the funds would support tennis players in the affected regions. "The money will directly help the Turkish population from regions that have been affected by the earthquake, especially local tennis players that have lost close to everything," the 27-year-old said in a statement. loadingReporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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