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☆ China’s LGBTQ+ community celebrates rare scenes from Paris Olympics but internet is divided
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

These are among the images that France, the organizer of the Paris 2024 Olympics, presented to the world during the opening ceremony last week. The clampdown has made it all the more striking when scenes of gay men and drag queens from the Paris Olympics opening ceremony made it onto Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. On social media site Weibo, the “#Paris opening ceremony is really cool# hashtag has generated more than 600 million views over the past four days. “Those who didn’t stay up late to watch the Olympic opening ceremony tonight missed out big time. #Paris opening ceremony is really cool#The ceremony remained the top trending topic on Weibo for more than 15 hours starting Saturday.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Ken Huang, ”, Jeremy Goupille, Natacha, Leonardo da Vinci’s, Christian, French, Suen, Aritists, Athena de Martel, ” Suen, Netizens Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Paris, Weibo, Pride House, Paris Olympics, Communist Party, Chinese University of Hong, House, ” Locations: China, Hong Kong, France, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Weibo

Delta Air Lines has hired prominent attorney David Boies to seek damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft following an outage this month that caused millions of computers to crash, leading to thousands of flight cancellations. CrowdStrike shares fell as much as 5% in extended trading on Monday after CNBC's Phil Lebeau reported on Delta's hiring of Boies, chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner. On July 19, a software update from CrowdStrike led to a historic outage of Microsoft systems, knocking numerous industries offline. While no suit has been filed, Delta plans to seek compensation from Microsoft and CrowdStrike, Lebeau reported. Insurance startup Parametrix estimated that the CrowdStrike incident resulted in a total loss of $5.4 billion for Fortune 500 companies, not including Microsoft.

Persons: David Boies, CNBC's Phil Lebeau, Boies Schiller, CrowdStrike, Lebeau, Delta hasn't, Harvey Weinstein, Elizabeth Holmes Organizations: Delta Air Lines, Microsoft, Airlines, Department of Transportation, Delta, U.S, Hollywood, Insurance, Fortune

☆ Elon Musk’s Transgender Daughter Says He Was ‘Cruel’ and ‘Uncaring’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Aimee Ortiz | More About Aimee Ortiz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Vivian Jenna Wilson, the transgender daughter of Elon Musk, said this week that her father had been “uncaring” and behaved in a “cruel” manner toward her as a child over her being queer and feminine. In an exclusive interview with NBC News on Thursday, Ms. Wilson, 20, called Mr. Musk “cold,” “very quick to anger” and “narcissistic.” She described him as an absent father who, according to NBC, would “harass her for exhibiting feminine traits and pressure her to appear more masculine, including by pushing her to deepen her voice as early as elementary school.”Ms. Wilson’s interview came in response to remarks Mr. Musk made earlier this week about her transgender identity. In an interview on Monday with the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson that was streamed live on X, Mr. Musk used Ms. Wilson’s birth name, which is known as deadnaming, and said that she was “dead, killed by the woke mind virus.” Mr. Musk also said that he had been “tricked” into authorizing gender-affirming care for her. He later doubled down on his claims about Ms. Wilson on X, saying that she was “born gay and slightly autistic” but that she “was not a girl.”

Persons: Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk, ”, Wilson, Ms, Wilson’s, Musk, Jordan Peterson, Mr, “, X Organizations: NBC

☆ What JD Vance's rise tells us about the influence of Peter Thiel — and Silicon Valley in the age of Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Without Peter Thiel, Vance does not get anywhere near the US Senate. And in Silicon Valley, the conservative movement is much stronger, and more muscular than it was before. AdvertisementThere's this narrative, promoted by people like Thiel, that Silicon Valley is super-liberal. Because Silicon Valley has conservative roots in addition to roots in the counterculture. AdvertisementLike I said, the liberal nature of Silicon Valley has always been sort of overplayed.

Persons: —, I'm, Donald Trump, Vance, Peter Thiel —, Max Chafkin, who's, Thiel, Peter Thiel's, Trump, JD Vance, Narya, It's, supercharge, Bill Pugliano, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, revel, that's, he's, Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, They're, Elon Musk's, Apu Gomes, Steve Jobs, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Service, Republican, Trump, Business, Bloomberg Businessweek, Republican National Convention, YouTube, Ohio Senate, The, Thiel, Twitter Locations: Silicon Valley, Mithril, Narya, Ohio, West Coast, —, America, Silicon, San Francisco

☆ Why Syphilis Is on the Rise in the U.S., and How to Stop It - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Ina Park | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That’s the credo of Elizabeth Glaser, a public health nurse for the Indian Health Service, who drives thousands of miles throughout the Navajo Nation searching for community members with the infection. While other reportable sexually transmitted infections declined or remained flat during the pandemic, over 207,000 cases of syphilis were reported in 2022, an 80 percent increase since 2018 and the highest number reported since 1950. Most disturbing within this trend is the rise in congenital syphilis. Over 3,700 cases were reported in 2022, which is more than double the number of cases of mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. To tackle congenital syphilis, we must cast off societal squeamishness about S.T.I.s and invest in proven control strategies: public education, testing, treatment and contact tracing.

Persons: Elizabeth Glaser, they’re, Glaser Organizations: Indian Health Service Locations: United States

☆ Grindr is limiting location services at the Olympics to protect LGBTQ+ athletes
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —People looking for love with an Olympic athlete could have a difficult time this year: Grindr, the LGBTQ+ dating app, has disabled some of its location-sharing features to protect athletes from harassment or prosecution. Some users noticed this week that they can’t use the “Explore” feature on the app at the Olympic Village in Paris, which lets people change their location and look at profiles. Roughly 155 LGBTQ+ athletes are attending the Olympics in Paris, according to OutSports, which is a small fraction of the more than 10,000 attending the games. The company is making other changes for the Olympic Village: For example, profiles default to revealing how far away someone is with the “show distance” feature. Grindr started clamping down on its features during the Olympics after 2016, when a heterosexual Daily Beast writer reported on using Grindr to meet athletes in the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro.

Persons: Grindr, ” Grindr Organizations: New, New York CNN, Olympics Locations: New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro

☆ Elon Musk’s transgender daughter, in first interview, says he berated her for being queer as a child
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( David Ingram | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Vivian Jenna Wilson, the transgender daughter of Elon Musk, said Thursday in her first public interview that he was an absent father who was cruel to her as a child for being queer and feminine. Wilson, 20, in an exclusive interview with NBC News, responded to comments that Musk made Monday about her and her transgender identity. She told NBC News that at the time, she was surprised by the media attention to the court filing, which she submitted when she was 18. Wilson told NBC News that those anecdotes are not true, though she said she did act stereotypically feminine in other ways as a child. Musk told Peterson that Wilson's gender transition has been the motivation for his push into conservative politics.

Persons: Elon Musk, Porte, Vivian Jenna Wilson, Wilson, Musk, I'm, Musk's, Justine Musk, He's, Donald Trump, Jordan Peterson, Peterson, Walter Isaacson —, Christiana Musk, she's, Jenna, Isaacson, Wilson —, Let's, they'll, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: SpaceX, Tesla, Viva Technology, Porte de, NBC News, NBC Locations: Paris, Los Angeles, Tesla, California

☆ Elon Musk’s estranged daughter calls out his ‘entirely fake’ claims about her childhood
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk’s estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her. After her transition, the billionaire said, he “vowed to destroy the woke mind virus.”Musk has previously been criticized for his anti-trans comments. Musk has previously spoken about his daughter, including in the authorized biography written by journalist Walter Isaacson and published last year. In the book, the billionaire blamed his daughter’s transition in part on her time at a progressive, Los Angeles school. In the Peterson interview, Musk said he considers his child “dead” following her transition.

Persons: New York CNN — Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk’s, Wilson, ” Musk, …, ” Wilson, ”, Jordan Peterson, “, Musk, Walter Isaacson, Peterson Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Musk’s Locations: New York, Los Angeles, California

☆ Rhaenyra's bisexuality fundamentally changes 'House of the Dragon'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Read previewWarning: Major spoilers ahead for season two, episode six of "House of the Dragon." But confirming her sexual identity has a deeper resonance on "House of the Dragon" — let's break it down. Emma D'Arcy and Sonoya Mizuno as Rhaenyra and Mysaria in season two, episode five of "House of the Dragon." AdvertisementSonoya Mizuno and Emma D'Arcy as Mysaria and Rhaenyra in season two, episode two of "House of the Dragon." Sonoya Mizuno and Emma D'Arcy as Mysaria and Rhaenyra in season two, episode three of "House of the Dragon."

Persons: —, I'm, Paddy Considine, King Viserys, Emma D'Arcy, Sonoya Mizuno, Ollie Upton, Rhaenyra, Alicent Hightower, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Alicent, there's, Young, Targaryen, Ser Criston Cole, Daemon, Laenor, Daemon Targaryen, Mysaria, Dragonstone, Theo Whiteman, Aegon's, Jaehaerys, Arryk Cargyll's, It's Organizations: Service, Business, HBO, New York Times Locations: Mysaria, Rhaenyra

CNN —With President Joe Biden’s support unleashing a flood of endorsements from many prominent Democrats across the country, Kamala Harris has emerged as the favorite to take his place as the party’s nominee for president. The campaign formally amended filings with the Federal Election Commission to rename its principal committee and declare Harris a candidate for president. Cooper previously waved off speculation that he might be on the shortlist for vice presidential nominees if Biden steps aside and Harris becomes the nominee. “Are you at least open to the possibility of being a running mate to Vice President Harris?,” Beshear was asked on MSNBC Monday morning. “I’m not going anywhere.”Whitmer, first elected governor in 2018, emerged as a prominent executive during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Kamala Harris, Harris, Biden, Roy Cooper, Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen, Mark Kelly, Jeff Zeleny, Shapiro, ”, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Corey Comperatore, Trump, “ Corey, Corey, ” Shapiro, ” Roy Cooper, “, Cooper, ” Cooper, Mark Kelly Arizona Sen, Gabby Giffords, Kelly, Katie Hobbs, Andy Beshear, Beshear, ” Beshear, He’s, Steve Beshear, J.B, J.B . Pritzker, Pritzker, Wade, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Pete Buttigieg, It’s, Buttigieg, Mike Pence, Vance, Bill Maher ”, ” Vance, ” Buttigieg, Gretchen Whitmer, “ I’m, ” Whitmer, Whitmer, She’s, That’s, Abby Phillip, who’s, ” Gavin Newsom California, Gavin Newsom, Ron DeSantis, X, Donald Trump’s, @KamalaHarris, Newsom, CNN’s Tami Luhby, Ethan Cohen, Jasmine Wright, Devan Cole, Gregory Krieg, Edward, Isaac Dovere, Dan Merica Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Federal, Commission, Democratic National Convention, North Carolina Gov, Arizona, Democrats, ” CNN, ” Roy Cooper North Carolina Gov, Republicans, Republican, Biden, North Carolina House of, North, Democratic Party, MSNBC, Senate, GOP, Affordable, Pritzker, Pritzker Illinois Gov, South, Chicago Mayor, White, Transportation Department, Fox News, Yale Law School, Harvard, Trump Republican, Gov, Detroit News, Trump, Golden, Electoral College Locations: Chicago, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Butler , Pennsylvania, America, North Carolina, Raleigh, Andy Beshear Kentucky, Bluegrass, Kentucky, Pritzker Illinois, Midwest, South Bend , Indiana, Afghanistan, East Palestine , Ohio, Michigan, Covid, Napa, San Francisco

☆ One of the biggest 'House of the Dragon' book changes may have introduced a major plot hole to the show
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Caralynn Matassa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewWarning: Spoilers ahead for "House of the Dragon" season two, episode six. "House of the Dragon" hasn't been shy about taking some liberties with its source material. The HBO hit, based on the fictional House Targaryen history book "Fire and Blood" by "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin, made its biggest departure from the book so far back in season one when it changed the fate of Laenor Velaryon. This is a much happier ending for Laenor, but it leaves one major loose thread: his dragon, Seasmoke.

Persons: —, hasn't, George R.R, Martin, Laenor, Rhaenyra Targaryen's, Ser Qarl Correy, Rhaenyra, Daemon Targaryen, Daemon, Qarl, Seasmoke, Jacaerys, Steffon, Addam, Alyn, they'd, it's, Daenerys, Velaryon, 🐉, ince, ike Organizations: Service, HBO, Business, Aegon, Greens, ust Locations: Essos, Hull

☆ She felt lost when she became a widow in her 20s. Then she signed up to grief camp
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

“Being a widow in my 20s, I don’t have as many people around me who relate to that grief experience. Six months since she’d signed up for grief camp. Being a widow in my 20s, I don’t have as many people around me who relate to that grief experience. She wrote a piece called “Grief Camp is My Happy Place,” for her Substack, describing her experiences. “I think a lot of people hear ‘grief camp’ and think it’s going to be sad all the time.

Persons: Mackenzie Galloway, Cole, ”, ” Galloway, Megan, Cole’s, Camps, ’, Cole scrolled, Galloway, Cole wasn’t, Lindsay Lohan, – Galloway, She’d, “, she’d, –, ‘, ’ ”, Equinunk, “ Mac ”, “ Mackenzie, they’ve, they’d, doesn’t, I’ll, who’d, she’s, Megan –, “ Joy, Jesse Moss, Moss, you’re, Michelle Cove, won’t, Chappell, Chappell Roan, Megan isn’t, Cole didn’t, It’s, that’s Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, New Yorker, New, Galloway, Experience Camps Locations: Galloway, New, US, Kansas, ”, New York City, Equinunk , Pennsylvania, Cole, New York, Pennsylvania, Equinunk, Blue, Mackenzie

☆ Here's where Kamala Harris stands on the issues, from the economy to healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Presenting herself as a center-left politician, Harris previously ran successful campaigns in California, winning statewide races for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, the state attorney general, and the US Senate. AdvertisementHere's where she stands on major issues:AbortionHarris has supported abortion rights since her time in the Senate. ClimateHarris previously supported policies to combat climate change, including plans to transition the US to 100% renewable energy and a carbon tax. As vice president, Harris was tasked with handling the root causes of migration to the US from Central America. Harris re-affirmed her support for LGBTQ+ rights as vice president but has not provided specific policies.

Persons: —, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Harris, Biden, Brett Kavanaugh, Roe, Wade, Climate Harris, She's, Donald Trump's, Sen, Bernie Sanders of, Harris waffled, Sanders, HuffPost, Alejandro Giammattei, Trump Organizations: Service, Democratic, San, San Francisco District Attorney's Office, Business, CNN, Biden, Marshall, Biden's Infrastructure Deal, Healthcare, Stat, Immigration, San Francisco DA, Senate Republicans, Republicans, GOP Locations: California, San Francisco District, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Immigration, Central America, United States, Guatemalan, Israel, Gaza, Rafah

☆ Harris fundraiser in Provincetown raises more than $2 million, organizers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Defending Joe Biden and ripping into Donald Trump, Kamala Harris got one of her most roaring responses in years as she spoke at a fundraiser Saturday afternoon in Provincetown, Massachusetts. But we are a group of people who understand anything worthwhile takes a lot of hard work,” Harris said. It takes believing in something and then going forward.”The event was scheduled weeks ago, in very different political circumstances. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is seen by some leading Democrats as a potential running mate should Harris become the nominee, spoke before she did. “Harvey Milk liked to say, ‘Hope will never be silent — and neither will we,’” Harris said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, didn’t, —, ”, “ It’s, ” Harris, Harris, Harris ’, “, Kamala, Harris —, Pete Buttigieg, Buttigieg, Biden, ” Buttigieg, Trump’s, JD Vance, Harvey Milk, “ Harvey Milk, ‘ Hope, ’ ” Harris, CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg Organizations: CNN, Transportation, Air Force, San Locations: Provincetown , Massachusetts, San Francisco

☆ Iran Pays You to Become Trans, but It Comes at a Cost — Your Dignity
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-20 | by ( Joshua Nelken-Zitser | Additional Reporting Ida Reihani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

In 2007, The Guardian reported that Iran ranked second only to Thailand in the number of gender-affirming surgeries performed. Related stories"They told me I had two options," she told BI. Molkara, who died in 2012, was instrumental in securing the fatwa that legalized gender-affirming surgeries in Iran. Related stories"The questions were so graphic that my mom, at some point, left the room," she told BI. Homosexuality as a sinJavad Sadidi, a Mashhad surgeon who specializes in gender-affirming surgeries, told BI that the process takes a minimum of two years.

Persons: Varamini, He'd, Becca Kia, I'm, Ajoudani, she's, Vahid, Ruhollah Khomeini, Khomeini's, Maryam Khatoon Molkara, Molkara, Khomeini, Kaveh Kazemi, Legal Medicine Organization —, Pooya, Eugene Gologursky, it's, Sadidi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, SPENCER PLATT, Elina, Shadi Sadr, who's, Soheil, he's Organizations: Business, Guardian, Eleos, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Revolutionary Guard Corps, State Welfare Organization of, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Legal Medicine Organization, BI, Columbia University, Justice, Tristar Media, United, Lancet, Global Surgery, State Welfare Organization of Iran, Mahtaa Institute Locations: Tehran, Shayan, Iran, Thailand, Tehran's, Islamic Republic, Iraq, London, State Welfare Organization of Iran, Iranian American, Mashhad, Shadi, Iranian, Shadi Sadr, United Nations, Karaj, Canada

☆ Companies failed to solve injustice and now they are giving up on the era of activism
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Corporate America gave social activism a go. And sales of Bud Light have taken a hit ever since. Bud Light didn’t handle fallout well — it capitulated to the angry mob and dropped Mulvaney even as she faced a barrage of threats. It caught fire as right-wing media fueled the swirl of negativity around Bud Light, framing it as “wokeism” gone amok. On Thursday, the Guardian reported that the Bud Light boycott was fueled in part by the right-wing activist Leonard Leo.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Bud Light, America John Deere, Kara Swisher, ” Let’s, George Floyd, ” —, Larry Fink, We’d, Reagan, That’s, Disney’s, Bob Chapek, Ron DeSantis, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, ”, Bud, Leonard Leo, Leo Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN — Corporate America, Tractor, Pride, CNN, BlackRock, Business, Corporate America, Florida’s Republican Gov, Guardian, Bud Light, Anheuser, Busch, Federalist Society, America Locations: New York, America

☆ Opinion | J.D. Vance and the Tech-Trad Alliance
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Just over seven months ago, the talented pseudonymous writer Trace Woodgrains wrote an essay announcing the Republican Party’s doom — not the doom of electoral irrelevance, since the G.O.P. Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate and the recent surge of support for Trump’s campaign from Silicon Valley, Woodgrains reconsidered the durability of his diagnosis. The Vance pick, he wrote, suggests that “the G.O.P. is looking to make an appeal to anti-woke Silicon Valley or finance types to fill the void left by the Republican Party’s competency crisis,” with Vance himself as an exemplar of what a right-leaning counter-elite might look like. suddenly has more support in Silicon Valley than in 2020 or 2016.

Persons: Trace Woodgrains, ”, Woodgrains, Trump, J.D, Vance, Donald Trump’s, it’s, Peter Thiel, it’s Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, pander, Reed Albergotti, Noah Smith Organizations: Biden, Republican, Cathedral Locations: United States, Silicon Valley

☆ Lewis Hamilton praises Ralf Schumacher after former F1 driver publicly identifies as gay
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Samuel Joseph | Sam Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has praised Ralf Schumacher after the former F1 driver revealed on Monday that he was in a same-sex relationship. He was previously married to Cora Schumacher and is the father to a son, David. The 49-year-old had an 11-year F1 career, driving for Jordan, Williams and Toyota and won six races along the way. The Mercedes driver spoke about the need for F1 to “do more” in order to make the sport more inclusive following Schumacher’s announcement. “There is one thing saying that it’s inclusive and there’s another thing actually making sure that people actually feel comfortable in the environments.

Persons: Lewis Hamilton, Ralf Schumacher, Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Etienne, Carmen Geiss, Schumacher’s, ” Schumacher, Cora Schumacher, David, Williams, Hamilton, ”, it’s, ” Hamilton, Marco Canoniero, “ Organizations: CNN, Jordan, Toyota, Sky Sports, Sky Germany, Saudi Arabia Grands Prix Locations: German, Hungarian, Qatar, Saudi

☆ How Tennessee artist Aaron Lee Tasjan is using music to combat hate
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Randi Kaye | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Tasjan regrets not standing up for him at the time, fearing he would be ostracized by association. “It just feels very instinctual to me, to just fall in love with people.”Aaron Lee Tasjan in 2018 in San Francisco, California. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty ImagesAs an artist and an advocate, Tasjan has his work cut out for him. He lives in Nashville Tennessee, a state that in recent years has passed numerous pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation with more proposed. His LGBTQ-advocacy work in Tennessee, along with his music, is part of that.

Persons: CNN — Long, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Lady Gaga, Jack White, ” Tasjan, CNN’s Randi Kaye, Rufus Wainwright, ”, Tasjan, “, ” Aaron Lee Tasjan, Tim Mosenfelder, …, Bob Dylan, Childish Gambino, Chappell Roan Organizations: CNN, Midwest, Human Rights Locations: Albany Ohio, San Francisco , California, Nashville Tennessee, Tennessee

The Republican National Convention has spent the week trying to rewrite the history of Trump’s first term. In this audio essay, the editorial board member Mara Gay recounts for listeners some of the most troubling and undemocratic moments of Trump’s first term and makes the case for why the country can’t afford another four years with him as president. (A full transcript of this audio essay will be available within 24 hours of publication in the audio player above.)

Persons: Mara Gay Organizations: Republican National Convention

☆ Same-Sex Couples in South Korea Win Landmark Rights Ruling
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a landmark ruling for gay rights in South Korea on Thursday, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples qualify for the national health insurance’s dependent coverage, a decision that rights activists hoped could pave the way for legalizing same-sex marriage in the country. The decision would allow same-sex couples in the country to register their partners as dependents in national health insurance coverage like married couples or couples in a common-law marriage can. It was one of the numerous benefits denied to same-sex and other couples living outside of the traditional norms of family in South Korea. In its ruling on Thursday, the country’s highest court ruled that denying a same-sex couple national health insurance dependent coverage “just because they are of the same sex” constitutes a serious discrimination that infringed upon citizens’ “dignity and values, their rights to pursue happiness, their freedom of privacy and their rights to be equally treated by the law.”.

Persons: ’ Locations: South Korea

☆ Opinion | Republicans’ Depressingly Effective Minority Outreach Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Charles M. Blow | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The 2020 Republican National Convention featured a procession of minority speakers that was, as reported at the time, almost certainly unprecedented. It would be easy to mock this week’s lineup of speakers of color as mostly performative, but you would be wrong to do so. Republicans are strategically — almost surgically — trying to carve away minority voters from Democrats. Let’s recall how we got here: In 2013, not long after losing a second presidential election to Barack Obama, Republicans produced a 100-page report titled the “Growth and Opportunity Project,” often called the Republican autopsy. It chastised the party for “driving around in circles on an ideological cul-de-sac” and insisted that it must broaden its appeal to minority voters: “We need to campaign among Hispanic, Black, Asian and gay Americans and demonstrate we care about them, too.”

Persons: Let’s, Barack Obama, ” Organizations: Republican, Convention, Republicans, Democrats, Opportunity

☆ Queer community platform Lex lays off staff as it charts an uncertain path forward
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Sydney Bradley | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewLex, a social network that helps people find and build queer communities in their cities, has laid off most of its staff. "We're committed to building Lex to be a thriving social app for LGBTQ+ community," Lewis said in a written statement. AdvertisementLike many other newer social-media platforms, Lex has been experimenting with ways to monetize its product. In June, Lex announced its "Team Gay Agenda" campaign to raise funds from its users via recurring monthly pledges and told users that the "Lex community is at risk." "With the well documented demise of queer spaces, our number one priority will always be making sure our community has space to thrive on Lex," Lewis added.

Persons: —, Kel Rakowski, Jennifer Rhiannon Lewis, Lewis, Rakowski, We're, Lex, Gen Z Organizations: Service, Business, Gen

☆ King’s Speech: Charles unveils Keir Starmer’s plans for Britain, in state opening of parliament
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The speech sets out the agenda of Keir Starmer, who defeated Rishi Sunak's Conservatives in this month's election. Starmer also formalized plans to renationalize Britain’s rail network in the coming years, and to create a publicly-owned renewable energy company. At home, a number of institutions were targeted for modernization – most awkwardly, the very room in which Charles gave his speech. “The party opposite has successfully tapped into the public’s desire for change, but they must now deliver change,” Sunak said. Those arguments will intensify in the coming weeks, as Labour introduces its first bills to Parliament – beginning with three priority measures from the speech later this week.

Persons: CNN — Keir Starmer, ”, King Charles III, ” Starmer, Starmer, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, Dan Kitwood, Camilla, Black Rod –, Rishi Sunak, Kirsty Wigglesworth, Charles, Bill, –, Theresa May, ” Sunak, Sunak Organizations: CNN, Commons, Labour, Tory, Conservative, Reform UK, Getty, Border Security Command, National Health Service, NATO, – Locations: nationalize, Britain, Europe, Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Rwanda

☆ Why have one baby when you can have 2? People are paying $500,000 to hire 2 surrogates at once and have 'twiblings'
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

"It is a luxury, absolutely," Brooke Kimbrough, cofounder and CEO of Roots Surrogacy, told BI. All the surrogacy agencies BI spoke with said it's essentially never the case that someone opts for surrogacy simply for vanity reasons. Perhaps the primary drawback to pursuing concurrent surrogacy (that is, besides the high price tag) is the logistics of it. Jarret Zafran, founder and executive director at Brownstone Surrogacy, told BI that it's not necessarily only the ultrawealthy who pursue concurrent surrogacy. But he's still not totally sure why they chose to do concurrent journeys rather than space the children out a bit more.

Persons: —, Bill Houghton, Houghton, twiblings, surrogates, Brooke Kimbrough, Kim Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen, Teigen, John Legend, Dimitrios Kambouris, it's, they've, Kim Bergman, They've, David Sher, Sher, It's, Bergman, Jay L, There's, doesn't, Jarret Zafran, Zafran, he's Organizations: Service, Business, Global Market, BI, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Elite, The Washington Post Locations: Spain

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