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☆ ‘Earth Mama’ Review: A Mother Dreams Inside a Brutal System
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Manohla Dargis | More About Manohla Dargis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Leaf eases you into the movie, which centers on Gia (a lovely Tia Nomore), a pregnant single mother in recovery with two kids in foster care. In tight, precise scenes, Leaf sketches in Gia’s life, its uncertain horizons and crushing limitations. Mostly, Gia struggles to get her kids back, a time-consuming process that involves a reunification program in which she’s constantly monitored. The program’s demands mean that she can’t work more hours, but because she can’t work more, she’s behind in child-support payments, which in turn earns her a scolding from her case worker. If the system seems rigged for Gia to fail, it’s because, Leaf suggests, it is.

Persons: ”, I’ve, Tia Nomore, Gia, she’s, Jody Lee Lipes, Miss Carmen, Erika Alexander, Bokeem Woodbine, Kamaya Jones, Sharon Duncan, Brewster, Keta Price Locations: Gia, Bay

☆ Tubi Is Rewriting the Rules of Black Indie Movies (for Free)
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Nicolas Rapold | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the past few years, Tubi has quietly amassed a thriving collection of Black-led independent movies. “Cinnamon” is the first Tubi premiere under the banner Black Noir Cinema, an initiative led by Village Roadshow Pictures. It’s a nifty standard-bearer: a gas station attendant and aspiring singer, Jodi (Hailey Kilgore), and a pickpocket, Eddie (David Iacono), team up for an inside job. The robbery becomes a self-own when someone from a local crime family — led by Pam Grier — gets killed in the process. They lean hard on the gas station owner, Wally (Damon Wayans), and then zero in on Jodi and Eddie.

Persons: Tubi, Jodi, Hailey Kilgore, Eddie, David Iacono, —, Pam Grier —, Damon Wayans, Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr, doesn’t, there’s, huckster, Wally Organizations: Village Roadshow Pictures

☆ Fact Check-Video of Biden loudly ‘sniffing’ a baby is digitally edited
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of U.S. President Joe Biden interacting with a mother and her baby has been digitally altered to add loud sniffing sounds. No such sound can be heard in the original clip. The clip has been taken from a longer video showing Biden interacting with a mother and her baby. The original video, recorded by the baby’s mother, was shared on TikTok on June 9, 2023. Sound of sniffing has been added to video of Biden interacting with a mother and baby.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, “, Read Organizations: Reuters Locations: TikTok, North Carolina

☆ Jamie MoCrazy: She nearly died in a skiing accident - now, she wants to help others who have suffered traumatic brain injuries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

She went into a natural coma, was intubated on the mountain and a battle began to save her life. It was the beginning what the former skier calls the second version of herself, “Jamie 2.0.” Recovery was slow, often painful. MoCrazy had been intubated for such a lengthy period that it took two months for her to re-learn to swallow. Her mom forced her to learn algebra again, the argument being that her brain had to relearn its critical thinking skills. “And the fact that I am a White, privileged, accomplished athlete with finances made a huge difference in my recovery.

Persons: Jamie MoCrazy, ”, Mauzy, –, Jeanee, MoCrazy, Jeanne, Grace, “ Jamie, ” Jeanne, “, ” MoCrazy, Jamie McCrazy, Reggie, Simon d'Artois “, “ I’m, Amy, Darryl Dyck, I’m Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, GillianHunterPhotography.com, Westminster College, MoCrazy, Vancouver General Hospital, Canadian Press, Capitol Locations: Vancouver, Canada, Crane, North America, Connecticut, Salt, Salt Lake City, New Zealand

☆ Drena De Niro says fentanyl killed her son
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Drena De Niro has shared the cause of death for her 19-year-old son. Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, the grandson of Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, recently died after ingesting fentanyl, his mother wrote on social media. “It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo,” Drena De Niro posted Monday in a statement on her verified social media. “Someone sold him fentanyl laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him so for all these people still f**king around selling and buying this sh*t, my son is gone forever,” De Niro wrote in response. “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” Robert De Niro said in a statement to CNN.

Persons: Drena De Niro, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Oscar, Robert De Niro, Leo, ” Drena De Niro, –, ” De Niro, “, ”, De Niro, ” Robert De Niro, “ We’re, ” Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Maxime ” Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control Locations: “

☆ Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro dead at 19
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, the grandson of Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, has died, his mother announced on social media. Actress Drena De Niro, Robert De Niro’s daughter, wrote about the loss of her son in a post on Instagram on Sunday. Leandro De Niro Rodriguez was also an actor. He appeared, along with his mother, in the 2018 film “A Star Is Born,” starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. CNN has reached out to representatives for Robert and Drena De Niro for comment.

Persons: CNN — Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Oscar, Robert De Niro, Drena De Niro, Robert De Niro’s, “, Carlos Rodriguez, Carlos Mare, ”, ” Mare, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Maxime, Robert Organizations: CNN Locations: “

☆ A Fatal Shooting and a Hijab Ban: Two Faces of France’s Racial Divisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Catherine Porter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mama Diakité is a French citizen, raised in the suburbs of Paris by two immigrant parents, not far from where a 17-year-old boy was shot by the police during a traffic stop last week. As cars burned and barricades went up in her neighborhood over the shooting, she got word from the country’s top administrative court that she could not play the most popular sport in France — soccer — while wearing her hijab. On Thursday, the Conseil d’Etat upheld the French Football Federation’s ban on wearing any obvious religious symbols, in keeping with the country’s bedrock principle of laïcité, or secularism. The decision inspired a storm of feelings in Ms. Diakité — shock, anger, disappointment. One involved a fatal traffic stop that French officials have condemned; the other involved a charged debate on the visibility of Islam in French society.

Persons: Diakité, “, ” Organizations: French Football Locations: French, Paris, France

☆ ‘The Impossible Became Possible’: The Women Celebrating a Year Without Roe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Ruth Graham | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Who’s here with me to let loose?” she asked the crowd, leading several hundred women in the wave. “We pro-lifers, we have life on our side!” She was wearing a small gold necklace reading “mama,” a gift from her son. The ruling last summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated the national right to abortion and sent the issue back to the states. It also radically scrambled the landscape of abortion in the United States, shuttering some clinics, prompting others to open, and setting up new battles over abortion pills, miscarriage care and contraception. Legal abortions declined more than six percent in the first six months after the ruling.

Persons: Bethany Bomberger, Roe, Wade, ” Ms, Bomberger, Louis, “ Organizations: Women’s, Jackson, Health Organization Locations: St, Dobbs v, United States

☆ Opinion: This TV mom changed everything
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Opinion Raakhee Mirchandani | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Raakhee Mirchandani Kim Lorraine PhotographyI never searched for either of us on TV. I’m grateful NHIE gave Indian moms — Brown moms, Desi moms, South Asian moms — the crown we deserve. (L to R) Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi in episode 410 of "Never Have I Ever." But now, among the cohort of timeless TV mothers, there’s Devi’s mom — and let me tell you: Nalini, as realized by the inimitable Jagannathan, certainly has got it going on. (And anyone with a Brown mom knows the eyes; one look is all it takes.)

Persons: Kalpana Chawla, ”, Brady, Roseanne, Angela Bower, Clair Huxtable, Aunt Viv, Raakhee Mirchandani Kim Lorraine, Desi, Vishwakumar, Poorna Jagannathan, I’m, NHIE, — Brown, Mindy Kaling, Lang Fisher, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Jessica Brooks, —, Brown, there’s, Devi, Nalini, wasn’t, Will, Jamie Ryan, Niecy Nash, let’s, She’s, she’s Organizations: CNN, Netflix, Princeton, Twitter, Facebook

☆ Uganda's President Museveni tests positive for COVID -health official
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, June 7 (Reuters) - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has tested positive for COVID-19, is in good health and will continue his duties, while getting treatment, a senior health ministry official said late on Wednesday. "Today ...the President tested positive for COVID-19. He said two of three tests he had done were negative, and he was waiting for the outcome of another. That is why you saw me coming in separate cars with Mama," Museveni said, referring to the First Lady Janet Museveni, who accompanied him to parliament. Reporting by George Obulutsa Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yoweri Museveni, Diane Atwine, COVID, Museveni, Lady Janet Museveni, George Obulutsa, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Twitter, COVID, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI, Museveni, Uganda

[1/5] Sekyiwa 'Set' Shakur poses during the posthumous Rapper Tupac Shakur's star unveiling ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLOS ANGELES, June 7 (Reuters) - Award-winning rapper, activist and actor Tupac Shakur received a posthumous star on Wednesday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where his sister and fellow rappers spoke of the musician's legacy around the world. “Tupac knew deep down that he was always meant for something great,” Sekyiwa Shakur said amid the crowd of around 100 people. Shakur was killed in 1996 at age 25 in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas that has never been solved. Tupac Amaru Shakur has become a global symbol of rebellion.

Persons: Shakur, Tupac, Mario, Tupac Shakur, “ Tupac, ” Sekyiwa Shakur, ” Shakur, ”, Outlawz, Malcom Greenidge, David Marvin, DJ Quik, E.D.I, Afeni Shakur, “, Allen Hughes, Tupac Amaru Shakur, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Hughes, Jorge Garcia, Danielle Broadway, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Hollywood, REUTERS, Apollo, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, ANGELES, Harlem, Las Vegas, California, Africa, Asia, South America, Europe

☆ As Assad’s Isolation Lifts, Syrian Refugees Fear Pressure to Return Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | Hwaida Saad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Early one recent morning, Lebanese soldiers swept through the Bourj Hammoud neighborhood in Beirut, emptying two buildings of the Syrian refugees living in them. They forced them into trucks and drove them to a no-man’s land between the Lebanese and Syrian borders. After days stuck along the border, hundreds of refugees were taken by Syrian forces back to Syria. The family spent their first night back in Syria sleeping on the streets of the capital, Damascus. If the soldiers ever come back, Rasha vowed, she would die before being forced back to Syria again.

Persons: Rasha, ”, “, ‘, they’ve, ’ ”, Bashar al, Assad Locations: Beirut, Syria, Damascus, Lebanon, East

☆ New York teens arrested and charged with stealing, killing, and eating a swan that was a town mascot for over 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Police say teens stole a swan family from a New York village pond and ate the mother swan. The mother swan had lived in the town for over 10 years; residents are mourning the loss. An 18-year-old faces charges for theft and killing the swan, which is illegal in New York. "The mother swan was consumed," Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said Wednesday. Elizabeth Doran/APFor over a decade, Faye and Manny swanned about in the village pond, and each spring hatched and raised cygnets.

Persons: —, Faye, Paul Whorrall, Ken Hatter, Manny, Whorrall, Elizabeth Doran, Manny swanned, Michael Bean, cygnets, weren't, Hatter Organizations: Service, Syracuse Locations: New York, Manlius, North America, Syracuse, Salina

☆ Freddie Mercury’s handwritten lyrics suggest he considered ‘Mongolian Rhapsody’ song title
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

(CNN) — Never-before-seen draft lyrics of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” suggest that Freddie Mercury considered giving his mock-opera anthem a somewhat different title: “Mongolian Rhapsody.”The discovery was made following the emergence of a 15-page folio of lyrics, vocal lines and harmonies handwritten by the singer as he composed his 1975 hit. Queen recorded “Bohemian Rhapsody” the next year. Sotheby's auction house said the handwritten lyrics present "untold insights into other possible directions the song could have taken." Queen pictured in 1977, two years after releasing "Bohemian Rhapsody." Richard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images“What is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ about?

Persons: —, Queen’s, Freddie Mercury, there’s, I’ve, “ Galileo, ”, Belladona ”, Mercury’s, Mary Austin, “, ” —, Brian May, Freddie, Richard E, Aaron, Redferns, Sotheby’s, ” Austin Organizations: CNN, British Midland Airways, Tiffany, Mercury Locations: Sotheby’s, London

☆ Queer people in history: Figures to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Leah Asmelash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

To commemorate the month, CNN is highlighting five major LGBTQ elders – some who have passed on, and some who haven’t – highlighting their achievements. From a drag king who fought discrimination on the streets of New York to a famous mathematician who stood up to adversity despite legal limitations, here are five LGBTQ figures to know. Miss Major Griffin-GracyMiss Major in the film "Major," a documentary about her life and campaigns. But a year after Stonewall, Miss Major was arrested for robbery, landing her with a five-year prison sentence. Decades after her release, Miss Major spent time as the executive director of the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project.

Persons: Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr, Patrick A, Burns, Rustin wasn’t, Rustin, King, Sen, Strom Thurmond, Gavin Newsom, Larry Kramer Larry Kramer, Catherine McGann, Larry Kramer, “, ”, Kramer, Anthony Fauci, Miss Major Griffin, Major, Marsha P, Johnson, Miss Major, Mama, Michelle V, Stormé DeLarverie, DeLarverie, White, “ That’s, Alan Turing, Alan Turing’s, Turing, it’s Organizations: CNN, New York Times Co, Getty, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, California Gov, Village Voice, AIDS, Centers for Disease Control, ACT UP, AIDS Coalition, National Institute of Allergy, Miss, Stonewall, New York Times, Physical Laboratory Locations: New York, India, Montgomery, Washington, Chicago, Greenwich, New Orleans, England

☆ Tiffany Hammond Believes Stories Are the Best Teachers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Elisabeth Egan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mama pulls the curtains back to welcome the sunlight.” So begins Tiffany Hammond’s “A Day With No Words,” which debuted at No. “I do not speak,” the boy lets readers know. I use a tablet to be heard, pushing buttons with pictures that speak my words.”Hammond writes what she knows: She has autism, as do her sons, who are 16 and 14. “I didn’t know I was autistic until I was 18,” Hammond said in a phone interview. I needed to figure out, how do I talk to you?”

☆ Palestinian-American authors bring their culture to the heart of children's books
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Alaa Elassar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Today, Moushabeck, 36, is part of a burgeoning movement of Palestinian-American authors publishing children’s books in English with Palestinians as the main characters. Letting Palestinian children be childrenDespite recent strides in the arts, Palestinian-Americans, along with other Arab-Americans, are still woefully underrepresented in books. Between 2018 to 2022, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education found that less than 1% of children’s and young adult books released by US publishers were about Arabs. The books also feature activities related to Palestinian culture, including a recipe for hummus and a tutorial for tatreez, traditional Palestinian embroidery. Bishara, whose own family was expelled from the Galilee in 1948, says it’s important to teach Palestinian children raised in diaspora about every aspect of Palestinian culture and history, including those that cause great pain.

☆ Killer Mike, Atlanta’s Rap Journeyman, Is at the Peak of His Powers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Joe Coscarelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“It’s a reflection of Black masculinity at this moment, of who we are and what we are,” Mike said. I’ve never not been honest with you, but I didn’t understand how to give you a balanced representation of me. “People always say to me, you’ve got so much going on, you’re always running,” Mike said. I don’t know where the journey’s taking me, but I know God got me on a journey. I’ve got a purpose, and I’d be a fool not to see it all the way through.”Audio produced by Tally Abecassis .

☆ An influencer mobilized her followers to spam Air France until they found her bag. Want to find your lost luggage? Just get 1.7 million TikTok followers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Victoria Paris, 24, issued a very public complaint against Air France, and asked her followers to "wage war" on the airline. Her 1.7 million TikTok followers obliged and spammed the airline's social media comments with demands for her bag. The same day she mobilized her fans, Air France reached out to let Paris know that it located and shipped her bags back to her. When an airline loses your luggage, it typically results in a weeks-long process to retrieve your items — that is, unless you're an influencer with 1.7 million TikTok followers. Air France did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment on the incident.

☆ Joy, Loneliness, ‘Rejuvenation:’ Becoming a Mother After 40
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Dani Blum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

Still, Ms. McQueen longed for a baby. Terry Ratzlaff for The New York TimesEach year, she and her girls celebrate the anniversaries of their embryo transfers, Ms. McQueen said. Together, they look at the balls of cells on the girls’ ultrasound images and talk about the lengths Ms. McQueen went to in order to have them. Then, in 2016, Ms. Allen was diagnosed with a seizure disorder, which forced her to stop working and focus on her health. Caring for Ezra, who is now 5, has come with “overwhelming guilt” over the things she can’t do, Ms. Allen says.

☆ Eurovision 2023: Seven to look out for in the Grand Final
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Teya & Salena from Austria perform during the second semi-final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, Britain, May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Phil NobleLIVERPOOL, England, May 13 (Reuters) - The Grand Final of the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Liverpool, northern England, on Saturday, with acts representing 26 countries competing. The song's lyrics address originality in music, while the line "Zero dot zero zero three" refers to the royalty rate of $0.003 per stream which Spotify is said to pay. FRANCEFrance - one of the "Big Five" that has automatic entry to the Grand Final - has not won the contest since 1977. FINLANDKäärijä, a rapper and singer sporting bright green bolero-sleeves and a bare chest, was a huge hit in the arena in Tuesday's semi-final with "Cha Cha Cha", a celebration of cutting loose after a week of hard work.

☆ Listen to the Mother of All Playlists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Listen along on Spotify as you read. Kacey Musgraves: “Mother”The shortest, sparsest song on Kacey Musgraves’s 2018 album, “Golden Hour,” is also the most emotionally piercing. “I’m just sitting here, thinking ’bout the time that’s slipping and missing my mother,” the country renegade sings with heartbreaking plaintiveness, before zooming out a generation and imagining that her own mother is probably doing the same. Musgraves has said that “Mother” is one of the “Golden Hour” songs she wrote while tripping on LSD — but don’t tell her mom that part. Merle Haggard: “Mama Tried”“Instead of life in prison I was doing one-to-15 years,” Merle Haggard once admitted of the slight embellishment as to how he spent his 21st birthday in one of his most famous (and semi-autobiographical) songs.

☆ Boys, 6 and 3, crash parents’ car, while driving to buy a toy car
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —It was a late night joyride that thankfully ended without anyone getting seriously hurt. The apparent reason for the brothers’ late night joyride? They were heading to the shops to buy a new toy car. They can be heard telling passersby that they want to go to a toy store to buy a model car. They said the case is being investigated under Section 43 of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless driving.

☆ The Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Katie Engelhart | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In October 2017, Diane Norelius stopped answering the phone. Her two daughters called and called. The women worried that their mother, who was 81, was sick, or maybe even dead. When Bill died of complications from a broken hip in 2011, after 53 years of marriage, Diane found herself alone for the first time. Then Erik died of cancer at age 55.

☆ Black Tech Twitter, trans users and more marginalized groups flock to Bluesky
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Daysia Tolentino | J.J. Mccorvey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Her first objective was to get her community, Black tech Twitter, onto Bluesky. Once Black Twitter users started moving to Bluesky, Aveta said, others wanted to follow. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter last year. Aveta said she prioritized moving the Black tech community to Bluesky first to combine social appeal with technical knowledge. Pariss Chandler, the organizer of Black Tech Twitter and the founder of the recruitment platform Black Tech Pipeline, said diversity, equity and inclusion should be considered early in a platform's launch.

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