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☆ Cindy Crawford recreates her iconic Pepsi ad in ‘One Margarita’ music video
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —TikTok’s song of the summer, the ecstatically explicit “One Margarita,” just got a raucous new music video — with a cameo from none other than supermodel Cindy Crawford. In the music video, Crawford recreates her famous 1992 Pepsi Super Bowl ad, in which she visited a dusty vending machine at a general store to grab and gulp a cold Pepsi while young boys ogled her. With one margarita, Moore raps, she’ll “open her legs.” By the time she’s had five margaritas, well, even her partner is feeling open to experimentation. From Giant Music“One Margarita (The Margarita Song)” was originally improvised by Moore on the spot in May. The original 1992 Pepsi ad featured Cindy Crawford gulping down the soda in sweltering heat.

Persons: CNN —, Margarita, ”, Cindy Crawford, Chick Angel, Crawford, margarita, Rande Gerber, Angel Laketa Moore, Moore, she’ll, she’s, she'll, Kevin Fredericks, Cindy, tickled Moore, Fredericks, Casa, Steve Terrell, Carl Dixon, —, Saucy Santana, Cindy Crawford gulping, James Corden Organizations: CNN, Pepsi, Louisiana State University, Children’s Locations: Mexican, Madison , Wisconsin

☆ Uxbridge by-election: In Boris Johnson's back yard, Britons are desperate for a change
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

A mid-term by-election to replace Johnson is taking place on Thursday, alongside two other by-elections to replace MPs elsewhere in the country. Boris Johnson is seen on a walkabout in Uxbridge in 2020, during his time as prime minister. Inside, the owner told CNN: "They're all the same ... Johnson’s company ran the first major opinion poll ahead of the Uxbridge by-election, which found a solid but assailable eight-point lead for Labour. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (far right) and Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves (right) on a campaign visit with Danny Beales, the local Labour candidate (back center).

Persons: Mike Okoli, ”, Okoli, Boris Johnson –, Johnson, “, ” Okoli, Rob Picheta, CNN Johnson, Manoj Supeda, I’ve, hasn’t, ‘, ’ He’s, Supeda, Johnson’s, ” Supeda, “ It’s, ” Manoj Supeda, Tony Blair, Labour's, Brexit, CNN Okoli, he’s, “ I’ve, Sonia Caetano, Boris Johnson, Stefan Rousseau, there’s, ” Caetano, Danny Beales, We've, Caetano, Keir Starmer, Steve Reed, Piers Corbyn, Jeremy Corbyn, Steve Tuckwell, ” Tuckwell, Reed, ” Reed, They’re, Mick, Starmer, “ We’re, we’re, ” James Johnson, Theresa May’s, Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, ” Tracy Peabody Organizations: United Kingdom CNN, European Union, CNN, Labour Party –, Tories, Labour, Conservatives, Britain, Uxbridge, Beales, London’s Labour, Conservative, Hillingdon Hospital, CNN ‘ Labour, “, Press Association Locations: Uxbridge, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Caribbean, London, South Ruislip, Britain, “, Okoli, Portuguese, Yiewsley, Portugal, Covid, Ukraine, Hillingdon, Ruislip Manor

☆ Sarepta slumps as concerns emerge around upcoming gene therapy data
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Sarepta Therapeutics shares (SRPT.O) slumped 11% on Friday as some analysts voiced concerns that upcoming confirmatory trial data for its gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) may not be enough to secure approval for expanded use. The U.S. health regulator had on Thursday granted Sarepta's Elevidys therapy accelerated approval to treat DMD patients aged between 4 and 5 years who can walk, contrary to the company's application for all patients who can walk. Sarepta's gene therapy is the first of its kind for DMD, an inherited progressive muscle-wasting disorder that almost always affects young boys. Elevidys, a one-time treatment, is expected to change the way that DMD patients are treated as current therapies require regular use. William Blair's Tim Lugo called the treatment "transformational for Duchenne's patients" and "a significant opportunity for Sarepta".

Persons: Sarepta's, Gavin Clark, Gartner, William Blair's Tim Lugo, Leroy Leo, Khushi, Devika Organizations: Sarepta Therapeutics, Food and Drug, BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Walmart plans to expand its specialty HIV outreach
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Bertha Coombs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Every month, he picks up medication at his local Walmart pharmacy that makes HIV undetectable and untransmittable — a prospect that was unthinkable just a generation ago. Yet racial and ethnic disparities remain pronounced, with people of color accounting for a disproportionate share of new HIV diagnoses. Walmart launched an HIV specialty-pharmacy pilot program in late 2021, targeting just over half a dozen highly affected communities, including Rosario's county in New Jersey. "We can see from the data that that there's a need here — there's a higher incidence of HIV," said Kevin Host, Walmart pharmacy senior vice president. Now, the retail giant plans to expand its program to more than 80 HIV-specialty facilities across nearly a dozen states by the end of this year.

Persons: David Rosario, Rosario, Kevin Host, Callaghan, Gemima Kleine, it's Organizations: Walmart, Disease Control, Shoppers, Callaghan O'Hare, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: New York City, New Jersey, Rosario's, Charlotte , North Carolina

☆ Gunmen kill dozens and kidnap children in northern Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Gunmen in Nigeria have killed dozens of people and kidnapped a number of children in separate attacks in two northern states, police and residents said on Sunday, the latest incidents in a region dogged by armed violence. Armed gangs on motorbikes frequently take advantage of thinly stretched security forces in the region to kidnap villagers, motorists and students for ransom. Residents said armed men had attacked Janbako and Sakkida villages in northwestern Zamfara state on Saturday, killing 24 people. The gunmen also abducted several children who were collecting firewood in a forest in neighboring Gora village. In north central Benue state, gunmen killed 25 people and set their houses on fire during an attack on Saturday on the Imande Mbakange community, two residents said.

Persons: Janbako, Hussaini Ahmadu, Abubakar Maradun, Yazid Abubakar Organizations: Reuters, Gunmen, Police Locations: Nigeria, Zamfara, Gora, Janbako, Benue

☆ Opinion | In India’s Gang Rape Culture, All Women Are Victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Vidya Krishnan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

GOA, India — My niece was just 4 years old when she turned to my sister-in-law in a packed movie theater in Mumbai and asked about gang rape for the first time. We were watching the latest Bollywood blockbuster about vigilante justice, nationalistic fervor and, of course, gang rape. Didi’s gang rape took place offscreen, but it didn’t need to be shown. You may wonder, “Why take a 4-year-old to such a movie?” But there is no escaping India’s rape culture; sexual terrorism is treated as the norm. India’s favorite profanities are about having sex with women without their consent.

Persons: Didi Organizations: . Society Locations: GOA, India, Mumbai

☆ How to Be a Star by Not Giving Your All
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Robert Ito | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

IF NORA IS NOTHING LIKE many of Lee’s previous party-girl characters, neither is Lee herself. She’s a mother, for starters, of two young boys with her husband, Russ Armstrong. On set, “Greta is like a Hunter S. Thompson-meets-Fellini character,” Natasha Lyonne said in an interview. Isn’t this completely wild?”Lee, now 40, was born in Los Angeles and spent most of her childhood here. After high school, Lee attended Northwestern University in the hopes of going into musical theater.

Persons: NORA, Lee, She’s, Russ Armstrong, Greta, Thompson, Fellini, ” Natasha Lyonne, “, “ I’m, ”, ” Lee, Liza Minnelli Organizations: ”, Northwestern University Locations: Los Angeles, American

☆ Cate Blanchett dons habit in Australian director's conversion tale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Alicia Powell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Newcomer Aswan Reid plays the titular 9-year-old New Boy in the film by Warwick Thornton based on his own experience of walking into a church for the first time at the age of 11. "That's a genesis for a great movie," Thornton told Reuters on Saturday, before joking: "You know, written by child and directed by a grumpy old man is probably how it worked." Blanchett's nun sets about trying to convert the boy, who can seemingly heal wounds with his touch and starts bleeding from his palms, in a magical-realist conflict of spirituality. Deborah Mailman, who plays another nun, told Reuters that the film helps viewers understand the emotional gravitas of colonization: "It actually emotionally pushes you to that point of going, 'This is what it is, this is what happened.'" Reporting by Alicia Powell Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The young Terao had just survived the world’s first nuclear attack. For Terao, the idea the world is hurtling back toward the nightmare he barely survived is incomprehensible. Terao points to a photograph showing Hiroshima before the atomic bombing and the house where he spent the first four years of his life. And yet, for a man who has survived an atomic bomb attack, the fact that the planet remains at risk of nuclear armaggedon is hard to live with. “I wonder If I’ll die without seeing a world without nuclear weapons,” he adds.

☆ 10 things in tech: Musk believes remote work is morally wrong, BookTok a kingmaker, and AI press releases
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Michael Cogley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It will be interesting to see what enlarged role social media stats will also have on the publishing industry, given TikTok has assumed the position of a literary kingmaker. But before I pitch you my novella that's sure to be a social media hit, let's jump into today's tech news. He also revealed that he planned to rehire some of the thousands of staff he laid off after he assumed control of the social media giant. A new PR tech company is using AI to write press releases. Apple unveiled a new set of accessibility features this week, including "Personal Voice," which aims to replicate a user's voice with AI after 15 minutes of training.

☆ A video captured a Carnival cruise passenger climbing between balconies. Other people on board cheered him on.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A male passenger was seen on video climbing between balconies on a Carnival cruise. A video shows a passenger climbing in between balconies on a Carnival cruise as several people cheer him on. In a video posted by the industry website Cruise Hive, a male passenger is shown struggling to climb on a ledge on Carnival's Mardi Gras cruise ship. It's not the first time passengers were caught on video flouting the rules on a Carnival cruise. In April, Carnival banned at least two passengers for life after a TikTok showed them fishing from their room's balcony.

☆ YouTube recommended videos about guns, school shootings, and serial killers to researchers simulating accounts of young boys
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new study on YouTube's recommendation algorithm found it pushed violent videos to children. Researchers from the Tech Transparency Project created four accounts for fictional nine and 14-year-olds. Accounts that watched recommended videos received hundreds more violent videos than the ones that didn't. For the following month, researchers tracked hundreds of videos recommended daily to the fictional children on YouTube's homepage. One of each pair of the accounts chose to watch at least 50 of the recommended videos, while the other accounts did not interact with the violent recommendations.

☆ FDA reviewers raise doubts over data on Sarepta's gene therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Leroy Leo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's staff reviewers raised concerns over limited data on Sarepta Therapeutics Inc's (SRPT.O) gene therapy for a muscle-wasting disorder, ahead of a meeting of the agency's advisers on Friday. The agency's staff on Wednesday highlighted several issues with the data and said that existing studies did not provide "unambigious evidence" that the gene therapy will benefit patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The FDA also highlighted that DMD, a rare disorder that mainly affects young boys, is an urgent unmet medical need. The advisory committee's vote on Friday and an eventual decision by the FDA is seen as a test of the agency's accelerated approval pathway for gene therapies. Sarepta has three drugs available for the disease for people with different types of genetic mutations but they have to be given as weekly intravenous infusion, while the experimental gene therapy is a one-time treatment.

☆ Oral sex is the leading 'risk factor' for a throat cancer, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Oral sex is now the leading "risk factor" for a throat cancer, an expert said. He said there has been a rapid increase in throat cancer cases in the West in recent decades. In both the US and the UK, oropharyngeal cancer is now more common than cancer of the cervix, he wrote. Because HPV is sexually transmitted, "for oropharyngeal cancer, the main risk factor is the number of lifetime sexual partners, especially oral sex," Mehanna said. Michael Douglas partly atributed his throat cancer diagnosis on oral sex.

☆ Russia-Ukraine War Russian Foreign Minister Wraps up Americas Tour at U.N.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Anushka Patil | Juston Jones | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Video For Valentyn, a Ukrainian soldier in the Donetsk region, the war’s death toll is more than a statistic. He is tasked with moving wounded troops — and dead bodies — away from the front lines, often under Russian fire. On the horizon, a military vehicle moves along a dusty road and screeches to a halt when it reaches the trees. A soldier named Valentyn parks it there for natural camouflage from Russian drones scouting for Ukrainian military positions. “This is a big tragedy for us.”“One more body is left behind with the Russian soldiers,” he added.

☆ The Queen of Twitch Wonders What Turns Teenage Fans Into Trolls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +11 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk The Queen of Twitch Wonders What Turns Teenage Fans Into TrollsImane Anys has experienced a turbocharged version of the ostensibly good and indisputably awful that can come with being a star in the world of online content creators. Honestly, there are people in the streaming industry who don’t find misogyny deplorable, who don’t think it’s a big deal, who don’t think deepfaking should be punishable in any way. For me, it’s been invaluable to have fellow female streamers who know what I’ve gone through, who can validate my feelings. If I have a particular interest in pottery, let me showcase that instead of just focusing on gaming and streaming. Being able to connect with other people who are interested in the same things as you is so validating.

☆ Big U.S. intelligence leak was by gun enthusiast in 20s -Washington Post
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - The person who leaked U.S. classified documents prompting a national security investigation is a gun enthusiast in his 20s who worked on a military base, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing fellow members of an online chat group. The Post based its report, which did not name the person, on interviews with two members of the Discord chat group. The Department of Defense and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. U.S. national security agencies and the Justice Department are investigating the release to assess the damage to national security and relations with allies and other countries, including Ukraine. Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Idrees Ali Editing by Don Durfee and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uganda passes bill banning identifying as LGBTQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch. In addition to same-sex intercourse, the law bans promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality. Violations under the law draw steep penalties including death for so called aggravated homosexuality and life in prison for gay sex. I support the bill to protect the future of our children," said lawmaker David Bahati during debate on the bill. In recent weeks Uganda authorities have cracked down on LGBTQ individuals after religious leaders and politicians alleged students were being recruited into homosexuality in schools.

☆ Uganda passes a law making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KAMPALA, March 21 (Reuters) - Uganda's parliament passed a law on Tuesday making it a crime to identify as LGBTQ, handing authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence. The new law appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ), according to rights group Human Rights Watch. In addition to same-sex intercourse, the law bans promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality. Violations under the law draw severe penalties, including death for so-called aggravated homosexuality and life in prison for gay sex. In recent weeks, Uganda authorities have cracked down on LGBTQ people after religious leaders and politicians alleged students were being recruited into homosexuality in schools.

[1/3] Young boys carry plastic as they look for items to salvage from the Nasolo river in Ndirande township in Blantyre, Malawi March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Eldson ChagaraBLANTYRE/MAPUTO, March 15 (Reuters) - Malawi and Mozambique were racing to rescue survivors from Tropical Cyclone Freddy on Wednesday as the death toll rose above 270 from one of the most powerful storms recorded in the southern hemisphere. In neighbouring Mozambique at least 21 people had died as of Tuesday, according to the disaster agency. The overall death toll since Freddy first made landfall in February is now estimated at more than 270 in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. We've rescued thousands but thousands more are still unreachable," said disaster agency spokesperson Paulo Tomas by telephone from Quelimane.

☆ South African township boys spin bikes to stay out of trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ngwenya usually practises stunts with his friends in Kahlehong township, east of Johannesburg, where he is part of a club that encourages young boys to fix up old bikes and get into spinning so they stay away from crime and gang violence. This weekend, they were invited for the first time to "Revved up Sunday", a monthly event which is usually reserved for car spinning but has added a stunt bike exhibition for its younger participants. We don't only spin in our township anymore but we can now be seen by other people," said Ngwenya, who started spinning in 2016 after a friend introduced him to it. "What I love about spinning bikes is that when we are bored and not doing anything, we don't get into trouble but we spin," said Ngwenya. ($1 = 18.1923 rand)Reporting by Siyabonga Sishi; Writing by Nellie Peyton, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] Ukrainian service members prepare to shoot from a howitzer at a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 2, 2023. It says it would be a stepping stone to capturing the surrounding Donbas region, a major war aim. "Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut. Both sides say they have inflicted devastating losses in Bakhmut. The task of our forces in Bakhmut is to inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible.

☆ Russian mercenary chief says Ukraine's Bakhmut is practically surrounded
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, speaks in Paraskoviivka, Ukraine in this still image from an undated video released on March 3, 2023. "Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut. Only one road is left (open to Ukrainian forces) The pincers are getting tighter," said Prigozhin. Reuters geolocated the video to the village of Paraskoviivka, 4.3 miles (7 km) north of the centre of Bakhmut. Reuters geolocated the footage to the east of Bakhmut, around 1.2 miles (2 km) from the city centre.

☆ Meta launches a tool to proactively prevent sextortion of teens
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Meta is taking steps to crack down on the spread of intimate images of teenagers on Facebook and Instagram. To create a hash of an explicit image, a teen can visit the website TakeItDown.NCMEC.org to install software onto their device. Meanwhile, President Biden demanded in his latest State of the Union address more transparency about tech companies’ algorithms and how they impact their young users’ mental health. Meta recommends teens who have multiple copies of the image or edited versions make a hash for each one. “There’s no one panacea for the issue of sextortion or the issue of the non-consensual sharing of intimate images,” Davis said.

☆ Berlinale film 'Manodrome' explores misogynistic world of incel culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Miranda Murray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Cast members Adrien Brody, Odessa Young, Jesse Eisenberg and director John Trengove attend a photo call to promote the movie 'Manodrome'' at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 18, 2023. The film, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday, explores the "manosphere" of online toxic masculinity that bubbled up into the mainstream after a series of mass killings by "incels" - the self-described "involuntary celibates" - in the 2010s. They eventually win Ralphie as a new adherent to their cult and initiate him by branding him with their symbol. "It really became this idea of a character who just immerses himself in a world of men. And it all kind of leads to a sort of madness, a kind of a fever dream," Trengove told the premiere's audience.

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