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☆ Taylor Swift agreed to $100 million deal with FTX before it went bankrupt, but FTX pulled out
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Taylor Swift signed onto a lucrative touring partnership with FTX before its collapse, but FTX pulled out of the arrangement, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Bankman-Fried has been accused of orchestrating one of the biggest financial frauds in US history, allegedly costing investors billions of dollars and improperly using customer funds from his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. But a person familiar with the Swift discussions said the artist’s side had agreed to a $100 million tour sponsorship deal, but the deal was never finalized due to hesitation on FTX’s side. Other celebrities, including Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, and Naomi Osaka, signed deals with FTX, which declared bankruptcy last fall. Brady and Bundchen also held stakes in FTX that were likely entirely wiped out.

Persons: CNN — Taylor Swift, FTX, cryptocurrency, Swift’s, Sam Bankman, Adam Moskowitz, endorsers, Swift, Fried, Moskowitz, “, ”, Taylor Swift, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka, Brady, Bundchen, Jimmy Fallon, Madonna, Kim Kardashian, Max, CNN’s Kara Scannell, Chloe Melas Organizations: CNN, FTX, New York Times, Financial Times, Securities and Exchange Commission

☆ The Man Who Wants to Be the Biggest Thing in Fashion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Vanessa Friedman | More About Vanessa Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

She’s been very successful without having sex tapes, without having to go through all the things that her sister had to go through. He had his good run of 10 years, and I think his era is slowly going to its finish line. Now it is my time.”Is that why he chose to post his Madonna reveal not long after the Balenciaga couture show? They spent a month lost in the mountains before eventually making their way to Düsseldorf, Germany, where the boys grew up. (In 2021, Guram told Forbes Georgia that if his family had stayed in Georgia, “I would probably be running for president.”)

Persons: ”, Kim, Kylie, Kylie’s, Serena Williams, Serena, It’s, “ Balenciaga, “, Gvasalia, Julie Gilhart, ‘, Demna, Guram, Vetements Organizations: Tomorrow Consulting, Forbes Locations: Balenciaga, Sokhumi , Georgia, Düsseldorf, Germany, Forbes Georgia, Georgia

☆ ‘Secret Chef’ is just one of the delicious shows out this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Something to sip on…David Chang is an executive producer and one of the stars of "Secret Chef." Jim Fiscus/ HULUReminder that I simply adore movies and shows that celebrate food. “Guided by a mischievous animated talking hat, the chefs are tasked to perform a series of cooking challenges. With their true identities concealed, everything will be hidden except the one thing that matters most … the food.”Yes, please! “Is It Cake?” is over on Netflix, while “Secret Chef” is currently streaming on Hulu.

Persons: let’s, David Chang, Jim Fiscus, ”, –, Angela Bassett, Mike Coppola, Bassett, Tina Turner, “, Oscar, I’m, Lily, Rose Depp, Abel, Eddy Chen, Abel “, Madonna, Tesfaye, “ I’ve, ‘, Bowie, ” Tesfaye, Can’t, Kevin Baker, Henry Cavill, Cavill, Liam Hemsworth Organizations: CNN, Hulu, Netflix, Marvel Studios, HBO, Warner Bros . Locations: Hulu, Hollywood , California

☆ 'Swiftie' moms are passing down their passion — and parasocial relationship with Taylor Swift — to their kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Aditi Shrikant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"People pull their kids from school for way stupider reasons than to go to a Taylor Swift concert," Vladek says to CNBC Make It. "That's the part Taylor Swift has done so brilliantly," she says. Taylor Swift doesn't." "When I was pregnant, I would hold my phone to my belly and play Taylor Swift," she says. "Honestly, I'd be crushed [if my daughter didn't like Taylor Swift].

Persons: Karen Vladek didn't, Taylor Swift, Taylor, Vladek, Maddie …, Swift, Tim McGraw, Michael Jackson, isn't, Kate Kurtin, Kurtin, Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Katy Perry's, —, Sally A, Theran, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Sawyer, Sawyer, Jessica Dinney, Swift's, Dinney, wouldn't, didn't, Harry Potter, I've Organizations: CNBC, California State University , Los, Wellesley College, Disney, Twitter Locations: Houston, Austin , Texas, California State University , Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Jacksonville , Florida, Tampa , Florida, Tampa

☆ Robert Kennedy Jr. Reports Income of $7.8 Million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Rebecca Davis O Brien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political scion and prominent vaccine skeptic who is challenging President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, reported an income of $7.8 million in the year leading up to his entry into the race, including nearly $1.6 million from his consulting work for a personal injury law firm known for litigation against pharmaceutical companies. The details came in a financial disclosure form filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission. It shows that Mr. Kennedy earned $5 million at his environmental law firm, Kennedy & Madonna, and a $516,000 salary and bonus as chairman and chief legal counsel of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group he formed that has campaigned against vaccines. (The disclosure says he has been on leave from the organization since April, when he announced his campaign.) Mr. Kennedy, a leading skeptic of vaccinations and prescription medications, has gained a foothold in the race even as he has contorted facts about vaccine development and public health authorities and increasingly embraced conservative figures and causes.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Biden, Kennedy, Madonna, Mr Organizations: Democratic, Federal, Commission, Children’s Health Defense, Saint Anselm College Survey Center, Quinnipiac University Locations: New Hampshire

CNN —Madonna has been discharged from the hospital and transported to her New York City home via a private ambulance, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN Thursday. “She’s in the clear,” the individual told CNN. He added Madonna would be postponing the launch of her upcoming tour while recovers. “At this time we need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour,” Oseary wrote. Madonna also added supplemental dates in the US in December and January, followed by four show dates in Mexico City.

Persons: “, Guy Oseary, Madonna’s, ” Oseary, ”, Madonna Organizations: CNN Locations: New York City, Vancouver, Canada, United States, Europe, Mexico City

☆ Madonna Postpones Tour After ‘Serious Bacterial Infection,’ ICU Stay
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Joseph Pisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Madonna Postpones ‘Celebration’ Tour After ‘Serious Bacterial Infection’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( John Yoon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Madonna was hospitalized for several days with a “serious bacterial infection,” forcing her to postpone her forthcoming “Celebration” tour, her manager said on Wednesday. The 64-year-old pop icon developed the infection on Saturday, leading to a stay in an intensive care unit, her manager, Guy Oseary, wrote on Instagram. “Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care,” he said. “A full recovery is expected.”Madonna’s world tour was set to begin on July 15 in Vancouver and to last seven months, highlighting songs from the past 40 years of her career.

Persons: Madonna, Guy Oseary, “, ” Locations: Vancouver

☆ Madonna recovering from ‘serious bacterial infection,’ postpones Celebration world tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Madonna is taking time to heal after a health scare, which will postpone at least some of her Celebration world tour that had been set to commence next month. In a post shared to his verified Instagram, Guy Oseary, Madonna’s longtime manager, shared that the 64-year-old icon “developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several day stay in the ICU” on Saturday. “At this time we need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour,” he added. The tour was set to continue throughout the United States and Canada through early October, before heading to Europe. Madonna also added supplemental dates in the US in December and January, followed by four show dates in Mexico City.

Persons: Guy Oseary, Madonna’s, “, ” Oseary, ”, ” Madonna’s, Madonna Organizations: CNN Locations: Vancouver, Canada, Seattle, United States, Europe, Mexico City

☆ Kylie Minogue’s ‘Padam Padam’ and the Queer Club-Pop Canon
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The song defining Pride month this year is Kylie Minogue’s “Padam Padam,” a thumping tease that’s lightly campy and has taken on outsize importance as a gay nightlife anthem and meme-culture staple. For Minogue, 55 — a bona fide superstar abroad but more of a pop curio here — it’s one of a handful of breakthrough moments that have cemented her embrace among gay listeners. But “Padam Padam” is also part of a longer list of diva anthems — from Lady Gaga, Madonna, and many others — that become, in effect, gay canon. On this week’s Popcast, a conversation about “Padam Padam” and how songs get inscribed into the gay pop canon, Minogue’s not-quite-stardom in the United States, and how a younger generation of pop aspirants like Rina Sawayama and Charli XCX perform their embrace of their gay fans.

Persons: Kylie Minogue’s “, ”, Minogue, Lady Gaga, Madonna, “, Minogue’s, Rina Sawayama, Charli XCX Locations: United States

☆ A Flip Phone Keeps Me Sane
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Liana Satenstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I still needed my smartphone for work, but I would use my flip phone when I ventured out into the world and on weekends. My Alcatel was a “dumb phone,” a Dostoyevsky-“The-Idiot”-of-phones that helped me see the simplicity in the world. The first week I had my flip phone, I read a book. Also, you’ll have to call me and describe that meme you’re trying to send, because my phone doesn’t do visuals. Most of the time, I hate the inconvenience of my flip phone.

Persons: ”, Dostoyevsky, iMessage, I’m, Natalie Imbruglia’s “, “ Ray of Organizations: Alcatel, Google, Yorker Locations: Manhattan

☆ Readers’ Picks: 12 Pride Anthems
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

“Smalltown Boy” is not necessarily about running away from a heterosexual upbringing but toward pride, freedom and acceptance. To me, “Holiday” was a metaphor for that place where I could live inside a bright, shiny rainbow. I took a few extra days of leave at the end, which happened to coincide with Seattle Pride. Diana Ross: “I’m Coming Out”My coming out song at the age of 38 was “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross. It may be rough, you may be alone, but you have that special song that the world needs to hear.

Persons: Bronski Beat, “, ”, J.P, Jack Terry, Northville, CeCe Peniston, CeCe, I’d, — Eric, Diana Ross, Harry N, Cohen, Cass Elliot, — Jared Schrock Organizations: Bronski, YouTube, Seattle Pride, Pride Locations: New York, Streeter, Alameda, Calif, Mich, Seattle, Kentucky, Pittsburgh

☆ Taking a Late-in-Life Victory Lap, Thanks to His Novel’s ‘Lunatic Energy’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Alexandra Alter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Plunket was living in a trailer park in Englewood, Fla., with his pug, Meatball, when an email interrupted his life of quiet retirement. “I did feel like an obscure has-been,” Plunket said, “because that’s what I was, technically.”Now, Plunket is relishing his new status as a former has-been. This month, the independent publisher New Directions reissued his novel, “My Search for Warren Harding,” a biting comedy about a scholar who goes to extreme, morally questionable lengths to access letters Warren Harding sent to his mistress. What’s even more unusual about Plunket, and his unlikely return, is how stealthily influential his fiction has been over the decades. His admirers include writers like the novelist Ann Beattie and the journalist Frank Rich, comedians like Amy Sedaris and Larry David.

Persons: Robert Plunket, Meatball, Plunket, ” Plunket, Warren Harding, ”, Danzy Senna, Ann Beattie, Frank Rich, Amy Sedaris, Larry David, Madonna, Ian Organizations: New Locations: Englewood, Fla, New York

☆ This is the one question the Microsoft CEO asks to test AI's smarts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Steven Tweedie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella likes to test AI using a poetry prompt. Imagine you're the CEO of Microsoft, and you're testing out an early version of OpenAI's most powerful AI model, GPT-4. Well, now we know, thanks to a new interview Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently gave to Wired. Jalaluddin Rumi, or Rumi as he's most commonly referred to, was a Persian poet who lived during the early 13th century. The Microsoft CEO told Wired that seeing GPT-4 accomplish this early on was a "mind-blowing experience."

Persons: Satya Nadella, Rumi, GPT, Nadella, Jalaluddin Rumi, it's, I'd, Coldplay, Chris Martin, Madonna, Tilda Swinton, Hossein Behzad, Robert Frost Organizations: Microsoft, Wired, BBC, Google Locations: Hyderabad, India, Persian

☆ Gucci’s horsebit loafer is still a coveted status symbol 70 years on
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Despite their vastly differing personal styles and occupations, they have all been spotted in a pair of Gucci horsebit loafers. In mid-June, coinciding with the menswear shows at Milan Fashion Week, Gucci will stage an exhibition celebrating the legacy of its signature loafer. In 1974, George H. W. Bush wore a pair of horsebit loafers to meet then-President Gerald Ford. Through the decadesThe success of Gucci’s horsebit loafers has been far-reaching, and the secret to their ongoing relevance may lie in the shoe’s versatility. The horsebit loafer is Gucci’s answer to the near-philosophical question: What shoes do I wear?

Persons: George H, Bush, ’, Jane Birkin, Wiz Khalifa, Gucci horsebit, Gucci, loafers, Gerald Ford, David Hume Kennerly, Birkin, Francis Ford Coppola, Sophia Loren, Charlotte Casiraghi, Jodie Foster, Brad Pitt, Zoe Kravitz, Gigi Hadid, Guccio Gucci —, —, Aldo, Rodolfo, Vasco, Guccio, Serge Gainsbourg, Gucci’s, Alessandro Michele, JB Lacroix Organizations: CNN, Metropolitan Museum of, Milan Fashion, Golden Globe, MTV VMA, Savoy, Wall Locations: Cannes, Monégasque, London, Florence, Italy, New York, France

[1/3] People walk along the Ipanema beach following the death of Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil June 6, 2023. REUTERS/Pilar OlivaresBRASILIA, June 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, the voice of Bossa Nova whose soft and dreamy version of "The Girl from Ipanema" was an international success in the 1960s, has died at the age of 83, her family said. Astrud performed the vocals in English, including the duet "The Girl from Ipanema" which became the album's major hit. "The Girl from Ipanema" was the first song the 22-year-old Astrud recorded and launched her career almost by accident. She later moved to the United States, where she toured with Getz, singing Bossa Nova and American jazz standards.

Persons: Astrud Gilberto, Pilar Olivares BRASILIA, Gilberto, Sofia Gilberto, Joao Gilberto, Stan Getz, Getz, Astrud, " Getz, Weinert, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Steve Van Zandt, Sade, Lana Del Rey, Ivan Lins, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Anthony Boadle, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, New York, Thomson Locations: Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Philadelphia, United States, American, Salvador, Bahia, Brazilian

☆ Pope to visit Portugal in August for World Youth Day, Fatima Shrine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

VATICAN CITY, May 22 (Reuters) - Pope Francis will travel to Portugal from Aug. 2-6 to attend the World Youth Day and visit the Shrine of Fatima, the Vatican said on Monday. World Youth Day, a global gathering of young Catholics, is being held in Lisbon from Aug. 1-6. The Vatican said Francis would take advantage of the trip to travel also to the Shrine of Fatima in central Portugal on Aug. 5. The Catholic Church teaches that the Madonna appeared to three Portuguese children 100 years ago in what was then an impoverished farming village. The pope last visited the shrine in 2017 when he declared two of the children saints.

Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since February 2022, in what it condemns as illegal deportations. "We must make every effort to return them home," Zelenskiy said in a Tweet afterwards, saying he had discussed it with the pope. Zelenskiy also said he asked the pope to "join" Kyiv's 10-point peace plan. [1/6] Pope Francis shakes hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, at the Vatican, May 13, 2023. Zelenskiy flew to Rome on an Italian government plane that was escorted over Italian airspace by fighter jets.

☆ Madonna's 'Sex' photos go to auction for the first time at Christie's
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Carlie Porterfield | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Prints of photographs from Madonna’s wildly popular 1992 coffee table book “Sex” will be available for purchase for the first time at Christie’s New York this fall, part of ongoing projects to mark the 30th anniversary of the controversial publication. In October, over 40 prints first published in “Sex” will go up for sale as part of a special standalone auction. “Thirty years on, ‘Sex’ is still somewhat controversial, but it still reads as a very body-positive, sex-positive book,” Himes said. “Sex” also featured Madonna’s then-boyfriend, rapper Vanilla Ice, and stars like supermodel Naomi Campbell and socialite Tatiana von Fürstenberg. The prints will go on display at Christie's galleries in London, Paris and New York before the October auction.

☆ How MTV Broke News for a Generation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Remy Tumin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A little over a year into his first term, President Bill Clinton made good on a promise to return to MTV if young voters sent him to the White House. The town hall-style program in 1994 was meant to focus on violence in America, but it was a question of personal preference that made headlines and helped put MTV News on the media map. Now, a generation after MTV News bridged the gap between news and pop culture, Paramount, the network’s parent company, announced this week that it was shuttering the news service. They brought viewers on the presidential campaign trail and face to face with world leaders like Yasir Arafat, and took them into college dorms in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. They also embraced the messy chaos of 1990s and early 2000s celebrity, as when Courtney Love interrupted an interview with Madonna.

☆ At Instagram’s Favorite Hotel, the Other Guests Are Part of the Draw
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Lane Florsheim | Photography Daniel Arnold For Wsj. Magazine | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GRAND CAYMAN—At a sunny beachside lunch earlier this month, concierge Bambi Grimotes was sketching an itinerary for a short stay at Palm Heights, a boutique hotel here in the Cayman Islands. Bambi—whom guests refer to mononymously, as they would Madonna—is the hotel’s master of ceremonies, whose job it is to hang out with vacationers, host monthly dinner parties and MC its increasingly packed Saturday karaoke night. “You would probably need some sort of massage,” he said, estimating that most guests need two days for their nervous systems to submit to the slowed-down pace of Palm Heights. “My goal is for you to feel rich. That’s how I feel.

Companies Peloton Interactive Inc FollowNEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday refused to let Peloton Interactive Inc (PTON.O) customers pursue a class action accusing the bike and treadmill maker of misleading them about the "ever-growing" size of its library of on-demand fitness classes. The decision is a victory for New York-based Peloton, because class actions can allow for greater recoveries at lower cost than when plaintiffs sue individually. According to the customers, Peloton knew this could happen, yet kept charging full price for products containing copyrighted songs by Adele, Beyoncé, Luke Bryan, Drake, Ariana Grande, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z and other artists. Peloton settled the licensing lawsuit by the National Music Publishers' Association and 14 members in February 2020. The case is Passman et al v Peloton Interactive Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Drag queens and the long, vibrant history of drag in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Barbara Alper/Getty ImagesDrag has become increasingly visible in recent years through mainstream shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and popular public events such as drag brunches, drag bingo and drag queen story hours, in which drag performers read children’s books to young audiences, often at libraries. Some trans drag queens who received hormone injections were “strongly deplored by stage impersonators who (said) that the whole point of female impersonation depends on maleness,” Newton wrote. But “Drag Race” has also skewed viewers’ definition of drag – no drag kings have ever competed on the series, Testa noted, and the judges have long imposed somewhat traditional beauty standards upon contestants. Pickle reads from a book during the Drag Queen Story Hour program at a Los Angeles library in 2019. These lawmakers falsely claim that drag performers “groom” or sexualize children, of which there is also no evidence.

☆ And in This Corner, Hailing From Dagestan, Presenting Hasbulla
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Joseph Bernstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks on March 17, Hasbulla Magomedov got the full celebrity treatment. He chatted pregame with the Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who posed with him for a photo. When Hasbulla’s face appeared on the Jumbotron, the crowd went wild. And, like everyone who’s anyone, he sat courtside at the Staples Center, with one major difference: He was perched on his friend’s lap. Hasbulla, 20, is a little over three feet tall, and it gave him a better view of the action.

☆ The Mind Behind the Music You Can’t Get Out of Your Head
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Ben Cohen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Nathan HackettWhen the Library of Congress recently enshrined the latest collection of music into the National Recording Registry, there was something for everyone on the list of hits: “Imagine” by John Lennon, “Like a Virgin” by Madonna, “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett and “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey. But perhaps the most recognizable of the tunes was one with an unrecognizable title, written by someone whose name you probably haven’t heard, even though billions of people might be familiar with his work.

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