Chris Rock Oscars Monologue: 5 Withering Jokes About Racism

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  423 words  |  Tandra Barner

Chris Rock didn’t disappoint in his opening Oscars monologue. In fact, he spent most of his time onstage addressing the #OscarsSoWhite controversy head on. Though some critics wanted the comedian to boycott the ceremonies after all 10 acting nominations were given to white actors for the second year in a row, Rock instead took the opportunity to skewer Hollywood racism and highlight the need for change. He also took shots at certain other actors and even the #AskHerMore campaign (led by Reese Witherspoon) that encourages red-carpet hosts to ask women about their roles and work, not just the dresses they are wearing. [Read More]

D.C. Council Approves Death With Dignity' for Terminally Ill

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  252 words  |  Kelle Repass

November 15, 2016 5:21 PM EST The D.C. Council overwhelmingly approved a “Death With Dignity” bill Tuesday that allows terminally ill patients the ability to obtain medication to end their own lives. The council passed the measure 11-2 after approving the bill by the same margin in an initial vote two weeks ago. The bill will now go to Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has pledged not to veto the legislation, which would make D. [Read More]

Ford Fusion Recall: 65,000 Vehicles Recalled over 'Rollaway' Issue

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  109 words  |  Billy Koelling

November 18, 2014 11:43 AM EST Ford has recalled 65,000 Fusion cars for noncompliance with a regulation on “theft protection and rollaway prevention. The automaker announced Tuesday said that it is not aware of any accidents or injuries caused by the issue, but said that it would voluntarily fix the more than 56,000 affected vehicles in the United States, as well as 6,000 in Canada and 2,300 in Mexico. The 65,000 vehicles recalled Tuesday is small in comparison to General Motors’ notorious recall this year, when more than 1 million vehicles worldwide were pulled over a faulty ignition switch that caused the deaths of at least 30 people. [Read More]

House of Flame and Shadow and the Sarah J. Maas Multiverse

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  9 minutes  |  1878 words  |  Martina Birk

Warning: This post contains spoilers for House of Flame and Shadow. For nearly two years, fans of Sarah J. Maas have been waiting to find out how the third book in her Crescent City series, House of Flame and Shadow, will bridge the gap between two of her three fantasy worlds. The crossover has been years in the making: Mass says that while she was working on the first book in the series, 2020's House of Earth and Blood, she already knew that book two, 2022's House of Sky and Breath, would end with Crescent City's human-Fae hybrid heroine Bryce Quinlan making a magic-fueled jump into another realm. [Read More]

How Learning New Words Could Help You Be Happy in Life

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1277 words  |  Billy Koelling

Sometimes life, with the aid of an unrelenting news cycle, can feel like an exercise in parsing out the particular kind of bad we are experiencing. Are we anxious or depressed, lonely or stressed? Tim Lomas, a lecturer in positive psychology at the University of East London — and a man who signs his emails “Best Wishes” — is engaged in the opposite endeavor: analyzing all the types of well-being that he can possibly find. [Read More]

How To Help Teens Find Purpose Amid Mental Health Crisis

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1265 words  |  Martina Birk

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 19-year-old Steven Yglecias was, like many teens, living at home and feeling directionless. “I felt uninspired,” Steven told me. “Life was an emotional roller coaster each day.” Steven is one of the millions of young people who struggle with mental health challenges. In the decade before the pandemic, the share of high school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40% to more than 1 in 3 students. [Read More]

Just How Dangerous Are Oil Rigs, Anyway?

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  852 words  |  Kelle Repass

By any measure, drilling for oil and gas offshore is one of America’s most dangerous professions. The risks are unavoidable: workers are on shift for an average of 12-hours a day dealing with highly combustible materials on a platform where cranes swing heavy equipment constantly overhead. All of this isolated hundreds of miles off coast. With seven to 14-days on the rig at a time, it can be a lonely experience. [Read More]

Kerry Washington on That UnPrisoned Finale Cliffhanger, Learning to Pole Dance for the S

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  16 minutes  |  3247 words  |  Billy Koelling

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for Season 2 of “UnPrisoned,” now streaming on Hulu. Kerry Washington refuses to rest on her laurels. In the six years since wrapping up her seven-season run as political fixer Olivia Pope on ABC’s “Scandal,” which made her the first Black woman in nearly 40 years to lead a primetime network drama, Washington has ventured further into producing and directing — all while keeping an eye out for new acting roles that would diversify her body of work, and get her out of comfort zone. [Read More]

Louisville 'Purge' Fails to Materialize as Cops Investigate Rumors

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  262 words  |  Tandra Barner

August 16, 2014 12:29 PM EDT Police in Louisville, Ky. are investigating a teenager accused of starting a “Purge” rumor in the city, a copycat of the eponymous movie in which everyone in the country is allowed to commit any crime for 12 hours with impunity. A flier circulated on social media proposed a “purge” in Louisville this weekend, but city police said they did not see a higher crime rate on Friday. [Read More]

New College Student Angst: How Parents Make Things Worse

 Posted on August 18, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1277 words  |  Billy Koelling

It’s a familiar, annual sight during the college orientations I run: at the snack break, a handful of sad looking students peel off from the crowd, wearing carefully curated first-day outfits and clutching their phones. They cluster along the edges of the room, or just outside, murmuring quietly to their parents. If their hair is long enough, it will hang over their faces to cover tears. I imagine the nervous parents pacing on the other end of the line, stomach in knots as they listen to anguished kids. [Read More]