These days, the Instagram pics are an important part of the holiday destination. So it's only natural that people turn to Pinterest to seek the best and most beautiful places to go.
Now Airbnb and Pinterest have teamed up to create a list of holiday destinations based on the most searched-for destinations on Pinterest.
Read on to find out where Pinterest users are heading this summer.
Tenerife
Swerve the big resort areas and instead give hiking up Pico del Teide and exploring colonial towns La Laguna and La Orotava a go. This cute little cottage in Anaga Rural Park is just £42 a night.
Courchevel
Located in Le Trois Vallées in France. It's massive, with 600km of pistes and around 170 lifts. This small but perfectly formed chalet with a maze of hidden bunkbeds fits six people for £149 a night.
Scottish Highlands
Just about as remote as you get in the United Kingdom. Breathe fresh air, hike and marvel at the scenery. This country lodge is around an hour away from Aberdeen, just £85 a night and sleeps eight whole people!
Reykjavik
By now you're well versed in the magic that is Iceland. From its hot springs with magical healing properties to the Northern Lights, it's a wonder you haven't already been. This lodge is £151 a night and fits four people.
Kyoto
Full of incredible Buddhist temples, zen gardens and the beautiful bamboo forest. This traditional Japanese house is just £72 a night and sleeps six people.
Bora Bora
Famously one of the most beautiful places on Earth, with clear blue waters, beautiful beaches and luscious rainforests. These beach bungalows are £181 a night.
New York City
You know how great New York is already. But is doesn't have to be as expensive as you're thinking. This loft right near the Brooklyn Bridge is £230 a night for six people.
Santorini
With its famous white houses and blue roofs, Santorini has become so in demand that the island is limiting the number of cruise ship tourists it lets in. If you can get there, this house is £130 for five people.
Barcelona
Another in-demand place, the city itself can get very busy with tourists so this flat up the beautiful Mount Tibidabo with good connections to the city is a good compromise, then. It is also just £44 a night.
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It’s no secret that UK politics still has a serious gender inequality problem. Women make up just 29% of all MPs, misogynistic attitudes and behaviour remain widespread in the corridors of power, and sexist media coverage continues to put young women and girls off politics (one word: Legs-it). And the experiences of one young candidate in next month’s general election are unlikely to make them any more likely to consider a career in politics.
Emily Owen, a 22-year-old who is campaigning to be the Labour candidate for Aberconwy, Wales, has lifted the lid on the “disgusting” online sexual harassment she has already faced as a woman in politics.
Owen has received messages about everything from the size of her “rack” to the sexual acts she’s willing to perform in return for votes.
One man said he would only vote for he “if she’s got a decent rack”, adding: “Anyone know her size? I mean she’s pretty enough but haven’t seen much of her body yet,” reported Welsh news site the Daily Post.
Another man, in his 50s, reportedly posted on Facebook: “Hello young Emily. I’ve seen your post and it’s brave for a young girl to put herself out there like that. You’ll need some practice on shutting men down I should think. You can practise on me any time.” Another man allegedly asked: “How many votes for a striptease?”
But Owen has had enough, taking to Facebook yesterday to post an angry response to the lurid remarks. "This is the first time I've been under this level of public scrutiny and I have to say I'm shocked!," she wrote.
"If people have questions about my politics, discuss with me. If you don't agree with my reply then challenge me. I'm more than willing to engage in political conversation so let's have that debate. This is acceptable.
"What is NOT ACCEPTABLE is flooding me with messages about what sexual acts I'm prepared to perform to get votes, what bra size I am, how many votes needed for me to strip and comments suggesting the reason I'm standing is to sleep with an Oxford grad."
She continued: "I've been debating ignoring it but this behaviour is disgusting and needs calling out!!! I highly doubt you'll be asking the male candidates their penis size in order to make a decision about their politics..... sexism is not okay."
People rushed to show Owen their support on social media. One wrote: "Welcome to the awful world of male dominated, dog whistle blowing misogynistic politics as we ignorantly head back to the dark ages. Be strong, take the moral high ground and bloody well win that seat."
While another said: "Unbelievable. Well, actually it's not.....which is probably worse. Keep strong, horrible for you to have to tolerate that rubbish. Good luck with the campaign!"
Emily, originally from Bury, Greater Manchester, was just 21 when she was elected to Conwy County Council while still a student at Bangor University, and is now taking on sitting Tory MP Guto Bebb. Let's hope this isn't the last we hear of her.
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Ever wondered what it’s like to be in a celebrity’s inner circle? In our series The Plus One, Arianna Davis offers a peek inside the world of assistants, backup dancers, BFFs, and other right hands to the world’s buzziest celebs. Check out the first installment here.
There are five sisters in the Kardashian-Jenner squad, an entourage recognisable by their monochromatic wardrobes, highlighted cheekbones, flowing hair, and the gaggle of cameras constantly by their sides. But sometimes, whether you're looking at the crew on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians or in paparazzi photos, there appears to be a sixth sister, an additional member who blends in with similarly chiseled features, dark hair, and post-Yeezy era style.
Stephanie Shepherd isn't a Kardashian: She's the woman behind the most powerful one. Assistant to Kim since 2013, Shepherd has been responsible for everything from putting together North West's first strollers to getting Kim down the aisle in Italy. After Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, it was Stephanie who escorted her onto a private plane home. For every appearance, glamorous vacation, and business launch, Shepherd has been quietly running the show. And this year, she was promoted to COO of Kardashian West Brands, meaning that she'll now also head up all of Kim's many, many business ventures outside of KUWTK.
When I meet Shepherd at the Beverly Hills estate she shares with her boyfriend, Apple Music head of content Larry Jackson, I expect her to be standoffish, a glamazon constantly glued to her iPhone. Instead, she's instantly warm, embracing me in a hug and inviting me to check out the gorgeous view she still can't believe she wakes up to every day. Talking on the patio, she's quiet and thoughtful, at times fidgeting nervously with her hands as if she's not used to being the centre of attention. She says "truly" a lot, any time she wants to emphasise a feeling. When she talks about moving to Los Angeles by herself at 19 after growing up the only child of a single mom in Ontario, Ohio, her eyes get wide; the small-town girl still seems surprised to find herself here.
She tells me everything about being the go-to for the most well known celebrity in America, from what Kanye's really like in person, to exactly how many support staff it takes to keep the family of four functioning, and more. And then we hop into her jet-black Audi A4 and cruise down Doheny Drive to Kim Kardashian West HQ. But first, she asks her assistant to order us some lunch for when we return. Not bad for a small town girl.
As we drive to West Hollywood for a meeting, Shepherd tells me her career story from the beginning. After dancing for the Cleveland Cavaliers at 18, she moved to LA in 2009 to try for bigger gigs — and she got them, but they were assisting, not dancing ones. Choreographer Mikey Minden hired her as an assistant to help him and his main client, Erika Girardi (then an international nightclub performer, now a cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), saving Shepherd from her part-time job at the front desk of Gold's gym.
"When I say I came from a small town, I mean that I would pass cows driving to school. It was country life: bonfires and football games. Our nicest restaurant was Olive Garden. So when I came out here, it was a whole different thing. I had never seen a Range Rover. I hadn't really traveled, I didn't know what Givenchy was or how to pronounce it. Mikey and Erika took me under their wing and taught me everything. We traveled the world together. They both opened my eyes to so much, about being a hard-working, meticulous assistant, yes, but also just all the things life can offer."
And then, after a few years working for Minden and Girardi and a few freelance backup dance gigs for artists like Pitbull, Minden's business partner and former Pussycat Doll Robin Antin asked Shepherd if she might be interested in an assistant job with a friend of hers: Kim Kardashian. And just like that, dancing became a distant memory.
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
On a Monday morning in April 2013, Shepherd — fresh off a trip from Coachella — drove to Jenner Communications in Woodland Hills to interview with Kris Jenner's then-assistant. The next step, she was surprised to learn, was a meeting with her potential boss herself, at Kim's home in Beverly Hills.
"She had no makeup on and was in her sweats, super pregnant with North. She was just like, 'Look, I need help, Robin loves you and says great things about you; this is what I need. Can you do it?' And I was like, 'Okay, sure, I can do that — and if I can’t, I’ll figure it out!' Meanwhile in my head, I was so nervous. Coincidentally we were both wearing French braids...Kim later told me she was thinking 'This girl has good vibes and a braid, I'm into her!'"
Shepherd started the very next day. She dove right in, often staying at Kardashian's home until 10 p.m., learning on the fly.
"I was doing her whole schedule, doing her laundry, booking travel, putting the stroller together and all of these things. But I wasn’t nervous. I was just excited, always staying longer than I needed because I was trying to prove myself — and then North came early! I was a brand new assistant who had no idea what to do with a baby, but we all moved into Kris' house, and she was the one who made it all feel okay and moved mountains for us. Four years later, Kim now also has a personal assistant, a house assistant, two kids, two nannies, and I was recently promoted to COO of Kardashian West Brands, so we're looking for someone to fill my executive assistant position. Sometimes we look at each other like, wow, remember when it was just me and you?"
Even as the newly minted COO, though, Shepherd is still in assistant mode, constantly checking her iPhone and revealing a trunk fully stocked with Kimoji paraphernalia. "With Kim, you never know when you might need to gift some merch!"
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
When we arrive at the Pacific Design Centre, home to Whale Rock Industries — which creates Kimoji and its corresponding merchandise, and all of the Kardashian sisters' apps and websites — it's clear by the way everyone greets her that, here, Shepherd runs the show.
"It was time for a title change. My role has expanded outside of just an executive assistant... I'm basically Kim's liaison at this point. Every time she launches a product or makes a move to own her brand, it's essentially like launching a startup. Even just right now, there's fragrances and Kylie's Lip Kit collaboration and the website, and more fun stuff coming. Kimoji has been my favourite, because I’m not really that much of a beauty girl, but I have an eye for the packaging and fonts and details. The assistant stuff is like second nature now; I don’t even have to think about it. I know her, I know her schedule, I know how long it takes to go from Kourtney’s to Kris’ down to the second, I can map it out."
I ask how she'll find someone not just capable, but trustworthy enough to fill her Yeezys — I mean, shoes.
"I'm very protective of not just Kim, but all the girls. So I'll have to look really, really hard and make sure it's a person who someone I can trust will vouch for. One of my best friends from back home is actually one of the house assistants. I need to know you're not a crazy person. Everyone who works for the Kardashian family is part of this little tribe — assistants, makeup artists, housekeepers, security. We get each other Christmas presents, we take care of all the kids like they’re our own kids. It's truly one big extended family."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
Shepherd is a master multi-tasker, checking texts and emails and sending voice notes throughout our day together. Somehow she never seems distracted, or like she's only half paying attention.
"The first thing I do every morning is read my email. Then I'll check in with her personal assistant, Michael, who I also brought on to the team — he used to work with me and Erika. I knew I could trust him because when we worked together before, he saved my ass so many times! We used to have a Jenner Communications office where I would work out of sometimes, but now I just kind of work from home or with Kim at her house, or sometimes at Kris' house in Calabasas."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
In the meeting with Whale Rock's Jennifer Garcia Allen, executive editor of Kardashian/Jenner apps, and the director of product, Justin Middleton, Shepherd is friendly but firm, with a clear sense of Kim's aesthetic and what she will and won't like.
"Obviously Kim and I text all day every day," she tells me, "from the second we wake up until we go to bed, so we just bounce off ideas, like, 'Oh my God this is so funny, let’s make it a Kimoji!' It’s fun to have an idea and see it brought to life."
The trio discusses everything from prayer candles with Kim's face on them (which, a few weeks later, will cause quite the controversy online thanks to its Virgin Mary resemblance) to Kanye-themed emoji for Father's Day, and a purple flower for the anniversary of the Armenian genocide. There's also an "asstray" shaped like the Kimoji peach (by now synonymous with Kim's backside).
"Kim doesn't smoke, but I try to get the weed paraphernalia in there...you know, for the youth," Shepherd says with a smile.
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
I'm not surprised when Shepherd mentions who, in the family, is her biggest career inspiration.
"Kris Jenner is a fucking G. The biggest lesson she's taught me is to not procrastinate. When you want something done, get it done. If you're a procrastinator, this is not the world for you. If someone tells her no, she has no problem standing her ground and saying, 'We're not accepting that, get someone on the phone and make it happen.' That woman can literally get on the phone and change the world. And somehow, she juggles all of these kids, all of their careers, and still makes sure that every assistant, every staff member, has a Christmas present, delivered to us by Christmas, with a thoughtful card. And it’s a nice ass Christmas present. That’s the kind of person I aspire to be one day."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
As a former assistant myself, I've long noticed Shepherd in the background of episodes of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. But she's never been a starring player, like Kardashian's BFFs Jonathan Cheban or Simon Huck, have. I ask her if that's by design.
"I've never really wanted to be front-and-centre on the show. But the thing is, the girls really don't stop living their lives for the camera, so the reality is I'm often there, because I'm actually working. Sometimes the camera will catch that, but usually I look like shit because they'll always come when we're traveling somewhere, and I have on no makeup or just woke up! I think everyone thinks this job is super glamorous — and I can't lie, it is. Truly, this family is so much fun, and we go to some amazing places and do some incredible things. But don't forget that when you're an assistant, with all of that glamour comes schlepping the bags and the suitcases and taking the fall when the car doesn't show up or the flight is delayed or something goes wrong."
Despite her more behind-the-scenes role on the show, with nearly 700,000 Instagram followers, she's clearly built up her own cult following.
"Sometimes I think about how it’s such a weird thing that people want to know or even care about me, just because I work for Kim. But then it's like, well, she is one of the most recognisable celebrities in the world. I don't get recognised a lot unless I'm with her, though there are some places that I know Kardashian fans will be. Like Sephora: Our fan base loves some Sephora, so I have to stay clear of Sephora stores if I'm trying to be lowkey!"
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
And though it seems she has the assistant thing down, Shepherd admits she's struggled now and again.
"I’ve fucked up a lot. I’m only human. I get a lot of young girls asking me how to be a great assistant. I tell them three things. One is if you mess up, take responsibility and own it. I've fucked up, I'm human. But I will just say, 'I am so sorry, and I will fix this.' Second, I say be resourceful. If your boss wants or needs something, you gotta do whatever it takes to make it happen. Don’t ask questions, just make it happen.
"Once, we were in San Francisco, and Kanye was obsessed with that game Cards Against Humanity. I didn't ask questions, I just figured out where the hell to find the game in San Francisco. Lastly, I say take notes. Write. Shit. Down. Even if you think you’re gonna remember it in your head, you're not. We have interns through Jenner communications, and every time I see an intern not taking notes when they're getting instructions, I’m like, you’re gonna fuck this up! Just write it down — it's not that hard!"
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
En route to the Kimoji meeting, Shepherd bangs her hands on the steering wheel and yells, "Fuck me! I need to get gas!" We cross our fingers and ride on E through a red light to the nearest gas station. (Sorry, LAPD.)
Shepherd exudes style even while pumping gas. She credits her Japanese father, who's always lived in Japan, for her waist-length hair, and then clarifies — on the record — with a laugh, that it's not a weave. Unlike her beauty-loving boss, Shepherd doesn't have a hardcore routine: just Wei shampoo, Sally Hershberger's 24K gold hair oil, and air drying, no heat.
"I'm not that fussy about all that stuff," she says. But whenever Kim's makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic offers to do hers, too: "I'm not gonna tell him no!" (And who would?)
As for fashion, her all-black everything aesthetic is as influenced by Kim as it has been improved upon by Kanye. Those snakeskin boots that I caught multiple people, myself included, eyeing all day? "My Christmas present from Kanye," she says. "The Yeezy boots. They’re everything."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
Over tuna bowls back at her house, Stephanie and I bond over several similarities. We're both in our late 20s, both biracial, both grew up in smaller towns and ended up as assistants in big, glamorous cities. We're both driven and career-minded, and yet we both often field those "When are you having kids?" questions.
"Growing up where I grew up, that’s what you’re programmed to do: Go to high school, maybe college, get married as soon as possible and have kids. Many of my friends are already on their second kid by now. But I’ve never really wanted kids, I’ve never really seen that for myself. When I picture my life, like, 20 years from now, I don’t picture myself as a mother.
"I was an only child without any cousins or a huge family, like Kim's, so I don't have a ton of baby experience. My only true example is North. She is the sweetest child, truly, she’s so smart and so charismatic — and she looooves mommy and daddy. So when I look at their little family, it’s cool because it takes two people, and their love, to create this person, and this bond, and it’s so dope. You create a life! So sometimes I think, well, maybe. But then again, when we all travel together with, like, four kids, it's tough! So, I don't know. I think I just have a lot more left to do before I’m ready for that kind of responsibility, but it's insane that people think that it's just okay to ask that, just because we're women."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
This house is incredible — you can see a sweeping view of Hollywood as soon as you walk in the front door — but looking around, I have to wonder about security. Kardashian has openly discussed the way the robbery in Paris last October has impacted her and her family. What I want to know is, how has it affected the person who is responsible for organising her life?
"It was terrifying. At the time, I had to hold it together and make sure everything was getting handled, and that we could get Kim home as quickly and safely as possible. Obviously I can't even begin to imagine what she's gone through, what she's had to deal with, but even I have been more cautious. We have alarms and security plans, and all that. Still, whenever I've had to stay home alone, I get a little scared. So I did get a couple of extra pepper sprays."
Throughout our conversation, I notice that above all else, Shepherd seems protective of Kardashian. I reference that hilarious photo of a determined Shepherd holding down a prankster that was trying to touch Kardashian's butt in Paris, just a few days before the robbery.
"Wherever we are, my instinct is just to protect her. I would truly take a bullet for her. But somehow she remains so composed in these huge crowds, or when she's being followed by photographers. It's such a weird thing to me that there are no laws for paparazzi about privacy and respect. I mean, if you were just a normal person and someone was taking pictures of you leaving your house, or following your child to school, that would be a major issue. But just because they’re celebrities, you think you can wait outside their house for five hours in the middle of the night? That's not normal, and I just don’t get how that’s still being allowed."
Joseph, a fellow assistant friend of mine, had one major question he wanted me to ask Shepherd: How did she decide to wear those bright blue socks, seen (by everyone) in a photo of her and Kim leaving Paris the morning after the robbery? She groans, then laughs. She's gotten the question quite a few times.
"My shit was already packed! We were leaving the next morning, and those Tyler, the Creator socks just so happened to be at the top of my bag! The night of the robbery, Kourtney and I were out, we were a little drunk, so when everything happened, we rushed home and sobered up real quick. We didn't sleep that entire night. I was so busy handling stuff, and then we just had to get on a plane, so I grabbed the first thing I had. Looking back, it is like, why the fuck was I wearing shorts and blue socks? I don't even wear a lot of colour! But it's truly all a blur."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
When Kardashian and her family took some time off after the Paris incident, that also meant time off for Shepherd, who's lately making sure she gives herself space to "chill," more, too.
"Kim's never really taken a break, you know? She's the hardest working person, both her and Kanye. So at the end of last year, we all kind of just took some time and regrouped. There was a period last year, I remember, when we literally went from New York to Miami to New York to Iceland to Los Angeles to Cuba...Cannes was in there somewhere. So we needed those four months to just really reflect on what's important. Now I'll text Kim and her assistant Michael to say, 'Hey guys, I'm off the grid in yoga for the next hour,' just so they know where I am in case the world ends in those 60 minutes. But that one hour is me time."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
She also likes to indulge in Netflix and chill sessions with Jackson, whom she's been dating since last fall. The Grammy in the picture is his, for producing Jennifer Hudson's 2008 Best R&B album. Shepherd says she actually first met Jackson a few years ago, because he used to manage West, but it was at The Life of Pablo tour stop in Miami in September that the pair really connected.
"It's hard, because he's busy, and I'm busy, but you make time for the things that are important. He's been in the business way longer than I have, so he knows everything and really pushes me, truly. But like anyone else, we need to decompress. For New Year's we went to this really romantic resort in Cabo. That was probably the first proper vacation I've had since I started working!"
I ask if he's also the first proper boyfriend she's had since she started working; I imagine traveling the world with Kim Kardashian doesn't leave much time for Bumble. (Not to mention, how can you possibly suss out a person's intentions when you're close to a Kardashian?)
"I didn't date anyone at all for, like, the first two years working with Kim, because there just wasn't time," she says. "And then I did meet a DJ who worked with Kanye, but it just didn't work out — we were too busy. But man, that probably sounds so bad. I really should stop dating Kanye's friends!"
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
There are two more things that take up the rest of Shepherd's time when she's not working: Slowly moving her clothes from her apartment in Little Armenia, which she stills rents, to her new bedroom closet, and working out, a hobby she reluctantly got into thanks to her boss' family.
"Being around Kim and Kourtney and Khloe, I’m always working out. I never was a big exercise person before, but they work out religiously. So I’ll drive to Calabasas and work out with Kourtney or with Kim here and there, and now I'm on Class Pass so I can take classes, like yoga or Barry's Bootcamp and Pilates and Spin. Sometimes I’ll jump in on my boyfriend’s training sessions, which he doesn’t love, because I think I slow him down."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
Though she's closest with Kim, of course — "I don't think it's possible for any person to talk to anyone more than I talk to Kim" — she also has a unique bond with each of the Kardashian-Jenner sisters, which she says is probably the result of being one of the few employees who've been around this long.
"Kendall and Kylie, we have some of the same friends, so we'll go out together and have that relationship. Khloe is just like everybody’s friend, you can talk to her about anything, she’s just a down ass girl, truly. And then Kourtney and I weren’t really close at all when I first started working — I don’t think she really liked me at first to be honest! But I think when we were doing that world tour of Miami and Iceland and all those places, with so much travel time, we bonded. Now we talk all the time and we'll go to dinner, or I’ll spend the night at her house. People always think we're either lesbians, because we're always together or holding hands, or that I am Kourtney, I guess because we look alike and have a similar style."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
While the trunk of Shepherd's closet is full of Kimoji items, her bedroom is all about The Life Of Pablo and Yeezy merch.
"I think people would be surprised to know how funny Kanye is. Do people know that he’s funny? I know everyone thinks he's so deep and serious, but he’s also so funny, like he has me rolling laughing, and sometimes I’m like, Is this inappropriate that I’m laughing so hard? But he’s just so fucking hilarious, he has these one-liners, and he’s just so unfiltered. He makes me laugh so hard, but he's also truly the hardest-working man I've ever met."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
Kanye and Kim's 2014 wedding, Shepherd recalls as she organises some merch in her closet, was her most challenging task on the job thus far. While Shepherd says the Kardashian Wests did have a wedding planner, obviously, they only had two assistants on-site for the nuptials, which started with a bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, and other events in Paris before the couple surprised the family and flew them all to Florence for the actual ceremony. For Shepherd, that meant a lot of planning, logistics, and travel arrangements.
"I didn’t even get to watch the ceremony because I was also filming — I often producer-cam the more personal moments for the show, when they don't want full-on cameras around — so I was filming everyone getting ready. And then Caitlyn lost her suit, so I had to locate it; all the girls are getting ready, we're getting Kim together, we’re in this castle; Kanye is down rearranging the floral arrangements and all this stuff, all while I’m trying to film. I was in Adidas sweatpants and a T-shirt and hadn’t showered that day! And then I walked her down to the elevator so she could walk down that really long stone aisle, and then I ran back up and started filming her from the roof! That was the money shot for the show. Meanwhile, there was some security guy yelling at me, 'You can't film here!'"
"I was still relatively new back then. I remember just not sleeping that whole week, and then I came home and I got pulled over on Hollywood Boulevard and I just started crying to the police officer, like, 'Please, I'm just exhausted, I gotta go home; you don’t understand!' Truly. I went to bed at, like, 5 in the afternoon and woke up the next day at, like, 11 a.m. But it was all worth it, because it was the most beautiful day."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
Shepherd has a few other producer credits to her name, including many of their travels and the most recent episodes in Paris. Executive assistant, television producer, brand COO — the possibilities seem endless for Shepherd. Except for dancing, she says. "I don’t have it anymore! I think once it goes, it goes. I always tell my friends who are still dancers, 'Can I come to class with you?' And then I see a video of them and I’m like, just kidding."
What will she do next?
"I think when you're an assistant everyone wants to know that, like: 'What the heck are you gonna do after this?' And I'm just like, what do you mean? And then that starts to put the pressure on me and makes me freak out a little and start to wonder, where is this going? Oh God, how will I ever leave this family? But I've realised that I just need to utilise this position and learn as much from all of these experiences and grow as much as I can. Honestly, I'm just going to see where it takes me. I'm learning. I'm helping Kim Kardashian run her empire. I'm also building something for myself. I think that's a pretty fucking great gig."
Photographed by Graham Walzer.
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Netflix may be the first place we go for our nightly entertainment fix, but that doesn’t mean we’re willing to cough up for the streaming service ourselves. Instead, many of us opt to watch via a friend, partner or parent’s account.
In the UK, Netflix currently costs between £5.99 and £8.99 a month, depending on your plan, but if a trial taking place in Australia is anything to go by, it could be about to get more expensive for those who sign up on weekends. Bad luck if you end up being the designated payer.
The company raised prices by up to $3 AUD a month for a number of users as part of the test, The Australian reported. The cost of the Basic plan rose from $8.99 to $9.99 a month, the Standard plan went from $11.99 to $13.99 and the Premium plan increased from $14.99 to $17.99.
It seems to be a similar technique to that used by hotels, train companies and flight operators, which often increase prices during times of high demand.
However, it’s easy to avoid the price hike – users can simply sign up during the week if they know they’re going to want to use the service during the weekend. It's all about the forward planning, people.
Netflix hasn’t revealed any of its findings or confirmed whether it will roll out the trial to other countries. “We continuously test new things at Netflix and these tests typically vary in length of time,” a spokesman for Netflix said.
“In this case, we are testing slightly different price points to better understand how consumers value Netflix. Not everyone will see this test and we may not ever offer it generally.” Here's hoping the service takes pity on those poor designated Netflix payers.
Update, 18th May – Another Netflix spokesperson told us the price testing, "varies in length and time and the fact that some members saw this test on a weekend is completely unrelated. This test is limited to Australia only".
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The first time I saw my best friend after a year apart in 2002, I could barely see her at all.
We were attached at the hip throughout high school, bonding over boy obsessions and SAT prep. But after we’d both spent our first college semesters apart (her in New York, me in Pennsylvania), we reunited and I didn’t recognise her anymore. She was half her size. Her hair was thinner. She had permanent goosebumps. She had a "cold" that didn't go away for weeks. And she had a strange new way of ordering chicken in restaurants: no skin, no oil, no sides.
While watching To the Bone, an upcoming Netflix film directed by Marti Noxon and starring Lily Collins (which premiered at Sundance earlier this year and sold to the streaming network for a massive £6.5 million), I immediately saw my friend in the lead character. Collins plays Ellen, a young artist reluctantly going through the motions of treatment for her severe anorexia. Her character's baggy clothes, defiant nihilism, and habit of moving food around on a plate — it was all so familiar.
What my best friend, Collins, and Noxon all have in common is a history of anorexia. Thankfully, all three have recovered, but that doesn’t mean making the film was easy for everyone involved. Below, my conversation with Collins and Noxon, including how Collins handled having to lose weight in order to play this part and the matching tattoos that sealed the bond between director and star.
Lily Collins in "To the Bone"Photo: Courtesy of Netflix.
Were you nervous going into this project, knowing you'd be immersing yourself back into an illness you'd fought hard to recover from? Lily Collins: “When I got the script, it wasn’t something that I was talking about yet. It was this fear being placed right in front of me, and doing the film meant that I would have to face it head-on. At first it was definitely a scary process. It was something that I thought is risky, because there’s a fine line between facing something head-on and succeeding, or falling back into it. But I knew that, this time, I would be held accountable for it. I would be [losing weight] under the supervision of a nutritionist and surrounded by all these amazing women on set. So, I knew that I would be in a safe environment to explore this.
"I had just written the chapter in my book [ Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me] about my history with eating disorders the week before I received the script for this movie. So it was like the universe literally throwing it in my face saying, this is something you need to address either for yourself or for other young people going through it out there.”
Marti Noxon: "To be perfectly candid I was struggling. My eating disorder morphed into an issue with alcohol and I got sober when I was 24, and then guess what? I thought I got better, and gave [drinking] another run right after I turned 50. I was aware that I needed to stop and I’d gone back into therapy for it, but I was still really struggling with addiction when I was writing the script. I was really working hard to ask myself why I would pick something up again that had done me harm in the past. I started to draw the parallels to when I was using food to try to control my life and I was able to understand that, even though [anorexia and substance abuse] work really differently, the goal was the same, which was to numb my feelings. To not feel whatever it was that I was afraid of... Control is, what’s underneath the desire to control it, it’s a desire to stave off something that frightens you or something you feel powerless over and those feelings are just so uncomfortable. But when we started to film, I was sober again and I started to need to turn to the other female producers quite frequently and say, ‘I’m going to need you to tell me that I don’t need to lose weight.’
"I was around all these actresses who were dieting under supervision, all these people who were having the experience of light headedness and elation and then despair and all those high emotions. I was like, 'Oh, I need to lose 15 pounds.' [Laughs]”
It’s very rare when you’re in the disorder that you can actually see what other people see.
Lily, how did you prepare for the role? LC: "We went to an Anorexic Anonymous group beforehand for prep, and I met with the head of the L.A. Clinic for Eating Disorders. I could actually openly talk about my history for the first time with people, and receive feedback from them, and get the sense of not being alone, which was the whole point of writing my book: to make people understand that they’re not alone or to at least have them feel a little more comforted in knowing that everyone goes through the same struggles. So, for me to be able to talk openly about my history with them for the first time was something that was so healing for me in a way that I wouldn’t have expected. I always assumed the second that I admitted these things, people would judge me more. In fact, it was just a freeing experience of letting go and then not having these restrictions and feeling like I was in a box in my own head. I was also shedding myself of the title, girl with a disorder. I was able to get rid of that and work through it as the character and also as myself.”
And I imagine you had to prepare physically, which must have been somewhat traumatic. LC: I was being held accountable by multiple people, having a nutritionist give me a schedule with supplements, a lot of supplements that would basically give my body what I wasn’t going to be getting from certain foods. My energy levels weren’t at a point at all where I forgot lines. I was never late, I was never overly tired. I was very on, but she wanted to make sure that my body was still getting the sustenance it needed to get through the experience because I was hired as an actor. I wasn’t hired for my image. This was something I had to remind myself of, and they had never given me a goal weight, so it wasn’t like I was working towards a number.
"I just knew, having had the disorder, I wanted to do Ellen justice by knowing what it was to feel that like recluse-ness and not allowing yourself things. So I worked out, but it started to get to the point where I couldn’t necessarily exercise because of the energy, and I wanted to save all of my energy for the project, and I didn’t want to completely drive myself into the ground. It wasn’t worth it. I didn’t crash diet. We really ate clean, no sauces, oils, it was just very clean eating but in no way crash dieting. That would not have done good for my body and I wanted to treat this as specifically and as healthily as possible.”
Lily Collins and "To The Bone" director Marti Noxon at the 2017 Sundance Film FestivalPhoto: Stephen Lovekin/Variety/REX/Shutterstock.
Is there any scene that stands out to you as having been particularly difficult to film, something you struggled to get through? LC: “One hundred percent, yeah. It was written as one that I was nervous about but not at all expecting to feel as affected as I was. It's the scene in the bathroom when I have to take off my clothes and stand on the scale, and my stepmom takes a picture of me. When we did the scene, I didn’t assume that she would actually use the camera on her iPhone and take a photo of me in the moment. She turned the camera around and showed me and said, ‘This is what you look like. Do you think this is beautiful?’ I didn’t expect there to be a photo of me on her phone, and what I saw on the camera was so shocking to me.
"It’s very rare when you’re in the disorder that you can actually see what other people see. You have a distorted view of yourself and you get so sucked into it that you don’t see yourself in that way, and I was so shocked by her showing me. I was really living in that moment, the question of, do you think this is beautiful. Like, do you see yourself? I really saw it and it was so disturbing. It was a moment that I think really resonated a lot, not just as Ellen, but really as myself because I was actually seeing myself. It was a really powerful moment that I was shocked by.”
Marti, what do you think someone should do when they have a loved one suffering from something like this? MN: “One of the reasons we’re partnering with Project HEAL is that so many people have a messed-up relationship with food. Especially women. It’s almost like we’re all on a spectrum with the day-to-day obsession with weight and whether you’re good enough. When you start to see someone really falling into obsession and self-destruction, the number one thing to do is figure out what the resources are for them. It’s a little bit like dealing with a person who’s suffering from any addiction; they have to want to get help. You really can’t force it. You can say to them, 'Only you know what’s going on inside your head but you seem really unhappy and I’m concerned. Here are some resources, and if you ever want to talk about this I’m really available.'"
How did you know that Lily would be perfect for the role? Did you know about her background going into casting, or was it a coincidence that she actually had experience with it? MN: “We had the strangest experience which was that we sat down, started that superficial bonding, and she has a tattoo on her left wrist and the initials on it are LJ. And I have a tattoo on my left wrist and the initials on it are LJ.”
Oh wow. MN: “I think hers are for Lily Jane, which is a family name, and mine are for my children Lane and Jed. But I had her initials on my body [laughs] and then she started saying, ‘I knew from reading this that whoever wrote it had been through it,’ and I was like, bingo. So we had this incredible bond from the very first time we sat down.”
Project HEAL is the largest nonprofit in the U.S. delivering prevention, treatment financing, and recovery support for people suffering from eating disorders. The founders of Project HEAL, Liana Rosenman and Kristina Saffran, met while undergoing treatment for anorexia nervosa when they were just 15 years old, helped each other to reach full recovery, and then wanted to help others achieve it, as well. Since its founding in 2008, Project HEAL has provided over 72 life-saving treatment scholarships, opened over 40 chapters across the United States, Canada, England, and Australia, and developed partnerships with 30 recognised eating disorder treatment centres across the country.
Refinery29 has partnered with Project HEAL to raise awareness around their efforts to support the eating disorder community.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder, please callBeaton 0345 634 1414. Support and information is available 365 days a year.
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These days, there is no escaping conversations about race and racism. We are a nation both divided and built on the differences among us. Many of us are acutely aware of the hierarchy that persists in our country: one that has spawned the need for a movement to remind everyone else that Black lives matter and to demand that Hollywood — an industry that is so crucial to public perceptions of race — do better. And yet, for all of our obsession with race, we still dance around certain topics and words (no, not that one) that might be considered too divisive or insensitive. Fortunately for us, Zoë Kravitz is not one of those people.
As Allure magazine’s June cover star, the young actress didn’t hold back on sharing her thoughts on our current political and social climate. “Racism is very real, and white supremacy is going strong,” she told David Denicolo. For all the calls for diversity and blasts on cultural appropriation in and around Hollywood, we rarely see opportunities to call out the source of it all — the widespread and institutionalised practice of prioritising whiteness. It’s particularly interesting that this honest observation comes from a woman who identifies as “mixed” and acknowledges that she has white family members on both sides of her family — father Lenny "Bae" Kravitz and mother Lisa "Bae" Bonet, who is now married to Jason "Bae" Momoa. However, her biracial identity is precisely what led to Kravitz’s views on race.
“The older I get, the more I experience life, I am identifying more and more with being Black, and what that means — being more and more proud of that and feeling connected to my roots and my history,” she told Denicolo. So why wasn’t this always the case? Kravitz shared, “I went to private schools full of white kids. I think a lot of that made me want to blend in or not be looked at as Black. The white kids are always talking about your hair and making you feel weird.” The pressure for a high schooler to lean away from her Blackness in order to fit in is not only a manifestation of white supremacy, but also an example of how early it is accepted and reinforced.
Photo: Patrick Demarchelier
Kravitz — whose character Bonnie is whitewashed on Big Little Lies — had to unlearn some of that conditioning to get to the place she is now. She told the magazine, “now I’m so in love with my culture and so proud to be Black. It’s still ongoing, but a big shift has occurred.” We have her dad, Lenny, to thank for that as well. “My dad especially has always been very connected to his history, and it’s important to him that I understand where I come from.” Like we needed another reason to love this family.
As one of Hollywood's rising stars, it's nice to see that Kravitz isn't holding any punches when it comes to speaking her mind on tough subjects.
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Welcome to our third instalment ofBite Me, a series featuring essays from some of our favourite writers and cultural icons on one of our site's most popular topics: food. More specifically, we'll hear about their unlikely food obsessions, controversial food beliefs, and weird food hang-ups. Next up,Ashley C. Forddelivers the ultimate red velvet takedown.
Baking was an integral part of my childhood, and perhaps, the only real relaxing hobby I maintain as an adult. Even though I have high blood sugar, and try to avoid sweets, every once in awhile I allow myself a really nice cupcake, or a particularly fancy piece of cake. I look forward to these moments for days, weeks, and sometimes even months at a time. Because I’m supposed to be so particular about when I consume sugar and how much sugar I have, I often deny myself up until the treat is attached to a special outing, or a celebration. It makes the cake special. Until someone shows up with a red velvet cake or cupcake and ruins everything. That is why I’m here today, not to convince you to bake more, or eat less sugar. I’m here to expose a fraud; The “flavour” red velvet.
Illustrated by Louisa Cannell.
For most of my life, I’ve loved baking. It began with my grandmother who delighted in teaching me the recipes she’d memorised over the years. We made pineapple upside-down cake, and apple pie, and bread pudding, and strawberry shortcakes (my favourite), and if I followed her lead exactly, they came out right every time. Yes, I have many glowing memories of being bossed around my grandmother’s kitchen, then casually calling my cousins to let them know about whatever sweet treat we’d whipped out, so they could convince their moms and dads to bring them over and partake.
Over the next hour, my grandmother’s home would fill with her children and grandchildren. Some of them would bring friends. The warm brown sugar and buttery smells would waft from the kitchen all the way to the other end of the house. The kids would all be in one room, making up games, and complaining about our parents who might have told us that seconds were reasonable but thirds were not. I felt so much pride watching everyone moan over food I’d had a hand in making. My grandmother didn’t have fancy bakeware, or mixing tools. We did it all by hand. It was worth it for the time spent together, and for the mouthwatering treats we devoured.
My grandmother could make damn near anything under the sun, and she could make it well. But there was one thing she never made. Can you guess? Yep, it’s red velvet cake. I saw the “flavour” behind glass in bakery windows, and even remembered its notable moment in the movie Steel Magnolias, so I was curious. I asked my grandmother why she never made red velvet cake, since we seemed to make every other type of cake. She twisted up her face like I asked her why there wasn’t a White History Month. She said, “If you want some of that old nasty cake, you can make it with your mama.” I closed my mouth and continued mashing a bowl of sweet potatoes for our soufflé. But I was still curious.
When a girl in my fourth grade class brought in an assortment of cupcakes for her birthday, I chose red velvet. My teacher sat the cupcake on my desk, and instructed all of us not to eat them until every person had one. I sat patiently. My time had come. What were a few more minutes? Once we got the go ahead, I reverently peeled back the paper surrounding the bottom of my cupcake. Then, I licked the delicious buttercream frosting from my fingers. Finally, I took a healthy, but not greedy, bite. At first, all I tasted was sugar, and that was enough. Then, I tasted something else. What was that? It was sweet, but also…metallic? Acidic? In any event, I didn’t like it. In fact, I opened my mouth and let the mostly chewed up cupcake fall back into the wrapper like the trash it had revealed itself to be. My teacher walked quickly over to me with worry in her eyes.
Illustrated by Louisa Cannell.
“Ashley, are you sick?”
I nodded my head yes, because I was too embarrassed to say otherwise. I felt fine, aside from the horrid taste in my mouth, but I had selected that cupcake so excitedly, so confidently, I couldn’t admit that I’d chosen wrong. I lamented wasting my birthday treat. Why hadn’t I picked chocolate? Dear God, I could have even picked vanilla! Why, oh, why had I picked this blood-tinged monstrosity? My teacher sent me to the nurse where I faked a stomachache and was able to remain for the rest of the school day.
You may be thinking, Ashley, you were a child. Kids' palates change. Maybe your more sophisticated adult taste buds would enjoy the “flavour” red velvet. WRONG. There are a ton of delicious things I eschewed as a child that I’d devour in a heartbeat today. Foods like tomatoes, and Brussels sprouts, and meat on pizza are all things I dig now that I definitely did not dig as a child. Because I like to keep an open mind, I have tried red velvet desserts in multiple forms over the years. I’ve tried red velvet ice cream, pancakes, cheesecake, milkshakes, with whipped cream, or with cream cheese frosting. I’ve tried it all, and each time I spend the moment after the first bite or sip mentally whipping myself for being so gullible. When will enough be enough? my palate asks me. Well, happy day! I’ve had enough. Don’t tell me I’d like your nana’s red velvet whatever, because I won’t. Sorry, Nana. It ain’t happening. I’m not falling for the okie doke again.
Here are the arguments I’m not trying to hear:
1) It’s just chocolate cake with red dye, so if you like chocolate cake you, you should like red velvet cake.
NOPE. I’ve heard of people putting five — FIVE — bottles of red food colouring in a red velvet cake. I don’t care what the FDA says, at that point, it sounds, and tastes, like I’m eating more chemical colour than cake. Is nobody else worried about this? Chocolate cake is made with cocoa, vanilla with vanilla bean, lemon with actual lemons, but there is no red velvet bean is there? No. There isn’t.
2) Well, some people don’t use food dye, they use beet juice.
Sounds cute, but I don’t want my chocolate cake to taste like beets either.
3) BUT THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING!
Put cream cheese frosting on literally any other flavour of cake for similar, or exactly the same results. The deliciousness of a cake can not be solely dependent on the flavour of frosting.
A person with garbage taste buds will always defend the merits of this ruined chocolate cake, and there is literally nothing to be done about them. Everyone’s on their own journey. That’s fine. But I will always choose the path with the least amount of red velvet anything. And you can too. Free yourself from the fraud.
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Jennifer Lawrence has been pretty MIA for most of 2017, but now we know exactly what she's been doing — and it's terrifying.
The Oscar-winning actress has been filming her latest project with Javier Bardem titled mother! and we have no earthly idea what it's about, but the first look at the movie poster tells us it will be nothing like we've seen from 26-year-old before. And, to add to the mystery and allure of the project, it was directed by her current beau, Darren Aronofsky, who is also the writer and producer for the film. Lawrence and Aronofsky, 48, were first linked in late 2016 when they were seen sharing a lollipop (really) on the streets of New York. The two first started dating after they met and started working together on this film, although it doesn't sound like the most romantic of sets.
According to what little we know, it will be a psychological thriller centred around a couple (Lawrence and Bardem) who have a guests unexpectedly arrive at their home, causing chaos and drama. That is all we know about the main plot line, but we do know the rest of cast, which features a slew of talented actors in unspecified roles. So far we have Michelle Pfeiffer ( What Lies Beneath), Domhnall Gleeson ( Ex Machina), Ed Harris ( Westworld), Brian Gleeson ( Love/Hate) and the recently announced Kristen Wiig ( Bridesmaids).
From the poster, we can gather that the movie will be disturbing, to say the least. It depicts a serene looking Lawrence, offering up her bloodied heart taken right out of her chest, along with a background illustration that looks like FernGully: The Last Rainforest meets a very dark Alice In Wonderland. Plus, the use of the exclamation point is a bit strange and non-traditional, like the rest of the gothic and weirdly juvenile poster.
The movie is set to be released October 13 (which is, yes, Friday the 13th).
I’ve loved watching women in sports — and women’s sports — for as long as I can remember. There are so many women whose careers on the track, on the field, on the court, on ice have inspired me: from Florence Griffith Joyner to Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach, from Serena and Venus Williams to Michelle Kwan. I’ve loved watching Mo’ne Davis redefine girls in baseball and could fill a whole page about my favorite dancers, Misty Copeland and Sterling Hyltin.
I’m so grateful for these athletes who show us how #GirlsAre fierce competitors and performers, and even more grateful that my daughter and my son will grow up in a world where they will have these amazing women — and the women whose names we don’t know yet — as role models to inspire their athletic dreams, to fuel their imaginations. It’s particularly important that we encourage and support girls to be physically active because there is a participation gap between boys and girls in sports. In fact, data shows that across the United States, less than 50% of middle school girls get the recommended amount of physical activity each day, and by the age of 14, they drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys.
Why does this matter? This gap in physical activity results in fewer opportunities for girls to develop critical teamwork, confidence, and leadership skills that will help them thrive throughout their lives — as well as to be physically healthy. Whether it’s the guts to stand up to a bully, the grit to stick through a tough statistics class, the confidence to ask for more in salary negotiations, the courage to start your own business, or so much more — the research shows we simply will not reach our full potential as a society if young women are dropping out of participation in life in middle school and high school, including life as played and imagined through sports and dance and so much else.
So, here’s what I would like to say to young girls across the country: Don’t give up. Don’t quit. Persist and know you’re not alone. Because #GirlsAre athletes, #GirlsAre competitors, and #GirlsAre meant to do incredible things.
Love,
Chelsea
P.S.: Do you agree? Share why you think this is important and spread the message that #GirlsAre whatever they want to be!
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In the second season of Master of None, newly single Dev (played by Ansari) goes on a lot of dates with people he meets on a fictional dating app that involves swiping and matching. Dev's best friend, Arnold, is convinced that the best way to open a conversation on the dating app is to send a "wave-and-kiss" gif with a simple, "Hi cutie." Arnold says this works because they're "definitely all cuties." Dev has a more nuanced approach, which lands him tons of dates — even when he uses it over and over again.
So what was this phenomenal message? "Going to Whole Foods, want me to pick you up anything?" At first glance, this line seems obscure, if not accidental, but the Whole Foods question ends up attracting a variety of women — from someone who works at a dog hotel, to an actress who Dev used to work with. The reason why it works isn't just a testament to Whole Foods' broad appeal; it's actually kind of brilliant.
Unlike a generic greeting, this question requires a response or, at the very least, a "haha." It's also assertive and skips over the small talk, so you can get right to the part where you make plans together, says Samantha Burns, LMHC, a relationship counsellor and dating consultant. The casual nature of this message reads like something you'd text a long-term partner, so it's "unexpected and silly," Burns says.
Even though it's a little sarcastic, it also implies that you are thinking about the person's needs and would like to see the person — as soon as you get back from Whole Foods, that is. "[This line] also opens up the door for a variety of interactions," Burns says. Someone could reply, "A tasty dinner you can whip up for two," or they could tell you to get something vegan, which gives you more info about their eating habits, she says. In fact, according to a spokesperson from the dating app Hinge, women are 40% more likely to respond to openers about food. So, in theory, asking a woman a question about Whole Foods isn't a bad place to start.
It implies that he is thinking of the other person, wants to be of help, and wants to see her.
According to other experts, another reason this works is because Whole Foods is so specific. "It's funny and got people's attention because it's almost the quintessential millennial hipster line," says Erin Sumner, PhD, an assistant professor at Trinity University who studies online dating. The Whole Foods part of this implies that the person is "trendy, health-conscious, and financially able to afford an expensive store," Dr. Sumner says. And the "want me to pick you up anything" part implies immediacy, Dr. Sumner says. "It signals an openness to engage in further positive interaction," she says. "It implies that he is thinking of the other person, wants to be of help, and wants to see her."
Statistically, the most successful opening lines on OkCupid, for example, tend to be specific and targeted for their audience, says Dale Markowitz, a data scientist at OkCupid. People that use "I noticed that" or "you mentioned that" in their messages tend to be successful, Markowitz says. And if you mention a shared interest, then it works even better. "Vegetarian," "grad school," or even the word "zombie" have a higher response rate than the average message, she says. If you want to use this Whole Foods line, Dr. Sumner suggests personalising it, like, "Saw this ice cream at Whole Foods and remembered that it was your favourite. Want me to pick you up some?"
Chatting a match for the first time can be stressful, so it's refreshing the way this lighthearted message cuts through any potential awkwardness. We often put so much effort into making a good first impression, so when you can make someone laugh with a pick-up line, it really works and everyone wins. Of course, some people might be scared off by the implied familiarity, and not understand that you're kidding, Dr. Sumner says. So it's hit or miss.
Although Dev got away with reusing this line over and over again, you have to be careful about that. Some people can just pick up on the fact that you have a go-to line, Markowitz says. It might be okay to recycle a line if you know that, eventually, you're going to have to respond on a more personal level, according to Dr. Sumner. "If your goal is to form a relationship, you aren't going to be able to do so by re-using lines and not actually engaging with the other person on a personal level," she says.
It's probably best to just use Dev's message as a source of inspiration, rather than straight-up copying it (especially since a good chunk of app daters were likely binge-watching season two over the weekend). At the end of the day, if what you say in that first message leads to an offline interaction, you're doing great, Burns says. And Dev, ahem: We noticed you really love homemade tortellini. Would you mind picking up all the fixin's to make it — please, cutie?
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For two decades, Cubans had an advantage over other migrants: Thanks to a Clinton-era open door policy, they could come to the United States without a visa, receive asylum automatically, and be on track for permanent residency. The program was commonly know as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy. In essence, it meant Cubans who were intercepted at sea with "wet feet" would be sent back to the island, but those who reached US soil and had "dry feet" could stay.
When the Obama administration started to normalise relations with the Cuban government in December 2014, more and more Cubans started to flee their country because they feared the policy would end. According to the US Customs and Border Protection, almost 24,300 Cubans came to the US via ports of entry in 2014. That number jumped to over 43,150 people in 2015, and then to about 56,400 in 2016.
The Cuban people's fears were not unfounded. In January, President Obama ended the policy a few days before leaving office. Many migrants got to the US border but were unable to cross because they were too late.
Photographer Lisette Poole captured the migrant experience of two Cuban women, Liset and Marta, as they travelled from Havana to Texas. The harrowing journey took them across 13 countries during a 48-day period, and they were two of the last Cubans to benefit from the policy.
Poole, who is of Cuban descent herself, is turning 48 Days: A Migration Story into a photo book in both English and Spanish. To fund the project — which will be a twist on the classic travel guide and published with the help of Red Hook Editions — she currently has a Kickstarter campaign.
When asked what inspired her, Poole told Refinery29, "I really saw it as just part of the modern reality or everyday experience for most Cuban people."
She said she took a flight with Liset and Marta from Havana, Cuba, to Guyana in May 2016. From there, the journey took them through 11 other countries: Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and finally, the US. One of the most dangerous parts was crossing the Darien Gap, a remote jungle swath that divides Colombia and Panama. This corridor is used often by drug traffickers from the two neighboring countries. In total, Poole said they crossed 10 of the borders illegally.
"Their future was very much out of their hands, really, from one day to the next, or sometimes one minute to the next," she said. "It was really impossible to plan and a lot of what they were doing was dependent upon other people. Many times there were long periods of waiting that were sort of interlaced with anxiety while not knowing what was going to happen. And so a long time of waiting would suddenly be interrupted by having to run with everything they owned from one place to the next, or a car, or a bus, or something."
There were other physical challenges, too, like when Marta, who is 52, got hurt early in the journey. But for Poole, the emotional toll of those two months was as hard as the physical one.
"I think just the uncertainty can be really hard, and the fact that so much is out of their control, she said. "Even though Liset and Marta were lucky and nothing happened to them, there are hundreds and thousands of cases of people who are robbed or raped or killed on these journeys, or left behind. So there's a lot of fear involved that something could happen to them at any moment."
As someone of Cuban descent herself, the journey and the overall project made Poole feel closer to her roots. It also showed her that Cuban women are strong beyond words, pushing through great dangers in order to achieve their goals.
"They had this incredible resilience to them. They found ways to laugh, and enjoy themselves, and find humour in what was happening, even though it was terrifying for them sometimes," she said. "What I saw was what I know of Cuban women: They're really resilient and they will find a way to make things work, and to survive, and to get through whatever it is that they need to in order to move forward."
When asked what she wants people to take away from seeing her photos, Poole was honest on how the project ties into to the current climate surrounding the issue of immigration.
"I just hope that [people] find a way to relate to these women. I hope that the photos offer a personal look at what the migrant experience is like. Marta and Liset have sort of a unique story, in a way, because they're Cuban and because of policy and because their reasons for migrating are different from others," she said. "But at the same time they're not, because they're trying to make a better life for themselves and a better future for themselves, and they were in a moment where they felt desperate to do that, and so this is what it looked like."
She added, "I really hope that if even one person who is leaning towards these new immigration policies that are happening or, you know, if even someone who has sort of an anti-immigration sentiment sees this, and it humanises that experience, I would feel that I did my job."
Liset, 24, and Marta, 52, at Marta's home in Marianao, Havana. The two are old friends from the neighbourhood. Marianao is a marginalised neighbourhood of Havana.
Marta poses for a photo with family and friends just minutes before leaving for the airport.
Liset and Marta land at the airport in Guyana and meet other Cubans who introduce them to local coyotes. (Coyote is slang for smuggler.)
From here, they will be taken across the border to Brazil by the next morning.
After crossing into Brazil, Marta and Liset wait nervously for the signal to run to awaiting cars.
Liset with other migrants in Colombia awaiting entry into the Darien Gap.
Liset and Marta talk with friends from a hotel room in Brazil.
Liset and other migrants divide food rations for the four to five day walk through the Darien Gap. Here, other Cubans (some of whom were on the same flight leaving Cuba) join Liset and Marta. They prepare to be taken into the Darien with a local coyote.
Liset and Marta in Colombia after crossing the border. They look for smuggler connections to take them to the next stop.
Marta and Liset resting in the river after a treacherous crossing.
Liset at dawn in the Darien Gap. She and Marta are the only women among a group of almost 50 migrants and smugglers.
Marta in a van with other migrants from Haiti after being detained by Peruvian migration officials. They were released after the head officer took a liking to Liset and decided to let her go.
Marta with several migrants from Haiti and Bangladesh crossing from Ecuador into Colombia.
Liset and Marta prepare to board a boat at dawn to go from Necocli to Capuragna in Colombia, getting closer to the Panamanian border.
Marta is afraid on the small boat as it takes her closer to the Panamanian border. Everyone on the boat gets wet. Local fishermen take the migrants for extra cash.
Marta rests after a long hike from Ecuador into Colombia. After reaching the top of the hill, the Colombian military showed up and detained the group of Haitian and Bangladeshi migrants, letting Liset and Marta walk freely to the other side.
Liset arrives at Chicago O'Hare International Airport to be reunited with her boyfriend, Joey, who she met in Cuba back in January and paid for her trip to go to the Unites States.
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Did you really think Hillary Clinton would stay in the woods forever?
In the last month and a half, the former presidential candidate gave a couple of powerful interviews, joked bout her upcoming memoir, and talked about the 2016 election with little to no filter. It was unprecedented, to say the least. She even called herself "an activist citizen and part of the residence," making clear where she stands in relation to the Trump administration's policies. Putting those words into action on Monday, Clinton officially launched the political group Onward Together. In a series of tweets, Clinton said the initiative will help people be more politically active and advance progressive values.
"The last few months, I've been reflecting, spending time with family — and yes, taking walks in the woods," she tweeted. "We're launching Onward Together to encourage people to get involved, organise, and even run for office."
We're launching Onward Together to encourage people to get involved, organize, and even run for office. https://t.co/8exooosvZ5
The new group's name is similar to her campaign slogan, "Stronger Together," playing into the themes of unity and support Clinton championed during her presidential bid. She announced that Onward Together will support groups such as Swing Left, a grassroots network aimed at turning the US House of Representatives blue again in 2018; the racial justice organisation Color of Change; and Emerge America, which trains Democratic women who want to run for political office.
Onward Together's mission statement reads, "Onward Together is dedicated to advancing the vision that earned nearly 66 million votes in the last election. By encouraging people to organise, get involved, and run for office, Onward Together will advance progressive values and work to build a brighter future for generations to come. Citizen engagement at every level is central to a strong and vibrant democracy. In recent months, we've seen what's possible when people come together to resist bullying, hate, falsehoods, and divisiveness, and stand up for a fairer, more inclusive America."
The mission also mentions that Americans are "speaking up and speaking out like never before." And even though the US is facing real challenges, Onward Together believes it's necessary to bring the same "passion and determination" into 2018 and beyond.
Clinton concluded her tweetstorm by saying, "This year hasn't been what I envisioned, but I know what I'm still fighting for: a kinder, big-hearted, inclusive America. Onward!"
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Artificial Intelligence, gamification, interactive wearables, home medical testing – the latest innovations push the boundaries of health tech. From virtual reality pain relief to a finger prick blood test monitor that helps chemotherapy patients manage their treatment, these groundbreaking technologies make a genuine difference to people’s lives – and can even save lives.
As well as creating digital tools and devices to support specific needs and help people get better, there are also radical concepts to keep them healthy in the first place. It begs the question, will we stop needing doctors one day? We’re not quite there yet, but here’s a roundup of some of the most impressive I-can’t-believe-it advancements in the health tech world.
The first contraceptive app
Nordic nuclear physicist Elina Berglund has developed the first app in the world to be approved as a contraceptive. Called Natural Cycles, it calculates daily fertility with an algorithm. Women measure the temperature underneath their tongue every morning and enter the measurement into the app, which then determines whether you’re fertile or not that day, so that you know if you risk pregnancy by having unprotected sex. Natural Cycles has over 150,000 users in 161 countries and a clinical study has proved that using the app is as effective a method of birth control as being on the pill.
Gamifying physio
MIRA Rehab is a platform which turns physical and cognitive exercises, such as the kind you’d receive from a physiotherapist, into video games, making therapy easier to follow at home. It asks patients to complete the recommended movements to progress through each game level – think Candy Crush but you’re actually recovering as you play. The patient’s performance data is tracked, storing all the repetitions, improvements or issues for therapists to adapt and progress treatment accordingly.
Come to your sensewear
The primary purpose of this collection of clothes and accessories is to stimulate and improve awareness of our senses, while training us to use them better. Some sensewear items are designed to mute physical sensations, some to sharpen them. The collection is inspired by the therapies used to assist people affected with autism, who experience symptoms including anxiety, stress and panic attacks. But as many other people also suffer from these conditions, the collection is aimed not only at people with disabilities but also at people with busy, stressful lives. And before you start picturing unflattering scrubs, the project’s designs are attractive and not obviously medical, so they can be worn by anyone and don’t stigmatise a person with a disorder.
The Video Doctor will see you now
Very often the most practical problem for a doctor and patient is one of location: can people actually get to their doctors, or vice versa? And when they do, how much is the cost of that effort? Germany’s health economy has taken a major step towards solving this problem with "Videosprechstunden" (video consultations). As a part of the new e-health law which came into effect in January this year, the video consultation innovation is just one of many measures set to help more people get the help they need when they need it, thus saving lives.
VR pain relief
A Swedish pharmacy chain has created the first virtual reality app that can help patients with pain relief. Happy Place, created by agency Wenderfalck as a joint venture between Sweden's largest private pharmacy, Apotek Hjärtat and VR therapy startup Mimerse, aims to distract patients from their pain with a peaceful, interactive environment. Using a VR headset, a patient is 'transported' to a serene lakeside campground, with optional guided relaxation and soothing music. It’s currently being tested by the public (for example, when getting vaccinations), with the potential to be rolled out further. Who said playing video games is bad for you?
MyAsthma
This app is designed to help people living with asthma understand more about themselves and their condition, and to help to manage it. The asthma control test (ACT) helps people understand how well controlled their asthma is, tracking medicine usage and asthma attacks to help communication between themselves and their healthcare professional. It also connects to the user’s everyday life, learning what triggers their asthma – from location to weather and air quality – and offering useful advice in these situations to help prevent attacks.
Affinity
Low blood counts are a common side-effect of chemotherapy. White blood cells defend the body from infection and low white blood cell counts can result in serious infection and problematic delays to chemotherapy treatment. Affinity is a connected device for people with cancer to monitor their blood cell counts from home in between chemotherapy cycles using a simple finger prick test, automatically sharing results with their clinician. This can help avoid infection and keep treatment on track, and saves patients some of the time and effort of going into hospital for check-ups.
HealthUnlocked
The largest social network for health in the world, HealthUnlocked supports millions of people to improve their health every month through peer support and self-management in over 600 health and wellbeing online communities. HealthUnlocked partners with hundreds of patient advocacy organisations and charities within these communities, providing them with support, expertise and moderation, and offers a range of unique solutions to organisations and businesses, specialising in access to an active health-focused audience. Making Facebook look like a glorious time-waster.
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Sheryl Sandberg is one of the world’s most influential women in technology and has also been voted one of the 100 most powerful women globally. As Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer, she leads an online social networking site that connects 1.71 billion people – that’s more people than live in Africa and South America combined.
She also has a passion for empowering women and girls and is famous for her non-profit organisation and online community Leanin.org – which encourages women and girls to achieve their goals.
As part of our fifth anniversary, Ni Nyampinga caught up with Sheryl Sandberg to add her support to our Turamurika campaign (Together We Shine), which highlights the importance of supporting girls and each other. Read on to find out what inspires one of the most successful women in the world.
NN: Could you start by telling us about some of your proudest moments?
Sheryl: I am very proud of the role Facebook and Instagram play in the world. My favourite story is about a woman named Riza in the Philippines. She was commuting by boat to finish her degree. When a typhoon hit her island she couldn’t commute any longer, but through Free Basics – our programme that gives people free access to the internet – she was able to continue her education and graduate.
Personally I lost my husband very suddenly a year and a half ago, and my son looked at me just last week and said, “Mummy, I’m happy”. That was a very proud moment because he’s worked so hard and I’ve worked so hard to get them through the tragedy and to create a space where they can be okay.
NN: Many of our readers are girls between 13 and 15 years of age. We would like to know what you were like at that age?
Sheryl: I was a student very interested in studying in a school that didn’t really value that. My best friend when I was in 7th grade told me I wasn’t cool enough to be her friend anymore and she just dropped me. So I made new friends, and I made new friends that other people said were the smart girls. That was code for being very uncool. We were not cool. We did not have dates. Boys did not like me. I did not get invited to the cool parties. But I had very close friendships with girls that are still my best friends today.
NN: Is there any advice you would have given to yourself at that age?
Sheryl: Study more. What matters is what I learned all the way through! That is what matters.
NN: Tell us about your parents? How did they support you growing up?
Sheryl: My parents were always there and supportive of me professionally. I got married when I was very young. I was married at 24, and divorced at 25. That was hard for my parents. They said no one in our family had ever gotten divorced before. They had a very good marriage so it wasn’t something they were really expecting. It felt like a very big failure.
On the professional side, my Mum and Dad wanted all their children to have all the opportunities. They had a son and two daughters and they wanted us to have all the opportunities in the world.
NN: At Ni Nyampinga, we believe in championing girls and the things that are important to them. And we know you too are a champion for girls. Why do you feel it is important to support girls?
Sheryl: Because we are all stronger together! Because, there is systematic discrimination based on race, based on gender, based on all kind of things – religion, backgrounds, and beliefs. Women are 50% of the population. 50%. If we support each other, we can overcome. And we can do it in small ways and we can do it in big ways.
NN: Do you believe that someday the world will be a more positive place for girls, where they can feel safe?
Sheryl: Yes, yes, yes. I believe we will take our rightful seats at the table. I believe we will have Heads of State who are women, and Members of Parliament. We’ll run big companies. It will make a big difference.
NN: Thanks to Free Basics many people and girls are accessing Ni Nyampinga on their mobile for free. How do you think social media and technology can be beneficial for girls?
Sheryl: I think it’s really important because it gives us voice. Our programme Free Basics has given people free access to the internet. We have connected over 25 million people. We’ve had examples of women who have been abused by their cousin or partners. They didn’t realise they had legal rights but they have found out about it by connecting to the internet. It doesn’t solve all problems and there are a lot of big problems out there, but we believe it goes a very long way.
NN: As part of our national campaign, Turamurika, we are profiling inspiring girls and women. We know you are a role model to girls around the world. Do you have a role model?
Sheryl: I have so many. My mum who is always so generous and giving. And I would say young people like you, you inspire me. Because look at what you are doing. Halfway around the world and you can connect, write about things and inspire other young girls.
NN: Thank you so much. Finally, do you have a message for our NN audience?
Sheryl: It’s never too early to lean in. We really want to encourage all girls not just to participate but to lean. And know inside that you can do it.
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London-based jewellery designer and creative director of Astley Clarke, Dominic Jones has teamed up with activist and TV presenter Billie JD Porter in a call to arms, urging young people to vote in next month’s election. In a campaign named Use Your Voice, the duo asked a series of British artists and designers to create bespoke images encouraging people to register to vote. With only a week before registration closes, they took to social media yesterday for a day of action, posting pieces created by Shrimps, Charles Jeffrey, Simone Rocha, Sam Bailey, Matthew Stone and more.
With those aged 25 and under making up 390,000 of the 930,000 people who have registered to vote since Theresa May called the snap election, there’s hope that young people are engaged in party policies and will exercise their right to influence the next five years of government. However, many feel that the current state of politics doesn’t reflect their needs, or even speak to them at all. As Jones highlights, the lives of young people have changed drastically over the past few decades, yet politics hasn’t caught up: "Things have evolved and yet politics hasn't. That leaves young people out of the loop. It's not that they don't care, it's just no one is talking them through what it's all about and why they should be engaged."
So why did Jones decide to collaborate with artists and designers on Use Your Voice? “I wanted to share the message, so it made sense to ask people who can create beautiful exciting imagery and that already have an audience themselves,” he explains. “The idea was to get young people who aren't necessarily engaged with the news to get the message – everything is communicated and marketed via social media now, so I thought I would do my best to get the word out.”
Hopefully, young voters will turn out on 8th June to make their voices heard. Click through to see the artwork created for the project and share to encourage your friends and family to register to vote.
British fashion brand Shrimps used an overlay on a classic Vincent Van Gogh painting to say, "Very Important Announcement: There's only ONE week left to register to vote, don't lose out on your chance to have a say on your future!"
Designer Cozette McCreery creates a cut 'n' paste slogan, saying, "YOU HAVE 1 WEEK LEFT! Don't feel like your country has been held to #ransom HAVE YOUR SAY"
Illustrator Rob Whoriskey urges, "Don't be a Russell Brand. Please register to vote. For the love of fuck – even just to let them know you're not fine with what they're up to."
Illustrator Katie Scott uses her signature botanical print to encourage voters.
Fashion designer Simone Rocha 's call to arms is an embroidered image.
Artist Unskilled Worker used their workstation to make a statement, saying, "BECAUSE THEY ARE RUINING YOURS!!!!!"
Designer Charles Jeffrey colourfully illustrated his message: "Be bold and ask the people around you if they have registered. If they haven't give them a verbal boot in the baws and get them to go online it takes 5 mins!"
Artist Matthew Stone used his graphic aesthetic, stating, "Young voters could swing this election if they turn up!"
Model Jack Laver 's photo lay is a bleak but powerful image.
Menswear designer Liam Hodges creates a dystopian green, black and white image for his contribution to the project.
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With just about every young girl in the country devouring Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel The Handmaid's Tale at school, it's no wonder that a much-hyped television adaptation is getting a lot of traction. Critics have been fawning over the Hulu adaptation starring Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel ever since it started to air in the US last month, pointing out how timely the story was when women's rights are being stripped away in Trump's America.
The problem for us British Atwood lovers? The only way you could watch the TV show over here was by illegally downloading it. But now, Channel 4 is here to save the day, as it has just been announced that it will begin airing the ten-part series later this month.
Jay Hunt, Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer said: “ The Handmaid’s Tale is a chilling and frighteningly topical exploration of a world where women are subjugated. I'm delighted that Channel 4 viewers will get to see this critically-acclaimed take on a classic novel.”
They have yet to confirm exact details of the launch date and time but, rest assured, it is coming.
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Can’t afford to buy your own home? Silly you! Owning a property is actually as simple as giving up avocado toast and fancy coffee. Haven't you heard?
That’s according to Australian millionaire Tim Gurner, a luxury property developer in Melbourne, who has antagonised young people everywhere by suggesting their housing woes are caused by millennials' spending habits, rather than a combination of stagnant wages and spiralling house prices in many cities.
“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,” he said in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia. “We’re at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high.”
He continued: “We are coming into a new reality where … a lot of people won’t own a house in their lifetime. That is just the reality.”
Tim Gurner believes our housing crisis will be resolved when young Aussies inherit the 'incredible wealth' from the Baby Boomers. #60Minspic.twitter.com/iET9sus8qW
When asked if he believes young people will never own their own homes: “Absolutely, when you’re spending $40 a day on smashed avocados and coffees and not working. Of course.”
He then went on to suggest young people aren't working hard enough by offering his own story as a point of comparison. “When I had my first business when I was 19, I was in the gym at 6am in the morning, and I finished at 10.30 at night, and I did it seven days a week, and I did it until I could afford my first home. There was no discussions around, could I go out for breakfast, could I go out for dinner. I just worked.”
Unsurprisingly, Gurner’s comments went down like a lead balloon on social media.
The average UK house price is £234,795, or in millionaire speak, 39,132 lots of yummy avocado toast at £6 a pop. pic.twitter.com/EEq9HxoBr0
Alright, I did the math. If I stopped eating avocado toast every day, I would be able to afford a bad house in Los Angeles in 642 years. pic.twitter.com/nqhiqnQ07E
Gurner isn't the first person to suggest young people's avocado toast habit was ruining their chance of buying a home. Writing in The Australian Magazine last year, columnist Bernard Salt said young "hipsters" were spending too much money dining out.
“I have seen young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop and more. I can afford to eat this for lunch because I am middle aged and have raised my family. But how can young people afford to eat like this? ," he wrote.
"Shouldn't they be economising by eating at home? How often are they eating out? Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house."
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Of all the issues you’d think it might be natural for McDonald’s to capitalise on to sell junk food, child bereavement probably isn’t one of them.
But this didn’t stop the fast food giant from broaching the subject in its latest British TV advert – and offending viewers in the process.
The emotionally-driven ad features a bereaved woman and her son, who struggles to find anything in common with his dead father until he learns they both enjoyed a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish.
The campaign, which first aired on 12th May, was created by London-based advertising agency Leo Burnett, and is due to run for seven weeks, the BBC reported.
But bereavement charities, widows and many who were bereaved as children have criticised the company for exploiting the sensitive topic for profit. Bereavement charity Grief Encounter said it has received "countless calls" from people whose bereaved children had been troubled by it.
Dr Shelley Gilbert, the charity's founder and president, said McDonald's had exploited childhood bereavement "to connect with young people and surviving parents alike - unsuccessfully". One in 29 children lose a parent or sibling by the time they are 16 years of age, the charity said.
"Trying to insinuate that a brand can cure all ills with one meal is insensitive and shouldn't be a way to show that a brand recognises 'the big moments in life'," Gilbert told the BBC.
Those who had been personally affected by the issue aired their annoyance on social media.
I lost my father when I was a child and I find the latest McDonald's advert disgusting and offensive. Shame on you! #mcdonalds#badtaste
One woman said it was "irresponsible not to include any support advice or information for families affected by this issue". Leah Miller, 42 from London, told the BBC: "What are children supposed to think after watching it? That a simple meal can solve their emotional pain?"
The Advertising Standards Authority has received complaints about the ad and said it will "carefully assess them to see whether there are grounds to investigate".
McDonald’s responded to the criticism, telling the BBC it “was by no means” the company’s intention to cause offence. "We wanted to highlight the role McDonald's has played in our customers' everyday lives – both in good and difficult times," the spokesperson added, with no suggestion that the company would consider pulling the ad.
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Update: President Trump took to Twitter to defend sharing classified information with Russian officials during a meeting last week.
In two tweets, he said, "As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS & terrorism."
As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining....
The tweets directly contradict what top White House officials such as Trump’s national security adviser, H. R. McMaster, said on Monday night. McMaster called the story "false" and said the president had not discussed "intelligence sources or methods" with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during their meeting last Tuesday.
This story was originally published on May 15, 2017.
President Donald Trump boastfully shared highly classified information with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a meeting at the White House last week, highlighting a recurring Trump personality trait that may be putting national security at risk.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, Trump revealed a plot by the Islamic State, The Washington Post reported, citing current and former US officials. The “sensitive” intel had been obtained by a partner of the United States that hadn’t approved of the information being shared with Russia, jeopardising the US’s relationship with the ally.
The information was so sensitive that “details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within the US government,” the newspaper reported.
Trump’s leak appears to confirm the serious fears of some in the intelligence community. Officials told The Wall Street Journalin February they were withholding some of the most sensitive details from Trump due to concerns “it could be leaked or compromised.” Since his days as a real estate titan, Trump has been known as a big talker who trades in often dubious information.
In this latest case, the Post reports that “Trump went off script and began describing details of an Islamic State terrorist threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft.” Trump boasted: “I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel every day.”
Trump disclosed the city in the Islamic State’s territory where the US’s ally found a threat, which the Post reported was the most alarming aspect of his disclosure.
Trump is legally allowed to declassify government information, the Post reported. However, this act would be illegal for nearly every other government employee. The president did not disclose the specific sources or methods for obtaining the information.
H.R. McMaster, Trump's second national security adviser, said in a statement to reporters outside the White House: “The story that came out tonight as reported is false. He added that “at no time were intelligence sources or methods discussed,” which the Post explicitly stated was not the case.
The news comes a week after the president fired FBI Director James Comey and later admitted in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt that an active FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election was on his mind when he fired the man leading that probe.
His own aides had been telling a different story about the firing, claiming Comey was released on the basis of a recommendation from the deputy attorney general and that the rationale involved mishandling of an investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.
Some noted a relevant 2016 tweet from House Speaker Paul Ryan:
It's simple: Individuals who are ‘extremely careless’ w/ classified info should be denied further access to it. https://t.co/XWuvfDugly
Trump has built his career, reputation, and much of his wealth by spilling tea in ways that make him the centre of attention.
His shameless oversharing over the years has ranged from the highly personal -- he once told a New York City tabloid he was getting divorced before he told his wife -- to business-boosting boasts about his next giant real estate deal, to political canards like his birther crusade against former President Obama and his later claims that Obama had wiretapped his transition office.
“We didn’t see it at the time,” former gossip writer Susan Mulcahy wrote in Politico, “but item by inky item we were turning him into a New York icon.”
Here are some reactions to the news on social:
Note to @realDonaldTrump : Loose lips sink ships. I just coined that!
— Mary Beth Schneider (@marybschneider) May 15, 2017
at this point i want trump to shoot someone on 5th avenue just so i can see republicans defend it https://t.co/7kfLFs4BEw
Watch McMaster's statement carefully: “at no time were sources or methods discussed.” WaPo report never said Trump revealed sources/methods. pic.twitter.com/SF3rWDqKFi
If you want to don puppy ears and laurel wreaths in an Instagram Story, the days of uploading a Snapchat screenshot from your camera roll have come to an end. Today, Instagram announced the addition of its own similar face filters.
Although these are fun, we're more excited about the other tools included in today's update. Frosting an elaborate cake will be mind-bending when recorded in rewind mode. And a new eraser brush is like a grown-up version of those rainbow scratch-art sets we played with as kids. Throwback Thursday, meanwhile, gets a special hashtag treatment in Stories.
Ahead, your guide to using all the new tools. And if you feel the need to brush up on the rest of your Instagram Stories game, check out these tips.
Filter On
It's an animal-face world; we're all just living in it. Channel your inner koala or rabbit or flower crown queen by going to your camera and tapping the smiley face in the bottom right-hand corner. Find the mask that fits your mood, snap or record, and add the post to your Story or send as a Direct Message. There will be eight filters at launch, followed by more.
Photo: Courtesy of Instagram.
Reverse, Reverse
May the immortal words of DJ Casper guide all of your recordings. To use the new "rewind" camera mode, simply toggle over to the setting (found between "Boomerang" and "hands-free") and jump, toss, or perform any gif-worthy action. Then, watch yourself break all the laws you learned about in high school physics class.
Photo: Courtesy of Instagram.
What Lies Beneath
Expect to see upcoming albums and designer collections teased with Instagram Stories' eraser brush. First, take a photo, select the drawing tool, and tap the screen to cover the entire image with a single colour. Then, tap the brush and cleverly "wipe" away whichever parts of the photo you want to reveal.
Photo: Courtesy of Instagram.
Tag, You're It
Throwback Thursday and Motivation Monday have a new hashtag home: Instagram Stories. Select the new hashtag sticker from the sticker folder and add your desired text. Anyone who views your story can tap the hashtag to see posts with the same hashtag, just as you can with hashtags on regular Instagram posts.
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