- NewsCNN
A women's basketball team went viral after hitting five half-court shots in a row
South Dakota State University's Jackrabbits hit five half-court shots in a row, and it was all caught on video.
Start the conversation - U.S.The Telegraph
Celebrities rally round suicidal 9-year-old bullying victim in Australia
Social media users and celebrities around the world have rallied in support of a nine-year-old boy who was bullied over his dwarfism. Quaden Bayles, from Queensland, Australia, received support after his mother posted a video of him crying and saying "I just want to die right now" after being teased at his school. "This is the impact that bullying has on a nine-year-old kid that just wants to go to school, get an education and have fun," she said in the clip, which has been viewed 19 million times on Facebook. His mother went on to explain the toll Quaden's bullying has had on their family, stating she had to "constantly keep an eye on him" as a result. She suggested he was being targeted due to his dwarfism, a genetic condition which results in restricted growth. The video subsequently went viral and led social media users to offer their support, with messages flooding in from hundreds of people using the hashtag WeStandWithQuaden. The well-wishers included celebrities such as Hugh Jackman, who said: "Quaden, you're stronger than you know." "You've got a friend in me," he added. Comedian Brad Williams then created a GoFundMe page, urging people to donate to give Quaden the opportunity to travel to Disneyland. Many people commented on the unfairness of Quaden's situation and described the young boy as brave. One Twitter user, Stephen Leppard, said the video reminded him of being bullied at school. In a video message, Mr Leppard said: "I know that there are thousands upon thousands of people around the world who are wishing you well" and told Quaden to "stay strong". He told the PA news agency: "It's heartbreaking to see [this] towards anyone, especially a child." He added Quaden's story should encourage parents and schools to "take responsibility and change" the stigma around dwarfism.
- PoliticsEsquire
Sonia Sotomayor Called Out Supreme Court Conservatives for Their Pro-Trump Bias
In a biting dissent, the justice accused her colleagues of "putting a thumb on the scale" for the Trump administration.
- CelebrityThe Wrap
Clint Eastwood on 2020 Election: ‘Just Get Mike Bloomberg in There’
Longtime Hollywood Republican Clint Eastwood signaled that he might not support President Donald Trump’s re-election.“The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there,” Eastwood told the Wall Street Journal in a wide-ranging interview published Friday.Eastwood, a rare conservative voice in the film world who memorably spoke to an empty chair representing President Barak Obama at the 2012 GOP convention, offered praise for “certain things that Trump’s done” but urged the president to behave “in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names. I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level.”He also expressed disappointment in the overall climate heading into the 2020 election. “The politics has gotten so ornery,” he said.Also Read: 'Richard Jewell': Reporter Kathy Scruggs' Editor Pushes Back on Writer Billy Ray's CriticismsElsewhere in the interview, Eastwood offered his opinion about the current culture in Hollywood. “The MeToo generation has its points,” Eastwood said, praising women for “standing up against people who are trying to shake you down for sexual favors.” He noted that sexual harassment has been a mainstay of Hollywood since he got his start. “It was very prolific back in the 1940s and ’50s,” he said, adding, “and the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s…”But while he did not defend disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein, now on trial in New York on multiple felony counts of sexual misbehavior, Eastwood did voice concerns that the rush of accusations might undercut the “presumption of innocence, not only in law, but in philosophy.”Eastwood also defended his portrayal of the late Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist Kathy Scruggs in his 2019 film “Richard Jewell,” saying that Warner Bros. should have responded to the paper’s threat of legal action by telling them “to go screw themselves.”Also Read: Olivia Wilde Says She'll Approach Real-Life Characters Differently After 'Richard Jewell' FlapEastwood said he used artistic license to alter details about Scruggs’ life — suggesting that she slept with an FBI agent to get information for a story — which the paper denounced as “entirely false and … extremely defamatory.” (Scruggs died in 2001.)Eastwood said that whatever alterations he made to Scruggs’ personal history, he still blamed the paper’s “reckless reporting” on Jewell, a security guard who was suspected of planting a bomb that killed two people during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Though Jewell was exonerated, Eastwood accused the paper of being “ultimately responsible” for Jewell’s death in 2007. (Jewell died of heart failure following complications from diabetes.)The director also welcomed the prospect of a lawsuit. “If you want to just go call more attention to the fact that you helped kill the guy, go ahead and do it — if you’re dumb enough to do that,” he told the Journal.Read original story Clint Eastwood on 2020 Election: ‘Just Get Mike Bloomberg in There’ At TheWrap
- BusinessQuartz
Coronavirus is the last thing the global smartphone industry needs
Coronavirus may be another reason why you don't upgrade your smartphone this year. China, the smartphone manufacturing hub of the world, is now choked off from suppliers, workers, and logistics networks. Analysis firm TrendForce predicted this week that production of smartphones will have decreased by 12% in the first three months of 2020, compared to the same period last year.
- PoliticsRefinery 29 UK
These Topless Protestors Interrupted Bernie Sanders’ Nevada Rally With A Message About Milk
Sen. Bernie Sanders has been arrested in his share of protests over the years. The Senator from Vermont and current presidential candidate has been a vocal proponent of non-violent direct action in pursuit of justice — he even hired one of the activists protesting rival candidate Vice President Joe Biden as an Iowa caucus organiser.
- WorldQuartz
Coronavirus containment is looking less likely amid surprise outbreaks in Iran and Italy
Last month the World Health Organization issued a warning that the novel coronavirus epidemic in China could turn into a global health crisis. Despite massive efforts to contain Covid-19 in the outbreak epicenter Wuhan and surrounding areas, new cases have been reported in seemingly improbable places like Iran, Lebanon, and Italy. “The window of opportunity is narrowing to contain the outbreak,” warned WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press briefing in Geneva yesterday.
- BusinessThe Daily Beast
Condé Nast Agrees to End the Use of NDAs Across the Entire Company
Condé Nast will eliminate the use of non-disclosure agreements related to harassment and discrimination, and plans to release some employees from existing harassment or discrimination-linked arrangements.In a Friday morning note to staff shared with The Daily Beast, Condé Nast management said the iconic publisher, which includes more than a dozen titles like The New Yorker, GQ, and Vogue, among others, will end such NDAs, and will cease previously existing agreements “on a case-by-case basis.”The memo said that reporting by Condé publications on the widespread abuses of the deals—often used by media companies to silence accusers of workplace misconduct—had “prompted us to reconsider the role of NDAs at our own company.”“We are proud that when complaints of harassment or discrimination are made, we take them seriously and investigate them thoroughly,” the memo said. “We strive to protect employees who have raised complaints and treat all employees fairly based on a thorough understanding of the facts. We believe this update to our NDA policy strikes the right balance, considering our core value of transparency, and the interests of our employees, company, and brands.”The move comes amid shifting public views about the use of NDAs, as well as internal pressure to change the company’s policy on their use.Over the past several months, The New Yorker’s editorial union has been in collective bargaining with the company’s leadership for a new contract. One of the union’s primary concerns has been the addition of contract language banning the use of NDAs in instances of harassment and discrimination, and releasing any current and former staff from past arrangements. Condé Nast has contended that the company was committed to eliminating NDAs before The New Yorker union’s proposal, though union staffers were irked that magazine leadership was virtually silent about the proposal before Friday’s announcement. “I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that management has embraced our concept, including the extension of this policy to everyone at the company,” New Yorker union unit chair Natalie Meade said. “Our union members look forward to ratifying our first CBA, which would enshrine this new industry standard.”After exposing accused serial rapist Harvey Weinstein, The New Yorker famously helped kickstart a national movement against the use of non-disclosure agreements in muzzling victims of harassment or discrimination.While NDAs are increasingly prevalent in many businesses, their use in a public-facing industry like media has become the subject of contentious debate and a major issue for some industry unions. The New Yorker staff guild is represented by the Newsguild, which also represents The Daily Beast’s editorial staff. The NDA proposal in question, which was floated by the Newsguild’s legal team, is also currently being negotiated at a number of other shops, including The Daily Beast.The issue had become particularly pronounced at The New Yorker, especially because the magazine has produced some of the most high-profile, aggressive coverage of sexual harassment in the workplace, and the way that NDAs have been used to silence victims.Most famously, Ronan Farrow won a Pulitzer for his New Yorker exposé of the many allegations of sexual harassment and assault against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who used non-disclosure agreements and other intimidation tactics to effectively muzzle his accusers for many years.Farrow also dedicated a significant chunk of his 2019 book Catch & Kill to investigating how NDAs at various news organizations and media companies prevented victims from speaking out against workplace misconduct—and may have enabled further abuse.Such a connection between Farrow’s famed reporting and the current debate at the storied magazine hasn’t gone unnoticed by rank and file. During one bargaining session, The New Yorker guild brought a copy of Farrow’s book and referenced it as a reminder of the publication’s work covering NDAs. Some news organizations including Vice, Mic, and HuffPost have required their employees to sign non-disclosure agreements in exchange for severance pay when they’ve been laid off. Others, like Business Insider, floated NDAs barring their employees from ever criticizing the company.Last fall, amid outrage over the network’s use of non-disclosure agreements related to disgraced Today show anchor Matt Lauer’s alleged sexual misconduct, NBC agreed to release some former employees from their confidentiality agreements. Fox News, meanwhile, which infamously used NDAs to silence at least five separate harassment accusers against ex-host Bill O’Reilly, has yet to agree to nullify such arrangements, despite pressure from high-profile former hosts like Gretchen Carlson, whose harassment allegations led to the end of network chief Roger Ailes’ career.On Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) ripped former rival Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg for refusing to release some women who signed NDAs at his financial media company.“What we need to know is exactly what's lurking out there,” she said while standing next to the former mayor on the debate stage. “[Bloomberg] has gotten some number of women—dozens, who knows—to sign nondisclosure agreements for sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace.”The senator concluded: “So Mr. Mayor, are you willing to release all of those women from those nondisclosure agreements? So we can hear their side of the story?”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
