Just 10 years after the Stonewall Riots that started the gay liberation movement, the AIDS epidemic hit the U.S. From 1981-1994, over 400,000 people were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. With the virus disproportionately impacting the LGBTQ community, many of the Stonewall survivors were lost, along with first hand history of the historic riots. Read more…
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Ever felt threatened by someone else’s fancy language skills?
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker seemed to feel just that during the Democratic Debate on Wednesday night, when rival candidate Beto O’Rourke flexed his Spanish skills first.
When Beto was asked if he would support a higher tax rate for top earners, he responded by stating that the economy needed to “work for everyone.” Beto then switched mid-answer to Spanish, and Booker was caught glaring in his wake.
Booker, of course, can also speak SpanishHe made his pitch to voters when he called into Univision’s Despierta América when he announced his candidacy back in February. Read more…
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Facebook may soon have new rules for “deepfakes.”
That’s according to Mark Zuckerberg, who said Wednesday that the company is currently discussing specific policies that would police deepfakes, a term that refers to videos that have been realistically manipulated using artificial intelligence.
The issue was recently thrust into the spotlight after a manipulated video of Nancy Pelosi went viral on the platform. The video, which experts said had been slowed down, made the Speaker of the House’s speech sound slurred as if she were drunk. Facebook’s fact checkers eventually marked the video as false, but it had already spread widely before Facebook down-ranked it in users’ News Feeds. Read more…
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For more than thirty years, Bryan Stevenson has worked to bring justice to the justice system. Now, his fight is coming to HBO.
True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality, a new documentary from HBO and Kunhardt Films, chronicles the ongoing efforts of the Equal Justice Initiative, founded by Stevenson, to bring impartiality and equality to the American criminal justice system.
A public interest lawyer in Montgomery, Alabama, Stevenson is a prolific figure in social justice and legal reform, holding 35 honorary doctorates from institutions all across the country and the American Bar Association Medal. Since starting the EJI in 1989, Stevenson and his staff have won dozens of cases involving wrongly convicted and unfairly sentenced defendants, including reversals and relief for 135 people on death row. Read more…
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Of the many fandoms that dominate the social media space, the BTS ARMY is undoubtedly one of the most powerful. Stanning doesn’t even begin to describe the loyalty, dedication, and earned obsession exhibited by fans of the South Korean boy group — which makes the release of mobile game BTS World one of the most exciting moments in current fan culture.
In the game, which is created by Netmarble studios, the player takes on the role of BTS’s manager, who is magically transported into the past and tasked with guiding Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook on the path to becoming BTS and achieving superstardom. The game contains hours of all-new footage of the band and involves receiving texts and recorded video calls from the band members, but a quick peek on Twitter showed that the ARMY was not expecting the level of difficulty and communication required by the game. Read more…
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Ten Democratic presidential contenders will take the debate stage in Miami on Wednesday night. Some of them may have noticed that the weather in town is unusually hot.
Normally, temperatures in Miami around June’s end max out at around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, explained Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. But the coastal city has now had six consecutive days where the high temperature hit at least 94 degrees. On Monday the temperature hit 98 degrees (the second hottest day in Miami’s recorded history).
Daily temperature records have fallen in the area, which is expected these days. Read more…
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If the Apple Watch ever does get a camera, it might end up in the wristband.
Apple has indeed mulled ways to add a camera into the wearable, according to a U.S. patent filing that was granted today. The company has come up with a novel solution: It involves placing the camera module inside the product’s flexible wristband, giving you the freedom to aim the lens.
The patent filing contains examples of the concept, which integrates the optical sensor on the end of the wristband. As you wear the Apple Watch, you would use your other hand to hold up the camera module and take photos by pinching an adjacent button. Any images you captured would appear on the watch’s main display, which would act as the viewfinder. Read more…
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Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the president, is a bad take machine. And just like his father, he’s been busy tossing his share of cringeworthy tweets and questionable memes into your timeline.
Sure, the year is only halfway done, but Junior’s cup runneth over. So much so that we’ve rounded up 9 of his most awkward moments thus far.
We shudder to think what else 2019 has in store for him — and for us.
Saturday Night Live has proved to be something of a successful comedic foil for the Trumps, with just about everyone in the family getting their own satirical send-up. You would think Don Jr. would know that SNL is the accepted shorthand for the popular show. And, yet, apparently he does not. In a tweet referencing the show, he called it “S&L,” which brings to mind the savings and loans scandal of the late 1980s. Read more…
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The cryptocurrency has grown quadruply within the short time frame. The current values are just $7,000 from their all time high of $19,900.
Read more here. Read more…
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