Kehlani is ready to spread her wings and bring forth new life in her video for “Butterfly.”
The woozy, reverb-soaked track speaks to the transformative power of love, with the singer encouraging her partner to open up in the same way a butterfly sheds its cocoon. In the new video, she physically illustrates that concept by emerging from a chrysalis as a gorgeously pregnant butterfly in multi-colored body paint. As the video draws to a close, she performs the emotional spoken-word portion of the song, encouraging her lover, “I hope you take from this that it’ll make you no less of a man / To break your walls and simply grab my hand.”
In a poignant homage to the life cycle referenced in “Butterfly,” Kehlani went back to her roots to execute the video, enlisting the help of students and faculty from her alma mater, Oakland School for the Arts. As detailed in an Instagram post, her former dance teacher and production design teacher recruited students to contribute to the set design and create choreography for the vid, all over a span of just three days. The video was directed by 20-year-old newcomer Trey Lyons, and features 14-year-old dance twins Munir and Musa Omar, who are current students at the school.
“Thank you Oakland School for the Arts for cultivating such a beautiful community, and teaching me so much of what I use today in my career,” Kehlani wrote. “Directed by the youngest director I’ve ever worked with @treylyons, thank you for bringing my vision to life.”
“Butterfly” follows videos for the Dom Kennedy-featuring “Nunya” and the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted “Nights Like This.” All three tracks appear on Kehlani’s January mixtape, While We Wait, which she released as an appetizer to hold fans over until her next full-length project. Meanwhile, the Oakland singer is reaching the end of her pregnancy — she announced back in October that she’s expecting her first child, a baby girl, with her partner, Javie Young-White.
Apparently Trump thinks Apple’s CEO is named … Tim Apple.
The president flubbed Tim Cook’s name during an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board Meeting on Wednesday while complimenting him on expanding employment in the United States.
“You’ve really put a big investment in our country. We appreciate it very much, Tim Apple.”
Please appreciate both Ivanka Trump and Cook’s complete lack of reactions when Trump slips up. Both manage to breeze past it without cracking up, which is a feat in itself.
It didn’t take long for the reaction tweets to roll in.
90% chance donald thinks tim cook is an apple farmer
It’s not the first time Trump has made it seem like a CEO immediately assumes their company name. Last year, he referred to Lockheed Martin’s CEO as “Marillyn Lockheed.” Her name is Marillyn Hewson.
Earlier in the meeting, Trump did refer to Cook by his correct name, and also called him a “friend.”
The CW announced Wednesday that Arrow — the super series that began the wildly successful CW DC universe in 2012 — will conclude after an abbreviated Season 8.
Set to premiere this fall, the final chapter in the Green Arrow saga will include only 10 episodes, as opposed to the series traditional 23, as well as bring an end to the characters and storylines so many fans have come to know and love.
CW executives later confirmed Amell’s comments in an official statement to Mashable.
“This was a difficult decision to come to, but like every hard decision we’ve made for the past seven years, it was with the best interests of Arrow in mind,” said Arrow‘s Executive Producers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Beth Schwartz.
“We’re heartened by the fact that Arrow has birthed an entire universe of shows that will continue on for many years to come. We’re excited about crafting a conclusion that honors the show, its characters and its legacy and are grateful to all the writers, producers, actors, and — more importantly — the incredible crew that has sustained us and the show for over seven years.”
Notably, the CW has yet to comment on how this development will effect the Arrowverse’s other successful properties, including Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash, and Supergirl, or how it might influenceRuby Rose’s upcoming stint as Batwoman.
Arrow cast members reacted to the news on social media, expressing gratitude for their time on the show and promising fans a spectacular final season.
Sad to say that #Arrow will be coming to an end after a 10 episode Season 8. Thank you to all the fans who’ve watched. It’s been such a blessing to be a part of this incredible show What a beautiful journey
What an awesome ride! @arrow fans have been the best any actor could’ve asked for! Thank you for helping me bring John Diggle/Spartan to life!!! Love all of you! Can’t wait for you to see what we have in stock for you. Let’s end on a high, shall we? #ARROWpic.twitter.com/CDfjpCTNqA
“I would like to see what the Democrats are going to do,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Wednesday on controversy over Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar. “We’ve already led on this issue.” | AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
House Republicans are sitting back and letting Democrats inflict damage onthemselves as they struggle to respond to the growing firestorm over Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
GOP leaders had been weighing whether to take their own action against Omar, who sparked an uproar for suggesting that pro-Israel activists and lawmakers hold “allegiance to a foreign country.” The freshman firebrand has emerged as atop target on the right in recent months.
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But Republicans, who already successfully used procedural tools to rebuke Omar for using anti-Semitic tropes last month, are instead choosing to not respond right now, forcing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to pick from a difficult set of options.
“I would like to see what the Democrats are going to do,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday. “We’ve already led on this issue.”
Republicans, who saw years of infighting when they were in the majority, are now relishing watching the other side erupt into chaos and are eager to exploit those intraparty divisions.
“They have disarray in their own conference,” said Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) during a pen and pad. “Ultimately, we’ve been very clear that Speaker Pelosi has the full power and authority to take action on her own. And she should. But she hasn’t.”
Democratic leaders initially planned to put a resolution on the floor Wednesday condemning anti-Semitism, hoping to move quickly to quell the ballooning political crisis surrounding Omar. But during a tense closed-door meeting on Wednesday morning, Pelosi and her team came under fire from rank-and-file members who complained about leadership’s approach to the controversy.
The vote has been delayed indefinitely, and leaders are now scrambling to retool the resolution to make it more broad and appeal to more members.
The drama has sucked up all the oxygen on Capitol Hill this week, overshadowing Democrats’ work on a sweeping election reform package and even drowning out a high-profile hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
That’s why Republicans think their best strategy is to just let Democrats tear each other apart over the issue. And the GOP’s options are limited in the minority anyway: they likely can’t use procedural tools on the election reform bill to punish Omar, because it wouldn’t be germane. And forcing a vote on a censure resolution rebuking Omar could spark a nasty tit-for-tat with Democrats.
The GOP is also trying to contrast how Democrats and Republicans have responded to controversies involving one of their own, with GOP leaders repeatedly highlighting how they kicked Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) off his committee assignments after he made racist remarks in January.
“I just know that in our conference, when we have an issue, we actually removed people from committee,” said McCarthy.
The latest battle between arch-enemies Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump could be the internet.
On Wednesday, Democratic legislators introduced a new bill in both the House and the Senate that would reinstate net neutrality. It’s called the “Save the Internet Act of 2019.” And, as articulated in the bill’s just three pages, it would overturn the Trump FCC’s rules that overturned the Obama-era FCC’s net neutrality protections. And, it would task the FCC with protecting net neutrality across the country.
Thanks to shifting tides of power in Congress, and the popularity of net neutrality amongst constituents of both parties, the bill could actually have a chance to pass through congress. But ultimately, Trump could be the one to pull the internet’s plug.
First, let’s talk about this bill’s chances in Congress. In May 2018, three Senate Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats to overturn the FCC’s ruling. After passing the Senate, that bill died in the House, where then speaker Paul Ryan refused to bring it to a vote.
Last year, after the Senate voted to #SaveTheNet, Paul Ryan ran out the clock on #NetNeutrality in the House. This time, it’s our House. Today, Democrats in both the Senate and House are announcing the Save The Internet Act, and we’re going to send it to Donald Trump’s desk.
But things are different now. The Democrats control the House of Representatives by a wide margin, so the bill should be able to pass there. But political demographics have changed in the Senate, too: the Republicans hold a stronger majority of 57-43, since Democrats lost two seats in the midterm elections.
The three Republican Senators who voted for the last net neutrality bill — Susan Collins of Maine, John N. Kennedy of Louisiana, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — are still in office. But there’s no guarantee that they’ll side with the Dems again. And, assuming all Senate democrats vote for the bill, they’ll have to pick up another Republican to pass it.
In Washington, the net neutrality issue often plays out along party lines, with Democrats seeking to codify net neutrality as the law of the land, so that ISPs can’t charge different rates to access websites at certain speeds. Republicans have largely sided with ISPs, giving them more freedom to charge whatever they want.
But amongst citizens, net neutrality is an issue that actually has a lot of popularity across party lines; according to a 2017 poll from the University of Maryland, 75 percent of Republicans, 89 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of independents were in favor of keeping the Obama-era net neutrality regulations in place. If Republican senators listen to their constituents, perhaps the bill could actually pass through Congress.
But that’s where the big, orange obstacle that is President Trump comes in.
Trump weighed in on net neutrality before, displaying a very limited grasp of what the concept actually means — but generally taking a stance against it.
In 2014, he tweeted that the Obama-era FCC rules that protected net neutrality would “target conservative media,” and equated it with an unrelated concept. At a rally in 2015, he said he would ask Bill Gates, re “the internet,” about “closing it up.”
Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. Will target conservative media.
But his most definitive action came as president, when he appointed Ajit Pai, a known opponent of net neutrality, to the role of FCC chairman. In March 2017, Trump’s administration clarified its stance on net neutrality: then Press Secretary Sean Spicer (miss u bb) announced the administration’s ambition to overturn the Obama FCC’s net neutrality rules. He said that Trump had “pledged to reverse this overreach,” characterizing the Obama-era rules as unnecessarily bureaucratic regulation that “stifles American innovation, job creation and economic growth.” These are common arguments against net neutrality perpetuated by ISPs that have been shown to hold no water.
Trump has been no special friend to ISPs: a recent report divulged Trump’s blatant attempt to block AT&T from merging with Time Warner. But that was in retaliation for his anger at CNN, a Time Warner subsidiary — not because he necessarily cares about ISPs. What’s more likely guiding Trump is his good ol’ strategy of If Obama Was For It, I’m Against It. Opposing his enemies has always been more meaningful for Trump than the actual issues.
And unfortunately, net neutrality could become a casualty in this petty war, if Trump lets his dismal understanding of tech issues, and his general hatred for Obama and Nancy Pelosi, guide his veto pen. Let’s not let it.
Twitter may soon start opening up more about some of its most controversial decisions.
The company’s safety team wants to begin publishing public “case studies” explaining Twitter’s decisions to ban or suspend high-profile accounts, said Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s Trust & Safety lead.
Speaking on Joe Rogan’s podcast Tuesday, Gadde said she wants to make the reasoning behind Twitter’s decisions more clear to the public.
“We’re thinking of doing something we call case studies. Essentially this is our case law, this is what we use, and so high profile cases, cases people ask us about, like to actually publish this so that we can go through, you know, tweet by tweet just like this.” she said.
“Because I think a lot of people just don’t understand, and they don’t believe us when we’re saying these things so to put that out there so people can see and they may disagree with the calls that we’re making but we want them to at least see why we’re making these calls. I want to at least start that by the end of this year.”
Though Gadde didn’t reference any specific accounts that might be candidates for public case studies, Twitter’s decision to ban Alex Jones and Jacob Wohl came up at other points in the discussion, which also included CEO Jack Dorsey and Tim Pool.
This would be a major shift for the company. In the past, Twitter has insisted that its policy prevents it from commenting on individual accounts. For years, this was the standard reply whenever a journalist inquired about anything having to do with a specific account, whether it related to a suspension, a DMCA takedown, or anything else. Critics have said this policy allows Twitter to act without ever having to explain controversial decisions.
And, as recently as two weeks ago, the company told Reuters it doesn’t comment on specific accounts for “privacy and security reasons.”
That’s begun to shift more recently — Twitter publicly tweeted about its decision to ban Alex Jones, for example — but the company has still declined to discuss specific tweets. On Tuesday, though, Gadde recited several specific tweets when asked about action taken against Carl Benjamin, the right-wing YouTuber known as Sargon of Akkad.
The discussion, along with Gadde’s comments about public case studies, appears to suggest that Twitter has been re-thinking the “we don’t comment on individual accounts” policy, at least in some cases. The company used the excuse just two weeks ago, when it told Reuters that it doesn’t comment on specific accounts for “privacy and security reasons,” in response to a story on an Indian journalist facing harassment.
I asked Twitter to clarify the policy and a spokesperson said the company is looking to increase transparency around its product, policies, and processes.
That doesn’t actually explain much (ironic for a company trying to increase transparency) but Gadde’s comments are much more clear. She said her intention is to start publishing case studies by the end of the year.
And while we still don’t know exactly what these will look like, that would actually give a new window into Twitter’s decision-making.
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Manchester United‘s 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League showdown didn’t come without drama—and some controversy.
After dropping the first leg 2-0 in February, the Red Devils were down one goal on aggregate in stoppage time. Then, a controversial handball set the stage for 21-year-old Marcus Rashford to stun PSG in the final moments with a clutch penalty kick.
In separate statements, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris, who are both running for the Democratic nomination, condemned anti-Semitism but advocated for more discussion surrounding the United States’ policy with Israel. | Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images
Two major Democratic presidential candidates on Wednesday condemned House Democrats’ move to rebuke Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after comments she made about Israel.
In separate statements, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who are both running for the Democratic nomination, condemned anti-Semitism but advocated for more discussion surrounding the United States’ policy with Israel.
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“Anti-Semitism is a hateful and dangerous ideology which must be vigorously opposed in the United States and around the world,” Sanders, who is Jewish, said in a statement. “We must not, however, equate anti-Semitism with legitimate criticism of the right-wing, Netanyahu government in Israel.”
Harris also said that there was a “responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, racism, and all forms of hatred and bigotry, especially as we see a spike in hate crimes in America.”
“But like some of my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, I am concerned that the spotlight being put on Congresswoman Omar may put her at risk,” Harris continued. “We should be having a sound, respectful discussion about policy.”
Sanders, who in the past has advocated for a balanced policy on Israel and Palestinians, went on to say that an “even-handed Middle East policy which brings Israelis and Palestinians together for a lasting peace” must be developed.
“What I fear is going on in the House now is an effort to target Congresswoman Omar as a way of stifling that debate,” the senator concluded. “That’s wrong.”
Harris said she believes that “you can both support Israel and be loyal to our country,” and that there is a difference between criticizing U.S. policy and being anti-Semitic.
“I also believe there is a difference between criticism of policy or political leaders, and anti-Semitism,” Harris said. “At the end of the day, we need a two-state solution and a commitment to peace, human rights, and democracy by all leaders in the region — and a commitment by our country to help achieve that.”
The comments come after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with other top Democrats, were going to vote Wednesday on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, but not specifically mentioning Omar. The vote was postponed, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee is currently rewriting the measure to include multiple types of hate speech.
Controversy has surrounded Omar’s comments on Israel over the past couple of weeks. Most recently, the congresswoman suggested that that pro-Israel advocates had “allegiance” to Israel, a sentiment that several top Democrats found offensive because of stereotypes that Jews have “dual loyalties.”
Republicans have called on Omar to be removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee following her comments.
During a closed-door meeting of the Democratic Caucus on Wednesday, several Jewish lawmakers talked about why Omar’s latest remarks were so offensive and potentially dangerous. Other Democrats, including a Jewish lawmaker, defended Omar.
Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018, has began to apologize to some of her Jewish colleagues and has issued an apology in the past for previous statements.
Alex Trebek announced that he has cancer, but he plans on continuing to work through treatment.
The iconic host of Jeopardy! revealed his stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in a video released on the show’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, explaining that he wanted to prevent fans from “reading or hearing some overblown or inaccurate reports.”
He explained:
Now, just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.
Despite the diagnosis, 78-year-old Trebek was optimistic enough to joke that he’s contractually obligated to continue working.
“Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years!” he declared. “So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done. Thank you.”
Trebek has been hosting Jeopardy! since its revival in 1984, and renewed his contract in October 2018 to continue hosting until 2022.
The following review of The Occupation is spoiler-free, mostly because I couldn’t make it work long enough to see the ending.
Turing City, 1987. A bomb has gone off at the Bowman-Carson building, killing 23. Harvey Miller must use his cunning investigative journalism skills to crack this alarming whodunit wide open.
To begin his investigation, Harvey will — pause for dramatic effect — probably need to wait for an update.
The Occupation, a first-person perspective adventure from White Paper Games, has many of the parts necessary to make for an engaging and enticing mystery. Unfortunately, its insufferable mountain of bugs kept me from enjoying any of them. Instead, I was left confused, frustrated, and (above all else) stuck in a vent for 30+ minutes of playtime.
Making use of a modern fear, The Occupation chronicles the darkly political aftermath of a terror attack. As an investigative journalist, your job is to sift through the lies being fed to the public about the attack, as well as the oppressive “protective” legislation resulting from it, to uncover the truth behind the horror.
An insufferable mountain of bugs left me confused, frustrated, and stuck in a vent for 30+ minutes of playtime.
The game breaks your investigation into a series of real-time 60-minute chunks — think of them as levels — during which you can scrutinize any number of leads before conducting an interview with a knowledgeable character when time runs out.
As you explore, you gather evidence by eavesdropping on conversations, perusing prohibited areas, and scouring over confidential documents — taking care to avoid getting nabbed by security (and keeping an eye on your watch) in the process. Fittingly, the observations you make enhance the quality of the interview you conduct at the level’s end.
The realistic feel of the investigation at first seems exciting, but it only lasts until the glitches descend upon your playthrough. At that point, the real-time pacing poses a unique threat.
In its least harmful form, the ticking clock pairs with a glitch to steal a few minutes of your precious time, making a task as simple as scrounging through a trash bin a multi-minute affair. At its most destructive, it creates a game-breaking impasse that forces you to restart the game altogether.
Here’s how that latter nightmare materialized during my time playing The Occupation.
Before anything else, I had to wrestle with the clumsy controls. It should never take anyone more than four actions to open a door, for example. I have to select the correct key or key card from my inventory, use that key or key card on the door, grab the handle, hold the handle, and then push? Doors in real life are less complicated.
After adapting to the laborious control scheme, I began my first investigation still feeling quite hopeful. The atmosphere had me intrigued and the narrative begged for further analysis.
It was 35 minutes of investigative bliss: Steve the security guard/aspiring actor was quoting movie lines left and right as he chased me around the building. Marlon the janitor couldn’t have given less of a shit about what I was up to and incidentally kept leading me to helpful stuff. In spite of my inability to work the darn thing, my beeper made a cute noise and, for me, that was enough. I was grabbing scraps of paper, sneaking through doorways, fiddling with fuseboxes, and looking for clues in my personal detective playscape.
Then I crawled into a dark hole from which I would never return.
Attempting to get into a locked office to retrieve a clue, I became stuck in a corner of the ventilation system. The gray and black screen bucked and shook as I tried to flop free. After sitting there for a minute or so, I gave up and exited out of the game.
Of course, I promptly got stuck to a different corner.
When I restarted The Occupation, I was once again at the start of the 60-minute level, all of my progress lost to the glitch. I was annoyed, but soldiered on, considering it a one-time occurrence. I went through the same 35 minutes in less than 20, even picking up some extra clues that I hadn’t seen before along the way.
With plenty of time to spare, I boldly and stupidly reentered the ventilation system, clinging to the opposite side of the duct in an effort to avoid “that”corner. Of course, I promptly got stuck to a different corner.
Not wanting to lose my progress, I tried everything to escape restarting the game. I thrashed and shook, stood up and crouched back down, turned my hand into an angry geometric spike while checking my watch, conjured up every bizarre multi-step set of button commands from previous interactions I could think of, and otherwise smashed my controller’s buttons with varying results.
Finally, I waited out the clock.
I (semi-correctly) figured the game would kick me forward to the interview at the end of the hour. When a five-minute warning came over the loudspeaker approximately 35 minutes later, it worked and I regained some of my mobility. Able to shimmy my way out of the vent and toward the level’s end, I conducted a somewhat lackluster interview, watched my progress save, and bailed out of the game for the night, feeling defeated.
I somberly guided Harvey Miller into the vent system and left him there to die.
When I booted The Occupation up again the next morning hoping for a fresh start, I was inexplicably once again at the start of that same 60 minutes. I swear to Steve the Security Guard, I watched that game save. The little icon did the save-y thing. I do not know what happened beyond that. All I know is that I was once again stuck and that vent had yet to be entered.
Unable to force myself to continue, I somberly guided Harvey Miller into the vent system this morning and left him (and my hopes of ever finishing The Occupation) there to die.
Yes, there’s something about The Occupation that is really great, and for that reason I hope it gets the update patch it deserves. Unfortunately, as it exists now, this promising mystery thriller isn’t worth spending your time or money on. Unless, of course, you really, really like getting stuck inside of vents.
The Occupation is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
Editor‘s note: HumbleBundle and Mashable are both owned by Ziff Davis.