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A Prom Do-Over for Gay Grlz Only

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

Things are changing, but milestone moments like high school proms have historically been missed by queer women in their youth, either due to conservative school policies, peer judgment or personal fears. Grlz Only wants to “create the Prom experience they should’ve had and deserve.” Prom Do Over, happening this Saturday, is a chance for gay gals to get gussied up (in formal femme attire or dapper suits and ties, as they choose) and dance the night away with girlfriends and pals, as out and proud adults. Grlz Only has been curating these kinds of queer women gatherings for a while now, providing safe spaces for women by women at various L.A. venues with thematic vibes and music from ranging hip-hop to Top 40 pop. Female DJ’s provide the dance floor energy. There will be a red carpet entrance, limo pull up zone, official prom photos, two stages, and a performance by Erica Mason. And of course, it’ll all culminate with the announcement of Queen and Queen (making it a fun alternative to...

Mother’s Day: How to pick flower gifts that match your mom

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14, and flowers are one of the most popular gifts. Here’s a look at what some symbolize.The flowers and their meanings — and some of them have multiple — are from several sources. Many are from Iowa State University Horticulture Department’s “Flowers and their meanings: The Language of Flowers.” These books are great resources to learn more about the language of flowers:Darcey, Cheralyn. “Flowerpaedia: 1000 Flowers and their Meanings.” 2018Dietz, Theresa. “The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History.” 2020Heilmeyer, Marina. “The Language of Flowers: Symbols and Myths.” 2001Flowers, cards, food, and callsMother’s Day is the third largest card-sending occasion in the year behind Christmas and Valentine’s Day.Mother’s Day is the most popular day of the year for eating out and for long-distance phone calls.A few mom factsRelated ArticlesLifestyle | Why Mother’s Day is the most hated day in the restaurant indust...

Southwest pilots authorize strike in sign of frustration with negotiations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

By Mary Schlangenstein | BloombergSouthwest Airlines pilots voted nearly unanimously to authorize a strike, a sign of frustration over what they view as a lack of progress in contract negotiations.Leaders of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association called an early end to voting after 98% of pilots at the Dallas-based carrier cast ballots, with 99% of those voting in favor. The airline has more than 10,000 aviators.While the vote doesn’t mean pilots will strike immediately, it gives union leaders approval to call for a walkout if one is authorized by the National Mediation Board. That can only occur after a multi-phase process outlined in the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline labor relations.Related ArticlesBusiness | California travel industry edges closer to a full recovery Business | New rules would have US airlines paying passengers if flights canceled, delayed Business | Larger crowds, less chaos: Why summer travel may be less b...

Taylor Swift fans made a mysterious book a best-seller. Then they found out what it really is.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

(CNN) — An unpublished, as-yet-untitled book by an unnamed author shot up the U.S. bestseller lists this week, thanks to preorders from Taylor Swift fans who believed it to be her memoir.But sadly for Swifties, the book previously listed as “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023” has now been named: “Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS,” written by the musical juggernaut themselves, K-pop superstars BTS, according to updated listings on some booksellers’ websites.BTS have written the memoir with journalist Myeongseok Kang. Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan, will publish it on July 9.So what convinced Swift’s fans to fork out $45 for a mysterious 544-page hardback?It all comes down to numerology. First, the number of pages. When the individual digits in the number 544 are added together (5 + 4 + 4), the total is 13. In an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, “the “Shake It Off” singer confided...

Oakland teachers strike Day 7: Union calls district’s $1 billion common good price tag ‘ridiculous’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

Teachers, parents, students and school staff headed to the picket lines Friday for the seventh day of the Oakland Education Association’s strike against the Oakland Unified School District as both sides remained far apart on key issues, such as their wildly different price tags for the union’s “common good” proposals.In a firm and aggressive statement against the intricacies of the union’s common good measures on Wednesday evening, the district said the measures would cost more than $1 billion to fully implement.“The remaining issue is how best to work on the common good proposal, which seeks to assign the school district with addressing such broad societal issues as housing for homeless and drought-tolerant landscaping,” Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell said in a video posted Wednesday night. “While the district agrees that these issues should be addressed, and we are already working on many of them, the issues cannot be tackled by school distr...

Ex-correctional officer charged with sexually abusing 3 inmates in East Bay federal prison cells

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and MICHAEL R. SISAK | Associated PressWASHINGTON  — A former correctional officer at a federal women’s prison in California where inmates say they were subjected to rampant sexual abuse has been arrested and accused of abusing three inmates in his care, the Justice Department said Friday.Darrell Wayne Smith, who worked at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, was arrested on Thursday in Florida on a 12-count indictment. He is accused of sexually abusing the three women in their prison cells and in the prison’s laundry room between 2019 and 2021, prosecutors said.Smith is at least the sixth employee at the Dublin prison charged with abusing inmates. An Associated Press investigation last year revealed a culture of abuse and cover-up that had persisted for years at the prison, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Oakland. That reporting led to increased scrutiny from Congress and pledges from the federal Bureau of Prisons that it would fix problems and ...

Editorial: San Jose officials’ strip club coverup violates state records law

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

As on-duty San Jose firefighters last fall parked a fire truck, lights flashing, outside the Pink Poodle strip club, a woman in a bikini exited the vehicle.It was captured on video. GPS tracking information later showed that Engine 4 also traveled that night to a bikini bar about two miles away.“If the investigation concludes that this video is as bad as it looks, then heads must roll,” then-Mayor Sam Liccardo said two days later. “We cannot have a life-critical emergency rescue apparatus relegated to a frat party bus.”We couldn’t agree more.Yet, city officials have since claimed that it’s none of the public’s business who was responsible and what, if any, punishment was doled out. For six months now, San Jose has stonewalled this news organization’s efforts to obtain documents about the incidents.Which is why last week we filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court demanding release of the records about the Pink Poodle fiasco.While we have been dumbfounded at times by atte...

Baby names: Favorites on new U.S. Top 20 list hold off the ‘Yellowstone’ trend

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Dutton and Wrenlee are on the rise but they’re no match for champs Liam and Olivia as the top baby names in the U.S. last year.The Social Security Administration released the annual list Friday. The agency tracks baby names in each state based on applications for Social Security cards, with names dating to 1880.It’s Liam‘s sixth straight year as No. 1. Olivia has reigned since the name unseated Emma four years ago. Emma is No. 2.Coming in third for girls’ names is Charlotte, followed by Amelia, Sophia, Isabella, Ava, Mia, Evelyn and Luna.As has been the case for the past several years, if the spellings Sophia and Sofia were combined, that would take the top spot.For boys’ names, Liam is followed by Noah, Oliver, James, Elijah, William, Henry, Lucas, Benjamin and Theodore.Luna is the only newcomer in either Top 10, booting Harper to 11th.California has led the way on some of the fast-rising U.S. names, with Luna, Camila, Mateo and Sebas...

5.2 magnitude aftershock shakes Northern California, one day after stronger earthquake

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

(KTXL) -- The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 5.2 magnitude aftershock was felt in the community of East Shore on Friday morning, just over 11 miles from Chester. Seismic monitors registered the aftershock around 3:18 a.m., the largest aftershock in the area of Lake Almanor since a 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook the region.More Earthquake News•California's largest earthquake of the 21st century•Which California landmarks are at risk from a massive earthquake?•These are the fault lines in Northern California•California’s north coast has a long history of strong earthquakes•This is how to prepare for and respond to an earthquakeAccording to the USGS, the origin point for Friday morning's aftershock was around four miles from the earth's surface and so far almost 1,000 people have reported feeling the shaking. A 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook communities at around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday, on the western side of Lake Almanor.

A Hate Crime Narrative Takes Hold Around a Tragedy in Texas

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:19 GMT

A man lights a candle at a memorial for eight migrants who were struck by a car and killed waiting at a bus stop on May 7, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas.Photo: Michael Gonzalez/Getty ImagesThe man who crashed into a group of mostly Venezuelan migrants in Brownsville, Texas, on Sunday — killing eight of them — sounds in the media like a cipher, if not a monster. A video of the collision shows his vehicle knocking people down like matchsticks. A reporter I know told me that human gore and bone lay in the grass for hours afterward, putrefying in the heat and reeking. On Democracy Now!, a human rights activist called the killings a hate crime.The driver was identified as George Alvarez. The police charged him with manslaughter, and they are investigating whether he committed hate crimes or acted intentionally. During a press conference, Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda pointed to a list of Alvarez’s numerous criminal priors. One was “assaulting a public servant.”Sauceda failed to cl...