It’s that time of year when Mother Nature puts on her best fireworks show with pink and white cherry blossoms. By now your Instagram feed is probably clogged with endless shots of cherry trees, but this spectacular drone footage captured by Jack Johnston is still worth your time.
Who’s the craziest ultra-rich, would-be supervillain in the whole wide world? It’s Elon. Elon Musk.
As a lifelong Nintendo fan (and recent Switch owner), I was happy to see the news that the Switch had an excellent launch, with nearly 3 million units sold worldwide. Home to the one of the best games of at least the past decade – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – there was little surprise that the … Continue reading
Lithium-based batteries are great, except when they’re not — these batteries are prone to catching on fire and exploding, hence many product recalls over the years. A safer alternative comes in the form of zinc-based batteries, but these aren’t popular due to the difficulty of recharging them. The U.S. Navy’s Research Laboratory is changing that with a newly developed 3D … Continue reading
The first round of France’s presidential elections last weekend demonstrated that the clear-cut division of loyalties to the old mainstream parties ― the left and right political divide born during the French Revolution ― has collapsed in France. In the industrial era, the left always stood for social protection from the insecurities spawned by the market, while the right championed the blood, soil and tradition of “a certain idea of France,” as Charles de Gaulle once put it. All that has now been fatally disrupted by globalization and rapid technological change.
Alain Touraine, the country’s “dean” of sociology, captured the moment well at a Berggruen Institute meeting in Lisbon last week. “Reality has escaped its institutions,” he quipped. And not just in France.
As in the election of U.S. President Donald Trump in America and the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, this partisan dissipation has been accompanied by the consolidation of a territorial rift between rural and deindustrialized zones of France on the one hand and the globally integrated, cosmopolitan coastal zones and cities on the other.
The French elections, as Pascal Perrineau writes from Paris, pitted “patriots” against “globalists” worried about a Brexit-like split from Europe that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen has promised. He also notes that Le Pen’s anti-immigrant, anti-elite and anti-globalization narrative, which also embraces a strong welfare state, attracted significant numbers of working-class voters once faithful to the left.
Surprisingly, Le Pen appealed widely to young voters as well in her campaign against the centrist “En Marche!” vision of Emmanuel Macron, who came out on top in the first round. Together, Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, on the opposite extreme of the spectrum, garnered more than 50 percent of the youth vote. Mélenchon attracted that support in part through cutting-edge social media and hologram appearances at rallies, as well as through his calls for a 100 percent marginal tax rate on the rich and the limiting of CEO pay to 20 times that of the lowest-paid employee. His campaign exploited longstanding fears over the “Uberization” of the economy by Macron’s pro-Europe, pro-market proposals for American-style deregulation and a “flexible” labor market that would only create a new “precariat class” of insecure, part-time, low-paid workers with few benefits. Unlike the other competing candidates and parties, Mélenchon has so far refused to support Macron against Le Pen in the final vote on May 7, throwing open a desperate contest to win over his constituency.
Anne Sinclair reacts to these results and lays out the new political landscape as it now stands as the country prepares for the runoff election. “One quarter of French people dream of a gentler and less precarious life,” she writes. “Another quarter prioritize taxes and debt reduction. A third quarter is seeking national security and a populist leader who doesn’t represent the elite. And finally, a fourth quarter, slightly more confident about the country’s future, is interested in profound modifications to governance and French politics.”
Nicolas Tenzer writes from Paris that “whoever becomes the next president will have to cope with this divided France, large sections of which distrust open-society values, Europe and the free market.” If Macron, who is so far favored in polling, has a chance of obtaining a governing mandate, Tenzer continues, “he will have to demonstrate that Europe and globalization can bring justice and fairness and that France can mend its divided society.” But, “if Macrons’s center can’t mend this divide,” he warns, “populists will be waiting in the wings.”
Other highlights this week include:
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EDITORS: Nathan Gardels, Co-Founder and Executive Advisor to the Berggruen Institute, is the Editor-in-Chief of The WorldPost. Kathleen Miles is the Executive Editor of The WorldPost. Farah Mohamed is the Managing Editor of The WorldPost. Alex Gardels and Peter Mellgard are the Associate Editors of The WorldPost. Suzanne Gaber is the Editorial Assistant of The WorldPost. Katie Nelson is News Director at The HuffPost, overseeing The WorldPost and HuffPost’s news coverage. Nick Robins-Early and Jesselyn Cook are World Reporters. Rowaida Abdelaziz is World Social Media Editor.
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Moises Naim (former editor of Foreign Policy), Nayan Chanda (Yale/Global; Far Eastern Economic Review) and Katherine Keating (One-On-One). Sergio Munoz Bata and Parag Khanna are Contributing Editors-At-Large.
The Asia Society and its ChinaFile, edited by Orville Schell, is our primary partner on Asia coverage. Eric X. Li and the Chunqiu Institute/Fudan University in Shanghai and Guancha.cn also provide first person voices from China. We also draw on the content of China Digital Times. Seung-yoon Lee is The WorldPost link in South Korea.
Jared Cohen of Google Ideas provides regular commentary from young thinkers, leaders and activists around the globe. Bruce Mau provides regular columns from MassiveChangeNetwork.com on the “whole mind” way of thinking. Patrick Soon-Shiong is Contributing Editor for Health and Medicine.
ADVISORY COUNCIL: Members of the Berggruen Institute’s 21st Century Council and Council for the Future of Europe serve as theAdvisory Council — as well as regular contributors — to the site. These include, Jacques Attali, Shaukat Aziz, Gordon Brown, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Juan Luis Cebrian, Jack Dorsey, Mohamed El-Erian, Francis Fukuyama, Felipe Gonzalez, John Gray, Reid Hoffman, Fred Hu, Mo Ibrahim, Alexei Kudrin, Pascal Lamy, Kishore Mahbubani, Alain Minc, Dambisa Moyo, Laura Tyson, Elon Musk, Pierre Omidyar, Raghuram Rajan, Nouriel Roubini, Nicolas Sarkozy, Eric Schmidt, Gerhard Schroeder, Peter Schwartz, Amartya Sen, Jeff Skoll, Michael Spence, Joe Stiglitz, Larry Summers, Wu Jianmin, George Yeo, Fareed Zakaria, Ernesto Zedillo, Ahmed Zewail and Zheng Bijian.
From the Europe group, these include: Marek Belka, Tony Blair, Jacques Delors, Niall Ferguson, Anthony Giddens, Otmar Issing, Mario Monti, Robert Mundell, Peter Sutherland and Guy Verhofstadt.
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Oh Goop, where do we begin? The purveyor of vaginal eggs, leaf-scented perfume and $275 shower heads has left our brains spinning from fact-checking its dubious medical claims.
And now, all that Goopiness is spreading to a newsstand near you.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle site inked a deal with Conde Nast that includes quarterly print issues of Goop, Women’s Wear Daily reports.
The magazine, which reportedly grew out of a conversation between Paltrow and Anna Wintour, will feature typical Goop content on topics like health, cooking, style, design, wellness and travel. The first issue debuts in September.
This is great news for those of us who like to ogle extravagant gift guides on paper, but as always, be prepared to take Goop’s health suggestions with a grain of salt (and NOT an iodine supplement).
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For years, people have asked one question: Where is Ja? Finally, we know the answer: On Twitter and pointing his finger.
Following reports that his luxury musical festival ― named the Fyre Festival and located on a “remote and private” island in the Bahamas ― had essentially descended into “Lord of the Flies”-like chaos, the hip-hop star released a statement over Twitter on Friday afternoon that somehow simultaneously took blame and assigned it elsewhere.
“We are working right now on getting everyone of the island SAFE that is my immediate concern…,” he wrote. “I will make a statement soon I’m heartbroken at this moment my partners and I wanted this to be an amazing event it was NOT A SCAM as everyone is reporting I don’t know how everything went so left but I’m working to make it right by making sure everyone is refunded… I truly apologize as this is NOT MY FAULT… but I’m taking responsibility I’m deeply sorry to everyone who was inconvenienced by this…”
Festival organizers advertised the festival as a sort of luxury getaway on an island once belonging to former drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. They enlisted models like Kendall Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski to help promote the event. Bands like Major Lazer and Migos were scheduled to perform. And most important, tickets reportedly ran anywhere from $5,000 to $250,000.
The reality did not quite fit the promotional images. Feral dogs were seen on the premises. At least some of the housing provided appeared to be “disaster relief tents,” many of which were not put together. The meals were things like slices of cheese on cold bread. Blink 182 backed out because the band was “not confident that we would have what we need to give you the quality of performance we always give you fans.”
“So Fyre Fest is a complete disaster. Mass chaos. No organization. No one knows where to go. There are no villas, just a disaster tent city,” one attendee wrote on Twitter.
We could explain more, but the situation is still kind of chaotic, so why don’t you just look at these photos instead?
By the way, a statement on the Fyre Festival webpage now reads:
Fyre Festival set out to provide a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience on the Islands of the Exumas.
Due to circumstances out of our control, the physical infrastructure was not in place on time and we are unable to fulfill on that vision safely and enjoyably for our guests. At this time, we are working tirelessly to get flights scheduled and get everyone off of Great Exuma and home safely as quickly as we can. We ask that guests currently on-island do not make their own arrangements to get to the airport as we are coordinating those plans. We are working to place everyone on complimentary charters back to Miami today; this process has commenced and the safety and comfort of our guests is our top priority.
The festival is being postponed until we can further assess if and when we are able to create the high- quality experience we envisioned.
We ask for everyone’s patience and cooperation during this difficult time as we work as quickly and safely as we can to remedy this unforeseeable situation. We will continue to provide regular updates via email to our guests and via our official social media channels as they become available.
-The Fyre Festival Team
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A mom wrote a moving letter addressed to her previous infertility struggles to share what she learned on her journey to get pregnant.
In a letter shared on the Love What Matters Facebook page, Desiree Fortin first wrote, “Dear Infertility, I hated you.” Throughout her message, she detailed the grief she endured before she became pregnant with her triplets.
“[Infertility,] you steal dreams. You break hearts. You bring grief. You consume lives. You are the reason I couldn’t get pregnant on my own. You drowned my heart in deep misery from the inability to become a mother how most women do. You told me that my body wasn’t good enough,” she wrote.
Though her pregnancy journey with her husband, Ryan, was difficult, Desiree also wrote that her experience made her stronger ― even the times she sat “on the bathroom floor in complete emptiness after countless negative pregnancy tests.”
“As much as I hated you, Infertility, I am also so thankful that you were my story,” she wrote. “You made me strong. Even before I got pregnant, my strength was rising. Not only did I feel like Superwoman after all of those injections, meds, blood draws, doctor visits, etc., but I found strength emotionally, as well.”
In August 2015, Desiree gave birth to two boys and a girl: Sawyer Reed, Jax Ryan and Charlize Hope. Before that, Desiree was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, and after a couple of years of trying to conceive, the couple went to Reproductive Partners Fertility Center in La Jolla, California. Desiree and Ryan were there for about a year and went through two failed intrauterine insemination attempts before Desiree became pregnant via in vitro fertilization.
“There is so much involved emotionally and physically (not to mention money), but we wanted a family,” she told HuffPost. “I’m convinced that women with infertility are superheroes and super strong. It takes a lot of strength and bravery to walk this journey.”
Desiree, who shares updates about The Fortin Trio on Facebook and Instagram, told HuffPost she decided to write about her infertility struggles in the form of a letter because her heart became “flooded with so many feelings and emotions” during her journey.
“I also wanted Infertility to know that it didn’t win and it taught me hope,” she said. “And even though it was incredibly painful, I am thankful it was my story. I am very passionate about infertility and giving it a voice. I felt so alone at times during my journey and knowing you are not alone can truly make a difference!”
The mom of three said the feedback she has received since sharing her letter online has “been amazing.” Her email has been flooded with other women telling her about their similar struggles.
“It is amazing to reach the heart of others,” she told HuffPost. “I never imagined in my deepest heartache of an empty womb that our story would reach so many.”
When asked if she had anything to say to couples facing infertility struggles like she and her husband did, she had an empowering reminder.
“Hope is everything,” she said. “I know the journey is hard ― emotionally, physically, mentally, financially. You are strong and brave. Have grace for yourself and know that you are not alone on this walk that feels so lonely.”
The HuffPost Parents newsletter, So You Want To Raise A Feminist, offers the latest stories and news in progressive parenting.
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Maddie Ziegler came to fame as one of the breakout stars on “Dance Moms,” and continued her meteoric rise as Sia’s alter ego in the music videos for “Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart” and “The Greatest.” Now, she’s taking her talents to bookshelves as the author of The Maddie Diaries, and her first feature film is due later this year.
We chatted with Maddie about her dance career, her foray into acting and what it was really like being on “Dance Moms.”
You first came to fame on “Dance Moms.” How did you deal with being in the spotlight at such a young age?
I felt a lot of pressure because I was just a girl from Pittsburgh. Being only 8 years old and [getting] introduced into the world of TV was kind of stressful and weird. I never imagined I would be on TV. When people started coming up to me and asking for pictures, I was like, “This is so creepy! How do they know me? How do they know my name?”
What’s your favorite piece of advice you’ve ever gotten from a dance instructor?
When you’re around other dancers or you’re at a dance competition, make sure you always stay humble and set a good example for younger dancers who look up to you.
You’re obviously an incredibly talented dancer. How often do you practice?
I used to dance for six or seven hours every day. When I go home to visit, I take class Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for five hours. When I’m in L.A., there’s a bunch of open classes. During the week I’ll take an open class every day. It’s super fun ― I love taking classes.
Sia handpicked you to be the dancer in her music videos. How did that come to be?
Sia was a fan of “Dance Moms” and she wanted to reach out to me. So she tweeted at me and said, “Hey, I would love for you to be in my music video.” I didn’t really understand the whole thing because I didn’t really know who Sia was at first. I was only 11 years old. Two weeks later, I flew to LA and did the video. I literally thought that maybe only my friends and family would see it, but nobody else. I did not think it would be something big. Then it blew up! Now there’s over a billion views.
What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about Sia?
Sia’s the funniest and goofiest person I’ve met in my entire life. Her laugh is so incredible and we can hear her laughing when she’s five rooms over. She’s so giggly. And she loves dogs. She puts on such a serious act in front of people, but she really is the giggliest person.
You were in the “Elastic Heart” music video alongside Shia LaBeouf. What was it like working with him?
He’s a crazy person, but I do love him a lot. I learned a lot from him. We had a really good experience together. I learned a lot of tricks from him, just watching him as an actor, which is cool. He was such a great person to work with.
Let’s talk about your new book, The Maddie Diaries. In it, you talk about important lessons you learned in your career. What’s one piece of wisdom you’ll never forget?
There are so many things I’ve learned throughout my career! One thing that stuck with me is what Sia told me: Make sure you’re never overworked and make sure you love what you’re doing. Also, to remember that I’m just a kid. I feel like a lot of people sometimes forget that I’m a kid, and I do want some normalcy in my life.
You’re also working on a trilogy of fictional novels for a younger audience. What can you tell us about the storyline?
It’s about dancers, which I’m so excited about. I don’t know how much I can say, but I’m really excited for people to see it. The illustrations are so cute and I really love it. I just saw the book cover and it’s so amazing. I think a lot of little girls will love it.
You have quite the devoted fan base. What’s the craziest thing a fan has ever done for you?
Of course they do it out of love, but a lot of girls make me really crazy presents. When I go to Australia, they always bring me all kinds of Australian candy and load me up on chocolate and candy. People also have seen online that I love Sour Patch Kids, so they’ll bring me Sour Patch Kids. They also know that I love Zac Efron, so they made me a full collage of Zac Efron on a blanket.
You’ve danced with your sister Mackenzie for most of your life. Do you see more sisterly collaborations in the future?
Maybe! We’ve danced together our whole lives, and now that we left the show, we kind of went off and did our own things. Of course we’re both focused on dance, but I’ve been focusing on acting a lot, and she’s been focusing mainly on music. Maybe in the future we’ll do a little dance video together or something!
You’ve guest-starred on shows like “Pretty Little Liars” and “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn.” Your movie “The Book of Henry” comes out in June. Do you plan to do more acting?
I love acting and I want it to be a big focus for me. I don’t want it to be a one-time thing. But dancing will always come before acting. It’s my No. 1 passion and I wouldn’t be anywhere without it.
What was it like being a judge for “So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation”?
That was a really, really cool experience for me. I’m so used to being the one judged, so the fact that I was the one judging was really crazy. I learned so much from Nigel, Paula and Jason. I had such a good time, and all of those kids were so incredible and I enjoyed watching them every week. Every elimination, I would cry, because it was so sad to see them go.
You and Millie Bobby Brown are really close friends. How did you two meet?
Millie actually was a really big “Dance Moms” fan, and she came to one of the tapings of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Afterwards, she came back to my dressing room. We clicked right away. We became good friends the first time we met ― she was the sweetest person. And then I watched “Stranger Things” and I DM’ed her on Twitter and I was like, “You’re so amazing.” From there we started hanging out. And now she’s one of my best friends.
What’s a typical hangout for you guys?
When she’s in LA, I usually go over to her hotel and we’ll go swimming. We’ll go shopping, we love to eat. We just have a really good time together. She always tries to mimic my dancing, which is hilarious. I have several videos on my phone of her dancing and she always does the entrance and exit like you would in a competition. It’s so funny!
What’s your favorite song to jam out to right now?
“Make Me Cry” by Noah Cyrus.
We actually interviewed her for The Tea! ️
Really?! That’s so cool! I watched her perform at the iHeart Awards, she’s incredible.
Name one celebrity who isn’t Sia that you would love to dance for.
Beyoncé.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Zac Efron.
What was the hardest dance move for you to master?
Pirouettes.
Of all the Sia choreography you’ve done, which is your favorite?
At the moment, “The Greatest.”
What’s one thing you love to do when you’re not dancing or acting?
Painting, and doing my makeup and hair.
What’s one beauty product you cannot live without?
Concealer.
What’s your guilty pleasure snack?
The little chocolate chip muffins, “Little Bites.”
What social media app are you most addicted to?
Instagram.
Snapchat stories or Instagram stories?
Snapchat stories.
Name one celebrity who genuinely left you starstruck.
Miley Cyrus.
Check out more exclusive celebrity interviews with Lauren Jauregui, Skai Jackson, Keke Palmer, Noah Cyrus, Justin Prentice and Rowan Blanchard.
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It’s no secret Samantha Bee isn’t a fan of Donald Trump. The “Full Frontal” host often calls out the president and his administration on her show, which no doubt elicits some passionate responses on social media.
In a new interview with Vulture, the late night host got candid about dealing with social media haters, especially following Trump’s election.
Bee admitted she “very, very seldom” looks at her mentions these days, noting “it’s not healthy to do that.”
The comedian said she saw a drastic difference in the types of comments she was receiving post-election versus before.
“To the moment that they called the election, the moment, my mentions changed completely. There was a shift — it’s B.C. and A.D.,” she said. “In the moment, it was just a tsunami of hatred from all of these different people. It was crazy. It was very affecting. It surprised me. Like at 10 p.m. it happened, and it was just a big shift.”
As we’ve come to learn, the internet can be an extremely mean place, especially for someone, like Bee, who’s in the public eye.
“You know, people say the worst things,” Bee said, noting that among the hateful tweets was one that included a photo of her hanging from a tree. “You just get the worst stuff humanly possible. The tone got more violent. The tone got more aggressive. But also the volume increased exponentially.”
At one point, it got so bad, Bee revealed her assistant took her password away from her. The Canadian-American said she “had to be treated like a toddler for two weeks.” Now, she manages her account herself again and tries not to look at her comments too much.
“It’s sad, really, because people are trying to communicate with you who have something to say, and the vast majority are probably lovely people who just want to say hi,” she said. “I really miss that direct connection. But you really have to protect yourself, mentally.”
Bee previously spoke about dealing with Trump trolls online in an interview with Lena Dunham published by The Hollywood Reporter earlier this week.
“I could not believe what I was seeing in my mentions,” she told Dunham. “I could not believe it. And the days following the election were very hard. There were a million reasons why it was difficult, and it’s been really difficult ever since.”
This weekend, Bee will host “Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” a counter event to the actual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Bee’s event will take place the same day as the White House gala in Washington, D.C., with celebrities like Rachel Bloom and Keegan-Michael Key expected to be in attendance.
To read her full interview, head to Vulture.
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