Italian women fight back against websites sharing unauthorized photos with obscene language

Italian women fight back against websites sharing unauthorized photos with obscene language

ROME (AP) — Italian women, from ordinary workers and housewives to top politicians, are fighting back against a proliferation of websites displaying their photos without their consent, often accompanied by obscene language. Their efforts gained national prominence when activists earlier this summer denounced a Facebook page dubbed "Mia Moglie" (My Wife), where men posted unauthorized photos of their spouses and succeeded in getting it taken down. Now, another more prolific site has emerged that exposes prominent women, including Premier Giorgia Meloni and other female politicians, to obscene and explicit comments. Some posts idealize violence against women. The site, which takes its name from slang for female genitalia, has been around for at least two decades. But it only drew national attention after a left-wing member of the European Parliament, Alessandra Moretti, formally lodged a complaint with police after finding her photo displayed without her permission. "They have been stealing photos and clips from TV shows I've appeared on for years, then altering them and feeding them to thousands of users," Moretti said. Moretti said the site and others operate "with impunity" even though previous complaints have been filed against them. "This type of site, which incites rape and violence, must be shut down and banned,'' she said. The forum displays unauthorized photos and videos of hundreds of public figures, along with unsuspecting actresses, influencers and ordinary women. The unauthorized images are often lifted from TV or social media profiles. It currently counts 200,000 users and displays pictures identified by names or certain themes. It includes a page dedicated to influencers and TV journalists, along with national and local politicians, such as the leader of the center-left Democratic Party Elly Schlein. The earlier forum, "Mia Moglie," had around 32,000 members before it was shut down last week by Meta, which owns Facebook. Meta said it acted against the site "for violating our adult sexual exploitation policies.″ Feminist author and activist Carolina Capria, among those who have denounced the group, shared several screenshots of the often obscene and violent exchange of opinions about what users would do to the women depicted. Some men said their wives had agreed to their images being posted, but no female comments were visible on the site. "Women have always been the arena on which men challenge each other and measure their virility," Capria wrote. "It's a game in which women are merely a commodity that adds value to the man who possesses them." Italy has been struggling with how to prevent and address gender-based violence, as femicides — the killing of women because of their gender — has emerged as a systemic problem deeply rooted in Italy's patriarchal culture. A series of violent incidents has reignited national debate over how to confront these crimes. The Meloni government approved a draft law in March that for the first time introduces the legal definition of femicide into the country's criminal law and punishes it with life imprisonment. The bill still needs final approval in the lower house to become law. While the center-left opposition welcomed the move, it stressed that the new law only tackles the criminal aspect of the problem, while leaving economic, educational and cultural sources of misogyny unaddressed.

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

Italian women fight back against websites sharing unauthorized photos with obscene language

Italian women fight back against websites sharing unauthorized photos with obscene language ROME (AP) — Italian women, from ordinary workers...

Read More

In Chicago, locals prepare for Trump's possible deployment of National Guard

In Chicago, locals prepare for Trump's possible deployment of National Guard

By Emily Schmall, Bianca Flowers and Heather Schlitz CHICAGO (Reuters) -When U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to flood Chicago with National Guard troops and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this month, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said the president lacked the legal authority. But privately, Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson began discussing what they could do to shield Chicago from a federal deployment like those underway in two other Democrat-run cities with Black mayors, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Their conclusion: not much. As Trump has amped up the threat of a federal deployment in the nation's third-largest city in recent days, public officials and community organizers said they are doing what they can to get ready, however. The offices of Pritzker and Johnson are closely coordinating. The state's attorney general, Kwame Raoul, said on Monday he was developing a legal strategy to execute if troops arrived. Immigrant advocates are stepping up legal training. While some locals have expressed support for Trump's decision, many in the heavily Democratic-voting city are appalled. Some community group leaders who work in Chicago neighborhoods most affected by violent crime said the presence of National Guard troops could undermine efforts to build trust. So would the appearance of cooperation between Chicago police officers and ICE, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said. At a press conference on Thursday, Snelling said that officers would not assist with federal law enforcement, but would not interfere with it either. "We know people are living in fear," he said, "and working with ICE, it does nothing to help those relationships and in fact, it hurts. We're not going to ask for anyone's immigration status, we don't care. We're going to continue to stand up for the people in our city to make sure that they're safe." On Monday, Pritzker spoke on the riverfront in downtown Chicago, flanked by Johnson and the state's most powerful Democrats. "Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here," he said. CHICAGO CRIME Trump has justified his decision by painting a bleak picture of crime in Chicago, calling it a "disaster." Illinois Republicans have echoed that description, and are increasingly speaking up in support of Trump's pledged intervention. Families "need leaders who will finally make Chicago safe," state Senator Neil Anderson said in a statement to Reuters. Chicago has long had a reputation as a city with an elevated crime rate, particularly around gun violence. There have been 1,229 shootings so far this year, including a high-profile drive-by shooting in July targeting a rap artist. However, the city has made marked progress since the end of the pandemic, according to Chicago crime data. Fatal shootings fell 36% from January 1 through August 25 compared to the same period a year ago. Its July homicide rate of 1.66 per 100,000 residents ranks it below Washington, New Orleans, Kansas City and Little Rock, Arkansas, among other cities. The falling crime trend mirrors other U.S. cities, reflecting the impact of hundreds of millions of federal dollars allocated in recent years for teachers, police and social workers – the people likely to influence at-risk youth most vulnerable to gun violence, said John Roman, a senior fellow at the research organization NORC at the University of Chicago. Some of those funds, including $158 million in grants for violence prevention programs across the U.S., were cut in April as part of the Trump administration's reshaping of government. The federal funding cuts demonstrate that Trump's pledge to tackle crime in Chicago is "performative" and not his actual goal, said Arne Duncan, former President Barack Obama's Secretary of Education and founder of community violence prevention nonprofit Chicago CRED. Sending the National Guard, Duncan said, "harkens back to Klan patrols -- that's the imagery he wants and it's incredibly disturbing. He wants these military clashes with civilians." The perception among outsiders and even many Chicagoans is that safety remains a serious issue. In a NORC survey this spring of city residents, about half said they felt unsafe in their neighborhoods at night. Joleen Reese, an unemployed mother of four on Chicago's South Side, said she feels "relatively safe," but takes care to keep her children in at night. She said that deploying federal troops was "not called for," and that she would prefer that Trump focus on job creation. But Mike Wyatt, an IT worker in Chicago's Loop, said he would welcome assistance addressing homelessness and empty storefronts downtown. "We need some help," he said. SANCTUARY CITY Trump has also singled out Chicago because of its so-called sanctuary city status for immigrants. From 2022, waves of migrants began arriving to Chicago from the border, mostly on buses sent by officials in Texas and other southern states. By last summer, the city had placed about 46,000 migrants in shelters. South Side resident Danielle Carter-Walters, a spokesperson for the pro-Trump group Chicago Flips Red, testified at a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing in April that Chicago was "drowning with the consequences" of its sanctuary city status. That spurred Trump to say that Black Chicagoans had told him, "come to Chicago, please." The potential deployment of troops and ICE agents has sparked a wave of trepidation among immigrants, with even permanent residents and citizens with Latino heritage fearing a mistaken detention, said Eréndira Rendón, vice president of Immigrant Justice at The Resurrection Project. This week, the group was scrambling to train its immigration lawyers in deportation litigation methods, and to hire more. "We're preparing for an escalation in enforcement and scare tactics," she said.    The National Guard has been sent to Chicago before, but that involved coordination with local officials. Although Trump has indicated that he does not need to receive any formal request, his power to send in troops is limited under U.S. law, and his actions in Los Angeles earlier this summer are still being litigated. There are no restrictions on the deployment of federal law enforcement officers such as ICE agents, however. City and state lawyers will likely argue that deploying the National Guard to Chicago would violate the U.S. Constitution and a 19th century law that bars the military from civil law enforcement, said University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman. "A fundamental legal principle is we don't turn our military on its own citizens," Futterman said. Denise Poloyac, a board member for the Chicago chapter of protest organization Indivisible, said that a large federal presence would be met with nonviolent protest. Such a move by Trump, she said, would be a sign of growing authoritarianism intended to spark fear among Chicagoans. "We're not going to let that happen," she said. (Reporting by Emily Schmall, Bianca Flowers and Heather Schlitz in Chicago. Additional reporting by Christopher Walljasper in Chicago. Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

In Chicago, locals prepare for Trump's possible deployment of National Guard

In Chicago, locals prepare for Trump's possible deployment of National Guard By Emily Schmall, Bianca Flowers and Heather Schlitz CHICAG...

Read More

What to Know About Minneapolis Shooter Robin Westman

What to Know About Minneapolis Shooter Robin Westman

Robin Westman, 23, was identified by police as the suspect behind the shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday that lefttwo children dead and 17 others injured. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Westman had opened fire at the Annunciation Catholic School from the outside, shooting through the windows of the affiliated church. The victims were attending a morning Mass when Westman began firing. Westman was later found dead with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound behind the church. While an investigation is underway, preliminary details paint Westman as someone with an inclination towards violence, mainly through videos linked to them which were scheduled for publishing on YouTube. Officials have taken the videos down and are reviewing them to determine possible motives for the shooting. FBI Director Kash Patelpostedon X that the agency is investigating the shooting as "an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics." Here's what we know so far about Westman. According to theMinnesota Star Tribune, Westman was one of three children of Mary Grace and James Allen Westman, who divorced in 2013 after 25 years of marriage. A since-deleted Facebook post from August 2021 said Mary Grace was retiring as a parish secretary of the church, with the post thanking her for her "wonderful hospitality, friendship and compassion." Westman attended the Annunciation Catholic School and graduated from eighth grade in 2017. TheStar TribuneandCNNreported that in the school's 2017 yearbook, Westman quoted French EDM band Daft Punk: "Work it. Make it. Do it. Makes us. Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger." The yearbook also indicated that Westman intended to attend Powell Leadership Academy in Minneapolis, one of many schools operated by Minnesota Transitions Charter School. An official from Minnesota Transitions Charter School confirmed to theStar Tribunethat Westman attended one of its schools briefly before transferring to the all-boys school, Saint Thomas Academy, in Twin Cities suburb Mendota Heights. Former Kentucky state representative Bob Heleringertoldthe Associated Press that he is Westman's uncle, though he claimed he "barely knew" Westman. "They [Westman's family] never lived in Louisville. They lived in Minnesota," Heleringer said in a phone interview with the AP. "He was my nephew, and I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren." Minneapolis Police Chief O'Hara said Westman had no prior criminal history. A search of Westman's birth name in state court records showed some traffic citations in September 2021. TheStar Tribunealso reported that Westman was an employee at Rise medical cannabis dispensaries. Westman's co-worker, speaking to theStar Tribune, said the suspect worked as a personal care specialist interacting with patients in Minnesota's medical cannabis program. Westman reportedly stopped working at an Eagan dispensary on Aug. 16 and had been previously disciplined for tardiness and absenteeism. A spokesperson for Green Thumb Industries, the parent company, confirmed Westman's employment for a few months earlier this year, though the suspect left the firm before the shooting. The firm told theStar Tribuneit will cooperate with the investigation. Westman's attack appeared to have been calculated and premeditated, as backed by YouTube videos released on the day of the incident. The videos, now taken down, appeared on a channel under "Robin W." One video, which ran for more than 10 minutes, included a handwritten "manifesto" addressed to family and friends. In the video, the unseen cameraperson says, "I'm sorry to my family … that's the only people I'm sorry to." The clip also pans to an image of Jesus on a target. Another video, which ran for almost 20 minutes, showed two notebooks with handwritten texts that also appear to be Cyrillic. Near the end of the video, the unseen cameraperson flips the notebook to a page containing a diagram of the church and stabs the diagram with a knife. TheNew York Posttranscribed parts of the journal. One page reportedly reads: "I am feeling good about Annunciation. It seems like a good combo of easy attack form and devastating tragedy and I want to do more research. I have concerns about finding a large enough group. I want to avoid any parents, but pre and post school drop off." Another page reportedly reads: "Maybe I could attack an event at the on-site church … think attacking a large group of kids coming in from recess is my best plan. … Then from there I can go inside and kill, going for as long as I can." O'Hara, in a press conference, confirmed that Westman "recently" purchased their guns—a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol—legally. TheStar Tribunereported that a passage in the notebooks referenced how "shockingly easy" it was to buy a gun from a pawnshop. Federal officials haveidentifiedWestman as transgender. Westman was born as "Robert Paul Westman" on June 17, 2002, according to court documents TIME reviewed. Westman's mother applied for their name to be changed to "Robin M Westman" in 2019 in Dakota County, and a court granted the change in 2020. According to the court document, Westman, a minor at the time, "identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification." But atranslationof part of Westman's notebooks by theNew York Post's Diana Nerozzi offered a more complicated view of Westman's sexual and gender identity: "I don't want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don't feel like a man." Condemnation of transgender identity has been on the rise under President Trump, and many conservative and far-right personalities have latched onto Westman's transgender identity as a springboard for more attacks. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Ga.)postedon X, "If they are willing to destroy themselves and how God made them then they are willing to destroy others and we saw that happen today." Right-wing influencer and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer went as far assuggestingthat "parents need to start coming together to advocate for trans kids to not be allowed to attend classes in public schools." Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, however, quicklypushed back againstany attempts to use the shooting as a means to demonize the transgender community, saying anyone who is doing so has "lost their sense of common humanity." The videos also hinted at Westman's fascination with mass shooters. In one, the unseen cameraperson showed guns and weapons on a mattress with the names of at least 10 mass killers, including but not limited to the Sandy Hook shooter from 2012; the shooter at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018; and the mosque shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. Also seen in the videos was a sticker of German band KMFDM, which has been cited by perpetrators of previousmass shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, though the band has repeatedly emphasized that it stands against violence. In the 10-minute video, the person narrating claimed that they had met pro-gun YouTube personality and Texas congressional candidate Brandon Herrera last year at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. The narrator said they had a "brief conversation" with Herrera. "Brandon Herrera for President," they added. After the shooting, Herrera denounced links to the shooter,postingon X: "I will not, nor will I ever say the name of the gutless coward who decided to take the lives of innocent people in Minneapolis today. My heart goes out to the family of those affected, but to the shooter, I have one thing to say in response. F-ck you. Burn in hell." In a separatepost, Herrera added: "I don't remember this individual at all, nor does anyone I was there with." Herrera said that he was willing to cooperate with law enforcement and answer any questions. A spokesperson for NSSF, which owns and operates SHOT Show, toldFox Newsthat Westman's name has not appeared among any of the show's registered attendees last year or any of the years before. The videos also alluded to a mishmash of views Westman appeared to have held. In the 10-minute video, the camera panned over what appeared to be guns, ammunition, and loaded magazines. Words were inscribed on the magazines, including "Where is your God?," "Kill Donald Trump," and "For the Children." Some of the inscriptions appeared to be in Cyrillic. I've been seeing people pick & choose which phrases to show that were written on the Minneapolis shooter, depending on the narrative they are trying to formulate.Here is a complete list of every(122) phrase written on the weapons and magazines, and their (likely) meaning:pic.twitter.com/3uQqm83lpt — Tal Hagin (@talhagin)August 27, 2025 Clips that focused on Westman's apparent arsenal not only included names of mass shooters but also showed phrases that had antisemitic undertones. A smoke grenade had the words "Jew Gas" written on it and the pro-Holocaust slogan "6 million wasn't enough." Another notebook displayed a "Defend Equality" sign with an LGBTQ flag. In an interview with local networkKSTP-TV,Josefina Sanchez, a classmate of Westman in the seventh grade, said that a younger Westman would put up a hand and say, "Praise Hitler." Threats to kill Trump also appeared a few times on Westman's gear. Trump, in a Truth Socialpost, said the White House will "continue to monitor" the situation. Westman's four-page "manifesto" posted on YouTube begins with: "I don't expect forgiveness and I don't expect any apology I have to hold much weight, but to my family and those close to me, I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives." Further along in the manifesto, Westman wrote: "I have wanted this for so long. I am not well. I am not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these thoughts that do not go away. I know this is wrong, but I can't seem to stop myself. I am severely depressed and have been suicidal for years. Only recently have I lost all hope and decided to perform my final action against this world." Contact usatletters@time.com.

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

What to Know About Minneapolis Shooter Robin Westman

What to Know About Minneapolis Shooter Robin Westman Robin Westman, 23, was identified by police as the suspect behind the shooting at a Cat...

Read More

Kid Cudi Reveals the Message Daughter Vada, 15, Texted Him that Made Him Emotional: 'I Almost Cried' (Exclusive)

Kid Cudi Reveals the Message Daughter Vada, 15, Texted Him that Made Him Emotional: 'I Almost Cried' (Exclusive)

Kevin Mazur/Getty Kid Cudi is opening up to PEOPLE about fatherhood — and why his daughter Vada called him the "best dad ever" The multi-hyphenate, who just released his powerful memoirCUDI, revealed that he "almost cried" after getting a text from his daughter earlier this month "She's my best friend, my homie, my ride or die. She's all those things," he says Kid Cudiis the "best dad ever," at least according to his No. 1 supporter — hisdaughter Vada. The multi-platinum rapper, 41, revealed to PEOPLE while discussing fatherhood and his new book,Cudi: The Memoir,that a recent text from his 15-year-old "best friend" and "ride or die" left him emotional earlier this month. "She literally texted me the other day, because I sent her a clip from when I was talking about her in my CBS interview, and she was like, 'You're the best dad ever,' " Cudi says, referring to hisrecent sit-down onCBS Mornings. "It was just like... I remember the first time she said that to me, I was like, 'Word.' I was so weak. I almost cried." "I was like, 'Yo, she said, I'm the best dad ever. Holy shit. Out of all the dads? Oh, man," Cudi adds of Vada. "You know what I mean? She's my best friend, my homie, my ride or die. She's all those things." Theo Wargo/Getty Cudi, who welcomed Vada from a previous relationship, adds that before becoming a father in 2010, he wishes he had known there would be "nothing to worry about." "I was really worried because of the circumstances. I wasn't raising Vada 24/7. I only saw her a couple times throughout the year, and I always felt that our relationship wouldn't be strong because I'm not with her 24/7. But that was one of the first things I thought that was really the wrong way to think about things," Cudi says. "Of course, my daughter is going to want to have a relationship with me, and our relationship is going to be cool." Cudi's relationship with Vada is now more than cool. The father-daughter duo have much in common — including their love of gaming, horror movies and even similar fashion senses, as Vada and Cudi's niece Zuri will occasionally "shop" his closet. "I remember when she was like 3 or 5, I got her a Nintendo 3DS with some Mario games," Cudi says. "And so I've been trying to implement these things, and she really is into the horror movies. She doesn't get scared. She watches them even without me." Still, Cudi is getting used to a few of his daughter's interests. "She plays games that are a little bit more advanced for me now. I can't f--- with Fortnite," he jokes, after writing in his memoir that he grew up on the Sega Game Gear and Sonic the Hedgehog titles as a kid. "It just seems really intense, and there's some 12-year-old kid from Massachusetts that's like a f------ beast that plays that game all day, every day in the summers. And I [have to] just hang with those 12-year-old kids on there." Cudi also gets candid about fatherhood in his new memoir, which arrives alongside his 11th studio album,Free,and has since become a New York Times Bestseller. The book details the rapper's early life in Cleveland, meteoric rise to stardom in the late '00s, groundbreaking collaborations and life now as a loving father and husband who continues to build upon his legacy of vulnerability in hip-hop, fashion and beyond. "I hope it gives [fans] some hope that you do come out on the other side and into the light and God puts us through things because he wants to teach us something," Cudi says of the book. "It's always a lesson in there, always. Even if it doesn't seem like it could be possible, because in the moment, everything just seems like all is lost, you know what I mean? But if you really think about it, everything happens for a reason." Cudi: The Memoiris out now via Simon & Schuster, andFreeis now available via Wicked Awesome and Republic Records. For more on Kid Cudi, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday. Read the original article onPeople

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

Kid Cudi Reveals the Message Daughter Vada, 15, Texted Him that Made Him Emotional: 'I Almost Cried' (Exclusive)

Kid Cudi Reveals the Message Daughter Vada, 15, Texted Him that Made Him Emotional: 'I Almost Cried' (Exclusive) Kevin Mazur/Getty K...

Read More

Anne Hathaway Takes Tumble on Broken Heel While Filming “The Devil Wears Prada 2 ”

Anne Hathaway Takes Tumble on Broken Heel While Filming "The Devil Wears Prada 2 "

Robert O'Neil/ BACKGRID Anne Hathaway took a tumble down the steps on the set ofThe Devil Wears Prada 2 She appeared to fall after the heel of her shoe broke The Devil Wears Prada2 is expected to hit theaters on May 1, 2026 The fashion world is still rocky forAnne Hathaway's character inThe Devil Wears Prada 2. Hathaway, 42, took a tumble down a stoop when the heel of her shoe appeared to break off. Photos from the set show the Academy Award-winning actress wearing a knee-length black pleated skirt, a sheer plaid top layered over a black tank and tall black silver-studded strappy heels. She recovered quickly from the fall, holding up half of a bagel in her hand and smiling. "I'm fine!" she told onlookers. She rose from the fall and hugged crew members, moving on with the shoot. It is unclear if the fall was scripted or not. The 2006 movie was adapted from formerVogueassistant Lauren Weisberger's book of the same name. Weisberger worked for formerVogueEditor-in-ChiefAnna Wintour, who recently stepped down from her positionat the magazine after 37 years. Hathaway reprises her role as Andy Sachs in the sequel. The original movie saw the recent college grad in the high-intensity world of fashion and global media. She juggles her humble past with a bright future while working as an assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), with the help of a new friend andRunwayart director, Nigel (Stanley Tucci). Robert O'Neil/ BACKGRID Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Hathway, Streep, 76,Emily Blunt, and Tucci, 64, will reprise their roles for the sequel.Lucy Liu,Justin Theroux,B.J. Novak,Pauline Chalamet,Simone Ashley,Kenneth Branagh, comedian Caleb Hearon and Broadway stars Helen J. Shen and Conrad Ricamora are all joining the cast. Robert O'Neil/ BACKGRID Blunt, 42, was seen on set in July, sporting both her character Emily Charlton's signature red locks and a new bleach-blonde bob with a shadow root on the N.Y.C. set. The Devil Wears Prada2 is expected to hit theaters on May 1, 2026. Read the original article onPeople

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

Anne Hathaway Takes Tumble on Broken Heel While Filming “The Devil Wears Prada 2 ”

Anne Hathaway Takes Tumble on Broken Heel While Filming "The Devil Wears Prada 2 " Robert O'Neil/ BACKGRID Anne Hathaway took ...

Read More

Dispatcher shakes it off after announcing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement over scanner

Dispatcher shakes it off after announcing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement over scanner

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police dispatcher Julia Jordan accidentally added a dash of celebrity gossip to her public service this week when she shared "Taylor Swiftis engaged" over a hot microphone. That appears to be how officers in the Lansing, Michigan, area learned about the superstar singer's betrothal toKansas City Chiefsstar tight endTravis Kelce. The official announcement, made in a five-photo joint post on Instagram, marks the fairytale culmination of a courtshipthat for two yearsand has thrilled and fascinated millions around the world. Joyful chaos ensued nationwide, with oddsmakers taking bets on when and where the celebrity couple will wed. Swifties, the pop star'senormous and ardent fan base, can even wager on the flavor of the wedding cake. Kansas City-based tax preparer H&R Block sent out a light-hearted email to staff, telling them they could head home early to check social media feeds and debate potential wedding playlists. "Celebrate love. Speculate about the dress. Argue whether the reception will be held in KC or a castle in Europe," theemail said. Matthew Pittman, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, hastily organized a skit before his social media class began Tuesday, pretending to cancel a test because of the engagement. "I can't focus. You all can't focus. Class is canceled, get outta here," Pittman told the students. Video shows the students grabbing backpacks and rushing for the door. By the end of class, the video had around 50,000 views and by dinner around 1 million. It was so convincing that some news outlets mistakenly reported that Pittman actually did call off class because of the engagement. He had to reassure a higher up at the university that he hadn't. "This is going to be like a royal wedding," said Pittman, who has dozens of Swift's songs on his running and workout playlist. "We don't have a real king or queen or prince or princess, but we have this now. This is the joyous, happy love story. A lot of people need it." Jordan, the Ingham County, Michigan, dispatcher, said the last big event that she watched with coworkers was Price Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 nuptials. Now she thinks they might watch Swift andTravis Kelce's wedding together, especially after what happened. After the first scanner flub, an officer informed her, "You had an open mic there," and then deadpanned, "That's great news about Taylor Swift." Jordan tried to fix the problem, but laughter erupted when she continued: "Dispatch. I'm clear. Yeah. Aren't you happy about Taylor Swift?" Jordan had been eagerly awaiting the news from the singer, whose hit song "Shake It Off" spoke to her. "We do a hard job, lots of dark things, so it's kind of nice to be able to laugh a little," she said. Officers played along with the scanner mishap, one asking, "Well, give us some more gossip, at least." "It's a big ring," Jordan said. "Best hot mic ever," an officer declared. Jordan has been ribbed ever since. "I had one ask me when I was planning to retire, and I said not soon enough."

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

Dispatcher shakes it off after announcing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement over scanner

Dispatcher shakes it off after announcing Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement over scanner KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police dispatc...

Read More

FBI investigates Minneapolis school shooting as anti-Catholic hate crime

FBI investigates Minneapolis school shooting as anti-Catholic hate crime

A shooting at a school in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 others injured is being investigated as an anti-Catholic hate crime, the FBI says. "The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X. The two children, aged eight and 10, were killed when an attacker opened fire through the windows of the city's Annunciation Church on Wednesday morning as children were celebrating Mass. The attacker, who died at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was later named by police as 23-year-old Robin Westman. Authorities have not yet released a suspected motive for the attack. A constant stream of mourners arrived at the scene on Wednesday night, some leaving flowers. There was a sense of shock and anger that this had happened at the start of a church Mass ushering in the new school term. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, was among those who paid tribute to the young victims, saying he was "profoundly saddened" by the attack. Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters: "This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping." "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," he said. What we know about the shooting 'My friend got hit in the back': Witnesses describe terror of shooting Police began receiving calls of a shooting just before 08:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday. The attacker approached the side of the church, which also houses a school, and fired dozens of shots through the windows using three firearms - a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene. Officials are investigating if the suspect shot inside the building or if all the shots came from outside the church, noting that no casings from bullets were found inside. One neighbour, Patrick Scallen, told the BBC he ran towards the shooting after hearing the gunfire and saw three children fleeing the church, one of them a girl with a head wound. "She kept saying 'Please hold my hand, don't leave me' and I said I wasn't going anywhere." A 10-year-old boy who survived the attack told CBS affiliate WCCO that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him. "I was like two seats away from the stained glass window," he said. "My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit." "My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital... I was super scared for him but I think now he's okay," he said. The Annunciation Church, located in a residential area of southern Minneapolis, teaches students aged between 5 and 14. The attacker's mother, Mary Grace Westman, previously worked at the school, according to a school newsletter from 2016. A post on Facebook says she retired from the role in 2021. Police found a note that Westman scheduled to publish online at the time of the shooting. Investigators have since deleted the post. Westman's name was legally changed from Robert to Robin in 2020, Minnesota court records show. In the application the judge wrote: "Minor child identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification." Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back against hatred directed towards the transgender community in the wake of the attack. In their own updates, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Westman was a "man, claiming to be transgender", and in his post on X, Patel referred to Westman as "a male". Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said President Donald Trump and his team had expressed their "deep condolences" and offered assistance. He said the situation was "all too common - not just in Minnesota, but across the country", adding that he hoped no community or school ever had to go through a day like this. Trump later said the US flag would be flown at half-mast at the White House as a show of respect to the victims.

byAdministrator

in Celebrities, Lifestyle, Politics, SHOWBIZ, Sports

August 28, 2025

FBI investigates Minneapolis school shooting as anti-Catholic hate crime

FBI investigates Minneapolis school shooting as anti-Catholic hate crime A shooting at a school in Minneapolis that left two children dead a...

Read More