U.S. Flags Turned Into KKK Hoods, Professor Calls It Art

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A professor has shaped three American flags into KKK hoods in what she’s proudly calling her latest work of art.

Billie Grace Lynn, an associate professor of sculpture at the University of Miami, has dubbed it “American Mask.”

“American Mask is a work suggesting that bigotry and racism are hiding behind our American flag,” Lynn writes on her personal website. “By using the shape of KKK hoods made from the American flags I point to our sad history of intolerance and violence and hope that the work acts to awaken citizens to the danger of confusing bigotry with patriotism.” . . .

“Almost as soon as American Mask was placed in the window, arguments began. Miami New Times is located in the same building as the gallery, and an employee posted a picture on Facebook. Dozens of commenters called it everything from ‘disgusting’ to ‘patriotic,’” the Miami New Times reports. (Read more from “U.S. Flags Turned Into KKK Hoods, Professor Calls It Art” HERE)

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Now It’s ‘Pregnant People,’ Not ‘Pregnant Women’

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In a move that has created head-shaking across the United Kingdom, the government has insisted that the United Nations replace the term “pregnant women” in an official document with “pregnant people” to avoid offense.

The dispute arose because the nation’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office wanted to avoid excluding “transgender people who have given birth,” meaning women who “identify” as men.

The U.K. policy office was reviewing the U.N.’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was signed by the U.K. in 1976, some 10 years after it was created.

One line in that document states the death penalty “shall not be carried out on pregnant women.” (Read more from “Now It’s ‘Pregnant People,’ Not ‘Pregnant Women'” HERE)

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Surrogate Mom Gives Birth to Own Biological Son

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A woman who gave birth to her own child at the same time as she delivered a surrogate baby has been reunited with her son after a long legal battle.

“I was heartbroken knowing I carried a baby I didn’t know was mine and that he was taken from me without my knowledge and was in the arms of other people where he did not belong,” Jessica Allen told The Independent.

The 31-year-old had decided to undergo a commercial surrogacy so that she could put the money towards a deposit on a home with her partner Wardell Jasper, 34.

The practice is legal in California where they live and Ms Allen, who already had two children of her own, agreed a fee of $35,000 (£26,600) to give birth to another woman’s child.

But after undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), doctors told Ms Allen she was carrying two baby boys. (Read more from “Surrogate Mom Gives Birth to Own Biological Son” HERE)

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Lesbian Privilege: Ellen Shares Tweet Only She Can Get Away With in Wake of Weinstein Scandal

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In the wake of the monstrous Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal blowing up Hollywood, happy-go-lucky daytime host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted an image and a caption only she could get away with.

“Happy birthday, @KatyPerry,” Ellen wished to pop singer and fellow Trump-hater Katy Perry. “It’s time to bring out the big balloons!” she added, clearly referring to Perry’s breasts.

The photo accompanying the caption is one of Ellen staring straight at Ms. Perry’s rack:

The loud feminists eager to blast straight men for their apparent innate toxicity were oddly silent. The #MeToo brigade willing to even blast 90-year-old ex-presidents? Silencio.

This is what you might call “lesbian privilege.” (Read more from “Lesbian Privilege: Ellen Shares Tweet Only She Can Get Away With in Wake of Weinstein Scandal” HERE)

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New Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Accusations Emerge

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By Fox News. New allegations from at least two actresses came out Friday alleging sexual assault by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

In a story by the New Yorker, actress Annabella Sciorra claims that Weinstein “violently raped” her, and actress Daryl Hannah says her career suffered after encounters with Weinstein . . .

Hannah said that when she first met Weinstein, she didn’t know about his reputation. So when he asked her hotel room number to schedule a meeting, she didn’t think much of it.

Later she heard “incessant” knocking on her hotel room door. She said she got so scared she eventually snuck out the back . . .

Several years later, Hannah allegedly encountered Weinstein again when he somehow got a key to her hotel room and let himself in. (Read more from “New Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Accusations Emerge” HERE)

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Actress Annabella Sciorra Says Harvey Weinstein Raped Her in Her Apartment in the ’90s

By Ginger Adam Otis. For more than 20 years, actress Annabella Sciorra says she has kept a horrific secret: Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her in the 1990s, and sexually harassed her for years later . . .

“It wasn’t that late … like it wasn’t the middle of the night, so I opened the door a crack to see who it was. And he pushed the door open,” she told The New Yorker.

Weinstein “walked in like it was his apartment, like he owned the place, and started unbuttoning his shirt. So it was very clear where he thought this was going to go. And I was in a nightgown. I didn’t have much on,” the actress said.

“He shoved me onto the bed, and he got on top of me. I kicked and I yelled,” she said in the interview.

But Weinstein, now 65, held her down, with her hands over her head, she told The New Yorker. She fought him – wearing a white cotton nightgown that was a family heirloom from Italy. (Read more from “Actress Annabella Sciorra Says Harvey Weinstein Raped Her in Her Apartment in the ’90s” HERE)

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Mom Who Beat Daughter for Not Knowing Bible Verse Sentenced

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A Middletown mother will spend 21/2 to 5 years in state prison for assaulting her daughter because the teen didn’t recite Bible verses correctly.

Rhonda Shoffner, 41, was sentenced by Dauphin County Judge John F. Cherry after she pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, strangulation, child endangerment and making terroristic threats . . .

Police said Shoffner attacked the 13-year-old in March. She bit the girl and slammed the teen’s head into a bathroom wall, they said. Investigators said Shoffner told the girl, “I’m going to kill you.” (Read more from “Mom Who Beat Daughter for Not Knowing Bible Verse Sentenced” HERE)

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Disney Approves First Story Line for ‘Coming-Out’ of Character

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Executives at Disney Channel — and pro-gay groups — have given their stamp of approval for a coming-out tale for tweens on “Andi Mack.”

The second season of Disney’s coming-of-age show will feature a creative milestone that was pre-screened by such groups as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and PFLAG.

The series, which stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee, follows her character’s “uncharted course of self-discovery.”

“Everyone involved in the show takes great care in ensuring that it’s appropriate for all audiences and sends a powerful message about inclusion and respect for humanity,” the company said in a statement on Thursday via its ABC News subsidiary. (Read more from “Disney Approves First Story Line for ‘Coming-Out’ of Character” HERE)

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Woman Missing Since 1975 Found Alive in Nursing Home

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The 42-year-old mystery of a New York woman who vanished after being dropped off for a doctor’s appointment came to a happy ending this week when detectives located her at a Massachusetts assisted living facility.

Flora Stevens, 78, was using the name Flora Harris when detectives tracked her down at the facility in Lowell, 23 miles northwest of Boston. Medical records showed Stevens had previously lived in nursing homes in New Hampshire and New York City, but officials say they’ve been unable to figure out details of her life since her disappearance . . .

Police said Stevens was a 36-year-old employee of a Catskills resort in August 1975, when her husband dropped her off for a doctor’s appointment at a hospital in Monticello, 75 miles northwest of New York City. When he returned to pick her up, she wasn’t there.

Police periodically reviewed Stevens’ case but kept hitting dead ends. They got a break in September, thanks to a query from a New York State Police investigator working on a different cold case. The unidentified remains of a woman had been found in neighboring Orange County, and the investigator said they roughly matched Stevens’ general characteristics. (Read more from “Woman Missing Since 1975 Found Alive in Nursing Home” HERE)

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Iowa Couple Charged With Murder After 4-Month-Old Son Found Dead, Infested With Maggots

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By Fox News. An Iowa couple was charged with first degree murder after their 4-month-old son was found dead and infested with maggots inside their apartment.

Police were called to the Riceville apartment of Cheyanne Harris, 20, and Zachary Koehn, 28, on August 30 after Koehn said his son Sterling was unresponsive, a few hours after he said Harris fed the infant . . .

The infant weighed just under seven pounds and was 14 inches long, well below the fifth percentile for the child’s age, according to an autopsy conducted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Examiners also discovered maggots in various stages of development on the child’s skin and clothing, indicating the 4-month-old had not had a diaper change or bath in over a week — and hadn’t even been removed from the power swing in that time, the criminal complaint said. (Read more from “Iowa Couple Charged With Murder After 4-Month-Old Son Found Dead, Infested With Maggots” HERE)

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Oklahoma Child Care Worker Convicted of Murder Following Death of Infant

By Fox News. A children’s day care owner in Oklahoma was convicted Thursday in the death of an infant in 2016.

Melissa Dawn Clark, 47, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, could face life in prison following the ruling. Sentencing is expected to take place on Dec. 13.

Clark was charged in connection to the death of Braelyn Zachary who was only a few months old when she died of blunt force trauma to the head on July 19, 2016.

Clark provided a series of explanations for how the child was injured, investigators said, including that she tripped while holding the girl, that she dropped the girl and that she threw her into a bouncy seat while frustrated. (Read more from “Oklahoma Child Care Worker Convicted of Murder Following Death of Infant” HERE)

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Pediatricians ‘Increasingly’ Asked About Euthanasia for Kids

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The Canadian Paediatric Society is urging improved palliative care for children and youth as a key part of preparing for the possibility of legalizing medical assistance in dying for certain patients under age 18 . . .

“Where the issue of medical assistance in dying is ever raised by a child, you know, we would advocate that that should automatically be a referral for pediatric palliative care.”

When Bill C-14, the law governing medically assisted dying for adults, was passed in June 2016, it included a requirement that the ministers of justice and health initiate an independent review on whether “mature minors” — youth under age 18 but deemed capable of giving consent — should be eligible for medically assisted death. That review is expected to be presented to Parliament by December 2018.

Davies, who is chairing the working group on mature minors as part of that review, is the lead author of a report released by the Canadian Paediatric Society on Thursday. The report made the palliative care recommendation and also summarized the results of surveys asking pediatricians about their views on making assisted death available to terminally ill young patients, and whether they had received any inquiries or requests about it . . .

Thirty-five pediatricians said they had “exploratory discussions” with a total of 60 patients under the age of 18 in the preceding year. Nine pediatricians received “explicit requests” for assisted death from a total of 17 minors. (Read more from “Pediatricians ‘Increasingly’ Asked About Euthanasia for Kids” HERE)

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