Thursday, March 12, 2026
Home Blog Page 23

School forcing students with COVID to leave sparks Republican anger

Fox News
-
0
School forcing students with COVID to leave sparks Republican anger

The Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic launched a probe this week into the University of Maryland’s COVID-19 policy for students.

“Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) has joined forces with all Majority Members to shed light on coercive and potentially harmful COVID-19 policies that are reemerging at the University of Maryland,” the subcommittee wrote in a press release on Friday. “Under the University’s new directive, Maryland students who test positive for COVID-19 are to be immediately removed from their dorms and forced into isolation, either at a nearby hotel or by boarding a flight home—presumably at their own expense.”

A spokesperson for the University of Maryland confirmed to Newsweek on Friday that they had received a letter from the Select Subcommittee.

“Throughout the pandemic, the University of Maryland has made decisions that prioritize the safety of our community and designed policies in full alignment with local and national public health guidance,” the spokesperson told Newsweek. “During the public health emergency and today, we stay focused on the health and safety of our community.”

Over the past few months, the GOP-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has continued to investigate issues relating to COVID-19, such as the origins of the novel virus and how different states responded to the pandemic.

According to the University of Maryland’s university health center, students who test positive and are living in “residence halls or university owned fraternity and sorority houses will need to isolate at their permanent home or another off-campus location if they test positive.”

“The university does not provide designated isolation housing on campus,” the university health center says.

Students who test positive for COVID-19 are allowed to end their isolation on the sixth day if they’ve been fever-free and without fever medication for 24 hours; symptoms have been resolved and they receive a negative COVID-19 test result.

In a statement announcing the probe, Wenstrup said, “Maryland seems to be reinstituting the same negative policies it implemented during the beginning of the pandemic at the expense of its students…presumably, it’s the students’ parents—not your university—that are footing the bill, which begs the question of how Maryland spent the federal Coronavirus dollars it received.”

In March, the Select Subcommittee heard testimony from epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg who spoke about school closures and COVID-19 mitigation measures.

“We do have some good data that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that there was a significant association between social closures and increasing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. And we have data showing increased suicide rates as well in the Journal of Pediatrics that especially affected males—adolescent males and younger males as well. The increase really started in the summer and fall of 2020, those suicide rates,” Hoeg said.

Joe Biden announces "clean" hydrogen hubs, but just how clean will they be?

Fox News
-
0
Joe Biden announces "clean" hydrogen hubs, but just how clean will they be?

President Joe Biden announced Friday $7 billion in federal funding for seven “clean hydrogen hubs” around the country, a highly anticipated part of the administration’s plan to grow jobs while cutting climate-damaging pollution.

The president said the hydrogen hubs will launch a hydrogen energy economy in the U.S. and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from highly polluting sectors such as transportation and heavy industry.

“We’re investing in the energy of the future, so the future is made in America,” Biden said at an event Friday in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, a major energy producer and home to heavy industries such as steelmaking, is a partner in two of the Hydrogen Hubs in the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachian regions. Other hubs are in the Midwest, Gulf States, Upper Plains States, California and the Pacific Northwest, and all involve multiple state and private sector partners.

Biden drew parallels to previous large-scale infrastructure investments like President Franklin Roosevelt’s rural electrification project and President Dwight Eisenhower’s launch of the interstate highway system.

“The investment we’re making today will be for our kids and grandkids what those historic projects were in previous generations, only bigger,” Biden said. “Today’s announcement is transformational.”

In a press release, the U.S. Department of Energy said the federal funding is expected to be matched by nearly $50 billion from the hydrogen hub local partners, generating tens of thousands of jobs and jump-starting the development of a broader connective infrastructure for the storage and delivery of clean hydrogen.

The U.S. Hydrogen Alliance, an industry trade group, called it a significant day for the history of the hydrogen economy.

“We look at these seven locations across the country as essentially early settlements for hydrogen pioneers,” Alliance Executive Director Roxana Bekemohammadi told Newsweek via email.

The DOE projects the hubs to produce about 3 million metric tons of clean hydrogen annually. Current U.S. hydrogen production is roughly 10 million metric tons and very little of that qualifies as clean, according to the DOE. Today’s hydrogen is mostly produced from natural gas in a process that results in significant greenhouse gas emissions.

Cleaner production of hydrogen will require large-scale investments, and “the hubs represent an important step in that process,” according to Ben King, an assistant director at Rhodium Group, an independent research group with a major focus on energy and climate.

“Some sort of government support is needed to bridge that gap to bring those technologies to a commercial market,” King told Newsweek, adding that the hubs embrace a wide range of production techniques and end uses for hydrogen.

Clean hydrogen has a wide range of potential applications in transportation and energy-intensive industries where it is especially hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Hydrogen can be used to make lower-carbon steel, chemicals and cement, in fuel cells for trucks and cars, and as fuel for cargo ships and aircraft, among other uses. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, whose Breakthrough Energy Ventures has invested in a hydrogen production company, calls clean hydrogen the “Swiss Army Knife of decarbonization.”

However, the extent to which hydrogen can be a climate solution will largely depend on how the hydrogen is produced.

‘Blue’ Hydrogen Blues

Hydrogen engineers and analysts use a color scheme to categorize the different production methods: “Green” hydrogen is produced using renewable energy to split hydrogen atoms from water molecules, and “gray” hydrogen is the dominant and dirty production method now and relies on natural gas as both a feedstock and fuel.

Between the “green” and “gray” is something called “blue” hydrogen, which also uses natural gas but applies carbon capture and storage technology to reduce CO2 emissions from the process.

Biden’s hydrogen hubs announced Friday include multiple methods of hydrogen production, including considerable use of the “blue” method using natural gas and carbon capture technology. That has raised concerns among some scientists who question just how clean hydrogen will really be if its production continues to rely on natural gas.

“It is extremely disappointing to see the Biden administration provide funds for hydrogen hubs which will be based on fossil fuels,” Cornell University ecology professor Robert Howarth told Newsweek.

In a 2021 peer-reviewed study, Howarth and colleague Mark Jacobson at Stanford analyzed the lifecycle emissions from “blue” hydrogen. They found that the high volume of natural gas required and the high likelihood of gas leaks in the process meant that hydrogen produced this way would have only marginal emissions reductions compared to the highly polluting process already used.

“The greenhouse gas footprint of ‘blue’ hydrogen is huge,” Howarth said. “As for the future of hydrogen in a decarbonized energy future, there is a role, but only for ‘green’ hydrogen.”

The Clean Air Task Force, an independent nonprofit working on climate solutions, said in a statement that the hydrogen hubs can position the U.S. as a leader in the clean hydrogen economy but added a caveat: The hubs should be developed with local input and support.

“It is critical we get this program right,” Climate and Clean Energy Implementation Director Holly Reuter said. “That means taking the time to engage with communities, experts, and other stakeholders to maximize the climate, economic, and public health benefits the hubs can provide.”

The benefits of sleeping with your dog in the bed, according to a vet

Fox News
-
0
The benefits of sleeping with your dog in the bed, according to a vet

An estimated 65.1 million households in the U.S. own a dog, making the animal the nation’s most-popular pet. While many dog owners put their animals at night in a crate or a canine bed, a large percentage tend to tuck their dogs into bed with them and sleep by their side instead.

Veterinarian at online pet-product retailer Chewy, Laurie Hess, told Newsweek that a 2022 company survey revealed that 21 percent of pet parents share their bed with their dog and let them choose where they would like to sleep first. It’s a lifestyle choice that Hess wholeheartedly recommends, despite concerns that being this close to your dog could lead them them becoming too dependent on you or developing separation anxiety.

It wasn’t long ago that pet owners were reporting a spike in anxiety in their pets when they began to return to work post-pandemic. Their animals had grown used to them being at home and at their beck-and-call day and night. Hess said that letting your dog sleep in the same bed as you can better socialize the dog, boost their health, and reduce the risk of separation anxiety.

A Cleaner and Healthier Dog

“Sharing your bed with your dog may not only help socialize them, but can also help improve their health by leaps and bounds, too. This is because one wants to share their bed with a dog whose skin is covered in parasites or whose coat is laden with dirt. Having your pup in your bed on a nightly basis would likely make an owner more attentive to keeping their fur child’s skin healthy, their coat well groomed and their general presentation upkept and hygienic,” Hess told Newsweek.

“By being so physically close to their pets, owners would likely be much more apt to noticing any health problems, like lumps or bumps under the coat or significant weight loss if they were to occur, than they would be if they weren’t in such close proximity to their pets,” Hess said.

A Calmer Dog

“A pup that shares a bed with its owner may also be more behaviorally at ease with being touched than other dogs since they are used to daily physical touch and being in close proximity as humans,” the veterinarian added.

Wards Off Separation Anxiety

Hess added that permitting your dog to sleep in your bed not only affects their physical health and behavior, but can also benefit their mental health by helping to reduce their stress levels and risk of separation anxiety, too.

The veterinarian said that keeping your pet close at night does far more to help them feel relaxed and safe than it does to making them susceptible to separation anxiety and other attachment issues.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

The new 2023 Hyundai Palisade is keeping the good and improving the rest

Fox News
-
0
The new 2023 Hyundai Palisade is keeping the good and improving the rest

The popular, handsome, three-row Hyundai Palisade was updated for 2023 a freshened face, new interior design, a new infotainment system and new convenience features. It and its Kia Telluride cousin are still hard to find on dealership lots thanks to the sum of those new parts.

Starting with the design change, the 2023 Palisade gets a new front and rear bumper fascia, a new front grille, new headlamps and daytime running lights, new wheel designs and auto-dimming outside mirrors. The new lighting signature has vertical LED composite lights that surround the grille. There are new strakes on the lower front skid plate while the big rear windows emphasize the space inside.

The new-for-2023 rugged Palisade XRT trim comes in front- or all-wheel drive with extra equipment like new dark 20-inch wheels, new lower bumpers and skid plate accents, dark grille finish, a power sunroof and more black accents on the front-drive versions. The all-wheel drive version adds even more including Downhill Brake Control, which slows the driver’s progression down a steep hill, along with Snow, Tow and AWD Lock driving modes. The SE, SEL, Limited and luxury Calligraphy trims are still available.

The seven-or-eight passenger Palisade, with a base price of $35,900, competes with the Telluride, which is ten bucks cheaper. It also shares buyers with the Toyota Highlander ($36,620), the Ford Explorer ($35,510) and the recently redesigned Nissan Pathfinder ($34,640). All five of those are with hundreds of dollars of each other, making this contest between features and powertrain.

The 2023 Palisade’s cabin was also redesigned in this update. It offers a new Ergo driver’s seat designed for more comfort and less fatigue. The third row now has heated seats, and the second row now offers ventilation. New slim air vents stretch the look of the interior. To enter than third row, the second row folds automatically, and the third row folds down to for maximum cargo space when needed. Second row captain’s chairs are available, or a three-person bench.

For convenience, the Palisade has a rearview mirror camera that displays what’s behind the car on the road no matter how high your cargo is stacked. The instrument panel is also redesigned with new ambient lights. Wireless charging capability has been upgraded from 5 watts to 15 watts for faster device charging. It also can be used with a digital key, meaning owners can use their phone to open and operate the vehicle. The 2023 Palisade is also the first Hyundai vehicle to offer Wi-Fi hotspot capability. USB-C outlets have been added as well.

The new seats are comfortable but on the XRT tested here they only had a few adjustments and no under-knee support, which is now expected in family-sized SUVs, but the rest of the cabin felt open and airy. The wide center console had plenty of storage for drinks and stuff while the controls were simple and straightforward. The Palisade does have a push button transmission that saves space in the center.

The tech all worked well, this XRT did not have wireless Apple CarPlay, but the wired version worked fine and kept the phone charged while driving. If a vehicle has wireless CarPlay, but not wireless charging, the phone battery depletes while playing through Bluetooth.

The lane keeping and adaptive cruise control worked well too, keeping an appropriate distance from the car in front, but not too far as to let traffic continually squeeze in. The stop/start system is relatively smooth, but when the SUV is braked to park, and then the driver selects park, the engine kicks back on for some reason. Most vehicles with a stop/start system just turn off at that point.

All Hyundai Palisades come with a 3.8-liter V6 delivering 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. That’s more than most of its competitors and plenty for everyday driving, merging and passing. The six-cylinder is refined and quiet too, and the eight-speed automatic transmission is smooth as well. It can drop several gears at a time for speedier passes.

It’s a big vehicle, so it’s not quite nimble on the road, but the Palisade feels planted in everything but the most aggressive maneuvers. On dirt or off-road, it’s also quite capable with all-wheel drive. Still, it’s not meant for trail riding or boulder clearing, more for camping, hunting and fishing.

The new crop of medium-large three-row SUVs is varied, efficient and tech-heavy. The sales leaders are the Toyota Highlander and Ford Explorer and with good reason. Both of those have been around for decades, benefiting from refinement and experience. But Hyundai has been building SUVs for decades too; this is just its biggest yet.

Both the Ford and Toyota offer a hybrid version of their respective SUVs, which get better fuel milage than the 19 miles per gallon (mpg) city, 26 mpg highway of the Palisade (19/25 in this XRT all-wheel drive version), which is also something to consider. Hyundai is betting on design and features, and in that they have a winner.

Justine Johnson Is Leading Michigan’s Public and Private Green Transition

Fox News
-
0
Justine Johnson Is Leading Michigan’s Public and Private Green Transition

Climate change is usually perceived through extreme weather events like droughts, hurricanes and floods. But that perspective overlooks the more commonplace pollutants that humans experience in communities all over the world. Justine Johnson, the new chief mobility officer of Michigan, had plenty of experience with everyday pollution growing up in South Central Los Angeles, but it happens everywhere, including in Michigan.

When she was a child, Johnson lived near major L.A. freeways and noticed that many of her friends were being diagnosed with asthma and other respiratory illnesses, some of which could be attributed to the noxious fumes they were exposed to even before birth.

“My concern for the environment and climate is not a newfound interest, but rather a fundamental value that I hold close to my heart, particularly as it relates to the health and well-being of communities,” Johnson told Newsweek over email. “My role as Michigan’s Chief Mobility Officer has provided me with a significant platform and a bevy of resources to effect meaningful change and contribute to the development of sustainable, eco-friendly mobility practices.”

Johnson is new in this job, appointed by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on August 21 after a six-month, nationwide candidate search. Her duties include leading the state’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME), and working across state government, academia and private industry to enhance Michigan’s mobility ecosystem. That involves developing policies and supporting startups in the mobility space, as well as creating partnerships between bigger organizations.

Thus far, she’s led a collaboration between the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Department of Labor and Opportunity, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Governor’s Office, all of which are working on green initiatives.

Before her current role, Johnson worked in clean mobility on both coasts. She was appointed to the Los Angeles County Aviation Commission to advise on the operations and development of the county’s five airports. She also served as the director of member engagement at the California Mobility Center, a nonprofit promoting clean mobility in the State of California and beyond.

Later, she also worked under Mayor Bill de Blasio as vice president of government and community relations for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, managing community outreach programs. Her work on the Green Taxi program created a new for-hire vehicle and driver classification so passengers can more easily street hail a taxi in the outer boroughs and in certain places in Manhattan.

“Given all my past experience, Michigan, the place that first put the world on wheels and is now leading the next mobility revolution, was a natural choice for me,” said Johnson.

The OFME’s past accomplishments include the scale-up of first-of-their-kind projects—like the Electreon wireless roadway that charges electric vehicles (EVs) while they are driven down the road; the Detroit Smart Parking Lab, for testing parking-related mobility in a variety of real-world scenarios; the Michigan Central Innovation District, a 30-acre campus centered around Ford‘s Michigan Central Station that will eventually have 5,000 technology and mobility employees between Ford and other companies; and the Cavnue automated vehicle corridor, the country’s first road of tech-enabled infrastructure for connected cars and automated vehicles, allowing those vehicles to see emergency traffic, parking and charging locations and other information through their infotainment screens.

“When it comes to the build-out and deployment of electrified mobility solutions, we are challenged on two fronts. First, we must educate the public on the importance of our work and the impact it will have on their lives. Many of U.S. adults want to lead more environmentally friendly lifestyles, however, electric vehicles are driven by less than 10 percent of Americans, and over half (53 percent) still prefer vehicles powered by gasoline, according to a study by [Compare] the Market,” said Johnson.

“Second, financial investments into electrified ecosystems are not enough on their own. We need to continually seek out and develop partnerships that bring together diverse expertise and capabilities to create innovations that will make a positive impact on people’s communities and daily lives.”

Top of mind for Johnson and the OFME is always promoting sustainable and clean technology via electrification, but not just EVs. She’s also fostering an ecosystem that supports clean tech industries, including battery innovation and recycling, as well as energy storage capacity. The OFME has already issued more than 50 grants, focusing on mobility solutions that encourage electric vehicle adoption, EV charging infrastructure and access to affordable and reliable transportation systems.

Additionally, the recently restructured Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification has committed to releasing monthly policy recommendations. These will serve as touchstones guiding and enhancing Johnson’s contributions. That outfit is housed within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, to replace the Council on Future Mobility. It will advise the OFME, the governor and Legislature.

“I do hold the hope that the public/private partnership model happening in Michigan will be adopted across the country. For more than 100 years, Michigan has been the model for what innovative mobility solutions can look like. The effective collaboration between public and private sectors in the state has carved a path for innovation, breaking the constraints that these organizations would have faced had they operated independently,” Johnson said. “As we step into the newest era of mobility advancements, Michigan’s achievements under this collaborative model set a benchmark for success, and I genuinely hope other states will adopt this approach to further drive our nation’s entire mobility ecosystem forward.”

Kate Middleton’s "adorable" interruption goes viral

Fox News
-
0
Kate Middleton’s "adorable" interruption goes viral

The Princess of Wales has become the subject of a new viral video, with the moment she was adorably interrupted during a maternity unit visit resurfacing on social media site TikTok.

Children and early years development are areas of working interest that Kate has become increasingly involved with over the course of her 12-year marriage to Prince William, launching the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood in 2021 and the “Shaping Us” awareness campaign in 2023. The princess also became the patron of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance in 2022.

With these associations, Kate has visited a number of maternity units and charities around Britain, the most recent being to the Royal Surrey County Hospital maternity unit in October 2022.

Uploaded to TikTok by user @tar2810.mt on October 11, archive footage from Kate’s visit has gone viral showing the moment the princess was interrupted during a roundtable discussion with new mothers.

While speaking about support for mothers and newborns, Kate was broken away from her point by the small coughing of one of the babies present. To this the princess stopped what she was saying and smilingly asked: “Are you OK?”

The clip has been viewed over 250,000 times on the platform so far and received in excess of 4,000 likes and numerous comments, many of which have praised Kate.

“She is adorable ❣️,” wrote one user.

“Like- the most adorable interruption ever! She’s so great with children – they love her 🥰,” posted another, with a further comment reading: “Lovely in yellow. Amazing ❤️.”

Kate has seen her public profile increase over the past year, following her elevation to the senior royal title of Princess of Wales.

Announcing the new titles for his daughter-in-law and eldest son in his accession speech in September 2022, King Charles III said: “With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the center ground where vital help can be given.”

One of the “national conversations” that Kate has taken on the task of promoting is dialogue surrounding early years development as it is linked to mental health, both of children and parents.

In January 2023, the princess launched “Shaping Us” which aims to raise awareness of the importance that the ages between pregnancy and five years old have in a child’s development.

In October 2023, Kate and Prince William further spotlighted youth mental health issues with a forum organized to mark World Mental Health Day. For the occasion, the princess made a rare keynote address.

“William and I continue to be inspired to see young people, like you all here today, leading this charge—being particularly brave in having some of those conversations yourselves,” she said. “As a generation, you value and talk more about your mental health than any before you—something we truly admire and applaud.”

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Mayim Bialik Slammed for Reading Final Words From Israel Victims

Fox News
-
0
Mayim Bialik Slammed for Reading Final Words From Israel Victims

Actress and TV host Mayim Bialik took to social media to share the final messages of a victim of the Hamas attacks on Israeli settlements on Saturday.

The Jeopardy! host shared an emotional video across her social media in which she read out “text messages sent from the last moments of people’s lives in Israel.”

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest-ever airstrikes on Gaza.

While many supported her for speaking out, her actions only to share messages from a victim from Israel have caused an online debate.

On Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, she posted a video of herself reading a text message where she appeared on the brink of tears.

The video was captioned: “Some of us have decided to read text messages sent from the last moments of people’s lives in Israel. Yes, this is disturbing and heartbreaking, but it’s something I have decided to do in hopes it can continue to convey the depth of pain and suffering the Jewish people and the Israeli population are experiencing as we defend our right to exist. #TheLastMessage #HamasisISIS.”

The video ends with text that asks the question, “What would you do?” followed by “Hamas is ISIS” and “Share for the world to see.”

Holding back tears, the text message she read in the video said: “‘It’s the end. They got to me. Honey, sorry about everything. Take care of the kids, send a kiss to mom.'”

Although short in length, the video has stirred mixed responses.

Her video was hit with backlash online by some fans who believed she did not support people under siege in Gaza, as she only read messages from those impacted by the Hamas attacks in Israel. Many believe the conflict is between Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic political party with an armed wing, and the Israeli government, and not Palestinians and the people of Israel, so therefore, both sides need to be conveyed in messages of support.

A mental health specialist was quick to respond on Instagram: “As a mental health advocate and doctor, I’m surprised that you would read these out. We help no one by hearing this. A Mitzvah, a chapter of Tehillim, a donation to the soldiers and a vote of confidence in Hashem above, are all empowering and positive ways to show support.”

Another user said: “I can’t fathom supporting [one] group of victims over the other. Citizens of both sides are suffering and dying horrifically. The leaders on both sides are wrong. Innocent people are paying the price. There is no right side in this.”

“How does bombed Palestinian children sound like tho? both sides have blood on their hands. and ‘holy land’ has been a pool of blood since forever,” a third user shared.

Some others reacted by lending support to the post.

One social media user praised her stance: “God bless you for having the strength to give voice to those silenced by evil.”

“Keep their voices alive,” a second wrote.

Another added: “Thank you for doing this. The world cannot look away and ignore this. Thank God someone in your industry is speaking out.”

Newsweek has reached out to Bialik’s publicist via email for comment.

Celebrities react to Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s separation

Fox News
-
0
Celebrities react to Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s separation

A host of celebrities have shared their reactions to Jada Pinkett Smith‘s revelation that she and her husband Will Smith separated seven years ago.

In an interview with NBC‘s Hoda Kotb this week, Pinkett Smith said that she and Smith, whom she married in 1997, had lived “completely separate lives” since 2016, after becoming “exhausted with trying” to maintain their high-profile marriage.

Speaking while promoting her upcoming memoir Worthy, which is to be released on October 17, Pinkett Smith described the separation as “a divorce,” despite it not being a “divorce on paper.”

“By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying,” Pinkett Smith said. “I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be.”

“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a [legal] divorce,” she added. “We will work through whatever…And I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”

Pinkett Smith said her relationship status had not been previously revealed in public because neither she nor her husband were “ready” to “present that to people.”

The news came as a shock to many, not least because the couple had been photographed arm-in-arm at a number of events in the years since Pinkett Smith revealed that she and Smith had decided to separate.

As news of the separation circulated, a number of celebrities shared their reactions, including Kotb, who told Pinkett Smith while interviewing her that she was so surprised she “actually had to re-read it, because I said, ‘Is this true?'”

Political commentator Candace Owens dedicated the first nine minutes of her podcast to the news on Wednesday, as she branded Pinkett Smith “plausibly the most unlikable woman in Hollywood.”

“None of this is brave, in fact, all of this is incredibly basic,” Owens said of Pinkett Smith’s revelation about her marriage. “Let me tell you something: you are a better person than both Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith if you get up every day and you live an honest life, if you get up every day and you earn an honest living and you come home to your family. That’s it. That’s all it takes for you to be better than these people.”

“You mean to tell me that since 2016, they’ve been putting on an act?” Owens, who has criticized the Smiths’ marriage in the past, said. “Hitting red carpets together, showing each other affection. Better yet, preaching to the rest of us about how we should live our lives.”

“Wasn’t that the purpose of [Pinkett Smith’s show] Red Table Talk?” Owens asked. “Something cool, something cultural. Bring it to the table, we’ll talk about these things that are so real and so honest and so brave and so straightforward. There was nothing brave, nothing straightforward about anything that she demonstrated.”

Elsewhere in her podcast, Owens touched upon Pinkett Smith’s extramarital relationship with musician August Alsina, which the actor confessed to during a special episode of Red Table Talk as she sat down with Smith back in 2020.

Kathy Griffin also reacted to news of the separation, writing on X, formerly Twitter. “Wait. What???” The comedian rounded out her post with the eyes emoji.

Budget airline Ryanair weighed in on the matter in an X post that advertised how passengers are able to switch seats at a cost.

A mock image showed Smith and Pinkett Smith’s names as booked to be seated together for a flight from Dublin, Ireland, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

“Pay to keep your marriage alive,” read an accompanying caption.

The Smiths’ marriage endured scrutiny in 2022 after Smith bounded onto the stage at the Academy Awards and slapped presenter Chris Rock in response to a joke the comedian made about Pinkett Smith. Rock compared her shaved head to G.I. Jane, the 1997 film for which Demi Moore famously sheared her long locks.

In an interview with People, published on October 11, Pinkett Smith discussed the infamous slap and revealed that Rock had once asked her out after hearing rumors that her marriage was over.

“He called me and basically he was like, ‘I’d love to take you out,'” the Nutty Professor star said. “And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?’ I was like, ‘No. Chris, those are just rumors.'”

Rock “profusely apologized” for making such a move at the time, Pinkett Smith said. The revelation has led to social media users questioning whether there was more to Smith slapping Rock at the Oscars.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of Smith, Pinkett Smith, and Rock via email for comment.

The marital breakdown was also a talking point on Wednesday’s installment of ABC‘s The View, where the panelists shared their various reactions.

“Why do I know so much about these people’s marriage?” Ana Navarro said. “I kind of feel like I know more about their marriage than I know about my own damn marriage. I don’t need to know all of this. You know what, I just want to watch reruns of [The] Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Bad Boys… Just leave it out of my head. I don’t need to know.”

“People are fascinated by this particular couple,” Joy Behar said in response.

“I’m fascinated,” Sunny Hostin told her fellow panelists. “I don’t think anybody knows what goes on in any marriage, but they have lived every public lives. And the slap heard around the world, I definitely thought was a reaction of Will’s to sort of protect her honor somehow. And that entanglement she had with her son’s friend…”

“So he slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars… But couldn’t it be that he was just defending… his ex-wife?” Behar posed.

Alyssa Farah Griffin then brought up the possible “plot twist” of Rock purportedly asking Pinkett Smith out. “Chris didn’t deserve the slap, by the way,” she added.

Sara Haines chose to discuss how all of the news surrounding their marriage could affect their children. Smith and Pinkett Smith are the parents of Willow Smith, 22, and Jaden Smith, 25. Will Smith also has a son, Trey Smith, 30, from his previous marriage to Sheree Zampino.

“Usually I say whatever works for couples, but I don’t know if this is working,” Haines said. “When you hear each of them talk, there sounds like there’s so much pain and trauma… The kids are living through this. I don’t pretend that marriage is perfect, but you are the example to your children of what love and loving relationships look like. They’re having other relationships, they’re living apart.”

After suggesting that Pinkett Smith “drops these bombshells” for the benefit of her “bank account,” Navarro said: “I will tell you this: be careful of anybody who pretends to have a perfect marriage.”

Hostin countered that Pinkett Smith sharing the news was “a very brave thing to do, a very courageous thing to do. I think it has less to do with money. She has plenty of money.”

“I think once you’ve had Tupac, you never go back. That’s what this ultimately comes down to for me,” said Griffin, in reference to Pinkett Smith’s previous close friendship with rapper Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed in 1996.

The Smiths’ separation was also discussed on Loose Women, a U.K. talk show similar in format to The View.

Panelist Jane Moore attempted to put the announcement in context, explaining that when the Smiths first got together, they were each individually famous. Over time, Moore opined, Pinkett Smith may have lost herself in the marriage, becoming “Mrs. Will Smith.”

“It’s up to them what they want to do, it’s none of our business,” said moderator Kaye Adams. “But that kind of act of pretense is the bit that I find kind of odd for seven years.”

“I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pretense,” said co-host Linda Robson. “If something is not right in the relationship then I find it very hard to disguise it. And things haven’t been right in my relationship for quite a long time, I’ve been very honest about it.”

Tomi Lahren’s Black Lives Matter message sparks outrage

Fox News
-
0
Tomi Lahren’s Black Lives Matter message sparks outrage

Political commentator Tomi Lahren has caused a stir online with a series of controversial posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

On Wednesday, she shared several messages condemning those that support Black Lives Matter (BLM), saying it supported “international terror organizations.”

Her statements followed a now-deleted post from a BLM chapter in Chicago that allegedly celebrated Hamas attacks on Israeli citizens. It has since issued an apology.

On October 7, Hamas led a lethal Palestinian militant attack on Israel. Israel subsequently launched airstrikes on Gaza, with the conflict causing mass casualties on both sides.

Blacklivesmatter.com also released a statement stating that the Chicago chapter is independently run and has nothing to do with the broader organization.

The current conflict in Israel has been a huge talking point for Lahren on her show Tomi Lahren is Fearless, which streams three times a week.

Her first post on X regarding BLM read: “BLM is a domestic terror organization that supports international terror organizations. Call it what it is.”

In the space of a few hours, she also posted: “To those still defending BLM…shut up. Fools.” This was followed by: “Today would be a good day for all of you to go back on your profile grid to the summer of 2020 and delete that stupid black square.”

The posts generated a backlash.

Hitting out at the broadcaster one commenter on X joked: “You’re still here?” to which another replied: “She’s like herpes.”

However, the online reaction was not all negative. Replying to her second post calling BLM supporters fools, one comment read: “Kudos Same here.”

“You are smart woman,” another said, while a different X user chimed in: “Been saying it for years.”

This is not the first time Lahren has hit out at BLM, having said: “BLM is a terrorist organization” in 2020.

Newsweek has reach out to Lahren’s agent via email for comment.

Although no longer online, the New York Post reported that the social media post by the BLM Chicago branch showed an image of a person paragliding with a Palestinian flag and the slogan “I stand with Palestine.”

The post generated a wave of criticism online, with one X user writing: “Utterly sickening from Black Lives Matter in Chicago. And they have used an image of a paraglider like the ones who swooped into an Israeli music festival and murdered, raped, mutilated, and paraded beaten civilians back to Gaza.”

Why Meghan Markle loves an off-the-shoulder fashion moment

Fox News
-
0
Why Meghan Markle loves an off-the-shoulder fashion moment

Throughout her time in the royal spotlight, Meghan Markle has debuted a series of striking off-the-shoulder fashion looks, whether attending royal ceremonies in Britain or philanthropic events in New York. The reason for this goes beyond it simply being a style preference, a celebrity stylist has told Newsweek.

Meghan wore her latest off-the-shoulder look in New York City this month, marking World Mental Health Day at a summit event hosted by the royal’s Archewell Foundation with Prince Harry.

For the event, which discussed mental health and young people in the age of social media, Meghan wore a striking all-white blazer-and-pant look designed by American brand Altuzarra.

The virgin wool blazer featured an oversized rolled neckline exposing the shoulders and overlapping to below the bust with long sleeves. The accompanying pants were cut with wide legs. The duchess styled the ensemble in her usual simple way, with her hair in an updo with trailing fringe strands and gold jewelry with blue and green stones.

Meghan has been lauded for her fashion choices, exposing her shoulders on occasion. Most notably, the duchess caused a stir at her first Trooping the Colour parade in Britain in 2018, for wearing an off-the-shoulder pink look from Carolina Herrera.

The outfit prompted comment from social-media users and commentators since members of the royal family do not typically expose their shoulders for daytime events.

Though undeniably flattering on Meghan, celebrity stylist and royal fashion expert Miranda Holder told Newsweek there was a more substantial reason that Meghan favors an off-the-shoulder or “Bardot-style” outfit that goes beyond simple aesthetics.

“Meghan is a huge fan of the Bardot-style shoulder, and for very good reason,” Holder said. “Not only does it give us all the old-school Hollywood glamour vibes—a look we know the duchess adores with her penchant for classic, chic pieces by the likes of ‘old money’ super brand Dior—but the style is extremely flattering on her figure.

“Not only does the neckline draw attention to Meghan’s face, the ‘clean’ silhouette allowing her natural beauty to take centre stage, but it also elongates her torso, paying attention to something known as ‘vertical scale’ in the business,” Holder added.

This key element of proportion is something Holder said that Meghan has become keenly aware of over the years, sometimes facing criticism for this in the past.

“Vertical scale is the art of balancing your vertical proportions, as well as the better-known horizontal ones; strawberry, apple, pear shape, etc,” Holder said. “It all comes down to how long your torso and legs are in proportion to one another.

“The Princess of Wales has a long torso—and always cleverly accounts for this in her impeccable outfits—whereas Meghan is the reverse and actually has an extremely short torso, to the extent that her figure is sometimes quite tricky to balance, which has in turn garnered some criticism of her looks over the years,” Holder added.

“The off the shoulder neckline visually lengthens Meghan’s chest and neck, which gives the illusion of a longer torso, thus putting her proportions back into balance,” Holder said. “As usual, great styling is all about a bit of clever trickery to give the illusion of perfect shape—which, in reality, hardly anyone has. It’s all about celebrating our best features and using a few styling hacks to look and feel our best.”

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.

1...222324...86Page 23 of 86

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY