Founded by New York-based Ecuadorian-Lithuanian DJ Riobamba, the label APOCALIPSIS aims to bring queer people of color to the front, giving emphasis to music from marginalized voices. It's an inherently radical concept: a record label focused on "doing everything in its power to re-distribute equity in the music industry." In service of that mission, APOCALIPSIS has dedicated themselves to advocating on behalf of immigrants in the United States, who face regular attacks from the Trump administration.

The label's latest effort is a 36-track benefit compilation called Sin Fronteras, featuring 42 artists from around the world from the Bronx to Peru. The compilation features acts like Nino Augustine and Helado Negro, and 100% proceeds going to immigrant defense organizations RAICES, Immigrant Defense Project, and Detention Watch Network.

"This project affirms an urgent call to abolish a corrupt, racially-biased legal and immigration system rooted in white supremacy," Riobamba explained in an email to Mic.

Her collaborators have similarly felt the importance of this project.

"As a DJ, artist, and immigrant rights activist, I think a lot about how best to use artistic production to tell immigrant stories," said Brooklyn-based DJ Ushka tells Mic.

For Sri Lankan-born, Ushka, projects like Sin Fronteras are essential in a time when immigrant communities are being used as scapegoats.

"There are many ways to fight anti-immigrant sentiment and white supremacy and one way we can do that is through the art we create," Ushka said. "As an immigrant myself, it allows me to stand firm in my dignity and I'm proud to be part of a community of artists on this compilation who are choosing to create cultures of joy and resistance."

Everyday, a strong community of resistance becomes increasingly necessary. Trump's administration keeps rolling out policies that are intended to immigrant communities. On Wednesday, U.S. immigration courts reached a backlog of one million deportation cases, and last week, the Department of Homeland Security began constructing tent courts to conduct deportation proceedings. Instead of reforming the Immigration system, the government routinely sends additional funding to expand migrant camps.

"Being first-generation Ecuadorian, I want to always speak with pride for being Latinx, and to affirm the dignity of our communities," Riobamba said. "To be silent right now would equate to being complicit with violence at the border, with ICE raids, mass deportations, detention centers with inhumane conditions. It means the world to collaborate with this roster of artists that I greatly respect, not only for their craft but also for their voices in standing down injustices."

Many of the artists who are featured on the compilation aren't new to standing up against the marginalization of communities of color. They've DJ fundraisers, participated in community activism, and have worked to engage and empower younger generations.

"For those of us who come to this work from the margins - queer and trans folks, immigrants, and people of color - we are uniquely positioned to speak truth to power," Bay area artist Quisol told Mic. "We must create the art that the world needs in this moment because sometimes we're the only ones who can see how our struggles are interconnected."

You can stream Sin Fronteras exclusively on APOCALIPSIS's Bandcamp page. If you're in New York City, a release party will be hosted at Elsewhere Zone One on Friday, September 20. Tickets are $10.

"Vehicle Collision With Injuries. Attempted Assault. Gas Odor. Nude Woman Breaking Windows. People Fighting With Metal Poles. Sailboat Stuck Under a Bridge. Man Being Assaulted With Belt. Neighbor Performing Voodoo." These (including the last one, seriously) are just a tiny fraction of the alerts that have been pumped into peoples phones the past few weeks, courtesy of Citizen, the app that, in real time, notifies you about local emergencies, of widely varying degrees of danger and oftentimes bizarreness. The phone alerts are reported by emergency response systems already in place.

Citizen is essentially a rebranded, second-generation version of the Vigilante app, which informed users of nearby crimes, but also encouraged them to take action in seeking justice. That message spurred the New York Police Department to issue a statement, out of safety concerns, stressing to people that it is the job of law enforcement to handle criminal activity, not ordinary citizens. (Vigilante was soon thereafter removed from Apples App Store, as it violated company policies.) The Citizen app does advertise on its free download page that it can help Protect the World by Keeping you safe and informed, but its parent company, Sp0n, has toned down the be-more-like-Batman language.

Citizen, which operates in Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, has apparently done some good, with users in New York spotting missing persons on at least two occasions, and a school principal once saying that she kept buses of students from driving toward what turned out to be a terrorist attack. But the app has also raised concerns that, ultimately, its rate of stoking anxiety in people far outweighs any of its benefits. The default notification ding itself is even pretty scary. It sounds kind of like a muffled gunshot or firework followed by a puffing of smoke.

Crime is now at historic lows in the city, wrote New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan, in an op-ed about Citizen for BuzzFeed, but because residents are constantly being bombarded with push notifications of crime, they believe the city is going to hell in a handbasket.

In his piece, he recalled an incident in which a teen, whod gotten into a physical altercation on the street, ran into the bathroom at a Dunkin Donuts, where Brannan was waiting in line. The kid was apparently hiding out from police. A moment later, Brannans phone burped a notification that there was a report of an attempted robbery at the Dunkin Donuts he was standing in.

There was no robbery, Brannan wrote. But for anyone else sitting on their couch with their phone buzzing every five minutes announcing another crime in progress, it might feel like its time to lock yourself inside your apartment and never come out.

If youre someone whos already living with an anxiety disorder where fears and worries disrupt the functioning of your everyday life Citizen can certainly exacerbate it.

If you have this constant hypervigilance, that your nervous system has to have because something bad is [seemingly] always happening, thats problematic for anxiety, says Elizabeth Cohen, a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating people with anxiety disorders, commenting on apps like Citizen. Its totally overestimating the probability of things.

Cohen adds that she spends the bulk of her time getting clients with anxiety disorders to find comfort in the fact that the chances of catastrophe striking them are far less likely than they believe.

Its unclear how many people use Citizen though Bloomberg reports at least one million people have downloaded the app in New York alone and nobody quite knows how the apps engineers pick and choose the alerts that flow into the ether. The company employs teams of people to listen to police, fire, and emergency radio transmissions and to submit certain categories of incident for including in the app, reports the New York Times.

An app representative told the paper that there is a detailed editorial guide about what goes into the app and why, and that Citizen does not publicize suicides inside a private residence, suspicious people, or vague suspect descriptions. (Citizen also told the Times it does not advertise or sell user data.)

But getting a notification like Man Stabbed, Hit in Head With Chair sent to phones seems to serve little purpose to virtually anyone who might receive it. Even if a user lives next door to the violence and didnt hear it in the first place theyd only be endangering themselves more if they intervened. And based on the companys statement to the Times, if the incident is showing up on the app, then law enforcement has likely already been dispatched to the scene.

If you ask any cop, most of this stuff is domestic anyway, Cohen says, so its not a threat its not even helpful.

The information dispersed by Citizen has a very real influence in how we conduct ourselves how we vote, how we raise our families, how we treat each other, Brannan wrote in his op-ed. He concluded it with: Theres enough fear and anxiety in this world as it is.

Swiping through Instagram all day long can seem like a (relatively) harmless hobby. But do you ever find yourself needing to stretch out your arms afterward? Or do you find yourself icing your wrist after a long day at work? It may be difficult to come to terms with, but all your technology use could be putting strain on your wrists. Yes, those quick rounds of Fortnite or late-night texting sessions could be putting your wrists (and hands, elbows, and fingers) at risk for carpal tunnel and other injuries. It's all a case of potential overuse, which is easy to push too far in an age where we're all constantly on our phones, computers, and tablets. And the overuse can lead to injuries that, frankly, aren't very fun to deal with.

Physical ailments related to using computer and smartphones are on the rise, according to Dr. Renee Enriquez, physician and professor of of physical medicine and rehabilitation at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

"People have been using their upper extremities and sitting and being in positions that are consistent with poor ergonomic function and poor ergonomic positioning," Enriquez told clinical information website Healio.com. These injuries are colloquially known as "selfie elbow" and "texting thumb," but they affect patients' elbows, wrists, and hands, all consistent with additional mobile phone use. Many people still end up with various issues that can arise from extended usage of smartphones, while others still find themselves struggling with general pain that travels all the way up through their arm from not just using their tech gadgets, but simply holding them.

And there's one frustrating illness that comes for many who use their wrists often with keyboarding for their job or simply browsing the internet too regularly: carpal tunnel.

What is carpal tunnel, and why does it matter?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the name of a set of symptoms that result from an injury to the median nerve in your wrist. It's one of the most common overuse injuries and it can cause a litany of uncomfortable side effects, including numbness and tingling in the arm and weakness, making it difficult to perform job duties or play Pokemon Go in your downtime. But when your job requires that you're "always on," it can be tough to manage the symptoms once they manifest.

Commercial truck driver dispatcher Katherine Tharp tells Mic that she'd been experiencing carpal tunnel, likely brought on by working on a computer for hours at a time, for years, though has just been managing the pain with medication and rest when she can.

"I got to a point where my thumb would feel tingly and and numb, like it had fallen asleep. I didn't feel very coordinated anymore. It was becoming hard to type," Tharp says.

"Carpal tunnel can be exacerbated by several things: long hours at the computer, improper ergonomics, and pushing yourself to your physical limits. But you don't have to be working a million hours a week to be at risk for it. You can start developing systems even after a few weeks' worth of consistent computer usage," Louisville-based physician and hand/wrist specialist Dr. John Niklaus tells Mic.

"I see more and more patients coming in who spend a lot of time texting or typing too long on the job complaining that they're losing feeling in their extremities, and often the first step in treatment is to lay off the electronics. And they tell me they can't, or they don't want to."

How is carpal tunnel treated?

Carpal tunnel release surgery is often suggested as a solution in addition to rest and stretching (or medication), though it also obviously involves less electronic use for at least a few weeks afterward during recovery. During the surgery, the transverse carpal ligament in the wrist is cut, and this releases pressure on the median nerve that's affected. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, it's generally an outpatient surgery, and recovery can take anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months. It's a very real alternative to rest and pain management aside from just giving up electronic usage "cold turkey," which typically isn't an option for most but you still have to give up time in the interim while you wait to heal. Many, like Tharp, can't afford to take the risk since it may not resolve the problem completely.

"It's not 100% guaranteed that it'll fix the issue," she says. "And I can't afford to take the two weeks off of work I'd need to heal up afterward." For many, these injuries are just part of the job, and difficult to avoid. I'm one of those people. I've been treated for carpal tunnel off and on for a few years, but surgery simply isn't on my radar and likely never will be.

My carpal tunnel stems from my brief stint in the medical field. An early part of my career meant transcribing medical reports from doctors as they sent over electronic dictation meant to be listened to, edited for clarity, and then electronically delivered to a patient's chart.

I worked regular hours, but the pace at which I worked required me to be able to type lightning-quick at a consistent pace. I had been using the internet my entire life, but I didn't realize what kind of toll the job had been taking on my wrists...until one day I woke up with the same kind of numbness Katherine described. Typing was an integral part of my job though, so I couldn't just stop. Multiple visits to the doctor netted me wrist braces and pain medication that did nothing to quell the issue until finally the diagnosis was made and a surgical suggestion, of course. Like many others, I've just simply learned to deal with it.

"I get flare-ups all the time," Thrap says. "I do a lot of gardening and play with my kids, and I'll get the throbbing pain again. I have to stop and ice my wrist and take it easy for a while. It goes away, but I'm always a little frustrated that it keeps coming back."

How to tell carpal tunnel from a repetitive strain injury

But just because you're having wrist pain that sounds similar to what's been described here, that doesn't automatically mean you should jump to the conclusion that it's carpal tunnel. It could be a an RSI, or a repetitive strain injury. RSI can affect your wrist, elbow, and shoulder, and occurs from performing repetitive tasks over and over again. It's not localized to using technology, but given that we make the same movements over and over again while interacting with our devices like computers and phones, those activities can be a huge culprit.

Medical coding specialist Gabrielle Brooks tells Mic that she incurred a repetitive stress injury simply through performing typical job duties. "Most of my job is really based around keying numbers into a computer all day," she explained in a phone call. "I can't just not key, and then I have all this stuff to do when I get home. I don't know how I can avoid using my phone or computer or other things like that when it's part of my career."

Treating RSI, according to Dr. Niklaus, involves more stretches and "therapeutic motions" of the hands. It's a much less involved prospect than working out a way to lessen the pain from carpal tunnel, thankfully, though the pain from both injuries may feel similar. You can use hot and cold packs, undergo professional massages, and take anti-inflammatory medication as well, but as Dr. Niklaus put it, "rest is the most beneficial treatment you could possibly have here." If you've incurred the injury from using your wrists and hands too much, it makes sense that the way out involves using them less.

Retail manager Elizabeth White incurred an RSI while working in the deli section at a popular grocery chain store. "Slicing meats and cheeses all day with the slicer had me always making the same movements over and over," she told Mic. "But I was able to kind of manage it by changing departments and working in other parts of the store for a while before I was a manager. So I didn't have to do the same kind of thing [...] None of that was really stressful on my hand." In White's case, laying off the motions that caused her pain eventually caused it to subside.

What to do if you think you've got carpal tunnel or an RSI

The first step in determining which injury you have (or if you're just feeling strain from light overuse) is a visit to a medical professional. But if that isn't a viable option, you can start by resting your wrists, icing them, or even purchasing special wrist braces made for people suffering from the same ailment. You can purchase them from medical specialty stores, or even department stores like Walmart or Target. Amazon has a decent selection as well, and many of them are inexpensive. I have used several braces from the FUTURO brand, for example, and while they're initially uncomfortable, they do tend to help force your hand into a more comfortable position.

If you happen to find yourself affected by either type of injury, however, it's not the end of the world. Dealing with them can still be very painful and debilitating, but it doesn't mean you have to lay off your favorite hobbies or quit working. The road to recovery may be uncomfortable and lengthy, but in the end the only person you really have to take care of yourself is you and you have to make the decision to start healing in a way that works best for your lifestyle.

Here's the ugly truth: It's easier for affluent households to adjust for climate change than it is for disadvantaged families. People with higher income have more leeway to budget for energy efficient options like switching to different lightbulbs, driving electric cars, and purchasing energy-saving appliances to reduce their carbon footprint. For families who have to make a choice between paying the bills or paying for food, being energy efficient doesn't usually reach the top 10 on their list of concerns.

This concerns some state leaders because the effects of climate change can impact disadvantaged communities the most. According to the Climate and Health Assessment, a study conducted by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), climate change "is a significant threat to the health of the American people" due to the increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather, dangerously high temperatures, the loss of food and water quality, and the spreading of disease-carrying mosquitoes that flourish in warmer weather. Although these issues can harm everyone, they could disproportionately hurt groups that are more vulnerable than others: Low-income households, communities of color, immigrant groups, Indigenous peoples, the elderly, and individuals struggling with medical conditions.

To address this gap in equity, researchers from Rutgers University conducted an independent study of states that are part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). This initiative is a combined effort by nine states Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Each state agrees to adopt regulations and programs that follow the RGGI model to keep carbon emissions at a low level. As an added bonus, these states have received economic benefits, such as additional jobs, that come from mindful investments in energy efficiency.

Rutgers' research team reviewed these RGGI states along with two states and two cities with their own climate change programs: California, Illinois, Austin (Texas), and Columbus (Ohio) to review each state's progress in spreading these benefits to disadvantaged communities. The study, titled Field Notes: Equity and State Climate Policy, found that the states absolutely require the participation of these underserved households to reach low-carbon goals, but still struggle with bringing their programs, message, and benefits to these communities.

The benefits of climate change programs

For disadvantaged communities, energy efficiency programs can offer a relief from high energy bills. According to the report, previous studies have noted that at-risk households often "spend a larger portion [of] their income on home energy costs" with low-income, rural households paying the most in bills. The researchers cited a 2015 survey conducted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration stating that "nearly one-third of U.S. households (31%) reported facing a challenge in paying energy bills or sustaining adequate heating and cooling in their homes in 2015." The same survey found that one in five households were sacrificing food and medicine to pay their energy bills.

With climate change programs, these costs could be reduced for everyone both the state and its residents. Programs that encourage switching to renewable energy have already saved states money, noted Michael Milken, CEO of the economic think tank Milken Institute, to CNBC. He believes using renewable energy is a matter of good economics.

The state that has the lowest cost energy, Texas, is the state in the United States that has the largest amount of wind power, he pointed out.

Another benefit to clean, renewable energy is improving the air quality. In the USGCRP's Climate and Health Assessment, the organization warned that poor air quality resulting from pollution and changes in the local climate can directly effect a person's health. The assessment stated that "populations exposed to ozone air pollution are at greater risk of dying prematurely, being admitted to the hospital for respiratory hospital admissions, being admitted to the emergency department, and suffering from aggravated asthma, among other impacts." The New York Times has also found that air pollution can shorten lives by as much as a year depending on the location.

Clean energy won't just help low-income households by reducing energy costs it'll help them save on medical bills, too.

The challenges in reaching out to communities

It's not easy for disadvantaged groups to jump right into the climate change movement. The RGGI study found that there were "social, economic, environmental, and community factors" that served as roadblocks to receiving the economic and health benefits of energy efficient policies. This is where local governments are expected to step up and help but a number of obstacles can make these efforts difficult.

The researchers noticed a handful of similar challenges that popped up for each state. The states struggled with limited resources, finding it a big mountain to climb when trying to expand climate change programs that could help disadvantaged communities. Government hiring freezes, for example, hindered policy efforts in some states. Limited resources also made it difficult to provide assistance to residents living in old homes that needed extensive efforts to become energy efficient.

Sometimes, states forgot to include low-income households completely; they lacked policies that could reach out to these groups and, instead, focused solely on reducing CO2 emissions. Separate programs with the sole purpose of informing and educating underserved communities had to be considered.

States also wrestled with public support for these programs. Some residents didn't understand the technology or didn't trust the state to help them. Other residents didn't know they were eligible for any energy saving assistance programs. There were also individuals who didn't consider climate change an urgent matter, which can contribute to stunting a program's progress.

Creating a balance between forming climate change policies and keeping energy costs low for residents, businesses, and large industries also proved difficult for states. The diversity of people and businesses within a state can make it difficult to find a middle-ground that could benefit everyone.

Room for improvement

Rutgers' RGGI study suggests that the participating states are learning how to better serve these groups, although there is still work to do before progress is made. The researchers recommend that the RGGI participants (and the other states/cities with climate change policies) consider more transparent processes that call for input from members of the community. The local leadership should also explain the benefits of climate change policies to residents and prove it through solid commitments to the programs. This could build more confidence and trust in their policies.

The research team also suggests that states develop more tools and means of measurement to analyze the effectiveness of their programs in these communities. Providing fact-based evidence to the public will help people understand the benefits of climate change policies beyond reducing carbon emissions. The team calls for states to consider what's important to disadvantaged communities how clean energy can improve living environments, work opportunities in the industry, and health benefits and place an emphasis on how climate change policies can help with their concerns.

Further study and analysis is, of course, necessary. The Rutgers report doesn't compare disadvantaged communities in an RGGI state with disadvantaged communities in a state without climate change policies, so it's still unclear whether one group is better off than the other by proximity. But the report does point to an awareness and a positive step towards including everyone in the climate change movement. As more people continue to learn how clean energy can reduce costs and improve their health in the long run, additional state resources can, hopefully, be diverted towards supporting underserved groups.

I have five pets. Judge me all you want, but I revel comfortably in the pet-hoarding queer stereotype. When it comes to food, I pay more attention to my pets needs than mine. To be fair, I try to eat healthy, but my budget is a little tight and I often call a grilled cheese lunch and dont feel bad about it. That type of thing doesnt fly for the fur babies, though. For years, Ive invested a lot of time (seeking out specialty feed stores) and money in my cats and dogs diets. I want them to be healthy, happy, and live as long as I do (a girl can dream). Recently though, I couldnt help but wonder if I should really be buying organic dog food, which is more expensive and harder to find.

First of all, what does organic pet food even entail? According to the USDA, the organic label means that food was produced without chemicals, pesticides, or genetic engineering. But labels can also be a little confusing, because if (human) food in a package is at least 70% organic and the rest of the contents dont violate other USDA standards, it can still be deemed organic. It works the same way with pet food labeling.

Pet food companies can be really tricky with their use of language on labeling, so if pet nutrition is important to you, read carefully. Sarah Ochoa, a veterinarian and a consultant for DogLab, an informational database for dog lovers, explains, Only if the dog food bag says that it is 100% organic and displays the USDA organic seal, then it is truly 100% organic. This makes sense, as it works the same way in the world of human packaged organic food. Organic or not, Ochoa says to make sure that all dog food that you feed your dog has a AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) statement.

So, say the food meets standards and is 100% organic? Does that mean that its better for my pets? Not necessarily, Ochoa says. Expensive organic foods are not really needed. As long as your pet is eating good quality food, they will be healthy, she says.

Daniel Grimnet, a veterinarian in Edmond, Oklahoma, concurs. I have no problem with owners looking for organic options for their pets, but far more importantly, the diet needs to fit the needs of the pet and have solid science and research behind it, he says. Too often, organic or all natural is used as a marketing ploy to entice owners to purchase a diet, usually for a higher cost, which has no data to back up its claims of being good for the pet.

A low-quality diet will not allow your dog to get all the added nutrients that they need, Ochoa warns. This means that your dog will get sicker more often. Grimnet adds, Diet has a huge influence on a pets health in the same way a human diet effects our wellbeing." He tells me that if a pet isn't eating well, they can develop orthopedic diseases such as hip dysplasia, as well as early onset heart disease, bladder stones, and pancreatitis.

So what types of pet food is considered high quality? Since it depends on your pet's breed, size, and needs, its best to consult an expert (a human one, versus Google) if you have access to one. I recommend that owners talk with their veterinarian regarding which food to choose for their pets, says Grimnet. He also suggests buying from companies that have serious research and development programs and solid scientific data to support their diet. A few of these, he tells me, include Royal Canin, Hills/Science Diet, Purina, and Eukanuba.

Also, Ochoa says to look for meat as the first ingredient. This will usually be a better quality dog food than those that list a grain as the first ingredient. Look for the words beef dog food"; if its called something like beef meal, the food only needs to contain 25% beef. Another thing to keep in mind: Pets may sometimes show a preference for lower quality food, but their likes and dislikes arent necessarily good indicators of quality, says Grimnet. Remember, just because the pet likes the food, it doesnt mean its good for them. My children love donuts but

Due to budgetary constraints, right now, my dogs are eating the cheapest corner bodega kibble with an AAFCO label. I buy organic for myself when I can, and I will continue to do so for my pets. The truth is that, while it may contain the same nutritional values, organic food and farming is better for the environment and better for our bodies. When it comes down to it, its a personal preference, just like my multiple grilled cheeses per week.

Shakespeare was constantly making up new words, and this was well before we had a million different ways to communicate our thoughts and ideas with each other. It only makes sense that now, as words and meanings are as fluid as ever, our language appears to be constantly evolving. This is clear when you consider how many words we use on a daily basis that have no official definition. But, in a valiant attempt at keeping up with us, Merriam Webster regularly updates their dictionary with an eye towards modernity.

We feel like the service we offer to English speakers is to catalog all the words and meanings in the language, says Merriam-Websters Senior Editor and Lexicographer Emily Brewster in a phone call with Mic. This is what we have been doing since 1828. We provide a list of these words and definitions to know whether the use of a word is fully established.

The last time the organization updated its expansive dictionary was in April when they added 640 words or new definitions, including Snowflake, Peak, and On-brand. This month, there are 530 additions that go beyond adding pop culture phrases and internet slang (though thats in there too; Hello dad jokes!)

Merriam Webster also added a new definition to an existing word: they. The expanded definition now includes used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary. The news was received with a celebration. For folks who identify as nonbinary and gender nonconforming, this was a formal acknowledgment of their pronouns.

It's an expansion of a use that is sometimes called the singular they (and one that has a long history in English), wrote Merriam-Webster, in its announcement of the addition. When a reflexive pronoun corresponding to singular use of they is needed, themself is seeing increasing use.

The updated definition of they wasnt the only notable addition. The word colorism was also added, and defined as prejudice or discrimination especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin. After years of the word shaping discourse about discrimination within communities, it now has a concise definition. And, to make sure theyre able to describe all of the new words theyve added, Merriam-Webster further defined the word inclusive to now include allowing and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, or ability).

Bechdel test when two women speak in a film and dont discuss a man has also been added, as well as Fatberg, which is a large mass of fat and solid waste that collects in a sewer system. Terrifying! The term is used by New York City officials to address the massive clogging of the citys piping.

The intention when adding these words and definitions is to pay close attention to what language is doing whether its about meme culture or politics, or how we identify ourselves.

For most of the life of Merriam Webster, of the dictionary, we have had no idea what words people are looking up, weve just been writing our definitions and never knowing, says Brewster. Since the dictionary has been online, we have been able to see what words people are actually interested in. That means the relationship between the dictionary and the public has been unidirectional, and now we can be part of the conversation.

It's an unfortunate fact that technology isn't inherently good, but rather just a tool that can be used to enable good or bad intentions. Drones can be used to help first responders survey an area and better address people in need of immediate assistance. Or drones can be weaponized and used by a vindictive ex-partner who wants to do harm to their former love interest, which is what happened when a Pennsylvania man allegedly used a drone to air-lift explosives onto his ex-girlfriend's property.

According to Leigh Valley Live, 44-year-old Jason Muzzicato was in possession of a DJI Phantom 3 drone that hadn't been registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). During his arraignment earlier this week, where he was charged with crimes related to possession of the firearms and explosives, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gallagher alleged that Muzzicato used the drone to drop explosive devices on his ex-girlfriend's house, according to Pennsylvania newspaper the Morning Call. Muzzicato's attorney denied the charge and said that there hasn't been any "conclusive evidence" to suggest his client attempted to bomb his former partner's home.

The court will decide if Muzzicato was behind the alleged bombings, but he was certainly equipped for them. An FBI search of his home and automotive business discovered 10 guns, including multiple semi-automatic pistols and AR-15 rifles. The agency also found seven handmade explosives in his possession, according to Lehigh Valley Live. He should not have been in possession of any of the gun, as he had a domestic violence protective order filed against him in 2017 that makes it illegal for him to own firearms.

Muzzicato is also accused of being responsible for a number of explosions that have happened within his neighborhood since March. While the explosions have not resulted in any damage or injuries, they have disrupted the community. One neighbor claimed that he saw the autoworker use the drone to drop nails from the sky, according to news station WTAP. Muzzicato also allegedly equipped his car with dashboard switches that, when flipped, would release objects like ball bearings, nails and paint thinner that could be used to damage other cars.

For what it's worth, flying a weaponized drone is illegal. In 2018, the FAA instituted a steep $25,000 fine for anyone caught operating a drone equipped with any weapon that could be "used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury." Of course, that hasn't stopped people from strapping all sorts of different things to their drones. In 2015, a video went viral that showed a drone with a handgun attached to it firing shots into the woods. Later that year, another viral video surfaced of a drone with an active and functioning flamethrower attached to it. While those drones weren't used to do any damage to people or property, it's not hard to see how they could be used for that purpose especially if put in the hands of someone with a violent past and a whole fleet of weapons at his disposal.

Muzzicato is not the first to allegedly use a drone to terrorize a former partner. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation documented a number of cases in which people have used drones to spy on and harass former significant others. In one instance, a woman's ex-husband allegedly used a drone to disrupt a New Year's Eve barbecue that she was hosting at her home. The victim of the stalking said the idea that she and her children were being watched and followed at all time made them feel like prisoners while her ex-husband is "free to roam."

In 2017, Vice documented a series of reports made by women living in rural Australia who claimed they were being stalked by drones. The victims of the attacks said that the drones would fly above their homes, sometimes peeping into windows. Those who experienced that invasive behavior said they stopped showering at night out of a fear of being filmed. "A big part of what makes drones so transformative is that they allow you to put cameras in areas that would be very difficult or dangerous to reach by traditional means," Arthur Holland Michel, the co-director of Bard College's Center for The Study of The Drone, told Vice. "Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that the technology would be popular with stalkers."

This type of behavior is sadly not uncommon. A report published by the the Congressional Research Service suggested that these types of misuses of the technology would likely only increase as tools like drones become more accessible. Traditional crimes such as stalking, harassment, voyeurism, and wiretapping may all be committed through the operation of a drone, the report stated. Unfortunately, there still isn't much recourse for victims of these types of crimes. There have been attempts to make drones easier to track and link to an individual so that abuse and unapproved actions can be tied to the drone's owner. Unfortunately, in the case of Muzzicato, the drone allegedly used to drop explosives was not registered with the FAA. The rules on when and how people are allowed to operate drones, including flying over or around other people's property, remain somewhat vague and difficult to enforce, as well.

Organizations like Safe Horizon and the Electronic Privacy Information Center have resources for victims of harassment, abuse and stalking, including technology-driven forms. While they do not have resources specific to dealing with drones, organizations like these are likely to have resources or can point victims in the right direction to get the help they need in dealing with these types of invasive and terrifying behaviors.

Next week, the US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear arguments over whether Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven was a ripoff, and the outcome could shape the fortunes of generations of artists.

The band Spirit alleged their instrumental song Taurus, from 1967, was stolen and repackaged into the 1971 rock classic. A jury in LA cleared songwriters Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of plagiarism in 2016. But late Spirit songwriter Randy Wolfes estate appealed the decision in 2017. Depending on the outcome of the pending litigation, the Zeppelin case could reach the US Supreme Court.

The Trump administration has officially sided with Led Zeppelin and record labels, who are advocating for a major shift in the way copyright law applies to intellectual property. The governments decision to get involved underscores the serious business implications at stake.

The key question for the appeals court to decide is whether music published before 1978 is copyright protected based on the sheet music registered at the US Copyright Office or the notes captured on an actual recording. Before 1978, federal law required musicians to submit compositions on paper and didnt allow audio. Because of that arcane mandate, rock songs were often transcribed by record company clerks, who only captured a fraction of the musical artistry on studio recordings.

Bloomberg Businessweek found that the sheet music on file for many older rock and soul treasures like Hotel California, Born to Run and Stairway to Heaven include only basic chords, lyrics and melody, omitting the distinctive flourishes and iconic solos that make them recognizable. The album version of Lynyrd Skynyrds Free Bird, for example, is more than nine minutes long. The sheet music registered with the Copyright Office, however, is just eight lines long and completely omits the guitar solos.

If the court sides with Led Zeppelin, it would mean future musicians would be able to mine unprotected bits of famous older songs and repurpose the catchiest elements with impunity. There would be money to be made from bootlegged karaoke tracks, DIY mixtapes, and covers of pre -1978 music. Brands could co-opt beloved melodies in advertising, video games, ringtones, and film scores.

Theoretically, all aging musicians and their offspring need to do to protect themselves is register sheet music with the Copyright Office that contains all the notes played on a given track. But if the Doors registered the keyboard solo from Riders on the Storm today, for example, its not clear whether the courts would consider the updated music original and how it would play out if used to challenge an infringement claim.

The big concern is that musicians who made it big before 1978 could get taken advantage of while the industry waits for these cases to wind their way through the justice system. Composer Malte Hagemeister, who writes music he licenses for TV and ads, told Bloomberg that whats needed is common sense copyright overhaul to ensure that doesnt happen. The Beatles got inspired by so many black artists, then came hip-hop, then everybody got sued. Its just fascinating that we all stand on the shoulders of giants, he said.

Hagemeister sides with the record companies, who are advocating for a path to create new works with old building blocks, but in a way that compensates the great artists of yore. There should be a way to divide the bounty without suing, he said. From an artists perspective, its beautiful that we have something to protect our rights of creativity. It is precious, but its gotten too complicated.

Its likely that nobody knows for sure how long theyve been around, but sex clubs have progressed since the likes of Caligula. The mad Roman Emperor from a couple millenia back was legendary for his dinner parties which may have turned into orgies where he sometimes reminded his guests, Remember that I have the right to do anything to anybody, including beheading them. Fast forwarding to 2019, the concept of public sex in a community space has gone through several reincarnations. What feels pleasurable may not be all that different from the beginning of time, but the way we go about achieving it definitely is.

Some of the most popular, well-regarded sex clubs today, ironically, have strict dress codes that give their gatherings a more upscale feel if their exorbitant membership dues didnt provide that already. Though this hasnt always been the case, many clubs today are very inclusive, welcoming members of all shapes, sizes, sexual preferences, and ethnicities. And even sex clubs with a name like Torture Garden are thankfully far more consent- and safety-first-minded than old Caligula appears to have been, which of course is incredibly important when thinking about the evolution of gender roles and rights.

Clearly, sex clubs that are deemed progressive have either adjusted to recent changing social tides or have been founded on more sensitively informed principles. Daniel Saynt, who two years ago opened the first headquarters to one of the most elite sex clubs in New York City NSFW, which stands for the New Society For Wellness says he owes much of his success to being woke, understanding such fresh social trends were on the way, and implementing their imparted lessons to the business as best as he can. The vibe of NSFW is an amalgam of best practices Saynts learned from being in the sex club scene for nearly two decades, with an infusion of recent social trends preaching safety for and sensitivity toward all people.

Clearly, sex clubs that are deemed progressive have either adjusted to recent changing social tides or have been founded on more sensitively informed principles.

You expect it to be naughtier, but its really not, Saynt says of the NSFW experience, where many events are billed just as parties where sex can happen. Its very civilized debauchery, he adds.

Members of NSFW there are currently about 2,000 of them average 28 years in age and lean toward a more well-off social class. They practice enthusiastic consent, where if its not a hell yes, its a hell no a go-to catchphrase on the grounds. One of the clubs standing rules is Dont be a creeper, and, when necessary, after an event the NSFW brass will send out a creeper report to members, discussing some inappropriate behavior that took place and reminding readers of the clubs etiquette demands. Saynt says theres never been such a serious breach of code to where law enforcement had to get involved, but remains comfortable revealing that the practice exists.

He adds that in his experience, most of the perpetrators whove ended up in creeper reports have just touched or kissed someone else without permission many of them women who cross a line with other women, believing wrongly that, in representing less of a physical threat than a man would, theyd be privy to enhanced freedom. Sometimes a member ends up on the creeper report for soliciting contact with another member on social media, a bit of a breach of privacy. One of the reasons the offenses have been few and far between, Saynt says, is because of the preemptive measures the NSFW staff take, like having guests sign a form agreeing to house rules and consent mindfulness at the door, after engaging in a discussion of the expectations.

The reason enthusiastic consent is such a foundational component of NSFWs culture is because Saynt, whos 36 and bisexual, says he was sexually assaulted by men at sex clubs hed attend in his younger days, and also had women forego permission to touch his body. He also describes a pressure at some sex clubs to engage in sex that afterwards you didnt feel good about, because it was fornicating with people he might not otherwise have been into. All this coming from a tall, burly guy who at first glance would appear to be someone who could hold his own in a physical conflict. Still, Saynt had the needs of women most in mind when he began contemplating the NSFW brand.

None of the clubs are designed for women; theres no consideration about women in the spaces, Saynt says. Gay men have the best clubs out there; men control the best spaces, and theyre having these amazing sexual experiences and its not being shared with another gender, so [I thought] there had to be a way of building [a sex club] where women feel safe and women would feel like theyd want to go there alone. Its a very unique concept thats not out there at all.

Gender aside, NSFW also has a stay hydrated rule, which also aids in keeping the space safe, from violent behaviors and just from people passing out. Keep yourself in a mindset that is aware, and pay attention to what your body needs, he says he tells his members. When NSFW events begin, there are condoms and lubrication freely available, which are other elements Saynt didnt see at sex clubs he deemed less welcoming. Youre just creating a dangerous environment where bad things can happen, Saynt decries. Thats not responsible.

Saynt also decorated his club strategically, installing magenta bulbs, dangling mesh canopies, shag rugs, marble tables, beds with tasteful sheets and blankets, and other sightly additions though, in spite of otherwise catering to a higher class clientele, he admits budget was a factor. Keep it cheap because youre going to have a lot of shit destroyed by people fucking on it, he says of the furniture one might want to splay in a sex club.

Arguably the one thing that best keeps NSFW comfortable and safe is the sense of community Saynts built within the club. Members regularly attend off-site parties at strip clubs, nightclubs, and other event spaces, both in New York and in other cities like Miami. Theres also a closed Facebook group devoted to the club, where events are posted and people can exchange messages. You should get to know the people youre having sex with, Saynt says, and adds that the members want to have this place the rest of their lives, so they dutifully follow the standards in place, and help police the space as well.

In short, when figuring out what his sex club, NSFW should look and feel like for members, he thought to himself, Is it designed to harm people or heal people? As opposed to Caligula, Saynt opted for the latter.

Reducing the amount of the world's greenhouse gas emissions isn't an impossible task. In fact, researchers with the Exponential Climate Action Roadmap initiative believe we currently have the means to cut these emissions in half by 2030. But it's not something we can do alone. It will take the strength and determination of social movement to encourage adjustments to our behavior and the adoption of sustainable technology.

In a report called the Exponential Roadmap, climate experts from around the world have pinpointed 36 ways mankind can halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. By cutting emissions by half, the scientists hope that the health risks that come with climate change will also be reduced. Adjustments will have to be made in all aspects of life, however, which is where the difficulty lies.

The report suggests changes in various areas including the energy, transportation, and food production industries. Most urgently, researchers recommend a massive switch to using alternative sources of energy that don't rely on fossil fuels. The experts believe this is within our capability and better for consumers in the long run since solar and wind power have become cheaper. The Guardian reported in March that 75 percent of U.S. coal production is now more expensive than electricity generated from renewable sources, and that the coal industry could be overtaken by 2025. According to the Exponential Roadmap, switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy can quickly halve the emissions generated from electricity production.

Emissions created through transportation could be reduced if more people switched to electric vehicles. Lowering the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be accomplished by ceasing deforestation when possible, pushing reforestation efforts, and better land management. Consumer behavior can contribute to this as well reducing how much red meat and ultra-processed foods we eat can discourage deforestation practices that are done to make room for ranchers. Better land management can also introduce more sustainable farming techniques that will still grow enough healthy produce for the public.

It may seem like a lot to push for within 10 years, but the researchers behind the report believe it's all within our grasp.

"While this scale of transformation is unprecedented, the speed is not," report author Johan Rockstrm said to The Guardian. "This is now a race against time, but businesses and even entire industries have made many significant transitions in less than 10 years."

Ongoing social movements for climate change awareness have also brought the public's attention to global warming, which further demands the attention of businesses and local governments. Events like the Global Climate Strike are making politicians and corporations consider the push for sustainability. Former head of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, believes this means society is ready to make a lifestyle adjustment.

"I see all evidence that social and economic tipping points are aligning," said Figueres in a statement. "We can now say the next decade has the potential to see the fastest economic transition in history." By making that transition, countries would be able to see their greenhouse gas emission levels go down without taking a huge hit to the overall economy all while helping the Earth.

Spend a little now, save a whole lot later that's the genius idea behind these 37 smart products on Amazon that reviewers swear save you at least $50 (and, in many cases, a whole lot more than that).

At first glance, an innovative product on this list may seem like something you can live without after all, you've been doing just fine without a champagne bottle stopper, right? But, on second thought: imagine not having to waste a single drop of that (expensive) bubbly beverage and being able to preserve its freshness for days and days your wallet and bank account will feel the difference.

And the same applies to all of the practical products on this list. From a seltzer maker that allows you to whip up your favorite carbonated beverage whenever you want and saves you a trip to the grocery store to a vacuum sealer machine that can preserve meat in your freezer for an entire year, these items help you stick to a budget.

You'll find a fabulous split end repair hair serum that extends the length of time between salon appointments, a Shark Tank-approved spatula that gets out every drop of peanut butter, a smart plug that lets you run your appliances on a schedule, and so many other money-saving goodies.

So don't be afraid to spend a little these products will pay themselves back in no time flat.

1. A bubbly beverage bottle stopper and pumper that preserves the freshness of champagne

Champagne Stopper by MiTBA

Amazon

Champagne is a delight but a pricey one. Dont feel like you have to finish an entire bottle of sparkling wine, prosecco, or champagne in one sitting. These champagne stopper and pressure pumps fit every single bottle of sparkling wine you have and will pump air out and seal it tight to preserve your bubbly beverage for much longer.

2. These eco-friendly reusable makeup pads that even work on waterproof makeup

pataBee Reusable Makeup Remover Pads (16-Pack)

Amazon

Stop buying a separate makeup remover, save money, and help the environment all in one step when you make the switch to these eco-friendly reusable makeup remover pads. The pads are made from washable microfiber and with a touch of water or face cleanser go that extra step to easily remove all makeup, even more stubborn kinds like waterproof mascara and eyeliner. The pads are soft, wont scratch your skin, and they even come with a laundry bag.

3. The colorful collar that keeps cords from fraying

Nite Ize CordCollar (8 Pack)

Amazon

Its all too easy for cords to become tangled, frayed, and lost in the shuffle. These cord collars protect flimsy chargers and wires from fraying, which means less money youll have to spend replacing them. And an unexpected added bonus of these colorful cords is that they help you identify the specific cord you need in just seconds.

4. An at-home seltzer maker that saves you a trip to the grocery store

SodaStream Jet Sparkling Water Maker

Amazon

Is there a better way to satisfy your seltzer cravings than with an actual at-home seltzer maker that allows you to whip up bottles of your favorite bubbly beverage whenever you crave it? Youll save so much money on bottles of store-bought seltzer not to mention helping to save the planet by consuming less plastic, when you invest in this amazing gadget. The SodaStream comes with one CO2 cylinder and a 1-liter BPA-free reusable bottle.

5. A smart WiFi plug that lets you control lights and appliances via an app

Kasa Smart WiFi Plug

Amazon

Set your coffee maker to turn on in the morning. Turn off those lights you forgot about when you left the house even when youre nowhere near your home. Setting up schedules and saving money on your electric bill is a reality with this smart WiFi plug. The plug is compatible with the Kasa app and its design is so compact it wont block your other wall outlet. The outlet is even compatible with voice commands via Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana.

6. This screen protector for your iPad that doesn't mess with your scrolling abilities

SMAPP Screen Protector (2 Pack)

Amazon

Protect your iPad and tablet screens from scratches and wear and tear just by applying this lightweight screen protector over its delicate, easy-to-break glass screen. The film keeps expensive devices from getting wrecked, but it will never interfere with your ability to scroll and get your work done.

7. A brass-fighting purple shampoo to prolong the time between hair salon appointments

Kick Purple Shampoo For Blonde Hair

Amazon

This purple shampoo is the key to keeping blonde highlights, platinum hair, or white and grey shades looking spectacular without having to blow your entire budget at the hair salon. The shampoo removes brassy tones, as well as dirt and sweat, and prevents breakage and split ends. One reviewer wrote: "After even one use of this shampoo a lot of the orange tone was gone and after using it for a week now my ends are back to a more platinum/silverish blonde! I was also surprised at how clean and silky this shampoo left my hair feeling!"

8. The Shark Tank-approved spatula that gets out every last drop of product

The Spatty, Last Drop Spatula

Amazon

You just know there is a ton more product left in that jar or bottle but your fingers and ordinary spoons cant reach it. Save money on creams, cleansers, and food items like peanut butter and honey with this special spatula, which has a lengthy handle and was featured on Shark Tank. The 6-inch spatula is flexible, dishwasher-safe, and can fit in most narrow bottles, jars, and tubes.

9. An absorbent cleaning cloth that replaces paper towels

Magic Sponge Cloth by Amala (6-Pack)

Amazon

Youre about to save yourself the cost of 90 rolls of paper towels, while also helping to preserve more trees. This six-pack of vegan sponge cleaning cloths absorb 20 times their own weight in water and each cloth is machine-washable up to 300 times. They are 100 percent natural and biodegradable.

10. The instant fabric and leather repair kit for clothing and accessories

Tear Mender

Amazon

You dont have to automatically toss that handbag or pair of jeans the minute things go awry and you experience a rip or tear in the fabric. Grab this fabric and leather mending kit which includes a latex-based adhesive glue and patches and give those pieces the love and care they deserve. The adhesive is waterproof, dries quickly, and can withstand spins in the washing machine plus, it lasts you up to 50 repairs.

11. An RFID-blocking card to protect your credit card info from thieves

Signal Red Credit Card Protector

Amazon

Using RFID-blocking protection, this credit card protector is as thin as your other cards, but works security magic by keeping thieves from snatching your personal banking information. One card is all you need tuck it among your other credit cards and feel more safe when you shop and travel.

12. These flexible snake drain weasels that get all the gunk out

FlexiSnake Drain Weasel (5 Snake Refills)

Amazon

These flexible drain snakes get all of the hair, debris, and plain old gunk up and out of drains before any of it has a chance to clog your pipes and do real damage. Save money on calling plumbers and use these extra-long snakes, which have 360 degree rotation, to unclog drains in seconds.

13. This jewelry cleaner that gets silver sparkling again

Brilliant Silver Jewelry Cleaner

Amazon

Keep your most treasured jewelry pieces looking brand new with this silver cleaner, designed for silver-plated jewelry and sterling silver. The cleaner removes tarnish and gives your pieces polish and pizzazz, making them look brand new and saving you a trip to the jeweler for a much more expensive cleaning. Soak jewelry in the solution and use the accompanying basket to retrieve pieces.

14. An espresso machine for all of those fancy drinks you want to make

Sowtech Espresso Machine

Amazon

If youre blowing your budget on lattes and cappuccinos, you dont have to give up your favorite beverages just invest in this espresso machine, which will pay you back after a few cups, and start DIYing those delish drinks. The machine makes up to 4 cups of espresso, along with cappuccinos and lattes, thanks to its milk frother. It also comes with a carafe and a special serving spoon.

15. A cast iron brush that removes all of that food debris without scratching your pan

OXO Good Grips Cast Iron Pan Brush

Amazon

Your cast iron pot or pan was a smart investment and this cast iron brush is the tool you need to protect it so that it lasts a long time. The brush has short, stiff bristles and a scraper that work together to ensure all of that caked-on food debris and grease is safely removed without scratching your precious (and pricey) cookware.

16. The grout pen that brightens dull tile

Grout Pen

Amazon

Freshen up your bathroom or kitchen in an instant and for less than $10 with this tile grout pen. The pen has a thin point that is simple to maneuver in between tile so that your grout looks fresh and clean. The pen comes in three colors: white, cream, or terracotta.

17. This car polish that takes out scratches and water spots

Carfidant Ultimate Scratch & Swirl Remover

Amazon

Tired of driving around in a car that is showing its years or looks a lot older than it is? This car polish and buffer removes paint scratches, water spots, and other signs of wear and tear without forcing you to take time out of your day and money out of your bank account by visiting an auto shop. It's safe on all paint colors and boasts close to 3,000 amazing reviews.

18. These bento-style lunch boxes with compartments that separate food

Glass Meal Prep Containers (5-Pack)

Amazon

Keep fresh salad separate from chicken and keep your chicken from mingling with your dessert. A full and complete lunch is a reality with these bento-style lunch containers, which come five in a pack and feature three compartments in each container. The containers come with tight lids and are made with sturdy borosilicate glass that makes them safe in the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher.

19. The ultimate food preserving, vacuum sealer machine

FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer Machine

Amazon

Buy meat and other foods in bulk, save money, and then preserve them for up to three years when you wrap them tight using this vacuum sealer machine. The vacuum creates an airtight seal and is compatible with both wet and dry ingredients. It also is easy to operate with one hand, and the LED light will let you know when you're all set.

20. An elegant solution for high heels that dig into grass at parties

Solemates High Heel Protectors

Amazon

Dont get stuck in the grass, dirt, or cobblestone again. These high heel protectors slide right over heels and feature an elegant, sweet, and wide base that acts as a barrier between pointed heels and the ground. They come in three sizes narrow, wide, and classic ensuring they fit all heel styles. And its worth mentioning they won judges over on Shark Tank a sure sign of their practicality.

21. A bag sealer that creates an airtight seal to preserve the freshness of snacks

iTouchless Handheld Heat Bag Sealer

Amazon

That last pretzel or chip from your snack bag should be as fresh, crispy, and delicious as the first. This handheld bag sealer is the tool that keeps snacks tasting great when you cant eat them in one sitting. Simply press and pull the sealer across the top of your bag and it creates an airtight seal same as the day you bought it at the store. Youll get two sealers in each pack and they boast magnetic backs so you can store them right on your fridge.

22. This fast-acting nail dryer that shortens the time it takes to DIY your mani

MelodySusie LED Nail Dryer

Amazon

You may be far more likely to DIY your manicure and pedicure and save money if you have an actual nail dryer like this one, which shortens drying time by 40 percent. The miniature lamp features 60 LED lights and four timer settings that can be set at 30 minutes or 30, 60, and 99 seconds. Pop the compact lamp in your bag and take it with you on trips. It comes in four colors and has a removable baseplate for convenience.

23. These silicone food storage bags that you can wash and reuse

Wohome Reusable Food Storage Silicone Bags (6-Pack)

Amazon

You dont have to keep your kitchen cabinet full of plastic bags theres a simple way to help the planet and save money: make the switch to these reusable silicone food storage bags. The six-pack of bags come in a variety of sizes and have zip-lock tops that prevents spills and leaks. Theyre also resistant to heat and cold and are safe in your dishwasher, freezer, and even your microwave.

24. An eyeglass repair kit so that you don't have to go a day without seeing clearly

Snap It Eyeglass Repair Kit

Amazon

Eyeglasses fall. They break. And it can take time and money to score an optometrist appointment for repairs or brand new frames. Dont go longer than a few minutes without seeing clearly this eyeglass repair kit works for both tops and bottom hinges and includes everything you need: four snap-off screws, one screwdriver, and a carrying tube (just in case you break your glasses at work).

25. The cleaning tablets that remove odors from washing machines

Affresh Washing Machine Cleaner

Amazon

Its inevitable: your washing machine faces the wrath of dirty clothes and is bound to start smelling after a while and keeping the washer door open at all times may not be cutting it. These washing machine cleaning tablets dissolve slowly in your wash and remove bacteria that causes all of those nasty odors. Theyre safe to use in both front and top loading machines and one tablet used once a month is all thats needed.

26. A solution for all of those sweaters you shrunk in the dryer

Unshrinkit

Amazon

Dryer mistakes happen even to seasoned laundry pros. And while you may want to weep when you pull out that sweater or pair of pants that you accidentally shrunk and that now barely fits a newborn, there is a solution to your costly dilemma: this unshrinking formula that works on cashmere, wool, and wool blend clothing. Featured on Shark Tank, the liquid solution gently breaks the protein bonds that cause shrinking and helps restore garments to their original size.

27. This nourishing hair serum to help repair split ends

GLISS Hair Repair Split-End Serum (3-Pack)

Amazon

The only true way to get rid of split ends may be to snip them off, but you can go longer between hair salon appointments and make dry, damaged hair look positively lustrous with the help of this split end hair serum. The moisturizing formula contains a blend of eight oils and keratin to restore shine and volume.

28. These little fridge inserts that make produce last longer

Blueapple Produce Freshness Balls (2-Pack)

Amazon

These adorable blue apples are about to make your produce last two to three times longer. Each freshness ball is filled with organic material that absorbs odor-causing ethylene gas and preserves the freshness of fruits and vegetables. Toss one in your produce drawer, where it will work its magic for three months, and then swap the inside packet with a fresh one to keep up the money-saving benefits.

29. An easy way to keep your rugs from slipping that's kinder to floors

StepNGrip Never Curl Rug Grippers (4 Grippers)

Amazon

These adhesive rug grippers are applied to the corners of slippery rugs to keep them perfectly in place preventing accidents and preserving the quality of your expensive throw rugs. The V-shape grips are made from sticky gel that keep rugs from curling and are safe to use on all floors, including hardwood.

30. These odor-absorbing crystals that are perfect for closets

DampRid Moisture Absorber (2 Pack)

Amazon

Make musty smelling closets and rooms a thing of the past. These odor-absorbing crystals, which come in a 10.5-ounce jar, trap moisture that can cause smells and make clothing and bed linens smell and feel less fresh. The jar prevents mold and mildew and works without the use of harsh chemicals. Each container lasts 60 days and can then be refilled.

31. The botanical-filled booties that give you baby-smooth feet

Lavinso Foot Peel Mask

Amazon

Slough away dry skin and tough calluses without spending money on weekly pedicures. These foot exfoliation booties are filled with natural botanical extracts that remove dead skin cells, leaving you with super-smooth feet. Wear them for an hour and prepare yourself for a few days of peeling but the end result is well worth it.

32. A shoe stretcher that breaks in tight shoes for total comfort

Cherainti Shoe Stretcher (2 Pack)

Amazon

It can take time to break in a new pair of shoes. Hurry the process along and resist the urge to purchase new shoes with the help of this shoe stretcher. The stretcher provides four-way expansion to loosen up tight shoes. The kit also comes with eight bunion plugs and two pad high plugs that make the proper adjustments if youre dealing with foot discomfort as a result of bunions, corns, or blisters.

33. These markers that touch up furniture to hide imperfections

Ram-Pro Furniture Markers (12-Piece Set)

Amazon

Whether you have purchased a gorgeous piece of vintage furniture that could use a major touch-up or youre just trying to spiffy up an older couch or desk so that you dont have to replace these expensive items, these furniture markers are the affordable solution. The 12-pack set includes six felt-tip touch-up markers and six cover-up wax crayons. All are offered in various wood shades and are perfect for hiding scratches, discoloration, and other signs of imperfection.

34. The teeth whitening kit that provides professional-looking results

AauraGlow Teeth Whitening Kit

Amazon

Professional teeth whitening treatments can cost well over $100. For a fraction of that price, you can use this DIY teeth whitening kit, which boasts more than 5,000 positive reviews from people who are delighted by their brighter smiles. The kit includes teeth whitening gel syringes made up of 35 percent carbamide peroxide, as well as a mouth tray, tray case for storage, and an LED light that speeds up the process.

35. An easy, mess-free way to whip up cold brew coffee overnight

County Line Kitchen Cold Brew Coffee Maker

Amazon

Theres no reason to complicate your cold brew coffee simply add coffee to this cold brew coffee maker, allow it to steep overnight, and wake up to a delicious cup. The 2-quart mason jar comes with a stainless steel filter thats simple to clean and a tight, flip cap lid for portability. You can also use this simplified system to brew tea.

36. This one-step hair drying brush that adds major volume to roots

Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Hot Air Brush

Amazon

Save major amounts of time in the morning with this one-step hair drying brush, which features nylon pin and tufted bristles that detangle and add volume to your roots. The round vented brush provides 1100 watts of power and has three heat/speed settings that work on all hair types. Its ceramic coating also ensures even heating that helps you get styled and get out the door even faster.

37. The leather conditioner for bags, shoes, and furniture

Leather Milk Cleaner & Conditioning Kit

Amazon

This natural, non-toxic leather cleaner, which has a coconut oil base, removes spots and stains from expensive leather bags, shoes, and furniture. Not only does it soften, condition, and beautiful leather but it works to prevent future mishaps by helping your leather items repel water.

Mic may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was created independently of Mic's editorial and sales departments.

Maybe youve lived some version of this scenario: Youre out with your friends on Friday night, planning to hit up only one, and only one bar. Come midnight, you're not enough to head home, so you hang at a nearby lounge until dawn, get home, and sleep in until noon. Later that evening, you have dinner with an out-of-town friend. Bright-eyed and hopped up since your day has just begun, you convince them to grab drinks, resulting in another 5:00 a.m. bedtime. By Sunday night, your sleep schedule is in shambles; you dont manage to drift off until around the same time an hour before you need to get up for work. The rest of the week, you struggle to crawl out of bed in the morning and look like the living dead.

Sleep experts call this condition social jet lag: when somebodys sleep time and their social obligations like work or school are out of sync, explains Ramiz Fargo, a sleep specialist at Loma University Medical Center. You basically feel like youre in a different time zone from everyone else. Social habits, like partying late into Saturday night, are often to blame.

Another possibility is that your chronotype when you tend to fall asleep and awaken, largely regulated by your biological clock is delayed. In other words, you may be a night owl wired to sleep and wake up later than most people. (Early birds are the opposite, sleeping and waking up earlier than most people.) Age can influence your chronotype (teenagers often have a delayed chronotype), although hormone levels and possibly genetics, can also play a role, Fargo says.

Besides making you feel like a hot mess during the workweek, studies have associated social jet lag with poorer mental health, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Sleep deprivation can also impair learning and focus, and increase your likelihood of engaging in risk-taking behavior, says Beth Ann Malow, a professor of neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Although the road may be smoother if your social jet lag is rooted in behavior rather than biology, fortunately, you can take steps to get your sleep patterns back on track. Heres how:

Get plenty of bright light in the daytime

In the mornings, set your brain to awake mode by exposing yourself to bright light, Fargo says. Spend some time outside, or in front of a light therapy box if its winter, or if you live somewhere that doesnt get much sunlight.

Limit your exposure to bright light in the evenings

Try to avoid light in the evening because the light is telling your brain, Hey, its still daylight and encouraging your brain to stay awake, Fargo says. After dinner, dim the lights and avoid watching screens of any kind, which can help your brain secrete more melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep. Or, get your vain celebrity on and, as Fargo suggests, wear your shades indoors, especially if your family members or roommates want to stay up later and leave the lights on.

Try taking melatonin

If you have trouble limiting your light exposure in the evenings, your brain wont secrete the melatonin needed to help you fall asleep. Taking melatonin supplements can help, Fargo says. These tablets are not as aggro as sleep medication, but they can be gently effective for a lot of people.

Nap smart

Ideally, you would go to bed on weekends not that much later than you do on weekdays, Malow says. But if you happen to stay out late, try sleeping in until 9:00 a.m. and taking a short nap later in the day, instead of sleeping in until noon in order to keep as best as you can on schedule.

Also, keep in mind that napping can be a a double-edged sword, Fargo says. A nap can be refreshing on days when your drowsiness is hampering your ability to function, especially when limited to about 20 minutes and taken when your wakefulness naturally takes a dip in the early afternoon. But it can also keep you from sleeping early that night, which is the goal if you have social jet lag. Over the long-term, regular napping may just make it harder for you to shift your sleep-wake cycle.

If you can, schedule according to your chronotype

If youre a teenager, a delayed chronotype may very well underlie your social jet lag. Its unusual for people in their 30s and 40s to have a delayed chronotype, Fargo says. If you fall within that age range, behavioral changes will probably suffice.

But if you have a hard time making these changes, you may have a delayed chronotype, in which case, ask your supervisor if you can start and end work later, or if youre a student, register for classes later in the day. Schedule things around the time youre more awake and able to function, Fargo says.

If you have the means, see a sleep specialist

If you believe a delayed chronotype is the culprit behind your social jet lag, Fargo suggests seeing a sleep specialist, who can help you use a sleep diary, special watches that monitor your movement while you sleep, and other tools for dealing with your chronotype.

Social jet lag can feel stressful and frankly, pretty miserable. Taking steps to adjust your sleep patterns can help you get the rest and restoration thayou need to show up as your awake, fully-present self.

Just one month before the country's national election, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing public outrage over racist photos that have resurfaced from his past. In two separate images, one from when he was in high school and another from when he was a 29-year-old private school teacher, Trudeau appears in blackface and brownface makeup respectively.

Time broke the story of Trudeau in brownface late Wednesday, publishing a photo from the 2001 yearbook of the West Point Grey Academy, the private school where Trudeau was a teacher. In the image, the prime minister is dressed as a character from the movie Aladdin, wearing a turban and robes with his face, neck, and hands dramatically darkened by makeup.

The photo was taken at an event with an "Arabian Nights" theme, the Liberal Party of Canada confirmed. Trudeau is head of the Liberal Party and is facing stiff competition from the Conservative Party in next month's election.

Trudeau apologized to reporters Wednesday night, following the publication of Time's report. "I shouldn't have done that. I should have known better and I didn't. I'm really sorry," he said. During his remarks, he also revealed the existence of the older photo, which depicts him performing the Jamaican folk song "O Day" during a high school talent show while wearing blackface.

Canada's Global News added another instance to the file Thursday morning, publishing a video that appears to show a young Trudeau once again covered in dark makeup. It's unclear where and when the video was taken, Global News said, but a "senior member of the Liberal campaign" confirmed that it was Trudeau.

Trudeau did not address the video specifically, and the Liberal official who spoke to Global News referred the site to his previous comment from Wednesday night. During that session with reporters, when the prime minister was asked whether there were any additional moments he wanted to admit to, he said, "The fact of the matter is that Ive always and youll know this been more enthusiastic about costumes than is sometimes appropriate," per Time.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims called the photos of Trudeau published Wednesday "deeply saddening," but thanked the prime minister for offering an apology "less than an hour" after the organization requested one.

Canadaland, another Canadian news website, published another photo Thursday from the "Arabian Nights" party that shows Trudeau in the offensive makeup while posing with two men who appear to be Sikh.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada's New Democratic Party and the country's first non-white leader of a major party, addressed the controversy in an emotional statement Wednesday. "Tonight is not about the prime minister. It's about every young person mocked for the color of their skin. The child who had their turban ripped off their head," Singh wrote on Twitter. "To you, I say you are loved." On Thursday morning, in light of the new revelations, Singh said: I have to really point out what were seeing now is an ongoing pattern of behavior thats really going to hurt Canadians. Theyre going to see the prime minister mocking the realities that so many Canadians live with."

Politico noted that the controversy is primed to exacerbate existing racial tensions in Canada. "Past incidents of this sort have seen some Canadians attempt to argue that brownface or blackface is an American import and that outrage over it counts as over-the-top political correctness in a land without the same history of Jim Crow laws and Al Jolson minstrel shows," Politico explained, noting that in predominantly French Quebec, condemnations of blackface have sparked some stringent defenses.

Still, as the English-speaking son of a former Canadian prime minister, and the leader of the country's ostensibly progressive wing, Trudeau is facing an increasingly uphill battle as he gears up for the Oct. 21 election. His candidacy was already wounded earlier this year by a political scandal that prompted questions of whether the prime minister had unduly used his political might to protect a large Montreal corporation from criminal persecution. On Thursday, the CBC reported that Trudeau's re-election campaign was "on pause" in light of the racist reveals.

If youre a New Mexico high school student with college ambitions, your future may have just gotten a lot less expensive. On Wednesday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced a plan to eliminate tuition at all of the states colleges.

"We're going to deliver a major boost. F-R-E-E," Lujan Grisham said, speaking to a crowd at an education event at Central New Mexico Community College. "It's been a really long time since I crossed the stage for my diploma at the University of New Mexico, but ... I still know what F-R-E-E spells and I also know that free college for New Mexico students is the right thing to do."

The proposal still has to be approved by the states legislature, which is controlled by Democrats. But if it is, then the state would cover tuition for the 55,000 New Mexicans attending the states 29 public colleges and universities in the fall of 2020.

I think were at a watershed moment, Caitlin Zaloom, a professor at New York University who has studied college tuition accessibility, told The New York Times. We dont ask people to pay for fifth grade and we also should not ask people to pay for sophomore year.

New Mexicos plan will be paid for with money thats been flowing into state coffers from oil drilling in the Permian Basin, home to large oil fields on the Texas border. Tuition for in-state students at the University of New Mexico is $7,556; the plan is expected to cost the state government between $25 and $35 million per year.

Lujan Grisham hopes that free tuition will encourage bright students to stay in the state, which is one of the poorest in the country, rather than go elsewhere higher education. The median family income in New Mexico is $46,744, as opposed to the national median of $60,336.

"In the short term, we'll see better enrollment, better student success," Grisham said in a statement. "In the long run, we'll see improved economic growth, improved outcomes for New Mexican workers and families and parents, [and] a better trained and better compensated workforce."

While Democratic presidential candidates including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have proposed free college at the federal level, states have so far led the charge on tuition reform. In 2017, New York became the first state to eliminate tuition at both two- and four-year colleges under its Excelsior plan, aimed at expanding college access for middle-class students. In all, 17 states now offer some form of free tuition at public colleges for certain students.

But unlike those plans, New Mexicos plan wont just apply to low-income students. State college will be free for everyone at every school, period.

Some higher education experts believe that tuition money in plans like New Mexicos would be better spent specifically on low-income students. While the proposed free tuition plan makes a broad commitment to creating a college-going culture throughout New Mexico, it does not target aid in ways that would maximize college affordability for the students who most need the financial support, said Mamie Voight, vice president of policy research at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, an nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving access to higher education for underserved communities..

The proposal could be strengthened by targeting limited state resources to better serve the students who face the greatest financial barriers to college access and success: students of low- and moderate-income, Voight added.

Voight explained that free tuition isnt the same as free college, as tuition is only one in a series of costs required to send a student to school. Other financial burdens, like housing, books, and food, are often left uncovered by the trendy free-college proposals cropping up across the country.

Our research demonstrates that non-tuition costs are often the biggest expenses students must cover and those expenses comprise the bulk of unmet need, Voight said. When faced with enormous expenses beyond tuition, students of low-income often must make difficult tradeoffs, including working long hours, forgoing meals, and taking pauses between semesters to be able to afford the next set of college expenses.

In other words: Tuition-free college is a good start, but it may not be solving the most truly pressing need. And with a proposal like New Mexicos, which extends to everyone, its worth exploring how exactly to best solve the student debt crisis that has plagued a generation of Americans.

In the meantime, though, New Mexico does deserve some praise for making a bold move on the power of state authority, rather than waiting for the federal government to come to the rescue. As Voight said: The New Mexico plan is a step in the right direction toward promoting increased access to higher education.

Azealia Banks teased new music on her Instagram Tuesday night, and one song in particular, "96'Corolla (Motorman)," seems to be a thinly-veiled fantasy about executing Elon Musk.

The song is about an ungrateful technocrat who's [sic] ego becomes too big for his britches, according to the since-deleted post. The songs villain, Alon Dust, is plotting to use the brains of the poor to power his neural network, Neuralink. But things go sideways when Neuralink recognizes Dust himself as a threat. The AI overlord, played by Banks in the song (but originally written for Poppy, according to the Instagram post), decides to cut the technocrats neural activity off via satelite, rendering him a vegetable and erasing him as a threat to humanity.

Banks has had a bone to pick with Musk since last August, when she flew to LA to collaborate on a single with his girlfriend Claire Boucher, aka Grimes. Banks alleged Grimes never showed and she was left alone to wander Musks mansion for days and said it was like a real life episode of Get Out.

In a string of mostly now-deleted Instagram posts, Banks railed against the singer and the tech tycoon, calling Grimes a "dirty-sneaker-inbred-out of the woods Pabst beer pussy methhead-junkie" and Musk a "trash ass beta male" with "pork skin."

The rapper is hardly the first to compare Musk to a Bond villain-in-the-making, but the fact that her song clearly and specifically envisions the execution of a powerful public figure throws the ethics and legality of her creativity into question. Freedom of Speech debates rage in America today, and many of the arguments involve social media.

In 2014, a man named Anthony Elonis was sentenced to 44 months in prison for a series of posts he made on Facebook, mostly in the form of rap lyrics, threatening to harm his estranged wife and a female police officer. Elonis ended many of the posts with the lines, Art is about pushing limits. Im willing to go to jail for my constitutional rights. Are you? In 2015, the US Supreme Court heard his case on appeal to settle the narrow legal standard of what constitutes a true threat versus harmless creative fantasizing. The justices reversed Elonis conviction in an 8-1 decision but they didnt decide the case on First Amendment grounds. The court said the government just couldnt prove whether Elonis intended to act from his Facebook alone.

Its unclear how Banks foray into revenge art will play out in the court of public opinion or the actual legal system. But she arguably knows Musk and Grimes personally. She could potentially harbor ill-will towards them. But come on, "96'Corolla (Motorman) is a work of science fiction. Theres no way Banks would advocate for actual violent revolution against the capitalists, right?

When I was going through my last breakup, I was constantly plagued by intrusive thoughts unwanted, often upsetting thoughts that invade our minds, often during the most inconvenient times. During my breakup, for example, my days were interrupted by thoughts like, What was she doing? Who was she with? What was she thinking? My brain would get stuck in what felt like an inescapable labyrinth. I found myself playing Words With Friends and working out obsessively, just to be doing something that wasnt thinking about her. I eventually found my way out of the maze, but it may have been a lot less torturous if Id had some tools to cope.

While my situation was linked to trauma and anxiety, intrusive thoughts are pretty common and dont usually interfere with daily life, says says Curtis Reisinger, an NYC-based psychologist and assistant professor at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. Still, they can be very difficult to escape. Intrusive thoughts seem to focus on ones internal reaction to them which sometimes is almost magnetic in a slippery slope kind of way, he says. My cyclical thoughts about my ex definitely made me feel like I was being pulled along by an imaginary force a magnet of sorts.

This is what's happening in your brain when an intrusive thought digs in: The nervous system is basically the bodys communication system, explains Aimee Daramus, a Chicago-based clinical psychologist. Cells (called neurons) pass messages to each other by activating electric signals that trigger the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters pass information from one cell to the next and trigger changes in the brain and body, she explains.

Stay with me here: The more a neural pathway is used the stronger it becomes. Intrusive thoughts are the product; they're effectively messages triggered in the nervous system, usually by anxiety or trauma. The good news is, even though intrusive thoughts feel magnetic, because they are real physiological events, there are concrete things we can do to get "unstuck." Here are a few:

Engage your mind

Physical exercise, including activities such as yoga are good methods to shift ones thoughts away from intrusive thoughts. The attention needed to focus on these activities are a captures the attention otherwise consumed by intrusive thought processes, says Reisinger. Daramus adds, Music can also help. Theres a style of music meditation in which you focus all of your attention on only one instrument. Each of these can work because they direct your attention away from the thoughts and toward something else. If yoga, exercise, or music meditation arent your cup of tea, you can also play games on your phone, says Daramus, but she quickly notes that watching TV probably wont be effective. Passive activity like watching TV doesnt seem to work as well as something active, like gaming, she says.

The important thing is to do something that requires your full attention and engagement. Reisinger suggested that any activity that gets your mind off things will do.

I wondered if those old habit-changing actions such as snapping yourself with a rubber band would help. Thought stopping aversive techniques, such as snapping your wrist with a rubber band every time you have a thought works only for the short term. When you stop snapping yourself, the thoughts seem to come back, he says. So forget about the low grade masochism, youre probably already in emotional pain.

Try adaptive thinking

If youve ever gotten the advice to replace a negative thought with a positive one, a.k.a. using affirmations, you probably already suspect that its mostly bullshit. Trying to suppress, or not think about intrusive thoughts does not work and may make the situation worse, says Reisinger.

If you try to pull the wool over your own eyes, its just not going to work, says Kahina A. Louis, a Florida-based psychologist. Instead, she suggests trying to replace negative intrusive thoughts with slightly more reasonable, but believable thoughts these are called adaptive thoughts. For example, if the intrusive negative thought is something like I always fail, a more adaptive thought would be, Yes, I have failed at some things, but there are also things that I have succeeded at, like making it through that difficult class that time or getting this job I have, Louis says. You can replace your thoughts with something true to you that you can actually believe. In other words, dont lie to yourself; it wont work. And if youre already struggling, you really want to develop self-trust.

Develop a mindfulness practice

All of the experts I spoke with agreed that its important to develop tolerance to negative thoughts. Theyre just a fact of life. Meditation is an age old technique for dealing with troublesome thinking. Mindfulness meditation training may be helpful in teaching individuals to develop reliable techniques of observing and accepting intrusive thoughts without a need to react and be strained by them, says Reisinger. Daramus agrees. Mindful meditation works for a lot of people, she says, You focus your attention on your breath and let the intrusive thoughts pass by. You can also use a safe space meditation, in which you imagine yourself someplace perfectly safe. Pick one kind of meditation technique and stick with it, Daramus says, you have to practice repeatedly to strengthen the neural pathways involved in using your new coping skill.

It turns out that some of the things I was doing, playing games on my phone, meditating, and exercising, were actually helping me. Getting out of your own mind maze doesnt have to be a mystery, they can work for you, too.

Earlier this week, the musician Lizzo caused a stir when she took to Twitter to accuse her Postmates delivery person of stealing her order. Critics pointed out that Lizzo leveraged her nearly one million followers against someone who works as a Postmate, and could have put the womans job, or her life, in danger.

Within 48 hours, Lizzo deleted the tweet and apologized, writing: I apologize for putting that girl on blast. I understand I have a large following and that there were so many variables that couldve put her in danger. Imma really be more responsible with my use of social media and check my petty and my pride at the door.

Lizzos apology seems genuine, but the incident raises a larger point about the ways weve come to normalize complaining about gig economy workers on social media.

Nowadays, Twitter is the fastest and easiest way to contact many companies customer service departments. For those who have survived a bad travel experience with Delta, you know sending an irate tweet might be the only way to ensure youre not spending thirty-six hours in the Atlanta airport. But when you tweet to companies like Postmates and Gruhub, youre not just complaining about overbooked flights or an accidental double charge youre often complaining about workers who arent offered much in terms of protection, safety, or security.

Delivery workers operate in a largely unregulated industry that offers unstable pay, long hours, and oftentimes dismal work conditions. Peak delivery times are normally during the most inclement weather. During snow and rainstorms; when it is excessively hot, or in the freezing cold. One survey found that a third of delivery cyclists missed work last year due to a work-related injury.

On top of that, delivery people make most of their income through tips. Anywhere from 30 to 70 percent of their income. Some companies, Door Dash being the most notable of them, dont ensure that their delivery people receive their full tips. There have even been reports of wage theft from restaurants who keep the tips their delivery cyclists earn. As the industry remains unregulated, it is easy for the workforce to be continually exploited.

Being a delivery cyclist is certainly not an easy gig, and before they even make it to your door, most have had to deal with a lot, and still might only make it out with a fraction of a 15% tip. A New York Times story from July showed just how harrowing the conditions could be for a delivery cyclist in New York City. Speed racing from one restaurant to the next, deliveries across town for no tip, showing up to closed restaurants only to earn $0.63 for 20 minutes of your time. None of which makes allegedly stealing a customers food okay. But is the best way to deal with the inconvenience tweeting about it?

We always want for our diners to have the best experience possible, and whenever things dont go as planned, we appreciate hearing feedback and work hard to make it right, a GrubHub representative said in a statement to Mic. It's best for people to contact us through the help page of our app/website or by clicking on the "help" link on their order confirmation email.

GrubHub also says that they take all complaints about service seriously. We thoroughly investigate all complaints and always reach out to all parties to learn what happened from each side, including connecting with the delivery partner. It's important to us that we hear from everyone involved in a situation, their email continued.

One danger of airing grievances with a delivery person on social media is the lopsided power dynamic it creates. Your food could be late or never arrive because the delivery person was in an accident or hurt. By pressuring a company like Postmates or GrubHub on Twitter, you effectively silence the laborer in the situation and create the possibility of economic loss for them.

The public display of customer service issues can also come with a heightened expectation of retribution. There were threats of violence from enthusiastic Lizzo stans under her now-deleted tweet. Its what happens when human labor is so commodified and devalued that underpaid workers get attacked on a platform by everyone from a pop star to an office employee waiting for his lunch.

There arent a lot of immediate solutions when it comes to the systemic issues within the food delivery industry, but there are ways to ensure youre limiting harms when you choose to participate. Always tip in cash, always tip 20 percent or more especially if there is inclement weather. If you have an issue with your order, try to leave the delivery person out of it unless they themselves did something to harm you. Delivery services exist in cities that were never designed to have that commodity on such a large scale so, sometimes, your food will be delayed.

In a time when the gig economy is redefining the way millions of people make ends meet, its probably better to approach any delivery snafus with more compassion than rage.

Slack has become the de facto water cooler for thousands of companies, especially in the startup world. One part chat app, one part "email killer" and business organization tool, the communication platform is an invaluable tool that lets you easily keep in touch with every member of your team. But any platform that you do your work on is going to be tasked with handling some sensitive information. That might mean work files that contain proprietary information, or it might mean office gossip that gets spread through direct messages. Either way, you're absolutely going to want the peace of mind knowing that those bits of private information in your Slack messages are going to remain private. So, just how secure are the conversations that you're having on Slack?

Are my Slack messages encrypted?

Encryption is an important feature for any messaging app to ensure that your conversations can't be intercepted by any third parties. When conversations are encrypted, it means that only person sending the message and the person meant to read it can actually discern what the text says. This works by essentially giving each person's device a digital key that can be used to read the message. If a malicious actor were to somehow snag the message while in transit, they wouldn't be able to read it because they don't have a key. It would appear as a random string of essentially meaningless letters and numbers.

The good news: Slack does encrypt your messages. According to the company's security page, it secures your messages both when they are in transit between parties (i.e., when you send them) and when they are at rest. This wasn't always the case. Previously, Slack only encrypted messages at rest, or when they are simply sitting on the Slack server and not moving between parties, which put them at risk of being intercepted. That could occur if, for instance, an attacker was on the same network and snagged the data containing the messages or was able to get their hands on the messages while they were being moved between either the sender or recipient and the Slack server. But that is no longer a concern.

The bad news: Slack isn't end-to-end encrypted, and it gives a lot of control to companies over how they want to protect their data. Earlier this year, the company announced that it was introducing an Enterprise Key Management (EKM) feature that would allow companies that operate in heavily regulated industries like financial services, healthcare, and government to choose how they want to encrypt messages, files, and other information shared on the platform. When the company announced the feature, it also made clear that it currently has no plans to make end-to-end encryption available by default because of the limitations it puts on the platform, particularly when it comes to using the search feature and third-party integrations. So, while your messages are encrypted in a limited capacity and are unlikely to be intercepted by attackers, they are still accessible in some contexts, unless your work has enabled a stricter set of rules using EKM.

Can my boss read my Slack messages?

While encryption is the way that you secure your messages from potential outside sources, there's a different concern when it comes to your work conversations: what if your boss or supervisor is capable of reading your messages? When you're actually working in a physical office, there is always the potential of eavesdroppers catching bits of your private conversations, but it's unlikely that anyone would have a full transcript of each and every thing you've said to your coworkers. That is exactly what they would get if they saw your Slack messages, since everything is contained right there in the app.

So, can your boss see all of your messages? Well, probably.

Slack has always given office administrators the ability to download and access conversations that take place on the platform. Previously, that just meant messages sent in public channels. But an update made to the platform in 2018 expanded the ability to access direct messages and conversations had in private channels.

Some things to note, here: the ability to read your messages requires the workplace owner to export and download all of the content of your Slack. It's not like they can read what you're saying in real-time. There doesn't seem to be any sort of "god's eye" tool for Slack that would work in that way. And, let's be frank, most of what we say during the day isn't that interesting or worth monitoring. The ability to download all conversations, including private ones, is also only available to companies that have purchased Slack's "Plus" plan, a paid membership subscription that is based on how many active user accounts the workplace has. According to Slack, Plus users can download "all data from their workspace" including "content from public and private channels and direct messages."

For the most part, you won't have to worry about this if your workplace has a free or standard plan, but there are some exceptions to this. Those types of free and standard plan workspaces can access private information if they go through a legal process and get the consent of their employees who are in the Slack. In that case, you can choose not to permit the company the ability to access your messages and private conversations.

That said, in the case of the Plus plans, you won't have any idea if the company decides it wants to take a look at your direct messages. Slack used to warn employees when an employer decides to export data from the workspace, but that is no longer the case. Instead, the company will decide on its own if it wants to inform employees that their messages are being exported and could potentially be read by people other than the intended recipients.

If you want to see if your company has the ability to export your information without your explicit knowledge, you can take a quick look at the Workplace Settings and find out for sure. Here's how:

Open the Slack app and tap on the arrow next to your workspace's name. From here, click the Customize Slack menu, which will open a new tab in your browser containing some of the more customizable aspects of Slack. Click Menu, then About This Workspace. Here, you'll get a three-part menu that will tell you what kind of plan your company has and what the data retention and export policy is. If your company has a Plus plan, they have the ability to export your direct messages and conversations in private channels. You can confirm if the company has that setting enabled in the Retention and Exports tab.

Can anyone at Slack view my conversations?

Slack is a platform, and like any platform there are more people with access to information than you might imagine. Conversations you have with your coworkers don't just live on your devices, they are on Slack's servers. Without the proper protections in place, it is possible that a Slack employee could potentially take a look at your conversations. Does Slack actually have the necessary protections needed to keep you safe? Not really, per a 2018 report from Gizmodo. The publication found that Slack claims it hasn't built any tools that would enable its employees to look at conversations taking place on the platform. However, such a tool is possible. In choosing not to implement end-to-end encryption, Slack has left open the possibility that it could potentially access user information at some point. Does it exist now? Probably not. Is that enough for you to feel safe in sending sensitive material on the platform? It probably shouldn't be.

Celine Dions My Heart Will Go On was released in 1997, alongside James Camerons film Titanic. Before she starts singing, a gentle flute plays, and the song seems like it could be a soft, crooning meditation on love lost. Then, when she begins, its almost impossible not to cry. Even if you dont have a person to sing the song to, Celine Dions voice has the power to bring out tears you didnt know you had.

In the last 22 years, she hasnt really stopped. Her shows in 2003 at Caesars Colosseum earned over $2 million every five days. There was her A New Day residency in 2007, and a second Vegas residency, Celine, in 2011. She went on an extended break to take care of her husband Ren Anglil in 2014 after he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Dion stepped away from her residency in Las Vegas and didnt really return to the stage until two years after her husbands death in 2016.

Now, shes gearing up for the release of a new album called Courage, which drops on November 15, as well as a world tour. Today, the Canadian singer released three songs from her new project, "Courage," Lying Down, and Imperfections. In an interview with the Today Show, Dion sat down to talk about her new music and got personal about the reason why she chose to go back on tour.

When I lost Ren, he wanted me back onstage, Dion explained to Today host Sheinelle Jones. He wanted to make sure I was still practicing my passion, and I wanted to prove to him that Im fine. Were fine; were going to be okay. I got this.

The death of Anglil has left Dion a bit lonely. She had known her husband since she was 12 years old, and in the years since his passing, she hasnt been able to open her heart to anyone else.

I dont date. Im not ready to date, said Dion. Im very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surroundings to make me they make me laugh, but I miss to be touched. I miss to be hugged. I missed to be told, Youre beautiful. I miss what a boyfriend and I miss what a husband would do.

Her new music addresses those feelings of living in the world without the love of her life, about picking up and carrying on after unimaginable loss. Even after all of these years, Dion knows how to translate difficult emotions into something universal. Stay tender forever, Ms. Dion

For years, Taylor Swift famously avoided any discussion of politics, maintaining a silence so total that it was eventually co-opted by white supremacists. But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Swift built on her previous tentative steps toward a political coming-out in her most in-depth discussion of her views yet.

After Donald Trump won the presidency, progressives bemoaned Swifts lack of activism. The singer finally broke her political silence during the 2018 midterms, endorsing Democratic candidate Phil Bredesden in his campaign for Senate in Tennessee much to his surprise. Since then, shes spoken more often about her left-leaning beliefs, and specifically about LGBTQ rights, as when she urged the audience from the stage at the MTV VMAs to sign a petition supporting the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

In the Rolling Stone interview, Swift addresses why she kept silent for so long and specifically, why she declined to endorse Hillary Clinton in 2016. During the Obama presidency, the singer explained, she never felt the need to engage closely with politics because the person I voted for had always won. We were in such an amazing time ... We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House. My first election was voting for him when he made it into office, and then voting to re-elect him.

When speaking of her much-maligned neutrality during the 2016 election, Swift further explained that her lack of an endorsement for Clinton had to do not with politics or policy, but rather with the backlash she faced earlier that year as a result of her dispute with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. In particular, she talked about the personal toll the highly-public feud took on her at the time.

Its a very powerful thing when you legitimately feel like numbers have proven that pretty much everyone hates you. Like, quantifiably, Swift told the magazine, adding that she worried that her endorsement might have negative consequences for Clinton. Now, though, she regrets not getting more involved, and she wants to make sure that nobody harbors any illusions about where she stands. Asked about the reports that a white supremacist website had claimed her as an icon of their cause, Swift said, Thats just disgusting. Theres literally nothing worse than white supremacy. Its repulsive. There should be no place for it.

Brian Hiatt, the Rolling Stone writer who conducted the interview, told Mic that he wasnt surprised that Swift gave him such detailed, passionate answers. I knew she had given those subjects a lot of thought and basically I'm never surprised when Taylor says something smart, he said, adding, I think as with a lot of people in America, she's realized that this is a time when silence is no longer an option.

The interview didnt exactly break new ground in terms of what Swift believes she didnt express specific views beyond support for Democrats and opposition to bigotry, which shes been talking about for a while. But it did elucidate the kind of soul-searching shes been doing over the past half-decade, as shes transitioned from a young country singer to a mainstream pop superstar whom millions of young people look to for guidance. The fact that it took Swift years to get here is hardly surprising considering the harsh criticism shes endured over the course of numerous perceived scandals throughout her career many of which, in retrospect, seem wildly overblown. (Remember when she was accused of operating a cult because she, uh, had friends?)

And even now, after so many people demanded that she take sides in the culture war, her straightforward progressive activism still sends some into spasms of pearl-clutching doubt over her true motives. Amid this kind of scrutiny, can anyone really blame her for taking a while to find her voice?

Either way, shes trying now. As another presidential election approaches, Swift is thinking about the racist, horrific undertones now becoming overtones in our political climate, she told Rolling Stone, and she wants to do something about it. In particular, she encouraged her fellow Democrats to be more of a team, contrasting the partys fractious approach with Republicans strategy, where if youre wearing that red hat, youre one of them.

With all thats at stake, Swift said she believes theres no room for division among those opposed to bigotry. As she told Rolling Stone: We need to just be like, Youre a Democrat? Sick. Get in the car. Were going to the mall.

Musicians and labels are realizing theres still money to be made from physical album sales, which is surprising considering 80 percent of industry revenue came from streaming in the first half of 2019. Nevertheless, two of the most visible case studies for the enduring relevance of CDs are recent releases by Taylor Swift and the rock band Tool.

Swifts seventh album Lover debuted at number one on the Billboard chart and sold the equivalent of 867,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen. 375,000 of those sales, or 43 percent, were physical CDs.

Swift sold four collectors editions of the album exclusively through Target and negotiated a partnership with Amazon to move even more physical copies. She also shared pictures of fans whod bought IRL copies of Lover on social media, shining her star power on those dedicated enough to invest in her.

The fact that anyone can sell CDs to the younger age segment is a testament to their fanship, Russ Crupnick, managing partner of MusicWatch, a market insights firm, told the New York Times. According to their research, only 15 percent of 13-to-24-year-olds listen to CDs. But a huge number of Swifts fans are millennials and Gen-Xers, who might still have a soft spot for the pass medium.

The total number of physical albums sold in the US stayed nearly the same from last year to this one, growing from 27.7 million to 27.9 million, just 0.8 percent. However, total revenue increased by 5%, from $461 million to $485 million. This means consumers are willing to spend more to own an IRL copy of their music than they may have been a year ago, and retailers are taking note.

The band Tool released Fear Inoculum on August 30, selling a deluxe CD version of the album with elaborate packaging for nearly $45. Fans bought 87,000 copies at stores in the first week, and retailers hiked their prices to $65; by September 10, the 100,000 CDs distributed by RCA/Sony Music seemed completely sold out. The CDs were fetching between $155 and $205 apiece on the secondary market.

"We were overwhelmed by how fierce the fan reaction was," RCA co-president John Fleckenstein told Billboard. The collectors edition CD of Fear Inoculum was meant to be a limited edition, but the label is working on manufacturing and shipping another release.

The trend in physical music ownership seems to be towards quality over quantity, industry players say. "Last summer, we felt we were beating our heads against the wall trying to get labels to put out more physical," Alliance Entertainment senior VP purchasing Laura Provenzano said. She told Billboard that labels responded with more vinyl and elaborate CD packaging. "Instead of a race to the bottom to see how many CDs we can sell at $7.99, now we can see how we can get $20 an album from consumers," Larry Mansdorf, senior buyer for 27-store franchise Newbury Comics, added.

Shifting purchase patterns could indicate audiences are thinking about their music consumption in a brand new way. Streaming makes it quick and easy to discover music and play anything in the world with a few taps. But investing in a physical copy of an album is a way to establish ownership of your favorite music, in an era when streaming collections can disappear with the crash of a server.

The last time I had a real cheeseburger, it was 1999. I had already been a vegetarian for a while, but I wanted to see what it felt like. The burger tasted great, but I felt a real internal dilemma seeing the hanging carcasses at Fuddruckers and I ended up vomiting. My conscience was telling me something, through the upchuck, and I havent eaten one since. Back then, meat substitutes looked and tasted like salted cardboard. I ate those vegetarian burgers anyways, and while they never induced vomiting, I have always suspected that fake meat isnt actually much better for you than than red meat. So I looked into the health implications of today's veggie burger stars: the Impossible Burger and its plant-based peers.

Lisa Drayer, a nutritionist and health journalist, recently concluded on CNN that if you are choosing to eat these burgers solely for their health value, you may want to reconsider. Strayer contends that while the newfangled flesh-like burger substitutes in the Impossible and Beyond burgers are better than beef for the environment, theyre not likely great for your body.

For one thing, the sodium content of fake meat is really high. The faux meat burgers rank higher in sodium than the beef and turkey burgers, with the Impossible Burger containing 370 milligrams of sodium and the Beyond Burger containing 390 milligrams, Drayer said. A beef patty contains only 65 to 75 milligrams of sodium, depending on the brand, and a turkey burger has 95 to 115 milligrams.

For reference, the American Heart Association suggests that adults have no more than 1,500 mg of sodium in a day, so both of these burgers would account for a large chunk of your daily sodium intake. If you add a single slice of Chao vegan cheese, my personal fave, at 180 mg, and an Udis GF bun at 350mg, youre up to 920 mg of sodium, almost two-thirds of your recommended daily intake in one sandwich. You might be compelled to hold the ketchup, and definitely the fries.

The protein content of both Impossible and Beyond are similar to meat burgers, so thats reassuring. But you know how the Impossible burgers look bloody or bleed while being cooked? The New Republic reported in June that, Impossible uses genetically modified soy protein, and, genetically modified soy leghemoglobin also known as heme which gives the burger its meaty flavor and red, blood-like drippings.

Whats wrong with heme, besides the disturbingly multisyllabic chemical ingredients? Well, it wasnt approved for human consumption by the FDA until last summer, and its still not approved to be used as a color additive and sold in grocery stores. So basically, were just beginning to see what these ingredients can do to our bodies versus knowing the dangers of them intimately, like we do with red meat.

Not all fake meats are created equal, though, and while Impossible has some questionable additives, Jessica Blanchard, a New Orleans-based holistic nutritionist and dietician, feels that the Beyond Burger might be a decently healthy choice. While this assertion isn't yet proven, she points to the fact that there aren't as many scary ingredients, on the packaging, which feels reassuring.

Blanchard says, however, that if you want to enjoy any plant-based burger every now and then, the healthiest way would be to cut it in half, eat it with sprouted-grain bread, and heap on lots of veggies. My husband and I share a Beyond Burger every week or two.

Dont kid yourself. Fake meat is junk food, too. Thats kind of the point. But no animals were harmed making them and theyre better for the environment, and as Blanchard says, While these faux burgers aren't the healthiest choice, they are far better than most processed foods.

A month or two ago, if you texted me and received no reply, it was probably because I left you on read. It's never been intentional, mind you, because I typically take offense when I don't get a response on my own. It's my lifestyle. I'm a workaholic, and I barely have time for myself, let alone conversations with others. But all that seems to have changed within the last few weeks, as using an Apple Watch has basically eliminated me leaving friends and family hanging. And I'm really liking where things are going for me from there.

I wasn't planning on making this big "lifestyle change," though. I purchased my watch only a few weeks ahead of Apple's big reveal on September 10, where the Apple Watch Series 5 made its debut (yeah, yeah, I know). It had been something of an impulse buy. I had seen others wearing them around, stylish andutilitarian, but it wasn't until I saw the Sport Loop that I was interested. You mean I could get a colorful band that a) wasn't rubber and b) came in a wide variety of colors? I ordered a custom band and picked up a new watch, then waited for my new "friend" to arrive.

From the first day, I was more than enamored, as I realized the watch had completely transformed since my first brush with the very first release. As it turns out, wearable tech is more than just the gimmick I thought it to be. As a tech writer myself, I know all about the features an Apple Watch or even a Fitbit employs to help users track important health information or remain productive through the day. One in 10 adults were projected to have a smart watch in 2019 according to research firm eMarketer, which meant around 28.7 million Americans 18 and older would have one in active use. It's possible I've helped that number grow. I've touted them in buying guides and recommended the tech to family and friends for those reasons. But beyond dabbling briefly with the Apple Watch Series 1, which I quickly abandoned due to the uncomfortablewrist strap and its perceived lack of utility,I didn't see much use for them at first.

I don't want to use my watch for health concerns. I'm already conscious enough of my shortcomings that I don't want my watch reminding me when I should get up and move around, nor how fast my heart's beating when I'm already dealing with anxiety. That just makes it worse, from my experience. I've got an entire set of other ways I deal with those things.

But I am extremely busy. I have a tight schedule, sometimes so packed that taking an extra five or ten minutes to continue a conversation with friends who want to have an extended talk session can push me out of my productivity zone almost immediately. And when I'm finally out in the world (and not cooped up in my house working, which is an everyday thing), taking my phone out of my bag to reply to rapid-fire texts isn't much of an option.

I'm still pretty self-conscious about talking into my wrist. Voice recognition simply isn't as polished as it could be. Adding verbal punctuation to my texts (I can't stand writing or texting in lowercase) can be a pain, but it's something I've learned to do as a reflex. What's more, I can be as verbose as I want to be, even in a more hushed tone. No one can really hear me, and even If they can, I'm sure they aren't interested in my telling my fianc JC Penney has a T-shirt he'd like or my friend that, yes, I do want to get a manicure with her. And even if people can hear me, that's nothing compared to the freedom and versatility texting straight from my watch gives me. I'd vastly prefer being able to text as normal, but pre-written responses will have to do unless I want to pull my phone in and out of my bag.

Thankfully, that's exactly what I've been able to avoid. Grocery shopping is no longer a game of fumbling around with my phone in one hand while I select foods for the week and asking my fianc what he wants to eat for dinner. It's making a quick call from my wrist to ask if he wants a certain brand of cheese or juice, and I'm done. It's replying to my parents asking if I want them to pick a sweet deal up for me at the flea market with a quick button press on my wrist. Most importantly, it's the freedom to quickly be alerted to emergencies via Slack, text, or email if I'm needed for some sort of work if I have to step out during the week during work hours. While I try not to remain anchored to work, it's sometimes an unfortunate reality of working remotely that I'm "on call," so I try to be as available as possible.

Some might say just disconnecting and doing less work or online activities in general would benefit me more than strapping yet another screen to my wrist when I already look at so many during the day. After all, we already know that smartphone usage been linked to a decline in emotional satisfaction. A 2018 study published in the journal Emotion by psychologists from the University of Georgia and San Diego State University studied mood data from around 1.1 million teens. Their findings suggested that there had been a sharp decline in happiness that had begun to go down as personal smartphone use went up. It's easy to understand the correlation: social media can be downright depressing. Staying connected to the news 24/7 can bring anyone down. But wearing the Apple Watch ironically keeps me off of my phone and more "plugged in" to what matters and helps me avoid those ill effects.

My strategy is to keep my phone on and connected, but buried in a purse in a zip wallet. This way it's safely tucked away, out of reach for anyone potentially looking to rifle through my bag (the tote I usually carry is still slightly ajar even with a locking mechanism in the middle). I'm less apt to grab my phone and scroll through it idly while I should be doing something else because I don't want to keep digging through all my stuff just to pull out my phone.

This is all because I'm too lazy to keep dragging my phone out of my bag (and paranoid about others' intentions), and it's far more convenient and less awkward to just do everything from my wrist but only the bare essentials. I can check my calls, emails, and text messages, but everything else is really such a hassle with the small screen I don't care to. There's no watching YouTube videos, wasting time on Twitter, or shopping online because I couldn't see it all if I wanted to. Thus, the answer is to live in the present without feeling the need to bury my head in my phone screen. And it feels leagues better.

I'm not sure why I didn't think about this before, or arrive at a similar solution, but I'm glad I finally have. I can't say whether or not reducing the amount of things I can do with a smartphone-like device is going to be helpful to anyone else, but I can definitely say one thing: I am getting more done, staying in touch, and sharing more of the little details than I normally would otherwise. Perhaps I should keep my usage in check, though I don't want to fall into being one of those "watch people," and start staring at my wrist instead of my phone. All I can say right now though is that my friends and family and I are getting closer than ever and that $350 I parted with for the watch was indeed money well spent.

It's mid-September. The air is crisp, yellow buses are out, back-to-school commercials are on the air. But this Sandy Hook Promise ad, produced by the Newtown, Connecticut-based nonprofit organization that focuses on preventing gun violence in schools, shows how harrowing back-to-school season can be in 2019.

Sandy Hook Promise was founded after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which killed 26 people, including 20 children. The organization was founded by family members of the deceased with the goal of training students, educators, and other community members to recognize the potential signs of danger so that they may be able to prevent a tragedy before it occurs. The group also advocates for specific policies designed to boost safety.

But in the harrowing ad released Wednesday, Sandy Hook Promise goes a different route, forcing viewers to confront what going back to school amid a spate of mass shootings really means. It begins with cheerful students showing off their new classroom gear, before taking a dark turn:

The last scene, which features a girl crouching atop the toilet in a bathroom stall and texting her mother "I love you mom," is especially devastating. In the many mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. recently, cell phones have played an especially haunting role as those in danger use them to send last words to their loved ones; later, the devices can serve as a painful reminder of the tragedy. The Sandy Hook Promise PSA ends as footsteps can be heard approaching the hiding, crying student.

The upsetting segment "is designed to evoke emotion that sparks serious conversations about prioritizing violence prevention in schools, rather than continually focusing on reactionary measures or practicing for violence that we 'expect' will happen," Mark Barden, a co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise whose son Daniel was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, told CBS News.

Barden's point about reframing the issue around prevention rather than reaction is salient. If there are some who feel the Sandy Hook Promise ad is unnecessarily dramatic, they may do well to remember that students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida where 17 students were killed in a shooting last February have been forced to endure terrifying active shooter drills monthly in which most students don't know whether or not the threat is real until the exercise is over.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said the upper chamber is "in a holding pattern" on gun control while awaiting word from the White House. The president's most recent action on the issue, meanwhile, was to call a Democratic politician a "dummy" on Twitter for advocating for a mandatory buyback program.

Welcome to back-to-school season in 2019.

The prominent Democratic donor and political activist Ed Buck was arrested in Los Angeles on Tuesday in connection with the overdose of an unidentified man last week. Buck, who was the defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit in 2017 after a man died from a drug overdose while in his home, has been the subject of scrutiny among Black members of the LGBT community for what many see as predatory behavior.

I remain deeply concerned for the safety of people whose life circumstances may make them more vulnerable to criminal predators, the Los Angeles County district attorney, Jackie Lacey, said in a statement. With this new evidence, I authorized the filing of criminal charges against Ed Buck.

The criminal complaint said Buck used narcotics, money, and shelter to entice victims into coming to his home, adding that in a position of power, Buck manipulates his victims into participating in his sexual fetishes.

Buck was charged with battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. The incident follows two deaths in the past two years that occured at the 65-year-old millionaire's West Hollywood home. In January, Timothy Dean was found dead in Buck's home from an apparent drug overdose. The incident alarmed detectives, who immediately picked up on the similarities between a July 2017 incident. In that case, 26-year-old Gemmel Moore was found unresponsive from an apparent overdose. The 2017 case resulted in a wrongful death lawsuit.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Moore's journal alleges that it was Buck who gave him his first injection of methamphetamine. Ive become addicted to drugs and the worst one at that, the journal said, Ed Buck is the one to thank, he gave me my first injection.

According to Moore's mother, LaTisha Nixon, Buck has a well-documented history of isolating black men for predatory sexual encounters. Following the incident in January, protesters gathered in front of Buck's home demanding a more thorough investigation into the two deaths.

Prosecutors called for bail to be set at $4 million, describing Buck as a violent, dangerous sexual predator, adding that he mainly preys on men made vulnerable by addiction and homelessness.

The wellness world continues to be smitten with collagen. Sales of collagen powders and other supplements in the US reached $46.6 million in February 2018, jumping more than 30 percent from the year prior, per wellness data technology company SPINS LLC. These products often promise softer, more supple skin, stronger hair and nails, and beefier muscles. Do they really live up to these claims, though?

Experts tell Mic that theres more evidence for some of these claims than others. Overall, though, the research on collagen supplements is still preliminary, so we cant draw definitive conclusions about its effects just yet but it might be helpful to know in which direction you should throw your cash if you want to try collagen.

But first, a quick biology refresher. We already have collagen in our bodies; it's the primary structural protein in your body, making up skin, hair, nails, muscle, and other connective tissues, the Cleveland Clinic explains. Your body synthesizes collagen from amino acids, which it absorbs primarily from high-protein foods like meat, eggs, and milk. As you get older, your body becomes less efficient at producing collagen, resulting in wrinkly, saggy skin, and shrunken, weakened muscles.

Collagen supplements claim to turn back the clock. Theyre made from cartilage, tendons, and other connective tissues (often from cows, pigs, or fish), which are heated, turning the collagen into gelatin, explains Jayne Seijin Joo, director of cosmetic dermatology at UC Davis Health. The gelatin gets degraded into hydrolysates, which can be further broken down into protein building blocks called peptides.

Can collagen supplements smooth my wrinkles, and strengthen my hair and nails?

For years, dermatologists used collagen injections to smooth wrinkles (before swapping them out with hyaluronic acid injections, which are less likely to trigger an allergic reaction), while collagen creams create a temporary lifting effect by pulling moisture toward the upper layers of the skin, explains Adam Friedman, a professor of dermatology at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. So while hooting collagen directly into your skin has been proven to be an effective way to tighten skin, whether collagen supplements have similar effects is less clear.

Also, scientists still dont know how much of an ingested collagen peptides gets absorbed from the gut into the bloodstream, or how much of it reaches the hair, skin, or nails, Joo says, although some animal and human studies suggest they do reach the skin. Research also has yet to determine whether the peptides are getting incorporated into the skin, or whether theyre stimulating other cells in the skin, such as fibroblasts, to make more collagen.

A recent review of 11 studies concluded that collagen supplements are promising for wound-healing and skin aging. But Friedman notes that many used different formulations of collagen, suggesting that such supplements are useful, but not which ones for instance, collagen combined with another substance, versus collagen alone. Joo also notes that many studies on collagen supplements rely on subjects self-reported evaluations, rather than objective measures, of their wrinkles and other aspects of their skins appearance.

Friedman remains cautiously optimistic about whether collagen supplements can make skin look more youthful. I think there is enough data to support that something is happening, but we need to figure out how to formulate it so it has benefits, and people arent just wasting their money.

Can collagen supplements boost my muscle mass?

Despite fitness influencers promoting collagen powders on Instagram, evidence of collagen supplements increasing muscle protein synthesis is pretty scant. For starters, as in the case of skin, its unclear whether ingested collagen ends up in the muscles, says Katherine Beals, an associate clinical professor of nutrition and integrative physiology at the University of Utah.

Beals also points out that studies that suggest these products can increase muscle mass are often methodologically flawed. For instance, a majority involved giving subjects collagen supplements, say, an hour before they exercised, and demonstrated an increase in muscle protein synthesis over the next few hours but we dont know if that acute change will translate into long-term changes in lean body mass, Beals says. Other studies pointing to the muscle-growing benefit of collagen compared it to a placebo, but of course, subjects who get supplements will perform better than those who get none at all. To gain a real sense of whether collagen can bulk up muscle, the researchers would have ideally compared it to other protein supplements.

Plus, for a protein to promote muscle protein synthesis, it needs to contain all nine essential amino acids, the amino acids our body cant make but collagen lacks one of them, Beals says. Animal protein sources like whey and casein (both milk proteins), contain all nine.

There are other supplements on the market that have a better research track record for improving muscle protein synthesis, like the aforementioned milk proteins, as well as egg protein, Beals says. Studies have also shown that when these proteins get digested, the amino acids actually make it to the muscle and increase muscle protein synthesis, she adds.

Should I take collagen supplements?

Evidence that collagen supplements will make you look young and swole is still pretty thin, and since supplements arent FDA-regulated, brands dont need to provide evidence to back their claims. So far, though, no one has found any adverse effects, Joo says. Collagen supplements may not help you but they're not likely going to harm you, either. She suggests buying from a brand (such as Garden of Life) that sources their collagen from grass-fed, pasture-raised cows or pigs to help ensure a high-quality product, free of pesticides or other harmful substances Friedman agrees, noting that unless you have an allergy to collagen, it probably wont hurt to take it.

If you want to preserve your collagen or help your body regenerate it, you could stick to methods that also enhance overall health and well-being. I would make sure youre getting a balanced diet, meeting the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin C 90 milligrams a day for men 19 and older, and 75 milligrams a day for women 19 and olderand dont smoke, Beals says.

In the United States, wellness has become a very expensive hobby for many. There are salves, serums, supplements, and teas designed to improve users general wellbeing. A popular element of the wellness trend is crystals, glittering cuts of Earth that promise to bring everything from metaphysical healing to protection from evil forces in the world.

Any evidence that such crystals work is nonexistent, but it hasnt stopped the trend from exploding in popularity. The demand for crystals has doubled in the U.S. in the last three years. For the people who mine these stones, this has led to decidedly negative outcomes. A new Guardian report shows that the process of mining crystals is dangerous and relies on the labor of workers often exploited in underdeveloped countries. The miners are sometimes subjected to inhumane working conditions for very little pay.

In the countries where crystals are imported from namely India, China, and Brazil there has been an explosion in demand for low-cost labor. In Madagascar, which has the highest rate of crystal exports, workers mine in almost completely unregulated conditions. Most miners live on a wage that leaves them below the poverty line of $1.90 per day, and theres a widespread lack of running water and electricity.

Sometimes its very dangerous but they still mine, because they want money, Many Jean Rahandrinimaro, the deputy mayor of Anjoma Ramartina in Madagascar, told the Guardian. Theres the possibility of a landslide, that happens a lot here. The soil falls on them and they die.

There are also environmental issues. When a new mining site is discovered, the area quickly becomes crowded with people hoping to make money from the venture. This can have disastrous effects on the forests which are cleared away to expand mining areas.

This isnt the first time practices in the crystals mining business have made the news. In 2017, the New Republic published a report about where many popular stones come from. Though most companies arent willing to state where their gems are sourced, the report found that large gold and copper mining companies often come across crystals in the course of excavating for other materials and sell the byproduct. This creates an incentive inside of a business that already has a negative impact on the environment.

With wellness brands like Goop marketing the healing powers of crystals, the mining practices around these precious stones will continue to be an issue. The unregulated labor practices in countries like Madagascar are a growing area of concern, as are the already present environmental issues. It presents yet another point of caution around a booming U.S. trend. Consumers might think their wellness crystals are harmless, but as with many products, it is rarely that simple.

While you might be tempted to pick up any old shampoo and conditioner that are on sale at your local drugstore, having consistently good hair days has a lot to do with the products you use in the shower. But because everyone's hair type and hair concerns are different, labeling the best shampoos and conditioners for men isn't something you can generalize. Ahead, a handy guide that makes things easy, whether you're after thicker hair, something to tame frizz, or a shampoo that fights dandruff.

If you have thin or fine hair, or even if you're dealing with hair loss, try using a volumizing or thickening shampoo. Tea tree oil shampoos are also a good choice, since the ingredient has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties that help support a healthy scalp (and a healthy scalp is the key to healthy hair, after all). Or, if you're looking to treat a more specific scalp condition, like dandruff or seborrheic dermatitis, look for a shampoo that contains pyrithione zinc, which has antifungal and antibacterial benefits.

On the other side of the hair spectrum, guys with curly or unruly hair should make sure to never skip conditioner, since curly hair tends to be on the drier side. Conditioner will also help make your hair smoother and more manageable. Similarly, look for shampoos that say they're moisturizing. The same rules apply to anyone with generally dry hair, whether it's curly or slick straight.

To help get you started, here are six of the best men's shampoos and conditioners for every hair type.

1. Best drugstore shampoo for men

Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo

Amazon

If you're looking for a basic, reliable shampoo you can use every day, the Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo gets the job done for under $5. For guys who don't want something overly moisturizing, or don't need a special thickening formula, this aloe vera-infused shampoo works to leave hair healthy and clean simple. The formula is packed with proteins and vitamins that help strengthen your hair without weighing it down, and it has a fresh, subtle scent that reviewers describe as "very light," and "clean." It's also notably silicone- and paraben-free.

2. Best men's shampoo for dandruff

Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo

Amazon

Anyone dealing with persistent flakes and an itchy scalp should swap out their usual shampoo for a targeted option like Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo. The shampoo uses 1% pyrithione zinc as its active ingredient, which is dermatologist-recommended for treating dandruff because of its ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungus that cause flare-ups in the first place. You can use this shampoo every day or just a few times a week, but make sure to thoroughly rinse it out each time.

3. Best mens shampoo for dry hair

V76 By Vaughn Hydrating Shampoo

Amazon

Guys with curly or perennially dry hair need a shampoo that provides serious moisture, and the V76 By Vaughn Hydrating Shampoo does just that. In this formula, moisturizing almond butter, nourishing sage leaf, and soothing chamomile work together to hydrate both hair and the scalp. More importantly, this shampoo is free of sulfates, which is crucial for dry and curly hair types, since sulfates are known to strip hair of its natural oils, which can make frizz worse. The scent is described as woodsy with hints of leather, and the formula is both vegan and cruelty-free.

4. Best 2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner for thin hair

Every Man Jack 2-In-1 Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner

Amazon

Got hair that always seems to fall flat? The Every Man Jack 2-In-1 Thickening Shampoo & Conditioner will give hair an instant boost while improving scalp health and promoting hair growth at the same time. The two-in-one formula will save you an extra step in the shower, but it's loaded with good-for-hair ingredients like moisturizing shea butter and scalp-stimulating tea tree oil so it doesn't skimp on the nourishing benefits. Even better, the cruelty-free shampoo/conditioner is made with 96% naturally derived ingredients, is free from parabens, phthalates, and dyes, and has an herbal, minty scent.

5. Best mens conditioner

Jack Black Nourishing Hair & Scalp Conditioner

Amazon

For a conditioner that fights frizz and is suitable for all hair types, the Jack Black Nourishing Hair & Scalp Conditioner checks all the right boxes. It deeply hydrates both the hair and scalp, but it can also help promote fuller, thicker hair thanks to the biotin and provitamins in the formula. Other ingredients like tea tree, jojoba oil, green tea, and peppermint oil offer scalp-soothing benefits that can help reduce irritation and inflammation, making this a great choice for anyone with dandruff or a dry, itchy scalp. The conditioner was formulated to be lightweight, so it'll never make your hair feel greasy, and it's free of synthetic fragrance, to boot.

6. Best drugstore conditioner for men

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner

Amazon

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On Tuesday, Israelis went to the polls for the second time in less than six months. They have their embattled prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to thank for the repeated opportunities to exercise their franchise.

Exit polls in the Israeli election indicate a close race for Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud Party, which has been in turmoil since the prime minister was indicted on corruption charges. Hes facing off against center-left politician Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Party. In an attempt to shore up support among his nationalist base, Netanyahu on Monday made a far-reaching campaign promise: to annex all settlements in the West Bank.

Perhaps this was a blustering overstatement designed to bolster support among a key constituency. But if Netanyahu follows through, it could have serious human rights implications for the region.

Firstly, Netanyahu and his right-wing backers almost certainly dont want more Palestinian citizens of Israel. Annexation would then require putting the Palestinians of the West Bank in a kind of purgatory, explained Hilary Falb Kalisman, a professor of Israel and Palestine Studies at University of Colorado at Boulder. A Likud-led government would be unlikely to annex areas that are majority Palestinian so as to avoid threatening Israels Jewish majority, Kalisman explained. Instead, the goal would be to annex territory, but to keep control over Palestinians without allowing them the benefits of Israeli citizenship, which they are unlikely to choose anyway.

That means that Palestinians would essentially end up legally and permanently governed by a foreign government in which they could not participate, Kalisman said. In addition, the more areas under Israeli control which exclude Palestinians, the more difficult daily life becomes. Roads surrounding settlements and empty land are likely to be annexed as well. Palestinians would be prohibited from entering these areas, making it even more difficult to work, to go to school, to go shopping.

The true extent of what Netanyahu is proposing remains unclear. In his initial statement, he said that he would enforce "Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea," but given the complex geopolitics of the region, that plan could realistically unfold a few different ways.

Annexation has several implications depending on what it actually means on the ground, says Nadim Shehadi, the director of The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at Tufts University. Is it Area C [a specific region of the West Bank that is almost entirely under Israeli control]? Is it the Jordan Valley? Is it the whole West Bank or just the settlements?

Through the uncertainty, though, one thing remains clear: Netanyahus plans would permanently affect the peace process. Annexation will make a two-state solution even harder to achieve than before, says Shehadi. It creates an institutional void with no framework for negotiations. Diplomatic relations between the two governments could disappear, and the two-state solution thats been on the table for decades could become an impossibility.

That loss may just be making official policy of what was practically a forgone conclusion anyway. As right-wing politicians have tightened their grip on Israeli politics in the two decades since the Second Intifada, the two-state solution has increasingly seemed, as Kalisman put it, like a non-starter. And because Israel enjoys such staunch support from the U.S., the country would almost certainly face few consequences internationally if it were to pursue control over the West Bank, even though annexing territory seized in war is against international law, per Kalisman.

For the Palestinians, though, annexation would be predictably catastrophic. The Palestinian Authoritys governing mandate is predicated on the idea of a future state, and more concretely the Oslo Occords, Kalisman explained, referring to the 1993 agreement which established peaceful negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The abandonment of the two-state solution even as a theoretical goal, then, would likely lead to a breakdown in authority in the West Bank, and at the very least a refusal on the part of the Palestinian Authority to cooperate with Israel on security matters.

West Bank annexation could also potentially unbalance Israels neighbor Jordan and with it, the whole region. Writing in The Economist, Albert Wolf, the dean of the College of International Studies at the American University of Kurdistan, pointed out that mass protests would likely erupt among Jordans large Palestinian population. The demonstrations could be comparable to those seen in Egypt and other countries during the Arab Spring, Wolf argued.

Per Wolf, such protests could precipitate the fall of Jordans royal family, which has ruled the country for decades. King Abdullah II, a U.S. ally, has additionally played a key role in certain American diplomatic pursuits, opposing Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad and offering sanctuary to the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing violence in the country.

Netanyahu has apparently made the calculus that winning the election is more important than participating in any kind of meaningful peace process. If hes successful, Kalisman said, the results would be a worsening situation for Palestinians, a rise in non-government level condemnation of Israel and protests against it, and likely, more violence.

Despite claiming to have loaded firearms in his home and divulging his apparent mental instability, California police evidently decided Aaron Carter does not pose a threat to himself or others.

In an interview with TMZ on Monday, Carter said authorities came to his home on Sunday night with the intent of taking him in on a 5150 hold a welfare statute dictating a person can be involuntarily institutionalized for up to 72 hours for psychiatric evaluation. There was four deputies that came, deputy sheriff Rene, and then a mental evaluator with a clipboard ready to take me and put me in a straightjacket last night, Carter told Harvey Levin, founder of TMZ. I said, Whats up guys? Good to see you again.

Carter told TMZ he spoke with the officers for 15 minutes before they decided not to bring him in. The reason why they werent able to take me is because theyve already gone through all of my medical records. Theyve gone through everything all of my psychiatrists. Everybody.

Do you think you should maybe give somebody else your firearms while you deal with your medical issues right now? Levin asked the singer. Just because if things go off center, bad things can happen.

Things arent gonna go off-center, Carter retorted quickly. Theres no bad things that are gonna happen.

Carter got his gun license in California in late August and immediately purchased a 9mm handgun and two assault rifles, TMZ reported. Then on September 3, the singer visited Rick's Pawn Shop in Lancaster, CA, where he bought another handgun, a rifle, and 300 rounds of hollow tip bullets. That brings Carters stash to five guns, plus a massive cache of weapons passed down through his family. My father was a military policeman for 21 years and Im inheriting over 500 curio relic firearms from 3 generations on my father's side, Carter wrote in an Instagram caption.

Carter has publicly struggled in the decades since he rose to fame in 2000 at 12 years old, singing about beating Shaquille O'Neal at basketball. In 2013, he filed for bankruptcy to shed $3.5 million in debt mostly unpaid back taxes from the height of his career, like the $1.3 million Carter owed the IRS from his income in 2003, when he was 16 years old.

In September 2017, Carters background check was flagged at a Florida gun shop when he tried to buy a firearm. The store manager told TMZ the singer seemed unhinged. He was jumpy, bragging about himself and hitting on girls at the shop, they said. Earlier that summer, Georgia police had arrested Carter under suspicion of driving under the influence and marijuana possession. Friends and family members called 911 repeatedly in August and early September, fearing the singer was a danger to himself and others.

Carter checked himself into rehab that fall, after an appearance on medical talk show The Doctors. Im concerned about my overall health because people tell me I look like I have AIDs or I look like I have cancer or I look like Im dying, Carter told the show's hosts. At 29, he weighed just 115 pounds with a BMI of 17 (18.5 to 25 is normal).

The TV doctors put Carter through a battery of medical tests. The singer tested negative for HIV and other STDs, and he didnt have cancer. But a drug panel showed Carter was ingesting a dangerous combination of substances. "THC aka marijuana was positive," Dr. Stork said. "Benzodiazepines, Xanax for instance... was positive. It was also positive for opiates, hydrocodone. What scares me about that drug panel is that your sister [Leslie Carter] perished from a drug overdose. You have a mixture of benzodiazepines with opiates, which is how many people accidentally can die. These medications and I'm speaking now purely from the doctor's perspective can be very, very scary."

Carter was back on The Doctors this week, exactly two years later, where he opened up about the struggle to get sober and his mental health diagnoses. "The official diagnosis is that I suffer from multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety; Im manic depressive," he said, adding that hes on a regimen of 16 different psychiatric medications. "Im prescribed Xanax, Seroquel, gabapentin, hydroxyzine, trazodone, omeprazole." While its great to hear that Carter is receiving treatment, its still troubling that he insists on keeping deadly weapons around as he fine tunes his medication and treatment regimen.

In August 2019, Carter and his mother told TMZ the singer needed assault rifles to protect himself from crazy fans, a notion passed down from his father, an avid gun rights advocate. He protected our family one time, when we were on a boat and we were gonna get robbed by people when we were staying on an island, Carter said. He saved our lives, on an island.

Listening to Carter give interviews, its clear hes still working through anxiety and paranoia. (He recently cancelled tour dates to focus on his health.) The singers fear of crazy fans belies a life lived in harsh limelight. But his words also illuminate a terrifying mindset held by many American gun owners who arent suffering from psychiatric issues: that the world is out to hurt them, and the only way to protect whats theirs is by arming themselves no matter the risk.

Fast fashion has become less appealing to shoppers who are conscious of the ethical implications of their choices. Brands like Everlane and Reformation, for example, have cornered a market for people willing to spend a bit more money for less of an environmental impact. Everlane even goes a step further and markets their product as radically transparent. They show you where each item is manufactured, provide information about the working conditions of the factory including its location and how many employees it has and even detail the charity your money goes to.

But how those brands engage with the diversity of the people who are purchasing their clothing still remains an issue. For the first few years after their respective launches, both Everlane and Reformation didnt carry above a size 12 in womens clothing. Amanda Mull pointed this out in 2017, noting that apparel startups are so profoundly averse to fat people that the vast majority of them wont deign to take their money.

Since then, both Everlane and Reformation have expanded their collection of sizes. Everlane now carries a 23 to 35 in some of their denim, and 23 to 33 in the rest; their dresses and tops range from XS to XL, and size 0 to 16. Reformation has extended sizing from 10 to 24 for much of their collection. These attempts at size inclusivity are an improvement, but the coordinating brick and mortar experience, where you'd expect face-to-face interactions would increase empathy, is still severely lacking.

When Nicolette Mason, a fashion and brand strategy consultant, arrived at Everlane's new Brooklyn location, she was told by an employee that the store only carried up to a size 31. Mason was understandably frustrated by this, considering that she had been invited to preview the store by the brand's public relations team.

Do better, @everlane, Mason wrote in a tweet. Your new store plans shouldve included your entire size range - its actually absurd to include all about 2 or 3 sizes on the floor. Whats the point? Your PR even invited me to a store preview... why? So I could be directed to shop online?

Everlane responded to the tweet, assuring Mason that this was an issue they were working on. Sorry your size wasn't available, Nicolette, the company responded. We definitely hope to carry the full-size range of denim soon for try on. We would love to have you back in when we do!

Reformation experienced similar struggles with the rollout of their extended sizing line. Initially, the only items offered beyond their original range of sizes (which notoriously run small to begin with) was their denim line, which was released in November of 2018. When they finally added select dresses and tops in March 2019, they werent made available in stores. When contacting their support line, Mic was told that their extended sizes were only available online. A member of the company's public relations team reiterated the same sentiment.

"Hi! Our extended sizing is only available online right now!" the spokesperson said via email.

For Everlanes part, its logic for carrying only select sizes is data-driven: they stock the sizes they sell the most. But theres something undeniably disrespectful about deeming some customers unworthy of the same shopping experience on the basis of their size. The result is that many customers looking for extended sizes will have to take a gamble on getting the clothing delivered to them, try it on in 3-5 business days, and then ship it back if the fit is not right. The process of trial and error could take weeks of time and energy to find the right size; customers in Everlane stores who are looking to try on clothing in sizes 0-12 arent faced with the same difficulties.

The issue highlights how companies that are sustainable and ethical, in theory, can still fall short when dealing with human beings in reality.

Reformation and Everlane havent announced the exact date they plan on stocking their stores with the full range of sizes. When reached for comment, Erika Edelson, VP of Merchandising for Everlane provided the following:

We fell short in stocking our full denim size range at our Williamsburg opening. Were fixing the issue as quickly as possible in the coming weeks.

If Americas labor unions are supposed to be dying, United Auto Workers didnt get the memo.

At 12:01 a.m. Monday, 49,000 UAW members walked off their jobs at General Motors after talks broke down between union representatives and management. The GM strike which involves one of the largest unions in the country is the latest in a series of high-profile demonstrations that have occurred across a variety of industries since 2018.

Its a sharp departure from the devastating setbacks the labor movement endured over the past decade, including the 2018 Janus Supreme Court decision and numerous statewide right-to-work laws being passed. With its strike, UAW is demanding raises for its workers, pointing out that GM posted $8.1 billion in profits last year, as well as calling for the company to reopen plants that closed down in blue-collar cities like Lordstown, Ohio, and Hamtramck, Michigan. The automobile giant has thus far resisted these requests, claiming that it needs to instead invest more money in developing new electric car technology.

UAW is generally strike-averse; its last strike took place in 2007, and before that in 1999. According to Janice Fine, a labor professor at Rutgers University and the director of strategy at the Center for Innovation in Worker Organization, the fact that UAW members are now choosing to flex their considerable muscle is part of a larger trend of robust collective action throughout the world of organized labor. In other words, she said: Strikes beget strikes.

Over the past 30 years, strikes have become increasingly rare. Right-to-work legislation, which undermines organized labor by prohibiting even unionized workplaces from requiring employees to join the union and pay union dues, has decimated private sector unions across the country, and President Ronald Reagans decision to fire 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981 left a chilling effect in the public sector. For much of the late 20th century, unions status as power players in American politics seemed to be on the decline.

Now, though, that trend has begun to reverse. Last year, more workers took part in strikes involving over 1,000 people than in any year since the 1980s. Fine explained that the new energy is a result of workers across industries rediscovering that strikes are an effective tool in the fight against corporate power, perhaps stemming from a series of high-profile collective action wins.

Strikes beget strikes.

The fact that we've had almost half a million people on strike this year is an indication that more workers are feeling that they are capable of demonstrating their economic power and leverage, Fine said. She points to the teacher strikes last year in West Virginia, Arizona, and Oklahoma as a galvanizing moment for labor. That was a huge bottom-up movement across mostly red states, she explained. The strikes dominated headlines and earned their participants substantial gains.

Just as importantly, the teacher strikes established a handy rubric for future organizing by pointing out the importance of a compelling narrative, said William P. Jones, a professor of history at the University of Minnesota and vice president of the Labor and Working Class History Association.

In places like West Virginia, they very effectively framed their strike as partially about their own economic condition, but also about the broader state of public education, Jones explained. They were striking for better wages, but they were also striking against budget cuts and against school closings, and I think that effectively frames their own struggles as workers in the interests of the broader public good.

GM workers have a similar opportunity, Jones argues, to present their economic struggles in more general terms that will help them build support. The UAW members can point to the GM bailout of 2008 in which the company received billions of dollars from the government in order to fight the recession and claim that workers deserve to receive their fair share too. After all, their hard work has kept the company from going under and bringing the rest of the economy with it. They can make a similar argument that the teachers made, Jones said.

Its not just fellow union workers who are paying attention to the new wave of strikes. The American people are too. Last year, as the teacher strikes made front-page news for weeks, public support for unions rose to a 15-year high. According to a Gallup poll from 2018, 62% of Americans feel favorable towards unions.

What's really interesting is that support for unions crosses partisan lines. If you look at low-wage Republican workers, they feel the same way about unions as Democrats do, Fine noted. And whats driving this increased public support? In a word: Inequality. Americans are aware that, despite the strong economy, profits are not being shared equitably between workers and corporations, who have enjoyed lavish profits even as wages remain stagnant.

Add that to the fact that prominent class-conscious 2020 hopefuls like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have helped push labor issues to the forefront of the Democratic agenda, Jones pointed out, and you get this renewed energy behind organized labor. Even untraditional industries, like digital media, have experienced a spate of unionizations in recent years. Earlier this week, Warren earned the endorsement of the Working Families Party over Sanders, whom the party supported in 2016. The news prompted some Sanders supporters to hit back at the WFP for not releasing its vote totals evidence of how influential the left-wing groups endorsement is perceived to be for truly progressive candidates.

The wave of collective action isnt slowing down any time soon. On Monday, mere hours after the GM strike began, a coalition of 80,000 union workers at Kaiser Permanente hospitals nationwide announced a strike set to begin Oct. 14, accusing the company of overpaying management and outsourcing jobs.

"We believe the only way to ensure our patients get the best care is to take this step," said Eric Jines, a radiologic technologist at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles, in a coalition statement. "Our goal is to get Kaiser to stop committing unfair labor practices and get back on track as the best place to work and get care. There is no reason for Kaiser to let a strike happen when it has the resources to invest in patients, communities, and workers."

While he may be speaking about Kaiser specifically, its easy to see how Jines message could be adapted for countless other corporations.

Former Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge has always had an interest in UFOs. Now it appears that his hobby has produced some results. In public statements, the United States Navy has officially recognized video of UFOs first surfaced by DeLonge's research organization as real "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs) that are believed to have violated American airspace, according to The Black Vault, a publication that maintains a massive archive of declassified government documents.

The findings were confirmed to Vice in a statement from the Navy that confirmed the footage depicted "unidentified" crafts.

The videos in question that show the UFOs were first made public in 2017 and 2018 by the New York Times and To The Stars Academy of the Arts and Science, an organization founded by DeLonge and dedicated to studying UFOs and extraterrestrial life. The videos were recorded by Navy pilots from their aircrafts. The first, published by the Times in December 2017, showed strange objects crossing the sky in front of Navy pilots operating off the coast of San Diego on November 14, 2004. That footage of the object, dubbed FLIR1, was recorded by the camera equipped to an F-18 jet's gun. The second video, taken on January 21, 2015, shows another aircraft referred to as GIMBAL that appears to be rotating in the sky off the coast of Florida. Finally in 2018, To the Stars Academy released a third video, also recorded January 21, 2015, that shows an object called GoFast skirting away quickly just over the surface of a body of water. There is speculation that the objects both recorded on the same day may in fact be the same craft.

The disclosure from the Navy comes after the military organization changed its policy earlier this year regarding disclosure of unidentified aircraft to allow for the sightings to be more easily shared. The policy change came as both an attempt to de-stigmatize the sightings, which still have a sort of taboo feel that makes it challenging to be taken seriously when reporting them, while also acknowledging that the number of sightings have increased recently and may require a new approach. To be clear, this is not the Navy saying that UFOs exist; at least not the kind piloted by alien life. But it is recognition that the aircraft spotted by Navy planes and made public by organizations like DeLonge's To the Stars Academy are truly a mystery, even to those most informed. The military is recognizing that it doesn't always know what is traversing our skies something that is equal parts exciting and terrifying.

The recognition by the Navy also marks a significant win for DeLonge's To The Stars Academy, which has been publishing footage of what the organization believes to be UFOs since 2015. To date, the organization has released five videos. It has also used the videos that it has unearthed to develop technologies meant to study the behavior of other unknown aircraft, including its Virtual Analytics UAP Learning Tool (VAULT) algorithm.

That said, To The Stars Academy has also made somewhat out there claims about its discoveries. Earlier this year, the organization said it obtained "potentially exotic materials" that contain properties it believes to be unknown to science. Filings made by the organization with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018 also revealed the Academy to be nearly $38 million in debt, significantly threatening its potential future operations. If nothing else comes from the operation, at least it now has confirmation that UFOs are out there. It may not be worth $38 million, but it's certainly worth something.

Men die by suicide in this country at a rate three-and-a-half times higher than that of women. Its evident that one of the reasons for such staggering statistics is a lack of substantive friendship among the male populace. Adult, white, heterosexual men have the fewest friends of any group in the United States, according to Salon, and the friendships they have with other men provide less emotional support and involve lower levels of self-disclosure and trust than other types of friendships. Such wariness of intimacy is the manifestation of depriving social lessons adopted by males as early as childhood, where friendships and emotions are not viewed as masculine. In order to foster better male friendships for both straight and gay men, we might want to consider engaging in something theyve historically avoided: more inter-sexual-preference friendships, or what the New York Times called bromosexual relationships.

Were just respective untapped resources, generally speaking. Engaging in friendships with people who have been socialized differently opens up the prospect for new perspectives, as well, only possible through vulnerability. But to forge better friendships and learn from each other, straight men like myself would of course have to work past any conscious or subconscious homophobia they may harbor, fertilized courtesy of cultural toxic masculinity.

For most of the gay men that I know, the majority of their friends are constituted with women and gay men, says Zach Rawlings, a clinical mental health counselor who works with many clients in the LGBTQ+ community, and focuses heavily on issues specific to men. I dont know a lot of gay men who seek out or have a strong desire to be friends with straight men, just because theres a lot of wounded men and a lot of trauma that a lot of gay men have at the hands of straight men.

A friend of mine, Mehran Khaghani, a comedian who describes himself onstage as a weapons-grade homosexual, confirms Rawlings assertions. Guys were mean to me and I was excluded for being different, he says, adding that when particularly observing groups of straight men, hell more frequently notice their edging him out. I dont trust the boys club [and] at the end of the day straight men run the world.

One way that straight men can become allies and open up avenues for more intimate friendships with gay or straight males is to embrace vulnerability and recognize it as a strength, not a weakness like it is under the guise of what we're socialized to consider masculine.

When were vulnerable, it simply means that were capable of pursuing our goals, wants, and intentions, and were able to deal with the consequence on a feeling level, Robert W. Firestone, a clinical psychologist and author, told Psychology Today. And that includes a variety of feelings, some of which are frightening, some of which are very joyful and exciting [Y]ou can afford to feel and, in a feeling state, youre better able to cope effectively with your life.

Such an outlook has picked up steam in the psychology world particularly when it comes to the science behind sound relationships as well as business and pop culture, with Bren Brown achieving fame thanks to a heavily-circulated TED Talk on the topic, which she recently parlayed it into a Netflix special. Among her most beloved, meme-worthy quotes are: Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection and Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.

I recently reconnected with Mehran, catching up over dinner and drinks a couple weeks ago. We discussed how my twice-a-week therapy was working its magic, how a childhood perceived lack of acceptance by my family led to my needing help, and how Mehran was repeatedly physically abused by his much-older brother, partly facilitating his own required therapy. We allowed ourselves to be vulnerable. It was a good time.

More of men being open to intimacy in general, no matter who it is, would be more of a solution, Rawlings says. I dont think gay men have some magic thoughts for straight men and vice versa, but there can certainly be some understanding and empathy, and just a breakdown of toxic masculinity, if people listen, express, and connect.

In more one-on-one conversations with straight males, similar to the one he had with me a couple weeks ago, Mehran says he sees toxic masculinity-built boundaries broken down, too, allowing for greater openness between two budding friends.

Society has divided us based on sexual orientation, and given men more reasons to close themselves off to intimacy, whether were straight or gay. As we look to confront our mass depression problem, building bridges across these divides, in every which way, could be a powerful weapon in the battle.

Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie released the single "Mood Swings" from his upcoming album, Artist 2.0, last week. The track, produced by Atlanta producer Wheezy, is a sparse but rousing display of the Bronx-born MC's versatility. Much of the song is humming, la Kid Cudi, that somehow manages to set the track's tone perfectly. It's Boogie parsing through the trappings of success with a vulnerable honesty that's as refreshing as ever. Today, he's unveiled the video for the track, a moody allegory for the sometimes challenging facets of celebrity life.

Boogie has paired the video's release with a partnership with UNICEF USA to donate $50,000 to Hurricane Dorian relief efforts. The partnership also includes the rapper's compatriot Lil Uzi Vert promising to match every additional dollar raised up to $50,000.

The project has the potential to bring in $150,000 to help the Bahamian people who survived the catastrophic Category 5 hurricane, which made landfall on September 6th. Many in the Bahamas have lost everything, and much of the island continues to struggle with access to food and water.

The Bahamas need our help, man. You got kids and families left with nothing out there, Boogie said in a statement. "We got to show love and support in any way we can to help rebuild that beautiful place. Every little thing helps."

Below, watch the video for "Mood Swings," and to learn more about A Boogies CrowdRise fundraiser with UNICEF USA click here.

We almost always know when a new phone or game console is about to hit the market, but a new version of WiFi? Not so much. The technology that we rely upon to stay connected is, in fact, about to get an upgrade. Starting today, WiFi 6, a new connection standard that promises faster speeds on crowded networks, is finally officially available. That may sound a little odd, and you may be wondering how exactly you get a Wi-Fi update. Don't worry, we've got all answers for you.

What is WiFi 6?

WiFi 6 is the latest implementation of wireless standards to be certified by the WiFi Alliance, a group of companies that establish specifications and requirements for wireless internet. According to the organization, the latest set of standards emphasizes establishing quality internet connections in heavily populated locations like stadiums and other public venues. New technology approved for WiFi 6 makes sure each device connected to a network performs at its optimal level. Likewise, WiFi 6 also establishes new baselines for security requirements. WiFi 6 has a particular focus on the Internet of Things, as more and more devices are coming online and require a consistent and secure internet connection.

If you're wondering why this is the first time you've heard of WiFi being labeled like it's a smartphone or game console, that's because it is. This is the first time that these standards have been given version numbers, though the WiFi Alliance plans to retroactively apply this convention to previous standards as well. You're probably more familiar with seeing things like 802.11n or 802.11ac two of the previous major standards for WiFi. Those will now be referred to as WiFi 4 and WiFi 5, respectively.

Is WiFi 6 going to be faster?

It's certainly the plan for WiFi 6 to be faster than its predecessors. For a single device, the maximum potential speed should be as much as 40 percent higher when connected to WiFi 6 rather than WiFi 5. Of course, it's unlikely you'll just have one device connected to your network, but you should still notice improved speeds across all devices. To accomplish that, WiFi 6 is offering support for multiple-input, multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology, which will enable routers to better communicate with multiple devices at once an essential improvement in a world where just about everything is connected.

WiFi 6 will also support orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), which is a very long and technical way of staying that there will be lower latency on networks. That means there is less delay between a bit of information being sent to and from your devices, and WiFi 6 will be better at delivering more information without any wait.

Also making an appearance in WiFi 6 is beamforming technology, which should help to eliminate the internet dead zones that you sometimes run into around your house. Beamforming essentially allows the router to focus signals on a device so it can remain in constant contact with it. If the router notices that one device is struggling to remain connected to the network, it can focus its resources there and do away with the feeling that you've stepped out of range.

Is WiFi 6 going to be safer?

WiFi 6 should be safer than versions that came before it simply because it makes mandatory some security features that were previously optional. Last year, WiFi Alliance announced a new security protocol called WPA3, the first major improvement to how WiFi networks handle passwords since WPA2 was introduced in 2004.

WPA3 set new limits on offline password guessing, which was a technique that many attackers used to crack a person's WiFi password. The attack occurs by capturing a stream of data from a network, taking that stream to a private computer and guessing passwords repeatedly until the hacker discovers one that works. With that knowledge, they can then return to your network, connect and potentially intercept your data. WPA3 does away with that by limiting offline password attempts to just one. At that point, the captured data becomes useless.

WPA3 also utilizes a feature called forward secrecy, which keeps older data from being compromised during an attack. Let's say that an attacker is able to intercept your data and crack your password. Should that happen, the hacker would only be able to see new information coming across the network. There is no stored log of old information that may contain sensitive data about you and your online habits.

While WPA3 was introduced last year, support for it was optional on WiFi 5. WiFi 6 requires the protocol out of the box, so there is no ambiguity about whether your router is using the best available security practices.

What else is new about WiFi 6?

One of the other major benefits of WiFi 6's new and apparently more efficient network is improved battery life for devices connected to it. The standard uses a technology called Target Wait Time (TWT), which essentially plans out in advance how devices will communicate with the router. That limits the amount of time that a device has to search for a signal, instead allowing the router to schedule out when these check-ins with connected devices will occur. The result should be less battery drain on your devices, as they won't have to spend much time seeking out a connection with the network. The feature may not get much play with your always-on devices like your laptop, but will be valuable for sensors and other internet-connected devices that just need to check in occasionally rather than have constant contact with the network.

How do I get WiFi 6?

You'll have to buy WiFi 6 compatible devices, including likely getting a new router, in order to enjoy the benefits of the technology. You certainly can rush out to the store right now and find WiFi 6 routers just know that they are likely going to be a bit pricey.

Luckily, these things tend to work themselves out over time. The price on WiFi 6 certified routers will come down, and devices that support the technology will become more prominent. While Apple doesn't actively advertise it, the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro series of devices support WiFi 6. Likewise, the Samsung Galaxy S10 also offers support for the standard. Without much effort at all on your part, you'll likely end up with WiFi 6 around your house without even realizing it it just might take a couple years to fully make the transition.

Not all stars become a black hole when they reach the end of their life. Sometimes, when the core of an enormous star collapses, the remains become densely packed matter. The strength of its gravity crushes protons and electrons together, creating neutrons, and turns the mass into a 'neutron star.' Astronomers still don't know a lot about neutron stars, but a team of researchers with the NANOGrav Physics Frontiers Center recently reported on a finding that has brought mankind another step closer to understanding these unusual creations. They observed the existence of the largest neutron star scientists have ever found.

Generally, neutron stars are around the same size as a city, and made up of matter "packed so tightly," according to NASA, "that a sugar-cube-sized amount of material would weigh more than [one billion] tons." And this newly discovered astronomical body is 2.14 times the mass of the sun. This discovery pushes the limit of how large and dense a mass can be without becoming a black hole.

The neutron star, called J0740+6620, has been classified as a 'pulsar.' This basically means it emits a beam of radio waves from each magnetic pole like lighthouse beacons. Pulsars also tend to spin rapidly "with some spinning faster than a kitchen blender," states NASA on its website.

While making observations using the Green Bank Telescope, located in West Virginia, the team of researchers spotted both a white dwarf star and the neutron star nearby. By measuring the white dwarf the less dense corpse of a dead star and the neutron star's interactions with each other, the team could measure the size of the neutron star.

This measurement is done thanks in part to, once again, Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Per his theory, gravity around the dwarf star is slightly warped as these masses orbit each other. This alters the pulses emitted by J0740+6620 an occurrence named the "Shapiro Delay" after the astrophysicist Harvard University professor Irwin Shapiro. The team was able to use the altered pulses to estimate the size of the white dwarf, and then use that measurement to calculate the mass of the enormous neutron star.

The discovery of the largest neutron star known to mankind is no small feat. Dense masses like J0740+6620 can help scientists understand how huge neutron stars can possibly be before they succumb to gravity and become black holes.

"Neutron stars have this tipping point where their interior densities get so extreme that the force of gravity overwhelms even the ability of neutrons to resist further collapse," explained astronomer Scott Ransom, co-author of the study, to Science Daily. "Each 'most massive' neutron star we find brings us closer to identifying that tipping point and helping us to understand the physics of matter at these mindboggling densities."

Lets be honest: Living an ethical, sustainable, green life can definitely be filed as one of those things thats far easier said than done. Just thinking about your carbon footprint much less figuring out how to offset it; create less waste; recycle properly and responsibly; and be the most eco-friendly traveler, gift giver, and pet owner is enough to send anyone into a tailspin. And, unfortunately, it doesnt get easier when it comes to shopping for one of the most basic necessities: food. When you're shopping for dinner, knowing how to read food labels when you're faced with a wide variety of options can seem not only time consuming, but completely overwhelming.

Not for lack of trying, though. In fact, it seems nearly impossible to go to the grocery store and not find a vast variety of official-looking labels on everything from meat, to eggs, to granola bars all telling you something theoretically great and important about what youre about to buy and how wonderfully sustainable it is.

Consumers are wanting to know more about their food, but at the same time they want their food to be simplified, Tamika D. Sims, director of food technology communications at the International Food Information Council (IFIC), tells Mic. They dont want anything to be added to the food, or have the food produced in a way that is unnatural. In their 2019 Food and Health Survey, the IFIC found that more than 50% of consumers believe it's at least somewhat important to make sustainable food purchases but more than 60% reported difficulty identifying what foods are sustainable when in the store.

There are labels that companies use to state that the food product has been sourced in an ethical way or sourced in a sustainable way, but it is a difficult thing to navigate, she says. People...want labels to quickly give them good information about what theyre buying; and while there are some labels that are really useful in helping you understand what youre buying, unfortunately there are some...that really arent as useful." But how exactly can you tell the difference? It starts with getting a basic understanding of the food label landscape.

Who regulates and oversees food labels?

Theres no single governing body for food labels. In fact, there are many, and most of them are completely independent from the government, with the exception of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic Certification. The standards for the USDA organic label which you can find on meat, eggs, and dairy were established with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. Other official seals you see on food are typically created by non-profit or trade organizations, Charlotte Vallaeys, senior policy analyst with Consumer Reports, tells Mic. Those organizations are filling this gap in food labeling, which is that there are no government standards for things like animal welfare on farms or treating farm workers fairly, she says. Thats why you see non-profit organizations developing their own standards and their own verification process and certification, essentially for assuring consumers that certain standards were met. (The federal Animal Welfare Act doesnt cover farm animals used for food or fiber, per the USDAs website.)

How do the labels get on the food we see at the store?

While the specific standards vary among labels, each organization has a certification process which Vallaeys says may include submitting documentation and agreeing to inspections that producers (such as farms) must go through before they can actually use the label on their packaging. In most cases, she adds, the producers have to pay fees that cover the cost of the inspection and the certification program; though there are some grants available that can help alleviate the costs.

And, in the case of USDA organic, Vallaeys says some small farms may qualify for a federal cost share program that limits how much theyll pay out of pocket. With the available financial aid, even small, sustainable farms can theoretically go through these processes and you don't have to choose between supporting a small business and buying something that's certified organic or otherwise sustainable.

That said, not all labels are created equal; so it's important to read up on where they come from and what they actually mean.

Can I trust labels to mean what they say?

That answer is, unfortunately, fairly complicated and depends very much on the label itself. Outside of third-party certified labels those seals that say things like USDA organic, Animal Welfare Approved, and Non-GMO Project Verified theres a slew of very unofficial, first-party labels and claims that producers may slap on their packaging. Terms like humanely-raised, antibiotic free, cage free, and natural lack legal or third-party definitions and oversight.

While natural may seem to indicate similar conditions as organic, Vallaeys says that couldnt be further from the truth. In reality, the government only regulates the use of the term in meat, according to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI); and the only standards producers need to uphold are to contain no artificial ingredients or added color, and be minimally processed, per the USDAs website. The manufacturer can pretty much decide what they think it means and then put natural on their label, Vallaeys says. And they have good incentive to do so: According to a 2016 Consumer Reports study, 73 percent of buyers specifically shop for "natural" foods (while only 58 percent seek out "organic"

As for cage free, and free range, two oft-used claims on poultry products, experts note they dont mean the birds are roaming freely on sprawling pastures. According to AWI, on egg cartons, cage free only means the animals literally werent confined to cages, but they could have been confined to indoor barns. Free range means they were allowed some access to the outdoors, but theres no guideline on how long or how often that access needs to be.

The latter is also the case for poultry slaughtered and sold as meat; cage free on those packages, though, is essentially meaningless as, per the AWI, birds raised for meat arent typically kept in cages. The USDA does offer a USDA Processed Verified label that producers can receive after an auditor independently verifies marketing claims like raised cage free or certified tender; but as Consumer Reports notes on its website, that program simply verifies producers are following the standards they set for themselves, not that those standards are meaningful.

Thats only scratching the surface of marketing claims youll find on food packaging; but with any of them, its best to take them with a grain of salt unless theyre accompanied by a reliable certified claim. If consumers feel that there has been some fraud or deception in the marketplace, they can file class-action suits against misleading labels, Dr. Urvashi Rangan, chief scientist at FoodPrint, tells Mic. That is typically how enforcement on those labels has been executed. ...They tend to be not the most accountable, not that meaningful, [and] not verified. ...They dont have an accountability system built into them.

With certified labels, however, there are typically annual inspections, paperwork, a paper trail, Rangan says. If a producer doesnt meet the certification requirements but still uses the label, the organization can insist the producer stops doing so though, as Vallaeys notes, the third-party organizations dont have the legal backing that USDA organic has. Because the USDA organic program is a federal law, farmers who violate its regulations face legal penalties, including up to $17,952 in fines per violation.

That said, the U.S. organic market is not free from fraud. Aside from a potential conflict of interest that may arise due to certifying agents marketing themselves to and being paid directly by farmers; Chenglin Liu, a law professor at St. Marys University School of Law who specializes in food and drug law, tells Mic its difficult to regulate products imported from foreign countries. While there are accredited certifiers in foreign countries, the question is if a foreign farmer has any incentive to observe the U.S. law, Liu says, noting a foreign prosecutor or judge isnt required to uphold U.S. law. The U.S. legal system can only go so far, to the border of the U.S., he says.

Thats not to say the USDA organic label is meaningless, but Liu recommends shoppers seek out "U.S.-made [or grown] product, because its subjected to more regulations.

What are some of the most common labels to look out for?

USDA Organic: To qualify as USDA Organic, farmers are heavily restricted on the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and they cant use any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or antibiotics (if animals need to be treated, they simply cant be sold as organic, Vallaeys says). Vallaeys notes the organic standards also include requirements for maintaining water and soil quality. That said, only 95% of the ingredients used in the food need to be organic, which means some non-organic substances (about 200, as The Washington Post reported) can be used. And while organic may mean your food is mostly free from chemicals, organic and ethical have nothing to do with one another, Sims says. The federal organic program includes only minimal animal welfare standards, according to AWI, and doesnt ensure significant outdoor freedom or humane slaughter.

Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW: If youre concerned about animal welfare, this is the label to look for. Its the best one out there, Vallaeys says. It has standards that really meet consumers expectations for what it means to be humanely raised, like requiring animals to be outdoors.

American Grassfed: If you're looking for grassfed meat, Vallaeys suggests seeking out this label which ensures animals were only fed grass and received no grain throughout their lives. And, she adds, it goes further it prohibits antibiotics and hormones [and] it means the animals were out on well-managed pasture. The Certified Grassfed by AGW label is another thats consistently rated positively by organizations like Consumer Reports and FoodPrint.

Non-GMO Project Verified: If you want your food to be free of genetically engineered ingredients, the Non-GMO Project Verified label will assure you thats the case, as will the USDA Organic label. Just keep in mind that while "USDA Organic" means products are GMO-free; "Non-GMO Project Verified" does not mean products are organic. It doesnt mean anything other than being non-GMO," Vallaeys says.

Marine Stewardship Council and Farmed Responsibly ASC Certified: The USDA doesnt currently certify any seafood as organic (though they are in the process of developing those standards). if you see fish labeled organic in stores (a rare occurrence, according to Seafood Source), Vallaeys says its either improperly labeled or it was imported from a country that does have organic standards. That said, she recommends keeping an eye out for the Marine Stewardship Council and Farmed Responsibly ASC Certified labels to find fish that were likely caught or farmed responsibly and sustainably. And remember, even if the U.S. doesnt have organic standards for aquaculture, all seafood and shellfish are still foods that are regulated by the USDA and FDA for safety and quality, Sims says.

Food Justice Certification: As for fair treatment of workers, Rangan says the Agricultural Justice Projects Food Justice Certification label is a solid one that ensures things like health protections, insurance, and other important social justice standards. Fair Trade Certified and Fairtrade International labels also help ensure things like fair wages for workers, but arent quite as highly rated as the Food Justice Certification by Consumer Reports.

What's the bottom line on how to shop for ethical and sustainable food?

In fact, while youre on this label hunt, you have to know that the U.S. has one of the safest and most reliable food systems in the world, Sims says. And part of that safety is attributable to the regulation companies have to undergo to ensure it. The FDA, USDA, independent certifying organizations, and watchdog groups for all of those bodies are all working to not only make sure our food won't make us sick, but that we have the most relevant information when it comes to choosing what we put in our bodies.

For many people these types of food labels can act as another level of security that your values are being carried out in the way your food is raised or cultivated. If you...care about animal welfare, but you cant visit the farm and see for yourself whether those animals are living in humane conditions; the label is there really to ensure you that somebody went on your behalf, Vallaeys says. Somebody independent has gone to the farm. And because for many consumers its also unrealistic to read through every detail of these independent labels standards, other independent organizations like Consumer Reports, FoodPrint, and the Environmental Working Group publish guides that break them down on your behalf. While youre shopping, you can simply pull up these guides to get a quick debriefing on almost any label you see and what it means.

From there, its a matter of prioritizing the many options and deciding what makes the most sense for your values, wallet and lifestyle. Understanding the landscape of value within labels, if youre interested in sustainable food, is [important] so that you can actually put yourself on a fair playing field with what youre buying...and what youre supporting, Rangan says. And it can make a huge difference.

Maybe youve reached the foregone conclusion over a box of donuts or a Netflix binge (or both), after yet another breakup amid what feels like an endless string of them: I suck at relationships. You may very well struggle with romantic relationships, but part of the reason could lie beyond your control. According to attachment theory, emotional attachments forged between you and your primary caregivers in childhood shape your emotional attachments including romantic relationships in adulthood. But does that mean youre doomed to the attachment style you developed in childhood for the rest of your life? In other words, can you change your attachment style?

But first, a crash course on attachment theory, whose roots stretch back to research conducted by psychologists John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. In the 1930s, Bowlby became interested in how kids loss or separation from their mothers affected their personality development. But it was his colleague, Ainsworth, who formalized the concept of attachment styles through a controversial technique, published in 1969, that evaluates infants reactions when they reunite with their mothers after being left briefly with a stranger. Infants with secure attachment burst into tears when their mothers leave, but stop crying and approach their mothers when they come back. Those with avoidant attachment ignore their mothers return, while those with anxious attachment remained inconsolable even after their mothers have re-emerged. Babies with disorganized attachment wander, freeze, or display other disoriented behaviors.

If your primary caregivers were supportive, responsive, and sensitive, you were more likely to develop secure attachment, Omri Gillath, a professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, explains in a TEDx talk. You likely saw your caregivers as a secure base from which you could scope out your environment; likewise, you feel secure in your romantic relationships, allowing yourself and your partner independence, per Psychology Today. A recent report of kids in the US found that most about 60% form secure attachments with their parents.

The remaining 40 % do not. If your caregivers were cold and rejecting, you probably developed an avoidant attachment style, Gillath tells Mic, which makes you more likely to distance yourself from your partner. But if your caregivers were present sometimes and not others, or tried to force their ways onto you, chances are that you formed an anxious attachment style, which could make you act clingy and insecure with your partner, potentially driving them away from you. Abusive caregivers often foster a disorganized attachment style, which could show up as confusing, unpredictable behavior in romantic relationships.

People with other than secure attachment styles dont expect things to go well in an emotionally intimate relationship, says Laura Brown, a Seattle-based psychologist and author of Not the Price of Admission: Healthy Relationships After Childhood Trauma. They, theoretically, expect their partners to respond to them as their parents did; for instance, if youre anxiously attached, you might expect your partners to act ambivalent toward you, making you act insecure and needy. Gillaths research has also shown that you could have a genetic predisposition to a certain attachment style.

This can all sound daunting does our early childhood really dictate the fate of all our future relationships?

The good news is, if youre not securely attached, you can take steps toward whats known as earned security, or developing a secure attachment style despite fraught relationships with your caregivers, or your genetics. Youve probably heard that dating a securely attached partner can help. If youre anxiously attached, seeing your partner consistently being sensitive, supportive, and attentive to your needs can reassure you that no, theyre not going to leave you, providing the secure base you need to respect each others independence, Gillath explains. Ive experienced this firsthand as someone who developed anxious attachment growing up, but is now in a long-term relationship with a securely attached partner.

If you worry about bringing your childhood baggage into your relationships romantic or otherwise heres how to achieve a secure attachment style, regardless of your relationship status.

If you have the means, seek therapy

Brown suggests seeing a therapist with expertise in complex childhood trauma or complex developmental trauma, who will likely have a thorough grasp on attachment theory. You could also join a group focused on dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skills, used to manage emotions and improve relationships, or buy the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Workbook, which includes exercises to build these skills. Emotionally focused therapy (EFT), developed by clinical psychologist Sue Johnson, also zeroes in on reshaping attachment, Gillath adds.

But research by Gillath and colleagues suggests that the type of therapy may not matter. In a 2017 study of college students, they found that therapy, regardless of the form it took, was associated with changes in attachment, as well as reduced depression. If you and your therapist connect, they can build a secure environment for you, Gillath explains. They can provide the secure base you might have lacked as a kid, as well as model what secure attachment looks like.

Learn how to judge trustworthiness

People who have a style other than secure attachment are notoriously bad at assessing trustworthiness, Brown says. They either over-trust or under-trust. Caregivers who constantly gaslit you, or blamed you for their own wrongdoings (with accusations like Look what you made me do!) have probably seriously impaired your ability to get an accurate read of people. By learning to assess a persons trustworthiness, you take back the power stripped from you when you were little to judge whether someone was worthy of your trust, Brown says.

Browns Not the Price of Admission includes a checklist for those whose trustworthiness radar needs fine-tuning. The checklist notes that trustworthy people say what they do and do what they say, as well as take responsibility for their actions. Theyre also relatively consistent, repair their screw-ups, and never use violence or coercion that is, they dont guilt, shame, or threaten you into doing anything. In addition, they have good mastery of their own emotions, Brown says. If theyre upset, instead of shutting down and muttering, Im fine, they explicitly state theyre upset and need a time-out because they want to act responsibly. Brown suggests starting by trying the checklist out on your favorite TV characters, and then practicing on an actual person.

Brown also suggests reading The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence, by Gavin de Becker, a survival of childhood trauma and an expert in threat assessment. In addition, she recommends Blind Betrayal: Why We Fool Ourselves We Arent Being Fooled by Jennifer Freyd and Pamela Birrell, which explores the reasons people remain oblivious to betrayal (e.g.: someone who ignores the signs of a partner cheating on them).

Volunteer

If you dont have a secure attachment style, youre often too preoccupied with your own insecurity to attend to others needs. It sounds harsh, but its because if youre anxious, you may constantly worry about your partner leaving, for instance. And if youre avoidant, you may stress about depending too much on your partner, or your partner depending too much on you. Having secure attachment, on the other hand, can basically free up mental bandwidth for other pursuits, including helping others, Gillath explains.

Anxiously attached people tend to volunteer mainly to feel better about themselves, but once they began volunteering, they became more securely attached (and their motivations more altruistic).

Indeed, Gillath and his team have shown that securely attached people are more likely to show prosocial behaviors, like volunteering but engaging in community service may also promote secure attachment, even if your reasons arent purely altruistic. Gillaths team found that anxiously attached people tended to volunteer mainly to feel better about themselves, but once they began volunteering, they became more securely attached (and their motivations more altruistic). In other words, volunteer with a local organization, even if you have to fake it until you make it, Gillath says.

Volunteering may also promote other characteristics, such as tolerance and forgiveness, which have been associated with secure attachment. If youre anxious, you may get into a fight over a partners transgressions and end the relationship, and if youre avoidant, you might disengage and, again, break up, Gillath says. But secure people are more likely to forgive and forget.

Appreciate the imperfect humanity in others

Anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment tend to result in strong, incongruous reactions, Brown says. Say your partner points out that you forgot to replace the toilet paper. If youre securely attached, you might simply respond, Im sorry. I was distracted." Otherwise, you might flip out and accuse your partner of being controlling. People with other than secure attachment cant tolerate imperfection or humanity in their partners because theyre terrified the other shoe is about to drop, Brown explains. They often catastrophize minor incidents.

Rather than believing the negative thoughts that spring to mind when someone disappoints you, regardless of their relationship to you, try to challenge them. If your friend forgets your coffee date, it doesnt necessarily mean they hate you, or that they dont care about you; if your coworker breaks the phone charger they borrowed, that doesnt mean they dont respect your belongings. With every bobble that happens in life, you can talk yourself through it, Brown says. Does it really mean all the terrible things, or does this mean that most humans are humans?

If you have a romantic partner, identify your absolute boundaries (for some, that might include infidelity or abuse, for instance), make them clear to each other, and dont negotiate them. At the same time, though, know youre going to be human beings who will screw up in every other possible way because we will, because we do, because we are human, Brown says.

Practice gratitude

Gillaths research has also suggested that secure attachment is associated with gratitude. Those with other attachment styles are less likely to show gratitude, Gillath says, which makes sense, since they probably focus more on the negatives in a relationship and how it could go awry. He recommends keeping a gratitude journal, which studies suggest could also enhance overall health and well-being.

Even if your caregiver didnt bond with you the way you wanted them to, you can still take a proactive approach to strengthening your relationships as an adult. You can do the intense inner work to understand what you deserved back when you were a kid, grieve what you didnt receive, and learn not to expect your partner to respond to you the way your caregiver did, Brown says. Dont wait for the partner to come along and heal you . Do the prep work.

In the early days of the United States, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase. A staunch supporter of the Federalist Party, Chase aggravated President Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Republicans with his perceived partisanship from the bench.

But even though the Jeffersonians enjoyed a substantial Senate majority, they lacked the votes required to remove Chase. On March 1, 1805, the Senate acquitted Chase on all counts, and he served on the bench for six more years until his death in 1811.

Thus ended the first and only impeachment of a sitting Supreme Court justice of the United States. It was a failed effort that Ryan Owens, a Court expert and professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, said set a precedent that has stuck for a long time namely, that you could impeach somebody for things that were illegal, but you couldnt impeach them for things that were in a twilight area in between illegality and bad policy.

Some 200 years later, several leading Democrats hope to change that. In light of a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh published by The New York Times over the weekend, presidential candidates including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, California Sen. Kamala Harris, and former Housing Secretary Julin Castro have called for Kavanaughs removal.

The allegation came via an excerpt from a forthcoming book by veteran Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, who spent 10 months reporting on the tales of sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh that became public last year and roiled his Senate confirmation hearing. The new excerpt discusses the previous allegations one made by a high school classmate and another by a fellow student at Yale before revealing a previously unreported incident, in which a former Yale classmate of Kavanaughs named Max Stier claims to have witnessed a drunken dorm party, where friends [of Kavanaugh] pushed his penis into the hands of a female student.

The event described by Stier closely resembles the allegation put forth by Deborah Ramirez, Kavanaughs Yale classmate, who recalled in The New Yorker an incident when Kavanaugh thrust his penis into her face at a dorm party. For his part, Stier has not spoken publicly about the incident, but per Pogrebin and Kelly he brought the story to the FBI and as well as prominent Democrats in the Senate last year.

Brett Kavanaugh lied to the U.S. Senate and most importantly to the American people, wrote Harris on Twitter after Stiers story became public. He must be impeached. Warren called the new allegation disturbing while also calling for Kavanaughs impeachment.

Vice President Joe Biden, however the frontrunner in the Democratic primary stopped short of demanding impeachment. Instead, he wrote that we must follow the evidence to wherever it leads. Doing this the right way is critically important in getting the truth and restoring the American peoples faith in their government.

Bidens hedging reflects the complicated political calculus of relitigating the Kavanaugh allegations, said Democratic strategist Patrick Dorton, as well as the reality that impeachment is extremely rare. The process is a big deal, and Biden is not dumb, said Dorton, who served in the White House under President Bill Clinton, one of just two presidents to have been impeached. Pandering to elements of the liberal base by hysterically calling for impeachment just looks irresponsible for any candidate.

Complicating matters, the Times revealed Stiers allegation in a baffling way that has provided cover for Kavanaughs defenders. The version of the story that first appeared online Sunday night failed to mention that friends of the woman at the center of the Stiers allegation say she doesnt recall the incident. The caveat is included in the book the the Times excerpted from, and editors later added that information in a correction as well as within the article text itself.

The misstep was quickly seized on by Kavanaugh supporters. Given the NYT correction, tweeted Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who voted to confirm Kavanaugh, what are the odds that any of the 2020 Dem presidentials who relied on the NYT story to call for impeaching Kavanaugh will modify or retract their own partisan position? ZERO. President Donald Trump meanwhile wrote on Twitter that Kavanaugh "should start suing people for libel, or the Justice Department should come to his rescue."

Despite the correction, the underlying framework of Stiers story was enough to ethically justify its publication, said Kelly McBride, a senior vice president at the Poynter Institute and chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership. The excerpt noted that while Stier hasnt discussed the story publicly, Pogrebin and Kelly were able to confirm with two officials with whom Stier has been in contact.

There are many cases when sexual assault allegations are reported that a victim does not recall. Usually this happens because of third-party reporting, McBride said. In this case, the New York Times has two unnamed sources who verify that an eyewitness to the assault made the report. Since they didn't identify the potential victim or name her, the original version did not seem deceptive or misleading to me.

In the short term, the odds of Kavanaugh being removed from the Supreme Court are slim. Democrats dont have a simple majority in the Senate, let alone the super-majority of 66 votes needed for his removal. Theres not even a consensus among leading Democrats that impeachment is the correct path forward. Asked on Monday about impeaching Kavanaugh, New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the Democratic leader of the House Judiciary Committee, said, "We have our hands full with impeaching the president right now.

Owens, the Supreme Court expert, thinks that successful impeachment of Kavanaugh is impossible in the current environment. Theres no way that theyre going to get enough Senate Republicans to join on, he said.

Still, the allegations will likely continue to hang over Kavanaughs tenure on the bench, especially if further reporting provides more details about the new allegation. And if Democrats win a Senate majority in 2020, the judge already a political lightning rod could eventually join Samuel Chase in making dubious history.

In 2014, many fans of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah were hopeful that a film adaptation of the novel was in the works. Especially after Lupita Nyongo optioned rights for the novel. But as the years passed, the film never came, even though the book sparked international interest and acclaim. The novel won the National Book Critics Circle Fiction in 2013, and landed on the New York Times Book Reviews Ten Best Books of 2013. Americanah thoughtfully explored race, immigration, post 9/11 politics, and identity, in what the New York Times called a witheringly trenchant and hugely empathetic love story.

Now, nearly six years later, reports have confirmed that the adaptation will be on the silver screen as a limited series starring Lupita Nyongo, with Danai Gurira attached as showrunner and executive producer.

Heres everything we know about the new project.

The show will air on HBO Max.

While there hasnt been a set schedule released for the 10-episode limited series, it did find a home at HBO MAX, a streaming service in development by the company. The network announced that they are proudly taking on Ngozi Adichie's work.

Americanah has sparked a cultural phenomenon and is revered by fans around the world. It has affected me deeply as one of the most moving, socially relevant and romantic stories of our time, said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content at HBO Max, in a statement to Deadline. With exceptional talent like Lupita and Danai in front of and behind the camera, this series will give viewers a uniquely heartfelt and unforgettable experience.

Lupita Nyongo will star in the main role.

According to Deadline, Nyongo will star as Ifemelu, the protagonist of the book. Ifemelu is a young Nigerian woman who moves to the United States to attend university and in doing so deals with the ramifications of loving a man who lives across the ocean, and learning about what it means to be black outside of Nigeria.

Americanah has been a passion project for me since I read Chimamandas beautiful novel in 2013. Its a tale that is simultaneously timely and timeless, said Nyongo to Deadline. HBO Max is the perfect partner to bring this profound and celebrated story to life, and Im thrilled that Danai will bring to the project her intelligence, wit, and understanding of the stories and the worlds of Americanah.

Brad Pitts production company will produce the show.

Brad Pitts company, Plan B, has been signed on to produce the show. They have been attached to the project since Nyongo optioned it in 2014. Plan B also produced 12 Years A Slave which Nyongo also starred in. Andrea Calderwood for Potboiler Television, Didi Rea and Danielle Del for D2 Productions, and Nancy Won are also named as produces on the show, according to Variety.

The rest of the cast and crew has yet to be announced.

The rest of the shows cast and crew remains to be seen. David Oyelowo was originally cast in the film as Ifemelus love, Obinze, according to Vice, but it is not clear if he is still set to star in the show.

Gurira is confirmed to be writing the pilot of the episode, alongside showrunning and executive producing the series, but it is unknown who else will be brought into the writer's room.

This is not the first time Nyong'o and Gurira have worked together.

Beyond their roles as co-stars in Marvels Black Panther, Gurira and Nyong'o have been involved in other critically acclaimed projects. Nyong'o starred in Guriras six-time Tony-nominated play Eclipsed, about the civil war in Liberia. The play, which ran in 2016, received raving reviews and made Broadway history for its majority female cast and crew.

This post will be continuously updated.

A study released today found that for 1 in 16 women in the US extrapolated to about 3.3 million when reflected on the US population reported that their first sexual experiences were assault, as in forced or coerced. The research, which was conducted from 2011 to 2017 and published in JAMA Internal Medicine, also found that forced sexual initiation is associated with multiple adverse reproductive and general health outcomes. To be clear, forced sexual initiation, for the purpose of this study, meant non-consensual vaginal intercourse, a.k.a rape. According to the research, these women continue to experience the negative health impacts of this for the rest of their lives.

The study surveyed 13,310 women aged 18 - 44 from a broad range of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The average age of women who experienced forced sexual initiation was 15.6, while the average age of sexual initiation for women who were not forced or coerced was 17.4. These findings imply that that girls whose first sexual encounters are non-consensual are having those experiences almost two years sooner that girls who choose intercourse with their first sexual partners. The study notes that the developmental stage of the girls who were raped is, a time of heightened physical and psychological vulnerability.

The average age for the men involved in forced sexual initiation was 27 years old, six years older than the age of men who had consensual initiatory sex with women. At their base, the findings essentially show that for 3.3 million American female children, losing their virginity means being raped by adult men.

Another poignant finding: Women who had experienced forced sexual initiation were more likely to be people of color, less likely to have been born in the United States, and less likely to have completed formal education. This is more evidence that socioeconomically marginalized populations were also placed at unique risk for adverse reproductive health outcomes, such as increased sexual risk behaviors, increased rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, and unwanted first pregnancies, according to the study.

Indeed, women who were sexually assaulted during their first sexual experience were twice as likely to consider themselves in poor health, 10% more likely to have difficulty completing tasks outside the home, and more likely to have had an abortion, reproductive issues, or problems with ovulation and/or menstruation, the research found. The study concluded that, the ubiquity of forced sexual initiation should encourage those providing clinical care to women to develop tools to identify and treat trauma.

If you suspect that you or someone you care about is experiencing sexual abuse, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE. If you or someone you care about needs counseling or legal advice about sexual abuse, please call the Sexual Assult Counseling Center at (406) 586-3333.

On the bus ride to an event called The Music of Prince, my friends and I reminisced about The Purple Ones life. We speculated what the cover band would play live, all while our children played in the back seat, more concerned with Pokmon than Prince.

The Music of Prince is just one of many family-friendly concerts presented by The Rock & Roll Playhouse. They also have shows that highlight different bands and genres like Hip-Hop for Kids, Reggae for Kids, and even The Grateful Dead for Kids. According to the company's website, their shows incorporate live music, movement, and games.

The week leading up to the concert, I listened to Prince non-stop; in excitement and to prepare my kids for the upcoming show. In the car, I sang in a falsetto tone along to "It's Gonna Be Lonely." My two sons stared out of the car window.

This is pretty much the dynamic with my children. As a music lover and DJ at a community radio station, I pride myself on giving my sons a musical education; playing them albums that are meaningful to me, hoping that it sparks an interest. Nevermind the fact they usually ask me to turn down the music or switch to The Dinosaur Train theme song.

I know Im not the only parent obsessed with making sure their kids inherit their taste in music. When I saw the 2012 Portlandia skit "Shooting Star Preschool," the music lover in me felt seen. In it, the PTA discusses the music available to their children at school. After emphasizing that Harry Nillson, Kraftwork, and Noid should be available to their children, Carrie Brownsteins character points out, "What they listen to here, will affect them for the rest of their lives."

I feel like Elton John would have loved that skit. In a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, the legendary singer talked about playing some of his favorite songs for his twin boys when they were babies. We put on [the iPod] lullaby versions of songs by Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, and the Beatles. Linda Ronstadts Dedicated to the One I Love, Carole Kings Tapestry, James Taylor, Simon and Garfunkels Greatest Hits and Kate Bush, because we love her so much.

But according to experts, neither I nor Elton John has the power to influence our kids music preferences. Robert Cutietta, author of Raising Musical Kids: A Parent's Guide, says a parent's effort to expose their children to their favorite music is usually in vain. When we spoke, he said parents shouldn't be playing their children one type of music, and that wanting a kid to like your taste in music is, "a dead end." He maintains that offering your kids a diverse music selection is important, but what your kids need to know is not what kind of music you love only that you love music. "They see the parent involved with music whether it's listening, whether it's dancing, whether it's playing, and that's what's remembered, and that's what's learned."

Lili M. Levinowitz, Ph.D., co-founder of Music Together, a music and movement program for parents and children, affirmed the importance of music participation with children. Her advice: Sing to it. Dance to it. Dont be passive. She also stressed that children should be surrounded by an assortment of music. Diversity is important just because of the kinds of musical experiences they're going to get and the music [is] what we like to call ear food [buffet].

"They see the parent involved with music whether it's listening, whether it's dancing, whether it's playing, and that's what's remembered, and that's what's learned."

The importance of being engaged in music together is more than just a nice idea; theres data to back it up. A study by the University of Arizona surveyed 157 young adults about shared musical experiences with their parents whether its listening to music, attending concerts together, or playing instruments together and how it affected their relationship with their parents. The study found that kids raised with familial musical experiences had a better bond with their parents than kids who werent raised with music.

After talking to experts and looking at the research, it seems that the musical landscape Im surrounding my children with isnt necessarily in vain. Writing this story actually helped me see that not only have I made an effort to introduce my kids to the music I love, Ive also had the opportunity to experience music I would have never been exposed to if not for my kids. And truth be told, some of it is phenomenal.

I now know every word to the Moana and Frozen soundtracks. I have a new appreciation for Raffi and I adore Casper Babypants aka Chris Ballew, formerly the lead singer/guitarist of the rock group The Presidents of the United States of America.

I emailed Ballew to inquire whether he tried to influence his children's taste in music. He wrote, "I suppose it crossed my mind that whatever I listened to while my kids were young would be influential, but it didn't influence what I chose to listen to in their presence. I like an incredible variety of music, and I exposed them to all of it. He added, As they've grown up we've exchanged influences, and they've turned me onto music that I've come to really love."

While at the grocery store the other day, What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong played over the speakers. Id regularly played Louis Armstrong at home because it reminded me of my grandfather, who played the trumpet. As my six-year-old swayed to the music and started to sing along, I felt like patting myself on the back. All of my musical efforts with my children were paying off, I thought. After the tune ended, my son explained to me about how he discovered that song from the film Finding Dory.

Dead in the middle of America, the state of Nebraska sits landlocked on all sides. Trapped within its flat terrains and borders is a deep and overlooked history of violence and white supremacy particularly in the city of Omaha. It is also the birthplace of Black revolutionary Malcolm X, who began the first words of his famous autobiography with a harrowing account of his hometowns racism. When my mother was pregnant with me, as she told me later, a party of hooded Klu Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home in Omaha, Nebraska, one night. Surrounding the house, dishing shotguns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out, X wrote. Over 85 years later, the stench of racism still lingers throughout North Omaha.

In Out of Omaha, a film directed by Clay Tweel and executive produced by J. Coles Dreamville, bright and kind-hearted twins Darrell and Darcell Trotter find it hard to escape both the hard North Omaha streets and daunting generational trauma. The film follows the brothers from the ages of 19 to 25 as they grow through a series of both painful and endearing circumstances. But in order to perceive the depth of the brothers life challenges and breakthroughs, its crucial to understand how their North Omaha environment came to be.

The beginning of the film breaks down the citys demise starting in the early 20th century, with experts and archival footage explaining North Omahas past. In the early 1900s, Black people in Omaha were legally confined to a segregated part of town and only able to live and purchase a property on the north side. Decades of racial violence, unjust policy-making, and police killings followed and, in the summer of 1966, Black people expressed their pain with the North Omaha riots. Similar riots would grip the area until 1968. The already marginalized region never recovered from the physical and economic ruin.

Now, over 50 years later, just 6-miles from Nebraskas more affluent neighborhoods, its as if time continues to stand still. Stunted by laws that disproportionately impact Black people, leaving them with few options, North Omaha is where Darcelll and Darrell fight to come of age.

Out of Omaha is heavy and victorious, much like the twins uphill battles. Early on in the film, Darrell shows the audience his dim and tight spaced basement-turned-bedroom. He gives a small tour of his abode, admitting hes not home much, which explains the heaps of unfolded clothes and clutter. He then flashes a blue bandana that represents his gang just before he shakes his head and says, I dont know man. Thats why Im trying to get into school so I can get us up out of this shit here. He says that hes not an active member of the Crips and hes trying to change his life.

Its the first look at how he and his brother Darcell are grappling with two worlds. Darrell goes legit and attends school at the University of Nebraska through Avenue Scholars, a support program led by educators whove also faced similar obstacles in North Omaha. Although hes struggling, his teachers believe in his potential. My life aint perfect right now. Im still living in poverty, everyday gets hard for me. I havent made it out all the way either. Theres times when the streets call me, Darrell says during a class discussion. I hate sitting around here with no money in my pocket and Im tempted to just go out there and do what I was doing. But then, something just always pulls me back. Im too close right now to go back to that. Darcell is much more pensive and gutsy than his twin. In his earlier years, we learn, he doesnt smile as much as him either. He struggles to carve out a real plan for his future, and although he admits hes not interested in college, he understands the urgency of creating a better life.

Then, the first on-screen tragedy occurs: Darrell gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong. Darrell maintains his innocence, but despite his claims, he finds himself stuck in a unwinnable situation within the criminal justice system of Omaha. Tweel takes his time unfurling each step of this plummet. In one scene we witness Darrell, at age 19, watching his face on the news, shaking and sick from the terror.

At age 20, while Darrell is behind bars, Darcell makes the move to their estranged fathers place in Grand Island, a smaller more rural and mostly white town a few hours away. He finds a stable gig at a salvage store and does well at the job. He accredits his hustling days for strong grasp of sales. Darcells relocation to Grand Island turns out to be a godsend for his twin, who moves there instead of North Omaha once he finishes his 4-month stint in jail.

What would it be like if they each could bask in light-filled moments without a lingering threat or presence of heaviness?

Throughout the film, Darcell comes into focus appearing a bit more distant and pensive than his twin his pain sits closer to the surface. In a car scene, J. Coles song Neighbors plays as he cruises alone through his new far-out town. Darcell reveals that he left North Omaha after a gun jam saved him from making an irreversible decision. I almost killed somebody, he reveals. A close cousin had come to tell him that a man had beat her, so Darcell went out looking for revenge. That kind of uncanny divine order steps in each time the brothers hit a wall. As each year goes by, it feels like the universe is playing a series of cruel jokes on the twins and their loved ones. And each time, at the very last minute before it all falls down, the two of them are given another chance, or reminded of their redemption.

Nothing seems to happen quickly or overnight in their lives, except for hard times. Theres so much waiting for verdicts, shift ends, due dates, and breakthroughs. And when blessings like fatherhood, new jobs, and freedom arrive, they still require either or both of the twins to work hard. What would it be like if they each could bask in light-filled moments without a lingering threat or presence of heaviness? Survival mode makes it almost impossible to see both the present and future clearly and time feels reduced to fleeting moments. Tweels decision to follow them closely at such formative ages humanizes their experiences and does a beautiful job of supporting and revealing their tenderness as they go on. With each pull backward, Darcell and Darrell find the strength and collective energy to press forward. The story comes full circle when they use their combined experience and intellect to open a salvage store of their own.

For the brothers, pressing forward doesnt mean abandoning their roots. In fact their neighborhoods, earlier days of stagnant grief, and loved ones who didnt make it out, fuel their desire to reimagine their realities. As they reach their mid 20s, we come to see that North Omaha, and all of its pain, has imbued Darrell and Darcell with the empathy, vision, and resilience to finish the dreams theyd imagined as eager boys at 19. In the closing of the documentary, they echo one another with a phrase that takes them back to those old days that seemed full of panic, but in retrospect carries a youthful innocence. "Reminiscing about how we used to chill, now we all grown up. Shit just got real."

Out of Omaha is available for streaming now on Starz.

On Friday, the Toronto Raptors made strides to recognize fans of all cultures by unveiling a team-branded athletic hijab, becoming the first team in the NBA to sell merchandise centered around the head covering worn by some Muslim women. The Raptors partnered with Nike and were inspired by the Hijabi Ballers, a local Muslim womens organization that organizes basketball games at a community court associated with the team.

They really wanted to involve local Muslim female athletes, the groups founder, Amreen Kadwa, told the New York Times. There was a genuine partnership and interest to highlight this group, making it authentic to the Muslim community. Its been received positively among Muslim females and Raptors fans. Toronto is a great multicultural city to introduce something like this.

Multicultural pride is paramount in the city of Toronto, so much so that the words Diversity Our Strength are inscribed on its coat of arms. More than half of its residents grow up speaking a language other than English, and 400,000 Muslims live in the Toronto area, according to the latest available Canadian census data.

Nike and the Raptors debuted the hijab in a video posted to Twitter on Friday, noting the garments were inspired by those brave enough to change the game.

It sends a powerful message of inclusion to the Muslim community, Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director of The Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Times. I think the Raptors deserve to be congratulated for taking a step that other teams have yet to make.

Predictably, the head coverings drew ire from some critics who called the hijab a symbol of oppression. FIFA upheld a ban on the hijab until 2014, and even barred Irans womens football team from competing in a 2011 Olympic qualifying match because of their head coverings. The International Basketball Federation didnt overturn a ban on athletes wearing hijab and yarmulke until 2017. The issue of hijab in sports continues to prove divisive.

Its hard for me to understand that, Mustafa Farooq, executive director of The National Council of Canadian Muslims told the Associated Press. One of the beautiful things about sports is that everyone can play. Highlighting that [..]. everyone should get a shot is such a beautiful thing to do, so obviously we thank the Raptors for taking this step.

On September 1, Hurricane Dorian pummeled the northern Bahamas with top sustained winds of 185 miles per hour and up to 25 feet of water, ranking among the strongest Atlantic hurricanes to make landfall, per the Associated Press. Over the next day, it destroyed homes, businesses, and communities. At least 50 people have died, while 1,300 or so remain missing. Luckily, the Bahamas managed to avoid the full force of Humberto which passed the region on September 14 and has been strengthened to a Category 1 Hurricane as it continues to recover from Dorian, CNN reports. But Dorian has also left behind less visible wreckage: the mental health effects hurricanes can have on people who live through them.

Mental health counselors have begun helping community members traumatized by Dorian, the AP reports. Pastor Robert Lockhart invited his congregation at Calvary Temple in Grand Bahama to share their experiences. Carlos Evans, 49, who uses a wheelchair, described trying not to panic as the water continued to creep upward. It took nearly two days for rescuers to retrieve him. He hoped his story would embolden others to share theirs.

Indeed, research has shown that hurricanes can wreak havoc on mental health. A study published on September 5 found that people living in England whose homes had been damaged by storms or floods had a 50% higher likelihood of poor mental health than those whose homes hadnt sustained such damage.

Results from a study of those affected by Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Houston area from August to September 2017, were consistent with these findings; 48% of Harris County residents whose homes were severely damaged showed signs of serious psychological distress. Meanwhile, people who lacked access to medical care during Hurricane Sandy, which struck the New York area in October 2012, were more likely to display anxiety, PTSD, and depression symptoms than those who had access to medical care.

These emotional scars can persist, and current storms can re-open them. "Stress can compound upon itself, Carrie Brown, of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, explains in a video on how to cope with stress after a natural disaster. If [people] lived through a hurricane in the past, it can bring up all of the feelings and even the physical sensations that they experienced when they survived the previous hurricane.

Persistent worry, anxiety, and sleep issues are common during and around the time a hurricane strikes, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). So, too, is the fear of a forecasted storm turning into a hurricane, despite a low risk of it doing so, as well as intrusive memories, thoughts, or nightmares tied to the storm. Frequent arguing with loved ones may also be a sign of emotional distress linked to hurricanes.

For those who are experiencing any of this, or are worried about a friend or family member who've dealt with hurricane-related trauma, there are very specific resources available. Call the 24/7, year-round, toll-free, and confidential SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs (Hablanos for Spanish speakers) to 66746 to speak with a trained crisis counselor if you or a friend or loved one displays these symptoms for two or more weeks. Text TalkWithUs to 1-212-461-4635 if you speak English and reside in US territories.

SAMSHA also has tips in English and Spanish for managing stress in the wake of a hurricane or other traumatic event, along with a list of professional mental health resources. Since navigating these resources can feel overwhelming, the agency also offers a mental health and substance use disorder services roadmap. In addition, SAMSHA has published a guide for spotting reactions to disasters or other traumatic events in kids and youth and supporting their recovery, as well as tips in English and Spanish for disaster responders to prevent and deal with stress. While experiencing a natural disaster may feel incredibly isolating, know that youre not alone, and that support is available.

If you sweat during the day, work outdoors, or have just been experiencing clogged pores, it's probably time to start exfoliating your skin. One easy way to make this a habit is to stock your shower with a good face scrub one that you'll actually enjoy using. But given all the options out there, shopping for a grooming product that will work for your skin can be overwhelming. No matter: Ahead, a handy guide to the best face scrubs for men.

Before you start scrubbing away, there are a few things to know. A lot of face scrubs are filled with heavy-duty exfoliators, which means they don't need to be used every day. In fact, over-exfoliating your skin can lead to irritation, so try limiting your face scrub sessions to a few days a week, especially in the beginning. Once you've seen how your skin reacts, you can start using one every other day.

If you have sensitive skin (maybe your face is prone to redness or you break out easily), be careful with the scrub you choose since some of them can be very abrasive. Below, you'll find a few gentle options that are sensitive skin-friendly as well as a face scrub for daily use, a formula that treats acne, and an all-natural cleanser infused with coffee grounds.

1. The Best Face Scrub for Daily Use (& the Best Value)

Cetaphil Extra Gentle Daily Scrub (2 Pack)

Amazon

For a face scrub you can use every day, there's Cetaphil's extra-gentle daily scrub. There's nothing fancy about this one: It's simple in the best way. Using micro-fine particles, it buffs away dead skin without being drying, so your face feels soft instead of stripped. As a bonus, you get two big 5-ounce bottles for just over $10, so you'll be stocked for a while.

"This is my favorite cleanser," writes one reviewer. "It's incredibly gentle and like it says it doesn't dry out your face at all. This gets used nearly every day by my wife and I."

Another fan describes it as "light and airy with a fresh scent," and then goes on to note: "After rinsing, my skin is noticeably smoother and feels cleaner."

2. The Best Natural Face Scrub

Thrive Energy Scrub

Amazon

Free of artificial ingredients, this all-natural face scrub is made of plant-based exfoliants and oils that work to keep your skin smooth, clear, and soft. Instead of harsh shell powders, Thrive's scrub uses coffee grounds and biodegradable jojoba beads to cleanse and exfoliate skin, while the ingredient juanilama (which has antibacterial properties) helps keep blemishes and ingrown hairs at bay. The brand recommends using it every two to three days, and each purchase helps support Costa Rican farmers, who grow many of Thrive's ingredients.

Reviewers describe the scent as "masculine, natural and earthy." One fan said it cleared up his back acne in a matter of days, while another swears by it for clearing up "beard burn."

3. The Best Face Scrub for Acne

Neutrogena Naturals Acne Foaming Facial Scrub

Amazon

If you're dealing with recurring acne, you probably need a medicated face scrub like this one from Neutrogena. It contains 1 percent salicylic acid one of the most effective acne-fighting ingredients around. Salicylic acid penetrates deep into your pores to remove pimple-causing dead skin and oil, though, since it's naturally-derived, it's a more gentle alternative to harsher acidic formulas. The brand says you can use it every day, but it's still wise to start with a few times a week to see how your skin tolerates it.

"It is extremely gentle and great at cleansing pores without irritating skin," reports one reviewer. "My breakouts have literally stopped since I started using this. It is amazing."

4. The Best Face Scrub for Sensitive Skin

La Roche-Posay Ultra-Fine Face Scrub For Sensitive Skin

Amazon

If your skin is on the sensitive side, try this gentle face scrub from La Roche-Posay. Free of alcohol, soap, and sulfates, it uses ultra-fine pumice particles to exfoliate, while the brand's signature thermal spring water helps soothe and refresh skin. The only downside is that it comes in a pretty small bottle, though this can actually be a good thing if you travel a lot. Use it two to three times a week, and it'll aim to make your face smoother and clearer with time.

"I love this scrub! It is very gentle but also very effective. It does not irritate or cause any redness. In fact my skin seems LESS red than usual. It also smells amazing. Not strong but light and fresh and clean," reports one reviewer.

5. The Best Face Scrub for Uneven-Looking Skin

Touch Microdermabrasion Facial Scrub

Amazon

Formulated without any harsh sulfates or alcohol, this face scrub contains finely ground microdermabrasion crystals to give your skin a gritty, yet non-irritating, cleanse. In addition to helping to keep blackheads and ingrown hairs at bay, it can also fade the appearance of scarring and hyperpigmentation so your complexion becomes smoother and more even over time. The brand recommends using this scrub just once or twice a week to avoid over-exfoliating your skin.

Multiple users report results after just a few days, with many fans calling it "magic" and the "perfect scrub."

One reviewer writes, "This product deeply cleansed my skin, but didnt irritate or dry my face out at all. After using, my skin feels so much smoother and brighter. I have also seen a drastic improvement on my blackheads and inflammation from acne."

Mic may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was created independently from Mic's editorial and sales departments.

A product's price tag doesn't always serve as reliable proof of how useful it can be. So when you find an item that doesn't break the bank and does an amazing job like these 39 cheap but extremely effective products on Amazon that have a massive fan base it becomes a keeper.

That's why these straight-up genius products score solid reviews, stars, and scores of fans. A good number of them cost less than $20, and some are single-digit cheap. But their prices give zero indication of how often you'll find yourself relying on them and how many times you'll come back to reorder these practical products, which are destined to become new favorites.

Reviewers can't stop talking about products like a portable teeth whitening pen that you can use to brighten your smile on-the-go (and after a glass of wine). They're raving about a cube tracker that helps you find your lost wallet, keys, and phone. They're making midnight bathroom trips guided by a color-changing LED toilet night light. And they're preventing headaches and eye strain by wearing blue light-blocking eyeglasses when they use laptops and other devices.

And those are just a few items you'll find on this list of cheap, super effective products that you'll love.

1. This flexible phone tripod with a wireless remote shutter

Ubeesize Tripod

Amazon

Position your phone on this flexible tripod, where it stays stable and can be set up to take perfect hands-free photos and selfies. The tripod comes with a wireless remote shutter so that you (and your photo subjects) can get into your poses before clicking a button and snapping a great pic. The lightweight tripod has octopus legs and is also compatible with traditional cameras and sports equipment.

2. A moldable glue for DIY fixes that turns into silicone rubber

Sugru Moldable Glue

Amazon

Fix sneaker soles that have come undone, broken pot handles, and other disasters that require DIY repairs with this moldable glue. It dries within 24 hours into a hardened silicone rubber that is then resistant to water, heat, cold, and is electrically insulating. The glue comes in a number of colors and bonds materials as diverse as glass, ceramic, wood, and plastic.

3. These wireless Bluetooth headphones that stay in your ears during workouts

Senso Bluetooth Headphones

Amazon

Listen to music and podcasts and take phone calls at any time even during a workout with these wireless Bluetooth headphones, which stay perfectly in place in your ears. The ear buds have adjustable ear hooks that stay in place over your ears and are completely comfortable. And this convenient accessory connects with devices that are located as far as 30 feet away.

4. An odor-resistant sponge that scrubs without scratching surfaces

Scrub Daddy

Amazon

Remove caked-on food debris and grease from surfaces like pots and pans without scratching surfaces. This Shark Tank-approved sponge scrubs and cleans every surface under the sun, from cast iron to leather and stainless steel. Its also resistant to mold and mildew, which means it can fight off odors. Use the eye holes to secure your grip, and the smile as an easy way to clean utensils thoroughly.

5. The flexible drain clog remover that scoops up hair and gunk

FlexiSnake Drain Millipede

Amazon

Dig deep into drains and unclog every trapped strand of hair and bit of debris before any of it has a chance to clog your pipes. This flexible drain snake measures 18 inches and is thin enough to get into the most narrow pipes. It has an easy-to-grip handle and 360-degree rotation that gets nasty gunk out within seconds.

6. A hydrating argan oil hair mask that repairs dry, damaged strands

Professional Series Hydrating Argan Oil Mask

Amazon

Repair dry, damaged hair and keep strands conditioned and glossy with the help of this incredible argan oil hair mask. The deeply moisturizing mask is infused with vitamins and minerals and is free of sulfates and parabens, which makes it perfect for all hair types including colored and processed hair. One reviewer wrote: "My hair was very thin and brittle to the point that running a brush through my hair was causing it to break...After using Arvazallia the first time I noticed that it had already started helping. After about five treatments my hair was silky smooth, thick, hydrated, and had volume."

7. This snap-on strainer that fits bowls and pots and saves space

Kitchen Gizmo Snap 'N Strain Strainer

Amazon

Why take up valuable cabinet space with a full-sized colander when this snap-on strainer fits most pots, pans, and bowls and can be used at a moment's notice to drain liquid from foods (while conveniently keeping food in the pot)? The silicone strainer comes in three colors and is dishwasher-safe.

8. The ear buds covers that ensure they never fall out of your ears

Earbuddyz Ear Hooks and Covers (3-Pack)

Amazon

No matter how much you move, run, or workout hard, these ear bud covers keep AirPods and EarPods perfectly in place in your ears with secure hooks. Designed from comfortable silicone, the covers come three in a pack in one of four colors: clear, black, pink, or blue.

9. These acne-healing patches made from natural ingredients

Acne Pimple Master Patch

Amazon

Made from natural, anti-inflammatory hydrocolloid, these wearable acne patches dry up pus and help heal and shrink pimples while you sleep. You'll get 72 round patches in two different sizes that will fit over any breakout. Wear one before bed or on days when you're hanging around the house (or, hey, wear them out everyone gets zits) and they will start working immediately to heal acne.

10. A water-resistant Bluetooth portable speaker with a really long range

OontZ Angle 3 Bluetooth Portable Speaker

Amazon

Go on and place your phone up to 100 feet away from this amazing Bluetooth speaker it can handle the distance. This waterproof speaker boasts a microphone and crystal-clear load sound with an interesting and unique triangular design. The lightweight speaker is compatible with a variety of devices and can play up to 14 hours of continuous music or podcasts before requiring a charge (a micro USB charging cable is included). It even comes in seven fun colors and prints.

11. An electric sandwich maker with separate compartments for fresh ingredients

Hamilton Beach Breakfast Electric Sandwich Maker

Amazon

Whip up delicious breakfast (or anytime of day) sandwiches with this electric sandwich maker, which features separate compartments for bread, eggs, and meat or veggies. The convenient machine cooks ingredients within five minutes and makes it a snap to assemble everything. All of the parts are removable and dishwasher-safe.

12. These strong gear ties that can hold up against outside elements

Nite Ize Original Gear Tie (4 Pack)

Amazon

Flimsy ties fall apart at the mere mention of water, wind, or strong direct sunlight. But these reusable rubber ties are in a class all their own they're strong, sturdy, and capable of holding cables and gear together for the long haul. The ties are resistant to water and UV rays so feel free to use them outdoors and indoors.

13. The toilet spray that neutralizes bad odors instead of masking them

Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray

Amazon

Neutralize bad odors before they have a chance to permeate the air in your bathroom (or worse, the bathroom at someone else's house). This natural toilet spray is made from natural compounds like essential oils that attack smells instead of masking them with heavy, obvious perfumes. It comes in a portable spray package and is safe to use in all septic systems.

14. An all-day eyeliner with a smudge-free formula

stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

Amazon

This waterproof liquid eyeliner is so versatile use it to create a thin line of color on your lid or a bolder cat's eye. The highly pigmented liner has a fine marker point tip and won't smudge, even after a long day at work. It comes in nine colors like alloy, indigo, and dark brown. Reviewers love it for its sharp point and its ability to last through workouts and sweat.

15. This pain-relieving spray for sore muscles with cooling menthol

Biofreeze Pain Relief Spray

Amazon

The moment your body shows signs of muscle aches and joint pains, apply a light layer of this pain-relieving spray to benefit from immediate relief. The cooling formula is made with menthol and is free of NSAIDs, parabens, and dyes. One reviewer explains how it works: "The spray goes on evenly and within a minute the targeted begins to feel ice cold so much so, it feels hot! About 10 minutes later, the cold heat passes, as does most of the menthol smell, giving way for the blessed numbness and relief deep deep down in the targeted joint or muscle."

16. A smart plug that lets you set up lighting and appliance schedules

Kasa Smart WiFi Plug

Amazon

This smart plug syncs with voice commands and is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant. Use the Kasa app to set up helpful lighting and appliance schedules from anywhere you roam that will ensure you never waste an extra penny on your electric bill.

17. The color-changing night light for your toilet bowl

Ailun Toilet Night Light (2 Pack)

Amazon

If there's one place in your home that could use a night light, it's your toilet bowl think of how many stubbed toes could be avoided on midnight bathroom breaks. This LED toilet night light is simple to install on bowls and features eight color-changing lights for fun and ambiance. It has a motion sensor that stays on for two minutes after last detecting motion.

18. This detangling brush that glides through wet hair

Wet Brush

Amazon

Detangle knots and save major amounts of time after your shower with the help of this wet brush, which has gentle bristles that glide effortlessly through wet hair without pulling it and causing breakage and split ends. The brush comes in 13 colors and is safe for all hair types and even wigs and hair extensions.

19. An emergency radio that gives weather updates & has a flashlight

RunningSnail Emergency Hand Crank Self Powered Radio

Amazon

You'll feel a lot more at ease during an emergency when you have this emergency radio in your tool kit. The radio provides weather updates and has a built-in LED flashlight and power bank for your smartphone. You can keep it charged in one of three convenient ways: using a micro USB charging cable, solar charging, or with its manual hand crank, just in case the power goes out.

20. The indoor security camera with 2-way audio and night vision

Wyze Cam

Amazon

You don't have to spend a fortune to rig up your home with security cameras that keep it safe. This indoor security camera won't break the bank and comes with a number of incredible features like night vision, two-way audio so that you can speak to family, roommates, and pets, and even person detection. It's easy to install and is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant.

21. These blue light-blocking glasses to prevent eye strain

TIJN Blue Light Blocking Glasses

Amazon

Staring at computer screens all day takes a toll on you and can lead to eye strain and headaches or migraines. Prevent that from happening and do it in style with these blue light-blocking eyeglasses. The glasses are designed with blue light filter lenses that work when using your devices. They have square plastic frames and come in 11 shades and prints like leopard, green, and pink.

22. The pain-relieving insoles that offer major foot support

Walk-Hero Comfort and Support Insoles

Amazon

If you suffer from plantar fasciitis or one of many other painful foot conditions, these simple insoles provide arch support and cushioned relief to make walking and standing all day a million times more comfortable. The shock-absorbent insoles slip right into shoes and sneakers and come in three colors. Each pair can last up to two years and they're easy to clean with warm water.

23. A trio of sports bras that hold up during high-intensity workouts

Mirity Racerback Sports Bras (3-Pack)

Amazon

Some sports bras are great for yoga and low-intensity exercise, but simply fall flat when it comes time to really rev up your workouts. But this sports bra, which comes in a pack of three, supports and holds you in place regardless of your workout of choice. The racerback bra has a pull-over design with removable pads and cooling moisture-wicking fabrics.

• Available sizes: S-XXXL

24. This tub drain protector that you insert inside of your drain

TubShroom Tub Drain Protector

Amazon

Theres nothing worse than soaking in a relaxing tub only to find your tub drain protector has come undone and is now floating in your bath water. This drain protector is designed so that you insert it into drains, where it stays in place and collects hair strands and debris before any gunk has a chance of passing through and messing with pipes. The catcher comes in six colors and works in tubs, showers, and sinks.

25. An adhesive bath mat with strong suction power and mold-resistant drain holes

Gorilla Grip Bath Mat

Amazon

This strong antibacterial bath mat wont slip and slide in your tub or shower, nor will you lift it to find a ring of mold and mildew left behind. It stays in place with 324 suction cups and features drain holes that allow for air flow to prevent mold and mildew (and odors). The latex-free mat comes in 19 colors and is safe to clean in your washing machine.

26. The natural shoe deodorizer made with essential oils

Lumi Outdoors Natural Shoe Deodorizer Spray

Amazon

Its 100 percent possible to keep unpleasant foot odors at bay without filling your shoes and home with toxic chemicals. This natural foot deodorizer is made with essential oils like organic tea tree, mint, and lemongrass oils. A spray or two in your shoes and feet is all you need to neutralize bacteria and smell amazing all day, every day.

27. A clarifying, deep pore cleaning clay treatment

Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay

Amazon

You wont find a single chemical or preservative or anything other than loose bentonite clay in this huge tub of deep pore cleansing clay for your face and body. The natural clay is perfect for whipping up DIY treatments and digs deep to unclog pores and remove excess sebum that causes pimples, blackheads, and whiteheads. Best of all: one jar will last months.

28. An odor-resistant scrubbing cloth for pots, dishes, and counters

The Crown Choice Dish Cloth (3 Pack)

Amazon

If youre going through sponges at a rate of one or two per week, its time to stop the madness and save money. This odor-resistant dish cloth is perfect for scrubbing pots, pans, dishes, and surfaces like counters without scratching them. Its triple stitched to ensure durability and is resistant to mold and mildew, which means it wont get that nasty smell that causes you to throw sponges out faster than you can replace them.

29. This alcohol-free toner with aloe that calms sensitive skin

Thayer's Facial Toner

Amazon

Soothe sensitive skin, calm and neutralize redness, and prep your complexion for serums and moisturizers with this hydrating facial toner, which is free of drying alcohol and safe on all skin types. The toner, which is used after cleanser, is formulated with amazing ingredients like aloe vera, witch hazel, and rose petals.

30. The portable teeth whitening pen so you can brighten your smile after that cup of coffee

AsaVea Teeth Whitening Pen (2 Pack)

Amazon

Brighten your smile fast and naturally no matter how far from your toothbrush you roam. This teeth whitening pen comes in a portable package that fits in your bag or purse and can be used anywhere. Jet into the nearest restroom after that glass of wine or coffee and brush up with this bleach-free formula that can whiten teeth by up to eight shades.

31. A miniature charger that's powerful enough to give your phone a full charge

RAVPower Portable Chargers

Amazon

Give your phone a full charge no matter where you are without taking up a ton of space in your bag with this miniature charger. The external battery features a 1A output and 1A input with a clip-inspired design that keeps the charger from rolling off your desk or table. It comes in three colors and has a quality lithium-ion battery that provides more than 500 battery charge cycles.

32. An intensely hydrating hyaluronic acid serum that locks in moisture

Cosmedica Skincare Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Amazon

Few ingredients come close to hyaluronic acid when it comes to locking in moisture and keeping skin smooth and hydrated. And this affordable hyaluronic acid serum is the only product you need to achieve hydrated skin goodness. The non-greasy formula absorbs in seconds and is free of parabens, oils, dyes, and fragrances.

33. This tracking device that ensures you never lose another item again

Cube Smart Tracker

Amazon

Attach this smart tracker to items that you tend to lose like keys or your handbag and then simply use the CUBE tracker app to find that item. And if youre worried about misplacing your phone, the tracker can still be used to locate your device, even without the app. The cherry on top? You can use the cube as a shutter button for your phone camera.

34. An aromatherapy essential oil diffuser and humidifier with color-changing lights

URPOWER Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser

Amazon

Set the perfect mood in any room and create a soothing atmosphere with this aromatherapy essential oil diffuser. The diffuser features seven color-changing LED lights and can be programmed to four timer settings so that it automatically shuts off after 60, 180, or 360 minutes. The generous tank fits 300 milliliters of water and boasts a high or low mist mode.

35. These compression foot sleeves that boost circulation and relieve foot pain

SB SOX Compression Foot Sleeves

Amazon

These supportive compression sleeves provide better arch support and boost circulation, helping to relieve pain if you suffer from a foot condition like plantar fasciitis. Made from antibacterial material that prevents odors, these comfortable sleeves come in four sizes and nine colors. Wear alone or under socks to make walking and even running more comfortable.

36. A wedge pillow that elevates your legs and improves spinal alignment

Cushy Form Knee Pillow .

Amazon

Improve your spinal alignment while you sleep and help get rid of aches and pains in your legs and hips with this wedge pillow. The pillow fits perfectly under knees and is made from supportive memory foam that springs back to life after pressure has been placed on it. The half-moon bolster pillow comes with a washable organic cotton cover.

37. The smooth spiral hair ties that blend in with brunette hair colors

Kitsch Spiral Hair Ties (8 Pack)

Amazon

No more knots and no more tangles those are the promises delivered by these spiral hair ties, which are made from smooth plastic that glides right through hair. These cute spiral ties wont leave obvious bumps and dents in your hair and they come in a number of brunette shades that range from light brown to nearly black and blend in with darker hair colors.

38. This wallet-size multi tool with 18 useful functions

Wallet Ninja

Amazon

To the naked eye, this looks like a credit card. But its actually so much more this wallet-size multi-tool has 18 functions. Take it out at a moments notice and use it as a bottle opener, cellphone stand, can opener, hex wrench, or even a screwdriver to fix broken eyeglasses.

Mic may receive a portion of sales from products purchased from this article, which was created independently of Mic's editorial and sales departments.

Amy Quichiz is not what our society has traditionally presented as a plant-based activist. She eschews cultish vegan dogma in favor of open-mindedness. She practices more than she preaches. And shes not skinny, white, straight, or socioeconomically privileged enough to throw exotic fruits and house-made seitan into a Whole Foods basket every other day. Still, to say Quichiz is compelling is an understatement: The unique combination of her coquettish disposition and the informed conviction of a not-yet-jaded organizer has captured a huge audience who seem to buy exactly what shes selling.

It sounded so small when it started, Quichiz, 24, says about the idea of creating a queer-led collective for women of color, with a focus on veganism, when she was a sophomore in college. It began, officially, in January 2018 as a way to share recipes via Instagram and show others how to eat a plant-based diet on a modest budget. Soon, Quichiz and her friend (and now co-founder), Mariah Bermeo, 23, watched the grassroots organization now known as Veggie Mijas flourish rapidly in a matter of months.

At the time, Bermeo was getting assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps; it was one of the catalysts that led them to start organizing vegan potluck events on social media. As the collective grew, the modest gatherings evolved into well-attended panel discussions on topics such as food justice and how to plant your own herbs.

Later on, there were farm sanctuary trips and yoga sessions that promoted mindfulness practices. A year-and-a-half later, theyve taken their online enthusiasm off the grid with a global community consisting queer, women, and non-binary folks of color in the States, as well as in Peru, Australia, and Canada, who connect often and bolster each others wellness aspirations.

Quichiz, the child of a Colombian mother and Peruvian father, wanted to create a space for more vegans like her queer Latinas to raise awareness of the positive impact fruit and vegetables can bring into Black and Brown communities and to challenge the mainstream stereotype of what a vegan looks like: white, female, fancy yoga-pants wearing, organic-eating, affluent, and thin.

Veganism has always been centered in whiteness Quichiz says. Its important to have a space for marginalized folks, especially when we are talking about a plant-based lifestyle, in which were often excluded from the conversation. Nearly 600 scientific publications have documented racial and ethnic disparities in health care. When looking at the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S., for example, mortality rates among Black Americans are higher than among white Americans. Its no surprise why minorities, Black American Americans and Latinx included, are turning to a plant-based diet for more balance and better health.

People of color also experience underrepresentation in the vegan mainstream, Quichiz tells Mic. She used to be the only person of color at vegan events she attended while in college and having white vegan friends who often policed her for her decisions. Many would shame her for not being a real vegan if she ate a free meal on campus and took the meat off the plate their shade is, she now knows, an egregious example of privileged snobbery. That food-shaming, at one time, made Quichiz feel that a vegan lifestyle was out of her reach.

But contrary to the narrative, many Black and Brown communities are rooted in the notion of veganism. The movement often forgets to credit the origins of veganism; non-meat eating cultures have existed well before the current Westernized diet trend. Jainism, an ancient religion from India, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even Rastafarianism, developed in Jamaica, is just one of a few groups that promote a plant-based diet. Beef, pork, chicken, lamb. and goat only came to Mexico's indigenous native communities after the Spanish conquest. In Pre-Columbian times, many followed a plant-based diet.

But of course, youre not hearing any of this on your Beginners Guide to Going Vegan.

Although Quichiz says that eating whole foods, like her ancestors did, makes her feel better, she no longer punishes herself or lets others punish her for not being vegan 100% of the time. Instead of calling it a slip, she recognizes shes making an intentional choice to not be vegan at a given time. This conscious mental shift has helped her improve her relationship with food. Many vegans and vegetarians alike are turning to a flexitarian diet, focusing on protein that comes from plants instead of animal products, but allowing meat and other animal-derived foods, like dairy, when needed.

Slipping comes with the context of being pressured to be vegan at all times, at all costs, no matter what, Quichiz says. If theres no access to vegan food at that moment and Im hungry, I will eat it.

Black and Brown communities are often food deserts, areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, and understanding the circumstances under why someone cant be vegan 24/7 is important to the Veggie Mijas mission. They serve as a resource for recipes with items you may already have in your pantry or might be part of your diet already like avocado, rice, beans, or plantains. This ethos also translates to its events, where vegan or not, all POC are welcomed if they have a willingness to learn.

People think veganism can be very elitist, which it can be if you're buying all these fancy products. But if you are just [striving for] a plant-based lifestyle, it's not that hard, Quichiz says. Research recommends a plant-based diet, not necessarily fully vegan. For a healthy, balanced plate, we just need to incorporate more fruits and vegetables and consume less red meat as protein, opting for beans, nuts, fish and poultry, all versatile protein sources. But most of us do not, increasing the risk for diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers.

People think veganism can be very elitist, which it can be if you're buying all these fancy products. But if you are just [striving for] a plant-based lifestyle, it's not that hard, Quichiz says.

Inspired to transition into veganism by her Latina friends (and admittedly, after watching Earthlings, a documentary about how humans use and abuse animals for their own benefit), her reasoning for transitioning into the lifestyle are vast. Being vegan aligns with her core values: feminism and protecting the environment, and the core value of feminism is equality for all. To Quichiz, Vegan feminism extends the circle of intersectionality to farmed animals.

At any Veggie Mijas event, you can find individuals with different reasons for cutting down their meat and dairy consumption, but theyre all equally respected within the group. A collective that features a complete spectrum of diversity including gender, race and sexuality, Veggie Mijas is a safe place to discuss an important pillar of their lives: food, in a place without judgement and policing, thanks in part to the fact that its founders, and most of their organizers, are queer. It is made by them and for them; para y por el barrio, as they like to say.

In challenging white mainstream veganism, Quichiz wants young kids to know that they have options as far as the lifestyle they choose. Veggie Mijas now offers POC-only educational workshops on veganism and the impact kids can generate. Eating habits start from an early age, so Quichizs vision is to instill a strong sense of food values in children elementary-aged to teenagers by empowering them to eat healthier. Theres a direct line to the entire community, who Quichiz and her cohort can influence and support.

Quichiz and her group have now done workshops at schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. At the end of each workshop, they gift students with their recently-released cookbook, Casa Verde, which includes Peruvian, Dominican, Venezuelan and other traditional recipes from Latin America. The hope is that parents can also feel inspired to cook healthier meals at home.

We underestimate Black and brown kids a lot, especially when it comes to food. We think that all they eat is junk food but we don't see the options that we are giving them, Quichiz says. We don't see beyond what they can eat. If you offer them foods that make them feel good, theyre going to choose that. You just have to give them a chance.

And this doesnt mean cleaning out the full fridge and abandoning all cultural staples that arent vegan. Quichiz advocates starting by veganizing each familys favorite dishes. Papa a la huancana boiled potatoes in a savory, creamy sauce) is one of Quichiz's favorites; her mother has retained it in their family's meal rotation by subbing in vegan ingredients that mimic the richness of cheese.

Its important to empower our kids to know they can make a difference in their communities, especially when we grow up in communities where they can be violence and a lot of trauma, Quichiz says. There can be a lot of healing in planting, growing and talking about food.

On Monday morning, Sinead OConnor told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, hosts of Good Morning Britain, that during her one and only encounter with Prince, he attempted to physically assault her. According to OConnor, she went to Princes residence in California, to discuss the song he wrote for her, Nothing Compares 2U when he became violent.

At first, when recounting the event, OConnor kept her tone light but Reid interjected saying that the story was OConnor was telling sounded quite serious. OConnor responded that it was, and went into more detail about the night.

"It was a very frightening experience, O Connor said. He summoned me to his house one night and I foolishly went alone. He was uncomfortable with the fact I wasnt a protg of his and that Id just recorded the song.

According to OConnor, Prince became violent when she refused his instructions to stop swearing.

He was wanting me to be a protg of his and ordered that I dont swear in my interviews. I told him where he could go and he went for me, OConnor explained. He went upstairs and got a pillow and he had something hard in the pillow. I ran out of his house, hiding behind a tree.

She said that the two were running around Princes vehicle, he was chasing her, while she was spitting at him. Finally, she sprinted away and rang the doorbell of a nearby house, something she said her father taught her. OConnor also alleged that she was not the only person who Prince was violent with, saying he was into some pretty dark drugs at the time.

Im not the only one he went at, OConnor continued. One of the girls in his band was in the hospital with broken ribs at the time.

OConnor wasnt making these allegations for the first time in 2014 she told a Norwegian TV station nearly the exact same account, including the detail about running to ring the bell of the neighbors house because it was what her father taught her to do.

Prince didnt comment on the allegations the first time OConnor spoke about them. Prince died in April 2016, from an accidental drug overdose. His estate has yet to respond to OConnors most recent allegations about the incident, and the other women she alleged that were assaulted by Prince have also not made statements to the press.

OConnors allegations complicate Princes legacy; his passing caused collective mourning, and his contributions to music are considered to be some of the greatest of all time. But if the allegations made by OConnor are true, that greatness also has to reconcile with violence against women.

This isnt the first time OConnors comments have made the news. Last year, OConnor posted that she never wanted to spend time with white people again, and criticized Jewish and Christian theologians. OConnor made the comments after converting to Islam. Last week, she apologized for her statements, saying that they werent true then, and arent true now.