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‘Invisible Beauty’ offers a unique take on fashion through eyes of trailblazer Bethann Hardison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “I always know, because I’ve lived life long enough, you can change things,” Bethann Hardison said at the start of “Invisible Beauty,” a new documentary focused on her more than five decades in fashion.“You might need to be your foot against the pedal, but you can change things.”That’s exactly what the trailblazer has done in the fight for diversity, equity and inclusion in the fashion industry, first as a Garment District salesperson, then model, model agency owner and activist at large. She broke new ground as one of 10 Black models who participated in the “Battle of Versailles,” in 1973, that pitted five French designers and five American designers against each other at the French landmark. The historic fashion show marked its 50th anniversary this year.Later, Hardison founded the Black Girls’ Coalition that lent voice to working models of color, and she kept the heat on in the 1990s when the industry began backsliding on ...

NFLPA renews call for natural grass to help prevent injuries after Rodgers gets hurt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

FILE - New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) is helped off the field after getting injured during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. Rodgers has a torn left Achilles tendon and the 39-year-old New York Jets quarterback will miss the rest of the season, coach Robert Saleh announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)(AP/Adam Hunger) FILE - New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) is helped off the field after getting injured during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. Rodgers has a torn left Achilles tendon and the 39-year-old New York Jets quarterback will miss the rest of the season, coach R...

New Hampshire secretary of state won’t block Trump from ballot in key presidential primary state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s top election official said Wednesday he will not invoke an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to block former President Donald Trump from appearing on ballots in the state, which will hold the first Republican presidential primary next year.Secretary of State David Scanlan said that under state law the name of anyone who pays the $1,000 filing fee and swears they meet the age, citizenship and residency requirements “shall be printed on the ballots.” “That language is not discretionary,” Scanlan, a Republican, said in a press conference he called to address various legal efforts to bar Trump from the 2024 race.Scanlan rejected claims made in lawsuits filed in New Hampshire and elsewhere that Trump is ineligible to run for the White House again under a rarely used clause under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits those who “engaged in an insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution from holding higher office. Wh...

Daughters of jailed Bahrain activist say he resumes hunger strike as crown prince visits US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The daughters of a prominent human rights activist jailed in Bahrain said that he resumed a hunger strike Wednesday after being denied medical care and as the country’s crown prince visits the United States.Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a dual Danish-Bahraini citizen, was jailed after taking part in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising in the tiny island nation in the Persian Gulf. He later was convicted of terrorism charges in a case that has been criticized internationally. His supporters say the 62-year-old has been tortured and is in ill health.Zeynep Al-Khawaja posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which she said her father had resumed his hunger strike after being denied a medical appointment to treat his glaucoma, which the family fears could result in blindness. They say he also suffers from a potentially fatal heart condition.He is among hundreds of prisoners at the Jaw Rehabilitation and Reform Center who launched a hunger strike on A...

Aumentan a $30,000 la recompensa por sospechoso de asesinato que escapó de GW Hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

Una semana después de que el sospechoso de un asesinato escapara de la custodia policial del Hospital Universitario George Washington, la policía de DC aumentó la recompensa a $30,000 por información que conduzca a su arresto.Inicialmente, las autoridades pusieron bajo custodia a Christopher Haynes en Manassas, Virginia, el miércoles 6 de septiembre. Se sospecha que participó en un tiroteo en Kenilworth Avenue en el noreste de DC el mes pasado que mató a Brent Hayward e hirió a otra persona, dijo la policía.Mientras la policía interrogaba a Haynes en DC, se quejó de dolor en el tobillo debido a una lesión anterior y fue trasladado al Hospital GW, de donde logró escapar.La policía de DC dijo el martes que ha recibido numerosos informes de posibles avistamientos y que están tomando cada pista en serio.“Encontrar a Christopher Haynes es una de las principales prioridades del Departamento de Policía Metropolitana. La búsqueda sigue activa y continua y el MPD está trabajando estrec...

Jury urged to convict 3 in last trial tied to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

Three men charged with assisting the leaders of a plan to kidnap Michigan’s governor were anti-government zealots committed to bringing terror to a small town in 2020, a prosecutor argued Wednesday as he urged jurors to convict them.William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor are the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court.They were not among the main group of six charged with a kidnapping conspiracy in federal court. Instead, they are accused of a supporting role by participating in military-style drills and traveling to see Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s vacation home in northern Michigan.The Nulls, 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds, were the “muscle,” a “two-man wrecking ball,” while Molitor acted as a medic during gun drills and recorded video of Whitmer’s property, Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin said during closing arguments.They “hated their government,” Rollstin said. “All the defendants here hated police officers and were willing t...

The legend lives on: New exhibition devoted to Chanel’s life and work opens at London’s V&A Museum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The little black dress. The tweed dress suit. The perfume simply known as No. 5. Those instantly-recognizable fashion classics, and many more lesser-known designs by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, are celebrated in a major new exhibition at London’s V&A Museum dedicated to the life and work of the famed French designer. Curators have brought together nearly 200 outfits seen together for the first time, charting Chanel’s long career from the opening of her millinery boutique in Paris in 1910 to her final collection in 1971. “Of course there are many elements that we are all familiar about Gabrielle Chanel and what she contributed to fashion,” said Connie Karol Burks, one of the curators. “But in this exhibition we expand out from that, and we really look in detail at how her approach to design influenced the way we all dress.”The exhibition begins with one of the earliest surviving Chanel garments — a simple cream blouse from 1916 made from silk jersey, ...

Wales changes 13 to face Portugal at Rugby World Cup but retains Rees Zammit and Faletau

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

NICE, France (AP) — Wales made 13 changes to its starters to face Portugal at the Rugby World Cup, with only wing Louis Rees Zammit and No. 8 Taulupe Faletau retained from the breathless win against Fiji.Four Welsh will make their World Cup debuts against the Portuguese in Nice on Saturday in centers Mason Grady and Johnny Williams, lock Christ Tshiunza and hooker Dewi Lake, who is captain. Taine Basham may also get a first World Cup appearance off the bench.Leigh Halfpenny is at fullback and set to play his 101st test and appear in a third Rugby World Cup.Gareth Anscombe comes in for Dan Biggar at No. 10 and will combine with scrumhalf Tomos Williams, who’s set for a 50th test appearance. Tommy Reffell and Dan Lydiate complete the back row alongside Faletau.Club teammates Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins are the locks, with loose forward-lock utility Tshiunza also starting his first game in the second row for Wales.Wales rested most of its frontliners and is expecting an easier ga...

Stock market today: Wall Street churns after highly anticipated inflation data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are churning in place on Wall Street Wednesday after a highly anticipated report showed inflation accelerated across the country last month, but not by much more than expected.The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in midday trading after earlier drifting between small gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 83 points higher, or 0.2%, at 34,729, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4%.The moves follow a shaky immediate reaction across financial markets to the inflation report, where bond yields and stock prices swung sharply several times. The report said U.S. consumers paid prices last month that were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from July’s inflation rate of 3.2%.That’s discouraging for shoppers paying higher prices, but much of the acceleration was because of higher fuel costs, which can swing very sharply and quickly. Ignoring those, underlying inflation trends still look to be pointing toward continued moderation, econo...

Ultra-Orthodox men block Jerusalem traffic in protest against Israeli military draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:35:10 GMT

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men on Wednesday blocked a major Jerusalem intersection, snarling traffic and crippling public transportation across the city, in a demonstration against an attempt to force a community member to comply with the country’s mandatory military draft..The demonstrators formed a large circle on the tracks of the city’s light rail, singing, dancing and praying. Train service was halted, and traffic was backed up for blocks.The demonstration was a precursor of a looming battle over the country’s military draft.Military service is compulsory for Jewish males, but politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have won exemptions for their communities to allow men to study full-time in religious seminaries. These exemptions have prompted widespread anger and resentment from the secular majority.With the government working on a new draft law, ultra-Orthodox parties, which are a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hope to strengthen t...