The city of Seattle's progressive ideology is set to clash with Islam during the FIFA World Cup next June.Lumen Field in Seattle is scheduled to host six World Cup games in 2026, and the city's organizing committee is planning a special gay-pride game for June 26.'The match-up of two countries where it is illegal to be gay is actually a "good thing" for the Pride Match.'Announced in October, the committee is dubbing the game the "Seattle Pride Match" and has even procured gay art from fans through a contest meant to be used in Seattle's "citywide celebration."However, after the World Cup draw finally happened on Friday to determine the tournament groups, the gay game is likely to run into ethical problems after it was decided who the two combatants will be.The June 26 game will showcase a Group G matchup between two Muslim nations where homosexuality is prosecuted: The Islamic Republic of Iran and Egypt.RELATED: 'Equality' in pay and 'everything' bar for women's sports opens in Seattle Photograph by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images In Iran, same-sex relations are criminalized, with punishments ranging from flogging to the death penalty, according to Amnesty International.Egypt is known to use its "debauchery" laws to prosecute gay acts, and while homosexuality is not explicitly illegal, the country used anti-prostitution laws to convict a man for sending nude photos to another man on the gay-dating app Grindr in 2017, according to the Guardian.The Seattle organizers, who are not affiliated with FIFA, said they are already preparing the area's gay businesses to prepare for the influx of fans."We're working with small businesses so the region's LGBTQ+-owned enterprises are ready to benefit from the tournament's unprecedented visitor surge," said Hedda McLendon, the committee's senior vice president of legacy, according to Newsweek.Seattle also organized a committee specifically for the Pride match, calling it the Seattle Pride Match Advisory Committee. A member of that of that group, Eric Wahl, reportedly stated on social media that "the match-up of two countries where it is illegal to be gay is actually a 'good thing' for the Pride Match."RELATED: Major League Soccer lifts ban, allows fans to display Antifa-adopted 'Iron Front' flag during games Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty images The activism does not stop at gay pride for the Seattle group. It will also celebrate Juneteenth for one of the games. Juneteenth was first recognized by President Biden to celebrate the end of slavery annually on June 19.A Group D match between the United States and Australia will take place in Seattle that day."Having the U.S. Team playing in Seattle on Juneteenth creates a high-visibility, high-responsibility moment to introduce hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide to Juneteenth and to create benefit for local Black-owned businesses and arts and cultural organizations," the organizers said on their website.For that match, the group created another committee called the Juneteenth Advisory Committee.Editor's note: The headline of this article has been edited after publication for clarity.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Several of Apple's top executives have left the company, and another is signaling he may jump ship.It took just four days for four of Apple's C-suite executives to file their resignations from the company, with three of them announcing their retirements.'Our approach is to help advocates leading the charge for change in Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous communities.'John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of machine learning and AI strategy, announced his retirement last week, with 9to5 Mac relaying that he will serve as an adviser before his full retirement in spring of 2026.Jumping silicon shipsGiannandrea's departure from the company's AI department may be the canary in the coal mine and certainly points to a strategy shift moving forward. For example, several outlets, including Fortune, have repeatedly noted that Apple is fumbling and stumbling in terms of AI integration, causing employees to leave for more generous packages from competitors. This includes design executive Alan Dye — who helped create Apple's Vision Pro headset, iPhone X, and Apple Watch — leaving the company to join Meta.At the same time, Johny Srouji, senior vice president of hardware technologies, also allegedly told CEO Tim Cook he is considering leaving Apple. Srouji allegedly said that if he does leave, it will likely be to go work for another company.RELATED: Here's how to get the most annoying new update off of your iPhone Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch Retirement partyIn addition to Giannandrea's retirement, Kate Adams, Apple's general counsel, and Lisa Jackson, vice president for environment, policy, and social initiatives, are also both retiring. As reported by NBC News, Adams has been in charge of the Apple's legal team as it has faced increased litigation, particularly around the iPhone App Store.Jackson is known for her social justice approach, advancing the company's "equity" efforts across the world — a word that was mentioned 77 times in a 2023 Racial Equity and Justice Initiative report. "Justice" appeared 107 times in the Apple document."Across the board, our approach is to help advocates leading the charge for change in Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous communities. Our goal is to amplify their voices, never to substitute our own," Jackson wrote in the report's foreword.NBC News claimed Jackson's job had lost relevance under Trump's second administration, due to the lack of focus on race politics.RELATED: India surpasses China in Apple exports to US, up 240% from last year Photo by Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty Images AI initiativeThe Guardian, among others, reported that Apple has been lagging behind others in terms of rolling out its generative AI features, predominantly those intertwined with Siri.Apple has been promising an AI-focused upgrade to Siri for more than a year but has postponed the release due to not reaching its "high-quality bar," according to Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice president of software engineering.Cook also said in an earnings call that the company was "making good progress on a more personalized Siri" and hopes to release it in 2026.Amar Subramanya, Giannandrea's replacement, is expected to fill the gaps needed around AI advancement, having previously served as the corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft. He also worked at Google as the head of engineering for Google Gemini."Subramanya brings a wealth of experience to Apple," the company wrote in a press release. "His deep expertise in both AI and ML research and in integrating that research into products and features will be important to Apple’s ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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