Film director Sean Baker, who won a record four Oscars on Sunday night for his movie “Anora,” told reporters afterward that he wants sex work decriminalized. “Anora” is about a prostitute who marries the young son of a Russian oligarch. The boy’s parents object to the marriage, and ultimately they split up. “So I’ve been pretty outspoken about my stance on sex work,” Baker told reporters. “It’s our oldest profession. Yet it has an incredible unfair stigma applied to it and what I’ve been trying to do with my films is sort of chip away at that very unfair stigma. Personally, I think it should be decriminalized and I guess through my work, through hopefully humanizing my characters that are usually seen as perhaps caricatures in most film and television, it will help do that.” Last May, Baker spoke at the Cannes film festival, where he was asked about the fact that his last five films had featured sex workers. He replied that after he made the film Starlet in 2012, he was “introduced to the adult film world. … I became friends with [sex workers] and realized there were a million stories from that world. If there is one intention with all of these films, I would say it’s by telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal. It’s helping remove the stigma that’s been applied to this livelihood, that’s always been applied to this livelihood.” Best Actress winner Mikey Madison, who starred in “Anora,” echoed in her acceptance speech, “I also just want to again recognize and honor the sex worker community. I will continue to support and be an ally.” Prostitution is illegal in all U.S. states except Nevada. Arguments against criminalizing sex work have been made by the political Left, from the ACLU to the Yale Global Health Justice Partnership. Arguments for leaving the laws criminalizing sex work in place assert that it contributes to the decay of moral standards in society, promotes sex trafficking, expands the sex industry, increases child prostitution,  increases the demand from men for more prostitution, dehumanizes women, and normalizes the sexualization of women, “Many claim if the sex trade were legal, regulated, and treated like any other profession, it would be safer. But research suggests otherwise. Countries that have legalized or decriminalized commercial sex often experience a surge in human trafficking, pimping, and other related crimes,” Demand Abolition notes.

One person is dead and four more are injured after an Arab citizen in Israel stabbed them at a central transit hub on Monday. A 20-year-old Druze Israeli reportedly began stabbing victims after exiting a bus in Haifa, Israel, the Times of Israel reported. The killer suffered from mental illness, the outlet reported, citing family members. The knife attack is being treated as a “militant attack,” according to Fox News. A security guard and an armed civilian reportedly killed the attacker, who had recently returned to Israel after spending time abroad. “My wife Sara and I extend our deepest condolences to the family of the victim of the horrific terrorist attack in Haifa, and we send our wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement after the attack. “We will continue to fight those who seek to harm us – wherever they are – and we will defeat them.” The sole casualty was a 70-year-old man who was stabbed in the back multiple times, the Times reported. Hassan Karim Dahamsheh was a resident of the Arab town of Kafr Kanna in Israel. A 15-year-old boy was also among the injured, but is reportedly in stable condition after emergency surgery for his life-threatening injuries. Three others – a woman in her 70s and a man and woman in their 30s – were hospitalized with less severe wounds, the Times reported. Graphic footage from the incident shows the attacker running up to Dahamsheh and stabbing him multiple times in the back before they both fall to the ground. An eyewitness told a local outlet that the 20-year-old got off a bus from Shfar’am and shouted “Allahu Akbar” before attacking people around him with a knife. Israel Police Chief Daniel Levy said police were working to confirm that the attacker acted alone, the Times reported. The outlet also noted that police raided the suspect’s home and were questioning his family. Shfar’am Mayor Nahad Hazem told the Kan public broadcaster that two of the five victims were from his city and that one was a relative of his office director. “It is a heinous crime, and I completely condemn it,” he told the outlet, according to the Times. The killer’s relatives denied that he was a terrorist, saying he had a mental illness. “I am a disabled IDF veteran and his other uncle is a reserve soldier. We have nothing in our family hostile to the state,” his uncle Roni Kharis reportedly told Ynet. The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas praised the attack but did not take credit for it. As the Times reported, the stabbing was the latest “in a string of terror attacks targeting public transportation in Israel, after a ramming attack at a bus stop on Thursday and a series of botched bus bombings near Tel Aviv a week earlier.”

A gutsy Yemeni Arab journalist blasted the UN and its fellow Israel haters after the U.N. High commissioner condemned Israel for its war against Hamas. “Nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza, which consistently breached fundamental principles of international humanitarian law,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk declared. That prompted Yemeni journalist Luai Ahmed, invited to speak by UN Watch, to fire back. “High Commissioner, my name is Luai Ahmed and I come from Yemen,” he began. “I ask the UN, the Arab League, and everyone who has been raising the Palestinian flag since October 7: Where is the flag of Yemen? In my country, half a million people have died in the last 10 years, the biggest famine and humanitarian crisis in modern history.” “Why does no one care what half a million Yemenis die?” he asked. “What about Sudan? In less than two years, more than 150,000 people have been killed. Where is the flag of Sudan? What about Syria? Half a million Syrians have been killed? Where is the Syrian flag?” Then Ahmed came directly to the point, snapping, “High commissioner, why is it that when Arabs kill millions of Arabs, no one bats an eye? Where is the outrage? And where are the protests?” “Why don’t you mention the Houthis in Yemen who have spent millions of dollars firing missiles at Israel instead of feeding my starving people?” he questioned. “May I ask why your report mentions Israel 188 times yet fails to mention the Islamic regime in Iran even once? How can you speak about the conflict while ignoring the party that has armed, trained, and funded terrorist proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis who have been bombing Israel thousands of times?” He did not forget Qatar, either: “And why is Qatar sitting here as a member of the Human Rights Council when they host the Hamas terror leaders in luxury hotels?” “High Commissioner, my name is Luai Ahmed, and I come from Yemen. May I ask why your report mentions Israel 188 times — yet fails to mention the Islamic Republic of Iran even once? How can you speak about the conflict while ignoring the party that has armed, trained, and… — Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 1, 2025

Bitcoin surged past $93,000 over the weekend after President Trump announced plans to create a U.S. strategic crypto reserve that will include Bitcoin, Ether, and several other digital currencies. “A U.S. Crypto Reserve will elevate this critical industry after years of corrupt attacks by the Biden Administration,” President Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “I will make sure the U.S. is the Crypto Capital of the World. We are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” The strategic reserve will involve several digital currencies beyond Bitcoin, including Ether, XRP, Solana, and Cardano, according to CNBC. The announcement triggered a significant rally in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin climbing as high as $95,000, and the smaller coins seeing double-digit percentage increases. This positive momentum comes after a period of consolidation in which Bitcoin had fallen below the key $90,000 level for the first time in three months, dropping as much as 25% from its January all-time high. “The weekend news is exactly the type of catalyst investors have been looking for to feel reassured about follow through from the U.S. administration with respect to its crypto friendly policies,” Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group, told CNBC. “Now that we’ve already seen a healthy correction in February, this sets the stage for the start to the next leg higher for crypto assets.” Investors will be watching for additional details at the first White House Crypto Summit, scheduled for this Friday. White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks indicated there would be “more to come” at the summit, suggesting further policy announcements that could impact the cryptocurrency market. The move represents a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward digital assets, positioning America as a leader in cryptocurrency adoption while many other nations have imposed restrictive regulations. China, for instance, has banned cryptocurrency mining and trading, while the European Union has established strict regulatory frameworks that many in the industry view as stifling innovation. Trump’s strategic reserve announcement signals a clear intent to establish U.S. dominance in the digital asset space, potentially giving America a competitive edge in future global financial systems. In other sectors, such as with gold, a strategic reserve serves as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation while reducing reliance on traditional financial infrastructure. While details remain limited, expectations are high that the White House Crypto Summit will provide clarity on the reserve’s implementation timeline, acquisition strategy, and governance structure. Industry players will be watching closely for potential regulatory reforms that might accompany the reserve announcement, particularly regarding cryptocurrency taxation and securities classification issues that have created uncertainty in the market.

'My son was crying out for help'

Several other stars were also omitted

'Exclusively for the transgender community'