Former President Donald Trump referenced his “right to try” experimental treatment legislation during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday, signaling that expanding access to novel treatments for terminal patients may be a key proposal if he were to win reelection. “‘Right to try’ is a big deal,” Trump said during his acceptance speech. “They were trying to get that for 52 years.”

A “Trump2024” banner labeled “Promoted by Team Trump” sat atop the What’s Happening summary on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, during the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention on Thursday. While the #Trump2024 hashtag temporarily showed the American flag, and clicking it caused an animated “hashfetti” effect with flags raining down, it was the icon attached to the number one trending #MAGA topic that caught our eyes.

Over the past few years, book bans have been happening in public libraries and schools across America. In the 2022-2023 school year alone, over 3,300 books were banned in 182 school districts in 37 states.Most books that have been banned deal with LGBTQ and racial themes. According to a report from PEN America, Florida has been the most aggressive state regarding book bans, accounting for about 40% of those taken off the shelves. On November 5, Collier County, Florida, announced that it was banning 300 books from its school libraries out of an effort to comply with state law HB 1069, which says books that depict or describe “sexual content” can be challenged for removal.Among the books banned by the school district was “Shopgirl,” a novella by author Steve Martin published in 2000. Martin is also the star of the hit Hulu show, “Only Murders in the Building,” featuring Martin Short and Selena Gomez.Upon hearing about his book being banned, Martin responded with his iconic wit on Instagram, saying, “So proud to have my book Shopgirl banned in Collier County, Florida! Now, people who want to read it will have to buy a copy!" See on Instagram “Shopgirl” is a story about a young woman who works in a luxury department store and has an affair with a wealthy older man. It was made into a movie in 2005 starring Claire Danes and Martin. It’s believed the book was banned for its mild sexual content. On Amazon, the book is recommended for readers ages 13 and up. This article originally appeared on 11.11.23

Gyms are communal spaces where people can come to improve their health, fitness and/or overall well-being. However, it’s no secret that many gyms have also become a production studio of sorts where influencers can set up a tripod to demonstrate the most cutting-edge squatting technique or where the average Joe can take that obligatory gym selfie to prove that the workout did, in fact, happen. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of these activities. However, they have sparked a new kind of behavior in gymgoers where they feign extreme frustration if folks walk from one machine to the next or grab a piece of equipment and, heaven forbid, enter the frame. Take for instance a video shared to Reddit by u/ASTATINE_628, where we first see several cuts of a young woman at the gym, seemingly perturbed that people are continuously walking through her frame in her video.The clip then cuts to a guy who breaks down what’s wrong with this scenario in a very clear and concise way.“This sense of entitlement has gotten out of hand,” he said, noting that “for you to get upset because there’s people simply in your video going about their workout, not bothering you, minding their own business, is ridiculous.” To act like she owns the gym. by u/ASTATINE_628 in therewasanattempt He certainly has a point. Of course, when personal space is actually being infringed upon, like when someone is facing harassment, that’s a different story. But in this case, as the man stated, there is no wrongdoing by simply existing. The man then summed it all up with a short and sweet reminder about common decency. Or maybe not-so-common, since we’re needing reminders.“Unless your name is on that gym, your filming is never a priority over other people. They pay the same gym membership that you do. If you can’t film responsibly, if you can’t respect other people in a shared space, you don’t belong filming at all,” he said.Really, this behavior stems from something larger than modern-day gym culture. We film ourselves a lot these days, and often in public. This has undoubtedly caused a shift in how we view personal boundaries in the outside world, with both positive and negative effects.On the one hand, it can be fun and self-esteem-boosting to treat your life as one big video diary. On the other hand, we bring strangers unwillingly into our orbit, treating them as punching bags, entertainment, or, in the case of the miffed gymgoers, nuisances. We vainly stop treating other people like fellow humans sharing life on this crazy blue planet. No video seems worth forgetting that. Even for those who have never set foot into a gym, and never will, this is a poignant reminder to not lose our humanity as our relationship with social media grows. It’s perfectly fine to tap into “main character energy.” Let's just keep in mind that really, we’re all part of the same story. This article originally appeared on 3.28.23

Writer and illustrator Aubrey Hirsch jokingly asked her followers on Twitter what’s a “universal thing that most men like?” because she was writing a comic and “just realized I don’t actually know any men in real life." The tweet inspired an avalanche of funny responses.Hirsch is the author of “Why We Never Talk About Sugar,” a collection of short stories, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, Child, American Short Fiction and Time.The interesting thing about the responses is that they weren’t the typical stereotypes about men. She didn’t get a ton of people talking about sex, sports or toxic masculinity. Instead, there were a lot of folks that mentioned very specific male behaviors as if they were talking about a bizarre species they discovered in the wild.There were two things that got the most comments on her post. First, men enjoy throwing heavy objects into bodies of water. Preferably, the larger the rock, the deeper the body of water and from the highest vantage point possible.The other is watching construction sites. Evidently, the phenomenon is so popular in Italy that there is a specific word for this type of person in Italian.Here are 19 of the best responses to the question, “What’s a universal thing that most men like?” What\u2019s a universal thing that most men like? I\u2019m making a comic but I just realized I don\u2019t actually know any men in real life. — Aubrey Hirsch (@Aubrey Hirsch) 1647902733 1. It's so common in Italy that there's a name for ithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umarell — James Billot (@James Billot) 1647938793 When asked why men enjoy watching construction sites so much, a poster on Reddit named justdaps had the perfect response. "I just find it really satisfying and interesting to see the process behind things being built," he wrote.2.https://t.co/SpjqBiViFr— Daniel Larkin ?? (@larkin721) March 22, 2022 3. Me: Thinking intently trying to come up with a good answer.\nAlso me seeing this tweet: Ooh, yeah, this is a good one. A good deep sounding sploosh with a big splash. Yeah, this is a good one.\nWe aren't complicated. — Michael Miller (@Michael Miller) 1647967400 pic.twitter.com/33W9wqOYP4— Uhtred Ragnarson (@Iskander861) March 22, 2022 Skipping a stone an unexpected number of times on a lake— Van Weasel (@vanweezer) March 21, 2022 4.standing while watching tvhttps://t.co/RJBUGPyJBw— Russ Shanahan (@russshanahan) March 23, 2022 I have seen dudes do this and I have done it plenty of times myself. I usually stand while watching TV when I want to really focus on what’s happening and do not want to be distracted. This usually happens while watching sporting events or the news. It's also a great way to use your body language to let other people know that there is something very important happening on the television. 5.https://t.co/mlTq6HmYBJ— Randojoeblow (@randojoeblow) March 21, 2022 6. My work life got a lot easier when I started saying "I don't know enough to have an opinion on this subject". Life changing. — PG (@PG) 1647907387 7.A man will buy a knife, and if there is another man, he will ask to hold and admire it for 4 seconds and then give it back and say: "Nice."— Nathan (Elemeno P) (@realNathanWheat) March 22, 2022 8.https://t.co/b56zP1KrTx— AreaMantis, Hat Guy ? (@AreaMantis) March 23, 2022 9. If a guy walks under a low hanging sign he will jump up and try to tap the bottom of the sign as he passes.Guys like being asked to open jars.Power tools. Give a guy a new drill and he'll wander around looking for stuff that needs holes.— Alan Morgan (@lettersndigits) March 21, 2022 When we do this 99% of the time we’re pretending that the sign is 10 feet high and that we have the ability to dunk a basketball. There are two types of men, those that can dunk and mere mortals.10.Memorizing favorite lines from their favorite movies, then reciting them with their friends (or even strangers) who’ve also memorized them, doing entire scenes. Extra points for using accents. A true source of unparalleled amusement & male bonding.— cautiously optimistic ??✌? (@BethCal84918882) March 22, 2022 As a man, this one is near and dear to my heart. I can’t tell you the number of hours I have spent with my friends just throwing lines from “The Big Lebowski” back and forth.“Nice marmot.”“The Dude abides.”“Say what you want about the tenets of national socialism, Dude. At least it’s an ethos.”A movie that's running up the ranks of being among the most quotable is another dude buddy pic, "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood.""All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?" ... "Rick, it's a flamethrower.”11.Right, no-one else has posted this yet, I know my duty: pic.twitter.com/HPwd8qwgUP— Katie (@ZiziFothSi) March 22, 2022 12.Talking about their athletic glory days pic.twitter.com/9LmaG2oEiD— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) March 21, 2022 13.Dining tables made with resin pic.twitter.com/3WQOjEjvcK— ?Robin Isomaa? (@RobinIsomaa) March 22, 2022 14.Using tie down straps to secure a load in the back of a truck, then twanging the straps and going "that's not going anywhere"— Gom Jabbarjaw (@SensitiveWigi) March 22, 2022 15.When my dad had to chainsaw branches off a dead tree, neighbor men just gathered with various saws from all corners of the subdivision. It was like a siren song.— Liz (@WarmestRegardss) March 21, 2022 16.Posing for photos while holding fish.— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) March 22, 2022 17.Given a wood fire and a long branch, 100 of 100 men will find a reason to poke the fire every few minutes. Just, you know, to make sure things are burning evenly.— Patrick Fessenbecker (@pfessenbecker) March 21, 2022 18.explaining things to women— ˗ˏˋ Hayley DeRoche ˎˊ˗ (@hayleyderoche) March 21, 2022 Unfortunately, this is true and men do far too much of it.19.When shopping at a grocery store, leaning forward with your forearms on the handle of the carriage, while you walk up and down the aisles— Joe DellaGatta (@JoeDellaGatta) March 23, 2022 Evidently, after reading the responses, Hirsch knew what was going to happen next. No need to feel ashamed about going viral. It just means you created something that people love.I really feel for the poor Buzzfeed intern currently searching for the perfect gifs to turn this into an article that will support 8 ad spots.— Aubrey Hirsch (@aubreyhirsch) March 22, 2022 This story was originally published on 3.42.22.

Beatle George Harrison was pigeon-holed as the "Quiet Beatle," but the youngest member of the Fab Four had an acerbic, dry sense of humor that was as sharp as the rest of his bandmates.He gave great performances in the musical comedy classics, "A Hard Days Night" and "Help!" while holding his own during The Beatles' notoriously anarchic press conferences. After he left the band in 1970, in addition to his musical career, he would produce the 1979 Monty Python classic, "The Life of Brian."Harrison clearly didn't lose his sense of humor for the rest of his life. Shortly before his death in 2001, he played an elaborate prank on Phil Collins that shows how the "Here Comes the Sun" singer would go the extra mile for a laugh.In 1970, Harrison was recording his first solo record and arguably the best by a Beatle, "All things Must Pass." The session for the song, "The Art of Dying" featured former Beatle Ringo Starr on drums, keyboard legend Billy Preston on keys, virtuoso Eric Clapton on guitar, and was produced by the notorious Phil Spector.Harrison wanted a conga player for the session, so Ringo's chauffeur reached out to Phil Collins' manager. At the time, Collins was a relative unknown who was about to join Genesis, a band that would bring him worldwide stardom.The 18-year-old Collins was starstruck playing on a session with two former Beatles, so he played extra hard in rehearsals, resulting in blood blisters on both hands."Anyway, after about two hours of this, Phil Spector says, 'Okay congas, you play this time.' And I'd had my mic off, so everybody laughed, but my hands were shot," Collins told Express."And just after that they all disappeared – someone said they were watching TV or something – and I was told I could go," after that, Collins was relieved of his duties and told to go home. A few months later, Collins bought the massive triple album in the record shop and was devastated to learn he'd been edited out of the song."There must be some mistake! Collins thought. "But it's a different version of the song, and I'm not on it."Some thirty years later, Collins bought the home of Formula One driver Jackie Stewart, a close friend of Harrison. Stewart mentioned to Collins that Harrison was remixing "All Things Must Pass" for a rerelease."And he said, 'You were on it, weren't you?' And I said, 'Well I was there,"' Collins recalled.Two days later, a tape was delivered from Harrison to Collins with a note that read: "Could this be you?" Collins continued: "I rush off and listen to it, and straight away I recognize it." It was a recording of "The Art of Dying.""Suddenly the congas come in – too loud and just awful," Collins was devastated, then as the end of the take, Harrison can be heard saying, "Hey, Phil, can we try another without the conga player?"Collins was devastated, to say the least.A while later, Stewart calls Collins and puts Harrison on the line. "'Did you get the tape?' Harrison asked. "I now realize I was fired by a Beatle," Collins sighed. The two changed the subject, but a few minutes later, Harrison couldn't stop laughing."Don't worry, it was a piss-take. I got Ray Cooper to play really badly and we dubbed it on," Harrison admitted. "Thought you'd like it!" So, Harrison had an entire recording session with a conga player who he asked to play poorly, just to pull one over on Collins.If you're in the mood for another of rock's greatest pranks. The story of "The Ring" told by Beastie Boys' Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz shared in "Beastie Boys Story" is another great example of someone going to incredible lengths just for a laugh.The story revolves around the late Beasties' rapper Adam "MCA" Yach, his bandmate Horovitz, and a very creepy ring given to him by a fan backstage at a concert.This article originally appeared on 12.01.21

I've written tons of things about minimum wage, backed up by fact-checkers and economists and scholarly studies. All of them point to raising the minimum wage as a solution to lifting people out of poverty and getting folks off of public assistance. It's slowly happening, and there's much more to be done.But when it comes right down to it, where the rubber meets the road is what it means for everyday workers who have to live with those wages. I honestly don't know how they do it.Ask yourself: Could I live on this small of a full-time paycheck? I know what my answer is.(And note that the minimum wage in many parts of the county is STILL $7.25, so it would be even less than this).This story was written by Brandon Weber and was originally appeared on 02.26.15

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.The map may not subvert one's intuitive assumptions, but it nonetheless quantities and presents the cost of living by geography in a brilliantly simple way. For instance, if you're looking for a beach lifestyle but don't want to pay California prices, try Florida, which is about as close to "average" — in terms of purchasing power, anyway — as any state in the Union. If you happen to find yourself in a "Brewster's Millions"-type situation, head to Hawaii, D.C., or New York. You'll burn through your money in no time.If you're quite fond of your cash and would prefer to keep it, get to Mississippi, which boasts a 16.1% premium on your cash from the national average.The Tax Foundation notes that if you're using this map for a practical purpose, bear in mind that incomes also tend to rise in similar fashion, so one could safely assume that wages in these states are roughly inverse to the purchasing power $100 represents.This article originally appeared on 08.17.17

Human beings have consumed alcohol for millennia. It's a staple of cultures all over the globe because it helps people relax and break the ice, thus making social gatherings and celebrations more enjoyable. Unfortunately, as we all know, alcohol also comes with some pretty huge drawbacks—including hangovers, addiction, high blood pressure, disturbed sleep patterns, and an increased risk of cancer. That’s why, in recent years, more and more people have decided that they want a healthier alternative to alcohol. And this is exactly what BRĒZ Lemon Elderflower social tonics were designed for. These innovative drinks help you achieve the perfect mix of euphoria and relaxation without the dreaded hangover, so you can enjoy an epic night with friends and actually wake up feeling refreshed. Sounds pretty great, right? Well, let’s dig deeper into what makes this drink so unique. The rise of non-alcoholic social beveragesIn recent years, non-alcoholic beverages have surged in popularity as more people prioritize their health and wellness. This shift reflects a broader societal trend towards mindful living, where consumers seek out products that enhance their lifestyle without compromising their well-being. According to market research, the global non-alcoholic beverage market is expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2026, driven by increasing demand for healthier alternatives to traditional alcoholic drinks. BRĒZ Lemon Elderflower social tonics stand at the forefront of this movement. Combining the uplifting effects of THC and CBD with the cognitive benefits of Lion's Mane, BRĒZ offers a unique, sophisticated alternative for those looking to enjoy social occasions without the negative side effects of alcohol. This innovative approach not only caters to the health-conscious but also provides a refreshing experience that aligns with the growing trend towards sustainable and mindful consumption. As more people turn away from alcohol, BRĒZ is leading the charge in redefining how we socialize.The science behind BRĒZ Lemon ElderflowerBRĒZ Lemon Elderflower social tonics are crafted with a carefully balanced blend of 2.5mg THC, 5mg CBD, and 1600mg Lion's Mane. Each ingredient plays a crucial role in delivering the drink's unique effects. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is known for its euphoric properties, while CBD (cannabidiol) offers calming and anti-inflammatory benefits. Lion's Mane, meanwhile, is a powerful mushroom extract that supports cognitive function and mental clarity. The combination of ingredients in BRĒZ works synergistically to create a sense of euphoria and relaxation. The microdosed THC ensures a controlled, enjoyable experience without overwhelming the user with anxiety or paranoia. And unlike traditional edibles that can take hours to kick in, BRĒZ is formulated for rapid-absorption, so effects to be felt within minutes, which leads to less overconsumption.Why BRĒZ is the healthier choiceUnlike alcoholic beverages, BRĒZ Lemon Elderflower social tonics offer numerous health benefits without the negative side effects. Alcohol causes dehydration, liver damage, and hangovers, which can ruin your next day. It has also been linked to more serious long-term health problems such as insomnia, high blood pressure, and increased risk of cancer. In contrast, BRĒZ combines scientifically formulated microdoses of THC, CBD, and Lion's Mane to provide a sense of euphoria and relaxation without the unpleasant side effects. It should also be noted that BRĒZ isn’t just better for you. Because it is crafted with ingredients that are both natural and sustainable, this drink is also better for the planet. And consumers who want to know exactly what they are putting in their body can rest easy, because BRĒZ undergoes rigorous third-party testing to ensure safety, quality, and potency. Parties Without Regrets BRĒZ Lemon Elderflower social tonics offer a refreshing taste, numerous health benefits, and a balanced blend of euphoria and relaxation. As such, it’s a perfect NA option for a variety of social activities, from lively parties, to intimate gatherings, and even quiet evenings at home. It’s specifically designed to help you unwind and enjoy yourself without having to worry how you’ll get through the next day. Ready to experience the revolution in social drinking for yourself? Visit BRĒZ's website to purchase BRĒZ Lemon Elderflower and see why so many are choosing BRĒZ as their go-to social tonic.

A true talent. The post The five best songs Paul McCartney gave away first appeared on Far Out Magazine.