Devin Halbal has a distinct memory of her first experience with “doll activities.” It was three Powerpuff Girls toys — the intuitive Blossom; Buttercup, known for her tough exterior; and the optimistic Bubbles. She was in preschool, and wanted to bring the dolls in for show and tell. But her …
Read More »The Instagram Guru 'F-king' His Female Followers 'To Freedom'
& #8203;In May 2017, a friend sent Jade Alectra, a 34-year-old California-based yoga teacher and Instagram influencer with about 75,000 followers, a video featuring a spiritual guru she’d never heard of before. The man was small, blond, and sprightly, almost elfin in appearance; he spoke with a gentle Dutch accent, …
Read More »'She Is Posing for Me': What a Courtroom Sketch Artist Sees in Ghislaine Maxwell
“Before we start I have a question for you,” Jane Rosenberg says when I call her up on a Sunday. “I’m doing the crossword — ‘Start of an article in journalist lingo, 4 letters, blank blank, D-E.’” The courtroom sketch artist of nearly four decades is enjoying a rare moment …
Read More »It Started With Thirst Traps on TikTok. Now, She's Accused of Running a BDSM Cult
This story contains graphic descriptions of self-harm. When Chae first saw Angela Vandusen, a.k.a. @angelatheegoddess, on her TikTok For You page last year, she was instantly smitten. A 27-year-old based in Michigan, Vandusen was a home health care aide and an aspiring natural-oils entrepreneur, but she had amassed many devoted …
Read More »Miami Carnival Tried an Ambitious Masking Plan — But Almost Nobody Masked
On a searing Saturday afternoon, a massive crowd in neon beach attire bounces in unison to bass-heavy soca beats at the Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition grounds 20 miles south of Miami Beach. Hundreds of revelers, a majority of them maskless, holler and twerk as they slowly inch toward a …
Read More »Damian Lillard on Why He Turned Down Kanye to Make His Own Album Instead
Dame Time, they call it, when Damian Lillard dominates on the basketball court with such fierce self- assurance — such shrug-off deployment of every skill in the bag — that his buzzer-beater stare has become a meme staple of NBA Twitter. Off the court, the Portland Trail Blazers superstar point …
Read More »New Documents Detail Cops' Bungling Response to Tamla Horsford's Death
After reopening the investigation into the death of Tamla Horsford last year, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) concluded their inquiry earlier this year. No charges will be filed in the case of the 40-year-old mother of five, found face-down in the backyard of a friend’s Forsyth County home the …
Read More »'Everybody Is Relapsing': Michael K. Williams and the Pandemic Overdose Epidemic
On September 6th, 2021, Michael Kenneth Williams was found dead in his home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Early reports claimed that drug paraphernalia was found in the apartment and the death was being investigated as a drug overdose. A toxicology report released on September 24th confirmed that cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin …
Read More »Here's How Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes Will Try to Prove Her Innocence
This week, the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood-testing company Theranos, begins in San Jose, California. She faces federal charges of fraud and conspiracy and a potential 20-year prison sentence for allegedly misleading patients, doctors, and investors about her company’s technology, which was supposed to be able to …
Read More »The Music Keeping Team USA Pumped
Whether you’re stepping out the door for an early-morning run or shooting around before a pickup game, even the most casual athlete knows how much the soundtrack in your head can shape your performance. Imagine you’re representing your country in a once-every-four-years (or five) event, and the stakes are raised …
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