High-powered financier Jeffrey Epstein, who has a history of friendships with Donald Trump, Leslie Wexner and essentially every other powerful man in Palm Beach, Florida, has been accused by federal prosecutors of trafficking dozens of minors between 2002 and 2005. According to the indictment, Epstein used his immense fortune and connections to "create a vast…
NEWS
INTERNATIONAL ANTI-SACKLER PROTESTS RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT CONTROVERSIAL ART FUNDING
Protesters travelled to Paris and demanded The Louvre Museum no longer bear the name of a family they feel is complicit in the opioid epidemic: the Sackler family. The Sacklers are a British-American family primarily known for founding and owning the massive pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma. While many large pharmaceutical companies have come under fire…
THE CASE OF MARSHAE JONES: HOW RESTRICTIVE ABORTION LAWS IMPACT REAL WOMEN
Marshae Jones was five months pregnant when she was involved in an altercation at a Dollar General parking lot after work. In the midst of the fight, Jones, 27, was shot by the other party, resulting in the loss of her unborn child. A grand jury in the state of Alabama declined to indict the…
THE NXIVM SEX CULT: THE HISTORY OF ABUSE, TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF LEADER KEITH RANIERE
In April of 2018, news broke that actress Allison Mack, known for her girl-next-door looks and role in the hit show Smallville, had been arrested in connection to a sex trafficking operation. What unfolded after her arrest led to the discovery of a sinister and abusive cult that blackmailed and groomed women into having sex with…
REMEMBERING GLORIA VANDERBILT: STYLE ICON, ARTIST & AUTHOR
American heiress and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt has died of stomach cancer at the age of 95, leaving behind family and friends, including son Anderson Cooper. Born in New York in 1924, Vanderbilt lived her life as a painter, poet, fashion designer, style icon and author. The daughter of the heir to a railroad fortune and…
MEET THE 20 CANDIDATES WHO WILL APPEAR ON STAGE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL DEBATE
The first primary debate of the 2020 campaign is coming up and the DNC has released the 20 candidates that qualify to take the stage. There are two ways to qualify for the debate: fundraising and polling, with some candidates (marked with an asterisk) qualifying through both methods. The debates will air June 26th and…
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG OPENS INTERACTIVE LADY LIBERTY MUSEUM
On May 15th, 2019, Diane von Furstenberg, who donned herself Lady Liberty’s godmother, opened a brand new interactive Statue of Liberty Museum located across Ellis Island. After 2 years of construction and gathering $100 million dollars for the project, this has been labeled as the most monumental addition to Liberty Island since the Statue herself.…
ALABAMA ENACTS THE STRICTEST ABORTION BAN IN THE COUNTRY
Alabama's governor, Kay Ivey, just signed a bill that deems abortion a crime punishable by law - including the doctors that perform the procedure and the mother of the unborn child who seeks it. The Alabama Senate passed the bill 25-6. The law only allows exceptions "to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn…
FRENCH BILLIONAIRES DONATE MILLIONS OF EUROS TO RE-BUILD NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
After the disastrous and disheartening collapse of Notre Dame's Cathedral in Paris due to the much-talked-about accidental fire, chair and CEO of French luxury group Kering, Francois-Henri Pinault, vowed to donate 100 million euros to rebuild the cathedral. Kering owns brands Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, among others. Bernard Arnault, the chair of LVMH,…
FEMALE-OWNED COMPANIES AND THEIR BILLIONS: GLOSSIER AND RENT THE RUNWAY HIT THE 10 FIGURE MARK
"We are building an entirely new kind of beauty company: one that owns the distribution channel and makes customers our stakeholders," Emily Weiss, founder and chief executive officer, said in the statement. By connecting directly with consumers, Glossier has access to “endless inspiration for new products," she said. Two companies owned by women just made…
KARL LAGERFELD WILL LIVE ON IN OUR MEMORIES AS THE ULTIMATE FASHION LEGEND
“I’m very much down to earth, just not this earth.” ― Karl Lagerfeld Karl Lagerfeld, the genius mind behind the megabrands Chanel, Fendi, and Chloe, and one of the most well-known personalities in the fashion industry, has passed away at the age of 85. A notable absence at his Chanel Haute Couture show in Paris (due to health issues)…
REMEMBERING PENNY MARSHALL: ONE OF HOLLYWOOD’S FAVORITE ACTRESSES AND FIRST FEMALE DIRECTORS
“Those experiences taught me the lessons that came in handy later in my life: Try hard, play by the rules, help your friends, don’t get too crazy, and have fun.” ― Penny Marshall, My Mother Was Nuts The news broke this week as well as many hearts: Penny Marshall has passed away at the age of 75 due…
MIDTERM POLL RESULTS SHOW A DEEPLY DIVIDED NATION WHILE WOMEN MAKE HISTORY IN CONGRESS
According to the NY Times, 97 million votes rolled in for the midterm elections (with more to count), a massive increase compared to last midterms in 2014, which was a mere 79 million. More than 100 women will be serving in the House next year, a record in U.S history. The highest number of women in Congress just…
DESIGNER KATE SPADE HAS DIED AT 55
American designer Kate Spade, known for her colorful, feminine line of clothing and accessories, was found dead in her apartment on Tuesday morning. According to police, a housekeeper found Spade, 55-years-old, hanging from a scarf in her bedroom. Spade and her husband, Andy, founded Kate Spade in 1993, one year before they married. The two…
37 DOWN, ONE MORE TO GO: ILLINOIS RATIFIED THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
On May 31st, Illinois became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), a proposed amendment that would federally ban gender-based discrimination. ERA, first drafted in the 1920s by suffragette Alice Paul, was approved by the majority of Congress in 1972. Despite approving it, Congress set a seven-year deadline for three-quarters of the states…
CELEBRITIES AFFECTED BY HARVEY WEINSTEIN RESPOND TO HIS ARREST
Last Friday, disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was formally arrested in New York City on charges that he raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex. He appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court for only 10 minutes. Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, paid his $1 million bail. The charges against Weinstein include first-degree and third-degree…
2018 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL CLOSES WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS & CONFRONTATION OF #METOO
The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival came to a close on May 19th. The concluding ceremony took place at Grand Théâtre Lumière where the Master of Ceremonies, Edouard Baer, welcomed the Feature Film Jury (presided over by Cate Blanchett) for the announcement of this year's winners. Following the presentation of the prestigious Palme d'Or to director…
SARA ZIFF OF THE MODEL ALLIANCE JOINS BILL DE BLASIO TO SIGN THE STOP SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACT
Last week, Sara Ziff, founding director of the Model Alliance, joined New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio at the signing event for the Stop Sexual Harassment Act, a package of 11 bills to combat workplace sexual harassment. Ziff, herself a former model, founded the Model Alliance after witnessing and experiencing exploitative situations during photo…
IOWA PASSED THE MOST RESTRICTIVE ABORTION BILL IN THE UNITED STATES. NOW WHAT?
On May 4th, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds signed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the United States. Dubbed the "heartbeat bill," the new legislation would ban abortions after six weeks, the point at which doctors can detect a faint heartbeat in a fetus. However, many women don't even realize they're pregnant at six…
BILL COSBY’S CONVICTION & THE FUTURE OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT
On April 26th, a jury found Bill Cosby guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, the former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, in 2004. Cosby intially met Constand in 2002 through a mutual friend. Before the assault, the two shared a mentor-mentee relationship. In 2005, after confiding in her mother…