The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into Democratic Rep. Cori Bush for allegedly misusing campaign money to spend on private security‚ the Missouri congresswoman confirmed in a statement Tuesday. Although the scope of the allegations were not immediately known‚ a congressional ethics inquiry had previously raised questions about her alleged use of campaign funds to hire her husband‚ Cortney Merritts‚ as her security. Federal law bars lawmakers from paying family members...

Nikki Haley's home has been 'swatted' for a second time as a prank caller rang cops to claim a woman had killed her daughter and was threatening to kill herself. The latest call happened on January 1‚ Charleston County Sheriff's Office revealed on Monday afternoon. The 911 caller gave the address of Haley's home in Kiawah Island‚ and said Haley had shot her daughter‚ who was lying in a pool of blood. Haley is mother to Rena‚ 25‚ and son Nalin‚ 22. The deputy spoke to an...

Two days after a man called in a fake emergency at the South Carolina home of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley‚ she was targeted by a second "swatting" attempt on New Year’s Day‚ this time by someone who said Haley had shot her daughter‚ according to an incident report seen by Reuters. A Charleston County sheriff’s deputy responded on Jan. 1 to Haley's home after a person who identified themself as “Rose” called 911 claiming Haley’s daughter was lying in a pool of blood and...

Nikki Haley's parents were home when she was targeted by a "swatting" hoax in December at her home on Kiawah Island‚ South Carolina‚ she said on Sunday. It was one of two such incidents in recent weeks‚ according to law enforcement records obtained by ABC News. The 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina governor commented on the swatting during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" when she said that officers had "guns drawn" and pointed at her parents‚ who...

These days‚ we could all use something to smile about‚ and few things do a better job at it than watching actor Christopher Walken dance.A few years back‚ some genius at HuffPo Entertainment put together a clip featuring Walken dancing in 50 of his films‚ and it was taken down. But it re-emerged in 2014 and the world has been a better place for it.Walken became famous as a serious actor after his breakout roles in "Annie Hall" (1977) and "The Deer Hunter" (1978) so people were pretty shocked in 1981 when he tap-danced in Steve Martin's "Pennies from Heaven."But Walken actually started his career in entertainment as a dancer. He took his first dance lessons at the age of three. "It was very typical for people—and I mean working-class people—to send their kids to dancing school‚" he told Interview Magazine. "You'd learn ballet‚ tap‚ acrobatics‚ usually you'd even learn to sing a song‚" he later explained to Interview magazine.As a child‚ he also studied tap dance and toured in musicals. He even danced with a young Liza Minelli. "I'd been around dancers my whole life‚ having watched my parents make musicals at MGM‚ and Chris reminded me of so many of the dancers I knew growing up‚" Minelli said according to Entertainment Weekly. "He's talented in every way."Craig Zadan‚ Executive Producer of "Peter Pan Live!‚" agrees with Minelli. "I think that if he had been around in the heyday of MGM‚ he would have been a big star of musicals on film‚" he told Entertainment Weekly.His dance moves were put center stage in 2001 in Spike Jonze's video for Fatboy Slim's song "Weapon of Choice." Walken says he did it because one day he'll be too old to cut a rug. "You think‚ 'Well‚ do it now!' You know‚ you get too decrepit to dance‚" he told Entertainment Weekly.This article originally appeared on 02.15.22

From a young age‚ Deddeh Howard was enthralled by fashion and its role in culture. Unfortunately‚ she was never really able to see herself in it."Something that always bothered me when you see these amazing images [was] that very rarely you ever see a black woman on them‚" Howard‚ who grew up in West Africa but now resides in Los Angeles‚ wrote at her blog‚ Secret of DD."Black girls are almost invisible‚" she wrote.So Howard created "Black Mirror‚" a photo series in which she re-creates famous photos with herself in place of models like Kendall Jenner‚ Gigi Hadid‚ Gisele Bundchen‚ and others.Howard's partner‚ Raffael Dickreuter‚ shot the series. As its title suggests‚ it holds a "black mirror" up to the fashion world. The project's goal is both to make people notice the lack of diversity in the fashion world and to provide inspiration to other non-white models.Of the models featured on the fall 2016 runways‚ 75% were white. There's a major need for a diversity boost.Sometimes‚ that lack of diversity can be downright embarrassing. Earlier this year‚ one fashion show featured models walking to Beyoncé's "Formation‚" a song Essence described as a "wholly and undeniable a tribute to Blackness — particularly Black girl power." The problem: The show didn't feature a single non-white model.Diversity‚ representation‚ and visibility play key roles in shaping ambition and self-acceptance in the real world.It's important to be able to see yourself in the world‚ and it's important to know that someone who looks like you can succeed."The next generation can only get inspired and reach for the stars themselves if they believe they can do it too‚" Howard wrote on her blog. "For that reason diversity in ad campaigns is in my opinion much more important than you might think."This article originally appeared on 12.08.16

The Story of Bottled Water www.youtube.com Here are six facts from the video above by The Story of Stuff Project that I'll definitely remember next time I'm tempted to buy bottled water. 1. Bottled water is more expensive than tap water (and not just a little). via The Story of Stuff Project/YouTubeA Business Insider column noted that two-thirds of the bottled water sold in the United States is in individual 16.9-ounce bottles‚ which comes out to roughly $7.50 per gallon. That's about 2‚000 times higher than the cost of a gallon of tap water. And in an article in 20 Something Finance‚ G.E. Miller investigated the cost of bottled versus tap water for himself. He found that he could fill 4‚787 20-ounce bottles with tap water for only $2.10! So if he paid $1 for a bottled water‚ he'd be paying 2‚279 times the cost of tap. 2. Bottled water could potentially be of lower quality than tap water. Fiji Water ran an ad campaign that was pretty disparaging about the city of Cleveland. Not a wise move. The city ordered a test of the snooty brand's water and found that Fiji Water contained levels of arsenic that weren't seen in the city's water supply.How was that possible? Sarah Goodman of the New York Times explains:" Bottled water manufacturers are not required to disclose as much information as municipal water utilities because of gaps in federal oversight authority. Bottom line: The Food and Drug Administration oversees bottled water‚ and U.S. EPA is in charge of tap water. FDA lacks the regulatory authority of EPA."3. The amount of bottled water we buy every week in the U.S. alone could circle the globe five times!That sounded like it just had to be impossible‚ so we looked into it. Here's what our fact-checkers found:"According to the video‚ ' People in the U.S. buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week.' National Geographic says for 2011‚ bottled water sales hit 9.1 billion gallons (roughly 34 billion liters).A 'typical' water bottle is a half-liter‚ so that's about 68 billion bottles per year. Divided by 52 weeks would be a little over 1 billion bottles of water sold per week in the U.S. Because that's based on a smaller 'typical' bottle size‚ it seems reasonable that a half billion bottles a week could be accurate.The Earth is about 131.5 million feet around‚ so yep‚ half a billion bottles of varying sizes strung end-to-end could circle the Earth five times."4. Paying for bottled water makes us chumps.Beverage companies have turned bottled water into a multibillion-dollar industry through a concept known as manufactured demand. Bottled water advertisements used a combination of scare tactics (Tap water bad!) and seduction (From the purest mountain streams EVER!) to reel us in.Well‚ we now know their claims about the superior quality of bottled water are mostly bogus. And research shows that anywhere from a quarter to 45% of all bottled water comes from the exact same place as your tap water (which‚ to reiterate‚ is so cheap it's almost free).5. Bottled water is FILTHY.It takes oil — lots of it — to make plastic bottles. According to the video‚ the energy in the amount of oil it takes to make the plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. in one year could fuel a million cars. That's not even counting the oil it takes to ship bottled water around the world.And once we've guzzled our bottled water‚ up to 80% of the empty bottles end up in landfills or noxious-gas-producing incinerators. The rest is either recycled or shipped to countries like India where poor people without environmental and labor protections have to deal with it.On top of all that‚ the process of manufacturing plastic bottles is polluting public water supplies‚ which makes it easier for bottled water companies to sell us their expensive product.6. There are 750 million people around the world who don't have access to clean water.A child dies every minute from a waterborne disease. And for me‚ that's the core of what makes bottled water so evil.The video wraps by comparing buying bottled water to smoking while pregnant. That may sound extreme‚ but after learning everything I just did about the bottled water industry‚ I can't disagree.If you're properly disgusted‚ here are a few ways you can help destroy the bottled water industry: Don't buy bottled water. Get a reusable water bottle. The savings will add up.Rally your schools‚ workplaces‚ and communities to ban bottled water.Demand that your city‚ state‚ and federal governments invest in better water infrastructure.This article originally appeared on 5.7.15

Addie Rodriguez was supposed to take the field with her dad during a high school football game‚ where he‚ along with other dads‚ would lift her onto his shoulders for a routine. But Addie's dad was halfway across the country‚ unable to make the event.Her father is Abel Rodriguez‚ a veteran airman who‚ after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan‚ was training at Travis Air Force Base in California‚ 1‚700 miles from his family in San Antonio at the time."Mom missed the memo it was parent day‚ and the reason her mom missed the memo was her dad left Wednesday‚" said Alexis Perry-Rodriguez‚ Addie's mom. She continued‚ "It was really heartbreaking to see your daughter standing out there being the only one without their father‚ knowing why he's away. It's not just an absentee parent. He's serving our country."But as Addie sat there in front of the game's crowd‚ with no one to join her on the field‚ someone ran toward her. That person was Central Catholic High School senior Matthew Garcia‚ who went to her after realizing she was the only cheerleader without a partner.Garcia told local news station FOX 29‚ "I ran down from the bleachers right here‚ and I just hopped the fence‚ and I went over‚ and I kneeled down‚ I talked to her and I said‚ 'Are you OK?'"He then lifted Addie onto his shoulders just like the dads did with their daughters so she could participate in the routine. Many onlookers quickly realized they were witnessing an extraordinary act of kindness‚ and social media was abuzz: @Harvard hopeful @matt_garcia_ exhibits the true measure of a man! Read about him on ABC News &; GMA today/tomorrow!https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/student-rescues-cheerleader-whose-military-dad-couldnt-attend-performance\u00a0\u2026 — Central Catholic HS (@Central Catholic HS) 1476293152 It may have been a small gesture for Garcia‚ but as Addie tells it‚ that little bit of assistance meant the world to her. They posed for a picture after the routine was done‚ and it's clear this will be one encounter she won't soon forget."I just felt like somebody saved my life‚" Addie said‚ adding‚ "I thought that's so nice‚ especially since my dad's serving for us.”Watch the YouTube video below:This article originally appeared on 08.21.18