13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman is no longer hiding her truth and, in a new interview, reintroduced herself as a transgender woman.
Speaking with Time, Dorfman, who was born male, announced she has transitioned into a woman.
“For a year now, I have been privately identifying and living as a woman—a trans woman,” the 29-year-old announced. “I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically.”
Dorfman continued, “Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.”
Dorfman revealed that she would not be changing her birth name because “I’m named after my mom’s brother who passed a month after I was born, and I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying.”
“This is an evolution of Tommy. I’m becoming more Tommy,” she attested.
The Insatiable star expressed that, while she never publicly addressed her transition, she subtly documented it through her Instagram, of which fans took notice of her slowly changing appearance and style.
“I’ve been living in this other version of coming out where I don’t feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it,” she continued. “So I kept, on Instagram, a diaristic time capsule instead—one that shows a body living in a more fluid space. However, I’ve learned as a public-facing person that my refusal to clarify can strip me of the freedom to control my own narrative.”
Dorfman said she will now focus on how to “infuse my trans body into film and television,” going forward and revealed she is no longer interested in playing cisgender male characters “except for maybe in a ‘Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan‘ way.”
(ATLANTA) — During the last year and a half, immunocompromised people have been at extremely high risk for the virus. And for many, the COVID vaccine didn’t change that.
That’s why a group of independent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts at a Thursday meeting largely voiced support for allowing immunocompromised people to talk to their doctors about getting a third shot, a booster, that could increase their antibody response to vaccines.
But the advisory committee didn’t make a formal recommendation, saying more data was needed and, ultimately, regulatory allowance from the Food and Drug Administration.
About 2.7% of U.S. adults are considered immunocompromised, an umbrella category that includes cancer patients, transplant recipients, people with HIV and patients on high-dose steroids.
“We long for a fuller life,” said Phil Canudo, a kidney transplant recipient from Akron, Ohio, who told the CDC advisory committee on Thursday that he had no antibody response after two Pfizer shots.
“I can’t wait to see my stepdaughter’s new Colorado home,” he said, choking up. “I want to eat a medium rare steak at the Diamond Grill.”
Canudo, who spoke before the CDC advisory panel during the public comment period, said he’d been told he still must behave as if he’s not vaccinated.
“I urge you, beg you even, to recommend that we be able to receive a third vaccine dose,” he said. “The benefit could open up the world to us again.”
At the same time, pressure is mounting as other countries, including France and Israel, already have approved boosters for those who are immunosuppressed. In the U.S., debate over booster shots for the general public has ratcheted up as the delta variant wreaks havoc.
Data presented at the meeting said a booster shot could increase antibodies in an immunocompromised person by up to 50%.
Dr. Sara Oliver, an epidemiologist with the CDC who presented the findings, also explained how immunocompromised people are a priority group for booster research because they’re at greater risk of serious COVID-related consequences.
For example, in one U.S. study, 44% of hospitalized breakthrough cases were immunocompromised people. An Israeli study found it was around 40%. Breakthrough cases, which are expected, refer to people who test positive for COVID-19 while fully vaccinated. The vaccines are highly effective against severe disease and hospitalization, but it’s possible for people to develop mild or asymptomatic illness even when vaccinated.
“We want to vaccinate. During this entire conference, we’ve been saying, vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate,” said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, a member of the panel. “These people want to be vaccinated, they’re not vaccine hesitant. And it seems to me that we should promote that.”
He argued that the FDA should “at least allow it while we obtain more data” because “we really need to help this population out more.” Patients, Sanchez argued, could end up taking matters into their own hands.
Phil, of Akron, said he planned to do just that.
“Hundreds of us lie to pharmacies and immunization sites about our previous vaccinations, trying to get an extra unauthorized dose,” he told the committee. “I know that’s what I’ll be doing if additional doses are not sanctioned.”
Another ACIP member, Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, a liaison of the American Medical Association, pointed out that there are millions of excess vaccine doses right now that aren’t being taken advantage of in the U.S.
At the same time, there are immunocompromised patients doing “all they can” and still not getting protection.
“I really do share the concerns that have been expressed by our ACIP members about, you know, our patients, right now, they’re immunocompromised, that are doing all they can do by getting vaccinated, by having their close contacts vaccinated, and it’s not enough that they’re still not protected,” Fryhofer said.
The work to assess additional studies is ongoing, and the next step would be for the FDA to issue regulatory guidance.
(WASHINGTON) — An Ohio man who is a self-proclaimed “incel” was charged by a grand jury for an alleged plot to conduct a mass shooting on a number of female university students, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
Tres Genco, 21, is charged with one count of attempting to commit a hate crime, which is punishable by up to life in prison because it involved an alleged intent to kill. He is also charged with one count of illegally possessing a machine gun, which is punishable by up to 10 years, the DOJ said in a statement.
According to the indictment, on Jan. 15, 2020, Genco allegedly conducted surveillance at an Ohio university and searched online topics, including “how to plan a shooting crime” and “when does preparing for a crime become an attempt.”
Genco identified himself online as an “incel” or “involuntary celibate” and had active online profiles that supported the incel movement — a community predominantly of men who harbor anger toward women and “seek to commit violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled,” said the DOJ statement.
Genco also allegedly stated in a written manifesto that he would “slaughter” women “out of hatred, jealousy and revenge.”
As part of their investigation into the alleged plot, law enforcement agents reportedly discovered a note that they say was written by Genco indicating his hope to “aim big” and kill up to 3,000 people, according to the DOJ statement. The note also allegedly indicated his intention to attend military training, which investigators found he completed in December 2019.
In March 2020, local police officers reported finding among other items, a firearm with a bump stock attached, several loaded magazines, body armor and boxes of ammunition in the trunk of Genco’s vehicle, the DOJ statement said.
Hidden inside a heating vent in Genco’s bedroom, police said they also found an unmarked semi-automatic pistol.
Genco’s detention hearing is scheduled for Friday in the Southern District of Ohio.
(NEW YORK) — They’re young, successful and making good money. Some call them HENRYs, short for “high earners, not rich yet.”
Usually in their 20s and 30s, these young people make more than $100,000 a year. The median household income in the U.S. is about $70,000 a year, according to 2019 census data.
Although some people might believe HENRYs are living the American dream, experts say that their six-figure salary might not go so far when factoring in student debt, rent and personal spending.
A recent study revealed that 70% of millennials are living paycheck-to-paycheck, a larger share than any other generation. 33% of millennials live paycheck-to-paycheck and struggle to pay their bills.
In interviews with ABC News, some HENRYs said that while they aren’t at that point yet, they can understand why many others feel that way.
Ben Gaut, 33, works as a technology consultant in Atlanta. He said that being in the group of so-called HENRYs was a “position [he] always wanted to be in.” However, he says the “not rich yet” part was not something he expected would be delayed.
For Gaut, a big part of that delay is due to his six-figure student loan debt.
“I don’t want to make any sort of mistake,” he said. “But there’s still work to be done to get to those goals that I had built up in my mind of what would happen at that point.”
In New York City, 30-year-old Turner Cowles has a similar story. He works as an investor educator and makes more than $105,000 a year, but student loan debt eats up so much of his income that at times he says he feels like he’s paying a second rent.
“If this is how I’m feeling now… oh my God, what is somebody who makes the poverty line feeling?” Cowles said. “What is somebody who’s making 30, 40 [or] 50 grand a year and also living in Brooklyn — how do they feel?”
The average student loan debt in the U.S. is nearly $40,000 per person, according to EducationData.org.
Priya Malani is the founder of Stash Wealth, a financial planning firm that works exclusively with HENRYs. She says they typically have double that amount in student loan debt.
“The average HENRY comes to us with around $80,000 in student debt,” she said. “They’ve accumulated additional degrees, they’ve been in school longer and so they have greater debt.”
Courtnie Nichols, 34, doesn’t have high student loan debt, but even with the $300,000 combined salary she and her husband make annually in Virginia, they feel like they must be careful with their money.
“I own my own business. My husband has a high net worth on his own with his job. So when you look at all the tangibles on paper, it’s like, ‘Oh, they’ve got a lot of money,’” she said. “But, for instance, six years ago, we were hit with a tax bill of almost $10,000. … We had an emergency fund. But now it’s like our whole emergency fund is gone, wiped out with one tax bill. So now we’re starting over. It’s like, as soon as … you take a few steps forward, you take a few steps back.”
The HENRYs who shared their stories with ABC News said they weren’t looking for sympathy and recognize they’re better off when compared to so many struggling Americans. But many said they feel like the benchmark for upward mobility has changed.
“The funny thing is I’m spending more on rent than I would on a mortgage. Because my debt to income ratio is based on my student loan debt, so I’m kind of in this catch-twenty-two of spending more money for a wonderful place to live, but I’m not building any equity, so I’m in this kind of position that seems.. difficult it’s difficult to to kind of come to terms with.”
The Consumer Price Index, which measures what consumers pay for everyday goods and services and is often looked at as an inflation barometer, jumped 5% over the last 12 months — the largest increase since August 2008.
Another factor is sky-high living costs. The median price for a home in the U.S. has spiked 23.4% in just one year, and it’s particularly high in cities where many HENRYs live, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The median price for a home in the San Francisco metro area is $1,200,000. In Los Angeles, it’s $682,400; in New York, it’s $514,200; and in Washington D.C., it’s $498,100, according to the National Association of Realtors.
There’s also a desire among high-earners to enjoy some luxuries alongside their hard work, even though not all spending comes from a desire to keep up with others’ success. There are some social elements, like “FOMO,” or “fear of missing out,” culture.
“At 30-something, you would think that in our peer group we are the top of the totem pole. But that is not the case in our circle of friends,” Nichols said. “But we will be like, ‘We have a healthy income, we’re building, but we’re not quite there.’”
A phenomenon known as “lifestyle creep” happens when people’s lifestyles change as their income increases, and certain luxuries someone used to enjoy turn into their perceived necessities.
“The truth of the matter is that even when you do cut back, there’s still this level of almost anxiety,” Cowles said.
Malani said that young people may see friends buying homes or upgrading their cars, for example, but don’t realize that they may be dealing with credit card debt.
“So you just think, ‘Wow, if they can do it, I should be able to do it, too,’ and it becomes this cycle that’s very, very difficult to break,” Malani said.
Jennifer Castillo is a 34-year-old lawyer and blogger from Washington, D.C. She calls herself a HENRY, bringing in about $130,000 a year. She said she hasn’t yet felt squeezed financially and that she is looking to redefine some of the more negative connotations associated with HENRYs.
“I’m so happy to sort of embrace the HENRY title because it speaks to the potential to your own particular financial goals, what you want your wealth building legacy to be,” she said.
Although her online persona shows her living the high life, she said there’s a story behind every post. For example, she pointed to a Gucci belt, saying she’d planned to buy it for two years.
“When you look at my Instagram or you look at my blog, it may appear that I sort of subscribe to this ‘buy it, I’ll do it all,’ lifestyle,” Castillo said. “But it really is a highlight reel. … Nothing that I buy is on a whim. I’m always, like, planning for my purchases. I always save up for them.”
For Castillo, the upcoming birth of her first child is her financial priority, she says.
“I think the biggest shift in my budget is going to be I’ll [have] a lot less money to my fun account,” she said. “I’ve been looking at costs and daycare is expensive, nannies are expensive. Like, every child care option that I have — I work full time — is expensive. So … that’s where the sacrifice is going to lie.”
Experts say financial counseling can also make a huge difference. Nichols reached out to Stash Wealth last year. Now, she knows where every dollar goes.
“I know every month how much I can spend on my credit card. Like to the exact penny, I know how much wiggle room we have,” she said.
No matter how they got there, the HENRYs who shared their stories believe that financial freedom is within their reach.
“My favorite part of the acronym is the ‘not rich yet’ part,” Castillo said, “because it speaks to the future potential of someone that’s a high earner.”
(WASHINGTON) — The state of Mississippi formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to uphold its ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that gave women the unfettered right to end a pregnancy before a fetus is viable outside the womb.
“Under the Constitution, may a State prohibit elective abortions before viability? Yes. Why? Because nothing in constitutional text, structure, history, or tradition supports a right to abortion,” the state says bluntly in its opening brief in a blockbuster case that will dominate the court’s next term.
The cascade of arguments Mississippi lays out constitute the most direct and aggressive attack on abortion rights in years before the high court.
Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch, leading the case, declares outright that the time has come for the justices to discard long-standing precedent because Roe and Casey, a 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion access for women, are “egregiously wrong.”
“Roe and Casey are unprincipled decisions that have damaged the democratic process, poisoned our national discourse, plagued the law — and, in doing so, harmed this Court,” the brief says.
Mississippi argues that states have compelling interests in protecting the lives of the unborn — interests that have been neglected, it claims, by decades of flawed legal analyses by the court’s majority.
“Scientific advances show that an unborn child has taken on the human form and features months before viability. States should be able to act on those developments. But Roe and Casey shackle States to a view of the facts that is decades out of date.”
Abortion rights advocates were quick to respond Thursday, calling Mississippi’s legal case “stunning” and “extreme.”
“Their goal is for the Supreme Court to take away our right to control our own bodies and our own futures — not just in Mississippi, but everywhere,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is challenging the law, in a statement.
“Let’s be clear; any ruling in favor of Mississippi in this case overturns the core holding of Roe — the right to make a decision about whether to continue a pregnancy before viability,” she continued. “The Court has held that the Constitution guarantees this right. If Roe falls, half the states in the country are poised to ban abortion entirely. “
The Supreme Court has not yet scheduled the case for oral argument in the term set to begin in October. A decision is expected by June 2022.
Rise Against has released a new acoustic version of “Nowhere Generation,” the title track off the band’s new album.
The updated recording features guest vocals from Meg Myers. You can download it now via digital outlets.
“When we released the acoustic version of ‘Nowhere Generation,’ we found that it really connected with a lot of people,” says frontman Tim McIlrath. “We heard from a lot of unique and beautiful voices, and we knew that we needed to add another beautiful, unique voice to this song. Meg was the perfect choice and we are thrilled with how it all turned out.”
“When Rise Against asked me to sing on ‘Nowhere Generation,’ I felt an instant connection to the song,” Myers adds. “There is a power and a purity about this song that is so healing and unifying.”
The original “Nowhere Generation” currently sits in the top 10 on both Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock and Alternative Airplay charts.
Nowhere Generation the album was released in June. Rise Against will launch a tour in support of the record July 27 in Cleveland.
Myers released a pair of EPs, Thank You 4 Taking Me 2 the Disco and I’d Like 2 Go Home Now, last November. The former includes her single “The Underground.”
Former Fleetwood Mac singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham has just released a second advance track from his forthcoming self-titled solo album, which is due out on September 17.
“On the Wrong Side,” which is available now via digital formats, is an upbeat-sounding pop-rock tune that according to a statement is about the ups and downs Buckingham experienced while touring with Fleetwood Mac.
Lindsey draws a comparison between “On the Wrong Side” and his classic Fleetwood Mac hit “Go Your Own Way,” noting that the 1977 tune was “not a happy song, subject-matter wise, but it was an ebullient song musically. This was sort of the same idea.”
As previously reported, the upcoming album is Buckingham’s first solo studio effort since 2011’s Seeds We Sow and his seventh overall.
The 10-song collection, which Buckingham wrote, produced and recorded at his home studio in Los Angeles, can be pre-ordered now and will be available on CD, as a vinyl LP, and on digital and streaming platforms.
Lindsey previously released a song called “I Don’t Mind” as the first advance track from the album.
Meanwhile, Buckingham will launch a 30-city U.S. solo tour with a September 1 show in Milwaukee, marking the first time that Lindsey will be playing in-person concerts since he underwent emergency heart surgery in February 2019.
NEW YORK) — New York Jets assistant coach and passing game coordinator Greg Knapp has died after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle in California on Tuesday, the team announced Tuesday.
“Today at 11:32 am PST, Greg Knapp (aka Knapper) was called back home to Heaven, where he will be reunited with his Dad,” the team said in a statement.
Knapp was struck by a car on Tuesday and never regained consciousness, according to the team.
“Those of us who were so blessed to have known him, know that he would have wanted even this moment to be a teachable one. So this is it…”Live every day as if it’s your last, and love those around you like it won’t last!” the statement said. “Greg’s infectious personality is most people’s first and lasting memory of him. The phrase “He never met a stranger” encapsulates Knapper’s zest for life. He had a unique gift to make everyone feel special, and to Knapper, they all were.”
Knapp was struck at 2:49 PM local time on Tuesday and based on preliminary investigation drugs/alcohol were not involved, San Ramon Police Department told ESPN. The driver, whose name is being withheld, is cooperating.
It happened at an intersection about 27 miles east of Oakland, according to ESPN.
The Jets rookies will arrive at training camp on Tuesday with veterans starting on July 27.
This season would have been Knapp’s 26th as an NFL coach. He has spent the past 22 years as either an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach.
Knapp coached 13 different Pro-Bowlers, including 11 quarterbacks, in Jeff Garcia, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, and Steve Young. Manning and Young are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
According to ESPN, Knapp was hired to work with Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.
Before joining the Jets, Knapp was the quarterback coach in Atlanta for three seasons. During his time in Atlanta, Matt Ryan threw for 13,971 yards, the most in the league, and 87 touchdowns.
Ariana Grande has released the final installment of her VEVO Official Live Performance series.
The last video features her performance of “positions,” the title track off her latest album. It begins with Ari, clad in a pink bejeweled halter top and skirt matching set, seated at a looping machine on the flower-covered set. She loops her vocals and layers harmonies before launching into the song.
“this series of Positions performances has been such a creative dream come true for me,” Ariana wrote on Instagram ahead of the video’s release. “thank you so much to @vevo and to everybody who contributed their time and energies and talent to these performances. it quite literally takes a village to create something so special so i wanted to acknowledge and say thank you so much to everybody who gave their time and brought so much life to this music.”
“it was such a privilege and gift to me,” she continued. “also, thank you so much to the incredible @tydollasign and @theweeknd for joining us ! it’s as always such an honor and pleasure.”
“Positions” follows Ariana’s previous Vevo Official Live Performance videos of “pov,” “safety net” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “my hair,” “34+35” and “off the table” featuring The Weeknd.
Megan Thee Stallion revealed in a new interview that she waited until she was 20 to tell her mom that she wanted to become a rapper.
“I wanted to be perfect to her,” Megan told Tyra Banks for Sports Illustrated. “I was like, ‘No, I’m not gonna tell her yet.’ But she would have these CDs laying around the house — like, instrumentals — and I would take them in my room and I would take the beats and write to them in my room.”
As previously reported, Meg is the first rapper to grace the cover of SI, while Tyra became the first Black woman to achieve the feat in 1996.
Meg said she came clean to her mom when she entered college. “I was like, ‘I can rap.’ And she was like, ‘No, you can’t,'” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘Okay Mama, don’t whoop me, but I’m about to curse, okay?’ So I started going off and I’m cursing and [she gasps,] ‘Where did you learn all those words?!'”
Adds Meg, “And she said, ‘You’re not coming out until you’re 21.'”
The three-time Grammy winner talked about what inspired her to pursue a rap career, revealing she started practicing her craft when she turned seven when she realized she “wanted to entertain everybody,” then waited ten years before telling her mom.
Rapping is in Meg’s blood because her late mother, Holly Thomas, was known as the rapper Holly-Wood. Thomas, who was also Meg’s manager, died in 2019 of brain cancer.
