(NEW YORK) — Sara Blakely is probably going down as one of 2021’s best bosses ever.
The Spanx founder recently announced that she is giving the company’s employees two first-class Delta plane tickets to travel anywhere in the world.
She also gave $10,000 for them each to spend on the trip.
“I really want every employee to celebrate this moment in their own way and create a memory that will last them a lifetime,” Blakely captioned a video celebrating the moment.
Ahead of sharing the exciting news with her staff, Blakely choked up on the video as she reflected on initially writing down that Spanx, an underwear company focused on shapewear, would one day become a $20 million-dollar business.
“Everybody laughed at me, but I really believed that,” she continued.
Fast forward, a little over 20 years later and Spanx is valued at $1.2B, according to Business Wire. Global investment firm Blackstone also recently bought a majority stake in the company.
Since posting the special occasion on Instagram, it’s been viewed a million times with many comments.
“So inspired by you and what you created and the women you’ve impacted along the way Sara,” said former professional football player Lewis Howes.
Cat Oshman chimed in saying, “This had me in tears of joy. Love this so much and I admire the accomplishments + all the encouragement Sara brings to women today. Here’s to building our dreams and bringing others along the way!”
When asked where they are going to go, Spanx employees responded with destinations such as Croatia, South Africa and Antarctica.
One employee said she’d be taking her gifts to go on her honeymoon to Bora Bora while another said he would fly to Sweden and elope with his girlfriend.
“GMA” reached out to Spanx for comment.
In a previous post, Blakely opened up about the brand’s milestone in selling to Blackstone saying how proud she is.
“I’ve bootstrapped this for 21 years and I can’t wait to see what we can do for our customers with Blackstone’s full global resources behind us,” she said. “I’m eternally grateful to the customers, employees (past and present), vendors, retailers, friends and family who stood by me while I took the leap. Let today inspire all the dreamers out there who care the most.”
She continued: ” After meeting with the all-female deal team, I knew they were the right partners to grow our mission and scale our purpose. Now together with Blackstone, we will have even more opportunity to further our mission of making the world a better place… one butt at a time!”
In 2012, Blakely was named Forbes Magazines’ youngest self-made billionaire.
Today, the company offers leggings, clothing, activewear, maternity wear and more.
(WASHINGTON) — Democrats on Wednesday scrambled to close the deal on President Joe Biden’s landmark social spending legislation, focusing on new ways to pay for the package, including a billionaires’ tax the White House said the president supports.
At the same time, they were hoping to make enough progress that House progressives would agree to vote for a separate Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill before Biden heads overseas Thursday.
Just hours after Senate Democrats on Wednesday morning unveiled the “billionaires tax” — to tax the wealth of a few hundred of the wealthiest of Americans — the gambit came into question when Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, a decisive vote on the bigger social spending bill, raised concerns.
“I’m supporting, basically, that everyone should pay their fair share,” Manchin told reporters on Capitol Hill. “I don’t like the connotation that we’re targeting different people.”
When asked about the plan, proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., which would help pay the $1.5 -2 trillion cost for sweeping new programs including child care, child tax credits, family leave and environmental initiatives, Manchin hesitated, saying while he thought they would “absolutely” get to a deal “the Senate will take time.”
“There’s a lot going on with that and it’s very convoluted. I believe there’s going to be everyone’s going to pay. I believe that we will end up where everyone must participate,” he said.
Wyden’s plan would apply to people with at least $1 billion in assets or $100 million in income for three consecutive years, applies to increased value on assets — so-called “unrealized gains” not now subject to tax — and would impact roughly 700 taxpayers, according to experts. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced at Wednesday’s briefing that the plan has Biden’s support.
But the option raises some constitutional concerns and could depend ultimately on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of a wealth tax as a direct tax on property, which is unconstitutional, or whether it’s another form of income tax, which is constitutional. Legal challenges also risk undermining the president’s promise that his plans would be completely paid for.
“We’re not going to support anything we don’t think it’s legal,” Psaki said. “But I will tell you, the president supports the billionaire tax. He looks forward to working with Congress and chairman Wyden to make sure the highest-income Americans pay their fair share,” he said.
White House press sec. Jen Psaki says Pres. Biden “remains open” to going to Capitol Hill amid agenda negotiations.
Aside from the billionaires’ tax plan, Manchin said he and his fellow Democrats are on board with another proposal to help pay for the sweeping programs: a 15% minimum tax on the country’s wealthiest companies.
“We’ve all agreed on a 15% corporate tax,” he said.”There’s a patriotic duty that you should be paying something to this great country to give you the protection and the support and the opportunities. That’s called a patriotic tax. It will be nothing that should be scorned about.”
Wyden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, introduced the plan to establish a 15% minimum corporate minimum tax rate that’s aimed at companies making more than $1 billion in profits annually. They estimate the plan would apply to 200 companies generating “hundreds of billions in revenue over ten years,” according to a statement form the senators.
Warren pointed to Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in promoting the plan as negotiation continued on Capitol Hill, telling reporters they scrapped the idea of raising individual tax rates on the rich because, she said, those people do avoid taxes anyway.
“They have now opened that hole to the point that billionaires drive semis through it loaded with money,” Warren said of the current tax system.
The corporate tax proposal, and the separate tax on billionaires, are aimed at that tax avoidance — what lawmakers said was the concern of Sinema, who with Manchin, has been a Democratic holdout.
“The idea here is to say, ‘Enough, enough. If you’re a corporation that makes more than $100 billion dollars in profits — not revenues, not assets — but profits, then you’re going to pay a minimum 15% tax,” Warren told reporters.
“It’s not a new tax idea. The taxes are actually already there,” she added. “We’re now saying,”We want you to — you’ve got to — make this on an annual basis instead of putting it off for 30 or 40 years.”
As the clock also ticks on Biden’s overseas trip and White House senior staff do last-minute lobbying to lawmakers, Psaki said Wednesday the president also “remains open to going to the Hill.”
But she also signaled that if there isn’t a vote this week, the White House wouldn’t accept it as a loss.
“We’re on the verge of getting to a deal,” she said of negotiations. “They don’t look at it through the prism of whether there is a vote in one [sic] legislative body before he gets on an airplane,” She said.
Biden summoned Manchin and Sinema to the White House Tuesday night, but Democrats appear still at odds over key issues on expansion Medicare, Medicaid and family leave.
Despite some progressives’ objections, an optimistic-sounding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled the House could act on the “BIF” — the bipartisan infrastructure framework bill — sooner rather than later, with the thinking the chamber can and should vote on BIF with a framework in hand.
“In order for the BIF to pass, we need to have the trust, the confidence and the reality of the Build Back Better bill,” Pelosi told House Democrats in a closed-door meeting, a source familiar told ABC News.
Notably, Pelosi has said she doesn’t bring bills to the floor for a vote if she knows they are going to lose.
“In the next couple of hours, I will be communicating with you on our path from here to there … depending on what happens at the White House,” she said. “That will determine our timetable, our course of action, but we are in pretty good shape.”
Coming out of a meeting later, Pelosi told reporters that Democrats are in “pretty good shape” on the social spending bill.
“We have to just make decisions about one thing or another,” Pelosi said, heaping praise on Biden for leading the charge. “I feel pretty good about it.”
Pelosi notified members in a new dear colleague letter this afternoon that the House Rules Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday on the Build Back Better Act.
The hearing does not mean the bill is ready to hit the floor, as negotiations continue, but it will offer committee leaders a chance to speak to members about the bill. She wrote that progress had been made on a few sticking points, including closing the Medicaid coverage gap, but they’re still working to close a deal on paid family and medical leave.
Meanwhile, a disgruntled Sen. Bernie Sanders told reporters that he doesn’t see a deal by the end of the day.
“I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I’m not quite clear in terms of the revenue package. Every sensible revenue option seems to be destroyed,” Sanders said.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus said Thursday at a press conference they are also ready to vote “soon” on the legislation that chair Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said members have not been on the sidelines for when it comes to negotiations.
“I don’t think we’re in a position to keep kicking the can down the road,” Beatty said. “You know, infrastructure is very important, and we need to make sure that we meet the deadline that is imminent.”
The White House is hoping Biden will be able to tout the sweeping infrastructure package at the COP26 summit and G-20 summit this weekend.
According to an analysis by the pro-wealth-tax Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality, billionaires in the U.S. have seen their collected wealth surge 70% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to more than $5 trillion — a gain equal in size to Biden’s spending plans over 10 years, The Associated Press reported.
The president did not campaign on a wealth tax but vowed no one earning less than $400,000 would pay more in taxes in his administration.
ABC News’ Sarah Donaldson contributed to this report.
(MILAN, Ill.) — A John Deere worker who was taking part in the ongoing strike was killed in a traffic accident while walking to the picket line on Wednesday morning, the United Auto Workers Union said.
The tragedy took place at approximately 6 a.m. local time in Milan, Illinois, according to a statement from Milan Police Department Chief Shawn Johnson. The victim’s name is being withheld pending family notification.
“Initial investigation showed the pedestrian was crossing the Rock Island Milan Parkway at the intersection with Deere Drive,” Johnson said. “The pedestrian was pronounced deceased from injuries sustained in the accident.”
The 56-year-old employee was a member of the UAW’s Local 79 and had been an employee at the Milan John Deere Parts Distribution Plant for 15 years, according to a UAW statement.
“It is a somber time to lose a member who made the ultimate sacrifice in reporting to picket for a better life for his family and coworkers,” UAW President Ray Curry said in the statement.
Ron McInroy, director of UAW Region 4, added: “Our brother was fighting for what is right and we all mourn for his family and co-workers.”
“Through our tears, we continue to picket and honor the solidarity of our fallen brother,” McInroy said. “But we do this with heavy hearts today.”
Curry said the UAW flag will fly at half-staff Wednesday.
More than 10,000 John Deere workers have been on strike for approximately two weeks, after the union rejected a contract offer Oct. 14. The workers are seeking higher wages, better retirement benefits and more after working through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the first strike at the agricultural machinery giant in more than three decades, and it comes amid a spate of strikes in recent weeks that’s left several major companies scrambling for staff.
“We are saddened by the tragic accident and death of one of our employees who was struck by a vehicle before dawn this morning,” Jennifer Hartmann, director of public relations at John Deere, told ABC News in a statement Wednesday. “All of us at John Deere express our deepest condolences to their family and friends.”
(SANTA FE, N.M.) — Law enforcement officials in New Mexico said Wednesday that they suspect a real bullet was loaded in the antique revolver used in a movie-set shooting by actor Alec Baldwin that killed the film’s cinematography and wounded its director.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said a lead slug taken from wounded film director Joel Souza’s shoulder came from the F.LLI Pieata Colt revolver that Baldwin fired during a dress rehearsal Thursday afternoon for the western “Rust” at the Bonanza Creek Ranch studio near Santa Fe.
Mendoza said the same shot mortally wounded cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who later died at a hospital.
Mendoza declined to say whether negligence was involved in the incident or who was responsible for putting the live round into the Colt revolver Baldwin fired.
The sheriff said three guns were seized from the scene, including the Colt revolver. He described the other guns as a non-functioning .45 caliber revolver and a plastic non-functioning prop gun.
He also said 500 rounds of ammunition were also seized that included a mix of blanks, dummy rounds and live rounds.
“We believe that we have in our possession the firearm that was fired by Mr. Baldwin. This is the firearm we believe discharged the bullet,” Mendoza said. “We also believe we have the spent shell casing from the bullet that was fired from the gun. We regard this specific spent casing and recovered projectile to be the live round that was fired from the revolver by Mr. Baldwin.”
Mendoza said investigators have interviewed the two people who “handled and or inspected the loaded firearm prior to Baldwin firing the weapon.” He identified them as the film armorer Hannah Guitierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls.
He said investigators have collected what they believe to be additional live rounds from the set.
Mendoza said the evidence will be analyzed by the FBI at the bureau’s crime lab in Quantico, Virginia.
“I want to ensure the victims, their families and the public that we are conducting a thorough and objective investigation,” Mendoza said. “In reference to possible charges, it’s too early right now in the investigation to comment on charges at this point.”
Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said no decision has been made on whether charges will be filed and that she will wait until the investigation is complete.
“I must emphasize that a complete and thorough investigation is critical to DA review. We take the corroborated facts and evidence and connect it to New Mexico law and we are not at that juncture yet,” Carmack-Altwies said. “I am a prosecutor that was elected in part because I do not make rash decisions and I do not rush to judgment.”
Ask by a reporter whether Baldwin could face criminal charges, Carmack-Altwies said, “All options are on the table at this point.”
“I’m not commenting on charges whether they will be filed or not on whom,” she said. “We cannot answer that question yet until we complete a more thorough investigation. No one has been ruled out at this point.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(HOUSTON) — An 8-year-old boy whose skeletal remains were left in his Houston home died from “multiple blunt-force injuries,” authorities said Wednesday.
The remains of the boy, who died around November 2020, were left in the apartment along with his three malnourished and abandoned siblings: a 15-year-old boy and two younger brothers, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.
The three surviving brothers were found home alone on Sunday when the 15-year-old called authorities. The teen reported that his 8-year-old brother had been dead for one year and his body was in the room next to his, the sheriff’s office said.
The teen also said his parents hadn’t been in the apartment for several months, authorities said. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez described the home as “unspeakable living conditions,” with soiled carpets, roaches and flies.
“It seemed too horrific to be real,” Gonzalez said at a news conference Wednesday.
The boyfriend of the 8-year-old’s mother, 31-year-old Brian Coulter, was charged Tuesday with the boy’s murder, authorities said. The boys’ mother, 35-year-old Gloria Williams, was charged with injury to a child by omission and tampering with evidence, according to the sheriff’s office.
The children were taken to a hospital and the Texas Department of Family and Protective services received emergency custody of them, Gonzalez said.
Authorities said Wednesday that one of the boys had a jaw injury, allegedly caused by Coulter several weeks ago, and will need surgery.
The boys all were very thin, officials added.
“The mother, we believe, was providing some food by delivery service or having food dropped off on a fairly routine basis,” though it only appeared to be junk food, Gonzalez said.
The children had apparently not been in school for more than one year, the sheriff added.
“My prayer is that the remaining children find the love, support and protection that they so desperately need and deserve,” Gonzalez said Wednesday.
Coulter did not appear at his initial court hearing Wednesday. His bond was set at $1 million, and he was ordered to have no contact with Williams or the minor witnesses in the case, according to ABC Houston station KTRK. Williams is expected to appear in court Wednesday.
(NEW YORK) — A 1-year-old golden retriever named Chandler has a Halloween costume for every day in October and they are paw-sitively adorable.
Chandler, named after “Friends” character Chandler Bing by his owner Katie Palamara, has over 100,000 followers on TikTok and his 31 costumes have been a viral sensation.
“Halloween is my favorite holiday. I anticipate it months and months in advance,” Palamara said. “So it was kind of a no-brainer to do this.”
Palamara said she acquired the costumes over several months. The costumes range from Winnie the Pooh to Fruit Loops to Chandler Bing.
“His favorite costume was a wide retriever because he got to play with a football,” Palamara said. “His least favorite was the Mario Kart one because he was a little afraid of the balloons.”
Palamara said she hopes Chandler’s costumes will spread joy online.
(PITTSBURGH) — On Oct. 27, 2018, 11 worshippers, including a 97-year-old woman, were gunned down at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Here’s a closer look at the lives lost.
Rose Mallinger
Rose Mallinger, 97, was the oldest of the victims but “age was truly just a number,” the Mallinger family said in a statement.
“She retained her sharp wit, humor and intelligence until the very last day,” the family said. “No matter what obstacles she faced, she never complained. She did everything she wanted to do in her life.”
Rose Mallinger “was a pillar of the Jewish community and the Tree of Life Synagogue, which she was a part of for over six decades,” the family said. “The synagogue was the center of her very active life. She was there every weekend, and the people of the congregation brought her great joy, as she brought to them.”
“Rose was ‘Bubbie,’ Yiddish for grandma, to everyone in our family and our beloved community,” the family said, adding that “family was everything” to her.
Rose Mallinger has three children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.
“She loved us and knew us better than we knew ourselves,” the family said.
“In addition to being the president of the congregation, he was a doctor, a healer … when he heard shots he ran outside to try and see if anyone was hurt and needed a doctor. That was Uncle Jerry, that’s just what he did,” Ostrin wrote on Facebook.
“He always wore a bowtie,” Ostrin added. “There is just something about guys who wear bowties. Something youthful, something fun. And that is a word that definitely embodied my Uncle Jerry – fun. You know how they say there are people who just lighten up a room? You know that cliché about people whose laugh is infectious? That was Uncle Jerry. It wasn’t a cliché, it was just his personality. His laughter, with his chest heaving up and down, with a huge smile on his face – that was uncle Jerry. And that bowtie. That bowtie that you know made people smile, you know made his patients more at ease.”
Rabinowitz was a “compassionate, loving, non-judgmental” physician, Pittsburgh dentist Stephen DeFusco told ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE. “He sat down, talked with you -– there wasn’t a minute that he didn’t pay attention to you.”
A former patient said the slain doctor was one of his heroes.
“In the old days for HIV patients in Pittsburgh he was to [sic] one to go to,” former patient Michael Kerr wrote on Facebook. “He often held our hands (without rubber gloves) and always always hugged us as we left his office.”
“I got lucky beyond words – because when he gently told me around November 1995 that it was time to begin taking medications – there was an ACTG trial for two HIV medications that saved my life,” he wrote. “Thank you Dr. Rabinowitiz for having always been there during the most terrifying and frightening time of my life. You will be remembered by me always. You are one of my heroes.”
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center “cannot even begin to express the sadness and grief we feel over the loss of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz,” the medical center said in a statement. “Jerry was above all one of the kindest physicians and human beings in our community.”
Tami Minnier, chief quality officer of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, added, “Those of us who worked with him respected and admired his devotion to his work and faith. His loss is devastating, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and fellow UPMC colleagues who loved him.”
Cecil and David Rosenthal
Brothers Cecil Rosenthal, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54, were both killed in the attack.
The brothers never missed a service and were always at the synagogue because it was a place they felt the most safe, fellow congregant Scott Levin told ABC News.
The brothers were always together, congregant Katy Levin told ABC News, so she said it brings her some comfort that they died together because she doesn’t know how one could live without the other.
Both brothers were developmentally disabled.
“Cecil and David had a love for life and for those around them,” according to a statement from ACHIEVA, a local organization which provides support for people with disabilities.
“Cecil’s laugh was infectious. David was so kind and had such a gentle spirit,” Chris Schopf, Vice President of ACHIEVA Residential Supports, said in the statement. “Together, they looked out for one another. They were inseparable. Most of all, they were kind, good people with a strong faith and respect for everyone.”
Cecil Rosenthal was “a gregarious person who was super social, absolutely loved talking to people,” said David DeFelice, Cecil Rosenthal’s friend and match in a “Best Buddy” program.
“Somebody who had an intellectual disability … we were kind of their mentor, their friend, and the whole point was to just foster friendship,” he explained to ABC News’ “Nightline.”
He knew Cecil Rosenthal for three years and called his friend “a fixture in the Jewish community and at Tree of Life.”
“I was you know welcomed right away because he kind of brought me in,” DeFelice said. “He always carried a Hebrew calendar, knew the Jewish holidays — he marked them down. He was always talking about events and parties that the synagogue was having and that he invited different people to.”
“He was a funny guy, he liked to tease,” DeFelice said. “I loved talking to him. I have nothing but good memories, so it’s nice because it brings a smile to my face.”
Daniel Stein
Daniel Stein, 71, was a “simple man” who loved going to synagogue and playing with his grandson, his son, Joe Stein, wrote on Facebook.
Joe Stein wrote on Facebook, “My mom, sister and I are absolutely devastated and crushed! Our lives now are going to have to take a different path, one that we thought would not happen for a long time. … We love you dad more than you’ll ever know!”
“He was the best man you’d ever want to know,” Steven Halle, a nephew of Daniel Stein, told ABC News.
Daniel Stein was incredibly active in the synagogue community, where he was a mentor, provided services to the elderly community and served as president of his congregation, Halle said.
He called his uncle a happy, caring and sympathetic man who had two “wonderful” kids and a “beautiful wife.”
Daniel Stein also loved to show off his 7-month-old grandchild. Now, his grandson “is never going to know who his grandfather is,” Halle said.
Richard Gottfried
Richard Gottfried, 65, a successful dentist, had reconnected with his faith following his father’s death and at one point became the president of the 70-member congregation in Pittsburgh, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
He was survived by his wife, Margaret A. “Peg” Durachko, who is also a dentist.
The couple had worked together at the Squirrel Hill Medical Center’s dental clinic, where they treated refugees and immigrants, many of whom had never been to a dentist, the newspaper reported.
“Do not let his death be in vain. Drive out evil from your own life and help another to drive it out of their life. The only way to combat evil is with love,” his wife said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Joyce Fienberg
Victim Joyce Fienberg, 75, a former research specialist, was survived by her two sons and grandchildren. Her husband died in 2016.
Joyce Fienberg was a research specialist at the University of Pittsburgh’s Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) from 1983 until she retired in 2008.
“My mother-in-law was one of the kindest humans I’ve ever met,” her daughter-in-law, Marnie Fienberg, told ABC News. “If you knew her for five minutes, if you knew her for 20 years, you felt exactly the same way.”
“She traveled extensively with her husband and they met people internationally — she would stay in touch with them. So there are people from 50 years ago who she met once in Australia who are her good friends,” she said. “She would stay up nights making sure everybody was staying in touch — I’ve never seen anything like it before. … I think everybody tries to do that, but she succeeds.”
Joyce Fienberg’s most important relationships were the ones she had with her six grandchildren, who range in age from 15 to 8.
“She made a point of mastering social media very early so she could stay in touch with these kids,” Marnie Fienberg said. “Each one of them had a one-on-one relationship with her. She knew what was going on in their days, she was so involved. She really was an amazing, amazing grandmother.”
Melvin Wax
Melvin Wax, 88, a retired accountant. Wax’s wife, Sandra, had died in 2016.
Bernice and Sylvan Simon
Sylvan Simon, 86, and his wife, Bernice Simon, 84, were killed in the same synagogue where they married in December 1956, The Tribune-Review reported.
“A loving couple, and they’ve been together forever,” longtime friend Michael Stepaniak told the newspaper. “I hope they didn’t suffer much, and I miss them terribly.”
“They held hands and they always smiled, and he would open the door for her,” neighbor Heather Graham told the newspaper. “They were really generous and nice to everybody.”
The couple’s front door has three stickers, according to The Tribune-Review: “Support Our Troops,” “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful.”
Irving Younger
Irving Younger, 69, a father and grandfather, was a regular volunteer and worshiper at the synagogue, where he would come early and stay late, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw this gunman walk into the room where the services were and his first thought was, ‘Can I help this stranger get settled?’ Until he saw what the stranger was doing — because that’s the kind of thought that he would have,” said Schachter, the former congregation president.
(WASHINGTON) — Four months after announcing it would allow a third-gender option for U.S. citizens on their passports, the State Department said Wednesday that it has issued one.
It is the first of its kind, denoted with an ‘X,’ for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming U.S. citizens.
The agency is still preparing to make the option widely available for passports and other documents, such as the consular report of birth abroad.
“I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State’s commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people — including LGBTQI+ persons,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price in a statement. He did not specify when the passport was issued or to whom.
In June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Americans could choose which gender is displayed on their passports, no longer needing medical certification if their preference contradicts supporting documents such as birth certificates.
Adding a third-gender option is “technologically complex and will take time for extensive systems updates,” Blinken said at the time. Price said Wednesday the agency is still working on the issue, which they expect to be an option for all regular passport applications early next year.
“The Department also continues to work closely with other U.S. government agencies to ensure as smooth a travel experience as possible for all passport holders, regardless of their gender identity,” he added.
Advocates say harassment by immigration and travel authorities for gender non-conforming people is common. Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, deputy executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, praised the announcement in June.
“Inaccurate IDs open transgender people up to harassment and discrimination. Reforming U.S. passports is a common-sense way to improve the lives of transgender people,” Heng-Lehtinen said, adding accurate documents are “necessary for travel, banking, starting a new job and school.”
President Joe Biden promised these changes during his 2020 campaign.
“Transgender and non-binary people without identification documents that accurately reflect their gender identity are often exposed to harassment and violence and denied employment, housing, critical public benefits, and even the right to vote,” his campaign website said.
(LONDON) — A college at the University of Cambridge is set to return an artifact looted by British soldiers to Nigeria, in a move described as “the first institutional return of its kind.”
On Wednesday, Jesus College Cambridge will hand over a statue of a cockerel — a young rooster — to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The statue is a Benin Bronze, part of a collection of artifacts stolen from the Kingdom of Benin in modern-day Nigeria by British soldiers in 1897. Many of the other Benin Bronzes are on display at the British Museum.
The return comes amid growing pressure in Western countries to return artifacts looted during colonization.
“This is an historic moment,” Sonita Alleyne, Master of Jesus College, said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming representatives from Nigeria and Benin to the handover ceremony and to celebrating the return of this Bronze.”
“This is the right thing to do out of respect for the unique heritage and history of this artifact,” she added.
The Nigerian government has welcomed the return of the statue.
“We thank Jesus College for being a trailblazer and we look forward to a similar return of our artifacts by other institutions that are in possession of them,” Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the Minister for Information and Culture, said in a statement.
This week, British media reported that the Nigerian government had sent a formal letter to the British Museum, which holds the largest collection of Benin Bronzes, requesting the return of the artifacts.
In France, the Quai Branly Museum is also set to return 26 Benin Bronzes, with the collection on display until the end of the month before they are sent to Nigeria. Germany is also set to return hundreds of looted artifacts to Nigeria.
“This return offers new hope for amicable resolution in cultural property ownership disputes,” Professor Abba Isa Tijani, the Director-General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria, said. “We hope that it will set a precedent for others around the world who are still doubtful of this new evolving approach whereby nations and institutions agree with source nations on return without rancour.”
“On our part, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments is receiving this antiquity for the benefit of the Benin people and the people of Nigeria,” he added.
(NEW YORK) — “I’m sorry, I think my veins are camera shy,” I joked to the nurse who was having trouble finding the right place on my hand for an IV.
I was surrounded by cameras and wearing nothing but a gown and some unflattering yellow socks that all patients are required to wear at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. The awkwardness of having several people in the hospital room and the discomfort of the bone marrow donation I was about to undergo was all voluntary and for a good reason: to give a stranger a second chance at life.
Three months prior to the procedure, the Be The Match Registry, a list of millions of prospective blood stem cell and bone marrow donors operated by the Minneapolis-based National Marrow Donor Program, informed me via email that I was a potential blood stem cell match for a patient. I had been on the registry for nearly a decade and this was the third time I was a possible match for a patient, but it would be the first time I actually got to donate.
Early on, I decided to approach this experience not just as a donor but also a reporter. I’m an immigration reporter and producer for ABC News, and learning as much as I could about the donation process kept the focus off my nervousness. I learned that as a Mexican male on the registry, I was part of an astonishing minority. Latinos are severely underrepresented when it comes to bone marrow donors. Of the 9 million U.S. registered donors on the Be The Match Registry, only 13% are Latino compared to 57% who identify as white.
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell a story about how ethnicity could play a crucial role in finding a donor, and I started thinking about who my transplant recipient would be. In order to maintain privacy, donors and recipients are kept anonymous until a year after the procedure when they have the opportunity to meet, if they both agree. To this day, I still don’t know the most basic things about my recipient. I often wonder what their name is and where they’re from. What I do know is that the patient was a young individual battling leukemia and that, as a Mexican male on the registry, I was helping to better the odds for people like them to survive a deadly disease.
Despite being sold on the idea of reporting about this experience, it was actually the death of a good friend that sealed the deal and made me go forward with the process.
I received that email from Be The Match Registry a few days after my friend and colleague, ABC News photojournalist Jim Sicile, passed away from cancer. Reeling from the death of such a lovable and caring person, I wanted to honor his legacy.
“What better way than by helping a stranger?” I asked myself.
Why ethnicity might play a role
Hispanics have a 48% chance of finding a donor on the Be The Match Registry. In other words, less than half of Hispanic patients are likely to find one. That probability is even lower for Asian or Pacific Islanders and Black or African American patients.
At the start of the vetting process, I was sent a buccal swab kit to collect cells from inside my cheek. Scientists analyze the human leukocyte antigens (HLA), which are proteins — or markers — found on the surface of most cells in the body and make up a person’s tissue type. HLA are an important part of the immune system, which uses these markers to recognize the cells that belong in the body and those that do not.
HLA tests is used to match tissues and DNA between the donor and the person receiving a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. Since these markers are inherited, patients have a higher likelihood of finding a donor that shares the same ethnic background. In some cases, donors from different backgrounds can also match.
“Your ancestors for generations and generations have gone through a lot, depending on which area of the world your ancestors are coming from,” Dr. Abeer Madbouly, principal bioinformatics scientist at the Be The Match Registry, told ABC News. “People who survive these conditions have a common agent.”
Stem cells, which are largely found in blood and bone marrow, that soft, spongy tissue in the center of certain bones, produce cells that help the body carry oxygen to organs and tissue, fight infections and stop bleeding. The majority of stem cell donations happen non-surgically through a process that collects the cells from the blood. In other cases, a patient must undergo a medical procedure under general anesthesia that harvests marrow from the hip bones.
Day of donation
I’m admittedly squeamish when it comes to needles — you couldn’t pay me to look at my arm when I’m getting a flu shot. So when I learned that my patient required a bone marrow donation, I became very nervous.
The Be The Match Registry provides a team of caseworkers to ensure that the donor’s needs are met. All expenses incurred as a result of the donation process are covered, including missed days of work. Each donor is also assigned a counselor, and mine helped calm my nerves as the date of the procedure drew near.
On the day of the donation, Dr. Wolfgang Rennert drew a picture of my pelvic bones and explained to me that a small incision would be made on each of my hips so that a thin needle could harvest the marrow.
The last thing I recall before the anesthesia worked its magic is looking around the hospital room. I thanked the doctors for their life-saving work and said a silent prayer for my recipient. It went something along the lines of: “I hope this helps you and you have a long life.”
I woke up about an hour and half later feeling some soreness in my hips. I was tired from the anesthesia but still managed to take a selfie video before falling asleep.
“I just woke up from the procedure,” I said in the video. “I’m very, very groggy but overall feeling pretty good. I’m happy, proud and hopeful for the recipient.”
I spent the night in the hospital. The next day, I interviewed Rennert about why minorities are underrepresented in bone marrow donations.
“The background of it is the sad truth that our health care system is unevenly distributed in its access to health services,” he said, “so that minority populations have less access not only as recipients but also as donors.”
Alfredo’s story
“I have a motorcycle,” Alfredo Diaz said as he tried to tickle me and climb on my shoulders. Before I could inquire further, he darted into his backyard and came riding back on a battery-powered “motorcycle.”
I had known the playful 9-year-old for less than an hour and we already had a secret handshake. Most importantly, we had a common goal for our meeting: to do an interview for ABC News at his home in Chicago and to help find him a bone marrow donor. It had been almost a month since I had donated to a different patient.
Alfredo suffers from a very rare genetic disorder called IL-10 receptor deficiency, and he is one of just 100 known cases in the United States. The illness causes severe inflammation in his gut and affects his organs, which means Alfredo’s body is unable to absorb nutrients the way healthy ones do. He has spent his life in and out of hospitals. He has an ostomy bag and eats through a feeding tube. Without a bone marrow donor, he is not expected to survive.
“We’ve been struggling since the first week he was born, and I don’t want to lose my son,” Alfredo’s mother, Natalia Torres, told ABC News. “I’ve been asking God to please help us find this matching donor for him.”
Natalia and her husband Reuben have been trying to raise awareness in the Hispanic community about the benefits of donating bone marrow. Of the 9 million U.S. registered donors on the Be The Match Registry, only 13% are Latino compared to 57% who identify as white. By building a wider network of willing donors, patients like Alfredo have a better chance at overcoming their illness.
“Our culture really isn’t educated on donating or being donors,” Alfredo’s father, Reuben Diaz, told ABC News.
My hope for my patient and Alfredo
Donating bone marrow has been the most fulfilling experience of my life. It’s also the most immersive story I’ve ever told.
I may not ever meet the recipient, but my wish for them is the same for Alfredo.
I hope one day you overcome your illness and get to witness the beauty this life has to offer. May you one day find fulfillment in an act of kindness or a silly handshake. Most importantly, may you be able to dream big and unafraid.
