All posts tagged: status

Haitian TPS holders in South Florida brace for end of their legal status : NPR

Haitian TPS holders in South Florida brace for end of their legal status : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Farah Larrieux stands in her backyard in South Florida on July 27. Reshma Kirpalani for NPR/‎ hide caption toggle caption Reshma Kirpalani for NPR/‎ The sun had yet to touch the horizon when Farah Larrieux returned to her South Florida home at 6 a.m. Dark circles smudged the thin skin under her eyes as she pulled large trash and recycling bins to the curb. A headache banged on the left side of her skull. The Haitian immigrant had just finished her last overnight shift at a hotel on that Monday morning. She is among the 300,000 Haitians in the U.S. losing the legal status that has allowed them to live and work in the United States. Temporary protected status (TPS) was first granted to Haitians after Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, because conditions in that country were considered too dangerous for them to return. But last month, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end those protections. The ruling has left TPS holders bracing for an uncertain future. It has also rattled South Florida’s Haitian …

2,700 year-old Italian cemetery reveals how status, gender, and diet impacted people’s lives

2,700 year-old Italian cemetery reveals how status, gender, and diet impacted people’s lives

Published by Jenni Sidey

Scientists studied bones from 148 people buried nearly 2,700 years ago in an Italian cemetery to see what they ate and where they came from. People buried with fancy items like amber jewelry or weapons didn’t actually eat better than people buried more plainly, and men generally had more meat in their diet than women. A small number of people, mostly men, appear to have moved to the area from elsewhere, showing this ancient community had contact with distant regions. In grave 57 at an ancient Italian cemetery lies a teenage girl buried with a bone and amber brooch, a rare piece that closely matches jewelry found hundreds of kilometers to the north. Yet the chemical signature locked inside her bones points somewhere else entirely: southern Italy. Her grave goods and her own body are telling two different stories, and that mismatch sits at the heart of a new study into daily life 2,700 years ago. The girl was one of 148 people whose remains were examined as part of an international project led by …

A “Top One Percent” Vagina Is the Newest Status Symbol in Longevity Circles

A “Top One Percent” Vagina Is the Newest Status Symbol in Longevity Circles

Published by Sam Flores

Kate “one percent” Tolo is now pitching herself as the world’s most measured woman. Other female longevity influencers are also lining up for the swab: Kayla Barnes-Lentz told her hundreds of thousands of followers that she tests her vagina often and, “Yes, my score is also 100.” She argues that the vagina is one of the most overlooked aspects of women’s health. Of course, she’s right about that last bit. “There’s always some truth and benefit mixed in with profit in the consumer space around women’s health,” says Kemi Doll, MD, a gynecological oncologist, professor at the University of Washington, and author of the recent book A Terrible Strength. Priyanka Jain, a 31-year-old Stanford-educated entrepreneur who comes from Silicon Valley royalty—her father and brother are both tech moguls—agrees. Jain says that she got the idea for her company, Evvy, while navigating her own health issues and discovering that difficult-to-treat vaginal discomfort is one of the main reasons that women seek gynecological care. That’s because nearly 30% of American women have bacterial vaginosis (BV), an overgrowth …

The Hamptons Hedges, Trees, and Hydrangeas That Serve as Status Symbols Out East

The Hamptons Hedges, Trees, and Hydrangeas That Serve as Status Symbols Out East

Published by Sam Flores

Crape Myrtles Fact: Most trees bloom in the spring. Another fact: Most second (or third or fourth or, frankly, fifth) homeowners aren’t in the Hamptons until Memorial Day. So what’s a Hamptonite to do? Enter the crape myrtle. According to Linda Silich, landscape designer and one of the founders Groundworks Landscaping in East Hampton, the tree is becoming “ubiquitous in the Hamptons due to being one of the few trees that blooms in the summer that comes in white, pink, purple, and beautiful bark.” Trending in particular? The single-stem crape myrtle, which gives a more streamlined and elegant outdoor look. Even better than one crape myrtle are multiple. “They look really great to create a tunnel,” says Silich. How much does a crape myrtle cost? As with every plant, it depends on size and type. A medium-size tree (let’s say 14 feet) is around $800, although the one linked here isn’t a single stem. Prices for those are more in the $1,000 to $1,500 range (and that’s if you want to do the planting yourself—avoiding …

Mount Olympus, home of the ancient Greek gods, vies for World Heritage status

Mount Olympus, home of the ancient Greek gods, vies for World Heritage status

Published by Sam Flores

LITOCHORO, Greece (AP) — Snow-capped for much of the year, Mount Olympus, mythological home of ancient Greece’s 12 Olympian gods, has captured the imagination through the millennia. Rising to 2,918 meters (9,573 feet) from a base practically at sea level, the ancient Greeks believed the throne of Zeus, king of the gods, stood on the highest of its craggy, often mist-shrouded peaks. Now, modern-day Greeks hope their tallest mountain will be inducted into UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a mixed cultural and natural site. The nomination is to be discussed when the World Heritage Committee meets in Busan, South Korea from Sunday through July 29. “Olympus is our life. It is the place we grew up in,” said Evagelos Geroliolios, mayor of Dion-Olympus, based in Litochoro, the mountain’s main town. “It is the place we see every day, but at the same time, it is also a place which carries with it myth, history, biodiversity, extraordinary beauty and a very great cultural weight.” Seat of the gods Few locations are as central to ancient Greek …

Russian Artist Pyotr Pavlensky Could Lose Refugee Status: Morning Links

Russian Artist Pyotr Pavlensky Could Lose Refugee Status: Morning Links

Published by Jenni Sidey

Good Morning! Two Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill to protect federal artworks, including New Deal-era masterpieces, from possible sale or destruction. France considers withdrawing Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky’s refugee status. Think you need a degree in art history to appreciate a masterpiece? Think again The Headlines PRESERVE, PROTECT, PROSPER. Two Democratic lawmakers have introduced the Preserve Act, a bill aimed at protecting public artworks in federal buildings targeted for sale by the Trump administration, The Art Newspaper reported. The legislation would require the General Services Administration to create an expert committee to safeguard commissioned art, including New Deal-era murals. Supporters warn that works in buildings such as Washington, DC’s Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building could be lost if properties are sold without protections. The bill seeks to preserve public access to artworks considered important records of American history, though its future remains uncertain in a Republican-controlled House. REFUGEE STATUS NOT NAILED ON. Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky, known for extreme political actions including nailing his scrotum to Moscow’s Red Square and setting fire …

Caribbean leaders press for slavery reparations, end of islands’ territorial status

Caribbean leaders press for slavery reparations, end of islands’ territorial status

Published by Sam Flores

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A group of Caribbean leaders met with senior clergy from the Church of England on Tuesday as the push for slavery reparations intensifies, with activists also calling for the independence of British, French, Dutch and U.S. territories in the region. The reparations commission from Caricom, a Caribbean trade bloc, was scheduled to also meet with British parliamentarians as part of a four-day official trip to the United Kingdom to seek reparations, the second such trip since November. The group said the commission is creating a framework to launch negotiations because the time for making the case for reparatory justice is overdue. “We in the Caribbean remain the most colonized part of the world, and this has to stop,” said Hilary Beckles, chairman of Caricom’s reparations commission and vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies. The meetings in London come after Caribbean leaders bristled at the recent suggestion by a U.K. lawmaker that Britain’s former colonies should repay it for its historic investment in them. The commission noted …

Popovic targets elite status to gain respect for Australia

Popovic targets elite status to gain respect for Australia

Published by Sam Flores

ARLINGTON, Texas, July 3 : Australia coach Tony Popovic wants them to establish themselves among world football’s elite in an effort to gain greater respect from officials after seeing his side exit the World Cup in a penalty shootout against Egypt on Friday. The Australians lost 4-2 on penalties at Dallas Stadium after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time to miss out for a third time on the country’s first win in a knockout round tie at the tournament. Popovic felt several key decisions went against his team and stressed the need for the country to become one of the sport’s leading lights. “The only way we can change that is by competing with the elite more often at major tournaments,” said Popovic. “By our performances, we should already take a major step. “We will have to keep doing that to gain the necessary respect, whether that’s in this room, whether that’s people in general, whether that’s officials, whether that’s opponents. It could be a range of different areas. “We’re on a …