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‘Nothing Compares’: Tributes Paid To Sinead O’Connor After Death At 56

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After Sinead O’Connor’s death at the age of 56 was announced on Wednesday, her colleagues, friends and fans took to social media to offer their tributes.

Many of those honouring the Irish singer, who famously covered Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U and also went by Shuhada Sadaqat in recent years, were well-known names from show business.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, similarly paid his respects to O’Connor, saying that “her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”

Although many of the celebrity tributes appeared on Twitter (aka X), Outlander star Caitriona Balfe honoured the singer with an Instagram post.

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Sinéad O’Connor Thought Tearing Up The Pope’s Picture Defined Her Career In A ‘Beautiful F***ing Way’

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The death of Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has prompted many people to revisit her most controversial moment – and her later thoughts on how it defined her career in a “beautiful fucking way”.

O’Connor became a music industry pariah after appearing on the late-night US comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1992,

A critic of the Catholic Church well before allegations of sexual abuse were widely reported, she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II during the live television appearance.

“Fight the real enemy,” the 26-year-old said as she tore the photo, which was met with a deafening silence from the studio audience.

During the dress rehearsal, she held up “a photo of a Brazilian street kid who was killed by cops” instead, so no-one knew what was coming.

The next week, Joe Pesci hosted Saturday Night Live, held up a repaired photo of the Pope and said if he had been on the show with O’Connor he “would have gave her such a smack”.

Days later, she appeared at an all-star tribute for Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden and was immediately booed. Although consoled and encouraged on stage by her friend Kris Kristofferson, she left and broke down. Her a capella performance of Bob Marley’s War – which was a choice made as the cacophony of boos rained down – was kept off the concert record.

<img class="img-sized__img portrait" loading="lazy" alt="Sinead O’Connor stands alone amidst boos in 1992 in New York City.” width=”720″ height=”1080″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sinead-oconnor-thought-tearing-up-the-popes-picture-defined-her-career-in-a-beautiful-fing-way-2.jpg”>
Sinead O’Connor stands alone amidst boos in 1992 in New York City.

via Associated Press

There were protests and death threats, and a bulldozer was used to flatten a pile of her records in Times Square. It led to O’Connor – still fresh off the global success of Nothing Compares 2 U two years earlier – being effectively blacklisted, as she acknowledged in an interview the Guardian almost 30 years later.

Asked whether the moment had defined her career, she told the newspaper in 2021: “Yes, in a beautiful fucking way. There was no doubt about who this bitch is. There was no more mistaking this woman for a pop star.

“But it was not derailing; people say, ‘Oh, you fucked up your career’ but they’re talking about the career they had in mind for me. I fucked up the house in Antigua that the record company dudes wanted to buy. I fucked up their career, not mine.

“It meant I had to make my living playing live, and I am born for live performance.”

In 2010, Pope Benedict apologised to the victims of child sex abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland.

The quote was being shared widely on social media in the aftermath of her death, aged 56.

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Whistleblower To Congress: ‘Non-Human’ Biologics Found At UFO Crash Sites

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A former Air Force intelligence officer told Congress that the US government has a long-standing programme that retrieves unidentified flying objects, and said that “non-human” “biologics” were found at crash sites where the objects were recovered.

Retired Major David Grusch testified to a House committee on Wednesday as part of an investigation into reports of unidentified aerial phenomena.

In 2021, the Pentagon created a group to look into the phenomena after more than 100 sightings were reported. By the following year, the Pentagon said it had received “several hundreds” of new reports of unidentified aerial phenomena. The Pentagon has not confirmed that it has a programme to retrieve unidentified flying objects.

Grusch, who served for 14 years as an intelligence officer in the Air Force, told Congress he served as a representative on two Pentagon task forces investigating unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP, until earlier this year.

In his testimony, Grusch told lawmakers he was informed of “a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program” during the course of his work.

Asked by Republican representative Nancy Mace if the US government also has the “bodies of the pilots who piloted this craft”, Grusch suggested it might.

“As I’ve stated publicly … biologics came with some of these recoveries, yeah,” Grusch said.

“Were they human or non-human biologics?” Mace asked.

“Non-human,” Grusch responded. “And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge of the programme I talked to, who are currently still in the programme.”

Ryan Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Office representative on the Defense Department's Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and retired Navy Commander David Fravor arrive for House Oversight & Accountability Committee's National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee's hearing on "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency" at the U.S. Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Ryan Graves, executive director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, David Grusch, former National Reconnaissance Office representative on the Defense Department’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, and retired Navy Commander David Fravor arrive for House Oversight & Accountability Committee’s National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee’s hearing on “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency” at the U.S. Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

ELIZABETH FRANTZ via Reuters

Grusch said in June that the federal government has multiple crafts of “non-human” origin.

“Well, naturally, when you recover something that’s either landed or crashed, sometimes you encounter dead pilots and, believe it or not, as fantastical as that sounds, it’s true,” Grusch told NewsNation at the time.

Ryan Graves, a former Navy pilot, testified at Wednesday’s hearing that he nearly collided with an unidentified object in 2014. He said in the years since he’s talked to others in the Navy who have described similar experiences.

“We were primarily seeing dark grey or black cubes inside of a clear sphere,” Graves said of the craft he saw. “Where the apex, or tips of the cube, were touching the inside of that sphere.”

Former Navy pilot Dave Fravor testified that he saw a “Tic Tac”-shaped object during a flight off the coast in California in 2004. He and his co-pilot during the incident, Lieutenant commander Alex Dietrich, previously spoke to CBS’s 60 Minutes” about the experience, describing that the object appeared to reach speeds so quickly it seemed to disappear.

Fravor told Congress he believes more pilots are reporting their findings now that there is less of a stigma surrounding the existence of unidentified aerial phenomena.

“Starting in 2017, when it all actually came out, it took that stigma away,” Fravor said. “Prior to that, if you had mentioned UAP you’d be laughed off the Hill, and now we’re sitting here today for a public testimony on what’s actually going on.”

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Would You Know What To Do If Your Child Was Burned By A Hot Drink?

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A mum and former nurse has shared the burns and scalds advice that she reckons plenty of parents don’t know, but definitely should.

Beki (@beki.guinta) recalled the mortifying moment her 18-month-old son pulled her hot tea – consisting of pure boiling water and no milk – down on top of him.

“I was standing right next to him, I did not think this would happen, I’m the most safe parent alive,” she said in a TikTok video which has been viewed more than 5.3 million times.

Beki explained how she used to be a registered nurse and worked in a children’s intensive care unit and therefore has “seen it all” and is “so safe” with her child. But noted these accidents still happen.

She then proceeded to tell other parents “exactly” what to do in the event that their child gets burnt.

“The lack of knowledge people have around what to do if a child gets burnt is astonishing,” she said.

So what’s the advice?

“The first thing you need to do is call an ambulance and then you need to take all your child’s clothing off, get them completely nude, and get them in a shower or under continuous cold running water for a minimum – a minimum – of 20 minutes,” she said.

“Not only does this aid in stopping the burn, this helps aid with the pain as well.”

The NHS shares similar advice for treating burns or scalds. Firstly, it advises to remove any clothing or jewellery from near the burnt area of skin, including babies’ nappies, unless – and this is important – the item of clothing is stuck to the burnt skin.

Then it says to “cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for 20 minutes as soon as possible after the injury”.

It warns parents to “never use ice, iced water, or any creams or greasy substances like butter”.

You’ll need to keep your child warm to help prevent hypothermia – “use a blanket or layers of clothing, but avoid putting them on the injured area,” reads the advice.

Beki said she used her body heat to keep her son warm while he was in the shower.

Next, cover the burn with cling film (laying the film flat over the burn rather than wrapping it around a limb) and treat any pain with paracetamol or ibuprofen, advises the NHS. It might also help to raise the affected area to reduce swelling.

Recalling the horrifying moment her son was burned, Beki continued: “My little boy was beside himself. I had to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while I was sobbing, holding him in the shower just running icy cold water over his burn.

“His whole face, his neck, his torso, his stomach – everything was bright red. I’m talking like, a red that isn’t… you don’t normally see it. It was terrifying.

“I just thought instantly: he was going to be in the burns unit, he was going to be having skin grafts, he was going to have surgery and that would’ve 100% happened had I not done what I did that day.”

She said her son is now fine and “doesn’t even have a mark on him” – and she credits running cool water on him for 20 minutes as the reason why.

According to the NHS, you’ll need to go to A&E if your child is under 10, has a medical condition or weakened immune system and has a scald or burn.

You should also head to hospital if they have:

  • large burns bigger than the size of their hand,
  • deep burns of any size that cause white or charred skin,
  • burns on the face, neck, hands, feet, any joints, or genitals,
  • chemical and electrical burns,
  • any other injuries that need treating,
  • any signs of shock – symptoms include cold, clammy skin; sweating; rapid, shallow breathing; and weakness or dizziness.
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Twitter Users Mock George Santos For Demanding Biden’s Impeachment

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And so is one member of Congress who should probably sit this one out: George Santos .

Considering that Santos was indicted on 13 counts in May for allegedly embezzling money from his campaign, lying to Congress about his income and cheating his way into undeserved unemployment benefits, some people wondered if he was in any position to be calling for an indictment ― including Anna M. Kaplan, who is running to replace him in Congress.

She posted two tweets, the first of which offered some helpful advice ― “Sit this one out, George” ― while the second suggested that McCarthy expel Santos “instead of this partisan impeach inquiry.”

Others joined in on mocking Santos ― and some even brought receipts.

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Why John Fetterman Believes Donald Trump Would Be ‘Formidable’ In 2024

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Senator John Fetterman said a rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the 2024 election in Pennsylvania would be “closer” than some might expect, though he still believes Biden holds an edge in the hypothetical contest.

The freshman Democratic senator addressed the race for the GOP nomination, Trump, and life in the Senate since his bout with depression in a rare sit-down with reporters in his congressional office on Monday.

“Donald Trump can’t beat President Biden in Pennsylvania but, assuming it will be President Trump, it’s going to be closer,” Fetterman said of the current Republican presidential front-runner.

“Trump has to perform above his ceiling,” he explained, adding that the former president is still very popular in the state. “You still see Trump signs everywhere in Pennsylvania, and you have to respect Trump’s strength.”

Trump won Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes in 2016 by a narrow margin but lost the state resoundingly to Biden in 2020. Democrats are looking to repeat that kind of performance next year, especially with blue-collar voters in deep-red counties.

Fetterman said no other Republican presidential candidate stands a better chance against Biden than Trump, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He cast DeSantis as extreme, citing his staunch anti-abortion stance and his focus on waging culture wars, including over transgender rights.

“There’s no way Ron DeSantis could win Pennsylvania,” the senator said. “Watching DeSantis turn into [former Wisconsin Governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate] Scott Walker and get liquidated by Trump’s machine, I respect Trump in terms of how formidable he would be in Pennsylvania.”

Fetterman spoke with the help of an iPad that transcribed the conversation with Capitol Hill reporters in real time, helping compensate for auditory processing difficulties caused by his stroke over a year ago.

The Pennsylvania Democrat seems to be taking his own approach to life in the Senate after being hospitalized for depression. He often eschews suits in favor of shorts and a hoodie on his way to Senate votes, though, given the warm summer months, he has traded in the hoodie for a short-sleeve, button-down shirt.

Monday’s sit-down seemed to mark a shift in Fetterman’s media strategy. Embracing conversations with reporters, both in formal settings and in more informal interactions in the Senate hallways, is something he hasn’t done much before.

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NatWest Boss Alison Rose Resigns After Admitting To ‘Serious Error’ Over Farage Leak

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NatWest chief executive Alison Rose has resigned after admitting to discussing Nigel Farage’s relationship with the bank with a senior BBC journalist.

Rose had remained in post after saying she made a “serious error of judgment” over talking to Simon Jack about the former Brexit party leader and his closed accounts, with the company’s board stating they had “full confidence” in her.

But in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Howard Davies, chairman of the NatWest board, announced Rose had agreed to step down “by mutual consent”.

Her position had become untenable following the intense political and media scrutiny over a decision by NatWest’s private bank, Coutts, to close Farage’s accounts. NatWest is taxpayer-funded, with the state’s shareholding just below 40%.

Farage had alleged the decision to “exit” him was “political” after he obtained an internal document that said the “de-banking” was partly because his views were not “aligned” with the bank’s. The 40-page dossier refers to the ex-MEP as “xenophobic and racist” and a former “fascist”.

It raised into question a report by Jack, the broadcaster’s business editor, who had suggested Farage lost his account because he lacked the funds needed to hold it.

Jack on Monday apologised to Farage, saying the information his reporting was based on “turned out to be incomplete and inaccurate”. This was followed by Rose’s admission on Tuesday and her subsequent resignation.

Before the departure, Farage had hit back at NatWest’s statement on his GB News show, criticising Rose as “unfit” to run a bank, as well as lambasting Davies and Coutts CEO Peter Flavel.

“The government ought to say we have no confidence in this management. Frankly, I think they should all go,” Farage said, after declaring that Rose had breached an “essential confidence”.

Rose confirmed in the statement that she had discussed Farage’s “relationship with the bank” with Jack.

“I recognise that in my conversations with Simon Jack of the BBC, I made a serious error of judgment,” Rose said, but added she had not revealed any personal financial information about Farage and had answered a general question about eligibility.

Coutts’ website advises its clients should be able to borrow or invest at least £1 million with the bank or hold £3 million in savings.

Rose also said she was not part of the decision-making process to close Farage’s accounts and said this was a decision made by Coutts.

The government’s shareholding in NatWest is managed “at arm’s length” and on a commercial basis by the UK Government Investments (UKGI). UKGI’s role is to manage the shareholding, not the bank itself.

Treasury minister Andrew Griffith is set to meet lenders on Wednesday to discuss concerns that banks have closed customer accounts over their political views, ahead of reforms requiring banks to explain and delay these decisions.

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Obamas’ Personal Chef Found Dead In Tragic Accident Near Their Martha’s Vineyard Home

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The body of a former sous-chef at the White House, who went missing while paddleboarding in the waters of Edgartown Great Pond in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has been recovered Monday, according to authorities.

The Massachusetts State Police have not released the identity of the paddleboarder, but The Associated Press and Chicago Sun Times reported that the victim was Tafari Campbell.

Both AP and the Sun Times report that Campbell was 45, though MSP says the body recovered was that of a 43-year-old male.

Campbell went to work for the Obamas when they left the White House. In a statement, Barack and Michelle Obama called Campbell a “beloved” part of their family.

“Tafari was a beloved part of our family. When we first met him, he was a talented sous chef at the White House — creative and passionate about food, and its ability to bring people together. In the years that followed, we got to know him as a warm, fun, extraordinarily kind person who made all of our lives a little brighter.”

“That’s why, when we were getting ready to leave the White House, we asked Tafari to stay with us, and he generously agreed. He’s been part of our lives ever since, and our hearts are broken that he’s gone,” said the pair, who purchased their 29-acre Edgartown property in December 2019.

MSP retrieved the male victim’s body around 10am just one day after he went missing. His body was found approximately 100 feet away from shore, by “deploying side-scan sonars” from a boat. Authorities said the “president and Mrs Obama were not present at the residence at the time of the accident”.

The search for Campbell initially began around 7.46pm on Sunday when Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies responded to a call about a male paddleboarder who was unable to stay above water.

Authorities say another paddleboarder was also with him on the pond at the time and witnessed him go under the water.

Multiple agencies were involved in the search, including the Coast Guard, Dukes County Sheriff’s Department, local police, Edgartown fire personnel and other island fire departments.

The State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District and Edgartown police are investigating the incident.

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Just 18 Great Responses To People Calling Barbie Man-Hating, Feminist Trash

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You could say Barbie fans are going Oppenheimer on some far-right criticisms of the film.

Late last week, some fans of the patriarchy attempted to discourage people from going to see the new Barbie movie, with one critic on Twitter calling it a “two-hour woke-a-thon” full of “nuclear-level rage against men”.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro seemed to lead the charge on Friday — the day the movie premiered — by tweeting that his producers “dragged” him to see the movie, and called it “one of the most woke movies I have ever seen”.

He also promised to release a full review of the “flaming garbage heap of a film” the next day on YouTube, which he did, in a video called “Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie For 43 Minutes”.

In the video, Shapiro makes his thoughts clear by burning a trash can full of Barbie dolls.

But Shapiro wasn’t alone in his hatred for the movie’s feminist themes.

Billionaire and Twitter X.com owner Elon Musk also ridiculed the film, tweeting: If “you take a shot every time Barbie says the word ‘patriarchy’, you will pass out before the movie ends.”

Far-right media figure Jack Posobiec struck a similar tone, calling Barbie a “man-hating Woke propaganda fest” and “possibly the most anti-male film ever made”. Ginger Gaetz, wife of Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, called for a boycott of the film despite attending a premiere event all decked out in pink and posing in a Barbie box. She criticised the movie for neglecting to “address any notion of faith or family”, trying to “normalise the idea that men and women can’t collaborate positively”, and for portraying Ken as not masculine.

The movie has been described as highlighting very basic feminist themes by many people on Twitter, with HuffPost’s culture writer, Candice Frederick, describing the tone as “feminist-lite”.

“Barbie is not particularly feminist. It’s a lot more complicated than that, just like most people are — and how any great character should be presented,” Frederick wrote.

Regardless of whether or not Barbie is too woke or not feminist enough, many Twitter users had some pretty funny responses to the whole conservative backlash — and female camaraderie they felt while watching the film in theaters. To read the most hilarious responses, strap on your favourite rollerblades and roll, er, scroll on down!

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Clive Myrie Pays Emotional Tribute To ‘Mentor And Friend’ George Alagiah On BBC News

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BBC News presenter Clive Myrie has said “journalism has lost a giant” as he paid an emotional tribute to his colleague and friend George Alagiah.

The award-winning journalist and presenter died on Monday, the BBC said. Alagiah had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2014.

Announcing his colleague’s death during the lunchtime BBC News broadcast, Myrie appeared emotional as he spoke about his “mentor and friend”.

Myrie said: “On a personal note, George touched all of us here at in the newsroom with his kindness and generosity, his warmth and his good humour.

“We loved him here at BBC News and I loved him as a mentor, colleague and friend.

“His spirit, strength and courage in the later years of his life is something his family can be so proud of. Journalism has lost a giant.”

On the BBC News at Six, Sophie Raworth, who launched the “new look” show with Alagiah 20 years ago, shared that his “final” wish to return to work one last time.

Raworth said: “I saw him a few weeks ago. He told me he had hoped to come back to work one last time, to say thank you and goodbye right here live on air in the studio.

“He didn’t get a chance. So we have done it for him. I will leave you now with George Alagiah in his own words.”

Alagiah first joined the BBC as a foreign affairs correspondent in 1989, and won accolades for his reports on the famine and war in Somalia in the early 1990s, and was nominated for a Bafta in 1994 for covering Saddam Hussein’s genocidal campaign against the Kurds of northern Iraq.

He was also named Amnesty International’s journalist of the year in 1994 for reporting on the civil war in Burundi and also won the Broadcasting Press Guild’s award for television journalist of the year.

Since 2003, Alagiah had been the regular presenter of BBC News at Six, as well as hosting News at One and News at Six.

Alagiah, who was appointed an OBE for services to journalism in 2008, underwent 17 rounds of chemotherapy to treat his advanced bowel cancer after he was first diagnosed in 2014.

He returned to presenting duties in 2015 after making progress against the disease, and said he was a “richer person” for it.

His cancer returned in December 2017, and the presenter underwent further treatment before once again returning to work.

Last October, he announced a break from his role on BBC News as he dealt with “a further spread” of the disease.

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