Obama Stands Alone As 9/11 Families Demand Justice

Muna Mire · 04/18/16 10:44PM

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is the latest in a string of high profile politicians to express support for a bill allowing family members of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts, the Daily News reports. President Obama is scheduled to visit the country, which is deep in turmoil over falling oil prices and the encroaching militant threat of ISIS, on Wednesday. The hope is that the talks will smooth over troubled relations between the two nations.

Uruguay Opens First State-Owned and Operated Weed Dispensary

Muna Mire · 04/18/16 09:16PM

Uruguay is set to pioneer the world’s first state owned and operated marijuana dispensaries, The Guardian reports. Starting in July, Uruguayans—who enjoy a socially liberal government—can now legally access up to forty grams of pot a month, at a cost of no more than $1 a gram. To do this, all the government requires is that users put their name and fingerprints in a government database.

Supreme Court Split In Fight Over Obama Immigration Case

Muna Mire · 04/18/16 07:10PM

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside of the Supreme Court Monday in anticipation of oral arguments for a case challenging President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on immigration. The legal challenge is led by Texas and brought by twenty-six mostly Republican states.

The Gay Men Who Carried Madonna, 25 Years Later

Rich Juzwiak · 04/18/16 03:36PM

In the 1991 movie Madonna: Truth or Dare, the titular superstar plays the role of her lifetime: herself. Filmed during her 1990 Blond Ambition tour when the then-31-year-old pop star was at her commercial peak, the Alek Keshishian-directed concert film/backstage documentary finds Madonna reveling in the cult of her personality. “She doesn’t want to live off-camera, much less talk,” her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty remarks in one scene, delivering a perfect capsule review. Seemingly baring all, at least in terms of her personality’s facets, she is unafraid to come off as a demanding asshole, just as often as she promotes the idea that she’s the nurturing mother in the “family” of employees that support her.

Boston Transit Police Are Furiously Spinning the Mr. Spaghetti Dog-Naming Debacle

Andy Cush · 04/18/16 03:28PM

Today is Marathon Monday, and by all reports, it is a splendorous day in Boston: the sun shining down, the breeze lilting lightly, the male nipples bleeding, and the Mark Wahlberg dressed as a hardscrabble cop with a heart of gold. But let us not forget a great shame that hangs over the city like the malodorous stench of seafood served at the Top of the Hub. That’s right: I’m talking about Mr. Spaghetti.

I Have No Idea What This Startup Does and Nobody Will Tell Me

Sam Biddle · 04/18/16 11:22AM

Last week, I received a PDF presentation about “Helena,” a new startup boasting a 20-year-old Yale student CEO and connections—so they claim—to some of the most powerful and influential people in the world, from Stanley McChrystal to, uh, Selena Gomez. I spent the better part of last week trying to figure out what the company does—and I’ll level with you, man, I’m still not sure.