The Good
APPLE just announced the upcoming iOS 9 update will include a “reproductive tracking” feature that will be part of its recent built-in Health app. While it’s still not clear exactly which aspects of reproductive health will be tracked (Apple execs do know that pregnancy and ovulation are two very different things, but still both fall under the “reproductive” umbrella, right?), this is at least a step in the right direction for roughly 250 million female iPhone users. (h/t The Verge)
FOLLOWING in the footsteps of peer Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have teamed up to pen an op-ed urging against university campus assault. Published on Billboard, the op-ed is part of Cuomo’s “Enough is Enough” campaign, a policy he drafted to help curb the epidemic of campus sexual assault raging across America in his home state of New York. Here’s hoping Mother Monster and her babes (which number 47 million on Twitter) can get through to the rest of society. (h/t Refinery 29)
The Bad
A GROUP of unarmed black teens was assaulted this past Friday by white police officers in McKinney, Texas because they were using a community swimming pool without permission. Footage was captured of one officer, Eric Casebolt, slamming a young girl in a bikini — 15-year-old Dajerria Becton — to the floor, handcuffing her, and immobilizing her by keeping a knee on her back, despite her pleas to be let up because of back pain. Social media reaction has been swift and harsh. Where was Eric Casebolt during the Waco biker shootout that left 9 people dead, when that kind of reaction would actually be warranted? (h/t Policy Mic)
KALIEF BROWDER, the teen who spent three years in Rikers Island (two of those spent in solitary confinement) between the ages of 16 and 19 years old, committed suicide this past weekend. He was released without ever being charged or without ever seeing a trial. Browder was the subject of a 2014 New Yorker piece investigating policies implemented at Riker’s Island like the routine punishment of juvenile offenders with solitary confinement, deliberate backlogging of cases, and other systemic inmate abuses. (h/t Slate)
The Unbelievable
J.LO and one of her concert promoters are being sued by an education group in Morocco over a May 29th performance that was broadcast on public TV. The group took umbrage with J.Lo’s choreography and wardrobe choice, claiming that she “disturbed public order and tarnished women’s honor and respect,” although J.Lo has performed in Morocco countless times before without raising any flags. If she’s found guilty by a court of law, she faces up to 2 years in prison. (h/t TMZ)
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