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Hillary Clinton is a worried American and 6 other things we learned today.

Her interview was a highlight of the Women in the World Summit's second day.

In the nearly five months since the 2016 presidential election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has kept a relatively low profile. On Thursday, she gave her first interview.

In a candid sit-down with Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times at the annual Women in the World Summit, the twice-elected U.S. senator and former secretary of state touched on everything ranging from the role Russia played in the election to whether she plans on running for office again.


Photo by AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

On the aftermath of the election, coping with loss, and deciding to move forward:

"I'm doing pretty well, all things considered. The aftermath of the election was so devastating, and everything that has come to light in the days and weeks since have been also troubling. So I just had to make up my mind that yes, I was going to get out of bed, and yes, I was going to go for a lot of long walks in the woods, and I was going to see my grandchildren a lot and spend time with my family and my friends. ... So, I'm OK. I will put it this way: as a person, I'm OK; as an American, I'm pretty worried."

On what it was like to be the first woman nominated by a major party only to lose to a man who bragged about sexual assault:

"Certainly, misogyny played a role. I mean, that just has to be admitted. And why and what the underlying reasons were is what I'm trying to parse out myself."

"I think in this election there was a very real struggle between what is viewed as change that is welcomed and exciting to so many Americans, and change which is worrisome and threatening to so many others. And you layer on the first woman president over that and I think some people, women included, had real problems."

Photo by AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

On double standards and why young women shouldn't give up:

"We need more young people, and we particularly need young women. ... With men, success and ambition are correlated with likability, so the more successful a man is, the more likable he is. With a women, it's the exact opposite."

On why Congress should think twice before gutting women's health care:

"'Why do we have to cover maternal care?' Well, I don't know, maybe you were dropped by immaculate conception?" she joked.

"This is in our national security interest," she added later, stressing the importance of making sure women have access to reproductive health care around the world. "The more we support women, the more we support democracy."

On one of her favorite memes in the post-election world:

She thought the photo of men discussing how they planned to obliterate women's health care was pretty ridiculous, too.

On criticism coming from supporters or detractors:

"Toughen up your skin. Take criticism seriously, but not personally. ... I am always open to people saying, 'Oh, you should have done that.' Sometimes I don't know how to fix what they're concerned about, but I try. So I take it seriously, but I don't any longer ... take it personally. Because part of the attacks, the personal attacks, part of the bullying, part of the name-calling that has certainly become much more pervasive because of the internet, is to crush your spirit and to make you feel inadequate; to make you doubt yourself. And I just refuse to do that."

Photo by AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.

Finally, on whether she'll ever run for office again:

"I am looking at doing interesting things. I don't think that will include ever running for office again. ... I think there are lots of ways to make a difference, to work in all sectors of our society — the for-profit, the not-for profit — looking for ways that you can help people live their own lives better, tell their own stories better. ... I am committed to the unfinished business of the 21st century: the rights of women and girls."

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.



Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

I know Van Gogh was a genius. If the point of this were "Van Gogh was a mad genius," I would not be sharing this with you.
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Family

Mom shows why painters tape is her 'weird' thing she'll never travel without

For parents with young kids looking to have a little less travel stress this holiday season—this one's for you.

@nicholaknox/Instagram

A mom shows all the ways painters tape can be useful while traveling

Traveling can be stressful for anyone, but it’s particularly challenging for parents with really young kids. The sitting still for long periods of time, the changes in schedule, the abundance of stimuli, the unexpected stomach bugs, the suddenly running out of diaper wipes…all the things that make trips triggering for toddlers and therefore chaotic for mom and dad.

And while there might not be a way to completely avoid every travel-induced aggravation (it’s all part of the journey!) there are definitely tips and tricks and tools to make it a bit smoother of a process.

For one mom, a peaceful trip always begins with a roll of painter’s tape.
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via Pexels

Millennials are now old enough to seriously reflect on life.

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

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Pets

Dog mom has the most random phone conversation that adorably captures her dog's attention

This nonsensical conversation has the puppy ready for tacos...now!

Dog mom's random conversation has dog on edge of his seat

Dogs are constantly listening even if we don't know it. Their little ears perk up anytime they hear something suspicious or tilt their heads trying to understand what's being said. Some dog owners avoid saying words like "walk," "ride" or "treat" in front of their dogs because they know it will get the dogs overly excited.

One dog mom decided to test her luck by holding a fake phone conversation while her dog was nearby and it was shared to social media by HrtWarming. The conversation was about as nonsensical as it could get because no one else was on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, did you get the treats? Well, he specifically wanted peanut butter. Yeah. Peanut butter treats. Yeah because we're going to go for a ride later," She says. "I think we're going to go for a ride and go to daycare. Camp. Yeah."

At this point the dog is pretty invested in the conversation as he keeps tilting his head from side to side but as the random conversation goes on, he gets more excited.

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Family

Baby still in diapers is blowing people away with his musical ability at the piano

Young Gavrill seems to intuitively understand music, and the best part is that he does it with such joy.

Gavrill Scherbenko appears to be a musical prodigy.

Mozart blew people away with his composing abilities at age 5. Franz Liszt played piano professionally for the aristocracy when he was 9. Yo-Yo Ma played cello for President John F. Kennedy at age 7.

Musical prodigies have fascinated people for centuries with their mastery of music at unexpected ages. Most of us have the same questions: How and at what age were their abilities discovered? Is it nature or nurture or a combination of both? Can prodigies be created on purpose, or is it something no one can predict or control?

While each musical prodigy has their own unique story, one family is giving the world some early glimpses of what an innate sense for music looks like in a baby who's still in diapers.

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Is it always best to be honest with friends?

A big parenting trend over the past few decades is people giving their children names that help them stand out instead of fit in. Social scientists say that a big reason for the change in America is the rise of individualism.

“As American culture has become more individualistic, parents have favored giving children names that help them stand out—and that means more unique names and fewer common names,” Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor, told the BBC.

However, being an individualist comes with some risks. One can be an iconoclastic trendsetter or seen as desperate, inauthentic and cringeworthy.

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