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His remarks got under Mike Pence's skin. So the VP asked to meet. It … didn't work out.

As the first openly gay American athlete to qualify for the winter Olympics, figure skater Adam Rippon has a lot of things on his plate right now — chief among them, prepping for his performances in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

One item that won't make his to-do list? Meeting Vice President Mike Pence.

Rippon made waves last month for blasting Pence for his bigoted views on LGBTQ issues after it was announced the vice president would be leading the U.S. delegation in the Games' opening ceremony on Feb. 9.



“You mean Mike Pence — the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy?” Rippon said. “I’m not buying it.”

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images.

The vice president has been under fire from LGBTQ rights advocates for once supporting so-called "gay conversion therapy" — a dangerous practice that attempts to change a person's sexual orientation. Pence has denied ever endorsing the practice. Yet, his 2000 congressional campaign website read "resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior."

Rippon's not the only Olympian who's criticized the decision to make Pence the country's delegation leader. Openly gay skier Gus Kenworthy called the move "strange."

“To have somebody leading the delegation that [has] directly attacked the LGBTQ community ... just seems like a bad fit,” he recently explained to Ellen DeGeneres. “I feel like the Olympics is all about inclusion and people coming together, and it seems like it’s not really doing that.”

Rippon also challenged the vice president's faith in his interview with USA Today, wondering how a "devout Christian" could possibly stand by President Trump:

“To stand by some of the things that Donald Trump has said and for Mike Pence to say he’s a devout Christian man is completely contradictory. If he’s OK with what’s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called ‘shitholes,' I think [Pence] should really go to church."

Pence was so troubled by Rippon's remarks, a new report in USA Today claims, that his staff reached out to the 28-year-old to meet in South Korea.

Rippon, however, didn't bite. The figure skater turned down a meeting with the vice president.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images.

Rippon had said previously he may be open to meeting with Pence after the competition overseas. But for now, Rippon has medals to focus on.

Much of the internet rejoiced in Rippon's decision.

Some people chimed in that they were "so happy" Rippon decided to refuse a meeting.

"Can someone contact the International Olympic Committee?" another Twitter used wrote. "They need to give Adam Rippon the first medal of the 2018 Olympic Games."

While some agreed with Rippon on LGBTQ rights, they argued advocating for the queer community in front of Pence could be "a good thing."

But plenty of others pointed out that Pence's request could easily be a ploy at positive public relations.

"Our gay ferocious prince doesn’t owe that grinning goblin shit," quipped Louis Virtel.

Rippon is in South Korea to win medals for Team USA, after all — not carve out time for bigotry.  

"I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick,” Rippon told USA Today. “I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet somebody like that."

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Google now allows you to remove your personal information from its search results

We deserve control over our personal information.

via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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Relationship expert shares her advice on how to 'stop an argument in its tracks'

She has the perfect question to ask once your partner gets defensive.

via LaurenConsul/TikTok and Pexels

Therapist Lauren Consul has one trick to stop arguments before they begin.

Arguments start to take off when one partner begins to get defensive. So, therapist Lauren Consul shared her relationship-saving tip to "stop an argument in its tracks" when one partner goes into self-preservation mode.

Lauren Consul is a couples and sex therapist who’s developed a following of nearly 160,000 people on TikTok and has received over 5.4 million likes. She is an infidelity expert and hosts retreats to help people "survive and thrive" after one partner has strayed.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

KTVB/YouTube

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Joy

TikTok star's fans raise $144,000 for 'guardian angel' Uber driver who stood by her after robbery

Raul Torres is a guardian angel.

via Becca Moore/TikTok

Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

assets.rebelmouse.io

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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