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Trump was asked about North Carolina's anti-LGBT law and had a surprising response.

Donald Trump has a pretty long track record of saying awful, bigoted things about large groups of people.

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.


First, it was Mexican immigrants, who he labeled "drug dealers" and "rapists."

Latino activists protest Donald Trump. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Then, it was Muslims, who he declared should be banned from entering the United States.

Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images.

So when "The Today Show" asked him about North Carolina's "bathroom law" that forces trans people to use the restroom that corresponds to the sex listed on their birth certificate, I braced myself for the worst.

The anticipated aftermath of Trump's answer. Photo by Steve Bunk/USDA.

Then he said this:

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images.

"North Carolina did something that was very strong, and they're paying a big price, and there's a lot of problems. And I heard — one of the best answers I heard — was from a commentator yesterday, saying, 'Leave it the way it is. Right now. There have been very few problems. Leave it the way it is.' North Carolina, what they're going through, with all the business that's leaving and all of the strife — and it's on both sides — you leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints, the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble."

Matt Lauer proceeded to ask him if he would be OK with Caitlyn Jenner using "any bathroom she chooses" at Trump Tower.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

"That is correct," Trump said.

It certainly seems like — and I can't believe I'm about to say this — Trump is ... right?

Protestors outside a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina. Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images.

North Carolina's law is indeed pretty irremediably bad to say the least. A devastating Daily Beast report found that calls to a local suicide hotline for trans teenagers doubled after the law's passage. Businesses across the U.S. have pretty much universally condemned it, and some have even pulled jobs out of the state.

Just this week, the U.K. issued a travel warning, cautioning its LGBT citizens about visiting North Carolina and Mississippi, which passed a similar law on April 5.

But let's ... not be too hasty about giving Trump too much credit here.

His odd focus on why the law is bad for business, rather than — you know — people, is a pretty cop-out-y (though certainly on-brand) reason to oppose it.

He also went on to say that he saw no need to create new gender-neutral bathrooms.

And of course, one moment of relative humanity doesn't come close to negating all of the other terrible, destructive things he's said over the course of his campaign (takeyourpick).

However, his comments should put those who defend the law on notice.

Because if even this guy...

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

...a guy who has spent the last nine-or-so months spewing nonsense on policy while unleashing a steady stream of bigotry against pretty much everyone under the sun is opposed to it — and not even for a particularly good reason, but a reason nonetheless — then it really is an indefensibly terrible, no good, horrible, very bad law.

And it's time for North Carolina's HB2 to go.

UPDATE — 4/22/16: A few hours after his appearance on "Today," Trump told Sean Hannity that, while maintaining that he doesn't agree with the law, he believes that North Carolina had the right to pass it.

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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Family

Pediatrician shares two simple tips that could save a child's life at a pool party

"The more folks present, the safer the pool is, right? Wrong."

Photo by Ash Dowie on Unsplash

If there's a body of water anywhere, a designated adult needs to have their eyes on it.

It's that time of year when the weather across the country is warm enough for families to enjoy outdoor barbecues, picnics and pool parties. That means it's also the time of year when tragedy will strike a certain percentage of families who get blindsided by how quickly and easily a child can drown in a backyard pool, even when they're surrounded by people who care about them and their safety.

We've all been at a gathering where adults are coming and going, chatting, setting up food, taking trips to the bathroom, all while kids are busy playing in the water. In such scenarios, it's easy to assume that someone else is keeping an eye on the pool.

But as pediatrician Diane Arnaout has shared, the harrowing reality is that the more people there are at a pool party the more likely it is that a child could slip into the pool or become distressed in the water without anyone noticing.

In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 77,000 times, Dr. Arnaout wrote:

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Drew Barrymore speaks during the FLOWER Beauty launch at Westfield Parramatta on April 13, 2019, in Sydney, Australia.

Drew Barrymore, 48, has been in the public consciousness since she starred as Gertie in 1982’s mega-blockbuster, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. So, it makes sense that many people of a certain age feel as if they’ve grown up with her.

Now, she’s an even more significant part of people’s lives as the host of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” which runs every weekday on CBS.

On May 25, the show’s Instagram page posted a touching video of an off-the-cuff moment between Barrymore and a fan during a taping of her show. In the clip, Barrymore realizes that someone in the audience is crying. So, instead of ignoring the fan, she jumps to action to see what is the matter.

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Pop Culture

Musician uses traditional Chinese instrument to create hypnotic cover of 'Hotel California'

There are literally hundreds of covers of this song floating around on the internet, but this one has its own unique flair.

Moyun/Youtube

Moyun peforms "Hotel California" on the guzheng.

The Eagles' hit song, “Hotel California,” has been covered countless times over the years by a variety of artists, including the likes of Nancy Sinatra, the Gypsy Kings and that guy at your local karaoke spot.

And while every rendition gives the song a fresh dynamic, one musician with a penchant for mystery has transformed the rock n’ roll staple into something entirely new.

Using a traditional Chinese string instrument called a guzheng, Moyun plays the song focusing mostly on its two guitar solo arrangements, creating a sound that has all the otherworldly beauty of an ancient folk tale.
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Pop Culture

Man rewatches shows from his childhood and his recaps of the bonkers storylines are priceless

Rob Anderson's hilarious recaps of shows like "Mighty Ducks," "Beethoven," and "7th Heaven" might make you wonder how they got made in the first place.

@hearthrobert/TikTok

These plots makes zero sense.

While there are no doubt some timeless classics from our childhood that remain every bit as amazing as we remember, many are straight-up cringey upon a later viewing. Really, it’s to be expected as societal viewpoints change…sort of a marker of how far we’ve collectively come.

And so, what do we do with these problematic pieces of old-school pop culture? Well, we can certainly update them to better reflect a more modern attitude, but that also comes with a set of potential problems. Or we could simply never watch them again. Certainly an option given all the content out there. But then we might miss an opportunity to better understand what seemed to work for the mainstream then, and why it doesn’t work now.

And then there’s the third option—allow ourselves to be entertained by their cringiness.

That’s certainly the route taken by Rob Anderson. Over on TikTok, Anderson has taken ultra-popular movies and television shows from his childhood and given them hilarious recaps capturing how absurd some of the storylines are.
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Joy

Woman decides that she is the love of her life and marries herself at her retirement home

“I said, you know what, I’ve done everything else. Why not?”

77-year-old woman decides she's the love of her life and marries herself.

We joke about marrying ourselves or a platonic friend if some arbitrary amount of time has passed without a proposal from an imaginary suitor. And sure, some people do wind up marrying a friend in more of a business arrangement, but it's not very common that someone follows through with marrying themselves.

Dorothy "Dottie" Fideli, decided that she was going to break the mold. The 77-year-old sat down and thought about all of the things she had done in life and who was with her the entire time cheering her on. It was an easy answer: herself. She was her biggest cheerleader, the person who always showed up and the love of her life, so Fideli made the plan to marry herself.

On a beautiful May day, friends and family gathered in the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Community, where Fideli is a resident, to witness the ceremony.

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