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After the Arab Spring, What’s the Forecast for Summer?

A quick guide to the democratic movements across the region.

Zak Stone
By Zak StoneMay 29, 2011
Zak Stone
See Full Bio

Illustrations by Dylan C. Lathrop

bahrainegyptyemensyriamiddle eastlibyatunisiaarab springarab summerelections and politicsactivism

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man wearing academic gown
Photo by Charles DeLoye on Unsplash

In California, students with good grades can now automatically get into college

The college admissions process is famously stressful and expensive, with essays upon essays, tests upon tests, those fees, and then application fees—not to mention the time it all takes. But what if students could have it a little easier? A new initiative in California is asking that very question.

As part of a pilot program, students with high GPAs in California’s Riverside County can now be automatically admitted to 10 Cal State campuses based on their grades alone. According to San Francisco’s KQED, students just have to keep their grades up, take all the high school classes Cal State requires for admission, and fill out a form to hold their place at the campus of their choosing. Enrollment steps and tuition payments still apply, and students are still welcome to apply to any other universities they wish.

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A new stirrer could help protect bar patrons from being drugged.

Photo credit: Canva

Canadian chemists perfect stirring stick that shields bar patrons from spiked drinks

One of the first things a person is taught when they start going to bars or clubs is to make sure you keep an eye on their drink at all times. Why? To make sure no one messes with it when you aren’t looking to drug you. After over ten years of conceptualization and testing, scientists at the University of British Columbia have developed a product that can make drinking out at bars much safer: a stirring stick that can detect whether cocktails have been spiked.

Spikeless looks like a regular stirring stick for drinks but can detect gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), ketamine, and other drugs typically used to spike drinks. In just 30 seconds, the stick’s chemical-coated bioplastic tip will change color if it detects drugs in the drink, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike. This can prevent people from ingesting anything other than the promised alcohol.

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Media entrepreneur Ts Madison opens The Ts Madison Starter House, a sanctuary for Black trans women
Datei:New York Pride 2022 @ DVSROSS Photography (4).jpg ...
de.wikipedia.org

Media entrepreneur Ts Madison opens The Ts Madison Starter House, a sanctuary for Black trans women

This past Monday, March 31, marked 16 years of Transgender Day of Visibility. On that day, the media entrepreneur, actress, and writer Ts Madison–of The Ts Madison Experience, Zola, Bros, and RuPaul’s Drag Race–officially opened The Ts Madison Starter House, a sanctuary in Atlanta, Georgia for formerly incarcerated Black trans women.

The house, which first became known as the “Marvelous Chateau” when Ts Madison herself resided there, will become the home of five residents at a time. Residents will be referred to as “stakeholders,” according to Forbes, “to best signify their crucial role in their own success and that of the broader Black queer and trans liberation movement, while striving towards their greatest aspirations.” The Ts Madison Starter House is a collaboration with NAESM, Inc.--a nonprofit organization which has been dedicated to ensuring Black LGBTQ+ lives share “legal, civic, social, health and wellness equity with all other communities” for 35 years–and the SAFE (Sisterhood Alliance for Freedom and Equality) Housing Network, “a national collective of formerly incarcerated people working to decarcerate the US by bringing people home to stay, helping them to heal from the trauma of incarceration, and empowering them to lead in the fight to end mass incarceration.”

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Science says music is in your genes.

Photo credit: Canva

New study reveals that genes hugely influence what types of music you like

Got your headphones in and your playlist going while reading this? It might be because of your genes. A recent study on twins has led to a new finding. It provides evidence that how much a person enjoys music is partly influenced by genetic factors.

Initially published in Nature Communications, a multi-national team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and other institutions discovered that genetic differences influence over half of the variation in people’s sensitivity to music. To be clear, this result doesn’t apply to a person’s musical skill through singing, playing an instrument, or having any sense of rhythm by any means, but it influences music enjoyment. In short, your level of enjoyment of music might not be purely a byproduct of how your brain functions, but could have roots embedded in your genetic makeup. While many have studied music in terms of social bonding and culture, not many studies have looked into why some people enjoy music more than others.

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Rosie the Riveter, poster, WWII, women, women workers, war time

Rosie the Riveter has inspired several generations.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

'Rosie the Riveters' workers honored for long-forgotten service in incredible ceremony

On March 21, 2025, 18 women were recognized for the work they did to support America during World War II in a ceremony held at the National World War Two Museum. Among a crowd riddled with American flags mixed in with red and white polka dot scarves, these ladies, many of them in their 80s and 90s, received Congressional Gold Medals for their service. The Rosie the Riveters got their proper due.

The “Rosies,” as they were called, were women who worked in factories during World War II. While most of the men were fighting overseas, back in America, these women would be responsible for building, assembling, and welding airplane parts, ships, and other tools used by the U.S. military. This was a cultural change in America, as most women were in domesticated roles and didn’t work factory jobs.

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Bet you can't beat these pranks.

Photo credit: Canva, Wikimedia Commons, Harold Wahlman

The 5 god-tier April Fools pranks that people can’t believe actually happened

April Fools Day is equal parts a day of joy, goofery, groans, and annoyance. A bad April Fools joke is seen as unfunny at best or outright fraud at worst. A good April Fools joke or prank brings some levity and cleverness into a person’s first day of the month. However, the greatest April Fools pranks are the stuff of absolute legend.

Here are a few April Fools pranks throughout history that frankly cannot be beaten.

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shark, gray shark, sharks, sea creature, ocean, communication

Close-up of a gray shark.

Photo by Wai Siew on Unsplash

Scientists reveal the first-ever recording of sharks making sounds

When you think of sharks, what sounds come to mind? The swishing of ocean water? Robert De Niro's voice as the kingpin shark in the critically panned film Shark Tale? Or, probably for many of us, the simplistic yet haunting "du nuh, du nuh" notes from Jaws? Plenty of us might even have assumed sharks were completely silent. Turns out, they're not. Researchers in New Zealand have recorded the sounds that sharks make, and they're actually pretty loud.

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Julie J, club, stand up, NYC, entertainment, drag

Julie J prepares for Stand Up NYC from the DJ booth at club 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn.

Elyssa Goodman

With glamour and grace, drag artist and community organizer Julie J advocates for change

When Julie J glides into Gran Torino in Brooklyn, she wears a silken headscarf and a Missy Elliott sweatshirt and has Alexis Bittar hoops dangling from her ears. Many might recognize the drag artist, writer, and actress from her journey through the “Bittarverse” over the last year and half, playing the long-suffering Hazel/Jules to Patricia Black’s Upper East Side terror Margeaux in Bittar’s wildly successful social media series. Over the last several years, however, Julie has developed an abiding role as a beloved performer and community organizer in Brooklyn.

As a drag artist, Julie has also been featured by Maybelline, on MSNBC, and in The Washington Post, to name a few. She has received artist fellowships from La MaMa Experimental Theatre. She won Miss Bushwig in 2023 at the country’s largest drag festival of the same name, and Entertainer of the Year at New York’s Glam Awards in 2024, which honors achievements in nightlife performance and programming. Since March 2023, she has been the founder and co-producer, with Aaron Hock, of marathon drag benefit Stand Up NYC, which has since raised over $110,000 for organizations like Advocates for Trans Equality, Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, the Hetrick-Martin Institute, and many others.

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