Ukraine Marks One Year Anniversary of Russian Invasion, and Other News from the Week
We’re pleased to bring you “While You Were Out”—Verily's quick takes on the happenings of this week.
Spain becomes first European country to offer menstrual leave
Women with painful periods can now take three days off work a month after legislators in Spain passed a law making it the first European country to offer menstrual leave. Women can now call in sick “in case of incapacitating menstruation,” lawmakers said.
“‘Without such rights, women are not full citizens,” Irene Montero, the country’s equality minister, said in parliament, according to the Washington Post. “The government will pay for the menstrual leave provision.”
This may sound like a win for the many women who experience painful periods, but not everyone supports the decision.
Menstrual leave legislation is “becoming more common, and contemporary proponents argue they can advance gender equality by normalizing menstruation,” according to gender and employment relations professor Marian Baird of the University of Sydney. “However, opponents are worried menstrual leave will reinforce negative gender stereotypes and notions of biological determinism, leading to more employer discrimination against women.”
Spain joins Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Zambia in offering menstrual leave. The idea still hasn’t gained much traction in the United States, although a few American companies already provide it.
According to at least one survey, offering menstrual leave in the U.S. would be popular. Per The Hill, “An online survey conducted by ResumeBuilder in May 2022 found that among 1,250 U.S. participants, 78 percent support paid menstrual leave and nearly identical proportions of men and women backed the proposal.” —Madeline Fry Schultz
Ukraine marks one-year anniversary of war
This week marked the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the sovereign country of Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russian troops entered Ukraine after weeks of mounting tensions and threats from Russia. They launched strategic missile attacks on airports, warehouses, and military compounds and targeted some of Ukraine’s most populated cities, including Kyiv and Kharkiv.
While the war was originally on multiple fronts, it has since become concentrated in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions. Russia has yet to experience the easy victory it anticipated, and Ukrainian troops have recaptured multiple territories and have staunchly held the capital, Kyiv.
Since the beginning of the war, at least 8,000 non-combatants, including at least 487 children, have been killed, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Some 13,000 have also been injured, although the UN says both numbers are likely higher. Other estimates have put the death toll of civilians alone at 19,000, with some experts saying it is even higher. The UN also reports that 14 million people have been displaced.
Furthermore, there have been at least 100 reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls, often at the hands of Russian troops. Ukrainian citizens and allies captured as prisoners of war by Russian soldiers have also experienced horrific human rights violations and torture.
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to western nations since day one of the war, the United States and other allies have continued to rally behind Ukraine, offering monetary assistance, humanitarian aid, and weapons, and have committed to more.
In commemorating the one-year anniversary, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky handed out awards to soldiers and visited wounded service members. He also renewed the call for assistance from other countries and encouraged his troops that Ukraine will win this war.
“Victory will be inevitable. I am certain there will be victory,” Zelensky said during a press conference in Kyiv this week. “We have everything for it. We have the motivation, certainty, the friends, the diplomacy. You have all come together for this. If we all do our important homework, victory will be inevitable.” —Gabriella Patti
All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin sweep BAFTA awards
All Quiet on the Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin, two of the most-nominated films, dominated at the BAFTA awards this weekend. All Quiet on the Western Front won Best Film, best director (for Edward Berger), and five more awards. The Banshees of Inisherin won four awards: Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (for Kerry Condon), Best Supporting Actor (for Barry Keoghan), and Outstanding British film. Elvis also won four awards, notably Best Leading Actor for Austin Butler.
Despite its impressive ten nominations, awards season favorite Everything Everywhere All at Once was snubbed, winning only one award for Best Editing. Other notable wins came for Cate Blanchett, who won Best Leading Actress for her role in Tár, and for The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, which won best British Short Animation. The short film is based on the work of Charlie Mackesy, an artist known for his whimsical children’s illustrations.
The BAFTAs are the British equivalent of the Oscars, and just like American awards shows, they’re a great place to showcase style. Notable was Kate Middleton’s chic look, complete with the dress she wore to the awards show in 2019 and $28 Zara earrings. —MFS
Los Angeles bishop murdered in his home
Bishop David O’Connell, a native of Ireland who served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles as an Auxillary Bishop, was found dead in his bed of a gunshot wound to the torso.
Homicide detectives have arrested 65-year-old Carlos Medina, the husband of O’Connell’s housekeeper, after a standoff at Medina’s home. Authorities identified Medina as a suspect after an informant said he had been acting strangely and commenting about the bishop owing him money. Weapons were recovered from Medina’s residence, and he is in jail on a $2 million bond. Police say his wife, who was not working at the time of the murder, is cooperative.
The Los Angeles community is mourning O’Connell, 69, as a dedicated advocate for immigrants, the poor, and all the vulnerable. “My heart grieves although I personally did not know the bishop," LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said, according to CNN. "This bishop made a huge difference in our community. He was loved.”
“He reached out to gang members; he reached out to the homeless; he reached out to the transients. He was the help of the helpless and the hope of the hopeless, and he knew that serving God meant serving man, especially the most vulnerable in our society,” said Janice Hahn, the chairwoman of the LA County board of supervisors.
An emotional Archbishop Jose Gomez, who reportedly requested O’Connell’s appointment as bishop, told the press, “[O’Connell] was a good priest, and a good bishop, and a man of peace. And we are very sad to lose him." —Margaret Brady
Don Lemon attacks Nikki Haley’s age, and Patricia Heaton isn’t here for it
After Republican and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 election, CNN host Don Lemon took the opportunity to malign her — and every woman over age 50 — on air.
Lemon said that Haley’s comments about the old age of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden (both over 75) were hypocritical because she is 51.
Haley has no right to talk about aging politicians, Lemon argued, because she “isn't in her prime.” When his female co-anchors pushed back, he doubled down: “If you Google 'when is a woman in her prime,' it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s.”
Lemon immediately received massive blowback for his sexist comments, including a lighthearted Twitter challenge from actress Patricia Heaton. “Hey Ladies,” she tweeted, “[Don Lemon] thinks women over 50 are past their prime! Let’s start #primetime and list some of the things we’ve accomplished in these glorious later years.”
USA Today summarizes: “In a lengthy Twitter thread, Heaton, 64, wrote that she produced the comedy ‘Unexpected,’ wrote and published the book ‘Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention,’ created the Emmy-winning Food Network show ‘Patricia Heaton Parties,’ published the cookbook ‘Food for Family and Friends,’ produced and starred in the CBS sitcom ‘Carol's Second Act,’ starred in ABC's ‘The Middle,’ graduated four sons from college and more since turning 50.”
For her part, Haley took the criticism in stride, and she’s now capitalizing on it, selling “Past my prime?” merch on her website. “For all of you who took issue with the haters saying that we are past our prime,” she tweeted, “this one’s for you.” —MFS
More earthquakes shake devastated Turkey
At least two more earthquakes, rating 6.4 and 5.8 magnitudes, have hit already ravaged areas of Turkey, killing and burying more victims.
The quakes were centered in the southern province of Hatay, where officials at one government hospital announced the evacuation of patients. Residents report more buildings are collapsing. Turkey’s Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu, told the Guardian that hundreds are injured.
Perhaps the worst damage is to the psyches of survivors, many of whom are living in tents and fearful of sleeping indoors again. The Guardian described one mom, who cradled her 7-year-old child and wept, “Is there going to be another aftershock?”
The death toll from the original 7.8 quake on February 6 has reached 47 thousand and is expected to climb higher as rubble is cleared in Turkey and northern Syria. The United Nations says more than 300,000 pregnant women in the area need urgent medical care, including about 38,000 who are expected to deliver their babies in the next month. The international community must do what it takes to help these families.
Turkey is prone to earthquakes, with multiple fault lines near major population centers. However, the region most impacted by the recent quakes reportedly hadn’t seen significant shaking in hundreds of years. —MB
Harvey Weinstein and R. Kelly sentenced to more prison time
Two entertainment industry pariahs have drawn more jail time: Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 additional years for rape in Los Angeles, and a Chicago judge gave R. Kelly 20 years for child pornography.
Due to the terms of his sentence, Weinstein, 70, will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. His judge in LA Superior Court, Lisa B. Lench, ignored his attorney’s request for a sentence that would run alongside the 23 years Weinstein is already serving for rape committed in New York. Instead, Lench ruled he’ll do his time consecutively.
For R&B star Kelly, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber decided the majority of the 20-year sentence will be served simultaneously with the 30 years Kelly is already doing after a conviction for sex trafficking in 2021. He’ll spend just one extra year behind bars for the child porn charges.
Both Weinstein’s and Kelly’s fates result from the #MeToo movement, as powerful men with open-secret, depraved sexual behavior have finally been called to account. One analysis found that between 1993-2016, Weinstein was thanked as often as God at Oscars ceremonies. Kelly was nominated for a Grammy as late as 2015.
Some of the victims of the two men contributed statements at the respective sentencings. “I have lost my dignity due to Robert Kelly. I have lost my dreams due to Robert Kelly. I have lost my teenage years to Robert Kelly,” said “Jane” in Chicago.
Meanwhile, in LA, “Jane Doe 1” told the court, “Before that night, I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage." —MB
American Girl Doll 1990s twins are newest editions to company's collection of historical dolls
On Wednesday, February 22, American Girl announced their two new dolls—Isabel and Nicki Hoffman, spunky fraternal twins from Seattle, WA—in their historical dolls collection.
With their stories set in 1999, the dolls’ debut caused quite a stir across social media, with comments criticizing the company for calling the late 1990s “historical.”
Millennials can recognize the accessories, styles, and interests of the twin dolls as a part of their own childhood memories. An inflatable chair, chunky laptop, and a wireless phone, all from the 1990s, are some of the twins’ accessories many of us remember.
Their polar opposite personalities—girly and extroverted Isabel versus introverted tom-boy Nicki—reveal the overall theme of cultivating individuality.
To express this further, American Girl dressed the twins very differently. Blonde and girly Isabel rocks a plaid miniskirt, pink platform shoes, a beret and sunglasses. Conversely, her brunette sister Nicki wears a T-shirt and minidress, completing the look with a backward baseball hat.
According to a press release obtained by Mental Floss, the dolls’ stories were written by long-time American Girl fans and twin sisters Julia DeVillers and Jennifer Roy. These twins collaborated to write each doll’s journal.
When asked what readers will get out of these stories, Jennifer said: “I hope Nicki’s story makes people who may be struggling to find friends feel less alone. I also would love readers to challenge themselves to face their fears and find their own voices. Everyone has something to say, and whether you write song lyrics, create a zine, or simply speak out when a change is needed, it's important and empowering!”—Hannah Rose Ward
Good News of the Week
Last October, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and Notre Dame Professor Michael Desch took a group of students to visit the Da Nang Province in Vietnam. While visiting an airstrip there, they were interrupted by a villager who collected old dog tags. Found in a rice field, one of those dog tags had belonged to USMC Corporal Larry Hughes.
The late Vietnam veteran Larry Hughes had lost his dog tag while serving in the Marine Corps in 1966. Desch was determined to find his family and return the valuable memento. In conjunction with the Pentagon, he organized for the event to take place last Friday afternoon. Hughes’ family, now living in Levy County, Florida, greatly appreciated the unexpected surprise. For them, it was “a step back in time.”
Hughes’ sister Patricia Hughes Prickett lovingly recalled her brother. “I was always so proud of Larry,” she said. “There was never a moment when I was not proud of him, and I'm just glad that he's been recognized.”
A man of few words, Hughes was a “very humble man.” According to his son Carl, he “never talked about his time in the service.”
Prickett reportedly suggested that her brother’s lack of response was due to the lack of support experienced by service members during Vietnam nearly six decades ago.
Carl Hughes told Fox News that this story is a valuable reminder for all. The dog tag’s return to the United States symbolizes peace and the building of friendship. “And that’s what the world needs, is everybody can get along and love each other.”—HRW
Watch of the Week
Watch this new teaser trailer for “The Little Mermaid,” Disney’s new live-action remake coming to theaters on May 26, 2023.
