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Woman detained in Dubai over an in-flight beverage
A woman who was detained after having a complimentary glass of wine on an Emirates Airline flight from London to Dubai was scheduled to return home to the United Kingdom on Sunday. Ellie Holman, a dentist, was traveling with her 4-year-old daughter on July 13. When they landed, authorities said her visa was expired and told her she would need to return home. Then, they asked if she had been drinking. According to reports, Holman disclosed her glass of wine and took a blood alcohol test, which read 0.04. The United Arab Emirates has specific laws about where tourists are allowed to consume alcohol, and public intoxication is forbidden.
Holman was arrested, and the mother and daughter were kept in a cell for three days. Although her daughter was eventually able to fly home, Holman had to await a court hearing in Dubai. The UAE recently decided not to pursue charges, and Holman was able to return home. The ordeal cost her significantly, she said in a statement released by Detained in Dubai, a human rights group: “This situation has cost us tens of thousands and we have had to use all of our savings, which is devastating to us.”
Argentina rejects bill that would have broadly legalized abortion
Early Thursday morning, Argentina’s upper house rejected a bill that would have allowed girls as young as 13 to terminate a pregnancy for any reason within the first 14 weeks. Over the past 13 years, six abortion bills have been introduced in Argentina’s Congress, but none have been successful in Pope Francis’s home country. Argentine law permits abortion only in the case of rape, when the mother is mentally disabled or there is serious risk to her health.
Former Nike employees sue the company, alleging gender discrimination
Four former Nike employees filed a class-action lawsuit in Portland, Ore., on Thursday, alleging that they faced gender discrimination while working at the company. The plaintiffs — Kelly Cahill, Sara Johnston, Samantha Phillips and Tracee Cheng — accused Nike of violating the Federal Equal Pay Act and perpetuating a toxic work culture that allowed for sexual harassment.
In the suit, Johnston alleges that a male coworker sent her nude images of himself. When she rejected his advances and complained to human resources, a director told her that she should let it go because “drunk messages” are “part of this generation,” Johnston recalled in the suit. The male coworker was later promoted.
Two women to represent congressional seat vacated by John Conyers Jr.
After winning Tuesday’s primary in Michigan, Democrat Rashida Tlaib is on track to become the first Palestinian American and first Muslim woman in Congress. Tlaib beat five other Democrats to secure the nomination to represent the 13th Congressional District. In November’s general election, Tlaib will probably go unchallenged: No Republicans are running in her district, which has long been represented by John Conyers Jr. Conyers resigned this year after being accused of sexual harassment.
Last week, Michigan Democrats also nominated Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones to replace Conyers temporarily. Jones, who will be the third African American woman to represent Detroit, will be sworn in this November and will fill the seat until Tlaib takes office in January.
Other noteworthy wins from last week’s primaries include:
• Democrat Sharice Davids won a six-way primary race in Kansas. She’ll face Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) in the general election. If she wins, Davids, an Army veteran, will become the first Native American lesbian to serve in the House.
• Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Laura Kelly of Kansas won their primaries on Tuesday. Both Democrats are running for governor in their respective states.
• On Saturday, Hawaii state Rep. Andria Tupola defeated former state senator John Carroll to win the GOP nomination for governor.
Tupola will face sitting Gov. David Ige, a Democrat who is heavily favored to win the general election. Tupola’s primary victory brought the total number of female nominees for governor in 2018 to 12, a record.
CDC says opioid use while pregnant is ‘a significant public health concern’
The number of pregnant women addicted to opioids more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After analyzing 28 states, chosen based on which states had adequate data, the CDC concluded that the highest increases occurred in Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and West Virginia.
Opioid use by pregnant women can lead to preterm labor, stillbirth, neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal mortality, researchers said. In 23 states and the District of Columbia, opioid use during pregnancy can be considered child abuse.
Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, to run for Ferguson City Council
n 2014, Lezley McSpadden lost her son when a police officer fatally shot him on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Mo. His name was Michael Brown, and he was 18. McSpadden returned to that spot on Friday to announce her plan to run for City Council in 2019.
“Almost four years ago to this day, I ran down this very street and my son was covered in a sheet,” McSpadden said. “It broke me, you know. It brought me down to my knees and made me feel crippled as if I could do nothing else anymore from that moment.” Her decision to run, she said, was showing that she has “learned to walk again.”
Women are more likely than men to die within a year of a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. One way to reduce the number of heart attack-related fatalities among women could be to hire more female physicians, according to a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Using the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration database, researchers analyzed more than 500,000 heart attack cases from emergency rooms across the state. If a heart attack patient is a woman and her physician is a man, her risk of death rises by about 12 percent, data scientist Brad Greenwood, one of the study’s authors, told Scientific American.
On Sunday, one year after Heather Heyer was killed by a suspected neo-Nazi at the Unite the Right rally, Susan Bro talked about her daughter in front of a crowd in Charlottesville, Va. Bro said Heyer, a counterprotester, wouldn’t want to be at the center of attention, especially when the country is still grappling with its “huge racial problem.”
“The world went crazy when Heather lost her life, and that’s not fair, because so many mothers lose their children every day, and we have to fix that,” Bro said.
To mark the anniversary of that violent day in Charlottesville, anti-hate protesters gathered in the Virginia city and in Washington, D.C., where white supremacists also staged a rally. In Washington, the white supremacists were vastly outnumbered by thousands of counterprotesters.
Bumble will fund five women-led short films
Bumble, a women-owned dating app, is creating more than romantic matches. In May, the company launched a cinematic contest for filmmakers in the United Kingdom. Dubbed the Female Film Force, Bumble worked with Women in Film and Television U.K. to choose finalists for the contest. Last week, Bumble announced the winners. Each team will receive $27,000 to produce a short film by January 2019.
“Ama Divers”: Director Georgina Yukiko Donovan will produce a documentary with Yoko Ishitani about the history of ama divers, Japanese women who fish for creatures by diving into the depths of the sea.
“A Battle in Waterloo”: Emma Moffat will write and direct a film about a woman who searches for her soldier husband during the Battle of Waterloo. Tilly Coulson and Anna Hargreaves will produce.
“Hatima”: Damilola Babalola will direct a film written by Louise Ogunnaike about an international student who is “presented with a dubious life changing opportunity” that could change her future.
“Pat”: Writer and director Emma Wall will tell the story of a mother trying to keep in touch with her son, who lives in New York. The mother’s only method of communication? The singular phone in her village.
“The Leaving Party”: Helena Sutcliffe, Emily Bray, Milly Garnier and Jenn Thomas will explore a dystopic storyline set in an “overcrowded and aging Great Britain.” A “heroic” woman must avoid a government-issued death sentence before her 80th birthday.
Underwear from Uniqlo
I’ve been searching for the perfect underwear for as long as I can remember. I was convinced that it didn’t exist. Then I discovered Uniqlo and their “Airism” brand. They are seamless, comfortable, don’t ride up and they’re breathable. Plus, they have multiple styles and colors.
—Rachel Orr, Lily senior art director
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