In a brave act of defiance, Paxton Smith, the valedictorian of her class at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, scrapped a speech approved by her school's administration to protest Texas' new abortion law, one of the most restrictive in the country. Going off-script, Smith delivered a powerful address on the bill, which bans abortions -- even in instances of rape and incest -- after six weeks."Under light of recent events, it feels wrong to talk about anything but what is currently affecting m...

Mars is having a major beauty moment: new footage captured by NASA's Curiosity rover reveals shiny clouds floating above the red planet, formations that appear to shimmer with an iridescence similar to our favorite highlighters.Let's be clear, though -- the planet isn't actually wearing Glossier Haloscope. According to CNN, the clouds are filled with ice crystals that scatter sunlight, imparting a  highlighter-like effect. "If you see a cloud with a shimmery pastel set of colors in it, that's ...

Tennis player Naomi Osaka has announced her withdrawal from the French Open after being fined $15,000 USD for refusing to speak to the press.The athlete took to Instagram to share the news. "This isn’t a situation I ever imagined or intended when I posted a few days ago. I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," she began. "I never wanted to be a distraction a...

UPDATE (May 30, 2021):  Last week, Naomi Osaka announced that she wanted to prioritize her mental health by not speaking to any press during the French Open. "If the organizations think that they can just keep saying, 'do press or you’re gonna be fined,' and continue to ignore the mental health of the athletes that are the centerpiece of their cooperation then I just gotta laugh," Osaka said in her post.However, according to NBC, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion was in fact fined by ...