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Michelle Obama Is Launching a New Series That Follows First-Gen College Students


Michelle Obama has a ton of new projects in the works. Last year, the former First Lady and Barack Obama announced they had struck a deal with Netflix and they’d be launching several documentaries and films through their production company Higher Ground Productions. Now, she’s announced she has another special series in the works on Instagram, and it tackles a subject that she’s championed passionately for a long time: college for first-generation students.

Called “A Year of Firsts,” the project will follow four students as they navigate the intricacies of higher education. The show will air on Instagram‘s IGTV this month through a partnership with Obama’s Reach Higher initiative and the media company ATTN. “Each of them has overcome tremendous odds to get where they are,” Obama explains in an Instagram video announcing the series. “And throughout the year, they’ll tell us what that first year of college is really like. The ups, the downs, and everything in between.”

The subject matter is one Obama understands inside and out, not just through her work establishing the Reacher Higher initiative. As she detailed in her award-winning memoir Becoming, she was the first person in her family to attend college. Since then, she’s raised conversations about how important it is to ensure that students who are forging a new path feel supported and have access to resources so they have successful experiences.

“As a first-generation college student myself, I know how intimidating it can be to take that leap and pursue your educational dreams,” she said in a statement. “That’s why I’m so proud of these students. By sharing their stories, they’re helping others see that the ups and downs of the first year of college are something everyone goes through—and they’re creating a supportive community for others facing similar challenges.”



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Lifetime's College Admissions Scandal Movie: Everything We Know So Far


Last month, Lifetime announced it was making a movie about the college admissions scandal that captivated the Internet earlier this year. If you’re unfamiliar about this real-life case, it involved a group of wealthy parents, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who took illegal measures to secure their children’s spots at competitive universities. Huffman pled guilty to the federal charges brought against her, while Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are awaiting trial.

The working title of the movie is hilariously straightforward: College Admissions Scandal. On August 12, Entertainment Weekly dropped some enticing new updates about the cast and the production. Here’s everything we know so far:

The plot. According to the official synopsis, the film will “follow two wealthy mothers who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college. When charismatic college admissions consultant Rick Singer offers a side door into the prestigious institutions of their dreams, they willingly partake with visions of coveted acceptance letters in their heads. But when Singer cooperates with the FBI and pleads guilty, the mothers who risked everything for their kids must face the consequences of their crimes and the loss of trust and respect from their families.”

The cast. According to EW, Penelope Ann Miller and Mia Kirshner will play the film’s leads: Caroline, an interior designer, and Bethany, a financial services firm owner. Both of them begin working with Rick Singer, the real-life college admissions consultant at the center of the scandal, in order to get their children into elite colleges. Michael Shanks, the Canadian actor from Saving Hope, is reportedly set to play Singer.

L to R: Penelope Ann Miller and Mia Kirshner

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It appears Caroline and Bethany are fictional characters in this story who are most likely based on several people in the college admissions scandal. They don’t seem to be directly based on Loughlin or Huffman.

Release date. There’s still no set release date, but production on the film is slated to start this year.



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Get Ready: Lifetime Is Making a Movie About the College Admissions Scandal


The college admissions scandal is tailor-made for television, and Lifetime is stepping in to bring it to life.

Yes, you read that correctly: Lifetime is making a movie about the real-life college admissions scandal, involving actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, that rocked the country earlier this year. If you’ll recall, a group of wealthy parents, including Huffman and Loughlin, were charged with fraud for essentially buying their children’s way into college. Lifetime obviously recognizes that this is just the kind of plot its viewers are obsessed with. On Tuesday, July 23, the network announced it’s green-lit a two-hour movie about the story with a very specific working title: College Admissions Scandal. It’s already iconic.

According to the synopsis, the film will “follow two wealthy mothers who share an obsession with getting their teenagers into the best possible college. When charismatic college admissions consultant Rick Singer offers a side door into the prestigious institutions of their dreams, they willingly partake with visions of coveted acceptance letters in their heads. But when Singer cooperates with the FBI and pleads guilty, the mothers who risked everything for their kids must face the consequences of their crimes and the loss of trust and respect from their families.”

Felicity Huffman

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The actual college admissions scandal is still in flux. In April, Huffman apologized to the public and then pled guilty to federal charges. Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, went with a not guilty plea and are currently awaiting trial. Their oldest daughter, Olivia Jade, has since dropped out of the University of Southern California and has lost brand partnerships with companies like Sephora and HP.

Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli wearing green tie at left leave the John Joseph Moakley United...

Lori Loughlin

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There’s no date for when Lifetime’s project is set to drop, but we’ll keep you posted with any and all information. Let the countdown (and the fun casting speculation) begin.



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Meet the ‘Glamour’ 2019 College Women of the Year


It all started with an elephant toothpaste experiment. When Kavya Kopparapu was in fourth grade, a group of female scientists visited her classroom and combined a couple of chemicals that caused foam to shoot out of a beaker. And with that, she was hooked on science. Then, before she started high school, she attended a workshop on computer science—also led by women. “I remember sitting there and thinking, I’m really interested in biology and medicine, and computer science seems like a really cool way to make a positive impact in this field,” Kopparapu says. She taught herself how to code over the summer, spending hours in front of her computer. “My mom would say, ‘You know you have to eat,’” she recalls, “and I was like, ‘No, this is so interesting!’”

In 2017, Kopparapu found a way to marry her love of biology with computer science. While reading about Senator John McCain, who had been diagnosed with glioblastoma (an aggressive form of brain cancer), she was struck by the lack of progress toward a cure. “I read that glioblastoma rates of survival had not improved in the past 30 years,” she says. “I was like, We’re in such a technological era, where we know so much more about cancer than we did back then, so why aren’t we getting better at treating these patients? I just ended up in this wormhole of reading research papers, articles, talking to oncologists and pathologists.” She amassed a huge set of data to develop Gliovision, a medical platform that uses artificial intelligence, to determine the genetic and molecular signature of a brain tumor. She has a patent pending for the technology.

Because those female scientists inspired her so much, Kopparapu has made sure to do her part paying it forward. In high school she founded GirlsComputingLeague, a nonprofit that is working to help close the gender gap in computer science; the group is currently focused on teaching low-income students about AI and other high-technology concepts. Her charity work has given her a taste of what it means to be her own boss, a role she’d like to continue to have in the future. “It’s such an empowering feeling,” she says. “As an entrepreneur you get to drive change, not only in whatever product you make, but also in your work culture and the opportunities you give women.” It’s critical that women have these chances, she says: “As easily as artificial intelligence can be used for good, there have been a lot of examples where it can just amplify discrimination and implicit bias. But if you have a really diverse population working on these problems, then AI can be used for so much good.” Kopparapu is proof of just how much good one person who gets her shot can do.



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Felicity Huffman Just Apologized to Parents and Students Over the College Admissions Scandal


Felicity Huffman announced on Monday, April 8, she’s decided to plead guilty in the college admissions scandal that’s currently captivating the country.

“I am pleading guilty to the charge brought against me by the United States Attorney’s Office,” Huffman said in an official statement. “I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions. I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community.”

She continued, “I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly. My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”

William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman with their daughters, George Grace Macy and Sofia Grace Macy

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If you’re unfamiliar with this situation, here’s a quick boilerplate: In early March news broke Felicity Huffman and Full House star Lori Loughlin were both being charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud after it was discovered they illegally tried to secure their children’s college admission. Huffman allegedly paid $15,000 to an organization that helped her daughter cheat on the SATs. Meanwhile, Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly paid $500,000 to have their two daughters presented as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team, even though neither of them participates in the sport.

Lori Loughlin and her daughters Isabella and Olivia at an event.

Lori Loughlin with her daughters, Isabella and Olivia

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“There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy,” U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said at a press conference in March. “And I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.”

This story is developing. We’ll update this post as soon as more information comes in.



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The Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman College Cheating Scandal Is Too Fascinating


When I turned on my computer this morning, the last story I expected to see was “Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman Are Involved in a College Admissions Scandal,” but here we are. It’s 2019, and Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are very much involved in a college admissions scandal.

Here’s what’s going on, according to CNN: A group of wealthy parents allegedly paid a college prep organization to take the SAT/ACT entrance exams on behalf of their children or to correct their answers. There’s also a second part to this scheme, in which college coaches were allegedly bribed into admitting wealthy students as recruited athletes, regardless of their actual abilities. Some defendants even had fake profiles created to make their children look like successful athletes, according to court documents.

Per TMZ, this was all funneled through a man named William Rick Singer, who would take parents’ requests—either to fix test scores or create fake athlete profiles—and contact the appropriate parties.

Fifty people total were arrested in this case, which federal prosecutors called Operation Varsity Blues: Two SAT/ACT administrators, one exam proctor, nine coaches at elite schools, one college administrator, and 33 parents with privileged backgrounds.

According to TMZ, Huffman, who played Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives, has been arrested but will be released on bond with the promise to appear in court. She’s specifically charged with felony conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, per court papers. CNN reports Huffman is accused of paying $15,000 to an organization that helped her daughter cheat on the SATs.

Loughlin, best known as Aunt Becky on Full House, has the same charges against her. She and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, allegedly paid $500,000 to have their two daughters billed as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team, even though neither of them participates in the sport.

“There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy,” U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said at a press conference Tuesday, March 12. “And I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.”

People, naturally, have so many thoughts about this case—and the Desperate Housewives and Full House jokes keep rolling in. Below, check out just a few reactions to this truly bonkers situation. We’ll update our post with more information as it comes in.

On Wednesday, 24 hours after news of the scandal broke, Lori Loughlin was arrested in Los Angeles after taking an overnight flight back to California from Canada. She faces a felony charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

On Thursday, March 14, Hallmark announced it was ending its working relationship with Loughlin, who’s been a mainstay on the network for years. “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Hallmark’s parent company Crown Media said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin, including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third-party production.”

This post has been updated.



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