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Lady Gaga Paid an Emotional Surprise Visit to California Wildfire Evacuees


As wildfires continue to ravage parts of California, displacing thousands of residents, many celebrities are using their platform for good, taking action by motivating those who can to give to relief efforts and donating much needed supplies themselves.

Lady Gaga, who had to evacuate her own Malibu home, stopped by a shelter set up at Pacific Palisades High School to offer her love and support. TMZ reports that she spent about an hour and a half at the shelter visiting with victims, handing out gift cards, and taking photos. Gaga reportedly even sang to a 98-year-old woman who had to leave her own home.

Gaga also took time to offer a few words of support and a powerful message about mental health during tough times:

“This is not easy. I know this is not easy. And I know that a lot of you are feeling a lot of pain right now, and a lot of shock. I know that I feel kinda in a daze and I’m not really sure when or how this is going to hit me when it does,” she said. “What I can tell you is that I will pray for each and every one of you. You will be in my thoughts. I extend my love to each and every one of you. I know we do not know each other, but I love you. This is an emergency but you are not alone.”

“And what I’d like to encourage you to do, though it might be hard,” she continued, “is to share your stories and talk to each other during this time. There’s a wonderful mental health team here, you know, if you’re feeling sad, if you’re feeling afraid, if you’re feeling hopeless, if you’re feeling something maybe you don’t even understand, come to one of them and talk. And after this is over, this moment, and you move on to going home, or not, if that happens. Remember this moment right now and let’s keep the faith together.”

She also reminded those who are affected to keep in tune with their mental health: “Please do not discount your mental health during this time. It is so important that you take care of what’s going on in your head and in your heart, because what you feel now is going to feel very different next week. And it’s going to feel different the week after that and a month from that and maybe even a year,” she said, before issuing a call for unity. “So let’s just, in this moment, I want to be respectful of everybody here…. We are probably not all of the same denomination. We might not all be religious, but I would just like to make a pact with you, in this room right now, that I will be with you every step of the way, even the second that I leave this room. I love you and you’re gonna get through this, and we’re going to get through this together.”

(Watch the video of her speech here.)

To help families affected by the Woolsey Fire, you can make a donation to the Hill Fire/Woolsey Fire Sudden and Urgent Needs Effort Fund or the Red Cross.

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Kim Kardashian Honored California Wildfire First Responders in This Powerful Speech



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Melania Trump Reportedly Planned to Visit Migrant Children in Texas Before the President Ended Separations


On Thursday, first lady Melania Trump traveled to Texas as part of an unannounced visit to Upbring New Hope Children’s Shelter. There, she reportedly planned to meet with several children who have been separated from their parents at the border.

“I’m glad I’m here and I’m looking forward to seeing the children,” Trump said while seated at a table surrounded by the center’s staff, ABC reported. “But first of all, let me begin to recognize each of you and thank you for all that you do, for your heroic work that you do every day and what you do for those children. We all know they’re here without their families, and I want to thank you for your hard work.”

The facility Trump visited is currently housing an estimated 60 children ranging in age from five to 17, according to a White House pool report. The children are all from Honduras and El Salvador.

Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, told reporters that Trump asked her staff to plan the visit on Tuesday, just prior to her husband’s decision to sign an executive order ending the family separations.

“This was 100 percent her idea. She absolutely wanted to come,” Grisham said. Even after her husband signed the order, Grisham said the first lady still believed it was important to travel to Texas. “She wants to see what’s happening for herself and she wants to lend her support, executive order or not. The executive order certainly is helping pave the way a little bit, but there’s still a lot to be done.”

PHOTO: Chip Somodevilla

U.S. first lady Melania Trump toured the facility after a roundtable discussion with doctors and social workers at the Upbring New Hope Children’s Center.

The first lady, along with Trump’s daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump, were both said to be instrumental in the president’s decision to sign the executive order.

“Ivanka feels very strongly. My wife feels very strongly about it. I feel very strongly about it,” the president said while he signed the executive order Wednesday, according to ABC. “I think anybody with a heart would feel very strongly about it. We don’t like to see families separated. At the same time, we don’t want people coming into our country illegally. This takes care of the problem.”

Following the signing of the executive order, Ivanka shared her thoughts on social media writing, “Thank you @POTUS for taking critical action ending family separation at our border. Congress must now act and find a lasting solution that is consistent with our shared values; the same values that so many come here seeking as they endeavor to create a better life for their families.”

In a follow-up message sent on Thursday, Ivanka further tweeted, “Now that an EO has been signed ending family separation at the border, it is time to focus on swiftly and safely reuniting the families that have been separated.”

Mrs. Trump isn’t the only first lady to speak out about the separation of families. As ABC noted, all five living former first ladies have publicly condemned the separations. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, former first lady Laura Bush called the separations both “cruel” and “immoral.” Bush added, “Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of El Paso.”

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Melania Trump Wears Jacket That Says ‘I Really Don't Care, Do U?’ Before Border Visit


On Thursday, First Lady Melania Trump flew to Texas, making an unannounced visit to the Upbring New Hope Children’s Shelter, which is housing several children who were separated from their parents at the U.S. border. Though meant as a gesture of good will, the purpose of the trip would soon become eclipsed after people got a look at the jacket she wore to board her plane in Maryland.

At the Andrews Air Force Base, Trump was photographed getting out of her car and onto the jet wearing a green military-style jacket with lettering scrawled across the back in white. Daily Mail was the first outlet to decipher the slogan as reading, “I really don’t care, do u?,” and attributing the style to a jacket that was once sold at fast-fashion retailer Zara.

PHOTO: Andrew Harnik

Melania Trump

PHOTO: Andrew Harnik

Melania Trump

PHOTO: Andrew Harnik

This would later be reported by journalists following FLOTUS’ visit.

Though the jacket is no longer available on Zara’s website, it reportedly retailed for $39.

FLOTUS changed her outerwear on the flight—she was wearing a light pink cargo jacket when she landed in Texas—but the damage had already been done: Once images of Mrs. Trump hit the internet, people took to social media to share their outrage at the optics of what most likely is a glaringly tone-deaf fashion decision.

In response to the backlash, Stephanie Grisham, the First Lady’s communications director, shared with the White House pool reporters via email: “It’s a jacket. There was no hidden message.” She also added that she hoped the media would instead focus on Trump’s visit, rather than her outfits, “Much like her high heels last year.”

The heels Grisham is referring to were the sky-high stilettos Trump wore when she accompanied her husband to see the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas—then, too, people believed her decision to wear high-end designer shoes with an impractical heel was rather insensitive (not to mention, inappropriate for a disaster zone).

Still, even with this statement, many were not convinced of the fact that there was no message to be gleaned from the First Lady’s wardrobing choice.

As to what she hoped to accomplish on her visit to Texas, Girsham shared with pool reporters that Trump “…wants to see what’s happening for herself and she wants to lend her support, executive order or not. The executive order certainly is helping pave the way a little bit, but there’s still a lot to be done.”

Related Content:
Melania Trump Gets Mocked For Wearing Stilettos to Houston After Hurricane Harvey

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Twitter Has Strong Feelings About TIME’s Powerful ‘Welcome to America’ Cover Amid Border Crisis





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Kate Middleton Tended to a Sick Boy During a Royal Visit


As any parent can attest, mom and/or dad duty never really ends…even if you’re in the middle of a royal visit. At least, that’s the case for Kate Middleton and Prince William. On Tuesday, People reports, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were paying a visit to an elementary school in Coventry when Middleton’s mom senses started tingling. One 10-year-old student had been waiting in the cold for three hours just to see the royals. When Middleton noticed he was looking pale, she came over and bent down to speak to him, according to Carole Flynn, a learning mentor at the school. Middleton then went back to her bodyguards and got the boy a brown paper bag, just in case.

“Princess Kate came over and give him a sickbag,” Flynn told People. “I think he was a little bit overcome.” Totally understandable. Who wouldn’t be? Thankfully, the child wasn’t so overcome that he ended up needing to use the bag. It seems like being taken care of by Middleton herself was a good enough cure.

“It was lovely of her,” Flynn added. “She really took time with him. You can tell she is a mom and has got that caring side.”

Meanwhile, Prince William had a kid crisis of his own to manage. According to People, there was a little girl in the crowd who was in tears because she wanted a hot chocolate. Before the royals left for their next appointment at the cathedral, Prince William reportedly asked her if he should order her a hot chocolate with marshmallows. “With lots of cream,” she answered.

Despite their expert handling of both kid catastrophes, a mom of three in the crowd still gave the royals some advice, just in case. (This April, the couple is expecting another baby, which brings the royal brood count to three.) “I told William ‘I’ve got three kids so get as much sleep as you can,’” Kelly Brown told People. “And he laughed and said, ‘I’m trying.’” Great to see that being a royal doesn’t make you immune from making dad jokes.

Related: Kate Middleton Started Her Day by Cuddling With a Therapy Dog



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3 Tips for Making Your First Visit to a Sex Shop Amazing


A sex shop can be a great way to check out a product before becoming very familiar with it, but going to one for the first time can also be intimidating. The entire premise behind this type of shopping is that you’ll go into a place of business and explain to a stranger who works there what would give you the best orgasm—definitely not a situation you encounter anywhere else in life. Can you imagine getting that personal with a J.Crew employee?

There are easy things you can do to guarantee a straightforward, educational, and totally not-daunting experience. Ryan DiMartino and Victor Tobar, employees at legendary sex-shop chain The Pleasure Chest, share a few easy tips to avoid looking like a deer in headlights.

Find the Right Kind of Shop

DiMartino explains you should look for a store that’s “education-centric,” a model becoming common around the country and a far cry from the seedy porn shops of yore. “An education-centric shop isn’t focused just on moving product but on making sure that we’re able to help you find the right thing and know how to use it properly,” they say. To find sex-positive shops in your area, do a little research: Read unbiased sex bloggers like The Redhead Bedhead and Elle Chase, for example, or even just look at a store’s website to make sure diverse body types and preferences are represented.

Ask Questions

You likely came into the store because you had a question, had your eye on a product, or were curious about what the shop is actually like—that’s great! So ask that question or find out what to do with that thing; lots of rookies don’t. “It’s clear it’s someone’s first time if they walk in and walk right out without asking for assistance,” says Tobar. You’re allowed to find an employee first thing and ask them for help—they’re probably more than happy to tell you which condoms are customer favorites or which vibrators they’d personally recommend.

Try Not to Make Everything a Joke

Another tell that you’re a sex-shop first-timer? Crackin’ wise. “There are times when folks come in and everything becomes a joke really quickly,” says DiMartino. “That’s a really common defense mechanism because as a society we really don’t have the tools to talk about sex in a healthy or desexualized way with strangers.” If you feel the need to make a joke, that’s fine, but remember that these employees have seen it all. And make sure you don’t yuck anyone’s yum by making a joke about a product another customer might be in there looking for: Just because you feel awkward doesn’t mean you should make someone else feel that way, too.

And if there aren’t sex shops in your area, don’t fret: Companies like The Pleasure Chest and Babeland have online shopping—and discreet shipping.

This article initially appeared in the January 2018 issue of Glamour.



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