Ever since the Norwegian women’s beach handball team made it known that they were required to wear teeny-tiny bikini bottoms for competition into a cause célèbre, a quiet revolution has been brewing throughout women’s sports. It’s one that questions received conventions about what female athletes do — or don’t — have to wear to perform at their very best.

It has touched women’s soccer (why white shorts?), gymnastics (why not a unitard rather than a leotard?), field hockey (why a low-cut tank top?) and many more, including running.

So it probably should not have come as a shock to Nike that when it offered a sneak peek of the Team U.S.A. track and field unies during a Nike Air event in Paris celebrating its Air technology on Thursday (which also included looks for other Olympic athletes, like Kenya’s track and field team, France’s basketball team and Korea’s break dancing delegation), they were met with some less-than-enthusiastic reactions.

See, the two uniforms Nike chose to single out on the mannequins included a men’s compression tank top and mid-thigh-length compression shorts and a woman’s bodysuit, cut notably high on the hip. It looked sort of like a sporty version of a 1980s workout leotard. As it was displayed, the bodysuit seemed as if it would demand some complicated intimate grooming.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/12/style/sexism-nike-olympic-track-and-field-uniforms.html

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Lauren Fleshman, a retired U.S. world champion runner, had some harsher criticism to share. In an Instagram post, Fleshman wrote, “I’m sorry, but show me one WNBA or NWSL team who would enthusiastically support this kit. This is for Olympic Track and Field. Professional athletes should be able to compete without dedicating brain space to constant pube vigilance or the mental gymnastics of having every vulnerable piece of your body on display. Women’s kits should be in service to performance, mentally and physically. If this outfit was truly beneficial to physical performance, men would wear it.”

She added, “This is not an elite athletic kit for track and field. This is a costume born of patriarchal forces that are no longer welcome or needed to get eyes on women’s sports. ... Stop making it harder for half the population @nike @teamusa @usatf.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/nike-ripped-for-risque-womens-track-olympic-uniforms

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Despite the spiffiness, Representative Lauren Boebert's eldest son — who is now nineteen — went on to claim he was having trouble finding a lawyer that he could afford to represent him in the felony case.

"We are working to hire an attorney, but it's just been kind of hard with the prices," Tyler told Neiley. "Worst case scenario, if we can't get something figured out with the lawyer then we're going to apply for a public defender or whatever works best for me."

According to Tyler, he is currently working to obtain discovery in his case and was instructed by defense attorneys to wait on the official advisement of his charges, which happened today, before hiring a lawyer.

Judge Neiley detailed all fourteen counts that Tyler is currently facing, including felony counts for identity theft that carry a possible sentence of two to six years and misdemeanor charges for criminal trespass, which carry a possible sentence of up to 364 days behind bars and fines up to $1,000.

https://www.westword.com/news/lauren-boeberts-son-cant-find-lawyer-he-can-afford-20372300

The Forest Hut by Japanese studio K+S Architects is located on a small patch of land close to a wildlife protection area in Karuizawa Oiwake. Given its remote location, it is a hidden gem that will undoubtedly remain unspoiled for generations to come.

Designed with a minimum impact on the environment in mind, the hut embraces the simplicity and purity of its surroundings with honest materials, a minimalist aesthetic, and open spaces that allow its residents to connect with the forest landscape.

The wooden structure, elevated from the ground, unfolds in staggered levels that trace the gentle contours of the terrain. Short flights of stairs lead to different areas, each serving their own purpose. The ground floor features an open-air porch that can be transformed into a main dining room in the summer. A few steps up is a mid-level multi-purpose area kept bare save for a few essentials: the kitchen, benches, and a wood-burning stove, allowing the space the flexibility to be used according to the wants and needs of its residents. Another short flight of steps lead to a minimalist sleeping area. Next to it, a ladder brings guests to a tiny office nestled under the slanting roof.

Large openings frame the lush forest views from all directions and vantage points, emphasizing this relaxing retreat’s ethos of communing with nature.

https://plainmagazine.com/ks-architects-forest-hut-japan/

Tennessee House and Senate Democrats Rep. Darren Jernigan and Sen. Jeff Yarborough introduced a bill to ban marriages by biological first cousin, which is currently legal in that state.

Rep. Gino Bulso, whose grandparents were first cousins, rose to object to the law. He actually cited the US Supreme Court case on Obergefell, asserting that prohibiting first cousins to marry will violate the case that allowed for gay marriage. He argued that if two first cousins were gay and wanted to marry, that would violate the law.

It was somewhat outrageous for him to make this argument considering he has always been a staunch opponent of LBGTQ rights. But now he wants to use Obergefell to allow cousin marriages. Bulso sponsored a bill just this session to ban Pride flags from school campuses and classrooms, while making the following argument:

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/tn-rep-wants-1st-cousins-to-legally-marry

OXFORD, Mich. – James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of the Oxford High School shooter, have been sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

An Oakland County judge on Tuesday, April 9 handed down sentences for the Oxford shooter’s parents, who were each found guilty of four counts of involuntary manslaughter this year. The Crumbleys will each serve 10-15 years in prison for their role in the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting that left four children dead and seven people injured.

It’s the first time parents of a U.S. school shooter have ever been charged, convicted, and sentenced in connection with the shooting.

At two separate trials this year, jurors found James and Jennifer Crumbley guilty of gross negligence that contributed to the mass shooting carried out by their son. Prosecutors had long sought to prove -- and reiterated at Tuesday’s hearing -- that the shooter’s parents were grossly negligent over a period of time leading up to the shooting, and failed to intervene.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2024/04/09/oxford-shooters-parents-get-10-15-in-prison-for-roles-in-massacre/