Author: Shekari Philemon

Brent crude futures climbed to $90 a barrel this week for the first time in nearly two years, as a widening Middle East conflict brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near-complete halt. The global benchmark surged as much as 7.6% in a single session, while West Texas Intermediate topped $85 for the first time since April 2024. Taken together, futures have gained more than 20% in just one week. The scale of the disruption is staggering. Estimates suggest the global crude market is losing between 7 million and 11 million barrels of supply each day because of…

A global poll has dropped a number that no one who came of age in the era of shoulder pads and consciousness-raising is quite ready to process. Nearly one in five Gen Z women say they believe their future husbands should have the final word on important household decisions. That is 19 percent of a generation that was supposed to have inherited a leveled playing field, up sharply from around 6 percent of the generation that preceded them. The reaction among older women who lived through the feminist movements that made those gains possible has ranged from disbelief to a…

Smelling good is about more than a spritz of cologne before you head out the door. The way your body smells is shaped by what you eat, how you manage stress, what you wear, and dozens of small daily choices that add up over time. Perfume and deodorant can mask odor temporarily, but lasting freshness comes from addressing the root causes rather than covering them up. These 14 habits make all the difference. 1. Find a deodorant that actually works for your body chemistry Not every deodorant formula works the same way for every person. Body chemistry varies, and the…

It did not take long for a false report about Queen Latifah to find its way across social media platforms this week. A claim that the actress and entertainer had passed away began circulating online and quickly gained enough traction to reach fans around the world, prompting concern and an outpouring of messages directed at the star herself. By Thursday, Latifah had seen enough. The actress, whose full name is Dana Owens, responded directly and without hesitation, making clear that she was alive, healthy and fully aware of what had been spreading in her name. Setting the record straight Latifah…

Bianca Censori took the witness stand in a Los Angeles courtroom this week, answering questions about one of the more unusual renovation projects in recent celebrity real estate history. The case centers on a lawsuit brought by Tony Saxon, a former worker who is seeking $1 million in unpaid wages and alleging a range of serious grievances including unsafe working conditions, disability discrimination and wrongful termination. At the heart of the dispute is a property that has become something of a symbol for the contradictions that tend to surround Kanye West. He purchased the Malibu beachfront home in 2021 for…

KSI has built one of the most recognizable personal brands in British entertainment, moving from YouTube videos to boxing matches to a seat on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent. His latest move, however, goes further than anything he has attempted before. The influencer and content creator, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, has acquired a minority stake in Dagenham and Redbridge FC, a club currently competing in the sixth tier of English football, and he is documenting the entire journey on camera. The project, titled Race to the Top, is being produced alongside After Party Studios and will…

Don Lemon has never been someone who holds back, and a recent awards ceremony in Beverly Hills gave him a platform to say what many in media have been thinking. The former CNN anchor, who now works independently, used the 37th GLAAD Media Awards to deliver a pointed message about the direction of American journalism under expanding corporate control. At the center of his concern is Paramount, the media conglomerate that has been quietly reshaping some of the country’s most recognizable news operations. Lemon argued that what is happening at CBS News in particular represents a troubling shift away from…

Jennifer Lopez has made her music comeback official, releasing her new dance collaboration with DJ and producer David Guetta on Friday. The track, which she had already been performing before its release, had built anticipation among fans who knew it was coming but had been waiting for it to land on streaming platforms. The timing was anything but accidental. The release dropped on the same day Lopez launched her new Las Vegas residency, giving the moment a double dose of momentum. For a pop star who has spent years balancing music, film and spectacle, it was a characteristically well-orchestrated entrance.…

A significant and potentially dangerous stretch of severe weather is unfolding across the Central Plains, with Texas and Oklahoma at the center of a multi-day outbreak that forecasters say could extend well into next week. The threat includes strong tornadoes, baseball-size hail, destructive winds and heavy rainfall capable of triggering widespread flooding. The situation was already developing Thursday evening, when several tornadoes were confirmed in western and northwestern Oklahoma near the communities of Cleo Springs and Wakita. What came Thursday night was just a preview of what forecasters believe is building into a far more serious event. Friday brings the…

As oil prices surged in the days following the outbreak of conflict with Iran, the Trump administration briefly entertained an unconventional idea: deploying the Treasury Department to trade oil futures as a way to calm the market. That idea has now been set aside, at least for the moment. Officials within the administration discussed the concept but ultimately concluded that the Treasury’s ability to move markets in any meaningful way would be too limited to justify the move. The proposal never advanced beyond internal conversations, and no formal action was taken. The development is a notable shift from the signals…