current events
Commentary on events in the news.
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The reality about equal pay for the WNBA
The 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend was about two things: basketball and sisterhood. Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman live-streamed the entire weekend on their “StudBudz” Twitch channel. Nearly every player in Indianapolis made a cameo on their stream – including Caitlin Clark. Even Cathy Engelbert, the Commissioner of the WNBA, was shown dancing during one of…
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It’s time to start staying in hotels again
It’s a Friday night. White clouds hang low in the sky, heavy with bursts of summer rain. The July sun is still lingering above the horizon – it won’t set until after 8pm, when the cicadas have started singing and the mosquitoes have already eaten me alive. I’m cruising down I-985, my foot hovering over…
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In defense of the Peace Corps
If you’ve met me in-person, you’ve heard me talk about Namibia. You’ve seen the way my eyes light up, the way I smile and trip over my words as I try to pour out all the love I have in my heart for the place that I once called home. You know all the stories…
Rachel M. Beard 