Latest news with #Gaines'
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chaos erupts at Riley Gaines speech with five arrested as protestors swarm trans-athlete critic's visit
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Chaos erupted at an Oregon college Monday night as five people were arrested for protesting a speech given by former college swimmer and trans-athlete critic Riley Gaines. Gaines, a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer who gained a following speaking out against transgender athletes competing against female athletes, was scheduled to give a talk at Portland State University's Smith Memorial Student Union, KPTV reported. Video shared on X by Andy Ngo showed fired-up protesters trying to open the doors of the student union as police worked to keep them out. Students can be heard yelling 'F*** you, pigs!' in the clip, which Gaines later retweeted, writing, 'They really are such a joyful, tolerant bunch.' Several dozen protesters lined the sidewalk outside where Gaines was speaking, with many holding signs expressing support for transgender rights, KGW reported. Riley Gaines' speech at Portland State University was met with backlash by protesters. (AP) Police were called to the campus around 7 p.m. to help with crowd control. Five people were arrested for 'various crimes,' police said. It was not immediately clear whether the protesters arrested were students at the university. Police said their names and charges would be released later. Several student groups, including 'PSU Students United for Palestine Equal Rights' had planned protests against Gaines' visit. The conservative activist's event was not affiliated with the university, authorities said. Gaines' speech at the university was not publicly broadcast. Gaines, who tied for fifth place in the 200-yard final against transgender athlete Lia Thomas, has since filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joanna Gaines' Son Crew Is as Adorable as Ever in New Video: 'He Just Might Be a Horticulturist!'
You might say that Joanna Gaines is having the cozy weekend we all deserve (and we love that for her!). Over the weekend, the interior decorator shared a short video on Instagram that gave us a special glimpse into her world. In the clip, several birds can be heard chirping in the background as Gaines' six-year-old son Crew carefully waters plants. "Soundtrack for the weekend 💚," she wrote as her caption. The comments section to the HGTV star's Instagram post was subsequently flooded with messages from fans shocked at how adorably astute Crew is. "I adore Crew—and the beautiful bond you two share. There's such a sweetness and ease between you that's truly rare. It's a joy to watch a love so pure and wholehearted," read one comment. "Oh he has learned to love so many beautiful and wonderful things! He just might be a horticulturist! Good job teacher mom!!!" another person chimed in. The serene setup over the weekend serves as a perfectly charming follow up to Gaines' lively birthday festivities, which took place just a few days ago. To kick off her birthday weekend, the television host was greeted with a stunningly gorgeous brunch spread, all planned by her 18-year-old daughter. Later in the day, she drove to Beachy's Baking Co. in Lott, Texas to pick up an order of hot donuts and pretzels. The evening ended with a seafood-filled dinner at Opal's Oysters followed by crafting Easter garden arrangements with her sisters. We can only imagine what next weekend holds for Gaines. You Might Also Like
Forbes
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Charles Gaines' Calculus of Trees
Numbers and Trees: Tanzania Series 1, Baobab , Tree #4 , Maasai 2024 Acrylic sheet, acrylic paint, photograph, 3 parts 241.3 x 335.9 x 14.6 cm / 95 x 132 1/4 x 5 3/4 in Trees are having a moment. There was Richard Powers 'The Overstory,' a slim novel where the point of view of a tree was as much a character as the human ones. There was Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg's recent exhibition at the Skirball (now moved on to new pastures, see here). More generally, scientists continue to explore how trees communicate with each other and the pathways they create through root networks and airborne transfers. And currently, there is Charles Gaines' magisterial new works, Numbers and Trees, The Tanzania Baobabs, at Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood (on view through May 24, 2025). The exhibition consists of nine large three-part images and several two part watercolors that seem to progress in complexity and across a spectrum of color. The total effect is one of amazement and awe, of beauty and calm, transporting us away from our present world and all its conflicts. Portrait of Charles Gaines 2024 On the evening of the exhibition's opening, Gaines, in conversation at the gallery with LACMA curator Naima Keith and Phoenix Museum's Olga Viso (where Gaines also currently has a retrospective) spoke of how he wanted to eliminate 'the subjective in his art.' As the exhibition press release explains, in the work on exhibit, each tree has been assigned a distinctive color and number sequence. The profusion of colors each filling a small square creates a profusion of color as unique to Gaines' oeuvre as a Seurat pointillist masterpiece. The use of numbers and grids for image creation is, in one sense, an artist-created artificial intelligence that can generate an endless series of possible colors and images but that is, nonetheless, tightly controlled by Gaines' system. At the same, this method creates a distancing between the work and the viewer, a gap if you will, expressed as well by the separation in these works between the plexiglass and the photo behind it. Numbers and Trees: Tanzania Series 1, Baobab, Tree #5, Rangi 2024 Acrylic sheet, acrylic paint, photograph, 3 parts 241.3 x 335.9 x 14.6 cm / 95 x 132 1/4 x 5 3/4 in In some of the works, the photo of the African landscape appears in the background while the color simulacrum appears in the foreground. In others, the Tree is in the foreground while there is a blown-up section of the branch architecture, what Gaines calls 'an explosion.' Gaines is now eighty, and his demeanor, as much as his work, remains thoughtful and quiet. Gaines' flight from the subjective does not mean, as some critics believe, an avoidance of the personal, or even the political. This exhibition puts that notion to rest. Installation view, 'Charles Gaines. Numbers and Trees, The Tanzania Baobabs,' Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood, February 19 – May 24. 2024 With the new work, one might ask: Why travel to Tanzania to take a photo? The exhibition press release tell us, 'With Numbers and Trees, The Tanzania Baobabs, Gaines reflects on… the country's historical context, particularly in relation to the colonial enterprise, slave trade and personal identity.' That is about as personal and political as it can get. The baobab tree is called 'The Tree of Life' because it survives in arid areas where other trees do not. Its tangled network of branches extends into the sky, as if it were upside-down, its roots visible to all. 'Gaines' argument,' the press release notes, 'that aesthetic experience is not transcendent but rather firmly rooted in and shaped by culture' explains how the Tanzanian baobab and its numeric colored equivalents are Gaines' objective (not subjective) meditation on his roots, his personal and artistic history. Like the baobab, it is a display of Gaines' own rootedness, and how Numbers and Trees make connections to his personal history, to art history, to other artists, and to all who experience the work.
Fox News
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Oklahoma softball coach defends players who attended Riley Gaines event
Oklahoma Sooners softball coach Patty Gasso defended her players after some attended an event hosted by women's sports advocate Riley Gaines last week. Gaines has championed fairness in women's sports since Lia Thomas tied with her at the NCAA Championships in 2022. Thomas also became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA women's swimming championship. Since then, current and former female athletes have come together to keep biological males out of women's sports. Sooners pitchers Audrey Lowry and Sam Landry were in attendance for Gaines' speech at the Turning Point USA event, according to OU Daily. The women were far from the only Sooners athletes at the event. Gasso told the OU Daily that she did not hear Gaines' praise of her and her team and would not comment. "But the fact that our team is there, it's their right whether they want to go or not," she said. "I support them and whatever they choose." Peyton McQuillan, a Sooners track athlete, defended Gaines' message in an interview with the student newspaper. "She just wants to make sure everyone has a fair opportunity, and it's clear that she cares," she said. "It's very easy to relate to it." Haley Bergstrom, a rower for Oklahoma, backed keeping biological males out of girls' and women's sports. She pointed to the biological differences between men and women. "Biologically, men just have an advantage over women, no matter what," she said. "So we would just like to keep that simple, but there is no problem against trans people in general." Gaines did receive pro-trans protests at the school. "I'm really disturbed by the sort of panic that I've seen developing over the last couple of years — the suggestion that trans people are dangerous, that they're harming society, that letting trans people participate in everyday life is somehow a risky thing that should be avoided," librarian Cynthia Teague told The Oklahoman. "In particular with sports, there are so few trans athletes at any kind of elite level, and participating in sports is something that I think trans teens, especially, ought to be able to do." The NCAA altered its policy to keep biological males out of women's sports. However, women's sports advocates have said the organization has left loopholes in its policy to keep that door open. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Conservative activist Riley Gaines speaks at the University of Oklahoma, draws protest
NORMAN — Conservative activist and former NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines spoke at the University of Oklahoma Wednesday evening, drawing a crowd of hundreds of people to listen to her talk, as well as dozens more who demonstrated against her. Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, is known for her opposition to trans women competing in women's sports. Gaines' appearance at OU comes the day after conservative pundit Charlie Kirk visited Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Kirk is the founder and president of Turning Point USA, which aims to encourage young adults to 'rise up against the radical left," according to the group's website. The organization's chapter at OU hosted Gaines. Gaines came to prominence in 2022, after she tied for fifth place with Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania in the 200-yard NCAA Division I freestyle championship. Thomas became the first transgender athlete to claim a national title that year when she won the women's 500-yard freestyle at the Division I championship meet. Gaines' event at OU was styled as a Q&A and debate session. Before it started, she posed for photos with attendees, including at least one Oklahoma politician: Jon Echols, a prominent former Republican state lawmaker who is running for attorney general. Several law enforcement officers stood in the room as the crowd grew. Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside of Dale Hall, where the event was hosted, to speak out against Gaines' rhetoric. Cynthia Teague, a retired substitute teacher and academic librarian from Norman, said she attended the demonstration to show support for her friends who are trans. 'I'm really disturbed by the sort of panic that I've seen developing over the last couple of years — the suggestion that trans people are dangerous, that they're harming society, that letting trans people participate in everyday life is somehow a risky thing that should be avoided,' she said. 'In particular with sports, there are so few trans athletes at any kind of elite level, and participating in sports is something that I think trans teens, especially, ought to be able to do.' In December, NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel that he was aware of fewer than 10 trans athletes among the 510,000 NCAA athletes in the U.S. More: Federal court dismisses appeal of injunction issued against Biden-era Title IX rule change Gaines' appearance drew some pushback before it began. Signs promoting the event were vandalized in the days leading up to the event, according to the OU Daily, the university's student newspaper. Other people welcomed her appearance. On social media, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Oklahoma was excited to host Gaines and thanked her for coming to "God's country." Both Walters and Gov. Kevin Stitt have been outspoken about their support for efforts to block athletes who are transgender from participating in athletic competitions for girls and women. In 2023, Stitt issued an executive order that set gender definitions for state agencies and directed schools to provide "dedicated restrooms and locker facilities for boys and girls." Gaines attended the event and said, "Biological differences must be respected in the law to ensure female-only spaces have a future." Stitt's order was signed during an event at the state Capitol featuring proponents of legislation known as the Women's Bill of Rights. "It is sad that such basic truths must be spelled out to ensure equal protection, but I applaud Governor Stitt for taking decisive action today," Gaines said in 2023. "Establishing common language by way of the Women's Bill of Rights is a way of saying enough is enough: Oklahoman women deserve equal opportunity, privacy, and safety, and this order will help deliver it.' Gaines' visit to OU comes weeks after the dismissal of an appeal by the federal government of an injunction granted to Oklahoma over a new interpretation of Title IX. The interpretation, under the administration of former President Joe Biden, added gender identity as a protected class under the law. In a lawsuit, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued that interpretation was unconstitutional and ignored the language within Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational program that receives financial assistance from the federal government. A federal judge agreed with Drummond, drawing an appeal from Miguel Cardona, Biden's education secretary. However, that appeal was dropped earlier in March under President Donald Trump's administration. (This is a developing story and will be updated.) This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Hundreds attend Riley Gaines speech at University of Oklahoma
