Latest news with #Lantern
Newsweek
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Woman on Vacation Asks Gen Z and X for Same Photo—Can You Tell Who Took It?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman visiting Singapore has gone viral after asking both Gen Z and Gen X passersby to take a photo of her and her boyfriend—only to discover a hilarious difference in results that sparked a generational debate online. Ruby Doyle (@rubsjean), 22, from Melbourne, Australia, posed for a photo with her partner Luke Oates, 23, at Lantern, the rooftop bar at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore, on May 28. In a TikTok video that has since garnered 15,000 likes and almost 535,000 views, Doyle compares the two photos: the first, taken by a Gen Z, is a polished high-angle shot that captures the dramatic cityscape in the background—believed to be Marina Bay Sands. The second, snapped by a Gen X stranger, is a close-up of the couple with little regard for composition or setting. "I was not expecting the post to garner as much attention as it did and I also wasn't expecting to create a generational war in the comments," Doyle told Newsweek. The Gen Z snap of Ruby and Luke versus the Gen X one. The Gen Z snap of Ruby and Luke versus the Gen X one. @rubsjean/@rubsjean "When we were posing for the photo being taken by the Gen X stranger my partner and I knew we weren't going to like it as she was holding it very low and only snapped the one pic," she added. The clip prompted hundreds of TikTok users to weigh in, sharing their own experiences and preferences when it comes to capturing a moment. Gen Z typically includes people born between 1997 and 2012, while Gen X refers to those born between 1965 and 1980. Generational differences in photography styles are often chalked up to the eras in which each group came of age. Gen Z, having grown up with smartphones and social media, often prioritize aesthetics, angles, and background. In contrast, Gen X—raised on film cameras and early digital devices—may approach photography with a more functional mindset. Doyle said she often offers to take photos for others when she sees them trying to take selfies, ensuring they have plenty of shots to choose from. "We took a photo of them in return making sure to get the background and take a few photos for them. We were happy when we found some younger people to take our photo as we thought they would have a similar eye as us," she explained. "When we compared the two photo it was funny to see the subtle differences in photography style so that's why I made the post. It also reminded me of my graduation when a girl stopped and asked my dad (Gen X) to take a photo of her and her family. My mom and I both laughed as we knew he is not very good with technology and jumped in to take over," she added. TikTok users flooded the comments with their takes. "First one is better, you can see the building," said one user. "Should have asked a millennial I think," quipped another. "I am constantly telling my mom to lift my phone higher and higher why do they go so low down," said Tess. "None of them, as a millennial I make two: one full-length and two cropped close up to the waist," said Vlad. "Gen X and I'd never take a photo like the second one—I take pride in my photos and take about 5 for people of all different angles," said another. "Lol, the Gen X photo is better tho," said another user. "First one is for the scenery while the second is like a fit of the day," another noted. "Both wrong. You should get both the buildings in the background and the full body without the feet cut off," someone else weighed in. "And neither is a photography masterpiece I'm afraid," added one critic. Do you have any viral videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@ and they could appear on our site.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gun safety group says Kentucky college student from Pa. lied about surviving high school shooting
Calvin Polachek, center, in jacket and tie, said he survived a mass shooting at his Pennsylvania high school during a gun safety rally in February at the Kentucky Capitol. The shooting never happened, according to organizers, the local school system and police. (Sarah Ladd/ Kentucky Lantern) Everytown for Gun Safety says a man who spoke at a February rally for gun safety it helped organize in Frankfort lied about his experience surviving a school shooting in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The event, which the Lantern and other media outlets covered, happened Feb. 12 in the Kentucky State Capitol. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action hosted a variety of speakers who advocated against gun violence. One of the speakers, Calvin Polachek, said that when he was a high school student in Pennsylvania, he lost people in a school shooting, including claiming that he saw his best friend lying in a pool of blood. Polachek 'is not an active volunteer with Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action, and we are deeply disappointed that someone would exploit the tragic, lived experience of many to use our platform to share a story that was not true,' Sarah Boland Heine, the senior director of communications for Everytown, said in a Wednesday statement. The Lantern reached out to Moms Demand Action, which is part of the Everytown gun safety group network, after receiving numerous messages from people who said they were classmates or relatives of Polachek and that the shooting never happened 'Calvin reached out to our Kentucky chapter, shamefully lied to our volunteers and shared a tragic story that we later learned was not true,' Heine said. 'This is an affront to the countless survivors of gun violence who show extraordinary courage every day by reliving their darkest moments in service of the fight to end our country's gun violence crisis. We are revisiting our guidance to our grassroots networks in an effort to ensure this never happens again.' Polachek did not immediately respond to Facebook and LinkedIn messages from the Lantern. Polachek was identified as a University of Louisville student at the rally. A UofL spokesperson said Wednesday that he is currently a graduate student. The Dallas School District, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, said in a Wednesday statement that it 'is aware of a video clip and accompanying article that appears to depict a former Dallas student speaking about a school shooting at Dallas in 2017.' 'Thankfully, that never happened,' the school said. 'The discussion on the clip about Dallas and school violence is not factually accurate.' The school district did not immediately return a voicemail from the Lantern. Meanwhile, the Dallas Township Police Department said the claims made that day at the rally are 'entirely false.' 'The widespread sharing of a fabricated tragedy is not only reckless, it is harmful,' the police department said in a news release. 'It fuels unnecessary fear, disrespects the experiences of real victims of school violence and misleads the public with a narrative that has no basis in truth.' This story may be updated.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gun safety group says UofL student lied about surviving high school shooting
Calvin Polachek, center, in jacket and tie, said he survived a mass shooting at his Pennsylvania high school during a gun safety rally in February at the Kentucky Capitol. The shooting never happened, according to organizers, the local school system and police. (Sarah Ladd/ Kentucky Lantern) Everytown for Gun Safety says a man who spoke at a February rally for gun safety it helped organize in Frankfort lied about his experience surviving a school shooting. The event, which the Lantern and other media outlets covered, happened Feb. 12 in the Kentucky State Capitol. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action hosted a variety of speakers who advocated against gun violence. One of the speakers, Calvin Polachek, said that when he was a high school student in Pennsylvania, he lost people in a school shooting, including claiming that he saw his best friend lying in a pool of blood. Polachek 'is not an active volunteer with Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action, and we are deeply disappointed that someone would exploit the tragic, lived experience of many to use our platform to share a story that was not true,' Sarah Boland Heine, the senior director of communications for Everytown, said in a Wednesday statement. The Lantern reached out to Moms Demand Action, which is part of the Everytown gun safety group network, after receiving numerous messages from people who said they were classmates or relatives of Polachek and that the shooting never happened 'Calvin reached out to our Kentucky chapter, shamefully lied to our volunteers and shared a tragic story that we later learned was not true,' Heine said. 'This is an affront to the countless survivors of gun violence who show extraordinary courage every day by reliving their darkest moments in service of the fight to end our country's gun violence crisis. We are revisiting our guidance to our grassroots networks in an effort to ensure this never happens again.' Polachek did not immediately respond to Facebook and LinkedIn messages from the Lantern. Polachek was identified as a University of Louisville student at the rally. A UofL spokesperson said Wednesday that he is currently a graduate student. The Dallas School District, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, said in a Wednesday statement that it 'is aware of a video clip and accompanying article that appears to depict a former Dallas student speaking about a school shooting at Dallas in 2017.' 'Thankfully, that never happened,' the school said. 'The discussion on the clip about Dallas and school violence is not factually accurate.' The school district did not immediately return a voicemail from the Lantern. Meanwhile, the Dallas Township Police Department said the claims made that day at the rally are 'entirely false.' 'The widespread sharing of a fabricated tragedy is not only reckless, it is harmful,' the police department said in a news release. 'It fuels unnecessary fear, disrespects the experiences of real victims of school violence and misleads the public with a narrative that has no basis in truth.' This story may be updated.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Gun safety group says UofL student lied about surviving high school shooting
Calvin Polachek, center, in jacket and tie, said he survived a mass shooting at his Pennsylvania high school during a gun safety rally in February at the Kentucky Capitol. The shooting never happened, according to organizers, the local school system and police. (Sarah Ladd/ Kentucky Lantern) Everytown for Gun Safety says a man who spoke at a February rally for gun safety it helped organize in Frankfort lied about his experience surviving a school shooting. The event, which the Lantern and other media outlets covered, happened Feb. 12 in the Kentucky State Capitol. Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action hosted a variety of speakers who advocated against gun violence. One of the speakers, Calvin Polachek, said that when he was a high school student in Pennsylvania, he lost people in a school shooting, including claiming that he saw his best friend lying in a pool of blood. Polachek 'is not an active volunteer with Moms Demand Action or Students Demand Action, and we are deeply disappointed that someone would exploit the tragic, lived experience of many to use our platform to share a story that was not true,' Sarah Boland Heine, the senior director of communications for Everytown, said in a Wednesday statement. The Lantern reached out to Moms Demand Action, which is part of the Everytown gun safety group network, after receiving numerous messages from people who said they were classmates or relatives of Polachek and that the shooting never happened 'Calvin reached out to our Kentucky chapter, shamefully lied to our volunteers and shared a tragic story that we later learned was not true,' Heine said. 'This is an affront to the countless survivors of gun violence who show extraordinary courage every day by reliving their darkest moments in service of the fight to end our country's gun violence crisis. We are revisiting our guidance to our grassroots networks in an effort to ensure this never happens again.' Polachek did not immediately respond to Facebook and LinkedIn messages from the Lantern. Polachek was identified as a University of Louisville student at the rally. A UofL spokesperson said Wednesday that he is currently a graduate student. The Dallas School District, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, said in a Wednesday statement that it 'is aware of a video clip and accompanying article that appears to depict a former Dallas student speaking about a school shooting at Dallas in 2017.' 'Thankfully, that never happened,' the school said. 'The discussion on the clip about Dallas and school violence is not factually accurate.' The school district did not immediately return a voicemail from the Lantern. Meanwhile, the Dallas Township Police Department said the claims made that day at the rally are 'entirely false.' 'The widespread sharing of a fabricated tragedy is not only reckless, it is harmful,' the police department said in a news release. 'It fuels unnecessary fear, disrespects the experiences of real victims of school violence and misleads the public with a narrative that has no basis in truth.' This story may be updated.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Secrecy sets the pace when it comes to this Beshear's Kentucky Derby guest list
Guests at Gov. Andy Beshear's Derby eve event mingle in the courtyard of the Old Governor's Mansion in Frankfort, May 2, 2025. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Tom Loftus) FRANKFORT, Ky. — Again this year, Gov. Andy Beshear has refused to identify friends and political supporters who buy prime tickets to the Kentucky Derby made available by Churchill Downs for the governor's entourage. The governor's office responded to an Open Records Act request from the Lantern with a letter saying it has no records of who got the tickets or who was invited to Beshear's black-tie Derby eve party at the Old Governor's Mansion in Frankfort. The office referred questions about the tickets and the party to a nonprofit corporation Beshear created at the outset of his administration to act as broker for his Derby tickets and manage the party. But the nonprofit, First Saturday in May Inc., is not covered by the Kentucky Open Records Act. And as it did last year, First Saturday refused the Lantern's request to review details of its income and spending. It ignored the Lantern's questions asking how many tickets it bought this year, the cost of the tickets and to whom the tickets were sold. First Saturday did, however, release a copy of its most recent (2023-24) tax return, which it is required by law to do. The tax return reveals only basic financial information — $990,000 in income that year and $965,000 in expenses. First Saturday reported in that tax return that it is a 501(c)(4) charitable organization whose mission is 'to organize and manage events for the promotion of economic development in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.' The nonprofit released a brief statement to the Lantern which noted its role in hosting the state's 'economic development and tourism guests at the Kentucky Derby.' But the statement also acknowledged, 'Additional tickets to the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby were privately purchased from Churchill Downs by the First Saturday in May at no expense to the Commonwealth.' This is the only hint from First Saturday of the substantial payments it has received in recent years from Democratic Party groups — particularly the Democratic Governors Association, or DGA. The 2025 Kentucky Derby was run as Beshear explores a campaign for president in 2028. Beshear's national profile was enhanced in December when his fellow Democratic governors elected him vice chair of the DGA and as chair-elect for 2026. The DGA used the events of Beshear's Derby weekend — including the private formal party on Derby Eve — as a fundraiser this year. And disclosures filed by the association with the Internal Revenue Service show that it has maintained a close relationship with First Saturday in May since Beshear first became governor. The IRS calls 501(c)(4) groups 'social welfare organizations' which are permitted to participate in some political activity as long as politics isn't their primary purpose. The Democratic Governors Association did not respond to numerous phone messages and emails from the Lantern. For its part, Churchill Downs refused to answer questions from the Lantern. Last year the Lantern reported that Beshear broke from the practice of his four immediate predecessors — including his father Steve Beshear, governor from 2007-15 — by refusing to release lists of those who bought Derby tickets from the allotment set aside by Churchill Downs for the governor. Several news reports dating back to 1999 published lists released by those governors of the people who bought their tickets from a large allotment set aside by Churchill Downs for purchase at face value by the governor's guests. The practice was to release lists of actual buyers of the tickets to reporters after the Derby, when the records were no longer considered preliminary. According to those news reports, each year a small portion of those tickets were bought by state government to host official guests — job creators and tourism promoters. Most tickets were bought by political donors, lobbyists, administration officials and friends. That is apparently the case this year. The 'spending search' function on state government's 'Transparency' website shows that the state has paid First Saturday $106,291 so far this year — apparently for the cost of tickets and related expenses for the official guests. But the number of such official guests — job creators and tourism promoters from out of state — is not large. The Beshear administration has said 40 such guests were entertained at the 2024 Derby. The past news articles reported that Churchill sold as many as 553 Derby tickets to the governor's group while Democrat Paul Patton was governor in 1999, and as few as 237 in 2016 under Republican Matt Bevin. Critics quoted in those articles questioned the propriety of Churchill — an entity closely regulated by the state and a massive political donor — making so many tickets available to the governor — far more tickets than needed for the official state guests. The ability to buy a prime Derby ticket at face value is a rare opportunity. Demand exceeds supply and many Derby fans must go online to the secondary market to buy tickets at high prices set by sellers. Norman Ornstein, an authority on ethics in government and emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, told the Lantern last year that he was not so bothered by this potential conflict of interest. 'My only question now would be: Why are you not letting us know what other governors have let us know?' Ornstein said. One conclusion that can be drawn from available public records about First Saturday in May is that from its creation it has had a close relationship with the Democratic Governors Association. The DGA and its affiliated nonprofit group are required to file finance reports with the Internal Revenue Service. Those reports show that since First Saturday in May was created in 2019 through the end of 2024 the DGA has paid it $491,000. (The specific payments were: $105,000 in January 2022; $172,200 in February 2023; $37,300 in April 2023; $26,500 in March 2024. Also, a DGA affiliated non-profit named America Works USA reported that it made a $150,000 grant to First Saturday in early 2020.) The DGA is not required to disclose its receipts and spending for the first half of 2025 until July. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported in April that the DGA used Derby weekend as a fundraising opportunity. An invitation obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader said that for a $15,000 donation ($25,000 for two people) a guest would get a ticket to the Oaks, the Derby and the Beshears' gala at the Old Governor's Mansion. The gala was not exclusively for the DGA donors and the state's economic development guests. Beshear Communications Director Crystal Staley said, 'Many different people from a variety of groups attend the gala.' The DGA's fundraiser invitation offered the opportunity for donors to not only party with Beshear, but also three other Democratic governors: The 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president Tim Walz of Minnesota, Maura Healey of Massachusetts and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico. Last year a DGA spokesperson told the Lantern that the DGA has hosted events in Kentucky on Derby weekend for many years. Besides the DGA, other political groups have made payments to First Saturday. The Kentucky Democratic Party has reported to the FEC that it has paid a total of $99,370 since May of 2022 to First Saturday. And the Democratic Attorneys General Association has disclosed to the IRS that it has paid First Saturday $24,400. First Saturday in May Inc. was formed by Beshear soon after his first inauguration in December 2019. It was not a unique idea; governors going back to Paul Patton had created similar nonprofits to handle expenses of their Derby activities. Records of Kentucky's secretary of state show that in mid-February this year, the leadership of the nonprofit changed. Lindy Karns, Beshear's CPA who also has served as treasurer of his campaign committees, is no longer treasurer and contact person for First Saturday. Jack Dulworth, a Louisville businessman and longtime Beshear supporter, moved from the president's job to vice president. The new president is Jonathan Smith, who has worked closely with Beshear since Beshear's 2015 campaign for attorney general. (Officers of First Saturday receive no salaries, according to the organization's tax returns.) Smith resigned last year as deputy chief of staff in the governor's office. At the time of his resignation, the Herald-Leader reported that Smith 'is seen by many political insiders as a liaison between Beshear and others in the political world.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
