Latest news with #UniversityofSouthernMaine
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Maine's Ms. Rachel speaks out for Gaza's children
Jun. 3—Rachel Griffin Accurso's popular "Ms. Rachel" YouTube series is all about entertaining and educating tiny children. So it's no surprise Accurso, who grew up in Springvale and started her singing career around Portland, would want to protect children, too. Her show has 15 million subscribers and some episodes stream on Netflix. For months Accurso has been using her platform to speak out forcefully about the horrors of war visited upon Palestinian children in Gaza. Her videos and social media posts have garnered international media attention and prompted the group StopAntisemitism to ask the Department of Justice to investigate whether she's being paid to promote pro-Hamas propaganda, several news outlets have reported. She's also gotten considerable criticism on social media, along with many posts supportive of what she's doing. @msrachelforlittles Dear Leaders — be so ashamed #gaza ♬ original sound — Ms Rachel The attention and attacks have not stopped or slowed Accurso, who announced the birth of her second child in April, via a surrogate. Just a few days ago she posted a tearful message on Tik Tok, telling political leaders to "be ashamed" for not doing enough to stop the killing and maiming of children, a result of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. "Be so ashamed that you don't see Palestinian people or their children as the same as us, and our children. You think their babies don't like peekaboo and don't smile when they see someone they love and don't cry the same?" Accurso says in the post. Mainers who knew Accurso or performed with her say her talent, drive and courage were apparent when she was playing places like One Longfellow Square and Blue in Portland 20 years ago. Singer songwriter Anni Clark says she was surprised to see Accurso's transition to music for infants and toddlers, since her repertoire in Portland included piano-based songs influenced by R&B and jazz. But even then Clark said people could see that Accurso, who studied music at the University of Southern Maine before moving to New York, was likely capable of big things. "The talent and the energy was always apparent. She was fearless, in going out and getting what she wanted. She was relentless in her work," said Clark, who lives in Old Orchard Beach. "She had the drive to be in front of people and express herself. Those of us who perform have that, but her light shone even brighter." Accurso, 42, grew up in the Springvale section of Sanford and graduated from Sanford High School. She studied music at the University of Southern Maine in the early 2000s, and recorded and performed around the area. In an interview at that time with the USM newspaper, the Free Press, she cited Norah Jones and Ben Folds among her influences. She told the Biddeford Journal Tribune, during an interview about her pre-Ms. Rachel music career in 2015, that she had been writing music in her head since she was 5 years old and "thought everybody did." Around the release of her album, Accurso opened for Clark at one of her shows, and Clark remembers Accurso's songs and piano playing as upbeat and high-energy. She also remembers that Accurso was developing a following around Portland. It was a very different following than she has now. "She wrote some provocative, sensual lyrics back then, and I do know she had a huge male fan base," said Clark. Accurso moved to New York to study music at New York University. It was while in New York that she met her husband, Aron Accurso, a musician who was working on Broadway. According to the New York Times they met at a Unitarian Church on the Upper East Side, sometime around 2010. She later spent nine months as a Dramatists Guild Fellow, being mentored by Broadway professionals. In 2016, she emailed the Press Herald — for a story on Maine musicians living in New York City — to say she was living in Manhattan and working on a musical called "We Have Apples," which highlighted the stigma of mental health conditions, and the lack of accessible care. The musical got national attention, including stories in the Washington Post and on CBS News. Accurso, who has masters degrees in early childhood development and music education, began putting her "Songs for Littles" videos online in 2019 with her husband. They created their YouTube series after having a hard time finding online speech development resources for their infant son, who didn't speak until he was two. With bright-colored sets and puppets surrounding her, Accurso dresses in overalls and talks sweetly and enthusiastically to her audience between songs. @msrachelforlittlesMeeting Rahaf from Gaza ?♬ original sound — Ms Rachel Today the YouTube channel has more than 15 million subscribers. Accurso also has more than 3 million followers on Instagram and 6.5 million on Tik Tok. In January, Netflix announced it would begin streaming some of her YouTube episodes. Accurso and her show have been talked about on NBC's "Today," National Public Radio and ABC's "Good Morning America," and she's been written about in the New York Times and Parents magazine, among others. Newspapers and news outlets like NPR, The Guardian and others have written about her lately because of her Gaza videos and statements, and the criticism she's garnered for it. In March, Accurso posted a video of two children watching a "Ms. Rachel" video surrounded by debris. The caption read: "My friends Celine and Silia in what used to be their home in Gaza. They deserve to live in a warm, safe home again." In May, Accurso posted on Instagram about meeting with a 3-year-old girl from Gaza who lost her legs in an airstrike. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ms Rachel (@msrachelforlittles) A representative for Accurso said she was not available for a phone interview, and she did not respond to emailed questions. In a New York Times story in mid-May on her statements about Gaza, Accurso was quoted as denying that she had received any money from Hamas, calling the accusation "absurd." She also explained, in an emailed response, her reasons for continuing to call attention to the children of war-torn Gaza. "I've spent my life committed to the learning and well-being of children," Accurso said. "I have always believed that safety and security are a basic human right for every child — so you see, caring about children in Gaza is a direct continuation of the work I've been doing most of my life. We don't care about only some of our students because of where those students were born, we care about every one of them." Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
New York Post
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Belichick squeeze Jordon Hudson not winning over Miss Maine voters
She's no Miss Congeniality. Bill Belichick's 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson is the most famous of 17 contestants strutting their stuff in the Miss Maine USA pageant starting tonight — but in the online vote leading up to the contest she had a mere 146 votes, good for only seventh place. The public is able to vote for their favorite competitor for just $1 and the winner of the online competition gets the 'People's Choice Award,' and an automatic entry into its semifinals. Advertisement Lexi Bjork, a student at the University of Southern Maine, leads with 1,381 votes. She has stiff competition from Isabelle St. Cyr, the first transgender woman to compete for the Miss Maine crown, who has 447 votes. Hudson, the 'daughter of Maine fishermen,' as she highlights in her Instagram bio, was the runner-up in last year's Miss Maine pageant. Jordon Hudson is repping her native town of Hancock in the Miss Maine pageant. @jordon/Instagram Advertisement The newly-minted real estate mogul — Hudson now has a portfolio reportedly worth about $8 million — is a pageant veteran. She was third runner-up at the Miss Massachusetts Teen USA competition in 2020. She was supposed to compete in two pageants last year, but bailed on the second. 'The rule for Miss USA is you can compete in two states per year,' a competitor said. 'She competed for Maine and she was slated to compete for Alaska [but] she dropped out.' Hudson recently made headlines for hijacking Belichick's interview with 'CBS Sunday Morning,' and reportedly getting banned from the football facility at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where her 73-year-old beau is the head football coach. Advertisement Hudson will participate in the contest's three categories — interview, swimsuit and evening gown — beginning Saturday night. The winner will be crowned Sunday. She announced her participation last month in an Instagram post. 'Happy International Pageant Day. I couldn't think of a better day to share with the world that I will be competing for Miss Maine USA 2025; representing my hometown, Hancock,' she wrote. Advertisement The 24-year-old is dating 73-year-old Bill Belichick, coach of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Getty Images Haters pounced. 'Did you win the gold digging crown?' one queried.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
May Day rallies across Maine celebrate labor rights amid federal backlash
Nate Bantan plays euphonium with the Ideal Maine Band during a May Day march in Portland, Maine on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) Labor unions' annual May Day celebrations took on new urgency this year as workers rallied across Maine on Thursday to mark International Worker's Day and protest the anti-labor actions of the Trump administration. In Portland, a march organized by a coalition of unions, community and leftist political groups briefly stopped traffic on Forest Ave. as the crowd progressed from the University of Southern Maine through the city, culminating with a crowd of roughly 1,000 in Congress Square. Scott Adams, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 458, addressed those gathered outside the post office. He said that President Donald Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk want to privatize the U.S. Postal Service. 'We will lose everything we won in the past if we don't fight in the present,' he said. Other speakers highlighted local labor fights. Stephen Bennett of the University of Maine Graduate Workers Union pointed out that they'd been negotiating their first contracts for more than 500 days. 'Why does the University of Maine System refuse to acknowledge that our work is valuable?' Bennett asked. Demonstrators make their way up Forest Avenue during a May Day march in Portland, Maine on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Starting at the University of Southern Maine campus, the pro-union, pro-Palestinian and anti-Trump protestors made stops at the city's main post office and Portland High School before rallying in Congress Square. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. A coalition of left wing organizations came together for the 1,000-person strong demonstration. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) A woman waves a sign during a May Day march in Portland, Maine on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Starting at the University of Southern Maine campus, the pro-union, pro-Palestinian and anti-Trump protestors made stops at the city's main post office and Portland High School before rallying in Congress Square. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) May Day protestors gather in Portland, Maine's Congress Square on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Photo by Troy R. Bennett/ Maine Morning Star) The graduate workers and their supporters, including the Maine Education Association and Eastern Maine Labor Council, also held a march and rally in Orono. Other events were organized in Bridgeton, Bath, Augusta, Waterville, Auburn and York. On Wednesday, national AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler participated in a listening session with Maine workers that have been impacted by the actions of the Trump administration, including a recent executive order that ended collective bargaining rights for federal unions. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Mainers mark 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride
Apr. 18—With a strong, clear voice, Libby Bischof read the opening lines of the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that solidified Paul Revere's place in U.S. history. "Listen, my children, and you shall hear, Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere ..." A history professor at the University of Southern Maine, Bischof kicked off a public reading of "Paul Revere's Ride" on Friday evening in Portland's historic Eastern Cemetery on Munjoy Hill. Bischof was one of 10 readers who took turns reciting the epic poem, stanza by stanza, as the sunlight faded on the 250th anniversary of patriot's famous ride. About 50 history buffs and curious passersby gathered for the event organized by Spirits Alive and the Maine Historical Society. "If you, like me, had to memorize this as a child, you're welcome to say it along with me," Bischof announced before the recitation got underway. The reading was one of many events held nationwide to mark the start of a yearlong celebration, including a reading of the poem Friday morning in the Hall of Flags at the State House in Augusta by Portland Youth Poet Laureate Yashaswini Derisala. Lanterns were lit across Maine, including in the Portland Observatory, and bells were rung in South Portland, Gorham and beyond as part of the Let Freedom Ring national celebration of the American Revolution "against tyranny and for liberty and justice for all." James Barter, a retired longshoreman and school custodian, attended the Portland reading. He grew up on Munjoy Hill and lives in Falmouth. "I wanted to hear the poem," said Barter, 73. "It sounded like a good social gathering and I'm feeling patriotic, I guess. It's a poem, but it really did happen." In South Portland, about 20 people ventured out on the granite breakwater to Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse to ring the bell at the top of the tower at 6 p.m. Friday. Part of the Let Freedom Ring event, it was organized locally by the Friends of Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, the Portland Friends Meeting of Quakers and the Maine Council of Churches. "Maine has this cool connection because Longfellow was from Maine," said Rev. Jane Field, the council's executive director. And several Maine churches have bells that were made by Revere's foundry, she said. The celebration of Revere's ride also comes at an opportune time, Field said, when the public needs to be reminded of the sacrifice and drive that it took for American patriots to win independence. "Paul Revere was a powerful, independent person who took a big risk to stand up against tyranny and for liberty and justice," Field said. "We need that now more than ever. We're in a battle for the soul of our democracy. "But he wasn't just a lone rider," she continued. "He was part of an organized group. It's important to remember that we need to coordinate and collaborate to get things done." Amanda Brooks, 30, of Brownwood, Texas, was at the lighthouse with two sisters, one of whom came to Maine for a work conference. The chiming was a peaceful reminder of the progress the United States has made in the last 250 years, she said. "It was really beautiful," Brooks said. One Maine church that has a Revere bell is First Parish Congregational Church in Gorham. Founded in 1750, the church was built in 1798 and the bell was installed in 1822. Senior Pastor Christine Dyke organized a bell ringing at 6 p.m. that was attended by about 40 community members of all ages. "We had a party," Dyke said afterward. "A bunch of us went up in the steeple. The rope hangs all the way down to the vestibule, so people young and old were taking turns ringing the bell. It was a lot of fun." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Romantic Notes Discovered at University of Southern Maine Date Back to the 1800s
A romantic mystery has been solved. In December 2024, a series of personal love letters were discovered stashed between walls and floorboards at the University of Southern Maine's Gorham campus. The notes were found in the Academy Building, which was under renovation at the time. Local historians determined that they are likely from the 19th century. The building was constructed in 1806, and once served as a college preparatory high school for upper-class students. Stephen Longfellow, the father of acclaimed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, initially secured the land grant to build the school, Bangor Daily News reports. Related: Engineers Find 132-Year-Old Message in a Bottle Hidden Inside Lighthouse Wall: 'We Were Shaking' The notes contained secretive scribbles sent between teenage school crushes, littered with phrases like "my darling." The letters also carried worries about unrequited affections and the teacher's comments. The notes are believed to be from the building's time as a high school, before it was sold to the state of Maine and acquired as university property in 1878, Bangor Daily News reported in 2024. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Now, the university is working to preserve the shocking discovery for locals and students alike to observe. Dr. Libby Bischof, a historian at the university, told ABC 8 WMTW, "Teaching history here, as a Maine historian, it's incredible to have these buildings because they become our classrooms, the landscape becomes our classroom. And you don't have to imagine what the past look like." Related: Thrift Store in Missouri Wants to Solve Mystery of WWII Love Letters: 'Amazing Find' Susie Bock, a coordinator of the university's special collections department, is currently working to preserve the notes and potentially digitize them for widespread access, per the news station. "People's knowledge and interest changes, interpretation of the primary resources is going to change, but that's why it's important to keep the primary resources so that we can do those interpretations," said Bock. "It's an important part of keeping history from being erased." Read the original article on People
