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Kiran Ahuja, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Personnel Management, has said her goal is to free "black queer and trans people" from the "daily trials of white supremacy." If confirmed, Ahuja would help set hiring standards and coordinate diversity training across the entire federal government. Until her February nomination, Ahuja was the CEO of Philanthropy Northwest, a nonprofit that offers "diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused programs" to philanthropic foundations. In a blog post written last year on Philanthropy Northwest's website, Ahuja pledged to play a "vocal role in our country’s eternal battle for racial equality." The post...

Madonna is mourning the loss of her younger brother, Christopher Ciccone. Ciccone, an artist and interior designer, passed away "peacefully" on Friday, Oct. 4, with his husband, Ray Thacker, "faithfully by his side" following a battle with cancer, a representative confirmed to USA TODAY. He was 63 Paying tribute to her late brother in an emotional Instagram post onSunday, Madonna called Ciccone "the closest human to me for so long." Reflecting on their close bond, the superstar said "it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not...

Sooo…this is messed up. The New York Times recently published a piece called “Madonna at Sixty,” written by Vanessa Grigoriadis. It explores her ever-changing public persona and such. It’s kind of the typical fluff piece you’d imagine the New York Times would put out about a celebrity: The night before the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas in May, Madonna was sitting in the arena attached to the MGM Grand hotel, staring at a double of herself. The double, who was standing on the stage many yards away, was younger and looked Asian but wore a similar lace minidress and...

Kim Davis is getting a lot of support from conservative Christians, but Madonna‘s openly gay brother has come out defending her.Christopher Ciccone posted about Davis on Facebook this weekend, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, said she deserves as much support as a Muslim woman “who insisted on covering her face and refused not only gay marriages licenses, but divorce, accusations of rape and driving a car without your man’s approval.”He said that the feds pick and choose which laws to follow, citing marijuana in two states and “the abstract notion of sanctuary cities” before making this point: Once again,...

Madonna's brother Anthony Ciccone stoked a family feud, saying that his famous sister didn't care 'if I'm dead or alive.' Pop queen Madonna has legions of fans. But her estranged brother, Anthony Ciccone, isn't one of them. Ciccone, 56, is a homeless alcoholic who has lived on the freezing streets of Traverse City, Mich. For almost three years. And he's stoking the family feud between him and his famous sister.

Madonna's older brother is homeless, living under a bridge in remote northern Michigan. Anthony Ciccone, 55, told the Michigan Messenger newspaper that he lost his job more than a year ago at his father Silvio's winery near Traverse City, a resort community of 14,000 on upper Lake Michigan, about 215 kilometers south of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Ciccone says he has been living on the street ever since. "My family turned their back on me, basically, when I was having a hard time," Ciccone told the Messenger. "You think I haven't answered this kind of question a bazillion times —...

Photo : AFP LONDON (AFP) - US pop star Madonna made a rare foray into politics, calling for her home country to withdraw its troops from Iraq during an interview with British radio."I just don't want American troops to be in Iraq, period," she said on BBC Radio."My feelings are 'can we just all get out?'," said the 46-year-old star, who lives mainly in London with British film director husband Guy Ritchie, who said she believes the US-led war will not help in the fight against terrorism.