US Women’s Soccer Team Wins The World Cup, Continues Fight For Equal Pay

The US women’s soccer team has been criticized for everything from scoring goals to celebrating them, but their performance this Sunday proves they can talk the talk and walk the walk. The team earned their fourth World Cup title in a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands. Fans at the game chanted, “Equal pay!”, and folks online echoed their sentiment. Nike even dropped an ad highlighting the pay gap between male and female players.

The team has already sued the US Soccer Federation for gender discrimination, and mediation is expected to come soon. Something to consider: women’s soccer games in the past few years have generated more revenue and higher viewership than the men’s games (and the women’s team also has the highest selling soccer jersey, but who’s counting?).

Take Action: Show your support for this record-breaking team by demanding equal pay for athletes of all genders.

Halle Bailey Cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid

Expect to see Halle Bailey of Grown-ish and Chloe x Halle singing under the sea in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. The 19-year-old was offered the role of Ariel last week, with director Rob Marshall praising her spirit, heart, and “glorious singing voice.” Tons of fans have posted in support of the decision (including all of this mermaid fanart). Others weren’t as happy, launching the hashtag #NotMyAriel to show their disappointment that a white actor wasn’t cast.

Unlike characters like Mulan or Pocahontas, Ariel’s story isn’t connected to her culture (or her whiteness), so changing her race in the remake isn’t detrimental to her narrative. And if you’ve been hearing uproar about TLM being a Danish story, check out Disney Freeform’s response.

Take Action: Promote unique female characters by creating your own new, empowered princess.

Netflix Pledges to Cut Back on Tobacco Use in Future Projects

You may have just finished binging Season 3 of Stranger Things, but here’s one spoiler we can give you for Season 4: there will be a lot less smoking. That’s according to Netflix, who pledged to cut back on depictions of tobacco use within their content, especially shows aimed at younger audiences. This was in response to the Truth Initiative’s findings that Netflix programs showed more smoking imagery than its broadcast counterparts. This matters because studies have shown that increased exposure to smoking in media make young people more likely to start themselves. By cutting back on the on-screen cigarettes, Netflix is helping make tobacco (and its harmful health effects) a thing of the past.

Why aren’t more people talking about… how President Trump is determined to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census, even after the Supreme Court ruled against it?

Meanwhile, in Pakistan… more than 1,000 courts will be set up to tackle violence against women.

My hero today is… “Little Miss Flint” Mari Copeny, 12, whose letter to former President Obama brought national attention.

Today in viral cuteness… Vinny, the seagull covered in curry who vets mistook for an exotic bird.

I’m obsessed with… making fun collages of my coworkers -- specifically this one I made last week of the goofs behind your favorite email newsletter, The Breakdown.

Last week we invited Breakdown readers to ask us anything. You asked, we answered!

What are the chances you will answer this question?

Jackie: Pretty high, I think.

Anthony: This is the perfect Q&A warm-up question. We're nailing this so far.

Favorite thing to do on the weekends?

Jackie: I’m honestly such a homebody, but if I’m going somewhere, it’s usually the rock climbing gym or a Target.

Anthony: If I’m not reading or going to the movies, I love forcing my friends to go on adventures with me! Which admittedly sometimes just means going on a joyride and “singing” along to the radio.

What is the most craziest thing that happened in the office?

Jackie: I’ve only been here for about a month, but I think the Pride party we had was pretty crazy (complete with dancing and a disco ball).

Anthony: One time we had an open mic in the office and I ate my very first peach while everyone on staff cheered and applauded. Then we all learned a line dance to celebrate the occasion. (Naturally, the song was “Peaches” by The Presidents of the United States of America.)

Hello! I have a question about the Hong Kong protests. I understand their resistance against China, and I support that. I just wanted clarification on whether they were opposing an extradition agreement with Taiwan as well? Because something does need to be done about the fact that a murder occurred and the attacker can get away with it (I'm sure that there are more cases like this as well). Also, does there seem to be a tactic that is being used to try and prevent the dissolution of their agreement with China in 2047? That's closer than it may seem and Hong Kong would be under the control of an authoritarian government. Is there any way that they can fight against a legal agreement? - Massa, 17, New Jersey

Jackie: A quick disclaimer. I’m by no means an expert in Hong Kong’s foreign policy, but I’ll do my best! The short answer is that it’s complicated.

Hong Kong currently has bilateral extradition treaties with 20 countries, including the US and the UK. The proposed extradition bill would essentially let them transfer fugitives to countries that they don’t have one of these formal agreements with yet on a case-by-case basis, and this would include Taiwan. But the openness of the law would also allow for extraditions to mainland China, and that’s what the protestors are worried about.

The “One Country, Two Systems” guarantee between Hong Kong and China expires in 2047, and while there have been debates about when to start talks on Hong Kong’s status after that, it’s never been publicly stated what exactly will happen. I really don’t know what can be done, and a lot of Hongkongers protesting don’t either, but what some do know is that they’re committed to fighting the “long-term battle.”

Anthony: What Jackie said :)