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In 2016, NPR talked to 2 young Hillary fans. How do they feel after this election?

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In 2016, NPR talked to 2 young Hillary fans. How do they feel after this election?

Jules Randell, 15, and little sister Bee, 12, talk with NPR correspondent Tovia Smith at their home in a Boston suburb days after Vice President Harris lost her bid to become the first female U.S. president.

Image by/Sarah Wall-Randell


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They showed up primed for victory, and dressed to party.

Jules Randell was 7 years old when Wellesley College grads, including Jules’ mom, gathered for what they believed would be a celebration of fellow alumna Hillary Clinton becoming the first female U.S. president on Election Night in 2016.

Jules picked out a flowy blue skirt, after learning that was the Democratic Party’s color, and topped it with a tiny T-shirt stamped with a big statement:

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“Future president,” it read.

But that was the long game. Jules was definitely not aspiring to be the first to shatter that ultimate glass ceiling — that person “of course” was going to be Clinton, in just a matter of hours.

“I want to be the second,” Jules explained excitedly when questioned by this NPR reporter who was covering the event that night.

Smith first interviewed Jules and Bee, then 7 and 4, at a Wellesley College watch party for almuna Hillary Clinton on Election Night 2016.

Smith first interviewed Jules and Bee, then 7 and 4, at a Wellesley College watch party for almuna Hillary Clinton on Election Night 2016.

Image by/Sarah Wall-Randell


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That election obviously didn’t go as Jules expected. And after former President Donald Trump again defeated a female Democratic nominee for president last week, we wondered about those youngest fans of Clinton and Vice President Harris and how they, in particular, were processing it all.

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Both Jules and little sister Bee, who was 4 at the time, still have vivid memories of the hyped-up vibe at the Wellesley party, including cupcakes topped with sugar-based “shards of glass” and toy wooden hammers to mark the expected shattering of the nation’s highest glass ceiling.

“I remember the banners and the balloons and everything,” Bee says. They both only saw the festivities; their bedtime rolled around and they went home long before all the excitement and cheers devolved into despair and tears.

But both also remember the morning after when their mom broke the news to them. “It was definitely a disappointment,” says Jules, who’s now 15. Bee, now 12, says she remembers continuing to think about it — especially every time she sat down to eat on that laminated placemat her mom always used to put on the table, with little portraits of all the former presidents.

It was past Jules' and Bee's bedtime when news of Clinton's loss broke, so they learned about it from their mom the next day.

It was past Jules’ and Bee’s bedtime when news of Clinton’s loss broke, so they learned about it from their mom the next day.

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“I just thought it was crazy that, like, all of these years, there’s never been a woman president,” she says.

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It brought them some solace in 2020 to see Harris elected the first female U.S. vice president.

“Yeah, I remember thinking ‘Oh wow, this is so epic,’ ” says Jules.

But this year, Harris’ loss to Trump hit hard. It felt personal and more high-stakes.

Jules now identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. When Trump talks about Americans being better off under a Trump administration, Jules doesn’t believe that applies to everyone.

“It’s a matter of safety for millions of people — immigrants and people of color and LGBTQ people and women,” says Jules. “They are all people genuinely in danger if they live in a state where they are not protected by the state, and that’s scary.”

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At the same time, Jules takes a more sanguine view of the long-term.

Bee, pictured when she was younger, wears a T-shirt covered in cartoon female heroes like Wonder Woman that she says now feels outdated. “I don’t think it has to be just brave women who are actively doing something for the country,” she says. “It can be anyone.”

Bee, pictured when she was younger, wears a T-shirt covered in cartoon female heroes like Wonder Woman that she says now feels outdated. “I don’t think it has to be just brave women who are actively doing something for the country,” she says. “It can be anyone.”

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That’s partly because Trump can serve only for four years, Jules says, and also because their generation will be old enough to vote by the next election — and they’re definitely paying attention.

“I thought it was really cool when I went to school and literally in all my classes people were discussing the election. Kids really care, and that gives me hope.”

Jules also sees it as a sign of progress that their generation seems somewhat less hung up on seeing a woman in the oval office than their moms were.

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It actually made Jules and Bee giggle to think back to another old T-shirt of theirs that their mom once considered so progressive and feminist.

The shirt read “The patriarchy isn’t going to smash itself” and pictured a cartoon lineup of exclusively female heroes, including fictional ones like Wonder Woman and Hermione Granger, from the Harry Potter series.

That, to Jules and Bee, feels like a fusty old form of feminism compared with the kind of gender equity that their generation is fighting for, one they say advocates for a broader and more inclusive definition of feminism along with an emphasis on intersectionality.

“I don’t think it has to be just brave women who are actively doing something for the country. It can be anyone,” says Bee.

“Right, absolutely,” Jules nods. “Men can be feminists. They just have to believe that women have a choice to be who they want to be.”

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Electing a female president would be a big symbolic victory, they say. But what matters most is policy change — and whether whoever is in the Oval Office is with them on their issues.

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Read the Verdict in the Civil Case Against Amber Guyger

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Read the Verdict in the Civil Case Against Amber Guyger

Case 3:18-cv-02862-M Document 256 Filed 11/20/24
Page 3 of 7 PageID 7099
3. Question 3: Compensatory Damages
What sum of money, if any, would compensate Plaintiffs for injuries they suffered as a result of
Defendant’s conduct?
Claims of Estate of Botham Jean
(a) Mental anguish experienced by Botham Jean
between the time he was shot and his death:
$
2,000,000
(b) Loss of net future earnings by Botham Jean:
$
5,500,000
(c) Loss of Botham Jean’s capacity to enjoy life:
2,750,000
Claims of Allison and Bertrum Jean
(a) The value of the loss of companionship and society
sustained from September 6, 2018, to today
to Allison Jean:
(b) The value of the loss of companionship and society
that, in reasonable probability, will be sustained from
today forward
to Allison Jean:
(c) The value of the mental anguish sustained from
September 6, 2018, to today
500,000
2,000,000
to Allison Jean:
(d) The value of the mental anguish that, in reasonable
probability, will be sustained from today forward
to Allison Jean:
3
$
6,000,000
5,700,000

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Russia fires intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for first time

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Russia fires intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for first time

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Russia has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, following days of escalation in the conflict.

Ukrainian air defence forces said the missile, which did not carry a nuclear warhead, was fired alongside seven Kh-101 cruise missiles at the southern city of Dnipro.

The use of the ICBM comes after Ukraine launched US-made long-range Atacms missiles and British Storm Shadows at Russian territory in recent days.

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Responding to the Atacms strikes, Russia altered its nuclear doctrine to lower its threshold for first use. ICBMs are designed to carry nuclear warheads across continents, by contrast with so-called short- and medium-range missiles.

Their range of thousands of miles is far greater than that of missiles such as Atacms and Storm Shadows, which can travel 250km to 300km.

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Russia has previously used nuclear-capable missiles to hit Ukraine, albeit with shorter ranges. Russian forces have repeatedly fired ground-launched Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and the air-launched hypersonic Kinzhal missile, both of which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Ukraine said it had intercepted six of the Russian missiles. It added that the ICBM had been launched from Russia’s southern Astrakhan region. It did not specify what kind of ICBM had been used.

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Two people were injured in the attack, according to local authorities.

This is a developing story

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Sarah McBride: Republican speaker backs proposal to ban transgender women from women's restrooms in US Congress, Sarah McBride responds | World News – Times of India

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Sarah McBride: Republican speaker backs proposal to ban transgender women from women's restrooms in US Congress, Sarah McBride responds | World News – Times of India

After House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated support for Republic proposal preventing Trans Congresswoman elected from Delaware Sarah McBride from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol , McBride said that she will use the men’s restroom on Capitol Hill. In her statement, she said that she is not here to fight about bathrooms but to fight for Delawareans.
She added, “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.”

She further said, “This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January.”
She stated, “Serving in the 119th Congress will be the honor of a lifetime and I continue to look forward to getting to know my future colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Each of us were sent here because voters saw something in us that they value. I have loved getting to see those qualities in the future colleagues that I’ve met and I look forward to seeing those qualities in every member come January. I hope all of my colleagues will seek to do the same with me.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated support on Tuesday for a Republican proposal to prevent Representative-elect Sarah McBride, the first transgender woman elected to Congress, from using women’s restrooms in the Capitol. This restriction would take effect when McBride assumes office next year.
“We’re not going to have men in women’s bathrooms,” Johnson told The Associated Press. “I’ve been consistent about that with anyone I’ve talked to about this.”
The proposal, introduced by Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina, aims to prohibit lawmakers and House employees from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” Mace confirmed that the bill specifically targets McBride, who recently won the election in Delaware.
Democrats, including McBride, criticized the Republican initiative, labeling it as “bullying” and a “distraction.”
“This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing,” McBride said. “We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”
The debate surrounding bathroom access for transgender individuals has gained significant traction nationwide and was a key point in President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign. Currently, at least 11 states have enacted legislation barring transgender girls and women from using female restrooms in public schools and, in certain instances, other government facilities.
Despite potential challenges, Mace expressed her determination to proceed. “If it’s not,” she said. “I’ll be ready to pick up the mantle.”

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