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Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis raised $34 million for Ukraine. Nearly 1/3 of US workers earn less than $15 hourly, Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe expected to sell for $200 million, Disney employees walk out, and more.
Married couple and actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have raised over $34 million for humanitarian aid to Ukraine and temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees, according to the GoFundMe page, CNBC reported. Well over 65,000 donors contributed, including several Silicon Valley billionaires. Kunis was born in Ukraine in 1983 and migrated to the United States as a child.
“They have already raised $35 million & are sending it to @flexport & @Airbnb to help refugees,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted. “Grateful for their support. Impressed by their determination. They inspire the world. #StandWithUkraine.”
According to a study released by Oxfam America, an anti-poverty advocacy group, CNN reported, almost one-third of the American workforce – nearly 52 million workers – earn less than $15 per hour. The annual income of this group of workers is less than $31,200. The study found 40% of women earn less than $15 per hour compared to 25% of men. 47% of black workers and 46% of Hispanic workers earn less than $15 per hour among race demographics. According to the study, nearly 58% of single parents make less than $15 per hour. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, an amount set in 2009.
One of the most famous images of Marilyn Monroe is a painting by artist Andy Warhol. It is going up for auction at Christie’s in London, where it is anticipated to sell for 9-figures and expected $200 million, making it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art ever sold, TMZ reported. The current record for the most expensive 20th-century artwork was Pablo Picasso’s “Women of Algiers,” which sold for $179.4 million about seven years ago.
Walt Disney Co. employees at corporate locations across the United States will stage a walkout on Tuesday in protest of Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s response to Florida legislation that LGBTQ advocates have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. HB 1557 prohibits instruction about “sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through the third grade in Florida. LGBTQ workers and allies say Chapek has not taken a forceful enough stand against the Florida legislation, NBC reported.
“It is clear that this is not just an issue about a bill in Florida, but instead yet another challenge to basic human rights,” Chapek said in a letter to employees on March 11. “You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights, and I let you down.”
Currently, on a routine basis, law enforcement agencies issue subpoenas and other legal maneuvers to obtain personal data, such as emails, texts, phone taps, bank information, and more from consumers. However, targeted people are not notified that their private information may have been surveilled for years and are often never aware of it. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is introducing legislation to require authorities to eventually notify users that their data has been seized. The Government Surveillance Transparency Act would require that the court-ordered data surveillance be made public after investigations conclude unless the government can convince a court the information should be temporarily sealed, the Washington Post reported.
