(Warning: This post contains spoilers from Stranger Things Episode 8.) The relationship between Nancy Byers and Steve Harrington on Stranger Things is a curious one. Steve"s character isn"t necessarily bad, but because he"s the cliche popular guy in school with not-s0-kind friends, you"re instinctually ready to dislike him. But his character itself isn"t terrible. He goes through ups and downs on the show, eventually leading to a moment in the finale that might have you wondering if Steve and Nancy end up together on Stranger Things. Well, I wouldn"t put an official label on anything just yet.
Throughout the series, I was torn on Steve Harrington. He never pushed himself on Nancy, which was refreshing given the landscape of other films and shows set in the same time period, but he also wasn"t perfect. Like, you wanted to like Steve, but something was holding you back. Ultimately, though, he seems to have come out the good guy as with Jonathon albeit the good guy in a love triangle of all good people. So what does that mean for Steve and Nancy, and where does Jonathon fit into that?
Judging by the last scene for Nancy and Steve in Episode 8 of Stranger Things, it appears that these two do in fact end up together. It"s the holiday season, and the pick-up one month after the final battle and Will"s return shows Nancy giving Jonathon a Christmas gift. It almost seems that these two are a thing, and Steve is a thing of the past. But wait, what"s that? Oh, Nancy returns back to the couch and cuddles up to Steve, while Jonathon returns to his car, gift in hand.
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So, what does this mean? Well, it seems pretty obvious that Steve and Nancy are together and, possibly, these three are actually friends? Is that maybe too much of a stretch? Steve knows that Nancy gave Jonathon that gift, so it"s not like their relationship is a secret. Also, these three teenagers just went through something that no one else will probably ever experience. That"s got to bring some people together, right?
While I can"t say things look good for Jonathon and Nancy, they do seem to be friends, which is as much as we can ask for. The two definitely had a connection during the season, but it"s just a matter of how strong that connection was on a romantic scale. For now, it seems that her connection with Steve is stronger.
Donald Trump has repeatedly made opponents of abortion uneasy, both with his pro-choice past and his more recent, off-message comments to MSNBC"s Chris Matthews, subsequently walked back, that women who have abortions should face "punishment."
But Trump"s choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence to join his ticket could be a way to quell those social conservative worries at least on abortion.
"If he does select Pence, I probably will vote for him," Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, said before the pick was officially announced. Hawkins stressed she was speaking in her personal capacity her group has been critical of Trump on abortion in the past. "This gives me something to vote for When it comes to my mission in life and the mission of our organization, Pence is our guy."
That"s something Students for Life and Planned Parenthood, long in Pence"s crosshairs, can agree on. "A Trump-Pence ticket should send a shiver down the spine of women in this country," Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement. "Donald Trump just sent a message to the women of America: your health and your lives are not important."
As Indiana governor, Pence has signed several anti-abortion measures into law. As a congressman, he led the charge against Planned Parenthood. He has repeatedly expressed a desire to see Roe v. Wade "sent to the ash heap of history."
Related: How Democrats Will Attack Trump"s VP Pick Mike Pence
Still, some conservatives are furious with Pence for having partially backed down on a religious freedom bill after a backlash from the business community.
"Christian evangelicals, in particular, were disheartened that Pence threw them under the bus," wrote conservative activist and writer Erick Erickson, adding, "He is perceived as a conservative, but won"t actually fight for conservatism."
But for groups committed to banning abortion, the prospect of Pence was music to their ears. "Mr. Trump"s selection of Gov. Mike Pence is an affirmation of the pro-life commitments he"s made and will rally the pro-life grassroots," said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser in a statement responding to reports that Trump had picked Pence.
Dannenfelser called Pence "a pro-life trailblazer." Indeed, he has been on the cutting edge of anti-abortion legislation.
Republicans didn"t always consider Planned Parenthood enemy number one. President George W. Bush did not crusade against the federal funding the organization receives for family planning and sexual health services, and even increased the pool from which Planned Parenthood is funded.
Related: Who is Mike Pence?
As a congressman, Indiana governor and now as Trump"s vice presidential pick, he helped change that, pushing his colleagues to ostracize Planned Parenthood because it also provides abortions.
"What was apparent to me then was there was some unwritten agreement that we had arrived at, an unstated truce between pro-abortion and pro-life legislators," Pence said in a 2011 interview with Politico. "When we introduced this, it was a completely different element in the equation."
Much of Planned Parenthood"s federal funding comes from Title X, a program enacted by Richard Nixon, who declared the "goal of providing adequate family planning services to all those who want them but cannot afford them."
In early 2011, on the strength of the tea party wave, the amendment to defund Planned Parenthood was known as "the Pence amendment." It set off a series of votes in the House to defund the group, which were stymied by President Obama"s threat of a veto.
As governor of Indiana, Pence has had more success getting anti-abortion legislation passed, although federal courts have also gotten in the way.
Related: Mike Pence Quick Facts
In April, abortion rights supporters responded to a new law signed by Pence by launching "Periods for Pence," a grassroots effort to update the governor on the menstrual status of the state"s women. One provision of the law required fetal and embryonic remains, whether from abortion or miscarriage, to be "interred or cremated by a facility having possession of the remains."
The organizers wrote on Facebook, "Fertilized eggs can be expelled during a woman"s period without a woman even knowing that she might have had the potential blastocyst in her. Therefore, any period could potentially be a miscarriage without knowledge. I would certainly hate for any of my fellow Hoosier women to be at risk of penalty if they do not "properly dispose" of this or report it. Just to cover our bases, perhaps we should make sure to contact Governor Pence"s office to report our periods."
The law also forbade abortion for reason of fetal anomaly, race, or s*x. It has been temporarily put on hold by a federal court. Federal district court judge Tanya Walton Pratt wrote in her opinion that the law was likely unconstitutional: "It is a woman"s right to choose an abortion that is protected, which, of course, leaves no room for the State to examine the basis or bases upon which a woman makes her choice."
Syrian rebel groups backed by the U.S. and its allies have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including abductions, torture and summary killings, according to Amnesty International.
A report by the leading human rights organization details how extremist rebel groups have taken over large parts of major Syrian cities, in which they have created repressive theocratic regimes where critics are violently silenced and where religious and ethnic minority groups fear for their lives.
Torture Was My Punishment: Abductions, Torture and Summary Killings Under Armed Group Rule in Aleppo and Idleb, Syria shows how the Syrian people have been caught between a rock and a hard place with extremist rebels on one side and a brutal regime on the other.
The report focuses primarily on the governorates of Aleppo and Idlib, in the north of the country. Aleppo is Syrias largest city, and the Aleppo governorate is the most populous.
Amnesty documented abuses committed by five armed groups that have controlled parts of Aleppo and Idlib since 2012. These rebels have been supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the U.S.
In Aleppo, Amnesty investigated the actions of the Levant Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and Division 16, factions in the Aleppo Conquest rebel coalition.
In Idlib, it looked at the crimes of the rebel groups Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham, both of which are extremist Islamist militias that are party of the Army of Conquest coalition.
Jabhat al-Nusra is Syrias al-Qaeda affiliate. The U.S. officially considers it a terrorist group, although Western allies Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have supported it.
Amnesty noted that al-Nusra has a significant presence throughout the Idlib governorate. Ahrar al-Sham is present in the major cities Idlib, Aleppo, Damascus and Hama.
Executions and strict Sharia
Armed groups have repressed many Syrians who were themselves once supportive of the rebels.
I was happy to be free from the Syrian governments unjust rule but now the situation is worse, a Syrian lawyer told Amnesty.
Rebel groups have established courts (the report uses the term in scare quotes) in Aleppo and Idlib based on strict interpretations of Sharia (Islamic law).
Extremist Islamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham have harshly punished Syrians who disobey their theocratic laws, the report notes.
It cites numerous cases of summary killings carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Levant Front and rebel courts. Some have been execution-style killings in front of crowds.
Jabhat al-Nusra has publicly executed civilian men it accused of homosexuality and civilian women it accused of adultery.
In Aleppo, the Supreme Judicial Council run by the Levant Front told Amnesty that the punishment for apostasy is execution. Death sentences are carried out in the detention center according to Sharia principles, the deputy director said.
According to the Carnegie Endowment, most of the rebel groups in the Levant Front coalition likely receive support from the Military Operations Center, a Turkey-based rebel facility that the U.S. helps operate with its allies.
Most of the courts run by these rebel groups, Amnesty says, are based on the Unified Arab Code, a set of Sharia-based legal codes that were endorsed by the Arab League between 1988 and 1996 but were never implemented anywhere.
This legal code demands harsh corporal punishments for hudud crimes (violations of Islamic law), including stoning, amputations and flogging.
I publicly criticized Jabhat al-Nusra on Facebook accusing them of committing worse human rights abuses than those perpetrated by the government. The next morning, Jabhat al-Nusra forces took me from my home, a Syrian lawyer told Amnesty.
An interrogator told him he was not a real lawyer because he did not know Islamic law. The Syrian rebel threatened him, telling him he had to give up his profession or his family wold never see me again. After 10 days of abduction, hearing men screaming from torture, the lawyer agreed.
I left Syria as soon as I was released, he added.
A female activist who had just been released from detention by the Syrian government told Amnesty she was subsequently arrested and interrogated by Ahrar al-Sham rebels for not wearing a veil.
They forced me to wear a veil and cover my face. They brought a religious man who made me kneel to confess my wrongdoings. The interrogator repeatedly threatened to conduct a virginity test, she recalled.
Torture
Amnesty documented cases of armed factions torturing journalists, activists and other civilians who do not share their ideologies.
I heard and read about the government security forces torture techniques. I thought I would be safe from that now that I am living in an opposition-held area. I was wrong. I was subjected to the same torture techniques but at the hands of Jabhat al-Nusra, explained a Syrian man who was abducted by the extremist rebel group.
Syrian lawyers who have spoken out against rebel groups use of torture have themselves been abducted and threatened.
In several of the cases of abduction, journalists, political activists and a humanitarian worker told Amnesty that they were tortured by either Jabhat al-Nusra or the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement. Some were violently forced to sign a statement of confession.
The methods of torture described are disturbingly similar to some of the ones used by the Syrian government, Amnesty wrote.
Numerous journalists and activists were kidnapped and tortured by al-Nusra for promoting secular beliefs, the rights group reported.
One journalist who works for an international media outlet was tortured by al-Nusra rebels for offending the jihad and mujahidin [rebel fighters] and for working with a media channel that opposes al-Qaida.
The release form given to the tortured journalist by his interrogator said that he had been acquitted of the charges after pledging that he would only report on issues that support the Islamic faith.
Another activist was told he was being tortured for being secular.
Even groups Syrian activists described as moderate have abducted and tortured Syrians. Activists told Amnesty the Levant Front, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and the 16th Division also tortured and mistreated detainees.
A humanitarian worker was abducted and tortured by the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement for complaining about the misuse of funds in a hospital in Aleppo.
The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement is a CIA-approved rebel group that has received TOW anti-tank missiles.
Amnesty said Syrian lawyers and activists told it of cases of abduction and torture carried out by other rebel groups in Aleppo and Idlib, but it was unable to independently verify these claims.
Targeting of minority groups
The Amnesty report also shows how rebel groups have targeted ethnic and religious minorities.
The rights organization documented cases in which Division 16, a Syrian rebel group that the U.S. government identifies as moderate, abducted Kurdish civilians.
In one case, an Arab man offered to drive his Kurdish neighbor to a dentist appointment in Aleppo. She was kidnapped at a checkpoint by the 16th Division. The Arab man was released, but she wasnt. The womans son went looking for her, and he disappeared as well.
Other Kurdish civilians told Amnesty their family members were also abducted by Division 16. A Kurdish man who was released said he saw three missing Kurdish women working in the kitchen in a Division 16 detention center, but their families are too afraid to ask the rebel group for more information.
The 16th Division is backed by the U.S., and is part of a coalition that is fighting other U.S.-backed rebels.
Christian residents of the Aleppo and Idlib governorates have also been abducted and abused by Syrian rebels because of their religion, Amnesty said.
The CIA-approved Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement has abducted Christians.
Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra have destroyed churches. They have also confiscated the homes and stolen the belongings of Christian Syrians.
Ahrar al-Sham is supported by close Western allies Saudi Arabia and Turkey (the latter is also a member of NATO).
Some Syrian Christian families were told they must either convert or leave the Idlib governorate, Amnesty reported.
Abductions and repression of journalists
Amnesty documented dozens of cases of abduction carried out by armed opposition groups in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates between 2012 and 2016.
It even reported cases in which extremist rebel groups Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra kidnapped children and placed them for long periods of time in solitary confinement, leading to hallucinations.
An activist who said he celebrated the Syrian governments defeat told Amnesty that the rebel groups he now lives under are in control of what we can and cannot say. You either agree with their social rules and policies or you disappear.
Syrian armed groups have carried out abductions and deprived persons of their liberty without any legal basis even under the quasi-judicial system under which they are operating, Amnesty wrote.
An activist in Idlib told Amnesty that, during a ceasefire, protesters tried to fill the streets, but were violently dispersed and arrested by rebels with the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra.
Abducted victims have included human rights activists, journalists and lawyers.
Jabhat al-Nusra was pressuring men to join the armed group. Even those who resisted were forced to join. My friends left for Turkey because they were afraid, a Syrian man told Amnesty.
He went into hiding, but al-Nusra kidnapped his son. The man told the extremist group that he would join if it released his son. As soon as his child was free, the man fled with his family to Turkey.
Witnesses told Amnesty that extremist rebel groups have cracked down on behavior they deem un-Islamic.
In one anecdote, they recall how the extremist group twice attacked Radio Fresh, a radio station in the rebel town Kafranbel, arresting staff members for playing music which it deemed to be socially unacceptable and offensive to Islam. A witness said they had been playing revolutionary songs and the music of Fairuz, a popular Lebanese singer.
Another media activist was kidnapped by Ahrar al-Sham for criticizing the extremist rebel group on Facebook and accusing it of corruption. Amnesty says he is still detained.
Yet another media activist told Amnesty that he had been kidnapped by the moderate groups the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and the Levant Front for criticizing the unjust rule of some the armed groups [and issues] such as corruption on Facebook. He said he heard people being tortured in other rooms while he was abducted.
Journalists also told Amnesty that newspapers and other media deemed insulting to Islam and the mujahidin (jihadists) have been banned and confiscated.
A journalist working at Enab Baladi recalled that, in 2015 alone, we had to pull out dozens of our employees from Idleb and Aleppo because they were receiving threats of abductions and killings.
Another journalist at Souriatna said that, after distributors and journalists were threatened by rebel groups, they stopped distributing the newspaper in Idlib and Aleppo for eight months.
Rebel groups have also abducted individuals, including children, accused of sympathizing with or providing information to the Syrian government.
International response
The cases of abduction, torture and summary killings documented by Amnesty International offer a glimpse into the reality of life under armed opposition groups in Aleppo and Idleb governorates, Amnesty wrote.
It added: These abuses have taken place in a context in which armed opposition groups across Syria have committed war crimes by killing and injuring civilians through the indiscriminate use of weapons such as mortars, improvised explosive devices and suicide car bombs in attacks on residential areas under government control.
Amnesty conducted this research between December 2015 and May 2016. Many of the witnesses it interviewed were living in exile in Turkey.
The human rights group contacted representatives of Syrian rebel groups, including the Aleppo Conquest coalition and Ahrar al-Sham, asking for responses to its findings. No armed opposition groups answered Amnestys questions about specific human rights abuses.
It condemned the impunity on all sides of the war in Syria.
Justice for the hundreds of thousands of victims remains elusive as neither the Syrian government nor armed groups have been held accountable for their crimes, the rights group wrote.
Amnesty accused the Syrian government of carrying out the majority of human rights violations. It also said Russia has committed violations that are likely war crimes in its bombing campaign.
While there has been a lot of attention in the Western media to crimes committed by the Syrian government and its allies, there has been much less attention to the crimes of Western-backed rebels.
Amnesty called on the International Syria Support Group particularly the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, the U.K. and France to immediately cease the transfer of arms, munitions and other military equipment, including logistical and financial support, to armed groups implicated in committing war crimes and other serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.
The rights group emphasized that Syrian rebel groups and the international community, particularly those governments that support them militarily and financially, must address the abuses they are committing without delay.
Trump picks Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as running mate
It is too amazing to be true. Donald Trump charged Arthur Culvahouse, the same DC lawyer who vetted Sarah Palin, with vetting his VP choices.
And Trump has ended up picking Sarah Palin, without the charisma.
One source who used to work as a senior staff member in the House of Representatives told me, "Pence, smart? I used to eat salads at the Rayburn cafeteria that had more brains than Mike Pence."
That certainly fits Mike Pence.
Mike Pence who, in 2001, still was seriously trying to claim that cigarette smoking wouldn"t kill you, writing "Time for a quick reality check. Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn"t kill. In fact, 2 out of every three smokers does not die from a smoking related illness and 9 out of ten smokers do not contract lung cancer."
Mike Pence who, just last year, looked like a deer in headlights on television, when asked to explain a law he just signed. He was completely unable to tell George Stephanopoulos if the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (Reminder: a bill he just signed) would allow bakers and florists to refuse service to same-s*x couples being married. The performance was widely mocked, and thought to be the end of his Presidential ambitions.
Mike Pence who, when asked if he believes in evolution, had to repeat the question, before giving a nonsensical response.
Mike Pence who either didn"t read, or didn"t understand, that he signed a law that requires women to bury or cremate their periods, if they contain a fertilized egg, leading to the Periods for Pence movement.
It isn"t so much that Mike Pence is a lightweight in the brains department.
It"s that Mike Pence is a lightweight in the brains department, and also ridiculously incompetent.
Remember that religious freedom bill that Pence signed, but couldn"t explain? Upon finding out that it wasn"t at all popular, that everyone realized it could be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians, and coming under pressure from a nationwide boycott of Indiana as a result, Pence was forced to sign an amendment protecting the LGBT community, thus taking out the reason religious groups wanted the original law in the first place. The result ended up being the whole ordeal was an epic waste of time, that needlessly had Hoosiers at each others" throats.
Pence, in his infinite wisdom, decided that banning needle exchanges would curb drug use, despite evidence to the contrary. What happened, because of inept Mike Pence? Oh nothing, just an explosion of HIV in the state. So much so that Pence was forced to sign needle exchanges back into law.
Mike Pence also once decided to start spending resources to develop a state-controlled news service, which would feed the media with prewritten stories, and be the one to break "news" (read: "propaganda") about his administration. When confronted with the fact that it was, well, kind of Soviet, Pence decided to stop developing the news service.
These are just some of the reasons that Mike Pence was very possibly on his way to being beaten for reelection as governor, by a state rep who hasn"t been in politics for 14 years, before Donald Trump saved his hide.
How bad is his reputation in the state? Republicans want Pence out of Indiana. Reported CNN, "[Trump picking Pence] also makes for a good fit for Indiana Republicans, who are ready for Pence to go after a tumultuous first term in Indiana that has opened up a chance for Democrats to claim the governor"s office."
Oh, the title of that piece? "Indiana GOP to Trump: Take Mike Pence, Please!"
Like the former Congressional staffer above, the people of Indiana and Republicans found out, pretty darned quick, that Mike Pence is as inept and bumbling as he is lacking in intellect.
This is Donald Trump"s first presidential-level decision, and he didn"t just whiff.
He whiffed very, very badly.
After November, when the post-mortems on the Trump loss are written, people will look back on Pence and think, "What was Trump thinking?"
EXCLUSIVE: Watch Britney Spears" Steamy New "Private Show" Commercial - Featuring Her New Song!
"Can you tell you want me by the way I see you staring across the room," Britney Spears tells a lover on her new single, "Make Me," a slinky ballad featuring a guest verse from emerging rapper G-Eazy. The BURNS-produced track previews Spears" upcoming, as-yet-untitled ninth LP.
"I just want you to make me move like it ain"t a choice for you, like you got a job to do," Spears sings over raw guitar riffs and bubbling synths. In his brief verse, G-Eazy raps that he"s "always wanted what was off-limits" and cautions, "I can tell that you"re a dangerous woman."
On Wednesdsay, Spears teased a sample of another new track, "Private Show," in an ad for her new fragrance of the same name. Her last official single was 2015"s "Pretty Girls," featuring Iggy Azalea.
Late last year, Spears began referencing sessions for her next LP. "Working hard and hardly working ... new album wheeeee!" she tweeted in November, along with a studio picture. Her last studio album, 2013"s Britney Jean, featured singles like "Work b***h," "Alien" and "Perfume."
Watch Britney Spears" career-spanning performance at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.
"Can you tell you want me by the way I see you staring across the room," Britney Spears tells a lover on her new single, "Make Me," a slinky ballad featuring a guest verse from emerging rapper G-Eazy. The BURNS-produced track previews Spears" upcoming, as-yet-untitled ninth LP.
"I just want you to make me move like it ain"t a choice for you, like you got a job to do," Spears sings over raw guitar riffs and bubbling synths. In his brief verse, G-Eazy raps that he"s "always wanted what was off-limits" and cautions, "I can tell that you"re a dangerous woman."
On Wednesdsay, Spears teased a sample of another new track, "Private Show," in an ad for her new fragrance of the same name. Her last official single was 2015"s "Pretty Girls," featuring Iggy Azalea.
Late last year, Spears began referencing sessions for her next LP. "Working hard and hardly working ... new album wheeeee!" she tweeted in November, along with a studio picture. Her last studio album, 2013"s Britney Jean, featured singles like "Work b***h," "Alien" and "Perfume."
Watch Britney Spears" career-spanning performance at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.
Singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani stopped by NBC"s TODAY and shared that she"s grateful for her fans coming out to her concerts, including an 81-year-old woman who traveled from Florida to see her perform on the plaza Friday. Watch the appearance below!
TODAY: NBC News pioneered the morning news program when it launched TODAY in 1952 with Dave Garroway as host. For more than 60 years, TODAY has provided a daily live broadcast of the latest in domestic and international news, weather reports, and interviews with newsmakers from the worlds of politics, business, media, entertainment and sports.
TODAY is renowned for providing its audience with a "window on the world," bringing viewers breaking news as it happens and often broadcasting from locations around the globe. TODAY"s longtime home at New York"s Rockefeller Plaza attracts thousands of visitors each year to peer into its windows and become part of TODAY"s broadcast. The Emmy Award winning program is anchored by Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Natalie Morales. Don Nash is the executive producer.
