By Olivia Rynberg-Going, NWPC Political Planning and Action Intern
Carli Lloyd Retires
The soccer star Carli Hollins, known as “Carli Lloyd” holds the record for 3rd most goals of any player in the history of the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT). She is a four-time Olympian, and two-time FIFA World Cup Champion. Carli Lloyd became a household name after she scored 3 goals in the opening 16 minutes of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Since then, she’s been featured in Super Bowl Commercials, Sports illustrated, and made appearances on Good Morning America, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Lloyd, a strong advocate of women’s equal treatment and equal pay in sports, retired on Tuesday night at Allianz Field in St. Paul Minnesota.
After the game, Lloyd addressed the crowd of more than 18,000 thousand fans. She said, “Thirty-four years playing this beautiful game. It’s been an honor. I’m grateful for every time I stepped out on this field and I hope you know I gave it my all for every single one of you. I will never forget this moment.”
Frances Haugen – Whistleblower
Frances Haugen has enjoyed a successful career in Silicon Valley. Haugen co-founded Hinge – a popular dating app – and she’s worked for Google, Pinterest, and most recently: Facebook. Earlier this fall, Haugen turned over internal Facebook documents to The Wall Street Journal.
Haugen’s tens of thousands of pages have cemented her as one of the greatest whistleblower sources of the century, said a New York Times article this week.
One of the first discoveries of Haugen’s documents has been the role of Facebook in the January 6th insurrection. Facebook intentionally let misinformation spread – most notably on the topic of Trump’s election fraud claims – because it kept people engaged on their site and consistently logging-on. This is only a small taste of what’s to come. The Atlantic, CNN, The Associated Press, NBC News, and the New York Times, among others, have read the first batch of Haugen documents and will start publishing their findings on Monday.
Admiral Rachel Levine
Last Tuesday, Rachel Levine was sworn in as an admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps – often shortened to “The USPHS Commissioned Corps” which is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services whose mission is to “Protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the nation.” The USPHS Commissioned Corps employs over 6,100 professionals at the front lines of public health.
Admiral Levine is the first-ever four-star female admiral of the organization. She’s also the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate. Levine attended Harvard College and Tulane University’s School of Medicine, and trained at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Levine practiced pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Mount Sinai and Lenox Hospitals before moving to Pennsylvania. At the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Dr. Levine started the Penn State Hershey Eating Disorders Program which continues to serve children, adolescents, and adults.
In 2015 she was unanimously confirmed to the position of Physician General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She also served as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Health where she concentrated on mitigating the effects of the opioid epidemic. Starting in 2019, Levine led Pennsylvania in the fight against a new and urgent health concern: Covid-19. She is now the 6th-ever four-star admiral of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Admiral Levine said at her Senate confirmation hearing in February: “I am both humbled by the opportunity, and ready for the job.”
Olivia Rynberg-Going is a current junior at Smith College, double-majoring in Government and the Study of Women and Gender. On campus, she participated in Smith’s Student Government Association as both a senator and director of elections and appointments. Her favorite policy areas include reproductive rights, 20th century SCOTUS decisions, voting rights, elections, and most of all: campaigns. Outside of politics, Olivia has a deep love of true crime, geography, and farm animals.
