American rap artist Lil Nas X performing at a music festival in 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Credit: © Denise Truscello, Getty Images

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning pioneers in a variety of areas.

Lil Nas X rode in on his horse on the “Old Town Road” and became a star. He is an American rap music artist. He gained widespread fame for his first single, the country music and rap hit “Old Town Road” (2018) and its 2019 remix featuring the American country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. The song enjoyed success on the country music charts, marking an unprecedented feat for an African American rapper. In 2020, Lil Nas X and Cyrus shared a Grammy Award for best pop duo/group performance for the song.

Montero Lamar Hill was born on April 9, 1999, in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up with an interest in music, briefly playing the trumpet. After graduating high school in 2017, he attended the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, west of Atlanta, for one year. He tried comedy writing, then began working to establish his musical career.

Hill began releasing singles under the name Lil Nas X on the music-sharing website SoundCloud. Nas was Hill’s internet alias (online name). He added Lil before Nas as a joke, because many rap artists at the time had stage names beginning with Lil. He added X to represent the Roman numeral 10, because he believed it would be 10 years before he became known as a “legendary performer.” Shortly before the release of “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X released a mixtape titled Nasarati (2018). In hip-hop culture, a mixtape is an independently produced recording, often distributed for free. In December 2018, Lil Nas X released “Old Town Road” under SoundCloud’s country category. The song blended elements of rap and hip-hop music with tones and themes from country music. “Old Town Road” gained rapid popularity when it was featured on the social media video-sharing service TikTok.

In March 2019, “Old Town Road” entered the Hot Country Songs chart, published by the magazine Billboard. The placement of a rap song on the country charts proved controversial. Billboard later moved the single to its Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Some critics attributed the move to racism among the overwhelmingly white country music establishment. Recording a remix with Cyrus, an established country musician, boosted the song’s country appeal. The remixed version returned the song to the country charts. It also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, remaining on the chart for a record-breaking 19 weeks.

Lil Nas X signed a recording contract with Columbia Records in 2019. The same year, he released his first EP, 7 EP. EP is short for extended play, a collection of recordings somewhat shorter than a full-length album. 7 EP also included the song “Rodeo,” featuring the American rap artist Cardi B. Lil Nas X followed up 7 EP with the single “Panini” (2019), which reached the top 10 on the Billboard “Hot 100″ chart. In 2021, his single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” debuted at number one on the chart.

Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh attending a conference in Hollywood on Oct. 17, 2022.
Credit: © DFree/Shutterstock

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

She is everything and everywhere! The Everything Everywhere All at Once star Michelle Yeoh is having a year. Yeoh is a Malaysian actress. Yeoh, trained as a dancer, is known for doing her own stunts in action and martial arts movies. In 2023, Yeoh won the Academy Award for best actress for her role in the science fiction comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).

Yeoh Choo Kheng was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, on Aug. 6, 1962. She began ballet training as a young child. When Yeoh was 15, she moved to Chester, England, to train at the Hammond School of performing arts. Yeoh later attended the Royal Academy of Dance in London. She primarily studied ballet. After an injury, she retired from dance and began participating in beauty pageants. In 1983, Yeoh won the Miss Malaysia pageant and represented the country at the Miss World pageant.

Yeoh began acting in the 1980′s. She starred in Hong Kong martial arts movies produced by D&B Films, performing her own stunts. Her name was listed as Michelle Khan in the credits to appeal to Western audiences. Yeoh married Dickson Poon, head of the D&B studio, in 1988 and retired from acting.

After Yeoh and Poon divorced in the early 1990’s, Yeoh starred in the action movies Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), The Heroic Trio (1993), Tai Chi Master (1993), and Wing Chun (1994). While filming The Stuntwoman (1996), Yeoh injured her back during a stunt. However, she continued acting and performing serious stunts.

In the late 1990’s, Yeoh retired the pseudonym (false name) Khan, performing as Michelle Yeoh thereafter. In 1997, Yeoh played the spy Wai Lin in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. That same year, she starred in the historical drama The Soong Sisters. In 2000, Yeoh appeared in the martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yeoh began making more English-language films, including Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Sunshine (2007), and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). In 2011, Yeoh starred in The Lady, a biographical film about the Nobel prize-winning Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Yeoh was deported from Myanmar because of her role in the film.

Yeoh began working in television in 2015. Her first major role was in the series “Star Trek: Discovery,” playing Starfleet Captain Philippa Georgiou from 2017 to 2020. Yeoh’s later films include Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Last Christmas (2019), Marvel Studio’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and Everything Everywhere All at Once.

A child walks their dog in California during a poppy superbloom on April 9, 2023.
Credit: © Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock

This spring, regions of California have experienced poppy superblooms. Superblooms are a natural botanical phenomenon that happens primarily in deserts. They often occur after a wet year that follows several dry years in California and Arizona. The wildflower seeds wait in the ground for the perfect conditions to bloom. Well, after record rain and snow this winter in California, the poppies did not disappoint! In nature reserves across the state, bright red and orange blooms blanket the fields.

Tourists and locals have gathered in nature reserves to take in the natural phenomenon! The superblooms are a beautiful location for a picnic, photoshoot, or a long walk. The state park agency recommends heading to the Bay area or other parts of southern California to view superblooms this year. California also had amazing superblooms in 2017 and 2019.

What is a poppy? Poppy is the common name for several related groups of flowers. The most important member is the white, pink, red, or purple opium poppy of China, India, and Iran. It has been raised in Asia since ancient times. Opium is a plant product used to make legal and illegal drugs.

The flowers of poppies are admired for their delicate beauty and gracefulness. Breeders have produced many variations in the size and form of the blossom. Most kinds are hardy and easy to cultivate. The tiny seeds have no narcotic properties, and are sold for bird food. They also yield an oil used in preparing some foods. The oil cake remaining is a valuable cattle food. Poppy seeds are also used as flavoring. They may be sprinkled on bread and rolls, or used in filling for cakes.

The common corn poppy grows wild in the grainfields and grassy meadows of Europe. Many varieties of the corn poppy, including the Shirley poppy, are grown from seed in flower gardens. The Iceland poppy grows as far south as Colorado. Its long-lasting flowers are various shades of white, orange, yellow, rose-pink, and scarlet. The California poppy, or “cup of gold,” grows wild in the “Golden State.” The most showy poppy is the large-flowered Oriental poppy. This poppy’s red, orange, white, or salmon blossoms often have blackish-purple centers.

Many poppies are annual plants that can be grown from seed. However, the Oriental poppy is a perennial, and this plant is best transplanted by root sections. The poppy is one of the flowers of the month of August.

American actor George Takei at a movie premiere in Los Angeles, California, in 2011.
Credit: Paul Smith / Featureflash

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

George Takei is an American actor and activist. He became famous for playing Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on the science fiction television series “Star Trek” (1966-1969). Named after King George VI, Takei became a political activist after enduring many hardships as a Japanese American in the United States. His activism focuses on immigrants and protecting gay rights.

Hosato Takei was born April 20, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, to Japanese American parents. When he was young, his family was forcibly moved to a Japanese American internment camp in Arkansas. Japanese American internment is the term commonly used to describe the forced relocation and confinement of people of Japanese ancestry in the United States during World War II (1939-1945). Takei’s mother felt betrayed by internment and renounced her American citizenship. As a result, the Takei family was moved to a prison camp in California for the rest of the war.

After the war, Takei’s family remained in California. Takei acted in high school, but he instead chose to study architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. There, he was hired to provide English dubbing for Japanese films as a summer job. After two years at the university, Takei transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to study acting. He worked with an agent to land his first television roles, including parts on the television shows “77 Sunset Strip,” “Perry Mason,” and “Playhouse 90.”  After graduating in 1960, Takei spent a few years acting on the stage, first in New York and then in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England. In 1964 he finished his master’s degree in theater arts at UCLA.

TV series, Star Trek, USA 1960s, scene with: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichol. Credit: © Interfoto/Alamy Images

In 1965, Takei auditioned for the television producer Gene Rodenberry. Rodenberry cast Takei as Sulu, the pilot for the starship U.S.S. Enterprise on “Star Trek.” The show was set hundreds of years in the future and followed the crew of an outer space exploration mission.

Takei reprised the role of Sulu in numerous films, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He provided the voice of Sulu in many Star Trek electronic games. Takei has also played a number of other roles and made several cameo appearances as himself.

In addition to acting, Takei is known for his political activism. In 1972, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, and in 1973, he unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles city council. He also ran for California State Assembly in 1980. Despite these losses, Takei remained an outspoken activist. In addition to sharing his story of growing up in an internment camp, Takei has spoken out about gay rights issues. Takei came out as gay in 2005 and married his partner, Brad Altman, in 2008, when same-sex marriage was legalized in California.

A honey bee worker hovers over a flower.
Credit: © Shutterstock

Tomorrow, May 20th, is World Bee Day! This day, designated by the United Nations, celebrates bees and raises awareness of how important bees are to our daily life. Bees and other pollinators are endangered by human activities. Nearly 75 percent of all food crops depend on pollinators. They are necessary for food security and biodiversity throughout the Earth. World Bee Day is a cause to learn more about bees and support causes that protect bees.

Bees are insects that live in almost every part of the world except near the North and South poles. Bees are one of the most useful of all insects. They produce honey, which people use as food; and beeswax, which is used in such products as adhesives, candles, and cosmetics. There are about 20,000 species (kinds) of bees. Only the kinds known as honey bees make honey and wax in large enough amounts to be used by people.

Flowers provide food for bees. The bees collect tiny grains of pollen and a sweet liquid called nectar from the blossoms they visit. They make honey from the nectar, and use both honey and pollen as food. During their food-gathering flights, bees spread pollen from one flower to another, thus pollinating (fertilizing) the plants they visit. This enables the plants to reproduce. Numerous wild plants and such important food crops as fruits and vegetables depend on bees for fertilization.

The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis).
Credit: © Rich Hatfield, The Xerces Society

Both young and adult bees sometimes fall victim to such diseases as European foulbrood and American foulbrood. These diseases may turn the bees into a gummy, lifeless mass. They are caused by bacteria. Diseases caused by fungi, such as Nosema disease, are also a threat to bees.

Human activities also harm bees. Insecticides meant to kill other insects kill thousands of bees each year. Weed-killing sprays take away an important source of bee food by destroying weeds and their flowers.

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is an unusual condition that destroys hundreds of thousands of honey bee colonies each year in the United States. When a colony is affected by CCD, most of the adult bees disappear from the hive. The colony still contains a queen, immature bees, and honey. Experts are not certain what causes CCD. Mites and agricultural pesticides may contribute to CCD. Pesticides are chemicals used to kill insects and other pests.

Melbourne’s skyline along the Yarra River.
Credit: © Rudy Balasko, Shutterstock

Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, has been Australia’s most populous city since 1911. However, Melbourne has surpassed  in population for the first time in over a hundred years. Officials expanded Melbourne’s city limits to include the western suburb of Melton, which added enough people to overtake Sydney. According to the 2021 census, Melbourne now has 4,875,400 residents that call it home, only 18,700 more than Sydney recorded. Researchers say Melbourne’s rapid growth is due to international immigration. Melbourne is the capital city of Victoria. Melbourne is known for celebrating diversity, affordable living costs, and strong employment and education opportunities.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics includes surrounding suburbs in the population. In some definitions that exclude surrounding suburbs, Sydney remains the most populous city in Australia. However, Melbourne is projected to pass Sydney in all definitions by 2031. What a growth spurt!

Melbourne is a busy seaport on Port Phillip Bay, on the southern coast of the Australian mainland. Melbourne is one of the nation’s largest ports and Victoria’s commercial, financial, and industrial center. The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 boosted Melbourne’s economy and population, making it Australia’s fastest-growing and largest city.

Prospectors discovered gold in Victoria in 1851. Gold attracted many people and laid the foundation for economic growth. Before the discovery of gold, the population of Melbourne and its suburbs was about 29,000. By 1861, the population had reached nearly 140,000, and Melbourne had become Australia’s largest city.

Mining in Victoria declined in the 1860′s. But manufacturing, encouraged by tariffs (taxes on imported goods) and the growing local market, offset the decline. Melbourne’s growth continued. City officials constructed many public buildings and developed new suburbs. Railways extended wheat farming across the Wimmera River. Officials developed port facilities to handle increasing exports of wool and grain. Melbourne had become the commercial and financial capital of Australia. This period of intense growth ended in the 1890′s, and by 1911, Sydney surpassed Melbourne in size.

Melbourne is one of Australia’s most important cities, with contributions in such areas as the arts, business, and politics. Melbourne is home to the Australian Ballet, the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Malthouse Theatre, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and many other performing arts companies. Opera Australia performs in the city several months each year. Arts Centre Melbourne, south of the Yarra River, includes the State Theatre, the Playhouse, and Hamer Hall, a concert hall.

Melbourne is also noted for its major sporting events. Melbourne is the original home of Australian Rules football, a contact sport somewhat similar to rugby. The city hosts several major sporting events each year. They include the Australian Open tennis championship and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. Melbourne also hosts Australia’s most popular horse race, the Melbourne Cup, held each year at Flemington Racecourse. The race day is a public holiday in the Melbourne metropolitan area, and the race is popular with viewers worldwide.

Indian-born American astronaut Kalpana Chawla
Credit: NASA

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-born American astronaut. In 1997, she became the first Indian-born woman to travel in space. Chawla served on two missions aboard the United States space shuttle Columbia as a mission specialist and robotic arm operator.

Chawla was born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, northern India. Karnal was part of the state of Punjab at that time. Today, it is part of the state of Haryana. She graduated from the Punjab Engineering College in 1982. That same year, she immigrated to the United States. In 1984, she earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas in Austin. She married Jean-Pierre Harrison, an aviation teacher and author, in 1983. She received her doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1988. She then went to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1994, she was selected for training as an astronaut candidate.

In 1997, Chawla flew her first mission on the shuttle Columbia. She was the second person of Indian descent to travel in space, following Indian-born cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma, who traveled on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1984. Chawla’s duties involved conducting experiments in microgravity, sometimes called zero gravity or weightlessness, and launching a satellite using the shuttle’s robotic arm. Her second mission was on the same shuttle in 2003. However, on Feb. 1, 2003, as the Columbia was returning to Earth after the 16-day mission, the spacecraft broke apart high over Texas. Chawla and six other crew members were killed.

Chawla received many honors for her work in space. They included the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Space Flight Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal. In addition, an asteroid that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter is named the 51826 Kalpanachawla in her honor.

Prince Charles, the oldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, became King Charles III in 2022.
© Jeff Gilbert, Alamy Images

Saturday, May 6th, was the coronation of King Charles in London, England. Charles III became king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Sept. 8, 2022. During the coronation ceremony, he received the crown and other symbolic items as king of the United Kingdom.

This coronation was only the second in history to be televised. The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on June 2nd, 1953, and was the first televised ceremony. Diplomats, leaders, and other royals attended the ceremony honoring King Charles III at Westminster Abbey. Eight months after the death of its longest-reigning sovereign, the United Kingdom tuned in to crown King Charles III in front of thousands.

Queen Consort Camilla was crowned alongside King Charles. In February 2022, Queen Elizabeth II announced that Charles’ wife, Camilla, will be named Queen Consort once Charles inherits the throne. The current heir to the throne, Prince William, his wife, Princess Catherine, and their three children attended. Prince Harry, King Charles’ second-born son, also attended the ceremony. His wife Meghan, the Dutchess of Sussex, and their two children remained in California during the festivities.

Since the accession of the throne is accompanied by death, the royal family waits to celebrate the coronation. The ceremony is steeped in traditions dating back to the A.D. 750′s. The archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby presented the monarch to the audience and performed the steps of the coronation. King Charles took the coronation oath, swearing to rule justly and to support the Church of England. He was given a Bible, sword, rod, orb, ring, and a cloak of gold cloth as symbols of ruling. After receiving those symbols, the archbishop of Canterbury placed the crown on King Charles’ head. The service continued, and then King Charles processed out of the church to a banquet.

King Charles was heir to the throne for 70 years before being named king. Charles was born on Nov. 14, 1948, at Buckingham Palace in London. He was the eldest child of Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. In 1958, Queen Elizabeth officially named Charles Prince of Wales, the 700-year-old title traditionally given to the heir to the throne. In 1969, she presented the prince to the people of Wales in a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle in Wales.

Prince Charles enrolled at the Royal Air Force College in 1971 and graduated from its advanced flying course later that year. He then entered the Royal Navy and served until 1976. In the Navy, his activities included flying helicopters and commanding a ship, the minehunter Bronington. As prince, Charles concerned himself with such issues as disadvantaged people, education, and the environment. He also has been a critic of modern architecture. Charles is the founder of two charitable organizations—The Prince’s Trust and The Prince’s Youth Business Trust.

American actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Credit: © Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been many things: a professional football player, a professional wrestler, a skyscraper-investigating FBI agent, a shape-shifting demi-god, and even the tooth fairy. By excelling in a variety of roles—both in real life and in film—Johnson has inspired many people throughout the world.

Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California. His father was the Canadian professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather was the Samoan wrestler Peter Maivia. The family moved frequently as Dwayne was growing up, because of his father’s career. Dwayne played football for the University of Miami and graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree. He briefly played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League before leaving to pursue a career in wrestling.

Beginning in 1996, Johnson gained fame wrestling under the name Rocky Maivia in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now known as World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.). Soon after, he began using the nickname “The Rock.” He became one of the most famous wrestlers in the organization. Johnson’s matches served as main attractions at such large wrestling events as WrestleMania and SummerSlam. Johnson co-wrote the memoir The Rock Says… (2000) with Joe Layden.

Johnson began his motion picture acting career with a minor role in the adventure film The Mummy Returns (2001) and a starring role in the related fantasy film The Scorpion King (2002). He has starred in many other action films, including The Rundown (2003), Walking Tall (2004), Doom (2005), and Skyscraper (2018). Johnson has appeared in several of the automotive action films in the “Fast & Furious” series, beginning with Fast Five (2011). His other notable movies include the disaster film San Andreas (2015); the family comedies The Game Plan (2007) and Tooth Fairy (2010); and the adventure comedies Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019). The muscular Johnson often plays brawny characters that can be by turns intimidating and likable. Johnson has provided his voice for video games and animations. For example, he voiced the character Maui in the animated movie Moana (2016).

American author Judy Blume poses with actresses Abby Ryder Fortson and Rachel McAdams at the premiere of the motion picture film adaptation of her novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret on April 15, 2023.
Credit: © Tinseltown/Shutterstock

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is finally a movie! American author Judy Blume long hesitated to license the novel for a motion picture adaptation because she was afraid it would not make a good movie. She changed her mind! On April 28, 2023, the motion picture adaptation of Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret was released. The film stars American actress Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret, Canadian actress Rachel McAdams as Margaret’s mother, and American actress Kathy Bates as Margaret’s grandmother, among other talented actors.

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret is a coming-of-age novel. Bradbury Press published Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret in 1970. Many people considered the book controversial for its light and comedic approach to serious subjects such as puberty and organized religion. Judy Blume is known for writing humorous, realistic books for children and adults. She is best known for her novels about middle-class children, like Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. These novels discuss problems of young people from their point of view and in their own language.

The story follows 11-year-old Margaret Simon as she navigates her parents’ mixed-faith marriage and her own maturing body. Margaret’s mother grew up Christian, while her father is Jewish. In the beginning, Margaret and her family move from New York City to the suburbs in New Jersey. For a school project, Margaret studies religious beliefs as a child raised without a religious affiliation. She attends Jewish services with her father’s mother but prefers to address God directly through prayer, often starting with, “Are you there, God?” Margaret and her friends form a secret club called the Pre-Teen Sensations. The girls obsess over the mysteries of puberty.

Judy Blume has many other books! The antics of a younger brother nicknamed Fudge in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Superfudge (1980), Fudge-A-Mania (1990), and Double Fudge (2002) are popular with younger children. In Then Again, Maybe I Won’t (1971), a boy faces similar problems of young people. Tiger Eyes (1981) focuses on the pain of losing a parent through death. As Long As We’re Together (1987) tells about three girls and how one of them deals with her parents’ divorce. Blume wrote about the same three girls in Here’s to You, Rachel Robinson (1993).

American author Judy Blume has written many successful books for children, young adults, and adults.
Credit: AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett

Blume’s books are often criticized for their subject matter and frank language. Defenders of Blume’s books praise her ability to write openly and sympathetically about the concerns of young people in an enjoyable and easy-to-read style.

Blume has written a series of books for young readers about an 8-year-old girl named Abigail (the Great One) and her 6-year-old brother Jake (the Pain). The series includes The Pain and the Great One (1985), Soupy Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One (2007), and Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One and Going, Going, Gone with the Pain and the Great One (both 2008). Letters from young readers and Blume’s comments on them were collected in Letters to Judy (1986). Blume has written four novels for adults. They are Wifey (1978), Smart Women (1983), Summer Sisters (1998), and In the Unlikely Event (2015). Judy Sussman was born on Feb. 12, 1938, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She married John M. Blume, an attorney, in 1959.