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There are a lot of Halloween and other sorts of costumes that shouldn’t exist. There’s the racist cultural appropriations and there’s the weird sexualization of Gilead residents, but “child bride” isn’t one that I’d seen before Kmart announced they were pulling that outfit from their shelves in Australia.

A woman going by Shannon B started a Change.org petition to have the costume pulled and it succeeded in its goal with only 200 signatures at the time, which really makes you wonder how many people inside the company were paying attention to what ended up on their shelves if it took this little (totally valid and correct) pushback to have it removed.

Yes, lots of small children love to play make-believe around weddings but child marriage–a term that itself implies a sort of consent that’s impossible in reality–is a very real problem. Shannon B wrote in the petition that “Each year, 12 million children (girls as young as 6 years old – the same size as this ‘costume’) are sold or married off by their family without their consent. That’s one million child marriages per month!”

“Child marriage means child abuse and torture in its worst forms – paedophilia, child rape, child slavery, child sex trafficking,” she writes.

A counter-petition insisting we “let kids be kids” and bring back the child bride outfit has already gathered more than 3,000 signatures but 1) There will always be hordes of people eagerly signing their names to terrible ideas and 2) We can’t know how many signatures Shannon’s petition would have gotten if it hadn’t closed when Kmart pulled the costume.

Claire Rogers, CEO of World Vision Australia, told HuffPost that the really important thing here is the conversation.

“Wherever you sit in this debate, the Kmart dress gives us a rare opportunity to discuss the grave problem of child marriage experienced by millions of young girls every year,” she said.

• One of Betsy DeVos’ top people at the Education Department is leaving and he wants everyone to know that student loan debt is BS in the process. (via Vice)
• This just in: healthcare algorithms still bad and racist. (via The Verge)
• Evergreen reminder: Megan McCain is not an ally.
  

  Meghan McCain is married to a guy who runs a website that regularly publishes anti-trans rhetoric that actively endangers several of the queens who have been on the show but ok https://t.co/qZAWSdg9VG

  — Will Kellogg (@Will_Kellogg) October 23, 2019

• Not a drill! Hocus Pocus 2 is in the works at Disney+. (via Nerdist)
• And on the Disney flip side, the corporation is quietly locking Fox movies into its vaults and the resulting effects are pretty awful. (via Vulture)
• Beck has a new video and it stars Evan Rachel Wood and Tessa Thompson and why are you still reading this sentence, go watch! (via YouTube)

Happy so-close-to-Friday, everybody!

(image: Change.org)
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Earlier today, about two dozen House Republicans stormed a closed deposition hearing with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Laura Cooper. As a reminder, this hearing was not closed to Republicans, just to anyone not on the committees involved. You might think these lawmakers, then, would choose to just confer with their Republican colleagues, but no. They wanted the spectacle and they wanted to disrupt the process.

Not only did the lawmakers crash a hearing they weren’t allowed to be in, but many appeared (based on the fact that they were aggressively tweeting) to have brought their cell phones into the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. That might sound like a technicality, but it’s a BIG deal. I posted part of a thread explaining that earlier, but if you want to know exactly how that’s severely compromising our national security, check that out here.

So when a group of about 25 nearly entirely white men storm a private and protected Congressional hearing, with totally hackable devices in hand, it raises the question: Why the hell weren’t they removed and arrested by Capitol Police?

It’s a fair question since, as many on Twitter were quick to point out, those officers (who were reportedly present today) have been known to arrest protesters and anyone else not being where they’re supposed to be or doing what they’re supposed to do in regard to Congressional hearings.

The protesters arrested around Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing are an especially recent memory for many.

See all these Capitol Police- ready to arrest us for peacefully protesting during the Kavanaugh hearings. Wtf are they??? pic.twitter.com/OZQBNvloBm

— andrea Kline (@andreathekline) October 23, 2019

I don’t have an answer for why there were no arrests made today. A lot of people (myself included) are calling Capitol Police and being forwarded to the Public Information office, where I assume the voicemails are piling up. If I get a response to mine, I’ll update here.

I called the Capitol Police 1(202) 224-0908 (non emergency #). I asked the person who answered,”Why are protesters in wheelchairs dragged out and arrested, but Republicans in a SCIF with cell phones, are not?” She transferred me to voicemail where I left the same question.

— Noel (@Frogerta) October 23, 2019

Just called the Capitol Police to ask why the @housegop members were not removed or arrested. They could not answer my question. Then called my Congressman, Ken Calvert (R-CA), to demand that he put out a statement condemning this lawlessness.

— Jeff Sweetman (@sweetjj4) October 23, 2019

Call Capitol Police at (202) 224‐0908 to let them know ur not happy with “Matt Gaetz” and the “House Republicans” storming into the “SCIF” during “Laura Cooper” testimony with no consequences. They are obstructing justice in real-time. They are breaking the law. We demand action! https://t.co/BHhDF2z8bF

— I,Too, Am America (@ynotjones) October 23, 2019

(image: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
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A few weeks ago, Keith had the pleasure of welcoming to Southern Fried Asian human rights lawyer, policy advocate, and candidate for State Senate in the 28th district of Virginia, Qasim Rashid. With less than two weeks to go until voters go to the polls in Virginia, Keith and Qasim talk about why he’s running […]

Death Row co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight is setting the record straight about reports that he has sold the rights to his life story to William Raymond “Ray J” Norwood Jr.

Early Monday morning, TMZ reported that the notorious music executive signed over his life rights to Ray J, giving him the authority to make decisions about his tumultuous career while Knight is serving a 28-year prison sentence for manslaughter. Ray J’s manager and producing partner, David Weintraub, also told Entertainment Tonight that the deal was finalized seven months ago and that several major film studios, independent financiers, and documentarians have reached out to work with him and Ray J on a documentary about Knight’s life. However, in an exclusive interview with The Blast, Knight, himself, revealed that the reports are erroneous.

“I just heard about the article being released regarding that Ray J has all my rights television, movies, books, you know all that type of stuff,” said Knight during a phone interview from behind bars. “He don’t. Ray J is not just a friend of mine, that’s little brother, that’s family.”

Knight went on to say that the Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood star will be handling the music side of Death Row Records. “I respect Ray J and his business dealings, that’s why I choose him as one of the guys to deal with the music side of the future for as Death Row Records, anything to do Death Row and it’s great to have him cause he will be putting out this incredible album and I heard it before.”

The music mogul added that his fiancée, Toi-Lin Kelly, is in charge of movies, television, and documentaries. “As far as the person who has the power of attorney, which is Toi, who is dealing with the movie, television [and] a documentary,” he said.

Suge went on to reveal that Nick Cannon will be writing his autobiography. “Nick Cannon will be doing the book personally as a writer, I know he has all the potential and the spirit to be a great writer, he is a great writer, he will be doing my book,” he said. “I can say he is a trustworthy guy, I think you should take notice to it, he’s probably one of the most power players in the industry today who is honest and real,” Suge added. “He keeps his word.”

In addition to being the brother of Grammy-winning recording artist and actress Brandy Norwood, Ray J is the first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg, who was formerly signed to Death Row Records. The 38-year-old RnB singer is also the founder of Raytroniks, which creates products like electric bikes, smartphone fans, smartwatches, and the signature Scoot-E-Bike.

In September 2018, Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in a fatal 2015 hit-and-run and he is currently in prison after reaching a plea deal for a 28-year sentence. 

Listen to Suge Knight’s exclusive interview with The Blast below.

—Additional reporting by Selena Hill.