Met Gala aftermath: Fashion’s biggest night went off without a hitch last Monday in NYC. It was very much giving “let them eat cake” + “may the odds be ever in your favor” as the Hunger Games’ Capital elites entertained themselves while gas prices are skyrocketing. I enjoyed seeing Rihanna show up as diamond encrusted oyster and Beyonce turning up in a show stopping skeleton inspired look WITH daughter Blue Ivy in tow, but basically after 24 hours, the Met Gala is completely out of the news cycle at least on my internet. You can check out all the looks here. Since the overall sentiment around the event was overwhelmingly negative, I did hear rumors of panic behind the scenes at Anna Wintour enterprises that the general public isn’t fawning all over this event anymore. I think it’s pretty hard to reconcile a lavish fundraiser sponsored by the Bezoses when they could fund the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute until the end of time without a second thought.

Beyonce Watch: Quick update here as this is becoming a staple moment every week until her album actually comes out. Beyonce did not in fact release any new music, nor provide any official hints toward her new album aside from flashing the rocker hand symbol on the read carpet at the Met Gala last week. I’m still holding on to hope that her Act III album will be released on May 29th, but will keep you posted on any movement on her socials, etc.

Women’s Basketball is back! The 30th season of the WNBA kicked off last weekend with record setting attendance across the league (including for brand new team, Portland Fire). If you want a lay of the land, check out my previous article, The busy woman’s guide to women’s sports, for a primer on the season. But beyond the explosion of interest in WNBA, and an incredible Whitney-inspired half time performance by league superstar mascot Ellie the Elephant in NYC, here’s what you may have missed in the league:

Cruise ships are cursed: Hantavirus, Norovirus, make it stop!! If you haven’t heard by now, a new viral outbreak just dropped: hantavirus is all the rage thanks to a cruise ship that had been bopping around Argentina. Sparknotes version: it’s suspected that a 70 year old couple from the Netherlands had taken a bird watching side quest while in Argentina to observe unique birds that frequent rat-infested landfills. Hantavirus is a known virus that is typically transmitted by rodents to humans (and very infrequently will transfer human to human). However, lucky us, the strain that these birdwatchers contracted appears to be the human to human kind (also referred to as the Andes strain of the virus). So far, three people are dead, and several cases of people who are ill with hantavirus are confirmed. What we know based on historical research: the Andes strain needs close human to human proximity to be transmitted, it could incubate from 1-8 weeks, and currently the CDC says the risk level to the USA is low. 18 Americans have been evacuated off the ship and have returned back to the states for monitoring and quarentining, you can find live updates about the hantavirus in the USA here on CNN’s website. Two passengers are being held in Atlanta, the other 16 went to a CDC facility in Nebraska, and so far only the two in Atlanta are symptomatic (and only one of the two has so far tested positive). What I know is I don’t think I have another global pandemic in me so soon, so I’m going to keep masking up on public transportation, in crowded spaces, and re-upping my hand sanitzer usage. Hopefully this will all blow over soon, but I also know the Trump administration fired a number of important officials at the CDC last year (and in general they don’t believe in health care, or anything besides “winning”) so I’m not gonna rest on my laurels. You do you tho, please educate yourself if you feel so inclined.

Sorry for the downer, as a reward, I will leave you with this: JADE, former Little Mix singer turned sensational pop solo artist just dropped her Tiny Desk performance today. Her first album came out late 2024 and she’s reportedly working on her second soon - mark my words she’s going to blow up in the states in the next few years because she is immaculate and authentic. Enjoy!