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Richard Simmons, Flamboyant Fitness Icon, Dies at 76
Richard Simmons was easily identifiable in his short shorts, flashy tank tops, and frizzy hair. He was among the most unique, vivid, and popular fitness celebrities in the last 50 years.
Richard Simmons died on Saturday at his Los Angeles home; a spokesman told NPR. He was 76. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department told NPR that officers investigated a death at a Hollywood Hills location. NPR used public records to link the address to Simmons’ house.
Police did not specify the cause of death, but no foul play was suspected.
Richard Simmons built a fitness empire in the 1970s encompassed tapes, classes, books, goods, infomercials, his program, and numerous television appearances.
It helped that his business venture coincided with new technologies – at least in the 1980s. Simmons released fitness classes on VHS cassettes to be played on VCRs. During his lifetime, he created over 65 workout DVDs, including “Sweatin’ to the Oldies,” which sold over 20 million copies.
Milton Teagle Richard Simmons was born in New Orleans and describes himself as a compulsive eater as a child. Others teased and mocked him because of his weight.
“I grew up without any physical education,” he remembered on NPR’s Tell Me More in 2008. “I was 200 pounds in eighth grade. And when I graduated high school, I weighed about 300 pounds. I was a sad, perplexed teenager who couldn’t figure out what I wanted out of life or why I had such a strong relationship with food.
According to Simmons’ website, he experimented with diets and laxatives before settling on “a lifestyle of balance, moderate eating, and exercise.” His life’s job became making exercise enjoyable for all types of bodies.
Simmons started his Beverly Hills studio in 1974, catering to clients looking to reduce weight and fit. It was originally called The Anatomy Asylum, but it was eventually renamed SLIMMONS. It also included one of the earliest salad bars in the area, dubbed “Ruffage.” Simmons remained there until 2013.
Simmons’ exercise technique was lively and inviting. In a commercial for one of his popular “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” videos, he exclaimed, “If you’re looking for a lively, entertaining, stimulating, humorous, colorful, frolicking, playful, inspiring, safe, low-impact workout that’s full of kicks, thrills, gusto, fervor, passion, fury, bustle, and action, you don’t have to look any further.” “This is it!”
No other fitness celebrity resembled Richard Simmons. According to historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, the people in his sessions were unlike anyone else in era-specific fitness films. “They were all different ages and genders. Most notably, many would have been deemed overweight according to the standards of the period.”
According to Petrzela, author of Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession, the inclusion of overweight individuals in fitness throughout the 1970s and 1980s was groundbreaking. Petrzela says Simmons has recently faced criticism for fat-shaming.
“That criticism is not misplaced,” she argues. “But I also think it’s so important to see the way that … the important work that he did in expanding people’s sense of who deserved to exercise, who was welcome at the gym and who was deserving of finding joy through movement and in communities of movement.”
Richard Simmons became a recluse after reaching his 60s. Many of his fans were perplexed why this outgoing and happy individual remained silent and did not leave his house.
Several films, including one made by TMZ and aired on Fox and Hulu, and the podcast Missing Richard Simmons have explored the topic. Simmons acknowledged his supporters briefly in a message issued in 2022. Previous interviews, including one on the Today show in 2016, mentioned health difficulties and a desire to spend time alone.
Richard Simmons’ philosophy was simple. He advocated for positivism, portion management, and at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity. That message spoke to people who didn’t see themselves in the typical realm of fitness and felt like they were the last person chosen for the squad.
Source: npr.org
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Canadian Man Arrested for TikTok Video That Threatened Trudeau
A TikTok video that went live earlier this week has led to a Toronto man facing charges of threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Andrew Marshall, 61, is facing two counts of uttering threats.
On Friday afternoon, the Ontario Court of Justice granted him bail with a surety and restrictions after the RCMP charged him on Wednesday.
Following Monday’s upload to TikTok, CBC Toronto conducted its own independent investigation of the video. Marshall vehemently opposes what he perceives as restrictions on free expression in Canada in it.
“I get them taken down all the time— I make videos — or all my comments, that are just simple comments,” Marsh says in the TikTok. “It’s just getting ridiculous, Marshall said.”
According to the CBC more and more people are threatening politicians. The commissioner of the RCMP has hinted that further measures may be necessary to ensure their safety.
In the TikTok video, Marshall explains in great detail how he would brutally assassinate Trudeau and Freeland “if it was up to him.”
Marshall attacks multiple groups throughout the roughly 11-minute TikTok video, including the media, Muslims, migrants, and the police who defend the government.
Among Marshall’s bail terms are the following: he must not communicate with Trudeau or Freeland; he must not use the internet to make social media posts or comments; he must not own any weapons; and he must not apply for a firearms permit.
During the bail hearing, the prosecution provided all of the evidence that is often not published.
Nate Jackson, Marshall’s attorney, stressed his client’s liberties and privileges as a Canadian in an email message.
“He has the right to freedom of speech, the right to reasonable bail and the right to a fair trial,” he said. “Having secured his release from custody, we will continue to defend Mr. Marshall’s Charter rights as his case proceeds.”
Neither Freeland’s nor the prime minister’s office would comment on the allegations, according to the CBC.
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Canada’s Unemployment Rate Hits its Highest Point Since 2017
As the job market remains dismal, the national unemployment rate in Canada has risen to its highest point since 2017. This has led some analysts to question whether the Bank of Canada should be reducing interest rates more quickly.
In spite of a net gain of 22,000 jobs, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the unemployment rate increased to 6.6% from 6.4% the previous month. The rise was due to an uptick in part-time employment and a fall in full-time employment.
Outside of the pandemic years, the national unemployment rate has reached its highest position since May 2017, according to StatCan.
Rapid population expansion in Canada has increased the overall labour pool, but the country’s unemployment rate has persisted in rising.
The summer job market was especially tough for students, according to StatCan. Not including the pandemic, the unemployment rate among students going back to school in the autumn was 16.7 percent, which is the highest level since 2012.
Two days after the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates for the third time in a row, reducing borrowing costs to alleviate economic pressure, the most recent reading of the Canadian job market follows suit.
According to TD Bank economist Leslie Preston, who wrote a note on Friday, the central bank is “giving the OK” to keep dropping rates due to the bad August jobs report. Preston predicts two more quarter-point decreases at the remaining decisions this year.
According to CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham, there are indications that the labour market is quickly contracting more than initially thought, since the unemployment rate is nearly two percentage points greater than the record low of 4.9% in June 2022.
“Due to this, we believe the Bank should be contemplating a quicker rate of reductions in order to bring interest rates to less restrictive levels,” he informed clients in a letter on Friday morning.
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US Job Growth Falls Short of Expectations: Economy Struggles Under High Interest Rates
Last month, job growth in the United States was weaker than predicted, prompting concerns that the world’s largest economy is beginning to struggle under the weight of increased interest rates.
The Labour Department said that employers added 142,000 jobs in August, which was less than the nearly 160,000 economists predicted. It also stated that job gains over the preceding two months were weaker than expected.
However, the jobless rate went down to 4.2%, down from 4.3% in July.
The report is one of the most important indicators of the US economy and arrives at a vital time, as voters consider presidential candidates for the November election and the US central bank contemplates its first interest rate decrease in four years.
Analysts said the latest statistics kept the Federal Reserve on pace for a rate drop at its meeting this month, but did little to answer worries about the trajectory of the US economy or how much of a cut it should make.
“There has rarely been such a make-or-break number; unfortunately, today’s jobs report does not completely resolve the recession debate,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
Soaring prices in 2022 caused the Federal Reserve to hike its key lending rate to 5.3%, a nearly 20-year high.
Faced with increased borrowing costs for homes, vehicles, and other debt, the economy has slowed, helping to alleviate pressures that were boosting inflation but exacerbating market concerns.
As inflation has fallen to 2.9% in July, the Fed is under pressure to decrease interest rates to prevent additional economic deceleration.
Although job increases in August fell short of expectations, they were greater than in July, when a slowdown aroused anxieties and triggered several days of stock market volatility.
Last month, construction and health-care firms hired the most, while manufacturing and retailers laid off employees.
Ms Shah stated that the data in Friday’s report was mixed, but provided enough concerning indicators that the Fed should make a larger cut.
“On balance, with inflation pressures subdued, there is no reason for the Fed not to err on the side of caution and frontload rate cuts,” she told reporters.
Others, however, felt the advances were just steady enough to warrant a 0.25 percentage point decrease, as markets had long projected – though this could signal more cuts than expected in the coming months.
Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics’ senior North America economist, predicted that the Fed’s decision will be “close run.”
“The labour market is clearly experiencing a marked slowdown,” he said, adding that the new statistics were “overall still consistent with an economy experiencing a soft landing rather than plummeting into recession”.
Concerns about the economy are a major issue in the US election.
According to polls, a majority of Americans feel the US is in a recession, despite healthy 2.5% growth last year.
Donald Trump has declared that the economy is headed for a “crash,” and his team instantly latched on the latest data to criticise Vice President Kamala Harris, publishing a press release titled “warning lights flash as Kamala’s economy continues to weaken.”
Democrats have defended their performance, claiming that the United States survived the pandemic and inflation better than many other countries.
They believe the slowdown is a sign that the economy is returning to a more sustainable rate of growth following the post-pandemic boom.
“Although hiring has slowed, the US job market continues to generate solid job gains and wage growth that is consistently beating inflation,” the White House Council of Economic Advisors stated in a blog.
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