• Pushing back against her critics, Melania Trump said Tuesday that she's committed to fighting cyberbullying despite the knocks she's gotten for taking on the issue when her husband, President Donald Trump, regularly uses Twitter to berate his foes and call them names. "I am well aware that people are skeptical of me discussing this topic," the first lady said. "I have been criticized for my commitment to tackling this issue, and I know that will continue. But it will not stop me from doing what I know is right. I am here with one goal: helping children and our next generation." Mrs. Trump made her comments as she convened executives from major online and social media companies at the White House to discuss cyberbullying and Internet safety. The meeting came more than a year after she announced that cyberbullying would be her cause if Trump were elected president. The choice was immediately assailed, but Mrs. Trump said she won't back down. She said she gets many letters from children who have been bullied or feel threatened on social media. She acknowledged that the issue has been studied for years, and told the executives she wants to hear "what you have learned, what has been accomplished, and what progress still needs to be made." Amazon, Snap, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft sent representatives, as did the Internet Association and the Family Online Safety Institute. All the major technology companies have strict policies prohibiting harassment and other bullying behavior on their services, but primarily rely on users to report abuses and weed them out. "I believe together we can make a real difference in encouraging positive behaviors on social media," she added.
• Call him Sir Ringo now, or Sir Richard to be more precise. Either way, it's a fitting honor for the former Beatles drummer, who has waited decades for the recognition. The 77-year-old Ringo Starr received his long-awaited knighthood from Prince William on Tuesday. He used his real name, Richard Starkey, for the big event. He said the honor "means a lot." It comes more than half a century after the youthful Beatles first went to Buckingham Palace to receive MBE awards. The other surviving Beatle, Paul McCartney, was knighted in 1997. "I had dinner with him last week and we were both actually laughing about where we came from, and we've ended up in the palace and it's now Sir Paul and Sir Richard," said Starr.
A Section on 03/21/2018