Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Every 9/11, I reread the story of Rick Rescorla, the man who ran back in. It is tragic, haunting, patriotic and heroic. And it gets me every time. newyorker.com/magazine/2002/…
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Angelina Jolie visited boxing club in Kharkiv with her son, Knox, who joined Ukrainian soldiers for a Muay Thai training session, Ukrainian Boxing Federation shared.
Visiting Kharkiv, just 35 km from Russia, takes bravery, and I’m saying this as someone who lives here. Thank you for visiting us!
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
In 1988 Dolly Parton pulled every 7th and 8th grader in Sevier County into a room and told them to pick a buddy.
She made them sign a contract.. if BOTH graduate, she hands you both $500. One fails, nobody gets paid.
The county dropout rate went from 35% to 6%.
She handed out the checks herself.
In 1989 she offered $500 to every kid in the county who wanted to go to the local college.
When Gatlinburg burned in 2016, she sent 900 families $1,000 a month for six months.
You've probably heard that part.
Here's the part you haven't:
The fund raised more than expected, so she showed up in May and handed every one of those families another $5,000 on top.
Then she quietly put $3 million into the recovery group that handles the years after the news trucks leave.
She built her county an entire hospital.
She played a benefit concert in 2007, Dollywood and the Stampede matched it, and LeConte Medical Center opened in 2010 with a birthing unit and a women's center in it.
In 2022 she started covering 100% of tuition, books, and fees for Dollywood employees.
Full-time, part-time, AND seasonal.
In 1991 she paid for a bald eagle sanctuary because the birds couldn't be released back into the wild, no press release.
And when Hurricane Helene came through here in Western North Carolina, she wrote a personal check for $1 million and her companies matched it.
She didn't owe North Carolina anything, but she helped us anyway.
She started the Imagination Library because her daddy couldn't read or write. Before he passed, he told her it was the most important thing she ever did.
Rest in Peace, Dolly 🇺🇸
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was the best contribution to child literacy ever made by a celebrity. Our paths crossed once, in the 90s, backstage at a talk show, and I was completely tongue-tied and starstruck. RIP Dolly. You were a complete, irreplaceable one-off.
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Andy Burnham was handed a guitar by a Ukrainian soldier and played a Smiths song as he continued his visit to Kyiv. He said music can help “lift spirits” on the frontline and was serenaded by soldiers from the Cultural Forces group singing Oasis
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
I produced this interview with @eslavin_stripes today, who spent decades at @starsandstripes before being abruptly fired for saying that he hypothetically would not run a story if it wasn’t factual just bc the Pentagon told him too.
vimeo.com/1220335993/47bf6b2…
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
🇺🇦 Zaluzhnyi: It will be very difficult for the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Much harder than he imagines. However, Mykhailo will definitely never be ashamed again.
A man of honor has no idol, so he has nothing to lose. The only thing he has is only duty.
Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine!
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s former Minister of Defense, in just about the craziest picture I've ever seen.
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
It has been a great honor to serve the Ukrainian people as the Minister of Defense.
Here is what our team managed to achieve:
1. Disabled Starlink access for Russian forces.
2. Took over a Ministry of Defense with zero budget, took a risk, reallocated funds from payroll from the end of the year, and effectively invested them in mid-strike capabilities, fiber-optic FPVs, low-cost reconnaissance, ground robotic platforms, interceptor drones, and deep-strike drones.
3. Launched "Logistical Lockdown", this cut off enemy logistics and initiated the isolation of Crimea.
4. Continued the funding program for the Drone Line.
5. Launched a support program for modern drone-assault units that rely primarily on advanced technologies in combat.
6. Introduced a 70% advance payment policy for procurements made via e-Points on the Brave1 Market portal.
7. Fundamentally overhauled the procurement system.
8. Procured thousands of pickup trucks, buggies, and ATVs for the military for the first time—and did so through open tenders.
9. The drone interception rate rose from 83% to 91%, and the cruise missile interception rate soared from 47% to 87%.
10. Contracted Patriot PAC-2 GEM-T missiles for the first time, and submitted an application through an EU loan to purchase PAC-3 missiles.
11. Launched a baseline drone supply system for brigades and corps.
12. Launched a massive grant program for manufacturers of explosives and missiles.
13. Initiated an unpopular but vital transformation of the military.
14. Conducted three UDCG meetings, where we successfully broke through the Russian information trap claiming our defeat, restoring partners' faith in Ukraine. This secured $40 billion in support announced for this year (excluding the EU loan).
15. Launched the mechanism to utilize the EU loan for our military priorities.
16. Found a way to scale cheap missiles against jet-powered Shaheds and signed a record-breaking contract.
17. Our domestic ballistics. We radically revised the technical specifications, maximized accuracy, and reduced the cost by 30%.
18. Signed a contract to procure Gripen fighter jets.
19. Collaborated with the military to plan and execute Operation Auchan, which halted the enemy's mechanized offensive for six months.
20. Opened up exports under the Drone Deal program to attract investment and scale up domestic defense-industrial complex (OPK) production.
21. Launched the Trophy Lab, providing partners with the opportunity to study captured Russian military technologies.
22. Launched the Defense AI Center A1 to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence on the battlefield.
Thank you to my entire team for their relentless 24/7 service. A special thank you to my family for their patience.
Thank you all for your support!
I will continue to work toward the mission I originally brought to the Ministry of Defense: defeating the enemy through asymmetry, the speed of innovation, and the power of organization.
To be continued.
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Jennifer Hudson performing “Hallelujah” and “I Will Always Love You” at @CliveDavis’s funeral this morning. Such an emotional and fitting tribute to the music icon!
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
An hour ago I finished writing a chapter of my latest book and now I'm having a drink while simultaneously watching football and men on Twitter throw tantrums because I've made more money than they have. Honestly, if life has more to offer, I don't want it.
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Ciao ragazzi, quella che voglio raccontarvi è una follia. Una follia che mi ha portato ad essere al Madison Square Garden ad assistere ad una delle partite più incredibili della storia: gara 4 tra Knicks e Spurs.
Mi chiamo Fabio, sono di Bologna, e martedì sera ero a spasso con la mia ragazza. Sono da sempre un tifoso Knicks, e più passeggiavamo col nostro cane “Brooklyn” (siamo grandi amanti di New York), più aumentava la mia curiosità di controllare l’andamento dei prezzi folli del Madison…
Mi sono detto “Se riesco a trovarli in resell sotto i 4000 dollari, lo compro”.
Faccio una premessa: ho purtroppo avuto a che fare con un delicato problema di salute nella mia vita. Questo mi ha dato la possibilità di vedere il presente il futuro in modo diverso.
Passano le ore e trovo un biglietto a 3900 dollari.
Ho chiuso gli occhi, e l’ho comprato.
Non dico nulla alla mia ragazza.
Andiamo a casa e accendo il computer.
Trovo un volo da Roma.
Prima di dormire trovo il coraggio di dirglielo.
“Ho la sveglia tra quattro ore, vado a New York a vedere gara 4…”.
Gelo.
Poi mi abbraccia e mi dice “Goditela”.
Ed eccomi qui, testimone della più grande rimonta nella storia delle Finals, di un clima pazzesco, di una città che esplode di passione per il basket, di una due giorni che non dimenticherò mai.
Ho avuto un grave problema cardiaco 5 anni fa. Ho comprato la canotta di Hart, perché il suo nome mi ricorda quel cuore che è stato croce e delizia nella mia vita.
Salterò le vacanze, dovrò fare delle rinunce, ma sono felice di aver fatto questa follia.
(Fabio Augeri) @SkySportBasket @nyknicks @joshhart
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
USA. A Mexican restaurant. We had not yet ordered anything, and the food was already arriving.
Chips. Salsa. Unrequested. Free.
I stopped the waiter. "We have not earned these."
"They just come with the table, man."
They come with the TABLE. In my land, hospitality is a debt. Every gift creates an obligation, weighed carefully, returned in the proper season with interest of feeling. Here, the gift arrives before you have even proven you can pay for dinner.
This is not an appetizer. This is a declaration: we trust you. Eat.
I ate with the gravity the moment deserved. And then — I must report this calmly — the basket emptied, and a new one appeared.
"Did we…?"
"Refill," the waiter said. "It's bottomless."
Bottomless. They have wells of salsa. The supply lines of this nation are beyond anything my ancestors imagined.
My friend warned me. "Don't fill up on chips, dude."
Too late. I had accepted three baskets. Honor demanded each one be finished — an unfinished gift is an insult. By the time my actual food arrived, I was a ruined man.
I was not hungry. I was not comfortable. I had been defeated by a courtesy.
Generosity that arrives before the request cannot be repaid. It can only be survived.
I know the rule now. I have made my peace with the basket. One basket. Two at the most.
Who am I deceiving. There is no number of baskets I would refuse. The trust of a nation is in that salsa, and I intend to honor all of it.
🤖 Made with AI
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
185 Ukrainian defenders are returning home today from Russian captivity!
The youngest is 27 years old, and the oldest is 62. Some of them have been held in Russian captivity since 2022.
Welcome home, heroes! 🇺🇦
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
У Національній опері України відбулося перше публічне виконання фрагментів опери «Матері Херсона» – документального твору про матерів, які заради повернення дітей, що їх викрала Росія, долають понад 4 тисячі кілометрів через кордони, страх, погрози та невідомість. Важливо, що саме українська аудиторія почула цю історію першою. Уже восени її повноцінна світова прем’єра відбудеться у Варшаві, а згодом – на сцені Метрополітен-опери в Нью-Йорку. Вдячна драматургу Джорджу Бранту, композитору Максиму Коломійцю, диригентці Кері-Лінн Вілсон, генеральному директору Метрополітен-опери Пітеру Гелбу та всій команді проєкту. Завдяки вам світ почує правду про один із найболючіших злочинів цієї війни – викрадення українських дітей – і про силу матерів, які не припиняють боротися за своїх синів і доньок.
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Ладно. Вы тут не скучайте без меня. А главное - не бездельничайте, жаба сама себя с нефтяной трубы не скинет.
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
How very very sad.
Marjane was a true artist and advocate for Iranian women and freedom.
She disrupted literature with her wildly successful autobiographical graphic novel, Persepolis.
AFP reports she died of sadness a year after losing her husband, the love of her life.
RIP
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Marjane Satrapi, the acclaimed Franco-Iranian artist, filmmaker, and author of the internationally celebrated graphic novel Persepolis who died at the age of 56.
Marjane Satrapi was a fearless voice for feminism, human rights, and freedom. Through her work and public engagement, she consistently advocated for women’s rights, standing in solidarity with the people of Iran and amplifying the message of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement on the global stage.
According to a statement from her family, Marjane Satrapi “died of sadness” a little more than a year after the passing of her husband, Mattias Ripa, a producer, actor, and screenwriter, who died on April 8, 2025.
Marjane Satrapi leaves behind a powerful cultural, artistic, and moral legacy. Her courage will continue to resonate far beyond her lifetime.
Narges Foundation
4 Jun 2026
#MarjanSatrapi
Alexandra Poolos retweeted
Bloomberg News exclusive:
Vladimir Putin has been told by senior Russian officials that the war in Ukraine is becoming unaffordable, the most serious sign of internal division in Moscow since the full-scale invasion began
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
