Laura Mahon is one of the many of Irish expats returning home this week to take part in an historic referendum which could liberalise Ireland's strict abortion laws.

If the "yes" vote wins on Saturday, it would see Ireland change the law and allow abortions within 12 weeks of pregnancy without restriction, and in exceptional cases, between 12 and 24 weeks.

Terminations are currently only allowed in the Irish Republic when the life of the mother is at risk, including from suicide, and the maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion is 14 years in prison.

As a staunch supporter of the "yes" campaign, Mahon, a speech and language therapy masters student in London, was nearly deprived of her chance to cast her vote – until the kindness of a stranger prevailed.

"When I was finally able to secure the day off to get home to vote, my heart dropped when I saw the price of flights for that day. I had €9 in my bank account and flights were coming in around €200," she said.

Help arrived via social media. Mahon joined the Abroad For Yes Facebook group, and posted a message to explain she was struggling to afford the flight.

Mahon, who is originally from Waterford, said: "Within minutes, an amazing woman living in Toronto messaged me and asked if she could pay for my flights as she can't make it home to vote herself."

"I was completely lost for words and could not stop crying," she said.

If the referendum on whether to repeal the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution succeeds, a clause which currently gives equal right to life to the mother and to the unborn, the wording will be replaced to allow the Irish parliament to legislate for broader access to abortion.

Last week the Irish premier, Leo Varadkar, said every day nine women travel to the UK and other countries to terminate their pregnancies, and more women were taking abortion pills imported from elsewhere, or bought online. The Taoiseach warned it was only a matter of time before a woman dies in Ireland as a result of using unregulated, or dangerous, pills.

He said the eighth amendment had been inserted in the Constitution in 1983 and that people thought it would save lives and prevent abortion. "It hasn't," he told RTE Radio One.

Amy Garland hopes the vote will prevent illegal and unsafe abortions from occurring. The 24-year-old translator lives in Rome but will be returning to Dublin to cast her vote on Friday.

"I will vote yes to repealing the 8th amendment, I will do so because I believe the constitution is no place for complex medical issues," she said. "I believe that we, as a country, need to trust women to make their own choices about their own bodies."

She added: "I believe that the Ireland of today is stuck in the past and that this referendum give us a chance to take a step forward into the present.

"This is a huge opportunity for Ireland to show that we have compassion and trust and that we are capable of change."

A recent opinion poll published by the Irish Times found that those in favour of repealing the eighth amendment had a large, but reduced, lead.

Gareth Gregan, from Clare, will be flying in from Brussels to cast his vote. The 25-year-old's mother, Geraldine, last year spoke publicly about her own experience of a crisis pregnancy, which saw her son adopted.

Gregan said: "It's time we accepted the realities and complexities of life when it comes to reproductive healthcare. Abortion is a reality for thousands of Irish women each year and the status quo that the 'No' campaign want to continue inflicting on our country is no longer acceptable."

Laura Feeney will be taking time out of her year abroad studying in the Netherlands, to return to County Mayo.

The 21-year-old Maynooth University student was actively involved in the Strike for Repeal action last year and said she felt helpless being so far away for the vote. "This is a historic vote and I would not forgive myself if I did not exercise my right to change the constitution," she said.

"Living abroad and encountering people from all around the world, I found they are horrified by Ireland's current abortion law, we are a disgrace on the international stage. Many people still think Ireland is deeply religious and backward, and carrying a 14-year prison sentence for abortion does not help this image.

She added: "Distance has helped me identify all the things I love about home and also given me a fire in my belly to fight for radical change in Ireland – and finally throw off the shackles of the Catholic Church."

Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella approved the country’s far-right and anti-establishment parties’ nominee for prime minister on Wednesday, putting the nation on track to have one of the most populist and radical administrations in all of Europe.

The far-right Lega and anti-establishment Five Star parties chose law professor Giuseppe Conte as their consensus pick for Italy’s next prime minister, despite his lack of governing experience. Mattarella giving Conte a mandate to form Italy’s next government clears one of the final hurdles for the two parties before they can begin to run the country.

Both Lega and Five Star hold anti-migrant, anti-European Union views and look to bring the country closer to Russia through lifting economic sanctions against the Kremlin. The new populist government sets Italy up for a clash with the EU and brings more uncertainty for the country’s already fractured politics.

The two non-traditional parties decided to band together after Italy’s election in March left no outright winner and resulted in months of negotiations to form a governing coalition. Italians rejected the country’s once-powerful establishment parties in the vote, leaving Lega and Five Star to fill the void.

“The traditional Italian party system disappeared many elections ago,” said Sheri Berman, a professor of politics at Barnard College. “What you’re seeing now is the detritus of that ― which is a mess.”

A Lega and Five Star coalition was widely seen as a worst case scenario for the EU after Italy’s vote, as both parties hold a longstanding opposition to the bloc. HuffPost Italia obtained an early draft of the coalition’s governing contract in which the two parties hoped to renegotiate EU treaties and identify ways they could potentially opt out of the euro.

The documents showed Five Star and Lega also wanted to reduce Italy’s commitment to NATO, end compulsory vaccinations and ask for the European Central Bank to cancel nearly $300 billion in debt.

The parties amended the contract and watered down their stance toward the European Union in subsequent drafts, but the leaked contract was enough to cause Italy’s stock market to plunge and bring speculation that Italy could cause a crisis in the eurozone.

“Even if the more extreme promises or aspirations of leaving the euro don’t materialize, having this kind of government in a major European country is going to inject instability,” Berman said. 

Although the parties have moderated their opposition to the EU in recent years, critics are concerned that the new government’s radical social and economic policies will turn Italy into the latest “sick man of Europe.”

Five Star and Lega have vowed sweeping changes to Italy’s economy, the third-largest in the eurozone. The two parties promised to restore higher pension levels, cut taxes and bolster the welfare system ― despite the fact that Italy has the highest debt ratio out of anywhere in Europe except for Greece.

During the campaign, Lega leader Matteo Salvini also said he would deport 150,000 migrants within a year, and he accused immigrants of bringing crime and disease into Italy. Over 600,000 migrants entered Italy in the last four years, sparking a divisive debate over immigration and a swell of support for the far-right.

Salvini has said he wants to close mosques, and critics say his rhetoric has emboldened far-right hate groups within the country, stirring dark memories of political violence in Italy’s past.

To break the deadlock that followed Italy’s election, Salvini decided to abandon his party’s alliance with longtime Italian power broker Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right party. Instead, he aligned with the populist, ideologically amorphous Five Star.

Five Star, less than a decade old was the party that won the highest percentage of Italy’s vote. The party is led by 31-year-old Luigi Di Maio, a university dropout who was living at home until five years ago. He took over leadership in 2017, offering voters a fresh face and vowing to fight government corruption.

Although Five Star gained more votes in the election, Di Maio and Salvini agreed that neither would be Italy’s next prime minister. Instead, the parties chose law professor Conte as a consensus candidate. Conte, a 54-year-old who specializes in administrative law was until now not anywhere close to a household name.

Within hours of Conte’s nomination, media and lawmakers began to scrutinize his academic credentials. Although he claimed to have studied at New York University, the institution stated told The New York Times that they had no record of him either as a student or a faculty member.

But Salvini and Di Maio stood by Conte, and President Mattarella backed the nomination on Wednesday.

Several other far-right and populist parties have joined coalition governments in Europe in recent years, including Austria last December. But unlike in Italy, most have been tethered to establishment parties that have limited their ability to carry out their more extreme policies.

HuffPost Italia contributed reporting to this article.

One of the 700 movies and TV shows that Netflix still has in its pipeline includes a modern retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame from Idris Elba. 

The “Avengers: Infinity War” actor will star, direct and produce the movie for the streaming service, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Based on a script by Michael Mitnick, the film is being described as “sonic and musical experience” and will feature an original score. 

Victor Hugo’s classic French novel has seen many screen adaptations, but none more popular than Disney’s 1996 animated film. A darker entry in the Disney canon, the film introduced the story of Quasimodo, a hunchbacked bell-ringer, who falls in love with the gypsy Esmeralda to a whole new generation. 

Elba has struck gold with Netflix before, earning critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for his role in “Beasts of No Nation.” He’s also set to star and executive produce the upcoming comedy “Turn Up Charlie” about a struggling DJ.

The “Luther” actor has stepped behind the camera before, making his feature directorial debut earlier this year with “Yardie,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

And while he has received more attention for his filmmaking, Elba is also a rapper and DJ, most recently making an appearance on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ album “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made.” 

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story indicated Idris Elba acted in “Lucifer” instead of “Luther.”

The mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished in March 2014 and set in motion a four-year hunt, may never be solved.

The search, which has covered a 46,000-square-mile area of the sea and has turned up almost nothing, will end next week, the Malaysia minister of transport told reporters on Wednesday.

“It cannot continue forever,” Transport Minister Anthony Loke told The Associated Press.

The disappearance of the passenger jet is one of the biggest aviation mysteries since pilot Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937, as they were attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

The Malaysia Airlines jetliner — which carried 239 people, most of them from China — lost contact with air traffic controllers less than an hour into the flight on March 7, 2014. The Boeing 777 aircraft was on its way to China from Kuala Lumpur.

Only a few pieces of debris have been found. Australia led a joint search that also involved China and Malaysia until January 2017.

A year later, the Malaysian government signed a contract with Ocean Infinity, a private U.S. company that specializes in collecting high-resolution seabed data, to search for wreckage of the missing plane. Under terms of the contract, Malaysia does not have to pay the company if wreckage or black boxes are not found. The contract has been extended twice, but Loke said Wednesday that it would not be extended past May 29.

Australia’s minister for infrastructure and transport, Darren Chester, estimates that the search has cost $151 million, with most of the expense being paid by Malaysia, according to CNN. The search is said to be the largest hunt for a missing plane in history.

While there are competing theories about what may have happened to the flight, no evidence has definitively settled the debate.

Earlier this month, the Australian version of “60 Minutes” aired a report suggesting that the pilot of the plane had deliberately crashed it into the Indian Ocean because he was despondent over the breakup of his marriage.

Some investigators discount that theory, saying instead that the jetliner ran out of fuel, according to The Washington Post.  

Now in its fourth year, the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards continue to bring viewers those goofy moments caught on camera that makes it seem like some animals are just like us. 

The entries for the 2018 competition are pouring in, from an embarrassed rabbit, “dancing” polar bears and a fur seal who is apparently having a really bad day with some penguins. We can’t wait to see what ends up winning the competition.

See some of the latest goofy animal entries below. 

In the dawn of the commercial veggie burger era, it seemed our only options were frozen patties made by the likes of Boca Burger, Gardenburger and MorningStar Farms. Their intentions were good, they didn’t contain meat, and ... well, those are the only two positive things you can really say about them. They were pretty terrible.

But the recent rise of the Impossible Burger, a veggie burger engineered by neuroscientists that tastes, feels and “bleeds” like real red meat, has elevated our expectations. Because of that, food bloggers and recipe developers have been pushed to create better recipes for made-from-scratch veggie burger patties. 

We’ve picked 21 of our favorites, including one that can be grilled without falling apart (if you’ve ever tried to do this, you’ll know how difficult it can be). They’re made with everything from wild rice to black beans, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and beets. They’re unlikely to taste or look like actual beef the way an Impossible Burger does, but rather they embrace their unique flavors and textures.

In other words, they’re nothing like those old frozen patties.

It may be time to get rid of your old bras. 

If you’ve been wearing the same two bras on rotation for years, you should give your boobs a little more love and support (literally and figuratively). They deserve more than stretched-out bra bands and straps that just won’t stay on your shoulders. 

“Bras have an expiration and a shelf life, just like everything else,” Lyn Lewis, CEO of luxury lingerie company Journelle, told HuffPost.

“Just like your jeans need to be replaced occasionally and your T-shirts wear out, so do your bras.” 

Why can’t you just keep bras forever?  

Technically, you can, but they probably won’t be all that comfortable once they’ve started stretching out and losing their shape. As Lewis mentioned, if a bra is too stretched out, it may not be offering adequate support. 

Wearing an ill-fitting, stretched-out bra “feels like the equivalent of wearing shoes that are the wrong size, once you’ve been spoiled to a bra that fits you well,” Lewis said. 

Wearing a bra that fits properly has huge lifestyle benefits, she added.

“Before I started working at Journelle, I would be constantly tugging at my bra and pulling at straps that were falling down, and this is what a lot of women do, and they don’t even realize they’re doing it,” she said. “It just becomes a habit.”

Lewis added, “It is such a freedom to put on your bra in the morning and literally not touch it all day.” 

How long should you really be keeping your bras? 

The experts we spoke to agreed that a bra’s lifespan is largely dependent on how often it’s worn. For instance, as Iris Clarke of Iris Lingerie in Brooklyn, New York, told HuffPost, if you’re wearing one bra almost every day, you shouldn’t expect it to last much longer than a month. 

“If you have four or five T-shirt bras to rotate, [they can last] for at least a year,” Clarke said. She recommended women keep a variety of bras in their lingerie drawers to get the most out of them. She suggests four or five basic T-shirt bras, a strapless bra, a backless bra and some lace bras.

Lewis pointed out that many women might have a couple favorite bras in constant rotation, “and if you only have two favorite bras that you pretty much wear every day, after six months, [they] really need to be replaced.”

“If you’re like me and you have an insane lingerie drawer because you’re obsessed at this point, and you only wear a given bra ― maybe a special piece ― once a month, it will last you a really long time,” she added. 

What are the signs that it’s time to get rid of a bra? 

You’ll know a bra has come to the end of its life if the band is stretched out, both experts said.

According to Lewis, when you buy a new bra, you want the band to be snug when it’s connected at the loosest hook. That way, as the bra stretches over time, you can tighten it accordingly. 

“You should be able to get two to three fingers in between the band and your skin when it’s closed,” Lewis said, adding that if you have to pull the band beyond the hook closures to make it tight, “it’s probably time to replace your bra.” 

Another thing to pay attention to is your bra’s straps. Clarke noted that if they’re always falling off your shoulders, even when tightened, it’s probably a sign the bra has stretched and should be replaced. Bra straps can be altered, Clarke said, but noted that having to tighten them all the way so the buckles are on the top of the shoulder isn’t “the proper way of wearing a bra.” 

You’ll also know your bra has stretched out if the band is always hiking up in the back, as opposed to staying in place, Clarke said. When you’re raising the band in the back, Lewis added, it sometimes results in a gap between the bra cups and your body. That’s another telltale sign that it’s time to get a new bra. 

“If you can see clearly the outline of a bra cup through a T-shirt, it’s likely because the wearer’s bra is stretched out or has become too big for them,” Lewis said. “It means that you’re not being supported and you’re not getting the best shape, and it’s probably not very comfortable. It’s hiking up in a funny way and you’ve got to wiggle all day just to keep it in place.” 

Both experts agreed that bra padding can wear out, too. Clarke said that if you see any sort of crinkle or a permanent crease in the padding, “that’s one sign to get a new bra.” 

In terms of fabrics, there are some, like cotton, that are more durable, while certain laces can be much more delicate. Lewis noted, however, that some laces can be quite durable. Clarke pointed out that bras with reinforced seams to provide good support will also hold up longer than a thinner T-shirt bra. 

Proper bra care is SUPER important for extending the life of your lingerie.

As we’ve written before, you really should be washing your bras every three wears to “keep the integrity of the bra for as long as possible,” Danny Koch, owner of Town Shop in New York told Marie Claire U.K. in 2017. 

Naturally, bras collect oils from our skin and residue from our deodorant, so regular washing keeps them in tip-top shape. 

But don’t be so quick to throw your bras in the washing machine with everything else in your laundry bag. When you’re investing anywhere from $50 to $100 for a quality piece, you need consistent care to maximize your investment.

“Washing a bra with lingerie wash is probably the best way to do it,” Lewis said, adding that lingerie wash is a gentle soap designed specifically for use on delicate lingerie fabrics. 

Lewis recommends washing lingerie by hand. Her method involves filling the sink with warm water and lingerie soap, adding her bras into the water, and letting them sit for about 15 minutes. Afterward, she rinses them out and hangs them up to dry. 

Clarke said many of her clients prefer to hand-wash their bras, but she puts her bras in a mesh laundry bag and sends them through the gentle cycle with nothing else in the machine. Like Lewis, she recommended hanging them to dry. 

Using her method, Clarke said, “they come out perfectly.” 

What you don’t want to do, Clarke said, is include your bras in laundry you might send out to the laundromat for wash and fold service, because the employees might just toss them in with everything else. 

What do you do when you’re ready to toss a bra?

Before you go straight for the garbage can, know that there are other options for getting rid of your bras. If they’re lightly worn but too stretched out to fit you comfortably, you can actually donate them to thrift stores, women’s shelters or organizations that support breast cancer survivors. 

If crafty DIYs are your thing, maybe a bra strap flower headband or even a bra cup purse are up your alley. Who knew old bras could be so versatile?  

Warning! Spoilers for “Black Panther,” “Infinity War” and whatever else below.

Just a couple of months ago (yeah, it was that recently), “Black Panther” was obliterating the box office. News of a sequel hit the internet, to a chorus of “Wakanda Forever.”

Then “Avengers: Infinity War” happened, and forever wasn’t what it used to be.

In perhaps the most unexpected of many expectation-destroying moments in the new film, the king himself, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), crumbles to ashes as a result of Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his widely analyzed finger snap. We were all like, “Wakanda movie is this?”

Nate Moore, a development and production executive at Marvel Studios, as well as a producer on “Black Panther,” recently told HuffPost that he learned a while ago that “Infinity War” directors Anthony and Joe Russo planned to kill off T’Challa. In fact, he knew T’Challa would turn to dust way back when “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler was still working on his 2015 film “Creed.”

Even then, the decision was perplexing. Moore said he initially asked the Russo brothers to hold off on murdering the Black Panther.

“I knew pretty well what they were talking about and personally urged them to reconsider,” Moore said over the phone earlier this month. “But the storytelling made sense, so I love that we got to see a little bit more of Wakanda in that film, and I hope to see how they’re going to resolve that.” 

Moore added that it was difficult to argue with the Russos’ reasoning, though he didn’t elaborate on the specifics of their stance.

“Touching on all the different ideas you can have, you talk about the pros and cons of each, and they had some really compelling arguments as to why what happened happened,” Moore said. “I think ultimately it made for a really interesting, almost more complicated ending to that film because of how well ‘Black Panther’ was embraced by audiences. Again, personally painful, but I understand the reasoning.” 

The Russo brothers have said the decision to kill ― or not kill ― particular “Infinity War” characters was story-driven, but that wasn’t enough of an explanation for me. I recently got the chance to ask them: Why T’Challa? Did they ever consider changing their position after seeing how successful “Black Panther” had become?

Well, let’s just say they were resolute. 

“We were very cued into the storyline of Panther from his origins in ‘Captain America: Civil War,’” Anthony Russo said. “The role that Panther and Wakanda played in this movie was sort of a bedrock of the movie, a bedrock of the [Marvel cinematic universe]. I think ‘Black Panther’ could’ve done half the business that it did and it still would’ve been a valid creative choice.”

Of course, there’s a strong likelihood the superhero isn’t gone for good, given the “Black Panther” sequel that’s in the works. Will a Quantum Realm reality bring T’Challa back? Or will Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s sister, become the next Black Panther, as some fans are already speculating?

During the rest of our interview, Moore talked about the various possibilities ― and answered some of my most pressing questions: Was Beyoncé secretly on the “Black Panther” soundtrack? Could Kendrick Lamar be in the “Black Panther” sequel? What should we make of Chadwick Boseman’s supposed “Wakanda Forever” fatigue? 

Where did that “Wakanda Forever” sign come from?

It was something that Chadwick and Ryan came up with in rehearsal, and there weren’t a ton of variations. It sort of just seems to make intuitive sense. I have to say, initially, I think the first time they did it was in tribal council, and part of me was like, “Is that going to look cool?” [Laughs] “Is that going to be cool or are people going to reject it?” But the more that it was used, the more it sort of almost felt like it had always been.

It’s one of those decisions you always forget when it happened, and it just felt so natural and so a part of the fabric of the movie. Chadwick ― I think, because he developed it with Ryan ― owns it. Everything Chadwick does just feels real, so by the end of [the film shoot], extras were doing it, crew members were doing it to each other. Everyone was doing and that’s when you know, OK, this is something that’s going to resonate.

The cast gets asked to do it a lot. Have you seen the memes of Chadwick doing Wakanda Forever and not looking as enthusiastic?

Yeah, I’m not surprised, because you have to do it quite a bit. But also my friends will send me, like, soccer players doing it now. It’s made its way into pop culture, which I think is amazing.

What part of “Black Panther” changed the most from the script to what we saw?

The adventure outside of Wakanda used to be much longer. After they went to Korea, they went a couple of other places. T’Challa, Nakia and Okoye [went] and sort of explored the theme of what it means to be African and African-American in the world a bit more. We just had to pare back honestly because of the amount of time we knew the film would take even with just what you saw on screen.

There were definitely some great story ideas that we had to leave on the table and hopefully we get to revisit someday, just to keep the story as focused as possible on T’Challa and Killmonger. I think there are even sequences we boarded that were super cool that we didn’t have time for, and that’s a good sign on my end when you have too much story.

Kendrick Lamar said he wanted to be a villain in the sequel. I mean, what do you think?

[Laughs] That would be amazing. I love Kendrick Lamar, and his music is such a big part of the film. Yeah, I think if it’s right, it’s right. We can do a lot worse than Kendrick Lamar in one of our films.

There was a rumor Beyoncé was secretly on one of Kendrick Lamar’s tracks. Can we finally put that to rest?

You can finally put that to rest. That is not true.

Why do you go to that wide shot at the end when Killmonger dies?

One thing we talked a lot about was the notion of legacy and what it means to be African-American and be so disconnected to the place you are from. That wide shot and that scene with T’Challa and Killmonger at the end was really about Killmonger appreciating this place that he almost felt like he was never going to go to and seeing the sunset that his father promised him years before and passing on almost peacefully, as violent as that final act was. Sort of being reunited with his ancestry in that final moment and pulling back that wide to get the peace of that, the restfulness of that, even though it is him saying goodbye.

We thought that was really interesting. Wakanda is a beautiful place and for him to be at rest there was sort of fitting, even though he is the villain. Even though his message was wrong, it is time for him to be at rest.

I was kind of pulling for Killmonger to make it through.

A lot of people were, which I think is the sign of a great villain ― someone you can identify with, who has a real point of view that is not “I want to take over the world” or “I want all the money in the world,” but is about something thematic.

Again, that is something that Ryan Coogler pitched. That is something he should get full credit for, and I think is partially why the film resonates so much. You can see both sides. For the first time, what I thought was interesting is the notion that Killmonger actually changes T’Challa. The notion that the hero learns from the villain and changes because of the interaction with him is really powerful, and I don’t think something that we have done.

With T’Challa gone, everyone’s already speculating about Shuri taking over as Black Panther. What do you think?

That’s what I think is so great about comics and the Marvel cinematic universe. As you know, the notion of Black Panther is a mantle almost as much as the character, so there’s a lot of ways to explore great ideas for a “Panther” sequel that won’t invalidate what happened in “Infinity War,” and that gets us excited, just the breadth of stories you can tell, which is great.

This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.

“Black Panther” is out now on DVD and digital.

A bit of friction in a relationship can keep the spark alive. But when it comes to money, it’s best if things run smoothly. Sure, talking about finances isn’t exactly romantic, but neither is fighting about it.

So if you want to make sure you and your significant other are on the same page about money, be sure to ask these important questions at significant stages of your relationship.

The third date: “What are your values?”

The first few dates are about feeling each other out and seeing if there’s a connection. Usually it’s best to tread lightly when bringing up more serious topics, such as marriage and kids. The same goes for finances.

At this point in your prospective relationship, you don’t have to ask about money point-blank. Instead, observe their behavior.

“Do they do things that are irrational or impulsive?” asked Reshell Smith, a certified financial planner and the founder of Ames Financial Solutions in Orlando, Florida. “I also think people’s attitude about money comes from their family. Talking about family, parents and how you were raised — you can get an idea from there.” 

Erin Voisin, a CFP and the director of financial planning at EP Wealth Advisors in Torrance, California, suggested playing the lottery game as an icebreaker. “Ask them, ‘If you won the lottery, what would you do?’ I think that tells you a lot about a person,” she said.

For instance, would they give some of the money to charity? Invest in property? Blow it all on cars and parties? The answer could tell you enough to know whether date No. 4 would be worth your time.

When things get serious: “How do our financial lives compare?”

Relationships move at their own pace. You might be exchanging I-love-yous after three months or waiting to make things exclusive several years into dating. Whatever “serious” means to you, be sure to have a serious conversation about your current financial situation too.

“Talking about financial successes and failures is important,” said Voisin. She recommended sharing with each other your proudest accomplishments as well as your money mistakes or regrets. This can serve as a good jumping-off point to dig deeper into each other’s financial pictures.

“We definitely need to bring up the big C-word, credit,” said Smith. She pointed out that if you eventually want to get a house or apartment together (more on that below), your credit scores will inevitably come to light. It’s best to put that information on the table early.

In fact, the more transparent you are with each other about your savings, debt and overall financial health, the better you will understand what your future as a couple might look like and what part you’ll each play in it.

Moving in together: “What’s mine, yours and ours?”

The moving-in stage is often the ultimate test of a relationship. Adorable quirks can transform into irritating habits. Alone time becomes harder to come by. And suddenly, you share everything.

Navigating this relationship milestone requires a ton of compromise. What will you each keep? What will you sell, toss or donate to make room for this new person in your life? “If you both are living in separate places, you probably have two washers, two dryers, two TVs. These are things you can sell to raise money for a wedding or to help pay down debt,” said Smith.

Voisin said that if you’re comfortable with it, opening a joint checking or savings account can help you get used to managing money as a couple. It also prompts you to have the conversation about how you’re going to allocate your money. “Are we agreeing to save a certain amount and then spend the rest as we wish?” said Voisin. “Or should we be putting a little bit extra into the joint account … and if things go wrong, we split the savings 50/50?”

And there’s one more scenario you shouldn’t neglect to discuss: What happens to your shared belongings if you break up? This issue can feel especially awkward to raise, but imagine how much more difficult it would be to work out when you’re no longer a couple.

Getting engaged: “How do we envision our future together?”

Getting engaged means you’re ready to commit to each other. This transforms your conversations about money from what’s going on right now to what you want for the future. It’s time to talk about everything from how many kids you want, if any, to how much retirement income you’ll need.

Although discussing your future together can be exciting, one important matter you shouldn’t neglect is protection planning, according to Voisin. If the worst happens, how do you ensure that a surviving spouse has the financial support he or she will need?

“It’s making sure that each person has enough … and having that conversation about what does ‘taken care of’ actually mean,” said Voisin.

Of course, marriage isn’t for everyone. But couples that stay together for the long haul still experience many of the same financial concerns and needs. So if you think your partner is your forever person, it’s still important to have this conversation even if you don’t plan to get married.

Starting a family: “Where will our kids go to school?”

Once you have kids, your lives will generally revolve around them and their education. For instance, will you need to budget for child care, or will one of you take time off work to raise your family? If you live in a neighborhood where the public schools aren’t great, will you need to save for a private education or move to another district?

“Those are conversations you definitely want to have ahead of the baby coming, because that’s a very short time frame,” said Smith.

And while you don’t need to open a 529 plan the moment your pregnancy test comes back positive, it is important to at least start talking about college. Voisin recommended discussing whether you will expect your children to pay their own way through school or if you plan to help. And if you do, figure out how much you need to sock away each month.

Growing older together: “How will we support our family in our golden years and beyond?”

Spending your days with the person you love at your side means a lifetime of shared adventures and memories. You’ve built a life, family and legacy together. These golden years should be cherished, Still, it’s also important to talk about how that legacy will be protected if one of you is no longer around.

At this point, you will need comprehensive financial planning. “Your life has changed so much,” said Voisin. “You’ve maybe paid off a mortgage, put kids through college … Maybe there are grandchildren in the picture now. It’s really a discussion about your estate distribution,” she said.

To guide that conversation, it’s important to enlist the help of a professional. “Financially responsible couples have hired a financial planner to help put a plan in place for them,” said Smith.

She added that most financial planners are going to require that couples have a living will and know how their health care will be paid for, as well whether they have sufficient insurance and retirement savings to support one partner if the other dies earlier.

“Those types of conversations are absolutely going to come up when working with a financial planner and estate planning attorney,” Smith said.

Keep the conversation going.

Some of these money talks can be difficult to bring up. But it’s important to get through the awkwardness and maintain an open dialogue about finances with your partner.

One way to do that? Schedule monthly or quarterly “money dates,” recommended Smith.

“Money can cause fights. You don’t want to bring up a conversation about the electric bill when someone’s had a long day,” she said. Instead, set aside time when you both know you’re going to discuss financial matters and nothing else.

Money can make or break a relationship. If you and your partner are as committed to speaking transparently about finances as you are to each other, you can avoid unneeded stress and arguing that often tears couples apart.

Harvey Weinstein plans to turn himself in to New York City law enforcement on Friday morning, The New York Times reported Thursday citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, along with other news outlets.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has been conducting a criminal probe into accusations against the disgraced former Hollywood producer.

Inspired by October exposes in The New York Timesand The New Yorker, dozens of women began coming forward late last year with stories about the alleged sexual abuse and harassment they sustained at his hands. Reporters for the Times and The New Yorker ― Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey and Ronan Farrow ― received the Pulitzer Prize for public service earlier this year for their effort to expose Hollywood’s culture of abuse. 

Their work is credited with sparking the Me Too and Time’s Up movements against sexual misconduct.

After the Times delivered the first devastating blow, Weinstein issued a bizarre statement quoting Jay-Z to apologize for his actions. He explained that they stemmed from growing up “in the 60’s and 70’s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different.”

Since then, Weinstein has repeatedly denied engaging in any nonconsensual sex acts through his attorneys.

A number of women spoke out against Weinstein following the lead of Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and Asia Argento, who were among his first public accusers.

Hollywood stars including A-list actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie began sharing stories that started feeling grossly similar to those told by women who agreed to be named in initial media reports. A pattern of abuse quickly emerged: Much of the time, Weinstein would use his position of power to lure individual young women to his hotel rooms, offices or other private spaces under the guise of speaking about work. Sometimes he would tell them another woman would be present in order to make his female guests more comfortable; the woman would either be completely absent or quickly leave. 

Their accusations have ranged from uncomfortable sexual harassment to brutal sexual assault.

The charges against him are reportedly related to an accusation made by Lucia Evans, who told The New Yorker the disgraced Hollywood producer forced her to perform oral sex during a meeting ostensibly on a work opportunity.

As part of its investigation, the NYPD also examined the alleged 2010 sexual assault of “Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

In 2015, New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. let Weinstein off the hook for an alleged sexual assault by an Italian model, deciding there was insufficient evidence for charges after he allegedly groped her. In March, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) ordered the state attorney general to review the decision, which Vance has defended.

Weinstein was fired from the studio he co-founded, The Weinstein Company, in October 2017.

He had been reportedly spending much of his time at a rehabilitation facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, after becoming a pariah in the industry where he once loomed large.  

Multiple women have accused actor Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior and harassment.

The allegations surfaced Thursday in a report from CNN, with eight individuals telling the network that they were victims of harassment and inappropriate behavior by Freeman. Sixteen people in total spoke to CNN about the actor’s alleged behavior as part of the investigation.

An unidentified woman told the network she was harassed by Freeman in 2015 while working as a production assistant for the comedy “Going in Style” starring the famed actor.

The woman said Freeman often touched her inappropriately and made comments about her body and clothing daily.

Freeman “kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear” at one point while they worked together, the woman alleged. Actor Alan Arkin “made a comment telling him to stop. Morgan got freaked out and didn’t know what to say.”

Another woman told CNN that while working on the 2012 movie “Now You See Me,” Freeman sexually harassed her multiple times.

“He did comment on our bodies,” the second accuser told CNN. “We knew that if he was coming by ... not to wear any top that would show our breasts, not to wear anything that would show our bottoms, meaning not wearing clothes that [were] fitted,” she said.

Other inappropriate behavior included staring at women’s breasts, massaging an intern’s shoulders, asking a woman how she felt about sexual harassment and asking women to twirl for him, according to CNN.

TransLink, Vancouver’s major transportation company, said it would be suspending new voiceovers that featured Freeman as part of an ad campaign for Visa.

In a statement, Freeman said he is not someone who would “intentionally offend.”

“Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy,” he said. “I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected ― that was never my intent.”

This has been updated with TransLink’s response to the allegations. 

A year after the first season of Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why”sparked a debate over its unsettling depiction of teenage suicide, showrunner Brian Yorkey has unfurled a new, increasingly graphic batch of episodes.

One in particular, however, has people talking. And it features not one but two significant events that, when taken together, equate to a highly disturbing finale.

(Warning: The below description may be unsettling to some readers.) 

“13 Reasons Why” Season 2 picks up where the last season left off, focusing primarily on how the students of Liberty High School are recovering from the tragic death of Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) and the ensuing legal battle between her parents and the school. But the final episode stands apart from Hannah’s narrative. It features one of the most horrifying and heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever seen on television.

The scene occurs midway through Episode 13, dubbed “Bye.” Tyler (Devin Druid), who recently returned to school following a stint in behavioral rehab after he was caught vandalizing the baseball field, is confronted in a bathroom by Monty (Timothy Granaderos) and two other student-athletes. Monty, a close friend of villainous jock Bryce (Justin Prentice) ― who has somehow gotten away with raping both Hannah and Jessica (Alisha Boe) ― is still reeling over the fact that Tyler ruined Liberty’s baseball season. When Monty sees that Tyler’s back at school, he plans to make him suffer. 

So Monty and his friends initiate a sequence of male-on-male violence rarely seen on-screen. First, they smash Tyler’s head against a mirror and sink. Then they shove his head in a toilet, pinning him down. Monty proceeds to sodomize Tyler with a mop handle, aggressively pushing it deeper into Tyler’s rectum as the teen cries out in agony. When the heinous act is completed, the young men leave Tyler there, petrified, bleeding and bruised.

It’s a stomach-churning two minutes worth of storyline, which Druid ― along with fellow cast members Boe, Dylan Minnette, Ross Butler and Christian Navarro ― discussed in an interview with HuffPost on Tuesday.

“When it did come time to get to the final episode and [showrunner] Brian [Yorkey] was walking me through this idea of what would happen to Tyler, it was incredibly intimidating,” he told me during a Build Series segment in New York City. “Because you’re suddenly given this responsibility to portray this horrific thing that unfortunately happens to many people around the world, and to a lot of young people these days.”

“But then you think about what you’re doing and the greater impact that it will hopefully have on people’s lives,” he added, “and it does kind of fill you with a sense of bringing justice to something and saying, hopefully, this is helping someone and that will make me feel much better about what we’re doing here.” 

The “horrific thing” Druid mentioned, “that unfortunately happens to many people,” is a reference to the sexual assault his character was forced to endure. But it could also refer to the violence Tyler almost enacts on his peers: Shortly after the assault scene, “13 Reasons Why” has Tyler attempting to seek revenge on his classmates by showing up to a school dance with an automatic weapon.

This is how the season ends. With a panicked Clay (Minnette), rifle pointed at his chest, pleading with Tyler outside the school to reconsider his next move as sirens blare in the background. “I don’t want you to die,” Clay tells him, tears streaming down his face. Tyler appears to be questioning his motives as Clay lowers the gun. “We’ll figure it out, I swear,” he tells Tyler. That’s when Tony (Navarro) pulls up in his car and screams at Tyler to get in, leaving Clay, weapon in hand, alone as the cops approach.

It’s a plot decision that ― like Hannah’s suicide scene from last season ― has caused a divisive rift in the show’s fandom.

“I was aware that there were some warning precautions, but the [assault] scene was very vulgar and unnecessarily uncomfortable ― not for the sexuality part but for how much emotion and intensity it had,” Kendal Wiley, a 19-year-old fan of the show from Burleson, Texas, told HuffPost. 

Yorkey himself defended the scene to Vulture:

We’re committed on this show to telling truthful stories about things that young people go through in as unflinching a way as we can ... the fact is that, as intense as that scene is, and as strong as our reactions to it may be, it doesn’t even come close to the pain experienced by the people who actually go through these things.

“We all take this very seriously and I think it’s a big responsibility for each of us, but it’s a privilege, as well,” Navarro emphasized to HuffPost, noting that, as actors on “13 Reasons Why,” the cast is often expected to speak to the series’ controversial subject matter.

“I don’t think any of us imagined we would be on a show with this level of importance,” he said. “The impact that it’s had here in the States and than globally took us for a surprise, so we’re still dealing with that every day.”

The show, Navarro said, was written and produced before the various instances of violence on school properties in 2018. “But [school shootings are] prevalent and our show helps to spark a conversation,” he added, “as it did last year with suicide and bullying and sexual assault. Hopefully the same conversation will be sparked this year with gun violence.”

“That’s our goal with the show,” Minnette said, “to speak to teens, to speak to people any age, really, and just start conversations. Important ones.”

Of course, public debates about gun violence existed before the second season of “13 Reasons Why” premiered. They existed before 2018, too, but ramped up in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting. Moreover, the conversation that the show has started is not limited to school shootings. It entwines a brutal instance of sexual assault with a disturbing brush with gun violence, making it seem as though the former caused the latter.

The character of Tyler faced his fair share of mistreatment throughout the series, from Hannah’s rejection of his apology for photographing her through her bedroom window to Clay’s decision to share a private photo of him with the entire school. Those moments led bullies like Bryce and Monty to incessantly belittle Tyler, mooning and pantsing him in the hallways. By the end of Season 1, we watch as Tyler purchases guns; by the conclusion of Season 2, we see him ready to use them. 

To foreshadow his storyline is one thing. To cram Tyler’s tragic rape scene and school-shooter narrative into the last 30 minutes of a finale episode is another. The juxtaposition of these moments is unsettling, prompting viewers to question the motives of the storytellers they’re trusting to convey the lives of fictional teens. There was a sense that Tyler was happy and healthy after his time in treatment, a sensibility quickly muddled by Monty’s unimaginable cruelty, leading Tyler to retaliate against not only his perpetrators but the entire Liberty community. Was this all too much to take in? And was it fair to unravel his breakdown in just a few short minutes?

Yes, “13 Reasons Why” does a fair job of presenting real-life teen issues to a loyal, interested audience. (According to Variety, the drama immediately took over the top spot among all U.S. digital original series following its release last Friday.) But it also fails to take full responsibility for those depictions, instead pointing viewers in the direction of a resource website, discussion guide and after-show with the cast. If more time had been spent on the emotional aftermath of Tyler’s rape, his storyline could have made a greater impact.

Surely Netflix is using these new tools to try and make amends for the backlash that greeted the first season, but leaving their young fan base with even more unanswered questions about the correlation between extreme bullying and gun violence is not necessarily the way to go.

Watch our full interview with the “13 Reasons Why” cast below.