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'It's almost like a weapon': How the blonde bombshell has symbolised desire and danger Western culture, she says, has built a whole mythology around female blondeness − from religious iconography and fairy tales, to art and advertising − that has told specific stories about what it means to be blonde. In cinema's early years, comedies such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and Bombshell (1933), starring Jean Harlow, embedded concepts of the dazzling, devastatingly beautiful blonde into the cultural vernacular. "The idea that you're a bombshell, it's almost like a weapon," says Nead. "On the one hand, it is this kind of ideal, but at the same time, it's also threatening."   Before Harlow, there was another − more natural-looking − blonde on the scene: Mary Pickford, whose amber curls helped earn her the moniker of "America's Sweetheart". But while Pickford played the guileless girl waiting to be rescued, Harlow's peroxide blonde ...
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Homeland Security says 64 people 'self-deported' on US flight


The US Department of Homeland Security has said 64 people took a government-funded flight to their home countries as part of a new programme encouraging undocumented immigrants to "self-deport."

The initiative, dubbed "Project Homecoming", is part of President Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration, which has also involved detaining hundreds of migrants in a Salvadoran mega-prison.

Immigrants can leave the country on their own, in exchange for free travel and a $1,000 (£749) stipend, and avoid detention or other punishments for being in the US illegally.

The first government-chartered flight took off from Texas and travelled to Honduras and Colombia.

Homeland Security characterised the trip as a "voluntarily charter flight," and not an operation of the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency.

Of the 64 individuals on the flight, 38 returned to Honduras and 26 people went to Colombia, the department said.

In March, the Trump administration announced that people in the US illegally could utilise the border patrol app, CPB Home, to depart the country voluntarily. Since then, it has sent some people home on commercial flights.

Officials have described Project Homecoming as a smoother alternative to forcible deportations.

"If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

"If you don't, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return," Noem said.

Trump's other deportation initiatives have faced significant pushback from immigrants rights groups and numerous lawsuits.

Some of the legal battles have reached the US Supreme Court, with a mix of wins and losses for Trump.

On Saturday, the justices barred the administration from continuing to use the 18th century law known as the Alien Enemies Act to continue to deport Venezuelan migrants it has accused of gang membership.

Then on Monday, the court allowed the Trump administration to end protections against deportation for 350,000 Venezuelans who had been given Temporary Protected Status, which allows migrants to live and work legally in the US if their home country is deemed unsafe.

One of the highest-profile battles involves the deportation of a man living in Maryland, Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, to El Salvador over allegations he was a violent gang member.

A federal judge ordered the administration to facilitate his return, and that order was upheld by the US Supreme Court. However, Mr Abrego-Garcia remains in El Salvador, with the government arguing in court that it cannot compel the other country to take action, even though Trump has said in an interview that he "could" return Mr Abrego-Garica.

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