Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Wondering who and what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is texting in this Associated Press photo?
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton works from a desk inside a C-17 military plane en route to Libya in october 2011. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/AP/ Pool)

The folks at Texts From Hillary Clinton have a few ideas:
Who else could she be texting? Find out at textsfromhillaryclinton.tumblr.com/
And if some of the things you've heard GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney say on the campaign trail seem a little scripted, the hilarious mash-up at Lucille and Mitt may have an explanation. Take a still of Lucille Bluth from "Arrested Development," add a few words from the former Governor of Massachusetts, and there you have it -- instant fake context.
For more, check out lucilleandmitt.tumblr.com/

I Hope Rick Santorum offers up rambling deep thoughts worthy of Jack Handy, like "I hope Rick Santorum wants to catch a rare wild pokemon he found, but his starter pokemon is too strong and kills it in one move" and "I hope Rick Santorum orders Coke at a restaurant and gets asked if Pepsi is okay."




Copyright © 2012 Yahoo Inc.




Also on Shine:
Mitt Romney would like to be known as Javelin. Rick Santorum? Call him Petrus
Hillary Clinton's scrunchie: Fugly or functional?
Women and

Read More »from Texts from Hillary? Lucille and Mitt? New Blogs Poke Fun at Politicians

Michael Testa, 7, loves hanging around his father's pizzeria in Jersey City. So it's no surprise that he picked up a few tricks of the trade, just by watching his dad make pizza after pizza.

[Related: DIY Pizza: 3 steps to the best pizza party ever]

What's surprising, though, is how quickly the second grader mastered the dough-tossing techniques that it took his dad decades to learn. This kid can really throw the dough.



"He's an exceptional kid. If he can see it, he can pretty much do it," says his dad, Carmine, of Carmine's Pizza Factory, told Yahoo! Shine. "Pretty much my whole life of 20 years of doing it, and he was able to pick up in about two weeks of practicing."

Michael is spinning a plastic practice dough in the video, his dad says, but the he makes and throws his own homemade dough as well. The practice version has "the same weight and consistency of dough," his dad points out, "but you can't put holes in it, and if you drop it on the floor you can still pick it up and

Read More »from WATCH: 7-year-old Michael Testa Tosses Pizzas like a Pro

First lady Michelle Obama holds Eun White, 4, as his father Darnell White (left) looks on during a celebration with military families at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on April 4, 2012. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Nearly a dozen private-sector companies have agreed to offer work-from-home job opportunities to veterans and military spouses as part of the White House's Joining Forces initiative to support military families, first lady Michelle Obama told reporters on Wednesday.

"Eleven companies are coming together to pledge more than 15,000 jobs for military spouses," she announced during a small press conference. "The vast majority of these jobs are ones that spouses can do at home, from anywhere in the country."

[Related: Michelle Obama and Jill Biden on how we can all help military families]

Military families move 10 times as often as civilian families, according to data from Joining Forces. The initiative is already working to streamline the licensing procedure for military spouses who have jobs in fields that require a state-issued license, like nursing and teaching. Wednesday's announcement should help military spouses avoid the stress of having to find work every time they have to move.

Read More »from Joining Forces: Companies to Offer Work-at-Home Jobs to Military Spouses

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, right, talks with Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of the Paley Center for Media at the Paley Center in New York on Tuesday, April 3. (Photo: Michael Priest Photography)Calling for a return to civility in politics, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday urged women to become more active in their communities, to "know your power," and to "value your experience."

"There are many problems. And I think there is one answer," she told a small crowd at New York's Paley Center for Media. "Any subject you can name is enhanced by the increased participation of women. It's important to have that mix. Not to say one is better than another. It's just important to have the mix."

The public is ready for a woman president, she said, and her pick for 2016 is Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. "She would be a fabulous president," she said. "She's brilliant. She's talented. She has knowledge and judgement. She's a strategic thinker, she attracts people to her -- and she has stamina. She would be absolutely great."

Pelosi -- a Catholic mother of five, a 25-year veteran of Congress, and the first female speaker of the House of Representatives -- has

Read More »from Nancy Pelosi Calls for Civility, Tells Women to "know Your Power"

Pro-life activists protest at the March for Life rally in January in Washington, DC. (Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images.)Todd Stave understands why protesters target the clinic he leases to a late-term abortion provider in Germantown, Maryland. He owns the building, not the business inside it, but still: Even though the protesters' signs are graphic and disturbing, and even though does not agree with the point they're trying to make, he acknowledges that they should be able to protest his tenant's work.

[Related: Georgia lawmaker counters abortion bill with one restricting vasectomies]

"Totally appropriate. It's their right," he told Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak. "They are protected by the First Amendment. And outside the clinic is probably the most appropriate place for them to express their views."

But when the protesters showed up at his daughter's middle school in Rockville, Maryland, last September, they took things too far.

One large banner featured his photo, his name, his phone number, and the words "Please STOP the Child Killing" -- even though he's the clinic's landlord, not the

Read More »from Voice of Choice: Landlord Counters Harassment from Abortion Protesters by Turning the Tables on Them

What would you do if you won the lottery?With the Mega Millions lottery jackpot up to a whopping $640 million by mid-afternoon Friday -- a gain of more than $100 million in less than 24 hours -- people who might usually avoid the game are rushing to plunk money down for a chance to win.

What would you do if you won?

It's the largest lottery prize in history, and it'll probably continue to grow as people buy more $1 tickets on their way home from work.

"As of noon, Pennsylvania Lottery Mega Millions tickets were selling at about $500 per second, or $30,000 per minute," Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Todd Rucci told NBC News.

If one person ends up with all six winning numbers, he or she can choose between equal payments spread out over 26 years, or one lump sum payment of $462 million after taxes. (Getting five winning numbers but missing the all-important Mega Ball gets you just $250,00.) If no one wins when the numbers are drawn Friday night, the jackpot will grow to nearly $975 million.

But don't get your hopes

Read More »from Mega Million Jackpot Tops $640 Million. What Would You Do If You Won the Lottery?

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

On Saturday at 8:30 p.m., cities around the world will mark Earth Hour by leaving their landmarks in darkness. Launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund, it's intended to be a call to action on climate change and clean energy. Here's a look at some Earth Hour images from years past.

Read More »from Earth Hour: Photos from Around the World

Then 19-year-old Claudia Schiffer in her iconic Guess ad from 1989.In 1989, chic clothing company Guess ran a series of sexy, edgy black-and-white ads featuring an unknown German model who looked like a young Brigitte Bardot. Posing in a lace bustier and gold hoop earrings, her hair swept into a tousled up-do, 19-year-old Claudia Schiffer became an instant icon and the Guess brand became popular around the world.

[Related: Supermodels without makeup. Still gorgeous?]

Now 41-years-old, the seemingly ageless supermodel is the face of Guess once again. And, judging by the pictures taken by Ellen von Unwerth -- who has been the photographer on all six of Schiffer's previous Guess campaigns -- she doesn't look like time has touched her.

"Guess will always have a soft spot in my heart, and I'm excited that 23 years later we can still work together so successfully," Schiffer told Women's Wear Daily

"[Schiffer] was a turning point of Guess, she was a turning point of Ellen's career, Guess was a turning point of a life for Claudia," Guess CEO Paul Marciano

Read More »from Claudia Schiffer's Guess Campaign Showcases Age-defying Model