海角大神

Today鈥檚 stories explore how community is rebuilt after disaster, the role of women in the impeachment hearings, where Ukraine鈥檚 allegiances may soon lie, a shift in Georgia鈥檚 environmental regulation approach, and how a new film tapped into the universal influence of Mister Rogers.

But first,聽Ashleigh Bentz knows what it鈥檚 like to want a doll that looks like her. As someone who uses a prosthesis, 鈥済rowing up, the only way my Barbie looked like me was if I broke her leg off,鈥� she . 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine what having one (with a prosthetic leg) would have done for my self-esteem back then.鈥�

Earlier this year, toy company Mattel debuted a Barbie doll with a prosthetic leg and another with a wheelchair. Last Friday, Ms. Bentz donated nearly 600 such dolls to a St. Louis children鈥檚 hospital. Her reasoning? To give patients a gift that would meet them where they are.

Barbie, which turned 60 this year, has long been criticized for setting unattainable beauty standards for young girls. But as more parents have sought out toys they can connect with and that support the values they want to instill in their children, Barbie has had to change.

鈥淥ur goal was to really celebrate all types of beauty,鈥� Evelyn Mazzocco, head of the Barbie brand in 2016, when the company released dolls with different body shapes. The previous year, Mattel debuted 23 ethnically diverse Barbies.

Connor Maine, a patient who received a doll from Ms. Bentz, said he鈥檚 going to give it to his sister. 鈥淚t can give an idea to my sister that no one is the same and everyone is unique.鈥�