The show Friends is still getting laughs on syndication and on streaming, but thanks to an Italian couple — and artificial intelligence wizardry — it’s now inspiring a new viral art collection.
Luca and Anna Allievi are the people behind the Instagram account the_ai_dreams, which was already popular for using AI to de-age celebrities to toddlers.
The project they started for fun has now taken a look at the Friends friends, reimagining Jennifer Aniston‘s Rachel Green, Matthew Perry‘s Chandler Bing, David Schwimmer‘s Ross Gellar, Courteney Cox‘s Monica Gellar, Lisa Kudrow‘s Phoebe Buffay and Matt LeBlanc‘s Joey Tribbiani as cute little tykes.
To come up with the pictures, the couple used the software Midjourney, which, as reported, was recently used to produce photos of what historical figures would have looked like throwing up selfies.
(ATLANTA) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted doctors across the country Monday about the potential risk of new mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, cases, warning that summer gatherings could lead to a “resurgence.”
Mpox cases have plummeted since a peak in the summer of 2022, with the World Health Organization calling an end to the emergency phase of the outbreak Thursday — but the virus is not completely eradicated.
“While the transmission of monkeypox has reached its lowest levels since its emergence last year, the upcoming summer months, characterized by larger gatherings, present an increased risk of local outbreaks,” John Brownstein, PhD, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News Contributor, said.
“The most important message is that mpox has not gone away,” Dr. Richard Silvera (MD, MPH, CPH) Associate Program Director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship and Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told ABC News.
Mpox infection is not usually life-threatening. It often appears as a painful rash, and some people experience flu-like symptoms.
The new CDC warning comes on the heels of a cluster of cases in Chicago, where health officials say there have been 12 confirmed cases and one probable case from April 17 to May 5.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) tells ABC News they are in close contact with the people who tested positive and are working with other health departments and the CDC in an ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, health officials in Chicago are raising awareness ahead of summertime festivals.
“We have been working with community partners to spread awareness of this resurgence and opportunities for vaccination, ahead of [International Mr. Leather], Pride, associated and other events,” a CDPH spokesperson said.
None of the Chicago mpox patients have been hospitalized, but nine cases were among men who had been fully vaccinated.
Experts caution that many vaccines, including mpox, reduce the likelihood of infection but do not completely eliminate risk. Vaccination is still encouraged because people who are fully vaccinated can expect less severe symptoms.
Chicago health officials are not recommending booster doses for fully vaccinated people at this time. Both unvaccinated and vaccinated people should avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with someone who has mpox, according to the CDC.
“It’s important to remember that vaccines—while incredibly helpful—are not our only way to reduce the risk of contracting Mpox,” Silvera said. Other risk reduction strategies include “things like avoiding social and sexual contact if you have new skin lesions and asking your intimate contacts if they are experiencing symptoms or new skin changes,” Silvera said.
The 2022 global mpox outbreak disproportionately impacted gay and bisexual men, but anyone can get or spread monkeypox, regardless of their sexual orientation or how they identify. It spreads most easily through close skin-to-skin contact, often during sex. It does not easily spread via casual contact, such as touching shared surfaces, like elevator buttons, or brushing against someone.
The CDC said that in the U.S., only one-quarter of eligible people are vaccinated, and urged vaccination among those who are high-risk.
The CDC recommends mpox vaccination for people with a known exposure, including close physical contact or sexual contact with someone who had an mpox rash. In addition, the CDC also recommends vaccination for people with HIV who have a higher risk of exposure, for gay, bisexual and MSM who have recently had more than one sexual partner or a recent sexually transmitted infection.
“Vaccination stands as the most effective means of safeguarding oneself against monkeypox. However, only a small fraction of those eligible have received the vaccine thus far. Increasing vaccination coverage is likely to contribute to reducing monkeypox transmission,” Brownstein said.
“The good news is that we have many tools to help prevent mpox including vaccination, as well as strategies to reduce your risk as you socialize this summer,” Silvera said. Along with vaccination, Silvera said, “our best tool is communication: telling those you have intimate contact with if you are experiencing potential Mpox symptoms; asking if they are experiencing symptoms; and listening for updates from public health organizations as we learn more.”
After announcing plans to kill his “The Weeknd” persona, the singer changed the display names on his social media to his birth name, Abel Tesfaye. He previously told W Magazine he plans to release one more album under The Weeknd moniker.
Nearly a month after releasing Cottonwood 2, NLE Choppa has been named among Billboard‘s 2023 21 Under 21 list. “I started at 16. Now I’m 20,” he says. “I got 20 more years, and I’m only getting better.”
Lil Wayne wrapped his Welcome To Tha Carter Tour on Saturday in LA. After declaring he’s the “realest motherf**** in the game right now” and “the best rapper alive,” he let his Young Money artists Lil Twist, Yaj Kader and Allan Cubas take the stage and ended the show early because of the crowd’s lackadaisical response.
If you’re wondering, Kid Cudi‘s unreleased collaboration with Playboi Carti, “Solo Dolo, Pt. IV,” will not appear on his forthcoming album. Cudi says Carti won’t clear the track, adding it’s “ok becuz the s*** I have on this album f***** smacks and ur faces will melt.”
Jermaine Dupri wants fans to know he didn’t drop the ball with Latto, a previous winner on his show, The Rap Game. As promised, he gave her a single but “the outlets didn’t support it.” “People didn’t really start talking about Latto until she started making more vulgar records, dressing more sexual, and being more adult,” he adds.
Despite previous reports that they sold Verzuz to Triller, Swizz Beatz insists he and Timbaland own 100% of the platform.
Rick Ross claims he, Drake and Jay-Z are part of “the two percentile when it comes to writers and creators,” referring to those who can write and execute a record on the spot after hearing a beat they love.
(WASHINGTON) — The State Department’s latest survey of religious freedom around the world shows that conditions in some of the most oppressive nations around the world are growing even more dire as well as new, troubling trends, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
“Governments in many parts of the world continue to target religious minorities using a host of methods, including torture, beatings, unlawful surveillance, and so-called re-education camps,” he said.
Blinken underscored abuses against the predominately Muslim Uyghur minority group in the Xinjiang province of China, a country one senior State Department official described as “one of the worst abusers of human rights and religious freedom in the world.”
The U.S. has previously determined that Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghurs amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity, and the report, which covers the year 2022, said that persecution has continued steadily.
Although data is limited, the survey also noted that the Chinese Communist Party has significantly and broadly cracked down on religious freedom over the course of the year, and that the number of people imprisoned for their spiritual beliefs was estimated to range between the low thousands to perhaps over 10,000.
Chinese government officials have denied all allegations of human rights abuses and attempted to justify actions against Uyghurs as counterterrorism measures.
Blinken also addresses Iran’s Islamic theocracy, which imposes draconian restrictions on its population and brutal punishments for offenses, as well as the ongoing wave of demonstrations inspired by the death of a teenager last September.
“People across Iran, led by young women, continue peaceful protests demanding their human rights, including freedom of religion, galvanized by the killing of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the so-called morality police because her hijab did not fully cover her hair,” he said.
The report emphasizes that the movement has come with steep costs. Referencing statistics from human rights groups working in Iran, it says that in the months of 2022 after Amini’s death, government security forces killed 512 protestors, including 69 children, arrested 19,204 individuals and executed at least one person linked to the demonstrations on the charge of “enmity against God.”
The survey, which is required by law to be compiled and submitted to Congress annually, also expressed a number of concerns about conditions in India—a country not currently designated by the State Department as a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom. Among the issues listed are legal prohibitions against conversions in multiple states, accusations of systemic discrimination against Muslims, and attacks on religious minorities–including “cow vigilantism” against non-Hindus based on allegations of cow slaughter or trade in beef.
“We’re continuing to encourage the government to condemn violence and hold accountable and protect all groups who engage in rhetoric that’s dehumanizing towards religious minorities and all groups who engage in violence against religious communities and other communities in India,” a senior State Department official advised reporters.
Additionally, the report outlined widespread violations against religious freedom perpetrated by Moscow, both in Russia and in occupied areas of Ukraine.
“Authorities continued to investigate, detain, imprison, torture, physically abuse persons, and seize their property because of their religious belief or affiliation or membership in groups designated “extremist,” “terrorist,” or “undesirable,” including Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Tablighi Jamaat, followers of Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi, the Church of Scientology, Falun Gong, and multiple evangelical Protestant groups,” the report says, adding that individuals have been reportedly subjected to long terms in labor camps, torture, home searches, and other mistreatment.
The report also said that even members of the Russian Orthodox Church were not completely protected, noting some were “fined or banned from continuing in their religious duties” after criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In Crimea and other areas of Ukraine under Russian rule, the report said there was abundant evidence that authorities “have committed widespread, ongoing, and egregious violations of the right to freedom of religion and conscience as well as physical and psychological abuse of
But Blinken also said across the globe, the report captured examples of progress, citing Belgium formally recognizing its Buddhist minority, lawmakers in Brazil codifying religious freedom guarantees for Afro-Brazilian indigenous communities, and various countries launching offices to combat islamophobia and antisemitism.
“More broadly, civil society and other concerned governments around the world have successfully secured the release of many who have been detained, even in prison for exercising their freedom of religion or belief,” he said.
The biggest hit of 2023 so far, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is coming home to digital platforms for rent or purchase on Tuesday.
Universal’s adaptation of the beloved video game franchise stars the voices of Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, respectively, as Mario and his brother Luigi, as well as Jack Black, Seth Rogen and Anya Taylor-Joy, among others.
The film managed to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time globally, with a box office take that continues to grow. After last weekend, it stands at more than $1.2 billion and counting.
Lately, Billy Joel, his wife, Alexis, and their two young daughters have been spending more time in Florida, so he’s movin’ out of his New York waterfront estate.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the 26-acre estate in “a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island” — as he famously sang about in his song “The Ballad of Billy the Kid” — is on the market for $49 million. Billy paid $22.5 million for the first 14 acres and home back in 2002, but he’s since bought up adjoining plots of land to restore the estate to its original size.
The property, which sits on a small island called Centre Island, is known as Middlesea and features a 20,000-square-foot mansion, a beach house, two outdoor pools, a helipad, a bowling alley, a wine cellar, a floating dock and an indoor pool that Billy covered up so he could use it as a music room.
In 2015, Billy purchased an estate in Lantana, Florida, for $22 million, the Journal reports. But The New York Post reports that it, too, is for sale, for just under $70 million. The Post speculates that he’s looking for another property.
But Billy isn’t giving up all his ties to Long Island: He still has a home in ritzy Sag Harbor in the Hamptons.
(NEW YORK) — A former associate is suing Rudy Giuliani for alleged sexual assault and harassment, wage theft and other misconduct, accusing the former mayor and Trump lawyer of making “sexual demands” and going on “alcohol-drenched rants that included sexist, racist, and antisemitic remarks,” many of which were allegedly recorded.
Noelle Dunphy said she began working for Giuliani in 2019 as his director of business development. Giuliani “began abusing Ms. Dunphy almost immediately after she started working for” him, according to her lawsuit.
“He made clear that satisfying his sexual demands — which came virtually anytime, anywhere — was an absolute requirement of her employment and of his legal representation,” the lawsuit said.
According to Dunphy, Giuliani promised her a $1 million annual salary but the offer came with a catch: Giuliani was in the midst of an acrimonious divorce and he told Dunphy that her pay would have to be deferred and her employment kept “secret” until the divorce proceedings finished. He claimed that his “crazy” ex-wife and her lawyers were watching his cashflow and that his ex-wife would “attack” and “retaliate” against any female employee that Giuliani hired, the lawsuit said.
Part of the job required Dunphy to record her interactions with Giuliani “anytime, anywhere, as well as Giuliani’s interactions with others,” the lawsuit said.
“But unbeknownst to Ms. Dunphy, Giuliani apparently decided during the interview that he would use the job offer and his representation as a pretext to develop a quid pro quo sexual relationship with Ms. Dunphy. He was later recorded telling Ms. Dunphy, ‘I’ve wanted you from the day I interviewed you,'” the lawsuit said.
Giuliani has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment but a spokesperson for the former mayor told ABC New York station WABC “Giuliani vehemently and completely denies the allegations in the complaint and plans to thoroughly defend against these allegations. This is pure harassment and an attempt at extortion.”
According to the lawsuit, a week into her employment, Giuliani had Dunphy flown to New York on a chartered plane and insisted she stay in a guest suite in his Upper East Side apartment. The two drank and at one point “Giuliani then pulled her head onto his penis, without asking for or obtaining any form of consent. He held her by her hair. It became clear to Ms. Dunphy that there was no way out of giving him oral sex. She did so, against her will,” the lawsuit said.
Giuliani often demanded that Dunphy work naked, in a bikini, or in short shorts with an American flag on them that he bought for her, the lawsuit said.
“When they were apart, they would often work remotely via videoconference, and during those conferences Giuliani almost always asked her to remove her clothes on camera. He often called from his bed, where he was visibly touching himself under a white sheet,” the lawsuit said.
The full season 2 trailer of the hit FX series The Bear has finally dropped, and it shows some delicious new dishes.
The two-minute trailer starts inside the now-newspaper-covered windows of The Original Beef of Chicagoland, where Golden Globe winner Jeremy Allen White‘s character, Carmy — the chef and restaurateur protagonist — has set out to “start fresh and clean.”
As the trailer begins, set to AC/DC‘s “If You Want Blood,” we see shots full of restaurant renovations, sizzling steaks basted in bubbling butter, whisking egg yolks into an emulsion, plating up cast iron seared radicchio with rosemary and citrus, and circling important dates on the calendar as they have six months to open the new restaurant with a “chaos menu” concept.
When the music fades and switches to “Strange Currencies” by R.E.M., Carmy is seen in therapy saying, “I’m trying to start from a place of positivity.” The shot shifts to bao buns on the flat top and Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, taking a bite of luxuriously long — presumably hand-pulled — noodles.
Two of the kitchen’s longtime cooks from season 1 are seen anxiously heading into culinary school as Sydney sits down to interview some new faces.
All episodes of the new season begin streaming June 22.
Rolling Stones fans may want to make a stop at Los Angeles’ Rockaway Records. The store has just acquired a new collection of Stones memorabilia, featuring over 10,000 items.
The collection, purchased from the estate of skateboarder Brad “Squeak” Blanck, a known figure in the Rolling Stones community, consists of an extensive collection of vinyl, with rare LPs and 45s, vintage T-shirts, concert posters and more.
Some of the items up for grabs include a copy of the rare “Beast of Burden” 45 with picture sleeve and an Andy Warhol-designed promotional display from 1977. One item no longer available is a rare set of 1978 U.K. promo posters for “Some Girls,” which has already been purchased by The Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson.
“We have bought many amazing collections over the past 45 years, but this is definitely the most exciting one in a long time!” Rockaway Records’ Wayne Johnson shares.
More information on the collection can be found at rockaway.com.
(NEW YORK) — The Pacific Northwest was hit by a record-breaking heat wave over the weekend, with the highest temperatures seen at this point in the season.
Portland, Oregon, reached 93 degrees on Saturday — breaking a record set in 1973 — and 92 degrees on Sunday, according to National Weather Service Portland. Meanwhile, in Seattle, temperatures soared to a record-high 82 degrees, according to National Weather Service Seattle.
Although some regions are expected to see some relief at the beginning of this week, temperatures are expected to rise again.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 618 people die from heat-related illnesses every year in the U.S. and heat waves can lead to excess deaths. More than 70,000 people died in a heat wave in Europe in 2003.
Experts say people can suffer severe health effects beyond the well-known heat-related illnesses in extreme heat.
“It’s more than a heat wave or just heatstroke,” Dr. Kai Chen, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told ABC News. “That’s not the whole story, it’s the tip of the iceberg.”
Normally during extreme heat — meaning temperatures that are hotter and/or more humid than average — the body tries to cool itself by sweating.
However, if a person does not replenish with fluids, that can lead to dehydration. The body temperature can then continue to rise, which can then lead to other heat-related illnesses.
“Heat illness is a spectrum of disease,” Dr. John Purakal, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, told ABC News. “And it starts with kind of very low and mild symptoms and then works its way up to much more critical and concerning symptoms. It’s usually a result of your body’s difficulty with thermo-regulation and that’s because of both dehydration and your salt stores being depleted.”
The mild symptoms come in the form of a sunburn or a heat rash or heat cramps, with signs including muscle pain and spasms.
This can progress to heat exhaustion — which includes symptoms of headaches, dizziness, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting — and, if the body reaches extremely high temperatures, heat stroke.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a very long time outside with exposure to get this to happen,” said Purakal. “It just depends on how hot it is outside, what sort of medical conditions you have and whether or not you’re exerting yourself.”
Anyone can be impacted by heat-related illness but some populations — including the elderly, infants and young children, outdoor workers and people with low socioeconomic status — are at higher risk.
Being exposed to extreme heat can cause even more damage to the body. Chen said extreme heat can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Additionally, a recent study found extreme heat exposure is linked to an increase in kidney disease-related ER visits.
“But also, the impact goes beyond just the physical health, it can also impact our mental health,” Chen said.
Research has shown that extreme heat has been linked to increases in irritability and symptoms of depression.
Additionally, people on certain medications, including some antidepressants and antipsychotics, can have trouble regulating temperature.
To stay safe, experts recommend using air-conditioning or finding your nearest cooling center if air conditioning is not available. They also recommend people wear loose, light-fitting clothes, limit time outside and drink plenty of water.
Purakal said it’s also important to recognize something might be wrong and to call for help if needed.
“One of the things that folks get themselves into trouble with is just kind of not knowing the signs to look for and not thinking to call sooner than later, because the longer you expose yourself, the more risk that’s involved,” he said.
