Priscilla Presley is lending her voice to the role she was born to play in Agent Elvis: herself.
The adult animation series’ official trailer dropped Wednesday, revealing that Priscilla would be voicing herself alongside Matthew McConaughey as Elvis Presley.
“So excited for Agent Elvis to come out on March 17th on @netflix and so proud to be a part of this amazing cast!” she captioned an Instagram post sharing the full trailer.
Viewers don’t see much of Priscilla in the trailer, but do see her get in on the action for a brief moment. She even gets a memorable line: “It’s groovy, don’t you think?”
According to the show’s official synopsis, “Elvis Presley trades in his white jumpsuit for a jet pack when he is covertly inducted into a secret government spy program to help battle the dark forces that threaten the country he loves — all while holding down his day job as the King of Rock and Roll.”
The 10-episode series was co-created by Priscilla and John Eddie, and developed by co-showrunners Mike Arnold and Eddie.
In addition to McConaughey and Priscilla, the cast includes Don Cheadle, Kaitlin Olson, Johnny Knoxville, Niecy Nash and Tom Kenny, among others.
(NEW YORK) — Increased time spent on social media is a risk factor for disordered eating, research shows.
Andrea Vazzana, a child psychologist who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders in children, adolescents and adults at NYU Langone, said the negative influence of social media is largely owed to the amount of social comparisons that are part of engaging in these social media platforms.
Increased use of social media has also contributed, in part, to the shifting demographics of those affected by eating disorders, according to Vazzana. She said there has been an increase in younger individuals, including tweens as young as 9 and 10 years old, suffering from eating disorders.
“This may be correlational data, but we’re seeing people joining social media platforms at an earlier age as well,” she told ABC News.
Vazzana noted that in addition to showing overedited, filtered photos, social media sites also offer users ways to find content like weight loss challenges, videos of purging techniques and unhealthy diets.
Nearly 10% of the world’s population and an estimated 30 million people in the United States are affected by an eating disorder, according to a report from the Academy for Eating Disorders and Deloitte Access Economics.
During National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, now through March 5, health professionals and recovery advocates are raising awareness about the importance of social media literacy to combat eating disorders.
Vazzana suggests parents and teens have conversations about social media literacy: comparisons, the use of filters and Photoshop and the concept of a highlight reel.
She believes “friending” people on social media that you know in real life, instead of following influencers and strangers, may be a protective factor in combating poor self-esteem from comparison. Limiting time on social media, as multiple studies have highlighted, can also be beneficial for both mental health and weight esteem.
When it comes to allowing children on social media, Vazzana said age is an important factor for parents to consider as research demonstrates that girls who engage on social media earlier than their peers have a higher drive for thinness.
In January, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said he believes 13 is too young for children to be on social media platforms, despite some of the most popular platforms allowing users to be that age.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, requires users to be at least 13 years old to use its platforms, according to the company’s website.
TikTok and Snapchat each also require users to be at least 13-years-old, according to their respective websites.
Google, the parent company of YouTube, does not allow kids under age 13 to create their own Google Account. YouTube allows parents to set up a “supervised account” for a child under age 13, for which they can control the content settings, according to its website.
In most cases, the social media sites require people to enter their birth dates in order to sign up as users.
Sam Dylan Finch, a recovery advocate, told ABC News that while social media can be a powerful tool in eating disorder recovery — including his own — it can also trap users in cycles of comparison and self-critique.
“It can be a vehicle for fad diets, health misinformation, harsh criticism, especially for those of us that don’t conform to society’s ideals of beauty and achievement,” he said. “And perpetuates standards of perfection that are impossible to achieve.”
Dylan Finch added that he believes how you curate your social media feed is important, in order to rule out false promises of esteem that the diet culture tries to sell, often through sponsored posts.
“This makes curating our feeds a powerful act of self-care that every one of us should take seriously,” he said.
Some social media sites have started to provide in-app resources for eating disorders and raise awareness.
In 2020, TikTok partnered with the National Eating Disorder Association, telling ABC News at the time, “At TikTok we work to foster an inclusive, body-positive environment where people can find support, affirmation and empathy within their community. Our goal is to create a space where our community feels comfortable and confident to be exactly who they are and express themselves freely.”
Instagram also has protections for kids, including support for people struggling with body image issues, age verification, parental controls, decreasing visibility of content that is potentially sensitive, time control settings, default settings to provide more privacy, as well as in-app resources offering mental health support, a spokesperson told ABC News last year.
When preoccupations with eating, exercise and photographs for social media start to distract a child from what is happening in real life, Vazzana suggests seeking professional help.
She said that pushing back against appearance ideals allows for more meaningful engagement in the real world, saying, “It’s almost like a bit of obstinance that can be used in a healthy way.”
If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or NationalEatingDisorders.org.
Mallory Rowley is a fourth-year medical student and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
In a post made to the Orlando Pride Instagram account, players Ally Watt and Haley McCutcheon pose in the team’s new dark shorts. — @orlpride/Instagram
(ORLANDO, Fla.) — This season, players for the Orlando Pride, part of the National Women’s Soccer League, will take the field in black shorts instead of white.
The reason, according to the team, is so that players feel “more comfortable and confident” when they are playing in a game while on their period.
The team says it is the first in the NWSL to make a change to its uniform after listening to players’ concerns about being uncomfortable wearing white while menstruating and competing.
“The reasons behind not wanting to wear white shorts are clear, but it is unfortunately something that hasn’t been addressed until recently,” Orlando Pride midfielder Erika Tymrak said in a statement shared by the team. “I think it’s a big step for us as a Club to make players feel comfortable and allow us to focus solely on competing.”
The team will debut its new look on March 26, when they take on the Portland Thorns in their first game of the 2023 season.
The Pride, which announced its uniform change this week on social media, said its players will be able to wear dark shorts in practices as well as games.
“We must remove the stigma involved in discussing the health issues impacting women and menstruating non-binary and trans athletes if we want to maximize performance and increase accessibility to sport,” Haley Carter, Orlando Pride’s vice president of soccer operations and general manager, said in a statement. “I am proud to be part of a Club that is making a small but extremely impactful change when it comes to both our professional and youth players.”
The Orlando Pride is one of 12 teams in the NWSL, which was founded in 2012.
The Pride’s shift on its uniforms is the latest in a growing movement to destigmatize menstruation and increase accessibility to menstrual care.
The U.S. Women’s National Team, on which many NWSL players compete, has in recent years spoken openly about using period tracking to help the team compete at the highest level.
In 2019, Dawn Scott, at the time the high performance coach for both the USWNT and NWSL, credited the breakthrough use of period tracking — knowing the time of your menstrual cycle as well as the symptoms — as one of the strategies the USWNT used to win its fourth World Cup title.
While competing at the 2019 World Cup in France, the USWNT used a period tracking app and had players fuel and train according to which phase of their menstrual cycle they were in, according to Scott.
Women, on average, get a period for about 40 years of their life and lose about 2 to 3 tablespoons of blood during each menstrual cycle, according to the U.S. Office on Women’s Health.
Across the globe, including in the United States, many people experience period poverty, when they cannot afford even the most basic of period supplies like pads and tampons, which can keep them from jobs and school, period rights advocates say.
Last school year, California started requiring its public schools and colleges to offer free menstrual products in restrooms.
The state law was inspired by similar legislation in Scotland, which in 2020 became the first country in the world to provide period products to all women for free.
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Thursday said former President Donald Trump should not be entitled to immunity from lawsuits that aim to hold him accountable for the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.
In a filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the department said that while presidents should generally protected from having to face lawsuits related to their actions while in office, the allegations in suits against Trump for inciting violence on Jan. 6 amount to a rare exception.
“Speaking to the public on matters of public concern is a traditional function of the Presidency, and the outer perimeter of the President’s Office includes a vast realm of such speech,” the filing states. “But that traditional function is one of public communication. It does not include incitement of imminent private violence.”
The Justice Department sought several delays after they were asked by a panel of judges on the circuit court to formally take a position on Trump’s claims.
However, the department’s attorneys make clear in their filing that they aren’t taking any position on whether Trump should be considered liable, civilly or criminally, for the assault on the Capitol as special counsel Jack Smith is in the midst of his own criminal investigation of Trump and his allies’ efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton repeatedly emphasizes in the filing that the department’s position declining to back Trump’s claims of immunity should not be used to create any new precedent.
Trump has denied wrongdoing related to the insurrection or to the attempt to overturn the 2020 election. He rallied his supporters near the White House shortly before the Capitol was overrun in 2021 where Congress had gathered to certify his defeat to Joe Biden.
In his speech at that rally, Trump called on attendees to both “fight like hell” and march to the Capitol but to remain peaceful.
He has since been sued multiple times stemming from the Jan. 6 riot, including by lawmakers, Capitol Police officers and others who have said they suffered physical or emotional injuries that day as a result of him inciting a mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol.
His attorneys have repeatedly sought to have the complaints thrown out, arguing he has absolute immunity from lawsuits for actions he took while in office.
After Trump was named as a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit filed last month by the longtime partner of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after Jan. 6, a spokesperson for the former president said in a statement that he had “clearly and unequivocally stated that Americans should ‘peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard.'”
David Lee Roth is once again sharing his solo take on a Van Halen classic. This time it’s the track “Unchained,” which originally appeared on the band’s fourth album, Fair Warning.
This is the sixth time Roth has shared a solo version of a Van Halen song. Previous releases include “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “You Really Got Me,” “Dance The Night Away,” “Panama” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love.”
All the tunes were recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles in May 2022. They feature Al Estrada on guitar, Ryan Wheeler on bass and Francis Valentino on drums.
(WALTERBORO, S.C.) — A juror was removed from the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial Thursday morning after the judge learned she had been talking about the case to her friends.
Alex Murdaugh is accused of fatally shooting his wife and younger son at the family’s estate in June 2021. The disgraced South Carolina attorney was charged with their murders more than a year later.
Ahead of the defense’s closing argument on Thursday, Judge Clifton Newman informed the court that he had received a complaint from a member of the public indicating that the juror had “improper conversations with parties not associated with the case.”
The juror denied it when confronted about the issue in the chambers at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on Tuesday, he said. Three witnesses were interviewed on Wednesday, which revealed that the juror had offered her opinion on the evidence presented in the trial to at least three people, the judge said.
“In order to preserve the integrity of the process and the interests of both the state and the defense in a fair trial, that juror will be removed and replaced by another juror,” Newman told the court.
Both the state and the defense were in agreement with the order.
Newman informed the juror that he concluded she had discussed the case “intentionally or unintentionally” with people not on the jury despite his order not to, and that he was required to remove her from the jury.
The judge described her as a “great juror” who seemed “attentive to the case and performed well” and thanked her for her service.
“I’m sure that with all the time you’ve invested in it, you probably hate not to continue,” Newman said. “I’m not suggesting that you intentionally did anything wrong, but that in order to preserve the integrity of the process and in fairness to all the parties involved, we’re going to replace you with one of the other jurors.”
A new juror was sworn in before the defense began delivering their closing argument.
The trial, which is now in its sixth week, now has only one of its initial six alternate jurors remaining as the jury will soon prepare for deliberations. Several jurors have been removed due to illness since the start of the trial.
The latest shakeup comes a day after the jurors traveled to the scene of the crime — the 1,772-acre hunting estate Moselle in Islandton — to get a sense of the space where the killings took place.
Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family’s estate. Alex Murdaugh, 54, has repeatedly denied killing them and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — Ten people were hospitalized after a Spirit Airlines plane bound for Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville due to a fire onboard, according to officials.
Spirit Airlines Flight 259 landed at Jacksonville International Airport around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, after the crew reported a battery on fire in an overhead bin.
The plane landed without incident and pulled up to the terminal before fire rescue teams went aboard the flight, Jacksonville Fire Rescue Capt. Eric Prosswimmer told reporters.
When emergency responders were able to board the plane, they discovered the fire in the overhead compartment had been caused by a battery. The flight crew on the plane had been able to put out the fire, but there was still smoke in the cockpit, according to Prosswimmer.
“The battery, I don’t know where it came from, but it had started a fire. The crew was very intelligent; they put it in a galley in a bucket of water,” Prosswimmer said.
The Airbus A320 departed Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and was headed to Orlando International Airport.
Shortly after landing, one passenger was not feeling well. They were examined by rescue teams before being transferred to the hospital, according to Prosswimmer.
At around 6 p.m., more crew members and passengers began to feel ill and fire rescue teams ended up transporting a total of 10 patients, all with non-life-threatening conditions, to the hospital, according to Prosswimmer.
The fire was caused by a lithium ion battery, officials said.
A retired fireman on board was able to help flight crew put out the fire, according to a passenger.
“There was a retired fireman that jumped up and flight crew came in and they tried putting water on it and another guy went and got a bucket because I think the fireman reached in and grabbed it and they got it put out, but it took about 20 minutes,” passenger Kerri Arakawa told Jacksonville ABC affiliate WJXX.
Arakawa said smoke had filled the cabin, but that the captain was able to land the plane quickly.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident.
The Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night, and surprised the chat show host and geek with his very own Star Wars action figure — but Kimmel returned the favor with a surprise of his own.
After Kimmel happily received his custom figure — a miniature of him smiling, frozen in a block of carbonite like Han Solo — Kimmel shocked Favreau by revealing a “secret” video Jon had shot on the set of 2008’s Iron Man.
Favreau recalled asking Samuel L. Jackson — a “real geek” — to take part in a “top secret shoot” that would become the first of many Marvel post-credit scenes. In the movie,Jackson’s Nick Fury made his first appearance and informed Robert Downey Jr.‘s Tony Stark about what Fury called The Avengers Initiative, which laid the groundwork for the eventual Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But Favreau said he shot an alternate take “for me, I knew it wouldn’t be in the movie … just for fun.”
Sure enough, there were Downey and Jackson once again in Tony’s living room, but acting out new dialog.
“Who the hell are you?” Stark asks Fury.
“Nick Fury, motherf***er,” Jackson replies, deadpan.
Favreau was asked if he knew that film would lead to dozens more movies and a shared cinematic universe. “We didn’t know, honestly,” he said.
“When Robert Downey was cast, that’s when I thought, ‘Oh, this could be cool and really special.’ And we attracted, because of Robert, I think, a lot of great other actors like Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth [Paltrow], and … the characters became interesting and comedy was offbeat.”
Joni Mitchell was honored in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night with the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Music.
“It’s just a beautiful event for me,” Mitchell told the invite-only audience, according to USA Today. “So many people that I care about are here tonight from different parts of my life. New friends, old friends. It’s just kind of thrilling.”
Mitchell treated the crowd to a two-song performance – George and Ira Gershwin’s “Summertime” and “The Circle Game,” in which she was joined by a slew of artists and friends, including James Taylor, Cyndi Lauper, Brandi Carlile, Graham Nash and Annie Lennox.
The night also featured performances celebrating Joni and her music, including “Both Sides Now,” sung by Lennox; “California,” performed by Taylor; “Shine,” performed by Carlile; and “Big Yellow Taxi,” performed by Lauper, Lennox, Carlile and others.
The Gershwin Prize has been handed out since 2007, with Paul Simon the first honoree. Last year Lionel Richie received the award, with Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Carole King and Stevie Wonder among the previous honorees.
Fans will get to see what went down at the two-hour event when it airs on PBS March 31 at 9 pm ET.
(NEW YORK) — COVID-19 call centers and testing sites are closing across the United States as more Americans look to move on from the pandemic and with the emergency declaration set to end in May.
In Rockland County, New York — just north of New York City — the call center closed Tuesday after three years in operation.
The center was launched in early March 2020 after the county’s health department became inundated with telephone calls from people asking questions about the virus. According to a press release, the center received 19,163 calls during its operation and provided residents and businesses with information about COVID-19 guidance, testing sites, testing results and how to schedule vaccination appointments.
“I commend our staff for their tireless efforts to assist the community during this global pandemic,” said county health commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel in a statement. “As the number of COVID-19-related calls continues to decrease, the health department is able to reallocate personnel to other critical health work.”
In nearby Massachusetts, the state’s department of public health announced Monday it is shutting down its remaining free PCR testing sites, which were known as “Stop the Spread” sites, at the end of March.
UMass Memorial Health, which runs one of the sites in Worcester — located in central Massachusetts — cited “less demand for COVID-19 testing” as the reason behind the health department’s decision.
Drive-thru testing sites are also coming to an end. Carilion Clinic, a health system based in Roanoke, Virginia, closed its drive-thru testing sites on Wednesday.
According to a press release, the sites completed more than 340,000 tests over the course of three years and saw staff members often working from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m.
Kim Roe, vice president of family and community medicine, said testing personnel “truly worked tirelessly these past three years; their work was invaluable in keeping our workplace and communities safe.”
“A closure is an odd thing to celebrate, but this is a moment to recognize all that was accomplished as we transition into the endemic stage of this virus,” her statement continued.
It comes as several COVID data trackers also shut down, including Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, one of the first to launch in early 2020 and a vital source that filled in information gaps.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also shut down its data website last month but has kept the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s dashboard running.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 cases have been declining for several weeks. During the week of Feb. 22 — the latest date for which data is available — a total of 236,131 cases were recorded in the U.S., a 48.2% decline from the 455,866 cases recorded the week of Jan. 11.
Hospitalizations and deaths, both of which are traditionally lagging indicators, have also been trending downward. Over the same period, weekly deaths have fallen from 4,448 to 2,407, according to CDC data.
The data also shows the seven-day average of hospitalizations declined from 39,837 on Jan. 11 to 22,766 on Feb. 22.
