With today’s plethora of communication technology, it’s now easier than ever for musicians to come in direct contact with fans whose lives they’ve touched in an array of ways. Drake, The Weeknd, and J. Cole were able to share some special moments with one of their biggest fans, an 11-year-old cancer patient named Elijah. Elijah, unfortunately, passed away this week, but the young music fan was able to meet his biggest icons over FaceTime before his untimely death.

In a video shared to social media by his older cousin, Drake, The Weeknd, and J. Cole all individually met Elijah over FaceTime with his family. “I’m so honored to be one of your favorite artists, buddy,” The Weeknd said in his FaceTime call. “Thank you.” Elijah’s cousin shared the video along with the young fan’s incredible story:

“Over the past 3 years, my 11 y.o. cousin, Elijah, has battled cancer with the utmost resilience. Elijah’s physical fight is now complete, as he transitioned to heaven on Friday. He didn’t leave this world without knowing how much he was loved though. Last weekend, Elijah got to “meet” 3 of his favorite artists — The Weeknd, J. Cole, & Drake. Incredibly grateful for these 3 super-humans being so caring for my family during this time. We’ll hold onto these moments forever.”

Read the full heart-warming story above.

One way that basketball players have remained occupied during the league’s COVID-19 hiatus has been video games. Some have opted to stream games from their homes, with some reportedly hopping on board with an NBA 2K tournament that the league is going to hold and broadcast on ESPN.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports brought word of the tournament, which is slated to include 16 players from around the league. We’re still waiting to get the names of everyone who will participate, but on Tuesday morning, Haynes reported four of the All-Star names that we’ll see take to the virtual hardwood, which includes Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz standout Donovan Mitchell.

Via Yahoo Sports:

The NBA is planning a players-only NBA 2K tournament that is expected to feature some of the league’s sharpest video gamers, including Kevin Durant, and it will be broadcast on ESPN, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The league hopes to launch the event Friday, with the 16-player tournament lasting 10 days. It is expected to include stars such as the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins and two-time All-Star Andre Drummond, among other big-name players, sources said.

It’s obviously going to be an exciting tournament and a fun way to watch basketball at a time when the only ways to do that are YouTube mixtapes and diving into the League Pass archive. But beyond that, Durant and Mitchell were two of the first NBA players to have confirmed cases of COVID-19 — Mitchell has been given the all clear, while we have not heard one way or another on Durant, and getting to see that both of them are doing well is a good thing.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the full list of names that will participate when it becomes available. This is not the only 2K-related event happening in the coming days, as the NBA 2K League is in the midst of its own tournament. We’ll be participating in it on Tuesday night, and you can read more about that right here.

Iconic songwriter John Prine has fallen ill to the coronavirus as the global pandemic spreads. While Prine is currently hospitalized in “critical” condition, many musicians are showing their support for the influential musician and wishing for his speedy recovery. Joan Baez recently shared a cover of Prine’s “Hello In There” to offer her support. Now, Big Thief’s vocalist Adrianne Lenker is following suit by sharing a cover of Prine’s “Summer’s End.”

Posting the cover to social media, Lenker expressed her well wishes to the singer: “I’m beyond grateful for the gift of his songs, sending love to his whole family,” she wrote. With just an acoustic guitar and her emotive vocal delivery, Lenker gives a heart-tugging rendition of the iconic musician’s song.

Ahead of Lenker’s cover, Prine’s wife Fiona shared an update about his condition. Fiona also contracted a case of the coronavirus and shared Sunday that she’s made a full recovery. “I have recovered from Covid-19,” she wrote. “We are humbled by the outpouring of love for me and John and our precious family. He is [stable]. Please continue to send your amazing Love and prayers.” Prine was rushed to the hospital Thursday after showing symptoms of the virus. Prine has suffered from cancer twice, so his pre-existing health conditions put him at greater risk with the virus.

Watch Lenker cover Prine’s “Summer’s End” above.

Read more of Uproxx’s coverage on the coronavirus here.

News anchor Chris Cuomo has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to CNN. Cuomo will continue to host Cuomo Prime Time from home where he’s quarantined in his basement. Cuomo released the following statement on Twitter where he expressed concern about exposing his wife and children, but remained optimistic about his outcome as well as the nation’s:

Sooooo in these difficult times that seem to get more difficult and complicated by the day, I just found out that I am positive for corona virus. I have been exposed to people in recent days who have subsequently tested positive and I had fevers, chills and shortness of breath. I just hope I didn’t give it to the kids and Cristina. That would make me feel worse than this illness! I am quarantined in my basement (which actually makes the rest of my family seem pleased!) I will do my shows from here. We will all beat this thing by tough and smart and united!

Since announcing his diagnosis, CNN reports that Cuomo’s brother and New York governor Andrew Cuomo has responded to the news with good humor during his daily press briefing.

“This virus is the great equalizer,” he said. “My brother, Chris, is positive for coronavirus. Found out this morning.”

The governor called Chris “my best friend” and added a little bit of the good-natured ribbing they’re known for: “He’s young; in good shape; strong — not as strong as he thinks, but — he’ll be fine.”

The two brothers spoke by phone earlier on Tuesday. “Now he’s quarantined in the basement,” the governor said. “But he’s funny as hell, he says to me, ‘Even the dogs won’t come downstairs.’”

Cuomo is the third coronavirus case to hit CNN headquarters in New York City, and the network has been rapidly working to address the pandemic through “sweeping changes,” including having employees work from home and filming segments from their own personal studios/basements.

You can watch Governor Cuomo address his brother’s diagnosis below:

(Via CNN)

Whether it’s mandated or self-initiated, the coronavirus quarantine is on. Hopefully, by now you’ve gotten yourself a few supplies — don’t hoard toilet paper! make chicken broth! — and you’re feeling some degree of safety and security. This next stage is going to be a hard one: staying inside, keeping out of public spaces, and not going to large social gatherings.

You’re likely to get a little stir crazy. Okay, maybe a lot stir crazy.

To help you through the quarantine, we’re going to be offering recipes throughout the month that will allow you to level up your cooking game and eat well at home. The ingredients we’re using are easily available through delivery services (and stores). If you do go to the store or a market, remember to wash produce (and yourself) thoroughly.

– Steve Bramucci, LIFE Editorial Director

Ingredients:

For anyone who reads my writing, it’s no secret that I really like Italy. I travel there probably more than any other location. And, I’m not going to lie, the driving force behind all that travel is the food. I don’t have a drop of Italian blood in me. I wasn’t raised anywhere near Italian culture — European or American. But there’s just something about the culture, the place, the people, and the food and drink that just speaks to me on a sub-atomic level. Plus, I live in Central Europe and can usually get there in an hour or two for the cost of a couple of trips to the movie theater. That helps.

Anyway, I like to cook all things Italiano. And one of my favorite recipes that I’ve been reveling in recently is focaccia. This crunchy, light yet thick, and salty bread is the perfect comfort food to bake right now. It’s fairly low-impact and will warm you to your very bones. It’s also fully adaptable. You can top it with anything or not. Hell, I’ve seen the stuff topped with hot dogs and fries in Sicily.

I’m using Samin Nosrat’s recipe from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat without the salt brine at the end. Not because I don’t like salt. I just don’t think it’s necessary if you’re throwing a few topping on the bread. All-in, you’ll need bread flour (AP is fine), dry yeast, salt, honey, olive oil, and water. After that, it’s up to you. I use dried thyme, oregano, and basil as well. Also, in this case, I’m topping this focaccia with low-moisture mozz, black olives, and slices of ripe tomato.

Prep:

This bread needs 12 hours to rise. So my advice is to make this before you go to bed so you can bake it for lunch the next day.

I’m weighing everything out so it’s exact and I get the same results consistently.

First, I weigh out 600 grams (21.16 ounces) of luke water tap water and add 15 grams (0.53 ounces) of honey. I then add 3 grams (0.1 ounces) of active dry yeast.

I set that aside to bloom. The extra sugars from the honey will accelerate that process and you should be able to see the yeast blooming with your eyes.

Next, I weigh out 800 grams (28.2 ounces) of all-purpose bread flour. I add in 18 grams (0.63 ounces) of fine sea salt. Lastly, I add-in 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of good olive oil. I then add in the yeast and water mix and start hydrating the flour with my right hand.

You don’t have to go crazy. You just want to hydrate the flour and bring everything together. This is a no-knead bread recipe. Keep that dough in the bowl, fam!

The addition of olive oil will help keep the stickiness down and bring it together fairly quickly. Finally, I cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dry spot to rest of 12 to 14 hours.

Cook:

The next day, the dough has more than doubled in size and is alive with bubbles. It has taken on an ever-so-slight sour smell and is ready to become focaccia.

The first thing I do is use a rubber spatula to pull the dough from the sides of the bowl. You need to do this gingerly but with enough effort to release the dough from the bowl. You should also have long strands of gluten — as you can see from the photo above.

I then use the spatula to release the dough into a well-oiled baking pan — again, use olive oil and don’t skimp. The dough should almost roll out of the bowl. Be careful not to press down or deflate the dough as you transfer it to the pan. Then you need to let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

I also use this time to preheat my oven. I crank it up to around 425F and place an upside-down cookie sheet on the middle shelf. If you have a pizza stone, use that. I (oddly) do not, so a cookie sheet it is.

After about 30 minutes of resting, oil up your fingers and create dimples over the whole focaccia. Just dip your fingers right in there and pull back once you hit the bottom.

Lastly, I top my focaccia. You can go in two main directions at this point. You can go simple (see below) with just a nice herb, salt, and more olive oil. Or, if you’re feeling maximalist, you go a bit more for the sfincione you see in bakeries in Sicily — fresh tomato, black olives, low-moisture mozzarella, a mix of thyme, oregano, and basil, and a good punch of sea salt and olive oil. It ends up being like a proto-pizza. The order of toppings is: Olive oil, sea salt, tomato, cheese, olives, dried herbs, another hit of salt and another hit of olive oil.

That then goes in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. It’ll depend on your oven. I check it after 20 minutes and turn the baking pan 180 degrees for a more even bake and then bake for another 8 minutes.

I remove the focaccia from the oven and immediately transfer it to a cooling rack. The bread should slide right out of the pan with little to no effort thanks to the crazy amount of olive oil involved.

Serve:

I let the bread rest of at least 30 minutes. It’s best to serve while it’s still nice and warm but all the toppings are set.

I cut the focaccia into 12 single servings and that’s it. You’re ready to tuck in!

The bread has an amazingly crunchy — almost fried — bottom. This provides an olive-oil-infused base that supports light and salty bread.

The interior of the bread is the real star of the show. There are bubbles galore with slight sour bite. It’s thick, comforting, and delicious. I ate two pieces without hesitation. No regrets.

As mentioned above, you can make this with simple toppings and use it as sandwich bread too. The above is the exact same recipe with only olive oil, salt, and dried thyme. Everything else is exactly the same.

I then used that bread to make focaccia BLTs and, holy shit, those were amazing sandwiches. If you’re into the Twitter/ internet trend of baking during the quarantine and you want to try bread, this is the perfect place to start. It’s relatively easy and insanely tasty — the perfect combo for the (stuck at) home cook.

Shopping List:

• All-Purpose Bread Flour
• High-grade Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
• Dry Active Yeast
• Fresh Honey
• Dried Thyme, Oregano, and Basil
• Toppings of your choosing

---

View Entire Post ›

For everyone trying to keep kids entertained indoors right now, you deserve some backup. We aren’t ~toying~ with you – these shops are game changers.

---

View Entire Post ›

My wallet is shaking.

---

View Entire Post ›

“We’ve been at each other’s throats…real bad. Real bad.”

---

View Entire Post ›

Dr. James Goodrich operated on Anias and Jadon McDonald when they were just 13 months old.

---

View Entire Post ›