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Reporters do their damndest to keep composure while reporting the news, but war can break even the most unflappable. On Monday, on the third day of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, no less than Anderson Cooper became so emotional during a particularly wrenching segment that he briefly broke down.

Per Mediaite, CNN had interviewed Yifat Zailer, a woman whose cousin’s family, among them an infant and a three-year-old, had been kidnapped by Hamas. During her interview, Zailer was distraught, choking back tears, pleading for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the leaders of Turkey and Egypt, to help save her relatives. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional,” she said.

When they cut back to Cooper, he was visibly floored. It took him several seconds to patch himself together to continue with his reporting. He even briefly turned his back to the camera. Even when he was able to speak again, his voice quaked with emotion over what he’d heard. He then asked a reporter on the scene in Jerusalem about new threats Hamas had made about civilian hostages.

On Saturday morning, Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, attacked Israel by land, sea, and air, killing over 1,000. Among the places attacked was a music festival in Re’im, a village in the south. Netanyahu was quick to declare war.

(Via Mediaite)

Pop singer Ed Sheeran is getting a leg up on most 32-year-olds by building a chapel, which includes a crypt, at his 16-acre estate in Framlingham, England, known as “Sheeranville” by residents.

Local authorities have approved his application to build the chapel that would be used to celebrate key events, such as christenings, social gatherings and marriages. It also appears that the chapel will be used to celebrate Sheeran’s passing when it occurs.

The chapel has a 9-foot by 6-foot crypt accessible by a stone slab. It’s believed that the crypt is large enough to fit two people. “It’s a hole that’s dug in the ground with a bit of stone over it, so whenever the day comes and I pass away, I get to go in there,” Sheeran told GQ. “People think it’s really weird and really morbid, but I’ve had friends die without wills, and no one knows what to do.”

The decision to build a final resting place at such a young age comes after the “Perfect” singer’s recent brush with serious heartbreak. His wife, Cherry Seaborn, was diagnosed with a tumor in 2022, and his friend Jamal Edwards died the same year.

Ed Sheeran dug his own grave in his backyard: ‘I get to go in there’ https://t.co/UeZNgyQuhX

Ed Sheeran dug his own grave in his backyard: u2018I get to go in thereu2019 https://t.co/UeZNgyQuhX

— New York Post (@New York Post)
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The good news is that Seaborn is doing well after having the tumor removed, but the health scare significantly impacted the couple’s relationship and gave them a real reason to contemplate their mortality.

“I got diagnosed with cancer at the start of the year, which was a massive s—ter,” Seaborn said, according to People. “It made me massively reflect on our mortality. I would never agree to do anything like this, but it made me think, ‘Oh, if I died, what’s people’s perception of me? What do you leave behind?'”

“For Ed, the whole point is he wants to say to people, ‘I’m not just this music machine. I’m not just this robot that tries to get No. 1. I’m a father, I’m a son, I’m a friend.’ It wasn’t until this year when I was like, ‘I might die,'” Seaborn added.

While it may seem a bit morbid for a man that young to be building his own grave, research shows that contemplating your mortality actually makes you happier. Licensed clinical social worker Sean Grover explained that there are 5 benefits to thinking about death in Psychology Today. He says that people contemplating their own death are “more likely to” let go of resentments, live with more gratitude, abandon petty concerns, refresh personal dreams and strengthen their bonds with loved ones.

It seems that contemplating our deaths is a great way to put things in perspective and prioritize the things that matter in life. As Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda once said, “An awareness and understanding of death raises our state of life. When we are cognizant of the reality and inevitability of death we…become determined to make the most valuable use of each moment of life.”

So, for Sheeran, who lives the privileged life of a mega pop star, building his own crypt was a great way to remain grounded.

While it may seem a bit morbid for a man that young to be building his own grave, research shows that contemplating your mortality actually makes you happier. Licensed clinical social worker Sean Grover explained that there are 5 benefits to thinking about death in Psychology Today. He says that people contemplating their own death are “more likely to” let go of resentments, live with more gratitude, abandon petty concerns, refresh personal dreams and strengthen their bonds with loved ones.

It seems that contemplating our deaths is a great way to put things in perspective and prioritize the things that matter in life. As Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda once said, “An awareness and understanding of death raises our state of life. When we are cognizant of the reality and inevitability of death we…become determined to make the most valuable use of each moment of life.”

So, for Sheeran, who lives the privileged life of a mega pop star, building his own crypt was a great way to remain grounded.

Wrestling is filled with fake beefs, but about a decade ago John Cena and Dwayne Johnson got into a real beef. Spoiler: It all worked out in the end and the two patched things up. They even acted in movies together (though their stints in Fast X were, alas, separate). But at one point things got pretty ugly between them, which Cena has since blamed entirely on himself. Over the weekend he again apologized for ripping it up with The Rock.

A recap: Back in 2012 and 2013, when Johnson briefly returned to the WWE, Cena called him out on choosing a movie career over wrestling. The two got real angry with each other, and not in that fun, melodramatic professional wrestling way. Earlier this year Cena reflected on the bad patch, calling his actions “hypocritical” and “selfish.” His apology tour is not over.

“If you’ve been following what I’ve tried to do, especially as of late, publicly and personally to Dwayne Johnson, I’ve stated that although I thought I was trying to do what’s best for business,” Cena said on Saturday at the WWE Fastlane press conference, per Decider. “I went about it the wrong way. I violated his trust and I made allegations about his perspective that I knew nothing about.”

Cena also confessed that “deep down” he was really just a “fan” of Johnson. “I wanted The Rock back [in WWE],” he said. “I wanted to do anything to get The Rock back, but I did it the wrong way.”

Although Cena had done movies before his early teens Rock fight, since then his acting career has really taken off. So now he knows some of the reasons why Johnson, who retired from wrestling in 2004, wasn’t really able to juggle both professions.

“And I made it perfectly clear you can’t do both because of the liability insurance,” Cena explained. “If I were to try to juggle both, that’s very selfish because that would put a whole lot of people in the movie business out of work if something happened to me.”

As for Cena, he’s back on the wrestling scene because of the still ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, although he plans to go back to acting soon as it ends. Johnson has also come back to wrestling, having last month done WWE Smackdown, where he and Cena hugged it out.

So enjoy Cena shirtlessly kicking butt in huge arenas for now, because during the presser he also confessed that his last wrestling bout is “on the horizon.”

(Via Decider)

Most states in the U.S. have oddly shaped boundaries, largely formed by meandering waterways and coastal irregularities. But two states stand out for their seemingly defiant rectangularness—Wyoming and Colorado.

These almost-twin states share a border, are almost exactly the same size (Colorado is just 1.06 times larger than Wyoming), boast basically the same shape and have the Rocky Mountains eating into a sizeable chunk of them. (Wyoming’s share of mountains is a bit larger than Colorado’s, but its topography isn’t nearly different enough than Colorado’s to account for how many fewer people it has.)

Wyoming’s population as of 2022 was estimated to be just over 580,000, while Colorado’s was estimated to be just over 5.8 million. Almost exactly a 10-fold difference between the two very similar states.

So…why?

Water resources? A logical guess, but nope. Both states contain the headwaters of multiple major rivers, and according to RealLifeLore, Wyoming actually has a slight edge over Colorado due to the way its freshwater is legally allocated.

What makes Wyoming the least populous U.S. state despite being the country’s 10th largest state by area has to do with the Gold Rush, agriculture, World War II, federal lands, the rise of the telecom industry, educational institutions, airplanes and more. It’s a historical Tale of Two States that illustrates how twins with different upbringings can share many similarities but also end up with two very different life stories.

Watch the folks at RealLifeLore explain the population discrepancy between Wyoming and Colorado:

The one correction some people in the comments of the video offered up was that referring to the “mild” climate in Wyoming seems a bit misleading. Several people mentioned that the winter weather in Wyoming is harsher than in Colorado, which may account for fewer people wanting to live there. (However, considering the fact that there are more densely populated places in the world with exceptionally punishing winters, weather doesn’t fully explain it, either.)

It’ll be interesting to see in another hundred years or so if these states’ population trends change, but for now, Wyoming remains the least populous and most naturally undisturbed state. So if you’re big on the outdoors and not so big on people, the Equality State (Side fun fact: Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote.) might just be the place for you. If you love the mountains but also people, Colorado may be more your speed.

This article originally appeared on 5.10.23

The Crown has somehow remained Netflix’s crown jewel for five seasons running despite changing out the cast a few times while moving through the eras. The Princess Diana-focused seasons, in particular, have not been kind to the royal family, Season 4 was when the show began to sh*t on the fairy tale, and Season 5 was when the Brits began to grow particularly incensed about the unflattering portrayal of Prince Charles. Season 6 probably will not give him an easy ride, either, given that this will include (but not directly show) the untimely death of Diana as well as Charles’ remarriage to Camilla.

These days, Charles is actually King of England after decades of waiting with the show portraying him as very impatient to ascend to the throne. This will also be the first (and final) season that will be released following his coronation, but I wouldn’t expect any punches to be pulled regarding him. Netflix recently began adding a “fictional dramatization” disclaimer to promotional spots to cover their tushes, so they will likely continue to dive into controversy, although Diana’s death will be handled respectfully.

Let’s talk about what else we know about this season so far.

Plot

Expect this prestige drama’s soap operatics to hit a high note for the final excursion. Part of Season 6 will focus upon the courtship of Prince William and Duchess Kate after they met at university. As discussed above, Charles will marry his former mistress (with whom he cheated on Diana), Camilla, and Diana will move on following her divorce. Sadly, the world already knows how a car chase between the paparazzi and Diana/Dodi Fayed ended. The Queen will move through more historical milestones, and here’s a synopsis:

“A relationship blossoms between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed before a fateful car journey has devastating consequences. Prince William tries to integrate back into life at Eton in the wake of his mother’s death as the monarchy has to ride the wave of public opinion. As she reaches her Golden Jubilee, the Queen reflects on the future of the monarchy with the marriage of Charles and Camilla and the beginnings of a new Royal fairytale in William and Kate.”

Cast

Imelda Staunton continues to follow in the footsteps of Olivia Colman and Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth Debicki will shift into a tragic new gear for another season as Diana, after Emma Corrin’s Emmy-winning turn. Dominic West portrays Prince Charles, long after the infamous tampon discussion. Jonathan Pryce is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Lesley Manville is Princess Margaret. Prince William and Kate Middleton will be portrayed by Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy, respectively speaking.

New posters feature Diana and The Queen with only one casting a visible shadow. Hmm.

Release Date

Like many high-profile Netflix releases of the past few years, The Crown will end with two halves of a final season. The first part shall arrive on November 16 and the second part on December 16.

Trailer

No Season 6 full trailer has materialized yet. However, a tease shows all three Queen Elizabeths and their dedication to duty.

As one of the biggest names in hip-hop today, Drake’s always a lightning rod for controversy and criticism, but the target on his back always gets bigger and glows brighter in the wake of a new album release. For All The Dogs is no exception, as the Canadian rapper’s eighth solo studio album has brought with it a clamorous reaction from both fans and media personalities like Charlamagne The God and Joe Budden.

Of course, this time around, Drake’s been as ready with a spicy retort of his own every time they’ve dissed him. However, even his replies are catching flak now. After Drake sent a sassy sally at Joe Budden for the former rapper’s salty review, Azealia Banks, of all people, chimed in with some scathing commentary of her own, reviving a few derogatory rumors about Drake in the process.

“Does drake know his nose job and liposuction is not hiphop??” she wrote on Instagram. “Does drake know that no one who actually understands hiphop – a culture born from oppressed, don’t reeeeeeeeallly care about his soft-toothed colonized confused mixed-race facsimile attempts to exhibit the true authenticity of an actual MC? Does drake know his desperate attempts to gangsterize Canadian ‘street life’ is an all encompassing failure in and of it itself?”

Of course, you can’t always take everything Banks says seriously. After all, if plastic surgery is a mark against Drake, Banks is standing in a glass house throwing one hell of a stone. She’s also been pretty wrong about everything from West Coast hip-hop to Cardi B’s popularity, and her comments generally reek of sour grapes and Haterade. We’ll see if Drake responds to her the same way he did Charlamagne and Budden, but to be honest, I think we’d all be better off just letting Azealia yell at the clouds.

Over the past few months, Doja Cat has become as reputed for the rollicking rollout of her new album Scarlet as she is for her dismissively witty lyrics. But no matter how spicy her rhymes or comebacks to fans’ criticism have gotten, there’s still one thing spicier: The hot sauce lineup on Complex‘s wing-themed talk show, Hot Ones.

It was only a matter of time until their paths crossed, and this week, Doja will finally take on the “wings of death” across from Sean Evans as she attempts to answer deeply researched questions with her lips, tongue, and throat burning from Da Bomb. The show’s been on a bit of a … well… hot streak of late, catching Cardi B nerding out about WWII history and Justin Timberlake doing his best to explain his lyrical delivery on one NSYNC’s biggest hits that led to an annually popular meme.

You can only imagine, with Doja Cat’s love for chaos, how truly off-the-wall her interview has the potential to get. Although Evans usually throws softballs, he’s still got plenty of (cough cough) hot topics to discuss with the rapper, from her decision to shave off her hair and eyebrows to the reception her new tattoos have received to her past as a true-to-the-heart battle rapper. So, while he probably won’t ask her about some of her weird associations with alt-right figures, she’ll still have to sweat it out as Evans grills her about her career so far.

The new episode of Hot Ones premieres on Thursday.

After failing to connect with Democratic voters despite his family name (hold onto that thought), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially announced he’s running for president as an independent candidate. His wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, was on hand to help launch his third-party campaign, which devolved into an episode of the hit sitcom right out of the gate.

Shortly after Hines introduced her husband, he took the stage only to realize he forgot his speech. As Kennedy walked back to his handlers, he can audibly be heard complaining that he can’t read the teleprompter and that it’s upside down. This exchange goes on for a hilariously awkward amount of time, which you can see below:

Adding insult to injury, the Kennedy family responded to his presidential run by issuing a statement denouncing his entire campaign. Via CNN:

“Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country, ” Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P Kennedy II and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said in a statement.

As for the Republicans, there is justifiable concern that Kennedy’s run would more likely pull votes from Donald Trump than Joe Biden, so there’s some freaking out happening with Trump’s campaign.

“Voters should not be deceived by anyone who pretends to have conservative values,” a Trump spokesman told CNN. “The fact is that RFK has a disturbing background steeped in radical, liberal positions.”

In the meantime, you better believe the Curb jokes were flying on Twitter:

(Via CNN)

You can tell that a sci-fi thriller is doing something cool when Stephen King calls it “daring.” This is exactly what happened with Hulu‘s No One Will Save You, a mostly-dialogue-free new movie starring Kaitlyn Dever. It follows the Justified actress as a young woman who must go through an alien invasion all on her own. She lives in a secluded home and makes miniatures to cope with the death of her mother. Sound familiar? The movie became a solid hit for the streamer, and of course, that means the topic of sequels has come up.

Director Brian Duffield said that while sequels might be tempting for fans, he’s not sure the movie should get one. “I am not the biggest sequel guy. I joked with Kaitlyn, maybe it’s every seven years, we’ll do our Before Sunset and we’ll save you,” he told SlashFilm, referencing the Richard Linklater sequel that took place nearly a decade after the original.

Even though he was joking, Duffield says he could always whip up another story if the people want it, and, more importantly, if Hulu is on board. He added, “I could do a sequel. I have no plans to do a sequel. If enough people watched it on Hulu and everyone’s begging for it, we’ll talk. There’s not a franchise super plan in my head yet. It would take a lot of work then I’d be so stressed out that I have to come up with something.” Please don’t stress this man out! Sometimes, a sequel is not needed. Let’s learn to live with one movie at a time.

(Via Slashfilm)

Barbie is the year’s highest-grossing movie. It’s also going to be the year’s most popular Halloween costume. Barbie and Ken costumes are already selling out, so if you don’t have your pink jumpsuit, rollerblades, or acoustic guitar to cover Matchbox Twenty’s “Push,” you should do so now. Except for the acoustic guitar. That one’s easy to buy. But also, maybe don’t?

“It’s been surreal to see how popular the Barbiecore trend has become,” Oscar-winning Barbie costume designer Jacqueline Durran told InStyle. “It’s been a while since ultra-feminine silhouette and color palettes have been widely celebrated, so I think the Barbie aesthetic entered the zeitgeist at just the right time — when people were ready for something bright, light, nostalgic, and fun.”

Celebrities, in particular. Below, we’ll keep track of every famous person who dresses up as Barbie or Ken. Or, if you’re cool, Allan. Halloween is still weeks away, so for now, it’s just Olivia Wilde, who thankfully left an air hole for herself while wrapped in plastic to go as Ken for her daughter’s birthday.

Wilde actually auditioned for the role in The Wolf of Wall Street that ended up going to Barbie star Margot Robbie. “The funniest thing I heard recently was I had heard for a part that I was too sophisticated. And I was like, ‘Oh, that sounds nice.’ I like that feedback. I didn’t get the part, but I’m a very sophisticated person,” she told Howard Stern. And then I found out later that they actually said ‘old.’ I want to make a translation sheet for Hollywood that’s all the feedback your agents give you and what it really means.”

Hollywood’s ageism is spookier than any Halloween costume.