Throughout the years there have been some notable celebrities who have changed careers to become politicians. The most notable is Ronald Reagan, who went from a ‘50s B-list actor to governor of California (1967 to 1975) and then President of the United States (1981 to 1989).
There was also Donald Trump who went from the host of “Celebrity Apprentice” to becoming a one-term president (2017 to 2021) and action star Arnold Schwarzenegger who served as Governor of California from (2003 to 2011).
Former actor and “Saturday Night Live” writer Al Franken was a Senator in Minnesota from 2009 to 2018 until he stepped down amidst allegations of misconduct.
Although the Trump presidency was controversial, to say the least, there is still an appetite out there for having people from outside the world of politics hold office. A Reddit user by the name @Alarming_Research936 proved it when he asked the online forum, “It’s 2024, and the U.S. has elected a random celebrity as president, who do you want it to be?” and they received over 7,000 responses.
Last year, Upworthy covered a similar question posed to Reddit, “You get to add another American to Mt. Rushmore but it can’t be a president. Who do you choose?” and there were two people who made both lists. Can you figure out who they are?
Below, I’ve ranked the top 15 vote-getters to determine which celebrity Americans want most in the Oval Office. To determine each celebrity’s position, I looked at the number of upvotes each suggestion received and then ranked them. It’s not the most scientific way of doing things but it gives us a pretty good idea about who people think should be in the White House.
Here are the top 15 celebrities that Americans want to be president.
1.
“Jon Stewart. He would hate every second of it, which would make him great.” — @Earthiness
@ThePhiff added:
“Absolutely the best choice. His takedown of ‘Crossfire’ should be required viewing for anyone watching cable news on any regular basis.”
2.
“Dolly Parton.” — @Nawositol
@Smarterthantheaverag added:
“Yeah, but she would only work….9 to 5.”
3.
“Weird Al Yankovic, the world could use some comedy.” — @Ginger-Beefcake
4.
“Morgan Freeman every press conference would be like listening to god.” — @canuckstopthecup1
5.
“Keanu.” — @liveluaghween
6.
“Danny Devito.” — @LittleSoftTail
@Stuey_7787 added:
“The gang moves into the White House would be a pretty good episode.”
7.
“Steve Buscemi.” — @itsmeDreadShock
@lordph8 added:
“Love to see the presidential address. ‘Hello fellow citizens.'”
8.
“LeVar Burton.” — @Donkey25000
9.
“Terry Crews.” — @KnottShore
@ObelixSmiterOfRomans added:
“Long live President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho”.
10.
“Paul Rudd.” — @amilares
11.
“Samual L. MotherF**king Jackson.” — Flashy-Ad-8327
12.
“Jeff Goldblum.” – @DollarStoreCrush
@Taramonia added:
“Democracy, uh, finds a way.”
13.
“Nick Offerman.” — @eric_ts
@TheDadThatGrills added:
“A president that is as deeply passionate about both conservation and the arts would be a dream.”
Not everyone enjoys flying. The level of non-enjoyment can range from mild discomfort to full blown Aerophobia, which is defined as an extreme fear of flying. While flying is the quickest way to get to far away destinations, for some people being that far off the ground is terrifying and they’d rather take their chances on the ground.
A passenger flying from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to JFK International Airport in New York confronted that fear while flying with Delta. The woman, who is currently still unidentified expressed that she was nervous to fly according to Molly Simonson Lee, a passenger seated behind the woman who witnessed the encounter. Tight spaces don’t make for much privacy, but in this case, the world is better for knowing this took place.
According to Lee, who posted about the exchange on Facebook, the Delta flight attendant, Floyd Dean-Shannon, took his time to give the nervous traveler his undivided attention.
Approximately 25 million people in the United States have Aerophobia according to the Clevland Clinic and most of them probably wish Dean-Shannon was on their flights. In Lee’s Facebook post, she said Dean-Shannon took his time to explain every thing that was happening, “this woman was so nervous about flying, so he explained every sound and bump,” the bystander wrote. That wasn’t even the most amazingly sweet part of the story.
When the woman was still nervous, Dean-Shannon sat down in the aisle and held the passenger’s hand the entire flight. I’m not sure what Delta pays him but he needs a raise immediately and it seems the people of the interwebs agree.
Commenter, Miranda Anderson, tagged Delta Airlines and wrote, “I hope you see this! These are the types of people that deserve raises and make your company worth flying with. This is what pits [sic] you above the others so show these employees this is what you want and what you need.”
“I love this. This is what society is lacking. Empathy and kindness towards people in time[s] of need” wrote Diane Lawrence.
While Mary Beth Acker Ford, said, “I was on a flight with him today. He exudes joy and is intentional about making a connection with each person!”
This level of engagement with passengers is not a common experience but clearly people are happy to see this type of connection between humans. Flying anywhere can be stressful for any amount of reasons. From leaving the house late and having to participate in an involuntary 5k to catch your flight, to making your way through the devil’s backyard, also known as Atlanta International Airport…just for them to change your gate 10 minutes before boarding.
So having a flight attendant like Dean-Shannon is just the breath of fresh air people need. “The way he’s looking at her…letting her know she’s safe!!! This is just one of the many reasons I will always fly Delta Air Lines,” Liz Martin wrote in the comments.
The moment captured between a nervous passenger and Dean-Shannon is renewing people’s hope in humanity and it’s beautiful.
Have you ever made a resolution to be more active, engaged, and goal-oriented in the new year, perhaps starting a new gym membership, and then — just a few weeks into January — you’re already feeling exhausted? The reason is simple, a lack of balance. You have to remember that wellness as a two-way street. If you’re going to ask your body to put in extra work, you need to make sure you are putting just as much effort into helping it recover, or you’re setting yourself up to fail.
Conquering your goals — physical, mental, or spiritual — can feel impossible when you are starting the journey sore or sleepy. Self-care isn’t just a buzzword. It’s essential!
Below, we have a list of great gear for anyone looking to level up their recovery practices. As always, everything you see featured has been road-tested by the crew here at Uproxx and given our stamp of approval. Enjoy!
EDITOR’S PICK: HYPERICE VYPER 3
Courtesy
Price: $200
The Company Line
Built with your body in mind. The Vyper 3’s contoured design helps avoid pressure on your spine and other sensitive areas for a more comfortable roll. Prime your body with a powerful vibrating massage. The Vyper 3 accelerates your warm-up speeds and recovery time and keeps you moving better.
Pair the Vyper 3 to the Hyperice App for pro advice, guided sessions, and to monitor your progress from your phone.
Why You Need It:
Want to know what an embarrassing nerd I am? I bring this to work with me and roll it under my feet at my desk. I also use it for full-on warm-up and cool-down sessions. It’s just so incredibly helpful — combining this thing that your chiropractor insists you use, a foam roller, with a high-frequency vibrating massage.
Until literally this year, I just didn’t have a clear idea and understanding that massage could help my body warm up for an activity. Now I find that process absolutely essential. And this device is so quiet that you can use it while watching a show and not annoy anyone else in the room.
Perfect for people who carry tension in the lower or upper back.
The OOFOS story begins with the original Sandal a combination of sleek design and OOfoam recovery technology that laid the groundwork for all future OOFOS styles and models. Our revolutionary OOfoam technology absorbs 37% more impact than traditional footwear foam materials to reduce the stress on your feet, joints & back. Research shows OOFOS reduce load, decrease compressive forces, and support foot mobility when compared to traditional footwear.
Why You Need It
For those of us who are looking to better ourselves through weightlifting or running, there is a lot of thought goes into what we are wearing when working out. But what are you wearing for the other many, many hours in the day? OOFOS provides a comfortable and stylish option to your everyday footwear at home and on the move.
The patented footbed is designed to reduce stress on your feet and legs so you can go further with your daily chores or harder in the gym.
The Normatec Go by Hyperice delivers targeted massage for fresh legs on-the-go. Backed by the same science that powers the original Normatec system, the Normatec Go is completely portable and delivers dynamic air compression to the calf muscles to increase circulation and reduce pain and tension in the legs. These lightweight wearables are TSA approved and feature new intuitive user controls to help you keep moving.
Why You Need It
One of the brands that high-performance athletes swear by has made major moves to make their gear more accessible to the everyday athlete. The Normatec Go is a great way to heal up your legs after your morning run or evening bike ride, and can be worn while you do other activities in the home. It’s like having an at-home leg-specific masseuse in your living room. Designed to reduce inflammation and increase circulation in your lower body using air compression, the low-profile unit is easy to take on the road.
The Ostrich Pillow Eye Mask is the first truly 3D ergonomic eye mask. Its design adapts to the three-dimensional features of the face. It fits perfectly on all head sizes and face types, providing one hundred percent blackout experience in total comfort. The mask is developed with six layers of high-quality materials that ensure maximum comfort and functionality, making it perfect for sleeping. And it is machine washable, so it feels like new — night after night.
Why You Need It
So often the reason that we don’t feel truly recovered is simply that we aren’t getting enough high-quality sleep. Our schedules are busier and under attack now more than ever, so it’s important to grab that shut-eye when we can. Having a truly effective and comfortable eye mask available is a must-have for anyone struggling to secure their rest. The complete blackout experience and ergonomic design make it great for travel or at home when there is artificial light seeping in.
This mask comes with a carrying pouch, which is good because you aren’t going to want to leave it behind.
Enjoy faster recovery and fresh feet when you work out, in everyday life, and when you travel. CEP’s Allday Merino Compression Socks, comprised of heat and moisture-regulating merino wool, are specifically designed for the purpose of keeping your feet fresh, cool and comfortably dry while accelerating your recovery. The innovative blend of materials with merino wool and synthetic fibers perfectly regulates heat and moisture for comfortable feet. The anatomical design guarantee maximum comfort, and no more slipping.
Why You Need It
For most people on the move, the feet take a lot of punishment throughout the day, during their training or daily responsibilities. The areas that connect our lower body to the ground take a lot of beating, which can lead to stress on the ankles and foot pads. These socks are specifically designed to take care of those areas in tandem with your footwear or on their own at home. The brand also makes great compression knee braces for anyone who experiences swelling during runs or training sessions. Everyone should have a few great pairs of compression socks that can keep swelling down and your feet dry when walking around in rain or snow.
Power and versatility work together to make the Hypersphere convenient and efficient, the perfect blend to enhance your warmup and recovery routine. The high-powered vibrating Hypersphere can be used for trigger point release on your tightest muscles so you can recover faster and move better. Three speeds plus intense core vibration help loosen muscles, enhancing athletic performance. The textured rubber exterior targets vibration for more localized therapy
Why You Need It
This is like the “put a tennis ball under your shoulder” advice, taken up to an 11. I use this product literally every night, because I carry so much tension in my shoulders. It releases trigger points and leaves me feeling truly and deeply rejuvinated. I also use this under the hips. That upper glute carries so much tension and holds it all too well. Learning how to release that, via this magic ball, has been an absolute revelation.
Like the vibrating roller, don’t sleep on this as a foot massager, either. It’s excellent to have between your feet while working, watching Tv, etc.
The Infrared PEMF Mat combines two powerful healing technologies to create the ultimate recovery tool. PEMF grounds you in earth’s magnetic field for a full-body reset, while Infrared’s deeply penetrating heat doubles your DOSE. Hit the mat to ease chronic pain, recover from workouts, deepen your meditations, or experience total-body relaxation. No set-up or clean-up is required.
Why You Need It
I have enjoyed visiting the revitalizing HigherDOSE infrared saunas at their New York location a few times in the past, so I can vouch for the benefits. I was drawn in to the pulsed electromagnetic field, or PEMF, therapy by the fact that astronauts use it to recover from space missions. This mat combines that therapy with their familiar deep heat. This is a great piece for anyone who wants to get into these techniques but don’t have room for a whole sauna at home or would like to avoid paying for every session at a spa.
Our revolutionary Cold Plunge uses powerful cooling, filtration, and sanitation to give you cold, clean water whenever you want it. Sports medicine has utilized cold water therapy for years, to help the active recovery of your muscles. Cold plunging has also shown the ability increase your baseline dopamine, the molecule in our brain and body that is linked to motivation. The Plunge is safe for indoor or outdoor use and we’ve made installation truly plug-and-plunge.
Fill your Plunge up with a hose, turn it on, set your temperture, all the way down to 39F degrees, and get ready to change your life!
Why You Need It
In the ever-evolving world of fitness, cold water therapy has recently become one of the most talked-about recovery modalities, though it has been around since the very beginning. Studies have shown that submerging yourself in cold water for a few minutes can decrease muscle soreness after an intense training session. But the benefits go beyond the physical, with practitioners like Wim Hof sharing the immense mental benefits that come with the practice. This unit is not an impulse purchase though, it is for those who have made a decision to make cold water part of their weekly recovery routine.
For those ready to take that step, this unit perfectly combines aesthetic style with functional design.
When “Kai,” the quickly-dubbed “hatchet-wielding hitchiker” went viral in 2013 (“smash smash suh-MASH“), it was a story near and dear to my heart. Probably that’s a corny thing to say about anything that goes viral, which clearly touched people all over the world in similar ways, but that’s how it felt.
Kai was just that kind of story. The kind that in those days made me drop everything and write up a post, regardless of how much it actually fit my beat. For one thing, it happened in Fresno, the city where I’ve long told people I’m from and now actually live. For another, there was just something fascinating about “Kai.”
Quickly famous for stopping a potential mass killing in progress by bludgeoning the perp with a hatchet and then giving an interview that careened from uplifting to hilarious to unhinged, Kai (real name: Caleb Lawrence McGillvary) went on to get Milkshake Duck‘d in record time. This before the term “Milkshake Duck” had even been invented. He’s currently doing time for murder (spoiler alert kinda but not really).
Even at the time it felt like there must be more to this story, and yet it sort of just went away — from viral sensation to Jimmy Kimmel to prison in barely a few months. These days it lives just on the periphery of our collective consciousness, something we vaguely remember happening but forget the details of.
Which is to say, the perfect subject for a documentary in 2023. These days, when any viral news event spawns competing documentary projects before the duck shakes have even been milked, that’s no faint praise. The list of projects that have fallen into the awkward territory between tired of hearing about it and remember that? is long, and no one needs another Comey Rule. In that sense, Netflix’s The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker comes just at the right time. And kudos to Netflix and director Collette Camden (a prolific director of TV documentaries, many for the BBC) for giving us one stand-alone, 85-minute documentary feature rather than the de rigeur, hopelessly padded four-episode docuseries.
Yet while The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker may not need more run time, it could certainly use more insight. It offers many tantalizing details, making it that much more infuriating when it descends into yet another round of “maybe the media is to blame?!”
It’s not as if Camden didn’t do some legwork. The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker interviews, for the first time that I’ve seen, Kai’s mother and cousin, and reveals his true place of origin (Edmonton, Alberta Canada). Yet Camden has a habit of tugging threads just long enough to reveal some controversy and immediately moving onto something else. As if her idea of balanced coverage was to simply find two people who disagreed. In conclusion, America is a land of contrasts…
It’s natural that a documentary like this will have healthy chunk devoted to “remember that?” It has to refresh our memory before it can move onto revelations, and The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker does whet the appetite admirably. Through interviews with the people who “discovered” Kai, notably then-KMPH reporter Jessob Reisbeck, who conducted the initial interview, and his cameramen and producers, Camden thoughtfully conveys what made Kai so intriguing in the first place.
He was sort of a hobo with a heart of gold (“Before I say anything else, I want to say no matter what you done, you deserve respect…“), homeless and stony in an 80s surfer dude kind of way (That was like the biggest wave I’ve ever ridden in my life), with a comedian’s sense of timing (Q: Would you do it again? A: …Club him in the head with a hatchet?). He was clearly also an unreliable narrator and capable of serious violence (braining a guy with a hatchet, showing scars from knocking a guy’s teeth out, etc). His particular stew of compassion and malice was baked in from the beginning. It’s what made him intriguing. Yet Camden sort of presents Kai’s violent tendencies as red flags we should’ve seen but missed.
Camden is at her best delivering the untold story of what it was like trying to wrangle this unhinged, completely unpredictable and usually drunk guy onto his Jimmy Kimmel appearance (through interviews with various producers, fixers, and reality show gadflies). Great story! Throughout, Kai goes off on tangents about fluoride as a method of mass mind control, the government as an evil empire, and organized cabals of child predators. These are all now staples of the red-pilled conspiracy-net, but Camden doesn’t really explore this at all, or how this presumably not-very-online guy got caught up in them. That “Kai’s” accent goes from Hawaiian to Canadian also goes unremarked upon.
When Kai intimates that he was a victim of horrific child abuse, his cousin at first seems to corroborate this before Camden interviews Kai’s mother. The mother explains it away casually, locking Caleb in his room as a logical attempt to deal with a hyperactive child. Some editorial authority would’ve been crucial here, but Camden exerts little. She’s equally hands-off when it comes to the crime for which McGillvary is currently doing time — killing a New Jersey lawyer who McGillvary says tried to rape him. Was it really self-defense against a rapist, as McGillvary contends, or was it, as the prosecution contends… wait, what does the prosecution even contend? They take pains to show that the killing was “premeditated,” but the question of what the actual motive was remains wide open.
Camden introduces a subplot about McGillvary potentially using public sex offender registries to try to “hunt” rapists and pedophiles. Then, incredibly, does nothing to explain if or why he might’ve thought his victim was a sex offender. Instead we get the media people doing introspection about how maybe it was wrong to try to give this guy a reality show.
This seems to reflect a broader trend in historical revisionism, whereby media proves that the only kind of criticism it understands is media criticism. Was the media too mean to Britney Spears?? Was the media too mean to Princess Di?? Should the media have known Kai was dangerous??
This flagellation is inevitably just as facile as whatever inappropriate-by-today’s-standards thing they’re self-flagellating over, often as a way to bypass more substantive critique (like, why was Britney Spears being interviewed on Barbara Walters as a teenager in the first place? Why was “Kai” homeless and hitchhiking in the first place?). And what should people have done? Tut-tutted more? Been more paternalistic and measured in their excitement? Not stopped to look at a train wreck? Especially as it relates to Kai, the Forrest Gump of 20-teens web trends, “what should the media have done differently” strikes me as the most asinine question possible.
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker was smart to explore this subject and in many ways is a good start, but as it stands feels frustratingly incomplete. Sometimes maybe competing doc projects are a good thing.
‘The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker’ is currently available on Netflix. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.
Alec Baldwin’s apparently cursed Rust film is resuming filming again this year. That’s quite a turn of events, but the production reached a settlement with the late Halyna Hutchins’ family more than one year after she perished after being shot by a firearm held by Baldwin. He previously insisted that he he didn’t fire the weapon, although the FBI investigation found that statement to be inconsistent. Still, the production will continue with Halyna’s husband, Matthew Hutchins, doing executive producing duties, and the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau exonerated Alec in light of his belief that the firearm only contained dummy rounds.
Fast forward to this week, and the Santa Fe District Attorney’s office feels differently. Baldwin is being charged with involuntary manslaughter, and in a statement to PEOPLE, his attorney called the decision “a terrible miscarriage of justice” while adding, “We will fight these charges, and we will win.”
If Baldwin is convicted, though, what could be the possible punishment? In New Mexico, involuntary manslaughter covers manslaughter cases where no malice is intended. As well, the charge counts as a fourth-degree felony. If convicted, a defendant would ordinarily be on the hook for up to 18 months in prison and a possible $5,000 fine. However and as NBC News points out, this case could carry a “firearm enhancement” which could beef up the sentence to a mandatory five years. Given that Baldwin’s attorney resolves to fight this charge, it seems unlikely that a plea deal is in the cards.
The Rust armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, will also be charged with involuntary manslaughter in this case. Via PEOPLE, her attorneys declared, “[S]he did not commit involuntary manslaughter…. We intend to bring the full truth to light and believe Hannah will be exonerated of wrongdoing by a jury.”
Another influential ’60s rocker has passed, just days after days after guitar god Jeff Beck passed at 78. Variety reports that singer-songwriter-guitarist David Crosby has died at the age of 81.
A statement shared by his wife reads: “It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away. He was lovingly surrounded by his wife and soulmate Jan and son Django. Although he is no longer here with us, his humanity and kind soul will continue to guide and inspire us. His legacy will continue to live on through his legendary music. Peace, love, and harmony to all who knew David and those he touched. We will miss him dearly. At this time, we respectfully and kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and try to deal with our profound loss. Thank you for the love and prayers.”
Crosby was best known as the founder of the Byrds and later as part of the supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (originally just Crosby, Stills & Nash). While neither group lasted for very long, their influence has since reverberated throughout rock and popular culture (a bunch of characters in the sci-fi rock romcom adventure film Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World are named for Stills, Nash, and Young). CSN&Y has sporadically reunited over the past few years, keeping their presence in rock as unforgettable as hits like “Woodstock,” “Teach Your Children,” and “Our House.”
Crosby was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once for each of his two groups.
There’s still so much unknown when it comes to the fungal infection responsible for kickstarting an apocalypse on HBO’s The Last of Us. We’re starting to suspect creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann like it that way, because keeping fans in the dark about the world-ending pandemic’s origins and reproductive methodology only makes this show more unnerving to watch each week.
We’re pointing fingers, placing blame, tossing out old boxes of pancake mix, and just maybe considering going Keto again. (Damn you Druckmann!)
How Did Cordyceps Initially Spread?
We know the infection likely originated in Jakarta, Indonesia. That heavily-populated hub was the focus of a radio report playing in the background during the season premiere as Sarah and Joel were enjoying his meager birthday breakfast. There would’ve been pancakes to accompany Sarah’s shell-laden scrambled eggs but her dad forgot to pick up more mix, a fact Tommy also remarks on when he comes home. As the family — Sarah, Joel, and Uncle Tommy — load up into the pick-up truck, ready to drive to school/work, a neighbor offers them some homemade biscuits, something they all turn down. So that’s two opportunities to consume carbs denied by characters this show is trying to convince us live in Texas, where carbs are one of the main food groups. Seems suspect, but let’s move on.
Sarah also refuses to eat some of her next-door neighbor’s homemade cookies — to be fair, they’re raisin cookies so that’s not necessarily a red flag, just an indicator Sarah has good taste in sweets and her Boomer babysitter doesn’t. And both she and Joel skip his planned birthday cake snack when he arrives home late and empty-handed. (Sidenote: Has anyone eaten at all on the day the world ends? If not, that’s bleak.) When Joel and Tommy race to grab Sarah and escape the chaos once Infected start roaming the streets later in the episode, they posit theories on how the “virus” is spreading. Joel says it’s contained to the cities while Sarah questions if terrorists might be behind the outbreak. She also wants to know how they’re so sure they aren’t already sick.
Besides not exhibiting any symptoms, it seems like a plausible answer might be that they didn’t consume any flour that day.
In the video game series, Cordyceps Brain Infection was initially spread through crops in South America that had been infected with the fungus, but the mention of Jakarta, Indonesia in the show has led some to think a flour and grain factory might be the culprit. That would mean that everything from bread to granola and, yes, pancake mix, might carry spores capable of invading those who ingest foods like biscuits and cookies and really all of the best items on the food pyramid. According to a Vulture breakdown, that pathway for fungal infections to spread has happened before, first in the Middle Ages but more recently in places like Manchester and France. Even certain strains of fungi like Candida survive off yeast produced in our bodies and can cause serious health issues. (Which, rude.)
All in all, it sounds like it was a good thing Joel didn’t indulge his sweet tooth on his birthday, though why some people got sick while others who most likely had consumed flour and grain in the days leading up to the outbreak didn’t is still something that’s keeping us up at night.
Texas’ top Republicans made it pretty clear that most of them are strongly opposed to abortion when, in 2021, they took the shockingly drastic step of imposing a near-total abortion ban in the Lone Star State. In the more than year since that controversial decision, much bigger decisions have been made on the topic of a woman’s right to choose — including the Supreme Court’s unprecedented decision to reverse the half-century old Roe v Wade ruling. But Texas senator Bob Hall has an entirely different — and absurd — reason for wanting to end abortion: so that all those aborted fetuses stop ending up in our food products.
This is not a drill!
As Vice reports, Hall recently introduced a bill in Texas requiring that any food containing “human fetal tissue” be “clearly and conspicuously labeled” to indicate so much. Which shouldn’t really be a problem, since the idea that food manufacturers are adding aborted babies into their products is outright insane.
A spokesperson for the FDA provided Vice with a statement in response to Hall’s absurd accusations, stating: “There are no conditions under which the FDA would consider human fetal tissue to be safe or legal for human or animal consumption.”
“Prominent conspiracy theory movements like QAnon hold (falsely) that elite Democrats are running a cannibalistic, Satan-worshiping, child sex-trafficking ring. QAnon’s beliefs are linked to antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ tropes that hold that Jewish and LGBTQ people are trying to hurt children, and even drink their blood. These conspiracies, which have flourished partly through lockdown isolationism and election denialism, have radicalized a stunning number of Americans and torn families apart.”
While food manufacturing would in no way be impacted should Hall’s bill become law, it could require changes to scientific and legal studies as, according to Sherman, “fetal cell lines can be used to develop and test drugs. These lines can be collected from a single miscarriage or abortion, then replicated in labs, over and over again, for decades. (Cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue can be preferable, both because it’s easier to collect and because fetal tissue derived from a miscarriage may carry whatever genetic or chromosomal problem may have caused the miscarriage in the first place.) Fetal cell lines have led to development of many major vaccines, such as the vaccines against chickenpox and Hepatitis A.”
On Thursday, January 19, 2023, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies issued a written statement announcing that Alec Baldwin, producer/star of the indie western Rust, is being charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The action comes nearly 15 months after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was accidentally killed by a firearm being used by Baldwin on the film’s Albuquerque set. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s armorer, is also facing the same charges.
“After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the Rust film crew,” Carmack-Altwies wrote. “On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, the Oscar-nominated actor expressed “shock and sadness” over Hutchins’ death. But the more questions that were asked about exactly what happened on the set that led to the tragedy, the more Baldwin seemed to back away from bearing any responsibility — despite the fact that he was the person holding the gun that killed the DP and injured director Joel Souza.
Though Baldwin had the gun in his hand, he insisted that he never pulled the trigger. He also claimed that while “someone” was responsible for Hutchins’ death, that someone was “not me.” And when Halyna’s widower, Matt Hutchins, filed a lawsuit against Rust producers, Baldwin’s reaction was to accuse the plaintiffs of attempting a money-grab from “deep-pocket litigants.”
In order to prove her case, it’s the DA’s job to show that Hutchins’ death wasn’t just a tragic accident. As TIME writes, Baldwin “could face at least five years in prison if a jury finds that the actions that led to Hutchins’ death were more than simple negligence.”
David Halls, the film’s assistant director, signed a plea deal with Carmack-Altwies’s office. In exchange for pleading guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon, Halls will face a suspended sentence and six months of probation. But Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor who was appointed to assist the DA in handling this case, isn’t letting Halls off the hook that easily.
“If any one of these three people—Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, or David Halls—had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple,” Reeb said. “The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the Rust film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously.”
You can read Carmack-Altwies’s full statement below.
The Last of Us might be HBO’s latest smash hit, but it might not have happened if it weren’t for another massive HBO franchise you might have heard of.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the on-screen duo who are making their trek across a dystopian landscape to escape some zombies, were actually on the same show at one point, which is also what inspired Ramsey to become an actor in the first place. “I don’t think that I’d be an actor if it wasn’t for Game of Thrones, ’cause I never really set out to be [one], and then it sort of happened,” Ramsey told Entertainment Weekly.
Ramsey was just thirteen when she was cast in the hit fantasy series, which helped her realize that she actually wanted to have an acting career. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. So it set me up and prepared me for The Last of Us, and all my other projects, in ways that I don’t think anything else could.” Pascal joined the series in season four.
Thanks to the GoT connection, the two Last of Usleads already felt like they had a bond before filming even began. “I feel like it made us come from a family without knowing each other already,” Pascal explained, adding that their experiences on the show were so similar. “To have two characters that the fans liked make their entrance and make their exit is parallel for the both of us and a kind of bonding thing before we even got a chance to bond. So, yes, I am grateful for that.”
But when it comes to learning the mistakes of those who came before them, Ramsey doesn’t think The Last Of Us will have a similar journey that Game of Thrones did. “I don’t think it’s gonna be as long as Game of Thrones,” Ramsey mentions. “I don’t think it’s gonna be this show that goes on forever.” Considering how the final season was received, keeping it short and sweet will be for the best.
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