There’s great news from the war on cancer. A new report from the American Cancer Society shows that the cancer death rate has fallen 33% since 1991. An estimated 3.8 million deaths have been averted due to the decline. The study was based on the most recent data available from 2020.
Currently, the top six causes of death in the U.S. are heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, accidents, stroke and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
“The biggest reason for the decline that started in 1991 was the prevalence of smoking in the United States started going down in 1965,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, an oncology professor at Johns Hopkins University and former chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, according to CNN. “Now, in certain diseases, our ability to treat has improved, and there are some people who are not dying because of treatment.”
Over the past six decades, the prevalence of smoking in the U.S. has gone down dramatically. In 1965, 42% of Americans smoked cigarettes; in 2019 it was just 14%. Cigarette smoking is known to cause lung, bladder and pancreatic cancers.
Another big reason for the drop in cancer mortality has been the development of the HPV vaccine. There was a 65% drop in cervical cancers in women in their 20s between 2012 to 2019. HPV infections are a leading cause of cervical cancers.
“There are other cancers that are HPV-related – whether that’s head and neck cancers or anal cancers – so there’s optimism this will have importance beyond this,” Dr. William Dahut, the American Cancer Society’s chief scientific officer said.
Since 1991 there has also been a decrease in mortality for leukemia, melanoma and kidney cancer.
The cancers that now have the highest survival rates are thyroid (98%), prostate (97%) and melanoma (94%). The deadliest form of cancer is pancreatic cancer, which has a 12% survival rate.
“The report showing the U.S. has cut cancer deaths by one-third over the last 30 years is great progress, which we’ve achieved through driving smoking rates down, improving early detection, and delivering better treatments for many cancers. It means millions of American families have been spared the immeasurable loss of a loved one,” White House Cancer Moonshot Coordinator Dr. Danielle Carnival said in a statement.
u201cThe rate of people dying from cancer in the United States has continuously declined over the past three decades, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. https://t.co/bketX4qFWBu201d
“The report also underscores that there’s more work to do to save more lives,” she continued. “President Biden’s vision for ending cancer as we know it is building on the progress we’ve made with an all-hands-on-deck effort to develop new ways to prevent, detect, and treat cancer – and ensure that the tools we have and those we develop along the way reach all Americans.”
The good news on the cancer front comes as there appears to be a breakthrough in the treatment and prevention of the disease on the horizon. There are multiple vaccines in the works that use the same mRNA technology behind the highly successful COVID-19 vaccines that could be used to prevent and treat cancer.
Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, the co-founders of BioNTech, the German firm that partnered with Pfizer to manufacture a revolutionary mRNA COVID vaccine, told The Guardian they believe that cancer vaccines based on mRNA technology might be ready to be used in patients “before 2030.”
Have you ever seen a beaver build a “dam” out of stuffed animals and Christmas decorations? How about someone singing “Baby Got Back” opera-style?
This week’s 10 things list is a veritable feast of unusual delights. In addition to the indoor beaver dam and operatic “Baby Got Back,” we have a quick-witted “molice” (mom police) officer, a diner-owning toddler who serves broccoli to patrons who order cookies, and a hilarious mix-up between a kid named Jesús and the actual biblical Jesus.
We love to laugh here at Upworthy, but we also like to cry happy tears. It wouldn’t be a genuine roundup of joy without a few heart-tuggers in there. We’ve got you covered on all joy fronts. (Get ready to giggle, but grab a tissue or two as well is what I’m saying.)
Without further ado, please enjoy these 10 things that made us smile this week.
1. Mom’s hilarious ‘molice’ skits have parents everywhere nodding and chuckling.
It’s unintentional, surely, but it’s like hearing Leslie Jordan being channeled through a toddler. Read more about Addy and her family here.
3. Watch Sawyer the rescue beaver meticulously build a ‘dam’ in her rehabber’s hallway.
Marine mammal researcher Dr. Holley Muraco shared with us how Sawyer came to live with her and it’s a fascinating look into beaver rehabilitation. Learn all about Sawyer and her fellow rescue beavers, Huck and Finn (yes, really!) here.
4. A mom got confused by a ‘birthday party for Jesus’ invitation and it’s a hilarious mix-up.
I got put on a strict diet due to my audacity. #willowpenelope #willowsdiner #cute #funnytoddler
“Willow’s Diner” has become an incredibly popular TikTok series and you can see why with those facial expressions and toddler unpredictability. Check out more Willow’s Diner videos here.
7. Jason Derulo sings “Baby Got Back” opera-style and nails it.
Derulo is a pop singer, but one who has been classically trained and it shows. That vibrato on “spruuuuuuung”? Come on. Read the full story here.
8. Kid belts out every word of song from new ‘Matilda’ film and Dad’s reaction is too relatable.
u201cWe love to see the rise of a new theater kid. Protect him.u201d
Math facts woes aside, Nathan appears to have a bright musical theater future ahead of him. Another video of him singing a “Hamilton” song went viral with this one and got the attention of Leslie Odom Jr. himself. Read the full story here.
9. Eight-year-old surprises his beloved auntie with his portrait painting of her at an art show.
Some of the greatest acts of human kindness are the ones we never see. In an age where everyone shares everything on social media, isn’t it heartwarming to hear about people being helpful behind the scenes, just for the good of it?
Hope that brought you some joy!
If you want these roundups sent straight to your inbox each week, sign up for our free newsletter, The Upworthiest, here.
With M3GAN being a surprise box office hit, and a sequel already in early development, the obvious question is how soon can audiences stream her creepy dancing murder doll ways from the comfort (and safety) of their own homes. Well, good news on that front. M3GAN will reportedly be available for VOD rental or purchase starting January 24.
As for when it will hit Peacock, that’s a little more murky. According to Polygon, if M3GAN follows in the footsteps of other Universal releases, it should arrive on the streaming platform within the next month:
A subscription streaming premiere date for M3GAN has yet to be announced. However, with the film being distributed by Universal Pictures, M3GAN will almost certainly make its streaming debut on Peacock, the Comcast-owned streaming service. Based on previous Universal releases like Ambulance, The Northman, and Nope, we can estimate that M3GAN is likely to land on Peacock sometime in February.
Polygon also notes that there appears to be a pipeline for Universal movies making the jump to Amazon Prime Video after spending a few months on Peacock. That would make M3GAN available for streaming on Prime sometime this summer.
In the meantime, there has already been talk of an unrated cut of M3GAN where America’s favorite little killbot has a much more substantial body cut that doesn’t need to be trimmed to score a PG-13 rating. As for whether that cut will be available in theaters, streaming, or physical release hasn’t been revealed, but writer Akela Cooper said the unrated version is “on the books.”
“I’m going on an adventure!” I screamed to myself. “A weed adventure!”
I’d just nailed down a private ganja farm adventure in the hills of Jamaica. While there I would see marijuana growing and… Pick some? Watch the buds dry? Get stoned as hell? It was all a tad unclear; nonetheless, I was hyped.
Jamaica’s all-inclusive properties were boring to me. I wanted something different. Away from the beaches of Negril. To romp through the green, mountainous hills. So I booked a trip – feeling anything but a loser – ready to explore a more local side of the island (more local than internationally owned resorts, at least. It’s worth noting that there are plenty of locally owned guesthouses in Jamaica.)
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
Technically speaking, marijuana – ganja, weed, cannabis, etc. – is illegal in Jamaica. It was fully banned and deemed illegal under the 1913 Ganja Law and for over a century was treated as a black-market commodity. Thankfully, world leaders are starting to come to their senses (at least about some things) and cannabis was officially decriminalized in 2015. Jamaican residents can now possess up to two ounces without the worry of a criminal record and cultivate up to five plants without prosecution. It seems like that second clause is pretty open-ended and not as heavily enforced, considering ganja grows aplenty throughout the island and there’s a lot of talk of the “farmers up in the mountains.”
Still, it does seem like there are a few safeguards — I was told little to no information on where this ganja farm was located or where exactly I was headed. “Adds to the mystique!” I thought.
I got picked up at 9 am. My driver, Dennis, arrived in a minivan and I slid into the front passenger seat (the left side, since they drive on the left in Jamaica), and off we went. As we wound our way into the hills, I noticed that most of the land was fenced off for farming. Dennis explained that the first town we came to, Good Hope, currently represents one of the largest farm-based communities throughout the whole island of Jamaica. A local football field sat to the left center of the town, complimenting the houses nestled along the main road.
A few more minutes up Mt. Airy, Dennis slowed down and pulled over. Right behind us was a small bar. To the right was a tall wire metal fence. Dennis called through cupped hands into the hilly fields above the road and a man appeared.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
Dennis introduced me to Kurt, who wore a salmon-colored t-shirt and gray shorts. He was a slim man, probably in his 40s, and a man of few words. I was told to follow him, and we started making our way up through dense switchbacks. Having lived in Colorado and Utah for the past three years, I was able to keep up pretty easily. It was the humidity that I wasn’t used to.
With Kurt leading the way, me following behind, and Dennis in the back, we finally arrived at a gate made out of scrap metal. You could already see the marijuana plants peeking out over the wire fencing lining the farm. Then, once Kurt opened the gate, it became sensory overload and I understood the magnitude of the operation.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
Thousands of marijuana plants surrounded my field of vision in just about every direction I looked. Not only that, but the smell was… mouthwatering. Even if you don’t smoke weed, it’s hard to not take a little liking to the smell of fresh plants. Here, the plants lived and prospered among the natural terrain of the land. Many of the plants were growing in tires, but some were also growing tall in the natural soil.
We were 120 meters (393 feet) above sea level, there was a plethora of Cretaceous limestone throughout the farm. Believe it or not, the ocean once covered this land, before the island rose out of the sea millions of years ago.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
While growing marijuana outside may not be considered optimal conditions in the United States, it is in Jamaica. I was told that this farm is among dozens more throughout the area that grows and cultivates ganja to be sold and dispersed throughout the island. Because of the mineral-rich rocks and soil, the plants prosper and grow here year-round without a problem.
Later, I was told that Mount Airy and Orange Hill – the small town right after the farm – are considered the epicenter of marijuana cultivation in all of Jamaica.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
Making sure I watched my footing, I walked through the dense forests of cannabis plants. Huge plants as high as 10 feet hovered over me, while some plants were just starting off as little sprouts. There were families of plants ready to harvest and little wee new buds that were soaking in as much sun and water as possible to thrive.
Because of the close proximity, Kurt told me that almost all of the plants are hybrids, constantly pollinating and replicating almost every day. He couldn’t keep count of how many plants he has.
“I don’t know, maybe a thousand,” he said. “I can’t keep track, honestly. There are dozens that pop up every day.”
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
I noticed several piles of what looked like fire ash in various locations throughout the farm.
“The plants like to smoke,” Kurt told me with a slight laugh.
He was telling the truth. While marijuana operations in the states may have to adhere to strict growing guidelines and use methodically calculated and researched additives and chemicals in order to get the best-tasting strains, the Jamaicans I met (Kurt in particular) prefer a more natural method: smoking the plants. He explained that exposing marijuana plants to regulated, small amounts of fire smoke yields stronger and more potent plants.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
While ganja leaves and aromas took up most of my sensory awareness, some “misplaced” plants also stood tall among the cannabis plantation. A papaya tree and banana tree positioned themselves proudly among their marijuana counterparts, while several hidden Scotch bonnet pepper plants camouflaged themselves in the thick of the ganja growth. Kurt picked some fresh peppers for Dennis to take home. Me on the other hand, I wanted to smoke some of what we just saw and take some of those goodies back with me.
After strolling through this nearly three-decades-old ganja farm, smelling the abundance of Mary Jane against the salty breeze, and seeing and feeling the delicious sticky buds, I’d worked up quite the appetite to smoke.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
Soon, the tour was over and it was time to blaze up in the hills of Jamaica. Dennis and I followed Kurt back down the switchbacks and the three of us ended up in Kurt’s little beach bar shack close to where we’d parked. Kurt went into a side shed and pulled out some of the farm’s recently cultivated and dried buds for us to smoke as a trio. At which point Kurt nonchalantly revealed he doesn’t smoke. Dennis said the same.
That left me to take care of business. Kurt took out a little electric coffee grinder and ground a fat bud into a perfect consistency of ground flower. As Dennis rolled some of it up into a joint for me, Kurt packed the rest into a homemade coconut bong.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
I felt like Gandolf as I took my first hit, due to the bong’s long mouthpiece. Once I exhaled, I realized immediately that we weren’t in Colorado anymore. The weed was dank. I coughed my way through the smoke as Dennis and Kurt laughed at me. The weed tasted quite good, almost as if the salty air and Caribbean sun had kissed each plant and all of its beautiful buds with some bright citrus flavors.
After three long drags of the coconut bong, I was good to go.
“How is it?” Dennis asked me.
“Irie,” I replied through my coughing. I thought I was a seasoned veteran when I came to smoking, but the Jamaican plants hit me on a whole new level.
Dennis finished rolling the joint, but I couldn’t even smoke it. It would be too much and a waste, considering I was already floating among the hills, I put the joint and leftover bud carefully in my bag.
Mikala Lugen/UPROXX
Having lived in Colorado for several years and naturally surrounding myself with all the weed-smoking hippie friends I could find in all the various cities I’ve lived in, smoking marijuana is nothing new to me. I’ve even bought some pretty terrible weed from a local in downtown London once, which did the job but was nothing similar to that in the United States. Seeing it firsthand in Jamaica, I can understand why ganja is considered the “wisdom weed” by practicing Rastafarians and how it has become a true commodity. The people I met — even non-smokers — respect it in a different way.
There really is a “weed as medicine” dynamic at play that most American smokers seem to have missed. Or at least ignored in favor of getting as high as possible as fast as possible.
Seeing a farm helped me step away from the US’s current commodification of weed. I found something quite special about venturing off into the idyllic land of marijuana plants and seeing where it all really comes from and the real people that make it all happen. Needless to say though, there isn’t really an “official” way to book such a trip. I was able to find a trusted driver who knew Kurt and convinced him to show me – a complete stranger – a tour of his farm. You just have to poke around a little bit to find the people who know these hidden spots and trust that it’ll all work out.
And that’s the point of travel… right? With a thirst for adventure and an intrepid spirit, it can take you to some mighty high places.
Last week, Bonnaroo, Boston Calling, and Coachella kicked off announcements for the spring 2023 festival season. Now it’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s turn, and the event has big shoes to fill after 2022’s epic return. This year’s event, set to take place between April 28 and May 7, doesn’t look like it will disappoint. Amongst the 5,000 musicians listed to perform at the Fair Grounds Race Course are Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, Mumford & Sons, Santana, and The Lumineers, to name a few of the headliners.
But just as the event’s name highlights, several jazz acts will grace one of the event’s five stages, including Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave, Rebirth Brass Band, Chistone “Kingfish” Ingram, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and more. Other notable performers include Melissa Etheridge, Jazmine Sullivan, HER, Big Freedia, and Durand Jones.
The festival will also feature several international artists, including La Tribu de Abrante, Plena Libra, Pirulo y la Tribu, Atabal, and more.
In addition to the musical performances, the festival will feature several crafting activities for children and families and a wide array of food trucks for attendees to explore New Orleans’ staple dishes.
Tickets for the New Orleans Jazz Festival 2023 are on sale now. Head here for more information.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“Sometimes that Boston accent slips out when you least expect it,” WWLP-22News reporter Ellen Fleming tweeted this week, along with a video of herself inside the Massachusetts State House. I could describe the way she says “New Hampshire” in the clip, but you should really hear it for yourself.
Fleming was raised in Braintree, MA, but according to the Boston Globe, “both of her parents grew up in Dorchester — ground zero for the classic Boston accent — and how they spoke rubbed off on her.” She’s been trying to tone down the how-do-you-like-dem-apples accent since college, and she’s been doing a wicked good job. Mostly.
Fleming said the replies to the outtake have “been hysterical… “A lot of people [are] saying I shouldn’t change how I speak, and a lot [are] saying ‘pahk the cahr,’” she said in a message. The kicker? This isn’t the first time Fleming has had a viral moment. Back in 2018, she had a brush with online fame after posting her humorous tale about becoming a millionaire — for a whole 10 minutes.
Sadly, the mistake was revolved before she could buy one million dollars worth of duck boat tours.
Fan casting has been around forever. After all, that’s how The Muppets get most of their gigs. But it has been pretty common lately! What’s even stranger is that through the power of social media, some of these ideas actually make it to those in charge and end up working. Sometimes.
But other times, rumors will fly on Twitter paired with a subpar fan edit, which is all fun and games until the actual decision-makers hop online to tell everyone that they are wrong. That actually seems to happen a lot, too.
The latest rumor to flood the internet is that Euphoria star Jacob Elordi is that in the running to play Superman in the new wave of DC movies. Elordi would be replacing Henry Cavill, who starred in The Witcher, before being fan cast in House of the Dragon, and then left The Witcher for Superman before exiting that as well. So… there is a lot going on here.
None of that matters, though, because James Gunn says that they are a long way from casting anyone in the role. In response to a viral tweet, Gunn said that the scripts need to be finished before there are any cast announcements.
My thoughts are no one has been cast as Superman yet. Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isn’t. We’ll announce a few things in not too long, but the casting of Superman won’t be one of them. https://t.co/2SGWV2RSI7
“My thoughts are no one has been cast as Superman yet. Casting, as is almost always the case with me, will happen after the script is finished or close to finished, and it isn’t. We’ll announce a few things in not too long, but the casting of Superman won’t be one of them,” Gunn said before adding an emoji of a mermaid, which seems to actually add to the confusion. It looks like Elordi will have to settle for becoming Elvis instead, in 2023, the year of Severe Elvis Fatigue.
Gunn has been busy trying to repair DC and its legacy, while also finishing up some Marvel things. There’s also a Looney Tunes movie he’s producing now, too. It sure sounds like he has a lot on his plate, maybe he should let some fans do the casting for a little bit?
They’re back today with a KEXP performance (that was shared today but recorded on December 15, 2022). Playing “A Hairdryer,” “Thin Thing,” “The Opposite,” “You Will Never Work In Television Again,” and “Open The Floodgates,” The Smile’s reverberating, hallucinogenic sound fills up the studio and becomes a living thing. It’s more powerful than the recordings, especially getting to watch each member fall into the music.
Earlier this month, Radiohead drummer Philip Selway sat down for an interview and the question of whether or not Radiohead is still a band came up — one many fans have been wondering since their last LP, 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool.
“As far as I know, we’re still a band,” he stated. “If anybody knows any different, I’d be very interested.” He added, “For me, whatever we do, it all falls under that umbrella of the five of us. Ultimately, it all feeds into it.”
Luckily, in the meantime, The Smile have a lot to give.
If you’re still in “The Feels,” then this is a fair warning you have a week left to prep yourself before you get deeper into your bag.
Following a week of solo image teasers from members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, TWICE ended the week off by releasing a 12-second audio snippet of their upcoming English single “Moonlight Sunrise” on TikTok today (January 13).
TWICE Pre-Release English Single “MOONLIGHT SUNRISE” A piece of MOONLIGHT SUNRISE Worldwide Release on 2023.01.20 FRI 2PM KST/0AM EST #TWICE#트와이스#MOONLIGHTSUNRISE
Compared to their first English single, “The Feels,” released back in 2021, TWICE seems to gear away a bit from their signature bubblegum pop sounds and experiment with contemporary R&B and Atlanta bass for their new dance track.(If you take a closer listen, the beat may remind you of Ghost Town DJ’s hit “My Boo.”) The teaser kicks off with Nayeon in the beginning, followed by Mina singing “Moonlight, sunrise / Baby, let’s do it all night” in between and Chaeyoung cheekily ending it with, “I guarantee, I got you!”
“Moonlight Sunrise” is set to release next Friday, January 20, at midnight across all global streaming platforms. The single is one of the two releases set for TWICE in the first quarter of the year, according to their announcement poster shared on socials last month. Following the release, the nine-member ensemble are scheduled to drop their twelfth EP under JYP Entertainment in March.
To celebrate his birthday this week, Yandel released his album Resistencia as a surprise today (January 13). Across the 17-track LP, the Puerto Rican icon teams up with artists like Wisin, Maluma, and rising star Young Miko.
Yandel rose to prominence in the 2000s as one half of the duo Wisin y Yandel. In 2003, he made his mark as a solo artist with the album Quien Contra Mí. Nearly two decades later, Yandel is still going strong with his latest LP Resistencia, which translates to “Resistance” in English.
“Resistencia is a project that defines what I am living at this very moment, because no matter the hustle, the pressure, the time, years, or transitions; I’m still here… stronger than ever, flowing with the movement without altering my essence, and revealing all the elements that are in every single part of me,” Yandel said in a statement.
With the album, Yandel also dropped the video for “Te Gusta” featuring Wisin. The duo reunites for the reggaeton banger that is reminiscent of their first hits together. As a pioneering reggaeton artist, Yandel joined forces with the genre’s current stars as well like Maluma and Eladio Carrión in the alluring “Nunca Y Pico.” He also shares his spotlight with Puerto Rico’s up-and-coming female artists in reggaeton like Young Miko in the hypnotic “Cuando Te Toca” and Catalyna in “Palabras.”
Baby Rasta y Gringo, who helped lay the foundation for reggaeton music, return as a duo on Yandel’s track “Anda Decidida.” Another genre pioneer that appears on his LP is Franco El Gorila in “Cowboys” alongside Gadiel and ERY. Yandel also re-recorded the song “Te Suelto El Pelo” from his debut album in a new 2023 version.
Resistencia is out now via Y Entertainment LLC/Sony Music Latin. Listen to it here.
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Worldwide Release on 2023.01.20 FRI 2PM KST/0AM EST