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An unusual story out of England shows just how interconnected the world is in 2020.

On January 2, 17-year-old Aidan Jackson of Widnes, England, just outside of Liverpool, was chatting and playing an online game with his friend, Dia Lathora, from Texas. Aidan was alone in his bedroom upstairs, while his parents were on the first floor watching television.

Aidan is a student studying graphics and photography with a recent history of seizures. At around 9 pm that night, Aidan began making sounds that didn’t sound right to Dia.

“I just put my headset back on and I heard what I could only describe as a seizure, so obviously I started to get worried and immediately started asking what was going on and if he was OK,” Dia told the Liverpool Echo.

Dia knew Aidan’s address but didn’t have his phone number so there was no way he could reach his parents.

“When he didn’t respond I instantly started to look up the emergency number for the EU,” Dia said. “When that didn’t work I just had to hope the non-emergency would work, it had an option for talking to a real person…and I can’t tell you how quickly I clicked that button.”

Aidan’s parents were completely shocked when at 9:40 pm, two police cars pulled up to their home and officers marched up to their door.

“I assumed they were in the area for another reason and then they ran up to the front door,” Aidan’s mother, Caroline Jackson, said.

“They said there was an unresponsive male at the address. We said we hadn’t called anyone and they said a call had come from America,” she continued. “I immediately went to check on Aidan and found him extremely disorientated.”

Dia had stayed online with Aidan while he was unresponsive and was relieved when she heard his mother talking to him in his room.

“The most surreal thing was hearing his mum come upstairs with the medical team, hearing them talk to him, asking if he’s doing OK, saying that I had just called them saying he had a seizure,” Dia said.

Aidan was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for the seizure. Aidan is home now and his family looks forward to his next doctor’s appointment when they will learn more about his recent seizures. “Aidan is a lot better and hopefully everything is OK when he has his appointment at the hospital but he’s doing well,” his mother said.

His family is very grateful for Dia’s decision to spring into action to help her friend across the pond.

“We are extremely thankful for what Dia did and shocked that we could be downstairs and not know anything was happening,” Caroline added. “I’ve spoken to her and expressed our thanks — she’s just glad she could help.

The man behind John Wick is apparently setting his sights on the Dungeons and Dragons universe by way of an RPG-focused television show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Derek Kolstad, the writer behind the John Wick franchise, is working on a live-action series based on the pen-and-paper role playing game.

A Dungeons and Dragons movie is already in the works, with Chris Pine attached the long-gestating script as of late last year. But anyone who’s owned a set of Chessex dice (or six) knows there’s more than enough lore out there for multiple Dungeons and Dragons-based projects.

Interestingly, it seems that there’s actually a fairly crowded field of folks trying to get Dungeons projects to the finish line, thanks to a boost in popularity from folks spending their quarantines role playing.

Launched in 1974, the tabletop RPG gained popularity in the 1980s. Its garnered renewed interest in recent years and, in fact, has soared anew during the pandemic and found a new generation of fans thanks to gameplay live streams on Twitch and YouTube. In an earning call in October, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said sales had mushroomed 20 percent from 2019. Goldner also revealed that a TV series was being considered.

Paramount and eOne are also mounting a feature set to star Chris Pine that is due to lens later this year. And Kolstad isn’t the only scribe working on a D&D series, as eOne is now working with multiple writers to develop various projects set in the fantasy universe.

Given the success we’ve seen when it comes to RPGs being adapted to television shows — The Witcher, for one — it’s no surprise that’s a route a story in the Dungeons and Dragons universe would head. And a John Wick-style RPG sure sounds like a mess of fun. We’ll have to wait and see what star power gets behind Kolstad’s script, but all of this is certainly good news for wizards and Wick fans alike.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

The NBA is in the midst of dealing with an outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases across the league. Many players and personnel members who have tested positive for the virus have kept things under wraps, but on Friday evening, one of the league’s biggest names wrote a note announcing that he will be out for the time being as he battles the novel coronavirus.

Minnesota Timberwolves standout Karl-Anthony Towns posted a note to his Twitter account in which he said that “this nightmare of a virus” is in his system, and pledged that he will do everything he can to battle it and get back to 100 percent.

The news of his test comes shortly after the game between the Timberwolves and the Memphis Grizzlies was postponed.

Towns has been outspoken in recent months about the personal toll the the pandemic has taken on him and his loved ones — back in April, the All-Star big man lost his mother, Jacqueline, to the virus, and six other family members have passed away, too.

“I’ve seen a lot of coffins in the last seven months,” Towns said, per ESPN. “I have a lot of people who have — in my family and my mom’s family — gotten COVID. I’m the one looking for answers still, trying to find how to keep them healthy. It’s just a lot of responsibility on me to keep my family well-informed and to make all the moves necessary to keep them alive.”

Here’s to hoping that Towns is able to battle this without developing any symptoms and is able to get this out of his system as soon as possible.

Steady Holiday, moniker of LA musician Dre Babinski, is gearing up for the release of her third LP Take The Corners Gently. She previously previewed her intimate songwriting through last year’s tracks “Living Life” and “Tangerine.” Now offering a final sample of her forthcoming release, Babinski shares her “Love Me When I Go To Sleep” ballad alongside a heartwarming video.

Directed by Isaac Ravishankara, the visual opens with a phone call between Babinski and her grandpa, who she hasn’t been able to see due to the pandemic. She asks if he wants to hear some music and proceeds to croon the song over the phone. After she’s finished, her grandpa praises her talent. “Every word that comes out of you is music to me,” he says.

Explaining the inspiration behind the track, Babinski said it was penned before the pandemic but she decided to release it Friday to celebrate her grandpa’s 92nd birthday. “‘Love Me When I Go To Sleep’ was written pre-pandemic, so the theme of gratitude for being alive hits harder now,” she said. “I’ve never felt more fragile, and then there’s my grandpa, who turns 92 today and keeps waking up alive. There are no rules. Happy bday papa.”

Previously speaking about her upcoming album, Babinksi said: “It’s a record about the uncertainties of just being alive, which is a theme that’s always timely but hits a little different right now. I’m just excited to put something positive and easy out into the world and I hope it can be of some service.”

Watch Steady Holiday’s “Love Me When I Go To Sleep” video above.

Take The Corners Gently is out 2/12. Pre-order it here.

Donald Trump hasn’t shown his face much since a rally on the Ellipse last week sparked a coup attempt in his name at the US Capitol. According to CNN, advisors are making Trump stick to scripted video missives for his public appearances because they’re afraid he will start riffing his way into more legal trouble if he starts talking about the failed coup he sparked last week. But on his last Friday in office, it appears that the coup plans are coming to him these days.

While reporters have caught sight of people packing up and moving items out of the White House in recent days, MyPillow weirdo Mike Lindell visited Trump on Friday and photographers caught what appeared to be his notes. Which were apparently focused on somehow undoing the election of Joe Biden as president, which has been certified by congress because, well, Trump lost.

That hasn’t stopped Trump from searching high and low for a way to undo his failure to triumph in the popular vote or the electoral college, which is why the MyPillow guy was apparently invited to the White House to talk about using the Insurrection Act to steal an election.

Ignore, for a moment, the fact that this is Trump’s final Friday in office and focus on the fact that Trump is apparently still hosting advisors and friends encouraging yet another attempt to tamper with election results. Trump has been impeached for a second time, the first president to ever have that happen, because of his last attempt at insurrection that left five people dead. If if weren’t so dangerous and clearly a threat to democracy, well, it would all be very funny. In fact, it still was pretty funny, all things considered. Because there were some truly wild suggestions among those notes.

Seeing yet another pro-Trump conspiracy theory taken from the depths of the internet and brought inside the White House is really stunning, even for a presidency that’s completely shattered basically every norm established.

The final weekend of the Trump presidency will carry with it just as much uncertainty as the one that came before it. There may be pardons and a lot of other weird and potentially dangerous things ahead. But if Trump somehow tries to incite another insurrection we’ll know that, of all people, the MyPillow guy had something to do with it.

As the COVID-19 vaccine continues being rolled out across the country, people over the age of 65 are now able to get their shots — and that includes Willie Nelson. The iconic singer drove to a clinic nearby his Spicewood, Texas hometown and was all smiles as he receive his first round of the vaccine.

Nelson’s wife Annie confirmed to Rolling Stone that they were able to get vaccinated on Wednesday, saying they wanted to make sure the vaccine was available to health care workers first and foremost. “We made sure that [he] wasn’t cutting anybody — in fact, the healthcare workers were kind of angry that we had waited so long because he is 87 years old and has [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].”

Nelson confirmed that the singer’s experience getting the shot was quick and pain-free, with the exception of a sore arm. “He was bragging yesterday after he got it that he didn’t even have a sore arm,” Nelson said. “Now, today, of course, his arm is sore. We’re both just a little tired. I don’t know if we wouldn’t be tired anyway, but we’re gonna do what they said and let the vaccine do its job.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Nelson said that the singer is hopeful he can return to touring in the fall. But in the meantime, they have both been extra careful about being exposed to the virus. “Stuff doesn’t even come into the house unless it gets sterilized,” she said. “We work out three times a week to keep sane, and he sings, and that’s really helpful. Sometimes he just puts on his [SiriusXM] channel Willie’s Roadhouse and sings at the top of his lungs to his music. That’s good exercise.”

Check out a photo of Nelson getting vaccinated above.

After increased reports of financial instability and a lawsuit from New York Attorney General Letitia James, the National Rifle Organization has filed for bankruptcy. In a letter posted to the NRA’s website, Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced that the controversial gun group has filed chapter 11 petitions in an effort to “dump” New York and move the organization to Texas where where they can experience greater “constitutional freedoms.” In an effort to control the narrative, LaPierre attempted to get ahead of dire headlines by assuring members that the NRA is stronger than ever. Via NRA Forward:

You know that our opponents will try to seize upon this news and distort the truth. Don’t believe what you read from our enemies. The NRA is not “bankrupt” or “going out of business.” The NRA is not insolvent. We are as financially strong as we have been in years.

But they know today’s announcement makes us bigger, stronger and more prepared for the fight for freedom.

While claiming that group is not in any trouble, LaPierre made several references to the lawsuit filed by AG James, which sought to dissolve the organization “for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct” and fraud.“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” James told CNN in August.

Contrary to LaPierre’s claims, it appears the lawsuit has worked as the NRA attempts to “reorganize” in Texas. Meanwhile, the reactions on Twitter have been firing fast as folks can’t help but taunt the gun group with messages of “Thoughts and Prayers” as it faces imminent death.

(Via NRA)

The Atlanta Falcons officially entered the head coaching market this offseason following Dan Quinn’s midseason ouster after five and a half years. While they were not the first team to fill their vacancy this winter, Atlanta did eventually get its man, as the team announced on Friday afternoon that Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is going to move a little farther south.

The news comes less than a week after Smith’s Titans fell in the AFC Wild Card round to the Baltimore Ravens in a hotly-contested game. It also marks the first time that Smith, 38, will become a head coach. Prior to joining Atlanta, Smith spent the entirety of his NFL career with the Titans, joining the franchise as a quality control coach in 2011 after a stint in college ball and working his way up the ranks.

When the Green Bay Packers hired away Matt LaFleur prior to the 2019 season, Smith was promoted from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator, and under his tutelage, the Titans have boasted one of the league’s most fearsome rushing attacks behind a nasty offensive line and bruising tailback Derrick Henry. This past season, Tennessee was second in the league in rushing yards per game, tied for second in total offense, and fourth in scoring offense.

The Falcons went 4-12 this season, and while the offense was rather limp on the ground (27th in the league in rushing offense), they were able to find success through the air, as only four teams accrued more passing yards. They will need to figure out how they want to proceed on that side of the ball going forward, as starting signal caller Matt Ryan will be 36 at the start of next season with three years remaining on his contract.

Gallant released his sophomore album, Sweet Insomnia, in 2019 to critical acclaim and now, the singer is returning to usher in a new era of music. Sharing his first single of 2021, Gallant teases his forthcoming EP Neptune with a video alongside the swooning single “Comeback.”

Drawing from R&B’s heyday in the early aughts, Gallant croons his heartfelt verses over a sparking beat. The video that accompanies the single is directed by Bennett Johnson and depicts the singer pulling out all of his best moves to try to win over his woman. After she rejects his call, he begins showing up everywhere from her TV’s infomercials to her car’s dashboard bobblehead to remind her of his worth.

Speaking about his inspiration behind the single, Gallant said the lyrics were compiled from his late-night thoughts:

“I put the lyrics of ‘Comeback’ together from pages of notes I had typed up late at night and saved on my computer (and didn’t really want anyone else to read). I was having some trouble finding a spark of inspiration and at the same time, I had these small bits and pieces of early 2000s R&B floating around in my head that I could never really turn into any good ideas. When I finally locked myself in a room and told myself I couldn’t leave until I made something, I looked at all these pieces in front of me and felt like, in a weird way, they might be able to complement each other. Eventually they turned into this song full of nostalgia and longing, where you feel like you’ve been there before and are desperately trying to get back.”

Watch Gallant’s “Comeback” video above.

Gallant is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

James Harden has developed something of a reputation for being a difficult teammate. His relationship with Chris Paul was chilly, to say the least, and Harden apparently didn’t take kindly to Paul’s penchant for criticism and holding his teammates accountable for their actions.

Even Russell Westbrook, a close personal friend to Harden, was reportedly appalled by the way the Rockets organization bent over backwards to accommodate Harden’s whims, an environment that led directly to his own trade request from Houston after just a single season together.

But the saga reached its nadir in recent weeks as Harden continued to try and force his eventual trade to the Nets, in the process alienating his Rockets teammates, who he described as “not good enough” in his now-infamous press conference following a blowout loss to the Lakers earlier this week.

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins both fired back at that assessment, with Cousins calling his comments disrespectful. Harden, naturally, didn’t see it that way, as he attempted to explain in his first presser for the Nets.

“I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone.”

James Harden opens up about his recent postgame comments and departure from Rockets pic.twitter.com/LEamwbeNwc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 15, 2021

Harden did, however, express some regret about the way the situation ended in Houston, saying broadly that some of his actions were “out of character,” but it’s not likely that there will be much reconciliation with the aggrieved parties anytime soon. The Rockets and Nets are currently headed in different directions, but both sides must be relieved to be able to put this behind them and move forward.