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Twenty-five years after Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant split, her son Damian Hurley has maintained a relationship with the actor.

On Wednesday, the model took to Instagram to wish Grant a happy birthday with a photo snapped in August and another throwback photo taken of the two of them when Damian was a little boy.

“Happiest birthday, Uncle Monkey,” he captioned the sweet pic, honoring the actor who turned 66 on Sept. 9.

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Elizabeth commented on the photo as well, wishing “Monkey” a happy birthday.

Fans also commented on the photo, commending the pair’s relationship:

• “DAMIEN [sic], kudos to your mum! I absolutely love the way she brought you up — with so much love, wisdom and an open heart,” they wrote. “No bitterness, just a beautiful ability to love, respect and appreciate the men in her life. What a wonderful legacy she has given you!”
• “What a beautiful thing this picture [is] in many ways,” added another.
• “An incredible love and friendship you have for one another,” said a third.

Related: Hugh Grant's Relationship History, From Elizabeth Hurley to Anna Eberstein

While Damian was born a few years after his mom and Grant split, the three have remained close. Elizabeth shares her son with businessman Steve Bing.

Grant, who is the 24-year-old’s godfather, has stayed in Damian’s life and is supportive during milestones. In 2024, the actor attended the premiere of Damian’s directorial debut, Strictly Confidential.

A few years prior in 2020, Hurley told People just how close she and her ex are, referring to him as “my go-to person” for “advice about work.”

“I speak to him quite a lot,” she said. “I still go to him for advice on scripts, even though he’s very happily married with five children and I’m very happy in my own life, there’s still certain bits we crossover with very well.”

Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant in 1995.

Ron Galella / Getty Images

Grant became a dad in 2011, welcoming his first child, Tabitha, whom he shares with Tinglan Hong. The actor then welcomed his second child, John, with now-wife Anna Eberstein in 2012, and then had another child, Felix, with Hong soon after John’s birth. Eberstein and Grant then welcomed Lulu in 2015 and Blu in 2018.

The two also quietly married in 2018.

As for Hurley, after dating Grant, she welcomed Damian in 2002 and later found out, with a paternity test, that Bing was the father. She married Arun Nayar — who is also a godfather to Damian — in 2007 and separated in 2010. Last year she began dating Billy Ray Cyrus.

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The Paper shares DNA with The Office, but it’s not The Office 2.0. Co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman like to describe mockumentary comedy The Paper, which follows the staff of the Toledo Truth-Teller as they try to revitalize the ailing local newspaper, as a new documentary made by the same crew that made The Office. And as the show returns for Season 2 on Peacock Sept. 9, it continues to settle into itself. It’s similar to the classic it’s spun off from, but has its own unique identity. 

The previous mockumentaries Daniels developed, The Office and Parks and Recreation, famously didn’t find their footing until their second seasons. The Paper, as a spinoff produced for streaming that uses a different production model (more on that later), is a different case in many ways, and it had a better idea of what it was when Season 1 debuted in 2025. But that doesn’t mean Season 2 is exactly the same as Season 1. There are adjustments made as the actors and writers gain a deeper understanding of the characters. 

“Every time you have a second season, it is so informed by the fact that the actors have had the experience of Season 1. They get to see what you selected in the editing room out of all the work that they do, and everybody kind of gels and gets on the same page better for Season 2,” Daniels tells Parade. “And so we’re excited about this season, which we think is funnier and tighter than the last.” 

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Why ‘The Paper’ Season 2 Feels Different

Season 2 picks up shortly after the events of the Season 1 finale, when the staff of the Truth Teller won a number of trophies at the Ohio Journalism Awards and editor-in-chief Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) and reporter Mare Pritti (Chelsea Frei) kissed for the first time. As the season starts, Ned is riding high, but he’s quickly snapped back to the reality of trying to run a paper with almost no money, a chaotic staff (himself very much included), and endless conflicts with management. He and Mare start dating while trying to keep their budding relationship secret, and other romances percolate among various staff members. Meanwhile, eccentric managing editor Esmeralda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) faces hard truths about herself. And somehow, against all odds, they manage to do some real journalism. 

Related: From Award Chaos to That Shocking Kiss: Everything You Need to Remember Before ‘The Paper’ Season 2

The Cast Found Its Rhythm in Season 2

The actors are more comfortable in Season 2, which makes the chemistry and comedy better. Frei says she had a lot of nerves during the first season about living up to comparisons to The Office (she’s a self-professed super-fan) while making sure The Paper was its own thing. In Season 2, she was more laid back. “Going into the second season, I just feel like there was an ease, and just a general more relaxed vibe on set, which I think usually tends to be good for comedy. People aren’t as fearful of getting fired or anything,” she says. “So I found myself having more fun than I’ve ever had on set before, and just laughing more.” 

Gleeson was still nervous going into Season 2.” But that’s a character thing, I don’t think that’s ever going away,” he jokes. Nevertheless, he had a great experience filming the season. He has primarily acted in films, and while he’s done a few sequels, he’d never done a second season of a TV show before, where “the job is for the relationships to really grow all the time,” as opposed to the tighter character arc of a movie.

“I realized at the end of the season that the most amount of time I’ve spent acting with anybody is probably with Chelsea, which is kind of an amazing thing, and was brilliant at every point,” he said.

Domhnall Gleeson on What Makes Ned So Unique

As an actor, Gleeson has exceptional range — he has been a romantic comedy hero and a Star Wars villain. And as Ned he gets to be totally charming and extremely weird. Best of all is when he’s both in the same scene, like when he gets excited seeing Mare dressed up as an old-timey printer’s assistant. That range is what Gleeson likes about playing such a unique character. “He’s a good dude, but he’s odd, and there’s not lots of [characters like] that,” Gleeson says. “That’s one of my favorite things about going into work. It’s like, how do we make it real, but keep him surprising?” 

Sabrina Impacciatore Reveals Esmeralda’s Vulnerable Side

Making it real is Sabrina Impacciatore’s secret to playing Esmeralda. Ned’s nemesis has an over-the-top personality (with a wardrobe to match) that puts her in near-constant conflict with everyone around her; however, Impacciatore plays her with a wounded vulnerability that keeps her emotionally grounded. 

“To me, she is like in constant war because she feels threatened, and I thought about Tweety Bird,” Impacciatore says. “Tweety Bird does the most horrible things, but from a point of view of surviving. She doesn’t want Sylvester to eat her, and Esmeralda doesn’t want to be eaten. Esmeralda wants to keep living the life that she got, finally.” 

Esmeralda has something very important to her taken away in Season 2 (you’ll have to watch the season to find out what), and when Impacciatore found out during the episode’s table read, she was shocked. “I screamed,” she says. “I was almost crying, and I said, ‘This, no, no, no!’ And Greg said, ‘Put that in your acting,’ and I had to shut up and hold it back.” 

It was hard for her to hold it in, because she has a deep emotional connection to her character, and was feeling what Esmeralda would feel. “I was feeling for her, ‘Oh my God, she’s really losing everything. She’s so scared,” she says. But having this thing snatched away from her forces Esmeralda to finally think about how other people perceive her, and inches her toward personal growth. 

Related: Jenna Fischer Reveals What Really Led to the End of ‘The Office’

How Much Is ‘The Paper’ Like ‘The Office’?

The writers don’t think about The Office in relation to The Paper much when they’re working. “Once you have the demands of just telling a story, and you have these characters, and you’re thinking about what these characters would want, it’s very difficult to then also on top of that be thinking about this stylistic comparison to something,” Koman explains.

They don’t need to be very conscious of it anyway, because the comedy voice and visual aesthetic of The Office is woven into the fabric of The Paper. It’s the same crew making the fictional documentary, and also a lot of the same crew making the actual show. “Occasionally Greg will tell a story or offer some really beautiful wisdom that he learned on The Office,” says Alex Edelman, a writer and actor who plays hapless Truth Teller account/reporter Adam Cooper. “Also, a lot of our directors have experience directing episodes of The Office, and so that is sort of where the DNA of our show kind of comes in.”

How Much of ‘The Paper’ Is Improvised?

The Paper is a carefully written show, but there’s still room for the actors to improvise a little during filming. Group scenes are mostly performed as written, but scenes with one or two actors are fair game for alts, according to Eric Rahill, who plays the Truth Teller’s photographer Travis Bienlien and also serves as a writer on the show. “The real ad-libbing comes in those like one-on-one scenes where you’re just going back and forth, and you can add something that you like, or you feel a scene needs,” he says. 

The Secret Behind Those ‘Office’-Style Camera Looks

Another form of improvisation is the direct-to-camera looks and reactions, which are usually not scripted and come out of the cast’s relationship with the camera operators, who play their own important role in shaping the show. Frei says that she has a special rapport with one camera operator in particular, Phil, who knows when to look to her for a Jim Halpert-style deadpan look. “I can like feel him, like, smiling, and then turn the camera towards me,” she says. “It is such a fun relationship.” At one point, she ad-libbed a line where she addresses him by name, and it made it into the show. 

Why the Cast Wants More Episodes of ‘The Paper’

A lot more material gets cut than makes it into the show, though; and not just ad-libs — entire storylines get cut for time. “We’ll shoot 40 to 50 pages, and put it into a 25-minute episode,” explains Melvin Gregg, who plays Detrick Moore, an ad sales guy who emerges as one of the Truth Teller’s star reporters in Season 2. “So that means 15 pages of stories, left on the cutting room floor.” The cuts are frustrating for the actors, because a lot of funny stuff goes unused and their characters don’t get developed as much as they could be. They would love to do longer seasons like The Office used to do, where there’s room for more characters — and more silly stuff that doesn’t strictly move the plot along. “Give us 15, 20 [episodes],” Gregg pleads. “We could really explore the story a lot more.” 

Greg Daniels Says ‘The Paper’ Season 3 Is Already Taking Shape

It’s not just the actors who are clamoring for longer seasons, either. Daniels says that while The Paper doesn’t have an official order for Season 3 yet, he and Koman recently opened up the writers’ room. “The first couple days, we were just talking about stories that we didn’t do, and there were so many,” he says. “We’re only really showing people the tip of the iceberg of what’s in our heads for these characters, and it would be fun to show them more. You know, there’s models for streaming. They’ve figured out how many is a satisfying season, and that it drops all on a particular day, and it’s just a different genre experience. We talk about [seasons] being more like a book in a series than it is like the old weekly thing. I don’t know. It’s where we are. I would take a lot more.”

“It’s tough sometimes to have to generate all of the cards on the corkboards with story ideas, and then to say, ‘Okay, we’re not using these,’” he adds.

Next, How This Method Actor Inspired Ron Howard’s The Paper

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has earned himself a spot in football history. With his team hitting dynastic standards with multiple Super Bowl appearances and wins, Reid’s legacy is more than secured—and he’s got the net worth to prove it. 

Here’s everything to know about how Andy Reid got his start and how much money he’s earned along the way. 

Related: Bill Belichick’s Net Worth and How Much He’s Raked in From the New England Patriots and UNC

How did Andy Reid start his career?

Andy Reid has lived and breathed football for decades. As a college student, Reid was an offensive tackle at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Calif., with an eye toward transferring to Stanford. After a knee injury waylaid that dream, Reid was recruited by Brigham Young University, where he played as a tackle and guard from 1979 until 1981. His former teammates have noted that while the future coach did not play very often, he had a tactical mind and closely studied the team’s head coach and offensive coordinator.

It likely came as no surprise when Reid began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at BYU in 1982. The following year, Reid was hired by San Francisco State as their offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. This was followed by a similar position with the offensive line for two years at the University of Texas—El Paso. His final collegiate coaching role was with the University of Missouri from 1981 to 1991.

Reid found his first NFL coaching position in 1992, when he was hired as the tight ends coach and assistant offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers, a position he held until 1996, when he moved to quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach from 1997 to 1998. The following year, Reid took on his first head coach position with the Philadelphia Eagles, a title he would hold for 14 seasons.

What team did Andy Reid coach first?

Andy Reid first made his name as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 until 2012. He is one of 11 first-time NFL head coaches to lead 12 or more seasons with the same team. In his second year with the team, he led them to the greatest turnaround in franchise history, with a second-place finish in the NFC East and a spot in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. As a result, Reid was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club, The Sporting News and Football Digest.

What is Andy Reid’s net worth in 2026?

Andy Reid’s net worth is $50 million in 2026, according to Celebrity Net Worth. This is largely thanks to the five-year, $100 million contract he signed in 2024 to continue as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. This huge payday is not surprising given that under Reid’s leadership, the Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in the last five years.

How much does Andy Reid get paid a year?

Andy Reid signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in April 2024. This bumped his salary up to $20 million a year from $11.5 million in his previous contract. This new salary made Reid the highest-paid head coach in the NFL (he now shares that No. 1 spot with New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh).

Related: Aaron Rodgers’ Net Worth and How Much He’s Making With the Steelers

Who is the richest coach in the NFL?

With annual salaries of $20 million over five years, Andy Reid and John Harbaugh are tied as the top-paid head coaches in the NFL. They’re also both seemingly the richest head coaches in the NFL, boasting estimated net worths of $50 million each.

One of the most successful former NFL coaches of all time is John Madden, who had a net worth of $200 million at the time of his death in 2021. However, Madden did not earn this fortune from his coaching work alone, as he was a well-known sportscaster and entrepreneur who lent his name and likeness to the hugely successful Madden football video games from EA Sports.

How long has Andy Reid been coaching the Kansas City Chiefs?

Andy Reid has been the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs since 2013. Reid has led the Chiefs to an impressive five Super Bowl appearances, with three wins in 2020, 2023 and 2024. The last two victories made the Chiefs the first team in two decades to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Reid currently holds the record for most regular-season wins among active head coaches in the NFL and fourth overall in NFL history.

After signing a five-year contract to stay on as head coach of the Chiefs in April 2024, it appears Reid has no intention of leaving the franchise anytime soon.

Related: Peyton Manning’s Net Worth and How Much He Made as a Star Quarterback

Did Andy Reid ever coach Brett Favre?

During his time as the quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach of the Green Bay Packers for two seasons from 1997 until 1998, Andy Reid coached Brett Favre. When Reid, the team’s former tight end coach, was announced as the successor to quarterbacks coach Steve Mariucci, Favre recalls being less than pleased.

“After I woke up from fainting, I was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,'” Favre said. “All I could think about was, ‘We are going to meet forever because Andy was such a grinder.’ Everyone loved Andy but, man, everyone else was going home and the tight ends are still in meetings,” he explained.

Favre continued, “Then I started thinking, ‘What is Andy going to teach me about how to be a better quarterback? This guy played offensive line at BYU.” However, the future highest-paid head coach in the NFL soon proved himself to the famed quarterback.

“I could not have had a better coach than Andy,” Favre explained. “That guy was tremendous. We didn’t really meet that long, not as long as the tight ends, but it was productive. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from Andy.”

What quarterbacks has Andy Reid coached?

In addition to coaching Brett Favre during his coaching career in the NFL, Andy Reid has coached such quarterbacks as Donovan McNabb, Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley, Mike McMahon, Jeff Garcia, Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Vince Young, Nick Foles, Alex Smith and Chase Daniels. At this time, Reid coaches the Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is likely to go down as one of the all-time best QBs in NFL history.

Known by some as the “QB Whisperer,” Reid has the reputation of getting the best out of the quarterbacks that he works with.

What kind of car does Andy Reid drive?

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid famously drives a restored 1928 Ford Model A—a car that was originally owned by his father. Reid’s dad reportedly bought the vehicle for $25 following World War II.

Reid has discussed the almost 100-year-old car’s restoration journey. “I brought it up to Green Bay. There were a couple of old guys there who restored these things as a hobby … We took the whole thing apart and we just started from scratch, the whole engine included, and built it back up.”

Is Andy Reid married?

Yes, Andy Reid is married to Tammy Reid. The couple tied the knot in 1981 and have five children together.

Related: Tom Brady’s Net Worth in 2026 From the Patriots, Bucs and His Broadcasting Career

In 1974, Elton John’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” became one of his biggest songs. Eighteen years later, it became an even bigger hit. That makes it hard to believe the music legend once toyed with giving the song away.

Written by John and his musical partner Bernie Taupin for the album Caribou, the power ballad features a sweeping pop-rock arrangement paired with lyrics about the end of a relationship—with the sun serving as a metaphor for hope.

“I like it to be a bit more interesting than a good old ‘I love you, you love me, my heart will break if you leave me,’” Taupin once told Esquire in an interview. “Throw in a curveball. ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight.’ ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.’ Put a dark twist on them, you know.”

“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” features some extra star power with Beach Boys members Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston and Captain & Tennille singer Toni Tennille providing backup vocals. Tennille’s husband, Daryl Dragon, arranged the background vocals.

RELATED: 1966 Beach Boys Hit, Recorded in Five Studios, Ranked No. 1 Top American Song 60 Years Later

Still, even with all of that, John wasn’t sure about the song at first. According to a post on his official website, the music legend became frustrated with his own vocals on the track and gave up, telling producer Gus Dudgeon to scrap the song.

In the book Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography, author Philip Norman revealed that John listened to playback of the song and said, “That’s a load of crap. You can send it to Engelbert Humperdinck, and if he doesn’t like it, you can give it to Lulu as a demo.”

Dudgeon kept the song on the album, and it ultimately reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1974. But that was just the beginning of the song’s rise on the charts.

In 1991, John and singer George Michael performed a live duet of “Don’t Let the Sun Go  Down on Me” at Wembley Stadium in London. Michael wanted to release the performance as a charity single, but John wasn’t so sure about the idea.

According to his website, John left a message on Michael’s answering machine telling him he didn’t feel the recording was good enough to be issued as a single. John was wrong, and the duet version soared up the charts to No. 1 in February 1991.

John later included the song on his album Duets.

“I wrote down a list of the people I would love to sing with . . . and most of them came through,” he told The Los Angeles Times of the duets he recorded with Stevie Wonder, Don Henley, Tammy Wynette, Gladys Knight and more. “The album ends with the George Michael duet on ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,’ which hasn’t been on an album before.”

Decades later, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” remains one of Elton John’s most powerful hits, a song he nearly disregarded twice but went on to become an enduring classic.

Related: 1975 No. 1 Hit, Written for a Friend, Remains an Unexpected Patriotic Anthem 51 Years Later

Linda Ronstadt’s 1999 collaboration with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris is hitting the charts decades after its release.

The first-ever chart success comes weeks after Parton’s death at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer.

“After the Gold Rush” made a rare debut at No. 19 on the Digital Song Sales chart for the week of Sept. 5, 2026, with Forbes citing Luminate reporting that the track had just under 1,800 copies purchased digitally across iTunes, Amazon and more.

Ronstadt recorded the famous cover of Neil Young’s song of the same name with Parton and Harris for their collaborative album Trio II.

It won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 2000, while Rolling Stone ranked Young’s tune number 323 on the 2021 edition of the publication’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

According to Billboard, Trio was Parton’s first top-10 album on the all-genre Billboard 200, reaching No. 6 in 1987. The supergroup followed it up with Trio II, which hit No. 4 on Top Country Albums in 1999.

The trio of legendary singers’ 1999 performance on The Late Show with David Letterman was praised for delivering one of the greatest harmonies of all time.

In 2019, Parton joined forces with Miley Cyrus and Maren Morris to perform the tune at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, singing an acoustic, three-part harmonized version as part of a star-studded tribute. It was her first appearance at the award show since 2001—and for a good reason—as she was being honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year.

Prior to recording the environmentalism song, Parton revealed they asked for insight into the cryptic lyrics, as SongFacts reports: “When we were doing the Trio album, I asked Linda and Emmy what it meant, and they didn’t know. So we called Neil Young, and he didn’t know. We asked him, flat out, what it meant, and he said, ‘Hell, I don’t know. I just wrote it. It just depends on what I was taking at the time. I guess every verse has something different I’d taken.'”

“I thought that was so funny. I think it’s about the Second Coming or the invasion of aliens or both,” Parton said, per American Songwriter.

Following her death, Parton’s collection of music has been dominating charts, with “I Will Always Love You” taking the No. 1 spot on the Digital Song Sales chart, followed by “Jolene” at No. 2, “9 to 5” at No. 3, a re-entry of “Islands in the Sun” at No. 4 and “Here You Come Again” rounding out the top 5.

“Coat of Many Colors” takes the 6th spot, with Parton’s collaboration with Brad Paisley on “When I Get Where I’m Going” in 7th place, while “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning” featuring Cyrus, Lainey Wilson, Queen Latifah & Reba McEntire comes in at No. 9.

And that’s just the top 10, with more of her catalog in the Top 25.

Martha Stewart is opening up about a haunting brush with history, one she says she’s replayed in her mind for over two decades.

During the season 16 premiere of The Real Housewives of New York City, Stewart sat down with her longtime makeup artist and new cast member, Daisy Toye, and shared a story about her final conversation with John F. Kennedy Jr. before his fatal 1999 plane crash.

“I was with John John, this is JFK Jr., I was with him the Monday before the Friday when they died,” she began.

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“He called me. I was running Martha Stewart Living Magazine, and he called me, and he said he’s in trouble, and could he please talk to me about what to do with George, the magazine that he had started. And I said, of course, anything you want.”

Stewart continued, “We had a very nice dinner, and then at the end of the dinner, I said to him, ‘What are you doing this weekend?’ And he said, ‘Oh, we’re going to a wedding in Martha’s Vineyard, and I’m taking my wife and her sister.'”

“And I said, ‘Well, who’s flying?’ He said, ‘I’m flying.’ I said, ‘You have a co-pilot, right?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t need a co-pilot’… I’ve thought about that so many times that I told him to get a co-pilot. Oh, I feel sorry.”

JFK Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette, and her sister Lauren Bessette died on July 16, 1999, when their plane crashed off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. 

Martha’s Vineyard, MA: A Coast Guard helicopter lifts a rescue swimmer after the swimmer jumped into the water on July 17, 1999 to look for debris from John Kennedy Jr.’s plane, which was en route to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts when it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

(Photo by Daniel Goodrich/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

The group was flying to Cape Cod for cousin Rory Kennedy‘s wedding and planned to drop Lauren off along the way. Searchers found the wreckage underwater on July 20, and all three bodies were recovered the following day. According to L. A Times, investigators determined the passengers died on impact.

In 2000, The New York Times reported that a flight instructor had offered to accompany them that evening, but JFK Jr. said he “wanted to do it alone.”

This RHONY season also marks Carole Radziwill‘s return to the franchise after leaving in 2018. Radziwill’s late husband, Anthony Radziwill, was JFK Jr.’s first cousin through their mothers, Lee Radziwill and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Anthony sadly died of cancer just weeks after attending the highly publicized funeral of his cousin.

Megyn Kelly eviscerated Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos after his interview with Lindsay Clancy‘s attorney, Kevin Reddington.

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, the former Fox News host went off on Stephanopoulos—and Reddington—after the defense attorney asked President Donald Trump for a pardon on GMA.

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“Mr. President, I would hope that you would consider this young lady, the type of person she is, what she’s been through, and consider a pardon,” Reddington said on Tuesday, after the judge in the Clancy case declared a mistrial on Sept. 4.

On The Megyn Kelly Show later that day, Kelly criticized Reddington’s request and Stephanopoulos’ lack of pushback.

“Well, it would have been nice if George Stephanopoulos asked him one follow-up question, which is, ‘Why would you be asking for a pardon when your client is charged with a state crime, something for which the president cannot pardon her?’” Kelly said. “What is this couple f–king dumb—es sitting?”

She continued, “I’m sorry, but George Stephanopoulos has been an anchor for a long time. I think most people understand this. Why wouldn’t he follow up with, ‘A pardon? What do you mean a pardon? Your client’s been charged under state laws. President Trump can’t pardon that.'”

Although Kelly said she considered giving Stephanopoulos the “benefit of the doubt,” blaming it as the “function of network morning news, where everything is 3 minutes long,” she pointed out, “They had 7 minutes with the guy. It was an eternity.”

She concluded, “God forbid you blow a break, or you actually just take the time that’s necessary to clarify what in God’s name your guest is talking about. Instead, you just leave everyone confused. While we have sent an email to Reddington’s office asking what the hell he’s talking about… We are waiting to hear back.”

Lindsay, 36, was charged with three first-degree murder counts in the January 2023 deaths of her three children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. Additionally, she cut her throat and wrists and jumped out of a second-story window of her Duxbury, Mass., home— leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. In the wake of the mistrial, prosecutors are now determining whether to take the case to trial for a second time.

Next: GMA Announces Major Host Shake-Up & Format Change

If your idea of fall decorating includes cozy candles, cinnamon-scented everything and a kitchen that looks like it belongs in a Nancy Meyers movie, Costco has a new find worth adding to the lineup. The cult-favorite warehouse just dropped a seriously gorgeous Dutch oven set from Tramontina, and its rich red hue is basically autumn in cookware form.

The two-piece set includes a four-quart and a six-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, each with a matching lid. The deep, jewel-like red is the kind of color that practically begs to be displayed on the stovetop—even when you’re not cooking. In other words, this is cookware that can double as kitchen decor, which is always a win when your cabinets are already bursting at the seams.

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Tramontina Enameled Cast Iron Round Dutch Oven 2-Pack, $84.99 at Costco

Costco

Of course, these Dutch ovens aren’t just pretty faces. Cast iron is prized for its ability to retain and distribute heat, making Dutch ovens incredibly versatile workhorses in the kitchen.

They’re especially handy for the kinds of comfort foods that start appearing on the menu as soon as the weather turns crisp: think hearty soups, chili, stews, braised meats, roasts, casseroles and even homemade bread. The matching lid helps retain moisture, while the enamel coating makes the cookware easier to maintain than traditional bare cast iron. And it doesn’t hurt that the lids adorn beautiful gold handles to really set the tone.

Tramontina is a well-known cookware brand with a long history of making cast iron and enameled cookware, so this isn’t merely a case of a cute pot showing up at Costco and stealing the spotlight. The Costco set features porcelain enamel inside and out, is compatible with all cooktops, including induction, and can go in the oven up to 450 degrees.

Related: Costco’s Sleek Pickleball Bag Is Versatile, Stylish and Roomy

This Jewel-Toned Dutch Oven Set at Costco Is Kitchen Eye Candy

And while the dark red is undeniably the star of the fall kitchen, there is another option for anyone whose decorating style leans more neutral. The set is also available in beige, offering the same two-size setup without the bold jewel-tone moment.

Whether you’re gearing up for soup season, planning Thanksgiving sides ly want your stovetop to look a little more fabulous, this duo makes a pretty compelling case for leaving the cookware out where everyone can admire it.

Related: Everyone Is Excited About These 23 Sam’s Club Finds for September

Sydney Sweeney is once again turning heads with a provocative new ad that is quickly blowing up on social media.

Appearing in a recent ad for the sports betting app Novig, the 28-year-old Sweeney is shown almost entirely nude in a variety of tongue-in-cheeks scenes, each of which draw on classic sports gear to cover up her private areas.

The ad begins with Sweeney clutching a pair of footballs over her topless chest. “Think you know sports? Prove it,” the Euphoria actress says in the intro. “Novig is… just sports.”

The montage continues with a visibly naked Sweeney sitting on top of a basketball hoop with her signature blonde hair covering her chest. It then continues with the actress wearing football shoulder pads to cover her chest, using a football to cover her groin, as well as appearing topless while playing tennis, hockey, golf and baseball, among other sports.

Playing into the provocative nature of the ad, Novig captioned the ad with the comment, “Just sports, obviously.”

As expected, the scintillating new ad has quickly gone gained traction among mainstream social media users, many of whom were quick to share their thoughts on the new ad in Novig’s comments section on Instagram.

“Greatest ad ever,” one user wrote.

“Our generation’s Marilyn Monroe,” another user gushed.

“She’s got the whole Internet malfunctioning… AGAIN,” a third account added.

This last comment of course references Sweeney’s viral American Eagle ad that divided fans across social media last year.

The ad in question featured Sweeney clad in American Eagle’s signature blue denim jeans with the tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.” While the ad was conceived as a light-hearted play on Sweeney’s physical appearance, some critics believed the ad had problematic undertones rooted around race and genealogy.

While the new Novig ad doesn’t feature any racial undertones, it’s guaranteed to generate new buzz for the sports betting app as Sweeney’s appearance continues to circulate over the new few days.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a big name not just in Kansas City but around the country. He led the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2023 and 2024, and that high level of pressure and performance ability is why QBs are some of the highest-paid players in the NFL. Mahomes is no exception.

The Chiefs made it back to the Super Bowl in 2025, and even though they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes has still earned his success and the net worth he’s amassed along the way. Here’s everything you need to know about Patrick Mahomes’ net worth in 2026, and how he earned it.

Related: Everything To Know About Patrick Mahomes’ Wife Brittany Mahomes

How did Patrick Mahomes get his start?

Mahomes, like many NFL athletes, comes from greatness. His dad, Pat, was a pitcher who played Major League Baseball for 11 seasons.

“I mean, I always just loved sports from the beginning,” Mahomes said, as reported by the Associated Press. “All sports. I loved watching. I love playing. I mean, I remember my mom used to get mad at me, because I would throw—like, you know, kids throw the ball off the wall? I’d throw it off the TV, because I was watching TV at the same time, and she used to get real mad that I was doing that.”

In high school, Mahomes followed in his dad’s footsteps and played baseball (pitcher, no less) and also starred on the school’s basketball and football teams. He was actually picked in the 37th round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers, but decided to play college football instead. A decision that has clearly paid dividends.

Where did Patrick Mahomes go to college?

Despite his athletic prowess, only three Division 1 schools offered Mahomes a scholarship to play football. (Of course, anyone would be lucky to get a D1 scholarship, but at Mahomes’ level, usually he’d have more options.) His gift across sports hindered him when choosing college programs, as football coaches were worried he’d go to the MLB instead.

Ultimately, he went to Texas Tech University, where, after a short stint as a pitcher, he gave up being a multi-sport athlete and focused entirely on football. There, he set records that included offensive leader in 2015 and 2016, consistently throwing the ball 300-plus yards per game.

What is Patrick Mahomes’ net worth in 2026?

Patrick Mahomes is worth an estimated $160 million in 2026, according to Celebrity Net Worth. This may seem a bit low when you consider his NFL contract, which is worth hundreds of millions, but he’s only been playing pro football since 2017 and is still relatively young in his career.

Related: Travis Kelce’s Net Worth and Why It’s Likely To Climb

What was Patrick Mahomes’ first season in the NFL?

Mahomes was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs at 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He would play backup to first-string quarterback Alex Smith for most of the year, which is common for rookie QBs as they learn the differences between college and pro football. Mahomes’ first time on the field as a starter was on the final day of that year, Dec. 31, where he completed 22 of 35 passes and racked up an impressive 284 passing yards.

What year did Patrick Mahomes become a starting QB?

After Mahomes’ star debut at the end of the 2017 regular season, he was selected as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018. Good thing, too, as the Chiefs finished out the regular season with a 12-4 record to win their division.

How much is Patrick Mahomes getting paid?

In 2020, Mahomes signed a massive 10-year contract deal with the Chiefs worth $450 million. At the time, that made him the highest-paid player in the NFL. When he was later edged out by other top-tier quarterbacks, his deal was restructured to pay him more money in a shorter timespan ($210.6 million between 2023 and 2026).

While NFL contracts are complicated, and a player’s yearly compensation can vary based on their performance and other factors, Mahomes is expected to have earned about $50 million in 2025 and to make $56.75 million in 2026 and $52.9 million in 2027, according to Spotrac.

These numbers are unimaginable to the average person and Mahomes seems to know it. “When I signed my deal, I knew I was going to be set for life regardless of how the market [went],” he told ESPN in 2022.

“You just keep playing. Money is one thing but when you get those Super Bowl rings at the end of your career, I think that’s going to be the thing that you look back on. I think I’ve made enough money on the football field and off of it as well that it won’t matter at the end of the day.”

Related: Peyton Manning’s Net Worth and How Much He Made as a Star Quarterback

How much does Patrick Mahomes make a year in endorsements?

Aside from his NFL salary and bonuses, Mahomes rakes in a ton of cash through endorsements—most notably from his commercials with State Farm. This endorsement money totals about $28 million per year for the star quarterback, according to Forbes.

How many Super Bowls has Patrick Mahomes been to?

Mahomes has played in five Super Bowls: LIV, LV, LVII, LVIII and LIX.

“It’s just so hard to get to the Super Bowl and I don’t take it for granted. To be able to do it again at Arrowhead [Stadium] was special,” Mahomes said after the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game in 2025.

“I mean, last year was awesome. You get there and you win it, but you’re at a different stadium. Then, being able to win it at Arrowhead and then you get that trophy on that stage, and you look around and there’s not a seat empty. It is a special place and I’m glad that I get to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom and here in Kansas City because these [are] moments that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

Related: Heading Into His Next NFL Season, Jayden Daniels Is Already Commanding a Massive Net Worth

How many Super Bowls has Patrick Mahomes won?

Out of his five Super Bowl appearances so far, Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have won three.

In 2020, they won against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. The next year in Super Bowl LV, the Chiefs lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 2023, the Chiefs battled it out for victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. In 2024, they defeated the 49ers for a second time in Super Bowl LVIII. In 2025, Mahomes and Chiefs lost decisively to the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-22.

Is Patrick Mahomes married?

Yes, Patrick Mahomes is currently married to Brittany Matthews, his high school sweetheart. The couple tied the knot in 2022. They have three children together.

Related: Unlike Most NFL Stars, Lamar Jackson Doesn’t Have an Agent—Here’s How That’s Impacted His Net Worth

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Few organizing upgrades make as much of an impact as a good set of drawer organizers. They’re one of those small, low-effort purchases that can make your daily routine noticeably smoother. When everything has a designated place, you can see what you need at a glance instead of digging through cluttered drawers looking for a pen, hair tie, charger, or piece of jewelry.

If you’re looking for a stylish option, the Martha Stewart Kerry Plastic Stacking Desk Drawer Organizers are worth considering. Right now, the six-piece set is available at Wayfair for just $18, which works out to about $3 per container.

Martha Stewart Kerry Plastic Stacking Desk Drawer Organizers, $18 (was $25) at Wayfair 

Courtesy of Wayfair

Shop at Wayfair

Each organizer measures 6 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 2 inches tall. The clear design makes it easy to see what’s inside, while metallic trim adds a stylish touch that feels more elevated than standard plastic organizers. They’re made from BPA-free plastic and are lightweight, durable, and easy to clean with a damp cloth.

The stackable design is what really sets them apart. Recessed bottoms allow each piece to slide side-to-side for easy access or stack vertically when you need to maximize space. Non-slip feet help keep everything securely in place, whether you’re using them inside a drawer or on top of a desk.

They’re also surprisingly versatile. Of course, they’re great for organizing that one junk drawer that always seems to collect random odds and ends, but they work just as well in the kitchen, home office, bathroom, or vanity area. Multiple reviewers even mentioned using them to organize jewelry, making it easier to keep necklaces, rings, and earrings separated and easy to find.

These highly-rated organizers earned a 4.7-star rating, with shoppers highlighting their quality and versatility. One reviewer described them as “very versatile,” writing, “I’m really into organization so I was extremely happy to see all six pieces used without any awkward gaps or too much space leftover. All my stuff is nice and tidy, making it faster and more convenient to get what I need.”

Another shopper shared, “The clear design with elegant metallic trim looks polished and professional while keeping everything in my desk drawers visible and easy to find. The stackable modular design makes it simple to customize the layout and the non-slip feet keep everything firmly in place.”

Related: Martha Stewart’s Vintage-Style Floral Cotton Comforter Set Is 40% Off and ‘Instantly Brightens the Room’

For an easy and affordable way to tackle clutter, the Martha Stewart Kerry Plastic Stacking Desk Drawer Organizers are a smart pick. And at just $18 for a set of six, it’s easy to grab a few sets and organize multiple areas of your home without spending a fortune.

Don’t miss future deals! Sign up for Parade Picks to receive our commerce team’s curated selection of discounts and sales, twice a week.

Yes, it’s technically spooky season now, especially if you’re the type of holiday fan who runs on Disney Parks’ fall-to-winter holiday schedule (raises hand), but you have to see the Christmas Collection that the Disney Store will launch on September 14.

Related: Old Navy Just Made Disney Halloween Outfit Matching Fun for the Whole Family

The Mickey Mouse Family Christmas Collection Courtesy of: Disney Store

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Santa Mickey and Minnie are coming to town as the main characters for the Disney Store’s 2026 Christmas collection. The holly jolly red, white, and green motifs on this year’s family pajamas are a joy to behold. With sizes ranging from baby to young at heart, consider the spirit of Christmas raised.

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Adults can pick from a holiday hooded onesie pajama with Mickey ears ($69.99), holiday lounge pants ($44.99), and a 2-piece sleep set for women ($69.99). While the little ones can get cozy in a matching holiday hooded one-piece ($30.99), the 2-piece PJ Pals set ($26.99) or the Santa Mickey and Minnie Mouse Holiday nightshirt for girls ($26.99) will look so sweet on Christmas morning. Even the smallest member of the family can rest in a stretchy sleeper for baby ($17.99).

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Here’s a look at some of the festive fashion and delightfully Disney decor that will be dropping later this month, which we think would be great not only for at-home celebrations but also for Disney holiday trips around the resort hotels and campgrounds at Walt Disney World’s property (yes, it’s a thing).

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Plus, there are so many home goods that evoke the magic of Disney, effortlessly tying the living room winter vision together with exciting features. The Mickey Mouse and Friends Christmas Train Set (By Lionel, $99.99) brings that classic choo-choo-under-the-tree nostalgia. And of course, there’s a luminous Tinkerbell star to top it all off.

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Courtesy of: Disney Store

And for fun little touches around the house, there’s the new Duckalooz Mickey and Minnie Mouse holiday rubber duck set ($9.99) and Disney Store’s “The Nutcracker” Holiday 2026 plush duo with Mickey and Minnie donning Nutcracker-inspired looks. Each plush is 17 inches and will cost $29.99 individually.

Courtesy of: Disney Store

Courtesy of: Disney Store

The Disney Store will release the Mickey Mouse Family Christmas Collection on September 14.

Cher was making her way as a singer-actor in the mid 1960s with a few popular tracks under her belt, and a folk rock song that did well overseas and became a hit cover for another artist.

“Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” became Cher’s second overall single of her singing career and was released on her second album, The Sonny Side of Cher, in 1966. At the time, the icon was married to Sonny Bono, who penned the track for his wife. It did well in the U.S. and abroad, becoming Cher’s best-selling single of her career and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Cher re-recorded the track in 1987, and while her version was the one that made it to the top of the charts, it wasn’t the most famous. The same year the track was released, Nancy Sinatra recorded her own cover and released it a short while later. Her version of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” would undoubtedly gain more popularity among generational fans.

Sinatra included the song on her album How Does That Grab You? with a haunting tremolo guitar played by her arranger, Bill Strange. Because the song was only part of the album and never released as its own single, it never made it to the charts. She recorded a slower, minimalist cover of the original track that fans would come to love, and many never knew it was originally done by Cher.

According to Lost and Sound, Strange remembers him and Sinatra recording the track. He recalls not having done an arrangement and simply playing what he felt was “appropriate,” and Sinatra loving it. The cover of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” was recorded in one day.

“I recall that Nancy and I were both very pleased with the way it turned out. I think it was done in one take,” said Strange.

Sinatra’s cover didn’t do well when it was first released, but it would become better known than Cher’s decades later thanks to a Quentin Tarantino film. The director needed the perfect song for his cult classic Kill Bill: Volume 1 and found with Sinatra’s track.

“That was a gift, wasn’t it? Quentin, I guess, had wanted to use ‘Bang Bang’ for a while and he finally found a way to do it,” said Sinatra to Uncut Magazine. “Why my version, I’m not sure. I guess it was the guitar, the lonely sound of Billy Strange’s guitar.”

The song became a pop culture staple thanks to the Uma Thurman-led martial arts film. It’s played during the opening credits after the black-and-white flash-forward sequence at the Two Pines Chapel. “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” was also included in the film’sofficial soundtrack.

“It caused a resurgence for me. People were stunned when they saw my name on the screen, they didn’t know it was my recording. But Quentin really gave me a new start,” said Sinatra.

Related: 1969 Rock Song, Written Around a Jimmy Page Riff, Is Still a Generational Hit 57 Years Later

Robert Englund will always be associated with his legendary Nightmare on Elm Street character Freddy Krueger, but he looks like a sweet gentleman in real life! 

Englund, 79, rose to stardom as the iconic clawed villain in the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy vs Jason franchise. The horror icon also appeared in the V series, Wishmaster, Urban Legend, as well as the fifth season of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things. The star even earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Halloween in 2025. But in his daily life, Englund looks like a sweet dog owner who lives to hang out with his family. In a new photo posted to his Instagram by his wife, Nancy Englund, the horror king cuddled up with his sweet pup as they enjoyed an evening at sunset. Now that’s a far cry from his legendary Freddy Krueger persona!

“Nancy Englund. I hope everyone had a happy and safe Labor Day. I’ve got my Horror Hound right here. See you in Cincinnati @horrorhound Weekend this September 11–13, 2026, at the Sharonville Convention Center!” Englund captioned the photo, which celebrated Labor Day Weekend.

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Why Did Robert Englund Step Back From Freddy Krueger?

Tony Bock / Getty Images

As he’s gotten older, the physical stressors of appearing as Freddy Krueger started to take their toll.

“I was in my 50s, and ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ took a lot out of me,” Englund told Insider in 2023, noting that he was “still doing a lot of my stunts.” That included underwater scenes. “But I kind of knew I didn’t have a lot of stunt work left in me, or a lot of takes to physicalize it. And my torso had shifted, along with my face getting older, which doesn’t matter because I’m under all that crap — that makeup. But my torso… your weight shifts, and you get thicker as you get older. And I sort of lost Freddy’s silhouette.”

Related: Wes Craven Estate OKs Revival of This Classic Horror Franchise — What We Know

At 93 years old, Ellen Burstyn is proving that style is ageless and remaining glamorous has no expiration date. The legendary actress made a rare public appearance in Venice on Monday, Sept. 7, to accept an award, leaving fans stunned at her fabulous ensemble and vibrant disposition.

The Last Picture Show star arrived at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival to accept her Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, donning a golden outfit perfect for the occasion. The screen legend chose a bright, mandarin-colored silk top with a matching skirt and sheer, yellow bedazzled shawl. Layers of glitzy necklaces were draped across her neck, complementing the overall luxe look of the summery ensemble.

Meanwhile, her radiant, side-parted white hair shimmered under the lights as she used a walker for support while standing.

Taking the podium to give her acceptance speech, Burstyn was photographed wiping tears from her eyes at one point as she expressed gratitude for such a major honor. “You just can’t imagine how meaningful this is to me. I mean, it’s one thing to win an Oscar, a Tony, or an Emmy or something—all of which I’ve won—but this is a lot,” she admitted, while chuckling, in video footage captured at the event. Her sentiment, naturally, was met with a roar of applause.

Across social media, fans were stunned by the Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore actress’ “wildly chic” appearance.

“She looks so beautiful! What a deserving recipient,” one person wrote in the comments section of an Instagram post, as another followed up, “Unreal. What a goddess!” in part.

A third complimented, “This look is wildly chic 🧡,” while a fourth added, “She looks amazing 🤩.”

Commenters continued to rave, with more pouring in, adding notes like, “What a Queen!! Such a talented woman!” “Legend!” “Love her smile😍,” and “Radiant!!!!”

Actress Ellen Burstyn reacts during the awarding ceremony of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Sept. 7, 2026. (Photo by Wang Kaiyan/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Burstyn’s six-decade-spanning career has seen her portray many characters over the years—and she’s still not stepping away from the camera just yet. Her latest roles in 2026’s Flesh Impact and Place to Be “totally amazed” her.

“I was sure I’d be finished by 40. I didn’t think it would go on much longer than that. The fact that I’m 93 and still working is a miracle of some kind that I’ve attracted into my life somehow, and I’m totally amazed,” she said, per Deadline, of continuing to act. “At the same time, I’m deeply grateful… to all the women who worked on changing the consciousness for the world in regard to women and all of the work that they did that made that possible for us to continue to have longer life lives as artists.”

Next, 2003 Scarlett Johansson Movie, With a 95% Rotten Tomatoes Score, Voted One of the Best Movies of All Time

In 1965, Bob Dylan changed the world. There’s a reason that Dylan going electric is such a revered and discussed period in music history, and that is because of the artistic freedom it gave him. Dylan had already proven himself as an exceptionally talented songwriter, but he wouldn’t begin to break the form wide open until he freed himself from the expectation of being a generational mouthpiece. Despite being fully acoustic, “Desolation Row” defines this period of Dylan’s writing perfectly.

The beat generation had an obvious impact on Dylan, and his writing throughout this period started to sound a lot less like Woody Guthrie and a lot more like Allen Ginsberg or William S. Burroughs. “Desolation Row” functions as both a folk rock song, and a beat epic. The lyrics are rambling, nonsensical, and utterly abstract. It is also one of the finest songs Dylan has ever written. Its legacy endures as a peak of his career, even being ranked in spot 83 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.

The song opens with some of my favorite lines of any Dylan song:

They’re selling postcards of the hanging
They’re painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town

A few years ago back when I was in high school, I was taking an American history course along the time I was getting really into Dylan, and I happened to listen to this song pretty soon after learning about the practice of selling postcards of lynching photos. The opening line struck me over the head like a baseball bat. It’s such a violent, visceral, and disgusting image from American history that Dylan is invoking here. It immediately sets the tone for the song, and the rest of the opening lines reinforce this idea of a state of the world that is base, deranged, and falling apart.

To me, “Desolation Row” is a portrait of an America in free fall. The mid 60s were a violent time that was only going to get more violent as America would begin the Vietnam war, and we’d transition into the paranoia and darkness of the ’70s. It’s a song that exists upon the precipice of the next sixty years of American life, and the erosion of progress to follow. Within the context of the successes of the civil right movement, Dylan reminds us in the opening words of the song what the culture of the country is, and spends the rest of the song showcasing the absurdity and derangement of this nation we call home.

Related: 1975 Bob Dylan Classic, Ranked one of the Greatest Albums Ever, Invented the Break-Up Album

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Brace yourself, because back-to-school season means a lot more opportunities to catch COVID-19, even if you’re neither a student nor a parent.

“Transmission is expected to peak about a week into September,” public health expert and infectious disease specialist Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, AAHIVS, DTM&H, FIDSA, tells Parade. “Children are back in school and summer travel is ending, which gives the virus more opportunity, not different biology. Cases are growing in nearly every state, and wastewater concentrations in August were up roughly 140% over July. Expect more of it. Do not expect it to look new.”

Not only is COVID expected to spike after Labor Day, but it may do so again later, according to University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine microbiology and immunology professor Subhash Verma, Ph.D., who explains, “COVID transmission has recently been increasing nationally, so we may see more cases as people begin to spend more time indoors during the winter.”

Another potential problem that COVID-19 poses this month is the BA.3.2 variant. “BA.3.2 carries roughly 70 to 75 spike changes relative to the lineage our current vaccines were built against,” Dr. Evans warns. “It accounts for roughly 15% of cases and is circulating in wastewater in more than 30 states. That is the one worth watching, and thin surveillance is exactly the wrong condition in which to watch it.”

Find out the most common COVID-19 symptoms doctors and infectious disease experts are seeing in September 2026 and why one particular symptom can be particularly dangerous at this time of year.

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What Are the Most Common COVID Symptoms in September 2026?

You can expect to see more of the same COVID-19 symptoms this month as you have in recent months: body aches, chills, congestion, cough, runny nose, fatigue, fever and headache. However, some doctors noted that gastrointestinal symptoms are becoming increasingly common, and they bring with them some extra potential complications.

“[I’ve seen] no major changes except for slight increase of gastrointestinal symptoms with the summer-into-fall transition,” Uzma Syed, DO, infectious disease specialist at Catholic Health, tells Parade. “The prominence of the gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can lead to dehydration and an increase in hospitalizations.”

Another standard COVID symptom to be especially wary of right now is a sore throat.

“The sore throat is often described as scratchy or hoarse, and it is frequently mistaken for allergies or a summer cold,” Dr. Evans says. “That mistake matters. People who assume allergies do not test, and people who do not test do not get treated in the window when treatment works. The symptom picture has not changed much because the virus has not changed much. The variants driving this wave both descend from the JN.1 Omicron lineage.”

Related: The Common Mistake That Increases Your Risk of Catching COVID Twice This Season

Do Current COVID-19 Vaccines Protect Against New Variants?

Finally, some good news: Yes, getting a COVID-19 vaccine or booster can protect you against the new strains of the illness!

“It is well matched,” Dr. Evans says. “The 2026-2027 formula is a monovalent XFG vaccine, and XFG is the lineage now driving the wave. Updated shots were approved in late August and began shipping immediately.”

Dr. Verma concurs, adding, “People should understand the meaning of protection in this context: The vaccines may not prevent every infection, particularly when antibody levels are low, but vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization.”

That said, what good is a booster or a vaccine if you can’t get one?

“The harder problem is not the science. It is the access,” Dr. Evans emphasizes. “The advisory committee that normally converts an approval into a public recommendation and a coverage guarantee has been without a functioning quorum since March. Some states allow pharmacists to vaccinate adults directly. Some require a prescription for people outside the approved age and risk groups. Chain policies vary. Call ahead [to find out what your options are].”

Related: There’s a Medication That Could Help Prevent Long COVID

How Long Should You Isolate if You Test Positive for COVID-19?

If you test positive for COVID-19, there are steps you can take to stop the spread.

“Stay home and away from others until, for at least 24 hours, your symptoms are improving and you have been fever-free without fever-reducing medication. After that, wear a well-fitting mask and keep your distance indoors for the next five days,” Dr. Evans says.

He adds, “Two things people misread: 24 hours fever-free does not mean you are no longer contagious. It means your risk of spreading it is lower than it was at peak. And if you test positive without symptoms, the masking precautions still apply.”

Related: The Common Medication Hepatologists Wish People Would Stop Taking So Casually

How To Treat COVID-19 Symptoms

So, you got infected and you feel terrible. Don’t suffer needlessly, because you probably have options!

“I always tell our patients to take it easy, get lots of rest and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated,” Robert Biernbaum, DO, chief medical officer of WellNow Urgent Care, advises. “Over-the-counter medications can help relieve symptoms like cough, fever, congestion and headaches. If your symptoms worsen or don’t start to improve after a few days, you should visit urgent care or contact your primary care provider.”

You may also be eligible for antivirals, so if you think you’re sick, talk to your doctor ASAP, Jonathan Pinsky, MD, medical director of infection control and prevention at Endeavor Health, says.

“Paxlovid is recommended in the elderly and others at risk for severe complications,” Dr. Pinsky tells Parade. “Paxlovid is effective in preventing mild infection from becoming severe if started no later than five days after symptom onset. The treatment should be started as soon as possible after symptom onset for maximal benefit.”

Related: Cardiologists Reveal When Outside Temperatures Become Dangerous for Your Heart

Should You Take Xocova if You Get COVID-19?

This is confusing to a lot of people! Paxlovid is meant for people who are already sick, while Xocova is meant for people who were exposed to COVID.

“Paxlovid is a great option for high-risk individuals early in the disease course, but not everyone will qualify for it, so I recommend talking with your doctor as early as a COVID diagnosis is made,” Scott Roberts, MD, infectious disease specialist at Yale Medicine, tells us. “This is for people who test positive for COVID and who are not exposed.”

“Xocova (ensiltrelvir) is a great option for prophylaxis to take if a COVID exposure occurs,” Dr. Roberts explains. “If taken, this can reduce the risk of COVID infection occurring. This is for people who do not have COVID, but who were exposed to COVID. This is a great option for high risk individuals.”

Either way, Dr. Evans says to be sure your doctor knows about all the other medications you may be taking, because both Xocova and Paxlovid may have interactions with other drugs.

Up Next:

Related: Infectious Disease Expert Says There’s One Thing To Know Before Taking Newly Approved COVID-19 Pill

Sources

• Robert Biernbaum, DO, chief medical officer of WellNow Urgent Care
• Tyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH, AAHIVS, DTM&H, FIDSA, public health expert and infectious disease specialist
• Jonathan Pinsky, MD, medical director of infection control and prevention at Endeavor Health
• Scott Roberts, MD, infectious disease specialist at Yale Medicine
• Uzma Syed, DO, infectious disease specialist at Catholic Health
• Subhash Verma, Ph.D., immunology and microbiology professor at University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

From tried and true drugstore finds to luxury makeup palettes, price inclusivity is arguably one of the best parts about shopping for beauty products. Whether you feel like splurging or saving, there are a myriad of makeup brands for every budget, and that comes in handy when you’re stocking up on products with a short shelf life, like mascara.

Since you’re technically supposed to replace your mascara every few months, it makes sense to favor drugstore finds, but it’s easy to be tempted by luxury brands. To figure out whether pricier eye makeup is actually worth it, Parade consulted celebrity makeup artist Christian Briceno and asked him if a popular $12 mascara really beats a $32 one.

We tasked Briceno with comparing L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Lengthening Mascara vs. Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara and asked him to evaluate both products on a certain set of criteria.

We wanted to know how well each mascara adds length and volume, plus how long it lasts on lashes. Flaking is a pain no matter how much you spent on this type of product, so we also asked Briceno to share how well each formula resists flaking and how well they wear on mature lashes. Here’s his L’Oréal vs. Lancôme mascara review.

Related: 11 Best Mascaras for Older Women To Lengthen Thinning, Aging Lashes, Tested by Makeup Artists

Does an Expensive Luxury Mascara Actually Perform Better Than a $12 Drugstore Formula?

The price of a mascara doesn’t necessarily correlate with its efficacy.

“Mascara is one of those categories where drugstore formulas can compete with, and sometimes outperform, a $30 or $40 luxury mascara,” Briceno, who has worked with Alicia Silverstone and Daniel Radcliffe, tells Parade.

That’s because several factors go into determining the product’s price.

“A higher price can reflect packaging, branding, brush design or the overall product experience, but price alone doesn’t guarantee better lash performance,” the makeup expert explains.

Mascara brushes are almost as important as the product’s formula, especially since the applicator can make or break the user experience. For that reason, some consumers are willing to pay more for a better quality brush.

“Shape, flexibility, bristle spacing and the amount of product the wand deposits can completely change the result,” Briceno says.

Overall, the makeup artist suggests avoiding judging a mascara solely by its price.

“I judge it by what it does to the lash. Does it separate? Does it lift? Does it hold shape? Can I build it without turning the lashes into one heavy, crunchy mass?” he says. “For me, what matters most is whether the formula and brush suit your lashes and the result you want.”

Related: 11 Best Eyeshadows for Mature Skin, According to Celebrity Makeup Artists

What Key Features Should You Look for in a Mascara for Sensitive or Mature Lashes?

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There’s no one-size-fits-all mascara that suits everyone’s unique lash needs. But with a bit of trial and error, you can find one that feels like it was made for you.

If you’re currently in the market for a mascara for mature lashes, Briceno has some important advice.

“I would not shop for mascara based on age alone. First, I look at the condition of the lashes, what they need and the effect I am trying to create. I tend to prioritize separation and lift first, then add volume where the lash needs it,” he says.

If your mature lashes are fine, straight or less dense than they once were, the goal is preserving every lash you can see.

“That usually means looking for a lighter, flexible formula and a brush that gives you control. If a mascara immediately clumps three or four lashes together, you can actually make a sparse lash line look even sparser,” the makeup artist explains.

If you have sensitive eyes, it’s best to look for ophthalmologist-tested and fragrance-free formulas.

“Depending on the occasion, I consider washable versus waterproof formulas. For everyday use, washable is my go-to option. Removal is also important, since I don’t want to create extra friction around the lash line. Waterproof is useful for longevity and extra hold, but it requires more careful removal,” Briceno says.

Related: The Genius Mascara Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner

L’Oréal Telescopic vs. Lancôme Hypnôse: What a Professional Makeup Artist Actually Thinks

While comparing L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Lengthening Mascara and Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara, Briceno is quick to note that the two products “do very different jobs.”

“In my experience, Hypnôse gives me a more refined, flexible-looking finish, while Telescopic gives me more precision and visible length,” he says.

The makeup artist evaluated the two products based on a wide range of criteria. Here’s the $12 vs $32 mascara comparison.

L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Lengthening Mascara ($12)

Target

Shop It at Target

What the brand says: The L’Oréal Paris website promises “up to 70% longer lashes” with its Telescopic Mascara, which it calls “our ultimate lengthening mascara.” The product features a “patented Precision Brush for gravity-defying length and meticulous lash-by-lash separation.”

What a pro says: Judging on lengthening prowess alone, Briceno would choose this budget-friendly find.

“The narrow brush gives you incredible control and lets you really work through individual lashes,” he tells Parade. “I can catch the little lashes at the inner and outer corners and extend the ends, so the overall effect is longer, cleaner and more separated.”

Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara ($32)

Lancôme

Shop It at Lancôme

What the brand says: The brand’s website describes Hypnôse as a “buildable & customizable mascara that has nine times the volume of natural lashes.” It features a “powerful, controllable brush” and a creamy texture formula that “thickens lashes from root to tip.”

What a pro says: Based on volume alone, Briceno would opt for this luxury mascara.

“It gives the lashes more body, but I can control how far I take it. I can keep one coat soft and polished or build it when I want fuller lashes,” he says.

The Takeaway

When it comes to fine, mature lashes, Briceno doesn’t typically seek out maximum volume.

“I’m looking at what the eye actually needs. If the lashes are short or getting lost around the eye, Telescopic is excellent because it helps me visually recover every individual lash. If the lashes need more body but I still want softness and flexibility, I would reach for Hypnôse,” he says.

When it comes to longevity and flaking, Briceno says both mascaras perform well, but adds that the way in which the mascara wears on mature lashes can vary depending on the person.

“That’s why I see them as two mascaras that solve different problems rather than one being universally better,” he says.

The makeup pro says the products actually work quite well when used together.

“I would use Hypnôse at the root for a soft, buildable body, then take Telescopic through the mid-lengths and tips to stretch and separate. That gives you density at the root, separation through the lash and length at the tips without sacrificing the individual lash. Especially on finer lashes, that kind of placement is much more sophisticated than simply piling on coat after coat,” he says.

Related: The Genius Eyeliner Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner

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When Is It Actually Worth Spending $32 or More on a Luxury Mascara?

Some luxury mascaras have a cult following, which would suggest that they’re pretty darn effective. But when does a mascara actually become worth its hefty price tag? That’s quite simple, according to Briceno.

“When that mascara gives you something you genuinely cannot reproduce with a less expensive one,” he says.

For instance, if a luxury mascara holds your curl better than its drugstore counterparts or if a mascara’s one-of-a-kind brush is ideal for your lash shape, these are reasons that justify spending more when you can find a somewhat similar product for less.

“I wouldn’t spend $32 because I assume luxury automatically means better technology or a better-looking lash. Mascara has a very simple job: make your lashes look better and keep them looking that way until you are ready to take it off. If the luxury mascara does that noticeably better for you, it is worth the money. If the drugstore one does it just as well, save the extra cash,” Briceno says.

Up Next:

Related: 11 Best Brown Mascaras for a Lengthened-Yet-Natural Look This Summer, Tested by Makeup Artists

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• Christian Briceno is a celebrity makeup artist who has worked with Alicia Silverstone and Daniel Radcliffe.

Patrick Swayze solidified his status as a ultimate Hollywood leading man in 1987, sweeping audiences off their feet in a low-budget dance drama that almost no one expected to succeed.

Decades later, Dirty Dancing remains an untouchable pop culture moment, landing alongside Titanic and another 80s classic, Ghost, on Collider’s 10 Best Romantic Films in History. Driven by Swayze and Jennifer Grey’s undeniable chemistry, the sleeper hit defied expectations to become an enduring masterpiece that still steals hearts nearly 40 years later.

Despite its unforgettable soundtrack and generational legacy as a beloved film classic, Dirty Dancing holds a surprisingly modest 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While initially, critics weren’t fans of the film, millions of devoted viewers have spent nearly 40 years proving that no professional review can lessen the magic of Johnny Castle and Frances “Baby” Houseman’s summer at Kellerman’s.

Collider wrote, “Dirty Dancing is the timeless coming-of-age story of Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman, who falls in love with a working-class dance instructor named Johnny Castle while on a family vacation in the Catskills in 1963. While stepping in for Johnny’s dance partner, the pair fall in love despite coming from very different social classes. Approaching major social topics of the era beyond fairy-tale fluff, the film will forever be defined by the power of intimacy forged through dance.”

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The assessment continued, “Swayze’s professional dance background made him all the more alluring. From the lift in the lake to the final dance sequence, these moments not only defined the decade but also cemented the film in pop culture greatness.”

Reportedly the sizzle between Grey and Swayze was all for the cameras. Historically, its been reported that the actors didn’t have the same feelings for each other while not in character.

TIME Magazine reported that Dirty Dancing was almost “dumped by the production company that bankrolled it, Vestron Pictures.” The outlet reported that the movie initially received “negative responses” at theaters, so the plan was to have a one-weekend release and send the film straight to video.

However, once it opened, word of mouth gave the ’60s period piece renewed interest, and they began flocking to the theater in droves. According to Box Office Mojo, this unexpected success helped launch Dirty Dancing from its $6M budget to a $64M domestic opening.

Ultimately, a 73% Tomatometer score is just a footnote in the story of a movie that defined a generation. Dirty Dancing became a cultural landmark because it captured something raw, joyful, and utterly timeless about first love and the power of music.

Related: 1980 Leslie Nielsen Slapstick Spoof, With a 97% Rotten Tomatoes Score, Ranked One of the Best ’80s Movies of All Time

Arnold Schwarzenegger and his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, look incredibly happy next to each other during his birthday celebration.

The legendary actor, businessman, and former Governor of California celebrated his 79th birthday back in July. In a new series of photos shared by his daughter, Katherine Schwarzenegger, the legendary action star celebrated the big event snuggled up next to Shriver and three of the former couple’s kids. With a large slice of red velvet cake in front of him, Schwarzenegger looks so happy next to Shriver. It’s great to see the duo, who split in 2011 and officially divorced in 2021, come together alongside their children.

Head to the second slide to see the sweet family photo:

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Celebrating Schwarzenegger’s Birthday

Schwarzenegger made it clear that he wasn’t looking for any big gifts for his 79th birthday. Instead, the star asked followers to download his fitness app. Sporting a pair of sunglasses, Schwarzenegger showed off his bulging biceps as he lifted weights outdoors.

“I turn 79 today. I don’t want any gifts. Instead, my team and I are turning the fitness industry upside down,” Schwarzenegger wrote.

View this post on Instagram Schwarzenegger is an Advocate for ‘People Power”

Last year, Schwarzenegger shared a touching statement following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In an appearance at the Schwarzenegger Institute at the University of Southern California, the icon spoke candidly when asked by USC President Beong-Soo Kim about his reaction to the news of Kirk’s death, and the systems he feels are responsible for contributing to the tragedy.

Schwarzenegger noted that he hopes America can turn things around by harnessing its “people power.”

“The people can turn this around. The people have the ultimate power. People always say, ‘Well, what can I do? I’m just an individual,’ but each and every one of you in here can make a difference. You can show leadership,” he said, encouraging students from different parties to communicate and solve problems together. “How you don’t see the other side as the enemy, or to fight fire with fire, like they’re saying today, or to declare war on each other, as they’re saying today. You can show leadership, and you can get together and be this example. Because remember, the people’s power is the ultimate power. That’s what democracy is all about.”

View this post on Instagram What’s Next for Arnold Schwarzenegger?

The Austrian icon has an exciting new project coming up alongside Geena Davis. Deadline recently reported that Schwarzenegger is set to join The Kellys, a new action film from Amazon MGM. He’ll star alongside Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Kelsey Asbille, and Abby Elliott. According to the provided synopsis, The Kellys follows Jack Kelly, a disgraced NYC cop whose wife, Molly, is taken hostage by terrorists inside an old armory building. “He’ll have to join forces with the people he fears most to save her: His family,” the synopsis reads.

Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Makes Public Appearance With His Stunning Blonde Girlfriend, and They Look So Happy