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Hoda Kotb‘s co-hosts practically leapt out of their chairs when she mentioned meeting a man on a recent flight. During her Aug. 21 appearance on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones lit up at the mention of the encounter, with Jones immediately floating the idea of tracking him down.

Kotb tried to curb their enthusiasm, though, telling them that “this is not a real love connection or anything.” But the details she shared told a different story.

“It was the weirdest connection in the world,” the Joy 101 founder continued. “We were both crying. It was a strange… You know when you have one of those moments that everything is firing on all cylinders? It was.”

She explained that the man kept saying, “Is this a dream? Is this real?” When they landed, they went their separate ways, but that wasn’t the last she saw of him.

Fate Strikes Again in Cannes

Kotb later ran into him again, this time at Cannes, where she’d traveled for business. He happened to be in the audience. They exchanged a quick “hello” and once again parted.

“That’s the end of the story?” Bush Hager asked in disbelief.

The former Today host revealed there was more to it: the two have since exchanged text messages. Even as Kotb kept insisting it wasn’t a love connection, she let slip that she finds him attractive—and confirmed he’s currently single.

Kotb’s Ongoing Search for Lasting Love

The moment adds another chapter to Kotb’s ongoing journey toward love. She was married to Burzis Kanga from 2005 to 2007, and later got engaged to Joel Schiffman, with whom she shares two adopted daughters, Haley Joy and Hope. Though her engagement to Schiffman ended in 2022, Kotb has remained open about wanting to find lasting love.

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“I don’t think I’ve ever really taken a deep dive into love,” Kotb wrote in her 2025 book, Jump and Find Joy. “I’ve had loving relationships, but I don’t think I’ve ever trusted that a person 100 percent has me, and that’s on me. It’s a vulnerable place to be and comes with the risk of being hurt. But it’s a risk I want to feel comfortable enough to take one day.”

Twenty-two years after the first movie and nearly 20 years since its sequel, National Treasure is finally getting a third film.

Starring Nicolas Cage, the action-adventure franchise will soon be returning to screens. Although plot details haven’t been revealed yet, National Treasure (2004) director Jon Turteltaub announced that a third movie is in the works, and Disney has approved the script.

“I was thinking about mentioning this tonight; I’ll say it tonight,” Turteltaub said during a live recording of the National Treasure Hunt podcast. “It’s happening. You’re the first people I have said this out loud to.”

Turteltaub continued, saying that things are “Hollywood real” right now.

“Meaning things can happen,” he explained. “Nic gets hit by a bus, there’s no National Treasure. If I get hit by a bus, there’s probably a National Treasure. Welcome to Hollywood, that’s Hollywood.”

Turteltaub said that they finally have a script that he likes and that Disney believes they can make. He continued, saying that one thing he’s concerned about is meeting expectations.

“You guys are going to be the worst audience of this movie,” he joked.

Although fans reacted with cheers and applause at the announcement of National Treasure 3, fans on social media have had mixed thoughts.

“We’ve been hearing this for years though that a script is being written, so I’ll believe it when I see filming begin,” one user commented on National Treasure Hunt podcast’s Instagram post.

However, others are excited for the new film, with one user commenting, “MY LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! Thank you guys!”

“This is the greatest day of my life,” another said.

Cage has been confirmed to reprise his role as Ben Gates for the third film, but it’s unclear if other fan-favorite cast members like Justin Bartha (Riley Poole) or Diane Kruger (Abigail Chase) will return. A release date also hasn’t been revealed yet.

Watch the announcement here.

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When I think of Target, I don’t really think about grocery shopping. Maybe that’s because I live in New York City, where the only Targets are “city Targets,” which are about half the size of suburban Targets. Womp-womp.

Because of this, the produce section isn’t usually too fruitful (sorry) at my local Target. It’s pretty small, and a lot of the items are wrapped in plastic—something that I try to avoid when grocery shopping.

That said, whenever I stroll the aisles of Target, I always wind up grabbing a few items from the produce aisle—mainly because Target’s fruit and vegetables are usually incredibly well-priced!

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If you need speciality produce like fresh turmeric or passion fruit, Target probably isn’t your best bet—but you can always rely on Target to have all your basics when it comes to fruit and veg.

As someone who frequents my local Target, I thought I’d put together a list of the produce items I always buy from Target, as well as the produce items I usually skip. Keep reading for my recommendations!

Related: 5 Best Produce Items To Buy at Trader Joe’s (and 4 To Skip)

The 6 Best Items To Buy From Target’s Produce Section

Here are six of the best items in Target’s produce section that I recommend.

1. Plums

When plums are in season, I can often find loose, package-free and juicy plums in Target’s produce sections. Personally, I prefer when produce is loose, as it means there’s no wasteful packaging and I can pick out exactly which plums I want.

Plus, plums have a wealth of health benefits. They’re high in antioxidants, which can help lower inflammation and reduce your risk of conditions like diabetes and heart disease, according to Healthline. Moreover, as the predecessor of the prune, plums can famously help alleviate constipation.

2. Good & Gather Sliced White Mushrooms

Mushrooms almost always come in packaging, so you may as well buy the ones that are already cut for you! Good & Gather Sliced White Mushrooms are some of the most well-priced mushrooms I’ve seen, at just $2.59 per carton.

I’m a card-carrying mushroom girlie—I could eat mushrooms every day. And doing so isn’t a bad idea, either. Per UCLA Health, research has found that mushrooms can help improve gut health, support brain health and even reduce cancer risk.

3. Little Leaf Farms Romaine Leaf

Little Leaf Farms Romaine Leaf is non-GMO, free of pesticides and grown in a greenhouse in the U.S. Basically, as far as boxed lettuce goes, it’s pretty gentle on the environment. Plus, this delicate romaine comes pre-washed and is usually priced really well, making it a no-brainer for summer salads.

Related: 9 Items To Buy From Aldi’s Produce Section and 6 To Skip

4. Good & Gather Steam-in-Bag Shaved Brussels Sprouts

It’s pretty rare to find Brussels sprouts that are package-free in a grocery store—so rather than buy a mesh bag of whole Brussels sprouts, I prefer to buy something like the Good & Gather Steam-in-Bag Shaved Brussels Sprouts. These sprouts are washed, trimmed and ready to eat—and you can even steam them in the bag in your microwave.

That said, if you prefer to work with whole Brussels sprouts, next to these shaved sprouts you’ll find the Good & Gather Steam-in-Bag Brussels Sprouts, which are a better option for roasting in the oven.

5. Cal-Organic Farms Organic Cilantro

Cal-Organic Farms Organic Cilantro is certified USDA organic and priced at less than $2 a bundle. That said, even though this cilantro is in a bag, you’ll need to wash it before use.

Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs—of course, it’s great in guacamole, but I also love to use it to top off curries, tacos and lime rice. Or, if I find myself with a surplus of cilantro, I like to throw together a green chimichurri herb sauce, which is pretty easy to make in a food processor or blender.

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

6. Red Onions

Maybe I’m a nerd for having a favorite type of onion, but red onions are my favorite type of onion. I can never use up an entire bag of onions, so I always buy them loose, which also means I can pick out which ones I want. And at Target, red onions (as well as white onions and yellow onions) cost between 99 cents and $1.29 each, which is a bargain.

5 Target Produce Items To Skip

Conversely, there are a few produce items I never buy at Target, including the ones below.

1. Good & Gather Organic Hass Avocados

If there’s any produce item you want to choose individually, it’s the humble avocado. Buying a mesh bag of four avocados often results in so much waste—not only in terms of packaging, but also in terms of the avos themselves. What are the chances these won’t ripen exactly when I want them to? Pretty high.

Personally, when I’m picking up avocados (and Target’s single avocados are usually fairly priced at around $1.49 apiece!) I buy three: one that’s perfectly ripe, one that’s a day or two away from being ripe and one that’s not ripe at all.

2. Earth Fresh Yellow Potatoes

Potatoes are amazing. I actually just made some for dinner. But I didn’t buy them at Target, because the only options were bags of potatoes. Some of Target’s bags of potatoes are made partly of mesh, allowing shoppers to check out most of the contents—and I’m not totally opposed to that.

However, the Earth Fresh Yellow Potatoes come in an opaque bag, where the contents are completely obscured! Do you really want to risk schlepping a 5-pound sack of potatoes home only to discover that some of them are already going rotten? No, thank you. I’ll stick to other grocery stores with individual potatoes for my spud-related needs.

3. Good & Gather Fresh Asparagus

It might be hard to tell from my photo, but this bag of Good & Gather Fresh Asparagus is, frankly, huge. I’m admittedly not a big asparagus girl, but even if I was, I’d still think that this was way too much asparagus.

I appreciate that the stalks in this bag are washed and trimmed, but unless you’re making asparagus for a small army who intends to eat leftovers the next day, you’ll probably agree with me that this is too much asparagus.

Related: Aldi’s Sprite vs. the Name Brand: Which Is Better? (The Results Surprised Me)

4. Good & Gather Baby-Cut Carrots

If you love baby carrots, then good. I’m happy for you. And you’re welcome to buy a bag of Good & Gather Baby-Cut Carrots. I’ll admit, it is nice that they come washed and ready to eat.

But personally, I just think baby carrots are a bit silly—mainly because they don’t stay fresh for as long as regular carrots. And they often get all slimy before you can finish the entire bag. Yuck.

My local Target doesn’t have loose carrots, which is how I prefer to buy them—so if I’m shopping at Target, instead of baby carrots, I’ll go for Target’s regular bag of grown-up carrots, which you can usually find beside the babies.

5. Good & Gather Sweet Corn

Pre-shucked corn, like Target’s Good & Gather Sweet Corn, just never stays fresh for as long as unshucked corn. In fact, the best way to keep corn fresh is by cooking it immediately after it’s picked, according to Epicurious.

But since that’s not possible for those of us without farms, you can just leave your corn in its husk in the crisper drawer of your fridge for up to six days before enjoying. As Epicurious explains, the silky husk helps keep the kernels moist, which helps them stay fresh and sweet for longer.

However, if you do buy shucked plastic-wrapped corn, Epicurious recommends eating it within one day—and personally, I don’t want to live with the pressure to cook something in the next 24 hours after going grocery shopping. For that reason, I prefer to buy fresh corn from my local farmers market, or at least from a store that has unshucked corn.

Final Takeaways:

If you’re looking for fair prices and no-nonsense fruit and veg, Target’s produce section might have everything you need.

• Target uses a lot of plastic. If you’re striving for zero-waste grocery shopping, steer clear of Target.
• You won’t find specialty produce at Target. Target’s produce aisle has things like apples and bananas, not fresh ginger and mangos.
• Target’s produce is well-priced. If you’re on a budget, Target’s produce section may meet your needs.

Up Next:

Related: I’ve Been Vegan for 8 Years—These Are the 28 Best Things To Buy at Trader Joe’s

Sources:

• 7 Health Benefits of Plums and Prunes. Healthline.
• 7 health benefits of mushrooms. UCLA Health
• How to Store Corn for the Freshest, Sweetest Flavor. Epicurious.

Tom Brady’s oldest son is looking more like his famous father with every birthday.

The former NFL quarterback celebrated Jack Moynahan turning 19 on Saturday, August 22, by sharing a series of photos of the teenager on Instagram.

Brady also marked the milestone with an emotional message reflecting on the day Jack was born. “Happy 19th birthday, Jack! 🎉 Aug 22, 2007 is a day I’ll never forget, because that’s when you showed up and stole my heart (and my sleep… and my patience… hahahaha),” he wrote.

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Brady went on to praise his son’s character, calling him “kind, thoughtful, empathetic, and full of love!”

“And I’m so proud of who you have become,” he continued. “You fill my heart with so much joy and I’m blessed to be your dad. I cant wait to see what’s next”

The post included several pics of the father-son duo together, but it was their resemblance that quickly became a major talking point among fans.

“Jack looks more like Tom Brady than Tom Brady,” one joked.

“I’ve never seen two people look more like than you and Jack! Look more like twins than twins look like twins!” another noted.

A third commented, “Does tom look like jack or does jack look like tom.”

READ MORE: Tom Brady Doesn’t ‘Understand’ Former Coach Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame Snub

The birthday comes just months after Brady and Jack’s mother, actress Bridget Moynahan, came together to celebrate another major milestone—his high school graduation. In June, Brady shared photos from the occasion, including a rare shot of Jack standing between both of his parents. The proud dad called the graduation “One of the proudest days of [his] life.”

Brady and Moynahan dated from 2004 until late 2006. Moynahan learned she was pregnant following their split, welcoming Jack in August 2007. The former couple has a successful co-parenting relationship through the years and have reunited for major moments in their son’s life.

Brady later welcomed two more children with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen: son Benjamin, 16, and daughter Vivian, 13.

For many people, exercise isn’t just a way to stay healthy, it’s a key part of managing their mental health. 

There are several ways exercise leads to a better mood and contributes to warding off anxiety and depression. Some forms of exercise trigger the release of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters (specifically endorphins, dopamine and serotonin) that lower the stress hormone cortisol. This is an example of experiencing that “runner’s high,” you may have heard about. Exercise also fosters a sense of accomplishment, which builds confidence. It can also be a way to build community.

Related: 7 Signs of Depression Most People Miss, According to Mental Health Experts

This is especially the case for athletes who are part of a team. For Sophie Abbott, 22, playing soccer was a core part of her identity. Being an athlete was how she defined herself and the majority of her friends were her teammates. But when she experienced a devastating injury when she was 16, everything changed. Parade talked to Abbott about how her sports injury impacted not only her physical health, but her mental health, and how she healed both.

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‘It Sounded Like a Gunshot’

Abbott, who is from Australia, started playing soccer when she was 11 years old. “Soccer has always meant pretty much everything to me. I’ve made so many important relationships playing and it’s really made me who I am today,” she says.

When she was 16, Abbott was in the middle of a soccer game when she blew out her knee. “I went to kick the ball and there was this loud crack. It sounded like a gunshot. It was the worst pain of my life and I blacked out,” she says. Abbott was immediately taken to the hospital, where she learned that she had torn her ACL, which is located in the center of the knee. “They told me I wouldn’t be able to play soccer for about 10 months,” Abbott says.

It was devastating news. While Abbott didn’t have to have surgery, she ended up going through almost a year of physical therapy, a long, frustrating process of not being able to do actions that were simple to her before. At first, even walking was painful. 

The whole ordeal sent Abbott into a spiraling depression. “I felt like I had no purpose,” she says. Sixteen months after the injury, Abbott finally felt healed enough to return to soccer and she moved to Iowa on a sports scholarship. But her first game back, her worst imaginable fear happened: She blew out her knee again. Similar to the first time, Abbott had to undergo months of physical therapy. “It was five months until I could play again,” she says. 

Abbott was recruited to play at Cleveland State University, so she moved to Ohio and started playing with a new team. But she felt herself holding back on the field. “I had PTSD and kept imagining injuring my knee again,” she says. That’s when her coach suggested she see a sports psychiatrist.

Related: 7 Signs of High-Functioning Depression, According to a Columbia-Trained Psychiatrist

Meeting a Doctor Who Actually Gets It

Abbott started seeing Dr. Lindsay Honaker, DO, a sports psychiatrist at Cleveland Clinic. What Abbott didn’t know at the time was that Dr. Honaker knew firsthand what it was like to experience a devastating injury. Dr. Honaker, who is a bodybuilder, was in the final year of her residency when she fractured both heels while warming up for a competitive bodybuilding event.

“I couldn’t walk and was bedbound for months, living with my parents. I couldn’t even take care of myself, let alone work out. I was very sad and very anxious,” Dr. Honaker says. Her entire future was a question mark. She didn’t even know if she would be able to continue her residency. “I felt isolated and alone,” she says.

Like Abbott, Dr. Honaker’s recovery involved months of physical therapy. Slowly, she started reconnecting with other people and leaving the house in a wheelchair, such as meeting a friend for coffee. She eventually finished her residency and now works at Cleveland Clinic as a sports psychiatrist helping people mentally heal from devastating injuries, just like she did.

Abbott says that it was helpful for her to hear about Dr. Honaker’s experience firsthand; she truly understood what she was going through. With Dr. Honaker’s help, Abbott explored who she was outside of soccer. 

“The whole experience also taught me to enjoy every second of playing soccer because you never know when it’s going to be taken away from you,” Abbott says.

Related: 7 Science-Backed Ways To Deal With Depression

How To Care for Your Mental Health After an Injury

Even if you aren’t an athlete like Abbott, experiencing an injury can lead to anxiety or depression. Not being able to exercise or move around the way you used to can be challenging to accept. 

If you can relate, Dr. Honaker says to first know that what you are feeling is completely normal and understandable. “Experiencing a drastic change can be very upsetting and it’s okay to feel sad or even angry,” she says. While it’s important to allow yourself to mourn, Dr. Honaker warns against isolating yourself. “It’s still important to reach out to friends and family, even if it’s over text or the phone and not in person,” she says.

Dr. Honaker says it’s also important to take care of your physical health in ways other than working out. “Some people think, ‘well, if I can’t work out, then I’m just going to sit here and eat whatever I want because it doesn’t matter anyway,’” Dr. Honaker says, saying that she warns against this type of catastrophic thinking. Instead, focus on feeding yourself nourishing foods, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep—all of which support mental health.

If you’re really struggling with depression or anxiety, Dr. Honaker recommends reaching out to a psychiatrist or therapist, just like Abbott did. Therapy provides a safe place to explore how your injury is impacting your mental health and learn tools for how to cope.

Experiencing an injury impacts both physical health and mental health. The path to recovery should involve looking after both. That way, you can come back stronger than ever—both inside and out.

Up Next:

Related: Doctors Say This Is the Only Type of Magnesium Worth Taking for Anxiety

Sources

• Hossain, N., Lee, J., Choi, H., et al. (2024). The impact of exercise on depression: how moving makes your brain and body feel better. Physical Activity and Nutrition. 28(2):43-51.
• Sophie Abbott, soccer player at Cleveland State University.
• Dr. Lindsay Honaker, DO, sports psychiatrist at Cleveland Clinic.

In the spring of 1965, a young Scottish singer-songwriter arrived on the British music scene sounding enough like Bob Dylan to earn an almost immediate comparison.

Donovan scored his first major hit with “Catch the Wind,” a gentle acoustic ballad released when he was still a teenager. With his guitar, harmonica and folk-influenced songwriting, Donovan was quickly dubbed the “British Bob Dylan,” a nickname that followed him even as his music evolved far beyond those early comparisons.

“Catch the Wind” provided an easy explanation for the connection.

Built around acoustic guitar and harmonica, the song captured Donovan at his most intimate, with lyrics expressing an elusive longing for love.

“As a first song, and it was my first single, it is very well-crafted,” Donovan later reflected. “It is about a relationship that one can’t have. Lost love, love unrequited. and actually is about Linda [Lawrence, who became his wife], although I didn’’t meet her until a year later. So once again it was prophetic. and even though, if I say so myself, as a first song it is quite amazing. It is not naive in any way; it is very knowing.”

It arrived as the folk revival was flourishing on both sides of the Atlantic, and Donovan’s appearance and musical style inevitably drew parallels to Dylan, who was already transforming popular songwriting.

Donovan, however, never saw himself as simply Britain’s answer to an American star.

“In 1965, Bob and I were linked so tightly that they were calling me ‘the British Bob Dylan,’ but in actual fact it was Woody Guthrie who used to sling harmonicas around his neck and Guthrie was a big influence on both Bob and me in those early days,” Donovan told the Express decadse later. “That comparison with Bob Dylan was so wrong. It was Woody Guthrie I was emulating and it was Woody Guthrie that Bob was also emulating with the cap and the harmonica harness.”

“Catch the Wind” quickly proved Donovan could connect with audiences on his own terms.

Released as his debut single in 1965, the song climbed to No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It also found an audience in the United States, where it reached the Billboard Hot 100 and helped introduce Donovan to American listeners.

The breakthrough was only the beginning.

As the decade progressed, Donovan moved increasingly toward psychedelia, jazz and pop, producing a remarkably varied run of songs including “Sunshine Superman,” “Mellow Yellow,” “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and “Season of the Witch.” That experimentation ultimately made the early Dylan comparisons seem increasingly inadequate.

“‘Catch The Wind’ probably meant something to hundreds of people in the audience at one time in their lives and it’s interesting to see what it means now,” Donovan told Melody Maker in 1976. “Every year I seem to find the audiences getting younger, so it’s not the same people who always come to my shows year after year. My face looks young but my sound is ageless. I don’t know of any artists over the years who sing and play from the same position as myself.”

More than 60 years later, “Catch the Wind” remains a striking snapshot of Donovan at the very beginning of his career. The “British Bob Dylan” nickname may have helped introduce him, but the 1965 hit opened the door for a body of work that soon made Donovan unmistakably himself.

Related: 1978 Pop Song, Written by Barry Gibb, Became a Career-Defining No. 1 Hit

Janie Bradford Hobbs, the songwriter behind Motown‘s first hit, “Money (That’s What I Want),” has died at 87 following an extended illness at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital, her family announced Saturday, Aug. 22, according to Rolling Stone. Born in Charleston, Missouri, before later moving to Detroit, Bradford’s path to music history began almost by chance, when neighbor and singer Jackie Wilson introduced her to a young Berry Gordy in the late 1950s.

What started as a receptionist job at Motown quickly became something much bigger. “She became Motown’s first receptionist, but her talents quickly took her far beyond that desk,” Gordy said in a statement. “Janie was smart, clever, witty, and fun. She was also talented and determined.”

That talent showed in 1959, when Bradford joined Gordy at the piano and added the now-iconic line, “Your love gives me such a thrill, but your love don’t pay my bills. Gimme some money baby!” The result, “Money (That’s What I Want),” became Motown’s first hit single and was later covered by both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, cementing its place as one of the most influential songs of the era. (*Later covers by both John Belushi and The Flying Lizards would give their own spin on the hit.)

Bradford’s songwriting reach extended well beyond that hit. Over her quarter-century at Motown, she co-wrote “Too Busy Thinking About My Baby” for Marvin Gaye, “Your Old Standby” for Mary Wells, and songs for the Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and the Temptations, helping shape the sound that defined a generation.

“Janie was one of a special group I have always thought of as the Original Motown Family – the unsung heroes who believed in the dream before anyone knew what Motown would become,” Gordy said, according to Billboard.

Bradford later led Writer Relations for Motown’s publishing company and founded the Heroes and Legends Awards, honoring music icons and funding scholarships for nearly 30 years. She was recently inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame and is survived by her husband, Wardean Hobbs, daughter Nicole Hobbs, son Lance Finney, and two grandsons. 

Before there was a “sound of young America,” there was Janie Bradford – one of the unsung architects who helped write it.

When Martin Scorsese made The Departed in 2006, he hid a visual clue throughout the movie that many viewers probably didn’t notice the first time.

The letter X repeatedly appears in the film’s architecture, lighting and production design, often just before a character is killed. There are X-shaped beams at Logan Airport, an illuminated X on a wall, taped windows forming Xs, an X behind Billy Costigan’s head in the elevator and an X pattern in the hallway before Colin Sullivan’s final confrontation.

The filmmakers weren’t simply decorating the movie with random Xs. Scorsese specifically asked production designer Kristi Zea to incorporate them throughout the film. Zea recalled that Scorsese wanted Xs used “wherever we could,” including on windows, walls and floors.

The idea was simple but effective: when you see the X, something bad is coming.

The motif works almost subliminally. Even if viewers don’t consciously register every X, the repeated visual language creates a feeling of danger and impending doom.

Scorsese Was Paying Tribute to Scarface

The most fascinating part is that Scorsese didn’t invent the idea.

The X was a deliberate homage to Howard Hawks’ 1932 gangster classic Scarface. In Hawks’ film, Xs similarly appear as visual markers associated with death. The motif could appear in the architecture, shadows or objects within the frame, turning an otherwise ordinary shape into a warning for the audience.

Scorsese was famously steeped in film history, so The Departed became an opportunity to quietly communicate with an earlier generation of filmmakers.

The result is a cinematic inside joke that works on two levels. Someone watching The Departed without knowing the reference can simply experience the growing sense of danger. A viewer who knows Scarface can recognize what Scorsese is doing: He’s borrowing a visual language from one gangster movie and bringing it into another.

That makes the X more than an Easter egg. It’s a piece of film history being passed from one director to another.

The X Makes The Departed Fun to Rewatch @brock.swinson

In The Departed, Martin Scorsese places physical “X” marks before characters die as visual foreshadowing. Inspired by the 1932 gangster classic Scarface, which used Xs to mark violent moments, Scorsese instructed his production designer to include “a lot of Xs” throughout set design. The marks appear subtly in backgrounds, windows, walls, and lighting right before major deaths. Once noticed, this small detail becomes impossible to unsee throughout the film.

♬ original sound – Brock Swinson

This is perhaps the best part of the trick.

Once you know about the X, The Departed becomes a different movie on a second viewing. Suddenly, the background matters.

The X doesn’t necessarily give away every death in a way that makes the plot predictable, but it creates an ominous visual countdown. The audience can start looking for the shapes and asking a very simple question:

Who’s marked for death?

The cinematography team worked surprisingly hard to make the motif appear naturally. Xs were created through architecture, set design and lighting, including shadows deliberately shaped into Xs.

That’s why the device has endured as one of the movie’s most discussed visual details. It rewards viewers who go back looking for something they missed the first time.

Related: 1956 Western Epic, With One of Cinema’s Greatest Final Shots, Ranked John Wayne’s Best Film

Scorsese Has Always Loved Movie History

The X is also very representative of Scorsese’s filmmaking.

He has spent much of his career openly communicating with the movies that influenced him. Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, The Aviator and The Irishman are filled with visual, musical and thematic references to earlier cinema.

In The Departed, the Scarface tribute is particularly appropriate because the movie itself is a gangster story. But Scorsese has also borrowed from filmmakers including Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Jean-Luc Godard. One documented example is Taxi Driver, which contains visual and thematic echoes of Ford’s The Searchers.

So the X isn’t an isolated gimmick. It’s part of a larger Scorsese habit: He makes movies while carrying decades of movies with him.

Other Directors Have Their Own Visual Motifs

Scorsese is hardly alone in using recurring visual ideas.

Alfred Hitchcock

Hitchcock may be the ultimate example. Film scholars have identified numerous recurring motifs across Hitchcock’s films, including staircases, keys, handbags, art, guilt and confession. The motifs weren’t simply Easter eggs; they became part of the visual vocabulary Hitchcock used to explore recurring themes.

Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick repeatedly used visual symmetry, geometric compositions, corridors and mirrors to create an unsettling sense of control and psychological disorientation. His films often feel as though the sets themselves are telling part of the story.

Wes Anderson

Anderson’s visual motifs are considerably more obvious and playful. Symmetry, centered compositions, recurring colors, carefully arranged objects and distinctive costumes have become part of his instantly recognizable visual language.

Steven Spielberg

Spielberg has also developed recurring visual ideas, particularly the use of silhouettes, light and framing to emphasize wonder, fear or isolation. His famous “Spielberg face”—a character looking upward in awe or terror—is almost a visual signature.

Christopher Nolan

Nolan frequently returns to motifs involving clocks, circular structures, mirrors, doubles and distorted perceptions of time. In his films, the repeated imagery often reinforces the larger puzzle the audience is trying to solve.

That’s what makes motifs so much fun for movie audiences: Once you learn a director’s visual language, you start seeing movies differently.

The Lasting Legacy of Scorsese’s X

Nearly two decades after The Departed was released, the X remains one of those movie details that makes fans want to go back and watch again.

It connects a 2006 Oscar-winning crime thriller to a 1932 gangster classic. It demonstrates how filmmakers can communicate with one another across generations. And it turns something as ordinary as a window frame, beam or shadow into a warning.

Most importantly, it gives The Departed an additional layer that doesn’t require dialogue to explain.

Scorsese didn’t need a character to announce that death was coming.

He just put an X in the frame.

Related: 1968 Western With an 11-Minute Intro Was Just Named the Greatest Movie Opening of All Time

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Back in the day, before Charlotte Stewart ever became a household name with her breakout role on Little House on the Prairie, the ’70s sweetheart ran a little boutique in Los Angeles, Calif., smack dab in the middle of a budding rock n’ roll scene.

Her shop, called Liquid Butterfly, was across the way from Elektra Records, and one day, the lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison, took refuge within, sparking an unexpected acquaintanceship between the troubled rocker and the soon-to-be beloved actress.

One morning, Stewart arrived to work to find the “Riders on the Storm” singer gazing out of her window, looking out at the record label, she recently told her former costar, Patrick Labyorteaux, on an episode of his podcast The Patrick LabyorSheaux. “Do you mind if I’m here?” Morrison asked her, kicking off a whirlwind friendship that Labyorteaux describes “very close and fun.”

She and Morrison began going out with a handful of other unnamed folks, “walk[ing] down the street on La Cienega Blvd. [to] go out to lunch, have some drinks.” Then, it morphed into Morrison “basically [becoming her] drinking buddy, because he didn’t want to drink alone.”

“He would come into the store at five, six o’clock and say, ‘You want to go?’” she continued.
“And I said, ‘Okay.’ So we would go. Then he would get so drunk that I would have to drive him home,” Stewart recalled. “I didn’t want anything from him; he was my drinking buddy,” she emphasized. “So I took care of him.”

Morrison reportedly struggled with drug use, and had several run-ins with the law throughout his short career, becoming the first rocker to be arrested mid-performance, and racking up charges for lewd behavior, indecent exposure, profanity and drunkenness throughout his career, with Stewart helping him evade police once upon a time.

In a similar vein, The Doors were even banned from perfoming on one live TV show in 1967.

Eventually, two years before his death, the unlikely friends hit the road together for a “spicy adventure,” which is further detailed in her 2016 memoir memoir, Little House in the Hollywood Hills: A Bad Girl’s Guide to Becoming Miss Beadle, Mary X, and Me.

Morrison asked Stewart to get out of town with him when he needed a break, and they drove up the California coast together for four days, where he flew under the radar and enjoyed a little anonymity and peace before dropping her safely off at the store. It was the last time she saw him before he sadly died under uncertain circumstances at the age of 27.

Three years after his death, she went on to play the kindhearted schoolteacher, Eva Beadle-Simms, on the hit TV series Little House on the Prairie.

Hayden Panettiere was just 8 months old when her mom, Lesley Vogel, decided to kick start her career in show business.

While their relationship struggled in later years, ultimately resulting in their estrangement, Vogel claims she never anticipated her daughter would make it a lifelong career.

“She started with Wilhelmina at eight months old because she’s a beautiful baby. I mean, really beautiful baby,” Vogel told Daily Mail on Saturday, August 22, nearly one week after her daughter’s death. “My thought then was, let her do some stuff, we’ll put it in her college fund, and she’ll go to college and she’ll have this. I never expected her to be a professional actor, never.”

Despite their troubled relationship, Vogel maintains that she was not an abusive parent.

“I was strong, definitely, but I was not abusive by any stretch of the imagination,” she continued. “I think that Hayden put a pressure on herself. I know that she has mentioned, you know, always had to please Mom, or make sure it was, you know, I succeeded or whatever. I didn’t put that on her. I think she put that on herself.”

As Parade previously reported, the Ice Princess actress was found unresponsive inside a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment on Sunday, August 16. Despite efforts to resuscitate her, Panettiere was pronounced dead at the scene.

After an initial autopsy did not find signs of foul play, an investigation into her death commenced.

The Remember the Titans actress opened up about her estrangement in her May 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and later on an episode of Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast.

“Whether or not my mom approved of my performance made or broke it,” she wrote. “I either got love and pride, or I got shame.”

At 19, after nearly two decades of being managed by her mother, Panettiere recalled telling Vogel, “I don’t want us to work together anymore. I just want you to be my mom.”

“I remember being hopeful,” she told Shetty. “But I also wasn’t expecting the reaction that I got, which was, ‘You owe me.’ And that’s all she said. And she walked out.”

Throughout the 1970s, music enthusiasts were treated to countless song releases that are now considered the classics. Because many view the ’70s as a decade when quite a few popular musical artists put out their most notable works, it’s difficult to narrow down the era’s very best. However, the publication Collider did just that and released a ranking of the “10 best songs of the 1970s.”

The list, released in July 2026, included ’70s hits like “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin from 1971, Fleetwood Mac‘s 1977 tune “Dreams,” 1975’s “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, and Derek and the Dominos‘ “Layla” from 1970. According to the publication, “the best song of the 1970s” is David Bowie‘s 1977 hit, “Heroes,” co-written by Brian Eno.

During a 1977 interview, Bowie gave some insight into the song. Bowie noted that the 1977 Heroes album was produced in West Berlin, 12 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He said he had been “watching the Wall every day about 12 o’clock midday to about 1 o’clock” and noticed that “a boy and a girl would meet under the Wall, under the guard, under the gun, on a park bench.” Bowie surmised that the pair, whom he said would “kiss and cuddle,” “were carrying on some kind of affair,” which they possibly felt was “an act of heroism” due to their meeting location.

However, Louder reported that in a 2015 interview with Classic Rock, Bowie admitted he’d been inspired to pen the hit after becoming aware of his then-married producer Tony Visconti‘s affair with his German girlfriend Antonia Maass, “that he’d met while [they] were in Berlin.”

According to Louder, Bowie, who died in 2016 when he was 69, suggested that recording in West Berlin impacted his songwriting for his Heroes album during an interview.

“I find that I have to put myself in those situations to produce any reasonably good writing. I’ve still got that same thing about when I get to a country… I have to put myself on a dangerous level, whether emotionally or mentally or physically, and it resolves in things like that: living in Berlin, leading what is quite a spartan life for a person of my means, and in forcing myself to live according to the restrictions of that city,” said Bowie.

In addition, during the 1977 interview, Bowie said that recording in West Berlin, “about 30 or 40 meters away from the Wall,” gave him a “kind of friction that [he] need[ed].”

With summer coming to a close, things can start feeling a little bittersweet. On the one hand, the change of season brings sweater weather, Halloween and beautiful autumnal colors, while on the other, our favorite summer flavors begin to take a back seat to cozy fall recipes.

While I for one would never turn down any of my favorite fall bites, it’s seasonal finds like Trader Joe’s Lemon Ricotta Pancake Mix that instantly have me wishing I could stretch summer out just a little bit longer. 

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Lemon Ricotta Pancake Mix, $3.99 at Trader Joe’s

Courtesy Nathan Hutsenpiller

Here till the end of September, this rich and creamy $4 mix brings together a satisfying combination of flavor and texture, pairing the mild, subtly sweet nature of ricotta cheese with the timeless appeal of a fluffy stack of pancakes. And after seeing it pop up enough times on my Explore page, I had no choice but to take advantage of its final month on shelves and see exactly what I’d been missing out on all summer long.

What I wasn’t expecting, however, was the moist and tender mouthfeel the simple addition of ricotta cheese would add to pancakes. And with a touch of lemon flavor mixed in, the mix delivers bright, citrusy notes in each bite, needing only milk, eggs and oil to bring it to life.

How to Make Trader Joe’s Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Courtesy Nathan Hutsenpiller

Start by heating a skillet or griddle over medium-low heat and gathering a whisk, mixing bowl and measuring cups. Whisk one egg until well blended, then slowly whisk in half a cup of milk and two tablespoons of oil. When ready, fold in one cup of Lemon Ricotta Pancake Mix until just combined. The batter should be thick and lumpy.

Courtesy Nathan Hutsenpiller

Now for the fun part. Pour roughly a quarter cup of batter per pancake onto the hot pan and cook until the sides are just set and bubbles on top start to pop. Gently use a spatula to flip the pancake and cook the second side until golden brown. Between each pancake, start a stack on a serving plate, then add your preferred toppings once your stack is as tall as you want it to be. Serve warm and enjoy.

Related: I Made the Retro School Cafeteria Pizza We All Remember—Here’s Why It Still Holds Up

Is This One Worth Stocking Up On?

Courtesy Nathan Hutsenpiller

Coming from someone who could probably devour pancakes on a daily basis for the rest of time, I feel a little biased in saying this mix absolutely blew my socks off. But I’d be lying if I told you anything otherwise. For starters, the batter comes together in a flash, needing just a couple of minutes of your time before you’re pouring it onto the hot skillet.

Secondly, these pancakes are seriously delicious enough to eat on their own. While butter, maple syrup, blueberries and some whipped cream are certainly excellent ways to elevate their taste, these soft and fluffy flapjacks are packed with a world of summer-adjacent flavors that really deserve to be enjoyed year-round.

Courtesy Nathan Hutsenpiller

So, if you’re asking me if you should pick up a box yourself, my answer is an unequivocal yes. In fact, I have half a mind to go and stock up on more boxes to help get me through the rest of the year.

Don’t waste any time sniffing out a box upon your next Trader Joe’s visit and give yourself one last decadent taste of summer before we head full speed into pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider and all things fall. While you’re there, also look out for Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Mango & Passion Fruit Creme Thin Cups and Mandu Korean Kimchi Potstickers for more tasty bite ideas.

Related: Trader Joe’s New $3 Deli Chips Are a Dangerously Zesty Summer Sandwich Upgrade

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There’s no denying the conversation around hair loss has gotten louder. Scroll through social media or stroll down the beauty aisle and you’ll find an ever-growing lineup of supplements, serums, scalp treatments and high-tech gadgets promising to tackle thinning and shedding. And the interest isn’t just anecdotal: A Google Trends analysis found worldwide search interest for “hair loss treatment” rose roughly 204% between 2018 and 2023.

Whether the culprit is stress, genetics, a condition such as alopecia or even shedding associated with GLP-1 weight loss medications, the common denominator is the same: Hair loss can be incredibly frustrating.

When you’re constantly spotting more strands in the shower drain, your hairbrush or on your pillowcase, finding a solution can quickly become all-consuming, which is why we turned to experts in the hair space for answers.

“Scalp health is having its moment because we’re finally catching up to what dermatologists have known for years: your scalp IS skin, and it deserves the same level of care we give our faces,” Utah-based celebrity hairstylist and Laced Hair founder Lacy Gadegaard West, tells Parade. “You wouldn’t expect a garden to thrive in dry, neglected soil. Your scalp is the soil. If it’s clogged, inflamed or dehydrated, your hair simply cannot grow to its full potential.”

New York City-based celebrity hairstylist Jerome Lordet agrees.

“People are becoming more aware that healthy hair starts at the scalp,” he says, noting that clients are now “much more focused on long-term hair health rather than just styling.”

And while the right scalp products can help, he stresses that healthy hair isn’t solely an outside job: “It’s also important to remember that a balanced diet and hydration also play a big part in scalp health and overall hair strength.”

Related: This Simple Nightly Scalp Trick May Boost Hair Growth After 50

What In-Shower Step Can Help With Shedding and Scalp Issues?

“One of the most important in-shower steps for reducing shedding and supporting stronger hair is properly cleansing the scalp to remove buildup, excess oil and dead skin that can disrupt hair health over time.” Lordet tells Parade.

The secret? Adding a little exfoliation to your wash-day routine.

Lauren Paglionico, master colorist and founder of LRN Beauty, swears by RŌZ Detox Clarifying Shampoo & Salt Scalp Scrub for gently clearing away buildup without overdoing it.

“It removes buildup in a gentle way without stripping your scalp of its natural protective oils,” she says. Even better, she notes that “it works on all hair types, textures and is safe for color-treated hair.”

For flakes, itchiness or more stubborn buildup, Paglionico suggests pairing it with RŌZ Willow Glen Pre-Wash Treatment Oil. “The oil helps break down buildup and works especially well for those who have flakes or itchiness,” she says.

Her advice: Use the oil once a week before going in with the scrub.

Getty

Signs That You May Want To Include a Scalp Scrub in Your Hair Routine

Not sure if a scrub belongs in your routine? Your scalp may already be telling you. Beauty expert and Keranique Brand Ambassador Melissa Peverini says common signs include “a tight, sensitive scalp” or shedding that feels excessive.

Celebrity stylist (to stars like Emma Watson and Toni Collette) and owner of Cutler Salons Rodney Cutler concurs, pointing to dry, dull hair, an increase in split ends and flaking or buildup at the scalp as other telltale signs. His only caveat? Don’t overdo it.

“You don’t want to overuse these products,” he says, recommending a hair mask, scalp scrub or serum “once a week.”

Related: 11 Best Hair-Growth Serums for Thicker, Healthier Locks, Tested by Trichologists

How Long Before You Start Seeing Results?

While scalp care isn’t exactly an overnight fix, you may see improvements sooner than you think once you make a buildup-busting exfoliator part of your shower rotation.

“Most of my clients notice a difference in how their scalp feels within the first week,” says West. “The itching stops, the flaking calms down and their scalp feels lighter and healthier.”

But before you slack off on your new desloughing program, remember that consistency is key. “For visible changes in shedding reduction and new growth, I tell clients to give it 8 to 12 weeks of consistent use,” she adds.

“Hair grows in cycles, so the products need time to influence the growth phase. Supplements and vitamins in particular need a full 90-day window to show their full impact,” West says. “Think of it like starting a workout routine: you feel better immediately, but the visible results take a few months.”

Related: 14 Best Scalp Serums for 2026, According to a Dermatologist

8 More Scalp Products That Reduce Shedding While Encouraging Growth, According to Hair Experts

Ready to take your healthy hair journey a step further? These are the scalp-supporting products our experts swear by.

1. Keranique Regrowth System, $49

Amazon

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For Peverini, tackling shedding starts with a clean, healthy scalp—and a routine that works together from wash day onward.

She calls the Keranique shampoo a “multi-task cleanser” that “strengthens the follicle” while gently removing buildup from styling products and minerals in water. Follow with the Follicle Strengthening Conditioner, which she loves for its peppermint sensation that “stimulates the scalp” while delivering “amazing scalp-friendly volume.”

Her preferred order? Start with Keranique Radiant Repair Oil as a pre-wash scalp treatment, then shampoo, exfoliate with the Keranique Scalp Therapy Manual Massager and finish with conditioner. Peverini recommends shampooing and conditioning at least three times a week, while the oil can be used as a weekly pre-shampoo treatment.

2. Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate 5-Minute Liquid Mask, $44

Redken

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Dry, stressed or breakage-prone strands need a little more TLC, and Cutler recommends swapping your standard conditioner for a moisturizing mask once a week. His pick is the Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate 5-Minute Liquid Mask, which he says “does a great job to combat dry hair” and can be applied “from roots to ends or from midlength to ends” before rinsing.

3. Davines Naturaltech Energizing Seasonal Superactive, $62

Davines

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When seasonal shedding hits, Lordet recommends reaching for Davines Naturaltech Energizing Seasonal Superactive and, most importantly, sticking with it. He says the targeted treatment is “best used consistently during periods of shedding” to give the scalp extra support when hair needs it most.

For Lordet, it all comes back to his signature wash-and-wear philosophy: keeping the scalp “clean and balanced” while preserving the hair’s natural texture and movement.

4. Davines Naturaltech Calming Superactive, $47

Amazon

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If your scalp is sending out an SOS, Lordet suggests Davines Naturaltech Calming Superactive, which he says can be used as needed whenever the scalp feels irritated or unbalanced.

Rather than overcomplicating your routine, Lordet’s approach is to restore balance while letting your natural hair do its thing. The goal, he adds, is hair that looks “effortless, healthy and easy to style every day.”

5. The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density, $24

Amazon

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Your skincare routine doesn’t have to end at your hairline. West loves applying this peptide-packed serum right out of the shower while her scalp is still slightly damp. Its lightweight blend of peptides, caffeine and biotinoyl tripeptide-1 supports the appearance of thicker, fuller hair without weighing down your roots.

“Think of it as your moisturizer step, but for your scalp,” she says. If thinning or excessive shedding is your main concern, West recommends making it a consistent part of your post-shower routine.

6. Drybar Detox Reset Revive & Restore Scalp & Hair Treatment, $33

Amazon

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Consider this a reset button for oily, buildup-prone scalps. “One of my favorite in-shower products right now is the Drybar Detox Reset Revive & Restore Pre-Shampoo Cleanser because healthy hair really does start with a healthy scalp,” says Parker Carr, Drybar training and education specialist. “As someone who sheds constantly and has an oily scalp, this is the first place I start for a refresh.”

Carr especially loves this scalp treatment (that doubles as a hydrating mask) for creating the best foundation for a lasting blowout. The built-in nozzle makes it easy to apply directly to the scalp and massage in before raking the formula through your lengths and letting it sit for one to three minutes.

“When your scalp is balanced and clean, the style just holds better,” she says. Reach for it between salon appointments when your scalp needs some extra love—or your blowout could use more staying power.

7. Viviscal Women’s Hair Growth Supplements, $40

Amazon

Shop It on Amazon

While not technically an in-shower product, West pairs these scalp-supportive supplements with her shower routine because hair health is an inside-out game.

“Viviscal is one of the most clinically studied hair growth supplements out there, formulated with their proprietary AminoMar marine complex plus biotin, zinc and vitamin C,” she says. “They target the biological factors behind thinning and shedding at the follicle level, and after taking two tablets daily, most clients start noticing a difference within three to six months.”

8. Advanced Trichology HairStem Laser Cap, $895

Advanced Trichology

Prefer a more hands-free approach to your healthy hair journey? Laser caps are one of the latest high-tech tools designed to encourage growth and help keep shedding at bay. “Equipped with state-of-the-art Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), this medical-grade device helps revive dormant hair follicles and stimulate new growth—right from the comfort of your home,” says William Gaunitz, FWTS, the certified trichologist who created the HairStem Laser Cap.

According to Gaunitz, the laser light helps stimulate circulation and cell turnover while decreasing inflammation, which can “directly improve the volume of hair being produced from the hair follicle” and help reduce shedding. He adds that improved microcirculation can also lead to a healthier, more balanced scalp microbiome.

And using it is just as effortless: Charge the cap, position it on your scalp, press a button and let it do its thing. Gaunitz recommends two 10- to 15-minute sessions per week for the first 90 days, leaving two to three days between treatments. After 90 days, bump sessions up to 15 to 20 minutes while sticking to the twice-weekly schedule.

Up Next:

Related: 11 Best Hair-Growth Serums for Thicker, Healthier Locks, Tested by Trichologists Themselves

Sources:

• “Hair Loss Treatments: A Google Trends Analysis Worldwide of the Past 5 Years (2018–2023)”, published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
• Lacy Gadegaard West, Utah-based celebrity hairstylist and founder of Laced Hair, one of the original luxury hair extension brands, whose work has been seen on Sabrina Carpenter, Alix Earle and Gwen Stefani.
• Jerome Lordet, NYC-based celebrity hairstylist and owner of Jerome Lordet Salon and founder of Love Is in the Hair, with a celebrity clientele that has included Sandra Bullock, Bianca Jagger and Jessica Simpson.
• Lauren Paglionico, NYC-based master colorist and founder of LRN Beauty, known for her expertise in balayage, blondes and maintaining healthy, natural-looking color.
• Melissa Peverini, celebrity hair designer and beauty expert located in Palm Beach, Florida, with more than 25 years of experience spanning editorial, red carpet, film and television.
• Rodney Cutler, celebrity hairstylist, Redken Brand Ambassador and founder of Cutler Salons.
• Parker Carr, Drybar training and education specialist.
• William Gaunitz, FWTS, certified trichologist, hair-loss expert and founder of Advanced Trichology.

Happy heavenly birthday to Layne Staley of Alice in Chains.

The Seattle rock legend would have been 59 today (Aug. 22), had he not died from a drug overdose in 2002.

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Layne Staley was born on Aug. 22, 1967, and went on to fame fronting the Seattle grunge band Alice in Chains but along with success came a drug habit that ultimately cost him his life. He was found dead from a mixture of heroin and cocaine at his home on April 5, 2002.

In an eerie coincidence, Staley’s body was found eight years to the day after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain died from a self-inflicted gunshot on April 5, 1994, after he too battled drug addiction and struggled to come to terms with his newfound fame. Cobain’s body was found at his Seattle home three days later.

Singer Staley, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr, and drummer Sean Kinney, formed Alice in Chains in early 1987. Two years later, the band was signed to Columbia Records.

Alice in Chains gained notice with the release of two EPs and their debut album, Facelift, in the early ‘90s, but the band really began to take off after a few of their songs were included in films. The track “Would?” turned up in Cameron Crowe’s 1992 film Singles, which chronicled the love lives of a group of twentysomethings using the Seattle music scene as a backdrop.  AIC also had two songs featured on the soundtrack to The Last Action Hero in 1993.

That set the stage for Jar of Flies, which became the first EP to top The Billboard 200 when it debuted at No. 1 the week of Feb. 12, 1994, knocking Mariah Carey’s Music Box from the top spot.

Alice in Chains hit the top spot again a year later with their self-titled album. Before he recorded that album with his main band, Staley experimented with the side project Mad Season, featuring Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, the Screaming Trees’ Barrett Martin and John Baker Saunders.

“Layne had pretty much creatively cleared himself with Mad Season, but that was ultimately good for this record,” Cantrell said in an interview for The Billboard Book of Number One Albums. “When you put yourself in the situation where you don’t know what the f–k you are going to do, you come up with some of your best work off the top of your head and off the cuff. Other than ‘Grind’ and ‘Over Now,’ the rest of the stuff was all just music and riffs that we pieced together in the studio.”

The strategy worked, giving Alice in Chains their second title to enter at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 the week of Nov. 25, 1995.

Sadly, the band could not continue that success, and Staley eventually succumbed to his drug addiction. However, Alice in Chains regrouped in 2006 with new frontman William Duvall and remains active to this day.

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There’s something to be said for the Mediterranean aesthetic. Featuring eclectic ornamental tiles, breezy coastal pieces, and earthy decor, this trend elevates everyday life and captures a relaxed lifestyle that oozes quiet luxury. If you’re looking for a stylish yet practical way to bring some Mediterranean-inspired charm into your home, this Vancasso Malacasa 12-Piece Dinnerware Set is definitely worth checking out at Walmart. Adorned with a colorful, ornate design, this dinnerware set can instantly transform your dining room, kitchen, or patio into a Spanish bistro. 

@lamaisonlongco

Always looking for inspo for our Mediterranean, Spanish revival style house 😍 #spanishrevival #1930shome #interiordesignideas #historichome #eclecticdecor #mediterraneanhome

♬ Mambo #5 – Peréz Prado

There’s no better time than right now to snag this dinnerware set because it’s currently on sale. Normally retailing for $69, you can now score it for just $54, which means you’re getting each piece for less than $5! This 12-piece set is available in three vibrant multicolored styles. One set has blue as its base color, another set has orange as its base, and the third set boasts various hues, 

Vancasso Malacasa 12-Piece Dinnerware Set, $54 (was $69) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

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Reminiscent of backsplash tiles found in Morocco, Mexico, and Spain, this dinnerware set features an ornate symmetrical pattern filled with geometric and floral motifs that fill the entire surface. The cohesive design will make your dining setup feel effortlessly put together, elevating every at-home meal.

“The absolutely gorgeous and vibrant design makes for a beautiful table setting!” one Walmart reviewer raved. Another shopper described the design as “elegant” and said that it’s “perfect for everyday meals and special occasions.” A third customer said this dinnerware set gives them “joy and happiness.” 

From casual alfresco lunches to fancy dinners, this set comes with everything you need for a complete meal, including four dinner plates, four salad plates, and four bowls. For size reference, the large plates have a 10.5-inch diameter, the smaller plates have an 8.5-inch diameter, and the bowls have a 6.3-inch diameter and are 2.7 inches deep. 

Vancasso Malacasa 12-Piece Dinnerware Set, $54 (was $69) at Walmart

Courtesy of Walmart

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Designed to keep your surfaces clean, the plates have a slightly curved silhouette to prevent sauces and liquids from spilling over the sides. The dinner plates are ideal for your main course. Whether you’re having steak, creamy pasta, or a juicy burger, they offer plenty of space for your food without feeling cramped. You can use the smaller plates for appetizers like salads and calamari, or for desserts like cake and pies. The bowls are a great size for soup, cereal, and ice cream, but you can also use them as a vessel for your snacks during movie nights. 

Made of stoneware, this dinnerware set is lead-free, giving you peace of mind. Shoppers commented that the dishes have a nice weight to them, making them feel expensive. These pieces are microwave- and oven-safe, allowing you to easily heat up food. Because of their non-porous and heat-resistant properties, these dishes are dishwasher-safe. Reviewers noted that they wash well in the dishwasher and don’t scratch. 

While these dishes deserve to be displayed, you can easily store them away if need be. The bowls and plates have a stackable design, minimizing the space they take up in your cabinets. 

Shop More Deals 

• Better Homes & Gardens Ceramic Lemon Candle, $8 (was $10) at Walmart
• Lovecasa 16-Piece Botanical Dinnerware Set, $60 (was $94) at Walmart
• Unbranded Olive Ceramic Plant Pot, From $32 (was $37) at Walmart

Related: Pyrex Has Been the ‘Gold Standard’ of Glass Bakeware Since 1915, and You Can Snag a 2-Piece Set for Just $12

Whether you want to make your dining table feel a bit more put together or just want to bring some practical Mediterranean-inspired charm into your home, don’t hesitate to snag the Vancasso Malacasa 12-Piece Dinnerware Set at Walmart while it’s still on sale for just $54!

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Country music may be synonymous with the American South, but new search data suggests that reputation doesn’t quite match what Americans are actually looking for online.

A new study from SeatPick analyzed Google search interest across 18 music genres in every U.S. state and found that country music (despite being America’s most-searched genre by a huge margin) comes out on top in just four states: West Virginia, Tennessee, North Dakota and South Dakota.

And Texas? Country doesn’t even make the state’s top three.

Country music doesn’t even crack the top three most-searched genres in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma or Louisiana.

Instead, pop is the No. 1 genre in Texas, as well as in 12 other states. Pop tops more states than any other genre, with Taylor Swift ranking as its most-searched artist nationally.

Country music’s strongest showing comes in West Virginia, which recorded the highest search interest for the genre, followed by Tennessee, North Dakota and South Dakota.

But country isn’t the only genre defying expectations. Metal ranks No. 1 in 11 states, including Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Idaho, New Mexico, Maine, New Hampshire, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

Montana is particularly surprising. Metal’s search interest there beats country music by 13 points.

The study also found that several states are most interested in genres with deep roots in their own musical histories. Kentucky leads the country in bluegrass searches, Louisiana tops jazz, Mississippi leads in gospel, Missouri leads in blues, Georgia leads in R&B and Maryland leads in hip hop.

Meanwhile, Hawaii is the top state for reggae searches, while Nevada leads in EDM.

Country music still dominates the nation in overall search volume, with more than 500,000 monthly U.S. searches and Morgan Wallen as its most-searched artist. But the state-by-state results suggest that America’s musical map may look very different from what many people expect.

RELATED: Bryan Adams Brings Pat Benatar Onstage for Surprise Stevie Wonder Cover

Let’s hear it for the lazy Susan: the humble household hero that has been quietly saving us from cabinet chaos and awkward reaching for generations. Sure, at its most basic, it’s a turntable. But calling a lazy Susan just a turntable is like calling a cake stand just a plate with a little confidence. A good lazy Susan is equal parts convenience and style, putting everything you need within easy spinning distance.

Tucked into a pantry, it can keep oils, spices and sauces from disappearing into the dark abyss behind the cereal boxes. (Why does this always happen in my house?) On a kitchen counter, it corrals everyday essentials while making them look properly arranged rather than randomly abandoned. And on a dining or coffee table, it can become a decorative moment all its own, displaying candles, vases or a carefully curated collection of things that make you look far more organized than you may actually be.

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Acacia Wood Scalloped Lazy Susan, $49.99 at World Market

World Market

That’s the beauty of the lazy Susan: It works hard, looks good and asks very little in return. And when it comes with a pretty scalloped edge and charming wood finish, as this lovely World Market Acacia Wood version does, well, suddenly getting organized feels cute.

It measures 16 inches in diameter and 1.75 inches high, offering plenty of room for things like condiments and sauces on a dining room table to snacks on a kitchen counter, all while bringing a little warmth to the space.

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Naturally, it does the thing a lazy Susan does best—that full 360-degree rotation which puts whatever you need at arm’s length, no cabinet excavation required. When it needs a little cleanup, just give it a quick wipe—no elaborate maintenance routine is necessary.

A pretty wood version like this one can actually pull its weight all over the house without looking like an organizational tool. On a bathroom counter, it holds skincare and perfumes, while on a vanity, it keeps jewelry and hair accessories from wandering off. Even an entryway could benefit from one as a landing spot for keys, sunglasses and all those little things that somehow end up scattered everywhere.

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Days of Our Lives star Annalynne McCord received backlash after news broke that she was “crowdfunding” her wedding to former rugby star Danny Cipriani. According to the bride, the couple even received death threats.

“People actually donated ten dollars towards the wedding so they could write on the site that Danny and I were disgusting,” McCord, 39, told The Sun on Sunday, on Saturday, August 22. “There were even death threats.”

McCord — who is scheduled to wed her British beau on Saturday in Los Angeles — launched a HoneyFund on her wedding website in which guests could contribute to their nuptials.

“Gift any amount, contribute to our journey! Help us create our dream wedding and honeymoon experience with any amount of donation,” the website reads.

Options for guests to contribute towards their marriage license, reception music, photography, catering, and wedding cake were among the items listed with specific dollar amounts.

Ahead of their nuptials, however, the 90210 alum claimed, “Everyone was asking what they could give us. I was like, I have five blenders. I have everything for my home. I’m getting married at 39. I don’t need another item. I am very blessed.”

She added that it wasn’t until a costar asked about the registry that she realized it was “an open link.”

The couple rekindled their romance in 2024 after splitting four years prior.

“On Christmas Day there were rose petals everywhere and Danny got on his knee in front of the tree. We started planning the wedding quickly after that,” she told The Sun of their engagement.

Following their Los Angeles nuptials, the pair have plans to tie the knot a second time in London, and a third in Cambodia.

Bette Midler expressed her disdain for an AI-generated song currently making waves in the industry. While the four-time Grammy Award winner largely received support from artists with similar feelings, one star pushed back.

“This song, currently on the charts, is AI generated,” Midler, 80, shared via Instagram on Friday, August 21, referring to IngaRose’s “Celebrate Me.”

She continued, “It’s a good song, created and sung by a machine that stole every lick, every riff, every thought, phrasing style, every choke in the voice, every sorrowful sound from thousands of human artists since the beginning of recorded music, with zero compensation for the artists on whom they trained the machine.”

According to Midler, “This is [cultural genocide].”

According to IngaRose’s official Instagram page — which boasts more than 400,000 followers — her songs are all “human-written” but generated using the AI platform Suno.

Pop artist Natasha Bedingfield claimed the song, which is gaining popularity on iTunes, “sounds like a lot of [Olivia Dean’s] voice.”

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“They could be curing diseases and instead we get this,” another artist wrote.

Grammy nominee and Fast and Furious star Tyrese Gibson, however, had other thoughts.

“Ai isn’t going anywhere….” he commented under Midler’s post. “Complain complain and it just makes it more popular…. This song is actually a great song. I know it’s Ai so many are so many depressed, divorced, and discouraged 🫤 this song has inspired even ME!!!!!!”

He continued, “The last song that inspired me from a real artist that was ON MESSAGE was AUDRA DAY!!! What HUMAN writer and SINGER IS gonna write a song that’s better than this?? Don’t complain…. Just step your shhhhhhhh up…. The world needs HOPE…..”

In 1971, John Prine turned memories of his family’s Kentucky roots into a song that would follow him for the rest of his career.

“Paradise” appeared on Prine’s acclaimed self-titled debut album, pairing an affectionate portrait of childhood visits to Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, with a much darker story about what coal mining had done to the landscape. Over the decades, the song became a country and folk standard, eventually earning a memorable interpretation from Johnny Cash.

“I wrote it for my father mainly so he would know I was a songwriter,” Prine told Performing Songwriter. “When I recorded the song, I brought a tape of the record home to my dad; I had to borrow a reel-to-reel machine to play it for him. When the song came on, he went into the next room and sat in the dark while it was on. I asked him why, and he said he wanted to pretend it was on the jukebox.”

For Prine, the inspiration was deeply personal.

His parents were from western Kentucky, and as a child, Prine traveled from the family’s home in Illinois to visit relatives there. “Paradise” looks back on those trips through images of the Green River and the town of Paradise before confronting the environmental destruction caused by the Peabody Coal Company and strip mining.

“The few times I’ve had access to a boat in the latter years and been able to go down the river, it surprisingly looks a lot like it did when I was a kid,” Prine told Nashville Scene in 2017. “Because when you’re on the river, everything’s grown up, the grass and the bushes, and you can’t see all the damage that’s been done. Except when you go right by where the town sat. You know, of course, the coal chutes and everything are on the river where they loaded the barges up.”

That combination of beauty and destruction gave the song unusual staying power.

Rather than simply romanticizing the past, Prine placed nostalgia alongside loss. The refrain’s longing to return to Muhlenberg County becomes more poignant as the song reveals that the Paradise of his childhood memories had been irrevocably changed.

“Paradise” soon traveled well beyond Prine’s own catalog.

Artists including John Denver, The Everly Brothers and Lynn Anderson recorded the song, helping establish it as a modern country standard. Johnny Cash later included his version on the 2002 album American IV: The Man Comes Around, bringing Prine’s story to another generation through the weathered voice of one of country music’s most revered performers. For Prine, who idolized Cash, the cover was nothing short of an honor.

“When I turned 40, I invited Johnny Cash to my party, even though I knew there was gonna be 200 people, roasting a pig and wild as can be,” Prine told Rolling Stone. “He didn’t come, but the next day, I got a bowl of chili he’d made and a note that said, ‘John, I’d love to come to your party, but that would mean I would have to leave my house.’ I still have it somewhere, probably pressed inside a Bible or something.”

“Paradise” also took on special significance in Kentucky. In 2020, following Prine’s death, members of his family honored his wishes by scattering some of his ashes in the Green River near the former site of Paradise, a poignant connection between the songwriter and the place he had immortalized decades earlier.

Fifty-five years after “Paradise” first appeared, its portrait of home, memory and irreversible change remains strikingly relevant. What began with John Prine looking back at childhood trips to Kentucky became a song embraced by generations of performers, including Johnny Cash and one of the defining compositions of Prine’s extraordinary career.

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