Month: January 2025

Lowri Gallagher and Shane Stevenson weren’t initially concerned when they noticed a slight difference between Kooper’s two eyes when he looked in a certain direction.

However, the pair became worried when they noticed little Kooper’s left eye gave a white glint whenever lights were turned off.

While it’s always best to visit a healthcare professional, Lowri and Shane took to Google for answers, where they discovered their son may have retinoblastoma.

“Retinoblastoma is often linked to a change in a gene that controls the growth of the eye,” the website adds, while stating the cancer can run in families.

Lowri and Shane took photos of their 20-month-old son’s eye with their phone’s flash on. They were left horrified by a white glow found in every picture.

After the pictures were taken, Kooper was rushed to the doctor’s and referred to Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital, UK, on December 13.

The little lad was ultimately diagnosed with unilateral retinoblastoma, with doctors ultimately telling Kooper’s parents the toddler is blind in his left eye.

“I didn’t think anything of it, I didn’t realise the seriousness of it,” Lowri said. “Shane didn’t believe me at first but a couple of days later we took the pictures, which made it stand out more.

The parent added: “The week before we found out what it was the worst week. I didn’t know what it was, how fatal it would be, if it had spread, I was wondering if he was going to lose his eye.

“At least then we knew what it was and what the plan was, it was a bit of a relief because the speculation was over.

“I just felt numb, I didn’t know how to feel.”

Kooper is currently undergoing intra arterial chemotherapy, with the hope he will be able to keep his eye with ongoing treatment.

The one-year-old will also have to get chemotherapy injections and laser therapy – something which will take at least two years.

“I would have noticed his eye looks different from the other but I probably wouldn’t have gone to the GP urgently, I probably would have waited until he got worse,” Lowri added.

“I probably wouldn’t have been immediately alarmed until it got worse.”

The couple are now advising other parents to check their children’s eyes for potential issues.

The daughter of former YouTuber and convicted child abuser Ruby Franke has spoken out after her mom was sentenced to four consecutive sentences of up to 15 years in prison.

Shari Franke, the eldest daughter of Franke, has spoken out about her experiences in a new memoir titled The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom.

Franke made a name for herself as a content creator on YouTube as she shared insights into her life in Utah with her six children.

Launched in 2015, her channel, ‘8 Passengers’, offered parenting advice to viewers and showed how she dealt with home-schooling, cooking, and generally sharing time with her kids.

However, some of her approaches proved controversial to viewers, including one moment in which she told her sons they would ‘lose the privilege to eat dinner’ if they carried on play-fighting.

What did Ruby Franke do?

In August 2023, Franke was arrested along with her mentor, Jodi Hildebrandt, after her 12-year-old son escaped through the window of Hildebrandt’s home and ran to a neighbor’s house, begging for food and water with duct tape still on his ankles.

The arrest record found the boy was suffering from malnourishment, as well as ‘deep lacerations from being tied up with rope’.

In 2023, both Franke and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse against two of Ruby Franke’s children, though that did not include Shari. They both received four consecutive sentences of one to 15 years in prison.

What has Shari Franke said about her mom Ruby?

Shari spoke to Good Morning America host Eva Pilgrim about her experience living with her mom, though she’s noted in her book that she was cut off from the family when she left for college.

Shari claimed she was subject to abuse from her mother throughout her childhood, telling Pilgrim: “When I was younger, around, like, five, six, Ruby was really physical. Whether it was like a slap to the lip or – a slap to the cheek…when I would practice the piano, her hand would slam and it was really scary.”

In the wake of Franke’s guilty plea, Shari expressed belief her mom was ‘as sorry as she can be’.

“What she has done is so bad that I don’t think her mind allows her to kind of fully comprehend the guilt of all that. And so I think that she probably genuinely believed everything she said. I don’t believe it though,” she said.

When asked if there was anything she’d want to say to her mom directly, Shari said: “Probably tell her ‘I’m happy without you’. I was scared of her for so long, and I am here without her approval, and I am just fine.”

What has Shari Franke said about Jodi Hildebrandt?

Shari described Hildebrandt in her book as a Mormon family counselor, and recalled how the nature of the alleged abuse she faced shifted from physical to more psychological after Hildebrandt entered their lives.

According to the daughter, Hildebrandt moved into the Franke home in 2022, and before long, the children’s father, Kevin Franke, moved out.

Shari claimed her mom was ‘secretive’ about the relationship with Hildebrandt, saying: “I certainly got weird vibes from Jodi and Ruby. I don’t think it’s normal at all that a therapist would move in to your client’s home … I was moving out to college, I hadn’t even left the house yet, and she is in my room and in my bed.”

When Pilgrim asked if she thought Franke and Hildebrandt were more than friends, Shari said: “I’m not sure.”

What have authorities said about the Ruby Franke case?

Shari claimed she reached out for help with the abuse she allegedly received from her mom, but did not receive it.

In a statement to ABC News, the Utah Division of Child and Family Services said: “The Utah Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) works with children and families during some of their most vulnerable moments. DCFS respects that each child and family has a right to privacy and remains firm in our commitment to that privacy for the children and families of Utah.

“DCFS affirms law enforcement reports of our involvement in the Franke case. However, in order to protect the integrity of the necessary working relationships with those we serve, and to respect the privacy of children and families, DCFS will continue its practice and refrain from sharing specific information on a case, past or present. Utah law requires any person with reason to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or dependency to report it to DCFS or a local law enforcement agency. The 24/7 abuse and neglect hotline is 855-323-3237.”

The woman in question attended an Aventura gig in Dominican Republic when she took to the stage herself.

The concert was on December 28, and in footage taken on the night, the woman can be seen getting up close and personal with singer Romeo Santos.

In viral videos shared online, the woman stood close to Santos and repeatedly kissed him on the face.

The married woman went on to sit beside Santos on the box he was on and rested her hand on his leg as the band sang ‘La Guerra’.

The intimate moment was documented by other concert-goers and shared on social media. Ultimately the woman’s husband saw the clips and wasn’t terribly pleased.

Apparently the couple have been married for a decade, but the husband has now filed for divorce in the wake of her very public PDA with Santos, NME reports.

The Aventura fan went on to admit that she ‘got carried away by nerves and emotion, without considering how this could affect my family’, Consequence of Sound reports.

The end of her marriage has left her ‘overcome with deep sadness’, but she said that she understands her husband’s decision.

On the lighter side of things, the woman said she was somewhat ‘happy’ for achieving a dream of hers.

“For me, it’s not just about admiring the artist, but also about valuing the great human being that he is,” she said of her fondness of Santos.

“I have followed and admired him for a long time,” the music fan added.

A similar ordeal happened to Keke Palmer in 2023 after she was publicly called out by her then-boyfriend, Darius Jackson, for the outfit she wore to an Usher concert.

In a video doing the rounds online at the time, the actress had a little dance with the ‘Burn’ hitmaker as he serenaded her.

At the time, Palmer was wearing a sheer black dress.

“It’s the outfit tho… you a mom,” Jackson tweeted at the time.

The celebrity pair called time on their relationship a few months later.

13-year-old Esra Haynes died after participating in ‘chroming’ while at a friend’s sleepover back in 2023.

Her parents have since called for a change on social media, where they believe her daughter heard of the trend.

The trend involves inhaling potentially harmful chemicals from a deodorant can for a quick high.

The 13-year-old student from Lilydale High School in Melbourne went into cardiac arrest while over at her friend’s sleepover. When she was rushed to hospital, her parents were told she suffered irreparable brain damage.

The incident happened back in March 2023, and her parents Paul and Andrea Haynes spoke to A Current Affair about what they want to see the deodorant industry and social media platforms do to remedy the issue.

“For me it’s a pistol sitting on the shelf,” Paul said.

“We need the manufacturers to step up and really change the formulation or the propellants.”

He also argued that social media must be more closely monitored, as be believes that is where Esra found out about the trend.

More importantly than that, they want to share the consequences of chroming with families and kids.

Paul said: “Kids don’t look beyond the next day, they really don’t. And especially not knowing how it can affect them.

“Esra would never have done this if she would have known the consequences.”

His wife added: “But the ripple effect is that this is absolutely devastating.

“We’ve got no child to bring home or anything.”

Paul concluded: “We need to talk about it.

“Her name meant helper so that’s what we’re here to do.”

Speaking on the moment they were made aware that her daughter’s health was in danger, Andrea said: “It was just the regular routine of going to hang out with her mates.”

Paul added: “We always knew where she was and we knew who she was with.

“It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

“To get this phone call at that time of night, [it] was one of the calls no parent ever wants to have to receive and we unfortunately got that call: ‘Come and get your daughter’.

“We’ve got the pictures in our mind which will never be erased, you know, of what we were confronted with.”

When they arrived, paramedics were trying to save Esra’s life, telling Andrea that she’d been taking part in the dangerous trend, in which people look for a quick high by inhaling chemicals from aerosol deodorant cans.

It’s particularly popular among teenagers, who are likely unaware of the real and immediate danger it presents.

In Esra’s case, she was rushed off to hospital unresponsive, where she was placed on life support.

Eight days later, with her brain ‘damaged beyond repair’, her parents took the heartbreaking decision to turn off the machines.

Paul continued: “They’re asking us to bring family, friends to say goodbye to our 13-year-old daughter.

“It was a very, very difficult thing to do to such a young soul.”

It was devastating for the family, including Esra’s older siblings Imogen, Seth, and Charlie, who ‘cuddled her until the end’.

This latest incident is sadly not the first to occur from something like this.

In 2019, a 16-year-old boy died in New South Wales from aerosol inhalation.

Then, in 2021, a Queensland girl suffered brain damage from chroming.

Some supermarkets have even been forced to lock up deodorant cans because of increased theft and concerns about what they are being used for.

Schools and regional education departments are also trying to teach kids about the dangers of chroming, as well as medical experts.

The rapper and producer, whose real name is Austin Richard Post, has multiple hit records and albums under his belt at the young age of 29, and has accumulated even more awards to his name to prove it.

Post could easily come across cocky and arrogant, but his fans say the opposite is true – as one user on Reddit revealed the star left a whopping $3,000 tip on top of his $3,475.50 bill in November 2023.

Now, it appears the F-1 Trillion hitmaker is up to his generous tricks again, having reportedly left a life-changing sum of money in a tip to another service worker on Christmas Eve.

The employee, Renee Brown, is a single mother who has been making ends meet by working at the dive bar, The Railyard, in Houston, Texas.

The 36-year-old was working on December 24 into the early morning of Christmas Day and was struggling with leaving her nine-year-old daughter, Iliana, for the special day.

She wrote on her Instagram page: “Going into work Christmas Eve I was so sad I had to leave baby girl to go to work. Oblivious that God would send me a Christmas miracle.”

That miracle happened to be the bearded and tatted up Post and his pals who gifted her with a present of a lifetime.

Renee continued: “This is hands down the most humble, personable celebrity I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

“He changed my life on Christmas f**king Eve, and will forever be grateful. Thank you so much, Austin.”

Speaking exclusively to Music Mayhem, the mom said she was in the midst of a busy shift and thought her coworker was ‘kidding’ when he told her Post was in the building.

Eventually, she spied him sat on the patio and told customers ‘not to be weird and bug him’ in a bid to give him ‘a sense of normalcy’.

Post’s party then enjoyed drinking and playing music on the jukebox until closing time on December 25.

When it was time to pay, Post had no check as regulars in the bar and his buddies had covered the bill.

Renee said the star insisted he was charged for something to give her a tip, and so she gave him a $1 receipt.

“I continued my close and collected all my checks and started to enter my tips”, she continued, “Then I got to his. It was a tip for $20,000.”

When she saw the amount, she said: “I immediately broke down crying. It was a very emotional night already being away from home, being swamped behind the bar, trying to process that they were even there and then the tip on top.”

Renee managed to thank Post Malone personally and snap a pic, adding to the news outlet: “I know I was crying and thanking him, but he has no ideas exactly how much this meant to me.”

The struggling mom revealed she had endured a tough time, working two jobs, homeschooling her daughter and had been without a car for two years, rendering her ‘constantly exhausted’.

The bartender said the tip means she can now afford her bills and hopes to launch her own business.

“Things have been extremely difficult, and this was truly a blessing that I can’t fully put into words”, she added. “The visit alone was absolutely amazing and something I could talk about and remember for the rest of my life.”

A 12-year-old boy, whose name has not been released, suffered serious burns after three other boys allegedly poured scolding hot water on his face while he was asleep.

The boys, aged between 12 to 15, claimed it was a prank that went wrong. They’re now facing charges in relation to the ordeal that’s lead to their friend needing surgery.

“I mean, I really can’t describe it now. In that moment I was just mad, hurt, in shock. Everything, I was seeing red. I was just trying to hurry up and get him some help,” she told WALB 10.

The concerned mom went on: “He was transported to the burn center in Augusta. He had to have surgery. Of course, he is out of surgery and is recovering at home, now. But it is going to take him 12-14 days to heal.”

The burns center is around 200 miles from the family’s home.

Because of the extensive travel between their home and the Augusta-based burns unit, apparently the boy’s parents have been left without work.

The boy’s aunt went on to say that her nephew ‘is gonna have to get counseling to be able to trust people again’.

It’s thought that the three boys were taken into custody and later released. They’re now awaiting their hearing, which is expected to take place next month.

UNILAD has approached Tifton Police Department for comment.

Sadly, it’s not unheard of for people’s supposed pranks to go wrong.

Back in December 2021, 22-year-old Conner Groom died after an incident in Essex, UK.

After drinking with friends, the group were ‘messing around’ at a driving range and kept pushing one another onto the safety nets.

Groom went on to catch his foot in the netting and suffered a traumatic spinal injury.

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Consultant Cardiologist, has spoken out as a report from the BHF revealed that one in five adults under the age of 40 have an undiagnosed condition that could cause problems if untreated.

That condition is hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure, and it’s a major precursor to heart disease.

Unexplained fatigue

It’s easy to pass tiredness off as a minor issue, especially at this time of year when it gets darker earlier, but tiredness could also be a result of something more concerning.

If you find yourself feeling constantly tired throughout the day, even if you had a good night’s sleep the night before, it may be an indicator that your heart is struggling to pump blood around your body as effectively as it should be.

Shortness of breath

It’s not uncommon for people to get a bit out of breath after climbing too many stairs or running for the bus, but if you notice that even simple activities are leaving you out of breath, it could be an indicator of an underlying heart issue.

According to the BHF, heart conditions such as angina, heart attacks, heart failure and some abnormal heart rhythms can all cause shortness of breath, either because your heart isn’t pumping enough oxygen-containing blood around the body, or because a struggling heart can cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs.

Indigestion or heartburn

We’re not talking about a one-off after shoveling down too many buffalo wings here, but rather continual discomfort. Heartburn or indigestion can be linked to gastrointestinal issues, but pain in the upper abdomen may also be a warning sign of heart trouble.

The NHS reports that chest pain can happen if your coronary arteries become partly blocked, causing a feeling similar to indigestion. If your arteries become partly or completely blocked, it can cause a heart attack.

Jaw or back pain

While these areas aren’t typically associated with the heart, pain in the jaw or back could be a sign of restricted blood flow. The BHF also notes that if you’re having a heart attack, pain can spread to other parts of your body including your arm, jaw, neck or back.

Irregular heartbeat

If you notice your heart racing or seemingly skipping beats even when you’re not exerting yourself, it could be a sign of something more sinister and a reason to seek medical attention.

The BHF notes that if you notice your heart going very fast and jumping around erratically, you should see your GP. If you also experience blackouts, you should call for an ambulance.

Why you shouldn’t ignore these symptoms

All of the symptoms listed could pave way for more serious illnesses, including heart attacks, strokes, or chronic heart failure.

Dr Babu-Narayan warned that ‘many young adults believe they’re invincible’, adding: “But without intervention, these silent issues can snowball into life-threatening emergencies.”

To help take care of your heart, it’s recommended that you have regular routine screenings at the doctor; incorporate whole grains, lean proteins and vegetables into your diet; aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week; try to keep stress levels under control, and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

It’s no secret that processed fast food isn’t exactly good for our health – or our waistlines – as the 2004 film, Super Size Me, documented when Morgan Spurlock consumed nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days.

The movie shows the then 32-year-old’s mental health and physical health plummeted, while his cholesterol, mood swings, and weight all rocketed. By the end of his experiment, he had gained 24.5lbs.

However, one social media influencer is on a mission to eat McDonald’s every day for 100 days. Why? To prove ‘I will not gain weight’, so he says.

Zach Zona says he’s a ‘fast food eater’ on his TikTok page, where he consumes meals at record speeds to his 48,000 followers on the daily.

The speed eater started his fast food challenge with a cheeseburger and a large soda on November 28.

‘Tastes like skinny to me’, he remarked at the end of the 15-second clip.

While Zach hasn’t explained how he’s going to keep the pounds off in the task, his followers have been sceptical and concerned about how it will affect his health.

While one user urged him not to do the challenge, writing ‘bro you’re gonna die’, another chimed: “If you’re only eating this then you will not get fat because you aren’t over consuming calories but you will [not] get the correct nutrients you need daily from this meal.”

However, Zach wrote back: “Oh I’m eating a lot baby.”

While it’s unclear if Zach is eating McDonald’s once per day or for every meal, his videos show him chomping down on cheese burgers, McChicken burgers, Big Macs, chicken nuggets, bagels, wraps, hash browns, and, occasionally, fries, often with several in one sitting, while washing it all down with large sodas or bottles of water.

He has also been taking on smaller speed challenges, like eating a quarter pounder in 15 seconds, six hamburgers in a minute, or four McDoubles in 60 seconds without a drink.

On day 18, Zach held a ‘Super Size Me weigh in’, where he revealed he lost four pounds since starting the challenge, though he admitted on day 26 he gained a pound back, which he put down to ‘gym progress, not the McDonald’s’.

Still, his fans stressed even if he didn’t gain weight, the challenge could still be detrimental to his health.

“My dude, it’s not your abs I’m worried about it’s your visceral fat around your organs”, one comment read.

Another wrote: “You might not gain weight if you work out like a monster but let’s see your blood test results after day 100.”

On day 10, the TikTok star revealed someone had warned him that he is ‘going to die before day 20’, to which he responded: “Well, we’re halfway there. Ten percent done with the mission, so if I make it to day 20, we’ll see if I make it to day 30.”

Clearly, the comments haven’t deterred him, as Zach has now clocked in for 41 days on the bounce.

Spurlock, who ate nothing but McDonald’s between February 1 to March 2, 2003, was said to consume around 5,000 calories per day, the equivalent of 9.26 Big Macs.

The documentary maker tragically died at the age of 53 last May to cancer.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommend between 2,200 and 3,000 calories per day for men and 1,600 to 2,400 for women, though this varies due to factors like weight, age and activity level.

Jennifer Coolidge has been a recognizable face from Hollywood since the 90s, with plenty of memorable performances, and yet it seems I didn’t know her at all.

Now admittedly, most fans don’t tend to often rub shoulders with the celebrities they are fond of but this really does come as a shock.

One of the most memorable aspects of each role from Coolidge has been her seductive, yet airy and breathless voice. I mean, you could close your eyes right now, hear a line from any of her shows or movies and recognize her without any doubts.

It truly is a sad day.

While attending the Golden Globes, she had a brief conversation with comedian Matthew Friend, who tried to show off his impression of her.

And admittedly, Friend’s impression is pretty good and on the money.

However, the star replied, in a perfectly unexaggerated voice, ‘It is very good. Yeah, you’re right up there with Ariana’s.’

For context, back in October last year, Ariana Grande and Chloe Fineman took a few jabs at Coolidge with a very sultry and exaggerated depiction of the actress for a Saturday Night Live skit.

As you can imagine, after hearing Coolidge speak in a normal voice, people on social media began losing their minds.

One person commented: “WHAT. I thought her real voice was the one he was mocking, my life is a lie.

Another simply wrote: “I feel bamboozled, hoodwinked, lead astray.”

A third commented: “Wtf I’ve never heard her real voice till now. Somehow I just want her to have the other voice lol.”

Another wrote: “Right? American Pie franchise, Legally Blonde franchise, and the Two Broke Girls series and she kept the same voice. Literally did not know it wasn’t her voice.”

With another adding: “The fact that we all just love her so much and accepted that voice and never once thought, this has to be a bit, this sounds annoying, she can’t sound like that al the time lol. Like she can literally do no wrong, absolute iconic legend.”

While it’s a big shock to many of us, some of her more dedicated fans have highlighted that she has used her real voice plenty of times in the past. Even still… I still feel hoodwinked.

While it can certainly be easy to forget, it’s extremely important to cut your toenails for general foot health.

But how is the correct way to cut your toe nails?

Those who suffer from ingrown toenails will know how painful it really is, but you may be suffering from them because of the way you cut your toenails.

A video uploaded by Creative Learning, documents how you should cut your nails, and it made clear you should cut your toenail straight.

The clip went on to explain how you shouldn’t cut your toenails too short and also avoid ’rounding the edges’.

A similar video has been uploaded to the ‘Interesting As F***’ Twitter account, with many shocked at how you really should be cutting your toe nails.

“Can confirm the first method causes ingrown toenails and they huuuurt,” one person said.

A second added: ” Cut toenails straight across to prevent ingrown nails. Don’t cut too short, and file sharp edges. Trim after a shower for softer nails. Simple care, fewer problems.”

While a third remarked: “I have definitely been cutting my toenails wrong my whole life lmao.”

Healthline has also done a handy guide on how best to cut your toe nails, and it all begins with the nail clippers.

The website explained: “You should have two nail clippers — one for your fingers and one for your toes. Since your toenails are broader and thicker, they require a larger clipper. Also, by having separate clippers, you reduce the chance of transferring bacteria or fungus between your feet and hands.”

You also need to clean your clippers throughly between each use for obvious hygiene purposes.

Healthline went on to say you should probably cut your toe nails every six-eight weeks, though someone who is more active may have to do it more often.

And speaking of the actual cut itself, the site read: “The fifth step is the actual cut. To avoid painful ingrown toenails, cut your toenails straight across. For many people, this is easiest to do in two cuts — the first one with the clippers slightly off the side of the nail to create a straight edge; the second to remove the rest of the nail following the line of the straight cut.”

You’ll want to finish that off with a bit of nail filling to remove those ‘jagged edges’.