The News

 Two years after claiming she would never get married again, Kaley Cuoco is engaged to her partner, Tom Pelphrey. 

"Amazing weekend," the former "Big Bang Theory" actress wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a photo of her and Pelphry — with the ring on full display. 

The duo, who confirmed their relationship in 2022, welcomed their first child together, a baby girl named Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey, in April 2023. 

However, before becoming a mom, Cuoco — who has been married two times before — previously said that a third marriage was not in the cards for her. 

"I will never get married again," the actor told Glamour in 2022. "Absolutely not. You can literally put that on the cover." 

"I would love to have a long-lasting relationship or a partnership," she added. "I believe in love because I've had incredible relationships. I know that they're out there. I like being someone's partner and having that companionship." 

Cuoco was married to Karl Cook for three years before getting a divorce in September 2021. At the time of the split, Cuoco and Cook released a joint statement, saying "despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions."

The two are parents to 1-year-old daughter, Matilda. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Before that, Cuoco was married to tennis player Ryan Sweeting from 2013 to 2016.

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 A highly contagious respiratory virus that causes “slapped cheek” disease is making a comeback, especially among young children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

 Public advocates fear that a possible tsunami of identity theft is coming after a hacking group was able to steal the personal records of nearly three billion people.

The theft happened in April, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It says the hacking group known as USDoD stole the records from National Public Data, which offers personal information to employers, private investigators and others who do background checks.

USDoD reportedly tried to sell the data for $3.5 million but has now posted most of it for free on an online exchange for stolen personal data. It claims to have 2.9 billion records containing personal data from people in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Several news sites have examined portions of the data and reported that they appear to be real people’s information. National Public Data has not responded to numerous media requests for comment.

According to the website Bleeping Computer, “Each record consists of the following information – a person’s name, mailing addresses, and Social Security number, with some records including additional information, like other names associated with the person. None of this data is encrypted.

Experts say the most effective action you can take right now is to freeze your credit files at the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. That will prevent others from signing up for credit cards or opening other financial accounts in your name.

But if you want to apply for something that requires a credit check, you will need to lift the freeze.

One big warning: don’t respond to an unsolicited email that claims to be from one of the credit bureaus. Experts say it’s probably a scammer claiming to “save” you from the other scammers.

There are also fee-based services that monitor your accounts and monitor the dark web.

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 The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the increasing spread of mpox in Africa is a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders.

The announcement by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came after a meeting of the U.N. health agency’s emergency committee. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared mpox a public health emergency on the continent on Tuesday.

WHO said there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in Africa this year, which already exceed last year’s figures.

So far, more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in a single country — Congo. Scientists are concerned by the spread of a new version of the disease there that might be more easily transmitted among people.

Here’s a look at what we know about mpox, and what might be done to contain it:

What is mpox?

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys. Until recently, most human cases were seen in people in central and West Africa who had close contact with infected animals.

In 2022, the virus was confirmed to spread via sex for the first time and triggered outbreaks in more than 70 countries across the world that had not previously reported mpox.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.

What’s happening in Africa that’s causing all this concern?

The number of cases has jumped dramatically. Last week, the Africa CDC reported that mpox has now been detected in at least 13 African countries. Compared with the same period last year, the agency said cases are up 160% and deaths have increased by 19%.

Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in a Congolese mining town that can kill up to 10% of people and may spread more easily.

Unlike in previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet, the new form of mpox causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals. That makes it harder to spot, meaning people might also sicken others without knowing they’re infected.

WHO said mpox was recently identified for the first time in four East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. All of those outbreaks were linked to the epidemic in Congo. Tedros said there was concern for the further spread of the disease within Africa and beyond.

In the Ivory Coast and South Africa, health authorities have reported outbreaks of a different and less dangerous version of mpox that spread worldwide in 2022.

What does an emergency declaration mean?

WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. But the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.

Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the agency’s declaration of a public health emergency was meant “to mobilize our institutions, our collective will and our resources to act swiftly and decisively.” He appealed to Africa’s international partners for help, saying that the escalating caseload in Africa had largely been ignored.

It’s clear that current control strategies aren’t working and there is a clear need for more resources,” said Michael Marks, a professor of medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “If a (global emergency declaration) is the mechanism to unlock these things, then it is warranted,” he said.

What’s different about the current outbreak in Africa compared to the 2022 epidemic?

During the global outbreak of mpox in 2022, gay and bisexual men made up the vast majority of cases and the virus was mostly spread through close contact, including sex.

Although some similar patterns have been seen in Africa, children under 15 now account for more than 70% of the mpox cases and 85% of deaths in Congo.

Ahead of its emergency meeting, Tedros said officials were dealing with several mpox outbreaks in various countries with “different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.”

Greg Ramm, Save the Children’s Congo director, said the organization was particularly worried about the spread of mpox in the crowded camps for refugees in the east, noting there were 345,000 children “crammed into tents in unsanitary conditions.” He said the country’s health system was already “collapsing” under the strain of malnutrition, measles and cholera.

Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious diseases expert at Emory University, said it was unclear why children were so disproportionately hit by mpox in Congo. She said it might be because kids are more susceptible to the virus or that social factors, like overcrowding and exposure to parents who caught the disease, might explain it.

How might mpox be stopped?

The 2022 outbreak of mpox in dozens of countries was largely shut down with the use of vaccines and treatments in rich countries, in addition to convincing people to avoid risky behaviour. But barely any vaccines or treatments have been available in Africa.

Marks, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said that immunization would likely help — including inoculating people against smallpox, a related virus.

“We need a large supply of vaccine so that we can vaccinate populations most at risk,” he said, adding that would mean sex workers, children and adults living in outbreak regions.

Congo has said it’s in talks with donors about possible vaccine donations and has gotten some financial aid from Britain and the U.S.

WHO had already released $1.45 million from its emergency fund to support the response to mpox in Africa, but said it needs an initial $15 million to fund that response.

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 Gena Rowlands, the award-winning actress known for her acclaimed roles in "A Woman Under the Influence," "Gloria," and "The Notebook," has died at 94.

Rowlands' son, film director Nick Cassavetes, revealed in June 2024 that his mother had been living with Alzheimer's disease for five years.

A four-time Emmy winner and two-time Golden Globe winner, as well as the recipient of an Honorary Academy Award, Rowlands' career in theater, film and television spanned nearly seven decades. She was perhaps best known for her film collaborations with her husband, the late actor and director John Cassavetes, and was twice nominated for an Academy Award for her starring roles in his films "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Gloria."

Born in Cambria, Wisconsin, on June 19, 1930, Virginia Cathryn Rowlands studied drama in New York City and began her career with repertory theater companies. She made her Broadway debut in "The Seven Year Itch" in 1953 and toured with the production. She also starred opposite Edward G. Robinson in Oscar-winning "Network" screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's stage adaptation of his film "Middle of the Night."

Rowlands met John Cassavetes when they were both students at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts and they were married in 1954, only a few months after they met. She spent the next six years working steadily in television, including opposite Cassavetes in the detective series "Johnny Staccato," in which he starred, as well as appearing in hit series including "Bonanza," "The Virginian," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "77 Sunset Strip," and "Peyton Place."

Gena Rowlands made her film debut in 1958 in "The High Cost of Living." Five years and five films later, she starred in her first movie directed by John Cassavetes: 1963's "A Child Is Waiting," opposite Judy Garland and Burt Lancaster. The couple continued their collaboration with nine subsequent films over the next ten years, including the Oscar-nominated, influential 1968 drama "Faces."

One of Rowlands' most acclaimed roles was in the 1974 drama "A Woman Under the Influence," which Cassavetes both wrote and directed as a showcase for her, and mortgaged their home to finance it when no studio would touch it. The film, about the mental and emotional unraveling of a middle-aged, blue-collar housewife, earned Rowlands a best actress Golden Globe win and Academy Award nomination. She received a second best actress Oscar nod for her 1980 title role in the crime thriller "Gloria," also written and directed by Cassavetes, playing a woman who goes on the run with the young son of a mob bookkeeper to protect him, and an incriminating ledger of mob accounts.

The last film Rowlands and Cassavetes made together was the critically-acclaimed but little-seen 1984 drama "Love Streams," in which Cassavetes also co-starred. It was also his penultimate film before he died of alcoholism-related illness in 1989.

Outside of her work with Cassavetes, Rowlands won praise for her role in Woody Allen's 1988 drama "Another Woman," and for playing former first lady Betty Ford in the 1987 TV movie "The Betty Ford Story," the latter of which won Rowlands a Golden Globe and Emmy award.

Rowlands worked steadily in both film and television throughout the 1990s and 2000s, including roles in the Sandra Bullock romantic drama "Hope Floats," and the 1998 all-star comedy-drama "Playing by Heart," opposite Sean Connery. She also appeared on television in the groundbreaking 1985 TV movie drama "An Early Frost," one of the first films to confront the stigma attached to AIDS, and won an Emmy for her role in the 2002 TV movie drama "Hysterical Blindness," opposite Uma Thurman.

Arguably Rowland's best-known, and most beloved, later big-screen role was in the 2004 romantic drama "The Notebook," directed by her son, Nick Cassavetes. Rowlands portrayed the elderly version of the character played by Rachel McAdams, opposite James Garner's role as her husband, played as a younger man by Ryan Gosling. Through reviews were mixed, the film was a box office smash, earning over $118 million globally, more than four times its production budget, and introducing Rowlands to a new, far younger generation of fans.

Nick Cassavetes directed his mother in three other films – "Unhook the Stars," "She's So Lovely" and "Yellow" – while Rowlands' daughter, Zoe, directed her in 2007's "Broken English." Later in her career, Rowlands also made guest appearances in hit TV shows including "Numb3rs," "Monk" and "NCIS."

Rowlands' last credited acting role was in the 2014 comedy-drama "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks," one year before she was presented with an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her long career in film.

"You know what's wonderful about being an actress," Rowlands said in her Academy Award acceptance speech, "is that you don't just live one life – yours – you live many lives."

In addition to her Academy Award, Rowlands was nominated twice for an Oscar, for "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Gloria." She also was nominated for eight Golden Globe Awards, winning two, and won three Primetime Emmy Awards out of eight nominations, as well as a Daytime Emmy and many other critics' awards.

Rowlands was married once, to John Cassavetes. She is survived by their three children: director Nick Cassavetes, and daughters Alexandra and Zoe, both of whom are actor/directors.

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