Author: J.P. Knowles

Mount Doane in Yellowstone National Park was renamed First Peoples Mountain by the National Park Service last week.

The modification was made on Thursday to remove the “offensive name” from America’s first national park, according to the government.

The decision was upheld by the United States Board on Geographic Names, which voted 15-0 to uphold it.

The Wyoming peak rises 10,551 feet above Yellowstone Lake to the east.

Previously, the mountain was named after explorer Gustavus Doane.

Doane was born in Illinois in 1840 and grew up in California, where he attended the University of the Pacific in Santa Clara before joining the “California Hundred,” a federal volunteer regiment that was eventually absorbed by the Second Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry.

The name was submitted to the Board on Geographic Names in June 2022, based on the Rocky Mountain Tribal Council’s suggestions.

Over the previous few months, Yellowstone National Park has reached out to all 27 affiliated Tribes and has heard no objections or reservations about the move.

In the next days, The Domestic Names Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) will reflect the name change.

The park added that other changes could be made to “derogatory or inappropriate names in the future.”

An Australian woman who had been in a coma for five months after a freak accident woke to discover her fiancé had abandoned her.

Brie Duval, 25, was living in Alberta Canada in August of 2020 when she fell from the top of a 33ft retaining wall near a rooftop bar and landed head-first on the concrete below.

She suffered two separate brain bleeds, a broken back, ribs and teeth, and was placed on life support in an induced coma, unable to breathe on her own.

Doctors gave Duval only a 10 percent chance of survival. But she did survive only to find her fiancé of four years gone.

Telling her story on TikTok as HotComaGirl113, Brie said she suffered from post-traumatic amnesia, and was unable to remember things such as her address or passcode when she awoke from the coma five months later.

In the three months that followed, it all started to come back to her… including the fact that she was engaged. But her fiance was not there. In fact, she learned that he had never come to visit her at all.

“There has been zero contact,” she said. “I have been blocked on every single platform including his phone.”

Not only did he ghost her, but he had already moved in with another woman.

“The only contact I did get was from his new girlfriend,” Brie said. “She sent me a message saying she was insecure and made him block me on everything. Go figure I was still in the hospital.”

“I am still so incredibly hurt by his actions,” she added. “I have no reason or closure as to why he did what he did. I just feel so hurt, I cannot explain the depth of the pain he has caused me.”

Brie’s accident occurred during the height of the Covid pandemic, meaning her family was denied permission to fly from Australia. She has since returned home to her family in Perth, where she said her physical recovery is going well.

“I am taking time off of work to be in Australia to recover with my loved ones. Recovery will take some time but I am hoping to return to work next year.”

Meanwhile, the former bar manager has been telling her story on TikTok as HotComaGirl113 — named after Rebel Wilson’s similarly-fated character in the film “Senior Year”

In one of her first posts, she pokes fun at Rebel’s immaculate appearance upon emerging from a 20-year-coma to her own.

“I looked like this,” she smiled, comparing shots of their awakenings. “I did not have my hair or make-up done. I barely think my hair was brushed, it was matted when I woke up. I also had an adult diaper on tubes down my throat.”

A 45-year-old man is seeking a divorce from his wife of 16 years after a paternity test showed that he is not the biological father of any of his three daughters.

The man surnamed Chen from Jiangxi Province in eastern China became suspicious of his wife, surnamed Yu, last year. While Chen was working in another city to support his family, the couple spoke regularly until she began to avoid him, claiming that she wanted to work away from home.

On March 1, Chen tracked Yu to a hotel in eastern China where he saw her checking out with another man. He forgave her, but later decided to do a paternity test and discovered that none of the three girls he had been raising were his biological children.

“None of them is my own child,” Chen said.

After the revelation, Yu claimed that she had not cheated on her husband and that biological paternity is not important. She also said that her husband should not be seeking a divorce.

“Couples who are sterile adopt kids all the time,” Yu said. “Please try to empathize with me. The three children called him ‘dad’ for many years, but now he says the daughters are not his own. What is the difference between him and an animal?”

Chen’s lawyer said he should be granted a divorce if he believes that her actions “severely harmed their relationship.”

“When he applies for a divorce, not only would the law encourage him to ask his wife to reimburse support payments and other expenses he paid for the three children, but he could also seek damages for psychological suffering,” his lawyer added.

Starbucks plans to rescind its bathroom policy that allows non-customers access to the facilities due to “safety” concerns.

Chief Executive Howard Schultz said Thursday while speaking at The Time’s DealBook D.C. policy forum that the company may rescind its open bathroom policy, citing a growing mental health problem. Schultz said it was an “issue of just safety.”

“We have to harden our stores and provide safety for our people,” Schultz said. “I don’t know if we can keep our bathrooms open.”

Starbucks began allowing non-customers to use their restrooms after the arrests of two black men inside a Philadelphia store in 2018. A Starbucks employee alerted authorities to the two men, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson after they were denied use of the store’s bathroom and asked to leave. The men were meeting Andrew Yaffe, a white man, for business purposes, according to reports. Video footage of the arrests, shows Yaffe asking why police had been called.

“What did they get called for?” Yaffe asked. “Because there are two black guys sitting here meeting me?”

The company released a statement following the incident that “any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes, and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase.”

“We don’t want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are ‘less than,’” Schultz said in 2018. “We want you to be ‘more than.’”

A study found that implementing the policy reduced the number of customer visits. Researchers from the University of Texas and Boston College found visits to Starbucks dropped 6.8% compared to rivals.

Starbucks said the study was “inaccurate” and that “business has never been better.”

“The findings of this company-backed study are not only inaccurate but do not take into account the habits and purchasing behaviors of our more than 100 million weekly customers,” a Starbucks spokesperson said.

Bradley Cooper opened up about his struggles with addiction and how it affected his career, and why he decided to get sober.

During an appearance on the “Smartless” podcast, Cooper, 47, recalled finding himself in a place where he had a “problem” with drugs and alcohol. “I was so lost and I was addicted to cocaine — that was the other thing. I severed my Achilles tendon right after I got fired-slash-quit Alias and struggled with zero self-esteem,” he told co-hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes.

Cooper said his view of his career trajectory played into his personal challenges. Cooper played Will Tippin alongside Jennifer Garner in Alias from 2001 to 2003 before being demoted to guest star status.

“I did have the benefit of that happening when I was 29. I thought I made it when I got a Wendy’s commercial. In terms of the ‘made it’ thing, that’s when I made it. But I definitely did not feel, moving to Los Angeles for Alias feeling like I was back in high school,” he detailed. “I could not get into any clubs, no girls wanted to look at me. I was totally depressed. It wasn’t really until The Hangover. I was 36 when I did The Hangover, so I got to go through all those things before fame even played into my existence on a daily level. So all that happened before any of that.”

Cohost Arnett, 52, made the observation that Cooper’s appearance in 2009’s The Hangover helped him get to a “metamorphosis” in his life. “Having those realizations and having that change allowed you to — that’s what opened you up and allowed you to be you,” he said.

Cooper credited his friend for being “the reason” he decided to deal with his addiction. “I definitely made major breakthroughs at 29 to 33, 34, where at least I was able to stand in front of somebody and breathe and listen and talk,” he added, describing the transition as the “path of deciding to change my life.”

Arnett recalled noticing a “difference” once Cooper got sober. “It has been awesome seeing you in this place and seeing you comfortable. Nothing has made me happier,” Arnett said. “It’s made me happy to see you so happy with who you are.”

Cooper had previously discussed ending up in a spiral because of his addiction. “If I continued it, I was really going to sabotage my whole life,” the actor told GQ in 2013. “I think work was getting f–ked up. The one thing that I’ve learned in life is the best thing I can do is embrace who I am and then do that to the fullest extent, and then, whatever happens, happens. The more steps I do to not do that, the farther I am away from fulfilling any potential I would have.

The A Star Is Born actor also explained how his view on life changed once he got sober.

“I was doing these movies, and I got to meet Sandra Bullock and meet these people and work with them,” he added at the time. “And I’m sober, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m actually myself. And I don’t have to put on this air to be somebody else, and this person still wants to work with me? Oh, what the f–k is that about?’ I was rediscovering myself in this workplace, and it was wonderful.”

President Joe Biden lost his cool and started shouting at the audience Tuesday over accusations about his “reckless spending” at the 29th AFL-CIO Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Biden attempted to negate Republicans’ claims that he is a “big spender” contributing to a growing deficit. He insisted the administration is goint to cut the deficit by another $1.6 trillion in one year.

“We have spent a lot of money, let’s compare the facts,” Biden said. “Under my predecessor, the deficit exploded, rising every single year and all the benefits going to the top one percent, basically. Under my plan, last year we cut the deficit $350 billion doing all this … When they come to you and talk about big spenders, let them know there is almost $2 trillion in deficit reduction.”

“I don’t want to hear any more of these lies about reckless spending. We’re changing people’s lives!” he shouted. “And because of the facts this year, we’re delivering the biggest drop in the deficit in the history of the United States of America.”

The president credited his administration for the drop in deficit spending when it has actually been significantly reduced by the end of emergency pandemic spending, according to FactCheck.org. After Biden took office, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the deficit to drop by $874 billion in 2021.

But when Biden passed the American Rescue Plan, the deficit was expected to drop by $124 billion. According to the CBO, the legislation will raise the national debt by $3.8 trillion by 2031.

The president also signed the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law on Nov. 15, which the CBO estimated would add $256 billion to the nation’s debt over 10 years. Biden’s Build Back Better was shot down, the legislation was meant to provide a $273 billion tax credit for daycare and early childhood education, a “social safety net” provision that would add a child tax credit and expand Obamacare. The CBO estimated the legislation would add $367 billion to the national deficit.

During Tuesday’s speech, Biden stressed the importance and hard work of union members and acknowledged that inflation is “sapping the strength of a lot of families” only days after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.6% in May, the highest in four decades.

Biden accused Republicans of shutting down his plans to lower costs for American families.

“The problem is Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to stop my plans to bring down costs on ordinary families. That’s why my plan is not finished and why the results aren’t finished either,” he said.

Shaquille O’Neil just slammed a basketball fan for trying to discredit his success with the Lakers … telling the guy to “enjoy my stats and STF up.”

It all started after the Legion Hoops Twitter account posted Diesel’s insane stat lines from the NBA Finals during the Lakers’ 3-peat from 2000-2002 … which was meant to praise the big man’s dominance.

But one user just had to get a jab in.. tweeting out, “Even with all of this Shaq doesn’t win those rings without Kobe.”

The dig got Shaq’s attention … and made him so angry that he clapped back with a scorching response.

“No person can win without another star big dummy,” he said over the weekend. “How many would Magic (Johnson) have without Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar)? How many would Kenny Smith have without Hakeem Olajuwon?”

“WTF u talking about I hate dumb ass people,” O’Neil added. “Enjoy my stats and stf up.”

The heckler has not responded to O’Neil directly but has had to defend his stance with those backing O’Neal up.

He’ll likely think twice before tweeting about the Big Fella again.

A Los Angeles gym owner was caught on video making racist remarks about a vendor in his business, but he says the comments are out of context.

Akop “Jack” Torosian, the owner of No Limit Super Gym in Los Angeles and Miami, had a grand re-opening at his Hollywood location last weekend after some remodeling. Torosian got heated when he found out someone was selling juice in the gym without his permission.

He’s heard on the video grumbling about a “Mexican” selling their product at his gym, telling someone to “get him the f*** out of here,” and “this is not a Mexican hangout.”

Torosian, who regularly posts videos of himself smoking, and lifting, while getting a haircut — has since apologized, but maintained the video was out of context.

The gym owner blames his staff, saying they took advantage of him while he was away in Miami. He claims his employees opened a juice bar and brought outside vendors to help without his approval.

The company’s Yelp page has been flooded with 1-star reviews ever since the clip went viral, with many calling him a racist — one reviewer said, “Trash of a gym owner; Trash of a gym.”

Tyler Perry said that being friends with both Will Smith and Chris Rock following the infamous Oscars slap has been “difficult.”

Perry described what was taking place when the photograph of him talking to Smith was taken immediately following the incident during the Oscars ceremony on March 27.

Rock was presenting the Oscar for the best documentary feature when Smith slapped him.

“There’s a difference between comforting and deescalating, that’s No. 1. And I left early to get to Chris to make sure he was okay,” Perry said. “Being friends with both of them has been very difficult.”

“Trust me, as painful as it was for all of us in the room, it was as painful for Chris, who was a pure champion for the way he handled it,” he added. “But I want you to understand that something happened that was extremely painful for [Will] as well. That is no excuse. He was completely wrong for what he did. But something triggered him — that is so out of everything he is.”

Perry said Smith was “devastated” immediately following the slap.

“And I’ll tell you, when we walked over to him, he was devastated. He couldn’t believe what happened. He couldn’t believe he did it,” the filmmaker/actor recalled of Smith’s demeanor. “I’m looking at this man in his eyes going, ‘What are you doing? This is your night.’ And to get all the way to this moment, winning an Oscar, that was one of the crowning moments of his career that he wanted so desperately, and to have something like that happen….”

“I think he is very much in reflection of trying to figure out what happened,” Perry added. “Because what I’ll tell you is I just read his book, and there’s this moment about not being able to protect his mother [as a child]. I know that feeling — I’m getting chills just thinking about it. I know that feeling of being a man and thinking about the little boy. And if that trauma is not dealt with right away, as you get older it will show up in the most inappropriate, most horrible time. I know Will. I know him well.”

Rock had made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head while presenting an award. The actress suffers from alopecia and has been outspoken about her condition.

Smith went on to win the award for best actor later that night but has since been banned from attending any events by the Academy.

He apologized to Rock via Instagram following the physical altercation.

Pinkett Smith has called for Smith and Rock to “reconcile.”

“Now about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile,” she said during a recent episode of “Red Table Talk.”

However, a source told “Entertainment Tonight” that Rock is “not concerned with the Smiths at the moment.”

“He’s touring, and he’s preparing for a comedy special,” the source added.

Pop singer Justin Bieber shared that he has been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

The 28-year-old singer shared an Instagram video Friday showing his fans the right side of his face is paralized due to the varicella-zoster virus.

“For those who are frustrated by my cancellations of the next shows, I’m just physically, obviously, not capable of doing them,” he said. “This is pretty serious as you can see. I wish this wasn’t the case, but obviously, my body is telling me that I’ve got to slow down.”

“I hope you guys understand,” Bieber added. “I’ll just be using this time to rest and relax and get back to 100% so that I can do what I was born to do.”

Ramsay Hunt syndrome, also known as herpes zoster oticus, occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near a person’s ear, according to Mayo Clinic.

The same virus that causes chickenpox causes Ramsay Hunt syndrome and can lead to facial paralysis and hearing loss in the affected ear.

After chickenpox, the virus lives in a person’s nerves, potentially reactivating years later.

Anyone who has had chickenpox can get Ramsay Hunt syndrome, although it is more common in adults over 60.

Symptoms of Ramsay Hunt syndrome include a painful red rash with fluid-filled blisters on, in, or around one ear and facial weakness or paralysis on the same side as the affected ear.

Patients may also experience ear pain, hearing loss, tinnitus, difficulty closing one eye, vertigo, dry mouth and eyes, and a change or loss of taste.