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Pop Culture

John Cena sets new world record with 650 wishes granted with the Make-A-Wish Foundation

He’s become the foundation’s most requested celebrity—and he never turns anyone down.

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"I'll drop everything."

The multitalented, mega famous John Cena might hold many titles, but this might be the coolest one yet—and it has nothing to do with wrestling.

The actor and WWE performer just broke the Guinness World Records for most wishes granted through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. As of July 19, Guinness World Records reports, Cena has granted a whopping 650 wishes. The highest amount any other celebrity granted was 200.

The 16-time world champion first became a wish-granter back in 2002. Since then, he’s become the foundation’s most requested celebrity—and he never turns anyone down.

"I just drop everything. I don't care what I'm doing," he said in a WWE produced video after granting his 500th wish. “I can't say enough how cool it is to see the kids so happy, and their families so happy, I truly want to show them that it's their day.”

Cena happily takes photos, lets kids play with his championship belt and even takes them behind the ropes occasionally. It’s clear that he sees how important it is to create a special experience and goes the extra mile.

“I try to put myself in that perspective of if I had one thing to wish for, where would I fall on that list... So for me to be the name of like, ‘I would like to hang out with this person for the day,’ that’s a pretty strong statement... It really is pretty magical when they get a really intimate experience with the individual and then they get to go see them be a superhero.”

Cena consistently uses his celebrity as a force for good. Earlier in June, when he learned that a mother in Ukraine told her 19-year-old nonverbal son with Down syndrome they were leaving the country to meet him—an attempt to protect her child from the stresses of war—Cena hopped on a flight to fulfill that fictional promise.

The pair ended up spending the entire day together near Amsterdam, “building blocks and eating cake.”

Previously, in 2020, he matched pop group BTS’ $1 million donation to help the Black Lives Matter movement. And back in 2012 he headed WWE’s Be-A-Star anti-bullying campaign.

Plus, let’s not forget about his adorable picture book series, “Elbow Grease,” which teaches kids about perseverance and believing in themselves, all with “high-octane illustrations” of the cutest little monster truck you’ll ever see.

You can find those books on Amazon, but nothing quite beats listening to Cena read his own book out loud.

It's easy to find ourselves cynical at the apparent good deeds of celebrities—viewing charitable acts as virtue signaling, a ploy for a better public image or even covering up something nefarious. But it’s even harder to believe that Cena’s compassion, as unfaltering as it is, is anything less than genuine. This is a great example of how status can be used to share blessings. For a guy whose most notorious finishing move includes hoisting a dude above his shoulders before slamming them into the mat, he still shows us what the best of humanity looks like.

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Pop Culture

Michelle Yeoh gave a perfect response to being rushed through her Golden Globes speech

Her reaction to the music cue was immediate, authoritative and hilarious.

Georges Biard/Wikimedia Commons

Michelle Yeoh has been acting in films for 40 years.

Michelle Yeoh won the award for Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2023 Golden Globes for her leading role as Evelyn Wang in the acclaimed film "Everything Everywhere All at Once." It was a moment the actress had been waiting 40 years to have, and she wasn't about to let anyone rush her through it.

Yeoh, 60, has been acting in action films in Hong Kong since the 1980s and in the U.S. since the late '90s, kicking martial arts butt alongside the likes of Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan's 007. With major roles in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Crazy Rich Asians," among other films, she's become a well-recognized face to any regular filmgoer. But until "Everything Everywhere All at Once," she had never played the lead role in a Hollywood film.

Winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy was Yeoh's moment to revel in her success after decades of uphill battles as an Asian actress in an industry filled with underrepresentation and misrepresentation. So when the music cue indicated she needed to wrap up her acceptance speech at the two-minute mark, she simply wasn't having it.

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Celebrity

'Harry Potter' alum Rupert Grint builds his Target-obsessed toddler her own mini store

'She does love Philly. She loves hoagies, she loves water ice. And I mean the big one is Target. She is obsessed with Target.'

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Rupert Grint's 2-year-old is obsessed with Target.

Who doesn't love perusing the aisles of Target? For many moms it's like a mini-vacation if you can manage to get out of the house without children. You grab a coffee and walk down every aisle touching anything that looks like it may feel soft. It's sort of like an American parent's pastime.

And when you can't sneak away without your custom-made tiny human in tow, you bring them with and by default it becomes an activity they also enjoy. Turns out Rupert Grint's 2-year-old daughter, Wednesday, took note during her time living in America and since returning to the U.K., where there is no Target, she misses it. Every American reading this just audibly gasped.

I know, I know. Take a deep breath. They don't have our weird obsession with the bullseye because it hasn't had a chance to hypnotize them … yet. But Grint's daughter, who is fairly new to being across the pond, has felt the joy of being inside that famous red and white store. She has seen the red polos and khaki pants and there's no turning back for her, so Grint, most famously known for his role as Ron Weasley in Harry Potter, built her one.

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Science

Watch a rescued beaver meticulously build an indoor 'dam' out of random household items

Sawyer's ongoing struggle with SpongeBob SquarePants' legs is a must-see.

Holley Muraco/YouTube

Sawyer checks her work once in a while as she builds her hallway dam.

The fact that beavers build dams is one of nature's coolest features. Gathering and stacking tree branches, rocks, grass and mud across a river so they can build their homes underwater is a unique instinct among the animals—and a strong one.

Apparently, it's so strong that beavers will build dams anywhere, including inside a human's house using whatever items they can find.

A video shared by Dr. Holley Muraco, director of research at the Mississippi Aquarium, shows a female beaver named Sawyer busily gathering stuffed animals, blankets, Christmas decorations, wrapping paper and more to build a dam in a hallway, and it's seriously the most delightful thing ever.

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Pop Culture

5 moments from the 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret' trailer that fans are thrilled about

The bra scene is pure nostalgia.

Lionsgate Movies/YouTube

'We must, we must, we must increase out bust!'

Since it was first published in 1970, Judy Blume’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” has been a literary rite of passage for young girls. Though written decades ago, the book has remained timeless for its authentic portrayal of that exciting, yet horrifying chapter of female adolescence and all the milestones that come with it—including, but not limited to, that first period.

At long last, fans will get the chance to see this classic play out on the big screen. Movie adaptations of books tend to be hit-or-miss, but the fact that Judy Blume herself gave her seal of approval, even going so far as to say the film is “better than the book,” seems promising.


And judging by the reactions to the trailer released Jan. 12, I’d say that folks are hella optimistic.

A few key moments left people particularly excited and nostalgic:

1. The dreaded “changing bodies” school lecture

Oh, the joys of a stern teacher talking about blood flowing from the vagina at school. Maybe sex education has evolved over the years, but the awkwardness of anatomy conversations at a young age seems to be everlasting.

2. Margaret’s prayers to God that accurately sum up preteen girl angst

Even the nonreligious can relate on some level to just not being the weird one, to please, please, please, please just this once be normal while growing up, and wondering if this discomfort will ever go away. This is an essential part of the preteen experience for many, until we realize, of course, that we are much better off just celebrating who we are. And Margaret's earnest prayers are obviously a major aspect of the book, given the title. Duh.

3. Margaret asking mom for a bra

Margaret and other girls can be seen clumsily experimenting with hairspray, curling irons and other grown-up beauty products in order to “fit in.” But the most coveted, most revered item of all, of course, is the bra.

4. Buying pads for the first time at the local drug store

The utter humiliation at finding out the clerk is a boy. Perfection.

5. And of course, the iconic line…

“We must, we must, we must increase our bust!”

That's right, diehard Blume fans. The trailer has all that and more. Watch below:

Comments to trailers can be fairly mixed. However this one received a mountain of positivity.

"I lost track of how many times I read this book while growing up in the 70s. It’s amazing that it’s taken this long for it to be made into a movie!" wrote one person.

Another added, "I'm honestly surprised that a movie version of this book doesn't already exist. But I guess it's time. LOL I'm here for it. I remember reading this in fifth grade. Such a good book for young girls to read and realize that all the weirdness they are going through is normal. It will definitely be a good film viewing for today's middle schoolers and for all the millennials, Xillennials and gen-Xers who grew up with the book."

Perhaps Margaret’s story is so universal because it was inspired by a real-life experience. On her website, Blume shared that as a sixth grader, she did all the things—like stuffing her bra, doing exercises, lying about getting her period—because she yearned to develop into adulthood the way her classmates were (relatable). Blume put her longings to paper, and the rest is history.

Rather than putting it under a modern spin, the movie takes place in the '70s, and spreads its focus across three generations between Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson), her mother (played by Rachel McAdams), and her grandmother (played by Kathy Bates).

Bates indicated that the book’s original intention would be kept intact as she told People that “I think women throughout history have been taught to feel negatively about their bodies and about the processes that their bodies go through. I think this film will help young women feel better about their bodies."

Whether for nostalgia, or for getting a sweet dose of feel-good comedy, you can see “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret” in theaters April 28.

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Science

9-year-old finds rare, prehistoric megalodon tooth the size of her hand in Maryland waters

'I'm looking for a meg!' Molly declared on her way to the bay. Then miraculously, she found one.

Photos courtesy of Alicia Sampson

Molly Sampson found a 5-inch megalodon tooth on Christmas morning.

Nine-year-old Molly Sampson has been searching for teeth in the water since before she could walk. In her young life, she's found more than 400 shark teeth, some so tiny it takes a magnifying glass to identify them, and the largest measuring an inch or two—until now.

Molly's father, Bruce, grew up on the bay in Calvert County, Maryland, and has been hunting fossils at Scientists Cliffs since he was a small child. Bruce has dreamed for decades of finding a "meg"—a large tooth from a megalodon, a massive prehistoric shark longer than a bus, which scientists estimate could have eaten a killer whale in five bites.

Sometimes our dreams end up coming true through our children—and that's just what happened when the Sampson family went fossil hunting on Christmas Day, 2022.

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Pop Culture

People are remembering Lisa Marie Presley for her incredible work fighting to save animals

Presley once famously fought to save a chimpanzee who shared her name.

YouTube/PETA/Wikipedia

Lisa Marie Presley passed away on Jan. 12 at the age of 54.

Lisa Marie Presley was widely known as a singer and songwriter, following in the footsteps of her father Elvis. But she was also a passionate animal advocate, and after the news of her death on Jan. 12, PETA joined the floods of tributes online to specifically celebrate the late icon’s contributions to animal rights. They began with the lesser known story of Lisa Marie saving a chimpanzee by the same name from a horrendous fate of abuse and exploitation.


Back in 2007, a female chimpanzee would be born, not only sharing the same birthday as Elvis (Jan. 8) but sharing the name Lisa Marie. After being torn away from her family by breeders, the young chimp was shipped off to an Elvis impersonator in Chicago, who used her in his shows.
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