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Kerry Washington subs for Jimmy Kimmel and immediately changes the lives of two fellow actors

All within the beginning monologue, no less.

kerry washington jimmy kimmel, jimmy kimmel

You get insurance! And you get insurance!

Actress Kerry Washington recently filled in as host on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," and within just seconds of delivering the show’s opening monologue, changed the lives of two fellow actors.

“Acting is one of those jobs that seems very glamorous,” the “Scandal” star began. “Sometimes it is, but in reality it can also be very tough.”

She went on to share part of her own acting journey. “When I first started out I had to supplement my income by being a substitute teacher, yoga instructor, a hostess at a restaurant…so it meant a lot to me the first time that I qualified for that sweet Screen Actor’s Guild health insurance.”

The Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) is the primary labor union for professional actors. Its main function is to establish fair payment contracts and provide benefits (like health insurance) to TV and movie performers—as well as radio personalities, voiceover artists, dancers and stunt performers … almost anyone who works in the front-facing side of the entertainment industry.


In August 2020, SAG raised its premiums and eligibility for health insurance. The change went into effect during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many productions had shut down filming. With stricter eligibility requirements and less opportunities to work, many actors—at least 10% of SAG’s 33,000 members, according to The Hollywood Reporter—lost their former health plan.

Losing health insurance is never a good thing. But losing it during a global pandemic is devastating. That’s what makes Washington’s act of kindness such a huge deal.

Calling two “very deserving and talented individuals” to the stage, Washington explained that the two (seemingly randomly picked) actors only needed to say one line, any line at all, and they would get to keep their coverage.

Daniel William Jordan, who went the extra mile by dressing up like a mailman, was a little over $400 short of qualifying for insurance. Madeline McCuskey, on the other hand, only needed $40. As SAG's normal day rate for one episode of television is a little over $1,000, both actors would become eligible for saying literally anything on the show.

People in the YouTube comments section were floored to find out that coverage could be lost so easily

“It's insane that someone can be $40 short of being able to qualify for healthcare,” one person noted.

Another actor added, “I’ve been in that position myself, falling $95 short of coverage last quarter. Kudos to the show and these actors!”

Both Jordan and McCuskey were showered with colorful confetti, and exited the stage knowing they’d have one less thing to worry about.

You can watch the full video below.


Teacher starts period in front of class, turns into a lesson

Teachers are almost always teaching even when it's not in their lesson plan.

Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would've liked.

Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.

That's when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.

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Marc Martel sings with the audience in Santiago, Chile, in May of 2022.

Freddie Mercury was known for many things—his dramatic showmanship, his larger-than-life personality, and his untimely death during the peak of the AIDS epidemic—but he is most remembered for his clear, powerful voice, ranging from rich bass notes to impressive soprano coloratura.

It's hard to do Freddie's voice justice, but Marc Martel has managed to wow millions with his impersonations of the Queen lead singer. If you close your eyes and listen, there are seconds when you might swear you were hearing Freddie himself singing again.

Martel's cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been viewed 56 million times on YouTube. And another of his videos showcases Martel's ability to captivate an audience with his—or Freddie's—voice.

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Family

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

This sparked an important conversation about family responsibility.

via Pixabay

A middle-aged woman holding a baby.

A story that recently went viral on Reddit’s AITA forum asks an important question: What is a parent’s role in taking care of their grandchildren? The story is even further complicated because the woman at the center of the controversy is a stepparent.

The woman, 38, met her husband Sam, 47, ten years ago, when his daughter, Leah, 25, was 15. Five years ago, the couple got married after Leah had moved out to go to college.

Leah’s mom passed away when she was 10.

Last year, Leah became pregnant, and she wanted to keep the baby, but her boyfriend didn’t. After the disagreement, the boyfriend broke up with her. This forced Leah to move back home because she couldn’t afford to be a single parent and live alone on a teacher’s salary.

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Mario Mirante criticizes a mom he saw at the park.

TikTokker Mario Mirante is going viral for his video that brings up two significant issues: smartphone addiction and whether people without children have the right to criticize parents.

It all started when Mirante saw a young boy playing alone in the park.

“The kid is just playing quietly, not being annoying. I don’t hear a peep from him; he's just doing his thing on the playground,” Mirante said in a video that has nearly 6000,000 views. “The mom the entire time is on her phone, staring right down at her screen. Doesn’t look up one time.”

The boy climbed up to the top of the slide and called down to his mother, who didn’t even look up from her phone. “I hear, ‘Hey mom, watch. Watch, Mom,’” Mirante recalled. “And at the top of her lungs, shrieking like a Velociraptor, this mother screams, ‘One second!”

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Identity

Watch this 104-yr-old woman break the world tandem skydiving record

Dorothy Hoffner tried skydiving for the first time on her 100th birthday and loved it.

Dorothy Hoffner is pure #agingoals.

If you're looking for some aging inspiration, look no further, because Dorothy Hoffner is about to blow your mind.

At 104, Hoffner just became the oldest person to parachute out of an airplane in a tandem skydive. That's right, skydive. At 104 years old—or to be exact, 104 years and 289 days old—beating the previous world record set by a 103-year-old in Sweden in May of 2022.

But it's actually even more impressive than that. It's not like Hoffner is someone who's been skydiving since she was young and just happened to keep on doing it as she got older. She actually didn't go on her first skydiving adventure until her 100th birthday.

On Oct 1, 2023, she joined the team at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois, for the world-breaking tandem skydive. Though she uses a walker to get around, she manages the physical toll of plummeting through the air at 10,000+ feet before parachuting to a skidding stop strapped to a certified U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) tandem instructor with impressive ease.

“Let’s go, let’s go, Geronimo!” Hoffner said after she boarded the plane, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Watch her do what many of us would be too terrified to attempt:

The way she rolls right out of that plane cool as a cucumber! Hoffner told the Tribune that on her first skydive, at age 100, she had to be pushed out of the plane. But this time, knowing what she was in for, she took charge with calm confidence.

“Skydiving is a wonderful experience, and it’s nothing to be afraid of," Hoffner shares. "Just do it!”

That's some seriously sage advice from someone who knows firsthand that age really is just a number. Learn more about skydiving with Skydive Chicago here.

Education

Unearthed BBC interview features two Victorian-era women discussing being teens in the 1800s

Frances 'Effy' Jones, one of the first women to be trained to use a typewriter and to take up cycling as a hobby, recalls life as a young working woman in London.

Two Victorian women discuss being teens in the 1800s.

There remains some mystery around what life was like in the 1800s, especially for teens. Most people alive today were not around in the Victorian era when the technologies now deemed old-fashioned were a novelty. In this rediscovered 1970s clip from the BBC, two elderly women reminisce about what it was like being teenagers during a time when the horse and buggy was still the fastest way to get around.

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