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A former chess world champion has had a complaint filed against him by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) amid a twisting saga of cheating allegations and death. Russian Vladimir Kramnik, 50, is accused of levelling unproven claims of unfair play against a host of players. Among them is late California grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky, who died last month at the age of 29 under unspecified circumstances. At the center of FIDE’s claims is “the insulting of an individual’s dignity.” The case was referred to its Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, citing a “pattern of conduct over roughly two years.” The Associated Press reports how, in a livestream shortly before his death, Naroditsky had spoken of the pain Kramnik’s accusations had caused. “Ever since the Kramnik stuff, I feel like if I start doing well, people assume the worst of intentions,” he said. “The issue is just the lingering effect of it.” Kramnik was a world chess champion from 2000 to 2007. The Daily Beast has contacted Kramnik, who previously stated, “I have not bullied Daniel Naroditsky, nor ever made personal insults towards him.” Children in Texas are becoming infected with whooping cough at an alarmingly high rate, coinciding with a noticeable decline in childhood vaccinations across the Lone Star State. A health alert issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services revealed that more than 3,500 cases of the contagion, also known as pertussis, had been recorded so far this year. That is roughly four times the number recorded at the same time last year. Around 85 percent of those infected are children, the department revealed, pointing to a decline in vaccination levels as a reason for the surge. “We’re seeing more pertussis cases now than we have in over a decade, and it’s not just numbers on a chart,” said Janeana White of the Texas Medical Association. “It’s real kids, real families, and preventable loss.” CDC data shows 92.1 percent of kindergarteners were vaccinated against whooping cough in the past year, compared to 95 percent before the pandemic. A similar spike was noticed in Florida earlier this year, as cases of whooping cough also began to surge following a downtick in vaccination rates. Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. If you’re looking for a way to level up cuffing season this fall, consider your search over. Womanizer’s new Next Duo is here to heat things up—whether you’re flying solo or spending the season with your S.O. The dual stimulator features the brand’s next-gen 3D Pleasure Air technology combined with deep G-spot vibrations, all engineered to deliver blended orgasms (that’s clitoral and vaginal stimulation happening at the same time). “Blended orgasms are unique because they activate different nerve pathways simultaneously,” explains Elisabeth Neumann, Sexologist and Head of User Research at Womanizer. “The outer clitoris and the vagina send signals through partly separate pleasure routes to the brain. This parallel activation leads to overlapping but distinct patterns of arousal. Many people describe the resulting sensations as deeper, longer-lasting, and more full-body than those from single-point stimulation.” Womanizer Next Duo Dual Stimulator Womanizer is calling the Next Duo its most innovative product yet—and testers agree. In trials, 97 percent of participants said they were more likely to reach a blended orgasm with the Next Duo than with any other toy. Even better, 91 percent reported feeling happier, more relaxed, and less stressed afterward. Considering that some studies show orgasms release endorphins and lower cortisol, think of this as your new go-to for pleasure and stress relief. After all, fall and winter are the perfect time to invest in your sexual wellness routine—and the Next Duo might just become the highlight of cuffing season. A long-serving White House usher has shared a ghastly ghost story involving Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Gary Walters, who served a string of presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush as first a member of the Secret Service detail and then a White House usher, is releasing a book called White House Memories next month. In an interview with Politico, Walters discussed the iconic Lincoln Bedroom, a second-floor room given that name in 1945 after President Harry S. Truman directed that Lincoln-era furnishings be assembled there. When asked if the Lincoln Bedroom was haunted, Walters insisted many staff “swore up and down” that it was. “I had one young man who had been there for many years, and he was asked one evening by the curator’s office to retrieve a piece of furniture,” Walters said. “When he went into the room, he thought he heard something, and as he walked in the door, he said the rocking chair in the corner was moving. He swears that President Abraham Lincoln was there.” Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. The room had another unexpected presence earlier this year when Elon Musk revealed Donald Trump had let him sleep in the prestigious bedroom “more than once.” The historic room has also fallen victim to Trump’s goldfinger renovations this year, with the president overhauling the adjoining bathroom to his liking. Walters was appointed chief usher, in charge of household staff and operations, by Ronald Reagan in 1986 and served in that role for 21 years before retiring in 2007. Idris Elba is set to reprise his role as a brooding detective in the hit Netflix feature Luther. The Golden Globe-winning actor, 53, first starred as the titular character John Luther in a five-season show that aired as a BBC series in 2010. Over a decade later, he returned as Luther, this time on the big screen for Netflix’s two-hour-long Luther: The Fallen Sun. The new movie will follow Luther as he navigates a fresh wave of brutal murders in London, all while trying to evade attempts on his life, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will be directed by Jamie Payne and written by Neil Cross, the creator of the original show. “Neil has yet again created a wonderfully dark tale to bring us all back together,” Payne said in a statement. “It’s a true joy to be back on the streets of Lutherland with the supreme talents that are Idris Elba and Dermot Crowley. I am also thrilled to be reunited with the brilliant and dangerous Alice Morgan played by the extraordinarily talented Ruth Wilson.” Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Between work, maintaining a social life, and trying to get enough sleep, finding time to exercise can be a challenge. Naturally, when you finally do have time, you want every minute to count. Rowing engages 86 percent of your muscles, making it one of the most efficient full-body workouts—ideal for busy lifestyles or when you just want to get your workout over with. Unless you happen to live near a lake, a rowing machine is your best bet, and now’s the perfect time to invest. Right now, Hydrow is running a pre–Black Friday sale where you can save $500 on the Hydrow Origin Rower and $150 on the Hydrow Wave Rower for a limited time. 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Sabrina Carpenter will star in an untitled new musical inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Universal Pictures will release the musical, with Carpenter serving as both lead and producer. The 26-year-old’s first major studio feature was announced shortly after her album Man’s Best Friend earned six Grammy nominations. Although Carpenter is most recently known for her music career, she also has acting experience, including her breakthrough role on Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World and later appearances in films such as The Hate U Give and Tall Girl. According to sources, Carpenter approached Universal with the idea for the upcoming project in 2024, and it evolved when Lorene Scafaria, who worked on HBO’s Succession, came on as writer and director. In 2020, Netflix acquired the original feature pitch ALICE, which was also set to star Carpenter and have her produce under her At Last Productions banner, but the project fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last Alice in Wonderland film, Alice Through the Looking Glass, was released in 2016 as a sequel to the Tim Burton–directed Alice in Wonderland, which grossed $1 billion worldwide. Both films starred Mia Wasikowska as Alice. The Golden Girls is returning to fans’ screens with a 40-year anniversary special on ABC. The Golden Girls: 40 Years of Laughter and Friendship will celebrate the legacy of the iconic sitcom and air on Tuesday evening. The original show aired on NBC from 1985 to 1992. The hour-long special will feature behind-the-scenes clips, cast interviews, and reactions from celebrity fans. Susan Harris, the show’s writer and producer, revealed in the special how she broke barriers by centering the sitcom around the lives of older women, played by Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty. The special highlights how the series explored topics such as aging, friendship, and female empowerment; all while keeping the audience laughing with its quick-witted writing. The series’ seven seasons are now available on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+, and have been streamed over 1 billion hours globally. The special is set to air on Hulu and Disney+ the day after the premiere. Reports reveal that Wendy Williams, 61, does not have the condition that has led to her controversial guardianship. According to TMZ, a neurologist concluded that Williams does not have frontotemporal dementia, the condition she was first diagnosed with in 2023, which led to the former talk show host being placed into a conservatorship. Phoning in to speak on Good Day New York in March, Williams said she completed tests with independent doctors and “passed with flying colors.” Earlier this year, she also filed a $250 million lawsuit alongside her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, who said Williams’ guardianship “has become a weapon, not a shield.” In August, People obtained documents stating that Williams underwent a “significant number of tests” and that her guardianship would be upheld after the attorney for her guardian, Sabrina Morrisey, reportedly requested a three-month extension of the court-ordered arrangement. However, People noted that frontotemporal dementia was not mentioned in the papers. Williams was initially placed under financial guardianship in May 2022 after her bank, Wells Fargo, told a New York court that she was an “incapacitated person.” Her later diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, which causes changes in behavior, personality, language, and movement, has kept her under the conservatorship ever since. Michael Ray Richardson, a former Knicks player, has died at the age of 70 from prostate cancer. Richardson, nicknamed “Sugar,” was the fourth pick in the 1978 NBA Draft. He earned two All-Star bids and twice earned First Team All-Defense honors while playing four seasons with the team. The Knicks traded Richardson for Bernard King, sending him to the Warriors. He played just 33 games with the Warriors before they traded him to the Nets for Sleepy Floyd and Mickey Johnson. In 1986, he violated the league’s drug policy three times. He was ultimately banned from the NBA for life for drug violations, making him the first NBA player to face those consequences. He wrote a book, “Banned: How I Squandered an All-Star NBA Career Before Finding My Redemption,” where he admits that he had a cocaine addiction. “I will never forget that day,” Richardson said as he reflected on the day he was banned. “I got myself into it. I have to get myself out.” He transitioned to playing in the National Basketball League of Canada and Continental Basketball Association (CBA). Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission. Sure, wrinkles, texture, and loss of elasticity are all normal and beautiful parts of the human experience. Still, some of us may prefer to delay those natural signs of aging with skincare and cosmetic treatments. 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It also contains a multi-weight hyaluronic acid to plump fine lines and lock in moisture so the skin doesn’t appear crepey or dehydrated—especially under the eyes. This peptide-powered serum sold out four times last year thanks to its fast-acting and super-effective formula, so if you want to find out what the hype is about, we recommend acting fast. President Donald Trump thinks no one knows what a magnet is. The polarizing president was in conversation with Fox News about the economy when he veered off track to discuss China and magnetic trains. “President Xi was willing to do the railroad things—that’s magnets,” he said. “Now, nobody knows what a magnet is. If you don’t have a magnet, you don’t have a car. You don’t make a computer, you don’t make, er, televisions and radios and all the other things—you don’t make anything. It’s a 30-year effort to monopolize a very important thing. Now, in two years, we’ll have magnets, all the magnets we want. Because of tariffs, listen I called, I said you’re going to play the magnet, we’re going to play the tariff on you.” His confusion over magnetism is well documented, and the record suggests he was being sincere when he said, “Nobody knows” what they are. During his diplomatic tour of Asia, Trump,79, stood in front of servicepeople of the U.S. Navy and said, “You know, the new thing is magnets. So instead of using hydraulic that can be hit by lightning, and it’s fine. You take a little glass of water, you drop it on magnets. I don’t know what’s going to happen.” An AI-generated song has reached No.1 on the Billboard charts in a first for the music industry. The top-selling song this week on Billboard’s “Country Digital Sales” chart is “Walk My Walk,” an artificially-generated country track by an “artist” named Breaking Rust. First surfacing on Instagram in mid-October, Breaking Rust’s music featured AI-generated clips of lonesome cowboys on the dusty road, and quickly accrued millions of streams on Spotify. The composer of the track is credited only as Aubierre Rivaldo Taylor, who also runs a separate AI music project called “Defbeastai,” which produces raunchy country music. Clips of the song posted to the artist’s Instagram are often labelled “Asking AI to make a hit country song.” The phenomenon comes months after an AI-generated rock band called “The Velvet Sundown” made headlines after one of their songs racked up millions of plays on streaming platforms.
