As Broadway stars, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster must remember that their once-not-so-secret love affair could lead on to great theater behind the scenes – perhaps punctuated by some bittersweet Stephen Sondheim-style ballads and stirring dance numbers Michael Bennett.

As Foster herself said, she and Jackman developed an in depth bond and reportedly much more so once they were married to other people and starred in a Broadway revival of “The Music Man” from late 2021 to early 2023. Foster, 49, explained in a 2022 interview that she and Jackman, 56, enjoyed private pre-performance meetings in her dressing room and sat on the carpet “catching up on our day.”

“We call it carpet chat,” Foster said.

But it has now been officially confirmed that those locker room conversations were about rather more than simply skilled ties. As a people magazine On Tuesday, the world was told that the previous “Music Man” co-stars were photographed the night before walking the streets of Santa Monica holding hands, laughing and staring into one another's eyes.

The Cut said the photos were of the brand new couple “High-gloss paparazzi debut” After keeping their romance an “open secret” in Broadway circles for several years – and maybe an actual secret to Jackman's longtime wife Deborah-lee Furness. In the photos, the couple seem like either unaware that they’re being photographed, or that they know and don't care.

In the autumn, New York tabloids and other media outlets began reporting that Jackman and Foster had begun a relationship through the run of The Music Man. In the classic musical revival, Jackman played con artist Harold Hill, who falls in love with Foster's librarian Marian Paroo.

The affair reports began when Tony Award-winning Foster filed for divorce from screenwriter Ted Griffin in October after 10 years of marriage – “amid rumors” that she was now dating Jackman.

The 12 months before, Jackman and Furness announced they were separating after 27 years of marriage, however the two spoke of their split as a mutual decision to “pursue our individual growth.”

However, following the flood of reports about Jackman's backstage romance with Foster, sources near Furness confirmed to entertainment media that the affair was “the reason for Hugh and Deb's divorce,” Us Weekly reported in November.

“A lot of people on Broadway knew, and we kept it a secret because they're both such nice and great people,” the source continued to Us Weekly. “Everyone respected their privacy. But there was an affair and overlap.”

Furness also appeared to verify to herself that her husband's secret romance with Foster led to their divorce, Us Weekly reported. At one point, gossip blogger Tasha Lustig spilled “big tea” about Furness being “blindsided” by her husband's romance together with his co-star.

In an Instagram video, Lustig said the “Wolverine” star “blindsided” Furness, who had given him “her entire life and career,” by “eloping with the mistress.” On her personal account, Furness was among the many greater than 26,000 who viewed and “liked” Lustig's post, Us Weekly reported.

Additionally, Furness' close friend, British media personality Amanda de Cadenet, also commented on Lustig's claim, Us Weekly reported. “You’re right.”

Lustig also reported that Jackman and Foster planned to publicly “soft launch” their relationship.

It looks like this “soft launch” took place in the brand new 12 months. Ahead of Monday night's sighting, People reported that Jackman was spotted within the audience at a recent performance of Foster's “Once Upon a Mattress” on the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. He had the privilege of sitting next to comedy legend Carol Burnett, who originated Foster's role within the 1959 production of the show.

The Los Angeles production of Once Upon a Mattress definitely explains why New Yorkers Jackman and Foster were in Santa Monica on Monday night. People magazine reported that the 2 were photographed arriving at a restaurant in Santa Monica. Jackman was dressed casually, wearing a dark jacket over a gray shirt and white jeans, while Foster wore a brown trench coat over an olive dress.

People magazine won't reveal which restaurant they ate at. But in the case of a selected Italian restaurant in Santa Monica that's often known as a celeb hotspot, it's easy to assume that this “glossy paparazzi debut” might need been well thought out by Jackman, Foster and their publicists.

The California ground squirrel appears to be innocent. A well-known sight for hikers: the stocky rodent can often be seen happily chewing grass, seeds and berries.

But in keeping with a brand new study published Wednesday within the Journal of EthologyWildlife biologists have documented one ferocious trait of the creature: It is a dedicated carnivore, hunting and feeding on unlucky little voles.

Like a rodent version of the notoriously violent 1969 film “The Wild Bunch,” extensive video footage shot near Contra Costa County Briones Regional Park provides repeated evidence of the ferocity of squirrels.

Squirrels chase the voles, then catch them and beat them until they grow to be a bloody pulp. Like cats, the squirrels sometimes allow the mortally wounded animal to limp away. Then they pounce again. As the vole writhes and clings to life, it bites.

Ground squirrels are known to exist in California is not going to hand over an easy meat meal. Previous investigations found evidence of eaten voles in addition to quail eggs, insects and shellfish.

But the brand new study, conducted by scientists on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UC Davis, is the primary to record widespread predatory behavior.

“That was shocking,” said the lead writer Jennifer E Smithan associate professor of biology at UW-Eau Claire who co Sonja Wild from UC Davis leads the Long-term project on the behavioral ecology of the California ground squirrel.

“Here is this behavior unprecedented in science that sheds light on the fact that there is so much more to learn about the natural history of the world around us,” she said.

With its rolling, grassy hills and secluded, shady ravines, Briones is a paradise for ground squirrels.

According to Smith, squirrels are quite a few and diverse, and are fascinating because they’ve a bigger and way more complex social structure than other squirrel species.

The behavior of two distinct gopher populations is the main target of research by faculty and students at UC Davis, Wisconsin and other institutions.

Under the name “Team Squirrel,” the researchers track specific animals 12 months after 12 months and collect extensive data concerning the social and biological history of many individual creatures over the course of their lives.

They analyze recordings of alarm calls. They study squirrel feces to learn more about gut health. You will witness exciting clashes between rattlesnakes and squirrels.

In 2024 something unusual happened. There has been an unusual explosion in vole abundance in parts of California.

Voles are defenseless bundles of fur, small and chubby, with short round ears, a round head, and restless energy. They are engineers and dig burrows that transform soil and transport seeds. They are lively day and night and are driven by an infinite appetite and a continuing must feed their offspring. Voles can produce as much as six or seven broods per 12 months.

The researchers learned that scurrying across a meadow in broad daylight was dangerous for voles.

Through videos, photos and direct observations within the regional park, they documented ground squirrels hunting, eating and competing for vole prey between June 10 and July 30. Squirrels' carnivorous summer behavior peaked in the primary two weeks of July, coinciding with an explosion in vole numbers within the park reported by citizen scientists on iNaturalist, a free app that users have used to record hundreds of thousands of observations of untamed animals and plants.

The squirrels seemed bored with hunting other small mammals.

When I watched the video, “I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Wild said. “From then on we saw this behavior almost every day. Once we started looking, we saw it everywhere.”

The study changes our understanding of ground squirrels – suggesting that what was considered a grain-eating species is definitely an opportunistic omnivore, researchers say.

Many other species, including raccoons, coyotes and humans, are known to be flexible of their weight loss plan and behavior.

The recent study shows that the California ground squirrel can even reply to a rise in prey availability, in keeping with the study.

“The fact that California ground squirrels are behaviorally flexible and can respond to changes in food availability could help them survive in environments that are rapidly changing due to the presence of humans,” Wild said.

Other questions remain unanswered. For example, it just isn’t known whether hunting behavior is widespread, whether it’s passed from parent to pup, and the way it affects the general ecology of the natural landscape.

Researchers plan to return to Briones next summer to see what impact, if any, this 12 months's vole weight loss plan had on squirrel numbers.

By then, nonetheless, the squirrels could have grow to be another person's dinner. Hungry snakes, weasels, hawks and eagles rely on them for food.

Ground squirrels are predators. But like voles, also they are prey animals.

Long before the appearance of reality TV, the favored game show “Queen for a day“ thrilled American audiences by giving women who told heartbreaking stories about their financial difficulties the possibility to win expensive items that might help them solve their problems.

During the show's run from 1956 to 1964, each episode featured contestants describing a misfortune that had befallen them or their families, comparable to polio, rheumatic fever or hunting accidents. They asked for every thing from bunk beds to tuition for cosmetology school to enhance their lot.

Finally, an applause-o-meter appeared and was placed over each woman's face. The winner was chosen based on the amount of the audience's applause. She was crowned queen for a day and showered with dishwashers, sewing machines and sofas, while the losers – and the Millions of Americans who had their televisions turned on – were watching.

Today, something like this black and white television show runs nonstop, but on different devices. It is the Action by GoFundMethe world's largest personal crowdfunding website.

The private company says it has helped people study 30 billion US dollars in donations between 2010 and early 2024. While this sum sounds impressive, GoFundMe's success leaves a trail of failed campaigns and disenchanted users – a reality that the platform actually desires to hide.

Behind the success stories

If you GoFundMes Discover Page you will see that a cascade of misfortunes.

People from all walks of life use the platform to tell the general public in regards to the Cancer and diabetes cases, House fires And other tragedies who’re harassing them or their family members. They are asking for help paying for every thing from medical treatment to varsity textbooks.

A donation counter appears, often next to a photograph of the person looking for help, and measures how the appeal is received by website visitors. Winners go viral, exceed their goals and lift Tens of 1000’s of dollars.

Others hope the group will select them next.

We are politically Sociologists is all in favour of how people in North America use digital technologies to address the high costs of healthcare and better education. Part of our researchwe conducted 50 in-depth interviews and surveyed over 600 crowdfunding users between 2018 and 2021. We also analyzed data from nearly 2 million GoFundMe campaigns.

In “GoFailMe: The unfulfilled promise of digital crowdfunding”, our book based on this research, we explain that behind the GoFundMe winners whose stories are featured on the website’s front page, and his podcast – “True stories of good people” – there may be an extended list of losers.

In this manner, they hardly collect any money, but experience an emotional rollercoaster ride and reveal a big a part of their privacy and private data.

Digital hurdles

When these platforms emerged within the 2000s, crowdfunding corporations promised to make use of the networking opportunities of the Internet to Remove Gatekeeper And democratize fundraisingso that everybody who has an excellent cause can access the cash they need.

Far from this tech-optimistic vision, we see glaring inequalities throughout GoFundMe’s fundraising process.

First, there may be the digital divideMany low-income people simply don't seek help with crowdfunding because they don't learn about it, don't have reliable web access, or are too intimidated by the technology.

For those that manage to enter the virtual world, crowdfunding rewards users who have already got many economic benefits within the offline world. Wealthier people usually tend to to make use of online services, while poorer and fewer educated users find it tougher to market their misfortune in compelling narratives, eye-catching photos and exciting videos.

And crowdfunding works best when there may be a crowd willing and in a position to help, which often starts with family, friends and acquaintances. But if your loved ones and friends are broke, such as you, then there may be to have little helpregardless of how good your campaign is or how cleverly you market it.

GoFundMe’s invisible majority

We estimate that only about 17% of U.S. GoFundMe campaigns for healthcare and emergency expenses reach their goal. We also found that the majority of the funds raised are concentrated in a really small group of campaigns.

We saw in the information we analyzed that the highest 5% of campaigns with the best revenues accounted for about half of all of the dollars raised on GoFundMe. Because relatively wealthy users are likely to be more successful In crowdfunding, such a discrepancy will probably only exacerbate the already high level of economic inequality within the USA

Despite the Company Representations While every good cause has a spot on GoFundMe, most users simply don't get the funds they need through the platform.

However, this just isn’t what you will see that out for those who search GoFundMe.

Nothing will be sold with failures.

The multitudes of campaigns that never get off the bottom are largely obscured by a algorithmic advice system that highlights probably the most successful cases and pushes the remainder into the platform's search results. This appears to be very profitable for GoFundMe, which generates revenue through Fees and suggestions added to donations, but leaves many users feeling disenchanted and a few even get scammed.

One user we interviewed, whose campaign to assist with medical costs ultimately failed to lift a single donation, compared the experience to “screaming into that well of grief and hoping that people will see and hear you.”

When asked for comment, the corporate said our book was “full of misconceptions,” but GoFundMe didn’t provide details about what individuals who don't reach their stated fundraising goals get from the platform. “We're constantly evolving our product to ensure more organizers have greater success,” GoFundMe added.

“Queen for a Day” 2.0?

People have all the time asked for help, and each era has its own way of deciding who gets that help.

In the Fifties, media corporations experimented with recent mixtures of charity and entertainment and invented the TV game show. We agree with critics who consider “Queen for a Day” to be among the many worst exploiters of the genre of hardship for profit.

The opportunity for corporations like GoFundMe to make use of technology in recent ways to enhance people's lives has never been greater. At the identical time, the opportunities to take advantage of a crisis are growing.

To fulfill the democratic promise of crowdfunding, we imagine GoFundMe must be rather more open in regards to the success of all of its campaigns, including those who fail, and will do rather more to make the platform more accessible to the people most in danger from economic hardship.

Until these steps are taken, users should proceed with caution and remember that behind every viral success lie countless untold stories of unmet needs.