Michael Loccisano/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Jahmil French, a star on Degrassi: The Next Generation, has died. He was 29.
News of the young star’s death was confirmed by his agent, Gabrielle Kachman, who said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight, “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of a dear friend and client Jahmil French.
The statement continued, “He will be remembered by many for his passion for the arts, his commitment to his craft, and his vibrant personality. I ask that you keep his family and friends in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.”
French was best known for his role as Dave Turner in the teen dramaDegrassi. He also had a recurring role in the 2019 Netflix series Soundtrack. His cause of death is currently unknown.
Several of the Canadian actor’s co-stars paid tribute, sharing sweet moments they shared with him to social media.
(NEW YORK) — Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix is lending her voice to educate people about life-threatening pregnancy complications after facing her own potentially deadly experience when she gave birth to her daughter in November 2018.
Felix, whose daughter, Camryn, was born via emergency C-section at 32 weeks, has joined “Hear Her,” a campaign launched by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year to create public awareness of the warning signs of pregnancy emergencies to try to stop the ongoing public health crisis of maternal deaths in the United States.
About 700 women die in the U.S. each year due to complications related to pregnancy. Black women are three times more likely to die from these complications than white women, according to the CDC.
In joining the “Hear Her” campaign, Felix said she plans to focus her efforts on raising awareness around the disproportionately poor pregnancy outcomes for Black women.
Just before giving birth to her own daughter in 2018, Felix, now 35, was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia, high blood pressure that typically occurs in women after the 20th week of pregnancy, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Felix’s condition was discovered during a routine prenatal visit. She was immediately admitted to the hospital and underwent an emergency C-section, after which her daughter spent a month in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“Looking back, I wish I would have been better informed about potential warning signs and talked to the doctor about those symptoms,” she said in a statement. “I really want women to have information, to know if they’re at risk, to have a plan in place, to not be intimidated in doctor’s offices, and to feel empowered to speak up when they have concerns.”
Felix — who was later part of a group of female track stars who alleged they were penalized by Nike for being pregnant — is sharing her pregnancy story through a PSA for the “Hear Her” campaign.
“The thing that we understand is Allyson Felix is an elite track athlete. She has made incredible accomplishments as an Olympian,” Dr. Wanda Barfield, a doubled board-certified pediatrician and neonatologist, and the director of the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH), the CDC division that’s in charge of “Hear Her,” told ABC News. “But people who have had this incredible experience, who are taking care of their bodies as well, can also fall vulnerable to complications of pregnancy.”
“We were really excited that [Felix] was willing to share her story and really raise awareness so that all women understand there are urgent warning signs of pregnancy-related complications,” added Barfield.
In addition to sharing warning signs women should know, the “Hear Her” campaign emphasizes communication between women and their families, friends and health care providers.
According to the CDC, the most severe complications of pregnancy affect more than 50,000 women in the U.S. every year.
General warning signs pregnant people should pay attention to include a headache that worsens over time or won’t go away, changes to vision, a temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, extreme swelling in the face and hands, dizziness or fainting and psychological symptoms like thoughts about harming yourself or your baby or feeling sad, hopeless or not good enough, according to Barfield.
“It isn’t that every person needs to know all of these in detail,” she said of the warning signs. “But they need to know that if they don’t feel something is quite right, that they should feel empowered to talk with someone, with their [healthcare] provider about it.”
A maternal death is defined as the “death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy from any cause related to the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Pregnancy-related deaths are defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within a year of the end of pregnancy from pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiologic effects of pregnancy. Some 65,000 women nearly die of pregnancy-related complications in the U.S. each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Despite having one of the world’s most advanced health care systems, the U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations and the rate has steadily risen for nearly 40 years, according to the CDC.
Last December, near the end of the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled a new plan with three key targets aimed at improving maternal health in the U.S. by 2025: Reducing maternal mortality rate by 50%, reducing low-risk cesarean deliveries by 25% and controlling blood pressure in 80% of reproductive age women.
Barfield said her mission, with the help of initiatives like the “Hear Her” campaign, is to reduce the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. to zero.
“There really is no acceptable rate of maternal mortality,” she said. “We really need to think about how we can avoid this from ever happening.”
The Big Apple has of late started reopening its theaters under strict COVID-19 rules, and on Friday, the film, which stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Kenneth Branagh, will finally screen for movie fans there.
The movie will be unspooled at several AMC locations, including its Times Square flagship, as well as the Village East by Angelika downtown, as well as the Showcase Cinemas in Jamaica, Queens.
The film, which earned more than $353 million worldwide despite the pandemic’s effects on theaters, was already available on streaming and Blu-ray/DVD — and for a limited time on HBO Max, to Nolan’s chagrin — but Deadline reports the fillmmaker was among other “industry titans” to personally advocate embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to start getting theaters opened again.
Freeform/Eric McCandless(LOS ANGELES) — (NOTE NATURE, CONTENT) Embattled comedian Chris D’Elia was hit with a new lawsuit, of which he faces additional accusations of exploiting a minor.
Deadline reports that a civil suit was filed against the comic Tuesday in California federal court, where an unnamed victim claims he solicited nude photos of her when she was 17 and also accused him of child sexual exploitation.
The victim claims she was exploited by the then 34-year-old D’Elia was aware of her age when he invited her to attend one of his shows in Connecticut. She states that, before he went on stage, he asked her age and engaged her in sexual activities with her.
Connecticut law states the age of consent is 16.
The victim states that, after their encounter, “he constructed a manipulative, controlling, and abusive dynamic.” She claims he demanded she send him inappropriate photos with her clothes off and, when she refused, D’Elia “psychologically punished her.”
She states he made her take over 100 sexually explicit photos and videos of herself, of which she claims is “in violation of federal child pornography and sexual exploitation laws.”
This isn’t the first time the comedian has been accused of exploiting minors online.
In addition, two other women have come forward with misconduct allegations against D’Elia, of which were made public in September.
The accusers both claim the comedian exposed himself to them, with one saying her incident occured in 2011 and the other transpired in 2018.
In the aftermath, D’Elia’s agency, CAA, and management team, 3 Arts Entertainment, both dropped him as a client.
The comedian apologized in a video statement, of which he released February 19, claiming he needed help and that “sex controlled my life.”
However, in the video, he maintains, “All my relationships have been consensual and legal.”
(NEW YORK) — Rivers continue to flow out of their banks from Texas to West Virginia where 18 states are on alert for flooding on Wednesday.
The Kentucky River and Ohio River are most at risk for major to moderate flooding to continue for the next several days as entire towns continue to be submerged under water in Kentucky where a state of emergency has been declared.
The rain, however, should stay away from the flooded region for the next several days.
A new storm system is set to move into southern California Wednesday with snow for Los Angeles and San Diego mountains. This would be the first rain in Los Angeles since January.
Locally, 6 inches of snow is possible for higher elevations north and east of Los Angeles and San Diego.
This storm will move into the southern and central Rockies by Wednesday night with heavy snow expected from northern Arizona into Utah, Colorado and northern New Mexico, and some areas could see more than 10 inches of snow by Thursday.
In the Northeast and for most of the country, it will feel like spring Wednesday with temperatures near 60 in Denver, near 70 in Kansas City, in the 50s for Chicago and New York City and near 60 in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, the Northeast will not keep the mild spring-like weather for the rest of the week.
The cold air will return to the Northeast by Thursday night and into Friday, with wind chills once again dropping below zero in upstate New York and New England.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Jahmil French, a star on Degrassi: The Next Generation, has died. He was 29. 
