Internet star injured in dirt bike accident
WASHINGTON: The ALS Association is crediting money raised through the Ice Bucket Challenge for the discovery of a gene’s connection to the progressive disease. Those who accepted the challenge allowed buckets of ice water to be dumped on their heads to raise awareness and money for ALS. The challenge became a viral sensation in 2014 and raised $115 million for the association. Figures from the ALS Association show $1 million of that helped fund a global effort to help find genetic drivers of the condition called Project MinE. The ALS Association says a paper published this week in the journal Nature Genetics reveals Project MinE researchers have identified the NEK1 gene’s connection to ALS. It says understanding the gene’s role will help in developing new target therapy for ALS.
PHILADELPHIA: Donald Trump had promised to bring showbiz pizzazz to the Republican convention, but it was instead the Democrats who put on a slick show of A-list entertainers in their bid to elect Hillary Clinton.
LOS ANGELES: Internet celebrity and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Hayes Grier is recovering after a dirt bike accident.
A spokeswoman for the 16-yearold social media star says Hayes is “under great care” at a hospital in North Carolina.
Grier’s spokeswoman, Natalie Geday, said he suffered a concussion, broken rib, bruised lung and multiple skin lacerations.
“Thankfully, he is OK and currently resting and recovering in the hospital surrounded by his family, where he will remain for the next few days,” said Geday.
Grier appeared in the 21st edition of the ABC ballroom competition “Dancing with the Stars.” He has over 14 million followers across Facebook, Vine, Instagram and YouTube.
Variety reported July 18 that Grier is scheduled to appear a streaming comedy series where he attempts to run his family’s 19-acre farm in Moorseville, North Carolina.
The Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia brought out one of the biggest stars there is — Katy Perry.
The 31-year-old pop singer briefly gave the arena the aura of one of her shows, with delegates dancing with their illuminated phones in the air. Clutching a microphone decked out in a sparkling US flag, Perry sang two songs that Clinton could easily take as anthems — her hit “Roar” and her latest single “Rise.”
Perry’s voice returned at the end of the convention as Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine came out to her blockbuster song “Firework,” as real fireworks erupted from the stage at a packed Philadelphia sports arena.
Perry, noting that her own parents supported Trump’s Republican Party, urged young Americans to vote on Nov. 8.
“You will have as much say as any billionaire. Or you can just cancel out your weird cousin’s vote if you like,” she said.
While many of the pop singer’s legions of fans are unlikely to have been watching the convention, Perry used a tool that she has mastered like few others — social media.
Perry, who has described herself as Clinton’s “number one fan,” shared her message over Twitter where she has more followers than anyone else in the world — 91 million, far more than the number of votes for President Barack Obama in 2012.
Perry was not the only prominent musician to take the stage at the Democratic convention. Folk legend Paul Simon sang on the opening night, while Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys, Boyz II Men and Demi Lovato were among the performers.
Outside the arena, pop diva Lady Gaga and Snoop Dogg, the hip-hop great, also entertained delegates.
When a documentary-style biography appeared at the convention to introduce Clinton, the audience heard the immediately recognizable voice of Morgan Freeman.
Other Hollywood A-listers who offered their star power to help Clinton included Meryl Streep, who highlighted the former secretary of state’s historic role as the first woman nominee from a major party for the world’s most powerful job.
“What does it take to be the first female anything?” asked Streep, whose roles have included Margaret Thatcher.