Entertainment Shorts

Man swallows earbud while sleeping

BOSTON (AP):

A man is warning people against using headphones while falling asleep after healthcare workers had to remove a wireless earbud from his oesophagus.

Worcester resident Brad Gauthier, who detailed his bizarre experience in a Facebook post, went to bed Monday listening to music. He woke up Tuesday, shovelled snow for about an hour, and then went inside to take a sip of water. But the liquid wouldn’t go down, and he had to lean over to drain it from his throat.

Gauthier also noticed he was missing one of his two wireless earbuds, which he said he typically uses as he falls asleep.

Gauthier’s son suggested that perhaps his father had swallowed the earbud, which is exactly what an X-ray at a local emergency clinic revealed. The small plastic device was lodged in his lower oesophagus.

Gauthier said he never experienced more than minor discomfort. He told NBC Boston 10 that he wanted to share his experience to caution others not to sleep with their headphones.

Jailed rapper Casanova disciplined for video dance challenge

VALHALLA, New York (AP):

Rapper Casanova, who is jailed in New York in a gang-related federal racketeering case, is facing disciplinary charges over a dance challenge video posted on social media.

The 34-year-old rapper, whose legal name is Caswell Senior, will be disciplined by officials at the Westchester County Jail after a woman recorded him accepting the so-called Junebug challenge during a video visit, the Journal News reported.

The challenge asks TikTok users to perform a set of moves in the strangest location they can think of. The woman recorded Casanova dancing in jail and posted it on Instagram, the newspaper reported.

Westchester County Correction Commissioner Joseph Spano said correction officials have revoked Casanova’s video visitation privileges because recording videos and taking pictures during a virtual visit is prohibited.

“I’m happy to say we don’t have a lot of issues with video visits because inmates know it’s a privilege, not a right,” Spano said.

Casanova faces another charge for not wearing a mask, authorities said.

An email seeking comment was sent to Casanova’s attorney on Sunday.

Casanova was among 18 alleged members of the Untouchable Gorilla Stone Nation gang charged in a federal indictment in December with a host of crimes in New York City and elsewhere in New York state. Casanova has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and firearms possession.

Paris Hilton says she was abused as teen at Utah school

SALT LAKE CITY (AP):

Paris Hilton testified about abuse she says she suffered years ago at a boarding school in Utah, as she lobbied Monday for a bill seeking to regulate the state’s troubled teen industry.

Hilton was sent to Provo Canyon School for 11 months at age 17 where she says she was abused mentally and physically, recalling that staff members would beat her, force her to take unknown pills, watch her shower and send her to solitary confinement without clothes as punishment. The socialite and reality TV star also spoke about the abuse in a documentary titled This is Paris that was released this fall.

Hilton testified at a state Senate committee hearing at the Utah Capitol in favour of the bill that would require more government oversight of youth residential treatment centres and require them to document when they use restraints. The measure passed unanimously following emotional testimony from Hilton and several other survivors.