These are college football's eight biggest QB competitions. Who has edge?

Quarterback competitions aren’t what they used to be.

The amount of player movement at quarterback every winter has removed much of the guesswork from these offseason battles, given that many quarterbacks simply hop into the transfer portal rather than roll the dice on losing a competition and a year of eligibility.

But there are a few high-profile contests underway this spring in the Power Four, including at potential College Football Playoff contenders inAlabama,ClemsonandTennessee.

Heading into a crucial season, Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer is evaluating two highly talented but unproven contenders in redshirt sophomore Austin Mack and true freshman Keelon Russell. The latter made a late move with 240 yards and four touchdowns in the Tide’s spring game.

These eight competitions are worth monitoring as the Bowl Subdivision gets ready for the summer:

Alabama

Contenders:Austin Mack, Keelon Russell.

Mack looked the part of Alabama’s next starter after coming in for Ty Simpson during the tail end of a Rose Bowl loss to Indiana in last year’s playoff quarterfinals. He completed 11 of 16 attempts against the Hoosiers and went 24 of 32 for 228 years on the season. Russell was a top-level recruit who played in just two games in 2025 and preserved his redshirt. Mack has the edge in overall experience and in his experience in the scheme after following DeBoer from Washington. But Russell winning the battle would come as no surprise.

Austin Mack or Keelon Russell?The latest intel on Alabama's QB competition

Clemson

Contenders:Brock Bradley, Chris Denson, Trent Pearman, Tait Reynolds, Christopher Vizzina.

Vizzina is the heavy favorite coming out of the spring after spending the past two seasons as Cade Klubnik’s backup and going for 317 yards and three touchdowns as the starter in last year’s loss to SMU. Reynolds, a freshman, has ascended into the backup role. That could result in Denson moving away from quarterback this season. Reynolds has a shot at unseating Vizzina heading into the opener but is more likely to earn an in-season promotion if the passing game sputters.

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Tennessee

Contenders:Faizon Brandon, George MacIntyre.

The talent may be obvious, but neither option inspires huge confidence at this point: MacIntyre is a redshirt freshman who attempted nine passes in 2025 and Brandon is a true freshman, though of the five-star variety. While Josh Heupel’s biggest successes at Tennessee have come with a veteran under center, the Volunteers did make the playoff with then-freshman Nico Iamaleava as the starter.

Florida

Contenders:Tramell Jones Jr., Aaron Philo.

New coach Jon Sumrallhas said this competition will extend into fall camp even if Philo seems to be the favorite. He has the edge in experience after making more than 100 attempts across two years at Georgia Tech and has a deeper familiarity with the Gators’ offense under coordinator Buster Faulkner, who held the same position with the Yellow Jackets. Yet Jones outplayed Philo in the final scrimmage and did a better job during the spring of protecting the football.

Duke

Contenders:Walker Eget, Dan Mahan, Ari Patu, Terry Walker III.

Duke lost rising junior and projected starterDarian Mensah to Miami just as the portal closed this winter. In response, the Blue Devils signed San Jose State transfer Walker Eget, who went for 5,555 yards and 30 touchdowns the past two seasons and was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Eget has been slowed by knee surgery, however. That could give Mahan a small window to make a move in this competition; the Blue Devils’ coaches are high on the redshirt freshman.

North Carolina

Contenders:Travis Burgess, Taron Dickens, Billy Edwards Jr., Au’Tori Newkirk, Miles O’Neill.

Well, the Tar Heels definitely have options. Bill Belichick andnew offensive coordinator Bobby Petrinocould go with Edwards, who has Power Four starting experience but missed all but two games of last season at Wisconsin because of a knee injury. They could roll with Dickens,who put up jaw-dropping numbers at Western Carolinabefore transferring to Chapel Hill in February. O’Neill looks the part at 6-5 and 220 pounds but needs more seasoning after getting into seven games at Texas A&M as a redshirt freshman in 2025. Newkirk is the only UNC quarterback returning from last season, which probably means nothing. Burgess arrives on campus as a true freshman and is buried on the depth chart, though that could quickly change if the Tar Heels’ season runs off the rails. Anyone who saw Belichick’s debut knows that’s a possibility.

Virginia Tech

Contenders:Ethan Grunkemeyer, Troy Huhn.

The Hokies went into spring workouts with Grunkemeyer as the heavy favorite for the starting job. The sophomore was the primary starter at Penn State last season after Drew Allar's injury andfollowed former coach James Franklin, joining a quarterback room that lost starter Kyron Drones to graduation and needed an overhaul. But even as Grunkemeyer remains the odds-on pick to start the opener, Tech will enter Saturday’s scrimmage with a tighter competition thanks to Huhn’s strong performance in the spring. A true freshman, Huhn was verbally committed to Penn State but switched to Tech after Franklin was hired.

Iowa

Contenders:Hank Brown, Jeremy Hecklinski.

Former starter Mark Gronowski’s performance last season proved the right kind of quarterback can shine in Iowa coordinator Tim Lester’s scheme. True freshman Tradon Bessinger will arrive this summer and possibly impact the race during preseason camp. But the competition is really centered on two former transfers in Hecklinski (Wake Forest) and Brown (Auburn), who joined the program before last season. Hecklinski took over the backup role from Brown at the midseason point, though both continued to share practice snaps through bowl play.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:College football biggest QB battles this spring in Power Four conferences

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April 17, 2026

These are college football's eight biggest QB competitions. Who has edge?

Quarterback competitions aren’t what they used to be. The amount of player movement at quarterback every winter has removed much o...

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Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman Reveal New Plot Details for “Practical Magic 2”: 'The Witches Are Back!'

Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock introduced a new teaser trailer for Practical Magic 2 at CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14

NEED TO KNOW

• The film sees the Owens' sisters' lives take a new turn when a mysterious figure (Lee Pace) shakes things up in their quaint New England town

• Following the CinemaCon appearance, Bullock joined Instagram and shared a behind-the-scenes video from filming, referencing the original film's iconic midnight margaritas scene

Sandra BullockandNicole Kidmanare getting excited about the much-anticipatedPractical Magicsequel — and revealing new details about the film's plot.

Bullock, 61, and Kidman, 58, referenced Kidman's iconic AMC Theaters ad while introducing a new teaser for the upcoming film at CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14. “Why do we come here, Nicole?” Bullock asked, to which Kidman replied "We come to this place for magic."

“The witches are back!” Kidman said to applause, as Bullock joked, “Step on my line, that’s okay.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Owens family,” Bullock's character, the responsible older sister Sally Owens, says in the teaser. “The ones from Massachusetts. The ones their neighbors whisper are witches.”

The sequel will see Sally's daughters into young adulthood as they navigate their own magical legacies, while Sally's sister Gillian Owens (Kidman) has traded her life of adventure and occasional danger for quieter life with a black cat by her side. Things are shaken up when a mysterious figure (Lee Pace) arrives in the sisters' quaint New England town with a new quest for them.

Kidman explained that the original house was rebuilt, and that “we also have our past catching up with us and we have our destinies and we have our family."

“Sally is single, and if you know the original film, you can probably guess why,” Bullock said, referencing the cursed love motif ofPractical Magic.

Following the CinemaCon appearance, Bullock joinedInstagramto post a brief behind-the-scenes video from the set ofPractical Magic 2, in which she wears a pink bell sleeved dress while pointing to a margarita pitcher, in reference to the first film's memorable "midnight margaritas" sequence, often recreated by loyal fans.

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"Midnight somewhere…" Bullock captioned the video.

Other new additions to the cast in the follow-up to the iconic witchy romance areJoey Kingas Sally's daughter, along withMaisie Williams,Xolo Maridueñaand Solly McLeod.Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiestare also set to reprise their roles as the eclectic aunts who raised the Owens sisters, always encouraging them to embrace their true magical selves.

Channing, 82, will once again play Frances "Franny" Owens, the more no-nonsense of the pair, while Wiest, 78, returns as the whimsical Bridget "Jet" Owens.

In a 2025 statement, the filmmaking team behindPractical Magic 2— which includes directorSusanne Bier,taking over forGriffin Dunne— said, “Twenty-five years ago, Sally, Gillian, Aunt Jet and Aunt Franny flew off the pages ofAlice Hoffman’s beloved novel and into theaters around the world, and we are thrilled to bring the Owens family back to the big screen with Joey, Lee, Maisie, Solly and Xolo joining the next chapter in our story."

Practical Magic,based on Hoffman's 1995 novel of the same name, stars Kidman and Bullock as the Owens sisters, a pair of witches descended from a fictional survivor of the Salem Witch Trials who are fighting off a curse that kills the men they fall in love with, while learning to accept the most magical parts of themselves and chart their own paths.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Practical Magic 2is scheduled for a theatrical release on Sept. 18, 2026.

Read the original article onPeople

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Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman Reveal New Plot Details for “Practical Magic 2”: 'The Witches Are Back!'

Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock introduced a new teaser trailer for Practical Magic 2 at CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 14 NEED TO...

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The 'becoming Chinese' meme shows China's soft power moment is here

BANGKOK (AP) — Have you “become Chinese”?

In recent months, 20-somethings around the world have taken over social media with posts enthusing about how they’re embracing Chinese ways of life. Videos proclaiming users are “Chinamaxxing,” or “in a very Chinese time of their lives” — namely by drinking hot water with boiled goji berries, eating dumplings or wearing slippers in the house, or flying to China and gushing about its modern infrastructure — are racking up millions of views.

Along with its economic and geopolitical rise, China’s government has tried for years to push its soft power on the global stage. But those official efforts never came close to the success the “becoming Chinese” meme is enjoying now.

Even senior Chinese diplomats have noted the trend. Xie Feng, the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., referenced the internet craze recently as he promoted a new visa-free transit policy and urged more Americans to “experience for yourselves a real, dynamic and panoramic China.”

The TikTok trend is the latest example of how Chinese products and consumables are enjoying a cultural cachet they’ve never had before globally. From movies to music,Labubu toysand even ordinary habits like drinking hot water, Chinese things are now seen by many as cool.

“China is gaining real soft power, and you can see it most clearly in how Chinese culture and ‘Chineseness’ are becoming familiar, repeatable, and globally consumable in everyday life,” said Shaoyu Yuan, a professor at the New York University School of Professional Studies’ Center for Global Affairs.

“That legitimacy,” Yuan said, “is earned through taste, utility, and entertainment.”

That soft power rise is enabled by China's development in many industries: From manufacturing, where it holds a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus with the rest of the world, to social media, where it developed the addictive algorithms that made TikTok, to its own consumer culture, where homegrown names compete head to head with global brands.

Mixed feelings among Chinese Americans

Sherry Zhu, a 23-year-old from New Jersey, posted a couple of videos last year joking about how if you liked noodles and hotpot and wore slippers at home you were Chinese. One of her videos was shared almost a million times in December, and other TikTokers quickly caught on with the “becoming Chinese” meme.

But the trend has also raised thornier questions. For many Chinese people who have long faced discrimination in the West, the internet’s fascination with Chinese culture seems to be the latest form of cultural appropriation.

“Appreciation does not erase the racism that many Chinese people grew up with,” said Elise Zeng, 28, from Brooklyn, New York. A video she posted critiquing the social media phenomenon was liked by more than 36,000 people.

She recalls how during the COVID-19 pandemic she was afraid for her parents stepping out of the house because they heard about people getting attacked just walking down the street. At the time, many Asiansreported being assaultedor verbally abused by people who blamed East Asians for the spread of the virus.

“Those experiences don’t just disappear because Chinese culture is suddenly cool and trendy,” she said.

Zhu acknowledged that she, too, has experienced bullying based on her identity, but said she was proud of her Chinese heritage. “I believe that visibility and cultural sharing can reduce misunderstanding over time,” she said.

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China’s success in soft power has been building

The meme is riding on a broader embrace of Chinese popular culture that’s been building globally.

The frenzy over Labubus, the fuzzy ugly-cute dolls carried by the likes of Rihanna and other top celebrities, reached a peak last spring and summer, bringing a300% rise in annual profitfor Chinese parent company PopMart.

Several other cultural exports with more distinctly Chinese attributes have also found global success. On TikTok, the Chinese rapper known as Skaii isyourgod or “Lanlao” has gained fans around the world — even though he raps in Cantonese and with a thick regional accent, which many people in China wouldn’t understand either.

But that didn’t matter. Skaii isyourgod’s single “Blueprint Supreme” went viral last summer in China and abroad, amassing billions of views on TikTok globally.

Last year“Ne Zha 2,”the animated blockbuster about a young god from a popular Chinese children’s tale, became the highest grossing animated film of all time even before its release in North America.

Another success, the big budgetvideo game“Black Myth: Wukong,” was similarly based on a story familiar to many Chinese kids about an adventurous monkey hero. The game broke the record for most-played single-player game on Steam when 2.4 million people played it simultaneously after its release.

More recently, Chinese digital maps like Amap have gone viral on social media over standard ones likeAppleor Google for their level of detail, such as the ability to inform users if they will be in the shade versus the sun.

Soft power goes beyond official narratives

Xi has long pushed for his government to promote Chinese soft power abroad, calling on officials to “tell China’s story well” since 2013.

They have attempted to do so with ambitious projects like the multibillion-dollarBelt and Road initiative— a plan to build Chinese-funded infrastructure across the world — and investing in hundreds of Confucius Institutes.

But many Confucius Institutes, meant to be Beijing-funded centers teaching Chinese language and culture, have shut down in the West over concerns they were fronts for spying and propaganda, while the Belt and Road Initiative has been criticized as a debt trap by Western countries.

China’s ascending hard power has been well documented. It is the dominant manufacturer in the green energy sector, most visibly with its electric vehicles, but also across solar energy. It has the world’s second-largest military, behind the U.S. It is a manufacturing powerhouse, and its exportshave sweptthe world.

Soft power, in contrast, is harder to quantify — or manufacture. China’s government has been eager to capitalize on the latest social media trend and throw state support behind cultural moments after they’ve broken out.

Global Times, a state-owned tabloid, claimed that the popularity of the “becoming Chinese” meme is linked to the success of “China’s social development.”

But the more officials vocally claim such successes and frame them as part of the “China story,” the more it may be received with skepticism, said Yuan, the professor.

“Cultural influence travels farther when it is chosen rather than announced,” he said.

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April 16, 2026

The 'becoming Chinese' meme shows China's soft power moment is here

BANGKOK (AP) — Have you “become Chinese”? In recent months, 20-somethings around the world have taken over social media with post...

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MLB ABS system stats are coming in: What players are best at challenges?

Ten percent of the season is in the books. DoesMajor League Baseballplay any differently after three weeks of theautomatic ball-strike challenge system?

Perhaps. Certainly, it is a nascent and evolving niche within the game, filled with trial and error, hot hands and teachable moments all in the name of trying to gain an edge – 0.1% of an edge, even – on the corners of the strike zone.

While things will certainly change, and something resembling normalization will occur over the rest of the season, there are a few hard and fast maxims about ABS that we feel comfortable rolling with. A look at six truths the so-called “robot umps” have yielded so far:

Games are longer

It’s true: The average nine-inning game is averaging 2 hours, 42 minutes, longest in the four years of the pitch-clock era. (The first three seasons produced nine-inning averages of 2:39, 2:36 and 2:38).

Certainly, there are plenty of factors that contribute to game time beyond the 30 or so seconds every ABS challenge takes. Teams are using 4.34 pitchers per game, the highest mark since 2021 and possibly a function of the early-season glut of off days enabling managers to more liberally deploy relievers.

Pitchers are also issuing 3.8 walks per game, the highest mark since 2000 and perhaps one that will normalize as the year proceeds and time is shaved off of games. So is it all the challenge system spiking game times?

Nope. But it’s certainly a contributing factor.

Catchers are king

As one might have anticipated.

Nobody has the vantage point of a catcher, able to see exactly where a ball crossed the plate and, like machine learning, eventually figure out, most importantly, what the Hawk-Eye tracking system believes is a strike.

Accordingly, catchers are successfully challenging at a rate of 62% entering games of Tuesday, April 14. They account for 501 of the 522 attempts by fielders, though pitchers, emotional beings that they are, aren’t faring too poorly – they’re 10-for-21 so far.

As for hitters?

Consider them the foolishly aggrieved party. Helmet-tappers are successfully challenging at a rate of just 47%, with Ronald Acuña Jr. (2 for 6), Nolan Schanuel and Hunter Goodman (each 1 for 5) the most erratic.

Dillon Dingler is the ABS whisperer

So, who’s the best at this thing?

We’ll give an early nod to theDetroit Tigers’ Dillon Dingler. He’s currently 9-for-10 in getting balls overturned for his pitcher, the best rate for a catcher with more than five challenges. Victor Caratini (8-for-10) is right on his tail, while veteran J.T. Realmuto is perfect in five challenges so far.

Managers are working harder to get thrown out

Yep, arguing balls and strikes – traditionally the surest ticket to an early shower – is much harder to do with a pair of replay challenges in a manager’s back pocket.

Yet are skippers still getting tossed? You bet.

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Eight managers have been ejected so far, and the intent hasn’t changed much in the ABS era: Six of the eight got the heave-ho when their teams were trailing and, maybe, the manager saw fit to light a fire under the lads. Alas, none of the six clubs came back to win after their manager was ejected, though perhaps the histrionics proved whatever point the manager hoped.

One ejection did occurinan ABS situation: Derek Shelton, tossed with one out in the top of the ninth inning  after an overturned ball, just as theMinnesota Twinswere about to lose to the Baltimore Orioles. Runner’s interference resulted in two ejections, while a balk call, a disputed quick-pitch, a pair of check swings and an overturned out call at first accountedfor the others.

Cleveland Guardians players warm up as the launch of NASA's Artemis II is shown on the center-field video board at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2026.

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Ballpark vibes and wild celebrations a during 2026 MLB season

Cleveland Guardians players warm up asthe launch of NASA's Artemis IIis shown on the center-field video board at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2026.

The Twins are winning both sides of the ball

OK, so we won’t correlate ABS challenge success with on-field record just yet. Still, it’s hard to ignore that the Twins – consensus picks to finish last in the AL Central – are 10-7 and tied with Cleveland for the AL’s best record.

And they’ve won more batter’s challenges – 14 – than any team in the majors and lead the AL with 19 successful defensive challenges.

Sure, maybe the games have simply played out that the Twins have had a ton of chances to air a grievance. Either way, they’ve clearly chosen a path of aggression, as they lead in batter challenges (29) and are second to the Marlins with 28 defensive challenges.

Their percentages aren’t elite – they rank 15thamong batters with a 48% success rate and 10thdefensively at 68%.

But shooters shoot, as they say, and nobody’s gotten more calls overturned.

Umpires have gotten … worse?

So this is a tricky one.

There’s plenty of ways now to measure umpire aptitude, and we tend to lean on the very means-testedUmpire Scorecardsas our metric of choice. Within that, we can look at correct ball-strike percentage or other methods of accuracy.

For this exercise, we’ve chosen to highlight how many umpires rank in the positive for what they call “accuracy above expected,” or the difference between actual accuracy and expected accuracy given the web site’s “machine learning approach to estimating an umpire’s performance relative to their peers.”

Fair enough.

For what it’s worth, 76 of 91 umpires – or 83.5% - finished above 0 in accuracy above expected in 2025. This year? Just 54 of 83 – or 65% - rank in the positive.

Keep in mind: This is an extremely small sample size. A vast majority of umpires have had three or fewer plate assignments so far. Perhaps the accurate calls heat up with the weather, etc.

And maybe the umps’ confidence will level up when they realize ABS confirms that they were right a lot of times, too.

Perhaps that’s the ultimate truism: That humans can go toe-to-toe with robots just fine.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MLB ABS system stats: Challenge results, 2026 robo ump takeaways

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April 15, 2026

MLB ABS system stats are coming in: What players are best at challenges?

Ten percent of the season is in the books. DoesMajor League Baseballplay any differently after three weeks of theautomatic ball-strike ...

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Joey Fatone lost power to his house on Christmas because he couldn't pay the bill: 'I was asking people for money' (exclusive sneak peek)

NSYNCdid not sing "When the Lights Go Out," but that's exactly what happened toJoey Fatoneone Christmas.

In an exclusive sneak peek (below) from Tuesday's episode of ID'snew docuseriesBoy Band Confidential, on which Fatone serves as executive producer, the boy bander opens up about nearly going bankrupt after NSYNC went on indefinite hiatus in 2002. During NSYNC’s heyday, the singer purchased a 10,000-square-foot house on four acres.

"Money was coming in. I asked my accountant, 'Hey, are we good?' 'Yeah, we're great.' 'I'm OK to buy this house, right?' He goes, 'Your kids' kids' kids will be fine.' Now, he was saying that as if money was probably still coming in," Fatone says in the clip. "You go 10 years later after that conversation, and when I go to a new accountant, I say, 'Hey man, can you look at my finances and what's going on?' And he goes, 'You need to get out of that house or you're gonna go bankrupt.' I went, 'I'm sorry, what?'"

It all came to a head when his holiday celebrations suddenly got interrupted.

"There was one point during Christmas they shut off the lights to my house because I didn't pay the bill," Fatone shares. "I almost was gonna go bankrupt. And I have a family. This is when I am married, I have two kids. These are certain things that happen in normal people's lives as well, but then you have to figure out, for me, how do I do this without the public even watching of what's going on?"

The shutoff happened before presents were opened, Fatone tellsEntertainment Weekly. "It was horrible. I had family over at my house. Good thing I had the water, but the power just wentpew," he recalls. "It was actually in the afternoon. We're cooking Christmas Eve dinner kind of thing. So all my family was there, cousins and aunts. And I was like, 'We need to call these people up right now to get this thing back on. This is not smart.'"

In the doc, the singer reveals he turned to others to alleviate his financial woes. "I was asking people for money," he shares. These were people who "had the most money in life," but they all declined to help. He then had to "put my tail between my legs as a man to try to figure this out." TheDancing With the Starsalum ended up selling his house and moving his then-wife Kelly, to whom he was married from 2004-19, and their daughters, Briahna and Kloey, in with his parents for a year.

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"I lived in Vegas for almost a year, busted my ass to slowly build back up kind of a career in a sense," he says. "And thank goodness, Lord, things were able to roll. Things came out better."

The incident was a "big eye-opener for me," Fatone tells EW. Like many young stars who skyrocket to fame, he was ill-equipped to handle what comes next after the spotlight shifts to the next big thing and money stops rolling in like it used to.

"I was never taught anything as far as financials and what you really need to do," Fatone tells EW. "And the [accountant] that I had was not the brightest person to help me out. They were always the ones going, ‘Don't worry, you're gonna be fine. You're making so much money.'"

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

The& Julietalum's tale is one of the many vulnerable stories he and his fellow boy banders recall in the doc that explores theups and downsof superstardom, and coming out on the other side.

"You see the end of the doc, how everybody does have an outcome, and I like how it's positive. It's not 100 percent all positive. Let's be real. It's life and people still going through the struggles mentally and physically. But everybody has literally gone, 'You know what? I was a teen then. I've learned certain things. I know I have to get over these certain humps and keep moving forward,'" Fatone says. "And I think that's, for me, one of the other stories to get out there, to go, 'You know what? There's always light at the end of the tunnel, no matter what way or which way you go.' Even me almost filing for bankruptcy."

The finale ofBoy Band Confidentialairs Tuesday, April 14, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Investigation Discovery (ID). Episodes are also available on HBO Max.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

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Joey Fatone lost power to his house on Christmas because he couldn't pay the bill: 'I was asking people for money' (exclusive sneak peek)

NSYNCdid not sing "When the Lights Go Out," but that's exactly what happened toJoey Fatoneone Christmas. In an excl...

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“My 600-Lb. Life” star Dolly Martinez's cause of death revealed

Dolly Martinez's cause of death has been revealed, days after theMy 600-Lb. Lifealum died at 30.

Two days after her family took to social media to announce that the reality show subject had died, Martinez's mother, Staci Thurman, has revealed toTMZthat she was initially hospitalized on March 29 after suffering from medical issues that included fluid in her heart and lungs.

Thurman told the outlet that Martinez was subsequently placed in a medically-induced coma and put on a ventilator. She did not wake up and ultimately died of congestive heart failure. Funeral arrangements have yet to be made.

One day prior to announcing the tragic news, Martinez's sister, Lindsey Cooper, penned a social media post on Friday asking people to share their prayers and be respectful during Martinez's health battle.

"Today is national siblings day and it for sure was a hard one," Cooper wrote viaFacebook. "I haven’t made any post or let many [people] know but my sister Dolly is in the hospital and is fighting for her life. At this time I ask for prayers and privacy as we as a family navigate through this hard time"

On Saturday, Cooper was the one to share that her sister had died. In the touching tribute, she wrote, "Dolly had the brightest personality she could light up any room with her laughter, her kindness, and her loving spirit. She had a way of making everyone feel special, and her warmth will stay with us forever."

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Martinez appeared on season 10 of the hit TLC reality show, which documents the years-long journey of individuals who weigh around 600 pounds as they strive to lose weight and potentially undergo gastric bypass surgery. In her 2021 episode, Martinez weighed just under 593 pounds, and relied on supplemental oxygen.

The reality show subject was not only candid about her struggles with weight gain, but opened up about the ways that her mental health issues were impacting her physical health.

"The only thing powerful enough to distract me from darker thoughts is food. Food is my go-to drug that takes my pain away," she said during the episode. "Food is more than just a pleasure. It’s my reason for existing."

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

She continued, "Food has caused all of the things I hate about my life, but it is the only thing I have ever had to help me feel good and I don’t know where to even begin to change that. Ever since I can remember, food was just a coping thing, I guess. It just made me happy. It still does. Food just makes me happy."

The episode saw Dolly meet with the show's bariatric surgeon Dr. Now, and after the episode, moved to Houston to be closer to the surgeon's office. She ultimately lost 40 pounds on the show and was not approved for the weight-loss procedure.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

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“My 600-Lb. Life” star Dolly Martinez's cause of death revealed

Dolly Martinez's cause of death has been revealed, days after theMy 600-Lb. Lifealum died at 30. Two days after her family to...

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Sid Krofft, 'H.R. Pufnstuf' creator and children's TV visionary, dies at 96

NEW YORK (AP) — Sid Krofft, the Canadian-born entertainment wizard who teamed with his brother and fellow puppeteerMarty Krofftto create such cult favorites as children's 1960s TV show “H.R. Pufnstuf,” has died at age 96.

Obit Sid Krofft

Krofft's death, which came three years after the death of Marty Krofft, was announced on Instagram by his friend and business partner Kelly Killian. Additional details were not immediately available.

“The last six years of my life were devoted to him, and his to me,” Killian wrote. “In that time, he taught me more than I could ever put into words — about the art of Hollywood, the magic of the stage, and the depth and complexity of human nature. I wish so very much that I had more time with him.”

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The Kroffts popularized cultural figures ranging from the inept Weenie the Genie to siblings Donny and Marie Osmond.

TV fans of a certain age would long remember “H.R. Pufnstuf,” the live-action puppet series with its cheerful theme song, the dragon who gave the show its name — and served as Mayor of Living Island — and such memorable, supporting characters as the larcenous witch Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, and her patented Vroom Broom. “H.R. Pufnstuf” only aired for 17 episodes, in 1969, but lived on for decades in reruns and syndication. It ranked 27th in a 2007 TV Guide poll of all-time cult favorites.

Other Krofft productions included “Land of the Lost,” “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” and “Pryor’s Place,” featuringcomedian Richard Pryor. Their children's shows were so far-flung at times that critics suspected the Kroffts were under the influence of drugs — allegations the brothers rejected — but they also oversaw such wholesome programming as the “Donny & Marie,” the Osmonds' 1970s variety show.

The Kroffts received a Daytime Emmy for lifetime achievement in 2018, and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star two years later.

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April 14, 2026

Sid Krofft, 'H.R. Pufnstuf' creator and children's TV visionary, dies at 96

NEW YORK (AP) — Sid Krofft, the Canadian-born entertainment wizard who teamed with his brother and fellow puppeteerMarty Krofftto creat...

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