Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way, and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.
Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.
This week we have Colton Cauthen, owner of Jack’s Books in Florence, South Carolina.
What’s your store’s story?
Jack’s Books began in spring 2024 as a vision to open a unique, independent bookstore in Florence, South Carolina that would promote community while bringing people into contact with a wide variety of great, tangible books in an atmosphere that matches the magic of reading. We are also striving to reinforce our city’s wonderful and growing historic downtown where our store is located.
What makes your independent bookstore unique?
Our goal was for people to come find stories they can’t wait to enter, in a store they won’t want to leave. Since opening, our customers have described our store as the most magical bookstore they have ever been in with frequent references to the “Beauty and the Beast” library. Others have said they wish they could come live in the store.
What book do you love to recommend to customers and why?
I love recommending “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas because it is such a rich and beautiful story and a highly enjoyable classic for people of various interests that deals with a variety of important themes relating to the human condition.
C.S. Lewis’ science fiction trilogy, The Space Trilogy, is unknown to many – even C.S. Lewis fans – and yet is a fantastic series with great world-building, deep symbolic meaning and timeless relevance to society.
A more recent release I was anticipating is “2084” by John C. Lennox, a book regarding Artificial Intelligence which has been updated and expanded since its original publishing prior to the widespread success of large language models.
Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?
Local, independent bookstores are an important third space for communities and can play a role in promoting reading, creativity and the arts more generally. They pose a meaningful and intentional contrast to the hyper-transactional, digital and increasingly (and ironically) disconnected world.
What are some of your store’s events, programs, or partnerships coming up that you would like to share?
We will be hosting a variety of local author signing events in the spring, as well as establishing and hosting book clubs, with details on all of the above to be announced later this year.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard pregnant. Here’s who father is
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was previously engaged to Ken Urker while completing her eight-year prison sentence. Now the couple is having a baby.
Natalie “Nadya” Suleman, the woman who became known as “Octomom,” is telling her story over 15 years after she became the subject of intense media backlash surrounding the birth of her 16-year-old octuplets.
Suleman is opening up in a People magazine interview published on Thursday about being coined “Octomom” following the 2009 controversy involving her IVF doctor.
Suleman is reentering the cultural conversation, after leaving the spotlight in 2013, ahead of a new Lifetime biopic “I Was Octomom” and companion docuseries “Confessions of Octomom,” which premiere respectively on Friday and Monday.
“I don’t think I’d do too much differently,” Suleman revealed to People. “I do regret not suing the infertility doctor,” Dr. Michael Kamrava, who implanted her with more embryos than typical for in vitro fertilization treatments.
“I definitely regret that because his insurance would’ve been the one paying, and it would’ve been some millions, and it would’ve been helpful for my family,” the mom of 14 said.
Suleman and Kamrava, who implanted her with six times the normal amount of two embryos, received harsh media backlash after reports surfaced after Suleman gave birth in 2009 to the first-ever surviving octuplets amid a strained financial situation. She is also mom to six older children.
‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman is a grandmother after son, daughter-in-law welcome baby girl
After lying about the number of embryos he implanted in Suleman, Kamrava was stripped of his medical license.
“I regret that I kind of threw myself under the bus to cover for him, and I shouldn’t have, but I was grateful. I wouldn’t have had any of my kids if it weren’t for his innovative technique. No one else in the world did this type of procedure so I didn’t have it in my heart to sue him,” Suleman added.
Suleman told People that she wanted “just one more” baby, but Kamrava implanted her with 12 embryos after originally telling her told her he’d only implanted six embryos.
“But I did sue the hospital because they breached HIPAA,” Suleman says of hospital workers who allegedly leaked her name and medical information to the media. “They’re the reason why I ended up in the public eye.”
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, also known as HIPAA, protects patients’ health care information from being released by healthcare providers like doctors without permission and consent.
‘Octomom’ Nadya Suleman opens up about motherhood
Suleman stressed during a People video interview that she chose to do a docuseries instead of a reality TV show due to the developmental effects of reality television on children. But she’s describing herself as “grateful.”
“Natalie Suleman is just a mom of many and she is very, very, very grateful,” Suleman described herself to People. “We are a loving family and we’re there for each other. All of my kids are just very humble, grounded, kind people with good hearts.”
Suleman admitted to the outlet that she chose to have so many children out of fear of loneliness.
“I wasn’t happy as an only child, and clearly I projected my dream onto my kids and wanting a big, well, not this big of a family, but I did want seven kids,” she told People.
“But it’s not enough to say I wanted a big family because I was lonely,” she added. “There is an amalgamation of factors. I wanted kids to create maybe a safe and predictable little world that I lacked growing up. So then of course, I projected onto my future family.”
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s cause of death revealed
The Oscar-winning actor was found dead alongside wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog in their home.
Over a week after celebrated actor Gene Hackman was found dead alongside wife Betsy Arakawa in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home, officials released their findings on the couple’s causes of death amid what they’d initially described as “suspicious” circumstances.
During a press conference held by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office press conference on Friday afternoon, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell, said the office’s investigation revealed 65-year-old Arakawa died from Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease that is contracted by contact with mouse droppings. And Hackman, 95, had heart disease and complications caused by Alzheimer’s disease. His death was determined to be from natural causes.
Hackman’s pacemaker last showed activity on Feb. 18, according to the medical investigator, so Hackman “probably died around Feb. 18,” with Jarrell noting Hackman “was in a very poor state of health” at the time of his death and she thinks “he died as a result of his heart disease.”
It appears that Arakawa died first, according to the medical examiner — likely around Feb. 11, the last time anyone had any communication from her. Jarrell suggested that due to what she called “advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” it was possible Hackman was “not aware” that his wife had died.
“We consider this an open investigation” as there are “other loose ends we need to tie up,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said.
Betsy Arakawa ran errands in her final days
All of the last communications from Arakawa came on Feb. 11.
On Feb. 9 Arakawa picked up their dog Zinna from a veterinary hospital, the sheriff’s office said. Two days later, they found that she had an email conversation with her massage therapist in the afternoon. By 3:30 p.m. she was at Sprouts Farmers Market and just after 4 p.m. she was at CVS.
She was spotted at a pet store just before 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, and returned home just after 5:15 pm. according to the security at her gated subdivision. She had numerous emails unopened later that day.
That was the last known communication from Arakawa or her husband.
How Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa were discovered
Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies, alongside one of the couple’s dogs, were discovered by authorities on Feb. 26. The two were found in different rooms, with Hackman in a mudroom near his cane, appearing to have fallen.
Arakawa was reportedly in a bathroom near a space heater, discovered with an open bottle of prescription pills scattered on the nearby countertop, a search warrant affidavit revealed. The dog, previously misidentified as one of the pair’s other pups, was found in a closet less than 15 feet away from Arakawa.
Investigators are still looking into their dog’s cause of death.
Tough guy, everyman. Gene Hackman pursued anonymity and a private artist life in Santa Fe
Family, fans await updates in Gene Hackman case
Prior to Friday’s press conference, officials ruled out a gas leak. In a news release Tuesday, after an “extensive investigation for gas leaks and carbon monoxide at Gene Hackman’s home,” the sheriff’s office announced “there were no significant findings.”
Amid this news, the family was trying to stay positive.
“We’re waiting on toxicology. That will tell us everything,” the actor’s nephew, Tim Hackman, told Us Weekly Tuesday. “It’s hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I don’t want to speculate. It’s easy to speculate negative theories.”
“The family wants to keep it positive for now and when we know the truth we will deal with it.”
“No foul play” is suspected at this time, authorities have said, though the circumstances appeared “suspicious.”
Hackman’s nephew seemed similarly alarmed by the details of the scene.
“My uncle was 95 years old at an age where you think about, ‘OK, it’s time,’” he told Us Weekly. “But from the circumstances now things have changed a bit. It’s a major change.”
Hollywood, Hackman’s family mourn deaths
The deaths prompted an outpouring of grief from Hollywood, where Hackman made a name for himself as an affable “everyman.” Starring in projects as varied as the “Superman” franchise, “Hoosiers” and “Crimson Tide,” his near 40-year career saw him shape-shift from villain to villain and then back to good guy all over again.
After five Academy Award nominations and 80 feature films, Hackman simply stopped making movies, tying up his career in 2004 with “Welcome to Mooseport.” Retiring in Santa Fe alongside Arakawa, he retreated to a quieter life, honing his painting and writing skills and weaving himself into the fabric of the community.
“He’s a global superstar and a part of Santa Fe’s local community,” the city’s mayor Alan Webber said. “I think that’s why … the response to his death is so strong because he connects across these different boundaries, and not everybody can do that.”
In a statement to USA TODAY last week, Hackman’s daughters – Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman – and granddaughter Annie said they were “devastated by the loss.”
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely.”
Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY Entertainment staff
Dolly Parton’s husband, Carl Thomas Dean, dies at 82
Carl Thomas Dean, the husband of country music legend Dolly Parton, has died at the age of 82.
unbranded – Entertainment
Dolly Parton is delivering a melodic sendoff for her late husband Carl Dean.
Dean, who died Monday at 82, was Parton’s longtime leading man, supporting her quietly behind the scenes for six decades. To honor their love, the celebrated songstress released a new track Friday. “If You Hadn’t Been There,” a single dedicated to Dean, features a cover photo of the couple and chronicles a tender and enduring love.
“I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old,” Parton wrote in an Instagram post announcing the song. “We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.”
Dolly Parton’s rare quotes on husband Carl Dean – plus what she said just before his death
The track, a slow-moving ballad characteristic of Parton’s signature sound, pays tribute to Dean’s support throughout their relationship.
“If you hadn’t been there / Where would I be?” she asks in the song’s opening line. “The ups and downs / We’ve always shared / And I wouldn’t be here, if you hadn’t been there.”
In it, she calls Dean her “rock” and “soft-place to land,” a characterization that echoes comments she made last year to The Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. “There’s always that safety, that security, that strength,” she said. “He’s a good man, and we’ve had a good life and he’s been a good husband.”
The song joins other tracks like “Jolene” and “Just Because I am a Woman” that were inspired by Dean. An intensely private man, Parton met Dean in 1964, the day she moved to Nashville, Tennessee. As her star continued to rise in the country music genre and beyond, Dean retreated from the spotlight, but always supported her from afar.
In a statement posted to Instagram Thursday, Parton mourned Dean’s death.
“This is a love note to family, friends, and fans,” Parton wrote. “Thank you for all the messages, cards, and flowers that you’ve sent to pay your respects for the loss of my beloved husband Carl. I can’t reach out personally to each of you but just know it has meant the world to me.”
She closed, “He is in God’s arms now and I am okay with that. I will always love you.”
Jail that holds Diddy, and now Mangione, infamous for bad conditions
The Brooklyn jail where CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione is held has a history of horrible conditions and holding a plethora of celebrity inmates.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been “kind” to Sam Bankman-Fried, according to the embattled FTX founder.
Bankman-Fried seemingly praised the disgraced rapper and Bad Boy Records founder during an interview on “The Tucker Carlson Show” podcast released Thursday.
“I’ve only seen one piece of him, which is Diddy in prison, and he’s been kind to people in the unit; he’s been kind to me,” Bankman-Fried said. “It’s also, it’s a position no one wants to be in.”
Last March, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing $8 billion from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded, the final chapter in the former billionaire prodigy’s dramatic downfall.
Combs is awaiting a federal sex crimes trial in May after his arrest at a Manhattan hotel in September and has faced dozens of civil lawsuits from accusers who have levied allegations of inappropriate and illegal sexual conduct.
“It’s kind of a soul crushing place for the world in general, and what we see are just the people that are around us on the inside rather than who we are on the outside,” Bankman-Fried told Carlson in the 40-minute interview posted on X and also available on streaming platforms.
Combs is being held in the same unit as Bankman-Fried at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, which is also home to suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter Luigi Mangione.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs accused of forced labor, assault of an employee as criminal case builds
Tucker Carlson calls Diddy, Sam Bankman-Fried ‘famous prisoners’
Carlson said Bankman-Fried and Diddy are “two of the most famous prisoners in the world in the same unit” but the former CEO claimed it’s “sort of a big opportunity (for other inmates) to meet people they otherwise wouldn’t get to meet” as the ex-Fox News host apologized for laughing at the statement.
At the end of the interview, Carlson said “I hope you’ll give our best to Diddy,” adding, “I can’t believe you’re in jail with Diddy.”
Bankman-Fried responded: “If someone would have told me three years ago like, ‘You’ll be hanging out with Diddy every day,’ I would be like, ‘Oh that’s interesting. I wonder how that’s going to happen, I guess he gets into crypto or something.’”
Prince Harry addresses Meghan Markle divorce speculation
Prince Harry recently addressed online rumors about his and Meghan Markle’s alleged divorce at the New York Times’ 2024 DealBook Summit.
unbranded – Entertainment
“With Love, Meghan” isn’t a sign-off, it turns out, it’s an opening salvo.
Duchess Meghan’s cooking and lifestyle show has been renewed for a second season, Netflix announced Friday, just days after it premiered. Not only will the program get a second act, but filming for Season Two has already wrapped, according to a release from the streaming giant.
The series, which blends a cooking show format with celebrity interviews, sees Meghan welcome guests to a replica of her Montecito, California estate and dole out tips on entertaining, baking and parenting.
Made in partnership with Archewell Productions, a company founded by Meghan and husband Prince Harry in 2020, the show also serves as a launching pad for As Ever, the Duchess’ lifestyle brand.
In the first crop of episodes, Meghan invites over Mindy Kaling, Los Angeles Chef Roy Choi and skincare founder Vicky Tsai, among others to make potstickers, Korean fried chicken, a rainbow fruit plate for children’s parties and several rounds of mimosas.
This is the royal couple’s second project with Netflix, after “Harry & Meghan” a documentary taking a deeper look at their love story and royal exodus premiered in 2022. This project takes a lighter tone, seeing Meghan revel in the California lifestyle and share intimate moments from the pair’s life there.
“This feels like a new chapter that I’m so excited that I get to share, and I’ve been able to learn from all of you,” Meghan says during the finale episode. “So just thank you for the love and support. And here we go. There’s a business!”
Meghan told People magazine in an interview published Monday that she sees “this spark in (Harry’s) eye when he sees me doing the thing that I was doing when he first met me” in a reference to her former lifestyle blog The Tig, which she shuttered in 2017 after falling for Harry.
“It’s almost like a honeymoon period again,” she said, “because it’s exactly how it was in the beginning when he’d watch me scribbling away, writing newsletters, fine-tuning edits and just really being in the details of it. I think he loves watching as much as I love doing that creative process.”
Grammy-nominated singer and guitarist D’Wayne Wiggins, a founding member of the seminal R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, has died, the group announced Friday on social media. He was 64.
“With broken hearts, we share with you that our beloved D’Wayne passed away this morning surrounded by family and loved ones” Wiggins’ family wrote in a statement shared on the group’s social media channels Friday.
“Over the past year, he has been privately and courageously battling bladder cancer,” the statement said. “Through this fight, he remained committed and present for his family, his music, his fans and his community.”
The announcement came two days after the Wiggins family shared the singer was experiencing “medical complications.”
Friday’s statement continued: “D’Wayne’s life was incomparable, and his music and service impacted millions around the world, including in his hometown of Oakland, California. He was a guitarist, producer, composer, philanthropist, mentor and founding member of Tony! Toni! Tone! He was deeply passionate about providing artist development and mentorship to emerging young musicians, helping to shape the early careers of many.”
A representative for Wiggins confirmed the musician’s death to USA TODAY with a news release that shared a memorial services are in the works.
“We will share more details as they are available. For now, we ask that you continue to respect our privacy. We mourn with you, and are deeply grateful for your love and support,” the announcement states.
The group — comprising Wiggins, brother Raphael Saadiq and their cousin Timonthy Christian Riley — had a performance in Northern California later this month that was canceled “due to illness.”
The Tonyies were working on new music amid their 2023 reunion tour
In 2023, the Oakland-born group which formed in the late 1980s and released hits “Little Walter,” “Feels Good” and “Anniversary,” embarked on their first headlining tour in more than two decades with the original founding members.
In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, the three family members who call themselves the Tonyies credited Saadiq with getting the band back together.
“I didn’t tell any of the managers or team or anybody because I just wanted it to be us,” Saadiq said. “I wanted to be in a room where the only power structure was one, two and three. … We have to be us first before we could talk to anybody because that’s what happened the last time.”
He also teased new music the trio was working on at the time, declaring, “There’s going to be another album.” But he wanted to ensure they were in the right headspace for creating their first record since 1996’s “House of Music.”
“I thought we need to really hone in on what we’re doing for touring and then go home and then take like two days off, and then start on the album,” Saadiq said.
“We got a lot of material and now we just want to make sure that we put out the right energy through our music,” Wiggins added.
Aside from Tony! Toni! Toné! and his solo career, which resulted in the 2000 album “Eyes Never Lie,” Wiggins also worked as a producer for the likes of Destiny’s Child, Alicia Keys and Keyshia Cole early in their careers.
In USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives, whether it’s at home, on the set or on the road.
Porsha Williams is back like she never left.
The reality star and entrepreneur, who rose to prominence on “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” is returning to the show after two seasons away from the Bravo reality series. Since we last saw Williams, 43, she has been busy with multiple businesses (Go Naked Hair, Pampered by Porsha) and acting roles (“Single Black Female 3,” set to premiere on Lifetime March 22), as well as motherhood and entering a new chapter post-filing for divorce.
This season of “RHOA” feels “right” for her.
“It was the type of situation where the door wasn’t all the way closed, and it just ended up being the right synergy, the right time, right space,” she says. “Three years ended up being enough time for me to spend mommy-ing, doing all the things that I needed to do off TV, enjoying that break. And there was a little bit of less pressure on me.”
From what makes sisterhood on “RHOA” crucial to post-relationship life lessons and the importance of self-care, Williams lets us in on her essentials.
Porsha Williams on ‘RHOA’ sisterhood, relationship with Phaedra Parks
Williams said a stint on “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” Season 3 and the sisterhood felt on the spinoff made her consider rejoining the “Housewives” fray for Season 16.
“I was talking to (executive producer Andy Cohen and production), saying, I would love for ‘Housewives’ to have this vibe: sisterhood, having a good time, enjoyable, very little producing at all,” she says. “And we worked it out.”
A part of that sisterhood that fans have come to miss is the Frick and Frack relationship between Williams and fellow longtime cast member Phaedra Parks.
Their relationship has had ebbs and flows, but Parks has said her return to the show after six seasons at the same time as Williams was the Pampered by Porsha founder’s idea.
Williams is “more excited than anybody” about it. “I think having that Frick and Frack relationship back at a time like this is most important.”
What makes a good friend? Porsha Williams stresses different friends for different seasons
The No. 1 rule of the Frick and Frack dynamic is to “support each other” and “celebrate each other,” she added.
For Williams, real friendship isn’t just about leaning on someone in hard times – it’s about having a good time together, too.
“I needed that light-hearted fun,” she says. “All friends aren’t the ones that you just cry on their shoulders. Some are there to distract you with a good time and a good twerk. And we do just that together.”
She continues: “There’s no jealousy, there’s no competition, none of that,” bringing a positive energy to the show.
One of Williams’ favorite parts of this season was an “old school Housewives” moment with her, Parks and Cynthia Bailey, who is a friend of the show this season.
“It is definitely heartwarming to be able to have Cynthia there, have Phaedra there. We were just cutting up, acting silly, having a good time, reading each girl one by one, just having a good kiki. And it really took me back to those sisterhood moments of being able to just enjoy another female who deals with the things that you deal with in life.”
Porsha Williams’ life lessons post-divorce: ‘Let people come in’
Just over a year ago, Williams filed to divorce her husband, Simon Guobadia, after 15 months of marriage. Though the Go Naked hair founder won’t say much about the ongoing legal matter, her main takeaway for this chapter of her life is to assess who is around you, and not to be afraid to rely on your village.
“Being able to have people who speak life into you and your difficult moments, and who allow you to process things the way you would need to process them. To be able to let people come in and support you, who love you and care about you, this is very important,” she says. “And I don’t think I valued that as much before because I always felt like I was on my own and doing everything on my own, and had to survive on my own.”
When it comes to her family and her team, she intends to “keep that circle tight and close and cherish them.”
“The people who you have closest to you really do make a difference (in) how you handle situations.”
Porsha Williams on balancing work, motherhood
From work to being a full-time mom to daughter Pilar with her ex, Dennis McKinley, what keeps Williams grounded is “taking time for me” and making her well-being a priority.
“I have had the opportunity to enjoy true peace, and I protect it fiercely,” she says. “I have strong boundaries for anything that seems to come in and disrupt any part of my peace.”
And between multiple businesses and acting roles, she listens to her mind and body if she needs a break.
“At the end of the day, I realized, as long as I’m good, if my cup is filled, then that’s how I can go into my daughter and my work and everything else around me,” she says. “So I do prioritize self, which can seem a little selfish, but you have to be a survivor these days.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
USA TODAY TV critic Kelly Lawler shares her top 5 TV shows she is most excited for this year
The third season of the Emmy-award-winning HBO series “The White Lotus” is already nearly halfway over, with episode four of eight set to air this weekend.
Written and directed by Mike White (notably a former “Survivor” contestant), the dark comedy anthology series follows the plights of the rich and powerful at the prestigious White Lotus resort chain as they navigate their psychological and interpersonal issues against the backdrop of idyllic vacations in Hawaii, Italy and now Thailand.
Season 3 has already dropped some bombs, including the return of Tanya’s suspicious husband, Greg (Jon Gries), and Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell), the visiting spa manager from the Hawaiian White Lotus.
With half a season still to go, there is plenty of time for drama to unfold. Here’s what to know about catching the rest of “The White Lotus” Season 3.
When do new episodes of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 come out?
Season 3 of “The White Lotus” premiered at 9 p.m. EST/PST on Sunday, Feb. 16. New episodes will air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and stream on Max.
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 full episode schedule
Feb. 16: Episode 1, “Same Spirits, New Forms”
Feb. 23: Episode 2, “Special Treatments”
March 2: Episode 3, “The Meaning of Dreams”
March 9: Episode 4, “Hide or Seek”
March 16: Episode 5, “Full-Moon Party”
March 23: Episode 6, “Denials”
March 30: Episode 7, “Killer Instincts”
April 6: Episode 8, “Amor Fati”
How to watch ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3
The eight-episode season will air on HBO and stream on Max weekly at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Max subscription plans begin at $9.99 a month with ads while ad-free subscriptions cost $16.99 a month.
The highest tier, which is $20.99 a month, includes the ability to stream on four devices and offers 4K Ultra HD video quality and 100 downloads. HBO also offers bundles with Hulu and Disney+.
Watch The White Lotus S3 with Sling + Max
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 cast
Cast members for Season 3 of “The White Lotus” include:
Leslie Bibb as Kate
Carrie Coon as Laurie
Michelle Monaghan as Jaclyn
Walton Goggins as Rick Hatchett
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea
Jason Isaacs as Timothy Ratliff
Parker Posey as Victoria Ratliff
Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper Ratliff
Sam Nivola as Lochlan Ratliff
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Saxon Ratliff
Lalisa Manobal as Mook
Lek Patravadi as Sritala
Natasha Rothwell as Belinda
Tayme Thapthimthong as Gaitok
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s cause of death revealed
The Oscar-winning actor was found dead alongside wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog in their home.
When Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead last month in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home, the community was shocked.
Their deaths seemed a mystery when maintenance workers called police after spotting the couple through a window on Feb. 26. Arakawa’s body was found in a bathroom and showed decomposition. The Oscar-winning actor was found in a mudroom with his cane. Their dog Zinna was found dead in a kennel. Their two dogs Nikita and Bear were found roaming the property and the front door was open. Officials ruled out an early theory of carbon monoxide poisoning as they investigated.
On Friday, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner shared how the couple died.
Arakawa, 65, died from Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease that is contracted by contact with mouse droppings, the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator announced Friday. According to the CDC, Hantaviruses “are spread mainly by rodents and are not spread from person-to-person.” And Hackman, 95, had heart disease and complications caused by Alzheimer’s disease and died from natural causes.
The revelation put to end endless theories on what happened to the couple. Officials tried to shed new light on the reclusive two-time Oscar winner’s last weeks in Santa Fe which he retreated to after leaving Hollywood. And they offered the heartbreaking fact that Hackman was alone at home with his dead wife for days.
But they also raised new questions about the state of Hackman’s health and why the couple wasn’t found sooner.
It appears that Arakawa died first, according to the medical examiner, likely around Feb. 11, the last time anyone had any communication from her.
Hackman’s was believed to have died about a week later, with his pacemaker last showing activity on Feb. 18, according to the medical examiner. Hackman “was in a very poor state of health” at the time of his death, said Dr. Heather Jarrell, New Mexico’s chief medical examiner.
Investigators were unclear how Hackman spent his last days. Jarrell said the autopsy showed that Hackman hadn’t eaten recently, but that he did not suffer from dehydration.
They couldn’t find that Hackman communicated with anyone after his wife died, but they didn’t know if he was able to take care of himself.
He likely didn’t know his wife had died, officials said, citing his Alzheimers disease.
“We consider this an open investigation” as there are “other loose ends we need to tie up,” Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza says.
But it’s possible, he said, that they won’t ever know all of the details of the case, such as if Hackman was trying to get help when he died.
How did Betsy Arakawa die?
Arakawa died from Hantavirus, which is a rare disease that humans can contract from contact with rodents like rats and mice, especially when exposed to their urine, droppings, and saliva. Hantavirus cannot pass from person to person, and dogs cannot contract Hantavirus.
Hantavirus is now extremely rare, with only seven reported cases in New Mexico in 2024 according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
The disease was a mystery when it emerged mostly on the Navajo nation near the Four Corners area of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah in 1993. It caused alarm through the area when a 19-year-old competitive marathon runner became short of breath after a fever and died a few days later in May of that year, according to the National Library of Medicine. After several more deaths and illnesses, a team of researchers from the CDC among other institutions was able to identify it as a new hantavirus strain and trace it to droppings from rodents.
How did Betsy Arakawa spend her last days
Arakawa spent her last days running errands, according to the sheriff’s office. They put together a timeline from video cameras and emails.
While they knew how she spent that day in town, it was unclear whether she was showing signs of illness. Thought Mendoza said they did believe Arakawa was wearing a mask.
On Feb. 9 Arakawa picked up their dog Zinna from a veterinary hospital. Zinna was a 12-year-old reddish Australian Kelpie mixed-breed who had once trained in agility skills to compete at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. (That dog was later found dead in a kennel, and it’s possible the dog died from dehydration or starvation, the state veterinarian said, but a necropsy will be done.)
Two days later on Feb. 11, Arakawa had an email conversation with her massage therapist in the afternoon. By 3:30 p.m. she was at Sprouts Farmers Market and just after 4 p.m. she was at CVS.
“She was walking around, she was shopping, she was visiting stores,” Mendoza said of the camera footage which helped investigators track her last day. “My detectives didn’t indicate that there was any problem with her or struggle of her getting around.”
She was spotted at a pet store just before 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, and returned home just after 5:15 pm. accroding to security at her gated subdivision.
She had numerous emails unopened later that day.
That was the last known communication from Arakawa or her husband.
Gene Hackman’s years in Santa Fe
For the past four decades, Santa Fe had become the ideal backdrop for the reluctant movie star to melt away into the community. Hackman delved into art and literature, writing most mornings by longhand and never past two o’clock in the afternoon, by his own admission, or else the writing would keep him up all night.
He took art classes in local workshops and painted prolifically, cranking out human model drawings, nudes and paintings. He gifted many of his paintings or gave them away to charity.
He and his wife had enjoyed relative anonymity in the Santa Fe community over the years, but were seen much less in past years.
When did sheriff’s deputies find Hackman?
Deputies had found the actor and Arakawa deceased at around 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 26. “Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths,” the spokesperson said at the time, as the sheriff’s office investigated. But they did call the deaths suspicious.
Deputies did not see signs of forced entry into the residence, and the front door was open upon their arrival, according to a search warrant. The Santa Fe City Fire Department, working with the New Mexico Gas Co., did not find evidence of a carbon monoxide leak or poisoning.
The death of the character actor, who won two Oscars in a more than 60-year career, caused intrigue and mourning amongst fans and industry peers. Hackman brought a rogue charm and everyman believability to iconic roles such as his best acting-winning performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in “The French Connection, his gleeful megalomaniac Lex Luthor in the “Superman” franchise and as a loathsome sheriff in his Oscar-winning “Unforgiven” role.
He brought sincerity to his role as a small-town Indiana basketball coach in the beloved 1986 drama “Hoosiers” as well as pure comedy to 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” and an unforgettable cameo in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein.”
In the search warrant affidavit filing in February, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office Detective Roy Arndt says the couple were found in different rooms in their home.
According to investigators, the scene was “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation” after several things were found at the scene, including the front door open and unlocked, a healthy dog “running loose on the property,” another “healthy dog” found near Arakawa and a dead dog. They later confirmed that the dead dog was found in a closed kennel. That dog, Zinna, was the one that Arakawa had picked up from the veterinarian’s office on Feb. 9. It was unclear if it had been in the kennel because of its treatment at the vet.
They also cited an open pill bottle and scattered pills next to Arakawa and Hackman being in a different room than his wife. The pills included Tylenol, thyroid medication and diltiazem (used to treat high blood pressure.)
Betsy Arakawa found partially mummified, Gene Hackman was in separate room
Authorities found the actor in a mudroom near his cane, appearing to have fallen, while Arakawa was found in an open bathroom near a space heater, according to the warrant.
A deputy observed Arakawa with “body decomposition, bloating in her face” and mummification of her hands and feet.
The New Mexico Gas Co. investigated the residence, the warrant said, but “as of now, there are no signs or evidence indicating there were any problems associated to the pipes in and around the residence.”
Gene Hackman’s health struggles: What is angina?
Hackman, who was largely out of the spotlight in the last two decades, underwent an angioplasty procedure in 1990 after a spell of angina. According to the Mayo Clinic, angina is chest pain that occurs when blood flow to the heart is restricted.
In 2012, the Academy Award winner was hit by a pickup truck while riding his bike. Hackman’s publicist told CNN at the time that the accident wasn’t serious, “just a few bumps and bruises.”
Family, Hollywood mourn Gene Hackman
Hackman was widely celebrated for movies like “The French Connection,” which won him his first Oscar, and “Unforgiven,” which won him his second. He was also Oscar nominated for his roles in “Bonnie and Clyde,” “I Never Sang for My Father,” and “Mississippi Burning,” and he starred as Lex Luthor opposite Christopher Reeve’s Superman in “Superman” and “Superman II.”
In a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday, Hackman’s daughters – Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman – and granddaughter Annie said they were “devastated by the loss.”
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy,” they said. “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely.”
In a statement provided to USA TODAY, Clint Eastwood, who directed and co-starred with Hackman in “Unforgiven,” said, “There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”
Nathan Lane, who starred alongside Hackman in “The Birdcage,” called him his “favorite actor.”
“Getting to watch him up close it was easy to see why he was one of our greatest. You could never catch him acting,” Lane said in a statement shared with USA TODAY Thursday. “Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger. He was as brilliant in comedy as he was in drama and thankfully his film legacy will live on forever. It was a tremendous privilege to get to share the screen with him and remains one of my fondest memories. Rest in peace, Mr. Hackman.”
Tom Hanks, another Hollywood everyman, took to Instagram to mourn Hackman’s loss, writing, “There has never been a ‘Gene Hackman Type.’ There has only been Gene Hackman.”
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Rick Jervis, Marco dellaCava, Bryan Alexander, Anika Reed, USA TODAY
