Matthew Perry Dies, and Other News From the Week
We’re pleased to bring you “While You Were Out”—Verily's quick takes on the happenings of this week.
Matthew Perry dies in apparent drowning
The Friends star was found deceased in a hot tub at his residence in Los Angeles, according to CNN. He was 54.
Best known as the quirky, affable Chandler Bing character, Perry also earned Emmy nominations for his role in the prestige drama West Wing, and played on the big screen in movies like Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards. In November 2022, he published a book, called Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir, in which he revealed he’d been to rehabilitation 15 times in an attempt to get sober from prescription drug abuse, illegal drugs, and alcohol. He admitted that five years ago, his colon ruptured after a bout with opioids, requiring more than a dozen surgeries.
In an interview with CBC, Perry said he didn’t watch Friends, because he didn’t want to see on screen what he felt were the visible effects of his struggle with addiction. Early reports of his death pointed out that no drugs were found at the scene.
Perry, who never married, was engaged in 2020 to his literary agent, Molly Hurwitz, but the couple parted in 2021. He is survived by his parents and his siblings.
Numerous tributes poured in as news spread of Perry’s untimely passing. “We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all,” said the Friends official Instagram page. Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler Bing’s girlfriend on the show, posted, “What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry. The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.” —Margaret Brady
Texas Rangers win first World Series, Seager earns second MVP
The Texas Rangers became World Series champions Wednesday night, securing the title for the first time in their 63-season existence. They won 5-0 in Game 5 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
For the first six innings, neither team scored. The starting pitchers, Texas’s Nathan Eovaldi and Arizona’s Zac Gallen, methodically prevented any runners from crossing home plate.
But in the seventh inning, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager scored the first run of the game. Following the team’s ultimate victory, Seager became the second position player to win World Series MVP, joining the legendary “Mr. October,” Reggie Jackson. “I’m just happy to be a part of this team,” Seager said. “The resilience of this group, just the fight, the fight is what it is.”
After Seager’s breakthrough, the Rangers came back in the ninth inning with four more runs. Ranger Marcus Semien hit a two-run homer, which brought the team to a 5-0 lead over the Diamondbacks.
“Man, this is the biggest moment,” Semien said. “Just felt so good. Just looked over at the bench (and) screamed. Just an unbelievable feeling. I know I keep saying that word, but just to run the bases knowing that we are that much closer felt great.” — Hannah Cote
FDA nears approval of sickle cell anemia cure
On Tuesday, government regulators took a step towards approving a potentially revolutionary new drug that could effectively cure sickle cell disease.
The medication, called exa-cel, works by changing DNA inside patients’ red blood cells, according to NBC News. It helps to stop the cells from taking on the crescent-like appearance that characterizes inherited sickle cell disease. The abnormal sickle shape of the cells can lead to blood clots, which in turn can cause agonizing pain, breathing problems, and stroke.
About 100,000 people in the United States have sickle cell disease, and most of them are Black. Until now, the only possible cure was treatment with a risky bone marrow transplant.
The maker of the drug, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, pushed back on concerns from the FDA’s advisory committee on Tuesday that the drug may unintentionally “edit” other DNA that isn’t actually part of the disease. There isn’t much data about these “off target changes” as committee members called them.
Vertex presented results from a study of 30 patients that showed 29 of them no longer suffered from severe pain episodes. It’s a one-time treatment, and experts anticipate it will cost about $2 million per patient. —MB
Good News of the Week
Danish island aims to achieve zero trash by 2032
Bornholm, a quiet island of 40,000 people in the Baltic sea, has an ambitious environmental goal: Nine years from now, they want to reach the point of creating no garbage at all.
How do they plan to do it? One of the strategies involves, of course, composting. David Christensen, a zero waste project manager, has focused on piloting a program that uses a unique biodegradable disposable diaper, instead of typical nappies. “It's funny because back when we launched the vision, one of the most common ways people liked to [have a] dig at us was by saying, 'What are you going to do about the diapers?' They're made up of petrochemicals and polymers and they're very difficult to do anything with other than incinerating or landfilling them. Here we're testing technology that could potentially disrupt the whole system,” Christensen told BBC.
After collecting the diapers from kindergartens, they’re combined in a silo with other organic waste and heated to a high temperature to sanitize. After 10 days, there’s no trace of diapers left, and what’s left could potentially be used as fertilizer for farmers.
It’s true that the new type of diapers are more expensive. And there’s still some forms of toxic waste on the island, like asbestos, that can’t be recycled locally (or at all). “You know the saying, 'you need to aim for the stars if you want to hit the treetops'. I think it's good to be very ambitious in this field. It makes everybody work on the goal,” says Bornholm’s mayor, Jacob Trost. Good luck to the islanders! We’ll watch their progress with interest. —MB
Watch of the Week
Walmart debuted a new Black Friday commercial featuring the ladies from Mean Girls—they’re all grown up and taking their kids shopping.
