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Thompson Square's new music video gives us baby envy

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If there's one thing new parents don't hold back on, it's showing their friends pictures and videos of their baby. Country singers-slash-married couple Thompson Square have taken a whole lot of footage of their son Rigney Cooper Thompson since he was born in February, and now they're sharing what seems to be all of it in the music video for their single "You Make It Look So Good."

More: Thompson Square on first kiss: "She did the lean-in"

The video premiered exclusively on People, who also chatted with Keifer and Shawna Thompson about including Cooper in the family band. “We just sat down with some of our videos and iMovie and got it done," they said. "This song and every other song seems to have new meaning with Cooper being here. It just makes sense.” I'll pause here for you to take in all that sweetness.

If the video isn't already a cuteness overload, wait and see how they talk about Cooper, who they welcomed after 17(!) years of marriage. "He’s such a healthy and happy baby and that’s such a blessing. We love being parents and can’t stand to be away from him,” said the couple. “We can’t imagine not having him.”

More: Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton's love story isn't all romance and happy feelings

Watch the video below. Spoiler alert: It's in black and white for maximum ability to pull on your heartstrings.

thompson square

thompson square

More: Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's new song has a depressing title, right?


The secret no one tells you about unmarried adoptions

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Adoption is a very complex process, made more complex because the law varies state by state. It can be extremely confusing for married couples to pursue adoption knowledgeably and successfully, but even that is relatively simple compared to how things can be for unmarried couples.

More: 4 tips to make your adoption journey quick and successful

Fewer families today fit the definition of "traditional." In many instances, adoption law has lagged a bit behind what’s considered socially acceptable. Yet, times are slowly changing, as evidenced by the story that made headlines in March when the Supreme Court overturned Alabama’s ruling against a lesbian mother’s Georgia adoption. The couple divorced and one mother was trying to maintain her parental rights for the child. The Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s ruling that said she no longer had parental rights. This ruling has implications for any unmarried couple that is interested in adopting, whether heterosexual or homosexual.

If you are an unmarried couple who is looking to adopt, second parent adoption is one of the most popular avenues that allows both people to parent together in the eyes of the law.

How second parent adoption works

Second parent adoption is popular because of the simplicity of the process, and is how most unmarried couples adopt together. One partner goes through the adoption process as a single parent. Once the adoption is finalized with the first parent, the other partner goes through a separate adoption process called ‘second parent adoption,’ which basically consists of some paperwork filings and possibly a court appearance.

More: How to get prepared before your adopted baby comes home

How to perform second parent adoption safely

With a second parent adoption, there are some best practices to ensure your adoption is completely safe and absolutely solid. Make sure that the rights of the biological parent(s) have been terminated before the second parent adoption proceeds. This means the child will always have one or two legal parents, but not more. Having more can cause loopholes in parental right laws that could deny rights to the legal adoptive parents.

For example, let's say a husband and wife have children and then get divorced. The wife finds a new partner who wants to legally adopt the children from the previous marriage. To go through the process, the first husband's rights have to be terminated before the new partner can adopt the children. This applies whether the new partner is male or female.

In a private domestic adoption, where neither adoptive parent is the biological parent, then both birth parents’ rights will be terminated according to state law regardless of who the adoptive parent(s) are.

Other options besides second parent adoption

Many people ask if there is a way to go through adoption as an unmarried couple without having to perform second parent adoption. Depending on the state law, judges may allow unmarried couples to adopt together at the beginning of the process instead of having to perform second parent adoption after the fact. However, with the way laws differ from state to state, it is currently still safer to complete a second parent adoption.

No matter what adoption avenue you take, make sure you work with experienced and knowledgeable adoption professionals. The laws are still catching up with people’s actions, so it’s important to work with people who are experts in the field and know how to protect your rights every step of the way.

More: How to navigate IVF as a same-sex couple

Nicole Witt is the owner of The Adoption Consultancy, an unbiased resource serving pre-adoptive families by providing them with the education, information and guidance they need to safely adopt a newborn, usually within three to 12 months.

The most common celiac disease symptoms are way too easy to miss

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We're living in a culture where it's normal — and even encouraged — to feel tired and rundown on most days of the week. This tendency toward burnout and overwork may be why some of the most common symptoms of celiac disease, like being bone-tired and suffering from headaches, are so easy to overlook.

What is celiac disease?

Celiac disease is not a food allergy but an autoimmune disease. People can sometimes grow out of a food allergy, but that’s not the case with celiac disease. The disease causes a person’s immune system to have a bad reaction to gluten. Gluten is a protein in many foods, including some grains like wheat, rye and barley. If you have celiac disease and you eat foods that contain gluten, your immune system can damage your small intestine and prevent your body from absorbing nutrients from food.

More: Finally, a simple test for celiac disease may be on the horizon

What are the symptoms of celiac disease?

There are many symptoms that can appear at any time in a person’s life. It’s a disease that affects kids and adults. Consult with your health care provider if you think you have a problem. Some of the symptoms of celiac disease can include the following:

  • Stomach cramps, intestinal gas
  • Bloated stomach
  • Chronic diarrhea or constipation (or both)
  • Anemia
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Migraines

Can you get tested for celiac disease?

There are tests to determine celiac disease. Contact your health care provider to help you through the discussion and process. There are several different blood tests to help screen for the disease. A physician will help you determine if you should have a small-bowel biopsy to confirm diagnosis.

More: Non-celiac gluten sensitivity debunked — new theory arises

Treatment for celiac disease

Celiac disease is a lifelong disorder. The only treatment for the disease is to follow a strict gluten-free diet. Once gluten is removed from your diet, your intestines should be able to heal and your health should improve. Following a gluten-free diet is a lifestyle change.

If you find you must follow a gluten-free diet, you’ll need to commit to reading food labels carefully and to educating yourself on the types of food and food products that can contain gluten. There are more gluten-free products on the market now, which is helpful because you do not have to make all your food from scratch. With education and strict adherence to your diet, you can begin to feel better.

Next Up: Foods that contain gluten and those that don’t

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Foods that contain gluten and those that don’t

The good news: Fruits and vegetables are naturally gluten-free! The same is true for beef, chicken, lamb, pork, fish and dairy products. It’s best to talk to your health care provider for help to determine what you can and cannot eat. This is not a complete list and there are many gluten-free options available for many foods (pasta, soups, etc.), but below is a sample of foods that contain gluten:

  • Wheat (in all forms)
  • Rye (in all forms)
  • Barley (in all forms)
  • Breading and coating mixes
  • Processed lunch meats
  • Soup bases
  • Imitation bacon and seafood
  • Marinades, sauces and gravies
  • Pasta

Many foods on the market now state if they are gluten-free. This is very helpful, but if isn't indicated on the label and you don’t know whether a certain product contains gluten, leave it on the shelf.

More: The celiac disease and infertility connection

Some foods that do not contain gluten:

  • Rice
  • Corn
  • Soy
  • Potatoes
  • Beans
  • Quinoa
  • Millet
  • Buckwheat
  • Distilled alcoholic drinks and vinegar

Celiac disease is one condition where you hold the key to better health. The more you know, the better. Consult the following resources on celiac disease: Celiac Disease Foundation, National Institutes of Health, American Celiac Disease Alliance.

Updated by Bethany Ramos on 5/16/2016

Empire's Jussie Smollett says he wasn't lying to fans, but we're calling BS

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Season 2 of Empire came to a close last night with a suspense-filled season finale, shedding some serious light on the life of a fan favorite left hanging in the balance. Be forewarned — spoilers ahead.

More: I feel guilty for saying so, but I hope [SPOILER] died in the Empire finale

If you'll recall, Jussie Smollett's character Jamal was gunned down by friend and fellow rapper Freda Gatz at the ASA Awards during Empire's penultimate episode. As Jamal is arguably the most popular character on the Fox series outside of Taraji P. Henson's Cookie, this understandably created quite a stir among viewers.

What really got them riled up, though, was what Smollett tweeted immediately following the tragic episode. "I've thoroughly enjoyed my time w/ @EmpireFOX. I love you all. Truth. Time 2 make a record & some movies. #Empire," Smollett wrote in the wake of the shooting.

Naturally, fans were devastated — some suggesting the show couldn't survive without its "heart," Jamal.

Fast-forward to last night's finale, when the series flashes ahead three weeks... and a nearly fully recovered Jamal arrives at the family estate for a welcome home party. Sure, he's in a wheelchair, but he still looks pretty great for a man who was shot in the gut less than a month ago.

For the record, we weren't buying it. Many fans expressed that they were dubious Smollett would actually leave the show, and I even pointed to several pieces of evidence to the contrary. Like, for example, the fact that Fox execs would never let a star get away with ruining a storyline before it airs.

More: Empire's [SPOILER] just got shot, but there's no way the show will kill them off

Or how about the fact that earlier in the year, Smollett had posted a video to Insta stating he'd begin filming Season 3 in June?

As we all now know for sure, Smollett isn't going anywhere, which leads us to one conclusion: he was intentionally misleading his fans. For intrigue, clicks and/or ratings, presumably. Of course, it goes without saying that although fans were irked that Smollett tweeted such an ominous tweet, mostly we were all just happy to see he didn't get killed off.

However, Smollett obviously felt compelled by the feedback to respond to accusations he had lied to fans  — or, at the very least, implied a lie. So he took to Instagram to clarify his comments, only this time co-star Gabourey Sidibe was right there to hold him accountable.

Empire Jussie Smollett 1

Empire Jussie Smollett 1

"Listen 2 my words... I'll see y'all season 3. @gabby3shabby #IAintGoingNoWhere #IAintNoDumbHo #StillRise #EmpireFinale #empire #PettyNiccasUnite," Smollett captioned the Gram. Then, in the accompanying video, he argued that he wasn't trying to trick fans.

"OK, first of all, I said I've thoroughly enjoyed my time at Empire Fox, which is true," he said. "I said I love you all, which I do. I said time to go make a record and some movies, which I am."

To which Sidibe, sitting beside him and obviously having none of his excuses, responded, "Let me light that ass up with facts real quick. What you said, though, is I thoroughly... first of all, first of all, your timing was fucked up, Chief."

More: Empire haters need to calm the hell down about Jamal's gay sex scene

She then shared the video on Twitter and Instagram, saying respectively, "We in here fightin. I got y'all!" and "This argument went on until I screamed 'FIGHT ME THEN HOE!' and @jussiesmollett knew that this wasn't what he wanted."

So, basically, she was all of us in that moment, calling BS on Smollett.

Do we still love him? Yep. Are we glad Jamal isn't headed to that great big recording studio in the sky? Absolutely. But are we buying that Smollett wasn't trying to trick us into thinking he was leaving Empire? Nope. Nopety nope nope. Try again, son.

What do you think? Was the timing of Smollett's tweet just coincidental?

My daughter learned acceptance from our three-legged dog

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I just finished watching The Present, an animated short film about a 3-legged dog. Every family should watch this adorable movie about a boy and his 3-legged dog. It's not just fun to watch– this short has an important message about acceptance and special needs that everyone needs to see.

More: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson motivated my dog to be an action hero

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for 3-legged yellow dogs. You see, I recently lost my own 3-legged yellow dog, Hop Along Cassidy.

All dogs are wonderful but Cassidy was somehow special. Cassidy was hit by a car as a pup and wound up with a dog rescue organization, which is where we found him and adopted him not long after. Because of his disability, he became a sort of furry ambassador teaching adults and kids the power of accepting others who might might not walk, run or look like they do.

We took Cassidy everywhere. Loading him into the back seat of my SUV, we’d hit the park, the beach, afternoon pickups at school and the McDonald’s drive thru for chicken nuggets. Everywhere he went, people — especially kids — would want to know how he lost his leg. Adults often quizzed us about what things he couldn’t do. Most were very surprised to learn that this dog missing a hind leg could run, play, snuggle and jump just about like any other dog.

Kids were always right out there asking how he lost his leg and wanting all the details of his injury. Often, they’d sit down beside him, pet him and seem so sad for this three legged lab; that was until he started licking them all over their faces. The pity usually melted into giggles. He knew how to turn on the charm.

Cassidy became a disarming, happy example of acceptance and compassion. His beautiful resilience was a gift to many, but especially my daughter. I’m so blessed that she grew up with a three legged dog as a pet. She learned early on that it’s OK to be a little unique, to need a little extra help now and then.

More: 3 Asian stereotypes this mom is tired of hearing

When my daughter was still sleeping in a toddler bed, Cassidy could easily climb onto it, but when she graduated to a “big girl bed,” it was just a little too tall for him to climb. I have such wonderful memories of her, not much bigger than him, giving a boost and helping him climb onto the top of her Dora the Explorer comforter for a snuggle. Teaching compassion with a big fuzzy dog is way more impactful than any lesson learned from a book in school.

Talking about Cassidy being a little different from most dogs opened up so many discussions about differences in people, of people with disabilities. He normalized disabilities for my daughter and helped her teach her own friends that you don’t have to fear someone who might seem different at first.

When her friends came over, some seemed scared of Cassidy and his uneven gait, but my daughter was able to explain why he walked a little differently and her playmates quickly realized that there was nothing to fear. All he wanted was an ear scratch — or their hot dog.

I believe that our Hop Along Cassidy was such a gift, a happy gift of acceptance and love covered in fur. I personally think that everyone needs a three legged dog in their life, and if you aren’t lucky enough to get that, at the very least you can see one in The Present.

More: 11 Reasons my dog is better than a boyfriend

Let us help you decide if you should have a buffet-style wedding reception

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When it comes to a wedding dinner, there are always two options to consider: a sit-down dinner and a buffet-style dinner. How do you figure out which one is right for you? We're here with a pros-and-cons list for doing it buffet-style to help you decide.

More: How to plan a wedding on a shoestring budget

Here are five advantages to a buffet-style wedding reception:

Pro: It's easier to accommodate food allergies and preferences

If you decide to go with a buffet-style dinner, your guests can have a full meal and ultimately decide on what they want to eat instead of just the typical chicken or fish options. So many people have food allergies nowadays that it’s best to give everyone an array of options and let them choose instead of accommodating individual guests.

Pro: You save money on service

If you go with a buffet, you won’t have to hire a huge waitstaff to serve your guests — this will save you a few extra dollars. You’ll need just one person to monitor the buffet and another to serve wine and water to your guests. Think of it this way — you may be able to afford that second dress for the reception that you were thinking about buying.

Pro: It's more social

While your guests are in line to get food, they are able to mingle and talk to people who they may not know too well or who aren’t at their table.

More: 10 outrageous wedding receptions

Pro: It gets guests moving around

Having a buffet gives your guests the option to get up and move around — they won’t feel like they're stuck at their assigned table and, more important, waiting to get fed. During a sit-down dinner, most people sit at their tables and wait even when they want to get up and mingle, because they fear they might miss their meal when the waiter finally comes around to their table.

Pro: People eat while the food is still hot

Food is always hot at a buffet. Have you ever been to a wedding where the service is slow and you’re at the last table? Yeah, it’s not that fun. You receive your plate, take a bite, and it's lukewarm chicken — not appetizing at all. When you have a buffet, people will know the food they’re getting is hot and fresh — it makes for a better dining experience.

Now here's what's not so good about having a buffet-style wedding reception:

Con: Buffets encourage overeating — and that gets expensive

You may end up spending more money on food if you have a buffet-style reception. Your guests are free to take as much food as they want (even if they don’t end up eating it all). The worst possible thing is running out of food before everyone gets to eat, so this is something to consider.

Con: There could be hidden costs

Depending on what catering company you go with, you might end up dishing out money for linens, chafing dishes and serving plates if the company does not supply them.

Con: Lines! Amirite?

People hate waiting in line. Standing in line to get food may pose a problem for some people — some may end up skipping the dinner just because they don’t want to stand and wait. You can always have two separate lines for food, but this may or may not get rid of the cluster of people trying to get food all at once. Another option is to call a few tables at a time to get food.

More: Fresh takes on traditional wedding reception foods

Con: The buffet is a space hog

It takes up room in your venue. If your wedding reception is in a small venue, then you can always have the buffet on the dance floor and remove it after dinner, but this can be a hassle. If you have room to have it in the back with nice floral arrangements, then go for it, but with smaller venues, it may not be the way to go.

Con: The grandparents may not be into it

The older crowd isn’t always fond of buffets. Your parents and grandparents may have pictured something a little more "elegant" when it comes to your wedding, so if you decide to go with a buffet consider that. Plus, some elderly guests may have aches and pains that make waiting in line a hardship.

So there you go. It really depends on the guests you're expecting, the tone of the wedding you're planning and what you think will work for you. But hopefully this framework will help you decide your best party plan.

How Survivor's Aubry Bracco knew way ahead of time she wasn't going to win

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While many viewers were hoping she might walk away the winner, Aubry Bracco knew she wasn't going to be the Survivor champ against Michele Fitzgerald.

"I knew the minute I stepped out of that Tribal in that moment. Survivor is about moments and being on the right side of the moment, and I knew I didn't have that moment when I stepped out of Tribal," Aubry told us on the finale's red carpet.

She ultimately finished the game in second place by a vote of 5-2.

Aubry Bracco on Survivor: Kaoh Rong
Image: CBS

"I could read the room," she continued. "If you go to a dinner party, you know if people are having a good time or a bad time, you know where they're at. When people stood up, some people didn't ask me questions. I knew when Scot came up and said what he had to say to Michele that I just didn't have the moment in that moment. I considered myself an underdog throughout the game, but I'm always someone who believes you should take responsibility for your actions, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get it done. At that point in the game, the people in the jury did not consider me to be the underdog. That's not something you can force people to believe. They have to feel it, and that group didn't feel it."

The final Tribal Council was filmed more than a year before the winner was actually revealed, which became a torturous 12 months for Aubry to think about her self-perceived impending loss.

More: 7 reasons I think Aubry Bracco should have won Survivor

Aubry Bracco competes in challenge on Survivor: Kaoh Rong
Image: CBS

"I believed that I had played the best game," she said. "I believed I was strategic. I didn't think I ever stopped. I made one-on-one emotional connections, but I also knew you can feel that you owned it and played the best game, but that's the beauty of Survivor. It's all up to the jury and I just wasn't what the jury needed at that moment in time."

Had she lost the tie-breaking fire-making challenge and landed on the jury, Aubry knew she was going to vote for Cydney to win it all.

"Cydney played a fierce game. She's a tough competitor and I just have a lot of respect for how she runs her life."

More: Survivor's Debbie Wanner sums up Aubry Bracco in one word

Aubry Bracco on Survivor: Kaoh Rong
Image: CBS

On the flip side, we asked Aubry if she agrees with fans who say Michele may be one of the most unforgettable winners ever. Her response was swift and blunt.

"I think we have an amazing season with amazing people. Anyone who can get to the end after 39 days on that season, I think it's a memorable group."

And if Aubry has it her way, this won't be the last time she digs her toes in the sand to battle it out for $1 million.

"Of course I would do Survivor again. It's the best experience of my life. Super humbling. All the fans have been amazing, saying that they related to me. That means a lot to me because they could just as easily be any other fan in my position. It's just been really humbling. I'm very grateful."

How would she summarize her entire Survivor experience with a single hashtag? #ShockAndAubs.

More: Survivor's Aubry Bracco makes shocking last-minute vote change

Aubry Bracco's cast photo for Survivor: Kaoh Rong
Image: CBS

What hashtag would you use to summarize Aubry's season? Do you think she was more deserving than Michele? Would you ever want to see Aubry play the game again? Join the conversation and leave a comment now.

I tried to dance like Beyoncé and it's OK, you can laugh

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Last night, the man behind Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" taught me a fun and funky dance routine, and it was awesome.

Beyoncé is just one of choreographer and creative director Frank Gatson's many celeb clients. He has also worked with megastar names like Usher, Michael Jackson, TLC, Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Rowland.

More: Did Jay-Z really cheat on Beyoncé, or is Lemonade just a piece of art?

Now, Gatson has moved on to creating groups of his own, and recently formed a girl group. The auditions to selections were documented on BET's reality show Chasing Destiny. And luckily for me, those ladies didn't make me dance alone as Gatson taught me and a roomful of others a routine to the song "Love On Top."

Beyonce Love on Top video

Beyonce Love on Top video

Though Beyoncé is known for her sexy and confident dance moves, Gatson himself said that he doesn't understand when dance became all about girls looking (in his words) slutty. He harkened back to the days of TLC and En Vogue when dance was about having fun, which Gatson believes it always should be. And that's how he choreographs. It's about confidence in getting the moves perfect... which is what I kept telling myself every time I messed up. Oh yeah.

More: Stop focusing on Beyoncé's marriage – Lemonade has bigger lessons to offer

And sure, my body is not nearly as bootlicious as Beyoncé's and my moves will never make you feel crazy in love, but you'd better believe I felt sexy nonetheless.

There is something so empowering about dancing like no one is watching. So go ahead, laugh all you want. Trust me, I'm laughing too. Doesn't mean I'm gonna stop my moves anytime soon.

(I'm the girl in the white top on Gatson's left in the video, just in case you were wondering.)

More: How Malcolm X turned Lemonade from a breakup album into a battle cry

Check out our Facebook live post below to learn the dance for yourself as well as get some tips from Gatson about posing on the red carpet.


There's something really fishy about these moms' ultrasound photos

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Pregnancy can sometimes be the most frustrating kind of exciting. Once you're done puking your brains out and it becomes more and more clear that you are actually pregnant and not just storing up an extra layer for winter, it can begin to feel like your rude little baby is taking forever to finish cooking. You just want to meet them.

That's why ultrasounds are such an exciting milestone in pregnancy. While you wait for your newest family member to come join you, you can at least enjoy looking at pictures of them in utero. But what if that ultrasound wasn't really your baby? What if it was a bait-and-switch baby or just a picture of stock fetus No. 11? A group of moms in Canada says that's just what happened to them, and they want other moms to be on the lookout for swindling sonographers.

More: There are photos of a breech baby's vaginal birth, and they're incredible

The thing with ultrasounds is this: Like potato chips, one is rarely enough to keep you satisfied until the end of your pregnancy. Usually, though, that's about all you'll get from your insurance and doctor, assuming your pregnancy has no complications that require further visual monitoring of the fetus. Which, of course, yay. But sometimes moms and their partners will want a little extra something to tide them over until the baby finally comes along.

All the Toronto moms in question got their ultrasounds done at a place called BabyView in Pickering, Ontario. You might be familiar with the way outlets like Babyview operate. They're stand-alone, third-party imaging centers that perform so-called 3-D or 4-D ultrasounds when your doctor and insurance cut you off. Of course, it's not exactly cheap. Extra photos of your sea-monkeyesque fetus come with a $50 to $228 (CDN$65 to $299) price tag.

For that price, you'd at least expect that the baby you'd be fawning over is yours. But at least 20 parents recently noticed that something was way off about their images. And by "off," we mean these parents allege that the images are identical to other parents' pictures or were pulled directly from a stock image.

More: A baby wriggled out of his mom’s womb in the most incredible C-section ever

It all seems to have begun with a mom named Jenn Cusimano, who posted a picture of her newest 4-D ultrasound image from BabyView in a group page on Facebook. She was immediately contacted by another mom in the group who said that she had the same image:

babyview identical ultrasound

babyview identical ultrasound

From there, the situation appears to have blown up. People came forward with more of that same image, and it quickly became apparent, at least to the moms, that a lot of their ultrasound pictures weren't just similar to one another's — they were dead ringers for the sample babies BabyView kept pictures of on its site as an example of what each stage of development looked like. One user in the private group set up for scammed parents sarcastically quipped, "We are the proud parents of Baby 19," referring to the 19th baby on the sample page.

For its part, the company has chalked up the similarities among photos to a technical glitch, in a rambling apology posted to its own Facebook page:

babyview apology

babyview apology

More: Put down the bucket, and try these natural morning sickness remedies

Obviously this is really ugly on a few different levels. If these photos are indeed the same photos, then moms were duped by someone looking to make some fast cash.

If this news isn't enough to make you wonder if you really need to set up an appointment, it bears noting that many doctors urge women away from stand-alone sonogram shops. The consensus among health care professionals is to just avoid novelty imaging operations. They aren't medically necessary, and doctors worry that even trained sonographers will get caught up in the excitement and miss legitimate potential complications.

Now it looks like the entire idea of people exploiting the tumult of emotions in pregnancy could be a little darker. Even if BabyView never scammed its customers (again, the allegations are still just that at this point), it's kind of a surprise that something like this hasn't come up already. After all, as Adeel Mir, the owner of BabyView, told Toronto Sun, "Before 22 weeks, all babies will look similar."

Indeed.

Still upset by Blake Lively's 'Oakland booty'? Sir Mix-A-Lot has words for you

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Blake Lively's got (Sir Mix-A-Lot at her) back.

More: Blake Lively should be offended by Woody Allen — not Woody Allen rape jokes

Following a ton of backlash Lively faced on Twitter for posting a photo of her rear end with the caption, "An L.A. face with an Oakland booty," Sir Mix-A-Lot is speaking out in support of Lively, who borrowed a line from his chart-topper "Baby Got Back" for the caption.

"The reason I wrote the song was because I always felt that the African American idea of what was beautiful was shunned… what was promoted as beautiful was kind of really waif-thin, borderline heroin addicts. I don’t mean that literally, I mean the look. That was kind of pushed at us, and we were told that it was beautiful, and what I started to see was some people of color either being ashamed of who they were or trying their best to assimilate," he said in a lengthy interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I wrote this song not as a battle between the races. I wrote the song because I wanted Cosmopolitan, I wanted all these big magazines to kind of open up a little bit and say, ‘Wait a minute, this may not be the only beautiful.'"

More: Alert: Blake Lively and Eva Mendes may be pregnant (or they just ate a sandwich)

He then spoke up in support of Lively, saying her post proves that beauty standards are being rewritten.

"Fast-forward to Blake Lively. For her to look at her butt and that little waist and to say 'L.A. face with an Oakland booty,' doesn’t that mean that the norm has changed, that the beautiful people have accepted our idea of beautiful? That’s the way I took it," he said. "If what Blake Lively meant by that comment was, 'Oh my goodness, I’ve gained weight, I look horrible,' — and I doubt that she did — then I’m with the critics. But no one in the world is gonna tell me that a woman that wears that dress is thinking that she’s fat… It sounds like to me like she was giving the line props."

But that's not it. You can even wear the lyrics on your body. That's right, new to his merch lineup is a T-shirt with "LA face" on the front and "Oakland booty" on the back.

More: Emma Watson wears garbage & 9 more stories in pop culture this week

Do you agree with Sir Mix-A-Lot? Or was Blake Lively's caption inappropriate? Head down to the comments and let us know.

Before you go, check out our slideshow below:

celebrity couples slideshow'
Image: WENN

Donald Trump's supporters have a real problem with this woman's hat

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When Krystal Lake, a college student from Staten Island, New York, wore a baseball cap that read "America was never great" to her Home Depot job this past weekend, technically her rights as a citizen of the United States were protected (her rights as a worker at Home Depot are another story).

More: Donald Trump didn't really show up for Megyn Kelly's interview

But that doesn't mean she was protected from the onslaught of online harassment and even death threats she says she has received since a customer snapped a photo of her wearing the cap and posted it online, where it went viral.

America was never great

America was never great

The slogan on her hat is an obvious riff on the one Donald Trump has been using since the start of his run for office: "Make America great again." Lake, who is a Bernie Sanders supporter, according to the Staten Island Advance, reportedly told the newspaper her intention in wearing the cap was to remind people that the goal should be to look to the future and make America better than it was rather than pining for the return of a past that certainly wasn't golden for all segments of the population.

"The point of the hat was to say America needs changing and improvement," Lake told the Staten Island Advance. "I don't think it's a positive message to say, 'Let's look to the past.'"

More: Our 911 system is a whole lot messier than it should be

In case you're wondering, a Home Depot spokesperson reportedly said its employees are not permitted to wear articles of clothing that reflect political statements, though Lake claims some of her co-workers have been wearing pro-Trump pins and have not been told to remove them. So no, Lake maybe shouldn't have worn this hat to work — you win that argument.

But the intense anger and rage her hat is inspiring on social media has very little to do with Home Depot, and we probably shouldn't assume it's all coming from Trump supporters, since we don't have proof of that.

There are sentiments like this one:

america great one

america great one

And this one:

america great two

america great two

And countless others. Groups of people who despise Lake's message and those who support her (and many do) share one thing in common: extreme anger over the issue.

As someone who lives in one of few very conservative areas in very liberal New York, I have neighbors, friends and relatives who support Trump. Almost all of them have explained their loyalty to him using some version of the following statement: He says what everyone is thinking but is afraid to say.

More: My boss let me go for having depression

If Trump is celebrated by some when he implies that America is not currently great — there's too much illegal immigration, the U.S.-China trade relationship needs to be reformed, etc. — Lake should be afforded the same respect when she expresses a similar sentiment. The big difference here is the word "never." Lake's slogan doesn't give people the hope they crave right now. But those who are berating Lake and even threatening her are closing their eyes to the obvious fact that Trump's slogan does nothing to offer her hope. His is an exclusive promise. If she feels left out of his vision for America's future, it means millions of others share her frustration — why has it become so frightening to let people have a voice?

You can make an argument that, at the very least, Trump is honest and forthright about who he is and his limitations in being able to appeal to people of every race and religion. But that simply isn't good enough for the people who feel left out. And Lake doesn't deserve to be abused online for pointing that out.

I used to think 'staying hot for my husband' was the key to a happy marriage

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I used to think that the most important part of any marriage was in two people who refused to "let themselves go." Of course, that was 13 years and three kids ago. I was 24 when we got engaged, and back then, staying "hot" was as simple as running 5 miles a day to offset the tubs of peanut butter cups and cookies my new husband and I consumed nightly.

I am not proud.

A new essay from 33-year-old writer Amanda Lauren claims that she thinks one of her vows is that she needs to stay hot for her marriage. She says being attractive is what makes her marriage hum and her husband's friends jealous. Her point was not well received. Obviously there are many women — and men and gender-nonconforming people — who don't fit that mainstream look who are more than deserving of loving and long marriages. If being conventionally hot were the only prerequisite to a long and loving marriage, a lot of worthy and wonderful people would be left out in the cold. But even putting all that aside, taking a vow at 33, before children and aging have had their way, is dangerous indeed.

I used to value being conventionally hot. In my 20s, it was very important to me to have perfect abs that fit into a bikini quite nicely. I valued long hair and large breasts and all those things. My husband loved me for my brain first, but he was also more than happy to take advantage of my obsession with looks. It is easy enough when you are young and your metabolism is crazy good. It really doesn't take that much work. But as you age and have children, things slow down. Things change. You also get deeper. And you realize those shallow pursuits are just that — shallow. And thank goodness for that.

More: 'I'm happily married, but still wonder what could have been with my ex'

My guess is that Lauren will discover very soon (after all, I am only four years older than her and was already a mother of two at her age) that marriage is much richer, happier and fulfilling when you let go of some of those exterior expectations.

At this point in my life, I am a yoga teacher. I run 6 miles every other day. I try to stay in shape. Sure, looks are a small piece of that. But the bigger piece is about me. I like living clean. I like treating my body well. And my good mood about living that way translates into happiness with my husband. I plan to be that lady well into my 80s, who is standing on her head and shocking all the young 'uns in yoga class.

None of this means I want to stay hot. The word "hot" in our culture means a few things: young, tight, muscular, flat abs, blond hair, etc., etc. It is a very narrow definition of beauty and health and what it means to be a woman. I prefer to think of it as keeping myself fit and happy and healthy so I can be a better person and thus a better wife and mother and friend and daughter and sister. It works for all the relationships in our lives.

More: I may be married with a newborn at 24, but I didn't throw away my 20s

Maybe that is what Lauren was trying to say. Or maybe she and her husband ascribe to a very archaic view of marriage, in which she must be tight and perfect, and he can do whatever he wants. If it is the latter, though, I don't feel angry. Or triggered. I just feel sorry for her. Thirteen years into marriage, my husband has seen me through three natural births, three ever-expanding pregnancies, countless bouts with stomach bugs that had me looking like a drowned rat and one very bad night in Cabo, where too much tequila saw me hysterically crying on the floor of our shower, mascara running down my face and half my clothes in a wet heap on the floor. None of these things were "hot." When I wake up in the morning, I look nothing like the 24-year-old he asked to marry him. And he looks nothing like the man who gave me a ring. We both have aged. We both have put on 10 pounds. But we are happy. We are healthy. And we are more in love than ever.

Sure, keep yourself up for your own happiness. But don't do it for him. Because time and life catch up with all of us, and you will find that either your narrow definition of "hot" has to evolve, or you can expect to live unhappily ever after.

We're with Ariana Grande — Selena Gomez is so much more than Justin Bieber's ex

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Ariana Grande is growing up, and at the same time, developing some feminist ideals that are making us absolutely love her.

More: Stars explain why Ariana Grande, Hillary Clinton are inspirational to them (VIDEO)

Grande, a former Nickelodeon star who grew up in the spotlight, has had her fair share of embarrassing public moments, most notably that time she was caught on camera licking donuts on a store counter while saying, "I hate America."

But she's been quietly working on her new album for the past year, and if her latest interview with Billboard magazine is any indication, she's done a lot of growing during her time outside of the public eye.

While the entire interview, though lengthy, is well worth a read, our favorite parts come when Grande supports her fellow female artist, Selena Gomez, who is often referred to in headlines not by her name, but as Justin Bieber's ex-girlfriend.

"I’ll never be able to swallow the fact that people feel the need to attach a successful woman to a man when they say her name," Grande says. "Call her by her name! I hate that. Like, I’m fuming. Sorry. You opened up... I need to take a sip of water and breathe. Don’t get me started on this shit."

More: Ariana Grande goes on expletive-filled rant about homophobia

Grande has some of her own experience with this; since her breakup with Big Sean, she's been attached to the rapper in headlines where she should have been standing on her own.

In her interview, Grande also comments on the show-biz double standard that praises men for their bodies, yet demands that women keep theirs covered.

"If you’re going to rave about how sexy a male artist looks with his shirt off, and a woman decides to get in her panties or show her boobies for a photo shoot, she needs to be treated with the same awe and admiration," Grande says.

Preach!

More: Ariana Grande fires back at crude celeb body comparisons (PHOTO)

Do you agree with Ariana Grande's take on feminism?

Grey's Anatomy pissed off fans with Callie's low-key send-off

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During Thursday's Season 12 finale of Grey's Anatomy, another major character said farewell to the Shonda Rhimes drama. As suspected for some time now, Sara Ramirez exited as Callie Torres after 10 years in the role.

More: Grey's Anatomy: I'm totally #TeamArizona after the custody hearing

It's never easy saying goodbye to a beloved character, but clearly, Ramirez was ready to go. After the finale aired, she released a statement reading, "I’m deeply grateful to have spent the last 10 years with my family at Grey’s Anatomy and ABC, but for now I’m taking some welcome time off. Shonda’s been so incredible to work for, and we will definitely continue our conversations! I send my love to Ellen [Pompeo], the rest of the cast and crew, and I look forward to always being a part of the Shondaland family!"

Take note, she said "some" time off, which just might mean she'll be back at some point. At least that's good news, right?

Well, it's clear fans are not happy with how Callie ended up leaving. It had nothing to do with Callie and Arizona making amends, Arizona giving Callie joint custody of Sofia, and Arizona purchasing plane tickets to New York so Callie could go be with Penny. It had to do with the fact that she was barely in the episode. Granted, it could have been Ramirez's choice, or maybe she even had some input in her departure and decided the smallest amount of Callie was best.

Well, based on a handful of tweets, some fans wanted more Callie, not less. I can't imagine writing off a character that has been part of a series for a decade. I'm sure Rhimes wanted to do Callie justice, but fans don't think the show did right by her. Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign that Callie will truly return in the future, because I have a feeling that if she was leaving permanently, Rhimes would've given her a bigger storyline.

I don't know if that makes those unhappy fans feel any better. Whatever the case, here's how some of them are reacting on Twitter.

More: Grey's Anatomy: Why it's cool Arizona reclaimed the word "slutty" for women

Callie Grey's exit

Callie Grey's exit

Callie Grey's exit #2

Callie Grey's exit #2

Callie Grey's exit #3

Callie Grey's exit #3

Callie Grey's exit #4

Callie Grey's exit #4

Callie Grey's exit #5

Callie Grey's exit #5

Callie Grey's exit #6

Callie Grey's exit #6

Callie Grey's exit #8

Callie Grey's exit #8

Need further proof of fans' disappointment? Yeah, I didn't think so.

More: Grey's Anatomy: Can Callie and Penny please just break up already?

Before you go, check out our slideshow below.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé, Kendra Wilkinson, JWoww & more celeb mom photos

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We have rounded up the sweetest, funniest and most thought-provoking celebrity mom photos from social media this week, starting with Gwyneth Paltrow, who shared a fun photo from daughter Apple’s birthday with Blue Ivy. Kendra Wilkinson put the Holly Madison drama aside to throw her daughter an amazing birthday party, while JWoww shared sweet photos of her son Greyson. Melissa Rycroft (and her new baby Cayson!), Kate Beckinsale and Chrissy Teigen all make the list of the trending moms on social media this week.

Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale and daughter

Kate Beckinsale and daughter

We can’t stop looking at this amazing photo Kate Beckinsale posted on her Instagram page. The 42-year-old actress posted side-by-side photos from the day her daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, was born 17 years ago and now. In the original photo from 1999, her now ex-husband Michael Sheen is pictured smiling while Beckinsale holds her newborn baby. They re-created this epic shot with Sheen again smiling in the background while Beckinsale holds her now teenage daughter. “Always a baby to me,” she captioned the sweet shot.

If you need me, I’m over here rifling through my old photos, seeing which shots I can bribe my kids into re-creating.

More: If these aren't the craziest maternity photos ever, they're close

Kendra Wilkinson

Kendra Wilkinson

Kendra Wilkinson

Kendra Wilkinson took a break from her Twitter feud with Holly Madison to celebrate her daughter Alijah’s 2nd birthday. The Girls Next Door alum celebrated with her husband, Hank Baskett, and their son, Hank Jr. Wilkinson posted snapshots from the Peppa Pig-themed party, which included Alijah getting a manicure as well as an amazing cupcake tower.

More: Can Kendra's "imperfect mom photos" start a new trend, please?

“With Alijah, we are homies... I kinda let her do her thang. She is who she is already pretty much. Our favorite thing we like to do together besides nails, watching sports and eating cheese is to play 'spider mama,' where I become 'mama long legs,'" Wilkinson wrote.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s daughter, Apple, celebrated her 12th birthday surrounded by friends and “godsisters,” including Beyoncé and Jay Z’s daughter, Blue Ivy. The cute group enjoyed a birthday brunch, followed by a day at Disneyland. Paltrow posted a photo with her ex-husband, Martin, as they waited for the group at the bottom of a ride.

“When your parents can't handle #thundermountain anymore so they wait for you at the bottom,” she joked in the caption.

Next up: Jessa Duggar, JWoww and Chrissy Teigen

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Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen

John Legend shared this sweet snapshot as his wife, Chrissy Teigen, burps their baby daughter Luna. The couple welcomed their first child a month ago and have had fun posting adorable photos of their baby girl, as well as Teigen's often hilarious observations on motherhood, such as “No one told me I would be coming home in diapers too,” or her most recent tweet:

“Just spray tanned around my breast pump outline. The logistical challenges of a healthy beach glow while boobing are incredible.”

JWoww

JWoww's newborn baby

JWoww's newborn baby

Jersey Shore alum Jenni “JWoww” Farley shared this photo as her husband, Roger Mathews, cuddles next to his daughter Meilani and their newborn baby boy, Greyson Valor. Mathews actually got to help deliver their second child and described the experience on Instagram.

"I would describe the experience like doing 3 back-to-back combat tours in Iraq while winning the Nobel Peace Prize simultaneously. What an amazing experience to literally witness the miracle of life from the very onset," he wrote.

Jessa Duggar

Jessa Duggar and Spurgeon

Jessa Duggar and Spurgeon

19 Kids and Counting alum Jessa Duggar shared a new photo of her son, Spurgeon Elliot, as he cuddled with his new teddy bear. Jessa and her sister, Jill Duggar, just finished wrapping their first season of their TLC reality show, Jill & Jessa: Counting On — and the rumor mill is churning that the sisters are planning to get pregnant at the same time to boost ratings and keep their show afloat.

Next up: Melissa Rycroft, Shakira and Alyssa Milano

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Melissa Rycroft

Melissa Rycroft

Melissa Rycroft

Congratulations to The Bachelor alum Melissa Rycroft and her husband, Tye Strickland. The couple welcomed their son Cayson Jack this week and the 34-year-old reality star posted this picture as she cuddles with her newborn baby.

Rycroft, who has won Dancing with the Stars in the past, also has two other children: Ava Grace, 5, and her brother Beckett Thomas, 2.

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano posted this adorable snapshot of her daughter, 1-1/2 year-old Elizabella, wearing a blue frilly dress with her foot on a skateboard. The tot showed plenty of spunk and the actress perfectly captioned the photo: “Feminism.”

Shakira

Shakira and son

Shakira and son

Shakira’s 1-year-old son Sasha looked adorably into the camera as he took his first few steps. The 39-year-old Colombian singer and her longtime boyfriend, Gerard Piqué, are also parents to another son, 3-year-old Milan.

More: Jessica Biel, Gwen Stefani and more must-see celeb mom photos


14 burger toppings you won't find on any 'secret' menus

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If you're in a burger rut, shake things up with some creative topping ideas.

More: Hawaiian pizza burger combines two favorite dishes for one tasty meal

Whether you're topping a hearty beef patty, a lower-fat turkey burger or a veggie patty, the right combination of toppers turns an ordinary burger into something extraordinary. Try prepping several topping ideas for your next cookout so your guests can choose which combination works best for them. Just don't forget the ketchup, mustard, American cheese and other fixin's for the traditionalists out there.

More: Spicy chicken fajita burgers are low-carb and piled high with veggies

burger topping ideas
Image: Becci Burkhart/SheKnows

More: Sweet teriyaki glaze puts an Asian spin on juicy chicken burgers

The Catch's season finale has me dreading Season 2

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At the end of the two-hour Season 1 finale of The Catch, I watched Shonda Rhimes' tough heroine Alice turn into a Disney princess, being rescued by the man who conned her into believing their yearlong love affair was real and then stole everything from her. This is not the woman-scorned-and-gets-revenge show I signed on for.

Shame on you, Shonda.

More: The Catch: I'm convinced Ben's hold on Alice is bordering on abuse

Here's a quick review of the season: When we first met Alice, the co-owner of a detective agency, she was karate kicking the crap out of some thief at a cocktail party. We got a glimpse of her softer side when she met her soon-to-be lover Ben; of course, we already knew he was a con man. As the story quickly went on, Ben asked Alice to run away with him (before she knew he was a criminal), but she understandably said no. Why would she leave her friends, her successful business and amazing life, which, by the way, she built herself?

Since she wasn't into the runaway life, Ben went back to his con-artist life and former lover Margot (I like to call her the psychopath).

Alice found out who and what Ben was and the emotions started to surface: pain, because she had fallen in love with him; shame, because she got her colleagues into financial trouble; embarrassment, because she was a detective and her job was to spot the bad guys; and last, but not least, vengeance, because she had a badass, mess-with-me-I-mess-you-up-worse credo.

Yes, Alice was going to be the role model for every woman who's ever been screwed over. She was going to chase Ben down all over Los Angeles — and the world — and put him away. At least, I thought that was going to be the story in the finale and all future seasons to come.

More: The Catch: Alice is sleeping with Benjamin again... and I don't care

But, alas, that didn't pan out. Throughout the first season, The Catch transitioned from a complex cat-and-mouse game to a simple story about love. After all the back-and-forth, Ben proposed to Alice and (gasp!) she said yes.

I have to admit, I’m a bit disappointed that someone in law enforcement like Alice wouldn’t understand that there is a high rate of recidivism for career criminals, especially one as successful as Ben. I mean, even Anne Hathaway knew that. Remember when she got caught up with a suave Italian guy who turned out to be a con man? You don't see her married to him, do you?

Here's my problem with the ending: Ben doesn't know what love is. And on top of that, Margot's still on the run. Who needs or wants to deal with all this shit?

With the show’s renewal, and Alice and Ben now on the same side of the law, I can only imagine that Season 2 is going to look like a remake of that early '80s dramedy Hart to Hart with Robert Wagner and Jill St. John as husband and wife sleuths.

Will Alice and Ben solve crimes as they talk over the case through Plexiglas? Or will she bust him out of the big house à la an episode of Prison Break? Will she help her lawyer get Ben out of jail on a technicality so they can go to Turks and Caicos and start over, only to find themselves on the run from Margot with nothing but Ben’s con-man skills to help them survive?

More: The Catch haters fail to understand what Shondaland is all about

On the other hand, it did take quite a few seasons for Rhimes' other heroine Olivia Pope to get out of her will-we, won't-we relationship with Fitz on Scandal. Perhaps next season, common sense will prevail for Alice as well.

What did you think of the finale? Let us know in the comments below.

What happened at Katy Perry's Cannes performance? It looks like a mess

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Katy Perry got in her charity work with a performance at amfAR's 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala on Thursday. She performed "I Kissed a Girl" to what appears to be lukewarm reception in Cannes. In the video below, one audience member isn't even facing Perry as she dances to the floor on the stage behind him. That gentleman must have seen a lot of other celebs walking around in Cannes if he's too bored to even turn around and pretend to be interested in a pop icon.

More: Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom take their relationship to the next level

In fairness, Perry doesn't quite seem to be giving the performance her all. Her lip-syncing is off, and at one point, she seems to give up halfway through a phrase. Shouldn't charity work mean she's trying even harder than usual?

katy perry amfar

katy perry amfar

People on Twitter noticed the atypical lackluster performance, joking "Beyoncé could never," "she sounds like a trainwreck," "everyone looks so bored as she throws herself on the floor," and "queen of autotune."

More: Insider reveals details on Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom's budding romance

If her performance wasn't exactly successful, Perry certainly at least knows how to make an entrance. After stunting on the red carpet in her curve-hugging Marchesa grown, she cracked that there was no way she was getting down the stairs without the help of two assistants.

katy perry vine

katy perry vine

She was joined at the gala by her boyfriend Orlando Bloom, but Entertainment Tonight reports that they didn't walk the red carpet together. Perhaps Bloom was waving at her, and that's what distracted her doing "I Kissed a Girl." We'll just never know.

More: Katy Perry shuts down Orlando Bloom and Selena Gomez rumors with one tweet

New FDA nutrition labels unmask hidden sugars like woah

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Would sugar by any other name taste as sweet (and be just as bad for you)? Yes, the answer is yes.

It's the oldest trick in the food marketing handbook: Make people feel like they're choosing something good (or at least convince them it's not bad), and we'll eat much more of it. In the past companies have used some sneaky methods to do this. Thankfully, the FDA is on to their nonsense, and its new food label regulations should help us make better decisions.

One popular way to convince consumers the food is healthier than it is is to break up sugar, listing it by different names in the ingredient list, so it looks like there is less of it. There are over 61 different names for the sweet stuff, and by separating them out, food manufacturers can pretend that the first 10 ingredients aren't all added sweeteners. After all, doesn't a product made with "agave nectar, cane juice, caramel, rice syrup and fruit juice concentrates" sound delightful and even downright healthy? In reality, the label should just read "sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, and more sugar."

More: How to sideline sneaky sugars

Another technique is to mess with the serving sizes, making one package more than a single serving. For instance, a personal Tostino's pizza is actually two servings and one bottle of Coke actually contains 2-1/2 servings. But have you ever seen anyone ever eat less than the whole mini-pizza or take the time to measure out more-than-a-third but less-than-a-half of a bottle of soda? What kind of math madness is this?

But this trickery stops now. The Food and Drug Administration has just issued its new guidelines for nutrition labels, and these two issues were the first things it fixed. First of all, manufacturers will now be required to list how many grams of added sugars (total) a product has and what the percent daily value (%DV) is. (The Sugar Association issued an unintentionally hilarious response saying they were "disappointed" and that "there is no scientific justification" for saying sugar is bad for people. Cough, cough.)

In addition, they're requiring that serving sizes more closely reflect the amounts of food that people currently eat and that that be reflected in the calorie count. For example, here's what that Coke label would like under the new guidelines in regards to calories and serving sizes:

Image: Reddit

Larger packages will include a dual-column label to show the differences in nutrition between eating one serving and eating the whole box of pizza.

More: The ultimate guide to serving size

The new labels are also dropping the percent daily value for vitamins A and C, which is good because almost no one is short on those vitamins anyhow, and all it does is give junk food a "health halo." (See: "Juice" products that contain no actual juice but declare "200% daily requirement of vitamin C!") And the FDA is removing the percentage of total fat as well, as it doesn't help people differentiate between good and bad fats.

Manufacturers will have until 2018 to comply with the new rules. But while the new guidelines are most definitely an improvement, the real question now is, will it help anything? Can a nutrition label save us from ourselves?

“There is simply no evidence that consumers will actually change their purchasing behavior based on the new nutrition label,” Sherzod Abdukadirov, a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said in a statement. “Most research shows that consumers largely ignore the nutrition label.”

And I can say from sad, personal experience that he's probably right. I already know my favorite ice cream is loaded with added sugars, no matter what the label says or doesn't say — and I still eat it. #sorrynotsorry

Chocolate chip-cannabis cookies that make it hard to eat just one

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Gone are the days of chalky edibles that taste like patchouli. Enter the perfect chocolate chip-cannabis cookie recipe. The key to these bad boys is butter. By using mostly real butter and only 1/4 cup of cannabis butter, the cookies stay fluffy, soft and so chocolaty. One cookie is a nice, light dose, but they are so tasty you'll have to restrain yourself from eating them all.

More: How to make your own cannabis butter with a slow cooker

You will need the following: softened unsalted butter, cannabis butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, 2 eggs, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda, sea salt and a bag of chocolate chips.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Place the unsalted butter and cannabis butter in a metal bowl, and place the bowl in the oven until the butters just start to melt but are not completely melted. Take the bowl out of the oven, mix well, and let cool.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

While the butter is in the oven, mix together the flour, baking soda* and salt.

*If baking at a high altitude, use slightly less than a full teaspoon of baking soda, close to 3/4 teaspoon.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Allow the butter to cool.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Mix both sugars into the butter until well combined and fluffy. Next, add the vanilla and eggs. Mix well.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, and mix until a dough forms that sticks together when you pinch it. If the dough is too wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a spoonful of softened butter.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Fold in the chocolate chips until just combined.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Roll the dough into medium balls, 12 to a sheet. This recipe will make about 16 cookies. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through.

Image: Chelsea Keeney

Remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are just barely golden brown. The cookies will be light in color and fluffy. Do not bake until the whole cookie is golden brown, as that will overbake them. Let the cookies cool, and then enjoy!

More: DIY cannabis chocolate hazelnut spread you'll want to slather on everything

Cannabis-chocolate chip cookie recipe

Yields 16

Prep time: 10 minutes | Bake time: 12-15 minutes | Total time: 22-25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 12 tablespoons (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup cannabis butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups flour (plus a little more)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (a little less if baking at high altitude)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (16-ounce) bag chocolate chips

Directions: 

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a metal bowl, place the unsalted butter and cannabis butter, and the place the bowl in the oven until the butters just start to melt but are not completely melted. Take the bowl out of the oven, mix together, and let cool.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  4. Once the butter has cooled, mix in both sugars.
  5. Mix in the vanilla and eggs.
  6. Add the flour mixture, and mix until well combined.
  7. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  8. Roll the dough into 1-1/2-inch balls.
  9. Bake 1 sheet at a time for 12 – 15 minutes. Rotating the tray halfway through the baking time.
  10. Let the cookies cool, and enjoy!

More: Cannabis coffee cake is happiness in your mug in just three minutes

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