Aubrey Plaza's "Beautiful Surprise" After Devastating Loss

Aubrey Plaza announced her first pregnancy just 15 months after her husband's suicide—but there's more to this story of grief and hope.

Aubrey Plaza's "Beautiful Surprise" After Devastating Loss

Aubrey Plaza sat in a doctor's office getting an ultrasound, thinking about how similar it was to her dog's appointment that same day. "She had to get an ultrasound on her stomach. And then I got an ultrasound on my stomach, and there is a baby in there," she told the Smartless podcast with her signature deadpan delivery.

The announcement comes 15 months after her husband, filmmaker Jeff Baena, died by suicide in January 2025 at age 47. The couple had been together since 2011 and married in 2021, though they separated in September 2024. Plaza, 41, is expecting her first child with actor Christopher Abbott. A source close to the couple called the pregnancy a "beautiful surprise after an emotional year."

Plaza has been candid about her grief, describing it as a "daily struggle" and like a "giant ocean of, just, awfulness, that's like right there and I can see it." Now she's navigating pregnancy while processing loss—a reminder that life's most hopeful moments rarely arrive with clean timing.

Gobble's Take: Sometimes the most meaningful news is the kind that doesn't try to erase the past, but learns to grow alongside it.

Source: LADbible

Your Healthy Diet Might Be Giving You Cancer

Sarah thought she was doing everything right. A non-smoker under 50, she religiously ate her fruits and vegetables, chose whole grains, and scored a 65 on the Healthy Eating Index—well above the national average of 57. Then she got lung cancer.

USC researchers studying cases like Sarah's found something disturbing: younger non-smokers who eat the healthiest diets may have higher lung cancer risks than expected. The culprit isn't the healthy food itself, but what's coating it—pesticides from commercially grown produce. The study found that young, non-smoking lung cancer patients had significantly higher diet quality scores than average Americans, consuming more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

The connection makes sense when you consider that agricultural workers with high pesticide exposure also have elevated lung cancer rates. This doesn't mean you should swap your apple for chips, but it's a jarring reminder that "healthy" depends on more than just the food—it's also about what that food absorbed while growing.

Gobble's Take: That organic section just became a lot less optional and a lot more like health insurance.

Scientists Find the Delete Button for Liver Damage

Imagine reversing years of dietary damage without changing what you eat. UCLA scientists may have found exactly that by targeting what they call "zombie cells"—dysfunctional immune cells that accumulate in your liver from aging and high-cholesterol diets.

These senescent cells don't die off like they should. Instead, they stick around releasing inflammatory signals that destroy surrounding tissue. In older mice on high-fat diets, zombie cells made up the majority of liver immune cells. But when researchers administered a drug that eliminates these cellular freeloaders, the results were stunning: liver damage reversed dramatically and mice lost 25% of their body weight while continuing to eat the same junk food.

The research is still in mice, but it opens a radical possibility. Instead of just managing fatty liver symptoms, we might one day clear out the cellular vandals causing the damage in the first place. Your future self might be able to undo some of what your present self's late-night pizza habits are doing.

Gobble's Take: The fountain of youth might not be about what you avoid, but about what you can flush out.

California Calls BS on Fake Recycling Symbols

That "chasing arrows" symbol on your plastic container has been lying to you. Starting October 2026, California is making it illegal to slap those recycling arrows on packaging unless it's actually being recycled into new products—not just theoretically recyclable.

The new "Truth in Labeling" law sets brutal standards: recycling programs serving at least 60% of California must collect the material, and it must routinely become feedstock for new products. This targets the massive greenwashing problem where plastics are technically "recyclable" but end up in landfills because there's no market for them.

Since national brands won't create California-specific packaging, this could force honest labeling nationwide. Your recycling bin is about to become a lot less cluttered with wishful thinking, and companies will have to face the truth about where their packaging actually ends up.

Gobble's Take: Finally, someone called out the recycling industry's participation trophy system.

Quick Hits

• Natalie Portman, 44, is expecting her third child with partner Tanguy Destable, saying she's "cherishing every moment, knowing it's probably the last time." Source: People

• California raised its gift card cash-out threshold from $10 to $15—now you can get actual money for those leftover balances instead of letting retailers keep your forgotten funds.

• Smoothie drinkers show better health than juice drinkers in a new study, but it might be because they also exercise more and smoke less—a classic case of correlation wearing a causation costume.

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Your Vegan Dinner Box Is Greener Than Your Grocery Run
• Aubrey Plaza Announced Her Pregnancy by Comparing It to Her Dog's Vet Visit
• The $10-to-$18 Vegan Meal Kit Wars Have a Winner