Vice President Walter Mondale (left) and President Jimmy Carter talk in the shade of the White House Rose Garden in this 1978 photo.Photo: The White House via CNP/Getty ImagesPractically speaking, pavement is a common choice for a heavily trafficked outdoor area in a mid-Atlantic climate. We get heavy thunderstorms throughout the warm season and rain during the colder months, says Bell Design Inc president Robert J. Bell, a landscape architect based in Washington, DC. Bell also works extensively in Palm Beach, Florida, and has a good sense of what the goals and pitfalls are in terms of Trumps proposed changes to the garden. Anyone who has walked on spongy turf in formal shoes knows that queasy feeling you get when youre not sure if youre going to sink into a soft patch, Bell says.What is Mar-a-Lago Style?We dont know the extent to which Mar-a-Lagos design aesthetic will inform the Rose Garden renovations beyond what is referenced by the New York Times report, but according to Miami interior designer and founder of IV Atelier, Irena Viitiuk, Mar-a-Lagoinspired design doesnt necessarily mean directly replicating the private club and spas particular brand of extravagance. Instead, she says, the White House Rose Garden could selectively embrace sophisticated hardscaping techniques, maybe using limestone or bluestone, which is more elegant, carefully chosen landscaping, and subtle nods to historical motifs.Mar-a-Lago style can be thought of as a particular look typically found in high-end Florida estates and private golf clubs. Its a blend of Mediterranean revival with hints of Palm Beach, drenched in gold finishes, grand chandeliers, patterned floors, heavy drapery, and plenty of oversized everything, says Angie Kreller, an interior designer at Yabby. For her, the Mar-a-Lago aesthetic leans maximalist and embraces the theatrical, and while it has historical European influences, it is mashed together in a way that feels more about impact than restraint, she adds.A 2015 photo of the tiled patio at Mar-a-LagoPhoto: Mary Jordan/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesDid Trump redesign the White House Rose Garden in his first term?Melania Trump spearheaded a restoration of the White House Rose Garden with landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden during Trumps first term. The renovations were controversial and drew backlash, leading to a petition that called for the changes to be reversed. As Paulus points out, the White House Rose Garden has undergone several renovations since it was originally created in 1903 by first lady Edith Roosevelt. The first major redesign was by well-known garden designer Rachel Bunny Mellon during the Kennedy administration, says Paulus, who adds that Mellons design included the large central grass panel.

He was born and raised in Manhattan, but where does Timothe Chalamet live now? For years, the star of A Complete Unknown held onto his New Yorker identity when he wasnt traveling for work, but he took the plunge and invested in a Beverly Hills home base about three years ago. The move conveniently brought him closer not only to Hollywood, but also to his current girlfriend of two years, the one and only Kylie Jenner.Read on for the details of the Dune actors digs.Childhood homeManhattan Plaza, the apartment building where Chalamet was raised. (Photo: Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)UCG/Getty ImagesChalamet grew up in Manhattan Plaza, a 46-floor complex in Manhattans Hells Kitchen neighborhood that has provided subsidized housing for middle-income families as part of New Yorks Mitchell-Lama Housing Program since its completion in 1977. In particular, Manhattan Plaza houses performing artists, which is why it also has the nickname Broadways Bedroom. Other famed tenants have included Colman Domingo, Alicia Keys, Angela Lansbury, Mickey Rourke, and Larry David (the real-life inspiration for Seinfelds Kramer resided next door). At one point, Samuel L. Jackson worked there as a security guard. The Wonka stars parents still reside in the structure, which Chalamet regularly visits when hes in NYC.I could draw the picture of an unconventional upbringing. I grew up in arts housing, Manhattan Plaza, which is a funky way to grow up, the actor said of the home in Rolling Stone last year. I could try to paint it negatively to you. I could try to paint it positively, but its a bit of everything. Its nuanced. Chalamet described some of his complicated feelings towards growing up in the arts residence during an interview with Anderson Cooper in February. This building truthfully made me scared of acting, he said, because its a tough lifestyle, and a lot of people arent doing fantastically.NYC rentalsAfter graduating high school in 2013, the Little Women actor bounced around rentals and hotels in the Big Apple. He studied for a year at Columbia, then retreated to an apartment near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx while trying to nab a role on his next big project after 2014s Interstellar. Then he moved to an apartment with two roommates in the East Village during a stint at NYU before dropping out of there, too, to focus on acting full time.In the summer of 2020, Chalamet secured a Manhattan apartment of his own for the first time. The French Dispatch star relished the mundanity of setting up his own place, according to an interview with GQ, but he needed a little help along the way. Zendaya helped me set up my first apartment in New York years ago, he said of his Dune costar in February 2024. The vibe was very teenage boy, Zendaya added. We just needed a few necessities. You know, cups and plates, knives and forks, things to clean. The Euphoria star brought Chalamet to Bed Bath & Beyond to help him hook up his bachelor pad with all the big boy stuff, she said.Beverly Hills homeChalamet eventually decided he wanted to spread his wings and fly a little further from home. After one too many days of doing the same thing, I just got this overwhelming sense that I was still playing the same hand of cards Id had for a long timebut that I had a better hand to play, he told GQ. I was living in this rental place that didnt feel like home. I was getting the same bacon, egg, and cheese at the same deli. Resisting any lifestyle change. Ready to take a new leap, the Oscar-nominated actor gave up his New York apartment and bought a house in Beverly Hills. I was able to spend 10 days in it before I went to Dune [2], and just having it as the home base, it psychologically helped.

This article was produced in collaboration, an independent outlet that unearths overlooked court records.Subscribe to them here.Two former OnlyFans subscribers are suing the platform in a class-action lawsuit, claiming that they were defrauded because creators allegedly werent interacting directly with them, but were instead employing agencies to impersonate the models they thought they were speaking to.The plaintiffs, M. Brunner and J. Fry, both from Illinois, claim that they thought the creators they subscribed tosome of whom have hundreds of thousands of subscriberswere talking to them in direct messages and video clips. Both also say that if theyd known they werent speaking directly to the creators themselves, they wouldnt have subscribed, or would have paid less to subscribe. If OnlyFans stopped creators from using agencies to talk to fans they would consider going back to spending money on the platform, they say.Do you have a tip about OnlyFans, as a creator or a subscriber? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at sam.404. Otherwise, send me an email at sam@404media.co.The complaint is brought against OnlyFanss parent companies Fenix Internet, LLC and Fenix International Limited.The plaintiffs dont provide proof in the complaint that they were talking to agency chatters and not the creators themselves, but say that they became suspicious after subscribing, including realizing that a single individual could not send the number of direct messages or videos that generating revenue from 700,000 fans, in one creators case, would require.Plaintiff Fry created an account primarily in order to engage in friendly conversations with models and share photographs of his cooking creations, the complaint says. Fry alleges that he began to become suspicious of who he was actually communicating when he started getting contradicting information and errors in messages.By exercising its discretion to enrich itself while participating in the deception of its customers, OnlyFans consciously and deliberately frustrates the agreed common purposes of the contract and disappoints the reasonable expectations of Plaintiffs and Class Members, thereby depriving them of the benefit of their bargain, the complaint states.OnlyFans agencies have been a well-documented industry for yearsespecially the chatting aspect, where people employed by an agency manage creators messages and in some cases, respond to fans. Not all OnlyFans creators use agencies or chatters, but there are dozens of agencies that advertise the service. A November 2021 lawsuit against Unruly Agency alleged that the company preyed on and defrauded fans into divulging their "deepest and innermost personal secrets including sexual fantasies and fetishes, marital troubles, suicidal ideations, and other private desires to account managers and senior account managers."Creators may choose to work with a wide range of third parties, including photographers, videographers, talent managers and agencies, to curate and monetise their content, an OnlyFans spokesperson told Cosmopolitan last year for a story about OnlyFans models who use agencies to be more productive. Any third party that a creator elects to work with does not work on behalf of OnlyFans and is not affiliated with the company in any way.In July 2024, five OnlyFans users also filed a class action complaint against OnlyFans parent company claiming that chatter scams defraud fans. Last month, a judge ordered that the case would go to trial in 2027.OnlyFans did not respond to 404 Medias requests for comment about the new class action complaint.Sam Cole is writing from the far reaches of the internet, about sexuality, the adult industry, online culture, and AI. She's the author of How Sex Changed the Internet and the Internet Changed Sex.More from Samantha Cole

A groundbreaking male birth control pill is advancing through clinical trials, marking a major step toward expanding contraceptive options. Researchers from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, in collaboration with Columbia University and YourChoice Therapeutics, have developed YCT-529a hormone-free oral contraceptive designed for men.Unlike traditional contraceptives that rely on hormonal changes, YCT-529 works by inhibiting sperm production. The drug has already completed its first phase of human clinical trials and is now undergoing further safety and efficacy testing. If approved, it could provide an alternative to the limited birth control options like condoms and vasectomies currently available to men. Breakthrough findings from preclinical trialsPreclinical testing has shown highly promising results for YCT-529. In male mice, the drug prevented pregnancy with 99% effectiveness within just four weeks of use. In male non-human primates, it significantly reduced sperm counts within two weeks of administration.Crucially, the research demonstrated that YCT-529s effects are reversible. Male mice regained fertility within six weeks of stopping the drug, while non-human primates fully recovered sperm production within 10 to 15 weeks. Additionally, no side effects were observed in either group, reinforcing its potential as a safe contraceptive option.A safe and effective male pill will provide more options to couples for birth control, said Gunda Georg, the corresponding author of the study and a professor in the College of Pharmacy where the drug molecule was developed. It will allow a more equitable sharing of responsibility for family planning and provide reproductive autonomy for men.Progressing towards human clinical trialsFollowing the success of preclinical studies, YCT-529 has entered human clinical trials. The first phase, conducted by YourChoice Therapeutics in 2024, was completed successfully. The drug is now in a second clinical trial, focusing on further evaluating its safety and effectiveness in humans.This study laid the groundwork for human clinical trials of YCT-529, which are progressing efficiently, said Nadja Mannowetz, lead author, chief science officer, and co-founder of YourChoice Therapeutics. With the unintentional pregnancy rate at nearly 50% in the U.S. and globally, we need more contraceptive options, particularly for men.Expanding contraceptive options for menDespite the FDA approving over 20 types of birth control, men currently have only two primary choicescondoms or vasectomies. The introduction of a male contraceptive pill could revolutionize family planning. By giving men an effective, hormone-free option, couples would have more balanced choices when it comes to pregnancy prevention. This could reduce the burden placed on women, who often bear the primary responsibility for contraception.Additionally, a male birth control pill would be particularly beneficial for those who cannot use female hormonal contraceptives due to health conditions or side effects.However, YCT-529 could change that by providing men with a reliable, reversible, and hormone-free alternative.RECOMMENDED ARTICLESWith clinical trials moving forward, researchers are optimistic that YCT-529 could soon enter the market. If successful, it will not only expand birth control options but also promote greater shared responsibility in family planning.

DIRECTLYThe Nintendo Switch 2 Direct will be about an hour long, big Ninty confirms, and you can watch it hereIt's time: strap your DS and life-size Wario plush to your back, we're going in as soon as the countdown hits zero.Image credit: Nintendo News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on April 1, 2025 Nintendo's all ready to go for its big April 2 Switch 2 Direct. While we've known the date and time for a little while, i's now confirmed how long the showcase will last - and you'll be able to watch the Direct right here.So, prepare your bottom, scream away the last of any anguish last week's original Switch Direct left you with (assuming you believed Hollow Knight: Silksong would show up at it), and get ready to drink your fill from Ninty's Switch 2 info vat.Watch on YouTubeYou'll be able to tune into this Nintendo Switch 2 Direct via the video above on April 2, 2025. It's set to kick off at 2PM GMT, which is 6AM PT, 9AM ET, and 3PM CET. Just press play at that time wherever you are and boom, Switch 2 all up in your grill - flaunting its sexy joy-cons and mysterious C button.As for what you'll see, literally all Nintendo's said is that there'll be "a closer look at Nintendo Switch 2", and that the broadcast "will be approximately 60 minutes long". That's double the length of last week's Direct! So, in theory, double the chance of Hollow Knight: Silksong not getting cut for time, assuming that's what happened last week and the game's not just a thing we've all collectively hallucinated. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Seriously though, what'll be in it? Well, we goit some Mario Kart in the initial Switch 2 reveal, so that might show up again. Metroid Prime 4 showed up last week, but it seems like a game that could well hit Switch 2 as well, ditto Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Aside from that, who's to say which other games will fill out the lineup.Regardless, we'll definitely get plenty of into about the console itself. How much will it cost? What's the difference between "Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games" and "Nintendo Switch 2 edition games"? Will all of this info be screamed at us by Toad, to ensure it penetrates our skulls in a fashion Shigeru Miyamoto would deem DIRECT enough?Whatever happens, we at VG247 will be here, reporting on all the big reveals and probably getting a bit funny with headlines.

Switch Goal-tsAs Goat Sims devs host a Goat Direct the day before Nintendos pretty low-key Switch 2 Direct, they're keen to include the new console in their plan to have Pilgor "on everything""Now I think we're on like 10 or 11 platforms, so what's one more?"Image credit: Coffee Stain/Nintendo News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on April 1, 2025 So, it's April 1, and Goat Simulator developerCoffee Stain has just hosted a Goat Direct with a bunch of announcements related to the series, including a free Goat Simulator 3 update with a bunch of new gear.It makes sense for the Goat Sim team to share some actual news on April Fools' Day, given that it's the 11 year anniversary of the original Goat Sim coming out in all of its janky, game jammy glory. However, this year the devs have used the name of their showcase to play into the fact Nintendo's hosting a big Switch 2 Direct you might have heard about tomorrow, April 2.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Given the timing, at a Goat Direct press conference, I asked Goat Sim 3 creative director Santiago Ferrero and producer Olivia Follin if they've got or are hoping to have any big plans Goat Sim-wise specifically for the new console once it's out."It's always nice to be on all platforms and be up-to-date with all the next/current gen [hardware]," Ferrero said, "That's always the vision or the plan with Goat Sim 3 especially, to be on everything and then we'll see when and if [Switch 2 stuff] happens.""We started on three platforms...then we've realised we need to be everywhere," Follin added, "and now I think we're on 10 or 11 platforms, so what's one more? [Switch 2] would be pretty cool."Watch on YouTubeWhile they didn't have anything concrete to share in terms of Goat Sim on Switch 2 (though it's likely you'll at least be able to play the existing Goat Sim ports via backwards compatibility), the Goat Direct did see the team announce a new free update to Goat Sim 3 called Gifts from the Rifts. Designed to close out the tenth year of Goat Sim being a thing, it features 27 new gears, plus an additional hidden gear, and a new goat in the form of Plushie Pilgor, which can turn everything it touches into toys like a big consumerism machine gun with hooves.All of that - which Ferrero explained is largely stuff the team has worked on over the years and then pulled together as a free update - will drop from the sky via balloons, giving you plenty to hunt down. Ferrero described it as "a nice way of getting something out, without spending too much time away from the bigger expansion that we're working on". That expansion, it seems, is what was teased at the very end of the Goat Direct, but no other deets about it were shared here.Beyond that, the Pilgor "A Goat" outfit will be returning to the Fortnite item shop to close out the series' year of 10th birthday celebrations, and Goat Sim 3's Multiverse of Nonsense DLC will be arriving on mobile soon. Plus, Goat Simulator: The Card Game's Kickstarter launches on April 30.Are you hoping the Switch 2 will get plenty of Goaty stuff that makes full use of its capabilities? Let us know below!

Image: Xbox Game StudiosOne of the most surprising and intriguing rumours in recent months concerns the potential launch of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Nintendo's upcoming Switch 2. Microsoft has been bullish in moving some of its biggest games over to rival platforms, including the likes of Forza Horizon 5 (on PS5), Grounded, and Pentiment, so while it hasn't officially confirmed or even hinted at a release, Halo on the Switch seems like a pretty sure-fire possibility at this point.According to The Verge's Tom Warren during an episode of 'The Xbox Two' podcast, however, The Master Chief Collection may not launch on the Switch 2 in its complete form (thanks, Pure Xbox). What this means exactly is unclear as Tom was being purposely vague (and we don't blame him), but essentially, this is what he had to say:"I don't know if it's going to be 'collection', in the sense - I wouldn't think of it as every game, put it that way... [that's] probably the most I can say on it."We can only speculate as to what this means, exactly. Could it be that Xbox opts to launch each game individually? On the one hand, it would be pretty cool to see each game listed separately on the Switch 2's homescreen, but at the same time, it feels like that would be a bit of a rubbish deal.That's one possibility, but it could also be that Xbox decides to launch one collection containing the original Bungie trilogy and a second containing Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and possibly even Halo 5: Guardians (which isn't part of the current Master Chief Collection).Whatever happens, we're confident that we'll be hearing about it fairly soon, even if it isn't announced during the upcoming Switch 2 Direct. Along with Flight SimulatorWould you like to see Halo on the Switch 2? Would you prefer each game be available separately, or altogether as part of the Master Chief Collection? Let us know with a comment.[source youtu.be, via purexbox.com]See AlsoShare:00 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesSwitch 2 Pre-Orders Expected To Sell Out "Day One" Due To Limited Unit AllocationAccording to a "large US retailer"Rumour: Switch 2's Pre-Order Date Might Have Been Accidentally LeakedUpdate: Pre-orders expected to follow Direct"Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Games" Are A Thing, According To Official WebsiteAs opposed to "Switch 2 exclusive"Nintendo Switch 2 Direct: Time, Where To Watch, What To ExpectIt's time for Switch 2Rumour: New Switch 2 Rumour Makes Wild Claim About Mysterious 'C' ButtonA link to the past (gen)?

Lunar landing.Switch 2 is tantalisingly close - at least, more details about Switch 2 are tantalisingly close, with the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct coming on 2nd April. We're hoping for a date, a price, a huge slate of games, the works!But even with all the info and excitement, there's a good chance the console itself won't be launching for a few months yet. Fortunately, Switch has still got some gas in the tank, with some genuinely brilliant-looking games scheduled to launch over the next couple of months.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

You know the online dating scene is bad when dating giants like Tinder are now introducing AI personas for users to flirt with.On Tuesday, the company announced a new game powered by OpenAI, allowing users to interact with an AI bot to practice flirting, reenact meet-cute scenarios, and receive scores with suggestions for improving their dating skills.To play Tinders The Game Game, tap the Tinder logo in the top left corner of the app. The game gives users a deck of cards, with each one featuring a different AI persona and scenario. Users must use their voices to respond and try to flirt their way into getting a date with the bot.After the interaction, users are scored on a three-point scale using flame emojis. The AI provides real-time feedback throughout the experience. If users are rude, for instance, the AI offers suggestions to improve the conversation.Image Credits:TinderAccording to the company, the new game is intended to provide a fun and lighthearted experience, not to be taken too seriously. Its only available for U.S. users on iOS for a limited time.However, the trend of people flirting with AI bots is becoming scarily popular, and Tinder seems to be banking on this as a way to attract more users amid its struggles for growth. There are already existing apps in this space, such as Replikas AI dating sim Blush, Teaser, and Rizz.Tinder has announced other AI features, such as an AI photo selector tool that launched last year and upcoming features for discovery and matching.

OpenAIs ChatGPT may be the worlds most popular chatbot app. But rival services are gaining, according to data from analytics firms Similarweb and Sensor Tower.SimilarWeb, which estimates traffic to websites including chatbot web apps, has recorded healthy recent upticks in usage across bots like Googles Gemini and Microsofts OpenAI-powered Copilot. Geminis web traffic grew to 10.9 million average daily visits worldwide in March, up 7.4% month-over-month, while daily visits to Copilot increased to 2.4 million up 2.1% from February.Similarweb reports that Anthropics Claude reached 3.3 million average daily visits in March, and Chinese AI lab DeepSeeks chatbot eclipsed 16.5 million visits that same month. Meanwhile, xAIs Grok, which only gained a web app several months ago, averaged the same number of daily web visits as DeepSeeks chatbot: 16.5 million.The numbers pale in comparison to ChatGPT, which surged past 500 million weekly active users in late March. Yet David Carr, editor at Similarweb, noted that theres fierce competition for the No. 2 chatbot spot.[F]or March, DeepSeek is in second place, despite seeing traffic drop 25% from where it was in February, based on daily visits, Carr told TechCrunch. Chinas DeepSeek came out of nowhere in January, but the AI platform with the greatest momentum at the moment is Grok from Elon Musks xAI, with traffic up nearly 800% month-over-month.AI companies mobile chatbot apps have been growing their user bases, too, perhaps fueled by recent AI model releases.According to metrics from app data analysis company Sensor Tower, the Claude app saw a 21% week-over-week increase in weekly active users during the week of February 24, when Anthropic released its latest flagship AI model Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Two weeks prior, shortly after Google made its Gemini 2.0 Flash model generally available, the number of Gemini app weekly active users grew by 42%. Abraham Yousef, senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower, attributed the rising tides not only to new models, but new capabilities, as well. Just this past month, Google brought a canvas feature to Gemini that lets users preview the output of coding projects, and Anthropic has steadily added tools to its Claude client.The rollout of popular new AI models, heightened consumer interest in the space, the introduction of various new features and functions, and the growing number of unique use cases has propelled user growth for AI chatbot apps, Yousef told TechCrunch. But OpenAI probably isnt panicking yet. Yousef pointed out that ChatGPT had 10x mobile app weekly active users compared to Gemini and Claude combined as of March.