Washington next month will become the first U.S. state to deduct taxes from workers’ paychecks to finance a new long-term care benefit for residents who can’t live independently due to illness, injury or aging-related conditions like dementia

Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow are set to release a joint statement following the death of their “brother” Matthew Perry, sources have revealed. The Friends protagonists are said to be “reeling” after news broke early on Sunday that Perry had died, aged 54, in a suspected drowing at his LA home. “The cast is reeling from the loss of their brother, because that’s what Matty was — their brother,” an industry source told Page Six. “It’s just devastating.” They added: “The entire cast are close, they will be devastated, because they were together through the best of times and worst of times. “And when Matty was sick, they protected him, they looked him after him fiercely.” The iconic sit-com, which ran for 10 seasons, propelled the six main cast members to international stardom, but the success was bitter-sweet for Perry. The American-Canadian actor, whose portrayal of the lovably sarcastic Chandler Bing transformed him into a comedy icon, battled addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs for decades, including during his time on the career-defining show. In his 2022 memoir, ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing’, Perry opened up about his internal conflicts while filming Friends, writing: “I loved my co-actors. I loved the scripts. I loved everything about the show but I was struggling with my addictions which only added to my sense of shame. “I felt like I was gonna die if the live audience didn’t laugh, and that’s not healthy for sure. But I could sometimes say a line and the audience wouldn’t laugh and I would sweat and sometimes go into convulsions. “If I didn’t get the laugh I was supposed to get I would freak out. I felt that every single night. This pressure left me in a bad place. I also knew of the six people making that show, only one of them was sick.” He also recounted how Aniston once confronted him on set. “I know you’re drinking – we can smell it,” he recalled her telling him, admitting that the plural “we” hit him “like a sledgehammer.” Elsewhere, Kudrow wrote the foreword to the autobiography, describing Perry as “whip-smart, charming, sweet, sensitive, very reasonable, and rational.” She added: “That guy, with everything he was battling, was still there.” The 54-year-old was clearly beloved by members of the wider cast, with Maggie Wheeler and Morgan Fairchild among the first celebrity voices to share their devastation at his passing. Wheeler, who played Perry’s on-off girlfriend Janice Hosenstein during the early series of the TV show and often appeared to perform her catchphrase “Oh! My! God!”, paid tribute to Perry on Instagram. Meanwhile, Fairchild, who played Perry’s on-screen mother and erotic novel writer Nora Bing, said on Twitter/X: Hank Azaria appeared in several episodes of the sitcom, playing Phoebe Buffay’s love interest David, and said that Perry was like a “brother” to him. In a video posted to his Instagram, he said: “Matthew was the first friend I made in Los Angeles when I moved there. I was 21 he was 16. “We did a pilot together … we became really good friends and we were really more like brothers for a long time. “We drank a lot together, we laughed a lot together. We were there for each other in the early days of our career and he was to me, as funny as he was on Friends and he was and other things too, in person he was just the funniest man ever. “And every night, he was like a genius, he would start to weave comedy threads together, just hanging out – little joke here, joke there, joke here, joke there – and then by the end of the night he would weave them all together in this crescendo of hilarity.” In a joint statement, Friends co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, along with executive producer Kevin Bright, described their own heartbreak. “We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” they said. “We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment – not just to his work, but in life as well. “He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.” They added: “This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.” Meanwhile, Perry’s family released their own statement to US publication People, saying: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. “Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend.” They added: “You all meant so much to him and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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The husband of a Georgia mother-of-four who disappeared more than two weeks ago has been arrested for her murder. Imani Roberson was last seen on 16 July in Conyers, where she was leaving her mother's home. Her car was later found burned and broken into pieces near Atlanta, approximately 24 miles away, according to NBC News. Her body was reportedly found on Friday. Her husband Donell Anderson was then arrested at an apartment complex in Atlanta, and was charged with felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm, according to Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett. He said during a news conference that more arrests were coming in the case. "This investigation is still ongoing and I can assure you that another arrest will be made," he told reporters. Police said Roberson disappeared after she and her four children visited her mother's house for a family dinner. She left two of the children with her mother and returned home with her three-year-old and one-month-old. The next day Roberson's mother called her repeatedly, but she did not answer. When she traveled to her daughter's house to find her, she found no one there. She filed a missing person's report on 17 July. All four of Roberson's children are currently safe, police said. Clarine Andujar-White, Roberson's mother, said the day that Mr Anderson was charged had been a "very difficult day" for her family. "When I couldn’t reach Imani almost three weeks ago, I knew something was wrong," she said. "Late last night my worst fears were confirmed and our family is devastated." Her father, Ronald Acklin, said that it was "not the news" the family was hoping for. The Rockdale County Sheriff's Office has asked members of the public with information regarding Ms Roberson's disappearance to come forward. "Put yourself in the shoes of this family. Put yourself in the shoes of this mother and father who not only just lost a daughter, they lost a daughter that has four children that's young as 1 month old," the sheriff said. "If you have a heart and you know something ... you would call and give us information." Read More 4th body is found in New Jersey house that exploded; 2 injured children were rescued by civilians It took 16 years to identify a woman found buried in a shallow grave. No one knew she was missing Colorado fugitive who was captured in Florida was leading a posh lifestyle and flaunting his wealth

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