by Gil Kaufman 6 mins ago

For months we’ve been hearing about the deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa that has killed more than 3,000 and infected thousands more in Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Senegal. But this week the dangerous hemorrhagic fever became headline news on American shores when the first confirmed Ebola case in the United States was disclosed, setting off a panic about the the extremely infectious disease.

So the question many are asking now is: Should we be worried about catching Ebola? Will I get it if the person next to me in class, or on the subway sneezes or coughs on me? Can I pick it up from a doorknob or a handshake? Don’t panic: MTV News separates fact from fiction.

What Is Ebola And Where Did It Start?

Getty Images News

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by five different viruses that was first identified in Africa in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was named after the Ebola River in Africa and the exact origin and natural host are unknown, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There are five known strains, four of which cause sicken humans and a fifth, the Reston virus, that has sickened animals, but does not appear to be dangerous to man.

How Is The Ebola Virus Transmitted?

AFP/Pascal Guyot

Though Ebola is very infectious (a very small amount can cause illness), it is Read More →

by Brenna Ehrlich 16 mins ago

Finally, we’re making some progress here: The FCC is considering banning the word “redskins” from TV and radio, following a petition they received from legal activist John Banzhaf III.

“We’ll be looking at that petition, we will be dealing with that issue on the merits and we’ll be responding accordingly,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, according to Jezebel. The petition penned by Banzhaf sought to shirk a D.C. radio station of its broadcasting license for its use of the word when referring to the Washington sports team.

“There are a lot of names and descriptions that were used over time that are inappropriate today,” Wheeler added. “And I think the name that is attributed to the Washington football club is one of those.”

If the ban goes through, it could spell fines and other penalties for stations that continue to use the word.

Chatter surrounding the use of the word “redskin” reached a tipping point this summer, when the United States Patent and Trademark Office canceled six federal trademark registrations for the Washington Redskins because the team name is “disparaging to Native Americans.” The definition of the word is even being tweaked in the dictionary to highlight its offensiveness as well.

Despite such moves, however, many still refuse to throw out the word — and the team name. “The Daily Show” recently featured a controversial segment in which a group of native people and a cadre of Redskins fans came face-to-face to discuss the team name, and team owner ...

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by Adam Fleischer 17 mins ago

Looking at Rittz, there are probably three things you’ll notice immediately: His extremely long, bushy hair; his beard; and his skin color. One of those visual markers in particular — his race — has become especially notable given his chosen profession: Rapper.

“I’m allowed to rap about it, because it’s something I deal with,” Rittz told MTV News, explaining why he wrote the song “White Rapper,” which appears on his album Next to Nothing, which dropped in September. But his major concern when dealing with that issue isn’t critics, fans or others in the industry.

“There are a lot of things I deal with in my personal life,” he explained. “I did the BET Hip-Hop Awards and I had my grandma watch it. My grandma stayed up late to watch these awards; she doesn’t listen to rap. I don’t blame her for not understanding — but I’m on the BET Awards, you can watch me on your TV, I finally made it grandma, look! [The next day], I said, ‘Did you watch it on TV last night grandma?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I watched it. It was good.’ And she said, ‘You always wanted to be black.’”

Of course, that wasn’t the response he was expecting or hoping for, riding high from a career highlight to that point.

“Sh-t like that pisses me off,” the Georgia native admits. “It’s like, Damn, that’s all you got from that? So, a lot of the white rapper stuff comes from other white people. A girlfriend’s ...

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by Christina Garibaldi 11 mins ago

Justin Bieber isn’t going to let a little scuffle with the paparazzi slow him down from enjoying a night out in the City of Light.

Justin, who was snapped throwing what appears to be a punch at a photographer, traded in his camo wear for a green sport coat as he partied the night away in Paris on Tuesday alongside some equally famous faces.

The singer, in town for Fashion Week, attended former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris’ Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book party and was caught posing alongside Kendall Jenner, her mom, Kris Jenner, and model Gigi Hadid. Justin had dinner with Kendall earlier that night.

Justin also took some time to catch up with Kim Kardashian and Ciara, and he even snapped a selfie with Karl Lagerfeld.

But, here is where things get a little interesting…and complicated. Justin’s on-again girlfriend Selena Gomez was also in attendance at the party, but she wasn’t photographed with Justin. Instead, she posed alongside Miranda Kerr. If you remember, Miranda’s ex, Orlanda Bloom threw a punch at Justin back in July. The two were said to be on bad terms since Justin was reportedly flirting with Miranda and caused tension between the couple, who split in 2013.

If that wasn’t enough, on Wednesday (October 1) Kris Jenner snapped ...

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by Alex Zalben 10 mins ago

Each week, MTV News is breaking down the big moments in DC Comics’ “Batman Eternal,” the weekly series that is redefining Gotham City as we know it.

This week, we chatted with writer James Tynion IV about how the real life events in Ferguson may – or may not – have influenced the issue:

MTV News: Obviously given the way they’ve been talking this issue, the Bat-family may be physically together but they’re not emotionally on the same page, at all. What needs to happen for them to join together again, completely?

DC Comics

James Tynion IV: The key thing is trust, which is something Bruce has never been all that great at instilling in his proteges. They know they need to come together, but each of them have their own agendas, things they’re playing close to their vest.

If there’s one thing that ties together the whole Bat-Family, it’s a dogged self-reliance… They all have mysteries and problems in front of them, and each of them want to be the ones who solve it themselves. That includes Bruce. They’re starting to see that all of this is bigger than each of them separately, and starting to understand that they’ll need to stand together to take it down.

But recognizing a problem and working to overcome it are two very separate things, and this story is FAR from over.

MTV: Batman says “It’s been Hush all along,” but HAS it been? Is there something else Batman isn’t seeing?

Tynion: Batman has good reason ...

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by Emilee Lindner 44 mins ago

Taylor Swift isn’t the only celebrity worthy of fan art. Since her cats — kitten Olivia Benson (of arm candy fame) and Meredth Grey — are practically celebs now, don’t they deserve to be immortalized in drawings too?

Sure enough, we found 19 pieces of fan art that the cats would purr for. Here are the best renditions of cat royalty:

Paint Meredith like one of your French girls.

Olivia wasn’t in the ‘Begin Again’ video, but that’s what imaginations are for!

Cat collage, anyone?

This person sketched out her infamous pap photo with Olivia

And so did this person!

This person too!

This person ‘shipped their kitten with Olivia.

Taylor made this one her phone lock screen.

Someone made an avi for her with an app

Still with me? Time for another collage.

Meredith looks sneaky in this one.

Since Olivia is named after an ‘SVU’ character, why not animate her into the action?

Meredith crossing her lil kitty paws makes for a great edit.

Speaking of edits… what do you make of this?

And now… another collage.

The best kind of art includes an infographic

The same person drew this tribute to Taylor joining Tumblr.

Oh my… Meredith’s ...

Oct 1, 2014 | No Comments on Even Taylor Swift’s Cats Get Fan Art: See The 19 Best Ones!

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