Facebook Says You’re Only 3.57 Degrees of Separation From Kevin Bacon

Thomas Trutschel—Photothek/Getty ImagesCompany Logo of Facebook on January 18, 2016 in Berlin, Germany.

Forget six degrees of separation. Facebook says your friends are much closer to you than you thought.

The average pair of Facebook users has just 3.57 degrees of separation between them, the social media network said Thursday in a new study.

In the United States, that number is more like 3.46 degrees.

“Over the past five years, the global Facebook community has more than doubled in size,” Facebook said in a statement.

“This is a significant reflection of how closely connected the world has become.”

The social media network, which counts 1.59 billion users around the world, is celebrating its 12th birthday Thursday.

Nicki Minaj Shouts Out Miley Cyrus and Beyoncé on New Remix

Bryan Steffy—Getty ImagesNicki Minaj on December 31, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the off chance you forgot about the legendary Miley Cyrus-Nicki Minaj confrontation of the 2015 Video Music Awards—come on, you’re probably wearing your “Miley, what’s good?” sweatshirtright now—the rapper is here to jog your memory on a new remix of Yo Gotti’s “Down in the DM.” Minaj’s raunchy verse, which also shouts-out her pal Beyoncé, actually has little to do with Cyrus: it’s mostly a warning to guys that trying to slide into her DMs on Twitter has an extremely low success rate. (But apparently not impossible!) Still, that doesn’t stop Minaj from bringing up last year’s drama, nor does it keep her verse from sliding toward the top of the list of Nicki Minaj’s best guest appearances. Listen below:

Here Comes The Knight! Sir Van Picks Up Honour

The legendary Irish singer was knighted by the Prince of Wales for a musical career that has lasted more than 50 years.

The singer, looking not so very different, on stage in 2010

George Ivan Morrison was introduced as Sir Ivan Morrison as he stepped forward to receive his honour in Buckingham Palace's ballroom.

After the event, he said: "It's amazing, it's very exhilarating, the whole thing.

"For 53 years I've been in the business - that's not bad for a blue-eyed soul singer from east Belfast."

The knighthood is for services to the music industry and tourism in his native Northern Ireland and Morrison said he was still committed to live performing. "I enjoy that the most - playing a small club - that's really what I do.

"The bigger places you have to do for financial survival reasons, let me put it that way, but the bigger places enable me to play small clubs occasionally."

He added: "Sales of CDs and stuff like that are very unreliable, it has really gone down a lot, I'm lucky I can still do live gigs and still pull crowds and be able to do that.

"All these years of work have paid off and I'm still able to do that now.

Asked by Prince Charles about his future, the musical knight revealed: "He was just saying, was I still writing? And he said: 'You're not going to retire any time soon?' And I said: 'No, I'm not, I'm going to keep it going while I can'."

The 70-year-old performer's songs blend his influences of R&B, blues, jazz, and country to produce a style that is noticeably his own. 

His greatest hits range from Baby, Please Don't Go and Gloria, written during his time with band Them, to solo efforts including Moondance, Sweet Thing and Have I Told You Lately.

His classic album Astral Weeks regularly makes it into the list of top 100 albums of all time.

Rihanna and George Clooney Play ‘Never Have I Ever’ on Ellen

George Clooney and Rihanna might seem like an unlikely pairing, but they’re the perfect candidates for a game of Never Have I Ever.

They each appeared in separate segments on Thursday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but united along with the host for a game seemingly designed specifically to make celebrities forget their media training. But as the titular host told Harry Styleswhen One Direction dropped by the studio, “We’re not going to play if you’re going to lie.”

Though Rihanna copped readily to having seen a rapper naked, Clooney insisted he hadn’t, leading Rihanna to call him a liar. “One time!” he added, caught out. What does Rihanna know?

The game also revealed that neither Rihanna nor Clooney have ever slept with someone over the age of 50, a notion Clooney balked at. (Clooney is 54, and began dating his now-wife, Amal, 38, in 2014.)

Check out the clip below to find out who’s texted a nude selfie, and who has a cat that likes to be spanked.

Child Among Six Found Dead In Chicago Home

Officers conducting a welfare check made the discovery. Pic: CPD/Twitter

Officers made the discovery while conducting a welfare check on Thursday, a police spokesman said.

The other five victims included four men and one woman.

Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said investigators are treating the deaths as a homicide.

He did not release any other details.

The Chicago Tribune, citing police sources, reported that the victims were found bound and stabbed.

The report also indicated the child victim was 11 or 12 years old.

"We are in shock," a relative told the newspaper.

The home is located in the city’s Gage Park neighbourhood.

Saudi Ready To Send Ground Troops To Syria

"If there is any willingness in the coalition to go in the ground operation, we will contribute positively in that," Brigadier General Ahmed al Assiri told Saudi-owned al Arabiya TV.

Brigadier Assiri, a spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition battling Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, said the Kingdom is an active member of the coalition fighting IS in Syria, and had carried out more than 190 bombing raids there since 2014.

But he believes the only way to defeat the extremist group is to put boots on the ground.

"If there was a consensus from the leadership of the coalition, the Kingdom is willing to participate in these efforts because we believe that aerial operations are not the ideal solution and there must be a twin mix of aerial and ground operations," he added.

:: Syria Troops Advance On Aleppo Killing Dozens

Asked about the comments at a briefing, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the coalition is supportive of partners contributing more in the fight against IS, but said he had not yet seen the Saudi proposal.

"I would not want to comment specifically on this until we've had a chance to review it," he added.

:: World Leaders Pledge £7bn For Syria Refugees

Last month, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said several members of the coalition are doing "nothing at all" to help destroy the jihadis.

America has carried out the bulk of the 9,800 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since the summer of 2014.

In November, the United Arab Emirates, which is carrying out airstrikes against IS in Syria and Iraq, said it was ready to send ground troops to Syria.

There have been growing calls for the anti-IS coalition to send land forces to Syria, after Russia launched airstrikes in late September.

US senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have called for 100,000 soldiers, mostly from Sunni states but also including Americans, to fight IS in Syria.

Body Found As Police Search For Missing Woman

Sally Allan, 59, from Ponteland, Northumberland, was last seen on camera on 26 December walking close to the river on Newcastle Quayside at 6am.

Mrs Allan walked seven miles to Newcastle city centre

Northumbria Police said a woman's body was found just after 1pm on Wednesday in water near Riverside Quay at Tynedock in South Shields.

The body has not yet been formally identified.

A spokesman said: "Although we cannot confirm that the body is that of Sally Allan, her family have been informed and our thoughts are with them at this time."

Mrs Allan's husband, Gordon, and their three children last month held a ceremony at the spot where she was last seen.

The family were joined by hundreds of mourners.