Val Chmerkovskiy reveals diagnosis following hospitalization

Val Chmerkovskiyis back on his feet.

The"Dancing with the Stars"pro gave fans an update on his health after sharing that he had been hospitalized for vertigo between performances on theshow's live tour.

"So I got BPPV, which isn't too bad, thank God. There's no tumor in my brain, God forbid," the 39-year-old said in avideo posted to social mediaon March 3.

He continued, "And thankfully, it's not related to my neck injury. And so having ruled those things out, I feel a lot better."

Two days earlier, the dancer shared avideofrom his hospital bed in Peoria, Illinois, revealing that he had been experiencingvertigo, a false sense of motion.

"I'm just spinning everywhere," he said.

BPPV, short for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, is the most common cause of vertigo and includes symptoms like dizziness and loss of balance, according to theMayo Clinic.

Karina Smirnoff and Mario Lopez 

Met: Season 3 (2006)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Willa Ford and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Met: Season 3 (2006)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Mark Ballas and Sabrina Bryan

Met: Season 5 (2007)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough

Met: Season 6 (2008)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson

Met: Season 8 (2009)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Cheryl Burke and Chad Ochocinco

Met: Season 10 (2010)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff
Met: Prior to DWTS in 2003, but dated after Smirnoff's split from Lopez.
Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> James Maslow and Peta Murgatroyd

Met: Season 18 (2014)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Val Chmerkovskiy and Janel Parrish

Met: Season 19 (2014)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Kym Johnson and Robert Herjavec

Met: Season 20 (2015)

Status: Married

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Val Chmerkovskiy and Amber Rose

Met: Season 23 (2016)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Bella

Met: Season 25 (2017)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd
Met: Outside of DWTS in 2009, but became a couple when Murgatroyd joined the show a few years later.
Status: Married

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten

Met: Season 27 (2018)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sasha Farber and Emma Slater
Met: Outside of DWTS in 2009.
Status: Divorced

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy
Met: Season 18 (2014)
Status: Married

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess

Met: Season 30 (2021)

Status: Still together

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Britt Stewart and Daniel Durant

Met: Season 31 (2022)

Status: Still together

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Gleb Savchenko and Brooks Nader

Met: Season 33 (2024)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber

Met: Season 33 (2024)

Status: Broken up

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

It's a romance on – and off – the dance floor. See which 'DWTS' couples are still together.

Karina Smirnoff and Mario Lopez

Met:Season 3 (2006)

Status:Broken up

More 'DWTS' news:'Dancing with the Stars' is launching its first fan convention

Val Chmerkovskiy returns to 'DWTS' tour after hospitalization

Chmerkovskiy returned to the tour stage for the March 3 show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after missing the live performance in Peoria, Illinois, on March 1.

"I'm still a little fuzzy here and there, but good enough to perform. And I'll see you all tonight," he said.

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After initially opening up about his hospitalization, Chmerkovskiy's "Dancing with the Stars" family shared well wishes in the comments of his March 1 video.

"Get better soon! But take time to heal we need our ballroom diva back when he's ready to serve,"Xochitl Gomez, Chmerkovskiy's partner and winner of Season 32, wrote.

"We got you Val," fellow proEmma Slaterwrote.

The 2026"Dancing with the Stars" live tourkicked off in January and is planned for nearly 100 total shows before wrapping up in May.

In addition to starring a slew of fan-favorite pros, including Chmerkovskiy's wifeJenna Johnson, the tour featuresseveral stars from Season 34.

What is BPPV? Val Chmerkovskiy reveals diagnosis

BPPV causes brief periods of dizziness and is often set off by changes in the head's position, like lying down, turning over or sitting up in bed, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The condition occurs when tiny calcium crystals come loose from their normal location within the inner ear, perJohns Hopkins Medicine.

A common treatment for BPPV is known as the Epley maneuver, an exercise to reposition the head in a way that helps move the crystals.

"Thankfully, our PT is certified in getting those crystals back and doing the Epley maneuver," Chmerkovskiy said.

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached atmelina.khan@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Val Chmerkovskiy updates fans after hospitalization during 'DWTS' tour

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 04, 2026

Val Chmerkovskiy reveals diagnosis following hospitalization

Val Chmerkovskiyis back on his feet. The"Dancing with the Stars"pro gave fans an update on his health...

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Billy Idol Reveals He Used Crack To Get Over Heroin Addiction

Rock musician Billy Idol confessed to kicking his heroin addiction by doing something else instead — smoking crack.

Idol admitted that he had many close-calls in his lifetime, including some frightening close-calls while using drugs, during a March 2 appearance on "Club Random with Bill Maher." He confessed that he shot up a few times before turning to his preferred method ofusing the drug— cutting lines and snorting it. The famous rocker described how difficult to get off the drug before revealing his unconventional solution to heroin addiction.

"Once you're trying to get off heroin, what do you go to? You go to something else. I started smoking crack to get off heroin," Idol said.

"Did you really?" Maher asked.

Idol doubled-down on his tactics. "It worked. It worked," he said with a laugh.

The famous 80s rocker described some frightening moments during the days of his heroin-use, and admitted to "nodding out" while using the drug.

In one instance, he claimed he was using heroin with a group of people that all passed out while he and another fellow kept going.

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"Eventually we did pass out and then when other people in the room came to, I was going blue," Idol admitted.

TOPSHOT – British singer Billy Idol performs on the main stage of the Rock in Rio music festival at the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 9, 2022. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP) (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)

He talked about his near-death experience matter-of-factly, and explained to Maher how heroin affects the body.

"They put me in a bath," he said, before explaining, "Well, if you're dying, you're going to start turning blue."(RELATED: Nicole Kidman Claims She Can Perform An Autopsy After Playing A Role As Medical Examiner)

Portrait of Billy Idol at a hotel in Tokyo, Japan, 1984. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)

"I suppose it just overwhelms your system, and I suppose it stops you breathing or something," he told Maher.

The 70-year-old rockstar opened up about his wild lifestyle in the new documentary "Billy Idol Should Be Dead," released Feb. 26.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 04, 2026

Billy Idol Reveals He Used Crack To Get Over Heroin Addiction

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The family of a girl killed at Camp Mystic asks a Texas judge to prevent the camp from reopening

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge is hearing evidence Wednesday on whether the youth camp where 25 girls and two counselors were killed incatastrophic floods last yearshould remain closed while a lawsuit filed by one of the girls' families is pending.

Texas Floods-Camp Mystic-Lawsuit

The family of 8-year-old Cile Steward, who was swept away during the flooding and whose body still has not been recovered, has asked a Travis County judge to prevent Camp Mystic's owners from reopening the camp and to halt any construction while the lawsuit is pending. Their request for a temporary injunction maintains that any changes at the camp could destroy evidence needed for their lawsuit.

"It now falls to this Court to protect the public, plaintiffs' search for answers, and the evidence at the Camp Mystic site," the attorneys wrote.

The camp's decision last year to partially open and to construct a memorial on the groundsdrew outragefrom many of the girls' families who are mourning their loved ones and who said they weren't consulted on the plans.

"We call on Camp Mystic to halt all discussions of reopening and memorials," CiCi and Will Steward wrote to Camp Mystic officials after the camp's decision was announced.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has asked Texas regulatorsnot to renew the licensefor Camp Mystic while the deaths are being investigated and cited legislative probes that are expected to begin in the spring.

Families of several of the girls who died havesued the camp's operators, arguing that camp officials failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached.

Attorneys for Camp Mystic have expressed sympathy toward the girls' families but maintained there was little they could have done during the catastrophic flooding that quickly overcame the camp.

"Nobody had every seen a prior flood anything like we saw in 2025," said Mikal Watts, an attorney for Camp Mystic and its family of owners.

Murphy reported from Oklahoma City

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 04, 2026

The family of a girl killed at Camp Mystic asks a Texas judge to prevent the camp from reopening

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge is hearing evidence Wednesday on whether the youth camp where 25 girls and two counsel...

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Blackout hits most of Cuba amid US oil chokehold

By Annett Rios and Alien Fernandez

Mass blackout cuts power across most of Cuba amid US oil chokehold

HAVANA, March 4 (Reuters) - A power outage struck most of Cuba including Havana, the state electric utility said on Wednesday, as ‌the communist-run government grapples with increased pressure from the Trump administration that has curtailed ‌oil shipments.

State media Cubadebate said the blackout was caused by an unexpected outage at Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant about ​100 km (62 miles) east of Havana, cutting electricity from Pinar del Rio in the far west to the eastern Las Tunas province.

Cuba has experienced a series of major blackouts in recent years, even before U.S. actions to cut off oil shipments, particularly from top supplier Venezuela after Washington's ‌ouster of leader Nicolas Maduro in ⁠early January.

Cuba's government has attributed its economic crisis to decades of economic sanctions from the U.S.

People in Havana, accustomed to rolling power outages associated ⁠with state rationing, mostly took the blackout in stride. Some traffic lights and businesses were operational due to solar panels or power generators.

"The SEN (electrical grid) going dark should not be considered normal," Arian ​Mendoza, ​28, an engineer living in Havana told Reuters. "I don't ​think it's right."

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The outage briefly took ‌Cuban state TV off the air. Its 1 p.m. national news broadcast started more than half an hour after the normal air time, with a presenter explaining the delay was due to the blackout.

"We can't communicate, we don't know what's on the news because we can't turn on the TV," added Angeli Aviles, 18, a student in Havana.

The electricity utility, UNE, said it ‌was working to restore services.

The Felton 1 thermoelectric power ​plant, located in Holguin province in eastern Cuba, remains ​online and recovery protocols have been ​activated, Cuba's energy ministry said.

The fuel scarcity has caused Cuba's government to ‌ration key services, such as trash collection ​and transportation. Some residents have ​installed solar panels on homes and vehicles to keep power running amid soaring fuel prices.

Mexico, an alternate supplier to Venezuela, said it would halt supplies after the U.S. ​threatened tariffs on countries supplying ‌Cuba with oil.

(Reporting by Annett Rios, Alien Fernandez and Daniel Trotta in Havana, ​Sandra Gaillard in Buenos Aires and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Editing by ​Brendan O'Boyle, Daina Beth Solomon and Andrea Ricci )

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 04, 2026

Blackout hits most of Cuba amid US oil chokehold

By Annett Rios and Alien Fernandez Mass blackout cuts power across most of Cuba amid US oil chokehold HAV...

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US sinks Iranian warship as Iran warns of widespread destruction in the Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. submarinesank an Iranian warshipin the Indian Ocean, as Washington and Israelintensified their bombardmentWednesday of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power. Iran launched more missiles and drones and warned of the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the Middle East.

APTOPIX Iran US Israel

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony forIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war Saturday, targeting Iran's leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict.

President Donald Trump praised the U.S. military Wednesday for "doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly."

Israel also traded fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iranfired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict spiraled, Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey's airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world's oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.

Both sides are unrelenting

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from an American submarine sank an Iranian warship Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, which they said had 180 people on board and sank outside Sri Lanka's territorial waters. The country's navy said it recovered 87 bodies.

Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran's Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands detained.

The Israeli military hit buildings associated with Iran's internal security command. Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see Iranians overthrow the country's theocracy, and strikes against Iran's internal security forces may be aimed at hastening that.

However, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over the weekend that its forces have decentralized leadership, with units acting largely on their own according to general orders, which could blunt the effect of attacks on top command and control hubs.

Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the Shiite seminary city of Qom targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pickIran's next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time.

Shifting timelines for U.S. operations

During his Pentagon briefing, Hegseth did not give a definitive timeline for U.S. operations.

"You can say four weeks, but it could be six. It could be eight. It could be three," he said. "Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we're going to keep them off balance."

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, said American forces have damaged Iran's air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said such damage has led to a decline in launches from Iran.

Still, air-raid sirens and explosions could be heard across central and northern Israel on Wednesday. Israel's military said Iran launched missiles toward the country. Hezbollah also fired rockets, asIsrael pounded targetsin the suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

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Iran has also struck around the region, and air sirens sounded Wednesday across Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people have been killed in Israel and more than 70 in Lebanon.Six U.S. troopshave been killed.

Israel says its offensive had been planned for mid-year

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the offensive against Iran was originally planned for mid-2026, but "the need arose to bring everything forward to February."

He listed events inside Iran, Trump's positions "and the whole possibility of creating a combined operation here," as reasons.

The protests in Iran put unprecedented pressure on its leadership. Trump threatened military action in response to the crackdown beforeshifting his attentionto Iran's disputed nuclear program.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the U.S. launched its operation partly out of concern Iran might strike American personnel and assets in the region first. A phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the airstrikes began was also "important with respect to the timeline," she said.

Energy supplies in the crosshairs

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would result in "the complete destruction of the region's military and economic infrastructure."

A Maltese-flagged container ship was attacked Wednesday while passing through theStrait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of thePersian Gulfthrough which about a fifth of the world's oil is shipped. The ship was hit by two missiles, sparking a fire, according to Malta's transport minister, Chris Bonett. Its 24 crew members were rescued.

Tanker traffic through the strait has fallen by around 90% compared to prewar levels, shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said Wednesday.

Oil prices have soared as Iranian attacks have disruptedtraffic through the strait, andglobal stock marketshave been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy.

Iran's clerics are choosing a new supreme leader

Iran's leaders are scrambling to replaceKhamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It's only the second time sincethe 1979 Islamic Revolutionthat a new supreme leader is being chosen.

Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement.Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei's son, has long been considered among them — though he has never been elected or appointed to a government position.

In a sign that Iran's leadership will only seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the head of the judiciary warned that "those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy."

The Israeli defense minister threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country's next supreme leader.

"Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination," Katz wrote on X.

Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok; Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan; Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami and Kevin Schembri Orland in Valletta, Malta, contributed to this report.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 04, 2026

US sinks Iranian warship as Iran warns of widespread destruction in the Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. submarinesank an Iranian warshipin the Indian Ocean, as Washington and Israelin...

Read More