10/16/2023: Junk Food Junkies
PLUS: Clowning Around; JSisters Fallout; and Harry & Meg Do Canouan
Today is Monday, October 16, 2023.
It is the 289th day of the year.
76 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
SAM BANKMAN-FRIED’s lawyers unveil another potential defense strategy and NETFLIX’s business model takes an interesting pivot. More in HIT LIST.
MADONNA kicked off her “Celebration” tour and PETA is mad at OFFSET. More in SHOWBIZ.
PETE DAVIDSON returned to “SNL” and MICHAEL CAINE says he is retiring…for real this time. More in CASTING CALL.
YE is back on X. More in KARDASH.
PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE were spotted in the tropics. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
FTX-FILES: Lawyers for SAM BANKMAN-FRIED on Thursday filed a written motion that previews where their defense could be headed – well beyond the expected theory that their client didn’t think his misuse of customer funds was criminal.
IN FACT: They appear set to argue that the FTX terms of service actually protect SBF from having committed any kind of fraud, and that the term “misappropriation” is subjective. The motion calls to bar laypersons from testifying about their interpretation of what “misappropriation” of funds might mean, and allow the defense to bring their own expert witnesses to provide testimony that suggests SBF was well within his rights to redirect customer funds to be spent by Alameda Research.
Judge LEWIS KAPLAN will likely rule on the motion early this week. [via Axios]
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Just a few years after NETFLIX’s innovative DVD-by-mail business model torpedoed the Blockbuster franchise, the streaming giant now plans to open brick and mortar stores of its own.
One company exec tells Bloomberg that the network of stores wouldn’t be to sell or rent out TV shows and movies, though – instead, the facilities would provide dining, live entertainment, and retail services to guests, all branded and centered on the TV shows and movies Netflix is promoting.
Two locations are slated to open in 2025, but no cities have yet been identified. [via NPR]
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A meta-analysis of more than 280 food studies suggests that ultra-processed foods share the same addictive qualities as nicotine, cocaine, or heroin, and that 14% of Americans are junkies for the junk food.
The researchers still aren’t clear on why these foods are so addictive, but they have some guesses. Namely, the high combination of both fats and carbohydrates that aren’t found in natural, whole foods. Together, they trigger a dopamine rush that leads to a steep drop-off, much like single-ingredient drugs. [via NY Post]
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Just call him the Wicked Witch of the Midwest.
76-year-old Terry Jon Martin pleaded guilty to one count of major artwork theft for stealing the ruby slippers, worn by JUDY GARLAND in “The Wizard of Oz,” from a museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
During a court appearance on Friday, Martin admitted to swiping the slippers because he believed that the shoes were covered in real rubies. It wasn’t until he attempted to sell them to someone who hawks stolen goods, that he learned the “rubies” were made of glass.
At that point Martin said he “left them” at an undisclosed location.
The slippers were eventually recovered during an undercover operation in Minneapolis in 2018. They are now at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.
As for Martin, he faces 10 years in prison. No word on when he will be sentenced. [via Insider]
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A man dressed as Pennywise from STEPHEN KING’s “It” has been terrorizing the small Scottish town of Skelmorlie.
In addition to dancing through the streets at night, the clown also posts about his shenanigans on Facebook. The account is under the name “Cole Deimos,” and states that he was born in Hell, Michigan, attended Hellgate High School in Montana, studied at Clown School, and is now self-employed.
Comments on his posts, such as the one that says, “This clown doesn’t want fame, glory or gold, he just wants to play, in this so-called ‘sleepy-town.’ So come and join in and learn to fear The Skelmorlie Clown,” have been mixed.
“You need to grow up it’s pathetic,” one commenter replied, while another wrote, “Pennywise with a Scottish accent is by far the funniest thing.”
CLOWNING AROUND: Many may remember in 2016 when the “creepy clown” trend surfaced. There were several reports of clowns showing up in public places and even threats made to several schools, forcing them to go into lockdown. [via Independent]
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DEATHS
Actress SUZANNE SOMERS has died.
She passed away Sunday at her home in Palm Springs after a 50-year battle with breast cancer.
Somers is best known for her role in “Three’s Company.”
She would have been 77 today.
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Mobster TOMMY GAMBINO has died.
He passed away on October 3 of natural causes, according to several sources.
The oldest son of crime boss Carlo Gambino, Tommy was best known as the “Mafia Prince of New York.”
He was 94.
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Actress PIPER LAURIE has died.
She passed away Saturday in Los Angeles. No cause of death was shared, though her rep revealed that she had been sick for some time.
Laurie is best known for her roles in “The Hustler,” “Carrie” and “Twin Peaks.”
She was 91.
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Actor MARK GODDARD has died.
He passed away October 10 at a hospice center in Hingham, Massachusetts, of pulmonary fibrosis, according to a Facebook post from his wife.
Goddard is best known for his role as Major Don West in the 1960s sci-fi series “Lost in Space.”
He was 87.
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Model and TV personality GAIL O’NEILL has died.
She passed away on October 10 in Atlanta. No cause of death has been shared.
O’Neill was a top model in the 1980s before becoming a correspondent on CBS’ “The Early Show.”
She was 61.
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WEDDINGS
Actor TYLER POSEY tied the knot with musician PHEM in Los Angeles on Saturday.
He’s 31 and she’s 28.
The ceremony took place at a private meditation garden in Pacific Palisades, followed by a reception at Duke’s Malibu.
The two got engaged in 2023 after two years of dating.
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
10. Dumb Money: $920k (down from 8)
9. The Equalizer 3: $960k (stayed at 9)
8. The Nun II: $1.6 million (down from 7)
7. The Blind: $2 million (down from 5)
6. A Haunting in Venice: $2.1 million (stayed at 6)
5. The Creator: $4.3 million (down from 4)
4. Saw X: $5.7 million (down from 3)
3. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie: $7 million (down from 2)
2. The Exorcist: Believer: $11 million (down from 1)
1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: $96 million (new)
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW was up 39 points (0.12%) to close at 33,670 on Friday. The S&P lost 21 points (0.5%) to close at 4,327 and the NASDAQ was down 166 points (1.23%) to close at 13,407.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $87 on Friday; BRENT CRUDE at $90.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.60 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN was trading around $27,150 on Sunday.
🛩 There were more than 2,675 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 55 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $69 million jackpot or a $31.1 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $34 million jackpot or a $15.4 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
JADA PINKETT SMITH claims TUPAC suffered from alopecia -- just like she does.
“His alopecia patterns were far more extreme than mine. I don’t think Pac ever talked about his alopecia, but he also looked really good with a bald head,” she told People Magazine in an interview that was released over the weekend.
Remember, Jada’s alopecia is what CHRIS ROCK joked about at the Oscars, which resulted in WILL SMITH walking up on stage and slapping him. Jada says she was mostly shocked at the time -- not so much about the slap -- but about Will calling her his “wife,” a term she says he hadn’t used in years.
On Friday, Jada called Tupac her “soulmate.”
All of this and more will be in her forthcoming book, “Worthy.” [via People]
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We now know the female celebrity who will narrate BRITNEY SPEARS’ memoir “The Woman in Me.”
While several well-respected females were in the running, Spears and her team decided to have actress MICHELLE WILLIAMS lend her voice to the project.
Insiders told Page Six that Williams agreed to the project because she feels a connection to Spears as she also started out in the entertainment industry as a child and is currently estranged from her own father.
“The Woman in Me” hits shelves on October 24. [via Page Six]
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SOPHIE TURNER and PRIYANKA CHOPRA have unfollowed each other on Instagram.
The former, who is currently divorcing JOE JONAS, and the latter, who is still happily married to NICK JONAS, were extremely close at one time, but now it seems sides have been chosen.
The two -- along with KEVIN JONAS’ wife DANIELLE JONAS -- were all so united that fans dubbed them the J-Sisters.
BUT WAIT: Turner still follows Danielle and all three Jonas Brothers on Instagram. [via Insider]
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MADONNA kicked off her “Celebration” tour in front of 20,000 fans at London’s 02 Arena on Saturday.
Things were going great until a technical glitch caused the music to stop just four songs into the show. As things got fixed, Madge told the crowd stories about her childhood.
The show is the first of 78 across 15 countries.
THE SHOW THAT ALMOST WASN'T: The tour has been a long time coming. It was postponed after Madonna fell seriously ill in June with a bacterial infection. [via Vanity Fair]
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OFFSET gifted his wife, CARDI B, three Hermes bags worth about $500,000 for her birthday last week and PETA is not happy about it.
The animal rights organization sent a scathing letter to the rapper about the inhumane treatment of the crocodiles used to make those bags.
The letter also suggested that if Offset is “dead-set on splurging half a million on birthday gifts,” he should “consider animal-free products.” [via Daily Mail]
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CASTING CALL
PETE DAVIDSON returned to the “SNL” stage to host the Season 49 premiere on Saturday night.
He opened up the show with a somber tribute to the victims of the war in Israel, saying sometimes when horrible things are going on, “comedy is really the only way forward.”
The majority of Davidson’s sketches poked fun at his real-life struggles, such as his drug addiction and his Beverly Hills car crash.
TRAVIS KELCE and TAYLOR SWIFT also made brief cameos in the episode. He appeared in a fictitious Fox “NFL Sunday” skit where the panel argued about who is the biggest Swiftie, and she introduced the musical guest ICE SPICE. [via NY Post]
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AMANDA KNOX has enlisted the help of another woman all too familiar with public scorn and humiliation to tell the story of her trial, conviction, and eventual exoneration in Italian court: MONICA LEWINSKY.
WORTH REMEMBERING: Italian prosecutors in 2009 convicted Knox, then an American studying in Italy, of stabbing her roommate to death. Knox won an appeal and was later acquitted of all charges. And Lewinsky, of course, wore a little blue dress to the wrong place at the wrong time.
NOW: Knox and Lewinsky are producing a miniseries for Hulu that dramatizes Knox’s experience, which insiders promise will reveal new details about her life.
NOT HER FIRST RODEO: Lewinsky previously served as executive producer on 2019’s “Impeachment,” which covered her affair with former president BILL CLINTON. [via RadarOnline]
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Actor and “Masked Singer” panelist KEN JEONG is reportedly getting his own daytime talk show.
Insiders revealed that Jeong is working with Debmar-Mercury, the company behind “Sherri” and NICK CANNON’s failed talk show.
The show will be filmed at Chelsea Studios, which is where JON STEWART, RICKI LAKE, TYRA BANKS, MARTHA STEWART and RACHAEL RAY all shot their shows, which ran for multiple seasons.
The not-yet-titled show will premiere in 2024. [via THR]
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Actor MICHAEL CAINE is retiring from acting.
The 90-year-old told BBC Radio 4 that he has said multiple times over the past couple of years that he plans to retire and now he is actually doing it.
Caine’s acting career started in the 1950s with the film “A Hill in Korea.” His most recent -- and final project -- is WWII flick “The Great Escaper,” which premiered on October 6. [via Page Six]
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Is KEVIN COSTNER’s ex-wife CHRISTINE BAUMGARTNER going to be the newest “Beverly Hills Housewife?”
Sources told RadarOnline that Bravo producers have been “eyeing Christine with keen interest” for Season 14, though others say it's “a bit premature to talk [about] casting.”
Baumgartner could bring some spice to the show, as fans would get an inside look at how she learns to manage single life while co-parenting with Costner.
Season 13 of the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” airs later this month. [via RadarOnline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
YE is back on X (formerly Twitter).
He likely returned in anticipation of a collaboration announcement that was supposed to be made on October 13. That announcement was that Ye has teamed up with singer TY DOLLA SIGN for a full-length project.
As for why nothing was revealed on Friday, sources say it's because the two musicians are still trying to settle a distributor deal for their forthcoming album release. [via UPROXX]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
After an exhausting week in New York City that included not one single car chase, PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE jetted off to St. Vincent to recover from their blitz of appearances promoting mental health causes.
Someone on the island of Canouan snapped a pic of the pair hand-in-hand while leaving a gourmet food store at the local yacht club.
Canouan is just a stone’s throw from Mustique, the very exclusive island where PRINCESS MARGARET owned an estate and is still frequented by the Waleses. [via DailyMail]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
World Food Day
Global Cat Day
National Boss’ Day
Department Store Day
National Feral Cat Day
Steve Jobs Day
National Dictionary Day
National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day
National Liqueur Day
World Spine Day
National Chemistry Week
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ON THIS DATE
1793 - Marie Antoinette's life comes to a head.
The wife of deposed King Louis XVI is executed at the guillotine.
On her way to the chopping block, she reportedly stepped on the executioner's foot, and apologized, saying, "Pardon me sir, I meant not to do it."
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1854 - While running for Congress, Abraham Lincoln publicly speaks out against slavery.
The speech decried the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which left the decision of slavery to the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
In effect, the act also repealed the Missouri Compromise, which outlawed slavery in new settlements west of Louisiana.
Lincoln was a staunch abolitionist -- and a Republican. He was also very opposed to civil war, advocating for policies that confined slavery to the South, where he believed it would eventually die out.
He would of course become president in 1860.
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1946 - The day after Herman Goering commits suicide, 10 remaining Nazi officials are hanged for their crimes with the Reich.
They had been languishing for 10 weeks following guilty convictions from the War Crimes Tribunal.
Seven more were given prison sentences, like those who renounced allegiance to Hitler. Three more were acquitted.
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1958 - Chevy debuts the El Camino, a car-truck hybrid with a pickup build on an Impala body.
The car was a response to the Ford Ranchero, which had dominated the odd-shaped vehicle market for two years. Such automobiles were popular among farmers in Europe, but it never caught on stateside.
The model only lasted for two years. In 1964, Chevy introduced a new design, making it one of the iconic muscle cars of the 1960s and '70s.
In 1987, its production would permanently end.
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1964 - China becomes the fifth nation to detonate a nuclear bomb.
The successful test heightened tensions in Vietnam, where the United States was beginning to ramp up its involvement and troop commitment. It added concerns of nuclear war not just with Russia, but also with the Chinese.
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1986 - The U.S. government begins a one-day shutdown over welfare expansion.
House Democrats let up after they were promised a vote on the program separately from the regular annual budget.
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2018 – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle begin their first royal tour.
The pair visited Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga.
They focused on youth leadership, environmental and conservation efforts, as well as, the recovery and rehabilitation of servicemen and women through the Invictus Games.
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BIRTHDAYS
Ruby Rose Turner - actress, “Fuller House” - 18
Naomi Osaka - tennis player - 26
Charles Leclerc - race car driver - 26
Bryce Harper - baseball player - 31
Kenny Omega - wrestler - 40
Caterina Scorsone - actress, “Grey’s Anatomy” - 42
Sue Bird - basketball player - 43
John Mayer - rocker singer - 46
Davina McCall - TV show host, “The Biggest Loser” - 56
Flea - bassist, Red Hot Chili Peppers - 61
Born On This Date
Suzanne Somers - actress, “Three’s Company” - 1946 (d. 2023)
Angela Lansbury - actress, “Murder, She Wrote” - 1925 (d. 2022)
Oscar Wilde - novelist - 1854 (d. 1900)
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