10/19/2023: The Strip Club Next Door đ
PLUS: Inclusive is Sexy; More Memoirs; and The Kingâs Pens
Today is Thursday, October 19, 2023.
It is the 292nd day of the year.
73 days remain.
WHATâS ON TAP
The trial of SAM BANKMAN-FRIED gets technical and TESLA makes a big announcement. More in HIT LIST.
Another bombshell from BRITNEY SPEARSâ book gets released and CHER wants to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. More in SHOWBIZ.Â
MARTIN SCORSECE says not everyone was a fan of âGoodfellasâ and DOLLY PARTON has booked a Thanksgiving Day performance. More in CASTING CALL.Â
Find out about YEâs latest antics in KARDASH.
KING CHARLES had a busy day as he prepared for his first Commonwealth nations visit. More in ROYALS.
###
HIT LIST
The personality-driven portion of the prosecutionâs case against SAM BANKMAN-FRIED appears to be over, having spent the day Wednesday calling expert witnesses to talk about the technical aspects of SBFâs alleged fraud.Â
A professor from Notre Dame enlisted by the prosecution detailed how customer funds were moved from their accounts, into the Alameda Research hedge fund, and then to various investment opportunities and causes that SBF wanted to support.
IN OTHER WORDS: Thereâs increasingly little wiggle room in the argument that the fraud didnât happen or that SBF didnât know about it. The rest of the case will likely hinge on technical details in the terms of service. [via @innercitypress, Morning Martini]
###
There is finally some closure for the family of Natalee Holloway, whose disappearance while in Aruba in 2005 captured the nationâs attention.
Joran van der Sloot has been sentenced to prison for Hollowayâs murder â in a roundabout way. He had been on trial for attempting to extort Hollowayâs mother out of money in exchange for details on the location of Hollowayâs remains.Â
As part of that trial, van der Sloot confessed to the murder. He will now serve 20 years in prison. As part of the plea deal, he will also reveal where he left Hollowayâs body.
BUT WAIT: van der Sloot is already serving a 28-year prison sentence for murdering a young woman in Peru in 2010, and the judge ordered this sentence to be served concurrently. [via NPR]
###
X is experimenting with a new system that requires new users to pay $1 a year in order to post and comment on the platform.
Itâs not a money grab for the worldâs richest man. Instead, ELON MUSK hopes that a small fee will eliminate bot traffic. The pay-to-play system is currently in beta in a few countries, but not yet in the United States.
MEANWHILE: TESLA announced on Wednesday that the long-awaited Cybertruck will start shipping before the end of the year. Musk said that he estimates it will take up to 18 months for the Cybertruck line to generate profitable revenue for the company. [via Morning Martini]
WORTH NOTING: As detailed in Walter Isaacsonâs biography of Musk, the entrepreneur is ruthlessly committed to finding efficiencies and constantly improving manufacturing systems.Â
###
Some neighbors are annoying because they donât mow the lawn often enough or because they play loud, obnoxious music.Â
And some neighbors turn their house into an off-the-books strip club.Â
Officials in Atlanta have arrested four people after neighbors complained about around-the-clock noise and parties over the last four months. Locals say the house hosted informal strip shows and always reeked of weed; they heard gunfire from the premises; and at one point spotted horses on the property.Â
A SWAT team finally pulled everyone out. Those arrested face a variety of disturbance charges, among others. [via WSB-TV]
###ââ
Lingerie company VICTORIAâS SECRET says itâs going back to its old marketing ways after losing revenue in recent years.Â
After featuring soccer pro Megan Rapinoe and transgender model Valentina Sampaio in advertising campaigns, among other measures aimed at inclusivity, the company saw a 5% year over year drop in revenue. âDespite everyoneâs best endeavors, itâs not been enough to carry the day,â the companyâs chief executive said.
Executives now want to find a way for âsexinessâ to also be âinclusiveâ in the marketing and branding, as CNN reports. [via CNN]
###
BY THE NUMBERS
đ The DOW lost 332 points (0.98%) to close at 33,665 on Wednesday. The S&P lost 58 points (1.34%) to close at 4,314 and the NASDAQ lost 219 points (1.62%) to close at 13,314.Â
đ˘ WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $88; BRENT CRUDE at $91.
â˝ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.57 on Wednesday.
âż BITCOIN was down slightly Wednesday, trading around $28,350.
đŠ There were more than 1,790 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 70 such cancellations.
đ°Friday nightâs MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $91 million jackpot or a $39.7 million cash payout.
###
SHOWBIZ NEWS
Special prosecutors from New Mexico are planning to recharge actor ALEC BALDWIN in the fatal shooting of âRustâ cinematographer HALYNA HUTCHINS.Â
Additional facts and new information will be presented to the grand jury within the next month, the prosecutors said in a statement on the case this week.Â
In response, Baldwinâs attorneys called the prosecutorsâ decision âmisguided.âÂ
Remember, Baldwin was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter. The charge was dropped this past April after prosecutors said they received information that the gun in question was possibly modified.Â
Now, part of the decision to refile charges is an analysis that showed the trigger had to have been pulled -- something Baldwin is adamant he never did. [via Reuters]
###
Another excerpt from BRITNEY SPEARSâ forthcoming memoir, âThe Woman in Me,â says that JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE is the one who cheated on her.Â
For years Spears was the scapegoat in the aftermath of their relationship, especially after JT released his song âCry Me a River,â which led many to believe she had strayed.Â
WORTH REMEMBERING: Brit and JT were teenagers when they dated. Not only that, they were child stars navigating the waters of Hollywood. So, take that into consideration when reading stories about the book -- or while reading the book itself.Â
âThe Woman in Meâ hits shelves on October 24. [via TMZ]
###
CHER recently told The Guardian that she deserves to be in the Guinness Book of World Records because her âlife seems to be longer than any other human being ever.âÂ
She made the insane comment while discussing her decades-long career (six decades to be exact) and her upcoming Christmas album, which debuts on Friday. [via The Guardian]
###
ADELE is sober.Â
The 35-year-old recently revealed that she has given up alcohol, telling the crowd at one of her recent Las Vegas shows that she was âborderline alcoholicâ in her 20s.Â
âSo, enjoy your whiskey sour. Iâm very, very jealous,â she told a fan.Â
Adele said she has also cut out caffeine. [via Page Six]
###
While working on his memoir, JOHN STAMOS says memories of being abused by a babysitter came flooding back to him.Â
Speaking to People Magazine, Stamos said that he recalls playing âdeadâ to get her to stop, adding that he was only 10 or 11 at the time. He also said that he never told anyone about the abuse.
Another taboo topic he addresses in his book is his divorce from actress REBECCA ROMIJN.Â
âI just hated her,â he admitted.Â
Stamos and Romijn divorced in 2004.
His book, âIf You Would Have Told Me,â hits shelves on October 24. [via People]
###
LAURYN HILL was over two hours late for her show at the Prudential Center in Newark this week and when she finally took the stage, fans claim she rushed through her set and her songs were barely audible.
One fan, who paid almost $1,200 for tickets, called the show a âhuge disappointmentâ on X, while another commented, âit was trash.âÂ
Hill kicked off âThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tourâ last month.
Hopefully the kinks will be worked out before Fridayâs show at the Barclays Center in NY. [via RadarOnline]
###
Monmouth University in West Long Beach, New Jersey has announced plans to name a building after BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.Â
The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music will be located on campus, not far from where Springsteen wrote his 1975 hit, âBorn to Run.âÂ
The plans come years after Springsteen promised his archives to the university -- which he didnât attend, but has performed at several times over the years.Â
âHaving a building with your name on it is a tricky thing,â Springsteen said of the honor. âBecause Iâm still alive.â [via Variety]
###
SERENA WILLIAMS has signed a two-book deal with Random House Publishing Group.Â
The first book will be an âintimateâ memoir, focusing on everything from her childhood and early years of tennis to her legendary career and all the setbacks along the way. No title or release date has been announced.Â
The second book will be more âinspirational,â according to the publisher, focusing on Williamsâ philanthropy and passion projects. No title or release date has been announced for this one either.Â
This isnât Williamsâ first rodeo. In 2009 she released her memoir, âOn the Line,â followed by a picture story called âThe Adventures of Qai Qaiâ last year. [via THR]
###
CASTING CALL
MARTIN SCORSESE says he was âshunnedâ from certain Italian restaurants in New York after releasing his film, âGoodfellas,â because some felt he âdenigrated a certain ethnic group.â Â
The movie, starring RAY LIOTTA, ROBERT DE NIRO and JOE PESCI, depicts Italian Americans as gangsters, which Scorsese says he grew up around in NYCâs Little Italy.Â
âI grew up in a place that was, you know, violence was a form of expressionâŚAnd it was serious,â he told GQ.
Scorseseâs latest film âKillers of the Flower Moon,â starring LEONARDO DICAPRIO and De Niro, hits theaters on Friday. [via GQ]
###
DOLLY PARTON will perform at halftime of the Dallas Cowboys annual Thanksgiving Day game.Â
This year the Cowboys play the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium. [via ET]
###
THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Some texts YE sent to ELON MUSK have been made public -- and they are pretty much as bizarre as you would expect.Â
In the thread, Ye tells Musk, âIâm not bi polar. I have signs of autism from my car accident.âÂ
The âaccidentâ he is referring to, is when he allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into an oncoming car in 2002. Ye completely shattered his jaw and had to have it wired shut. The experience reportedly inspired his song âThrough the Wire.âÂ
In some followup texts, Ye asks Musk how he can call himself a friend yet stand by as KIM KARDASHIAN keeps him from his kids. Fans know this is not the case as Ye has been spotted with both NORTH and SAINT in recent weeks.Â
The texts were posted by a guy who has run in Yeâs circle for years, who was directed to âGet [them] out to the publicâ by Ye. [via TMZ]
###
WEâLL NEVER BE ROYALS
KING CHARLES on Wednesday met with African business leaders in the run-up to his first trip to a Commonwealth nation, when he heads to Kenya at the end of the month.
The group gathered at Garrison Chapel in downtown London to discuss business opportunities and entrepreneurship in Africaâs remaining commonwealth countries. The King also viewed art made abroad and displayed at the Chapel. [via Express]
LATER: At a speech in London, the King poked some fun at himself for the struggles heâs had with writing instruments during his first year as monarch â in the most regal of language.
YOU MAY RECALL: A video of the King went viral last year when he grew frustrated after he couldnât get a fountain pen to work while signing a guest book.
In celebrating the notoriously dry British sense of humor, Charles quipped: âOur ability to laugh at ourselves is one of our great national characteristics. Just as well, you may say, given some of the vicissitudes I have faced with frustratingly failing fountain pens this past year!â [via DailyMail]
###
DAY OF THE YEAR
National New Friends Day
Conflict Resolution Day
International Gin and Tonic Day
National Get Smart About Credit Day
Evaluate Your Life Day
National Seafood Bisque Day
###
ON THIS DATE
1781 - British General Cornwallis officially surrenders the war for the British, following defeat at Yorktown.
More than 7,000 British troops, 900 navy men, 140 cannons, and 45 ships stopped fighting, though it took time for the news of surrender to spread to other theaters of war.
Having suffered the greatest defeat of his career, Cornwallis sat out the formal ceremony, in which a surrogate delivered his sword to the American and French high command. Cornwallis said he had a cold.
It would take almost a year for the Treaty of Paris to be signed, which formally recognized the United States as an independent nation.
###
1796 - An editorial in the "Gazette of the United States" accuses Thomas Jefferson of carrying out affairs with one of his slaves.
The article was signed with the pseudonym Phocion, who was later revealed to be Alexander Hamilton who, at the time, was the Treasury Secretary. Jefferson was running against John Adams for the presidency at the time.Â
This would be like Timothy Geithner writing under an assumed name in the New York Times about Mitt Romney having an affair with a housekeeper. In fairness to Romney, though, there is no evidence of this, and it is likely that Jefferson fathered several children by slaves.
It wasn't the first article by Phocion to appear in the Gazette. He wrote 25 long essays from October to November, but this one stands out as a political cheap shot.Â
###
1982 - John DeLorean is arrested for possession of more than $24 million worth of cocaine.
The car inventor resorted to drug deals to help bail his company out of debt.
In the 1984 trial, his lawyers would successfully sell the story that DeLorean was entrapped by the government, leading to an acquittal.Â
The following year, he would be indicted for a slew of financial crimes, including fraud, racketeering, and tax evasion. He would get an acquittal for those as well.Â
###
1985 - Blockbuster opens its first store. The Dallas location featured 8,000 VHS tapes and a high-tech computerized check-out system.Â
It would swiftly become the most popular and efficient video rental store in the nation. In particular, it bought up stand-alone mom-n-pop video rental shops and used their supplies and infrastructure.Â
The wild success didn't quite last into the 21st century. Netflix came about in 1997 and Amazon would launch its own online DVD store. When streaming came into the fold, Blockbuster was toast.
Many of the brick-and-mortar locations have closed, but it has seen a resurgence in digital streaming services, similar to those found on competitors Netflix and Amazon.
###
2005 - Saddam Hussein begins his trial for war crimes and genocide.
The deposed despot sat with seven co-defendants who were Ba'ath party officials and members of his cabinet.
When first asked for his name by a judge, Saddam responded only with, "I am the president of Iraq."
He would be convicted in November of the following year, and hanged on December 30.Â
###
2018 - The âHalloweenâ reboot starring Jamie Lee Curtis brings in $77 million â a record for a horror film with a female lead.Â
It is also the biggest debut of any film with a female lead over the age of 55 in the US.Â
###
BIRTHDAYS
Bella Moore - actress, âThe Girl in the Atticâ - 18
Katie Douglas - actress, âGinny & Georgiaâ - 25
Toni Storm - wrestler - 28
Hunter King - actress, âThe Young and the Restlessâ - 30
Cheyenne Floyd - reality star, âTeen Momâ - 31
Lil Durk - rapper - 31
Colton Dixon - rock singer - 32
Ashlyn Harris - soccer player - 38
Rebecca Ferguson - actress, âThe Greatest Showmanâ - 40
Gillian Jacobs - actress, âCommunityâ - 41
Jose Bautista - baseball player - 43
Jon Favreau - director & actor, âSwingersâ & âIron Manâ - 57
Evander Holyfield - boxer - 61
Floyd Mayweather Sr. - boxer - 71
John Lithgow - actor, â3rd Rock From the Sunâ - 78
Born On This Date
Michael Gambon - actor, Dumbledore in âHarry Potterâ - 1940 (d. 2023)
###