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11/18/2022: “Venue Jurisdiction”

PLUS: Biden Corruption Revealed; Taylor’s Ticketmaster Fiasco; and Kardashian Name Game

Nov 18, 2022

Today is Friday, November 18, 2022.

It is the 322nd day of the year.

43 days remain.

PROGRAMMING NOTE

There will be no newsletter next week Thursday or Friday during the Thanksgiving holiday.

HIT LIST

The bankruptcy case for crypto exchange FTX is growing more complicated on multiple fronts.

What is publicly known as “FTX” is a constellation of more than 130 shell companies and subsidiaries. The company’s disgraced founder and Democrat megadonor, SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, has operated the main business units from, and has lived primarily in, The Bahamas since September 2021. SBF was CEO until he resigned last week and was replaced by JOHN J. RAY III – the same guy who oversaw Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001.

BUT WAIT: While the company was operated from The Bahamas, the initial bankruptcy case was filed in Delaware – in the United States, where some of the business units were incorporated and organized.

MEANWHILE: The primary subsidiary that oversaw operations of the dozens of companies, FTX Digital Markets Ltd., was based in and incorporated in The Bahamas. A separate bankruptcy was filed there specifically for that business unit.

A lawyer for Securities Commission of The Bahamas – their version of the US Securities and Exchange Commission – has filed paperwork in a separate, New York court, arguing that the Bahamian bankruptcy court should oversee the entire case before any proceedings begin in Delaware courts. As they note, the FTX Digital Markets Ltd. has extensive office space in The Bahamas and was also the central base of operations.

ALSO WORTH NOTING: The Bahamas’ regulators began proceedings against FTX before the bankruptcy filing in the US – and that the filing in the US isn’t authorized by Bahamas law. The government of The Bahamas revoked the business license for FTX before the bankruptcy case was filed in the US.

THINGS GET WEIRDER: Yesterday, Vox reported that SBF was reaching out to reporters to comment on his company’s demise. As even the reporter on the story noted, it was strange for someone in his position to be talking to the media.

The new management at FTX and their lawyers agree.

In their own filing on Wednesday, the new managers and lawyers for FTX argue that, actually, the entire case should be heard in Delaware. They also say that SBF’s communication with reporters and “incessant and disruptive tweeting” in support of the bankruptcy case being handled in The Bahamas is undermining the entire proceedings.

BUT WAIT YET AGAIN: SBF formally stepped aside as CEO at 4:30 am last Friday – before the bankruptcy case was filed in Delaware. Lawyers for the Bahamas’ Securities Commission say that the case in the US was improperly authorized.

IN OTHER WORDS: It’s all an even worse mess.

A US judge will hold a hearing on December 13 to begin sorting out the chaos.

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Former SpaceX employees who say they were fired after speaking out against ELON MUSK have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that their terminations were illegal.

Musk’s companies have actively resisted organized labor movements among their ranks, which has drawn the ire of his more progressive employees and a watchful eye of government regulators.

WORTH NOTING: The timing of the complaint appears to be the vindictive action of disgruntled and angry former staffers who are trying to win a PR war against Musk as he leads reforms at his newly-acquired social media toy, Twitter, in an effort to expand a culture of free speech and diversity of opinion.

BY THE WAY: As Musk himself tweeted Thursday evening, “The media constantly writing about Twitter is driving usage to all-time highs, so it’s fine by me!”

MEANWHILE: Hundreds of Twitter employees reportedly opted to take three months severance instead of working for Musk’s new “hardcore” Twitter that demanded only excellent work from exceptional employees.

While media outlets wet their pants over the development, Musk gloated on his social media toy, writing, “And … we just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol.”

All access to Twitter buildings will be cut off until Monday as the dust settles and management figures out who’s left.

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Buffalo is bracing for up to four feet of snow by Sunday.

A blizzard that could bring as much as five inches per hour began last night. The NFL has already rescheduled Sunday’s matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns to Detroit.

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Mars’ moon Phobos has a series of long, parallel grooves on its surface that have perplexed astronomers for years. The most common theory has been that they were caused by asteroid impacts eons ago.

But a new study suggests they’re deep canyons created as a result of Mars’ gravitational pull – that could eventually pull the entire moon apart.

Phobos is only about 17 miles across and about 80 times closer to Mars than our moon is to Earth. At its current rate, it will impact Mars in about 40 million years, but these forces could tear it apart well before then.

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A study from Scripps Research Transnational Institute in La Jolla, California, suggests that covid patients who take Paxlovid are MORE likely to get the infection a second time.

In the study, 14% of covid patients who took the drug tested positive again compared to a 9% who did not.

The treatment remains effective in treating symptoms and diminishing the sickness the second time around.

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BY THE NUMBERS

📈 The Dow lost 7 points (.02%) to close at 33,546. The S&P lost 12 points (0.31%) to close at 3,946 and the Nasdaq was down 38 points (0.35%) to close at 11,144.

🛢 West Texas Intermediate traded at $82 Wednesday; Brent Crude at $89.

⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $3.72 on Thursday.

₿ Bitcoin was up slightly, trading over $16,800 on Thursday evening.

🛩 There were 5,393 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and 169 such cancellations.

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CHARTS

New to Amazon Prime:

The People We Hate At The Wedding (Rotten Tomatoes: No Score)

New to Hulu:

An En Vogue Christmas (No Score)
Merry Kissmas (No Score)
The Forgiven (Score: 68%)

New to Netflix:

Slumberland (Score: 47%)
The Violence Action (No Score)

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THE SWAMP

House Speaker NANCY PELOSI will not run for leadership in the Democrat caucus in the next session, for the first time in two decades. House Majority Leader STENY HOYER will step aside as well. Rep. JAMES CLYBURN, who’s been in the House since 1993, is expected to vie for Hoyer’s role.

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House Republicans announced Thursday they have evidence that implicates HUNTER BIDEN in a variety of crimes, including wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. Hunter’s international business activities with foreign governments and companies may have also run afoul the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The revelations were part of a 31-page report published by Republican members of the House Committee on Oversight & Reform.

HERE’S THE PROBLEM: Most of the evidence is circumstantial, and there’s nothing new that hasn’t already been quietly reported – but the Treasury Department has in its possession what would likely amount to definitive proof of these crimes.

In particular, there have been at least 150 “Suspicious Activity Reports” filed at Treasury for transactions to and from accounts managed by HUNTER BIDEN, the president’s son, and JAMES BIDEN, the president’s brother.

These SARs are filed by banks with the government when they see transactions that they believe are connected to criminal activity.

Under President JOE BIDEN, the Treasury is not providing requests for these documents to Congress – breaking years of precedent to satisfy such requests.

So much for returning to “norms” and “decency.”

WORTH NOTING: If the Treasury Department is withholding these documents at the specific order of President JOE BIDEN, he could face obstruction charges – the same charges leveled against former President DONALD TRUMP in his impeachment (except there is screaming evidence that the Biden Family Crime Syndicate is guilty of all the crimes Democrats spent years accusing Trump of committing).

WORTH REMEMBERING: For the dorks who respond to this, “well, what ABOUT Trump?” – there was a lengthy, years-long investigation headed by ROBERT MUELLER that turned up nothing that could convict Trump of anything. But there was an investigation and relentless media scrutiny and movies made imagining the alleged wrongdoing. In this case, those same people are utterly silent and indifferent.

ALSO WORTH NOTING: The same party blubbering for the last two years about protecting “our Democracy” have impeded every attempt to compel the Treasury Department to make these documents public.

IT GETS WORSE: The report also suggests that SARs will reveal that Hunter Biden has played a role in a sex trafficking operation — but was light on any other details.

THEN, GET A LOAD OF THIS: In 2017, Hunter Biden and his business partners put together a plan that would sell liquified natural gas produced in Louisiana to Chinese energy companies. For their efforts – and without even delivering on the specifics of the plan – Hunter and his cronies received $5 million from Chinese investors.

An email about this deal is where the notorious “10 held by H for the big guy” comes from – suggesting that President JOE BIDEN would pocket part of the proceeds from this deal.

IN OTHER WORDS: The President of the United States intended to profit off selling domestic energy resources to a foreign adversary while campaigning on running American companies who produce that energy out of business.

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS: Once Republicans take the majority, they will have subpoena power. If the Treasury Department still doesn’t hand the appropriate documents over, Congress can compel the banks that generated the Suspicious Activity Reports to hand them in.

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LOTTERY

No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $238 million jackpot or a $119.1 million cash payout.

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No winner for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. Saturday night’s drawing will be for a $93 million jackpot or a $46.7 million cash payout.

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SHOWBIZ NEWS

These albums drop today:

Adrian Quesada, “Jaguar Sound”
Badlands, “Call To Love”
Billy Strings, “ME/AND/DAD”
Caitlin Rose, “CAZIMI”
Colin Stetson, “The Menu”
Disturbed, “Divisive”
DJ Yoda, “Prom Nite”
Dolly Parton, “Dolly Parton -- Diamonds & Rhinestones: The Greatest Hits Collection”
Lowlife, “Payday”
Neil Young And Crazy Horse, “World Record”
Nickelback, “Get Rollin’”
Pole, “Tempus”
Richard Dawson, “The Ruby Cord”
Roddy Ricch, “Feed The Street III”
Soen, “Atlantis”
Sunking, “Smug”
Willie Nelson, “Willie Nelson Live At Budokan”

###

Ticketmaster has canceled the public sale of tickets for TAYLOR SWIFT’s Eras Tour after a chaotic presale event.

In a statement, Ticketmaster blamed “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory” for the cancellation.

Earlier this week verified Swifties were given a code to enter the presale. According to the CEO of Liberty Media, which is Ticketmaster’s largest shareholder, over 14 million fans hit the site that was only prepared for 1.5 million verified fans.

Many waited hours and paid hundreds to get tickets, while others ended up empty handed.

MEANWHILE: Complaints over the fiasco got the attention of Tennessee Attorney General JONATHAN SKRMETTI who has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster.

###

TIM ALLEN was slammed by Twitter users over a line his character, Scott Calvin, says in the new Disney+ show “The Santa Clauses.”

In the scene, Calvin says, “saying ‘Merry Christmas to all’ has suddenly become problematic.”

One Twitter user wrote, “Santa had the red hat all along and we just ignored it,” referring to the “Make America Great Again” hats worn by Trump supporters.

Neither Disney nor Allen have commented on the backlash.

WORTH NOTING: Allen has always been open about his support of the Republican party. Perhaps the backlash is over more than just his character’s line.

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A video of JAY LENO recovering in a hyperbaric chamber has been obtained by “Inside Edition.”

In the clip the comedian is seen lying in the chamber with his left arm wrapped to his elbow and a bandage covering his right hand.

There is a brief glimpse of his face, which appears to be entirely wrapped in gauze.

According to Leno’s doctor, the hyperbaric chamber helps to “decrease swelling [and] increase blood flow with good oxygenation.” It can also aid in decreasing bacteria.

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CANDACE CAMERON BURE is catching some flack after announcing that she is leaving the Hallmark channel to create more “conservative” projects on the Great American Family network.

She told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that she is excited to work with a company that promotes “faith programming and good family entertainment,” while also noting that GAF “will keep traditional marriage at the core.”

Actress HILARIE BURTON (“One Tree Hill”) called Cameron Bure a “bigot,” while her former “Full House” co-star JODIE SWEETIN appeared to shade her by supporting a post calling out her interview.

In response to the hate, Cameron Bure blamed the media for using her controversial marriage comments to “fan flames of conflict and hate.”

“I have a simple message: I love you anyway,” she wrote on Instagram.

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While filming his new show “Limitless,” actor CHIRS HEMSWORTH discovered that he has a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease.

Speaking to Vanity Fair about the revelation, he said, “To all of a sudden be told some big indicators are actually pointing to this as the route which is going to happen, the reality sinks in. Your own mortality.”

Hemsworth has two copies of the gene APOE4, meaning he is “eight to 10 times more likely” to battle the disease.

“Limitless” airs on Disney+.

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HODA KOTB revealed something she never knew about her co-host JENNA BUSH HAGER this week.

On their NBC show, “Today with Hoda and Jenna,” Kotb shared her surprise over the fact that Bush Hager “never wears underwear.”

After revealing the news to millions of viewers, Bush Hager defended herself saying, “it makes a more pretty silhouette!”

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CASTING CALL

Judge JUDY SHEINDLIN knows who she would want to play her if a biopic is ever made about her life.

Speaking to E! News, the TV judge said she would love it if REESE WITHERSPOON got the job.

“We’re friends, and she gets me, and I know she does,” Sheindlin said before adding that she thinks Witherspoon is just a “fabulous lady.”

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Ever wondered if QUENTIN TARANTINO has a favorite among his own films? Apparently he does.

During a recent appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” the legendary director revealed that “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is his “best movie.”

For those unfamiliar, the 2019 flick stars LEONARDO DICAPRIO, MARGOT ROBBIE and BRAD PITT. It grossed $371 million at the global box office on its opening weekend.

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RYAN SEACREST will host “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” live from Times Square, for the 18th year.

Joining him as co-hosts are internet personality LIZA KOSHY and country singer JESSIE JAMES DECKER. Meanwhile, singer CIARA will host the annual bash from Disneyland.

The event will feature more than five hours of musical performances, along with glimpses of New Year’s celebrations from around the world.

Performers will be announced at a later date.

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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS

KHLOE KARDASHIAN left the hospital without choosing a name for her newborn son, according to her big sister KIM KARDASHIAN.

In a preview for next week’s episode of “The Kardashians,” Kim asked “What are we gonna name him?” to which she got no response.

Khloe and TRISTAN THOMPSON welcomed their son in July via a surrogate. The birth was documented on the family’s Hulu show.

All fans know about the child’s name is that it starts with a “T” to match Khloe’s daughter, TRUE THOMPSON.

SPEAKING OF NAMES: Fans still don’t know the name of KYLIE JENNER and TRAVIS SCOTT’s little boy. Initially they called him Wolf, but later said they would be changing it.

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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS

PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE’s highly-anticipated Netflix docuseries is set to drop in December.

Meg spoke about the project with Variety in October, explaining how they trusted director LIZ GARBUS with their story, even if she told it differently than they would have.

The couple first signed a multi-year deal with the steamer in September 2020 to produce documentaries, docuseries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming. This will be their first project from that deal.

DOUBLE WHAMMY: The Royal Family is already anxious about the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare, which is due out on January 10. News of the Netflix docuseries is sure to enhance their concerns.

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SPORTS

WNBA player BRITTNEY GRINER is currently serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony in Mordovia, which is about 210 miles east of Moscow.

Her lawyers told the Associated Press that they were able to see Griner earlier this week.

She is “doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment,” they said in a statement.

Griner was arrested in February when customs agents found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport. After a brief trial, she was sentenced in August.

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LIST OF THE WEEK

Top 10 Dog Names For 2022

Female

Luna
Bella
Daisy
Lucy
Lily
Zoe
Lola
Sadie
Bailey
Stella

Male

Max
Charlie
Cooper
Milo
Buddy
Rocky
Bear
Teddy
Duke
Leo

*list courtesy of Rover’s Top Pet Names Report

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DAY OF THE YEAR

Mickey Mouse Day

National Princess Day

National Vichyssoise Day

Housing Day

National Adoption Day

Apple Cider Day

Occult Day

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ON THIS DATE

1863 – President Lincoln boards a train bound for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

He was going to dedicate a cemetery at the site of the bloody battle that happened earlier that year.

The famous speech he later delivered was very short -- not the long oration many were expecting. Because of this, there is only one confirmed photograph of Lincoln giving the speech. Press photographers had not yet gotten around to getting their equipment ready.

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1883 – Americans adopt a standardized system of time zones.

Beginning at noon, there would be four continental time zones spanning the country. Previously there had literally been thousands, depending on the cities.

The move came at the behest of railroad companies, who found it nearly impossible to keep accurate timetables of their travel schedules with the lack of continuity.

In 1918 Congress officially adopted the time zones. They're now under the discretion of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

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1966 – Star LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax retires from the MLB.

He was only 30 years old, coming off a National League pennant and his third Cy Young award.

But he was plagued with arthritis in his throwing arm. Doctors said if he kept playing, he might lose the use of his hand.

When he was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1971, he became its youngest entrant, at 36 years old.

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1987 – A congressional investigation finalizes and shares its report on the Iran-Contra scandal.

The conclusion called for President Reagan to take ultimate responsibility for the deal, which saw covert weapons sales to Iran in exchange for money that funded anti-Sandinista uprisings in Nicaragua.

While they deplored the method, the committee did agree with overthrowing the communists in South America.

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1996 – Volkswagen opens a revolutionary factory in Brazil.

Rather than staffing assembly lines with VW workers, supervisors worked with local contractors who individually oversaw the production of each car.

It cut labor costs significantly, with the work going to the lowest bidders. The system made boatloads of money for Volkswagen.

###

2006 – Tom Cruise marries Katie Holmes.

The Church of Scientology union happened at a castle in Italy.

In attendance was a smattering of Tom's high-power friends, including Will and Jada Smith, Jim Carrey, and Jennifer Lopez.

They call it quits less than 6 years later.

###

2020 - US deaths from COVID-19 pass 250,000, with 11.5 million recorded cases.

Nearly 77,000 people are hospitalized with the virus.

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BIRTHDAYS

Micheal Ward - actor, “The A List” - 25

Jordan Calloway - actor, “Unfabulous” & “Riverdale” - 32

Jake Abel - actor, “I Am Number Four” & “Dirty John” - 35

Damon Wayans Jr. - actor, “New Girl” & “Happy Together” - 40

Mike Jones - rapper - 41

Denny Hamlin - race car driver - 42

Mathew Baynton - actor, “Horrible Histories” & “Spy” - 42

Fabolous - rapper - 45

Steven Pasquale - actor, “Rescue Me” - 46

David Ortiz - baseball player - 47

Chloe Sevigny - actress, “American Psycho” - 48

Mike Epps - comedian - 52

Megyn Kelly - journalist - 52

Owen Wilson - actor, “Wedding Crashers” & “Meet the Parents” - 54

Kirk Hammett - guitarist, Metallica - 60

Linda Evans - actress, “Dynasty” & “Big Valley” - 80

Margaret Atwood - author, “The Handmaiden’s Tale” - 83

Born On This Date

Alan Shepard - astronaut, first American in space - 1923 (d. 1998)

George Gallup - inventor of the Gallup poll - 1901 (d. 1984)

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