11/21/2023: 2,150 Year Sentence(s) ⚖️
PLUS: More Strikes A-Brewin; Snoop’s Dupe; and A Royal Christmas
Today is Tuesday, November 21, 2023.
It is the 325th day of the year.
40 days remain.
PROGRAMMING NOTE
There will be no newsletter on Thursday, November 23 or Friday, November 24 for Thanksgiving weekend.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A well-past-due library book with historical significance and a former Olympian is up for parole. Details in HIT LIST.
WAYNE BRADY got into a fender bender and SHAQ wishes he was a little bit smaller. More in SHOWBIZ.
“Blue Bloods” is coming to an end and LEONARDO DICAPRIO says “thank you” to SHARON STONE. Find out more in CASTING CALL.
KIM KARDASHIAN is taking her talents to the big screen. Get the details in KARDASH.
The first details emerge for the House of Windsor's Christmas plans. Find out more in ROYALS.
###
HIT LIST
After a nearly three-year trial, prosecutors in Italy finally convicted a mafia cell of 207 defendants on Monday who will collectively face about 2,150 years in prison.
All of those convicted belonged to the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate, considered by European law enforcement to be one of the most powerful organized criminal organizations in the world, with influence spanning multiple continents. The organization has a reported monopoly on cocaine distribution in Europe.
Despite the massive sentences, more than 100 suspects were acquitted. [via France24]
###
A borrowed book gone missing for over a century has been returned to the St. Paul Public Library in Minnesota – but library staff believe it carries extra special historical meaning.
The 1902 copy of “Famous Composers vol. 2” is believed to have been checked out during a massive fire in 1915 that destroyed the library’s previous location. The fire destroyed an estimated 160,000 books. While the book did make it back to the library to be checked out again in January 1916, it disappeared for good in 1919 – until now.
NOW: A woman says she discovered the very overdue book while organizing her mother’s belongings.
FORTUNATELY: The library no longer charges any late fees. [via New York Post]
###
MERCEDES-BENZ has opened its first electric vehicle charging station in the United States.
The facility in Sandy Springs, Georgia at the company’s Atlanta headquarters will accommodate any American-made EV charging port – but Mercedes drivers will be able to reserve spots using an app. Drivers will also be able to use a lounge while waiting for their charge.
Mercedes is working with southern gas station and convenience store giant Buc-ee’s to install more stations before the end of the year. [via Robb Report]
###
Just as United Auto Workers members ratified their new contracts on Monday with the Big Three automakers, another transportation-sector union is buzzing about walking off the job.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants began the process on Monday to initiate a strike of American Airlines flight attendants.
AND: Union reps for Southwest pilots have opened what they call a “strike center” for organizing activities. They say a strike is imminent if the airline can’t complete a deal in the next few days – though federal regulations would make a pilot strike difficult to initiate.
WORTH NOTING: The last pilot strike lasted about two weeks in 2010 for a small number of Spirit Airlines pilots. [via ABC News]
###
Former Olympic runner, and current inmate, OSCAR PISTORIUS will have a chance at parole this Friday.
According to a statement from South Africa’s department of corrections, the parole board will decide this week “whether the inmate is suitable or not for social integration.”
Many may recall that the double-amputee athlete was convicted of culpable homicide for the fatal shooting of his girlfriend REEVA STEENKAMP on Valentine’s Day in 2013. That was later upgraded to murder, which came with a 13-year sentence.
The rule for serious offenders in South Africa is that they must serve at least half of their sentence before they are eligible for parole.
OOPS: It turns out there was a clerical error and Pistorius was actually up for parole in March of this year. Oh shucks! [via AP News]
###
BABY NEWS
Actors SUKI WATERHOUSE and ROBERT PATTINSON are expecting their first child together.
The exciting news comes five years after the two were rumored to be in a relationship, following Pattinson’s split from fiance FKA TWIGS.
No word on when the baby is due to arrive or what they are having.
By the way -- he’s 37 and she’s 31.
###
BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 203 points (0.58%) to close at 35,151 on Monday. The S&P was up 33 points (0.74%) to close at 4,547 and the NASDAQ was up 159 points (1.13%) to close at 14,284.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $77; BRENT CRUDE at $82.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.30 on Monday.
₿ BITCOIN was mostly flat on Monday, trading around $37,400.
🛩 There were more than 2,575 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Monday and more than 55 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $289 million jackpot or a $132 million cash payout.
###
SHOWBIZ NEWS
PAX JOLIE-PITT bashed his estranged dad, BRAD PITT, in a newly released Instagram post from 2020.
In the post, which Pax wrote on his private account when he was only 16, he said: “Happy Father’s Day to this world class a--hole!! You time and time again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person.”
The post continued on with Pax writing how his younger siblings -- Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox -- “tremble in fear when in [his] presence.”
Pitt has not been publicly seen with any of the former couple’s six kids since 2016 when ANGELINA JOLIE filed for divorce. That filing, of course, came after Pitt allegedly abused Jolie and two of their kids aboard a private jet. [via Page Six]
###
It turns out SNOOP DOGG’s admission of going smokeless was all a marketing ploy and not about him giving up the ganja.
On Monday, Snoop announced that he has partnered with Solo Stove, an outdoor firepit that blazes without the smoke; hence the “quitting smoke” post from last week.
As for his stance on marijuana, it's still likely “smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.” [via Vibe]
###
TRAVIS KELCE opened up about how his romance with TAYLOR SWIFT started, telling WSJ Magazine that he “had somebody playing Cupid.”
As for who it was, Kelce said he doesn’t know, just that “there were definitely people she knew that knew who [he] was.”
He also revealed that he took her out on a dinner date before her now iconic first appearance at Arrowhead Stadium in September.
NOW: It appears things are getting serious as the two are reportedly making plans to celebrate the holidays together. [via WSJ]
###
WAYNE BRADY got into a fender bender and a scuffle on a Malibu highway over the weekend.
According to law enforcement sources, another driver struck Brady’s car on the Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday night. Following the collision, both Brady and the other driver got out of their vehicles, which is when the other guy reportedly got angry and started fighting with Brady.
After the fight, Brady called 911 as the other driver took off. He was later found by authorities and arrested for battery, DUI and hit-and-run.
As for Brady, insiders said he is sore, but did not require any medical attention. [via TMZ]
###
KIM ZOLCIAK is being sued again, this time by Bank of America who claims she owes more than $50,000.
According to the suit, Zolciak took out a $50,000 line of credit and quickly reached that limit. When asked for payment she allegedly ignored all attempts.
Now, with interest and penalties, she owes over $56,000…and counting. [via Daily Mail]
WORTH NOTING: This is just the latest in a long line of creditors who are suing Zolciak and her on-again, off-again husband KROY BIERMANN.
###
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL says he doesn’t mind being over 7 feet tall, except for when it comes to one thing: sports cars.
The topic came up in a recent People Magazine interview about his new ad for Pepsi’s mini cans, which is when Shaq said the “only time” he has ever wished he was a little bit shorter was “when it comes to driving sports cars.” [via People]
###
CASTING CALL
“Blue Bloods” is coming to an end.
The upcoming 14th season will be the show’s final. It will consist of 18 episodes, with the first 10 airing in February, and the remaining eight airing later in 2024.
The CBS police procedural show, starring TOM SELLECK, DONNIE WAHLBERG, WILL ESTES, BRIDGET MOYNAHAN and VANESSA RAY, premiered in 2010. [via Variety]
###
ABC has extended its contract with Dick Clark Productions for five more years of “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest.”
The extension will see the annual celebration air on the network through January 1, 2029. [via Deadline]
###
Before LEONARDO DICAPRIO was truly a household name, actress SHARON STONE knew he was destined to be an amazing actor.
In a recent interview with E!, DiCaprio says Stone fought for him to appear opposite her in “The Quick and the Dead.” Something he says he cannot thank her enough for.
Stone previously detailed the situation, saying DiCaprio “was the only one who nailed the audition,” and the studio said if she wanted him for the role then she could pay him out of her salary.
“The Quick and the Dead” opened in 1995 -- a year before DiCaprio would appear in “Titanic.” [via E!]
###
A new “Jason Bourne” flick is reportedly in the works at Universal.
Insiders say there is not yet a script in place, but director EDWARD BERGER in early negotiations to oversee development of the potential project.
If things all go to plan, MATT DAMON would be asked to return as the titular character. [via Deadline]
###
COURT CASES
SHAKIRA has avoided jail time by settling her multi-million dollar tax case with Spanish authorities.
The deal comes with a three-year suspended sentence and a $7.5 million fine, which is much better than the eight years in jail and up to $26 million she could have paid had she gone to trial and been found guilty.
As previously reported, Shakira was accused of six counts of tax fraud for failing to pay $15.8 million in income taxes between 2012 and 2014.
In a statement shared with People Magazine, Shakira explained that she settled the case for the sake of her children, and that it was not an omission of guilt. [via People]
###
THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN will star in and produce an upcoming comedy titled “The 5th Wheel.”
No plot details have been shared, but Deadline reports that at least five studios are already battling over the rights to the movie.
The jump to the big screen comes after Kim appeared in FX’s “American Horror Story.” [via Deadline]
###
WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
A leaked guest list shows that the Royal Family will gather at its Sandringham Estate for Christmas.
QUEEN CAMILLA’s two children and five grandchildren have been invited to join the family in one of Sandringham’s ballrooms – an upgrade from the more modest dining room where QUEEN ELIZABETH typically hosted the occasion.
OF COURSE: PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE were not on the guest list. [via ITV]
###
DAY OF THE YEAR
World Television Day
National Working Daughters Day
Entrepreneurs’ Day
National Red Mitten Day
False Confession Day
National Stuffing Day
National Gingerbread Cookie Day
World Hello Day
###
ON THIS DATE
1783 - Two Frenchmen fly 5-and-a-half miles over Paris in an untethered hot-air balloon.
The flight took 25 minutes. It was the first significant and controlled human adventure into the sky.
Two months earlier the fliers had sent some barn animals up in one of their balloons in front of King Louis.
###
1916 - Titanic's sister ship, Britannic, sinks in the Aegean Sea. It was functioning as a hospital ship to service wounded soldiers fighting in World War I.
30 people died and more than 1,000 were rescued.
It is known that an explosion caused the ship to sink, but it's uncertain what caused it -- though many historians suggest the ship hit a water mine.
The wreckage would be discovered 400 feet beneath the surface of the Aegean Sea in 1976 by Jacques Cousteau.
###
1975 - A meddling Senate committee reports that American agents had engineered at least five assassination plots of foreign leaders.
The Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities linked the U.S. to a failed attempt on Fidel Castro's life. The bureaucrats found no information that an American president ever authorized an assassination.
President Ford decried the report, saying it undermined the country's foreign policy initiatives.
###
1976 - "Rocky" premieres in New York City.
It would be released two weeks later across the country and become a huge hit at the box office.
The boxing flick would take home three Oscars, including Best Picture.
Then-unknown Sylvester Stallone even wrote the screenplay.
###
1980 - A worldwide television audience of more than 350 million people watch the episode of “Dallas” that reveals who shot JR.
SPOILER ALERT: It was Kristin Shepard, his wife's sister and his former mistress.
The CBS drama ran for 12 full seasons, beginning in 1978.
In the US alone, the episode drew in 83 million people. That's 76% of all TV sets in the country at the time.
###
1995 - Princess Diana admits she cheated on Prince Charles.
During her hour-long conversation with BBC reporter Martin Bashir, Diana admitted to an adulterous affair with her riding instructor James Hewitt.
She also shared her hurt at Charles’ affair with long-time friend Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The interview was watched by an estimated 15 million people -- one of the BBC’s highest-ever audiences.
The couple were separated at the time of the interview and would divorce in 1996. Diana would die in a car accident a year later.
###
2019 - Elon Musk unveils Tesla’s all-electric pickup, the Cybertruck, at an event in Los Angeles.
While showing off how much of a beating the vehicle could take, Tesla Chefdesigner Franz Von Holzhausen took a sledgehammer to the body. He also hit the shatterproof windows with a metal ball that — to the surprise of Musk — shattered the window.
Earlier, Musk had claimed the truck was bulletproof against a 9mm handgun.
###
BIRTHDAYS
Isabel May - actress, “Alexia & Katie” - 23
Carly Rae Jepsen - pop singer - 38
Jena Malone - actress, “Donnie Darko” & “The Hunger Games” - 39
Nikki Bella - wrestler & reality star, “Total Divas” - 40
Brie Bella - wrestler & reality star, “Total Divas” - 40
Johnny Dang - entrepreneur, made Grillz popular - 49
Michael Strahan - football player & sports analyst - 52
Ken Griffey Jr. - baseball player - 54
Troy Aikman - football player & sports analyst - 57
Bjork - pop singer - 58
Goldie Hawn - actress, “Overboard” & “Foul Play” - 78
Dick Durbin - politician - 79
Born On This Date
Ken Block - race car driver - 1967 (d. 2023)
Hetty Green - businesswoman known as the Witch of Wall Street - 1834 (d. 1916)
Voltaire - French writer & philosopher - 1694 (d. 1778)
###