11/6/2023: Weed 101 🌱
Discover more from Morning Martini
11/6/2023: Weed 101 🌱
PLUS: Nuggets Recall; Rocky Barker; and Harry & Meg Do Vegas
Today is Monday, November 6, 2023.
It is the 310th day of the year.
55 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A billionaire relocates and an anthropologist makes a spooky find. Details in HIT LIST.
MATTHEW PERRY is laid to rest and JESSICA SIMPSON celebrates a milestone on her sobriety journey. More in SHOWBIZ.
Networks are still feeling the fallout from the dual Hollywood strikes. More on how it's changing things in CASTING CALL.
KHLOE KARDASHIAN is still trying to navigate her relationship with ex TRISTAN THOMPSON. More in KARDASH.
PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE helped celebrate the end of a major performing residency. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
JEFF BEZOS is relocating to Miami from Washington state.
The Amazon founder said in an Instagram post that he wants to be closer to his folks and that his space company BLUE ORIGIN is increasingly launching rockets from NASA’s facility at Cape Canaveral.
Bezos currently owns two mansions in Miami together worth about $147 million.
WORTH NOTING: Washington’s Supreme Court recently held up a new law in the state that applies a 7% tax on many capital gains. This year, Bezos has unloaded nearly 2.7 MILLION shares of Amazon worth several hundred million dollars – so you do the math. [via Morning Martini]
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Want to sell weed legally? The United Food and Commercial Workers union is here to help.
The labor group is offering classes to people in New York and New Jersey to become a certified “Cannabis professional” in a first of its kind program. Participants learn now just the mechanics of growing pot but also how to sell it in its various forms and how to comply with various regulations. [via NY Post]
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Tyson Foods has announced a recall for its frozen dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets over concerns some packages are contaminated with metal pieces.
Consumers in nine states could be affected. Fortunately, only one minor injury has so far been reported.
Details on how to check your bag here >. [via USDA]
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A thrift shopper in the Fort Myers, Florida area spotted a spooky find at a resale shop: A human skull.
GO FIGURE: The man himself is a professional anthropologist, who called police when he noticed the skull on the shelf. Responding authorities arrived and asked the store owner for details; the owner says he got the skull from a storage unit he purchased at auction years ago.
Fortunately, no foul play is suspected at this time – but Florida law does expressly prohibit the purchase and sale of human remains. [via CBS News]
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Are all the nuts making you extra nutty this year? Experts say that’s because it’s a “mast year” for nut-bearing trees.
Trees home to black walnuts, beeches and acorns have “on” and “off” years, with “on” years being referred to as “mast years” because of the vigorous production of nuts.
Don’t fret as an “on” year means an “off” year will follow.
SCIENCE: As for what causes “mast years” for certain nut-bearing trees, scientists just aren’t sure, though they believe that temperature variations and natural rainfall may be factors in nut production. [via AP News]
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DEATHS
Astronaut KEN MATTINGLY has died.
He passed away on October 31. No cause of death was shared.
Mattingly was part of three Apollo missions. He was on the support crew for both Apollo 8, which was the first to reach the moon’s orbit, and Apollo 11 which was the first lunar landing. The ill-fated Apollo 13 was supposed to be his first trip to space but a case of German measles put a kibosh on that. Mattingly got his chance to fly to the moon on Apollo 16.
He was 87.
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BABY NEWS
KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN and TRAVIS BARKER have welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Rocky Thirteen Barker.
While no details of the newborn's arrival have been shared, the pair were spotted arriving at the hospital last Thursday. Also, it was just last week that Travis said Kourtney was due any day.
Rocky joins siblings Mason, Penelope, and Reign, whom Kourtney shares with ex SCOTT DISICK as well as Landon and Alabama from Travis’ marriage to SHANNA MOAKLER. There is also Moakler’s daughter Atiana De La Hoya, who Travis has always considered a daughter.
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SICK BAY
MARK ZUCKERBERG is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL.
In an Instagram post, Zuck said he incurred the injury while training for an MMA match early next year.
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WEDDINGS
Country singer ZAC BROWN has tied the knot with actress and model KELLY YAZDI.
He’s 45 and she’s 32.
According to recent reports, the pair were married on August 31 in Georgia.
It is Brown’s second marriage. He was previously married to jeweler SHELLY BROWN for 12 years. They share five kids.
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
10. Freelance: $1.2 million (down from 8)
9. What Happens Later: $1.5 million (new)
8. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie: $1.9 million (down from 6)
7. After Death: $2 million (down from 4)
6. The Exorcist: Believer: $2.1 million (down from 5)
5. Radical: $2.7 million (new)
4. Priscilla: $5 million (up from 20)
3. Killers of the Flower Moon: $7 million (stayed at 3)
2. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: $13.5 million (stayed at 2)
1. Five Nights at Freddy’s: $19.3 million (stayed at 1)
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW was up 222 points (0.66%) on Friday to close at 34,061. The S&P added 40 points (0.94%) to close at 4,358 and the NASDAQ was up 184 points (1.38%) to close at 13,478.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $80; BRENT CRUDE at $85.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.42 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN declined on Sunday, down nearly $300 and trading around $34,750.
🛩 There were more than 2,355 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 50 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $196 million jackpot or a $89.1 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $179 million jackpot or a $82.4 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
MATTHEW PERRY was laid to rest on Friday at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Among the many mourners were his parents and “Friends” co-stars, JENNIFER ANISTON, COURTENEY COX, LISA KUDROW, MATT LEBLANC and DAVID SCHWIMMER, who all clung together as they said their good-byes.
Perry passed away on October 28 at 54-years-old. A cause of death is still pending toxicology results. [via UPI]
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The 38th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction took place on Friday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Inductees were KATE BUSH, MISSY ELLIOTT, SHERYL CROW, WILLIE NELSON, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, THE SPINNERS and the late GEORGE MICHAEL.
Bush decided not to attend the event, which opened with Crow and OLIVIA RODRIGO singing “If It Makes You Happy.”
The night was extra special for Elliott, who became the first female rapper to be part of the Hall of Fame. [via THR]
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AL PACINO will pay girlfriend NOOR ALFALLAH $30,000 a month in child support for their 4-month-old son, Roman.
According to court documents obtained by ET, the actor will also pay Alfallah $110,000 up front and up to $90,000 at the end of the year depending on his earnings, plus cover her attorneys’ fees.
Pacino will also put $15,000 a year into an education fund and will cover all medical expenses, per the docs.
Again…despite all of this legality, the two are still very much together. [via ET]
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MICHAEL J. FOX has had an extra rough go of it lately.
Speaking to Town & Country about his recent spate of injuries, Fox revealed that he broke two of his arms, a shoulder, his orbital/cheekbone and one of his hands -- the latter of which became infected and was close to being amputated.
Those injuries are related to Fox’s Parkinson’s, which he was diagnosed with in 1991 when he was 29. He kept the diagnosis a secret for seven years, at which point he sat down for an interview with BARBARA WALTERS. Two years later he founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
While most people with Parkinson’s pass away within 20 years of being diagnosed, Fox, now 62, has been surviving with the disease for 33 years. [via Town & Country]
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JESSICA SIMPSON celebrated six years of sobriety with a throwback post on Instagram.
Simpson looks unrecognizable in the photo, which was taken on the day that she says she decided to stop drinking. She captioned it, “6 years ago.”
Her decision to quit drinking is laid out in her memoir, “Open Book,” where she explains how a “hazy” Halloween in 2017 led her to quit alcohol for good.
Now, Simpson is working on some new music and shopping a docuseries to networks and streamers. [via Vanity Fair]
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“Housewife” KYLE RICHARDS let the “d” word slip during an appearance at BravoCon and fans were quick to take note.
After months of only referring to her split from husband MAURICIO UMANSKY as a “separation,” fans were shocked to hear her call it a “divorce.”
What’s also interesting is that Umansky was spotted walking to a nightclub arm-in-arm with his “Dancing With the Stars” partner EMMA SLATER on Saturday night. [via TooFab]
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Kansas City Chiefs QB PATRICK MAHOMES is considering playing flag football in the 2028 Olympics.
Ahead of last weekend’s game in Germany, Mahomes was asked if he planned to try out one of the proposed sports to which he replied, “I definitely want to.” [via People]
WORTH NOTING: The 2028 Summer Olympics will be in L.A.
WORTH ASKING: Does anyone actually believe that Mahomes’ $500 million contract would allow him to participate in a flag football game? Or would it be like how NBA players form Team USA?
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Over 80 items from JFK’s life are being sold by RR Auction.
The pieces include a secession of the wooden picket fence behind the “grassy knoll” that overlooked the Presidential parade route, where some believe at least one gunman fired from on that fateful November day.
There is also a window from the Texas School Book Depository where LEE HARVEY OSWALD fired his shots, Oswald’s first handgun and Oswald’s phone call receipt from jail, which took place one day after the assassination.
Other items -- not related to his assassination -- include a handwritten manuscript announcing JFK’s presidential candidacy, a letter to his mistress Mary Pinchot Meyer, his rocking chair, a sailboat sketch from the night before his death and his personal diary from 1945.
The lot is expected to fetch around $1.5 million. [via Robb Report]
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CASTING CALL
While JENNIFER LAWRENCE would love nothing more than to reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in the “Hunger Games” franchise, insiders say that is not likely to happen.
Producer NINA JACOBSON told Yahoo Entertainment that she, and author SUZANNA COLLINS, who wrote the books the films are based on, believe that Katniss’ “story is complete.”
Lawrence took on the role in four “Hunger Games” films from 2012 to 2015.
Now, the franchise is set to release a prequel flick this month called, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” based on Collins’ 2020 spinoff novel. [via Yahoo]
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HBO has revised its scheduling plans for upcoming shows due to the writers’ strike and ongoing actors’ strike.
“White Lotus” Season 3, “It” prequel “Welcome to Derry” and “Euphoria” Season 3 have all been pushed to 2025. [via Variety, ET]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
When KHLOE KARDASHIAN and TRISTAN THOMPSON were dating they purchased two connecting plots of land in Palm Springs. Now that they are no longer together, Khloe wants to know if Tristan will sell his lot to her.
The real estate issue is just one of many that Khloe has had to deal with when it comes to her ex -- and father of her two children. As many know, Tristan strayed a handful of times and even got another woman pregnant right around the time he and Khloe were expecting their son.
Other family members are also struggling with Tristan, especially KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN who revealed that sometimes she gets “triggered” being around him, though she tries her best to “let it go” because he is the father of her niece and nephew.
This saga may never end. [via People]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE had a date night at KATY PERRY’s Las Vegas show on Saturday.
ALSO SPOTTED: CELINE DION with her 13-year-old twin sons and Perry’s fiance ORLANDO BLOOM with their 3-year-old daughter.
People has reported that the Sussexes have gotten close with Perry and Bloom since they relocated to California in 2020.
Perry’s Saturday show marked the end of her residency at Resorts World Theater. [via NY Post]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Nachos Day
National Saxophone Day
Job Action Day
National Broadcast Traffic Professionals Day
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ON THIS DATE
355 - After dealing with several rebellions, Roman Emperor Constantius II decides he needs a representative in Gaul, so he proclaims his cousin Julian as Caesar of the West and heir apparent.
After being given the title, Julian married Constantius’ sister -- also his cousin -- Helena.
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1789 - Pope Pius VI appoints Father John Carroll as the first Catholic bishop in the United States.
Father Carroll had been trained in the ministry in France and became a member of the Society of Jews. He returned to the U.S. as a Catholic missionary in 1773.
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1860 - Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th President of the United States.
Lincoln, a Republican, beat Democrats John C. Breckenridge, Stephen A. Douglas and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell for the seat.
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1861 - Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America.
Like the Union's first commander-in-chief, George Washington, Davis was unopposed.
He would be the Confederate States of America's only president. His six-year term was not quite completed when the CSA was dissolved in 1865.
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1906 - President Roosevelt begins a trip to Panama and Puerto Rico.
The trip made him the first president to leave the continent on official state business while in office.
During the trip, he inspected the Panama Canal, which remained under construction. There is an iconic picture in which Roosevelt is photographed operating a large steam shovel.
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1917 - Vladimir Lenin leads communist revolutionaries who topple Russia's provisional government.
Lenin oversaw the first Marxist state in the world. He consolidated power under the banner of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
He died in 1924 and was succeeded by Stalin.
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1962 - The United Nations formally condemns apartheid through a resolution.
The document called for all partner countries to end any military and economic aid or support to South Africa, which sanctioned racial segregation against non-whites in the country.
While the white population was a minority in numbers, it nonetheless held control of power in the country.
A new constitution outlawing the injustice was implemented in 1991.
Nelson Mandela became president in 1993, after spending 27 years in prison alongside other anti-apartheid leaders.
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1995 - Owner of the Cleveland Browns Art Modell announces a plan to move the team to Baltimore.
Legal actions by the city of Cleveland, as well as Browns season ticket holders, persuaded the NFL to keep the franchise in Cleveland.
Modell was permitted to move his organization to Baltimore, establishing the Baltimore Ravens, leaving the Browns in Cleveland and owner-less.
After “The Move” no one purchased the Browns franchise, so the NFL deactivated the team. They were reactivated in time for the 1999 season after being purchased by a new owner the year prior for $530 million.
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2012 – Elizabeth Warren becomes the first female Senator from Massachusetts.
She defeated incumbent Republican Scott Brown.
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2022 - The Powerball jackpot rises to a record of $1.9 BILLION after three months of no winning tickets.
The following day Edwin Castro of California would win more than $2 BILLION in the drawing.
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BIRTHDAYS
Hero Fiennes Tiffin - actor, “After” franchise - 26
Pierson Fode - actor, “Jessie” & “Hello Ladies” - 32
Emma Stone - actress “Superbad” & “La La Land” - 35
Lamar Odom - basketball player & Khloe Kardashian’s ex-husband - 44
Taryn Manning - actress, “Orange Is the New Black” & “Hustle & Flow” - 45
Sal Vulcano - comedian, “Impractical Jokers” - 47
Rebecca Romijn - actress, “X-Men” & “Ugly Betty” - 51
Thandie Newton - actress, “Crash” & “Westworld” - 51
Ethan Hawke - actor, “Before Sunrise” & “Training Day” - 53
Kelly Rutherfod - actress, “Gossip Girl’ & “Melrose Place” - 55
Mohamed Hadid - real estate developer & reality star, “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” - 75
Sally Field - actress, “Lincoln” & “Forrest Gump & “Mrs. Doubtfire” - 77
Born On This Date
Glenn Frey - guitarist, The Eagles - 1948 (d. 2016)
Mike Nichols - director, “Catch 22” & “The Graduate” - 1931 (d. 2014)
James Naismith - educator, physician & coach who is credited with inventing basketball in 1891 - 1861 (d. 1939)
Gordon Granger - Civil War Major General - 1822 (d. 1876)
Agrippina the Younger - Roman Empress & mother of Nero - 15 AD (d. 59 AD)
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