1/18/2023: “idiberug”
PLUS: How Not to Handle Divorce; Chrisleys Report to Prison; and Fastest-Selling “Spare”
Today is Wednesday, January 18, 2023.
It is the 18th day of the year.
347 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Author COLLEEN HOOVER is holding strong at the top of the New York Times Bestsellers list. See who else made the list in CHARTS.
The FBI is shrugging off President JOE BIDEN’s illegal possession of classified documents while the Republican House stares down the Democrat-run Senate and Executive. More on who might blink first in THE SWAMP.
A memorial has been planned for the late LISA MARIE PRESLEY and MADONNA announces a new tour. More in SHOWBIZ.
Director JAMES CAMERON says the great “Titanic” debate of whether or not Jack could have fit on the door beside Rose may soon be settled once and for all. More in CASTING CALL.
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HIT LIST
🧑⚖️ Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial over whether a series of tweets by ELON MUSK in August 2018 were intentionally misleading to Tesla investors.
Musk mused about taking the EV company private and later noted simply, “Funding secure,” and added, “Investor support is confirmed…. Only reason why this is not certain is that it’s contingent on a shareholder vote.”
The question now is how much effect his tweets had on investor sentiment toward the company, since the judge overseeing the case previously ruled that the tweets were “untrue and reckless,” as Reuters reports. They’ll also weigh whether Musk intentionally sought to sway investors with the tweets and, if so, award damages. [via Reuters]
WORTH NOTING: Musk’s camp says he had plenty of reason to believe there was financing lined up to take Tesla private.
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After decades of explosive population growth, China for the first time has recorded a net decrease in population.
Despite easing its brutal one-child policy in recent years, and even supporting family growth, analysts tell the New York Times the decline is now irreversible. This presents a complicated challenge for the burgeoning superpower, whose cradle-to-grave authoritarian communist policies have to care for a population whose life expectancy continues to increase.
IT GETS WORSE: Endless, absolutist covid lockdowns ground China’s economy to a halt. It grew only 3% last year, its worst performance in nearly 40 years. [via New York Times]
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Archeologists in Norway have found the oldest runestone to date – that’s a carving with the inscription of the oldest alphabet known to the Scandinavian peninsula. It’s estimated to be about 2,000 years old.
Phonetically, the carving would sound something like “idiberug” – no word yet what that means, though researchers believe it could be an identifier for the grave where it was found. [via France24]
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The husband of a missing Massachusetts woman has been charged in her murder.
Brian Walshe is already in jail for lying to police investigating her disappearance. Her body has still not been found and is assumed dead after going missing on New Years Day, but investigators found blood in the basement of their home and a broken knife. Later they found trash bags covered in blood, a saw, and a hatchet at a train station near the home.
Walshe’s arraignment for the murder charges could be as soon as this morning.
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Here’s how to not handle a contentious divorce: Drive a dump truck into your soon-to-be-ex-wife’s house.
A South Los Angeles man was caught on camera ramming a truck into her bedroom and knocking into cars parked on the street in the process on Sunday.
IT GETS WORSE: The dump truck was the second salvo; he started by ramming his Impala into the house, then got the truck, then came back with the car. While the house was significantly damaged and the fence knocked over, everyone is safe and the house is repairable.
The man’s estranged wife is staying elsewhere while she adds a restraining order to the mix. [via ABC7]
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CHARTS
Top 5 Fiction & Nonfiction Books Currently on the New York Times Best Sellers List:
FICTION:
“It Starts With Us,” Colleen Hoover
“It Ends With Us,” Colleen Hoover
“Verity,” Colleen Hoover
“Lessons In Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus
“Without A Trace,” Danielle Steel
NON-FICTION
“The Light We Carry,” Michelle Obama
“I’m Glad My Mom Died,” Jennette McCurdy
“The January 6 Report,” the House January 6th Committee
“The Body Keeps the Score,” Bessel van der Kolk
“The January 6th Report,” the Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol
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DEATHS
Famous swing dancer JEAN VELOZ has died.
She passed away Sunday at her home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from her agent. No other details were shared.
She was 98.
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BABY NEWS
Former football star MANTI TE’O, 31, and his wife JOVI NICOLE TE’O, 35, welcomed their second baby together, a son named Kyro Aumura Te’o on Monday.
The couple are also parents to daughter Hiro, 17 months.
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RELATIONSHIPS
SELENA GOMEZ, 30, is dating singer ANDREW “Drew” TAGGART, 33.
An insider told UsWeekly about the budding relationship, saying the pair are keeping things “very casual and low-key.”
Taggart was recently linked to EVE JOBS, the youngest daughter of STEVE JOBS. Gomez, meanwhile, previously dated NICK JONAS, JUSTIN BIEBER and THE WEEKND.
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THE SWAMP
Q: Why isn’t a photo of all the classified documents that President JOE BIDEN was illegally holding onto for years?
Ans: There isn’t one, and there will never be. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Department of Justice has actively stopped the FBI from so much as monitoring the ongoing investigation.
Instead, the DOJ is just going to trust Biden’s personal lawyers – not government lawyers, not lawyers for the special counsel – when they say they’ve looked through everything and turned over all they had. “The two sides agreed that Mr. Biden’s personal attorneys would inspect the homes, notify the Justice Department as soon as they identified any other potentially classified records, and arrange for law-enforcement authorities to take them,” the Journal reports. [via WSJ]
So there’s that.
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DEBT CEILING SHOWDOWN: If the House, Senate, and President can’t agree to a deal to keep the government funded by Thursday, much of the country’s operations could come to a standstill.
The Republican House is demanding spending cuts to offset any new borrowing and Speaker KEVIN MCCARTHY needs to show the conservative hardliners who finally agreed to elect him as leader that he’s taking them seriously. But the Democrat-run Senate and Executive aren’t even hinting at joining the table for such negotiations.
WORTH REMEMBERING: President JOE BIDEN campaigned on being a unifier. Oops.
WORTH NOTING: Some Democrats are eager for this fight, which will make for easy campaign ads that accuse Republicans of cutting government handout programs.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 391 points (1.14%) to close at 33,910 on Tuesday. The S&P lost 8 points (0.2%) to close at 3,990 and the NASDAQ added 15 points (0.14%) to close at 11,095.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE bounced up to $80; BRENT CRUDE to $85.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.32 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN continues its rally, adding more than $200 Tuesday and trading over $21,300.
🛩 There were more than 1,643 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and 286 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $439 million jackpot or a $237.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
A memorial for LISA MARIE PRESLEY will be held at Graceland on January 22.
A service for the late singer will take place on the lawn of her late father, ELVIS PRESLEY’s estate, Page Six reported this week. She will be buried on the grounds, alongside her son Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020.
Lisa Marie died on January 12 after suffering cardiac arrest. [via Page Six]
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MADONNA is gearing up to head out on “The Celebration Tour” in honor of her four-decades-long musical career.
She kicks things off in Vancouver on July 15 before heading to several stops in The States. Madge will then head to Europe in October, ending the tour in early December.
The full list of stops is available here >
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KENDRICK LAMAR, LIZZO and ODESZA will headline the three-day Governors Ball Music Festival.
LIL NAS X, LIL BABY, LIL UZI VERT, HAIM, DIPLO, GIVEON and others will also perform.
The festival is set for June 9-11 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York. [via Variety]
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Rapper IGGY AZALEA made over $300,000 in her first 24 hours on OnlyFans.
As previously reported, after saying she would never join the platform, Iggy changed her mind in an effort to promote content for her upcoming album, “Hotter Than Hell,” without being censored.
Almost a week later and her account is still continuously crashing due to high demand, according to Hip-HopVibe.com. [via Hip-HopVibe.com]
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BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE’s son, PAX JOLIE-PITT, is venturing into the world of art.
An insider told Page Six that the 19-year-old creates abstract pieces that use a “digital and mixed media process.” (If you’re thinking of NFTs, don’t. The source assured the outlet that is not what he creates.)
Pax is currently preparing for a show at a gallery in Tel Aviv, Israel, at which he will show his pieces under the pseudonym, “Embtto.”
No nepotism here.
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BILLIE EILISH is seeking a restraining order against a person she says broke into her family’s home earlier this month.
According to TMZ, Christopher Anderson has shown up at the home multiple times over the past month, professing his love for Eilish. Police have been called and multiple reports have been filed.
She claims the incidents have caused her and her family “substantial anxiety, fear and emotional distress.” [via TMZ]
WORTH REMEMBERING: Eilish got a three-year restraining order against Prenell Rousseau, who showed up at her home multiple times during the pandemic.
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Actor JEREMY RENNER revealed he is out of the hospital and recovering at home from injuries he sustained in a snowplow-related accident earlier this month.
He tweeted the news on Monday night, writing “Outside my brain fog in recovery, I was very excited to watch episode 201 with my family at home,” referring to his Paramount+ TV series “Mayor of Kingstown.”
Renner was run over by his snowplow at his Lake Tahoe home on New Year’s Day. He suffered major chest and head trauma. Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened. [via Associated Press]
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CASTING CALL
“Titanic” director JAMES CAMERON says the debate over whether LEONARDO DICAPRIO’s character Jack could have fit on the door alongside Rose, played by KATE WINSLET, will be addressed in the upcoming National Geographic doc, “Titanic: 25 Years Later.”
“A new investigation we’ve just done will settle this fan-based question about Jack and Rose and a piece of floating debris, which everyone calls a door,” Cameron told USA Today.
The documentary, which will recreate exactly what Jack and Rose endured when the ship sank in the freezing waters of the Atlantic, will air on February 5.
WORTH NOTING: Cameron says the first thing fans should know is that the two were in fact not clinging to a door, but rather a piece of “wood paneling from the first-class cabin.” [via USA Today]
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CHANNING TATUM will take on the role of Sam Wheat in a “Ghost” remake.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the actor confirmed that his production company, Free Association, has been given the rights to the 1990 flick, starring PATRICK SWAYZE and DEMI MOORE.
The film tells the story of Sam Wheat (Swayze), who is killed, leaving his girlfriend Molly (Moore) in danger. In his ghostly state, he enlists the help of a psychic, played by WHOOPI GOLDBERG, to help warn Molly.
Tatum told the publication that he plans to “do something different” with the remake, in an effort to address the “problematic stereotypes” from the original. [via Vanity Fair]
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The premiere episode of “The Last of Us” was a ratings hit for HBO.
The show, based on the PlayStation game of the same name, drew in 4.7 million viewers on Sunday night, marking the largest debut after the “Game of Thrones” spinoff, “House of the Dragon,” which had nearly double the viewers.
“The Last of Us,” starring PEDRO PASCAL, takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pascal) is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie, played by BELLA RAMSEY, out of a quarantine zone. Together the two must lean on each other if they want to survive the brutal journey across the US. [via Deadline]
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CELEBRITY CELLBLOCK
Reality stars TODD and JULIE CHRISLEY reported to their respective federal prisons on Tuesday.
Prior to turning themselves in, Todd shared a message on Instagram that read, “HE is always on time…#fightthegoodfight,” along with a video of a religious song.
As previously reported, Todd was sentenced to 12 years in prison and Julie received a seven-year sentence after being found guilty of bank fraud and tax evasion.
The couple’s attorneys say they plan to appeal their sentences.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN and TRAVIS BARKER’s Santa Barbara beach house was devastated by heavy storms that hit California last week.
The 4-bed, 3.5 bathroom pad suffered interior water damage, while the exterior was covered in mud and debris, according to The Sun.
The couple purchased the home for $14 million in October from comedian CONAN O’BRIEN. [via The Sun]
SPEAKING OF THE COUPLE: Body expert Patti Wood recently analyzed Kardashian and Barker’s often over-the-top displays of affection. She told The Sun that the pair are very into “showing off their relationship,” calling them both “exhibitionists.” [via The Sun]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY’s memoir, “Spare,” is the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK, selling almost 500,000 copies in its first week.
Across all formats, including ebooks and audiobooks, that number jumps to 750,000 copies sold, according to The Guardian.
Even more impressive is the 1.43 million total copies sold in the UK, US and Canada in its first 24 hours. [via The Guardian]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Gourmet Coffee Day
National Peking Duck Day
National Michigan Day
National Winnie the Pooh Day
National Thesaurus Day
Museum Selfie Day
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ON THIS DATE
1778 - Captain James Cook sails past Oahu, Hawaii. He's the first documented European to encounter the Hawaiian islands — or Sandwich Islands as he named them in honor of the Earl of Sandwich.
Two days later he would land on Kauai.
The natives were welcoming, rather than hostile. They were intrigued by the Europeans' use of metals and iron. Cook used this to his advantage.
He traded iron from the ship for food provisions. Sailors swapped iron nails for wild Hawaiian boom-boom with the women, which Cook encouraged.
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1803 - Congress agrees to fund the Lewis and Clark expedition.
On the books, Congress granted $2,500, but it's estimated the whole trip cost closer to $50,000.
The expedition would map and explore much of the Louisiana Purchase, but the plan was proposed even before Napoleon offered to sell the land. When news of the offer came to America, Congress jumped on the chance to survey the land.
Jefferson secretly tasked the crew to travel all the way westward, to determine just how far the continent expanded.
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1912 - Robert Falcon Scott and his expedition make their final slog to reach the South Pole. They find they weren't the first explorers to make it; they were bested by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
Both teams had set out in October, but Amundsen's camp was 60 miles closer to the prize, and they were able to return to their base camp.
Scott and his team were plagued with bad luck along the way. Their motorized sleds had broken down. They had to shoot the Siberian ponies they used for travel. The dogs were released and sent back to camp. His team continued on foot.
Scott's final journal entry was listed for March. He and the remaining two men were found 8 months later -- just 11 miles from base camp.
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1958 - The National Hockey League becomes racially integrated when Willie O'Ree laces up his skates for the Boston Bruins.
O'Ree grew up in New Brunswick, Canada, and was one of only two black families in his town.
Known as one of the best skaters, he worked his way up the minor hockey leagues, until he finally earned a spot in the pros.
The NHL had not ever officially turned away a player because of race -- O'Ree was just the first Black player to earn a roster spot.
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1971 - George McGovern launches his unsuccessful bid for president.
Though he would win the Democratic nomination, he got steamrolled by Richard Nixon in the general election, only winning the electoral votes from Massachusetts and D.C.
Voters decided to not go with the man whose foreign policy basically surrendered to the communists.
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1993 - Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is observed in all 50 states for the first time.
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2017 - NASA and NOAA announce that 2016 was the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous record set in 2015 which topped a record set in 2014.
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BIRTHDAYS
Nathan Davis Jr. - actor, “Snowfall” - 23
Tee Higgins - Bengals WR - 24
Karan Brar - actor, “Jessie” - 24
Mateus Ward - actor, “Lab Rats” - 24
Lisandro Martinez - soccer player - 25
Sarah Gilman - actress, “I Didn’t Do It” - 27
Montana Tucker - pop singer - 30
Ashleigh Murray - actress, “Riverdale” - 35
Becca Tobin - actress, “Glee” - 37
Estelle - rapper - 43
Jason Segel - actor, “How I Met Your Mother” - 43
Jonathan Davis - metal singer, Korn - 52
Dave Bautista - wrestler - 54
Kevin Costner - actor, “Yellowstone” & “Bull Durham” - 68
Born On This Date
Cary Grant - actor, “The Philadelphia Story” & “The Awful Truth” - 1904 (d. 1986)
AA Milne - children’s author, “Winnie-the-Pooh” - 1882 (d. 1956)
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