12/13/2023: The Cost of the American Dream
PLUS: Crotch Shot; Jeff Bezos Slums It In Miami; and Archewell’s Bad Year
Today is Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
It is the 347th day of the year.
18 days remain.
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WHAT’S ON TAP
The FBI is investigating a Russian stowaway and a goldfish plague threatens the Great Lakes. Details in HIT LIST.
TAYLOR SWIFT gives back to those affected by the devastating tornadoes and WU TANG heads to Vegas. Find out more in SHOWBIZ.
JAMES CAMERON says things are rolling along on “Avatar 3” and another “Saw” film is in the works. More in CASTING CALL.
YE’s antics continue to cause outrage. Find out what he did now in KARDASH.
The Archewell Foundation bleeds money in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Financial resource site Investopedia reports that the typical American Dream costs nearly $3.5 MILLION over a person’s life.
Their formula accounts for living comfortably with a house and cars, sending kids to college, paying for a wedding, and caring for pets, among other factors – including setting aside more than $715,000 for retirement and spending nearly $1 MILLION on health insurance premiums. [via Investopedia]
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An Ohio man says he still has love for his girlfriend – after she shot him in the crotch.
The victim, Charlie Glenn, says the shot went through his testicle and out his butt cheek, and then his girlfriend ran off down the street. She was apprehended shortly after by local police at a nearby house.
The girlfriend is reportedly on medication for a mental disability.
Glenn tells local media, “I still to this day love her, and if she ever gets better…” before trailing off. [via Fox19]
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A Russian traveler somehow managed to fly from Europe to Los Angeles – and he didn’t have so much as a passport and visa, let alone a plane ticket.
A federal investigation remains open to determine exactly how Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava pulled off the feat, but initial reports suggest he smuggled himself inside the plane as a stowaway. The flight landed at LAX early last month via Copenhagen on a Scandinavian Airlines flight.
When he tried to pass through customs, immigration officers detained him after Ochigava failed to produce a passport. He’s since been held at a detention center in downtown Los Angeles, with a preliminary court hearing scheduled before the end of the year. [via ABC 7]
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Goldfish have a reputation as one of nature’s more benign creatures, but a new report shows that they’re imperiling aquatic ecosystems across the Great Lakes.
TURNS OUT: Goldfish can grow up to 19 inches long and weigh up to nine pounds when left on their own in the wild. When families give up on raising goldfish, they might send it into the sewer or into a nearby lake, where they continue to flourish as an invasive species.
Researchers blame the growing goldfish population on creating an imbalance in the ecosystems where they’re not native, eating other fish and plants that the indigenous species otherwise rely on. [via Smithsonian]
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Atlanta, Georgia has topped Money.com’s list of the 50 best places to live in the US.
It beat other other places thanks to its thriving job market, commitment to equality, rich cultural environment, prestigious institutions and robust public transportation.
Tempe, Arizona and Kirkland, Washington came in second and third, respectively.
California was the state with the most number of cities on the list. [via Money.com]
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DEATHS
Actor ANDRE BRAUGHER has died.
His first breakout role was in 1989’s “Glory,” and he had memorable roles on shows like “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”
A rep for Braugher said he died due to a brief illness; no other details were shared.
He was 61.
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Actress SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD has died.
She passed away Sunday of natural causes.
Field is best known for her roles in “Alfie” and “Santa Barbara.”
She was 87.
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BABY NEWS
Actress HILARY DUFF is expecting baby #4; her third with husband, musician MATTHEW KOMA.
The couple shared the news on Instagram with a picture of their holiday card that reads, “So much for silent nights.”
Duff and Koma are already parents to daughters Banks and Mae James, while she is also mom to 11-year-old son Luca, whom she shares with her ex, hockey player MIKE COMRIE.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW increased 173 points (0.48%) to close at 36,577 on Tuesday. The S&P increased 21 points (0.46%) to close at 4,643 and the NASDAQ increased 100 points (0.7%) to close at 14,533.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $68; BRENT CRUDE at $73.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.13 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN was mostly flat on Tuesday, trading around $21,200.
🛩 There were more than 1,690 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 65 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $500 million jackpot or a $240.7 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
Tennesess-native TAYLOR SWIFT is helping those recently affected by the tornado that ripped through the state, with a $1 million donation to the state’s Emergency Response Fund.
For those unfamiliar with the incident, severe storms tore through Clarksville and Nashville over the weekend. Six deaths were reported and 60 people were injured. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed. [via Deadline]
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WU TANG announced this week they will kick off their Las Vegas residency on Super Bowl weekend.
The Staten Island natives will perform at the Virgin Hotel’s theater.
It is their first ever Vegas residency. [via Billboard]
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CHARLIE SHEEN says he is a single father to his 14-year-old twin sons as their mom, BROOKE MUELLER is not in the picture.
Many may recall that Sheen and Mueller were married for a turbulent three years.
According to him, she is “trying to figure some stuff out on her end, so she’s not in the picture too much right now.”
BY THE WAY: Next month, Sheen will be six years sober. [via Daily Mail]
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ALICIA KEYS surprised early morning commuters in London this week with a surprise performance at the St. Pancras International Station on a piano donated by SIR ELTON JOHN.
Keys was in town over the weekend to headline Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball. [via People]
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MARK WAHLBERG crashed a fraternity party at Clemson University while visiting his 20-year-old daughter Ella for parents’ weekend.
“It was nuts,” he told Entertainment Tonight, while adding that the experience made him regret not going to college, though he says he would probably still be “at the frat house” and on his “25th senior year.” [via ET]
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Billionaires, they’re just like us!
Onlookers were shocked to see JEFF BEZOS schmoozing with the regular folks at a Miami restaurant during Art Basel with fiance LAUREN SANCHEZ.
Not only did the two sit in the main part of the dining area, but they also reportedly ordered wine by the glass, instead of by the bottle.
The only “extra” thing they did was sneak out a back door to avoid the paparazzi. [via Page Six]
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CASTING CALL
Actor DAVID HYDE PIERCE recently addressed his absence from the “Frasier” reboot, saying he simply “wanted to do other things.”
In the original show, which ran from 1993-2004, Pierce played Niles Crane, the younger brother of Dr. Frasier Crane, played by KELSEY GRAMMER.
“I never really wanted to go back,” he told The Los Angeles Times.
Should he change his mind, however, Grammer says it would be easy for Niles to return to the show as his son is currently a character. [via Decider]
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JAMES CAMERON says “Avatar 3” is “right on track” for its December 2025 release.
As previously reported, the third movie was filmed alongside 2022’s sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which grossed $2.3 BILLION worldwide.
The first movie in the franchise still holds the record for the highest-grossing film of all time with $2.9 BILLION. [via People]
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Season 3 of “Bridgerton” will return to Netflix next spring.
Part 1 will premiere on May 16, followed by Part 2 on June 13. There will be a total of eight episodes.
The season, which has been described as “ultra-sexy,” will follow the romance of Penelope Featherington, played by NICOLA COUGHLAN, and Colin Bridgerton, played by LUKE NEWTON. [via Deadline]
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Another “Saw” film is in the works.
Lionsgate announced that “Saw XI” will hit theaters September 27, 2024.
No details about the film have been released, though it was noted that as of now it has the release date to itself. [via THR]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
YE took the stage in Miami for his “Vultures” album listening party -- dubbed the “Vultures Rave” -- wearing a pointy black hood over his face.
The outfit shocked many, who pointed out its likeness to what the Ku Klux Klan would wear, except in white.
Making things even more outrageous is the fact that Ye’s 10-year-old daughter, NORTH, was on stage with him at the time. Two of his other children, 8-year-old SAINT and 5-year-old CHICAGO were in the crowd with Ye’s wife, BIANCA CENSORI.
His 4-year-old son Psalm was reportedly not in attendance. [via Page Six]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE’s Archewell Foundation reported only $2 MILLION in donations this year, down from $11 MILLION the year before.
IT GETS WORSE: That two mill came from only two different donors. With the steep fall in revenue, the organization lost nearly $675,000 for the year. While the Sussexes themselves don’t pull a salary from the foundation – where public disclosures say they each work only one hour a week – the Foundation does keep five people on payroll, to the tune of $640,000 a year in total. [via Express]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Day of the Horse
National Cocoa Day
National Violin Day
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ON THIS DATE
1621 - The first American furs are exported from America to England.
Robert Cushman was the entrepreneur and settler responsible for the trade market. He had arrived a month earlier in the Plymouth Colony with 35 other settlers. They were the first new batch of settlers since Plymouth was founded the year prior.
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1642 - Abel Tasman of the Netherlands discovers New Zealand. He's the first recorded European to lay eyes on the South Pacific islands.
When he tried to land, Tasman's crew was killed by native warriors. It is suggested that the natives thought the European's trumpet blasts were a battle cry, when really they were just celebratory.
Tasman also discovered what is known as Tasmania a few weeks before his death. He didn't name it for himself -- it was named in his honor posthumously.
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1916 - A freak avalanche in Austria kills hundreds of Austrian soldiers fighting during World War I.
The natural disaster struck a barracks near the Italian border.
Throughout the month that year, avalanches were common, and more than 10,000 civilians also lost their lives. Some conspiracy theorists suggest the Italians detonated explosives to impel the snow-slides.
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2000 - After nearly six weeks of recounts and hanging chads, Al Gore concedes the presidential election.
George W. Bush would be sworn in as the next President of the United States the following January.
Gore spoke to America in a televised address from his V.P. office in the White House. He called for an end to "partisan rancor."
Though Gore beat Bush by 500,000 votes nationwide, he still lost the electoral college 271 to 266.
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2003 - American Marines find Saddam Hussein stuck in a spider hole in Iraq.
The hole went down about eight feet. It was located nine miles from the former dictator's hometown Tikrit.
Hussein did not resist. Soldiers described him as a "man resigned to his fate."
Hussein was hanged December 30, 2006, after a trial that found him guilty of crimes against humanity.
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2017 - Prehistoric bones of a penguin are found on Otago Beach, New Zealand.
The bird, which was alive after the demise of the dinosaurs, stood nearly 6-feet-tall and weighed nearly 225 pounds.
The find, published in Nature Communications, marks the second-oldest known penguin. The older one, also from New Zealand, lived over a million years prior.
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2018 - Dirk Nowitzki takes the court for his 21st NBA season with the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing Kobe Bryant, who held the record of 20 seasons playing with the LA Lakers.
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2021 - The CDC reports that 1 in 100 Americans age 65 and older have died of COVID-19.
That accounts for about 75% of total deaths from the virus in the US.
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BIRTHDAYS
Maverick Baker - pop singer, Cash and Maverick - 23
Emma Corrin - actress, “The Crown” - 28
Dermot Kennedy - pop singer - 32
Katerine Schwarzenegger - author & daughter of Arnold - 34
Taylor Swift - pop singer - 34
Amy Lee - rock singer, Evanescence - 42
Tom DeLonge - rock singer, Blink-182 - 48
Bart Johnson - actor, “The Client List” - 53
Jamie Foxx - actor, “Ray” & “Django Unchained” - 56
NeNe Leakes - reality star, “Real Housewives” - 56
Steve Buscemi - actor, “The Big Lebowski” & “Boardwalk Empire” - 66
Ben Bernanke - economist & Chairman of the Federal Reserve - 70
Dick Van Dyke - actor, “Mary Poppins” - 98
Born On This Date
Christopher Plummer - actor, “The Sounds of Music” - 1929 (d. 2021)
Mary Todd Lincoln - First Lady, wife of Abraham Lincoln - 1818 (d. 1882)
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