Today is Monday, January 23, 2023.
It is the 23rd day of the year.
342 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A douchebag roundup with updates on ELIZABETH HOLMES and SAM BANKMAN-FRIED plus an inside look at all the work that does (or doesn’t) happen at Google in HIT LIST.
Surprising poll numbers for potential 2024 presidential candidates and a big shakeup in the White House. More in The Swamp.
LISA MARIE PRESLEY is laid to rest and BEYONCE performs in Dubai. More in SHOWBIZ.
KYLIE JENNER shows off her son and KIM KARDASHIAN goes to Harvard. More in KARDASHOPUS.
Buckingham Palace has scheduled a long weekend of festivities in May following the coronation of KING CHARLES III but some anti-monarchists will use the events to make their cause known. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Law enforcement in California believe the suspect connected to a mass shooting at Monterey Park in Los Angeles that killed at least ten and wounded at least ten more on Saturday night killed himself before he could be apprehended.
The deceased is also believed to be responsible for entering an event facility in nearby Alhambra, California, with a gun shortly after the first shooting. Bystanders wrestled the would-be shooter to the ground after he entered, but he was able to flee amid the chaos.
MEANWHILE, IN ATLANTA: The city is reeling after Antifa-sponsored terrorists took to Atlanta’s streets Saturday night. At least one police car was torched and three businesses were damaged, resulting in six arrests.
The black-clad social justice dorks mobilized after one of their ranks was shot and killed by police.
WORTH NOTING: The guy was shot and killed by police – because he shot at police and wounded an officer.
ALSO WORTH NOTING: Don’t do that.
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Convicted fraudster ELIZABETH HOLMES – of THERANOS infamy – apparently tried to disappear to Mexico after her conviction came down in January last year.
Holmes was able to delay her reporting date to prison for months after becoming pregnant. While she’s currently scheduled to report in April, prosecutors say she should be behind bars now, and used her secret travel plans as evidence. She never went through with the escape after authorities noticed the travel arrangements and reported it to Holmes’ defense attorneys.
Even though Holmes booked a one-way ticket, her lawyers say there’s just no way to know with certainty what her plans were. They’re also saying the one-way flight was to visit a friends’ wedding.
SPEAKING OF NO FLY LISTS: The Daily Dot reports that a copy of the federal government’s no-fly list was hacked after it was found on an airline’s unsecured server. The file includes more than 1.5 million entries, though many entries include aliases for the same people – like the recently-traded arms dealer VIKTOR BOUT, who had 16 aliases on the list. The airline that owns the server where the document was stored has confirmed its authenticity. [via The Daily Dot]
SPEAKING OF DOUCHEBAGS: A judge has agreed to keep sealed the identities of two people who put up $700,000 in bonds to help SAM BANKMAN-FRIED make bail.
The court has confirmed the signatories aren’t SBF’s parents, who also put up their house as collateral on his $250 million personal recognizance bond. [via DailyMail]
If SBF ever fails to show up to court, these two unidentified people would have to pay the $700,000.
WORTH NOTING: If this guy has no qualms bilking thousands of customers out of billions in dollars, will leaving two people on the hook for $700,000 keep him up at night?
MEANWHILE: Federal investigators have gotten their hands on $700 million worth of SBF’s assets, which are mostly in the form of shares in tech company Robinhood. SBF announced he bought big into the company in May of last year, and he appears to hold more than 55 million shares worth just under $10-a-pop. [via CNBC]
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GOOGLE has joined the tech company layoff spree, announcing 12,000 job cuts on Friday, representing about 6% of their global workforce.
Over the weekend, axed employees traded bewildered messages trying to figure out what qualified them for the chopping block; the layoffs affected senior staff just like newer hires and the dismissals didn’t seem to be based on performance, either.
REMEMBER WHEN a video went viral late last year that showed the lavish perks bestowed on pre-Elon Twitter employees?
Here’s what a “workday” is like at Google:
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Three headline-making suspected killers all named Brian appear to have decreased the desire to bestow the name on new babies.
The website Babynames.com reports that not one single account has added the name “Brian” – with its I or Y variants – to their “favorite names” list since August last year.
In that time, suspects in three headline-making murders have come to light, all with the same first name: Bryan Kohberger in the Idaho killings, Brian Walshe in the alleged killing of his wife, and Brian Laundrie in the death of Gabby Petito. [via TMZ]
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Guinness World Records has confirmed the current oldest living person: María Branya Morera, a San Francisco native who has lived in Spain since she was eight years old.
She’s 115 years and 324 days old as of today.
With the help of her daughter, she even shares pearls of wisdom on a Twitter account, @MariaBranyas112.
Morera credits “luck and good genetics” with her longevity.
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CHARTS
Weekend Box Office
10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: $1.2 million (down from 7)
9. The Whale: $1.3 million (down from 8)
8. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Scarlet Bond: $1.4 million (new)
7. House Party: $1.7 million (down from 6)
6. Plane: $5.2 million (down from 5)
5. A Man Called Otto: $9 million (down from 4)
4. Missing: $9.3 million (new)
3. M3GAN: $9.8 million (down from 2)
2. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: $11.5 million (up from 3)
1. Avatar: The Way of Water: $20 million (stayed at 1)
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BABY NEWS
Actor JOEY LAWRENCE, 46, and his wife, SAMANTHA COPE, 35, have welcomed their first child together.
The little girl, named Dylan Rose Lawrence, arrived on January 16.
While this is the first for the couple, Lawrence is also dad to daughters Charleston, 16, and Liberty, 12, whom he shares with ex-wife CHANDIE YAWN-NELSON.
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BREAKUPS
Actress BRITTANY SNOW, 37, has filed for divorce from her husband, reality star TYLER STANALAND, 29, after nearly three years of marriage.
The “Pitch Perfect” star cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split and, according to the filing, there is a prenup.
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WEDDINGS
Astronaut BUZZ ALDRIN, 93, tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Dr. ANCA V FAUR, 63.
The nuptials took place on Aldrin’s 93rd birthday last week.
This is Aldrin’s fourth marriage.
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THE SWAMP
A Harvard/Harris poll conducted last week has good news for Republicans in 2024.
Former President DONALD TRUMP beats President JOE BIDEN by 5 points and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS by 8 points.
America’s Governor RON DESANTIS, who hasn’t announced any plans for 2024 (yet), beats Biden by 3 and Harris by 3.
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White House Chief of Staff RON KLAIN has resigned, leaving many to wonder who is actually running the country.
He’s expected to be replaced by JEFF ZIENTS, who has led the Biden Administration’s covid response efforts.
The shakeup comes amid reports there were even more classified documents found at Biden’s private home in Delaware on Friday after an exhaustive, 13-hour search led by the FBI.
WORTH REMEMBERING: On January 12, White House Media Commissar KARINE JEAN-PIERRE told reporters that the search for missing documents was complete.
WORTH ASKING: Why did Klain resign now? Is he working on the re-election campaign? Is he a fall guy?
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 330 points (1.00%) on Friday to close at 33,375. The S&P added 73 points (1.89%) to close at 3,972 and the NASDAQ added 288 points (2.66%) to close at 11,140.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $81 on Friday; BRENT CRUDE at $87.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.41 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN slid over the weekend, losing more than $230 in value and trading just over $22,500.
🛩 There were more than 3,900 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 175 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $31 million jackpot or a $16.5 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $502 million jackpot or a $271.1 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
LISA MARIE PRESLEY has been laid to rest near her late father ELVIS PRESLEY and alongside her son, BENJAMIN KEOUGH in the Meditation Garden at Graceland.
Those in attendance included, Lisa Marie’s mom, PRISCILLA PRESLEY, her three daughters, Riley, Finley and Harper, and a handful of celebrity friends, including Duchess SARAH FERGUSON, ALANIS MORISSETTE and AXL ROSE.
Ferguson spoke at the service, saying, “I think it’s time to stoke the flames within…to celebrate the extraordinary Lisa Marie.”
She also quoted her late mother-in-law, QUEEN ELIZABETH, telling the mourners, “Nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments, because grief is the price we pay for love.” [via Page Six]
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BEYONCE took the stage for the first time in five years at Atlantis The Royal hotel in Dubai over the weekend.
The performance, which started over an hour late, was supposed to be a private one, though some fans skirted the strict no cellphone policy, sharing clips on Twitter. [via Page Six]
The event was a family affair, with her daughter, BLUE IVY, joining her on stage, and her husband JAY-Z and their twins watched from a private booth.
BY THE WAY: The swanky new hotel reportedly shelled out upwards of $24 million for Beyonce to perform for an hour. [via TMZ]
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ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER is working on a new book.
The tome, which will be produced by Penguin Press, will be in the “motivational category,” a source told Page Six.
Many may recall that Schwarzenegger released a memoir, titled “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story,” in 2012. He has also written a slew of bodybuilding guides. [via Page Six]
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Track and field star SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON was kicked off an American Airlines flight over the weekend after arguing with a flight attendant.
The incident started -- according to Richardson -- when a flight attendant “rudely” asked her to get off her phone, prior to take off.
In a video she posted on her Instagram, Richardson is seen arguing with the attendant, who repeatedly asked her to stop recording. Fellow passengers were heard grumbling in the background, telling her to stop arguing, at which point she turned her frustration toward them.
As the scene grew more heated, Richardson was escorted off the plane -- to the applause of those still onboard. [via NY Post]
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During an interview on SiriusXM’s “Jeff Lewis Live” podcast, actress TORI SPELLING admitted that she spent $400 in two days on DENISE RICHARDS’ OnlyFans page.
Spelling explained that her curiosity got the better of her and once she started looking at Richards’ page she wanted to know more, like how far she goes with her content.
Richards launched her OnlyFans account last June, shortly after her 18-year-old daughter SAMI SHEEN made her own account. [via Page Six]
No word on how much Richards has made so far off her page.
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Actor JEREMY RENNER revealed over the weeknd that he broke more than 30 bones when he was run over by his snowplow on New Year’s Day.
He shared the injury update in a post on Instagram, in which he also thanked his family, friends and fans for their “love” and “support” throughout his recovery.
As previously reported, Renner was run over by his 14,000 pound Sno-Cat snowplow while he tried to help a stranded family member near his Lake Tahoe home. [via NY Post]
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GISELE BUNDCHEN is ready to live her life, post-divorce from NFL star TOM BRADY.
An insider told People Magazine that the model “feels a sense of renewal with new found energy and a happy future outlook.”
“She is busy making decisions and feels happy and more settled than she has in a long time,” the source added.
Bundchen has already jumped back into modeling too, appearing in a new campaign for Louis Vuitton -- her first since the split. [via People]
SPEAKING OF TOM BRADY: His Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates don’t think he will lead their team next year, if he decides to return for a 24th season. The NFL Network reported over the weekend that multiple players said they got a sense from the QB that he “has no intention to play a fourth year” with the team. [via NY Post]
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PAMELA ANDERSON says actor TIM ALLEN once flashed her.
The actress and model detailed the allegation in her new book, “Love, Pamela,” writing that on her first day on set of Allen’s show “Home Improvement,” he “opened his robe and flashed [her] quickly.”
“He said it was only fair, because he had seen me naked,” she continued.
The incident happened in 1991, according to the book, which would have been Season 1 of “Home Improvement,” in which Anderson played “Tool Time” girl, Lisa.
“Love, Pamela” hits shelves later this month. [via Variety]
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CASTING CALL
“Avatar: The Way of Water” has reached $2 billion at the global box office.
The milestone comes just one day after it surpassed “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as the sixth-highest growing film in box office history. [via People]
WORTH NOTING: Only five other films have hit the $2 billion mark: “Avatar” (2.9 billion), “Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion), “Titanic” ($2.2 billion), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($2.06 billion) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($2.04 billion).
TRIPLE THREAT: Of the six films to hit the milestone, three have been directed by JAMES CAMERON -- “Titanic,” “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
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The trailer for the upcoming third season of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” set a viewing record last week.
Within its first 24 hours, the trailer racked up over 83.5 million views -- taking the top spot from the franchise’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” trailer, which dropped on May 4th (“Star Wars” Day), and earned 58 million viewers.
In the upcoming Season 3, “The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu (aka Baby Yoda) continue their journey together,” per the logline. The series stars PEDRO PASCAL, KATEE SACKHOFF, CARL WEATHERS, AMY SEDARIA, EMILY SWALLOW and GIANCARLO ESPOSITO.
It hits the streamer on March 1. [via The Hollywood Reporter]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
After months of keeping his name a secret, KYLIE JENNER and rapper TRAVIS SCOTT have finally introduced the world to their son, AIRE (sounds like air).
Jenner posted a handful of photos of him on Instagram, giving fans their first full glimpse of her second-born.
His name means “Lion of God,” and pairs perfectly with his big sister STORMI. [via TMZ]
REMEMBER: The baby boy was originally named Wolf, but Jenner and Scott soon axed that shortly after he arrived.
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KIM KARDASHIAN traveled to the east coast last week to speak at Harvard about her successful SKIMS biz.
The reality star, and her SKIMS co-founder JENS GREDE, spoke for about two hours to a group of business students about their company.
Film crews were on hand to capture Kim’s stroll through campus and subsequent lecture. [via TMZ]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Buckingham Palace has released more details of KING CHARLES’ upcoming coronation.
The event will take place over a three-day period, kicking off with crowning KING CHARLES III and QUEEN CONSORT CAMILLA at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6. (That’s also the fourth birthday for PRINCE HARRY and MEGAN MARKLE’s son Archie).
After the coronation, Charles and Camilla will return to Buckingham Palace in a procession that will include other members of the Royal Family. No official word yet on whether Harry and Meg will be there -- or if they will even be invited.
On May 7, the family will host a televised concert at Windsor Castle.
Monday, May 8 is being called The Big Help Out, in which Brits “are encouraged to take part in acts of service,” per the release. Most Brits are also expected to have the day off of work. [via UPI]
MEANWHILE: Anti-monarchist groups said Sunday they plan mass protests to coincide with the formal activities.
A group called “Republic” is working on getting approval from London’s police to hold a peaceful demonstration near Westminster Abbey. One chief organizer tells Reuters, "At a cost of tens of millions of pounds, this pointless piece of theatre is a slap in the face for millions of people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis." [via Reuters]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Rhubarb Pie Day
Wellington Anniversary Day
Community Manager Appreciation Day
National Handwriting Day
National Pie Day
National Measure Your Feet Day
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ON THIS DATE
1775 – Businessmen in London ask the British parliament for financial aid in the wake of political conflicts with the American colonies.
Americans had decided to no longer import from British merchants following the Stamp Act and other sanctions. The embargo apparently worked -- and was just one of the many acts of rebellion that would eventually impel war.
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1849 – A student from Geneva College in New York becomes the first officially-recognized female physician in the U.S.
Her name was Elizabeth Blackwell and she was actually born in England.
After practicing privately for a couple of years, she opened an infirmary for women and children.
Her sister Emily would also become a doctor.
When Elizabeth returned to England, she helped establish the science behind gynecology.
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1922 – More in the world of medicine: Insulin is used for the first time to treat a diabetes patient.
A 14-year-old boy was given an insulin injection at Toronto General Hospital. The treatment had been proven effective on dogs.
In order to get a pure insulin formula suitable for humans, scientists extracted it from the pancreas of cattle. Just a year later, the treatment for diabetics became widely available, extending their life expectancy worldwide.
The founding scientists were granted the Nobel Prize. The University of Toronto, where it was developed, licensed the drug to pharmaceutical companies around the globe, free of royalties.
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1957 – Toy company Wham-O produces the first Frisbees.
The aerodynamic plastic circles could be tossed through the air person-to-person. Their name came from William Frisbie, who actually owned a pie company in Connecticut.
Students were known for ordering his pies, then tossing the empty plates to each other and yelling "Frisbie" as they let go.
The first mass-market version was called a flying saucer. An improved version was later called the Pluto Platter.
Wham-O is also known for the Hula-Hoop, Super Ball, and Water Wiggle. After the success of the flying disc, they began officially calling it a Frisbee in 1958.
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1984 – Hulk Hogan becomes WWF champion for the first time after he defeated the Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden.
The entire bout only took 5 minutes and 40 seconds.
Hogan later left the WWF for World Championship Wrestling, founded by Ted Turner. And a couple years later it was back to the WWF – which in 2003 had to change its name to WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment, following a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund.
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1986 – The first class of inductees join the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame.
Inductees were: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Domino, Everly Bros, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
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2016 – A category 5 blizzard drops a record 3 feet of snow on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States. The storm killed 55.
Economic losses were estimated between $500 million and $3 billion.
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2020 - Chinese authorities shutdown all modes of transportation in Wuhan as the city tries to contain a fast-spreading respiratory virus.
All theaters, cafes and other indoor facilities are also shuttered and the wearing of face masks in public becomes mandatory.
At the time, more than 800 people in the country had been infected with the virus.
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BIRTHDAYS
Jack Reynor - actor, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” - 31
Jacky Vincent - guitarist, Falling in Reverse - 34
Adam Mosseri - Head of Instagram - 40
Larry Hughes - basketball player - 44
Tito Ortiz - MMA fighter - 48
Tiffani Thiessen - actress, “Saved By the Bell” - 49
Lanei Chapman - actress, “Rat Race” - 50
Mariska Hargitay - actress, “Law & Order: SVU” - 59
Robin Zander - rock singer, Cheap Trick - 70
Chesley Sullenberger - pilot who landed plane on the Hudson River - 72
Jerry Kramer - Packers great - 87
Born On This Date
Xxxtentacion - rapper - 1998 (d. 2018)
Anita Pointer - soul singer, The Pointer Sisters - 1948 (d. 2022)
John Hancock - Founding Father and Patriot - 1737 (d. 1793)
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