12/8/2022: Another Cheesy Lawsuit
PLUS: False Contractions; Biden 2024; and Khloe’s Wardrobe Malfunction
Today is Thursday, December 8, 2022.
It is the 342nd day of the year.
23 days remain.
TRENDING
Pearl Harbor landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends Wednesday on the 81st anniversary of the attack on US forces stationed in Hawaii.
Jennifer Lawrence was trending after incorrectly stating that she was the first female to star in an action movie. More on the interview in Casting Call.
Twitter users reacted to the news that TIme’s 2022 Person of the Year is Volodymyr Zelensky. Some users applauded the choice while others did not. One user called it a “slap in the face to all of us” and another suggested the person of the year should have been the “American taxpayer.”
Aaron Judge was trending after signing a mega-deal with the Yankees. More in Sports.
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HIT LIST
Disgraced cryptodork and Democrat megadonor SAM BANKMAN-FRIED is lawyering up, retaining powerful attorney MARK COHEN. If his name is familiar, he’s the same guy who represented GHISLAINE MAXWELL in her sex trafficking trial.
SPEAKING OF RICH DOUCHEBAGS AND THEIR LAWYERS: Theranos founder ELIZABETH HOLMES has requested that the judge in her case allow her to remain at home while she appeals her 11-year conviction, rather than sit in prison. Currently, she has to surrender on April 27.
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The shop-for-cars-at-home site Carvana is facing post-pandemic financial turmoil as analysts fear the company is headed for bankruptcy.
Shares of the company tanked on news its creditors were binding together to negotiate a unilateral debt restructuring agreement – a move that signals those lenders don’t feel optimistic about the company’s financial future.
Carvana’s stock is down 97% this year, trading under $5, after peaking over $375 a share in August 2021. As users flocked to the site, it couldn’t keep up with demand and paid ever-increasing prices for vehicles amid last year’s supply chain fiasco.
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Wind and waves from Hurricane Nicole last month uncovered a 19th-century shipwreck in Daytona Beach.
The 80-foot-long vessel was likely a merchant ship from the 1800s. One archeologist working on the project says the ship was the equivalent of a modern-day Amazon truck, used to ferry goods short distances.
More work is underway to preserve the site.
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A pregnant woman’s in-flight labor contractions appear to be part of a complex ruse for some passengers to escape into Spain.
A flight from Casablanca, Morocco, to Istanbul, Turkey, made an emergency landing in Spain on Wednesday after one passenger told the flight crew she was about to give birth.
While she was carried off the plane, another 27 passengers got off as well, without permission.
Authorities rounded up 13 of the passengers, but another 14 got away. Officials say that while the woman is certainly pregnant, there’s no sign she was actually having labor contractions.
Spanish officials have not released further details about the passengers they recovered.
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A judge is allowing a class action suit to proceed that accuses the manufacturer of TGI Friday’s Mozzarella Sticks of false advertising – citing the fact that they’re actually made with cheddar cheese.
WORTH NOTING: Friday’s only licenses their name to the company, and has no role in marketing, producing, or distributing the frozen snacks found at the grocery store. One can only hope the in-restaurant deep-fried treats are the real deal.
The Plaintiff argues that people would buy less of the product if they knew it wasn’t made from actual mozzarella cheese.
WORTH ASKING: What is it with the cheesy lawsuits lately? Last month it was reported that a woman was suing Kraft Heinz, accusing them of misleading instructions on their Velveeta Shells & Cheese offering
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The Dow was flat Wednesday, picking up 1.58 points (0.0047%) to close at 33,597. The S&P lost 7 points (0.19%) to close at 3,933 and the Nasdaq lost 56 points (0.51%) to close at 10,958.
🛢 West Texas Intermediate slid to $72 a barrel; Brent Crude to $77.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $3.35 on Wednesday.
₿ Bitcoin tumbled Wednesday, losing more than $200 early in the day and trading below $17,000 for the afternoon.
🛩 There were 2,711 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and 73 such cancellations.
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CHARTS
Watch as the annual tradition of delivering a Christmas Tree to Clarence House takes place.
The tree was decorated by children from the Helen & Douglas House and the Roald Dahl Charity. Both organizations support seriously ill babies, children and young people.
The children were also treated to a delicious lunch and performance by the Band of the Welsh Guards.
The Queen Consort was on hand for the festivities.
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THE SWAMP
President JOE BIDEN apparently told French President EMMANUEL MACRON that he’s running for re-election in 2024, and that he and First Lady JILL BIDEN are ready to go, the New York Times reports.
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A federal subcontractor is taking blame for erroneously sending out student loan debt forgiveness approval emails to millions of borrowers just before Thanksgiving. The company, Accenture, says a human error contributed to the inaccurate email going out to an untold number of recipients.
WORTH NOTING: It’s moot anyway until February, when the Supreme Court hears a case challenging the legality of President JOE BIDEN’s blanket debt forgiveness program, anyway.
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TO THE PERUVIAN SWAMP WE GO: Peru’s President was impeached and arrested Wednesday after he tried to dissolve the country’s congress and enact emergency powers.
PEDRO CASTILLO has been dogged with an impeachment threat for months amid accusations of using the office to enrich himself and his inner circle. Wednesday’s power consolidation move was the final straw, with 101 of the 130-person legislature approving his removal from office. Authorities arrested him shortly after the Vice President was installed.
WORTH NOTING: Castillo’s removal and the elevation of DINA BOLUARTE from Vice President makes her Peru’s first female president.
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LOTTERY
No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Friday night’s drawing will be for a $379 million jackpot or a $202.6 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
Controversial podcast host JOE ROGAN wants DWAYNE “The Rock” JOHNSON to come clean over whether he uses steroids or not.
Speaking about disgraced fitness influencer BRIAN JOHNSON, who was exposed for taking steroids, on the latest episode of his show, Rogan said “there is no way you can look like that, in your 40s.”
He then added, “The Rock should come clean right now.”
For those who don’t know, Brian Johnson was caught lying about his all raw meat diet and instead was using steroids to keep up his muscular physique.
WORTH NOTING: The Rock admitted to using steroids in his late teens, but has claimed to be steroid-free since.
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The ladies of “The View” discussed movies and shows that would be an issue if they were created in today’s cancel culture.
The 1975 flick “Blazing Saddles” was mentioned as an example for its racist context, which WHOOPI GOLDBERG quickly defended.
“It’s great comedy, would still go over today. ‘Blazing Saddles’ is one of the greatest because it hits everybody,” she said, before adding “Leave my ‘Blazing Saddles’ alone. Don’t make me come for you!”
For those unfamiliar, “Blazing Saddles” is set in a small town on the American frontier in 1874. It centers on a newly-appointed Black sheriff who must deal with the problems in the town. It stars GENE WILDER, MEL BROOKS and CLEAVON LITTLE.
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Reality home makeover stars CHIP and JOANNA GAINES are being sued by their former literary agent, who claims the couple tried to back out of paying a fee for their massive book deal.
Per court documents, the “Fixer Upper” stars were repped by Vigliano Associates when they made their $12.5 million, five book deal in 2017. Vigliano says they were supposed to get a 7.5% cut of everything, which is what happened for the first two books.
They claim that for the last three books the Gaines “concocted a scheme” to back out of payments by trying to “amend” the deal.
The docs also state that Joanna inked a deal with another agent for her latest book, “The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters,” which Vigliano says they should be profiting from. They are now suing for $1 million in damages over it.
WHAT’S MORE: Vigliano added a note in the filing that states, “Joanna and Chip Gaines brand themselves as moral Chritians who purportedly operate in an ethical manner...nothing could be further from the truth.”
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BLAKE SHELTON says he is leaving “The Voice” to spend more time with his family.
The country singer, who is married to GWEN STEFANI, is stepdad to her three boys, something he calls his “biggest” and “most important job.”
He recently announced he will be leaving his coaching duties on the singing competition show after the 23rd season.
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The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ hit song “Californication” has hit 1 billion views on YouTube this week.
The music video for the 2000 hit has averaged over 290,000 daily views this year, according to the video-sharing site.
WORTH NOTING: The first song to ever hit 1 billion views on YouTube was PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” It remains in the top five most-viewed music videos on the site.
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Former “Grey’s Anatomy” screenwriter ELISABETH FINCH has confessed to creating an elaborate story about having cancer.
“I’ve never had any form of cancer,” she told the Ankler in a bombshell new interview.
Finch, who was put on a leave of absence from the medical drama earlier this year, says she created a lie that just “got bigger and bigger and bigger” until she was so deep she feared what would happen if she told the truth.
Her lies were so convincing that they were used as story lines for the show.
Finch also told colleagues that her brother committed suicide in 2019, when in fact he is alive and well -- and a doctor, ironically.
She was caught in her web of lies in March of this year after a coworker talked to Finch’s wife, who then met with Shondaland and Disney.
As for where she stands now, Finch says she seeks forgiveness from those she hurt.
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FLOYD MAYWEATHER spent $330,000 on a 2022 Porsche 911 Turbo S.
The whip, sometimes referred to as the “Ferrari Killer,” does 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds. It tops out at 205 mph.
This isn’t the boxing legend’s first fancy ride. He owns a Rolls Royce, Koenigsegg and more!
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JENNY MCCARTHY and her husband DONNIE WAHLBERG ditched their clothes for an ad for her company, Formless Beauty’s Nude Collection of lip gloss.
Other than red Converse high tops, the couple were completely nude, with strategically placed holiday bows.
McCarthy spoke to PEOPLE magazine about the shoot, saying, “It was fun to bare it all with my husband. I definitely have a thing for chestnuts roasting and large packages adorned with red ribbons.”
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CASTING CALL
JENNIFER LAWRENCE faced intense backlash after claiming she was the first female action hero when she starred in “The Hunger Games.”
Speaking with Variety, the actress said that before she took on the role of Katniss Everdeen, “nobody” had put a woman as the leading role in an action movie.
Twitter users quickly proved her wrong by listing off all of the strong female leads, including SIGOURNEY WEAVER in “Alien,” LINDA HAMILTON in “Terminator” and UMA THERMAN in “Kill Bill,” just to name a few.
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BRENDAN FRASER spoke to Variety this week about how he got his body in shape for his role in “George Of The Jungle.”
The 54-year-old, who starred in the 1997 flick, said he “starved” himself to the point where he was forgetting basic things, explaining “my brain was misfiring.”
When asked why his figure was so important for the role, Fraser simply said “The wardrobe was there was no wardrobe.”
As many may recall, he wore only a loincloth in the movie.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
After suffering a wardrobe mishap, KHLOE KARDASHIAN had to be sewn into her outfit at the People’ Choice Awards on Tuesday night.
The 38-year-old detailed the incident on her Instagram Story, telling followers that her “whole zipper popped open,” so she had to be sewn into the bodysuit.
At one point Khloe said she had to use the bathroom, so her team cut the stitching out and then sewed her back in.
The headache was worth it though, as she took home the award for Reality Star of 2022 -- for the fifth time. Her family’s Hulu series “The Kardashians” also won for Reality TV Show of 2022.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCESS DIANA’s biographer, ANDREW MORTON, believes the Royal Family will put on a “united front” as PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE’s Netflix docuseries drops today.
Trailers for the series have promised to detail the couple’s struggles in the public eye and with Harry’s family.
The first installment hits the streamer today and the second drops on December 15.
ALSO: On January 10, Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” hits the shelves.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Morton told Fox News Digital that Harry is far from the first royal to write something against the Royal Family. His mom, Diana had her book “Her True Story” and KING CHARLES wrote a book in which he criticized his parents. “Harry’s book will cause concern, and it will make headlines around the world, but it won’t destroy the institution,” Morton said.
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SPORTS
AARON JUDGE is staying in New York.
According to multiple reports, Judge and the Yankees agreed to a 9-year, $360 million contact.
The outfielder holds the American League record for home runs (62) and also led the league last season in runs scored (133), walks (111) and slugging percentage (.686).
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Brownie Day
Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day
National Lard Day
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ON THIS DATE
1863 - President Lincoln publicly outlines his plan to reunite the country in the waning months of the Civil War.
The Union was poised for victory, and Lincoln knew it would be wise to draw up plans to reunite the states he fought to keep united.
The plan called for pardoning those rebelling against the United States, especially the Confederate leaders.
Many southerners were on board with the plan, as they knew defeat was coming.
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1881 - A freak fire accident at a theater in Vienna, Austria kills 620 and injures a couple hundred.
The theater was home to many popular operas, serving as great evening entertainment for Austria's rich and affluent.
With the house packed, a stagehand went to light the gas lights above the stage, and in turn ignited some of the cloud props hanging over the stage.
The entire building went up in flames.
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1940 - The Bears and Redskins face off in one of the most lopsided NFL championship games ever played.
The Bears beat the Redskins 73-0. It was the largest margin of defeat in NFL history.
The first touchdown was scored within a minute of play, and the Bears never looked back. By halftime Chicago was up 28-0.
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1941 - The US House nearly-unanimously votes to enter World War II.
The only dissenter was Jeanette Rankin of Montana. She was the first woman elected to Congress. As a Pacifist, she could not in religious conscience agree to send soldiers to war.
She also voted against entering World War I.
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1980 - Former Beatle John Lennon is shot dead in New York City.
While entering his home in Manhattan, Mark David Chapman put 4 slugs in the artist with a .38-caliber revolver.
Lennon died on the way to the hospital. Chapman went without a fight -- he stayed at the scene until police arrived to arrest him.
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1993 - President Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement into law, seeking greater economic cooperation between the US, Canada, and Mexico.
The agreement got rid of many of the tariffs and trade restrictions that made selling goods between the countries increasingly difficult.
The agreement would go into effect January 1st the following year.
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2010 – SpaceX launches its Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
With the launch, SpaceX – headed by Elon Musk – becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
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2018 - The 84th Heisman Trophy goes to QB Kyler Murray from Oklahoma.
He would be drafted first overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 NFL draft.
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2020 - The UK begins administering Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Margaret Keenan, 98, became the first person in the world to receive the jab outside of trials.
The shot was approved by the UK drug regulator the week prior.
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BIRTHDAYS
Tanner Buchanan - actor, “Cobra Kai” & “Girl Meets World” - 24
Teala Dunn - actress, “Dog with a Blog” & “The Thundermans” - 26
Raheem Sterling - soccer player - 28
AnnaSophia Robb - actress, “Race to Witch Mountain” & “The Carrie Diaries” - 29
Dwight Howard - basketball player - 37
Josh Donaldson - baseball player - 37
Sam Hunt - country singer - 38
Nicki Minaj - rapper - 40
Philip Rivers - football player - 41
Ian Somerhalder - actor, “The Vampire Diaries” & “Lost” - 44
Corey Taylor - metal singer, Slipknot - 49
Sinead O’Connor - rock singer - 56
Teri Hatcher - actress, “Desperate Housewives” - 58
Kim Basinger - actress, “8 Mile” & “Batman” - 69
Born On This Date
Jim Morrison - rock singer, The Doors - 1943 (d. 1971)
Sammy Davis Jr. - pop singer - 1925 (d. 1990)
Mary Queen of Scots - Queen of Scotland - 1542 (d. 1587)
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