12/8/2023: Burrito Brawl
PLUS: “Greedflation”?; “Christmas Vacation” Tumble; and “Endgame” Sales Tank
Today is Friday, December 8, 2023.
It is the 342nd day of the year.
23 days remain.
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WHAT’S ON TAP
The head of a major bank takes crypto to task and authorities bust a questionable animal import scheme. Details in HIT LIST.
MARIAH CAREY sends flowers to a fellow Queen of Christmas and BRUCE WILLIS’ family rallies around him. Details in SHOWBIZ.
TIM ALLEN was allegedly a diva on the set of “The Santa Clauses” and Netflix has ordered another season of “Squid Game: The Challenge.” More in CASTING CALL.
Swifties are coming for KIM KARDASHIAN. Find out more in KARDASH.
For all the sensational headlines, book sales aren’t treating OMID SCOBIE well. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Two British think-tanks have released a report blaming “profiteering” – or “greedflation” – for years of persistent inflation. Their analysis suggests that price increases charged by companies for products and services have outpaced the increase of their own costs.
At the same time, wages paid by these companies did not keep up with the increased cost of living, both in the US and the UK. [via The Guardian]
WORTH NOTING: This ignores the demand side of any economic equation. In the context of the pandemic, governments flooded their economies with cash, giving consumers money that was originally meant for survival that turned into personal slush funds. If companies did not raise prices to keep up with monetary expansion, consumers would face shortages of everyday goods.
This is not a right or left issue, it’s math. Artificially and, as we now know, unnecessarily, pumping trillions of dollars into an economy will by definition lead to inflation.
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Online real estate resource REDFIN reports that American homes have never been less affordable.
Based on aggregate data from across the country, the company reports that a household earning the median US salary spent 41% of its monthly take home pay on housing costs in 2023. That’s up from 31% in 2021.
HOPE: One housing market saw an improvement in affordability between 2022 and 2023: Austin, Texas. [via Redfin]
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The head of Chase Bank really, really doesn’t like cryptocurrency.
JAMIE DIMON said this week that the only use case for the alternative currency is for “criminals, drug traffickers, money laundering, tax avoidance.”
Dimon made the comments while testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, arguing that crypto should be banned completely. “If I was the government, I’d close it down,” he said. [via CNBC]
WORTH NOTING: Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, the value of the dollar has decreased more than 95%.
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An Ohio judge has handed down a creative sentence for an irate customer who threw a burrito bowl at a Chipotle employee who made her order incorrectly.
In September, Rosemary Hayne threw her order at a 26-year-old store manager when she wasn’t satisfied with how it was made. Hayne agreed to plead guilty to an assault charge and spend three months in jail for her crime.
NOW: The judge gave Hayne the option to spend two months working at a fast food chain for at least twenty hours a week for two months to avoid jail time.
The judge told local media, "Why should the city taxpayers pay for her and feed her for 90 days in jail if I can teach her a sense of empathy?”
Hayne has accepted the judge’s alternative sentence. [via DailyMail]
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A 22-year-old tourist was busted in Thailand for attempting to smuggle two otters and a prairie dog through airport security…in his pants.
Authorities noticed an abnormally large bulge and sent him over to be screened via X-ray. It was there that the three critters were discovered, stuffed in socks and taped to his boxer shorts.
The smuggler was de-crittered, detained, and now faces charges for violating Thailand’s Customs Act, Animal Epidemics Act and Animal Conservation and Protection Act.
The animals were handed over to the Wildlife Conservation Office. [via NY Post]
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DEATHS
Actor BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH has died.
He passed away Thursday -- just eight weeks after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
Zephaniah is best known for his role as Jeremiah Jesus in “Peaky Blinders”.
He was 65.
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RELATIONSHIPS
Actors JOSHUA JACKSON and LUPITA NYONG’O are dating.
He’s 45 and she’s 40.
Jackson is currently in the process of divorce from actress JODIE TURNER-SMITH, who filed in October, and Nyong’o recently split with her boyfriend, producer SELEMA MASEKEA.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 62 points (0.17%) to close at 36,117 on Thursday. The S&P ticked up 36 points (0.8%) to close at 4,585 and the NASDAQ increased 193 points (1.37%) to close at 14,339.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $69; BRENT CRUDE at $74.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.20 on Thursday.
₿ BITCOIN slid over 1% Thursday, trading around $43,220.
🛩 There were more than 2,290 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and more than 70 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $395 million jackpot or a $188.2 million cash payout. Saturday night’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $468 million jackpot or a $220.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
New Music Friday:
Bryan Adams, “Live at the Royal Albert Hall”
Kenny G, “Concord Records”
The Killers, “Rebel Diamonds”
Kylie Minogue, “Extension”
Jerskin Fendrix, “Poor Things (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”
Neil Young, “Before And After”
Nicki Minaj, “Pink Friday 2”
Tate McRae, “Think Later”
Wings of Desire, “Life Is Infinite”
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“Christmas Vacation” star CHEVY CHASE took a tumble off the stage during an event for the holiday flick in Buffalo, New York this week.
The whole thing started out awkward as that actor was rolled out onto the stage in a wheelchair. Once set, he stood up, walked toward the crowd and continued right over the edge of the stage.
He eventually made it back up on the stage, where he sat with an ice pack on his knee.
Insiders say Chase misjudged where the edge was because of the bright lights. [via EW]
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Self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas, MARIAH CAREY sent flowers to fellow Christmas crooner BRENDA LEE after her holiday hit, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” topped Billboard’s Hot 100 list this week.
The milestone -- a first for the song -- comes 65 years after Lee recorded it. And, she was only 13 at the time. [via Just Jared]
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A jersey worn by TRAVIS KELCE in 2019 just sold for nearly $37,000 at auction.
The sale is an all-time record for a Travis Kelce game-used item at Goldin Auctions, according to owner Ken Goldin. [via TMZ]
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BRUCE WILLIS’ wife and daughters have been spending their time alongside the actor as he battles dementia.
“They’re all there all the time,” an insider told Us Weekly. “No one knows how much time Bruce has left, so they’re soaking up every moment they get with him.”
In 2022, Willis was diagnosed with Aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s speech, comprehension skills and ability to write. A year later, as his condition worsened, he was diagnosed with dementia. [via Us Weekly, Mayo Clinic]
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CASTING CALL
50 CENT says he will give proceeds from his new documentary highlighting the accusations made against SEAN “Diddy” COMBS to a good cause.
Without getting into specifics 50 said he will donate funds from the project to a charity; most likely one supporting victims of sexual assault, domestic violence or trafficking.
Still no word on when the documentary will air. [via TMZ]
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CASEY WILSON says working opposite TIM ALLEN on “The Santa Clauses” series was the “single worst experience” she has ever had working with a fellow actor.
“Tim Allen was such a bitch,” she told Variety, explaining that everyone on set was “walking on eggshells” around him.
The series was a continuation of Allen’s classic “Santa Clause” film trilogy. Wilson played Adult Sarah in the series — a grown-up version of the girl who gave Santa soy milk in the first flick. [via Variety]
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The coffee lawsuit is not the first battle “Yellowstone” creator TAYLOR SHERIDAN and actor COLE HAUSER have had.
After news of the suit broke, a 2022 interview with Hauser for Men’s Journal resurfaced, in which he says that he got into a physical fight with Sheridan the second time they met. He did not divulge any details regarding the altercation, such as when or why they came to blows.
As previously reported, Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch coffee company is suing Hauser’s company, Free Rein, for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising. [via People]
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GEORGE R.R. MARTIN is excited by what he has seen of the first two episodes of Season 2 of “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon.”
“I thought both episodes were just great. (And they are not even finished yet). Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry [...] Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending,” he posted on his “Not a Blog” website.
Season 2 is expected to debut on HBO next summer. [via Deadline]
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Netflix has ordered a second season of “Squid Game: The Challenge.”
The new season will likely be inspired by the games in the second season of the “Squid Game” drama series, which is expected to air in 2024. The show still holds the record as Netflix’s most popular TV series of all time.
HOW IT WORKS: In “The Challenge,” 456 players compete through a series of games inspired by the original show — plus surprising new additions — and their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them, per the official description. [via THR]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Swifties are coming for KIM KARDASHIAN.
After TAYLOR SWIFT opened up about her feud with the reality star and her ex-husband YE to Time Magazine, die-hard fans are feeling the BAD BLOOD and trying to ruin Kim’s REPUTATION on social media.
To show their support for Swift, fans have been flooding Kim’s Instagram posts with the 🐍. Many may recall the emoji was prominent in Swift’s “Reputation” Era.
WHAT’S MORE: Insiders say Kim has still not apologized to Swift for her role in the feud. If an apology was made, even now, sources say Swift would accept it, but only if it was “done publicly.” [via Uproxx]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
It seems like more articles were written about OMID SCOBIE’s book “Endgame” than actual copies sold.
In the UK, fewer than 7,000 people bought the book in its first week, generating less than 77,000 British Pounds in total sales – about $97,000 USD.
Scobie’s insider account of PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE’s departure from working royal life, “Finding Freedom,” sold a heftier 31,000 copies in its first week in 2020 – but that was when a lot of people were stuck at home with nothing to do, either.
IT GETS WORSE: The Sun reports that British retailers have slashed the cover price by more than half to help move inventory off the shelves. [via The Sun]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Lost & Found Day
Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day
National Brownie 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 four 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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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
Reece James - soccer player - 24
Tanner Buchanan - actor, “Grey’s Anatomy” & “Cobra Kai” - 25
Teala Dunn - actress, “Are We There Yet?” & “Expelled” - 27
AnnaSophia Robb - actress, “Because of Winn-Dixie” & “The Carrie Diaries” - 30
Jordan Nobbs - soccer player - 31
Real1 - wrestler - 37
Dwight Howard - basketball player - 38
Sam Hunt - country singer - 39
Nicki Minaj - rapper - 41
Philip Rivers - football player - 42
Ian Somerhalder - actor, “The Vampire Diaries” - 45
Dominic Monaghan - actor, “Lost” & “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” - 47
Corey Taylor - metal singer, Slipknot - 50
Michael Cole - sportscaster - 55
Teri Hatcher - actress, “Desperate Housewives” - 59
Kim Bassinger - actress, “L.A. Confidential” & “8 Mile” - 70
Born On This Date
Sinead O’Connor - rock singer - 1966 (d. 2023)
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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