1/6/2023: Damar Hamlin Wakes Up
PLUS: Idaho Murder Update; “Housewife” Exit; and “Spare” Bombshells
Today is Friday, January 6, 2023.
It is the 6th day of the year.
359 days remain.
TRENDING
#ShutUpHarry was trending Thursday after Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” was leaked early in some stores in Spain. Head to Royals to find out more.
#DamarHamlinStrong landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends after the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills player made remarkable progress on his long road to recovery. More in Sick Bay.
New Covid was trending after multiple outlets reported about a fast-spreading new variant of the virus.
Nicolas Cage was trending after the trailer for his new Dracula film “Renfield” dropped on Thursday.
Twitter users -- and “Stranger Things” fans -- reacted to star Noah Schnapp’s big news on Thursday. More on what he said in Showbiz.
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HIT LIST
The officer affidavit used to issue the arrest warrant for the lead suspect in the Moscow, Idaho slayings was unsealed Thursday, as BRYAN KOHBERGER appeared in court.
One bizarre loose end includes a roommate in the house telling the officer the murderer walked right past them after they opened their bedroom door to investigate strange sounds during the attack. The person the roommate identified was wearing a mask over his face, and was described as a 5-foot-10-inch-tall man with bushy eyebrows. That roommate has not been identified.
Ultimately, investigators used cell phone tracking data and leads about a white sedan to narrow their search to Kohberger. They then connected DNA collected from his parents’ house in Pennsylvania to the DNA found on a leather knife sheath that was left at the scene of the crime.
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Add one of FTX’s former top lawyers to the list of SAM BANKMAN-FRIED’s associates actively cooperating with investigators.
Reuters reported exclusively on Thursday that former lawyer DANIEL FRIEDBERG first met with prosecutors on November 22 last year that included representatives from the Justice Department, FBI, and SEC, and outlined the fraud. Friedberg reportedly “told prosecutors what he knew of Bankman-Fried's use of customer funds to finance his business empire.”
WORTH REMEMBERING: SBF has denied any knowledge of exactly this.
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The son of incarcerated drug lord JOAQUIN “EL CHAPO” GUZMAN was arrested by Mexican authorities on Thursday.
OVIDIO GUZMAN is believed to be a high ranking member of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel.
Video circulated online Thursday of what appeared to be Mexican police in a shootout with cartel thugs who appeared to try to rescue their boss.
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POPE FRANCIS said mass for his predecessor’s funeral Thursday at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The Associated Press describes the eulogy more as “a meditation on Christ” than a remembrance of BENEDICT XVI.
Born Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was the first Pope in more than six hundred years to retire from the job before his death. He reportedly didn’t think to live as long as he did after leading the global Catholic Church.
An estimated 50,000 people attended the Mass.
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Amazon is laying off more than the seasonal workers who help complete millions of orders ahead of the Christmas holiday. The company announced Thursday they are going to let go 18,000 workers, including some in their human resources department and the brick-and-mortar Amazon Stores.
WORTH REMEMBERING: Last November, Amazon CEO ANDY JASSY estimated the company would ax about 10,000 employees heading into 2023.
MEANWHILE: Bed Bath & Beyond said in a public letter on Thursday it is considering bankruptcy – among other financial measures – to improve its profitability.
Sales for the homegoods company were down 30% year over year in their third fiscal quarter, which they blame on “lower customer traffic and reduced levels of inventory availability” – the decreased revenue amounts to a $385.8 million loss for the quarter.
The news sent its stock down 30% on Thursday.
BUT WAIT: Delta Air Lines says it’s going to stop charging customers for Wi-Fi on most of its domestic flights starting next month. The service will be available on more than 500 planes.
Most airlines offer connectivity while in the sky, but it usually comes with a cost.
JUST ONE CATCH: You’ll need to be a member of their frequent-flier program, but that’s free to join.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The Dow lost 339 points (1.02%) on Thursday to close at 32,930. The S&P lost 44 points (1.16%) to close at 3,808 and the Nasdaq lost 153 points (1.47%) to close 10,305.
🛢 West Texas Intermediate traded at $74. Brent Crude at $78.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $3.28 on Thursday.
₿ Bitcoin remained flat, trading around $16,800 Thursday.
🛩 There were 7,950 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and 916 such cancellations.
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CHARTS
New to Amazon Prime:
Black and Blue (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%)
Jurassic World Dominion (Score: 29%)
Power Rangers (Score: 32%)
New to HBO Max:
The Nun (Score: 25%)
New to Hulu:
Bromates (Score: 0%)
New to Netflix:
The Pale Blue Eye (Score: 66%)
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DEATHS
BESSIE HENDRICKS, believed to be the oldest person in the US, has died.
She passed away Tuesday at a senior living facility in Lake City, Iowa.
The secret to her long life, “Work hard, stay away from doctors, and make sure to enjoy sweets.”
Hendricks was 115.
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DON WILLIAMS, the last surviving member of THE WILLIAMS BROTHERS, has died.
He passed away on December 30 due to natural causes at his home in Branson, Missouri, his wife, Jeanne told Fox News.
He was 100.
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SICK BAY
DAMAR HAMLIN is awake! According to his physicians, the 24-year-old awoke Wednesday night, and the first thing he wanted to know was who won Monday night’s Bill-Bengals game. “You won. You won at the game of life,” a member of his medical team told him.
WORTH NOTING: He used a pen and paper to ask as he is still unable to talk due to being on a ventilator.
As for his current condition, doctors told reporters that Hamlin “has made significant progress” and they believe he is “neurologically intact.”
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THE SWAMP
After 11 rounds of voting, the House of Representatives remains without a Speaker. The Congressmen-elect voted Thursday evening to again adjourn and will try again at 11:00 am Central today.
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It appears President JOE BIDEN has solved all of the nation’s major problems.
He announced he’ll visit the southern border on Sunday. Previously when asked why he hasn’t done so yet, he said he’s got bigger problems to address.
Biden will visit El Paso, Texas, where the local government instituted a state of emergency last month amid countless illegal border crossings every day.
He also announced an app that asylum seekers can download to make an appointment at a Port of Entry for their case to be heard. The measure is designed to keep people out of the country before entering illegally.
WORTH NOTING: For those keeping score at home, there’s nothing about this program that stops people from entering illegally in the first place – especially those bringing pound after pound of fentanyl into the country.
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The newest member of the Supreme Court is writing a book.
Justice KETANJI BROWN JACKSON will pen a memoir called called “Lovely One,” which she said in a statement “will be a transparent accounting of what it takes to rise through the ranks of the legal profession, especially as a woman of color with an unusual name and as a mother and a wife striving to reconcile the demands of a high-profile career with the private needs of my loved ones.”
No release date has been set.
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LOTTERY
No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $940 million jackpot or a $483.5 million cash payout.
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No winner for Wednesday night’s drawing. Saturday night’s drawing will be for a $325 million jackpot or a $165.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
These albums drop today:
Anti-Flag, “Lies They Tell Our Children”
French Montana, “Coke Boys 6”
Iggy Pop, “Every Loser”
Nicole Dollanganger, “MIMA”
Rose Mulet, “41%”
RuPaul, “Black Butta”
Venus Da Kid, “Dreams: The Mixtape of Life”
YoungBoy Never Broke Again, “I Rest My Case”
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TAYLOR SWIFT’s cat is the third-richest pet in the world.
According to a report from All About Cats, the feline, named Olivia Benson (after Mariska Hargitay’s “SVU” character), is worth an estimated $97 million.
In No. 2 is social media influencer @Nala_cat, a Siamese tabby mix, who has a net worth of $100 million. German Shepherd Gunther VI, owned by Italian media company Gunther Corporation, is the richest pet in the world with a net worth of $500 million.
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The latest bizarre Instagram post from BRITNEY SPEARS shows her holding a lighter just inches from her tongue.
In the clip she also tells fans that she “meditated” to SHAKIRA’s hit “Hips Don’t Lie” by dancing non-stop for three hours.
The footage appeared to be shot in the workout room of her $12 million Calabasas mansion.
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Bengals receiver TEE HIGGINS says he is “relieved” to hear that DAMAR HAMLIN is doing better.
Higgins was the one Hamlin tackled right before he collapsed in Monday night’s game.
Speaking to reporters for the first time yesterday, Higgins said he has been in constant contact with Hamlin’s family.
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Had it not been for a road trip (and another kind of trip], HARRY HAMLIN says he may have never become an actor.
Speaking to People Magazine, the 71-year-old “Mad Men” star said that he initially planned to study architecture at UC Berkeley, but those plans quickly changed after he took a psychedelic drug, given to him by a Hell’s Angel, during a road trip to La Honda, California.
“I began to see things in a different way and my curiosity was sort of turbo-charged,” he said.
Since that fateful trip, Hamlin has had a successful acting career, with a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards nominations under his belt.
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NOAH SCHNAPP (Will Byers in “Stranger Things”) has come out as gay.
The 18-year-old made the announcement in a TikTok video on Thursday, sharing that after he told his friends and family the big news, their response was, “we know.”
WORTH NOTING: It has long been assumed by “ST” fans that his character is gay. Schnapp seemed to confirm this in the video, saying “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”
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CASTING CALL
LISA RINNA is leaving the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”
After eight years on the reality show, Rinna told People Magazine that it is the longest job she has held in her 35 year career.
It is unknown if Bravo will find a replacement for Rinna or pull fellow housewife HEATHER DUBROW from “Real Housewives of Orange County.” The rumor mill has been turning lately that Dubrow is seeking a switch.
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TOM HANKS spoke out about nepotism in Hollywood, specifically him giving his children roles in his films.
“This is a family business,” he told The Sun, before adding that it would be no different if they were running an actual business, “the whole family would be putting in time at some point.”
Most recently, Hanks gave his son TRUMAN HANKS a role in his new film “A Man Called Otto.” The elder Hanks stars, while Truman plays a younger version of Otto.
Hanks has previously collaborated with his son COLIN HANKS on movies.
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Actors LEONARD WHITING and OLIVIA HUSSEY, who starred in 1968’s “Romeo and Juliet” are suing Paramount Pictures for more than $500 million over a nude scene they shot as teenagers for the film.
Hussey, then 15 and now 71, and Whiting, then 16 and now 72, filed the suit last week, alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud after the nude scene was included in the film despite director Franco Zeffirelli telling them otherwise.
“What they were told and what went on were two different things,” their attorney told Variety.
The film, which was nominated for four Academy Awards, is used by some high schools who study the Shakespeare play.
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DANA WHITE’s show “Power Slap” is being delayed following his physical fight with his wife on New Year’s Eve.
While there were serious discussions to pull the show all together, insiders from TBS told Page Six, instead the premiere date was just pushed back.
“Power Slap” features two fighters slapping each other in the face with timed turns until one emerges victorious.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
There seems to be no more bad blood between KIM KARDASHIAN and TAYLOR SWIFT.
Proving the feud is over, Kim shared a video of her and her nine-year-old daughter, NORTH WEST, dancing to Swift’s hit “Shake It Off” on TikTok
Many may recall that the two had beef after Taylor called out Kim’s ex-husband Kanye West -- who now goes by YE -- for a line in his 2016 song “Famous” where he rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, why? I made that [b-word] famous.” To defend Ye, Kim released a phone call of the rapper telling Taylor about the line.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY’s memoir, “Spare,” was leaked early.
Here are some of the biggest bombshells from the book (formally due out Tuesday):
(If you want to save the shock and jaw-dropping for when the book actually hits shelves then consider this your SPOILER WARNING!!!)
LET’S GET PHYSICAL: First up is an epic fight that got physical between Harry and his brother PRINCE WILLIAM over MEGHAN MARKLE. In the book, Harry claims William grabbed him by the collar, ripped his necklace and threw him to the ground, where he landed on a dog food bowl, causing it to break. The whole thing started because Will called Meg “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.”
FROZEN TIP: A startling revelation made by Harry in the book is that his “todger” — aka penis — was frostbitten while he stood beside Will at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 when he tied the knot with PRINCESS CATHERINE. The frostbite occurred during an expedition to the North Pole, a trip made to raise money for Walking with the Wounded charity. Harry also reveals that contrary to popular belief, both he and Will are circumcised — a question British tabloids spilled much ink trying to answer years ago.
HISTORY REPEATED: Harry claims in his book that his father, KING CHARLES, told him there was “not enough money” to support Meg, which he thinks has to do with her growing popularity. He makes note of the connection to his late mom, PRINCESS DIANA, and how she overshadowed Charles before her death.
THERAPY: Harry credits Meg with the “renewed sense of confidence” he found in therapy. He writes that after a particularly intense argument, Meg urged him to seek help. Harry has long been open about his mental health, but details it further in the book, even opening up about using drugs after the death of his mom.
SAYING GOODBYE: After arriving too late to say good-bye to his grandmother, QUEEN ELIZABETH, Harry writes about what he whispered to her when he did make it to Balmoral. He said that he “hoped she would be happy” and that she was with his grandfather, PRINCE PHILIP, who had passed a year earlier. Remember, Harry says he found out about her death on the news, while he was still enroute.
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LIST OF THE WEEK
Here’s all the times it’s taken Congress multiple ballots to elect a Speaker:
1793 - 3 ballots to elect Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania
1799 - 2 ballots to elect Theodore Sedgwick of Massachusetts
1805 - 3 ballots to elect Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina
1809 - 2 ballots to elect Joseph Bradley Varnum of Massachusetts
1819 - 22 ballots to elect John W. Taylor of New York
1821 - 12 ballots to elect Philip Pendleton Barbour of Virginia
1825 - 2 ballots to elect John W. Taylor (again) of New York
1833 - 10 ballots to elect John Bell of Tennessee
1839 - 11 ballots to elect Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter of Virginia
1847 - 3 ballots to elect Robert Charles Winthrop of Massachusetts
1849 - 63 ballots to elect Howell Cobb of Georgia
1855 - 133 ballots to elect Nathaniel Prentice Banks of Massachusetts
1859 - 44 ballots to elect William Pennington
1923 - 9 ballots to elect Frederick Huntington Gillett
IN OTHER WORDS: Between the founding of the nation and the Civil War, one out of three Congresses started with a contested battle for the Speakership; it was not uncommon.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Three Kings Day
National Take Down the Christmas Tree Day
World Day for War Orphans
Apple Tree Day
National Shortbread Day
National Bean Day
National Cuddle Up Day
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ON THIS DATE
1759 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis. She was a widow who had two children from a previous marriage.
Washington adopted the kids, but never had any of his own.
Almost 200 years later on the same day, George HW Bush marries Barbara Pierce, in 1945.
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1777 – With the Continental Army on the move pushing the British out of New Jersey, General Washington sets up a camp and headquarters for the winter in Morristown.
The spot at the top of a large series of hills gave Washington and his Army the high ground to see any approaching attack. The British camps were clearly visible below, across the Hudson River.
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1838 – Inventor Samuel Morse shows off his telegraph invention.
The device sent electric pulses across a wire. Letters and numbers were coded in a series of beeps. Before the telephone, it was one of the quickest forms of communication.
The code, of course, would soon be called Morse Code, and be used to send secret messages especially in wartime.
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1919 – President Teddy Roosevelt dies at age 60.
He had even survived an assassination attempt earlier in his life, but it was the diseases of the tropics that likely finally caught up with him.
In his final years, Roosevelt wanted a commission to lead troops into World War I, but Woodrow Wilson shot him down. TR had been an opponent of Wilson's League of Nations idea.
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1958 – The Soviets announce a reduction in the size of their army, in an attempt to peacefully coexist with the rest of the world.
It was an initiative of premier pushover Nikita Krushchev. He hoped for a thaw in the icy relations between the Soviet Empire and the United States.
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1994 – Nancy Kerrigan is attacked while practicing for Olympic tryouts near a Detroit ice rink.
A man clubbed Kerrigan in the back of her knee. It later turned out the attack was coordinated by Tonya Harding, whose ex-husband ordered it to help bump Kerrigan off the team and have Harding take her place.
At first Harding denied her involvement, but later it was revealed she knew her ex did have a role.
Both women eventually landed spots on the team. Harding took eighth. Kerrigan took home silver
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2016 – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” breaks the North American box office record for highest grossing film earning $936 million. It surpassed “Avatar” which raked in $760.5 million.
The film also set opening weekend records in several other countries including the UK, Germany, Australia and Russia.
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2018 - Jon Gruden returns to the NFL as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
The move comes after he spent nearly a decade broadcasting ESPN Monday Night Football.
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2021 - Americans displeased with the outcome of the presidential election storm the US Capitol in Washington DC.
Vice President Mike Pence and other lawmakers were evacuated from the premises. The protest would instigate an unsuccessful impeachment conviction against outgoing President Donald Trump, and subsequent investigations would continue to follow him for years.
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BIRTHDAYS
Courtney Eaton - actress, “Mad Max: Fury Road” - 27
Jameis Winston - football player - 29
Alex Turner - rock singer, Arctic Monkeys - 37
Irina Shayk - model - 37
Eric Trump - son of The Donald - 39
Kate McKinnon - comedian, “SNL” - 39
Eddie Redmayne - actor, “The Theory of Everything” & “Les Miserables” - 41
Julie Chen - TV show host, “Big Brother” - 53
Norman Reedus - actor, “The Walking Dead” - 54
Ree Drummond - chef - 54
Rowan Atkinson - actor, “Mr Bean” & “Never Say Never Again” - 68
Born On This Date
Malcolm Young - guitarist, AC/DC - 1953 (d. 2017)
Syd Barrett - rock singer, Pink Floyd - 1946 (d. 2006)
Joan of Arc - Catholic Saint & war hero - 1412 (d. 1431)
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