2/13/2023: Balloon Bonanza
PLUS: Big Penguins; Colin Farrell Gets Unbanned; and Coronation Emblem Revealed
Today is Monday, February 13, 2023.
It is the 44th day of the year.
321 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Lots of unexplained weird stuff happening over American and Canadian skies to keep conspiracy theorists busy over the weekend while researchers announce a newly-discovered, ancient species of penguins. More in HIT LIST.
President JOE BIDEN misunderstands basic macroeconomics. More in THE SWAMP.
MACHINE GUN KELLY gets electrocuted and HALLE BERRY takes a tumble. More in SHOWBIZ.
BRYAN CRANSTON wants to play WILLIE NELSON and GEORGE CLOONEY is not returning as the caped crusader. More in CASTING CALL.
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HIT LIST
UFO enthusiasts had a wild weekend, a week after the destruction of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States.
FRIDAY: Reports surface of a UFO flying over Alaska, likely a Chinese balloon, that the United States had shot down.
SATURDAY: Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU of Canada reported that he authorized a similar shoot-down over their territory by an American fighter jet. Canada’s Defense Minister described it as a small, cylindrical object at an altitude of 40,000 feet. Recover efforts were underway Saturday into Sunday to get a closer look.
Later on Saturday, air traffic was shut down over parts of Montana to investigate a similar balloon, but called off the search amid the darkness.
SUNDAY: The FAA shut down air traffic over Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula for over an hour Sunday morning. No explanation for the shutdown has yet been provided. Later, Canada shut down air traffic over Lake Huron and something was shot out of the sky. Early reports indicate this was the same object spotted previously over Montana.
ALSO ON SUNDAY, IN CHINA: China’s Global Times newspaper – the CCP’s official English-language news site – reported early Sunday morning that a UFO was spotted over the Shandong Province in eastern China and efforts were underway to shoot it down. [via Global Times]
WORTH NOTING: The Pentagon said during a Sunday evening briefing that all shot-down objects were indeed balloons, but that there’s not yet evidence they’re spying tools of the Chinese Communist Party.
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The confirmed death toll in Turkey now exceeds 33,000 lives following last week’s catastrophic earthquakes that destroyed dozens of buildings.
Amid the chaos, Turkish officials have already begun to arrest contractors who built the collapsed buildings, suggesting they did not properly follow safe construction practices. [via Associated Press]
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The Financial Times reports that FACEBOOK parent company META is planning another round of layoffs, after sending an estimated 11,000 employees packing last November.
The company has not yet finalized team budgets for the year across multiple divisions. The company also owns popular messaging app WHATSAPP and photo-sharing service INSTAGRAM.
MARK ZUCKERBERG has said that 2023 will be a year of efficiency for the company which ballooned in size over the pandemic. [via Financial Times]
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Researchers in New Zealand believe they have identified the largest penguin species to have ever lived.
In a report published in the Journal of Paleontology, a study suggests that fossils of such animals found on New Zealand’s South Island in 2016 belonged to penguins that weighed over 340 pounds. By contrast, a modern emperor penguin typically maxes out around 100 pounds.
The new species likely lived up to 59 million years ago – that’s 5-10 million years after the extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs. [via SciTechDaily]
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A 1908-model Harley Davidson motorcycle sold at auction for nearly $1 million at the end of January, making it the most expensive motorcycle ever auctioned off. It sold online to an unidentified buyer for $935,000.
The Strap Tank model is only one of 12 of its kind left in the world, named for the nickel straps that held the oil and fuel tanks in place. [via Associated Press]
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CHARTS
Weekend Box Office
10. Plane: $1.2 million (up from 11)
9. M3GAN: $2.4 million (down from 7)
8. Missing: $2.6 million (stayed at 8)
7. A Man Called Otto: $2.62 million (down from 6)
6. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: $5.5 million (down from 5)
5. Knock at the Cabin: $5.51 million (down from 1)
4. 80 for Brady: $6 million (down from 2)
3. Titanic: $6.4 million (25th Anniversary re-release)
2. Avatar: The Way of Water: $6.8 million (up from 3)
1. Magic Mike’s Last Dance: $8.2 million (new)
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DEATHS
Actor CODY LONGO has died.
The “Days of Our Lives” star was found lifeless at a residence in Austin, Texas last week, according to a tweet from his manager. A cause of death is not yet known.
He was only 34.
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Veteran publicist JEFF BALLARD has died.
He passed away on January 30 at the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center after a five-year battle with lymphoma, according to People Magazine.
Ballard represented CHARLIE SHEEN and various other celebs throughout his lengthy career.
He was 64.
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Director HUGH HUDSON has died.
He passed away on February 10 at Charing Cross hospital after a brief illness, according to a statement from his family.
Hudson directed “Chariots of Fire,” “Lord of the Apes” and “Revolution,” among many other films.
He was 86.
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RYAN SHEPARD, who was EMINEM’s stunt double in the early 2000s, has died.
His brother told TMZ that Ryan passed away in Washington last month after getting hit by a truck.
He was 40.
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BABY NEWS
Actress BLAKE LIVELY, 35, and her husband, actor RYAN REYNOLDS, 46, have welcomed their fourth child.
Page Six reported Sunday that the child had arrived, though no other details were shared.
The couple are already parents to three daughters, James, Inez and Betty.
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Actor ALEXANDER LUDWIG, 30, and his wife, marketing campaign manager LAUREN LUDWIG, are expecting a baby, after suffering multiple pregnancy losses.
The “Hunger Games” star announced the news on Instagram, with a photo of him cradling his wife’s baby bump.
Lauren also shared the news, telling her followers the baby is due to arrive this May.
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WILL KOPELMAN, 44, and his wife ALEXANDRA MICHLER, 35, are expecting their first child together.
“The year of boys!!!” Michler captioned a photo of her cradling her baby bump on Instagram.
While this is the first child for the couple, Kopelman is already dad to daughters Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8, whom he shares with his ex-wife DREW BARRYMORE.
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THE SWAMP
President JOE BIDEN says Democrats need to talk more about the economy because “Americans think the reason for inflation is the government spending more money.”
WORTH NOTING: Government spending itself does not drive inflation. The United States has managed to keep inflation pretty low while spending trillions of dollars over the last four decades.
HOWEVER: Borrowing trillions of dollars worth about 20% of the country’s GDP to spend over the course of about 18 months does drive inflation. That’s not theory; that’s math.
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Bloomberg reports that America’s Governor RON DESANTIS is actively interviewing consultants to work on his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. 🗳️
Staffers who worked on his re-election bid in Florida last year are clamoring for spots in a national operation. [via Bloomberg]
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 169 points (0.5%) to close at 33,869 on Friday. The S&P added 8 points (0.22%) to close at 4,090 while the NASDAQ lost 71 points (0.61%) to close at 11,718.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $79 on Friday; BRENT CRUDE at $86.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.41 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN was trading just shy of $22,000 on Sunday.
🛩 There were more than 2,420 FLIGHTS delayed within the United States on Sunday and more than 67 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $67 million jackpot or a $35.1 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $45 million jackpot or a $23.7 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
Leading up to her Super Bowl Halftime performance, RIHANNA was the talk of the town.
ON WEDNESDAY: Madame Tussauds unveiled their latest wax figure -- RiRi in her iconic ensemble from the 2018 Met Gala.
ON FRIDAY: COLDPLAY frontman CHRIS MARTIN called Rihanna “the best singer of all time,” while former President DONALD TRUMP said she has “NO TALENT!”
HALFTIME SHOW: For all the hype, Rihanna’s halftime show was fairly blah. She wore red and walked around a lot on a red stage. The whole thing looked like she was announcing she had joined Emperor Palpatine and the Dark Side. Her dancers, meanwhile, wore white hooded-sweat suits and sunglasses. They danced throughout her entire montage of hits in the 70 degree Arizona heat. There were no surprise collaborators.
BABY BUMP: Viewers noticed what appeared to be a baby bump during Rihanna’s performance. Twitter lit up with people questioning if she is possibly expecting her second child. She welcomed her first child, with boyfriend, rapper A$AP ROCKY, last May.
MEANWHILE: Before the kickoff, country singer CHRIS STAPLETON’s national anthem brought several people to tears, including Eagles head coach NICK SIRIANNI and center JASON KELCE.
CONCERT NEWS: U2 ran a Super Bowl ad promoting a series of shows to be played in Las Vegas celebrating their 1991 album “Achtung Baby.” The shows will inaugurate a new venue at The Venetian called The Sphere. In a bizarre bit of fortuitous timing, the ad featured giant spherical orbs descending on the city — much like the various spy balloons and other airborne objects that have occupied headlines in recent weeks. No word yet if this was coincidence or a stroke of last minute creative genius.
OH, BY THE WAY: The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.
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BRITNEY SPEARS and her husband SAM ASGHARI said recent reports about an intervention for the singer are bogus.
“It makes me sick to my stomach that it’s even legal for people to make up stories that I almost died…I mean at some point enough is enough!!!,” Spears wrote on Instagram.
For his part, told Access Hollywood, “An intervention did not occur. Speculation on her health is inappropriate and should end immediately.” [via E! News]
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MACHINE GUN KELLY says he was electrocuted during his Super Bowl weekend performance at the Coors Light Bird’s Nest in Phoenix, Arizona.
“YOOO I GOT ELECTRICUTED (sic) AND MY HAIR STOOD UP” he wrote across a video taken of his performance.
In the video, MGK’s hair can be seen standing straight up.
While no further details about the incident have been shared, TMZ reported that no medical professionals were called. [via TMZ]
SPEAKING OF MGK: Fans think that he and fiance, actress MEGAN FOX may have split. The speculation comes amid an Instagram post Fox shared on Sunday, featuring lyrics from BEYONCE’s album, “Lemonade,” that read, “You can taste the dishonesty / it’s all over your breath.” Fox also deleted all photos featuring herself and the rapper, including a post announcing their engagement. Hours later, Fox deleted her account.
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HALLE BERRY fell on her face as she walked onstage to present the 2023 Soaring Spirit Award at the Looking Beyond LA Luncheon in Los Angeles on Friday.
The actress laughed off the fall on Instagram, writing “Sometimes you bust your a--.” [via NY Post]
WORTH NOTING: Looking Beyond is a nonprofit that promotes awareness and helps enrich the lives of children and young adults with special needs.
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Actor COLIN FARRELL is once again allowed inside MacCarthy’s Bar in Cork, Ireland after being banned for over 25 years.
He was kicked out of the establishment in 1997 for his “outrageous” behavior,” according to pubmaster Adrienne MacCarthy.
“He was new out of acting school. He had wild times, and at 19, we’re all wild and misbehave,” she told Jam Press. “He was outrageous, so I had enough and said, ‘That’s it, you’re out!’”
Farrell reportedly returned to the bar in 2009 and tried to convince MacCarthy to reconsider the ban.
A decade-plus later and she seems to have been convinced. [via Jam Press]
WORTH NOTING: Farrell is up for a Best Actor Oscar next month for his role in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” in which is character spends a lot of time at a pub on a tiny island just off the coast of Ireland, so maybe that had something to do with his absolution.
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SZA has been announced as Billboard’s Woman of the Year.
The “Kill Bill” singer will be honored with the achievement at the Billboard Women in Music Awards on March 1.
Actress QUINTA BRUNSON will host the show. [via People]
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CASTING CALL
Director JAMES GUNN shot down rumors over the weekend that GEORGE CLOONEY is returning as Batman.
Clooney was trending on Twitter amid speculation that he was going to star in the newly announced “Batman” movie, “Brave and the Bold,” which features a much older Batman and his son, Robin.
Gunn replied to a tweet, simply writing, “New Actor.” [via TMZ]
MEANWHILE: Clooney is currently working on a new film with BRAD PITT, a thriller titled “Wolves.”
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BRYAN CRANSTON says he wants to be cast as WILLIE NELSON in a future biopic.
“The hair, the beard. I think there’s some physical resemblance. He’s very old and wrinkled, and I can relate to that,” the actor joked.
But it's not just about the looks, Cranston also said that the country singer has had “a fascinating career.”
Currently, Cranston is working on the latest season of “Your Honor” and recently reprised his “Breaking Bad” role for a Super Bowl ad for PopCorners. [via People]
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A documentary, album and DVD featuring gospel music from the late WHITNEY HOUSTON will be released next month.
The album features six never-before-released songs, from the soundtracks of Houston’s films, “The Preacher’s Wife,” “Sparkle” and “The Bodyguard.”
The documentary, titled “I Go To The Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston,” will premiere on March 24 on UPtv and Aspire TV. [via Daily Mail]
WORTH REMEMBERING: Houston died after mixing prescription drugs and alcohol in 2021. She was found submerged in a hotel bathtub, but per the Los Angeles County Coroner’s report, she did not have enough water in her lungs for her death to be attributed to drowning.
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JAMES CAMERON is facing off against himself for the No. 3 spot on the list of highest-grossing movies of all time.
Over the weekend, “Avatar: The Way of Water” stole the spot from “Titanic,” but only for a day-ish. On Sunday, “Titanic” was back in the No. 3 spot as fans flocked to theaters for the 25th anniversary re-release of the flick.
WORTH NOTING: The “Avatar” sequel made more money at the box office over the weekend, but “Titanic” still made more money long term. In total revenue, “Avatar” is at $2.214 BILLION and “Titanic” is at $2.217 BILLION.
TOP TWO: The No. 1 spot is held by Cameron’s “Avatar” ($2.92 BILLION) and “Avengers: Endgame” ($2.79 BILLION) is in the No. 2 spot.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Adidas could end the year at a loss for the first time in three decades after terminating their working relationship with YE last year.
In a recent press release, CEO BJORN GULDEN revealed the company is set to lose about $1.3 BILLION in revenue as it struggles to sell unsold stock of Yeezy products.
The company is the sole owner of all design rights to Yeezy, so going forward they will need to figure out how to repurpose things or risk losing an additional $534 million in operating profit. [via People]
WORTH REMEMBERING: Adidas cut ties with Ye after his antisemitic rants on social media. Balenciaga and Gap also dropped their relationships with the rapper, which caused him to lose his billionaire status. He went from a net worth of about $2 billion to a paltry $400 million, according to Forbes.
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KENDALL JENNER has been accused of photoshopping some recent photos she posted to Instagram.
Fans called out the model over the heavy edit, noting her “wild” hand size in a pic of her squatting in a thong bikini.
Coming to her defense, mom KRIS JENNER wrote, “You are perfect.”
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Former Apple Chief of Designer Officer SIR JONY IVE was commissioned to create the emblem for KING CHARLES’ upcoming coronation.
The emblem, which Jovy said “speaks to the happy optimism of spring in Britain,” represents the four nations of the UK with the national flowers from each; the rose of England, thistle of Scotland, daffodil of Wales and shamrock of Northern Ireland.
Buckingham Palace said the emblem “signifies the King’s love of the natural world” as the flowers form the shape of St. Edward’s Crown, which Charles will be crowned with at the coronation.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Cheddar Day
International Condom Day
Kiss Day
National Football Hangover Day
International National Day
Galentine’s Day
National Apology Day
World Radio Day
Get a Different Name Day
National Tortellini Day
National Clean Out Your Computer Day
Employee Legal Awareness Day
Madly In Love With Me Day
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ON THIS DATE
1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome to face trial.
He was accused of heresy for arguing that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
He pled guilty in exchange for living under house arrest rather than going to prison.
Galileo spent the rest of his life confined to his villa near Florence.
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1861 – Colonel Bernard J.D. Irwin leads the effort to rescue 60 soldiers who were captured by Apache Indians.
The valiant rescue earned him the first Medal of Honor, which at the time was not an official award.
He did not receive official recognition until 1894.
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1920 – The League of Nations recognizes Switzerland as a perpetually neutral state.
Switzerland had been a confederation of German, French, and Italian communities, until Napoleon Bonaparte unified them.
The Congress of Vienna in 1815 approved Switzerland as a neutral state, and has since then held up to its obligation during international conflicts.
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1945 – A British firebombing raid devastates Dresden, Germany.
Dresden was the hub of Germany's industrial war production. By some estimates, more than 100,000 died in the mayhem.
The saturation bombing strategy was not target-specific; in fact, it was designed to inflict harsh civilian casualties. Before the age of the atomic weapon, firebombing was the most deadly and terrible type of airborne attack.
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1984 – Konstantin Cherenenko assumes control of the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet Union.
He would prove to be one of the last hard-line dictators who tried to maintain communism within the borders of the Soviet Union. He was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev, who ultimately oversaw the dissolution of the Soviet Empire in 1991.
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1991 – Sotheby's auction authenticates a manuscript of Huckleberry Finn that was written in Mark Twain's own hand.
The manuscript even featured Twain's notes and annotations. It was found by a librarian in Los Angeles. She was sorting through old papers in trunks that had been sent to her by her aunt.
In 1995 Random House published an updated version of Huckleberry Finn, with Twain's notes used as a guide in the rewrite.
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2017 - Kim Jong-nam – the older brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un – is killed at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, likely at the direction of agents of the rogue nation.
Two women were recruited by North Korea to physically smear Kim Jong-nam with a lethal nerve agent. They maintain they believed they were participating in a bizarre reality show, where such pranks are common – though not with the goal of killing the unsuspecting victim – and that they had no idea the substance would kill him.
Both women were convicted but later had their sentences revoked.
Kim Jong-nam was the eldest son of Kim Jong-Il, and at one point the heir apparent for the regime, but was exiled for advocating for reforms in the early 2000s.
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2021 - Former President Donald Trump is acquitted in his second impeachment trial, this time on charges he fomented insurrection on January 6.
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BIRTHDAYS
Jaden Ivey - basketball player - 21
Sophia Lillis - actress, “It” & “Gretel and Hansel” - 21
Isabel Jones - bassist, SM6 - 22
Memphis Depay - soccer player - 29
Mena Suvari - actress, “American Beauty” & “American Pie” - 44
Randy Moss - football player - 46
Ian Reed Kesler - actor, “Kickin’ It” & “Sydney to the Max” - 46
Robbie Williams - pop singer - 49
Kelly Hu - actress, “Scorpion King” & “Nash Bridges” - 55
Carolyn Lawrence - voice actress, “SpongeBob SquarePants” - 56
Peter Grabriel - rock singer, Genesis - 73
Mike Krzyzewski - basketball coach - 76
Jerry Springer, TV show host, “The Jerry Springer Show” - 79
Stockard Channing - actress, “Grease” - 79
Born On This Date
Chuck Yeager - first pilot to break the sound barrier - 1923 (d. 2020)
Bess Truman - First Lady & Second Lady - 1885 (d. 1982)
Joseph Banks - explorer, traveled with James Cook - 1743 (d. 1820)
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