2/2/2023: Monkey-Thievin’
2/2/2023: Monkey-Thievin’
PLUS: More super-duper White House transparency, Big Tours & Big Retirements, and Prince William Moves On
Today is Thursday, February 2, 2023.
It is the 33rd day of the year.
332 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Going bankrupt with billions in the bank and tracking down some missing monkeys. More in HIT LIST.
More confusion about who has what documents where following an FBI raid of yet another Biden household. More in THE SWAMP.
TOM BRADY and OZZY OSBOURNE announce their retirements and DAMAR HAMLIN teams up with the American Heart Association to spread CPR Awareness. More in SHOWBIZ.
KHLOE KARDASHIAN and TRISTAN THOMPSON have been spotted out and about again. More in DAILY KARDASH.
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HIT LIST
A recent court filing reveals FTX had $1.43 billion cash on hand at the end of 2022 across all of its companies and subsidiaries. The company also lost about 125 employees, either through firings or voluntary quits. [via Bloomberg]
WORTH NOTING: The point of a corporate bankruptcy this size is to determine how much of its assets can be recouped or sold off to make creditors whole. Every day, every month, every quarter that passes dragging out this process means more money for lawyers to prepare court filings like these, and not paying money back to to creditors. And because of the bureaucratic, hellacious process of bankruptcy, no one will see a dime until a judge signs off on a repayment plan – at which point lawyers will have already taken their extravagant fees.
WORTH ASKING: How does an arduous, bureacratic process like this possibly help the “little guy” – the individual people who lost everything by trusting their investments with a totally fraudulent organization?
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Despite reporting another quarter of declining revenue, META stock ticked up 20% after hours on Wednesday, as company leadership promised to pursue efficiency in 2023.
In a statement, MARK ZUCKERBERG said finding efficiencies would be a broad management theme for 2023, making the company “a stronger and more nimble organization.”
DOING OKAY: The company still has plans to spend $33 billion on capital expenditures this year, which is a pretty healthy budget by any standard, even if it’s less than was planned. [via CNN]
WORTH REMEMBERING: The company laid off 11,000 people toward the end of last year, too.
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Drinking too much coffee looks to be very bad for those with severe high blood pressure, a new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association finds.
Drinking two or more cups of coffee a day can double the risk of death from heart-related disease in those who have severe high blood pressure.
WORTH NOTING: If you have just high blood pressure – not severe high blood pressure – you’re still in the clear.
ALSO WORTH NOTING: For those with severe high blood pressure, you’re still good with just a cup of joe a day. [via SciTechDaily]
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The United Kingdom is implementing an Electronic Travel Authorization program – or ETA – that will apply to visitors from abroad, including the United States, likely by the end of the year.
The program will require international visitors to apply for permission to enter the country a few days before their flight and pay a relatively nominal fee once approved.
HOWEVER: The authorization will be good for two years, saving some hassle for frequent travelers.
WORTH NOTING: Airlines will likely implement programs to ensure travelers have completed this step, much like they have required covid vaccination and travel information to comply with international entry laws. [via USAToday]
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Someone is on a monkey-thievin’ spree.
A zoo in Louisiana reports that twelve squirrel monkeys were kidnapped out of an enclosure over the weekend. Officials are reviewing security footage to identify potential suspects.
MEANWHILE: A pair of emperor tamarin monkeys went missing last week at the Dallas Zoo – but the pair was found Tuesday in an abandoned home outside dallas. Again, no suspects in this case, either.
IT GETS WEIRDER: An endangered vulture was found dead at the Dallas Zoo on January 21 and had “an unusual wound” and earlier in January, a leopard escaped its enclosure after the fence was intentionally cut.
WORTH NOTING: Apparently, any suspect tried for the theft would face basic burglary charges; there aren’t animal-specific statutes on the books. [via NBC News]
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RECOMMENDED READING
Ahead of The Oscars next month, we’re reviewing all of the Best Picture nominations. First up is a review of “Tár,” a psychological thriller starring CATE BLANCHETT and helmed by writer and director TODD FIELD. It’s an interesting study of power and corruption that turns typical tropes on their head. Read it here >
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BABY NEWS
CBS Mornings correspondent VLADIMIR DUTHIERS and wife MARIAN WANG, who’s a producer at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, have welcomed their first child, a daughter.
The new parents tell People the girl is named Celine Mari WeiZhen Wang-Duthiers.
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THE SWAMP
HUNTER BIDEN – the son of the President of the United States with a well-documented track record of selling access to his influential father for his and his family’s enrichment and sleeping with a lot of prostitutes and doing lots of drugs while running the scheme – wants you to think he’s the victim of this scandal.
Biden’s lawyers have written letters to the Department of Justice asking the federal government to investigate RUDY GIULIANI, who was one of the first people to announce he had a copy of Hunter’s hard drive. Hunter Biden’s lawyers want a probe of whether laws were broken in Delaware as more people got access to the data. [via NBC News]
MEANWHILE: The New York Post reports that either the White House or Department of Justice blocked the National Archives from announcing the discovery of classified documents found in President JOE BIDEN’s private offices late last year. [via New York Post]
WORTH NOTING: This is quite the departure for an administration that has insisted it has been nothing but open and transparent about the ongoing scandal.
MEANWHILE, IN DELAWARE: Did you know the president has two homes in Delaware – a state that’s 35 miles across? Despite never earning more than $235,000 as a federal government employee, when he was Vice President? He’s got one in Wilmington and one in Rehoboth.
ANYWAY: The super-duper transparent White House failed to mention the FBI was conducting another search of Biden’s home on Wednesday, this time his beach house, the one in Rehoboth. Biden’s lawyer announced no new classified documents were found there, after conducting a search weeks after the news first broke about the documents, and leaving plenty of time for anyone with access to the house to ensure no new classified documents would be found there. Totally on the up-and-up and totally transparent.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 6 points (0.02%) on Wednesday to close at 34,092. The S&P added 42 points (1.05%) to close at 4,119 and the NASDAQ added 231 points (2%) to close at 11,816.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $76; BRENT CRUDE at $83.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.50 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN added more than $500 on Wednesday, trading just over $23,700.
🛩 There were more than 3,300 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 2,370 cancellations as icy weather continued to upend travel.
💰A winning ticket in Tuesday night’s $31 million MEGA MILLIONS drawing was sold at a gas station in Woburn, Massachusetts. Friday night’s drawing will be for a $20 million jackpot or a $10.6 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
ALYSSA MILANO wants to bury the hatchet with BRITNEY SPEARS.
Britney called out Milano for tweeting about her last December, accusing the actress of “bullying” when Milano said that someone should check to see if Britney was okay.
TMZ reports that Milano privately reached out to Britney to try to smooth things over, but no word on what she said or how Britney took it. [via TMZ]
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TOM BRADY is retiring, for good this time.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB announced the news in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday morning, confirming that he is officially done playing in the NFL.
In response to the news, Brady’s ex-wife GISELE BUNDCHEN commented, “Wishing you only wonderful things in this new chapter of your life.” [via ABC News]
WORTH NOTING: It was exactly one year ago, February 1, 2022, that he announced his first plans to retire.
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BEYONCE finally announced the dates for her highly-anticipated “Renaissance World Tour.”
She will kick off the North American part of her tour on July 8 in Toronto.
This will be Bey’s first tour since her and her husband JAY-Z’s “On the Run II” shows in 2018. [via NY Post]
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OZZY OSBOURNE is retiring from touring.
The 74-year-old rocker shared the news on Twitter, telling his followers that he can no longer handle touring because of the damage to his spine from an accident he suffered years ago.
Osbourne also has Parkinson’s disease. [via NY Post]
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees have been announced.
The fourteen names on the ballot this year include:
Sheryl Crow
George Michael
The White Stripes
Missy Elliott
Cyndi Lauper
Iron Maiden
Willie Nelson
Rage Against the Machine
A Tribe Called Quest
Warren Zevon
Soundgarden
The Spinners
Kate Bush
Joy Division/New Order
To be eligible for nomination, an artist or band must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years ago, according to the foundation.
The official Class of 2023 inductees will be announced in May. [via People]
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DAMAR HAMLIN is joining forces with the American Heart Association to help spread CPR awareness and training.
The Buffalo Bills safety announced the collaboration in a new Instagram video, in which he again thanked everyone for their “love and support” following his scary on the field episode.
To raise awareness for the new campaign, Hamlin called on TOM BRADY, LEBRON JAMES and MICHELLE OBAMA to get involved. [via TMZ]
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KELLY RIPA is launching a new SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa.”
The show will feature in-depth conversations with the talk show host and celebrity guests. Specialists and experts will also join from time-to-time.
Speaking about her new project with Deadline, Ripa said that she is looking forward to “honest talks without all the fuss and filter of a camera.” [via Deadline]
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CASTING CALL
After more than two decades on air, Dr. PHILLIP MCGRAW has announced that his show, “Dr. Phil,” is coming to an end.
The daytime talkshow will wrap up this spring with its 21st season.
As for what’s next for the good doctor, CBS Media Ventures announced that McGraw “plans to announce a strategic prime-time partnership, scheduled for an early 2024 launch.” [via Variety]
So stay tuned!
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“The Blacklist” will wrap with its upcoming 10th season.
NBC announced the news Wednesday, while also sharing that the show will celebrate its 200th episode on March 19.
The show follows notorious criminal Raymond “Red” Reddington, played by JAMES SPADER, who teams up with an FBI Task Force to find those listed on the coveted Blacklist.
Season 10 premieres on February 26. [via People]
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CRIB NOTES
JENNIFER LOPEZ has listed her Bel-Air pad for more than $42 million.
It’s got its own little pond, swimming pool, and 9 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms across the 12,000 square foot mansion that sits on nearly eight acres.
She’ll make a killing with that list price, too; she bought it in 2016 for $28 million.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KHLOE KARDASHIAN has been spotted spending time with TRISTAN THOMPSON and his brother AMARI THOMPSON, who suffers from severe epilepsy. The trio were entering a special medical facility where Amari receives care.
Khloe and Thompson have been on-and-off for years, but he also recently bought a house less than two miles from hers. [via The Sun]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE WILLIAM wants to continue ignoring his brother, PRINCE HARRY, and “move on with his life,” one insider tells US Weekly.
The Firm has not yet made a formal statement about Harry’s book, which quickly climbed bestsller charts after its debut in January. While Harry has said in interviews he’d like to rebuild the bridges he’s burned with his family, more signs suggest the family is moving on.
“William feels that Harry is all smoke and mirrors and is not to be trusted,” the insider says. [via US Weekly]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Groundhog Day
Optimist Day
National Brown Dog Day
World Play Your Ukulele Day
National Crepe Day
National Hedgehog Day
Candlemas Day
Lung Leavin’ Day
National Tater Tot Day
National Sled Dog Day
World Wetlands Day
Marmot Day
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ON THIS DATE
1847 - The first member of the Donner Party dies.
She was a part of a group of pioneers traveling through the Sierra Nevada en route to San Francisco.
Harsh cold conditions stranded the explorers. As more died off, those who survived turned to cannibalism to stay alive.
A small group eventually found a Native American village, and a rescue party was dispatched. In all 42 died.
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1876 - The National League of Baseball is founded.
The eight original teams were:
-Boston Red Stockings
-Chicago White Stockings
-Cincinnati Red Stockings
-Hartford Dark Blues
-Louisville Grays
-Mutual of New York
-Philadelphia Athletics
-St. Louis Brown Stockings
The American League would start playing in 1901.
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1887 - Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania celebrates its first Groundhog Day.
It included a highly scientific experiment, in which a groundhog popped out of its hole. If it saw its shadow, it would mean 6 more weeks of winter; no shadow would mean an early Spring.
That groundhog was named Phil. And he's been named Phil since.
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1897 -- A patent was issued for an ice-cream scoop invented by American inventor, Alfred L. Cralle of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
His design of an "Ice-cream Mold and Disher" was made to be strong and durable, effective, inexpensive, able to keep ice cream and other foods from sticking and easy to operate with one hand.
It could be constructed in almost any desired shape, such as a cone or a mound, with no delicate parts that could break or malfunction. The basic design is so efficient that it is still in use today.
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1943 - German soldiers surrender at Stalingrad.
After almost a year of fighting, the Soviets had been able to hold the city.
When the line commander Friedrich von Paulus returned to Berlin, Hitler declared he should have killed himself. After Von Paulus was captured by the Soviets, he joined the National Committee for Free Germany, and urged German troops to surrender to the Soviets.
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1962 - The USS Diamond Head sets sail for Africa from Newport News, Virginia.
Its passengers were medical workers equipped with the newly invented vaccination gun, pistola de la paz (“pistol of peace”).
Their mission was to conduct the first field trials of this invention of Robert Hingson. The "jet" injector, which enabled more efficient mass inoculation without need of needles and syringes and subsequently improved the health of millions of people.
Most importantly, it made it easier for small children to get necessary drugs.
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1996 - Ali Landry, 22, is crowned the 45th Miss USA.
She would go on to star in several Super Bowl commercials, be named one of PEOPLE magazine’s 50 most beautiful people and appear in several films and TV shows.
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BIRTHDAYS
Ellie Bamber - actress, “Pride and Prejudice Zombies” - 26
Paul Mescal - actor, “Normal People” - 27
Julia Fox - actress, “Uncut Gems” - 33
Gerard Pique - soccer player - 36
Emily Rose - actress, “Haven” - 42
Shakira - pop singer - 46
Christie Brinkley - model - 69
Duane Chapman - reality star, Dog The Bounty Hunter - 70
Brent Spiner - actor, “Star Trek the Next Generation” - 74
Ross Valory - bassist, Journey - 74
Ina Garten - author & cooking TV show host - 75
Alan McKay - guitarist, Earth, Wind & Fire - 75
Born On This Date
Eva Cassidy - jazz singer - 1963 (d. 1996)
Farrah Fawcett - actress, “Charlie’s Angels” - 1947 (d. 2009)
James Joyce - poet and author, “Ulysses” - 1882 (d. 1941)
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