2/8/2024: Household Debt Bomb 🤑
PLUS: Farmer Update, Spain Edition; Tay Does Tokyo; and Harry In and Out
Today is Thursday, February 8, 2024.
It is the 39th day of the year.
327 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A missing sailor turns up in Hawaii and Coke offers a new flavor. Details in HIT LIST.
ALEC BALDWIN will head to trial for involuntary manslaughter charges later this year. More on that in SHOWBIZ.
Three media giants are uniting to take on Amazon and Apple’s sports content. Details in CASTING CALL.
No one wants to work with YE…or do they? Find out more in KARDASH.
PRINCE HARRY is already back home (erm, the one in California) while a Senior Royal picks up more slack. Details in ROYALS.
###
HIT LIST
FARMER UPDATE: As farmers in Spain begin plans for a large-scale demonstration against European Union taxes and environment regulations, police have set up roadblocks to stop their convoy of tractors.
BUT WAIT: Turns out farm tractors are made to drive off of pavement and through fields – which is exactly what the farmers did to continue on their way.
MEANWHILE: An estimated 2,000 farmers driving tractors are gathering near Barcelona, joining ongoing protests in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Romania, and Portugal. [via Vigilant News]
###
FOLLOW UP: The hobby sailor whose disappearance sparked a Coast Guard search over the weekend has turned up safe and sound.
60-year-old Noel Rubio made port in Hawaii on Saturday – two weeks after his scheduled arrival. No word yet on what caused the delay. [via USA Today]
###
FORD reports losing a whopping $47,000 for every Model E Electric Vehicle it sold in the fourth quarter last year – totalling up to $5.5 BILLION in total annual losses on its EV program.
Fortunately, the losses were offset by typical sales. The carmaker boosted its stock value on the promise of an increased dividend paid to investors this year.
Ford’s head of its EV division says the company will only roll out the next generation of battery-powered cars when sales will be profitable. [via Reuters]
###
Total household debt increased more than $200 BILLION over the last three months of 2023.
More than half of that comes from increased mortgage debt amid elevated interest rates. But about $50 BILLION comes from credit card balances as families continue to feel the squeeze from persistent inflation on everyday purchases.
WORTH REMEMBERING: Inflation coming down is not the same thing as prices coming down. That just means things get more expensive less quickly. [via New York Fed]
###
Coca-Cola is adding a new drink to their line up: Coca-Cola Spiced.
Despite the name, the drink is not actually spicy, but has hints of raspberry flavors and spiced notes.
It will hit shelves on February 19.
WORTH NOTING: Coca-Cola Spiced is the first permanent flavor to be introduced by the soda brand in three years. [via CNN]
###
BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 156 points (0.4%) to close at 38,677 on Wednesday. The S&P climbed 40 points (0.82%) to close at 4,995 and the NASDAQ increased 147 points (0.95%) to close at 15,756.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $74; BRENT CRUDE at $79.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.14 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN surged more than 2.5% to trade over $44,200 on Wednesday.
🛩 There were more than 1,660 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 85 such cancellations.
💰Friday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $394 million jackpot or a $188.5 million cash payout.
###
SHOWBIZ NEWS
A trial date of August 6 has been set for ALEC BALDWIN to appear over the fatal 2021 “Rust” shooting.
The date comes a little over a week after the actor pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges for the death of cinematographer HALYNA HUTCHINS.
Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison if he is convicted. [via KTVN]
###
BRITNEY SPEARS shared a throwback photo of her and BEN AFFLECK on Instagram and made a shocking revelation in the caption.
“He’s such an amazing actor. Did I fail to mention I made out with Ben that night … I honestly forgot … damn that’s crazy !!!” she wrote under the shot, which is reportedly from June/July 1999.
Couple of things: How does one “forget” they made out with Ben Affleck? And, how random to post about it now?
WORTH NOTING: Spears removed the post shortly after she posted it. [via TMZ]
###
TAYLOR SWIFT resumed the international leg of her “Eras Tour” Wednesday, hitting the stage in Tokyo.
She will perform four shows before flying to Vegas this weekend to cheer on boyfriend TRAVIS KELCE and his Chiefs.
Swift has been on a break since November. [via People]
###
“Laguna Beach” alum KRISTIN CAVALLARI was once wooed by DIDDY.
Revealing the situation on her “Let’s Be Honest” podcast, Cavallari told her co-host, bestie JUSTIN ANDERSON that the music mogul pursued her when she was in her early 20s.
Despite his advances and generous gifts, Cavallari says she wasn’t interested in him. Looking back on it now, she says she dodged an “[effing] bullet,” referring to the recent claims of abuse against Diddy. [via TMZ]
###
49ers QB BROCK PURDY was asked in a press conference this week about the people on X saying that he resembles notorious assassin LEE HARVEY OSWALD.
When asked his thoughts on the comparison, Purdy was at a loss for words.
Oswald killed JFK in 1963. [via TMZ]
###
KEVIN SPACEY has agreed to pay $1 to MRC, the production company behind “House of Cards.”
He was initially facing a $31 million judgment after getting dropped from the final season -- over sexual harassment allegations -- and forcing the studio to refilm the season without him.
Spacey will pay the balance over multiple years. [via Variety]
###
BEYONCE is launching a hair care line called Cecred.
She announced the new beauty venture on Instagram, with a clip of Black women in a salon. The clip was captioned, “Hair is sacred. The journey begins on Feb. 20.”
No word on what sort of products will be included in the line. [via Billboard]
###
CASTING CALL
“The View’s” SUNNY HOSTIN is likely a descendant of slave owners.
On the latest episode of PBS’ “Finding Your Roots,” Hostin found out that her third great-grandfather was a “son of a merchant who was likeley involved in the slave trade [...] and owned at least one human being.”
Hostin also learned that she is only 7% indigenous Puerto Rican, far less than she initially thought. [via People]
###
HENRY CAVILL is “not a fan” of shooting sex scenes.
He opened up about the topic during a recent appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, saying “I don’t understand them. I’m not a fan.”
Cavill did note that sex scenes “can be great in a movie,” but that he thinks leaving stuff “for the imagination is even better.” [via YouTube]
###
FOX, ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery are joining forces to create a new sports streaming platform.
The yet-to-be-named service will be a direct competitor with Amazon and Apple.
It is set to launch this fall. [via NY Post]
###
THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
No one wants to book YE after his antisemitic rants, and he says it is hurting him financially.
In an Instagram clip about the hardship, Ye told his 19 million followers that he has “not been allowed to perform in a year” and added that it “feels like the Elvis Presley movie.”
Hours after the woe-is-me moment, he shared screenshots of text messages with his manager who claimed that there have been “non stop calls from all over the world” looking to book him. [via Rolling Stone]
###
WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY ended up spending just about 24 hours in England.
During the trip, he spent less than an hour visiting KING CHARLES and didn’t cross paths with his brother PRINCE WILLIAM.
MEANWHILE: With both the King and PRINCESS KATE out of commission, legendarily hardworking royal PRINCESS ANNE stepped up her game on Tuesday. She reportedly logged 407 miles of travel in just 11 hours. [via Express]
###
DAY OF THE YEAR
Opera Day
National Molasses Bar Day
Laugh and Get Rich Day
National Kite Flying Day
Fat Thursday
###
ON THIS DATE
1887 - President Cleveland signs the Severalty Act.
The legislation was an attempt to assimilate Native Americans into Western culture.
The law ended tribal control of reservations and divided their land into individual holdings.
In 1934, the Wheeler-Howard Act overturned the law, in an attempt to give central control back to tribal authority.
###
1904 - The Russo-Japanese war begins.
Russia rejected a Japanese plan to split Manchuria and Korea. The Japanese then attacked a Russian naval base in China, where it decimated the Reds' fleet.
Much of Japan's success in the fighting was attributed to Russia's underestimation of its fighting capabilities.
Fighting was brief. In August 1905, President Teddy Roosevelt would broker a peace treaty between the two nations.
###
1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated in the United States.
In its earliest days, the YMCA managed and grew the program, then had it turned over to James E. West, who acted as the first Chief Scout Executive and worked to expand the program across the country.
###
1915 - The silent film "Birth of a Nation" opens in Los Angeles.
It was the first feature-length film shown in America and was an immediate hit.
The movie was originally called "The Clansmen" during its first month of release. The story follows the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction, from a very white-man point of view.
###
1943 - Japanese troops up and leave Guadalcanal.
After weeks of fighting on the small Pacific island, the U.S. lost more than 1600 men in combat and suffered 4,000 additional casualties from wounds or disease.
Meanwhile, the Japanese lost 24,000.
Capturing Guadalcanal was the last necessary step in securing the Solomon Islands.
###
1993 - General Motors sues NBC.
The carmaker alleges that “Dateline NBC” rigged two car-truck crashes to show that the 1973-87 GM pickups were prone to fires in side impact crashes.
The network settled the lawsuit and issued an apology.
###
2007 - Anna Nicole Smith dies.
The model, actress and tabloid sensation passed away in Florida of an accidental drug overdose.
She was 39.
###
2019 - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos accuses The National Enquirer and its owner, American Media Inc., of blackmail over private messages detailing an extramarital affair.
The threat was allegedly made in an effort to get Bezos’ newspaper, the Washington Post, to back off reporting on the alleged ties between American Media Inc. CEO David Pecker and Saudi Arabia.
The feud started a month prior when the Enquirer published texts between Bezos and news anchor Lauren Sanchez – his future wife.
###
BIRTHDAYS
Alessia Russo - soccer player - 25
Kathryn Newton - actress, “Paranormal Activity 4” - 27
Bethany Hamilton - surfer - 34
Klay Thompson - basketball player - 34
Dani Harmer - actress, “Dani’s House” - 35
Julio Jones - football player - 35
Anderson Paak - R&B singer - 38
Cecily Strong - actress, “SNL” - 40
Seth Green - actor, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” & “The Italian Job” - 50
Paul Wight - wrestler - 52
Vince Neil - metal singer, Motley Crue - 63
John Williams - composer - 91
Born On This Date
Kimbo Slice - MMA fighter - 1974 (d. 2016)
Gary Coleman - actor, “Diff’rent Strokes” - 1968 (d. 2010)
James Dean - actor, “Rebel Without a Cause” - 1931 (d. 1955)
###