Today is Monday, March 10, 2025.
It is the 69th day of the year.
296 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
NOTABLE & NOTEWORTHY: SAM BANKMAN-FRIED heads to solitary.
Chiefs player XAVIER WORTHY gets arrested and TEDDI MELLENCAMP shares an update on her cancer journey in SHOWBIZ.
ANNA KENDRICK plays coy when asked about working with this actress. Details in CASTING CALL.
KING CHARLES debuts a new radio station in ROYALS.
###
SAM BANKMAN-FRIED’s video interview with TUCKER CARLSON last week has landed the crypto fraudster in solitary confinement.
The New York Times reports that the video component of the interview was not approved by the Bureau of Prisons. One unidentified source says SBF was confined to the solo slammer after the video went online last Thursday. No word how long he’ll face the punishment or how he was able to conduct a video chat on an unapproved device.
MEANWHILE: The Times also reports that SBF’s parents have been actively lobbying businesspeople and DC-insiders with connections to the White House to campaign for a pardon. Their attorney says, “The prosecution told a story about FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried that is not correct. If the public knew the full story, they would view it differently.”
WORTH REMEMBERING: SBF has maintained his innocence all along and has committed to vindicating himself on appeal. [via New York Times]
###
A Chinese-based bubble tea and ice cream company has claimed the crown for the world’s largest restaurant chain.
With more than 45,000 locations, Mixue Bingcheng became the fast food chain with the most storefronts in the world last September. By comparison, McDonald’s had just shy of 42,000. Mixue Bingcheng’s locations are exclusively in southeast Asia and span across Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Despite having the most locations around the globe, Mixue Bingcheng does lag STARBUCKS and TIM HORTON’S in total revenue. [via The Independent]
###
GENE HACKMAN passed away on February 18, a week after his wife, BETSY ARAKAWA, died of Hantavirus, a rare flu-like disease linked to rats.
The news was shared during a news conference on Friday, with the New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner outlining a likely timeline of what occurred.
According to the M.E., Arakawa was last heard from on the morning of February 11 and likely died that afternoon. Hackman, who suffered from late-stage Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease, likely died on February 18, one day after his pacemaker last showed activity. Their bodies were not found for over a week.
He was 95 and she was 65. [via The Independent]
###
ROSIE O’DONNELL may be the latest celeb to follow through on her promise to leave the country following DONALD TRUMP’s win last November.
Over the weekend, O’Donnell posted on both her now-private Instagram and TikTok snapshots of her and 12-year-old daughter Dakota cruising around Ireland.
In one of the posts, O’Donnell wrote that she “can’t wait” to walk her daughter to school, implying the two have relocated. [via @rosie]
###
ANNA KENDRICK and BLAKE LIVELY have different thoughts about what it's like to work with one another.
Both were asked about starring alongside the other at the premiere of their new movie, “Another Simple Favor,” a sequel to their 2018 flick “Simple Favor.”
When asked, Lively said Kendrick is “the best.” Kendrick, meanwhile, said, “Oh you know…” before walking away and blowing off the question.
“Another Simple Favor” is in theaters now. [via TMZ]
###
UP NEXT: Dolly’s new love song, Stephen A and Skip Bayless reunite, the clock ticks on a government shutdown, and the Louisiana Purchase Grand Opening on this date in history.
###
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Morning Martini to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.