3/20/2023: Air Disaster Averted
3/20/2023: Air Disaster Averted
PLUS: Will Trump Be Arrested?; Buffalo Burden; and A Kris Jenner Parody
Today is Monday, March 20, 2023.
It is the 79th day of the year.
286 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Who knew how easy it is to exploit monkey labor? More in HIT LIST.
Former President DONALD TRUMP says he’s about to be arrested and President JOE BIDEN says the latest evidence against his family’s foreign business dealings are bunk. More in THE SWAMP.
TAYLOR SWIFT kicked off her “Eras Tour” on Friday night and BEN AFFLECK revealed who he likes to Wordle with. More in SHOWBIZ.
Another character is leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” and a “Good Burger” sequel is in the works. More in CASTING CALL.
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HIT LIST
Among the people and businesses bilked out of billions by FTX is the “Margaritaville” location in the Bahamas, which says the crypto exchange owes them nearly $600,000.
When the company first went bust, multiple outlets reported that FTX subsidiary Alameda Research owed nearly $60K. Turns out that was a drop in the bucket, by a factor of ten, because FTX employees rented the company’s suites for extended periods. [via New York Post]
IT GETS WORSE: One perk of working at FTX was a $200 stipend for employees to spend on DoorDash – every day!
Using a special product for enterprise organizations, “DoorDash for Work” – where companies could pay the food and delivery fees directly instead of offering reimbursements – FTX spent nearly $400,000 on the service over a span of just three months in 2022. They’re still on the hook for around $46,000. [via Insider]
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Officials in Bali are pushing to end the open policy of giving easy visas to tourists from Ukraine and Russia. The tropical vacation destination has seen a major uptick in visitors from Russia and Ukraine since the former’s invasion last year: An estimated 58,000 Russians traveled there last year, and another 22,500 visited Bali in January alone.
Officials say these vacationers have shirked the limits of their visas and have even begun taking jobs as taxi drivers and hairdressers. [via CNN]
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Two people on board a Yakovlev Yak-52 airplane miraculously survived a midair collision with a Ryan Navion during an aerial demonstration in Mesa, Arizona on Friday.
Both planes managed to land, but the Yak-52’s landing gear failed and the fuselage was nearly cracked in half. The pilot and passenger were assessed for minor injuries; the pilot and sole passenger of the other plane appeared to be fine. [via CNN]
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If you subscribe to HelloFresh’s meal kits, you may have been enjoying the fruits of exploited monkey labor.
It’s exactly what it sounds like: coconut producers in Thailand apparently rely on training monkeys to climb trees and toss coconuts to the ground. Animal rights group PETA says this abuse.
Moving forward, HelloFresh says they’ll source coconuts from other countries. [via Axios]
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An anti-ship mine left over from World War II was carefully detonated off the coast of Croatia on Sunday, months after it was first discovered last June.
Officials evacuated parts of port city Rijeka out of an abundance of caution throughout the process. A specially-trained dive team moved the mine farther out to sea before it exploded. [via ABC News]
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CHARTS
Weekend Box Office
10. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: $1.5 million (down from 9)
9. Avatar: The Way of Water: $1.9 million (down from 8)
8. Champions: $3 million (down from 6)
7. Jesus Revolution: $3.5 million (stayed at 7)
6. Cocaine Bear: $3.8 million (down from 5)
5. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: $4 million (down from 4)
4. 65: $5.8 million (down from 3)
3. Creed III: $15.3 million (down from 2)
2. Scream VI: $17.5 million (down from 1)
1. Shazam! Fury of the Gods: $30.5 million (new)
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DEATHS
Actor LANCE REDDICK has died.
He passed away Friday from natural causes, according to a statement from his rep.
Reddick is known best for his roles in “The Wire” and the “John Wick” franchise.
He was 60.
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Los Angeles County Coroner ED WINTER has died.
He passed away Friday at his L.A. home of natural causes, according to a statement from law enforcement.
Winter handled the death and investigations for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including MICHEAL JACKSON, WHITNEY HOUSTON, BRITTANY MURPHY and TOM PETTY.
He was 73.
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RELATIONSHIPS
Sportscaster JAY GLAZER, 53, is engaged to former model ROSIE TENISON, 54.
The Fox NFL reporter announced the news on Instagram Sunday, captioning a photo of the two “It only took me 53 years to find true love.”
The pair have been together for over two years.
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SICK BAY
Actor SAM NEILL, 75, was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, called angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, last year.
He underwent several rounds of chemotherapy, which were unsuccessful. His physicians suggested a new chemotherapy drug, which did work.
Now cancer free, Neill will have to take the drug for the rest of his life.
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ROD STEWART, 78, canceled a concert in Australia over the weekend after coming down with a viral infection.
No word on his symptoms.
Stewart is currently touring with CYNDI LAUPER and JON STEVENS.
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WEDDINGS
STORMY DANIELS, 44, quietly married fellow adult film star BARRETT BLADE, 50, last December.
The couple first met at a bar in 1998. Fast forward to today and not only have they tied the knot, but are also filming an adult film called “Lawless.”
Blade is Daniels’ fourth husband.
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THE SWAMP
Former President DONALD TRUMP started his weekend on Saturday by declaring on Truth Social he expects to be arrested on Tuesday. In an all-caps dispatch, the former Commander-in-Chief declared, “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
Within hours, a spokesman for Trump said he does not have direct knowledge of a planned arrest. If Trump is indicted, it would be connected to payments he made to porn star STORMY DANIELS to keep quiet over an affair Trump contends never happened.
The grand jury hearing evidence reportedly still has a witness to hear from today before voting on any indictment.
MEANWHILE: On Thursday last week, the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability announced it had obtained bank records directly connecting payments from a Chinese energy firm to members of the Biden family, just weeks after JOE BIDEN left office as Vice President in 2017.
Hours after these bank records came to light, lawyers for HUNTER BIDEN sued the computer repair shop owner who handed over the contents of Hunter’s laptop to Trump allies in 2016 – they say this was a breach of privacy, but stopped short of admitting all of the laptop information that went public actually belonged to the First Son.
BUT WAIT: When asked by a reporter to address the bank records discovered by the House committee, President JOE BIDEN said the report is “not true.”
WATCH:
WORTH ASKING: What does this mean? Is he saying that the bank records were somehow falsified?
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 384 points (1.19%) on Friday to close at 31,861. The S&P lost 43 points (1.1%) to close at 3,916 while the NASDAQ lost 86 points (0.74%) to close at 11,630.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $67; BRENT CRUDE at $73.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.44 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN continued to surge over the weekend on news of more bank bailouts; it was up over 4% on Sunday and trading over $28,000.
🛩 There were more than 3,827 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 119 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $272 million jackpot or a $146.5 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for an $86 million jackpot or a $46.3 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
TAYLOR SWIFT kicked off her “Eras Tour” Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in front of a sold out crowd.
During the three-hour-plus concert, Swifties were treated to 44 songs from her 10 hit albums, including fan favorites “You Belong With Me,” “Shake It Off,” “Cruel Summer,” “Willow,” “Fearless,” and “Midnight Rain.”
Swift also went through a number of wardrobe changes that were meant to reflect the changes she has gone through over the years.
The US leg of her tour will run through early August. [via Page Six]
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RICK ROSS’ neighbor is sick of the rapper’s buffaloes trampling all over her yard.
According to TMZ, the woman, who lives on a plot of land behind Ross’ Fayetteville, Georgia home, says his two buffaloes have wandered onto her property several times and she is concerned for the safety of her two small children.
The neighbor says she tried to speak to Ross about his animals, but ended up in a verbal dispute with a member of his team. Now, she says she is filing a civil dispute with the city.
In addition to the buffalo, Ross also has four horses and a bull. [via TMZ]
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KENNY G says he can no longer afford to pay his ex-wife spousal support and has filed legal docs to cut her loose.
The 66-year-old, who was married to LYNDIE BENSON for 21 years, has been paying her $40,000 a month since 2013. Now, he says that his finances are not what they once were with covid having “significantly diminished” his touring opportunities.
He also points out in the filing that 57-year-old Benson is “in good health” and “has refused to become fully self-supporting for almost 10 years.” [via TMZ]
WORTH NOTING: Kenny has hired celebrity divorce attorney extraordinaire LAURA WASSER. She is who KIM KARDASHIAN used to divorce YE.
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BEN AFFLECK revealed that he has a “celebrity Wordle group” with fellow actors MATT DAMON, JASON BATEMAN and BRADLEY COOPER.
“The first rule of Wordle is don’t talk about Wordle. Unless you got in in three guesses,” Affleck joked. [via People]
WHAT’S WORDLE?: Wordle is a word game owned by The New York Times. Players have six chances to guess a five-letter word. After each turn, the tiles change colors to show which letters are not in the word, which are in the word but in the wrong spot and which ones are correct.
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“Good Morning America” weatherman ROB MARCIANO is still banned from the studio after he allegedly made a colleague feel uncomfortable last year.
“He was found to have done something…that was improper [...] and they still haven’t let him return,” a source told Page Six. While the specifics of the situation are unknown, the insider says he had “some anger management issues” during his divorce from wife, Eryn.
In the meantime, Marciano has been providing weather reports for other ABC News platforms. [via Page Six]
SPEAKING OF “GMA” DRAMA: Ousted hosts TJ HOLMES and AMY ROBACH were spotted running the NYC Half Marathon this weekend.
REMEMBER: Their affair allegedly started while they were training together for last year’s marathon.
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TEKASHI 6IX9INE was kicked out of LoanDepot Park in Miami on Friday night for being intoxicated and causing a ruckus.
An eyewitness told Page Six, the 26-year-old rapper, who was at the ballpark to watch Mexico take on Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic, was “drunk” and “out of control.”
He was eventually escorted out of the stands by security, though that wasn’t until close to the end of the game, so fans had to deal with his belligerent antics for several innings. [via Page Six]
WORTH REMEMBERING: Tekashi was thrown out of a restaurant in Miami earlier this year for being too intoxicated.
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NOVAK DJOKOVIC has been denied entry to yet another tennis tournament in the US because of his covid-19 vaccination status.
James Blake, tournament director of the Miami Open, told Tennis Channel that he is “disappointed” that Djokovic will not be allowed to compete for his seventh Miami Open title.
“We’d like to have the best players that can play. We did all that we could. We tried to talk to the government, but that’s out of our hands,” Blake explained. [via ESPN]
WORTH ASKING: If Americans -- vaccinated or not -- can travel outside of the US and return, then what is the difference with this situation?
WORTH REMEMBERING: The vaccine does not stop a person from catching or spreading the virus.
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CASTING CALL
KELLY MCCREARY is leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” after nine seasons on the show.
According to People Magazine, she will appear in her last episode as a series regular on April 13, but will return for additional episodes throughout the season.
McCreary plays Dr. Maggie Pierce. [via People]
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TYRA BANKS announced that after three seasons she is leaving “Dancing With the Stars.”
The model-turned-host told TMZ that she decided to leave the dance competition show so she can focus more on her ice cream business SMiZE & DREAM, which she launched in 2021.
Banks took over as host of “DWTS” in 2020. [via TMZ]
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KENAN THOMPSON and KEL MITCHELL will reprise their roles as Dexter and Ed, respectively, in a “Good Burger” sequel.
According to Deadline, the movie will follow the two as they reunite in the present day fast-food restaurant Good Burger with a new group of employees.
The sequel is slated to air later this year on Paramount+. [via Deadline]
A LITTLE NOSTALGIA: “Good Burger,” which started out as a skit on “All That” in 1994, was released in 1997.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KRIS JENNER is the latest celebrity to be parodied for a musical by comedian RYAN RAFTERY.
“Mother of the Year” follows Jenner to Laos for an experimental fertility treatment in order to have more children to manage. After arriving, something goes wrong and she’s afflicted with temporary amnesia and is forced to stay in Laos to be re-educated on the role she played in creating The Kardashians. With her new found clarity on life and her parenting choices, Jenner must decide whether to keep the baby in light of the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
For the parody, Raftery told The Hollywood Reporter that he received a wig -- from “Kris’ hair guy” -- to “get the look right” for taking on the role of Jenner.
“It’s like putting on the Ring of Power from ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” he exclaimed.
“Mother of the Year” is Raftery’s seventh celebrity musical. He previously parodied ANNA WINTOUR, ANDY COHEN, MARTHA STEWART, CALVIN KLEIN, IVANKA TRUMP and ANDY WARHOL. [via Hollywood Reporter]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE GEORGE, PRINCESS CHARLOTTE and PRINCE LOUIS will ride alongside their parents and be on “public display” in a horse-drawn carriage as it travels from Westminster Abbey following KING CHARLES’ Coronation.
The Times reports that the trio will attend the ceremony, though any additional roles they may play in the actual procession of it all are still unknown. [via The Times]
SPEAKING OF THE CORONATION: According to rehearsal plans, PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE do not have a place in the ceremony. PRINCE ANDREW doesn’t either.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
International Day of Happiness
World Storytelling Day
National Ravioli Day
National Macaron Day
National Kiss Your Fiance Day
Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day
Hufflepuff Pride Day
National Proposal Day
National Snowman Burning Day
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ON THIS DATE
1413 – Henry V formally succeeds his father — Henry the Fourth — to the Royal Throne of England.
The new monarch had been running the show for quite some time behind the scenes while his father suffered from a skin disease — possibly leprosy — and ongoing ailments.
Henry V took it upon himself to invade France and take back the land he believed to belong to his grandfather, Edward III.
He would eventually win this land and marry into the French royal family, but he died a short 9 years after taking the crown.
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1778 – Three members of an American delegation arrive in the court of King Louis XVI of France.
Ben Franklin led Silas Deane and Arthur Lee to present the Americans' case for help from the French in the Revolutionary War. While Louis was distrustful and skeptical of the delegates, he couldn't pass up an opportunity to fight the British.
France had lost the Seven Years’ War as well as much of its North American holdings, and Louis was eager for revenge.
French military support eventually played a crucial role in America’s victory.
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1854 – Disillusioned Whigs meet in Ripon, Wisconsin to formalize the formation of a new political party.
That party — the Republicans — was founded on the core principle of preventing the spread of slavery into the western territories.
They had been meeting often to suggest new strategies to combat slavery. The meeting on this date in 1854 helped solidify the movement.
In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican president.
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1953 – Nikita Khrushchev is selected as a Secretariat of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.
He rose to power after Stalin died three weeks earlier.
Georgi Malenkov had served as First Secretary of the Communist Party and Soviet Premier in the days following Stalin's death, but Malenkov didn’t have the political support to take over the USSR.
Khrushchev pushed the Communist Party to replace the First Secretary with a group of five leaders called the Secretariat. Khrushchev would be in charge of this group, of course.
In September of that year, he gained enough support to replace Malenkov as First Secretary. Two years later, Malenkov was replaced with a puppet of Khrushchev's and three years after that, Khrushchev named himself premier.
So, there's the premier, the five-man secretariat, and the First Secretary of the communist party.
At the pinnacle of his power, Khrushchev held all 3 positions.
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1999 – The first American Legoland opens.
It's in Carlsbad, California, and features an amusement park experience centered on a Lego theme.
A water park opened in 2010.
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2010 - The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland begins to erupt.
Over the next three months, the cloud of smoke and ash expanded over large parts of Northern Europe. For one week in April, twenty countries closed their airspace entirely for commercial jets, stranding an estimated 10 million people.
Seismic activity continued for several weeks, but the eruption period was formally declared finished in October.
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BIRTHDAYS
Barron Trump - son of Donald & Melania - 17
Trevor Zegras - hockey player - 22
Zonnique Pullins - R&B singer, OMG Girlz - 27
Anna Todd - author, “After” series - 34
Danny Garcia - boxer - 35
Ruby Rose - model - 37
Christy Carlson Romano - actress, “Even Stevens” - 39
Fernando Torres - soccer player - 39
Mikey Day - actor, “Kath & Kim” & “MAD” - 43
Bianca Lawson - actress, “The Vampire Diaries” & “Pretty Little Liars” - 44
David Thewlis - actor, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” - 60
Sting - wrestler - 64
Spike Lee - director - 66
Bobby Orr - hockey player - 75
Lois Lowry - children’s author, “The Giver” - 86
Born On This Date
Chester Bennington - rock singer, Linkin Park - 1976 (d. 2017)
William Hurt - actor, “Kiss of the Spider Woman” & “The Host” - 1950 (d. 2022)
Fred Rogers - actor, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” - 1928 (d. 2003)
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