3/20/2024: Albert the Alligator 🐊
PLUS: Bedroom Games; Are You Smarter Than Travis Kelce?; and Website Shakeup
Today is Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
It is the 80th day of the year.
286 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Victims of SAM BANKMAN-FRIED’s fraud weigh in on his sentence and young Americans rebuke college degrees. Details in HIT LIST.
HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED wants a new trial and LADY GAGA extends her Vegas residency. More in SHOWBIZ
There is a new James Bond. Details in CASTING CALL.
SCOTT DISICK’s weight loss is causing concern. More in KARDASH.
Buckingham Palace updates the official website – and sends a passive aggressive message. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Ahead of next week’s sentencing for SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, prosecutors have filed with the court dozens of statements from FTX customers affected by the fraud.
Multiple letters express frustration that even if they get all of their funds back, they would be repaid based on Bitcoin’s value in November 2022, which was around $16,500. In recent weeks, Bitcoin has surged beyond $60,000.
WORTH REMEMBERING: While the prosecutors are asking that SBF spend up to 50 years in prison, his defense attorneys have asked for no more than six and a half. [via Coindesk]
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SHMOLLEGE: Education journal Inside Higher Ed reports that attitudes toward the benefits of a college degree among young Americans is souring.
While focus group research of individuals aged 18-30 shows a general belief that a secondary degree does incur benefits, those sentiments grew more negative between 2022 and 2023. That same age cohort sees an increasing long term financial benefit to earning trade licenses and certificates over a full-fledged collegiate program.
The study notes that higher education institutions need to make a better effort to prove their value. [via ZeroHedge]
MEANWHILE: Bloomberg reports that a healthy majority of marketing majors specifically – 60% – are currently working jobs they could have gotten with a high school diploma. [via Bloomberg]
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Olympic athletes have the all-clear to get freaky in the City of Love!
The covid-era intimacy ban that was imposed on athletes in 2021 is no longer in play, so organizers are preparing for some serious bedroom games.
Those in charge of prepping the Olympic Village have stocked the place with over 300,000 condoms for the 14,500 athletes who will stay there -- meaning they will have enough protection to have sex multiple times a day.
Also, the village is making sure the beds can support 550+ pounds and there is plenty of food nearby for athletes to refuel.
BY THE WAY: The push for safe sex is nothing new; condoms have been handed out at the Olympics since 1988.
This summer’s Olympics will take place from July 26-September 8 in Paris. [via Washington Post]
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Sports Illustrated lives again.
Authentic Brands Group, which holds the rights to the magazine, ended its relationship with publishing company Arena Group when Arena failed to make a $3.8 MILLION payment toward its licensing agreement late last year.
NOW: London-based Minute Media will continue publishing the S.I. brands for at least the next ten years, with options to renew if all goes well.
A rep for S.I.’s employee union said that writers who got layoff notices might be able to get their jobs back. [via WSJ, Sportico]
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Local conservation officials in New York had to remove an 11-foot, 750 pound pet alligator from a private home.
Authorities responded to a tip that the owner let the gator run free inside a separate enclosure on the property, complete with its own in-ground pool. Sometimes, visitors would pet and swim with the reptile, named Albert.
The owner says he maintained proper licenses to keep the animal until 2021 – but even then, the rules of ownership don’t allow letting others to engage with a dangerous animal, apparently.
Animal welfare officials say Albert suffers from blindness and spinal complications, and is now under the care of a licensed guardian while awaiting permanent relocation. The owner could face charges. [via CNN]
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DEATHS
Former QB STEVE TENSI has died.
He passed away on March 15 in his hometown of Boone, North Carolina. No further details were shared.
Tensi joined the Broncos in 1967 after being traded from the Chargers. He started 32 games in four years before injuries forced him to retire.
He was 81.
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Astronaut THOMAS STAFFORD has died.
He passed away on March 18 at a hospital near his Florida home. No other details were shared.
During his career, Stafford took part in four space missions and commanded a dress rehearsal flight for the 1969 moon landing. He is one of 24 NASA astronauts who flew to the moon, though he never landed on it.
He was 93.
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KRIS JENNER’s sister, KAREN HOUGHTON, has died.
She passed away on Monday, though exact circumstances of her death are not known.
Houghton was Jenner’s only sister.
She was 65.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 320 points (0.83%) to close at 39,110 on Tuesday. The S&P increased 29 points (0.56%) to close at 5,178 and the NASDAQ added 63 points (0.39%) to close at 16,166.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $83; BRENT CRUDE at $87.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.48 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN fell more than 5% on Tuesday, trading around $63,700.
🛩 There were more than 1,760 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 35 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $687 million jackpot or a $327.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED is seeking a new trial after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of “Rust” cinematographer HALYNA HUTCHINS.
She is currently being held at the Santa Fe County Detention Center, though her attorney asked that she be released during the appeals process. No ruling has been made on the matter.
Gutierrez-Reed is set to be sentenced on April 15. She faces up to 18 months in prison.
MEANWHILE: Actor ALEC BALDWIN faces the same charge. His trial is set to begin this July. [via The Blast]
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BEYONCE’s forthcoming album “Cowboy Carter” will drop on March 29.
While announcing the release date on Instagram, Bey also teased that some legendary acts collaborated with her on the album.
Followers flooded the comment section with guesses about who it could be, with many guessing TAYLOR SWIFT. [via TMZ]
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ARIANA GRANDE will pay ex-husband DALTON GOMEZ $1.25 million as part of their divorce settlement.
They will also split the proceeds from the sale of their Los Angeles home and she will pay $25,000 toward his attorney fees.
The pair settled everything in October, but had to wait several months for the judge’s order to take effect. [via Page Six]
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TOBY KEITH will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The legendary country singer joins hitmaker JOHN ANDERSON and guitarist JAMES BURTON in this year’s Hall of Fame class.
Voting, which is done by a secret roster of industry insiders, closed just three days prior to Keith’s passing early last month. News of his induction reached the committee a day after his death.
The induction ceremony will be held this October. [via People]
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DANNY MASTERSON’s estranged wife BIJOU PHILLIPS and their 10-year-old daughter Fianna were spotted visiting the former actor in jail for the first time over the weekend.
The visit comes just days after Masterson turned 48 -- spending his first (of many) birthdays behind bars.
Masterson is currently serving 30-years to life after being found guilty last year of two counts of forcible rape. Days after sentencing, Phillips filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. [via Daily Mail]
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LADY GAGA is adding eight more shows to this summer’s “Jazz & Piano” Vegas residency.
Kicking off June 19, the shows will run through July 6 at Park MGM’s Dolby Live.
Gaga first debuted the show in 2019, and revived it last year following the death of her friend, and collaborator TONY BENNETT. [via Variety]
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KATYA SUH, wife of football player NDAMUKONG SUH, has opened up a new, chic cocktail bar, named Kaya, in Portland, Oregon.
The bar comes on the heels of her YouTube series, “Kicks & Cocktails,” which pairs stylish footwear with alcoholic beverages.
Katya says the new venture is something just for her, that is independent of her role as wife and mom. [via Page Six]
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CASTING CALL
AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON has reportedly been offered the role of James Bond.
According to The Sun, the 33-year-old British actor is expected to sign the formal offer this week.
Taylor-Johnson will take the reins from actor DANIEL CRAIG, who appeared as 007 in five films over 15 years. [via The Sun]
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Netflix announced its newest NFL docuseries: “Receiver.”
Following the success of 2023’s “Quarterback,” the streamer will now focus on several big-name pass catchers including JUSTIN JEFFERSON and DAVANTE ADAMS.
The eight-episode series will debut this summer. [via CBS Sports]
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TRAVIS KELCE is allegedly in talks to host a reboot of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”
Variety reported Tuesday that Prime Video and Kelce are trying to figure out how he could be the face of the game show while continuing his run with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The outlet also noted that the new version would feature celebrity contestants. [via Variety]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
The KarJenner family is reportedly concerned about SCOTT DISICK, who insiders say is taking his Ozempic use “too far.”
Concerns were raised after recent photos show the 40-year-old looking significantly thinner while out to dinner with friends over the weekend.
Some initially believed he is doing drugs, but the source says that is not the case as his ex, KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN would not allow him around their kids if “he was in the throes of addiction.” [via Daily Mail]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Buckingham Palace has updated the official website of the Royal Family, and on the page listing the King’s immediate family members, slashed the biographies for PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE and put their information at the very bottom – even below PRINCE ANDREW.
BUT WAIT: The scaled-back page for the Sussexes does link to their namesake website, which they relaunched earlier this year.
The royal website revamp comes just days after Meg teased on Instagram her next project, a lifestyle brand called American Riviera Orchard. [via New York Post]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
International Day of Happiness
National Ravioli Day
National Macaron Day
International Data Center Day
French Language Day
World Storytelling Day
Hufflepuff Pride Day
National Proposal Day
National Kiss Your Fiance Day
Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day
Alien Abduction 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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2020 - After 20 years with the New England Patriots, six-time Super Bowl winning QB Tom Brady agrees to move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He signed a two-year deal worth $50 million.
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BIRTHDAYS
Olivea Morton - actress, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” - 15
Omar Apollo - pop singer - 27
Josh O’Connor - actor, “Florence Foster Jenkins” - 34
Jon Pardi - country singer - 39
Rachel Platten - pop singer - 43
Matt Czuchry - actor, “Gilmore Girls” & “The Good Wife” - 47
Busta Rhymes - rapper - 52
Murray Bartlett - actor, “The White Lotus” - 53
Timothy Olyphant - actor, “Justified” - 56
David Thewlis - actor, “Harry Potter” films - 61
Kathy Ireland - model - 61
Holly Hunter - actress, “The Piano” - 66
Spike Lee - director - 67
Bobby Orr - HOF hockey player - 76
Cher - pop singer 78
Born On This Date
William Hurt - actor, “Big Chill” - 1950 (d. 2022)
Fred Rogers - TV host, “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” - 1928 (d. 2003)
Carl Reiner - actor, “2000 Year Old Man” - 1922 (d. 2020)
James Stewart - actor, “It’s A Wonderful Life” - 1908 (d. 1997)
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