3/6/2024: A Big Mac A Day… 🍔
PLUS: Moose Attack!; Schumer Photobombs; and The King at Work
Today is Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
It is the 66th day of the year.
300 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Russia and China have big goals for the Moon. Details in HIT LIST.
ELTON JOHN is not relocating to Australia and BENNIFER takes out the trash. More in SHOWBIZ.
A “Baywatch” reboot and “Freaky Friday” sequel are in the works. Details in CASTING CALL.
KIM adds to her acting resume. More in KARDASH.
THE KING gets to work amid his cancer treatments. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Don Gorske of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin extended his own Guinness World Records title for the most Big Mac burgers eaten in a lifetime after consuming an additional 728 burgers last year.
His running total now stands at 34,128 Big Macs.
As for his thoughts on the record, the 70-year-old said, “Many people thought I’d be dead by now, but instead I’ve been a record holder for my 24th year -- one of Guinness World Records’ longer-running record holders, so that’s pretty cool to me.”
HOW IT STARTED: Gorske consumed his first very Big Mac in May 1972, at which point he promised his mom he would eat one non-Big Mac meal a day. But then on April 1, 1981, she let him out of the promise, saying, “If they haven’t killed you by now, go ahead.” [via NY Post]
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The Iditarod dogsled race kicked off over the weekend in Alaska, and race officials reported that one participant had to kill a moose to protect his team of dogs.
Musher Dallas Seavey said he shot and killed the moose with a handgun in self defense after it became entangled with the dogs. According to race rules, he gutted and cleaned the moose before proceeding. Race officials say they’re working to salvage the meat.
Seavey is no rookie, either; he holds a record five wins of the notoriously difficult race. As of Tuesday evening, he was in sixth place. The race is expected to wrap early next week. [via Associated Press]
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BATTLE OF THE BILLIONAIRES: JEFF BEZOS returned to the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index this week. His net worth is up 23% over the last year and is back up over $200 BILLION. ELON MUSK sits just under $200 billion as the value of Tesla stock fluctuates. [via Bloomberg]
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TARGET is joining the paid subscription delivery service space, offering unlimited same-day delivery from its stores for $99 a year. It also promises 2-day delivery from its online inventory.
When the program launches next month, shoppers can get a hefty discount until May 18, for just $49 a year.
A recent earnings report marked three consecutive quarters of sales decline across the company’s stores and website. [via CNBC]
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Russia’s space agency has plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon some time in the 2030s.
The country’s space chief said they’re working with China’s space program on the International Lunar Research Station, which they say will begin construction before the end of the decade.
Other participating countries include Venezuela, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Belarus, and Egypt. [via DailyMail, Morning Martini]
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DEATHS
GARRISON BROWN, the son of “Sister Wives” stars JANELLE and KODY BROWN, has died.
According to multiple reports, he passed away Tuesday at his home in Flagstaff, Arizona of a self-inflicted gunshot. No further details have been shared.
Brown was only 25.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 404 points (1.04%) to close at 38,585 on Tuesday. The S&P lost 52 points (1.02%) to close at 5,078 and the NASDAQ lost 267 points (1.65%) to close at 15,939.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $78; BRENT CRUDE at $82.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.36 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN tumbled on Tuesday, down more than 7% and trading around $63,000.
🛩 There were more than 1,975 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 70 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $485 million jackpot or a $232.4 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
CARLY PEARCE is shutting down rumors that there is an ongoing feud between her and fellow country singer MAREN MORRIS.
Speculation of there being bad blood started after Pearce collaborated on a song with Morris’ ex, RYAN HURD, on an upcoming TOM PETTY tribute album.
Taking to X, Pearce told her followers to “STOP making something out of nothing!”
Morris has not commented on the rumors. [via ET]
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ELTON JOHN is not moving to Australia…at least not permanently.
After being spotted looking at homes Down Under, many assumed the 76-year-old was looking to make a big move, but his reps say he simply wants a place to hang out when he visits.
John and his husband DAVID FURNISH also have homes in the U.K. and the U.S. [via Daily Mail]
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AMY SCHUMER photobombed two different wedding photoshoots while on a run in Manhattan over the weekend.
In the first pic, Schumer is standing alongside a bride and groom in her workout gear and sunglasses. She captioned the shot, “No days off.” In the second photo, Schumer joins a couple on a park bench, posing casually to the side.
This isn’t the comedian’s first time crashing wedding photos. In 2017, she popped up at Harry’s Bar in London, where she posed alongside newlyweds Jasmin Pereira and Jon Bates, who called her “just lovely.” [via People]
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SINBAD took to Instagram this week to thank fans for their support following his first public appearance since suffering a stroke in 2020.
In the post -- his first since 2022 -- Sinbad reacted to the positive reaction to his video appearance at the Atlanta University Center in Atlanta last week, alongside his “A Different World” co-stars.
Sinbad suffered a stroke in October 2020 after a blood clot traveled from his heart to his brain. He has remained out of the spotlight since [via Instagram]
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VINCE MCMAHON sold over 5.35 million shares in WWE’s parent company, TKO, this week. That’s over $411 million in his pocket.
The sale comes just over a month after McMahon left his role as TKO’s executive chairman after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault.
Last November he sold around 8.4 million shares, netting around $670 million.
McMahon still owns around 15 million shares in TKO. [via Variety]
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Celebs…they’re just like us!
After checking out the new “Dune: Part Two” film, JENNIFER LOPEZ and BEN AFFLECK took it upon themselves to clean up their drinks and buckets of popcorn on their way out of the theater.
The kind gesture was caught on video by several people who were seated around the famous couple. [via TMZ]
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CASTING CALL
FOX has landed the rights to a reboot of the 1990s beach drama, “Baywatch.”
A newly released synopsis reads, “Daring ocean rescues, pristine beaches, and the iconic red bathing suits are back, along with a whole new generation of Baywatch lifeguards…” No word on whether or not any of the original stars, such as DAVID HASSELHOFF or PAMELA ANDERSON, will appear in the reboot.
Most recently the franchise was rebooted as a feature film in 2017, starring DWAYNE “The Rock” JOHNSON, ZACH EFRON and PRIYANKA CHOPRA.
BY THE WAY: The original series aired in more than 145 countries at one point -- more than any other TV show. [via Daily Mail]
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LINDSAY LOHAN confirmed a “Freaky Friday” sequel is in the works.
She broke the news on ANDY COHEN’s SiriusXM show, saying, “We’re both excited,” referring to co-star JAMIE LEE CURTIS.
Curtis and Lohan appeared in the 2003 film as mother and daughter, respectively, whose bodies are switched thanks to a magical Chinese fortune cookie.
No word on a production timeline. [via Deadline]
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Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” is set to debut on HBO this June.
Based on the “Game of Thrones” book “Fire & Blood,” by GEORGE R.R. MARTIN, “House of the Dragon” follows the Targaryen dynasty nearly 200 years before the events of “GoT.”
The 10-episode first season aired in August 2022, bringing in record-breaking ratings for HBO. [via Variety]
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CHIP and JOANNA GAINES are working on a new limited series to mark the tenth anniversary of their HGTV show, “Fixer Upper.”
“Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse” will follow the couple as they renovate a mid-century modern lake house on Lake Waco in Texas.
The newest installment in the franchise comes on the heels of several other spinoffs, including “Fixer Upper: The Castle” and “Fixer Upper: The Hotel.”
“Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse” will premiere on June 2. [via People]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
An untitled-thriller flick, starring KIM KARDASHIAN, has been picked up by Amazon MGM Studios.
Along with a title, plot details are also unknown, as well as whether the movie will hit theaters or go straight to streaming.
This is the latest acting gig for Kim, who will also star in the Netflix comedy film “The Fifth Wheel,” and previously appeared in FX’s “American Horror Story: Delicate.” [via THR]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
KING CHARLES held a formal audience with Jeremy Hunt, the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer on Tuesday – a formal legal duty before the government presents its budget to Parliament.
The monarch typically meets with the Exchequer the day before the budget presentation to ceremonially approve the spending plan. While these meetings in the past have been totally private, The Firm published photographs of the meeting, likely in order to show the King at work despite his cancer treatment. [via BBC]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Dress Day
National Oreo Cookie Day
National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day
National Frozen Food Day
Hospitality Workers in HealthCare Day
National Dentist’s Day
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ON THIS DATE
1820 - President Monroe signs the Missouri Compromise into law.
The agreement balanced the number of slave states and free states. Missouri had entered the Union as a slave state and Maine entered as a free state. Much of the territory included in the Louisiana Purchase also outlawed slavery.
While Monroe personally believed in States’ rights, he recognized that slavery conflicted with the universal freedoms promised in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence — and let Congress work on the details.
Monroe believed the issue of slavery would fracture the newly-developing nation, as it did in the ensuing decades.
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1857 - In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court deals a significant blow to the emancipation movement, declaring that slaves could never be considered citizens, that the ban on slavery in the Louisiana territory was unconstitutional, and that Congress didn’t have the authority to outlaw slavery, either.
Five of the nine justices came from southern slave states.
Within four years, the first states would secede from the Union to form the Confederacy, and war over the issues of slavery and states’ rights soon followed.
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1899 - Pharmaceutical company Friedrich Bayer & Co. receives a patent for acetylsalicylic acid in Berlin, Germany — better known as Aspirin.
It was originally distributed in powdered form as a pain reliever.
Within fifteen years it became available in tablet form. The Bayer company name and trademarks were sold at auction in the United States and Canada in 1917, following America's entry into the First World War.
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1951 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg begin their trial in New York.
They were accused of spying for the Soviets and stealing American nuclear secrets.
According to the indictment, Julius Rosenberg solicited information from his brother-in-law, David Greenglass, who was a machinist working at Los Alamos, where the US was developing atomic weapons.
The trial lasted a month, and the Rosnenbergs were found guilty. They were sentenced to death two days later. David Greenglass only got 15 years after he confessed to his role in the spy plot
The couple was executed in 1953.
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2001 - Free music-sharing software Napster starts to lose its luster.
In an attempt to comply with new federal regulations protecting copyrighted music, free song sharing became impossible.
WORTH REMEMBERING: Well before the ubiquity of YouTube and Spotify, people had to buy CDs in stores, rip the tracks onto their computer, then upload them to share with other users on services like Napster and Limewire.
Napster’s rule changes came on the heels of a $20 billion lawsuit from the Recording Industry Association of America.
BUT WAIT: Not long after this change, Apple’s iTunes Store rose to prominence, where people could buy individual tracks for 99 cents and manually sync their libraries to iPods — because these quaint devices couldn’t even access the internet.
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2018 - Jeff Bezos is named the world’s richest person for the first time by Forbes, with a net worth of $122 BILLION.
Bill Gates nabs the No. 2 spot with $90 BILLION.
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BIRTHDAYS
Millie Simmonds - actress, “Wonderstruck” - 21
Milo Manheim - actor, “Zombies” - 23
Jacob Bertrand - actor, “Cobra Kai” - 24
Josh Hart - basketball player - 29
Sam Bankman-Fried - founder of FTX - 32
Tyler The Creator - rapper - 33
Shaquille O’Neal - basketball player - 52
Connie Britton - actress, “Friday Night Lights” & “Nashville” - 57
Alan Davies - actor, “QI” - 58
DL Hughley - comedian - 61
David Gilmour - guitarist, Pink Floyd - 78
Martin Kove - actor, “Cagney & Lacey” - 78
Alan Greenspan - economist & Chairman of the Federal Reserve - 98
William H. Webster - former Director of the FBI & Director of the CIA - 100
Born On This Date
Lou Costello - comedian & actor, “The Abbott and Costello Show” - 1906 (d. 1959)
George Dayton - founder of Dayton’s (modern-day Target) - 1857 (d. 1938)
Harriet Tubman - rescued over 300 slaves via the Underground Railroad - 1820 (d. 1913)
Michelangelo - painter - 1475 (d. 1564)
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