3/7/2024: Boy Genius
PLUS: Eco-Nuts Attack Tesla; “Rust” Verdict; and Royal Jewels
Today is Thursday, March 7, 2024.
It is the 67th day of the year.
299 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
The average American credit score has fallen for the first time in a decade. Details in HIT LIST.
JASON KELCE plans to shed some pounds and the SEACREST SIBLINGS are releasing a new children’s book. More in SHOWBIZ.
JOEL MCHALE and CHEVY CHASE used to duke it out while filming “Community.” Details in CASTING CALL.
LANDON BARKER opens up about his childhood diagnosis. More in KARDASH.
Could a former stripper put PRINCE HARRY’s royal jewels in the spotlight? Find out in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
FICO – the data analytics firm behind your credit score – announced on Wednesday that the average American credit score decreased a point over the last year. One company official said it’s the first time in a decade the average score decreased – in this case, from 718 to 717.
Scores have climbed steadily since the 2008 housing crisis, when the average score bottomed out at 685. Covid-era stimulus spending may also have artificially driven up scores, as Americans used excess savings to pay down debt and shore up their savings accounts. [via CNBC]
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A leftist activist organization called the Volcano Group, has taken credit for an arson attack on a power plant in Germany that shut down operations at TESLA’s Gigafactory there on Tuesday.
As officials investigate, the protest is believed to be connected to Tesla’s plans to expand the factory campus into a nearby forest – though local officials have already rejected plans that would require cutting down trees. Eco-activists previously said they would set up camp in the forest to delay any construction approval.
In response to Volcano Group’s terrorism, ELON MUSK posted on X, “These are either the dumbest eco-terrorists in the world or they are puppets of those who don't have good environmental goals.” [via DW]
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The New York State government will deploy National Guard troops and State Patrol officers to subway stations to assist with searching the bags of commuters amid an uptick in violent crime in the Big Apple.
Governor KATHY HOCHUL also announced plans to write laws that would bar violent offenders from accessing subway services and cracking down particularly hard on repeat offenders. [via CBS New York]
MEANWHILE, IN SAN FRANCISCO: Voters on Tuesday approved a measure that would allow police to use surveillance drones to supplement vehicle pursuits and limit the amount of time police officers can spend on administrative tasks, in order to spend more time on patrol.
The vote reflects a move away from the “Defund the Police” culture of 2020 and 2021 amid increases in drug use and violent crime that has driven many people and businesses out of the city. [via KRON4]
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Genius society MENSA has a new member – a 5-year-old boy from Colorado.
Jacob Young’s parents are pretty smart themselves: his father is an intelligence officer for the US Space Force and his mother used to work in data analysis. They say despite his age he sits and watches documentaries and the history channel. “The conversations are like what you might have in a high school or college class, but it’s with our five-year-old at the dinner table,” his mother said.
In particular, Jacob takes an interest in World War II era airplanes. He now joins about 150,000 Mensa members across 90 countries. [via KKTV]
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A California man was stung in his testicles by a scorpion while he was sleeping in his hotel room at The Venetian in Las Vegas last December.
Michael Farchi told KLAS 8 News Now that he was sound asleep when he woke up feeling like “somebody was stabbing [him] in [his] private area” with a “sharp glass or a knife.” After trying to figure out what had caused the pain, Farchi said he was shocked to see a scorpion dangling from his undies. After taking a photo of the assailant, he went to the hospital.
The following day Farchi said he and his family checked out of the hotel, but not before filing an incident report.
The Venetian told KLAS they comped the room, though Fachi says that ended up not being the case. He is now seeking legal action against the hotel. [via KLAS]
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DEATHS
Musician JIM BEARD has died.
He passed away on March 2 at a hospital in New York due to a sudden illness. No further details were shared.
Beard was best known as a touring keyboardist for STEELY DAN.
He was 63.
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BABY NEWS
Actress GAL GADOT recently welcomed her fourth child with husband JARON VARSANO.
“My sweet girl, welcome,” she captioned a snapshot of her snuggling the newborn, named Ori, on Instagram.
Gadot, who is already mom to daughters Alma, 12, Maya, 6, and Daniella, 2, was able to keep this pregnancy a total secret.
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CAM NEWTON is now a dad of 8!
The former QB recently welcomed his first child with girlfriend, standup comedian JASMIN BROWN. No further details are known about the birth or the baby.
Newton shares five kids with ex-fiancee KIA PROCTOR and two kids with his other ex, LA REINA SHAW.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 75 points (0.2%) to close at 38,661 on Wednesday. The S&P gained 26 points (0.51%) to close at 5,104 and the NASDAQ increased 91 points (0.58%) to close at 16,031.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $79; BRENT CRUDE at $82.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.38 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN began a rebound on Wednesday, up over 4% and trading around $66,500.
🛩 There were more than 2,000 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 70 such cancellations.
💰Friday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $687 million jackpot or a $332.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
“Rust” armorer HANNAH GUTIERREZ-REED was found guilty Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter and not guilty of tampering with evidence in the fatal shooting of cinematographer HALYNA HUTCHINS. She now faces up to three years in prison.
Following the verdict, the judge ordered her be taken into custody and held until sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.
Gutierrez-Reed faces up to three years in prison. [via NY Times]
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A BRITNEY SPEARS look-alike says she earns around $3,000 a night for her lip-syncing and dance moves.
Allegra DuVal says she has been told she resembles Spears all her life, so she decided to use the likeness for a career and now makes around $25,000 a year.
Not only has DuVal perfected Spears’ dance moves, she has also handmade 26 of the singer’s iconic outfits.
As for whether she has ever met Spears, DuVal said she hasn’t, but if she did, she’d “die.” [via Daily Mail]
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Days after announcing his retirement, fans now know what JASON KELCE plans to do with all his free time.
“I’m gonna slim down. My goal is 250 lbs.,” he told his brother, TRAVIS KELCE, on the latest episode of their “New Heights” podcast.
As for how he plans to shed the weight, Jason said he recently downloaded the MyFitnessPal app and has been tracking his calories. [via People]
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Actor CAREY ELWES says over $100,000 worth of goods from his home have been stolen, and the LAPD thinks it may have been an inside job.
The working theory is that staff working inside the home have been swiping things for years, and Elwes just noticed things were going missing.
The LAPD is investigating the theft, though they say it's quite different from the smash-and-grab burglaries that have been happening at celebs’ homes in and around Malibu. [via TMZ]
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RYAN SEACREST and his younger sister MEREDITH SEACREST have joined forces to co-author a new children’s book, called “The Make-Believers.”
The story was inspired by the siblings’ “upbringing, their careers and their personal adventures,” and the goal is to “encourage kids to dream big,” according to a statement from the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.
“The Make-Believers” will hit shelves this October. [via Daily Mail]
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Five decades after it was released, BLACK SABBATH’s 1970’s hit “Paranoid” has landed in Spotify’s Billions Club -- meaning it has passed 1 BILLION streams.
Since tracking started in 2008, Spotify has welcomed 581 songs into its Billions Club. [via Billboard]
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CASTING CALL
JOEL MCHALE says he once dislocated CHEVY CHASE’s shoulder during one of their “multiple fist fights” on the set of “Community.”
“It wasn’t fun. It would get a little contentious. I got in trouble one time because I injured him. I dislocated his shoulder,” McHale told MICHAEL ROSENBAUM on his “Inside of You” podcast.
McHale also admitted to adding an entire chapter in his book, “Thanks for the Money,” focused on “how to fight” Chase. [via Decider]
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COLIN FIRTH’s dripping wet shirt from his role as Mr. Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice” is one of the items set to hit the auction block at Kerry Taylor Auctions. It is expected to fetch at least $9,000.
Other notable items up for auction include a dress CATE BLANCHETT wore as Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth,” NICOLE KIDMAN’s outfit from when she played Isabel Archer in “The Portrait of a Lady” and MADONNA’s ball gown from “Evita.”
Proceeds from the auction will benefit UK arts-based education charity The Bright Foundation. [via The Wrap]
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Actor KUMAIL NANJIANI has joined the cast of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” for the upcoming Season 4.
Details surrounding his role are not known, as plot details have also been kept under wraps.
Nanjiani will star alongside returning series regulars SELENA GOMEZ, MARTIN SHORT and STEVE MARTIN, and MERYL STREEP who will reprise her role as Broadway star Loretta Durkin. [via Daily Mail]
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PAMELA ANDERSON says her “Baywatch” days are over and she will not be participating in the forthcoming reboot.
Insiders told TMZ that Anderson has not yet been asked about joining the reboot, but it sounds like if she is, the answer will be “no.”
Anderson played C.J. Parker in the original series. [via TMZ]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
TRAVIS BARKER’s son LANDON BARKER is opening up about his Tourette syndrome.
The 20-year-old discussed his diagnosis on TikTok, telling followers that he has a minor case, which he was diagnosed with as a child.
Barker’s tics include eye-rolling, jerking his head and moving his jaw repeatedly when he is nervous or anxious.
As for why he decided to talk about it now, Barker said he just felt like “sharing [his] truth.” [via TMZ]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
A former Las Vegas stripper says she has naked photos of PRINCE HARRY from his 2012 trip to Sin City.
Carrie Reichert, better known as Carrie Royale, says Harry “whitewashed” aspects of the debauched bonanza in his memoir “Spare,” leaving out details of the kiss they shared and, apparently, some other more scandalous activities.
She said until now she’s withheld these photos out of respect, but has changed her mind in light of recent events. “Now, it doesn’t matter,” she says, adding, “He’s a bloody idiot.”
WORTH NOTING: Ms. Royale does not appear to be extorting Harry or have any blackmail demands – just that if she does publish the pics, they’ll be on her OnlyFans. So the whole thing likely amounts to a ham-handed publicity stunt. [via The Sun]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Slam the Scam Day
National Hospitalist Day
National Flapjack Day
National Be Heard Day
National Cereal Day
Plant Power Day
Name Tag Day
National Crown Roast of Pork Day
National Sock Monkey Day
Alexander Graham Bell Day
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ON THIS DATE
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.
Bell devised a contraption that used electricity and magnetism to capture sound waves, then process and transmit them across a distance. A few days later he made his famous first call, to his assistant Thomas Watson: “Mr. Watson, come here, I need you.”
Bell submitted his patent just hours before Elisha Gray submitted a similar design, kicking off a years-long legal battle that ended at the Supreme Court in 1888, which ruled Bell earned his legacy as the inventor of the technology.
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1923 - Robert Frost's famous poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is first published in The New Republic magazine.
Frost himself was a failed farmer, but his poetry covered rural and agricultural themes.
Though he never graduated from college, he received 44 honorary degrees and lectured at Harvard and Dartmouth, among other schools.
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1936 - Hitler marches Nazi troops into the Rhineland, violating historical treaties and making a bold land grab for his empire.
That territory was off-limits to any military following World War I. He spent two years building up Germany's armed forces, and began his invasion of Poland from the Rhineland three years later.
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1950 - The Soviet Union denies any connection to Klaus Fuchs, who had recently been convicted of spying on American and British atomic weapon plans.
Fuchs' interrogations helped uncover an extensive network of spies. He even pointed to David Greenglass as an informant, who had given up information to Julius Rosenberg.
The Soviets never admitted to having any connection to Fuchs.
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1965 - Alabama state troopers and 600 protestors clash in Selma during “Bloody Sunday.”
One of the injured protestors is civil rights leader and future congressman John Lewis.
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2010 - At the 82nd Academy Awards, Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win the best director trophy, for her movie “The Hurt Locker.” The flick told the story of an American bomb squad in Iraq.
She was at the time only the fourth woman ever to be nominated for Best Director.
The film also took home Best Picture and Best Screenplay awards that year.
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2016 - Peyton Manning announces his retirement from the NFL after 18 seasons.
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2021 - Oprah Winfrey sits down for an interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The royal couple drop multiple bombshells during the chat, including Meghan feeling suicidal after being subject to racist treatment by the Royal Family.
Viewers were torn over whether to sympathize with the couple or the Royal Family.
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BIRTHDAYS
Amanda Gorman - poet - 26
Haley Lu Richardson - actress, “Ravenswood” & “Five Feet Apart” - 29
Mary Erps - soccer player - 31
Brandon T. Jackson - actor, “Tropic Thunder” & “Lottery Ticket” - 40
Laura Prepon - actress, “That ‘70s Show” & “Orange Is the New Black” - 44
Jenna Fischer - actress, “The Office” - 50
Jolie Jenkins - actress, “Body of Proof” - 50
Peter Sarsgaard - actor, “The Killing” - 53
Rachel Weisz - actress, “The Mummy” - 54
Wanda Sykes - comedian - 60
Tom Lehman - golfer - 65
Bryan Cranston - actor, “Breaking Bad” - 68
Daniel J. Travanti - actor, “Hill Street Blues” - 84
Born On This Date
John Heard - actor, “Home Alone” - 1946 (d. 2017)
Rick Redman - HOF football player - 1943 (d. 2022)
Anna Magnani - actress, “The Rose Tattoo” - 1908 (d. 1973)
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