4/18/2022: Twitter’s Poison Pill
PLUS: Boozy Snack Time, Presidential Tax Returns, and Coachella Headliners
Today is Monday, April 18, 2022.
It is the 108th day of the year.
257 days remain.
TRENDING
Saturday was National Eggs Benedict Day.
Shania Twain was trending early Saturday after she performed alongside Harry Styles at Coachella on Friday night. More on their duet in Showbiz.
Sunday was National Cheeseball Day.
WE ARE BULLETPROOF landed in Twitter’s 10 Ten Trends after K-pop band BTS announced a release date for their next studio album. More in Showbiz.
Happy Easter, Jesus, He is Risen and Resurrection Day were all trending Sunday in honor of the Christian holiday.
Also on Sunday, many on Twitter debated whether Peeps are delicious or disgusting. Reviews were mixed.
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HIT LIST
On Friday afternoon, Twitter’s board adopted the “poison pill” strategy to keep Elon Musk’s takeover at bay – a move that would dilute all shareholder’s value but keep Musk from buying control of the company.
WORTH NOTING: Excluding founder Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s board of directors collectively owns less than one percent of the company. (And for what it’s worth, Dorsey only owns 2.2% of the company). As one Twitter account points out, “They have threatened to dilute their shareholder’s stake in the company,” and, “It’s almost like they are acting in the best interest of their careers instead of the financial interests of their shareholders, which is the board’s legal responsibility.”
BY THE WAY: Dorsey doesn’t sound too thrilled about the board’s decision, even though they said the move was unanimous. In a tweet, Dorsey said that the board “has consistently been the dysfunction of the company.” When asked by another user if he’s allowed to disparage the board, he replied simply, “no.”
WORTH REMEMBERING: Mark Zuckerberg spent tens of millions of dollars on Get Out The Vote efforts in 2020 that were disproportionately allocated to high-Democrat turnout areas, sometimes by a factor of 9-to-1. This is public information. But Musk wants to throw his billions around to bolster free speech, and he’s painted as a threat to democracy.
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Students and faculty attending New York University’s Shanghai campus report drastic food shortages amid the ongoing total lockdowns there.
One professor reported receiving only his third food shipment in 20 days, which itself was pretty light, and included, “three eggplants, four potatoes, six onions, three cabbages and a head of lettuce,” the Post reports. He added that this was a relatively bountiful food provision.
MEANWHILE, IN NORWAY: In the two months since Norway scrapped all its covid mitigation efforts, the 7-day infection rate is down 97%.
WATCH: An elderly Shanghai swats away a Communist Party infection-tester with a stick:
MEANWHILE: Doctors are trying to figure out what’s causing a mysterious uptick in liver illness among kids in Europe and the U.S.
The Brits are monitoring 74 cases of kids showing hepatitis symptoms, including an inflamed liver. Stateside, nine identical cases have been reported, but strangely they are all localized to Alabama so far – and all were six years old or younger. Two cases required liver transplants.
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At least 94 people who either attended or worked at a high school in New Jersey have since developed brain tumors – and they’re working with the school district to determine why.
As the New York Post reports, a man named Al Lupiano was first diagnosed with a brain tumor in the late 1990s. But in recent years both his sister and wife received a similar diagnosis, and all have connections to the Colonia High School in Woodbridge, NJ.
Since then, dozens others have come forward with similar diagnoses.
Testing started April 9 to measure radiation levels and to hopefully identify any other harmful sources.
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HAPPY HOUR SNACK TIME: A kindergartener in Michigan reportedly brought in a premixed margarita bottle to school for snack time, and managed to serve it to other kids in the class in a little dixie cup.
One kid reported four or five sips that left her feeling “woozy, a little dizzy,” Fox Detroit reports.
No word on what punishment the kid who brought it – or his or her parents – will face.
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A Kentucky man has won $450,000 in a lawsuit against his company, after his manager threw a birthday party for him despite his insistence that the company not make a big deal about it.
The man suffers from panic attacks, and he feared being the focus of attention would trigger such an attack. So ahead of his birthday, he told his boss not to roll out the cake and candles.
The party happened anyway – and not only did the guy have a panic attack that caused him to hide in his car, but he was fired just a few days later!
The employer, Gravity Diagnostics, is appealing the verdict.
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CHARTS
Weekend Box Office
10. Uncharted: $1.1 million (down from 7)
9. K.G.F: Chapter 2: $2.8 million (new)
8. The Batman: $3.8 million (down from 5)
7. Ambulance: $4 million (down from 4)
6. Morbius: $4.7 million (down from 2)
5. Father Stu: $5.7 million (new)
4. Everything Everywhere All at Once: $6.1 million (up from 6)
3. The Lost City: $6.5 million (stayed at 3)
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 2: $30 million (down from 1)
1. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore: $43 million (new)
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DEATHS
LIZ SHERIDAN has died.
The actress, who played JERRY SEINFELD’s mom on “Seinfeld,” passed away in her sleep on Friday morning. It is believed that she died of natural causes.
She was 93.
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MIKE BOSSY has died.
The Hall of Fame hockey player passed away on April 14 after a battle with lung cancer.
He was 65.
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ART RUPE has died.
The music executive, who helped launch the careers of LITTLE RICHIE, SAM COOKE, and many others, passed away Friday at his home in Santa Barbara, California. A cause of death was not shared.
He was 104.
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BABY NEWS
Actor DARREN CRISS, 35, and his wife, producer MIA SWIER, 36, welcomed their first child last week.
The “Glee” alum announced the news on his Instagram, introducing daughter Bluesy Belle Criss to his followers.
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BREAKUPS
Actors NATASHA LYONNE, 43, and FRED ARMISEN, 55, have split.
While discussing the upcoming second season of her “Russian doll” series Lyonne confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that she and Armisen had called it quits because she “wanted a swimming pool” at their house, which he opposed. No, seriously!
She added that they still “love each other” and “talk all the time.”
It is unclear when the couple officially ended things.
WORTH NOTING: Lyonne now lives in a house with a pool.
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THE SWAMP
President JOE BIDEN and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS released their tax returns on Friday.
Biden and his wife JILL BIDEN reported just over $610,000 in earnings, while the Harris household pulled down $1.65 million.
As President, Biden makes $400,000 a year. Jill pulls down $67,000 from her community college teaching job. They also earned more than $54,000 in social security benefits, which is morbidly hilarious.
Harris made $200,000-and-change as V.P., and nearly a half million from book sales. They also sold their condo for more than $300,000, and husband DOUG EMHOFF took home more than $500,000 from his law firm, which he has since left.
WORTH REMEMBERING: For anyone using these tax returns to dismiss accusations of wrongdoing by HUNTER BIDEN, remember there isn’t a line item on the 1040 for “funds laundered through my son’s shell companies and law firms he earned by selling access.”
SPEAKING OF: Wikileaks is reportedly in possession of all of HUNTER BIDEN’s laptop data and will be publishing it in coming weeks.
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And now some very reassuring words from our Commander in Chief:
TRANSCRIPT OF A TOTALLY COGENT PRESIDENT: “Covid has taken this year, just since the outbreak, has taken more than 100 year. Look, here, the lives, it’s just, you- you think about it!”
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LOTTERY
A winning Mega Millions ticket for Friday night’s drawing was sold in Tennessee. The winner has the option of the $20 million jackpot or the $12.1 million cash payout.
Tuesday night’s drawing will be for a $20 million jackpot or a $11.9 million cash payout.
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No winner for Saturday night’s Powerball drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $348 million jackpot or a $209.5 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
Rumors were flying on Friday that RIHANNA and A$AP ROCKY split because he cheated on her, but a source connected to both musicians said neither the breakup claim nor the cheating story is true.
What was circulating on social media was that Ri-Ri called it quits after she caught Rocky cheating with designer AMINA MUADDI, who works on her Fenty brand.
As previously reported, Rihanna and Rocky are expecting their first child together.
MEANWHILE: Amina addressed the rumors herself on social media, calling it “fake gossip.”
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TEKASHI69 is being sued by Streamusic after he allegedly bailed on two concerts.
The app, which streams live shows, claims they arranged for the rapper to perform two shows in December 2021 for a $150,000 payout.
After going radio silent and skipping both performances, Tekashi made a new deal with the streamer, rescheduling both concerts for a month later, which he again bailed on.
He is now being sued for breach of contract and fraud.
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THANDIWE NEWTON, 49, is heading to rehab following her exit from “Magic Mike The Last Dance.”
The actress had been in London filming the third installment of the series, when crew members became worried about her health.
Insiders told Page Six that Newton has been battling “emotional and family problems” since separating from her husband.
As previously reported, SALMA HAYAK will take over her role in the flick.
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HARRY STYLES was the headliner at Coachella on Friday night.
About an hour into his set, he was joined by country singer SHANIA TWAIN and the two belted out her 1999 hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”
They also sang Twain’s “You’re Still the One.”
Later on, Styles performed some new music, including his recently-released hit, “As It Was” and yet-to-be released tracks “Late Night Talking” and “Boyfriends.”
The new music will be featured on Styles’ third album, “Harry’s House,” which is due out in May.
MEANWHILE: BILLIE EILISH headlined Day 2 of Coachella. At 20-years-old, she is the youngest musician to do so.
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BTS will release their next studio album, titled “We Are Bulletproof,” on June 10.
The K-pop group revealed the date during the final night of their four-night Las Vegas residency.
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Blink-182 drummer MARK HOPPUS is cancer-free.
He shared the exciting news with TMZ photogs over the weekend, saying his oncologist had just given him the news.
Hoppus first revealed he was battling lymphoma in June, when he briefly shared a photo of himself undergoing chemo treatment.
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JAY LENO recently shared his thoughts on WILL SMITH’s assault of CHRIS ROCK at the Oscars.
The former “Tonight Show” host described Smith as a “good guy” to the Palm Beach Daily News, but admitted that what he did that night was “disturbing.”
He also shared his confusion over the Academy needing to take time to investigate the incident.
“What are you investigating? It has to be the most recorded assault in history,” he quipped.
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Some viewers are mocking VIOLA DAVIS’ portrayal of MICHELLE OBAMA in the Showtime series “The First Lady.”
Some scenes have fans wondering why the actress seems to constantly purse her lips on camera.
While Michelle does purse her lips at times, it seems that Davis took the expression as being “central to her being,” one Twitter user wrote.
The show premiered yesterday.
WORTH NOTING: Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a score of 40%.
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CASTING CALL
PETE DAVIDSON voices the famous Great Dane, Marmaduke in a new 3D CGI animated movie for Netflix.
The film follows Marmaduke as he stumbles through his days, causing cute, but messy chaos. After a video of his antics goes viral, a dog trainer tries turning him into a top show dog.
The movie lands on the streamer on May 6.
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Grammy-winning musician JON BATISTE will make his big-screen acting debut in the upcoming musical remake of “The Color Purple.”
The 35-year-old will play Grady, the husband of sexy blues singer Shug Avery, played by TARAJI P. HENSON.
Other performers include DANIELLE BROOKS, H.E.R., HALLE BAILEY, COREY HAWKINS, FANTASIA BARRINO, CIARA, and DAVID ALAN GRIER.
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NBC announced that MELISSA STARK will take over MICHELE TAFOYA’s spot on the sidelines for “Sunday Night Football.”
Stark, who currently works at the NFL Network, was the sideline reporter for ABC’s “Monday Night Football” from 2000-2003 before heading to “Today” on NBC.
In-house NBC candidate KATHRYN TAPPEN had been a favorite for the gig, as she worked the 2022 Super Bowl sideline alongside Tafoya.
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CRIB NOTES
After listing their Seattle home for nearly $36 million, RUSSELL WILSON and CIARA dropped $25 million on a mansion in Denver.
The 20,060 square foot home sits on 5.34 acres and is only 25 minutes from Mile High stadium, where Wilson will continue his NFL career with the Denver Broncos this upcoming season.
The house features four bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, and a nine-car garage. There is also an indoor pool, game room, basketball court and theater.
WORTH NOTING: That price is an all-time high for a single-family home in the area.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
In a recent interview with Us Weekly, JESSICA SIMPSON revealed that her daughter MAXWELL is best friends with KIM KARDASHIAN’s daughter NORTH WEST.
“She’s amazing,” Simpson said of North, before adding, “She is a great kid, and she will be a part of the change in this world.”
The girls became close after playing on the same basketball team, which was coached by Simpson’s husband, former NFL star ERIC JOHNSON.
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TRAVIS SCOTT may not have been able to perform at Coachella, but he was on hand for an after-party.
The rapper got on stage at the Bootsy Bellows after-party in nearby La Quinta and played five of his songs from the DJ booth.
As previously reported, Scott was booted from the festival after the tragedy at Astroworld. Later it was revealed that he would join KANYE WEST, who was set to headline one of the days, but then Ye backed out.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Royal insiders believe that PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE’s pitstop to see PRINCE CHARLES and QUEEN ELIZABETH was driven by their need to stay relevant.
Majesty magazine Editor-In-Chief Ingrid Seward told Page Six that she believes the couple planned the quick stop because they need the “Queen’s fairy dust…for their brand,” following the backlash they received after skipping PRINCE PHILIP’s memorial service in May.
Speaking of the visit, insiders told the outlet that the couple “met stealthily” with Charles on Thursday, followed by a “calmer” and “lengthier” meeting with the Queen.
As previously reported, Harry and Meghan were traveling to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games, when they decided to stop and visit his family.
WORTH NOTING: The King and Queen of Holland did not invite Harry and Meghan to dine or stay with them during their visit over the weekend, something royal biographer Andrea Levin called “unusual.”
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SPORTS
Hours before TOM BRADY announced he was un-retiring, a fan agreed to pay $518,000 for the football that was (at the time) believed to be from the final touchdown pass of his career.
After waiting a month to make sure that Brady was in fact returning to the gridiron, Leland Auctions nullified the sale, allowing the fan out of the contract.
Last week, Leland’s president Mike Heffner told ESPN that the company “wanted to do the right thing” in wake of the “unique situation.” He later added that the football is still “an incredible piece of history…any Brady touchdown ball is.”
As previously reported, Brady will return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd season.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Animal Crackers Day
National Columnists’ Day
National Lineman Appreciation Day
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ON THIS DATE
1521 - Martin Luther refuses to recant his anti-Catholic writings after the Holy Roman Emperor publicly called for him to do so and return to the Church.
Later that year Luther was excommunicated and declared a heretic.
In the ensuing decades, Luther's philosophy would shape much of non-Catholic, western, Christian theology.
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1775 - Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on their historic ride to warn of British invasion.
British troops were en route to Concord to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock, but the Patriot forces were ready, having expected aggression for quite some time.
The first encounter of British troops and American rebels pitted 700 redcoats against 77 minutemen.
The Patriots hastily dispersed, but suffered their own casualties. Eight were dead and 10 more wounded, while only one Brit was injured.
Either way: The American Revolution had begun.
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1906 - An earthquake in San Francisco kills nearly 4,000 and leaves countless more homeless from a series of fires that started in its wake.
Shockwaves were felt across the Pacific Northwest, all the way up to Oregon.
The earthquake ruptured water mains, and the small fires that started up spread quickly, with firefighters unable to put them out.
It took another week to put out the ensuing fires.
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1923 - Yankee Stadium opens in New York City.
Prior to its construction the Yankees shared a facility with the New York Giants baseball team.
In its prime, the stadium hosted three papal masses, championship boxing matches, and many historic victories accomplished by the Yankees.
It would serve as the home for the baseball team until 2008, when a new park opened on an adjacent property.
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1942 - James H. Doolittle leads a raid of American bombers on Japan.
The 16 B-25s launched from the USS Hornet 650 miles east of Japan.
The raid caused only minor damage, but did expose the island nation as vulnerable to military attack.
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1989 - Chinese students rally against their government, calling for democracy and freedom.
These uprisings and riots would later culminate with the Tiananmen Square massacre, where communist troops murdered the protestors by the hundreds.
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1994 - President Nixon suffers a stroke.
He would die four days later.
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2017 - Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player to score 100 goals in the Champions League.
He hit the milestone with a hat trick in Real Madrid’s 4-2 win over Bayern Munich.
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BIRTHDAYS
Suri Cruise - daughter of Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes - 16
Ski Mask the Slump God - rapper - 26
Nathan Sykes - pop singer - 29
Chloe Bennet - actress, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” - 30
Britt Robertson - actress, “The Longest Ride” & “Girlboss” - 32
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley - actress, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” - 35
America Ferrera - actress, “Ugly Betty” & “Superstore” - 38
Miguel Cabrera - baseball player - 39
Kourtney Kardashian - reality star - 43
Melissa Joan Hart - actress, “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” & “No Good Nick” - 46
David Tennant - actor, “Doctor Who” & “Jessica Jones” - 51
Conan O’Brien - TV show host, “Conan” - 59
Jeff Dunham - ventriloquist - 60
Kenny Ortega - director - 72
James Woods - actor, “Any Given Sunday” & “Salvador” - 75
Hayley Mills - actress, “Parent Trap” & “Tiger Bay” - 76
Born On This Date
Paul A. Rothchild - record producer - 1935 (d. 1955)
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