4/19/2023: 69% Government Funding Media
PLUS: Dino-Mapping; Caramel Cockroaches; and Royal Family Photo Drama
Today is Wednesday, April 19, 2023.
It is the 109th day of the year.
256 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
TAYLOR SWIFT fans are out of this world and viewers still aren’t convinced KELLY RIPA and MARK CONSUELOS should work together. More in SHOWBIZ.
An end may be in sight for “Yellowstone” and DAVID SPADE will host a new game show for Fox. More in CASTING CALL.
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HIT LIST
Just weeks after a systems failure stranded thousands of passengers over the holidays, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES had another major outage Tuesday that stopped all flights across the US.
Fortunately, the outage only lasted about a half hour, starting around 10:30 am. But in that window, 800 flights were grounded and 1700 more were delayed for the rest of the day. Many full planes sat idle on the runway, according to various social media reports.
A Department of Transportation probe is currently scrutinizing whether Southwest routinely schedules more flights than its system can manage.
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The Canadian Broadcasting Company is one of the most recent state-backed media outlets to whine about Twitter adding a “Government-funded media” label to their profile. But their defense wasn’t very strong – they argued that they’re “less than 70% government funded.
AND SO: On Monday, Twitter changed the label. It’s now “69% Government-funded media,” as ELON MUSK pointed out in a tweet of his own.
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Did you know that the green Haribo gummy bear is actually strawberry flavored? If this is news to you, you're not alone.
A resurfaced Reddit post has gummy bear eaters “shook” over the fact that the green gummy is not lime, green apple or even watermelon flavored.
“Do you guys ever think about how the green haribo gummy bear is the strawberry flavored one,” one user wrote alongside a photo of the gummy bear flavors.
“This fact has haunted my brain for years,” another responded.
FUN FACT: The name Haribo comes from the first two letters of creator HANS RIEGEL’s first and last name, combined with the first two letters of the city where he was born - Bonn, Germany. [via NY Post]
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Five French cyclists spent six days biking around central France to complete the world’s largest GPS drawing by a bicycle team.
After more than a year of planning, Florent Arnaud, Maxime Brugere, Franck Delorme, Nicolas Meunier and Jean Roule set out in November 2022 to create their latest drawing, a velociraptor measuring 636 miles. The dinosaur drawing took them 43 hours and 47 minutes to complete.
The journey was recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest GPS drawing by a bicycle team this year.
This isn’t the team’s first dino drawing, in 2020, the team drew a T-Rex, followed by a diplodocus in 2021. [via Daily Mail]
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END OF AN ERA: NETFLIX is shutting down its DVD-by-mail operations entirely later this year.
Existing subscribers to the mail plan can keep ordering discs until September 29. The last orders will have to be returned by the end of October. [via Netflix]
FOR THOSE BORN AFTER 2000: Netflix’s original model was revolutionary. You selected just about any movie you could think of online. The next day it showed up in the mail. You put it in your DVD player, and when you’re done, mailed it back in a pre-labeled envelope. The 2000s were wild!
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CHARTS
Top 5 Fiction & Nonfiction Books Currently on the New York Times Best Sellers List:
FICTION:
“It Starts With Us,” Colleen Hoover
“It Ends With Us,” Colleen Hoover
“Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus
“Daisy Jones & The Six,” Taylor Jenkins Reid
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” Taylor Jenkins Reid
NON-FICTION
“Outlive,” Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
“The Body Keeps the Score,” Bessel van der Kolk
“Crying in H Mart,” Michelle Zauner
“I’m Glad My Mom Died,” Jennette McCurdy
“Spare,” Prince Harry
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DEATHS
Football player CHRIS SMITH has died.
He passed away Monday, according to a tweet from the Salisbury Post. No cause of death was shared.
Smith played with the Jaguars, Bengals, Browns, Raiders and Texans.
He was only 31.
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THE SWAMP
ON MONDAY: House Speaker KEVIN MCCARTHY pitched his plan to raise the debt ceiling that includes spending cuts to help reign in the deficit.
ON TUESDAY: The Biden White House says the President expects to sign a “clean” bill that raises the debt ceiling, no questions asked.
The Speaker’s office and White House are not, and have not been, in contact on the matter. [via The Hill]
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A rogue toddler managed to slip through the fence around the White House grounds perimeter on Tuesday.
Secret Service agents quickly intervened and returned the tyke to his parents – though not without a bit of careful questioning. [via NPR]
WORTH NOTING: In 2019, the White House installed a taller, 13-foot fence – but in doing so made the gaps between the verticals just a smidge wider – enough for a kid to fit through, apparently.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 10 points (0.03%) to close at 33,976 on Tuesday. The S&P added 3 points (0.086%) to close at 4,154 while the NASDAQ lost 4 points (0.035%) to close at 12,153.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $80; BRENT CRUDE at $84.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.67 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN rebounded Tuesday, adding over 3% and trading over $30,300.
🛩 There were more than 4,500 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 100 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $251 million jackpot or a $133.8 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
The first weekend of Coachella cost organizers over $117,000 in fines for going past curfew.
A rep for the City of Indio, California told TMZ that the deal in place with the annual festival is that Friday and Saturday’s shows end by 1 am and Sunday wraps up by midnight. Last Friday the show ran over 25 minutes. Saturday’s show was 22 minutes too long and Sunday’s was over by another 25 minutes.
According to the outlet, the fines go into Indio’s General Fund, which is used for operating costs, such as public works, police and fire departments.
The second weekend of the musical festival kicks off Friday. [via TMZ]
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Some Florida residents are convinced that aliens swooped down to enjoy TAYLOR SWIFT’s concert last weekend after seeing some strange lights in the night sky near her show at Raymond James Stadium.
Footage of the band of lights have been shared on TikTok with many commenting that there is an exterrestrial-look to them.
While the lights were 99.99% from Swift’s show, you just can’t be 100% certain these days! [via TMZ]
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NICOLAS CAGE ate two live cockroaches while filming his 1988 comedy “Vampire’s Kiss.”
“I’ll never do that again,” he told Yahoo Entertainment, adding “I’m sorry I did it at all.”
In Cage’s new vampire flick, “Renfield,” his co-star NICHOLAS HOULT’s character has to eat some bugs, but his experience was a lot more sweet.
“The cockroaches I got to eat in this were caramel. I also had crickets that [...] were salt and vinegar flavored or barbecue smoky flavored,” Hoult told the outlet. [via Yahoo Entertainment]
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ARNOLD SCWARZENEGGER is calling out the media for posting a “bogus” headline about him filling in a pothole in his Brentwood neighborhood.
After tweeting out a video showing him taking matters into his own hands, CBS News claimed that Schwarzenegger didn’t fill in a pothole but rather a trench used for utility work.
In response, Schwarzenegger tweeted that the truth is the “utility work was finished in January” and he waited three months to fill in the hole after asking the city to come back and take care of it.
“This story should be taught in a class for people who are confused about why institutional trust is in decline,” he later tweeted. [via NY Post]
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Actor BILLY GARDELL is showing off his 150-pound weight loss.
The “Mike & Molly” alum told Entertainment Tonight that not only did he drop the weight, but he is also no longer diabetic.
“No diabetes, resting heartbeat went from 113 to 68. Walking around pretty healthy these days,” he shared. [via Page Six]
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JACK BLACK has returned to the Hot 100 charts with his new solo track, “Peaches.”
According to Billboard, the song, which was written by Black for the new “Super Mario Bros. Movie,” debuted at No. 83 on the Hot 100 singles charts.
Black, who voices Browser in the new flick, first landed on the Hot 100 charts as one-half of TENACIOUS D. [via Billboard]
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KELLY RIPA and MARK CONSUELOS faced more criticism during their second day of hosting “Live With Kelly and Mark” on Tuesday.
“I don’t know with them together. I am not a fan. Loved Ryan [Seacrest] and all his stories, he brought another layer to the show,” one viewer tweeted.
“Kelly and Mark look uncomfortable together,” another added.
In response to the negativity, one fan begged the haters to “give [Mark] time…he’s nervous.” [via Page Six]
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CASTING CALL
“Yellowstone” is (maybe?) coming to an end.
Multiple sources told The New York Post that the second half of Season 5 will be it for the KEVIN COSTNER-fronted series. Of course, that is if the second half of the season ever airs.
As previously reported, Costner and producers are at odds over his filming schedule.
The mid-season finale aired in January. [via NY Post]
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DAVID SPADE is hosting a new game show for FOX called “Snake Oil.”
In the show, contestants must decide who of the entrepreneurs trying to pitch them their products is the “Snake Oil Salesman.” Celebrity advisors will be on hand to help the contestants determine who is the real thing and who is a sham.
The show is set to launch during the 2023/24 season. [via Deadline]
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A “Galaxy Quest” series is in the works at Paramount+.
According to Variety, producer MARK JOHNSON, the brains behind the cult classic comedy flick from 1999 starring TIM ALLEN, SIGOURNEY WEAVER and ALAN RICKMAN, has signed on to serve as executive producer of the series.
The original film follows the cast of a sci-fi show who are shocked to find out that aliens from a distant galaxy watch their show, and think it is real. The cast is then recruited by the aliens to assist in some interstellar conflict.
No word yet on whether Allen or Weaver are in talks to join the series. [via Variety]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM and KHLOE KARDASHIAN visited inmates at Los Angeles County’s California State Prison this week to learn more about their experiences.
They were joined by MICHAEL RUBIN, who co-founded the REFORM Alliance with rapper MEEK MILL, JAY-Z and ROBERT KRAFT in an effort to “transform probation and parole by changing laws, systems, and culture to create real pathways to work and wellbeing.”
As Kardashian fans know, Kim has been working closely with inmates, and helping many seek clemency as she completes her law degree. [via People]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
The official paper program for the May 6 coronation of KING CHARLES and QUEEN CAMILLA contains a family photo that includes PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE.
The photo was snapped in 2018 as part of the monarch’s 70th birthday celebrations. It also includes all of PRINCE WILLIAM’s family.
MEANWHILE: Multiple reports suggest that Harry isn’t hanging around after the coronation event, and will hop a flight back to California before the day is up on May 6. Harry’s expected to sit multiple rows behind working royals during the event, but next to his cousins, PRINCESSES BEATRICE and EUGENIE.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Banana Day
National Hanging Out Day
Bicycle Day
National Garlic Day
National Amaretto Day
Poetry and the Creative Mind Day
National Rice Ball Day
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ON THIS DATE
1809 - Former president Thomas Jefferson sells a slave to the sitting president James Madison.
John Freeman was an indentured servant, who was actually born free. Why he sold himself into work is unclear.
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1861 - Almost exactly 85 years after the first shots were fired in the American Revolution, the Civil War begins in earnest.
A mob in Baltimore attacks Massachusetts soldiers en route to Washington DC. Four soldiers were killed, along with 12 of the rioters.
Though a week earlier the Confederates took siege of Fort Sumter and captured it, no deaths were recorded.
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1897 - The first Boston Marathon is held.
A New Yorker won the inaugural race, with a time just shy of three hours.
The race was founded by John Graham, an Olympian who thought to bring the athletic feat after competing in the 1896 Athens games.
For the first go around, the course was only 24.5 miles. Fifteen runners showed up to run, but only 10 finished the race.
In 1907 the route would be extended to 26 miles and 385 yards in order to comply with Olympic regulations.
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1964 - Mario Andretti races for the first time in the Indy circuit.
The historic driver wouldn't win a championship until the next year, but the rest is history.
Andretti holds several records. One includes being the only man to have won each the Formula One World Championship, the US National Championship, the Indy 500, Daytona 500, and the Pikes Peak International Hill Club Race.
His racing career would last 30 years with 407 Indy races.
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1995 - Timothy McVeigh detonates a rented Ryder truck outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The terrorist attack killed 100 and trapped dozens more.
It's the worst case of domestic terror in American history.
McVeigh and his accomplices were swiftly captured and put on trial.
McVeigh was eventually put to death. His conspirator Terry Nichols received life in prison.
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2002 - "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" debuts in theaters nationwide.
The flick launched the career of Nia Vardalos, who has since fizzled. Vardalos was a frustrated actress who couldn't find work, so she wrote her own movie to star in.
The movie came about after Rita Wilson saw her one-woman show in Los Angeles. Wilson and husband Tom Hanks were impressed with her performance, reached out, and signed on as producers.
The flick was made for only $5 million, but eventually made more than $240 million.
Vardalos also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
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2020 - The US COVID-19 death toll passes 40,000 with more than 740,000 cases reported, according to John Hopkins.
Also on this day…
The UK COVID-19 death toll reaches 16,060.
The Sunday Times criticizes Prime Minister Boris Johns’s response to the virus, saying “they sleepwalked into disaster.”
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BIRTHDAYS
Loren Gray - pop singer - 21
Matt Sato - actor, “Hawaii Five-O” - 22
Simu Liu - actor, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” - 34
Joe Hart - soccer player - 36
Maria Sharapova - tennis player - 36
Candace Parker - basketball player - 37
Ali Wong - comedian - 41
Troy Polamalu - football player - 42
Hayden Christensen - actor, “Star Wars” & “Life as a House” - 42
Kate Hudson - actress, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” & “Almost Famous” - 44
Joanna Gaines - reality star, “Fixer Upper” - 45
James Franco - actor, “James Dean” & “Pineapple Express” - 45
Jesse James - reality star, “West Coast Choppers” - 54
Ashley Judd - actress, “High Crimes” & “Double Jeopardy” - 55
Suge Knight - entrepreneur, Death Row Records - 58
Tim Curry - actor, “Legend” & “Muppet Treasure Island” - 77
Born On This Date
Dudley Moore - comedian & actor, “Arthur” & “Bedazzled” - 1935 (d. 2002)
Jayne Mansfield - actress, “The Girl Can’t Help It” - 1933 (d. 1967)
Roger Sherman - Founding Father - 1721 (d. 1793)
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