5/2/2024: Don’t Kick The Bison
PLUS: Consumer Confidence Crashes; Linkin Park Reunion Rumors; and Harry Who?
Today is Thursday, May 2, 2024.
It is the 123rd day of the year.
243 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Frat bros defend the flag and more layoffs at TESLA. Details in HIT LIST.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN returns to a Manhattan courtroom and TRAVIS KELCE doesn’t want your mail. More in SHOWBIZ.
JEFF BRIDGES will reprise his role in the newest “Tron” film and Bravo pauses filming on “Vanderpump Rules.” Details in CASTING CALL.
KIM and ODELL are officially over. More on that brief fling in KARDASH.
More details on PRINCE HARRY’s upcoming trip back to England in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
UCLA canceled classes Wednesday after a busy night of clashes between anti-Israel protesters and counter-demonstrators with some police forces mixed in between.
By morning, a police helicopter patrolled the skies above and law enforcement defended the tent encampment.
MEANWHILE: On Tuesday, a group of frat-bro types stood in a circle around a flagpole at the University of North Carolina as the school’s chancellor raised the American flag that had been torn down and replaced with a Palestinian flag.
To celebrate their solidarity, you can chip in for a GoFundMe that will pay for an end-of-year rager at their fraternity. Support the kegger >
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TESLA has laid off its entire government lobbying team and 500 people developing its Supercharger technology. The company previously announced that it would open its charging network to cars made by other manufacturers.
The cuts follow a 10 percent companywide workforce reduction earlier this year.
In a company wide email, ELON MUSK said that executive staff haven’t been taking his commitment to lean efficiency and a “hardcore” culture seriously. [via The Telegraph, Reuters]
WORTH NOTING: This might be more of Musk’s impulses running wild than strategic business decision-making.
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After a pandemic-era boom, construction-industry job openings fell by 182,000 in March. White-collar workers in finance and insurance sectors saw 158,000 fewer job openings.
BUT WAIT: Bolstered by flush covid-era government spending, state and local governments saw payrolls increase by 68,000 nationally. [via ZeroHedge]
MEANWHILE: Consumer confidence has hit a 21-month low, indicating fears that the high costs of food and gas will continue and job prospects will tighten. [via MarketWatch]
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The St. Louis Public School system can’t find bus drivers – so they’re paying parents to get their kids to school.
Heading into the final weeks of the year, parents of students can receive $75 in gas cards for each of the two remaining weeks of the semester.
The bus company contracted with the district pulled out of its contract after it demanded $2 MILLION more for their contract, citing “unprecedented industry inflation and a nationwide school bus driver shortage.”
Then, after a supposed hate-crime incident at the bus company, 100 employees walked off the job, leaving the district scrambling. [via Associated Press]
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A 40-year-old Idaho man was arrested after allegedly kicking a bison at Yellowstone National Park.
According to the National Park Service, the unidentified individual faces charges of being under the influence of alcohol to a degree that may endanger oneself, disorderly conduct as to create or maintain a hazardous condition, approaching wildlife and disturbing wildlife.
A woman who was with him was charged with driving under the influence, failing to yield and disturbing wildlife.
FOR THE RECORD: The 2,000-ish pound animal was not injured, but that drunken idiot was. [via NBC]
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 87 points (0.23%) to close at 37,903. The S&P lost 17 points (0.34%) to close at 5,018 and the NASDAQ lost 52 points (0.33%) to close at 15,605.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $79; BRENT CRUDE at $83.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.66 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN tumbled again Wednesday, down 6% and trading around $57,000.
🛩 There were more than 2,165 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States and more than 50 such cancellations.
💰Friday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $284 million jackpot or a $127.6 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
When it comes to J.K. ROWLING’s views on transgender issues, “Harry Potter” star DANIEL RADCLIFFE says he isn’t on the same page.
Asked about Rowling’s recent comments against transgender rights by The Atlantic, Radcliffe said the whole saga makes him “really sad.”
“I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments. And to say that if those are [Rowling’s] views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the ‘Potter’ franchise,” he added.
When asked if he plans to speak out against the beloved author going forward, Radcliffe simply said that he will “continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people.” [via The Atlantic]
WORTH NOTING: Rowling’s “really sad” views are that there are inherent biological differences between men and women.
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LAUREN SANCHEZ received a cease-and-desist letter from her former yoga teacher Alanna Zabel, who claims she stole her idea for a children’s book.
Zabel tells The Daily Mail that she shared her idea about her self-published book, “Dharma Kitty Goes to Mars,” with Sanchez in 2022 because she wanted to donate proceeds to charitable organizations founded by her fiance, JEFF BEZOS.
Fast forward to this past March and Zabel says she was shocked to see an announcement from Sanchez about a children’s book she wrote called, “The Fly Who Flew to Space.”
A formal complaint for copyright infringement will be filed soon, according to Zabel. [via Daily Mail]
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Prosecutors told a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday that they will be ready to re-try disgraced movie mogul HARVEY WEINSTEIN by September.
The statement, as well as a new judge and new date were all established in front of a rough looking Weinstein who appeared in court yesterday in a wheelchair, which he was handcuffed to.
Remember, Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence at New York prison for sexual assault convictions. That was overturned by an appeals court last month. The decision didn’t give the 72-year-old his freedom, however, as he is also serving a 16-year sentence for similar charges in California. [via NY Post]
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PAULA ABDUL will get her day in court to detail her accusations against her “So You Think You Can Dance” co-star NIGEL LYTHGOE.
Abdul filed a lawsuit against Lythgoe last year, accusing him of sexual assault and battery. A trial date of July 28, 2025 has now been set.
While denying the claims, Lythgoe also went after Abdul, calling out her “erratic behavior.” [via Deadline]
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Don’t mail anything to TRAVIS KELCE, unless you want it returned to you.
On a new episode of Travis and his brother JASON KELCE’s “New Heights” podcast, the tight end shared that he no longer gets mail delivered to his home because of an overwhelming amount of deliveries.
“When somebody posts your house online, that everybody now has your address and people just send stuff to your house,” he explained. [via ET]
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LINKIN PARK band members are considering a 2025 reunion tour.
According to Billboard, there is talk of a female vocalist filling in for the band’s late lead singer CHESTER BENNINGTON. No rumblings on who that female could be though.
Stay tuned…[via Billboard]
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JEFF GOLDBLUM’s kids better start filling out job applications because he is not planning to give them a cent of his dough.
“You’ve got to row your own boat,” he said on the iHeartPodcast “Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi.” “I’m not going to do it for you. And you’re not going to want me to do it for you.”
The 71-year-old and his wife Emilie are parents to 8-year-old Charlie and 6-year-old River. [via Huffpost]
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CASTING CALL
JEFF BRIDGES is returning to the “Tron” franchise, with the forthcoming “Tron: Ares.”
Bridges starred in the first “Tron” film in 1982, and reprised his character, Kevin Flynn, in 2010’s “Tron: Legacy.”
The new film stars JARED LETO as the titular character, Ares.
“Tron” is set in the digital world of a video game after Flynn gets zapped inside. In the sequel, Flynn is trapped inside a more complex version of the game by his digital twin, Clu.
No word on a premiere date for “Tron: Ares.”. [via Variety]
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Production for Season 12 of “Vanderpump Rules” has been put on pause.
Despite usually filming during the summer months, Bravo felt like the cast could use a “moment to decompress after two very rough, intense seasons” following Scandoval.
Scandoval, aka TOM SANDOVAL’s affair with RAQUEL LEVISS coming to light, has been the focus of most of Season 11, which is currently airing.
Reaction to the current season has been up and down from viewers who are growing tired of hearing about the scandal fallout. Perhaps the filming hiatus will give the cast -- and producers -- time to create some new and exciting storylines. [via Page Six]
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Rumor is…ROB MARCIANO’s firing was partially due to some major clashing with fellow ABC weather person GINGER ZEE.
While Marciano was given the boot this week over alleged “anger management” issues, sources told The Post that his “turbulent” working relationship with Zee was also a factor.
Insiders added that Zee could be just as “nasty” as Marciano when it came to work place drama, however, but she always pulled rank.
Neither have addressed Marciano’s exit. [via NY Post]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
It’s officially over between KIM KARDASHIAN and ODELL BECKHAM JR.
While many were unaware the two were even a thing, a source confirmed to Us Weekly that whatever was going on is officially done, saying, “It was never serious between Kim and Odell.”
Another insider tells the outlet that the relationship “wasn’t ever going to be a real thing” and that they “were just having fun.” [via Us Weekly]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Palace insiders have confirmed that no senior members of the Royal Family will attend the Invictus Games Foundation dinner where PRINCE HARRY will speak on May 8.
At least publicly, neither the King nor PRINCE WILLIAM have any plans to speak to him in person either.
Also, Harry won’t be staying on any Royal properties, opting instead for a hotel. [via DailyMail]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Day of Prayer
National Life Insurance Day
National Truffle Day
World Tuna Day
International Harry Potter Day
Baby Day
National Brothers and Sisters Day
World Password Day
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ON THIS DATE
1536 - Anne Boleyn is arrested and taken to the Tower of London
False charges of adultery and incest were made against the highly unpopular Queen leading to her imprisonment. Her marriage to King Henry VIII was also declared null and void.
Two weeks later, and after a four day show trial, she would be beheaded over the trumped up charges.
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1611 - The King James Version of the Bible is first put into mass print.
Robert Barker was the designated printer, being the official typesetter of the King. English was yet to be standardized, so there was widespread variation in how the text was presented, once multiple printers got their hands on reproducing it.
This was the third try by the Church of England to standardize its theology and to get along with fringe groups, like the Puritans.
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1863 - General Stonewall Jackson is fatally wounded during the Battle of Chancellorsville.
He was allegedly shot on accident by his own Confederate troops. He survived the initial bullet and ensuing amputation, but died from pneumonia eight days later. The death destroyed morale among Confederate ranks.
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1945 - Berlin falls to the Soviets during World War II.
The bloody Battle of Berlin injured or wounded hundreds of thousands of Nazi and Russian troops over several weeks. An aggressive shelling campaign by the Soviets killed thousands of German civilians.
It was during this battle that Adolf Hitler lost hope and killed himself.
Even after the formal surrender, German troops marched and fought westward, hoping to surrender to American or British forces, not the Soviets.
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1952 - The world’s first commercial jet airliner takes off, en route to Johannesburg from London.
The British Overseas Airways Corporation Comet 1 was the first of 12 of its kind. It spanned 115 feet and was 93 feet long, and could hold 40 passengers.
The Comet line of jets were in service until 1974.
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1969 - Ocean liner Queen Elizabeth II makes its maiden voyage.
The trip from Southampton, England to New York took nearly five days.
In 1982 she would function as a troop transport during the Falklands War, and was retrofitted for helicopter pads and dormitories.
Her last voyage designated as a ship of the British Crown would be on November 11, 2008, with arrival in Southampton, but not before getting stuck in the harbor, and needing the assistance of five tugboats.
It is now a floating hotel in Dubai.
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2011 - Terrorist Osama bin Laden is shot to death in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he is presumed to have been hiding for years.
During the raid, an American helicopter crashed, though its crew survived.
Special forces took scores of intelligence data, as well as bin Laden’s bullet-ridden corpse, which was disposed of somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
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2020 - Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the Icelandic actor who played Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in “Game of Thrones,” sets a world deadlift record by lifting 501 kg (1,104 lbs).
He is the first and only person to have won the Arnold Strongman Classic, the Europe’s Strongest Man and the World’s Strongest Man in the same calendar year.
Analysts and strongmen experts consider Hafþór to be the strongest man to have ever lived.
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BIRTHDAYS
Princess Charlotte of Wales - daughter of Will & Kate - 9
Farruko - reggaeton singer - 33
Paul George - basketball player - 34
Pat McAfee - football player & host, “The Pat McAfee Show” - 37
Kyle Busch - race car driver - 39
Lily Allen - pop singer - 39
Ellie Kemper - actress, “The Office” & “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” - 44
David Beckham - soccer player - 49
Dwayne Johnson - wrestler & actor, “The Game Plan” - 52
Donatella Versace - fashion designer - 69
Christine Baranski - actress, “The Good Wife” & “The Good Fight” - 72
Born On This Date
Big Boss Man - wrestler - 1963 (d. 2004)
Lesley Gore - pop singer - 1946 (d. 2015)
Catherine the Great - Empress of Russia - 1729 (d. 1796)
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