5/31/2024: Pint-Sized Picasso
PLUS: Dumb Driver; “The Shiznit”; and To The Theater With Grandma Camilla
Today is Friday, May 31, 2024.
It is the 152nd day of the year.
214 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Another man is off the hook for bringing ammo to Turks and Caicos and North Korea has a crappy response to recent South Korean propaganda efforts. Details in HIT LIST.
More fallout for SEAN COMBS and MADONNA gets sued…again. More in SHOWBIZ.
He-Man casting and “Selling” heads to NYC. Details in CASTING CALL.
A star for KIM? More on that in KARDASH.
THE QUEEN goes to a show in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
GUILTY: A Manhattan jury found DONALD TRUMP guilty on all 34 counts against him, making him the first former US president to be convicted on criminal charges. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11. [via NY Post]
MEANWHILE, IN IDAHO: A jury found CHAD DAYBELL guilty for the murder of his wife, Tammy Daybell, and his newest wife, Lori Vallow Daybell’s two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Next, the jury decides if he will be given the death sentence. Vallow Daybell was convicted last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole for her roles in the murders. [via NY Post]
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FOLLOW UP: A second man detained in Turks and Caicos for accidentally bringing ammunition in his luggage is headed home to Louisiana.
A judge sentenced 31-year-old Tyler Wenrich to three weeks time served and a $9,000 fine in exchange for a guilty plea. He avoided a maximum 12-year prison sentence.
Three more Americans await similar hearings in the coming weeks. [via NBC News]
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North Korea’s latest salvo against its southern neighbor has analysts scratching their heads: the regime has not just admitted to but proudly claimed credit for sending at least 250 balloons filled with garbage into South Korean territory.
The barrage triggered Seoul’s air defense warnings, but closer inspection showed the balloons carried little more than confetti in most cases — except for the balloons carrying “dark clumps that looked like excrement,” as the Wall Street Journal describes the situation.
KIM YO JONG, the fierce, loyal sister of autocrat KIM JONG JUNIOR, publicly said the balloons were a direct response to a South Korean activist group that sends balloons carrying leaflets opposing the Kim regime into the north. “I cannot understand why they are making a fuss as if they were hit by [a] shower of bullets,” she said. [via WSJ]
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LOTS TO UNPACK HERE: A Michigan judge was left speechless when a defendant called into a court hearing by Zoom, while driving, to discuss his case that included charges of driving with a suspended license.
As soon as Corey Harris called into his hearing from his phone while behind the wheel, his attorney, who was in the courtroom, asked for a two-to-four week adjournment.
The judge, dumbfounded, asked, “OK, so maybe I don’t understand something: this is a driving while license suspended?”
When Harris’ attorney confirmed the circumstances, the astounded judge incredulously said, “I don’t even know why he would do that.”
Harris’ bond was immediately revoked and he was ordered to turn himself into jail by the evening. No word yet if he complied -- let alone whether he drove himself to jail. [via NBC News]
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A one-year-old from Ghana has been crowned the world’s youngest male artist by Guinness World Records.
Ace-Liam Ankrah, who turns 2 in July, started dabbling in art alongside his mom, who says she gave him paint to keep him occupied while she worked on her own paintings.
He debuted his talent with a masterpiece titled, “The Crawl.” He has since exhibited and sold several of his brightly colored paintings. [via AP]
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 330 points (0.86%) to close at 38,111 on Thursday. The S&P lost 31 points (0.60%) to close at 5,235 and the NASDAQ lost 183 points (1.08%) to close at 16,737.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE fell to $77; BRENT CRUDE to $82.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.57 on Thursday.
₿ BITCOIN gained Thursday, up 1.19% and trading over $68,371.
🛩 There were more than 4,789 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and more than 647 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $522 million jackpot or a $241.4 million cash payout. Saturday night’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $161 million jackpot or a $75.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
New Music Friday
Alan Vega, “Insurrection”
Becky Hill, “Believe Me Now?”
Imogen Clark, “The Art of Getting Through”
Maya Hawke, “Chaos Angel”
Richard Hawley, “In This City The Call You Love”
Willie Nelson, “The Border”
Zolita, “Queen of Hearts”
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An individual who claims to have attended Howard University with SEAN COMBS in the 1980s told Rolling Stone that the rapper once allegedly beat his then-girlfriend with a belt.
“[He] whupped her butt -- like really whupped her butt,” another source who was also a student at the time, told the outlet.
While the unidentified woman refused to comment on the story, others came forward sharing their own experiences with Combs.
A rep for Combs declined to comment on the claims. [via Rolling Stone]
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MADONNA is being sued by a fan who claims her “Celebration” tour show was too sexual for him, in addition to other complaints.
In his suit, Justen Lipeles says the show started over an hour late, Madonna lip-synced through some of her songs, the air conditioning was turned off causing him to sweat and he was subjected to “pornography without warning.”
For his pain and suffering Lipeles wants a refund for the tickets and part of the profits Madonna made from the tour. [via The Blast]
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Following his divorce from LISA BONET in 1991 and his subsequent playboy years, LENNY KRAVITZ now says he is nine years celibate.
Speaking to The Guardian, Kravitz said he has moved on from casual flings as he waits for the right woman to come into his life.
The decision doesn’t stop him from posting social media thirst traps, however, such as the one of him working out in leather britches. [via Guardian]
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SNOOP DOGG recently launched a new memorabilia auction, “The Shiznit,” and in typical Snoop fashion, the first item he is auctioning off is a half-smoked blunt.
According to the site, the blunt is “preserved in resin in Snoop’s personal ashtray to display for eternity.” To avoid any questions about its authenticity, Snoop actually smoked the blunt in front of an authenticator earlier this year.
Other items hitting the auction block include a Death Row Records necklace autographed by Snoop, his 1989 Nintendo Game Boy, master recording tapes, tour props, handwritten notes, vintage clothing and more.
Fans have from now through June 16 to bid on the items. [via People]
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TAYLOR SWIFT is coming to town and homeless people are getting the boot.
Shelter Scotland told the BBC that several homeless people the charity supports are being bussed as far as two hours out of Edinburgh to free up hotel space for Swifties coming to her show next month.
According to the outlet, several groups were offered temporary housing at hotels, only to have that offer rescinded due to a “severe shortage” of rooms. [via Page Six]
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Before meeting her boyfriend BENNY BLANCO, SELENA GOMEZ had a different idea of how she was going to start a family.
Speaking with TIME, Gomez revealed that she planned to adopt a baby in the next few years, wanting to be a mom around age 35. Not only that, but she says that she had already made peace with being a single mom.
Now, though things may change a bit, especially since Blanco said he is hoping to start a family with Gomez. [via TIME]
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A former bodyguard for MICHAEL JACKSON says he was a “womanizer.”
Matt Fiddes opened up about his time with the King of Pop on the “Stripping Off With Matt Haycox” podcast. He “was a real womanizer [...] we went to great lengths to hide his girlfriends and wives from the public,” Fiddes said. “He was brainwashed by Motown to not be seen with a girl” for fear of losing his fan base.
As many know, MJ was married to LISA MARIE PRESLEY from 1994 to 1995, and then tied the knot with dermatologist DEBBIE ROWE in 1996, with whom he had two kids. Fiddes says MJ also dated WHITNEY HOUSTON for a bit in 1991. [via Radar Online]
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CASTING CALL
NICHOLAS GALITZINE has been cast as He-Man in the film adaptation “Masters of the Universe.”
While plot details for the forthcoming film are being kept quiet, He-Man's story is that he crashed to Earth in a spaceship as a child, and decades later returns to his home planet to defend it from the evil forces of Skeletor.
Galitzine most recently starred in Prime’s “The Idea of You.” [via Variety]
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Netflix heads to the Big Apple with its latest installment in the “Selling” franchise, “Selling The City.”
The reality series follows agents at real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman as they list luxury real estate in NYC.
The franchise also includes, “Selling Sunset,” “Selling The OC,” and “Selling Tampa.” [via Deadline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Could KIM KARDASHIAN soon have her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
With her foray into the acting world, she might just meet the criteria set by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, though she would also have to be nominated, consent to the nomination and fork over $40,000 for the star.
IF she were to get through those hurdles, she could have something that even ANGELINA JOLIE, OPRAH, BRAD PITT and LEONARDO DICAPRIO don’t. [via Hola!]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
QUEEN CAMILLA recently had a discreet night at the theater with her five grandchildren.
She took the brood to “Guys and Dolls” at London’s Bridge Theatre.
The secret outing came to light when she toured the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with KING CHARLES and an actor asked how she had liked the production. “It was fantastic!” she said.
The actor, Daniel Mays, told the media the Queen took in the show about three months ago. [via Express]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Web Designer Day
National Utah Day
National Macaroon Day
National Smile Day
National Save Your Hearing Day
World No Tobacco Day
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ON THIS DATE
1859 - The Big Ben Clocktower begins chiming.
The idea for the clock tower came after a fire destroyed the previous clock in 1834. There were initiatives that would ensure that Big Ben would always be exactly on time.
At 13 tons, it took 16 horses to carry the clock to the structure.
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1929 - Ford Motor Company agrees to produce automobiles for the Soviet Union.
The agreement signed with the communist government stipulated for the construction of Model A cars en masse for the Soviet populace.
After the success of the Ford automobile in the Soviet Union, Stalin would hail Ford as one of the greatest industrialists in the world, contradicting the communist mantra literally on parade in his own country.
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1988 - The meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev to end the Cold War formally finishes.
Reagan was a star among Soviet audiences, speaking eloquently and succinctly about freedom.
The president stuck to broad issues, proselytizing freedom and free societies, much to the Soviets' dismay, on their own turf in Moscow.
Though Reagan showed up the communist premier, there was little progress in negotiating a brighter future for the two nations.
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2005 - The infamous informant of the Watergate scandal comes clean.
W. Mark Felt explained to Vanity Fair that he was the one who broke the story to Woodward and Berstein.
His disclosure closed the book on forty years of mystery, over who instigated the relentless investigation into Richard Nixon.
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2014 - Psy’s “Gangnam Style” becomes the first video to reach 2 billion views on YouTube.
The milestone comes just over 500 days after the song hit 1 billion views on the platform.
The South Korean pop star earned about $2 million for the feat from ads.
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2021 - Tulsa, Oklahoma marks the 100 year anniversary of the massacre of black residents by a white mob.
The horrific event took place in the Greenwood neighborhood after a 19-year-old Black man was accused of assaulting a white woman in her teens.
In addition to the physical assault of residents, a 35 square block area of the neighborhood was burned and destroyed.
The event is considered one of the single worst incidents of racial violence in American history.
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BIRTHDAYS
Normani - pop singer - 28
Azealia Banks - rapper - 33
Farrah Abraham - reality star, “Teen Mom” - 33
Montez Ford - wrestler - 34
Waka Flocka Flame - rapper - 38
Nate Robinson - basketball player - 40
Yael Grobglas - actress, “Jane the Virgin” - 40
Andy Hurley - drummer, Fall Out Boy - 44
Colin Farrell - actor, “Phone Booth” & “The Recruit” - 48
Brooke Shields - actress, “Blue Lagoon” & “Lipstick Jungle” - 59
Lea Thompson - actress, “Back to the Future” - 63
Clint Eastwood - director & actor - 94
Born On This Date
John Bonham - drummer, Led Zeppelin - 1948 (d. 1980)
Genghis Khan - Emperor - 1162 (d. 1227)
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