Today is Friday, May 3, 2024.
It is the124th day of the year.
242 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Police sweep in on major campus protests and AIRBNB offers a new stay category. Details in HIT LIST.
BRITNEY SPEARS is one step closer to finalizing her divorce and one of TAYLOR SWIFT’s songs is CPR certified. More in SHOWBIZ.
Will “The Fall Guy” fall flat? Details on what’s going on with the flick CASTING CALL.
KYLIE JENNER has entered the booze biz. More in KARDASH.
THE QUEEN would like her husband to slow down — to no avail. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Police cleared out anti-Israel encampments at UCLA Thursday morning following another night of violent clashes.
University officials deployed bulldozers to scoop up the trash left behind by the protestors.
Across the country, the Associated Press estimates that nearly 2,000 protestors have been arrested for campus encampments since April 18.
MEANWHILE, AT COLUMBIA: Editors of the Columbia Law Review have written a letter to university leadership calling to give all students a passing end-of-semester grade, saying the events of the last two weeks have left them “irrevocably shaken” and “unable to focus.”
WORTH ASKING: Shouldn’t good lawyers be able to focus even when they’re disturbed? [via AP]
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AIRBNB has announced a new category of stays for its users, called “Icons.”
The category will include unique, experiential opportunities that go well beyond simply finding a place to crash at night.
To kickoff the option, the company announced the opportunity to rent a replica of the house from the animated feature “Up” — complete with balloons attached to the roof. Taking things even further, the customer will be hoisted into the air while inside the house by a giant crane in the New Mexico desert.
Other “Icon” experiences include staying at the guest house of a celebrity; CHRISTINA AGUILERA and GWYNETH PALTROW have notably participated in the past. [via New York Times]
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After enjoying a pandemic-era boom and a soaring market cap, PELOTON is looking for a new CEO to lead the organization following 400 layoffs announced this week.
Sitting CEO Barry McCarthy will move to an advisory role in the meantime. The job cuts amount to $200 MILLION in savings that will be reallocated across the company.
Peloton’s stock price is down 90% from its 2020 peak but gained 7% on news of the efficiencies. [via CNN]
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Primatologists observing orangutans in Indonesia have published first-hand evidence of one such animal using a paste made from chewing a plant known for alleviating pain to a gash on its face.
The orangutan, nicknamed Rakus, suffered a facial wound after a scuffle with another ape. Over the next few days, Rakus would chew a plant from the liana family, known to contain natural pain alleviation, then use some of the mashed-up plant as a salve. Such use of plants by an orangutan has never been published before.
Researchers add that the wound never showed signs of infection and it closed up within a week. [via NBC News]
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Shooting Star Vodka is truly out of this world.
The newly released booze from Pegasus Distillerie is the first Ultra-Premium vodka to be infused with a meteorite that was discovered in 1977.
The bottles sell for $180 to $200 each, and there are only 4,806 in existence. [via NY Post]
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DEATHS
Legendary rocker DUANE EDDY has died.
He passed away Tuesday at the Williamson Health hospital in Franklin, Tennessee after a battle with cancer.
Eddy is best known for his reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn.”
He was 86.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 322 points (0.85%) to close at 38,225 on Thursday. The S&P gained 45 points (0.91%) to close at 5,064 and the NASDAQ increased 235 points (1.5%) to close at 15,840.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $78; BRENT CRUDE at $83.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.67 on Thursday.
₿ BITCOIN rebounded slightly Thursday, trading around $59,300.
🛩 There were more than 3,440 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and more than 390 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $284 million jackpot or a $127.6 million cash payout. Saturday night’s POWERBALL drawing for a $203 million jackpot or a $92.7 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
New Music Friday
Amy Aileen Wood, “The Heartening”
Charlotte Day Wilson, “Cyan Blues”
David J, “Tracks From the Attic”
Dua Lipa, “Radical Optimism”
Frank Turner, “Undefeated”
Jess Locke, “Real Life”
Kacy Hill, “Bug”
Maurice White, “Manifestation”
P.O.D., “VERITAS”
Sia, “Reasonable Woman”
Spice 1, “Platinum O.G.2”
Willow, “Empathogen”
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BRITNEY SPEARS and SAM ASGHARI have reached a settlement in their divorce proceedings.
Nearly a year after he filed, the pair has reached an agreement and now just need a judge to sign off on it to be officially done.
Thanks to a prenup, which Sam didn’t end up contesting, Brit walks away with her belongings and any earnings she made before and during their marriage. [via TMZ]
MEANWHILE: On Wednesday night, paramedics were called to the Chateau Marmont after Britney and her boyfriend, Paul Soliz, allegedly got into an altercation. On Thursday, Brit addressed the incident on Instagram, saying “the news is fake” and that she is “moving to Boston.” [via TMZ]
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TAYLOR SWIFT’s song “The Tortured Poets Department,” from the album of the same name, has the perfect tempo for performing CPR.
The American Heart Association shared the fact this week, saying the track features 110 beats per minute, which lines up perfectly with hands-on CPR.
Add this to the long list of why Swifties love her! [via People]
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BEYONCE is one of 40 people who will be included in the 2024 update of the Larousse dictionary.
Listed as a proper noun, Bey’s entry reads, “American singer of R&B and pop.”
The French encyclopedic dictionary was first published in 1905. [via Sunday Times]
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BILLY IDOL is “California sober.”
The 68-year-old rocker opened up about his clean slate, saying a near death motorcycle accident in 1990 convinced him to give up his addiction to drugs.
While he has kicked the drug habit, Idol says he does occasionally enjoy a “glass of wine every now and again.”
WORTH NOTING: The term “California sober” has been used by several celebs who have cleaned up their act, but still partake in some drinking and/or recreational drug use. [via ET]
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STEVIE WONDER and MISTY COPELAND will be honored with the George Peabody Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Music and Dance in America.
Copeland is the first dancer to receive the award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the Peabody Institute.
Wonder and Copeland will also both speak at the Peabody Conservatory’s 2024 graduation ceremonies later this month. [via Billboard]
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REBA MCENTIRE is working on some new music.
She made the announcement during an appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” and also revealed that she will be performing a new single at this year’s ACM Awards -- which she is hosting.
McEntire also discussed her new sitcom for NBC, which she said is called “Happy’s Place.” [via Rural Radio]
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CASTING CALL
ROSIE O’DONNELL is joining the cast of “And Just Like That…” for Season 3.
She will play a character named “Mary,” according to an Instagram post showing off her script.
No word on a premiere date for Season 3, though insiders say it will be sometime in 2025. [via ET]
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KEVIN SPACEY is calling out a new two-part documentary featuring interviews and archived material from the actor’s “childhood to early success on Broadway and subsequent meteoric rise to stardom.”
While that description doesn’t sound that controversial, it’s the focus on Spacey’s legal issues that he has taken issues with -- specifically the sexual assault allegations and subsequent acquittal.
On X Spacey wrote that he will “not sit back and be attacked by a dying network’s one-side[d] ‘documentary’...in their desperate attempt for ratings.” He later added that he plans to address it further over the weekend…so stay tuned! [via Variety]
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A domestic violence joke in the new movie “The Fall Guy” has some fans upset.
In the flick, actress HANNAH WADDINGHAM, who plays a movie producer, walks into a star’s trailer that has been totally destroyed and says, “It’s like Amber and Johnny were just in here;” referring to the former couple’s volatile relationship.
“The Fall Guy” hits theaters today -- be sure to check out Monday’s Morning Martini to see how it fared. [via TMZ]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KYLIE JENNER’s sparkling vodka drink, Sprinter, is now available.
The beverage comes in a pack of eight with four different flavors, including grapefruit, lime, peach and black cherry.
Each 12oz can contains 4.5% ABV. [via Billboard]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
At a Buckingham Palace event this week, QUEEN CAMILLA told one guest that she’s been trying to keep KING CHARLES’ schedule clear so he can rest, but he wants to keep working.
”I’ve been trying to hold him back,” she told one guest, according to the Telegraph.
The King and Queen made a joint public appearance earlier this week to visit cancer patients at a London-area hospital. The Firm also announced that Charles would become a patron of a major English cancer charity. [via The Telegraph]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Orthodox Good Friday
Sun Day
World Press Freedom Day
Wordsmith Day
School Lunch Hero Day
National Textiles Day
Write a Review Day
National Two Different Colored Shoes Day
National Chocolate Custard Day
National Paranormal Day
National Space Day
National No Pants Day
International Tuba Day
National Garden Meditation Day
National Lumpy Rug Day
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ON THIS DATE
1802 - Washington D.C. is incorporated as a city.
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1936 - Joe DiMaggio makes his debut with the NY Yankees.
He gets three hits.
The Yankees defeated the St. Louis Browns 14-5.
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1946 - The International Military Tribunals for the Far East begins hearing the case against 28 Japanese military and government officials accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during World War II.
Twenty-five were found guilty later that year -- of the other three, two died and one was found clinically insane. Seven were sentenced to death.
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1947 - Japan’s postwar constitution goes into effect.
The progressive constitution granted universal suffrage, stripped Emperor Hirohito of all but symbolic power, stipulated a bill of rights, abolished peerage, and outlawed Japan’s right to make war.
The document was largely the work of Supreme Allied Commander Douglas MacArthur and his occupation staff, who had prepared the draft in February 1946 after a Japanese attempt was deemed unacceptable.
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1952 - A ski-modified U.S. Air Force C-47 piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher of Oklahoma and Lieutenant Colonel William P. Benedict of California becomes the first aircraft to land on the North Pole.
Fletcher climbed out of the plane and walked to the exact geographic North Pole, probably the first person in history to do so.
Standing alongside Fletcher on the top of the world was Dr. Albert P. Crary, a scientist who, in 1961 would travel to the South Pole by motorized vehicle, becoming the first person in history to have stood on both poles.
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1968 - After 34 days of discussions to select a site, the United States and North Vietnam agree to begin formal negotiations in Paris on May 10, or shortly thereafter.
Hanoi disclosed that ex-Foreign Minister Xuan Thuy would head the North Vietnamese delegation at the talks. Ambassador W. Averell Harriman was named as his U.S. counterpart.
The start of negotiations brought a flurry of hope that the war might be settled quickly. Instead, the talks rapidly degenerated into a dreary ritual of weekly sessions, during which both sides repeated long-standing positions without seeming to come close to any agreement.
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1986 - 54-year-old Willie Shoemaker, aboard long shot Ferdinand, becomes the oldest jockey ever to win the Kentucky Derby.
The victory was just one of Shoemaker’s 8,833 wins, a record that stood until 1999, when it was broken by Laffit Pincay.
Ferdinand was the only horse to run in all three Triple Crown races that year, finishing second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes.
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2020 - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blames China for the spread and severity of COVID-19.
He also said that the Chinese government stockpiled medical supplies while concealing the virus from the rest of the world.
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BIRTHDAYS
Rachel Zegler - actress, “West Side Story” - 23
Noah Munck - actor, “iCarly” - 28
Pom Klementieff - actress, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” - 38
Cheryl Burke - dancer, “DWTS” - 40
Eric Church - country singer - 47
Christina Hendricks - actress, “Mad Men” - 49
Bobby Cannavale - actor, “Boardwalk Empire” & “The Watcher” - 54
Rob Brydon - actor, “The Trip” & “Cinderella” - 59
Frankie Valli - pop singer, Four Seasons - 90
Born On This Date
Dwayne Haskins - football player - 1977 (d. 2022)
James Brown - soul singer - 1933 (d. 2006)
Sugar Ray Robinson - boxer - 1921 (d. 1989)
Bing Crosby - pop singer - 1903 (d. 1977)
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