Today is Monday, May 8, 2023.
It is the 128th day of the year.
237 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Working from home isn’t a good idea and the mystery surrounding the hundreds of pounds of pasta dumped in New Jersey has been solved. More in HIT LIST.
TAYLOR SWIFT announced her next “Taylor’s Version” album and PRINCE gets a highway. More in SHOWBIZ.
Paramount has officially announced the end of “Yellowstone” and the writers’ strike continues to cause delays for several shows. More in CASTING CALL.
YE was spotted wearing a SKIMS-like outfit and fans aren’t sure what to think. More in KARDASH.
Highlights from Saturday’s coronation in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
“Mage” won Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, delivering a solid win for its bettors at 15-1 odds. The victory marked the first Derby win for jockey Javier Castellano, who’s competed in the event 15 times before.
WORTH NOTING: Mage is owned by nearly 400 shareholders through a “fractional share” company that lets investors buy in for as little as $50. Because the winnings get divided up proportionally, those $50 investors will get about a $95 payout.
BUT WAIT: If those same investors had just put down a straight $50 bet on the horse, they’d have made around $800. [via @darrenrovell]
MEANWHILE: By the start of the race on Saturday, seven horses died for one reason or another over the preceding week. It sounds like a lot, but all cases involved injury or euthanasia for “humane reasons,” according to an official Churchill Downs statement.
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The CEO of ChatGPT said over the weekend that the remote work model that blossomed during the pandemic was a failed experiment.
“I definitely think one of the tech industry’s worst mistakes in a long time was that everybody could go full remote forever, and startups didn’t need to be together in person and, you know, there was going to be no loss of creativity,” SAM ALTMAN said at a talk organized by credit card processing company Stripe.
But even well-established companies – not just startups – are herding employees back into offices lately, including Lyft, Disney, Starbucks, and News Corp. [via Fortune]
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The Louisiana high schooler who received over 170 college offers and more than $10 million in scholarships has announced where he plans to attend school next year.
Dennis Barnes, who is only 16-years-old, has committed to Cornell University, where he plans to major in computer science. [via WCVB]
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The mystery of the 500 pounds of pasta dumped near a creek in New Jersey has been solved.
According to neighbors who live in the Middlesex neighborhood, the son of a couple residing in the area who recently passed away, found a large amount of expired groceries, including the pasta, in the home. Not sure what to do with it, the man tossed it all in the woods. After some heavy rain, the noodles expanded in size, leaving some to believe it had been cooked prior to being dumped.
As previously reported, the noodles were cleaned up shortly after being discovered. No word on whether or not the man will face any sort of fine for dumping them. [via People]
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Experts at the Family Vacation Guide have compiled a list of the top travel destinations for families in the US.
Factors taken into consideration by the experts include, cost of flights, accommodation options, kid friendly activities and restaurants, crime index scores and air quality.
The top five spots are:
5. Miami, Florida,
4. Aspen, Colorado
3. Boston, Massachusetts
2. Marco Island, Florida
1. Orlando, Florida
[via Family Vacation Guide]
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
10. Sisu: $1 million (stayed at 10)
9. The Covenant: $1.2 million (stayed at 9)
8. Air: $1.3 million (down from 7)
7. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: $1.5 million (down from 6)
6. Love Again: $2 million (new)
5. John Wick: Chapter 4: $2.3 million (stayed at 5)
4. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.: $3.3 million (down from 3)
3. Evil Dead Rise: $5.7 million (down from 2)
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $18.6 million (down from 1)
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: $114 million (new)
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DEATHS
Baseball player VIDA BLUE has died.
He passed away Saturday, according to his former team, the Oakland Athletics. No cause of death was shared.
Blue played for the A’s in the 1970s, leading the team to three straight World Series titles. He was also the youngest MVP in MLB history.
He was 73.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 546 points (1.65%) on Friday to close at 33,674. The S&P added 75 points (1.85%) to close at 4,136 and the NASDAQ added 269 points (2.25%) to close at 12,235.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $71 on Friday; BRENT CRUDE at $75.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.54 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN ticked up over the weekend, trading over $28,900.
🛩 There were more than 3,920 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 105 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $83 million jackpot or a $43.9 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $97 million jackpot or a $52.2 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
The MTV Movie & TV Awards aired Sunday night. The show was host-less, audience-less and pre-recorded.
As reported last week, host DREW BARRYMORE decided not to host the show in solidarity with the writers’ strike. She has signed on to host next year’s awards show.
And the winners were…
Movie - “Scream VI”
Show - “The Last of Us”
Performance in a Movie - Tom Cruise, “Top Gun: Maverick”
Performance in a Show - Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”
Hero - Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us”
Villain - Elizabeth Olsen, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”
Kiss - Madison Bailey & Rudy Pankow, “Outer Banks”
Comedic Performance - Adam Sandler, “Murder Mystery 2”
Breakthrough Performance - Joseph Quinn, “Stranger Things”
Fight - Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface, “Scream VI”
Frightened Performance - Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”
Duo - Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
Kick-Ass Cast - “Stranger Things”
Song - “Carolina,” Taylor Swift
Musical Moment - “Come Back Home” from “Purple Hearts”
Docu-Reality Series - “The Kardashians”
Competition Series - “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars”
Host - Drew Barrymore, “The Drew Barrymore Show”
Reality Onscreen Team - Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Sheana Shay, Lala Kent, “Vanderpump Rules”
Music Documentary - “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me”
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TAYLOR SWIFT told fans at her Nashville concert over the weekend that she is releasing a re-recording of her 2010 record “Speak Now.”
As previously reported, Swift started re-recording past albums in 2021 after her masters were sold by music executive SCOOTER BRAUN.
“Speak Now,” her third “Taylor’s Version” album, is due out July 7. [via AP News]
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BAD BUNNY took his talents from the recording studio to the wrestling ring in Puerto Rico over the weekend.
After entering the ring to his hit song “Chambea,” BB took down WWE superstar DAMIAN PRIEST.
The win comes after he defeated THE MIZ in a tag team match at WrestleMania 37.
WORTH NOTING: Both BB and Priest are from Puerto Rico, but fans were clearly on the rapper’s side during the match. [via TMZ]
ALSO: No word on whether rumored girlfriend KENDALL JENNER was in attendance.
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A stretch of Minnesota State Highway 5 will be renamed “Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway” in honor of the late rocker known as PRINCE.
All signs for the new road, which runs past his Paisley Park headquarters, will be purple.
Paisley Park, which served as Prince’s home and studios, is now a museum. [via Deadline]
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TOM BRADY isn’t bailing on his broadcasting gig despite a report from the New York Post stating otherwise.
Per the report, the former QB was considering walking away from the $375 million contract he signed with FOX to “pursue other ventures.”
Brady denied the news, sharing the story on Instagram along with the caption “#FakeNews.” Insiders doubled down on his post, telling TMZ that Brady has already been preparing for his new role. [via TMZ]
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LEBRON JAMES’ son BRONNY JAMES has committed to playing basketball at USC this fall.
Prior to settling on USC, the younger James was also looking at Ohio State and Oregon.
With the choice, he will stay close to home, and his dad, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. [via Deadline]
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CASTING CALL
IT’S OFFICIAL: “Yellowstone” will end with the second half of Season 5, which is set to premiere in November.
A yet-to-be-titled sequel will follow the finale in December, according to a statement from Paramount. No casting details have been revealed, though it was previously announced that MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY was tied to the project, as well as some “Yellowstone” originals.
It is unknown if the series ending has anything to do with the drama surrounding star KEVIN COSTER. Also, it is unclear if a script has been finalized for the latter half of the second season with the ongoing writers’ strike.
Stay tuned. [via Deadline]
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While CHRISTNA APPLEGATE’s days in front of the camera are likely done due to her multiple diagnosis, she told Vanity Fair that she would love to voice her former “Married..with Children” character.
As previously reported, an animated series based on “Married…with Children” is in the works. Applegate played Kelly Bundy in the original show, which debuted on Fox in 1987.
The rest of the original cast, including ED O’NEILL (Al Bundy), KATEY SEGAL (Peggy Bundy) and DAVID FAUSTINO (Bud Bundy) are also on board for the new project.
As for when it all may come to fruition, Applegate said, “It’s not in our hands now, so we’re just kind of waiting.” [via Vanity Fair]
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Following the passing of JERRY SPRINGER, Nosey, a Pluto TV channel ran a bunch of episodes of his daytime talk show, resulting in skyrocketing viewership for the platform.
According to Pluto TV, “tens of thousands of folks” tuned in to reruns of “The Jerry Springer Show,” -- about a 33% increase.
WORTH REMEMBERING: Springer’s show ran for 27 seasons from 1991 to 2018. [via TMZ]
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Filming for the final season of “Stranger Things” has been halted amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. Other Netflix series affected include “Big Mouth” and “Cobra Kai.” [via Variety]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Fans were not impressed with YE’s recent clothing choice of skintight leggings.
The rapper paired the leggings, which many compared to something his ex-wife KIM KARDASHIAN would wear, with a soccer jersey and a pair of his Yeezy Not Too Sole-ful shoes, which are essentially sock-like boots.
“He wearing SKIMS?” one Twitter user asked, while another commented “Not Yeggings.”
The look is assumed to be part of Ye’s Yeezy Season 2023 line. [via Page Six]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
On a wet, dreary day typical of spring in England, KING CHARLES became the oldest English monarch ever to be formally crowned on Saturday, during an ancient ceremony full of modern twists at Westminster Abbey. While the program centered on the Church of England’s traditions, it also incorporated elements from other religions, a nod to Charles’ globalist world views.
PRINCE HARRY ended up sitting in the third row, near the opposite end of his brother PRINCE WILLIAM and his family. PRINCE ANDREW sat two rows directly behind William.
PRINCESS ANNE wore a military uniform and hat with a massive red feather that hilariously covered Harry’s face while seated, leaving many to wonder if she – or some smartass in the Firm – planned the uniform and seating chart that way.
While Charles is the oldest monarch to be crowned, his grandson and future king, PRINCE GEORGE, is the youngest future monarch to play an official role in a coronation, attending to the King as a Page of Honour – which mostly included carrying his robe.
Sky News reported that Harry had been invited to join the Royal Family for lunch at Buckingham Palace after the events and photos, but he hopped a plane back to California shortly after the ceremony, as expected.
MEANWHILE: Remember when Harry said during a podcast interview that the American First Amendment is “bonkers”?
Anti-monarchists were arrested Saturday in London for holding signs and shouting slogans like “Not my King.” A police representative told the BBC that while “protest is lawful” whether people get arrested depends on “context” and that “The coronation is a once in a generation event and that is a key consideration in our assessment.”
IN OTHER WORDS: The same “bonkers” Constitutional Law that Harry admits he doesn’t understand would have protected people showing derision for the very institution he so despises from being arrested for their views.
So there’s that.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Iris Day
Golf Day
National Coconut Cream Pie Day
Free Trade Day
No Socks Day
World Ovarian Cancer Day
World Donkey Day
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ON THIS DATE
1541 – Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto becomes the first documented European explorer to reach the Mississippi River.
De Soto and his men would construct makeshift rafts to cross the rushing waters that night, under the cover of darkness, to evade capture or an attack from Native Americans.
The crew, in search of treasure, would come up empty-handed.
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1927 – A pair of French aviators take off from Paris in a biplane named, “The White Bird.”
They sought to be the first men to fly across the Atlantic non-stop.
It never showed up in New York. Conjecture concludes the pilots were taken in a storm.
Charles Lindbergh would be the first man to accomplish the trans-Atlantic feat - though in the other direction - two weeks later.
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1945 – A day after world powers signed peace accords, citizens of the Allied countries erupt in celebration.
As Germans surrendered to Soviets in the East, those in the Western theaters fled to escape being taken prisoner by the communists. Still, the Soviets captured nearly 2 million. At the same time, European and American Prisoners of War were released en masse.
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1980 – The World Health Organization officially declares smallpox eradicated.
A group of doctors and scientists wrote a paper five months earlier claiming that medicine and infrastructure worldwide had helped beat the ugly disease.
By the mid-1970s, the disease was sequestered to portions of Africa distanced from civilization for lack of roads and constant warring.
The last detected case to occur naturally was found in a girl in Bangladesh in 1975.
The U.S. and Soviets each retained a strain of the disease for research and study.
An interesting fact: Joseph Stalin suffered from smallpox when he was 7 years old. He had photos of himself retouched to diminish the appearance of the scars left behind.
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1984 – The Soviets declare they would not compete in the 1984 Olympics, to be held in Los Angeles.
This came after Americans refused to participate in the 1980 Moscow games.
On paper, Soviet officials feared violent and public riots in opposition to the arrival of their athletes. Thirteen other bloc countries followed suit.
Without the threat of the rival Soviet athletes, the U.S. won 83 gold medals that year.
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2010 - The last piece of Yankee Stadium falls in the Bronx, New York, marking the end of a two-year demolition project.
It was home to the team from 1923 to 2008 and was eulogized as “the Cathedral of Baseball.”
The Yankees moved to an adjacent new stadium for the 2009 season.
The old stadium is now home to a public park named Heritage Field.
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2019 - Georgia governor Brian Kemp signs the “heart-beat bill.”
The new law bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is when a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
Georgia is the fourth state to enact such a law.
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BIRTHDAYS
Ethan Wacker - actor, “Bizaardvark” - 21
Nikki Roumel - actress, “Ginny & Georgia” - 23
Tekashi 6ix9ine - rapper - 27
Desmond Dennis - R&B singer - 29
Olivia Culpo - model - 31
Kemba Walker - basketball player - 33
Nyle DiMarco - model - 34
Adam Huber - actor, “New Girl” & “Animal Kingdom” - 36
Stephen Amell - actor, “Arrow” - 42
Matthew Davis - actor, “Legally Blonde” - 45
Enrique Iglesias - pop singer - 48
Melissa Gilbert - actress, “Little House on the Prairie” - 59
Gary Glitter - rock singer - 79
David Attenborough - TV show host, “Planet Earth” - 97
Born On This Date
Ricky Nelson - pop singer - 1940 (d. 1985)
Don Rickles - comedian - 1926 (d. 2017)
Harry S. Truman - 33rd POTUS - 1884 (d. 1972)
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