Today is Thursday, May 9, 2024.
It is the 130th day of the year.
236 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Good news for FTX customers and curious real estate developments in North Korea. Details in HIT LIST.
GISELE is not happy about being included in the roast of her ex and JELLY ROLL is ready for his next 5K. More in SHOWBIZ.
A new series set in “The Office” universe is in the works. Details in CASTING CALL.
KIM needs to pick a side. More in KARDASH.
Rumors swirl about PRINCE HARRY’s next project. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
The management team winding down operations of crypto exchange FTX has reported it possesses enough assets to pay back every defrauded customer — with interest.
After a rally in the price of Bitcoin, selling off stakes in companies, and all other assets, the management team reports $16.3 BILLION to distribute as part of the bankruptcy settlement. For individual customers, that amounts to 101 cents on the dollar.
WORTH NOTING: While the customers certainly have the right to be frustrated that they lost access to Bitcoin holdings that since would have doubled in value, the development is a welcome surprise for most bankruptcy proceedings, in which creditors typically receive pennies on the dollar they’re owed. [via Bloomberg]
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A look at satellite images over North Korea suggest dictator KIM JONG JUNIOR has totally demolished his Ryoko Palace, located in the outskirts of Pyongyang. Analysts believe Junior typically lives there in the winter.
There’s no way to know the motivation behind the demolition. Speculation includes that he’s overseeing construction of a new facility or making way for a new military compound. The demolition comes amid a public push by the North Korean government to further fortify its military as it cuts off diplomatic ties with its free neighbor to the south. [via Newsweek]
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A San Francisco woman faces three years in prison after a jury convicted her of stealing more than $60,000 from a Target store during the height of the pandemic.
From October 2020 and November 2021, 43-year-old Aziza Graves repeatedly used the self checkout system to avoid paying for her whole order. While she would scan all the items, she would then only put in a single bill or even just a few coins into the machine before quickly walking off.
IT GETS WORSE: She then sold the stolen items at UN Plaza in downtown San Francisco.
Graves will be sentenced May 24. [via USA Today]
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An English geography teacher found a rock inscribed with an ancient Celtic language in his yard, shedding some new light on the Medieval tongue.
Specifically, the hashmark-style inscriptions come from the “ogham” writing system, dating back some 16 centuries. Ancient writers used this system to engrave hard materials like stone before the availability of vellum for writing and the spread of the Latin alphabet.
An initial review of the markings suggest the stone bares someone’s name and personal details. [via ARTnews]
WORTH ASKING: Maybe this was an ancient predecessor of a dating app?
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Plans to travel to the UK this summer? Be sure to check out poop levels at the local beaches.
Over the past few years, poopy beaches in England have become more of an issue for both residents and tourists, as raw sewage is being pumped into the rivers and onto beaches in excess. This includes smelly waste, toilet paper and sanitary products -- not to mention the rotting carcasses of fish that are killed by the spillage.
The s**tty situation has gotten so bad that local software developer James Richardson created a site to track sewage spills across the UK and how long the spills affect the waterways.
Check out “Top of the Poops” here>
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 172 points (0.44%) to close at 39,056 on Wednesday. The S&P was flat, closing at 5,187 and the NASDAQ ticked down 29 points (0.18%) to close at 16,302.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $79; BRENT CRUDE at $83.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.64 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN tumbled on Wednesday, down 1.8% and trading around $61,400.
🛩 There were more than 4,930 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 90 such cancellations.
💰Friday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $331 million jackpot or a $153.1 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
SHOHEI OHTANI’s former translator and friend, IPPEI MIZUHARA, has pled guilty to multiple federal charges after admitting to stealing nearly $17 million from the Dodgers player.
Over a three-year period, Mizuhara appears to have impersonated Ohtani on 24 different occasions. He also used funds to pay for his expensive dental work and purchase over $35,000 worth of trading cards.
Mizuhara has been charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of filing a false tax return for the extensive. He faces up to 33 years in prison.
His arraignment is scheduled for May 14. [via ESPN]
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TOM BRADY’s ex-wife GISELE BUNDCHEN is “deeply disappointed” by the jokes made about their divorce at the former QB’s Netflix roast.
A source told People that Bundchen feels that many of the jokes were a “disrespectful portrayal of her family,” and she is concerned for their kids.
Brady and Bundchen were married for 13 years and share two kids. Brady is also dad to a son he shares with ex-girlfriend, actress BRIDGET MOYNAHAN. [via People]
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CHRISTIAN DUMONTET, the husband of “Selling Sunset” alum CHRISTINE QUINN, has officially been charged following back-to-back domestic violence incidents from March.
According to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office, Dumontet faces three misdemeanors, including child abuse/endangerment, assault and violation of a protective order.
Many may recall that Quinn called the cops on Dumontet claiming he threw a garbage bag containing glass at her, but missed and hit their 2-year-old son. He then allegedly returned to the home the following day -- after bailing out -- despite there being an emergency protective order in place.
Since then, Dumontet has filed for divorce from Quinn, citing irreconcilable differences. He is also seeking sole legal and physical custody of their son. [via TMZ]
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MARTIN LAWRENCE is getting back to his comedic roots with a stand-up tour.
Joining him on the “Y’all Know What It Is!” tour are DEON COLE, DC YOUNG FLY, JESS HILARIOUS, ADELE GIVENS, RICKEY SMILEY and more.
The tour kicks off this July. [via Daily Caller]
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JA RULE, along with the REFORM Alliance and The Ladies of Hope Ministries, hosted a Mother’s Day brunch on Tuesday for 40 moms and their children at Sei Less in New York.
Those who attended the three-hour event all share a common bond of being adversely impacted by the criminal justice system.
Being raised by a single mom, Ja Rule says that Mother’s Day is and has always been a special day for him to give back. [via Billboard]
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JELLY ROLL completed his first first 5K on Tuesday, and now says he wants to do another one!
The country singer, who decided last year to prioritize his health more, said training for the race was “rough” but “cool.”
The race comes amid JR’s social media hiatus, which he decided on after being bullied about his weight. [via TMZ]
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CASTING CALL
TRAVIS KELCE landed a role in RYAN MURPHY’s FX series, “Grotesquerie.” The news was announced by Kelce’s co-star NIECY NASH.
No details about his role or the series’ plot have been shared.
This isn’t Kelce’s first foray into the acting world; he hosted “SNL” last March, starred in the reality dating show “Catching Kelce,” appeared in nearly 400 commercials during the last NFL season and recently served as executive producer on the film, “My Dead Friend Zoe.”
He is also gearing up to host “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” for Prime Video. [via NY Post]
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ROBERT DOWNEY JR. is set to make his Broadway debut this fall in “McNeal.”
He will play Jacob McNeal, a talented writer who struggles with family issues as he works on his next novel.
The play is set to run from September 30 through November 24. [via Variety]
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PARIS HILTON and NICOLE RICHIE are reuniting for a new reality show.
Insiders told TMZ that the duo will both star in the new show, though exact details about the premise are not known.
The two appeared together in “The Simple Life,” which saw the girls trade in their trust funds for five weeks of fun on the farm. [via TMZ]
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A decade after the end of “The Office,” “the universe of Dunder Mifflin” is making a comeback.
NBC announced yesterday that a new version of the comedy series will begin production in July. While the original show was set in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the new show will track a “dying Midwestern newspaper and publisher trying to revive it with volunteers.”
So far the only cast members to have been announced are DOMHNALL GLEESON and SABRINA IMPACCIATORE. [via The Sun]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN is feeling the heat for her off-the-cuff comment about the war in Gaza.
While taking part in a panel at the OMR digital and marketing trade fair in Hamburg, Germany this week, Kim was interrupted by someone yelling “Free Palestine” in the crowd. Without missing a beat, Kim says into her mic, “Free everybody.”
Social media trolls demanded Kim pick a side in the ongoing conflict, despite her previously expressing sympathy for what happened on October 7.
Kim did later address her comment, saying, “I sympathize with the people of Israel and with those in Palestine. I sympathize with everyone. All we want is for everyone to feel safe and free.” [via TMZ]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY has reportedly been approached to write a follow-up to his memoir released last year, “Spare,” that would reveal even more palace intrigue.
RadarOnline reports that Harry is feeling “immense pressure” to spill more secrets and for a “big bucks” payday — though no words on the specifics, but “Spare” earned $27 MILLION in sales.
But a rep for Harry says he has no such plans any time soon.
BUT WAIT: Others close to Harry say he has another book in him — but one that would be an olive branch to reconnect with his estranged family. It’s been no secret that the revelations in “Spare” were the final nails in the coffin for Harry’s relationship with his brother PRINCE WILLIAM. [via RadarOnline]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Europe Day
Ascension Day
Alphabet Magnet Day
National Moscato Day
National Sleepover Day
National Lost Sock Day
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ON THIS DATE
1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final trip to the New World.
He, along with his brother Bartolomeo and son Fernando, would stop in Morocco, Martinique, Santo Domingo, Honduras, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica.
In November 1504, Columbus would return home to Spain.
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1671 - A famous Irish thief is caught trying to steal the Crown Jewels of the British Royal Family.
His name was Thomas Blood, but he was known as "Captain Blood." He resented the monarchy, especially after the English Civil War caused him to lose his sprawling Irish estate.
The plot to steal the jewels was quickly ended by tower guards, and Blood was taken to King Charles. Legend says that Charles was not upset, but rather impressed by the outlaw's cunning. The King had Blood's estates returned and made him a member of the royal court.
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1865 - President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance to end in the South.
This is the commonly accepted end date of the Civil War
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1914 - Woodrow Wilson declares the first national Mother's Day.
Since then it has been set as the second Sunday of every May by Congress.
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1926 - By their own accounts, Richard E Byrd and Floyd Bennett fly over the North Pole in a Fokker monoplane. The purported round-trip from Spitsbergen, Norway took 15-and-a-half hours.
But in 1996, Byrd's diary was discovered, and included passages to suggest the men turned back 150 miles short of the North Pole.
In 1929, however, Byrd would make the first undisputed flight over the South Pole.
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1950 - L. Ron Hubbard publishes a book exploring the science of mental health called “Dianetics.”
The self-help doctrine would guide Hubbard the rest of his life, and the ideals would gather adherents. That school of thought eventually became what is known today as Scientology.
Though known for his fanciful religion, Hubbard was also a prolific author of science fiction and fantasy stories before the publication of “Dianetics."
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1960 - The Food and Drug Administration approves the world's first birth control pill for public consumption.
The first studies on THE PILL began in 1954, using chemicals to inhibit ovulation. Six short years later it would be available to the masses.
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1971 - "The Honeymooners" airs its last episode.
The show began as a short-form comedy sketch on the variety show "Cavalcade of Stars" in 1951. Jackie Gleason was the host.
That eventually morphed into the half-hour TV show. It was one of the first shows to be filmed in front of a live audience.
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1992 - The Salem Village Witchcraft Victims’ Memorial is dedicated in Danvers (formally Salem Village) to mark the 300th anniversary of the trials that took place there.
It is located across from the site of the original Salem Village Meeting House where many of the witch examinations took place.
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2005 - The Huffington Post launches.
The liberal site features news, satire, blogs and original content, covering everything from politics and business to entertainment and healthy living.
It was originally created as a counterpart to the conservative Drudge Report.
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2019 - Pope Francis introduces new rules on reporting sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Part of the new rules state that any official of the Vatican who fails to report abuse could face jail time.
There is also protection offered for whistleblowers and a clause that states investigations into abuse allegations start within 30 days of the complaint.
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BIRTHDAYS
Psalm West - son of Kim & Ye - 5
Birdie Joe Danielson - daughter of Brie Bella & Brian Danielson - 7
Noah Centineo - actor, “Austin and Ally” & “The Fosters” - 28
Shaboozey - music producer & singer - 29
Alex Roe - actor, “The Fugitive” - 34
Audrina Patridge - reality star, “The Hills” - 39
Sasha Farber - dancer, “DWTS” - 40
Prince Fielder - baseball player - 40
Rosario Dawson - actress, “Rent” & “Seven Pounds” - 45
Dave Gahan - rock singer - 62
John Corbett - actor, “Sex and the City” - 63
Amy Hill - actress, “50 First Dates” & “The Cat in the Hat” - 71
Billy Joel - rock singer, Depeche Mode - 75
Born On This Date
Mike Wallace - journalist, “60 Minutes” - 1918 (d. 2012)
Howard Carter - archaeologist who found King Tut’s tomb - 1873 (d. 1939)
John Brown - abolitionist - 1800 (d. 1859)
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