6/16/2023: Alien Odds đ˝
PLUS: An SBF Reprieve; Final Beatles Record; and Harry & Meg Out at Spotify
Today is Friday, June 16, 2023.
It is the 167th day of the year.
198 days remain.
WHATâS ON TAP
One of TESLAâs major battery suppliers is in hot water and new developments shed light on Covid-19âs origins. More in HIT LIST.
MICHAEL JORDANâs âFlu Gameâ sneakers sold at auction this week and LISA VANDERPUMP is opening up a new restaurant in Lake Tahoe. More in SHOWBIZ.Â
CARRIE FISHERâs final film gets a release date and Disney announces its long term movie release planâŚat least for one box office hit. More in CASTING CALL.Â
YEâs former business manager wants a countersuit against him thrown out. More in KARDASH.
PRINCE ANDREWâs inheritance might be enough to keep his brother â KING CHARLES â from forcing him out of the Royal Lodge. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Federal prosecutors have agreed to drop five charges against SAM BANKMAN-FRIED connected to his role in crypto exchange FTXâs implosion last year â sort of.Â
The five fraud and bribery counts were not part of the original indictment on which authorities in the Bahamas agreed to extradite SBF back to the United States. The prosecutors are agreeing to try those five charges separately, next year, essentially once the American and Bahamian governments file the appropriate paperwork.Â
The judge overseeing the case said Thursday he would give more thought on whether he would approve trying the counts separately. [via ABC News, CNBC]
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The mining company responsible for supplying Tesla with raw cobalt and nickel to manufacture its batteries tops a list of companies committing human rights abuses for the second year in a row.
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre tracks abuse allegations against companies around the world. Of the 65 major accusations last year, nine of them were connected to mining giant Glencore.Â
Accusations include worker treatment, polluting practices, and government corruption. [via The Verge]
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Conservationists at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior say the grey wolf population is now thriving after the species nearly went extinct on the island five years ago.
As the wolfâs population dwindled, officials imported wolves to the island. They now estimate there are 31 on the island.
The expansion of the wolf population has also helped keep the moose population contained â there were just too many for the natural ecosystem to feed, and their primary food source, balsam fir trees, were getting stripped bare. [via Associated Press]
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A group of independent journalists believe they have identified the first people to have contracted COVID-19.Â
The journalists cite unnamed sources âwithin the US governmentâ who confirm that three of the earliest people to contract the virus worked at the Wuhan lab in China, and one of them specifically worked on gain of function research.Â
MEANWHILE: The Times of London similarly quotes an unnamed State Department official as saying, âIt has become increasingly clear that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was involved in the creation, promulgation, and cover-up of the Covid-19 pandemic.â [via Public]
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Have you ever wondered which states are best prepared to handle an alien invasion? Thanks to njcasino.com, we now know.Â
According to the research, which looked at population density, number of UFO sightings, landscape and defense of states, Virginia is the best prepared to handle an invasion with an 8.04 out of 10, thanks to its âlarger military force per capita.âÂ
Ironically, Nevada had the lowest survivability score with just 4.53 out of 10. The rating is due to the stateâs high volume of UFO sightings, lack of landscaping for residents to hide (caves, forests, etc.) and low number of food and beverage manufacturing companies.Â
Here are the Top 10 States likely to survive and invasion:Â
Virginia - 8.04
Georgia - 7.95
Massachusetts - 7.85
New York - 7.83
Louisiana - 7.82
Illinois - 7.80
Maryland - 7.62
Missouri - 7.62
Alabama - 7.54
Wisconsin - 7.50
[via NY Post]
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BABY NEWS
AL PACINO and his girlfriend NOOR ALFALLAH have welcomed their first child together, a son named Roman Pacino.
This is Pacinoâs fourth child.Â
Also -- he is 83 and she is 29.Â
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RELATIONSHIPS
Actor DYLAN SPROUSE and Victoriaâs Secret model BARBARA PALVIN are engaged.Â
The couple, who have been together since 2018, announced the news on Thursday with a collage of Instagram posts.Â
The proposal reportedly took place a year ago.Â
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BY THE NUMBERS
đ The DOW added 428 points (1.26%) to close at 34,408 on Thursday. The S&P added 53 points (1.22%) to close at 4,425 and the NASDAQ added 156 points (1.15%) to close at 13,782.
đ˘ WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $70; BRENT CRUDE at $75.
â˝ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.58 on Thursday.
âż BITCOIN began to rebound Thursday, up 1.7% and trading over $25,500.
đŠ There were more than 5,270 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and more than 144 such cancellations.
đ°Tonightâs MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $281 million jackpot or a $145.2 million cash payout. Saturday nightâs POWERBALL drawing will be for a $366 million jackpot or a $189 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
These albums drop today:Â
Ben Howard, âIs It?â
Django Django, âOff Planetâ
Donna Missal, âRevelâÂ
Ezra Williams, âSupernumerariesâ
Five Finger Death Punch, âGreatest Hitsâ
Gracie Addams, âGood Riddance DeluxeâÂ
Killer Mike, âMichaelâ
Kool Keith, âBlack Elvis 2â
Lorelle Meets the Obsolete, âDaturaâÂ
Maisie Peters, âThe Good Witchâ
Monograms, âA Fine Commitmentâ
Pelicanman, âPlanet Chernobylâ
Peter Lewis, âImaginationâ
PJ Harding, âTo Fall Asleepâ
Rodeo Boys, âHome MoviesâÂ
Tom Grennan, âWhat Ifs & Maybesâ
Willie Jones, âSomething To Dance ToâÂ
Yusuf / Cat Stevens, âKing of a Landâ
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MICHAEL JORDANâs âFlu-Gameâ sneakers sold for more than $1.3 million at auction this week.Â
The shoes were worn by Jordan in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, during which he was battling the flu. After the game, Jordan signed the kicks and gave them to ball boy Preston Truman, who held onto them for over a decade before selling them in 2013.Â
Sometime between then and now, they ended up in the hands of Ken Goldin, who facilitated this weekâs auction.Â
No word on who the buyer is. [via TMZ]
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ROD STEWART is saying good-bye to his rock ânâ roll roots.Â
In a recent interview with BBC Breakfast, the 78-year-old announced that he is pivoting his musical style to the swing genre, and has plans to release a new album with JOOLS HOLLAND next year.Â
âEverything has to come to an end sooner or later,â he stated.
WORTH NOTING: This isnât Stewart's first venture from rock music, he also released a soul album in 2009, called âSoulbook.â [via People]
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SNOOP DOGG has partnered with Petco for an ad campaign centering on pet health.Â
In the clip, the 51-year-old rapper plays the human version of a Doberman pinscher, who asks himself if he feels so good because of âPetco keeping [him] healthy for less money.âÂ
The ad is a play on Snoopâs music video for his song âWho am I? (Whatâs My Name)?â and when he morphed into a Doberman on his debut album âDoggystyle.â [via Benzinga]
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Three Spider-man actors enter a barâŚor in this case, a group chat.Â
TOM HOLLAND, ANDREW GARFIELD and TOBEY MAGUIRE are all in a group chat called âThe Spider-Boys.â It was created after the three played Peter Parker in the 2021 movie âSpider-Man: No Way Home.Â
Holland, who has played the web-slinging superhero seven times, shared the tidbit in his THR Magazine cover story.Â
FOR THE RECORD: Garfield has played Spidey in three films and Maguire has played him in four. [via Daily Mail]
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PAUL MCCARTNEY used A.I. technology to create what he calls âthe final Beatles record.âÂ
Speaking to BBC Radio 4âs âBest of Today,â the 80-year-old said that the song features vocals from the late JOHN LENNON, who was killed in 1980.Â
âWe were able to take Johnâs voice and get it pure through this A.I. Then we could mix the record, as you would normally do,â McCartney explained. Â
The track is believed to have been written by Lennon in 1978, called âNow and Then.â It is due out this year. [via People]
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LISA VANDERPUMP is opening up a new restaurant.Â
A month after closing down Pump in West Hollywood, the 62-year-old revealed that she is opening a new restaurant in Lake Tahoe called Wolf by Vanderpump.Â
It is set to open this winter.Â
BY THE WAY: âWolfâ is the middle name of her grandson Teddy. [via Daily Mail]
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CONOR MCGREGOR has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at Game 4 of the NBA finals.Â
The alleged victim claims she was âviolentlyâ sexually assaulted by the former UFC champ in a menâs bathroom at the Kaseya Center in Florida.
The woman reported the incident to authorities on Sunday, and also retained a lawyer. According to letters from her attorney sent to McGregor, she is seeking settlements with the NBA, the Miami Heat organization, and McGregor.Â
Reps for McGregor have called the allegations âfalse.â [via TMZ]
WORTH NOTING: This was the same game where McGregor decked the mascot, in what he said was a preplanned skit.Â
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CASTING CALL
âWonderwell,â the film CARRIE FISHER completed just weeks before passing away, is set to be released on June 23.Â
Deadline broke the news this week, reporting that seven years after Fisherâs death her final project will finally see the light of day. As for why the delay, director VLAD MARSAVIN said Fisherâs unexpected passing and the pandemic caused some unforeseen challenges.
The movie is described as âA coming-of-age fairy tale set between modern-day Italy and an imaginary realm just beyond.â Fisher plays Hazel, who guides a naive and curious 12-year-old girl named Violet (KIERA MILWARD) to a mysterious portal. The film also stars RITA ORA and SEBASTIAN CROFT. [via Deadline]
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Disney reported this week that the theatrical release for âAvatar 3â is being pushed back to December 2025, from the originally planned December 20, 2024 date.Â
âAvatar 4â is also being moved from December 18, 2026 to December 2029 and âAvatar 5â will come out in 2031, not 2028.Â
In response to the news, social media users joked about asking their friends what they have planned for the future dates -- the last one which is eight years out.Â
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE: Disney is the first major Hollywood studio to plan movies out for 2027 and beyond. [via Hollywood Reporter]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
YEâs former business manager wants the rapperâs countersuit against him thrown out.Â
THOMAS ST. JOHN sued Ye last year for $4.5 million -- the amount he says he is due according to a contract the two signed. St. John says that even though he was fired by the rapper three months into the 18-month agreement, he is still owed the $300,000 per month they agreed upon.
In response, Ye claims he was âsleep-deprivedâ and therefore the contract is void and he should get back the $900,000 he did pay St. John.Â
Now, St. John is asking the court to dismiss all of Yeâs claims. [via RadarOnline]
Any one keeping score on the number of lawsuits Ye is currently involved in?Â
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WEâLL NEVER BE ROYALS
In the wake of massive layoffs to its podcast divisions, SPOTIFY has parted ways with PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE.
When the Sussexes first decided to leave official royal duties, they inked a $20 MILLION overall deal with Spotify to produce podcast content. That resulted in one season of Megâs âArchetypesâ show, which published twelve interviews late last year.
The Wall Street Journal reports that âthe couple hasnât met the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout from the dealâ â but no word how much of the twenty-mil they ultimately pocketed.
BUT WAIT: Producers for the show are apparently trying to find a new studio to pay them to put out another season. [via WSJ]
WORTH REMEMBERING: The coupleâs not going to go hungry, either; they signed a reported five-year, $100 MILLION deal with Netflix in 2020 as well.Â
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PRINCE ANDREW reportedly inherited enough money from QUEEN ELIZABETH that he can afford to maintain and renovate the Royal Lodge on the grounds of Windsor, where heâs lived since shortly after the Queen Mother died in 2002.Â
His brother, KING CHARLES, has asked that Andrew leave the estate, particularly so that PRINCE WILLIAM and his family can move in. But the property is managed by the Crown Estate, a separate legal entity that the monarch keeps at armâs length, and not the King himself. Andrewâs newfound wealth gives him plenty of leverage to stay on the grounds. [via OK Magazine]Â
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Take Back the Lunch Break Day
Ugliest Dog Day
Fresh Veggies Day
World Tapas Day
National Fudge Day
Arborist Appreciation Day
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ON THIS DATE
1846 â Giovanni Mastai-Ferretti ascends to the Papacy, taking the name Pius IX.
With 32 years as the head of the church, he holds the record for the longest-reigning Pope in history.
Under his watch, the Catholic Church adopted the decree of Papal Infallibility, which declared the words of the Pope to be the words of God.
He would be sainted in 2000.
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1858 â Illinois State Legislator Abraham Lincoln gives the famous âHouse Dividedâ speech.
The oratory was a take-down of slavery in the Southern States, on the heels of his nomination to run for Senate as a Republican.
The race for Senate crescendoed in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Lincoln lost the general election.
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1963 â Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
She was aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft, orbiting 48 times in 71 hours. The flight was a short-lived record for most time in space. The craft was piloted from a control center on Earth.
Tereshkova would later serve as a member of the Soviet Parliament.
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1977 â Leonid Brezhnev is elected president of the Supreme Soviet.
Brezhnev had been a loyal member of the Soviet apparatus since the 1930s.
His power rivaled Stalinâs, holding a smattering of titles in the Soviet leadership. His leadership did little to end the Cold War, only heightening tensions when he invaded Afghanistan and established a doctrine that permitted the Soviets to intervene militarily when communist bloc countries were threatened.
He died in 1982.
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2010 â Bhutan institutes a nationwide ban on tobacco consumption.
The cultivation, harvesting, production and sale became illegal. The law also allocated resources for government-sponsored treatment to help addicts quit.
It was part of the nationâs âGross National Happinessâ initiative, which was designed to measure quality of life across the board, not just in terms of economic robustness.
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2015 - Donald Trump launches his campaign for the Republican nomination for US President at Trump Towers.Â
He would win the election, becoming the 45th President of the United States.Â
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2017 - Amazon buys Whole Foods for $13.7 BILLION.
The purchase was a strategic move for Amazon to enter the brick-and-mortar and organic food markets. Â
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BIRTHDAYS
Anna Cathcart - actress, âDescendantsâ films & âOdd Squadâ - 20
Justin Jefferson - football player - 24
Camila Morrone - model - 26
Banks - R&B singer - 35
Diana DeGarmo - actress & singer - 36
Missy Peregrym - actress, âStick Itâ & âRookie Blueâ - 41
Daniel Bruhl - actor, âInglorious Bastardsâ - 45
Eddie Cibrian - actor, âSunset Beachâ & âThird Watchâ - 50
Phil Mickelson - golfer - 53
Danny Burstein - actor, âMoulin Rouge!â - 59
Laurie Metcalf - actress, âRoseanneâ & âThe Connorsâ - 68
Roberto Duran - boxer - 72
Born On This Date
Tupac Shakur - rapper - 1971 (d. 1996)
Ultimate Warrior - wrestler - 1959 (d. 2014)
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