6/21/2022: Beyonce Returns

PLUS: Democrats squabble on inflation, Ben does Ukraine, and The Chicks bail

Jun 21, 2022

Today is Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

It is the 172nd day of the year.

193 days remain.

HIT LIST

More details are emerging about ELON MUSK’s vision for Twitter.

Multiple outlets got the inside scoop from people who attended Musk’s all-hands twitter town hall last Thursday.

Musk said he may not step into the CEO role himself, but expects the company to take his direction as owner. His focus would also be on profitability, which could mean layoffs, since Twitter persistently runs in the red – but Musk did note that “anyone who is a significant contributor has nothing to worry about.”

Dashing cold water on the hopes of the perpetually at-home, Musk said he favors in-person work over remote.

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Here’s a headline from three weeks ago: “Germany calls for G7 to phase out coal power generation in bid to halt climate change.”

And here’s a headline today: “Germany Plans Coal U-Turn, Gas Funding to Offset Russia Cut.”

The change of heart comes as Russia decreases its natural gas output to much of Europe.

WORTH NOTING: A rep for Germany's economy ministry says the country remains committed to phasing out all coal by 2030.

WORTH REMEMBERING: Germany used to be a nuclear powerhouse, but took all its reactors offline in recent years.

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The International Swimming Federation has drawn a line for transgender swimmers.

The body oversees international swimming competition, and will only permit transgender swimmers who transitioned before they turned 12 years old to compete in women’s events.

While the policy does not affect anyone currently in a competitive program, it stops controversial transgender swimmer Lia Thomas from the University of Pennsylvania from elite competition.

BY THE WAY: CAITLYN JENNER chimed in on Twitter, agreeing with the policy: “I took a lot of heat - but what’s fair is fair! If you go through male puberty you should not be able to take medals away from females. Period.”

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Will POPE FRANCIS resign?

His predecessor POPE BENEDICT XVI broke centuries of tradition by stepping down from the role after less than eight years, rather than carrying it out until his death. Francis has had the job for more than nine years now.

Francis, who’s 85, is rumored to be in poor health and confined to a wheelchair as a result of ongoing knee pain. Just last month, Francis reportedly told a group of Bishops that rather than have an operation on the knee, he’d just resign completely. He also recently canceled a trip to Africa.

Add to this reports that a meeting of cardinals has begun in the Vatican, which is itself rather unusual.

Time will tell.

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The Dow (-38.29 / .13%) and S&P (+8.07 / .22%) were mostly flat Monday, while the Nasdaq picked up 152 points (1.43%).

West Texas Intermediate fell $8 to $109 a barrel, while Brent Crude was flat at $114.

The national average cost of a gallon of gas dropped again, to $4.98 a gallon.

Bitcoin picked up $186.20 in value (.91%).

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CHARTS

Top 5 Songs on iTunes:

Drake, “Sticky”
Jack Harlow, “First Class”
Lizzo, “About Damn Time”
Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
Future feat. Drake & Tems, “WAIT FOR U”

Top 5 Songs on Spotify:

Joji, “Glimpse of Us”
Drake feat. 21 Savage, “Jimmy Cooks”
Harry Styles, “As It Was”
Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
Drake, “Sticky”

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DEATHS

LENNIE ROSENBLUTH has died.

He was best-known for playing on the University of North Carolina’s basketball team in 1957, when the team notoriously bested Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas squad for the NCAA title.

No cause of death was shared.

He was 89.

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DARIUS LEE has died.

The 21-year-old Houston Baptist men’s basketball star was shot and killed in New York City on Monday, as part of an attack that left eight other people injured from gunfire.

No word yet on suspects or a motive, though police say a gun was found at the scene.

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THE SWAMP

The House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth – which is a real thing and shockingly not actually something a right-winger would make up to mock leftist bureaucracy – took a field trip to the Rio Grande Valley last week.

WORTH NOTING: The Rio Grande Valley is a central point for illegal immigration into this country.

The Democrats on the trip toured infrastructure projects near the southern border. But they didn’t take the time to see the border, or any popular crossing points. Instead, they listened to locals whose encampments don’t include running water, paved roads, or concrete foundations for their houses,

WORTH ASKING: Why not?

HERE’S WHY: There have been more than 1.5 million encounters with illegal immigrants since October. Only 1,613 were put into the Remain in Mexico program.

IT GETS WORSE: 445,837 got away – that we know of.

Any Democrat getting within a sneeze’s distance of the border would have to confront this reality. But they don’t.

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In the last year former PRESIDENT TRUMP held office, the United States got about 20% of its electricity from coal power.

Under President JOE BIDEN, the country generated 24% of its electricity from coal in 2021 as the cost of natural gas has soared.

WORTH ASKING: How’s that green agenda working out for you?

Source: CBS News (!)

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There are 18 cases awaiting rulings by the Supreme Court before its session formally ends at the end of June.

Opinions are expected today and Thursday – including the official ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which could overturn the right-to-abortion precedent set by Roe v Wade.

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It turns out that not only is President JOE BIDEN’s economic policy bad for inflation, his messaging about it is terrible too – at least according to other Democrats.

CNN Capitol Hill reporter MELANIE ZANONA reports that Democrats “have been panicking privately. They have been saying for months, back in December they started pressing the White House to get a handle on inflation, start talking about this issue.”

IT GETS WORSE: When White House staff took meetings with Congressional Democrats to assuage their concern, they passed the buck. According to Zanona, the message was: “blame other people, blame corporate greed” for inflation.

IN OTHER WORDS: Even the official Party Line is to pass the buck. It’s not that they have a plan or an idea, they have no idea what to do.

WORTH ASKING: Or, is the suffering the point entirely? Is this administration, overstuffed with Obama-era holdovers, desperate to remake America in the way that former President BARACK OBAMA promised?

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LOTTERY

No winner for Friday’s Mega Millions drawing. Tonight’s night’s drawing will be for $290 million or a $162.3 million cash payout.

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Last night’s Powerball jackpot was $296 million, or a $166.1 million cash payout.

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SHOWBIZ NEWS

BEN STILLER met with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY on Monday.

Stiller was in Europe as part of his role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.

Stiller and Zelenskyy chatted after Stiller toured the ruins and wreckage in Irpin.

"It's one thing to see this destruction on TV or on social networks. Another thing is to see it all with your own eyes. That's a lot more shocking," Stiller said.

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BEYONCE is out with a new track.

She announced Monday that a new single, called “Break My Soul,” would debut at midnight last night, ahead of the release of her next album, “Renaissance,” due out late next month.

Insiders tell “Pitchfork” that the single will mark a “new era” for Beyonce featuring new anthemic music.

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THE CHICKS (formerly of the Dixie variety) ended their show in Indiana Sunday night after performing for less than a half hour.

No official word for why it ended so abruptly, but one concert-goer posted a video to twitter that appears to show NATALIE MAINES say, “I just can’t pull it off” before ultimately walking offstage.

In a social media announcement, the band said, “we are sorry we could not give you the show you deserved OR the show we wanted to give you. We will be back Indianapolis!!”

The tickets are expected to be honored for a future rescheduled date.

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Reality stars TODD and JULIE CHRISLEY say they are “alive and kicking” as they await sentencing on tax fraud charges.

US Weekly reported last week that the pair didn’t expect a conviction in the case.

Now, they’re calling the waiting period a “sad, heartbreaking time” for them and their family. They say they’ll keep up their weekly podcast as long as they can, and once they’re sent to the klink kids CHASE and SAVANNAH will take over.

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The new “Lightyear” movie from Disney brought in over $50 million in its opening weekend, but analysts are saying it fell well short of hopes and expectations.

Some in MAGA country think TIM ALLEN wasn’t given the job to return to voice Buzz because he’s a right-winger. Disney has also taken fire from the conservative crowd in recent months for openly acknowledging it goes out of its way to promote LGBTQ+ families in its stories.

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JENNIFER LOPEZ performed at a charity concert in Los Angeles last week, and brought out her daughter to sing with her. JLo’s been applauded for using her daughter’s gender-neutral pronouns, “they/them,” before she and her daughter sang “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri as a duet.

“They’re worth every single penny because they’re my favorite duet partner of all time,” Jen said about Emme joining her on stage.

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FAITH HILL says she didn’t shave her armpits as she prepared for her role in the “Yellowstone” prequel “1883.”

She said the decision first came up while she was at a wedding with co-star and husband TIM MCGRAW. He got a call from showrunner TYLER SHERIDAN who reportedly asked him, “Who’s gonna be the one to tell your wife that she has to stop shaving under her arms?”

Sheridan insisted she stop shaving immediately to allow for adequate growth in that department ahead of filming.

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Earlier this year, ADELE had to delay her residency at Caesars Palace because it just wasn’t ready. Now there’s doubt it’ll happen at all.

“The Sun” reports that staff for the theater have been told to go home until September, when ROD STEWART is set to perform.

Insiders tell the DailyMail both sides are working to get dates set for the rescheduled shows.

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CASTING CALL

The second “Yellowstone” prequel is getting a title change. It was originally billed as “1932,” but it looks like they’re going back 9 years; instead, it’ll be called “1923.” This one stars HARRISON FORD and HELEN MIRREN.

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Apple TV+ has ordered eight episodes of “Criminal Record,” starring PETER CAPALDI and CUSH JUMBO.

The show will pit a young detective played by Jumbo against a seasoned hack played by Capaldi as they’re pitted against eachother as new details emerge about a cold case. It’ll take place in modern day London.

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CRIB NOTES

KYLE RICHARDS and MAURICIO UMANSKY are looking to unload their Aspen vacation home for nearly $10 million.

The three-story duplex has four beds and five baths, hardwood floors, and exposed log beams, with two decks for taking in mountain views while enjoying a hot tub or the fire pit.

The house is expected to be featured on this season of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” after Richards brought her pals over for a girls trip earlier this year.

They bought the spot in 2016 for $4.2 million.

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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS

BLAC CHYNA and ROB KARDASHIAN have settled the “revenge porn” lawsuit she brought against him.

The suit was set to go to trial today.

No word on how much they settled for. The case has been pending for nearly five years.

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PEOPLE magazine reports that KHLOE KARDASHIAN is dating again after splitting from TRISTAN THOMPSON.

The new squeeze is a private equity investor who she met at a dinner party a few weeks ago.

BUT WAIT: Just last Friday, Khlo wrote on Instagram, “I am not seeing a soul,” and, “I am happy focusing on my daughter and myself for a while.”

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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS

PRINCE WILLIAM says he hopes his children continue his charitable work focusing on helping the homeless.

In a magazine article, Will wrote, “I commit to continue doing what I can to shine a spotlight on this solvable issue not just today, but in the months and years to come. … And in the years ahead, I hope to bring George, Charlotte and Louis to see the fantastic organisations doing inspiring work to support those most in need – just as my mother did for me.”

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DAY OF THE YEAR

National Selfie Day

Go Skateboarding Day

National Daylight Appreciation Day

National Peaches ‘N’ Cream Day

World Humanist Day

Fête De La Musique

International Yoga Day

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ON THIS DATE

1788 - New Hampshire ratifies the US Constitution. As the ninth state to do so, the new legal framework for the new country comes into effect.

The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, providing for a stronger central government among the states.

The hesitations to approve the document were primarily over the guarantee of fundamental liberties -- these came to light in the Bill of Rights, passed shortly after the approval of the Constitution.

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1893 - The first Ferris Wheel opens.

It was located in Chicago, for America's first world's fair. The inventor was George Washington Ferris, who made a career of designing bridges. He wanted to debut something greater than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

At its highest, the Ferris wheel cars reached 264 feet.

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1948 - The first stored-program computer executes its first program.

The program took 52 minutes to run and performed 3.5 million calculations to determine the highest proper factor of 2-to-the-18th power. What made this unique was that computers would previously have to be re-wired each time they processed a new program.

The hardware was a computer called the Small-Scale Experimental Machine.

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1982 - The man who shot Ronald Reagan is ruled not guilty by reason of insanity.

Hinckley was convinced that actress Jodie Foster spoke to him in her role in the movie “Taxi Driver.” His defense lawyers successfully argued that the movie's plot was the motivation for him to shoot the president, not his own motives.

He was institutionalized instead of headed to prison.

On the day Hinckley shot Reagan, three others were also wounded, including Press Secretary James Brady.

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2004 - The first civilian pilot makes his way into space.

SpaceShipOne was piloted by Mike Melville, and financed by tech gazillionaire Paul Allen.

The spacecraft was first launched to 46,000 feet by a special souped-up airplane, then separated and blasted into sub-orbit.

The total flight took 90 minutes and landed safely.

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2020 - Kurt Cobain’s guitar sells for a record $6 million.

The instrument was the one he played during Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged show.

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2020 - The WHO records a new record number of daily cases of COVID-19 with 183,020.

The majority of the cases are from North and South America.

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BIRTHDAYS

Kylee Renee - pop singer - 23

Tristan Blane - pop singer - 23

Natalie Alyn Lind - actress, “The Gifted” & “The Goldbergs” - 23

Rebecca Black - pop singer - 25

Rico Recklezz - rapper - 31

Lana Del Rey - pop singer - 37

Sharna Burgess - dancing pro on “DWTS” - 37

Michael Malarkey - actor, “The Vampire Diaries” - 39

Edward Snowden - whistleblower - 39

Prince William - heir to the throne - 40

Jussie Smollett - actor, “Empire” & elaborate hoax creator - 40

Brandon Flowers - rock singer, The Killers - 41

Chris Pratt - actor, “Jurassic World” & “Guardians of the Galaxy” flicks - 43

David Morrissey - actor, “The Walking Dead” - 58

Joe Flaherty - actor, “Freaks and Geeks” & “Happy Gilmore” - 81

Bernie Kopell - actor, “Love Boat” - 89

Born On This Date

Dipendra of Nepal - massacred his family & and was King for 3 days while in a coma - 1971 (d. 2001)

Judy Holiday - actress & comedian - 1921 (d. 1965)

Jane Russell - actress, “The Outlaw” & “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” - 1921 (d. 2011)

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