6/21/2023: The Great Raptor Caper!
PLUS: Hunter Biden Makes a Deal; “Price is Right” Injury; and New Royal Cyphers
Today is Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
It is the 172nd day of the year.
193 days remain.
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WHAT’S ON TAP
Another disaster is averted for airline passengers and the youngest of American adults can’t figure out how to plan for the future. More in HIT LIST.
ADELE gave her fans a huge dose of TMI at a recent show. More in SHOWBIZ.
SHANNON SHARPE won’t be on the sidelines of broadcast TV for too long. More in CASTING CALL.
KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN brought her family to the latest BLINK-182 show. More in KARDASH.
Britain’s monarchs have unveiled their joint cypher. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
REMEMBER WHEN just a couple weeks ago an airline passenger opened the cabin door mid-flight as the plane descended to the runway?
The flight crew aboard a Jeju Airlines flight from the Philippines to South Korea managed to prevent the same thing happening again on Monday. The 19-year-old culprit reportedly made a dash for the door after behaving strangely during the flight – though no word what that strange behavior entailed.
That’s when the crew swung into action; as CNN describes it, one person restrained him with a “lasso rope” while others applied zip ties to keep him subdued until the plane landed. [via CNN]
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A study commissioned by investment company Charles Schwab shows that Gen Z and Millennials aren’t putting time and effort into long term financial planning because it’s time-consuming and complicated.
WORTH NOTING: Sounds about right.
When it comes to reasons why they just float through life without telling their money what to do, 29% of the youngest American adults say they didn’t have enough time; 9% of Boomers said the same.
About 25% say they have no financial plans at all and about 66% say they don’t have a written, formal plan.
BUT WAIT: A majority of Boomers sy they don’t have a formal plan either – because they don’t have enough money to merit one. Only 38% of Gen Z and Millennials said the same. [via Business Insider]
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The remains of a velociraptor stolen from a museum in South Dakota have been recovered by authorities.
Last Friday, a security officer at the facility spotted three people trying to make a getaway with the artifact in the middle of the night and reported police.
QUICK WORK: Officials say they just followed security camera footage to track it down to a nearby apartment – and when the door opened, there it was.
The suspects are barely adults: One is 19, one is 18, and one is a juvenile.
WORTH NOTING: Miraculously, nothing was damaged. [via Associated Press]
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The City of Rome has opened the Largo Argentina area after a lengthy restoration – which according to tradition is the spot where Julius Caesar was murdered 2,067 years ago.
After the building project, visitors will be able to approach the spot from ground level, instead of peering down at it from a distance.
It’ll cost you 5 Euro to see it up close. [via Reuters]
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First son HUNTER BIDEN will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tax evasion as part of a deal with the Department of Justice.
He’s expected to avoid prosecution for illegally possessing a gun while addicted to illegal drugs as part of conditions imposed by the judge.
When asked about the deal, President JOE BIDEN said simply, “I’m very proud of my son.” [via New York Times]
MEANWHILE: The judge overseeing former President DONALD TRUMP’s classified documents case has set August 14 for a trial date.
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BABY NEWS
Singer MARC ANTHONY and wife NADIA FERREIRA welcomed their first child together over the weekend. He’s 54, she’s 24.
The newborn is Anthony’s seventh kid, two of whom are twins he shares with ex-wife JENNIFER LOPEZ.
“God’s timing is always perfect,” the couple wrote in an Instagram post. [via E!]
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 245 points (0.72%) to close at 34,053 on Tuesday. The S&P lost 20 points (0.47%) to close at 4,388 and the NASDAQ lost 22 points (0.16%) to close at 13,667.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $70; BRENT CRUDE at $75.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.57 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN continued to surge on Tuesday, up nearly 4% and trading near $27,900.
🛩 There were more than 3,218 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 188 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be a $400 MILLION jackpot or $207.1 MILLION cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
The concertgoer who chucked a phone at BEBE REXHA while she performed over the weekend, sending her to the hospital for stitches, says he thought the boneheaded stunt would be “funny.”
After an arraignment Monday, the 27-year-old fan was released without bail.
DailyMail tracked down the assailant, named Nick Malvagna. His employer has issued a statement condemning his actions – no word yet if he still has a job at what the paper describes as “a luxury dog kennel.” [via DailyMail]
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Now that actors DEAN MCDERMOTT and TORI SPELLING are officially split, friends say the couple worked really hard to avoid breaking up.
One insider tells People, “If this had happened a year ago, it would’ve been expected because things were terrible between them.” But in the ensuing months, things seemed to get better; the source called the divorce announcement “out of the blue.” [via People]
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Singer ADELE recently got candid with a concert crowd, telling them about her “jock itch”: “I sweat a lot, and it doesn’t go anywhere, so I basically am just sitting in my own sweat,” she told the crowd, adding that a doctor diagnosed her with jock itch.
But she had some humility about it all: “I don’t know why the [f] I just told you that,” she said before continuing the show. [via @AdeleIsSpecial]
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TAYLOR SWIFT and GIGI HADID were spotted out on the town in New York this week.
The longtime pals were spotted in coordinated black and white outfits on their way to the swanky celeb-favorite Nobu.
Swift is headed to Minneapolis for back-to-back shows this Friday and Saturday on her megahit “Eras” Tour. [via Harpers Bazaar]
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KELLY CLARKSON credits therapy with helping her get through her divorce from ex-husband BRANDON BLACKSTOCK.
She tells ET Canada, “I’ve been regularly doing [therapy]. I do love it. I actually started when I was married, you know, obviously having difficulties,” adding that she had not gone through any kind of counseling previously.
In particular, she says her therapist gave her “so many tools for how to navigate certain situations.” [via US Magazine]
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A recent winner on “The Price Is Right” celebrated winning a game so intensely that he dislocated his shoulder.
Just by pumping his fists in the air in celebration of winning a trip to Maui, he managed to pop the joint entirely. When it was time to spin the iconic big wheel, his wife had to step in for him.
It worked out – she racked up 95 points out of 100. [via TODAY]
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CASTING CALL
Former “Daily Show” host TREVOR NOAH has signed a podcast deal with SPOTIFY.
The as-yet-untitled weekly series is expected to feature interviews with high-profile celebs. While some big-name podcasts sign exclusive streaming deals, this one will be published across multiple services.
One Spotify exec said of Noah in a statement, “He’s a consummate creator with a unique point of view. It’s an always-on podcast, talk format. He’s really excited to be jumping into the next act of his life and career and to build community and talk to his fans about all that.” [via Variety]
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Filming for “Yellowstone” prequel “1923” is on indefinite hiatus as the writers’ strike drags on.
Cameras were ready to roll at the start of June, but so far nothing has broken loose.
Paramount is still shelling out an estimated $75,000 a month to use the Butte Civic Center in Montana for sets and offices through the end of the year. [via NBC Montana]
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Sports commentator SHANNON SHARPE appears to be looking to the future in the wake of his departure from FS1.
The NFL Hall of Famer left the network’s “Undisputed” show after the NBA Finals wrapped. Insiders have suggested that bad blood with co-host SKIP BAYLESS led to his departure.
In a Monday tweet, Sharpe teased that he won’t be away from the cameras too long: “I’m enjoying my early morning workouts, late breakfast, and break from wearing a suit every morning… But just for a little while. I’ll be back on [TV] in the morning’s [sic] soon.” [via Mediaite]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Just a couple days after her public pregnancy announcement, KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN returned for another BLINK-182 show on Monday, this time with her mom, sister KIM KARDASHIAN, and daughter PENELOPE in tow.
Khloe arrived decked out in a band t-shirt. Instagram videos from the concert also showed KRIS JENNER rocking out. [via People]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Buckingham Palace has debuted the official cypher for the recently-coronated King and Queen.
The emblem functions as an official logo for the monarchs. It features to letter Cs (one for Charles and one for Camilla) intertwined with the letter R (for Rex, which means “King” in Latin).
WORTH NOTING: KING CHARLES and QUEEN CAMILLA also have respective personal cyphers of their own.
MEANWHILE: A rep for the Sussexes have shut down rumors that MEGHAN MARKLE is working on a deal with fashion powerhouse DIOR.
One reporter for The Telegraph reports that multiple sources insist that “there is no truth to the claims that she will partner with the French fashion house.” [via Page Six]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Smoothie Day
Make Music Day
Summer Solstice
National Seashell Day
International Yoga Day
Go Skateboarding Day
World Giraffe Day
National Selfie Day
World Music Day
World Motorcycle Day
National Peaches ‘N’ Cream Day
World Humanist Day
National Daylight Appreciation 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.
John 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
Natalie Alyn Lind - actress, “The Gifted” - 24
Rebecca Black - pop singer - 26
Tyler Childers - country singer - 32
Lana Del Rey - pop singer - 38
Sharna Burgess - dancer, “DWTS” - 38
Michael Malarkey - actor, “The Vampire Diaries” - 40
Prince William - British royal heir - 41
Brandon Flowers - rock singer, The Killers - 42
Chris Pratt - actor, “Guardians of the Galaxy” films & “Jurassic World” - 44
Born On This Date
Jane Russell - actress, “The Outlaw” - 1921 (d. 2011)
Daniel Carter Beard - founder of the Boy Scouts of America - 1851 (d. 1941)
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