6/22/2023: Now Hiring: Dog Nanny
PLUS: A Major Career Milestone; Spears Family Reunion; and The Walses Shrug Off Royal Lodge
Today is Thursday, June 22, 2023.
It is the 173rd day of the year.
192 days remain.
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WHAT’S ON TAP
Another EV-maker buddies up with TESLA and a dumb criminal’s cell phone plot is *FOILED*. More in HIT LIST.
BRITNEY SPEARS says the family reunion her mother has wanted has already happened. More in SHOWBIZ.
RYAN MURPHY is heading to a new studio. More in CASTING CALL.
KIM KARDASHIAN rocked out at Tuesday’s Louis Vuitton fashion show in Paris. More in KARDASH.
All the fretting over PRINCE ANDREW’s housing arrangements could be for nothing. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
TESLA is cementing its foothold as the standard-bearer in the Electric Vehicle world.
Rival EV-maker RIVIAN – featured in the 2021 AppleTV+ series “The Long Way Up” starring EWAN MCGREGOR – has announced it will make its vehicles compatible to use Tesla’s charging network beginning next year.
GM and FORD have made similar agreements in recent weeks. [via AP]
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Do you love dogs to the tune of a six figure salary?
A LinkedIn job description offers a $127,000+ salary to take care of a billionaire family’s dog. The “Dog Nanny” gig requires utmost descretion and a commitment to the pooches’ “overall well-being, happiness, and safety.”
On top of the salary, the job would include room and board, likely in the family’s mansion.
No word on who the job is for, though; it was posted by a high-end staffing agency. [via NY Post]
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A Wisconsin man just marked his 60th anniversary – with the same company.
Don Siebold has worked at manufacturing company Formrite since the 1960s – for $1.38 an hour. “I just felt at home here,” Siebold tells the local Fox affiliate.
Siebold now works part-time as a project manager and is eyeing retirement – but not yet.
The company bought him his own John Deere riding mower to celebrate the milestone. [via Fox11]
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DID YOU KNOW: If you wrap your cell phone in foil, it will still get a signal.
One Florida criminal found that out the hard way, after police busted him with 17 cell phones in his vehicle, many of them encased in Reynolds Wrap.
His most recent victim was able to track her missing iPhone as soon as she discovered it missing while at a restaurant. The technology led police right to the crook.
Officials are now working to identify and return the remaining phones. [via WSMV]
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Regulators have approved lab-grown meat from chicken cells for consumers.
Two California-based startups – Upside Foods and Good Meat – now have the go-ahead to mass produce their offerings. Their technology uses cells from a living animal to – somehow! – multiply those cells, which get rolled out in giant sheets that get formed into shapes like cutlets, patties, and nuggets.
Good Meat is already selling in Singapore.
“Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it in a different way,” says the CEO of Good Meat’s parent company.
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DEATHS
LARRY MEYERS has died.
He was featured on the TLC show “My 600-Lb. Life” and went by the nickname Mr. Buttermilk Biscuits.
One of his cousins announced his passing on Facebook, just three days after his birthday on June 10.
He was 49.
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BABY NEWS
Comedian and actress WHITNEY CUMMINGS is pregnant.
She announced the news on Instagram alongside a photo of herself in a swim suit and sporting a baby bump.
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BREAKUPS
AVRIL LAVIGNE and TYGA have split.
The couple have been together since February. Along the way, Tyga gifted her an $80,000 necklace – that one insider tells People Lavigne intends to keep. [via People]
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WEDDINGS
Actor TYLER BARNHARDT is married.
The “13 Reasons Why” star got hitched last weekend to Adriana Schaps, who does not appear to work in showbiz, though when the pair met she was pursuing a career in musical theater.
They got married in Utah, where Schaps was working on a stage production of “Mamma Mia” when they met. [via People]
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 102 points (0.3%) to close at 33,951 on Wednesday. The S&P lost 23 points (0.52%) to close at 4,365 and the NASDAQ lost 165 points (1.2%) to close at 13,502.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $72; BRENT CRUDE at $77.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.58 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN exploded on Wednesday, up over 6% and back over $30,000.
🛩 There were more than 4,100 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 170 such cancellations.
💰Tomorrow night’s MEGA MILLIONS jackpot will be for a $320 MILLION, or a $167.7 MILLION cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
Just a day after LYNNE SPEARS was reportedly trying to broker peace between her daughters, BRITNEY SPEARS announced she has indeed visited her sister.
On Instagram, Brit alluded to visiting JAMIE LYNN SPEARS while she worked on the set of her rebooted show, “Zoey 102.”
“It was nice to visit my sister on set last week !!! I’ve missed you guys so much !!! Loyal girls stay home but it’s so nice to visit family 😌 !!!” Britney wrote. [via Page Six]
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Some internal miscommunication left BEYONCE riding a silver horse prop much longer than she was supposed to during a concert stop in Amsterdam on Sunday, leading to some very visible frustration with her crew.
The stagehands apparently missed their cue to help her off the horse as she sang “Summer Renaissance.” When one did finally approach her, she swatted his hand away. Later, she was spotted mouthing “Oh my God!” at the staff.
Watch the drama unfold > [via New York Post]
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PHARRELL WILLIAMS hosted his first fashion show as the creative director for Louis Vuitton at a show in Paris on Tuesday.
A gospel choir and full orchestra accompanied the more than 70 different designs modeled over the course of the evening.
ALSO SPOTTED at the show: RIHANNA, JAY-Z, BEYONCE, KIM KARDASHIAN, JARED LETO, LENNY KRAVITZ, NAOMI CAMPBELL, and ZENDAYA. [via CNN]
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ANNA DELVEY – who was fictionalized in the 2022 hit Netflix show “Inventing Anna” – was spotted hauling out trash from her apartment, but looking good while she did. She was snapped wearing an ankle monitor over sheer stockings, black dress, and swanky jewelry.
WORTH REMEMBERING: Delvey started a four year prison term in April 2019, but was released for good behavior, but ended back in legal trouble after she overstayed her visa.
She’s reportedly working on a new podcast show featuring celebrity guests who discuss “what it means to be a rule-breaker,” according to the official description. [via DailyMail]
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New York Jets Quarterback AARON RODGERS spoke Wednesday at a conference in Denver hosted by an advocacy group that promotes psychedelic drugs.
Rodgers discussed his personal experience with ayahuasca and how it helped his gameplay.
ALSO ON THE SPEAKING ROSTER: JAYDEN SMITH, son of Will, and former Texas Governor RICK PERRY who supports ongoing research of psychedelics as treatment for veterans with PTSD. [via Associated Press]
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Keeping our ADELE streak in tact this week: SYLVESTER STALLONE tells the Wall Street Journal that Adele insisted that she keep a statue of the actor when she bought his house.
The statue reportedly overlooks the mansion’s pool. Sly wanted to take it with him, but the singer insisted it stay as part of the transaction.
But everyone is cool with it now. “I like what she’s doing, she’s making it gorgeous,” Stallone said of Adele’s renovations. [via WSJ]
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The original demo tape that launched PRINCE’s music career is up for auction.
It’s part of the Marvels of Modern Music collection that ends later today.
The original record exec who received the tape gave it up for auction, so its authenticity is guaranteed. That exec’s widow found the tape among other memorabilia in her attic after he died in 2021. [via CNN Entertainment]
Check the status of the auction here >
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CASTING CALL
Prolific writer, producer, and showrunner RYAN MURPHY is parting ways with Netflix after a five-year overall deal that paid him somewhere between $250 and $300 MILLION.
Murphy is now headed to Disney, though no word when the official start date kicks in. His Netflix deal runs through the end of the month.
WORTH NOTING: Murphy produced ten projects over those five years – but insiders say the portfolio wasn’t huge in the way Netflix execs had hoped. His show “Dahmer - Monster” did end up as the third most popular English language TV season of all time for Netflix, however. [via Variety]
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You might start seeing more HBO shows on Netflix.
Just as Warner Bros. leans into its “Max” streaming service, which consolidated Discovery’s programming with HBO’s, among other properties, Deadline reports that HBO will license the show “Insecure” to Netflix.
Other shows are also reportedly in the works. So far nothing would be exclusive, meaning you could still watch the shows on Max. [via Deadline]
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“Yellowstone” creator TYLER SHERIDAN reveals in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he originally worked with HBO to develop the show – but execs said they’d only move forward with the deal if he could get ROBERT REDFORD to star, playing the role that KEVIN COSTNER has since made so iconic.
Sheridan did just that, talking Redford into shooting the pilot. But still HBO execs balked, and eventually said the show was too “Middle America” for their brand.
Sheridan says a nod to that exchange with the HBO suits eventually made it into the show, when a reporter who mocks rural life in Montana is murdered. [via THR]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN attended the Louis Vuitton fashion show in Paris on Tuesday – and posted a video of herself singing along to a song by ex-husband KANYE WEST and JAY-Z.
Of course, only Jay was on hand to perform and support his friend PHARRELL WILLIAMS, who recently took over as LV’s creative director.
Kim also shared clips from the runway and bits from other performances. [via People]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
For all the hand-wringing about PRINCE ANDREW not leaving the Royal Lodge despite KING CHARLES’ insistence, so that PRINCE WILLIAM and his family can move in, all the worry might be for nothing.
One insider tells Page Six that the Walses are perfectly happy at Adelaide Cottage, and moved from Kensington Palace last September.
WORTH NOTING: The Royal Lodge is also outside the security perimeter of Windsor Castle’s grounds, which would mean an additional expense for security. [via Page Six]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Kissing Day
World Rainforest Day
B Kinder Day
National Onion Ring Day
National Chocolate Eclair Day
Positive Media Day
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ON THIS DATE
1611 – The crew of the Discovery sets captain Henry Hudson adrift.
The mutineers were trapped by ice in present-day Hudson Bay and desired new leadership.
Hudson, his son and seven of the captain's allies were pushed out in a small boat.
The nine men were never seen again.
It culminated a two-year quest to find the "Northwest Passage" -- a quick water-route from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Of course, it was a fruitless adventure -- such a natural waterway does not exist.
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1941 – The Nazis launch Operation Barbarossa. The plan was to invade Russia.
Three parallel offensives swept into Russian territory, including 19 Panzer divisions, 2500 airplanes, and 7,000 artillery units.
The 1,000-mile front was a formidable offense against the relatively unprepared Russian Army.
Late in 1940, Hitler had even tried to hammer out an alliance with the Soviets, but to no avail. Six short months later, the empires were at war.
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1944 – President Roosevelt signs the GI Bill into Law.
The new legislation provided generous compensation to returning war vets from World War II.
The sweeping social reform was designed to stave off another depression, with high unemployment for soldiers who may not find work. The bill essentially covered all higher education expenses, in turn giving another incentive to enlist.
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1945 – The Battle of Okinawa ends.
The US 10th Army had been entrenched in bloody fighting since the beginning of April on the island.
The Japanese lost more than 100,000 soldiers. The Allied death toll was in the tens of thousands. More than 2,000 Kamikazes wreaked havoc on the American naval fleet, destroying 36 ships.
Okinawa was a strategic point for the invasion of Japan. That never happened, following Japan's surrender after the atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in August.
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1950 – An anti-communist newsletter names several prominent members of the music industry as card-carrying communists.
The accused included Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Burl Ives, Larry Adler, Lena Horne, Pete Seeger, and Artie Shaw. It followed in the footsteps of Joe McCarthy's pursuit of communists working in government and elsewhere in the United States.
Some of the names were blacklisted, while others fought to prove their loyalty to the United States.
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1981 - Mark David Chapman pleads guilty to killing John Lennon.
His legal defense wanted to argue insanity, but Chapman pleaded guilty, saying God told him to do so.
Chapman shot Lennon outside his Manhattan apartment the year prior. He was reportedly upset with the singer over his extreme wealth.
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2009 – The Eastman Kodak Company discontinues Kodachrome—its signature camera film. And the theme of a Paul Simon song.
Kodak received nearly 20,000 patents in the 20th century for its innovations in photography. Nearly a quarter of those patents came between 1995 and 1999.
In World War I, it helped develop aerial cameras for spy missions, and in 1969, provided the film used on the Apollo 11 moon landing mission.
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2011 - After hiding out for 16 years, Boston gangster Whitey Bulger is arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California.
He had a long list of charges, including murder.
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2020 - New York, once the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, begins Stage 2 of re-opening.
The state allows outdoor dining and some in-store shopping.
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BIRTHDAYS
Danny Green - basketball player - 36
Carson Daly - TV show host, MTV’s “TRL” & “Last Call with Carson Daly” - 50
Kurt Warner - football player - 52
Mary Lynn Rajskub - actress, “24” - 52
Dan Brown - author, “The Da Vinci Code” - 59
Randy Couture - MMA fighter - 60
Clyde Drexler - basketball player - 61
Bruce Campbell - actor, “Maniac Cop” & “Evil Dead” - 65
Tim Russ - actor, “Star Trek” - 67
Cindy Lauper - pop singer - 70
Meryl Streep - actress, “Sophie’s Choice” & “The Iron Lady” - 74
Elizabeth Warren - politician - 74
Kris Kristofferson - country singer - 87
Born On This Date
Anne Morrow Lindbergh - author & aviator - 1906 (d. 2001)
John Dillinger - notorious American bank robber - 1903 (d. 1934)
Carl Hubbell - Hall of Fame baseball pitcher - 1903 (d. 1988)
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