6/27/2023: How Big is Your Nest Egg? 💸
PLUS: Lance Armstrong is a Hypocrite; “Titanic” Hits Netflix; and Meg’s Next Act
Today is Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
It is the 178th day of the year.
187 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
The Fyre Festival guy is ramping up his next scheme project and a vandal in Italy defaces a historic site. More in HIT LIST.
MAURY POVICH is launching his own line of paternity tests and KEVIN COSTNER claims he was “blindsided” by his wife’s divorce filing. More in SHOWBIZ.
VANNA WHITE wants a raise and Fox News has announced who will replace TUCKER CARLSON. More in CASTING CALL.
KIM KARDASHIAN upset striking writers with a tone deaf tweet. More in KARDASH.
The DUCHESS OF SUSSEX ain’t going down without a fight. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
BILLY MCFARLAND - the Fyre Fest guy - is ramping up his latest scheme.
On Twitter, he announced an in-person speaking tour – apparently as opposed to appearing as a speaker on Zoom – for July and August and is currently taking bookings.
He also teased an August 26 announcement for the “Future of Fyre” – but still no word what, exactly, that means.
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: McFarland has publicly committed to making the victims of his disastrous financial and resource management whole financially. After his October 2018 conviction, he was ordered by the court to pay over $26 MILLION in restitution.
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A Northwestern Mutual generational survey shows Gen Z-ers expect to retire at age 60 and live until they’re 100 years old, and expect to live off a $1.2 MILLION nest egg over those 40 years.
While Boomers expect social security to compose 40% of their retirement funds, Gen Z says it’ll only be about 15% of their retirement compensation.
One financial adviser points out that someone expecting to draw $4,000 a month after taxes in retirement would need a $4 MILLION nest egg to last 40 years. [via Yahoo Finance]
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Sulaiman Dawood, the 19-year-old who died alongside his father and three others on the Titan submersible, had hopes of breaking the world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube under the sea.
His mom, Christine Dawood, told the BBC that Sulaiman said, “I’m going to solve the Rubki’s Cube 3,700 meters below sea at the Titanic.” She later added that he never went anywhere without his Rubik’s Cube, which he could solve in under 20 seconds.
In the interview, Christine also revealed that she was supposed to go alongside her husband on the voyage, but stepped back to let her son have the experience. [via BBC]
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A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, details how cut marks on a fossilized shin bone has led scientists to believe that cannibalism was prevalent further back than initially thought.
While examining the bone for bite marks from animals, paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner says she instead found cuts that appeared similar to “animal fossils that were being processed for consumption.”
The find led her to believe the leg meat was consumed for “nutrition as opposed to for a ritual.”
According to the study, cannibalism was known to have taken place 100,000 years ago in what is now France, but the new find dates the practice back 1.45 million years. [via CNN]
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Italian authorities are trying to track down a tourist who filmed himself carving his and his girlfriend’s name into a brick of the Colosseum.
Gennaro Sangiuliano, the country’s Minister of Culture, posted the video with the caption, “I hope whoever did this will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws.”
The ancient structure is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and vandalization could carry a fine north of 15,000 Euro plus five years in jail. [via CBS News]
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DEATHS
Former NFL player, stuntman and Olympic gold medalist DEAN SMITH has died.
He passed away Saturday at his home in Breckenridge, Texas after a battle with cancer, according to a social media post from his son.
Smith earned a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay at the 1952 Games in Helsinki when he was 20-years-old. After that he spent a few seasons in the NFL, before entering the world of entertainment as a stuntman in John Wayne Westerns.
He was 91.
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RELATIONSHIPS
Actress EMILY OSMENT, sister of actor HAILEY JOEL OSMENT, is engaged to JACK ANTHONY.
The “Young & Hungry” star shared the exciting news on Instagram, with a photo of her new bling.
Very little is known about Anthony and his relationship with 31-year-old Osment, though based on her Instagram account, they have been dating since at least 2021.
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NOAH CYRUS, daughter of BILLY RAY and sister to MILEY, is engaged to a designer named PINKUS.
According to an Instagram post from Cyrus, the two appear to have gotten engaged a month ago. Scrolling through her page, it seems they have been together since at least December.
She is 23, no word on his age.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 12 points (0.038%) to close at 33,714 on Monday. The S&P lost 19 points (0.45%) to close at 4,328 and the NASDAQ lost 156 points (1.16%) to close at 13,335.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $69; BRENT CRUDE at $74.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.57 on Monday.
₿ BITCOIN mostly held on Monday, trading around $30,100.
🛩 There were more than 6,500 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Monday and more than 1,700 such cancellations. Bad weather across the country led to the significant uptick in cancellations and delays.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $343 million jackpot or a $180.1 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
MAURY POVICH, best known for sharing paternity results on national TV, is now launching an at-home paternity test called, “The Results Are In.”
He is partnering with DNA Diagnostic Center (DDC), who also performed the tests on his daytime talk show.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: Those seeking an answer to paternity can buy a kit, follow the instructions and send it into the DDC. Within three days a result will be sent back.
Povich’s show “Maury,” on which he coined “You Are/Are Not The Father!” ran for 31 seasons, and aired more than 2,000 episodes. [via ET]
“YOU ARE THE FATHER!”: On Monday, DUANE CHAPMAN aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, revealed that he secretly fathered a son named Jon. He revealed the news on Instagram, sharing a photo of Jon alongside his wife, Jodi. No word on when Dog found out about Jon, or who his mother is, though that may all be explained in Dog’s forthcoming memoir, “Nine Lives and Counting.” By the way -- Monday was also the fourth anniversary of Dog’s late wife BETH CHAPMAN’s death. [via Page Six]
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“Yellowstone” star KEVIN COSTNER claims he was “blindsided” by wife CHRISTINE BAUMGARTNER’s divorce filing early last month.
Insiders told The Sun that Costner was under the impression the two had agreed to take a more amicable route, with him doing the initial filing. Instead, Christine served him a day after they broke the news to their children.
BUT WAIT: There is some discrepancy over how that chat went down. Costner alleges he sat his children down and explained the situation to them in-person, while Baumgartner claims he told them via Zoom while he was filming in Las Vegas.
The estranged couple share sons 15-year-old Cayden and 14-year-old Hayes and daughter, 13-year-old Grace. Costner also has four older children from previous relationships.
A source also told The Sun that Baumgartner wants $248,000 per month in child support and wants Costner to pay for their private schooling, healthcare and extracurricular costs.
ALSO: It is still unclear whether or not she has vacated the marital home, which their prenup states she was due to leave within 30 days of filing for divorce. [via The Sun]
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RYAN REYNOLDS’ investment firm Maximum Effort Investments is teaming up with RedBird Capital Partners and Otro Capital to buy a 24% stake in the Alpine Formula 1 Race Team.
The investors are paying the team’s owner Renault Group, about $218 million for the stake, which gives the team an estimated $900 million valuation.
WORTH NOTING: Actors ROB MCELHENNEY and MICHAEL B. JORDAN are backers in Maximum Effort Investments.
ALSO: Reynolds and McElhenney have already ventured into the world of sports ownership. In 2020, they purchased Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC. [via Hollywood Reporter]
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Another person connected to the NFL is feeling the heat from animal lovers.
On a recent fishing trip with wide receiver TYREEK HILL, sports agent DREW ROSENHAUS decided to jump into the ocean with a shark that was checking out their boat.
In response to a video of the interaction, which shows Rosenhaus grabbing the shark by its tail and shaking it, PETA commented that aquatic animals already suffer enough from fisherman and don’t need some “wannabe macho man yanking on their tails for a few Twitter ‘likes.’” [via NY Post]
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LANCE ARMSTRONG is being called a hypocrite after questioning the “fairness of Trans athletes in sport[s].”
Over the weekend, the former cyclist tweeted, “Is there not a world in which one can be supportive of the transgender community and curious about the fairness of Trans athletes in sport[s] yet not be labeled a transphobe or a bigot as we ask questions?”
The hypocrisy is that in 2012 Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from competing in cycling for doping, which gave him an unfair physical advantage; it's similar to the argument about biological men competing against biological women.
So, while Armstrong should probably stay out of this one, he won’t because his new podcast, “The Forward,” will reportedly “dive into” that debate of transgender athletes. [via People]
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OFFSET used his social media accounts to accuse his wife CARDI B of cheating on him. In response, Cardi took to her own social media to deny the accusation, while adding that even if she wanted to cheat, she is simply too famous to do it.
She also alluded to Offset suffering from some sort of downward spiral.
The allegation, and Cardi not joining Offset at Sunday night’s BET Awards, has fans speculating that things are not going well.
BY THE WAY: Offset has a history of cheating on Cardi, so fans appear to be taking her side on this one. [via TMZ]
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CASTING CALL
JESSE WATTERS will take over the primetime spot left vacant by TUCKER CARLSON on Fox News.
Watters is already a co-host on “The Five” and hosts his own program called “Jesse Watters Primetime.” According to the network, his previously held 7pm slot will be replaced with LAURA INGRAHAM’s “The Ingraham Angle.” [via People]
REMEMBER: Carlson abruptly left Fox News in April in a mutual parting of ways. He has since launched his own Twitter show, much to the ire of his former network.
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VANNA WHITE has reportedly hired an “aggressive new lawyer” to get her a pay raise as negotiations over her contract continue.
After “Wheel of Fortune” host PAT SAJAK announced he plans to retire at the end of Season 41, Puck reported that despite her long tenure on the gameshow, White has not received a raise in nearly 20 years.
The report also states that White currently makes around $3 million a year, plus bonuses, which pales in comparison to Sajak’s $15 million a year. While some argue that he is the host so he should make more, others have stated that she does “way more publicity.”
White’s contract is up at the end of the 2023-2024 season. It is unknown if she plans to hold on to her same role or take over the spot left vacant by Sajak. [via Puck]
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Netflix is capitalizing on the renewed interest in the Titanic and dropping the three-hour film, starring LEONARDO DICAPRIO and KATE WINSLET, on their platform on July 1.
No word on whether or not the decision was made due to the recent OceanGate tragedy or if it was already on the books and the timing is pure coincidence. [via TMZ]
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“The Connors” may soon be coming to an end.
In a recent interview with France 24, star JOHN GOODMAN alluded to the end, saying “It’s lasted longer than I thought we would.”
Executive producer BRUCE HELFORD also hinted at the series coming to a close last month, telling TVLine that that next season “is possibly going to be the last.”
Season 5 of the “Roseanne” spinoff wrapped on May 3. [via France 24, TVLine]
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COURT CASES
Idaho prosecutors announced Monday that they will seek the death penalty for BRYAN KOHBERGER, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home last fall.
According to the court filing, the state says it “has not identified or been provided with any mitigating circumstances” to stop it from considering the death penalty. [via USA Today]
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CRIB NOTES
MADONNA has sold her 12,500-square-foot Hidden Hills mansion for $23 million to Korean crypto billionaire KIM HYOUNG-NYON.
The home sits on three acres and features nine bedrooms and 11 bathrooms. There is also a wine cellar, theater, music lounge, study, and outdoor saltwater pool.
Madge bought the pad from THE WEEKND in 2021 for $19.3 million. [via TMZ]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN has once again managed to anger picketing writers.
On Friday, Kim tweeted, “Hi guys! I’m on set of AHS and we have some time between shots. What are you all up to???”
The striking writers -- some of whom Kim had to walk past to enter the set of “American Horror Story” -- shared exactly what they were “up to.”
“Picketing, Kim,” one wrote, while another added, “Do you realize there is a strike happening?” A third user commented, “Not being a scab.”
WORTH NOTING: While production on many shows has been shuttered due to the ongoing writers’ strike, the upcoming season of “American Horror Story,” starring Kim, has been able to continue. [via sheknows]
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More than a year after he was born, KYLIE JENNER and TRAVIS SCOTT have legally changed their son’s name from Wolf Jacques Webster to Aire Webster.
In March 2022, Jenner revealed on social media that they had changed their newborn son’s name, explaining that they didn’t feel like “Wolf” fit him. The couple then made fans wait months to learn the new moniker.
Now it's official. [via Page Six]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Despite her recent public defeats, MEGHAN MARKLE has no intention to keep quiet for long.
One Hollywood insider tells Page Six, “Meghan has an ace up her sleeve,” and that her agents are actively pursuing deals with luxury brands, even after her office shut down rumors she was pursuing a deal with Dior last week.
The most likely project will be a lifestyle brand in the vein of GWYNETH PALTROW’s “Goop” platform. [via Page Six]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Ice Cream Cake Day
National Sunglasses Day
World Arak Day
International Pineapple Day
National Orange Blossom Day
Industrial Workers of The World Day
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ON THIS DATE
1778 - The Liberty Bell returns home to Philadelphia after the British leave.
The symbol had been hidden in a church until it could be safely returned to the State House.
The bell, sent from London’s Whitechapel Bell Foundry, originally arrived in Philadelphia in August 1752.
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1898 - Adventurer Joshua Slocum completes the first solo circumnavigation of the globe.
He departed Boston in his tiny sloop Spray, a gaff rigged sloop oyster boat, on April 24, 1895. He landed — on this date — in Newport, Rhode Island.
Slocum’s travels are documented in the book, “Sailing Alone Around the World.”
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1940 - The Enigma code system is put into place by Nazi Forces in French territory.
It was a tremendously effective sophisticated coding process that called for rotating codes on different days, using modified typewriter-like devices.
While the messages stumped many who intercepted it, Allied intelligence had a handle on the codes for the duration of the war, and were intercepting and decoding much of the messages.
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1950 - President Truman formally orders American air and naval forces to South Korea.
The military involvement was to support the United Nations’ efforts to prevent escalating conflict and curb the influence of communism in the region.
In the ensuing days, it became clear that the Soviet Union was orchestrating the North’s invasion. The USSR was not participating in UN Security Council negotiations, either.
Ultimately, all United Nations forces would be under the command of the United States and General Douglas MacArthur.
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1985 - Route 66 is decommissioned as a US Highway.
Following the widespread implementation of the interstate highway system, the historic road became obsolete. It had previously been a main thoroughfare across much of the nation, running from Chicago to the West Coast.
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2007 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair resigns office.
His popularity had taken a beating after the Iraq War, which he aggressively supported. His own Labour Party pressured him to resign.
Taking the office was Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer — sort of like the UK’s Treasury Secretary.
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2017 - Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook has reached 2 billion monthly users.
The platform hit 1 billion users less than five years prior.
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BIRTHDAYS
Lance Alexander - actor, “Family Reunion” - 18
Chandler Riggs - actor, “The Walking Dead” - 24
Sistine Stallone - model & daughter of Sylvester - 25
H.E.R. - R&B singer - 26
Mitchell Hope - actor, “Descendants” films - 29
Oliver Stark - actor, “Into the Badlands” - 32
Kimiko Glenn - actress, “Orange Is the New Black” - 34
Matthew Lewis - actor, “The Syndicate” - 34
Alanna Masterson - actress, “The Walking Dead” - 35
Ed Westwick - actor, “Gossip Girl” - 36
Sam Clafin - actor, “The Hunger Games” films - 37
Drake Bell - actor, “Drake & Josh” - 37
Khloe Kardashian - youngest of the Kardashian kids - 39
Tobey Maguire - actor, “Spider-Man” - 48
Jo Frost - reality star, “Nanny 911” - 53
JJ Abrams - director - 57
Vera Wang - fashion designer - 74
Born On This Date
Ross Perot - presidential candidate - 1930 (d. 2019)
Bob Keeshan - actor, “Captain Kangaroo” - 1927 (d. 2004)
Helen Keller - women’s suffragist & first deaf-blind person to earn a BA - 1880 (d. 1968)
Mildred J. Hill - composer & musician, “Happy Birthday to You” - 1859 (d. 1916)
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