6/8/2022: Johnny Depp Joins TikTok
PLUS: Swalwell’s Spending, Chrisley Verdict, and Will & Harry’s Bad Blood
Today is Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
It is the 159th day of the year.
206 days remain.
TRENDING
Prince was trending Tuesday on what would have been the singer’s 64th birthday.
Congratulations Camille and #CamilleVasquez were trending yesterday after news broke that the attorney, who gained fame as part of Johnny Depp’s legal team, has been promoted to partner at Brown Rudnick.
#MsMarvel landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends ahead of the premiere of the new Disney+ series, starring Iman Vellani as the titular character. The series debuts today.
Matthew McConaughey was trending after speaking at the White House about the urgent need for gun-control. More in Showbiz.
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HIT LIST
The Russian government has been engaging in its own game of sanctions against Western billionaires and influencers. In a new round of travel bans, the executives of Netflix, Delta Airlines, Universal Pictures, and Blackrock have been barred from entering the country.
All of the chief executives have actively taken part in efforts to cut off business ties with Russian companies or stop providing services in Russia.
Also barred from entering are Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN and Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM – but it’s hard to fault VLADIMIR PUTIN for wanting to keep those two far, far away from his economy and energy sector.
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Retailer Target is sitting on a mountain of inventory. The company announced Tuesday it would be issuing deep discounts to help clear its shelves, dipping into profit projections.
As part of the strategy, consumers can expect higher costs elsewhere, especially as transportation and fuel costs make inventory management more expensive than ever.
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Who says romance is dead?
A Florida driver is recovering from injuries sustained after he hit a FedEx truck while distracted by the oral sex his passenger was performing on him.
Both the male passenger and his female counterpart were naked during the sexy evening drive.
No word yet on whether anyone is facing serious charges.
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A North Carolina woman has been arrested on suspicion she embezzled more than $150,000 over eight years – from her church!
The church’s board reported the activity to the police.
BY THE WAY: The suspect is 72-years-old. No word yet on a motive, other than stealing for thrills.
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Brent Crude was trading over $120 a barrel on Tuesday, while West Texas Intermediate was not far behind.
The national average price of a gallon of gas was $4.91 Tuesday – another record.
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CHARTS
Top 5 Fiction & Nonfiction Books Currently on the New York Times Best Sellers List:
FICTION:
“Nightwork,” Nora Roberts
“Where The Crawdads Sing,” Delia Owens
"It Ends With Us," Colleen Hoover
“Book Lovers,” Emily Henry
“Verity,” Colleen Hoover
NONFICTION:
“Here’s The Deal,” Kellyanne Conway
“Killing the Killers,” Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard
“Finding Me,” Viola Davis
“The Body Keeps The Score,” Bessel van der Kolk
“Phil,” Alan Shipnuck
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DEATHS
HARRISON WAGNER has died.
The son of “General Hospital” star JACK WAGNER was found dead in a parking lot in Los Angeles on Monday morning. His cause of death is currently under investigation.
He was 27.
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BREAKUPS
KANYE WEST and CHANEY JONES have split.
Sources confirmed to TMZ that the pair ended things after their trip to Japan in May. It is unclear who broke up with who.
WORTH NOTING: Ye may have already moved on, as he was spotted at a movie with an unidentified woman this past weekend.
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THE SWAMP
Congressman ERIC SWALWELL has some ‘splaining to do about his campaign expenditures.
Fox News reports that from April 1 to May 18, his campaign spent more than $57,000 on travel that included stays in Paris and Miami – which are odd locales for a Representative from California.
He also shelled out $6,000 on private limo services during that time.
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LOTTERY
No winner for Monday night’s Powerball drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $210 million jackpot or a $121.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
JOHNNY DEPP has joined TikTok.
His first post was for his fans. It included a video montage of him arriving at court to cheers and an open letter to his “most treasured, loyal and unwavering supporters.”
Just hours after creating his account, Depp had already amassed over 4.4 million followers.
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MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY gave an emotional speech at the White House on Tuesday, calling for gun reform.
He also spoke on the need for more mental health, safer schools, restoring family values and American values. The speech comes just two weeks after a mass shooting at an elementary school in the actor’s hometown of Uvalde, where 19 students and two teachers were killed.
Earlier in the day, McConaughey met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss gun legislation.
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RINGO STARR was awarded with an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
The Beatles drummer collected his diploma during the June 2 commencement.
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The star-studded list of performers for this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival include AVRIL LAVIGNE, LIONEL RICHIE, LUKE COMBS, MEGAN THEE STALLION, MORGAN WALLEN and many more.
The festival, hosted by RYAN SEACREST, is set for September 23 and 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Queen guitarist BRIAN MAY and drummer ROGER TAYLOR revealed they have found a never-been-heard before song recorded by the band, including vocals from FREDDIE MERCURY.
In an interview with BBC Radio 2, Taylor said that fans will “likely” hear it later this year.
The song, titled “Face It Alone,” was originally recorded for the band’s 1989 album. Mercury died two years later.
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CHRIS ROCK and DAVE CHAPPELLE will join forces to host a stand-up show in London later this year.
The two will perform on September 3 at the O2 Arena.
WORTH NOTING: Both comedians were attacked this year while on stage -- Rock by WILL SMITH and Chappelle by someone upset over his LGBTQ jokes.
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CASTING CALL
HALLE BERRY and MARK WAHLBERG will star in the upcoming Netflix film “Our Man From Jersey.”
According to IMDb, the spy thriller follows Mike (Wahlberg), a down-to-earth construction worker from Jersey. Berry plays his ex-girlfriend, Roxanne.
Other cast notables include, JK SIMMONS, JACKIE EARLE HALEY and JESSICA DE GOUW.
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JASON BATEMAN will no longer direct the Apple flick, “Artemis.”
Sources told Deadline that Bateman “amicably” exited the project, which stars SCARLETT JOHANSSON and CHRIS EVANS, due to “creative differences.”
Plot details are being kept tightly under wraps.
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JUNO TEMPLE, JON HAMM and JENNIFER JASON LEIGH will star in the upcoming fifth season of FX series, “Fargo.”
While plot details are being kept under wraps, executive producer NOAH HAWLEY revealed that the three will play the central characters of Dot, Roy and Lorraine, respectively.
Previous seasons of the show have starred BILLY BOB THORNTON, KIRSTEN DUNST, EWAN MCGREGOR and CHRIS ROCK.
A premiere date for the upcoming season has not been announced.
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Season 3 may be the final chapter for Apple’s hit series “Ted Lasso.”
Star BRETT GOLDSTEIN told the Sunday Times that the upcoming season is being written as “the end.”
A premiere date for the next season has not yet been announced.
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COURT CASES
Reality stars TODD and JULIE CHRISLEY were found guilty Tuesday on federal charges including bank fraud and tax evasion.
The “Chrisley Knows Best” stars were indicted in August 2019, followed by another indictment that was filed in February of this year.
The Chrisleys’ attorney told ABC News that his clients plan to appeal the verdict.
They will be sentenced at a later date.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM is being accused of copying the name of LORI HARVEY’s skincare line for her own line.
Last week, the reality star announced her new line -- SKKN BY KIM -- will launch later this month. Many quickly noted the name’s likeness to Harvey’s brand, SKN by Lori Harvey, which launched in October 2021.
This is not the first time there has been an issue with Kim’s skincare business.
Last August, Forbes reported that a Black-owned beauty and skincare company, SKKN+ had sent a cease-and-desist letter over Kim’s attempt to trademark “SKKN.” In response, Kim’s legal team told TMZ they hope to “smooth things over” with the small business. It is unknown what came of the issue.
Neither Kim nor Lori have commented on the similar names.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Royal insiders claim PRINCE HARRY attempted to reconnect with his brother PRINCE WILLIAM during his trip home, but the elder royal wanted no part in it.
On Saturday, many members of the Royal Family gathered at Frogmore Cottage to celebrate Harry and MEGHAN’s daughter LILIBET DIANA’s birthday -- minus Will, KATE and their three kids, who were 100 miles away in Wales.
One source told Page Six there was “no solo time spent between the Sussexes and Cambridges,” and that the cousins “spent zero time together.”
Another UK source told the outlet that William is “still wary of spending any time alone with Harry” over fear of what he will report to the public afterward.
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SPORTS
DUSTIN JOHNSON has resigned his membership with the PGA to play full-time in the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV league.
The golfer broke the news Tuesday to reporters at Centurion Club outside of London.
He is set to tee off for the first time with his new league at the LIV Golf Invitational Series event, which starts this Thursday.
Johnson reportedly received around $125 million to join the LIV.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Best Friends Day
National Name Your Poison Day
National Upsy Daisy Day
World Oceans Day
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ON THIS DATE
1789 – James Madison introduces a batch of 12 amendments to the brand-new US constitution.
Two years later, 10 of these amendments were ratified, and the Bill of Rights was born.
One of the straggler amendments was finally ratified 203 years later; it dealt with congressmen not being able to vote themselves pay increases within a single term.
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1948 – The first Porsche is completed.
Ferdinand Porsche was an engineer and designer who had worked for the Austro-Daimler Company. He was the brains behind many of the Mercedes racing cars in the 1920s.
In 1931, Porsche formed his own company. He was tasked by Hitler to build a car for the people, and he produced the first Volkswagen.
After the war he was imprisoned by the allies, but his son kept the business going. When he was released, he okayed the production of a new sports car. The prototype was built completely by hand.
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1949 – Joe McCarthy wasn't the only one looking for commies. The FBI produced a list of actors known to be communists on this date.
The report alleged that these actors and actresses were using their art to spread communism.
Dorothy Parker, Helen Keller, Paul Robeson, Edward Robinson and Frederic March were all named.
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1949 – Same day, ironically: "1984" is published.
George Orwell wrote it. He was a socialist who hated communism, oddly enough.
Orwell was a frequent commentator on politics and language, his works included “Animal Farm” and lengthy essays on rights and liberty.
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1966 – The American Football League and National Football League announce plans to merge.
At the end of the season, the Packers would beat the Chiefs in the first Super Bowl. It took another 2 seasons before the leagues integrated their schedules and brought all operations under one roof.
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2004 – The rare Venus Transit occurs. It is the first since 1882.
The planet passed between the Sun and the Earth. It was visible from Earth as a small black dot moving across the face of the sun.
It lasted 6 hours.
The next ones will occur in 2117 and 2125.
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2020 - New York begins reopening after 100 days of lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus with just 702 hospitalized. (This didn’t last long).
Meanwhile, the World Bank says the pandemic will shrink the global economy by 5.2%.
Also, a study by the Imperial College London says lockdowns likely saved 3 million lives across Europe.
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BIRTHDAYS
Charlotte Lawrence - pop singer - 22
Tom Grennan - pop singer - 27
Liv Morgan - wrestler - 28
Joel Dommett - comedian - 37
Torrey Devitto - actress, “Chicago Med” - 38
Maria Menounos - TV show host, “Access Hollywood” - 44
Kanye West - rapper - 45
Gabby Giffords - politician - 52
David Sutcliffe - actor, “Gilmore Girls” & “The Wish List” - 53
Julianna Margulies - actress, “ER” & “The Good Wife” - 56
Frank Grillo - actor, “Warrior” & “Prison Break” - 57
Bonnie Tyler - pop singer - 71
Nancy Sinatra - country singer - 82
Born On This Date
Joan Rivers - comedian & TV show host - 1933 (d. 2014)
Jerry Stiller - actor, “King of Queens” & “Seinfeld” - 1927 (d. 2020)
Barbara Bush - former First Lady - 1925 (d. 2018)
Frank Lloyd Wright - architect - 1867 (d. 1959)
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