Today is Monday, July 1, 2024.
It is the 183rd day of the year.
183 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Presidential decline and historical finds in HIT LIST.
Find out about Marty McFly’s connection to COLDPLAY in SHOWBIZ.
Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” is a box office success. Details in CASTING CALL.
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HIT LIST
Hurricane Beryl is officially a Category 4.
With winds reaching 130 mph, it is the earliest Category 4 on record in the Atlantic Ocean and the only one ever recorded in the month of June.
Beryl is the third-earliest major hurricane (Category 3 or higher). The earliest was Hurricane Alma on June 8, 1996, followed by Hurricane Audrey on June 27, 1957. The average date for the first hurricane is August 11.
The National Hurricane Center predicts this season will be a busy one, with a record 13 hurricanes and 25 tropical storms expected.
FOR THE RECORD: The first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season was Tropical Storm Alberto. [via CNN]
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The aftermath from Friday night’s bizarre debate between JOE BIDEN and DONALD TRUMP has buzzed into the mainstream news cycle, as even casual and skeptical swing voters raise questions about the current president’s mental fitness for the job.
Biden-loyal talking head JOE SCARBOROUGH began his Friday morning show celebrating Biden’s character and policy prowess but encouraging him to step aside in 2024. By the afternoon, the New York Times editorial board argued Biden should step down from the ticket. In social media posts, former presidents BARACK OBAMA and BILL CLINTON encouraged voters to dust off a poor debate performance and move on, as Biden himself owned the strange performance himself on the campaign trail in the ensuing days.
A Wall Street Journal report later revealed that while in Europe the president gave contradictory information to reporters than what his diplomats had agreed to with Ukraine regarding the allocation of $225 MILLION. Biden said the money was for reconstructing the electric grid while the negotiators had actually allocated the funds for air defenses. In another episode last September, Biden reportedly told the same story twice at a New York fundraiser, leading him to bring a teleprompter to future donor events, frustrating efforts to have an open and free-flowing discussion. [via New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Morning Martini]
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Recent renovations on a portion of Auschwitz revealed more than 30 handmade chess pieces hidden under floorboards.
“Several drawings may be a bit blurry, but the images of rooks, pawns, bishops, and knights are still easily distinguishable,” Elzbieta Cajzer, head of the Auschwitz Museum’s Collections, said of the discovery, believed to be about 80 years old.
The pieces were “crafted from prefabricated cardboard,” which is assumed to have been for “easy portability and quick concealment” from the Nazis, she added.
After some conservation treatment, the set will be featured in an upcoming exhibit focused on the daily lives of prisoners in concentration camps. [via NY Post]
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DEATHS
Actor MARTIN MULL has died.
He passed away at home on Thursday after battling a long illness, according to his daughter.
Mull is best known for his roles in “Roseanne,” “Arrested Development” and “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”
He was 80.
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Hall of Fame baseball player ORLANDO CEPEDA has died.
He passed away at home on Friday, surrounded by family, his wife said in a statement on social media. No cause of death was shared.
Cepeda aka “Cha-Cha” aka “The Baby Bull” had major league stints with the Giants and the Cardinals; the latter of which he helped lead to a World Series championship.
He was 86.
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BABY NEWS
CHRIS PRATT and KATHERINE SCHWARZENEGGER are expecting their third child together -- his fourth.
He’s 45 and she’s 34.
The couple are already parents to daughters, 3-year-old Lyla Marie and 2-year-old Eloise Christina. Pratt is also dad to 11-year-old son, Jack, whom he shares with his ex-wife, ANNA FARIS.
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WEDDINGS
CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY and OLIVIA CULPO are married!
He’s 27 and she’s 32.
The San Francisco 49ers star and former Miss Universe tied the knot in her native Rhode Island on Saturday.
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
10. Kinds of Kindness: $1.5 million (up from 13)
9. Jatt & Juliet 3: $1.51 million (new)
8. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: $1.7 million (down from 4)
7. The Garfield Movie: $2 million (down from 5)
6. The Bikeriders: $3.3 million (down from 3)
5. Kalki 2898 AD: $5.4 million (new)
4. Bad Boys: Ride or Die: $10.3 million (down from 2)
3. Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1: $11 million (new)
2. A Quiet Place: Day One: $53 million (new)
1. Inside Out 2: $57.4 million (stayed at 1)
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 45 points (0.12%) to close at 39,118 on Friday. The S&P dropped 22 points (0.41%) to close at 5,460 and the NASDAQ lost 126 points (0.71%) to close at 17,732.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $82 on Friday; BRENT CRUDE at $85.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.49 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN ticked up 1.5%, trading around $61,800 Sunday evening.
🛩 There were more than 5,907 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 964 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $137 million jackpot or a $64.5 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $125 million jackpot or a $59.6 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
All signs are pointing to the end for BEN AFFLECK and JENNIFER LOPEZ.
New reports claim that while she took her solo trip to Italy, he was busy moving his things out of their Beverly Hills mansion.
Some may argue that this is because the two are selling the place, and maybe he was moving his stuff into another marital home, but those close to the couple say it's just one step closer to them officially calling it quits. [via Page Six]
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ALEC BALDWIN’s last-ditch effort to have his involuntary manslaughter charge dismissed has been denied by a judge.
The decision comes just two weeks before he is set to stand trial for the 2021 fatal shooting of “Rust” cinematographer HALYNA HUTCHINS. [via BBC]
WORTH ASKING: Has it really been three years of this?
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SEAN COMBS has been dropped by Manhattan law firm Grubman, Shire, Meiselas & Sacks over what they say was a “proactively” made decision by the partners.
BUT WAIT: An insider claims that LADY GAGA told the firm if they didn’t drop the music mogul -- over his mounting sexual assault allegations -- she would walk away as a client.
SHE-SAID, THEY-SAID: A spokesperson for the firm said the report of Gaga’s ultimatum “isn’t true.”
POINT OF THE MATTER: No matter the reason, the fallout for Combs continues. [via NY Post]
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ELTON JOHN will never tour again.
The 77-year-old singer made the declaration with a decisive “No,” in response to being asked if he has plans to ever hit the road again.
“We’ve got our sons, you know, they’re getting into their teenage years now. We don’t want to miss anything. We want to be present for that. It’s sort of a key decade, I think, in a child’s life,” he continued.
John wrapped up his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour last July. [via ET]
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MICHAEL J. FOX joined COLDPLAY on stage Saturday night during their show at the Glastonbury music festival.
The actor, bound to a wheelchair due to his Parkinson’s, held onto a guitar during the band’s hits “Humankind” and “Fix You.”
FUN FACT: Frontman CHRIS MARTIN told the crowd that Fox is the reason they are even a band, crediting his “Back to the Future” role as Marty McFly, and during previous tours, a recording of the movie’s theme song played just before the band took the stage. [via Us Weekly]
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CASTING CALL
“Inside Out 2” has surpassed the original at the global box office.
The animated Pixar sequel has earned over $863 MILLION, overtaking its predecessor’s lifetime gross of $859 MILLION.
It is also now the 19th highest-grossing animated film in history.
When (not if) it passes the $1 BILLION mark, “Inside Out 2” will be the first movie of the year to do so. [via Variety]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Wrong Trouser Day
International Reggae Day
ZIP Code Day
National Baby-Led Weaning Day
Early Bird Day
National Television Heritage Day
National Financial Freedom Day
National US Postage Stamp Day
International Chicken Wing Day
National Postal Workers Day
International Joke Day
Second Half of the Year Day
National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day
Canada Day
National Gingersnap Day
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ON THIS DATE
1863 - The first shots at the Battle of Gettysburg are fired.
The violent and deadly clash marks the largest military conflict to ever take place in North America.
Strategically it was the beginning of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s final attempt to invade the North.
On the first day of fighting, Lee pushed thousands of his troops against Union fortifications in an attempt to break through and destroy their lines. While Union forces suffered defeats and withdrew from their defense positions, it was not enough to punch through into the North.
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1934 - The first full-body X-Ray image is taken using technology that would be accessible in hospital and clinical conditions.
It was developed in part by the Kodak company. The film was nearly 3’ by 6’
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1979 - Sony introduces the Walkman for about $150.
The personal music player was revolutionary -- taking a cassette on the go was unimaginable for the mass market.
The product’s development came after Sony Chairman Masaru Ibuka wanted to be able to listen to tapes on long flights and tasked the team with creating a viable solution.
The first models were based largely on the Pressman, a tool commonly used by journalists to record interviews and conversations. But the development team thought it was a silly idea that anyone would want a device that played tapes, but not record onto them.
They were wrong. It did take some aggressive marketing to show the masses the Walkman’s utility, but once people tried it, they were hooked. It sold out the following month.
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1984 - The Motion Picture Association of America debuts the PG-13 Rating.
Originally, there were 4 ratings:
G - appropriate for all ages
M - for mature audiences, but there were no age recommendations
R - had to be with an adult if under 16 years old
X - no one under 17
PG-13 was designed to be a middle-ground between the Mature and Restricted ratings. M became PG and the age limit for R movies was upped to 17.
The first movie with a PG-13 rating was “Red Dawn.”
The MPAA hires parents in Los Angeles to review and screen movies and, by a jury decision, conclude on its rating.
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1987 - WFAN Radio premieres in New York City, the nation’s first all-sports station.
Suzyn Waldman kicked off programming with a sports update.
The first scheduled show was hosted by Jim Lampley. The station would also carry games played by the New York Mets.
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1997 - Mike Tyson is suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission.
The move comes after he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear during their heavyweight title fight, three days prior.
Tyson was also fined $20 million.
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2017 - Canada celebrates 150 years since its formation.
On this date the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia linked to form the sovereign dominion of Canada.
The new confederation was made up of four provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.
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2021 - Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue of their late mother Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday.
The brothers commissioned the statue in 2017.
It is displayed in the redesigned Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace.
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BIRTHDAYS
Tate McRae - pop singer - 21
Storm Reid - actress, “12 Years a Slave” - 21
Chosen Jacobs - actor, “Hawaii Five-0” - 23
Chloe Bailey - R&B singer - 26
Raini Rodriguez - actress, “Austin and Ally” - 31
Daniel Ricciardo - race car driver - 35
Hilarie Burton - actress, “One Tree Hill” - 42
Liv Tyler - actress, “Armageddon” - 47
Missy Elliott - rapper - 53
Melissa Peterman - actress, “Reba” - 53
Pamela Anderson - actress, “Baywatch” - 57
Dan Aykroyd - actor, “SNL” & “Ghostbusters” - 72
Debbie Harry - rock singer, Blondie - 79
Born On This Date
Andre Braugher - actor, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” - 1962 (d. 2023)
Princess Diana - UK royal - 1961 (d. 1997)
Olivia de Havilland - actress, “Gone with the Wind” - 1916 (d. 2020)
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