Today is Wednesday, July 17, 2024.
It is the 199th day of the year.
167 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A North Korean defector reveals inside details of KIM JONG JUNIOR’s ruthless regime and researchers keep eyes on a creepy-crawly sight. Details in HIT LIST.
INGRID ANDRESS heads to rehab and ADELE is ready to take a break from music. More in SHOWBIZ.
Netflix sees a huge spike in viewership of “Hillbilly Elegy.” Find out more in CASTING CALL.
KIM’s name is in the running for a potential game show opening. More in KARDASH.
A rainy day makes for a short-tempered King. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Here’s the latest news as more details emerge about the attempted assassination of DONALD TRUMP and the murder of COREY COMPERATORE.
– The Director of the Secret Service said that agents were not positioned on the roof where the shooter fired because it was sloped and would be unsafe to stand on. This is ludicrous. The counter-snipers who killed the shooter were on a sloped roof. Security at the White House stands on a sloped roof. And after the shooter was blown to hell, officers had no problem standing over the corpse. The Director, KIMBERLY CHEATLE, has said she has no intention to resign and there has been no pressure for her to do so from the JOE BIDEN administration.
– CNN reports that the intelligence community had evidence of an Iranian-sponsored plot to murder Trump and had ramped up his security in recent weeks as a result. But if this is ramped up security, something is very, very wrong.
– In a separate report, CNN details that the shooter bought a five-foot ladder Saturday morning. He parked nearby the rally, leaving an explosive device in the trunk connected to a wireless detonator on his person, and carried the ladder to the scene, which he is believed to have used to hoist himself onto the roof and get into shooting position.
– In yet another CNN report, the shooter’s corpse was found with three, fully-loaded magazines holding 100 rounds each and a bulletproof vest.
For nearly a half hour before the shooting, law enforcement on the ground tracked the shooter as he used a rangefinder, left the scene, returned with a backpack, then disappeared from their sights until it was too late.
WORTH ASKING: If officers were tracking a suspicious man before Trump took the stage, why wasn’t he warned to hold off on heading to the podium until agents could confirm the scene was safe?
AND THEN THERE’S THIS: New video from Saturday shows a group of officers unable to respond to the shooter because they appear to be locked behind a fenced-in area. One officer appears to drive a car through the fence so the officers can run toward the sound of gunshots. WATCH >
WORTH ASKING: How is this incompetence possible?
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ELON MUSK announced on X Tuesday that he would begin the process of moving SPACEX’s headquarters from California to Texas.
The company’s launch facilities have been located in Texas with administrative and development facilities in Hawthorne, California. But after California Governor GAVIN NEWSOM signed a bill into law that bans schools from making rules requiring parental notification if a child identifies as transgender, Musk called the measure “the final straw.”
Musk added that he personally told Newsom that “laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.” [via @ElonMusk]
THEN: In a follow-up, Musk said the headquarters for X will move to Austin, Texas, writing, “Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building,” which is in San Francisco. [via @ElonMusk]
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A survey of college undergrads conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni shows today’s crop of future leaders aren’t so bright on American civics. To wit:
– 31% identified James Monroe as the “Father of the Constitution”
– 28% knew the 13th Amendment freed slaves
– 60% couldn’t tell you how long a US Representative or Senators’ terms are
– 32% knew an impeachment trial is conducted in the Senate – even though there were two of them in two years recently.
– On leaders, only 27% knew Kamala Harris is the President of the Senate and 35% could identify the Speaker of the House as Mike Johnson. [via New York Post]
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Scientists have been binge-watching a “mega den” of over 2,000 rattlesnakes living on private land in northern Colorado.
A webcam was set up by California Polytechnic State University researchers in May to observe snake behavior without interfering in their natural habits.
Activity is expected to ramp up next month when several baby rattlesnakes -- called pups -- are expected to arrive. Unlike other reptiles, rattlesnakes don’t hatch from eggs, but are born alive.
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A North Korean diplomat working in Cuba defected to the South back in November, the BBC has reported.
The 52-year-old former apparatchik, RI IL-KYU, tells South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper that KIM JONG JUNIOR was deeply embarrassed when diplomatic relations deteriorated after two summits with DONALD TRUMP. Junior had two diplomats killed for the failure. One was unpersoned and reportedly sent to a labor camp. The second was accused of spying for the United States and shot in a public execution at a military academy, which other foreign diplomats were forced to witness.
In another fascinating tidbit, Ri recounted he once had tea with Junior. Ri said, “When you see him in person, the first thing that comes to your mind is: ‘He must have very high blood pressure.’ His face is red as if he is always drunk. It is redder than you see it on TV.” [via New York Times]
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DEATHS
JOE BRYANT, the father of KOBE BRYANT, has died.
He passed away Monday after suffering a massive stroke, according to several sources.
Bryant was a basketball star in his own right, playing over eight seasons in the NBA.
He was 69.
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Award-winning journalist EVAN WRIGHT has died.
He passed away on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. According to the L.A. County medical examiner the cause of death was suicide.
Wright is best known for his book, “Generation Kill,” which he later helped adapt into an HBO miniseries of the same name.
He was only 59.
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BREAKUPS
HGTV star CHRISTINA HAACK is heading for divorce…again.
According to court documents, her husband JOSHUA HALL filed to end their marriage on Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. He listed their date of separation as July 8.
Haack and Hall tied the knot in September 2022, marking her third marriage. Before that she was married to ANT ANSTEAD for 3 years, and prior to that she was married to her “Flip or Flop” costar TAREK EL MOUSSA for nine years. She shares two kids with El Moussa and one with Anstead.
WORTH NOTING: Haack and Hall have an HGTV show due out next year. No word on how this will affect that.
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RELATIONSHIPS
Actress EMMA ROBERTS is engaged to her boyfriend of two years, fellow actor CODY JOHN.
She’s 33. No word on his age.
This will be the first marriage for both John and Roberts, who was previously engaged to actor EVAN PETERS. After that she dated actor GARRETT HEDLUND, with whom she welcomed son Rhodes before splitting in 2021.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW increased 742 points (1.85%) to close at 40,954 on Tuesday. The S&P gained 35 points (0.64%) to close at 5,667 and the NASDAQ increased 36 points (0.2%) to close at 18,509.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $80; BRENT CRUDE at $83.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.51 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN ticked up again Tuesday, trading around $65,000.
🛩 There were more than 3,445 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 235 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $75 million jackpot or a $36 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
TENACIOUS D’s KYLE GASS apologized Tuesday for a comment he made about the assassination attempt on former president DONALD TRUMP.
“Don’t miss Trump next time,” he told bandmate JACK BLACK who held a birthday cake and told him to “make a wish.”
Black addressed the horrific comment as well, revealing plans to postpone Tenacious D’s “Spicy Meatball Tour” and “all future creative plans.” While well-intentioned after the fact, Black should have condemned his bandmate on the spot.
ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES: Gass was dropped by his talent agency on Tuesday for his comments. [via NY Post]
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One day after botching the National Anthem at MLB’s annual Home Run Derby, country singer INGRID ANDRESS says she is heading to rehab.
“I was drunk last night,” she wrote on social media. “I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need.”
Andress’ new single, “Colorado 9” is due out July 24 -- no word on whether or not that date has changed. [via Variety]
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DAVE PORTNOY -- and his mom -- were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday after his vessel lost power off the coast of Nantucket.
Strong winds pushed the boat out of the harbor, after Portnoy admitted he had already “unhooked himself [from] the buoy.” After floating aways, he used a flare gun to send a “distress signal,” but no one responded.
The only thing left was screaming for help, hoping someone would hear them. Eventually, a girl in a rowboat stopped and they were able to use her radio to call the Coast Guard, who towed them back in.
Following the incident, Portnoy told his social media followers that he “may never go on the boat again.” [via People]
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ADELE is planning to take a break from music when her “Weekends with Adele” Las Vegas residency wraps in November.
“I don’t have any plans for new music at all,” she told reporters over the weekend. “I want a big break after this and I think I want to do other creative things, just for a little while.”
Adele’s last album, “30,” was released in 2021. [via Rolling Stone]
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WNBA star SUE BIRD is getting her own Barbie.
Mattel announced Tuesday that the former Seattle Storm player is getting her own Role Model doll, part of the toy’s 65th anniversary celebration.
Bird is one of nine female athletes getting their own Role Model dolls, joining tennis player VENUS WILLIAMS, soccer player CHRISTINE SINCLAIR, and gymnast ALEXA MORENO.
WORTH NOTING: Bird’s is the only Barbie that is available for purchase. [via SI]
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CASTING CALL
Viewership of “Hillbilly Elegy” jumped 1,179% following the announcement of J.D. VANCE as DONALD TRUMP’s running mate.
On Sunday -- a day before Vance was announced -- the movie raked in just 1.5 million minutes on Netflix. Following the announcement on Monday that jumped to over 19.2 million minutes.
The 2020 film is based on Vance’s 2016 memoir of the same name. [via IMDB]
SPEAKING OF HIS BOOK: The paperback version of “Hillbilly Elegy” landed the top spot on Amazon’s Best Sellers list on Tuesday, while the hardcover copy took second. It also took the top spot on Amazon’s Movers & Shakers in Books, with a 2.6 million percent spike in sales of the paperback edition in the 24 hours after Vance was announced as Trump’s VP pick. [via Fox Business]
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PRINCE’s estate is refusing to sign off on a Netflix documentary because of its lengthy run time.
A deal was made back in 2018 for a six-hour series, but director EZRA EDELMAN says the final cut cannot be shortened to anything less than the nine hours it currently sits at.
The two are now at a standstill with Netflix hoping a “compromise can still be worked out,” despite Edelman saying he is “not interested in a truncated version.” [via Puck]
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MADONNA announced Tuesday that her self-directed biopic is once again in the works.
Over a year since the project was put on an indefinite hold, the Material Girl says that not only is the ball rolling again, but the previously untitled screenplay now has a title: “Who’s That Girl;” a nod to her 1987 film, and song, of the same name.
As for who will play Madge, Entertainment Weekly reports that the role is still JULIA GARNER’s. No word on a release date. [via EW]
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HALLE BERRY is no longer starring in Hulu’s forthcoming legal drama series, “All’s Fair” due to a scheduling conflict.
News of her exit comes just a week after it was reported that she had joined the cast, set to star alongside GLENN CLOSE and KIM KARDASHIAN.
Berry was also set to serve as executive producer on the series, along with Close and Kardashian. [via Variety]
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The 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards will air on May 8, 2025, live from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
REBA MCENTIRE will host for a record 18th time. [via Deadline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
WORD ON THE STREET: Amid rumors of tension between tenured “Wheel of Fortune” letter-turner VANNA WHITE and new host, RYAN SEACREST, many are wondering if she will choose to leave the game show.
If she does, Newsweek reports that producers already have their sights set on a replacement: KIM KARDASHIAN.
“Kim is a very close friend of Ryan’s and would bring a whole new audience,” a source told the publication. “Vanna was optimistic about working with Ryan, but they have zero chemistry and no vibe. Plus, she could be his mother!” [via Newsweek]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
An irritated KING CHARLES was spotted barking at an aide to help QUEEN CAMILLA put on her coat while holding an umbrella on Tuesday, as the monarchs observed a parade on the Channel Island of Jersey, located just off the coast of France.
The Queen could be seen struggling to get her right arm into the jacket. The King tried to assist himself, but was struggling while also holding his own umbrella. That’s when he turned behind him and appeared to shout at an aide to swoop in and help, then grimaced in frustration as he turned around.
The pair were on the second and final day of their tour of the islands. [via DailyMail]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Hot Dog Day
Send an Electronic Greeting Card Day
Glioblastoma Awareness Day
National Lottery Day
National Peach Ice Cream Day
National Yellow Pig Day
World Emoji Day
National Tattoo Day
World Day for International Justice
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ON THIS DATE
1791 - Members of the French National Guard, under the command of General Lafayette, open fire on a crowd of radical Jacobins at Champ de Mars during the French Revolution.
Up to 50 people were killed.
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1841 - Britons Henry Mayhew and Mark Lemon begin editing the humor magazine Punch.
The satiric journal coined the word "cartoon," as applied to humorous art.
Punch's readers included Charlotte Bronte, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and other notable Brit contemporaries.
The magazine would shutter in 1992 after a century and a half. A short revival would come along in 1996, but would end in 2002.
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1898 - Spaniards surrender to US forces at Santiago de Cuba, thus ending the Spanish-American War.
The following February, the Treaty of Paris would be signed, giving the US control of Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.
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1917 - King George V changes the name of the British Royal family from the German name “Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” to the more English-sounding “Windsor.”
The decision -- a blatantly political one -- was done under pressure from a war-weary nation that had been bombed by a German bomber aircraft named Gotha.
The new name was inspired by Windsor Castle, the family’s long-tenured residence.
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1918 - Bolshevik leaders order the murder of the Russian royal family.
Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and his five kids, along with their entourage, were murdered by communists under the charge of Yakov Yurovsky, a Bolshevik Officer.
The family's remains would not be recovered until 1979.
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1945 - President Harry Truman, General Secretary Joseph Stalin and Prime Minister Winston Churchill hold the first post-WWII meeting; the Potsdam Conference.
The three leading Allies met from this date through August 2 in Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone to establish postwar order, solve issues on the peace treaty and counter the effects of war.
The talks also focused on the demilitarization, denazification, democratization, decentralization, dismantling and decartelization of Germany.
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1968 - The Beatles' animated feature film “Yellow Submarine” is released in England.
Though the film included the Fab Five's singing voices, the characters depicting each of them were voiced by other actors.
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1997 - Woolworth's closes its doors on all department stores in the U.S.
The five and dime shop that thrived in the '50s had evolved into a general discount store chain. Department stores took over the existing stores' market share and slowly pushed it out of business.
Stores in Canada had earlier been sold to Wal-Mart. The company has since evolved twice, and is now known as Foot Locker, Inc, as it has been since October 20, 2001.
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1998 - Tsar Nicholas II and family are buried in Russia 80 years after they were murdered.
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2019 - Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years in a New York courtroom.
Prior to the sentencing the drug lord addressed the court, saying in Spanish, “There was no justice here.” He also complained about his living conditions in prison, calling them “inhumane” and “torture.”
El Chapo was found guilty of all 10 federal crimes against him, including engaging in continuing criminal enterprise, drug trafficking and firearms charges, in February. He is serving his time in the nation’s most secure federal prison in Florence, Colorado.
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BIRTHDAYS
Connor Bedard - hockey player - 19
Nick Folio - drummer, Bad Omens - 27
Kali Uchis - R&B singer - 30
Billie Lourd - daughter of Carrie Fisher & actress, “Scream Queens” - 32
Jeremih - R&B singer - 37
Tom Fletcher - pop singer, McFly - 39
Sarah Jones - actress, “Alcatraz” - 41
Stefania Spampinato - actress, “Grey’s Anatomy” - 42
Luke Bryan - country singer - 48
Eric Winter - actor, “Days of Our Lives” & “The Rookie” - 48
Angela Merkel - first female Chancellor of Germany - 70
David Hasselhoff - actor, “Baywatch” & “Night Rider” - 71
Camilla Parker Bowles - UK Queen - 77
Born On This Date
Donald Sutherland - actor, “The Hunger Games” & “M*A*S*H” (film) - 1935 (d. 2024)
Toni Stone - baseball player & first woman to play in men’s Negro League - 1921 (d. 1996)
James Cagney - actor, “Yankee Doodle Dandy” - 1899 (d. 1986)
Erle Stanley Gardner - author, “Perry Mason” - 1889 (d. 1970)
John Jacob Astor - businessman & first multi-millionaire in the U.S. - 1763 (d. 1848)
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