7/21/2022: Does Joe Biden Have Cancer?
Discover more from Morning Martini
7/21/2022: Does Joe Biden Have Cancer?
PLUS: Kim Dines Downunder, Will & Kate Heading to Boston, and Djokovic Out of US Open
Today is Thursday, July 21, 2022.
It is the 202nd day of the year.
163 days remain.
TRENDING
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were trending Wednesday on the historic anniversary of the two men walking on the moon.
Dr. Dre, Dr. Doolittle and Dr. Seuss were trending yesterday after Twitter user @dstiddypop43 asked his followers to “Name a Dr. who’s medical advice you trust more than Dr. Oz’s.”
Halloween Ends landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends Wednesday following the release of the first trailer for the upcoming film. More in Casting Call.
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HIT LIST
Demand for mortgages hit the lowest levels since 2000 last week, after dropping nearly 20% year over year. Steadily rising mortgage rates have helped to cool a white-hot seller’s market.
BUT WAIT: The Wall Street Journal reports that the median existing home price rose to $416,000 in June, a new record, despite five months of declining home sales.
MEANWHILE: Ford says they plan to cut up to 8,000 jobs in the coming week in order to free up cash to invest in electric car technology and production.
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The owner of a strip club in Providence, Rhode Island says he was robbed at gunpoint while in his office, and the thief made off with over $20,000 in $1 bills.
The bandit has since been arrested, and it turns out he was an employee of the establishment. No word on whether he worked in the entertainment or security division.
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A wild macaque monkey is on the loose in Japan as authorities try to capture the animal. In the last two weeks it’s been blamed for eighteen attacks on humans, including an infant child.
That child’s mother says it appeared the animal was trying to drag the baby away, before she was able to chase the monkey out of the house.
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An elementary school in Marietta, Georgia is facing backlash over a new logo that looks awfully close to Nazi Germany’s Imperial Eagle crest.
Reps for the school district say the design was based on the insignia for a US Army Colonel, but they understand how it could be interpreted otherwise.
Just last year, neighboring high schools were defaced with swastika graffiti, so the issue rightfully remains a particularly sore subject in the area.
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A Cambridge University study suggests that putting tobacco-style warnings on sweet treats and other unhealthy foods will help curb obesity.
When consumers saw a warning on things like candy bars that they contribute to risks of heart disease, obesity, and cancer, 7 in 10 were more likely to opt for fruit. Without the label, 4 in 10 picked the fruit option.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The Dow added 88 points (0.28%) on Wednesday to close at 31,878. The S&P added 28 points (0.73%) to close at 3,960 while the Nasdaq added 194 points (1.66%) to close at 11,897.
🛢 Brent Crude traded at $106 Wednesday while West Texas Intermediate ticked up to $102.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $4.46 on Wednesday.
₿ Bitcoin added more than $200 on Wednesday, trading above $23,600.
🛩 There were 2,274 flight delays within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday, and 159 such cancellations.
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CHARTS
A stitched video by Twitter user @benphillips76 of a news interview from the film “Don’t Look Up” and a recent British broadcast has gone viral.
At the time of reporting the video had over 6.4 million views.
Check out the eerie similar message.
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DEATHS
CHARLES JOHNSON has died.
The former NFL player and Super Bowl Champion passed away Tuesday. No cause of death has been revealed.
He was 50.
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REBECCA BALDING has died.
The actress, best known for her roles on “Soap” and “Charmed,” passed away Monday after a battle with ovarian cancer.
She was 73.
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THE SWAMP
President JOE BIDEN promised swift and aggressive executive action on climate change at a much-anticipated address in Massachusetts on Wednesday.
Those actions are expected in the coming days, but he shared no other specifics.
Biden said the Department of Labor has issued workplace rules that regulate what kind of work employees can do in certain weather conditions. Biden proudly said that Department of Labor inspectors have already investigated dozens of businesses so far this year.
THIS WAS WEIRD: Biden appeared to say he and many he grew up with have cancer because they lived close to oil refineries.
WATCH:
WORTH NOTING: The White House says that Biden has been treated for non-melanoma skin cancers in recent years and that no biopsies were required. But Biden’s file says these spots were likely a result of Biden spending a lot of time in the sun in his youth. So to imply oil refineries gave him cancer is, again, an outright lie.
MEANWHILE: As the Biden administration looks to cripple the fossil fuel industry at grave economic cost, China is doing the opposite.
Reuters reports that so far this year, China has built coal power plants with double the output capacity that was built there last year.
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What happens when your city passes a law to let non-citizens vote in elections and provides an extensive welfare program?
You get a lot of non-citizens looking for extensive welfare benefits.
In New York City, Mayor ERIC ADAMS says the “right to shelter” mandate can’t keep up with the influx of illegal immigrants seeking asylum there. The rule requires that any homeless person looking for a bed be provided one on the city’s dime.
In a statement, Adams says 2,800 such immigrants have sought shelter in recent weeks.
The New York City Department of Homeless Services reports a 12% increase in people in their system since March.
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LOTTERY
No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Friday night’s drawing will be for a $630 million jackpot or a $359.7 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
BEYONCE announced her new album, “Renaissance,” will be released on July 29.
Along with the announcement, she also shared a snapshot of the 16-song track list on Instagram.
Her last album, “Lemonade,” was released over six years ago.
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Texas State University is offering a course on singer HARRY STYLES next spring.
“Harry Styles and the Cult of Celebrity: Identity, the Internet and European Pop Culture” explores Styles’ music and popular European culture to “better understand the cultural and political development of the modern celebrity as related to questions of gender and sexuality, race, class, nation and globalism, media, fashion, fan culture, and consumerism,” according to a flier shared by the instructor.
The curriculum will feature Styles’ solo albums, some of his works with One Direction and his films, including “Dunkirk,” “Eternals,” and “Don’t Worry Darling” and “My Policeman.”
No word on whether the man himself will appear as a guest lecturer.
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TIM BURTON will be honored with France’s prestigious Lumiere Award at the 14th annual classic film-focused Lumiere Festival.
He joins fellow honorees, including Jane Champion, Francis Ford Coppola, Wong Kar-wai, Catherine Deneuve, Pedro Almodovar and Quentin Tarantino.
The event will take place at the end of October.
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The cast of the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” is not ready to say goodbye.
As the actors work on filming Season 3 -- which is believed to be the final installment -- several told Deadline that they did not believe executive producer and star JASON SUDEIKIS would really end the comedy after all the success they have found.
Fans of the Emmy Award-winning series are in agreement.
WORTH NOTING: Apple has not confirmed the show will in fact end with Season 3, despite Sudeikis saying it was written to end that way.
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CASTING CALL
DANIEL FRANCIS, SAM PHILLIPS and JAMES PHOON are joining that cast of Netflix’s hit series “Bridgerton” for Season 3.
Francis will play the charismatic Marcus Anderson, while Phillips will take on the role of Lord Debling. Phoon will play Harry Dankworth, a man who lacks “wit and intelligence, but makes up for it with his serious good looks,” the streamer revealed Wednesday.
Season 3 will see the return of Anthony Bridgerton (JONATHAN BAILEY), Kate Sharma (SIMONE ASHLEY), Eloise Bridgerton (CLAUDIA JESSIE), Lady Danbury (ADJOA ANDOH), Queen Charlotte (GOLDA ROSHEUVEL), Lady Portia Featherington (POLLY WALKER) and Lady Violet Bridgerton (RUTH GEMMELL), among others.
Filming on the upcoming season is currently underway.
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OLIVIA COLEMAN, LUKE EVANS and JESSIE BUCKLEY are set to voice the stars of Netflix’s animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Evans will play Scrooge, while Coleman and Buckley are the Ghost of Christmas Past and Isabel Fezziwig, respectively.
The animated adaptation is one of eight holiday shows recently announced by the streamer.
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Netflix has renewed “I Am A Killer” for a third season.
The show interviews murderers on Death Row or those who are spending the majority of their lives behind bars.
The six-part series will premiere in late August.
WORTH ASKING: How disturbing is it that shows involving killers are able to be renewed?
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ALEXIS FLOYD is joining “Grey’s Anatomy” as a series regular for the show’s upcoming 19th season.
She will play Simone Griffin, a first-year surgical resident at Grey Sloan who has a painful personal history with the hospital.
Season 19 is expected to premiere in late September or early October.
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Sony is pushing back the theatrical release of Marvel flick “Madame Web” from July 7 to October 6, 2023.
The reason being is that the first weekend in October has been a goldmine for Marvel Universe flicks at the box office. Examples include “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” ($90M) and “Venom” ($80.2M).
The entertainment company is also moving another Marvel Universe flick from October 6, 2023 to June 7, 2024. Insiders think it could be the next “Spider-Man” flick.
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The first trailer for “Halloween Ends” dropped this week.
In the film, JAMIE LEE CURTIS reprises her role as Laurie Strode, a survivor of Michael Myers’ original killing spree.
The movie is the 13th installment in the “Halloween” franchise.
“Halloween Ends” hits theaters on October 14.
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CELEBRITY CELLBLOCK
NBA player MILES BRIDGES pleaded not guilty to charges of felony domestic violence and child abuse Wednesday. The charges stem from an incident last month where he allegedly beat his girlfriend in front of their children.
Exact details have not been made public, but alleged victim MYCHELLE JOHNSON says the two got into an argument that turned physical. She claims to have suffered “a brain concussion, closed fracture of nasal bone, contusion of rib, multiple bruises, [and] strain of neck muscle.”
Following the incident Johnson told reporters that she just wants Bridges to “get help.”
He is due back in court next month.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM and her team reportedly spent over $400 on salads, pizzas, fish dishes and dessert at an Italian restaurant in Cairns while visiting her boyfriend PETE DAVIDSON.
A waiter who claimed to have served the group told The Courier Mail that the reality star also left him a “hefty tip.”
The restaurant’s manager told the outlet that the staff was “very excited to come close” to the billionaire.
Davidson was in the country filming his upcoming movie “Wizards!”
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE WILLIAM and KATE MIDDLETON will be in Boston this December.
The couple announced the trip on Twitter Wednesday, telling followers that they will be in the States for the second Earthshot Prize awards ceremony.
Created by William in 2020, the Earthshot Prize aims to “promote impactful approaches to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges,” according to the organization’s website.
Will and Kate were last in the US in 2014, visiting New York.
No word on whether PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE will be invited to attend the event.
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SPORTS
NOVAK DJOKOVIC will not be allowed to play in the US Open unless he gets vaccinated against COVID-19.
Tennis officials confirmed the news to ESPN, explaining that while the US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place, “the US government does not currently allow unvaccinated, non-citizens into the country.”
Many may remember that Djokovic was banned from the Australian Open for the same reason.
IN RESPONSE: ESPN reports that Djokovic said “I’m not vaccinated, and I’m not planning to get vaccinated.”
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Junk Food Day
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ON THIS DATE
356 BC – Fame-seeker Herostratus burns down the Temple of Artemis. The shrine to the Ancient Greek goddess of the Hunt and the Moon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Arson Herostratus just wanted his name to spread - well, like fire - and thought such a crime would do the job. The plan sort of backfired.
Herostratus was executed, and the mere uttering of his name became a crime punishable by death.
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(fast forward 2,217 years)
1861 – Confederates take home the first major battle victory at the First Battle of Bull Run. The South called it the First Battle of Manassas.
This is the fight where Virginia colonel Thomas Jackson earned the nickname “Stonewall Jackson,” as he stood resolute and disciplined on the field of battle—an example to his men.
The confederate forces rallied behind Jackson and won the day.
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1873 – Jesse James assists with the first recorded train robbery by a gang in the Wild West.
James and the James-Younger Gang derailed the Rock Island train as it chugged toward Adair, Iowa.
The robbers made off with $3,000.
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1877 – After Maryland's state militia refuses to use force to return striking railway workers to the job, President Hayes sends in the Marines.
On the same day, in Pittsburgh, militiamen skewered rioting strikers with bayonets and did not hesitate to shoot into the crowd that was throwing rocks.
20 died and 29 were wounded.
Rather than subdue the throng, it was inflamed. They started fires that burned down 39 buildings and destroyed hundreds of freight cars.
The chaos continued intermittently for a month, until the president ordered federal troops to squash the uprising -- and end the strikes.
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1944 – Americans retake control of Guam from Japanese forces.
During World War II, the small Pacific island was the only American territory with a notable population to be occupied. Thousands died defending the island; 485 surrendered.
One Japanese soldier hid on the island for 27 years rather than risk capture or surrender to the Americans. He would return to Japan in 1971, and later die of a heart attack in 1997.
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1983 – Temperatures at Vostok Station, Antarctica dip to -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
It's the lowest recorded temperature on Earth ever, anywhere.
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2007 – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the final book in the series by J.K. Rowling, is published worldwide.
11 million copies were purchased in 24 hours.
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2021 - Life expectancy in the US falls by 1.5 years.
It is the largest decline since WWII.
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BIRTHDAYS
Erling Braut Haaland - soccer player - 22
Maggie Lindemann - pop singer - 24
Jessica Barden - actress, “Coronation Street” & “The Chase” - 30
DeAndre Jordan - basketball player - 34
Diane Guerrero - actress, “Orange Is the New Black” - 36
Rebecca Ferguson - pop singer - 36
Zawe Ashton - actress, “Othello” & “The Marvels” - 38
Chrishell Stause - actress, “All My Children” & “Selling Sunset” - 41
Paloma Faith - soul singer - 41
Romeo Santos - world music singer - 41
Josh Hartnett - actor, “Pearl Harbor” & “Black Hawk Down” - 44
Cat Stevens - folk singer - 74
Born On This Date
Robin Williams - actor, “Ms. Doubtfire” & “Good Morning, Vietnam” - 1951 (d. 2014)
Edward Herrmann - actor, “Gilmore Girls” & “Eleanor and Franklin” - 1943 (d. 2014)
Don Knotts - actor, “The Andy Griffith Show” - 1924 (d. 2006)
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