Today is Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
It is the 213th day of the year.
153 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
More startling revelations in the July 13 assassination plot and revolution brews in Venezuela. Details in HIT LIST.
SNOOP DOGG won’t apologize for this obsession. Find out what it is in SHOWBIZ.
Filming starts on ALEC BALDWIN’s new reality show and ABC is in desperate need of awards show hosts. Details in CASTING CALL.
Critics come for KIM in KARDASH.
MEGHAN MARKLE ramps up plans to launch her new venture. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Real Clear Politics reporter SUSAN CRABTREE on Tuesday published an email leaked to her that was originally sent by a Secret Service counter sniper on Monday night to members of the organization’s leadership. The email includes the startling warning that another assassination attempt should be expected before November.
The unidentified countersniper accuses agency leadership of failing the boots on the ground agents protecting their marks. He says after seven years in the Marines and more than twenty as a Counter Sniper for the Secret Service, leadership time and again has failed to answer the concerns of its rank and file. The writer of the email ominously concludes that the shooting on July 13 was successful “because our SUPERVISORS (aka leadership) knew better and thought our concerns were less than important.”
The email was published hours before acting Secret Service Director RONALD ROWE and FBI Deputy Director PAUL ABBATE gave testimony to Congress about progress in the investigation. Rowe said he was “ashamed” of the failure, more so after personally visiting the site of the shooting.
Rowe said that Secret Service agents never received word that a gunman was on the roof – leaving unanswered one of the biggest and obvious questions of the entire tragedy that left COREY COMPERATORE dead and two other bystanders wounded for no other reason than supporting DONALD TRUMP.
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Car thefts have gotten so out of hand in Portland, Oregon, that a volunteer group has taken it upon themselves to track down stolen vehicles – and to much success.
The Guardians Theft Recovery group recently tracked down their 3,000th stolen vehicle.
The group, organized by Portland-area auto shop owner Nick Haas, relies on community notices to tell people to be on the lookout for missing cars, and uses the digital grapevine to pursue leads when and where police can’t – or won’t.
Haas doesn’t charge for the sleuthing services; he says he’s just being a good neighbor. [via AutoWire, KPTV]
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Revolution seems to be brewing in Venezuela, after socialist dictator NICOLAS MADURO’s crooked regime appears to have rigged the voting process and reported bogus tallies from the weekend’s elections.
Both Maduro and opposition candidate EDMUNDO GONZALEZ URRUTIA have claimed victory.
While soldiers for Venezuela’s military were initially deployed to quell protests in the aftermath, videos and photos abound on social media of troops taking off their uniforms in solidarity with the protestors. On Monday, protestors tore down a statue of previous socialist dictator HUGO CHAVEZ.
The socialist President of the National Assembly of Venezuela on Monday demanded that Gonzalez and opposition leader MARIA CORINA MACHADO be arrested for refusing to accept Maduro’s “victory.” So there’s that.
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DELTA Airlines retained a law firm to sue CROWDSTRIKE for its software update that triggered more than a week of chaos in the company’s systems.
The airline was forced to cancel more than 6,000 flights resulting in untold millions in lost revenue and refunds.
While Crowdstrike had a gangbuster year in 2023, seeing its stock value double, it’s lost about one-fourth of that valuation in the last two weeks, representing $20 BILLION in reduced market cap. [via Reuters]
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A pair of experienced divers from Oklahoma spent nearly 40 hours adrift off the coast of Texas last week.
Nathan and Kim Maker were diving with about 16 others when a storm blew in, forcing everyone back to the boat. Fighting wind, rain and waves, the pair were knocked from the line by a huge swell and pushed out to sea.
Tethering themselves together, the couple quickly realized their body temperatures were dropping and they needed to keep swimming to stay alive. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard was alerted and started combing the area. Thirty-eight hours later the pair were rescued -- sunburned, stung by jellyfish and exhausted -- but otherwise unharmed.
Even after the harrowing experience, the two say they plan to get back in the water. [via GMA]
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DEATHS
Author FRANCINE PASCAL has died.
She passed away Tuesday due to lymphoma, according to her daughter.
Pascal is best known for writing the “Sweet Valley High” book series.
She was 92.
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SICK BAY
PAX JOLIE-PITT was rushed to a Los Angeles-area hospital on Monday after crashing his electric bike into a car.
Complaining of hip and head pain, paramedics rushed the 20-year-old to get checked out. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
Pax is the eldest son of ANGELINA JOLIE and BRAD PITT.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 203 points (0.5%) to close at 40,743. The S&P lost 27 points (0.5%) to close at 5,436 and the NASDAQ lost 222 points (1.28%) to close at 17,147.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $78; BRENT CRUDE at $78.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.49 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN ticked down Tuesday, trading just over $66,000.
🛩 There were more than 3,630 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 130 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $154 million jackpot or a $73.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
TAYLOR SWIFT says she is “completely in shock” over the tragic deaths of three little girls who were stabbed at a dance class inspired by her music near Liverpool, England on Monday.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack … is washing over me continuously and I’m just completely in shock,” she posted on Instagram Tuesday.
An unidentified 17-year-old is responsible for the stabbing spree, which also left several adults critically injured.
The suspect is in police custody. A motive is not yet known. [via PBS]
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R. KELLY is asking the Supreme Court to throw out his convictions for possession of child porn and inducing minors to have sex, claiming the alleged acts occurred so long ago that they fall outside the statute of limitations.
Prosecutors argue that the PROTECT Act made the statute of limitations indefinite for child sex crimes, to which Kelly’s lawyer says it doesn’t matter as the crimes allegedly occurred in the mid-late 1990’s -- years before the PROTECT Act was passed in 2003.
The Supreme Court will rule in the next few months on the matter. Meanwhile, Kelly will continue serving his 20-year sentence. [via OK!]
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OZZY OSBOURNE apologized to BRITNEY SPEARS for saying he is “fed up” with her dance videos on Instagram -- and even offered her some constructive criticism.
“I’m so sorry for making that comment. However it would be better if you didn’t do the same f---ing dance every day. Change a few movements,” he said. “I love you, and I think you’re beautiful.”
As of Tuesday evening, Spears had not yet responded to the apology. [via Instagram]
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SNOOP DOGG offers no apologies for his love of bags.
“I love bags, backpacks, handbags, tote bags. I’m not gonna call it a man purse, ‘cause it aint. I think I got less than a thousand, more than five hundred,” he told Vogue.
Snoop, who is currently in Paris covering the Olympics, has been spotted on numerous occasions with a purse…’er…bag in tow. [via Vogue]
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COLIN JOST injured his foot while covering Olympic surfing in Tahiti.
“This might ruin my WikiFeet score,” he captioned a photo of his bloody toes on Instagram, explaining that he cut them on the reef.
After getting bandaged up he wrote, “You know it’s going great when you’ve been to the Olympic medical tent more than any of the athletes.” [via Instagram]
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Wisconsin native JJ WATT is teaming up with Culvers for the eatery's first ever celebrity meal.
Starting August 5, customers can enjoy a “JJ’s Way Meal,” which includes a Culver’s Deluxe burger, Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Culver’s Signature Root Beer and a Turtle Sundae.
Culver’s will donate $1 from every meal purchased to the JJ Watt Foundation (up to $100,000). [via Channel3000]
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CASTING CALL
ALEC BALDWIN is moving on from the “Rust” manslaughter trial and focusing on his family’s new adventure into reality TV.
TMZ spotted the Baldwin family, and a film crew, at a park in the Hamptons this week.
“The Baldwins” follows Alec, his wife HILARIA, and their seven young children. It will debut next year on TLC. [via TMZ]
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ANDY COHEN says there are some big changes coming to Bravo’s “Real Housewives of New Jersey” show.
“We are rebooting the show,” he said on his SiriusXM podcast. “We’re gonna do something different.”
While not confirmed, it is assumed that a reboot would mean a cast shakeup. [via Page Six]
WORTH NOTING: The season finale airs next week, after which there will be no reunion special -- something that has never been done before with the ladies of the Garden State.
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TIM ALLEN will star in ABC’s new sitcom, “Shifting Gears.”
He plays a “stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop” whose estranged daughter, played by KAT DENNINGS, moves back in , along with her teenage kids.
The cast also includes DARYL “Chill” MITCHELL, MAXWELL SIMKINS, and BARRETT MARGOLIS. [via Variety]
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Both JIMMY KIMMEL and JOHN MULANEY turned down hosting this year’s Oscars.
Kimmel, who hosted the past two years, made the decision a while ago, while Mulaney said he was waiting for Kimmel’s answer before he decided.
The Oscars will air on March 2, 2025.
ALSO: The network is searching for a host for the Emmys, which airs on September 15. [via Deadline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Critics were quick to comment on KIM KARDASHIAN’s latest Instagram post. “Sorry every day more plastic,” one user wrote, while another simply said, “Silicone.”
Others defended the reality star, with one fan writing, “You just keep getting more and more Beautiful….Oh my!!! FACTS.”
“Kim is officially in her best era ever, how can’t someone love this woman,” another added.
Plastic surgery is something the mom-of-four has been accused of for years, though has admitted to only getting Botox. [via Instagram]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
MEGHAN MARKLE has been hobnobbing in the Hamptons ahead of an expected launch of her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
She reportedly hitched a ride from California on a private jet with cosmetics mogul JAMIE KERN LIMA. Insiders say Markle is rubbing elbows with entrepreneurs and industry heavyweights looking for advice on launching and managing the brand.
Markle has been pretty quiet about what the company will actually sell after she stealthily sent out 50 jars of jams to celebrity influencers. [via DailyMail]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day
National Avocado Day
National Raspberry Cake Day
National Mutt Day
National Jump for Jelly Beans Day
Black Tot Day
World Ranger Day
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ON THIS DATE
1498 - Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Trinidad.
The find was made on his third voyage in the name of the Spanish Crown.
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1715 - Spanish galleons holding treasure off the coast of Florida are sunk in a hurricane that also kills a thousand people. The gold and silver that went down with the ships would stay underwater for another 250 years.
Ships were commonly used to store treasure, since they were better protected on water than on land. Though the ships and the crews were close to land, the crews stayed onboard and went down with the ships.
One ship, the Grifón, managed to survive. Some of the treasure was salvaged, but the last of it would remain underwater for more than two centuries.
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1941 - Nazi Leader Herman Georing issues the cruel "final solution" memo, calling for the expulsion of Jews and what he called other “undesirables” from German-occupied Europe.
As a result of this evil plan, the Jewish population was moved to ghettos and others were secretly moved to concentration camps.
Even Joseph Stalin called this an "immoral" government act.
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1964 - NASA captures the first close-up pictures of the Moon.
Ranger 7 was an unmanned probe sent to the Moon. There was no plan to keep it in orbit, but rather impact the surface.
The images returned were 1,000 times clearer than images taken from terrestrial satellites.
The mission followed Ranger 6, which had the same goal a year earlier, but failed to deploy the cameras as it reached the surface of the Moon.
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1975 - Labor leader Jimmy Hoffa disappears from Detroit, Michigan.
It's widely believed he was assassinated by the Mob, though his body has never been found and there's no conclusive evidence they were behind a hit.
Hoffa expanded the Teamsters Union as president beginning in 1957. Meanwhile, he got caught up with racketeering and embezzlement with the Mafia, and used high-level contracts within organized crime to push his union agenda.
He went to prison for a 15-year term in 1967, but President Nixon commuted his sentence in 1971.
After his release, he was fighting a court order that barred him from union activities for 10 years -- until he disappeared from a restaurant parking lot.
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1990 - Major Leaguer Nolan Ryan wins his 300th game as his Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers.
He would finish his career 324-292, with a 3.19 career ERA, having pitched for 27 years with four different teams.
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2012 - Michael Phelps becomes the greatest medal winner in Olympic history.
Phelps was part of the winning American 4 x 200m freestyle relay team in London.
It would be his 19th career Olympic medal and 15th overall gold medal.
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2022 - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who helped plan the 9/11 attacks is killed in a CIA drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden calls the strike the “biggest blow” to Al Qaeda since Osama bin Laden was killed.
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BIRTHDAYS
Rico Rodriguez - actor, “Modern Family” - 26
Blake Michael - actor, “Lemonade Mouth” - 28
Lil Uzi Vert - rapper - 30
Kyle Larson - race car driver - 32
AJ Green - football player - 36
Matt Shadows - metal singer, Avenged Sevenfold - 43
BJ Novak - actor, “The Office” - 45
Zac Brown - country singer - 46
J.K. Rowling - author, “Harry Potter” movies - 59
Wesley Snipes - actor, “Blade” trilogy & “Major League” - 62
Mark Cuban - Dallas Mavericks owner & “Shark Tank” panelist - 66
Michael Biehn - actor, “Hog Wild” - 68
John Searle - philosopher - 92
Born On This Date
Ted Cassidy - actor, “Addams Family” - 1932 (d. 1979)
Hank Baur - baseball player - 1922 (d. 2007)
George Liberace - violinist, “The Liberace Show” - 1911 (d. 1983)
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