

Discover more from Morning Martini
7/5/2022: The Chestnut Chokehold
PLUS: Holiday Weekend Shootings, New #1 at the Box Office, and Don’t Test The Firm
Today is Tuesday, July 5, 2022.
It is the 186th day of the year.
179 days remain.
TRENDING
Saturday was World UFO Day.
Sunday was National Fried Clam Day.
Monday was Independence Day.
Joey Chestnut was trending Monday after winning Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for a record 15th time and even took down a protestor. Details in Hit List.
#Happy4th, #4thOfJuly and #HappyBirthdayAmerica were trending over the weekend in honor of Monday’s holiday.
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HIT LIST
In an ominous warning to the West, Russia’s foreign minister spoke to reporters last week with a familiar Cold War vocabulary.
Regarding the failed sanctions and economic ostracism from Europe and the United States to hobble Russia’s economy amid its invasion of Ukraine, SERGEI LAVROV said, “As far as an Iron Curtain is concerned … essentially it is already descending,” adding, “The process has already begun.” He accused the European Union of destroying its relationship with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
WORTH NOTING: The twentieth-century divide between East and West, Freedom and Communism, liberty and authoritarianism was clearer and more cut and dry. European countries slipping again toward socialism and the United States fending off its own burgeoning leftist insurgency blur the once-stark contrast between societies within and beyond the Iron Curtain of the Cold War.
ALSO WORTH NOTING: The Russian Ruble is stronger than ever; Bloomberg has even declared it the best performing currency so far this year. VLADIMIR PUTIN and his cronies pegged its value to Russian gold reserves and demanded that foreign countries buy Russia’s energy in its own currency.
WORTH REMEMBERING: On February 24 this year, President JOE BIDEN gloated about economic sanctions working against Russia. These efforts have backfired spectacularly.
ALSO WORTH REMEMBERING: Biden promised to stare down Putin and stand up to Russia. How has that worked out?
MEANWHILE, IN THE NETHERLANDS: New regulations that cap nitrogen emissions are poised to put the entire Dutch agriculture industry out of business. By the government’s own admission, the rules would shut down 30% of livestock farms outright. But they’re not going down without a fight.
Over the weekend, farmers stacked bales of hay in front of supermarkets while others parked their heavy machinery on freeways to jam up traffic. One social media video shows farmers piling up manure to blockade their border with Germany.
On Monday, fishing boats reportedly blocked access to ports, in solidarity with farmers.
WORTH NOTING: This is what happens when a bunch of do-gooder greenies living in cities impose their will on rural citizens.
MEANWHILE, IN CANADA: Freedom protestors in Canada used the Canada Day holiday on July 1 to demand the release of TAMARA LICH from jail. She was one of the key organizers of the trucker convoy demonstrations earlier this year that gridlocked Ottawa and who remains behind bars.
Canada’s Rebel News reported that one such protestor was fined $1,300 (Canadian Dollars) for writing “Free Tamara Lich” on public property – in chalk!
Parliament police also arbitrarily posted warnings that shouting and excessive noise would carry $1,000 fines – totally at their discretion.
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A 21-year-old white man named Robert Eugene Crimo III has been arrested as the lead suspect in a shooting attack that killed at least six and injured at least two dozen on a parade route in Highland Park, Illinois, yesterday.
Crimo reportedly opened fire from a rooftop and abandoned a high-powered rifle before he could be stopped or confronted.
No word yet on motive.
MEANWHILE, IN DENMARK: A gunman in Denmark killed three and injured three more after opening fire at a huge mall in Copenhagen Sunday. A 22-year-old male suspect of Danish heritage has been arrested.
MEANWHILE, IN LOS ANGELES: A 93-year-old man stopped would-be burglars by holding them at gunpoint while he called police. The man, a retired plumber named JOE TEAGUE, did shoot one of the perpetrators -- not fatally, however. Police so far say he was totally justified in his actions.
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ELON MUSK got back to posting on Twitter – and commemorated his recent trip to the Vatican and audience with the Pope. In a photo, he appeared to have brought four of his children for the meeting.
SPEAKING OF IL PAPA: In an interview with Reuters, POPE FRANCIS dismissed the rumors he’s ill and considering retirement. Rumors about his early departure from the job swirled after he canceled some foreign trips, but he says rescheduled dates are in the works, and – literally – God knows when it will be time for him to hang up his robes.
UH OH: Just weeks after opening an enormous production facility for Tesla in Germany, regulators there are recalling 59,000 of their cars over what they’ve deemed a “software glitch” that affects the car computer’s ability to herald emergency services in the case of an accident.
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JOEY CHESTNUT won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest again on Monday. He clocked 63 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, well below the 76 he ate last year, but he was still 20 dogs ahead of the number two eater, Geoffrey Esper.
Chestnut managed the feat even as the scarf-a-thon was interrupted by a protestor who edged his way into the line of contestants. The unidentified rabble-rouser wore a Darth Vader mask and held a sign that read “Expose Smithfield Deathstar” – likely a nod to the Smithfield food manufacturing company’s production plant.
Between dogs, Chestnut put the doofus in a chokehold and threw him to the ground before resuming the contest.
WORTH NOTING: Chestnut was even on crutches and wearing a medical boot as he recovers from tendon surgery on his right foot.
WATCH:
HERE’S THE DWEEB HE TACKLED:
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A third person in four weeks has suffered minor injuries sustained from a bison attack at Yellowstone, this time a 71-year-old woman visiting the park.
Park officials aren’t certain what’s behind the uptick in attacks, but think the surge in visitors had a lot to do with it. Amid pandemic shutdowns, the wildlife grew more accustomed to the quiet.
WORTH ASKING: Can someone remind us why the government shut down outdoor national parks to combat a virus that spreads from sustained person-to-person contact in close quarters?
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You really should ditch your TikTok account.
Bloomberg reports that reps for the Chinese-owned video sharing app admitted that foreign employees (meaning Chinese employees) can access bulk and individual user data.
BUT WAIT: The reps also say that information is totally not provided to the Chinese government.
Here’s a list of what TikTok collects, per their own user agreement: voiceprint, faceprint, browsing and search history, geolocation data, keystroke patterns, mobile carrier, and even connected audio devices. Cold War spies couldn’t have dreamed of having so much data readily accessible on millions of Americans.
MEANWHILE: A Chinese company has recently purchased 300 acres of farmland in North Dakota, just miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, where the military develops advanced drone technology.
WORTH ASKING: What could go wrong?
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The American Customer Satisfaction Index reports that Chick-fil-A remains America’s favorite restaurant for the eighth year in a row. It’s followed by Jimmy John’s, Domino’s, KFC, and a four-way-tie in satisfaction score between Chipotle, Panera, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks.
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The Washington Post reports that clinics are seeing a spike in vasectomy requests now that abortion is no longer a federally-protected right.
One Florida doctor who specializes in the procedure said he’d typically get four or five such requests every day, but last week was between 12 and 18.
Another urologist in Los Angeles tells the post he’s seen a three-to-four-fold increase in consultations, while another says his website traffic is up 200 to 250 percent.
WORTH ASKING: What happens to the country in two generations when the only people having lots of babies now are conservative families?
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A year after nonfungible tokens had tech-savvy buyers around the globe spending zillions of dollars on gifs and other digital artwork, the market has cooled down.
One man paid $2.9 million for Twitter founder JACK DORSEY’s first tweet in March 2021. (Most people still aren’t sure what that even means, exactly, but it has something to do with blockchains and owning the right to be a pompous douchebag on Twitter about owning the NFT).
NOW: That same buyer is trying to offload the asset – for $6,800. For those keeping score at home, that’s a 99.77% loss.
WORTH NOTING: When there’s so much saturation of cash in the market that people spend this kind of money on that kind of stupid, a recession is a necessary correction to the extravagance.
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BY THE NUMBERS
🎆A Lawsuit.org poll shows two in three Gen Z-ers don’t know which country America declared independence from. For all ages, it wasn’t much better: 42% of all respondents didn’t know it was Great Britain, either. It gets worse: one in three people can’t spell “independence” without looking it up.
📈 The Dow added 321 points (1.05%) on Friday, while the S&P 500 picked up 3,825 (1.06%) and the Nasdaq added 99 (0.90%).
🛢West Texas Intermediate is trading around $110 a barrel, and Brent Crude has ticked up to $113.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas has slid to $4.80.
₿ Bitcoin added $490.10 (2.54%) on Monday.
🛩 There were 1,294 flight delays affecting travelers within, into, or out of the United States on Monday, and 188 such cancellations.
OVERALL: The holiday travel weekend was brutal. Over the course of the weekend, roughly 9,000 flights were delayed and nearly 1,000 canceled, with both severe weather and staffing shortages to blame.
PETE BUTTIGIEG IS ON THE CASE! Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG tweeted a tale of his own over the weekend, encouraging anyone with a canceled flight to demand a cash refund for canceled flights, which are required by law, even if airlines only offer travel miles.
While airlines struggle to staff their flights – both pilots and service crews – most reporting blames a pandemic hangover for the disruption. But there’s another factor that merits examination: In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration drastically increased the number of training hours pilots must complete before taking a flying job at an airline, from 250 to 1,500.
One exemption is for former military pilots, who would still have to perform an additional 750 hours.
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CHARTS
Top 5 Songs on iTunes:
Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
Metallica, “Master of Puppets”
Beyonce, “Break My Soul”
Coffey Anderson & Drew Jacobs, “Mr. Red White and Blue (Rock Version)”
Cardi B, Kanye West & Lil Durk, “Hot S**t”
Top 5 Songs on Spotify:
Harry Styles, “As It Was”
Charlie Puth & Jung Kook, “Left and Right”
Lizzo, “About Damn Time”
Joji, “Glimpse of Us”
Post Malone & Doja Cat, “I Like You (A Happier Song)”
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DEATHS
JOE TURKEL has died.
The actor, known for his roles as the bartender in “The Shining” and Eldon Tyrell “Blade Runner,” passed away Monday at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, California. A cause of death was not shared.
He was 94.
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BRUNO FALCON has died.
The hip-hop dancer and choreographer, known as “Pop N Taco,” passed away Saturday at his home in Long Beach, California. His sister told local news outlets that he died of natural causes.
He was 58.
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LINDA KRAMER, the wife of Aerosmith drummer JOEY KRAMER, has died.
According to the rocker’s rep, she passed away on June 22. A cause of death has not been revealed.
She was 55.
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ARNOLD SKOLNICK has died.
The designer of the iconic Woodstock poster passed away June 15 in Amherst, Massachusetts after suffering respiratory failure.
He was 85.
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HANK GOLDBERG has died.
The longtime radio host and ESPN commentator passed away Monday, which was also his birthday, at his home in Las Vegas after a battle with kidney disease.
He was 82.
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BABY NEWS
BIG SEAN, 34, and JHENE AIKO, also 34, are expecting their first child together.
Page Six reports that the musicians are “overjoyed” and “looking forward to this next chapter.”
This will be Sean’s first child and the second for Aiko. She shares 13-year-old daughter Namiko Love with R&B singer O’RYAN.
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RELATIONSHIPS
Big Time Rush member KENDALL SCHMIDT, 31, proposed to his long-time girlfriend, writer MICA VON TURKOVICH, 30, last week.
The singer popped the question at Radio City Music Hall, where the two met in 2012.
Schmidt’s band members LOGAN HENDERSON, CARLOS PENAVEGA and JAMES MASLOW were on hand to witness the proposal.
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SICK BAY
Poison frontman BRET MICHAELS was hospitalized Thursday just before he was set to take the stage in Nashville.
He shared an update on Instagram, thanking fans for all of their well wishes. Micheals did not reveal what led to his hospitalization or his condition.
Poison is currently touring with Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
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WEDDINGS
LINDAY LOHAN is married!
The actress and financier BADER SHAMMAS, 35, tied the knot in an intimate ceremony just hours before celebrating her 36th birthday.
The marriage was confirmed by Page Six and later by Lohan on her social media platforms.
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THE SWAMP
New polling from Civiqs shows Hispanic support for Democrats and President JOE BIDEN at historic lows.
OVERALL: 47% disapprove of Biden’s job performance while 38% disapprove.
IN TEXAS: 52% disapprove while 32% approve.
IN FLORIDA: 55% disapprove while 32% approve.
IN ARIZONA: 49% disapprove while 38% approve.
IN CALIFORNIA: 42% disapprove while 41% approve.
WORTH NOTING: In each of these states, Biden started his term with a net-20-point APPROVAL among Hispanics. His disastrous border policy and superprogressive anti-family policies have likely contributed to this implosion.
SPEAKING OF DISASTROUS BORDER POLICY: The Biden administration has a simple solution for the backlog of cases against illegal immigrants: Just toss the cases!
The Washington Examiner reports that federal prosecutors are on case to “effectively pardon” one million illegal border crossers by early summer 2024 – just in time for election season.
Official guidance from the principal legal adviser to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Attorneys instructs government lawyers to toss the case for anyone who crossed illegally since November 1, 2020. For those caught since then, only those identified as national security and public safety threats should be pursued.
The Washington Examiner notes that: “Fewer than 50 cases fall under the national security priority and no more than 25,000 would be deemed a public safety threat.”
IN CONTEXT: There have been 2.75 MILLION border encounters since Biden took office.
WORTH NOTING: This is like a dog that eats up your couch cushions, then just refuses to look at it, like not acknowledging the problem both makes the dog innocent and makes the problem go away.
MEANWHILE: A Rasmussen survey shows only 18% of Americans say the U.S. is heading in the right direction. Under former President DONALD TRUMP, the lowpoint through 2020 was 24-25%, and that was during the first pandemic summer, in June and July 20020.
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Are you a modern progressive woman who wants to fight the patriarchy? Well, does Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ have advice for you: Get your nails done.
In an Instagram video posted on Friday that’s apparently competing to be the most vapid take on the entire internet, AOC says that if you feel powerless and like there’s nothing you can do, it all starts with a good mani. She says, “I need to redo my nails. And I have decided that I'm going to use my new manicure as almost like a personal act of reclamation for me and my story.”
WATCH:
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Rep. LIZ CHENEY might run for president. She tells reporter JON KARL, “I haven’t made a decision” about running but she will “down the road,” leaving the door wide open.
WORTH NOTING: Cheney is the token Republican on the January 6 investigation committee.
The whole point of the committee is to recommend that the Department of Justice press charges against former President DONALD TRUMP.
Trump is likely to run in 2024 at this point – and recent reports suggest he might announce sooner rather than later, to paint Cheney’s committee in an even more partisan light.
THINGS ARE GONNA GET WEIRD: Republicans are poised to take control of Congress next January, and certain committees will undoubtedly hold hearings about HUNTER BIDEN’s international business dealings.
IN OTHER WORDS: While the legislature is investigating the alleged misdeeds of a sitting president’s son, the Department of Justice would be prosecuting that president’s main challenger. This would be banana republic stuff unworthy of this nation’s character.
MEANWHILE: The Atlantic published an editorial from 2012 GOP presidential nominee and current Senator MITT ROMNEY, that sounded an awful lot like someone who was thinking about running for president. In the piece, Romney bemoaned Trump’s claims about a stolen election and accused Biden of being “unable to break through our national amaldy of denial, deceit, and distrust.”
Romney added, “I hope for a president who can rise above the din to unite us behind the truth. Several contenders with experience and smarts stand in the wings; we intently watch to see if they also possess the requisite character and ability to bring the nation together in confronting our common reality.”
Romney did make an excellent point in closing, though, and said that national leadership shouldn’t come from the government, but from “fathers and mothers, teachers and nurses, priests and rabbis, businessmen and businesswomen, journalists and pundits.”
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It turns out the HBO show “Veep” was a prescient documentary.
Vice President KAMALA HARRIS sat down for a live interview at the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans over the weekend.
A giant screen behind her displayed her name and title, and below was the location – and it misspelled the state she was in as “Lousiana” – missing the first letter “i.”
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LOTTERY
No winner for Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $370 million jackpot or a $213.3 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
Holiday Weekend Box Office (July 1-4)
10. Downton Abbey: A New Era: $208k (up from 11)
9. The Bob’s Burgers Movie: $241k (up from 13 )
8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: $483k (down from 6)
7. Mr. Malcolm’s List: $851k (new)
6. Lightyear: $6.5 million (down from 5)
5. The Black Phone: $12.3 million (down from 4)
4. Jurassic World Dominion: $15.6 million (down from 3)
3. Elvis: $19 million (down from 1)
2. Top Gun: Maverick: $25.5 million (stayed at 2)
1. Minions: The Rise of Gru: $108.5 million (new)
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Aerosmith frontman STEVEN TYLER is out of rehab, and “doing extremely well,” his rep reported last week.
As previously reported, Aerosmith canceled their Las Vegas residency in May due to Tyler’s relapse.
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ADELE performed in London Friday night for the first time in five years.
“My God, I’m back at home,” the emotional singer told the crowd.
Throughout her two-hour show, Adele paused four times to get help to concertgoers who appeared to need medical attention.
MEANWHILE: Adele recently told a BBC interviewer she “definitely would like a couple more kids.”
She currently shares 9-year-old son ANGELO with ex-husband SIMON KONECKI.
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CHRIS HEMSWORTH has joined TikTok.
The actor, who shared his first video over the weekend, amassed over 600,000 followers on the platform by Sunday.
He used the app to promote his new flick, “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
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Just hours before he was set to take the stage on Sunday, HARRY STYLES canceled his show in Denmark after a deadly shooting at a nearby mall.
He shared his “heartbreak” on Twitter, telling residents to “please look after each other.”
Styles was scheduled to perform at Copenhagen’s Royal Arena for his “Love on Tour.”
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Someone might want to check what planet BETTE MIDLER is living on.
On Monday, she tweeted: “WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators’, and even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you.”
WORTH ASKING: Why wasn’t this flagged by Twitter for harassing trans people? Who is the “they” she refers to?
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Remember when some bands pulled their music from Spotify to protest JOE ROGAN’s podcast?
Turns out the Almighty Dollar still rules all. CROSBY, STILLS & NASH are back on the music streamer, although conspicuously without any music that includes NEIL YOUNG.
For songs featuring all four men, those written by Young are unavailable, as are those written by JONI MITCHELL, who continues to boycott Spotify as well.
A rep for the band says they’ll donate future proceeds from Spotify royalties for “at least a month.”
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Several celebrities decided to “cancel” the Fourth of July this year after the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
KATY PERRY made a bold statement on social media Monday, writing “‘Baby you’re a firework’ is a 10 but women in the US have fewer rights than an actual sparkler smh,” referencing her hit song, “Firework.”
Actress JESSICA CHASTAIN shared a snap of herself holding up two middle fingers on Twitter, with the caption, “Happy ‘Independence’ Day from me and my reproductive rights.”
KIM KARDASHIAN and her mom, KRIS JENNER, also suggested the holiday be ignored.
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CASTING CALL
REBA MCENTIRE and MELISSA PETERMAN are reuniting for a new Lifetime movie, titled “The Hammer.”
The two will play sisters who find themselves entangled in a death investigation.
McEntire and Peterman previously starred in the long-running show “Reba.”
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The hunt for the next James Bond may be over…at least if MILES TELLER’s grandma gets her wish.
LEONA FLOWERS, the grandmother of “Top Gun: Maverick” star Teller, tweeted last week that she believes her grandson “has everything [producers] are looking for- talent, looks, strength, worldwide appeal & oh, so cool.”
“Wouldn’t he be great?” she added in a follow-up tweet.
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CHELSEA HANDLER wants to return to late-night TV.
After acting as a guest host on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Handler told Variety that she is thinking about creating her own talk show.
“I have, obviously, very strong and loud opinions and I like to share them,” she told the outlet. She added, “white men’s opinions are pretty irrelevant.”
Handler’s show “Chelsea Lately” ran on E! From 2007-2014.
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“Magnum P.I.” is getting a second chance.
After being canceled by CBS after a four-season run in May, the show has been picked up by NBC for at least two seasons.
The Hawaii-set crime-solving reboot stars JAY HERNANDEZ as Thomas Magnum. The role was played by TOM SELLECK in the original series, which ran from December 1980 through May 1988.
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COURT CASES
Attorneys for AMBER HEARD filed a 43-page motion last week, asking a Virginia judge to toss her guilty verdict in the defamation case with her ex-husband, JOHNNY DEPP.
The document claims Depp “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false.”
Basically they are saying the verdict was not supported by the evidence presented at the trial.
They’re also pursuing a technicality about Juror 15. On the juror list panel, the unidentified man’s birthday was listed as 1945, which would make him 77 years old. But Heard’s lawyers say he looks much younger than that, and the man isn’t who he says he is, which they argue would be a due process violation.
RECAP: Depp sued Heard claiming his career was damaged after she wrote an op-ed alleging she was a victim of domestic abuse. The write-up left little doubt that she was speaking about her ex, despite never naming him.
THE VERDICT: After a highly-publicized trial, Heard was found guilty of three defamation claims and ordered to pay Depp over $10 million.
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CELEBRITY CELLBLOCK
Singer R. KELLY was placed on suicide watch Friday following his 30 year sentence for racketeering and sex trafficking.
In a statement, his lawyer said that her client was put on suicide watch for “purely punitive reasons” because he is a “high-profile inmate.” The move “violates his Eighth Amendment rights,” she argued.
Kelly is now suing MDC Brooklyn (the prison he is being held) for the unwarranted lockdown, claiming he is “not suicidal.”
WORTH NOTING: MDC also placed GHISLAINE MAXWELL on suicide watch while at the facility, something her attorney also claimed was “not warranted.”
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Actress BUSY PHILIPPS was arrested outside the Supreme Court building during a rally Thursday in protest of Roe v. Wade being overturned.
She later posted a video of her arrest on Instagram, writing “I can think of no better way to use my privilege and voice than to amplify the message that bodily autonomy IS a human right..”
Philipps has previously opened up about her abortion at the age of 15 and subsequent one at 19.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KOURTNEY and her husband, TRAVIS BARKER, opened up about his recent hospitalization.
The Blink-182 drummer posted a statement on social media, letting his followers know that he is “currently much better” after being hospitalized with “life-threatening” pancreatitis last week.
“I went in for an endoscopy Monday feeling great. But after dinner, I developed excruciating pain and have been hospitalized ever since,” he explained.
Kourtney shared Barker’s statement, while also blasting media outlets who reported that she has not remained at her husband's bedside.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
A former royal policeman claims PRINCE ANDREW and GHISLAINE MAXWELL had an “intimate relationship.”
PAUL PAGE, who served the Royal Family from 1998 to 2004, told Sun Online that he, and some colleagues, were very much under the impression that Andrew and Maxwell were more than just good friends.
“She was allowed to enter and exit the Palace night and day at will,” Page said of Maxwell. He also noted how “highly unusual” it was that her name was kept out of the palace visitor’s book.
“She had access like no other,” he continued.
MANY MAY REMEMBER: Maxwell was the one who allegedly introduced Andrew to VIRGINIA GUIFFRE, who claims to have been sexually asaulted by the prince on multiple occasions when she was only a teen.
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PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE have allegedly been told by The Firm that they “will not win” should they do another sitdown interview with OPRAH -- or anyone else, for that matter.
“They would struggle to emerge victorious in a further confrontation with the Royal Family,” royal commentator Dylan Howard told the Express.
Rumors of a potential follow-up interview started after Harry and Meg were spotted visiting O at her Montecito mansion.
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SPORTS
The US has more chess grandmasters than Russia for the first time.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) recently released its July rankings for the world’s top 100 players. Featured on the list are 13 grandmasters from the US and 12 from Russia.
In total, Russia still has the most grandmasters at 246, compared to 101 from the US.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Bikini Day
National Apple Turnover Day
National Graham Cracker Day
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ON THIS DATE
1687 - Issac Newton’s work “Principia” is published by the Royal Society in England.
The work outlines his laws of motion and universal gravitation.
It only took about a decade for scientists in Britain to adopt Newton’s theories
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1775 - Delegates to the Second Continental Congress sign the Olive Branch petition.
The document sought reconciliation with the British throne, but only to placate the more loyalist members of the representative body.
The petition was an effort to avoid further conflict, but was followed by John Dickinson's "Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms," which outlined the colonies' grievances and laid out the case for war in the hope of independence.
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1865 - President Andrew Johnson approves the convictions of John Wilkes Booth's co-conspirators.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was just one of several attacks the night of his death — Ulysses S Grant and Johnson were also targets that night.
In the end, four of the conspirators were hanged and four sentenced to hard labor and life in prison.
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1898 - Lizzie Arlington becomes the first woman to play professional men’s baseball.
She took the mound in the 9th inning for the Reading Coal Heavers against the Allentown Peanuts, allowing 2 hits and walking a batter, but preserving a 5-0 win.
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1946 - The bikini is introduced in France, a first for women's fashion.
It was named after the United States' nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll.
Two-piece swimming suits were a necessity during World War II, when product rationing meant limited access to fabric.
The first to model the innovative apparel was an exotic dancer, because the designer couldn't find any other model willing to be so bold. But within a decade, it became a mainstay for European beachwear for women.
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1989 - The first episode of “The Seinfeld Chronicles” premieres on NBC.
It aired between repeat episodes of “Night Court” and “Miami Vice.” The show was up against “Jake and the Fatman” on CBS and “The Robert Guillaume Show” on ABC.
The show would of course become one of the most-watched in American history.
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1994 - The company that would become Amazon is founded by Jeff Bezos.
It was originally called “Cadabra, Inc.,” but Bezos changed it to “Amazon.com” after his lawyer reportedly misheard it as “cadaver.” Originally, he operated out of the garage of his home in Bellevue, Washington, and started selling books online the following year.
Today it’s worth more than $1 trillion.
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1996 - Dolly the sheep is born in Scotland, the first mammal to be cloned from a cell.
The animal is reportedly named for Dolly Parton, since a mammary cell was used for the clone, and Parton is known for her substantial chest.
Dolly would die six years later, but not before giving birth to four lambs.
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2016 - The FBI releases a report saying that Hillary Clinton was “extremely careless” in her handling of classified emails during her time as Secretary of State.
They recommended no prosecution, though.
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2020 - As the world figures out how to handle the covid outbreak, Mexico’s death toll surpasses 30,000, making it the fifth-worst affected country in the world.
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BIRTHDAYS
Shohei Ohtani - baseball player - 28
Jason Dolley - actor, “Good Luck Charlie” - 31
Adam Cole - wrestler - 33
Megan Rapinoe - soccer player - 37
DJ Pauly D - reality star, “Jersey Shore” - 42
RZA - rapper - 53
Kathryn Erbe - actress, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” - 57
Edie Falco - actress, “The Sopranos” & “Nurse Jackie” - 59
Terence Hendricks - astronaut - 70
Huey Lewis - rock singer, Huey Lewis and the News - 72
Born On This Date
Mac Dre - rapper - 1970 (d. 2004)
PT Barnum - founder of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus - 1810 (d. 1891)
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