Today is Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
It is the 186th day of the year.
179 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
META’s TWITTER rival is ready to launch and an enormous gas station opens in Tennessee. More in HIT LIST.
DOLLY PARTON doesn’t want to be a hologram and ROSIE O’DONNELL says her pal MADONNA is “good.” More in SHOWBIZ.
DANIEL RADCLIFFE wants no part of the new “Harry Potter” series but wishes creators good luck and QUENTIN TARANTINO says there will not be a “Kill Bill: Volume 3”. More in CASTING CALL.
KIM KARDASHIAN and co. celebrated the Fourth in The Hamptons…and made a TikTok. More in KARDASH.
The Crown Estate changes some rules about wearing clothes at a popular beach – to the delight of some freaky-deaky locals. More in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
JOEY CHESTNUT won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for the 16th year in a row, eating 62 dogs in 10 minutes.
That is one less than Chestnut ate last year, and nowhere near close to his record of 76 hotdogs, which he set in 2021.
The annual Fourth of July tradition was almost canceled as a storm rolled through the area, but organizers held off and decided to proceed after it cleared. [via TMZ]
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Russian officials say they’re open to a prisoner swap arrangement to free imprisoned American journalist EVAN GERSHKOVICH.
Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March.
The U.S. is holding a Russian national on cybercrime charges, and could be freed in a potential exchange.
The U.S. Ambassador to Russia visited Gershkovich in prison on Monday, but no further details have been released. Gershkovich’s next court appearance will be at the end of August. He maintains his innocence. [via ABC News]
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TOMORROW: META, the parent company of FACEBOOK, is expected to roll out “Threads,” a new social media platform designed to take on TWITTER head-on.
In the App Store, it’s billed as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app” – suggesting the platform will be intimately linked with existing Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Twitter co-founder JACK DORSEY tweeted a screengrab listing all the data that Threads will collect on users, which is in line with what other Meta platforms already keep track of – and it includes just about everything you do on the web. [via NBC News]
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BUC-EES has opened what is believed to be the world’s largest gas station.
Located in Sevierville, Tennessee, the station boasts 74,000 square feet and 120 gas pumps managed by a staff of 350 people. Inside, there’s even a full service barbecue restaurant.
The chain is common in Southern states, but has an eye to expand geographically – beginning with locations in Colorado and Wisconsin. [via Jalopnik]
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An Australian podcast host has set the world record for the longest continuous audio-only livestream.
Mario Bekes hosted a 55 hour, 26 minute show earlier this year – the feat has just now been certified. To complete the record, Bekes had to maintain live programming throughout, meaning no music or commercials, and he couldn’t “go to the phones,” either – any guest had to be scheduled and in-studio.
A doctor was also on-hand to be sure he was eating and drinking throughout. [via GWR]
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DEATHS
Film producer LAWRENCE TURMAN has died.
He passed away Saturday at a hospital in Los Angeles. No further details were shared.
Lawrence worked on “The Graduate,” “American History X” and “The Drowning Pool.”
He was 96.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 10 points (0.032%) to close at 34,418 on Monday. The S&P added 5 points (0.12%) to close at 4,455 and the NASDAQ added 28 points (0.21%) to close at 13,816.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $71; BRENT CRUDE at $76.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.52 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN slid nearly 1.5% on Tuesday, trading around $30,700.
🛩 There were more than 2,358 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 390 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $546 million jackpot or a $282 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star KYLE RICHARDS says she and husband MAURICIO UMANSKY are not ending their 27-year marriage.
Addressing the reports on Instagram, the pair issued a joint statement saying that while they have had a “rough year,” stories of a split are “untrue.”
Multiple outlets reported Monday that the couple had split and were headed to divorce. Rumors also swirled that Richards was dating country singer MORGAN WADE. [via TMZ]
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KEVIN COSTNER has filed new court documents requesting that his estranged wife CHRISTINE BAUMGARTNER “vacate” his Santa Barbara mansion “no later than July 13.”
The “Yellowstone” star has been itching to get her out of the home since she filed for divorce in May. Per the couple’s prenup, she had 30 days to leave the home if the two split.
Baumgartner has used their three kids as the reason why she refuses to leave. And also money. [via Page Six]
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DOLLY PARTON is not on board with the A.I. trend, telling The Independent that she does not want to become a hologram after she dies.
“I have to decide how much of that high-tech stuff I want to be involved [with] because I don’t want to leave my soul here on this earth,” she explained.
IN OTHER NEWS: Parton’s first rock album, titled “Rockstar,” will launch on November 17. [via The Independent]
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ADELE is not playing when it comes to fans tossing objects at performers.
During one of her recent Vegas shows, Adele dared the crowd to throw something at her, saying “Throwing s**t on stage, have you seen them? I [effing] dare you. I dare you throw something at me. I’ll [effing] kill you!” . [via TMZ]
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ROBERT DE NIRO was spotted for the first time since news of his grandson’s death, leaving a Manhattan funeral home with his daughter Drena and her ex-husband.
The trio were there to make funeral arrangements for Leandro, who was found dead over the weekend at only 19-years-old.
De Niro issued a statement on their loss, thanking people for their condolences and asking for privacy as they grieve. [via Radar Online]
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ROSIE O’DONNELL says her friend MADONNA is “good” as she recovers at home following a severe bacterial infection that left her in the ICU last weekend.
“She is very strong in general,” O’Donnell replied to one Instagram follower’s question.
O’Donnell and Madonna have been friends since they starred alongside each other in “A League of Their Own.” [via Page Six]
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CASTING CALL
Director GRETA GERWIG has made a deal to make a film adaptation of “The Chronicles of Narnia” for Netflix.
While the series by C.S. LEWIS consists of seven books, Gerwig’s deal is for only two films, according to IndieWire.
WORTH NOTING: Netflix landing the rights to the entire “Narnia” series is the first time a single company has achieved the feat. [via IndieWire]
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The new book, “The Last Action Heroes,” details how the first scene that BRUCE WILLIS filmed as John McClane in “Die Hard,” almost killed him.
According to the book, the first scene Willis shot had him flying through the air by an explosion. It was scheduled to be filmed early on in production so that if something went wrong there would be time to recast the role.
After filming the explosion, Willis said that everyone came running over to him, in what he thought would be a round of applause, but instead they were checking to see if he was alive.
“Die Hard” was the top-grossing action film in 1988, and put Willis on the map. [via NY Post]
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“Harry Potter” star DANIEL RADCLIFFE says he is “definitely not” looking for a role in the new “Harry Potter” TV series that is in the works at Max.
According to People Magazine, new actors will take on the roles made popular by Radcliffe, EMMA WATSON and RUPERT GRINT in the show, which will be based on the seven novels written by J.K. ROWLING.
For those anxiously awaiting the new series, all of the “Harry Potter” films are currently streaming on Max. [via People]
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There is no “Kill Bill: Volume 3” in the works, despite many fans wishing and hoping there was.
QUENTIN TARANTINO told Deadline that rumors of there being a threequel on the horizon are not true, adding it is “not happening.”
The famed director has long said he would only make 10 films and his next film -- about a movie critic from the ‘70s -- will be his last. [via Deadline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN celebrated the Fourth of July in The Hamptons, alongside her sister KENDALL JENNER, and friends LORI HARVEY, HAILEY BIEBER, LA LA ANTHONY and JUSTINE SKYE.
The group wore all-white outfits to the annual event, thrown by businessman MICHEAL RUBIN.
Before heading out to the shindig, the ladies made a TikTok video, showing off their outfits while NICKI MINAJ’s song “Barbie World” played in the background. [via People]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
In Fraisthorpe, East Yorkshire, there’s a public beach owned by the Crown Estate – the monarch’s real estate portfolio – that has for decades been leased to the local government to manage.
In that time, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council has banned nudity on that beach, and has sent law enforcement in to encourage the rule-breakers to put some clothes back on.
NOW: That lease has expired and the beach is once again under the management of the Crown Estate. With the new management comes a new policy: laying bare your orbs and scepter is not “expressly permitted” – but it’s “not prohibited,” either.
Apparently the beach was a popular nudist destination for 40 years before the ban went into place. [via The Sun, also for the cheeky joke]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Bikini Day
National Apple Turnover Day
Mechanical Pencil 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.
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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 two hits and walking a batter, but preserving a 5-0 win.
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1937 - SPAM hits store shelves.
The non-perishable protein food, created by Hormel, would become a staple during WWII, with nearly 100 million pounds consumed.
The so-called mystery meat is actually pork shoulder, ham, salt, water, sugar, potato starch and sodium nitrate.
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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 would become a mainstay for European beachwear for women.
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1994 - Amazon.com is founded in Bellevue, Washington by Jeff Bezos.
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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.
She 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.
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2020 - Florida reports a record 11,458 daily number of cases of COVID-19.
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BIRTHDAYS
Shohei Ohtani - baseball player - 29
Jason Dolley - actor, “Good Luck Charlie” - 32
Adam Cole - wrestler - 34
Megan Rapinoe - soccer player - 38
Nick O’Malley - bassist, Arctic Monkeys - 38
Pauly D - DJ & reality star, “Jersey Shore” - 43
RZA - rapper, Wu-Tang Clan - 54
Susan Wojcicki - entrepreneur, CEO of YouTube - 55
Kathryn Erbe - actress, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” - 58
Edie Falco - actress, “The Sopranos” & “Nurse Jackie” - 60
John Marshall Jones - actor, “Smart Guy” & “John Doe” - 61
Terence Henricks - astronaut - 71
Huey Lewis - rock singer, Huey Lewis and the News - 73
Born On This Date
PT Barnum - showman, Barnum & Bailey Circus - 1810 (d. 1891)
Mary Walcott - accuser at the Salem witch trials - 1675 (d. 1720)
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