7/8/2022: Southern States Brace For Extreme Heat

PLUS: Boris Bails, Elon’s Population Plan, and Kim Doubles Down on #2

Jul 08, 2022

Today is Friday, July 8, 2022.

It is the 189th day of the year.

176 days remain.

HIT LIST

BORIS JOHNSON has resigned as head of Britain’s Conservative Party, but will stay on as Prime Minister while his colleagues decide who’s next to run the show.

There’s a pool of roughly 350 members of parliament in that voting bloc, who will decide which of them takes over as head of the party, and head of the country.

Johnson has held the job since 2019, but stepped down amid pressure from colleagues over his myriad scandals. He’s also been a staunch ally of Ukraine and its president, VOLODOMYR ZELENSKYY, since Russia invaded in February. In response to the news of Johnson’s resignation, an official Kremlin statement read, "We would like to hope that some day in Great Britain more professional people who can make decisions through dialogue will come to power.”

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The Washington Post reports that ELON MUSK’s bid to buy Twitter is “in peril” – noting that Musk’s team can’t verify Twitter’s claims about the number of bots and spam accounts on the platform.

Musk backing out would trigger a legal standoff – he’s on the hook for $1 billion if he backs out, but of course there’s lawyers to fight that sort of thing. As part of the original purchase agreement, Musk also waived his right for financial due diligence that would’ve helped uncover this sort of thing.

MEANWHILE: Following the reporting that Musk fathered twins with one of his executives, he tells the New York Post, “Brave to big families.” He added that he wants to have “as many as I am able to spend time with and be a good father,” before lamenting that his teenagers don’t want to spend much time with him.

On Twitter Thursday, Musk embraced the story of his other two newborns, writing, “Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis. A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far. Mark my words, they are sadly true.”

Over the last 70 years, the global birth rate has declined by up to 50%, depending on who you ask.

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Apple is preparing to launch an extreme sports version of its watch, Bloomberg reports.

The larger display will be nearly two inches diagonally, representing a 7% increase in total size. Analysts believe it’s to facilitate more fitness metrics and data for athletes than a typical watch. It’ll also be housed in a metal sturdier than aluminum and feature shatterproof glass.

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The Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife killed four black bears on Tuesday that were threatening residents of a campground for the homeless in Anchorage.

No one had been injured when officials made the decision to put the animals down, but they didn’t want to take their chances, either.

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The National Weather Service says southern states should brace for an even hotter summer than they’ve already experienced. Heat indices above 110 degrees are expected throughout the weekend.

In Texas, Dallas is on track for the longest consecutive 100-degree-temperature days since 2011.

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BY THE NUMBERS

📈 The Dow picked up 346 points (1.12%) Thursday to close at 31,384. The S&P 500 added 57 points (1.5%) to close at 3,902 and the Nasdaq added 259 points (2.28%) to close at 11,621.

🛢West Texas Intermediate is back over $100 a barrel, and Brent Crude added a bit, to around $104.

⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $4.75 on Thursday.

₿ Bitcoin added nearly $1000 on Thursday, trading around $21,540 in the evening.

🛩 There were 2,680 flight delays for routes within, into, or out of the United States, and 234 such cancellations.

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CHARTS

New to Amazon Prime:

Home Again (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 32%)
Cinderella Man (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%)

New to HBO Max:

Mad Max: Fury Road (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%)

New to Hulu:

Minamata (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%)
Gold (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66%)

New to Netflix:

Dangerous Liaisons (No Score)
Incantation (No Score)
The Sea Beast (Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%)

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DEATHS

JAMES CAAN has died.

The legendary actor, known for his roles in “The Godfather” and “Elf,” passed away Wednesday evening. A cause of death was not shared.

He was 82.

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KAZUKI TAKAHASHI has died.

The creator of the hit TV series “Yu-Gi-Oh” passed away in Japan. According to the country’s Coast Guard, he died from unknown causes while snorkeling. The Coast Guard is now investigating his death.

He was 60.

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WILLIAM FRIEND, the husband of “One Tree Hill” alum BEVIN PRINCE, has died.

Friend was killed after being struck by lightning while boating with friends in Wilmington, North Carolina.

He was 33.

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RELATIONSHIPS

“Bachelorette” alum LUKE PELL, 37, proposed to his girlfriend, model AMANDA MERTZ, 35, over the weekend while the two vacationed in Italy.

PEOPLE Magazine reports that Pell hired a photographer, a florist and local musicians to create the perfect moment for him to pop the question.

The couple met in 2018, took a break in 2020, and then rekindled their love late last year.

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WEDDINGS

Reality star SHAINA HURLEY, 32, married restaurateur CHRISTOS LARDAKIS, 39, in a courthouse wedding last weekend.

Those in attendance included the groom’s daughter and a close family friend. The couple is planning a bigger ceremony in Greece later this month.

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THE SWAMP

GET A LOAD OF THIS: Earlier this week, news broke that nearly a million barrels of oil released from the country’s strategic reserve were sold to China and India.

IT GETS WORSE. MUCH WORSE: The Chinese energy company that bought the barrels is called Sinopec. In 2015, an investment company co-founded by HUNTER BIDEN bought a $1.7 billion stake in Sinopec Marketing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinopec (which is in turn wholly owned by the Chinese government).

IN OTHER WORDS: Amid rising gas prices and shortages in the United States, the President of those United States sold off his country’s own stores for the profit of his son’s business cronies and the enrichment of America’s leading global adversary.

This is an impeachable offense.

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A Reuters analysis shows America’s Governor RON DESANTIS has been spending just as much money on political ads in Florida as he is in other states combined. He’s up for re-election in Florida this November.

WORTH NOTING: While DeSantis could just be running the ads to raise money off his rising national profile, the spending certainly fuels speculation about his 2024 intentions. DeSantis has played very coy about whether or not he plans to run for president.

BUT WAIT: Big Ron 2.0 is headed to Utah later this month to court some of the GOP’s biggest donors.

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A study by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank shows the Paycheck Protection Program did very little to help businesses that were actually struggling and was wildly inefficient in its execution.

IN OTHER WORDS: Tell me this isn’t a government operation.

Overall, for every $4 allocated to save jobs, only $1 actually went to the wages and benefits of an employee to “save” that job.

WORTH REMEMBERING: The program was designed so that people laid off because of lockdowns wouldn’t struggle financially. But overwhelmingly, 72% of PPP funds went to the top 20% of household income earners.

SINCE THEN: Americans have squandered the largesse. Despite savings rates spiking in 2020, they’re now lower than ever amid soaring inflation.

WORTH ASKING: In the last 20 years, other than blowing some terrorist brains all over the desert, has there been a case of more government actually doing anybody any good?

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LOTTERY

No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $400 million jackpot or a $231.7 million cash payout.

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No winner for Wednesday night’s Powerball drawing. Saturday night’s drawing will be for a $48 million jackpot or a $27.9 million cash payout.

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SHOWBIZ NEWS

These albums drop today:

AJ Lambert, “Dirt Soda”
Alice Cohen, “Moonrising”
Apollo Brown, “This Must Be the Place”
Delicate Steve, “After Hours”
The Faim, “Talk Talk”
James Bay, “Leap”
James Righton, “Jim, I’m Still Here”
Journey, “Freedom”
Metric, “Formentera”
Mush, “Down Tools”
Neil Young, “Toast”
Party Dozen, “The Real Work”
Spiral Stairs, “Medley Attack!!”
Viagra Boys, “Cave World”

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DENISE RICHARDS has followed in her daughter, SAMI SHEEN’s footsteps and joined OnlyFans.

The actress justified her decision telling L.A.-based news outlet KTLA, “You own your content. The other sites, they can sell your content.”

Richards was supportive of 18-year-old Sami joining the site, while Sami’s dad, CHARLIE SHEEN, was not so thrilled.

“I do not condone this, but since I’m unable to prevent it, I urged her to keep it classy , creative and not sacrifice her integrity,” Charlie told Page Six last month.

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“Happy Days” alum ANSON WILLIAMS is running for mayor of Ojai, California.

While announcing his run last month, Williams said the city of 8,000 needs “leadership that inspires a collective team.”

The 72-year-old will face current Ojai Mayor Betsy Stix.

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: Williams’ former co-star HENRY WINKLER, retweeted his announcement, writing “You have my vote.”

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The Batman costume worn by GEORGE CLOONEY in 1997’s “Batman & Robin” is going up for auction later this month.

The suit, best known for its very visible nipples, will be part of Heritage Auctions’ Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction.

The starting bid is $40,000.

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A Michigan marina was temporarily closed over the holiday weekend after TIM ALLEN’s yacht leaked fuel into the water.

The Leelanau Township Fire Chief told the Traverse City Record-Eagle that the leak stemmed from a fuel filter issue, which caused diesel to spill into the engine compartment. Once that filled up, it began pumping it into the marina.

Allen, who is a Michigan native, admitted that he knew the fuel filter gasket had popped, but says he was not aware of the leak.

As the boat owner, the actor will be responsible for all clean-up related costs.

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PETA wants HBO to admit that a horse died on the set of “The Gilded Age.”

In a letter to HBO’s Chief Content Officer, the animal rights activists claim a whistleblower reported that a 23-year-old horse with health issues died last week during filming.

PETA not only wants HBO to admit to the death, but is also demanding an internal investigation into the incident be conducted.

A spokesperson for HBO declined to comment.

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New music is on the way from CHARLIE PUTH.

On Thursday, the singer-songwriter shared artwork for his forthcoming third studio album, titled “CHARLIE.”

He also revealed that it is set to drop on October 7.

The album will be his first since 2018’s “Voicenotes.”

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CASTING CALL

NOAH JUPE and MIKE EPPS have joined the cast of Apple TV+’s limited series “Lady In The Lake.”

They will star alongside NATALIE PORTMAN and LUPITA NYONG’O.

The series takes place in 1960’s Baltmore, where an unsolved murder pushes mom Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist. She joins up with Cleo Sherwood, a hardworking woman who is balancing motherhood and advancing Baltimore’s Black progresssive agenda, per a description from Deadline.

No word on Jupe and Epps’ roles in the series.

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JERROD CARMICHAEL has inked a two-year overall deal with HBO.

As part of the deal, Carmichael will headline a new stand-up comedy special -- marking his fourth on the network.

He is also expected to develop other projects.

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HGTV has ordered a new 12-episode season of home renovation series “Holmes Family Rescue.”

The show follows contractor MIKE HOLMES and his son and daughter, home reno experts MICHAEL HOLMES JR. and SHERRY HOLMES, as they work to “make it right” by helping clients fix shoddy construction work.

The new season, which will be the show’s second, will premiere in spring 2023.

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COURT CASES

WNBA star BRITTNEY GRINER pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of smuggling drugs into Russia.

Reuters reports that the 31-year-old told the court that while she did bring cannabis into the country, she did so “inadvertently,” and never meant to break the law.

Griner faces up to 10 years in prison, even with her guilty plea. She has been held at a Russian detention center since her arrest in February.

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SUNNY BALWANI has been convicted of fraud in relation to the Theranos blood testing company’s outright lies about its services.

Specifically, he was found guilty of 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Balwani was also in a bizarre love affair with disgraced Theranos founder ELIZABETH HOLMES. She was convicted on 11 counts of fraud earlier this year and awaits sentencing.

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DEREK CHAUVIN was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison Thursday for violating GEORGE FLOYD’s civil rights in May 2020.

Prior to handing down the sentence, US District Judge Paul Magnuson called the former police officer’s treatment of Floyd “offensive” and “unconscionable.”

Chauvin is already serving a 22 ½-year sentence for his role in Floyd’s death.

His new sentence will be served concurrently.

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CELEBRITY CELLBLOCK

NICKI MINAJ’s husband, KENNETH PETTY, has been sentenced to three years probation and a year on home detention for failing to register as a sex offender in Los Angeles.

CBS News reports that the 44-year-old was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to the federal charge last year. He was also ordered to pay a $55,000 fine.

This all stems from a prior conviction of attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl in 1994. Petty was 15 at the time.

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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS

KIM doubled down on her claim that she would eat “poop every single day” if it meant looking younger in a recent interview with Allure magazine.

“I’ll try anything. If you told me that I literally had to eat poop every single day and I would look younger, I might. I just might,” she told The New York Times in June.

When asked if she was serious, Kim told the magazine that she was “kind of joking” but “would probably eat [s**t] if someone told me: ‘If you eat this bowl of poop every single day, you’ll look younger.’”

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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS

PRINCE HARRY is firing back after learning that some of QUEEN ELIZABETH’s royal aides were involved in the decision to end his security protection during his recent trip to the UK.

Harry is suing several royal officials for taking away his personal security during visits to the UK. He claims it is “not safe” for himself or his family to return to his homeland without added security in tow.

When in town for his grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee, Harry, MEGHAN and their two kids were offered public-funded protection for all royal activities. Personal activities -- such as hanging with friends or going to the local pub -- were not covered.

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SPORTS

WNBA star SUE BIRD, who is retiring this season, will be featured on the cover of the NBA 2K video game, PEOPLE Magazine reports.

Joining her on the cover is Phoenix Mercury guard DIANA TAURASI, who Bird told the outlet is “one of her best friends.”

Bird will end her basketball career as a five-time Olympic gold medalist, who helped bring four championships to the Seattle Storm. She is also a 2022 All-Star and will play in the WNBA All-Star Game this weekend.

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LIST OF THE WEEK

8 Summer Treats to Enjoy From Your Favorite Chain Restaurant:

Coldstone -- Three new ice creams inspired by Nintendo games

Chick-fil-A -- Peach Milkshake

Wendy’s -- Strawberry Frosty

Sonic -- Sour Patch Kids Slush Float

Sonic -- Oreo Double Stuf Waffle Cone and Blast

McDonald’s -- Chocolatey Pretzel McFlurry

White Castle -- Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Jamba -- The Go Getter

*List courtesy of PEOPLE Magazine.

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DAY OF THE YEAR

National Chocolate With Almonds Day

Scud Day

Lego Minifigure Day

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ON THIS DATE

1680 - The first confirmed tornado in America is documented.

The twister touched down in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it killed one person.

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1776 – Colonel John Nixon gives the 1st public reading of the Declaration of Independence to an assemblage of citizens in Philadelphia.

The next day the document would be read to George Washington’s troops in New York.

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1796 - The US State Department issues the 1st US passport.

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1835 - The Liberty Bell cracks.

The bell, which was ordered by Issac Norris in 1751 from the Whitechapel Foundry in London, was cracked on its first test ring. It was then melted down and recast and inscribed with the message, “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof.”

Efforts would be made to repair the famous crack, but failed. As a result, the bell has never been rung again.

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1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average craters to its lowest point of the Great Depression, hitting 41.22 points, though it would rally before the close.

During the depression, closing numbers varied between 200 and 400 points.

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1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage by the Soviet government, following the crash of his U-2 spy plane over Sverdlovsk.

It took 8 Soviet anti-aircraft missiles to bring down the plane -- one even hit a MiG fighter jet sent to intercept it.

At first the United States claimed what was hit was a weather plane that strayed off course because of equipment failure. But eventually Powers gave a coerced confession and public apology. This set into motion talks to free him, which would last nearly 20 months on and off.

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1994 – North Korean dictator Kim il-sung dies and is replaced by Kim Jong-il, his son. Though Jong-il was the heir apparent, he did not assume the title of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea for three more years, while he consolidated the North Korean power structure.

The next year he also took the title of Chairman of the National Defense Commission.

What followed was accelerated economic collapse.

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2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis takes off for its final mission -- and the last of the space shuttle program.

STS-135 included a four-person crew, the smallest of any space mission since 1983.

The purpose was to send equipment to the International Space Station.

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2019 - Jeffrey Epstein is indicted on charges of sex trafficking minors.

The financier was arrested two days earlier after dozens of girls — as young as 14 — accused him of sexual assault at his New York and Florida properties from 2002 to 2005.

Epstein denied all accusations.

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BIRTHDAYS

Penelope Disick - daughter of Kourtney K & Scott Disick - 10

Maya Hawke - actress, “Stranger Things” - 24

Jaden Smith - actor, “The Karate Kid” & “After Earth” - 24

Aimee Kelly - actress, “Wolfblood” - 29

Liz Katz - model - 34

Jamie Cook - guitarist, Arctic Monkeys - 37

Sophia Bush - actress, “One Tree Hill” & “Chicago P.D.” - 40

Lance Gross - actor, “House of Payne” - 41

Milo Ventimiglia - actor, “Gilmore Girls” & “This Is Us” - 45

Sebastian Maniscalco - comedian - 49

Beck - rock singer - 52

Michael Weatherly - actor, “NCIS” & “Bull” - 54

Toby Keith - country singer - 61

Kevin Bacon - actor, “Footloose” & “Apollo 13” - 64

Anjelica Huston - actress, “The Addams Family” & “Smash” - 71

Wolfgang Puck - chef - 73

Born On This Date

Roone Arledge - President of ABC Sports & ABC News - 1931 (d. 2002)

Nelson Rockefeller - politician - 1908 (d. 1979)

John D. Rockefeller - entrepreneur, Standard Oil Company - 1839 (d. 1937)

John Pemberton - inventor of Coca-Cola - 1831 (d. 1888)

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