Today is Monday, July 8, 2024.
It is the 190th day of the year.
176 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A missing teenage tourist turns up and TESLA delivers surprising numbers. Details in HIT LIST.
ELLEN DEGENERES cancels some shows and KEVIN BACON spends a day as a regular person. More in SHOWBIZ.
“Bridgerton” fans have no shame. Details in CASTING CALL.
YE loses another employee. More in KARDASH.
PRINCE WILLIAM gets around. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
On the heels of a promising deliveries report last Tuesday, TESLA stock surged 27% by Friday, restoring the losses its value has incurred since the start of the year.
The electric carmaker still completed fewer vehicles year over year, but improved from the first quarter. The news gives Tesla a boost ahead of its July 23 earnings report. [via CNBC]
MEANWHILE: ELON MUSK posted on X Friday that he expects another test flight of the Starship rocket in four weeks. The most powerful rocket ever built has completed four test flights so far, each progressing farther than the last. [via @ElonMusk]
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A Minnesota police officer played a role in convicting a deranged English man in his plot to kidnap and kill a British TV personality.
The unnamed officer -- who recently testified in court under the pseudonym David Nelson -- prowls seedy corners of the internet to spot human traffickers. While posing as a kidnapper-for-hire in one chat group, a man named Gavin Plumb solicited the officer’s services to help him kidnap Holly Willoughby, a popular host for various programs on Britain’s ITV network.
The officer promptly contacted the FBI and police in Britain, who tracked down Plumb. He’s since been convicted of attempted murder charges and faces sentencing on Friday.
The Owatonna, Minnesota police department says it will release more details about the officer’s role in the conviction later this week. [via CBS Minnesota]
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Three days after disappearing from a cruise ship that made port in Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany, a 14-year-old American has been found safe and sound.
Aydin Brown disappeared Thursday morning from the cabin he shared with his grandmother. As local authorities scrambled to find him, they found security video showing Brown talking with an unidentified man shortly after disembarking. By Saturday morning, Brown managed to make it to a city two hours away, where he was eventually found and collected by authorities. He’s been reunited with his family -- but no word why he walked off. [via NBC News]
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Even after getting banned from Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, JOEY CHESTNUT went home with another title -- this time against four soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.
BUT WAIT: Chestnut went against the four soldiers combined, and still put down 57 dogs to their 49 over the five minutes. An estimated 18,000 people tuned in to the livestream on YouTube.
Chestnut was axed from the Nathan’s contest after signing an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based meat alternatives. That company promised to donate $1,000 for every hot dog eaten in the contest, for a total of $106,000 going to a charity that supports military families.
WORTH NOTING: Chestnut put down almost as many hot dogs as the winner of the Nathan’s contest, but in half the time. The winner on Coney Island hogged 58 dogs in ten minutes. [via NPR]
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The official torch from the 1960 Winter Olympics is hitting the auction block.
Designed by Disney Imagineer John Hench it features three Olympic ring cutouts around the bowl, with the words “VIII Olympic Winter Games” across the middle. It also features the words “Olympia To Squaw Valley,” signifying the torch’s route from Greece to California.
RR Auction is selling the iconic piece of history, and expects to get at least $500,000 for it. [via TMZ]
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BABY NEWS
Actress VANESSA HUDGENS welcomed her first child with husband, baseball player COLE TUCKER last week.
She’s 35 and he’s 28.
Hudgens announced the news on Instagram, in a post that also called out the paparazzi for invading her family’s privacy by taking photos of them leaving the hospital.
The pair tied the knot last December.
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Actress MARGOT ROBBIE is expecting her first child with husband, actor TOM ACKERLEY.
They are both 34.
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Reality star LINDSAY HUBBARD is pregnant.
She’s 37.
Hubbard announced the news in a 4th of July-themed post on Instagram, showing off her bump. This will be Hubbard’s first child with her boyfriend, whom she did not identify.
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WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
10. Kinds of Kindness: $860k (down from 9)
9. The Bikeriders: $1.3 million (down from 6)
8. Kalki 2898 AD: $1.8 million (down from 5)
7. Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot: $3.2 million (new)
6. Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1: $5.4 million (down from 3)
5. Bad Boys: Ride or Die: $6.5 million (down from 4)
4. MaXXXine: $6.7 million (new)
3. A Quiet Place: Day One: $21 million (down from 2)
2. Inside Out 2: $30 million (down from 1)
1. Despicable Me 4: $75 million (new)
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW gained 67 points (0.17%) to close at 39,375 on Friday. The S&P increased 30 points (0.54%) to close at 5,567 and the NASDAQ increased 164 points (0.9%) to close at 18,352.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $83; BRENT CRUDE at $84.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.50 on Sunday.
₿ BITCOIN tumbled over the weekend, down 2% and trading around $57,000.
🛩 There were more than 5,140 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Sunday and more than 345 such cancellations.
💰Tuesday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $181 million jackpot or a $84.3 million cash payout. Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $29 million jackpot or a $13.7 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
UPDATE: New York-based investigators are ready to present their findings to a grand jury as part of a new federal investigation into SEAN COMBS.
It is unclear if the findings are related to a previous report stating that federal investigators are planning to bring various accusers before a federal grand jury.
Per the report, Combs is considered a “subject” of the investigation, meaning charges are not yet imminent. [via The Wrap]
FOR THOSE LIVING UNDER A ROCK: The music mogul has been accused of sexual assault by a slew of women. The most damning accusation comes from his ex-girlfriend CASSIE, who sued and settled with Combs, only to later have video evidence of one of the assaults go public.
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ELLEN DEGENERES canceled several of her upcoming shows, part of her “Ellen’s Last Stand…Up” tour.
No reason was given for abrupt cancellation, which affects her shows in Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago.
DeGeneres kicked off her tour last month. It follows her fall from grace after allegations of enabling a toxic workplace on her daytime talk show. [via ET]
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California’s Lake Fire is encroaching on MICHAEL JACKSON’s Neverland Ranch.
So far the blaze has scorched over 13,000 acres and is 0% contained.
Neverland Ranch is set to be the backdrop for the forthcoming biopic about Jackon’s life, starring his nephew JAAFAR JACKSON. [via OK!, VC Star]
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KEVIN BACON recently donned a prosthetic disguise to see what life would be like if he wasn’t so recognizable.
After being outfitted with fake teeth, an altered nose and glasses, Bacon said he was treated just like everyone else. “People were kind of pushing past me, not being nice. Nobody said, ‘I love you.’ I had to wait in line to, I don’t know, buy a [effing] coffee or whatever. I was like, this sucks. I want to go back to being famous.” [via Vanity Fair]
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WWE superstar JOHN CENA is calling it quits after two decades in the ring.
He announced his plans to retire during Saturday’s Money in the Bank event in Toronto, telling fans that next year’s Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas will be his final appearance. [via Instagram]
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Actor DANNY TREJO punched a guy who allegedly threw a water balloon at his vintage convertible during the Sunland-Tujunga Independence Day Parade last week.
As bystanders tried to intervene, Trejo was spotted tossing a foldable chair. Officers were called, though those involved had already left the scene.
Trejo has not yet addressed the incident. [via Us Weekly]
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BUSTA RHYMES cussed out some fans who were on their phones during his performance at the Essence Festival over the weekend.
“[Eff] them camera phones. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird [a**] devices down. I ain’t from that era,” he told the crowd.
He later started calling out individuals in the crowd for sitting, saying, “Im gon’ point every last one of y’all out until y’all [a**es] is up.”
Addressing his outbursts after the show, Busta said that he has “zero tolerance for [BS] energy.” [via Page Six]
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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’s daughter, JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN’s 2024 Olympic dreams were crushed after not making the U.S. equestrian team.
The 32-year-old won a silver medal at the Tokyo games as part of the U.S. show jumping team.
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CASTING CALL
Fans hoping to land a spot on future seasons of Netflix’s “Bridgerton” are boldly sending casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry NSFW messages.
“I get the most unbelievable videos, unsolicited. It’s sex, basically. Not actual sex, but it’s quite punchy the stuff that comes to me,” she revealed on an episode of the “Should I Delete That?” podcast.
The messages follow the most recent season of the show, which saw a lot of steamy scenes between Penelope Featherington, played by NICOLA COUGHLAN, and Colin Bridgerton, played by LUKE NEWTON. [via EW]
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RYAN REYNOLDS and HUGH JACKMAN are reportedly teaming up on a non-superhero movie.
Reynolds, known for his role as Deadpool opposite Jackman’s Wolverine, recently opened up about the new project, saying they have one they are “looking to do soon.”
Meanwhile, their latest film, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” hits theaters July 26. [via Deadline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
YE’s attorney Brian Brumfield filed a withdrawal motion last week, seeking to remove himself from the rapper’s assault and battery case.
According to the filing, Ye “refuses to pay counsel,” “will not speak to counsel” and terminated their working relationship on June 21.
Ye hired Brumfield to represent him following a lawsuit filed by an autograph dealer who accused the rapper of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence charges.
The incident allegedly went down in January 2022 near the Soho Warehouse social club in Los Angeles. [via The Blast]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
Visitors to Windsor Castle spotted PRINCE WILLIAM bombing around the estate on an electric scooter last week.
A video of the Duke of Cambridge zipping past a security guard into the main castle went viral on TikTok Thursday. He and his family live in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor grounds, but it’s about two miles between the cottage and main castle -- making the scooter a convenient alternative.
While no one has confirmed which model scooter Wills rode, higher-end models can fetch north of $7,000. [via The Sun]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Video Game Day
Math 2.0 Day
National Freezer Pop Day
International Town Criers Day
National Chocolate with Almonds Day
Be a Kid Again Day
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ON THIS DATE
1680 - The first confirmed tornado in America is documented.
The twister touched down in Cambridge, Massachusetts, killing 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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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 fail. 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 eight 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 his son, Kim Jong-il. Though Jong-il was the heir apparent, he would 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 would also take the title of Chairman of the National Defense Commission.
What followed would be an 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 & Scott - 12
Maya Hawke - actress, “Stranger Things” - 26
Jaden Smith - actor, “The Pursuit of Happyness” & “The Karate Kid” - 26
David Corenswet - actor, “The Politician” - 31
Adam Moran - competitive eater - 39
Jamie Cook - guitarist, Arctic Monkeys - 39
Sophia Bush - actress, “One Tree Hill” & “Chicago P.D.” - 42
Lance Gross - actor, “House of Payne” - 43
Milo Ventimiglia - actor, “Gilmore Girls” & “This Is Us” - 47
Michael Weatherly - actor, “NCIS” & “Bull” - 56
Kevin Bacon - actor, “Footloose” & “Hollow Man” - 66
Anjelica Huston - actress, “The Addams Family” & “Smash” - 73
Born On This Date
Toby Keith - country singer - 1961 (d. 2024)
John D. Rockefeller - entrepreneur, Standard Oil Company - 1839 (d. 1937)
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