Today is Tuesday, August 15, 2023.
It is the 227th day of the year.
138 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Prosecutors have slapped SAM BANKMAN-FRIED with a fresh round of campaign finance violations. More in HIT LIST.
Some celebs are being criticized for their insensitive social media posts amid the devastating fires in Maui. Find out who in SHOWBIZ.
“Barbie” continues to be a box office success and there is more fallout for LIZZO. More in CASTING CALL.
Relationship experts share their perspective on YE’s “red flags.” More in KARDASH.
PRINCE HARRY might have an unlikely ally. More in ROYALS.
###
HIT LIST
A new indictment against SAM BANKMAN-FRIED shows $100 MILLION in illegal campaign donations funded by the disgraced former-billionaire.
The filing accuses SBF of ordering executives at his former company, FTX, to direct customer funds to a variety of political causes and candidates.
MEANWHILE: As SBF is headed to the notorious Manhattan Detention Center while he awaits trial after the court found he had tampered with witnesses while under house arrest, his lawyers are demanding that he be allowed prescriptions to treat ADHD and depression while behind bars. [via CNBC]
###
A California mom was shocked to find a dead body wrapped in plastic in her son’s bedroom.
The unidentified woman told officers that she entered her son’s room after smelling what she believed to be gas. It was then she stumbled across the deceased woman.
It is unknown how long the body had been there or what caused the unidentified woman’s death.
There is now a manhunt under way for the woman’s 26-year-old son. [via ABC 7]
###
The US Coast Guard has successfully rescued a group of four divers who went missing Sunday afternoon.
Rescue crews first took off just after midnight Monday. Within hours, they spotted a strobe light in the black water below sending an SOS signal and deployed a life raft. The divers returned to shore by sunrise yesterday and were reunited with families.
No details yet about how they went missing in the first place. [via People]
###
A 10-year-old boy from the UK is being called “Britain’s strongest schoolboy” after revealing he can deadlift 253 pounds and squat lift 220 pounds.
Rowan O’Malley appeared on ITV’s “This Morning” to show off his impressive strength by lifting up the show’s couch with celebrity chef Phil Vickery sitting on it.
Too young to compete in weightlifting events in the UK, O’Malley and his parents regularly travel to Arizona for competitions, where he has set eight world titles. He will be able to enter competitions in the UK when he turns 12.
To keep up his strength, O’Malley said that he is going to start playing rugby. [via LADBible]
###
An 82-year-old woman says she successfully scared away a 100-pound bear cub that had broken into her home overnight.
When she opened the doors to her mudroom to investigate strange noises, the critter leaped at her. Fortunately, it was small enough that she was able to push it away and lock it in the room.
It eventually clawed through a window screen and escaped. The woman refused treatment for minor injuries from the kerfuffle. [via Cowboy State Daily]
###
DEATHS
CLARENCE AVANT has died.
He passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, according to his family.
Avant was a Grammy-winning executive, concert promoter and chaired the legendary Motown Records.
He was 92.
###
Rapper MAGOO (real name Melvin Barcliff) has died.
His death was confirmed by fellow recording artists. No details about his passing were shared.
Magoo was 50.
###
BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW added 26 points (0.074%) to close at 35,307 on Monday. The S&P added 25 points (0.58%) to close at 4,489 and the NASDAQ added 143 points (1.05%) to close at 13,788.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $82; BRENT CRUDE at $86.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.85 on Monday.
₿ BITCOIN was up half a point Monday, trading around $29,400.
🛩 There were more than 5,200 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Monday and more than 485 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $36 million jackpot or a $17.5 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
TAYLOR SWIFT earns about $7.2 million a month in streaming royalties from her re-recorded albums.
According to the Daily Mail, her three re-recorded albums -- “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” -- have a combined total of nearly 7 BILLION streams.
As previously reported, she will soon release “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” [via Daily Mail]
###
IRINA SHAYK is reportedly cutting ties with some friends in an effort to protect her new relationship with former football player TOM BRADY.
The model has “narrowed her inner circle so there are no leaks. She’s afraid any weird rumors might scare him off,” an insider told Page Six.
“Brady is her white whale,” another added.
No word on how long the two have been seeing each other, but a source said they ran into each other at a wedding in June where Shayk was allegedly “throwing herself” at Brady all weekend. Her reps deny that she was flirting with him. [via Page Six]
###
Social media users are criticizing PARIS HILTON and her husband CARTER REUM for sharing photos from their Hawaiian vacation as fires ravage nearby Maui.
In the photos the couple are seen walking on a beach with their son Phoenix. Their location is reportedly only 30 miles from Lahaina where the devastation is occurring.
Comments on the post included words such as “disgusting,” “idiots” and “read the room.”
As of Monday, the death toll from the fires was 95 with more than 1,000 people still missing. [via Uproxx]
###
Actor JEREMY RENNER spends time in a hyperbaric chamber twice a day as he continues to recover from his snowplow accident.
Hyperbaric chambers help the lungs collect more oxygen, which then travels the bloodstream to the body’s tissues. The process can often help speed up the healing process.
Remember, on New Year’s Day, Renner was run over by his seven-ton plow. He was airlifted to a hospital where he was treated for more than 30 broken bones and trauma to his chest.
In addition to the daily hyperbaric treatments, Renner is also in physical therapy. [via People]
###
BRITNEY SPEARS’ latest Instagram post features her showing off her skills on her new stripper pole.
While some followers were impressed, others felt the timing of the post was insensitive as her sons are currently living adjacent to the devastating Maui fires. [via TMZ]
###
Soap actor ERIC BRAEDEN is cancer free.
The 82-year-old, who played Victor Newman on “The Young & The Restless,” shared the news on Facebook, thanking followers for their “good thoughts and prayers” as he got the news that his cancer is gone.
Braeden first revealed his cancer diagnosis in April. [via Deadline]
###
CASTING CALL
Former Raiders player MICHAEL OHER, whose life was the basis of the movie “The Blind Side,” has made some shocking allegations against the family who took him in.
Oher filed court documents yesterday claiming SEAN and LEIGH ANNE TUOHY, played by TIM MCGRAW and SANDRA BULLOCK, respectively, exploited him for their own financial benefit.
The Tuohys, who took in a homeless Oher his junior year of high school, made him part of their family just before his senior year. It was during that process that Oher claims he was conned into signing documents he believed were adoption papers, but were actually a petition to appoint the Tuohys as his conservators.
Oher claims the conservatorship allowed the Tuohys to negotiate deals on his behalf -- including for the 2009 flick based on his life -- without giving him a portion of the proceeds.
He is now asking a judge to end the conservatorship and is seeking damages, as well as what he believes are his earnings from the movie deal.
The Tuohys have not responded to his claims. [via USA Today]
###
LIZZO has been dropped from consideration for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show after some of her former dancers made sexual harassment and fat-shaming allegations against her.
An NFL source told the Daily Mail that the backlash has pushed the league to drop the singer after previously naming her as a front runner for the gig. [via Daily Mail]
###
The Chrisley family is heading back to reality TV.
SAVANNAH CHRISLEY, along with her brothers and niece, are going to be featured in a new docuseries about how they are coping while their parents TODD and JULIE CHRISLEY are behind bars.
Todd’s mom, FAYE “Nanny Faye” CHRISLEY, will also appear in the show, but it is not known if eldest Chrisley siblings LINDSIE and KYLE CHRISLEY will also make an appearance.
Todd and Julie are currently serving a combined 19-year prison sentence for tax fraud. [via ET]
###
“Barbie” hit $1.18 BILLION globally over the weekend.
In addition to being the highest-grossing live-action movie from a solo female director, it is now also Warner Bros. second biggest film ever, globally. [via Deadline]
###
THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
Relationship experts have weighed in on the “red flags” they see with all of YE’s relationships.
The way he changes and obsesses over dressing his significant others -- including KIM KARDASHIAN, JULIA FOX and, currently, BIANCA CENSORI -- shows he is “highly controlling” and “narcissistic,” the experts told the Daily Mail.
The behavior comes from believing that his “perspective is superior” and that his partners are simply “an accessory to support his desired image,” one of the experts stated.
This theme has been supported by Fox, who claimed last year that Ye “transformed” her closet within days of the two meeting. [via Daily Mail]
###
WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE HARRY has an unlikely ally right in the middle of The Firm, one source tells Closer: his sister-in-law, PRINCESS KATE.
“Kate has been in touch with Harry to tell him to keep his chin up and not worry too much about these temporary setbacks,” the insider dishes, adding that Kate feels sorry for the public controversy. [via Closer]
WORTH NOTING: Kate receives constant praise for her enduring calm and very British and very, very royal stiff upper lip. She certainly has a growing understanding of her future role as Queen and she undoubtedly understands her husband, PRINCE WILLIAM. The best thing for her, as a future co-steward of the monarchy, is stability, and bringing Harry into the fold to support his brother could be exactly what the institution needs in a way that she uniquely understands.
###
DAY OF THE YEAR
National Relaxation Day
National Lemon Meringue Pie Day
National Acadian Day
National Check The Chip Day
###
ON THIS DATE
1534 - Saint Ignatius of Loyola gathers 6 students near Paris to form the Company of Jesus, which would become what is known today as the Society of Jesus -- whose members are called Jesuits.
The Catholic sect was founded on vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. It remains one of the stricter Catholic groups in existence today, whose members work in an array of professions, and communally share their resources.
###
1877 - Thomas Edison writes a memo to AT&T encouraging the term "Hello" as a telephone greeting for the emerging technology.
His counterpart Alexander Graham Bell preferred "Ahoy, ahoy," which didn't make the cut. Edison said that "hello" could be distinctly understood, even when heard from a distance.
Phone operators were even known for a while as "Hello Girls."
###
1914 - A deranged servant of Frank Lloyd Wright sets fire to the architect's home in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
The Barbadian servant then ax-murdered seven people, including his lover and her children, among other house workers. The arsonist tried to kill himself by drinking acid, but would survive for seven weeks, and eventually die of starvation.
Also that year…
1914 - The SS Ancon passes through the Panama Canal; it's the first ship to do so.
The Canal was finished two years ahead of schedule, with the original completion date set for June 1, 1916.
But the fast construction did not come without cost. 5600 workers died during the last 10 years of construction of the canal.
###
1965 - More than 55,000 fans pack Shea Stadium in New York for the kickoff of the Beatles' North American tour.
With so many people and rudimentary acoustics, it was virtually impossible for anyone to hear anything. 100-watt speakers blared the band's familiar tunes, but the amplified sound was no match for the roaring crowd.
The whole concert lasted a mere 30 minutes.
###
1969 - Woodstock opens in Bethel, New York.
The four-day hippie shindig featured a who's-who lineup of peacenik bands of the day, including Arlo Guthrie, The Grateful Dead, CCR, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix.
###
1973 - President Nixon publicly denies any involvement with the Watergate break-in.
Of course, the scandal would culminate in his resignation from the nation's highest office one year later.
###
1991 - Hundreds of thousands of people turn up in New York's Central Park for a free Paul Simon concert.
The music showcased his albums “Graceland” and “Rhythm of the Saints.” A recording of the concert was later repackaged as a Live CD.
###
1995 - The first woman enters The Citadel military college as a student.
Shannon Faulkner had won a lawsuit that forced the military to admit her.
After four hours of training, she entered the school's infirmary. She would drop out completely within the week.
###
2018 - A record 72,000 Americans died due to drug overdoses in 2017 according to new figures from the CDC.
That number is a 10% increase from 2016.
###
2019 - Disney Studios becomes the first to have five films earn over $1 billion each in one year.
The films are: “Toy Story 4,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Captain Marvel,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.”
###
BIRTHDAYS
Chief Keef - rapper - 28
Tristan Evans - drummer, The Vamps - 29
Jennifer Lawrence - actress, “The Hunger Games” & “Silver Linings Playbook” - 33
Carlos PenaVega - actor, “Big Time Movie’ & “Grease Live!” - 34
Joe Jonas - pop singer, Jonas Brothers - 34
Emily Kinney - actress, “The Walking Dead” - 38
Ella Thomas - actress, “Ballers” & “All My Children” - 42
Ben Affleck - actor, “Armageddon” & “Argo” - 51
Anthony Anderson - actor, “Black-ish” & “Transformers” - 53
Debra Messing - actress, “Will & Grace” - 55
Princess Anne - British royal, daughter of QE2 - 73
Born On This Date
Nipsey Hussle - rapper - 1985 (d. 2019)
Julia Child - chef - 1912 (d. 2004)
Napoleon Bonaparte - Emperor of France - 1769 (d. 1821)
###