8/9/2022: Biden Sics Jackboots on Trump
Discover more from Morning Martini
8/9/2022: Biden Sics Jackboots on Trump
PLUS: “Grease” Star’s Death; Pfizer’s New Vaccine; and Royal Undies
Today is Tuesday, August 9, 2022.
It is the 221st day of the year.
144 days remain.
TRENDING
Fans took to Twitter to share their shock and sadness over the passing of actress Olivia Newton-John. More in Deaths.
Video Vanguard was trending Monday after it was revealed that Nicki Minaj will receive the award. More in Showbiz.
In honor of International Cat Day, Twitter users shared photos and stories of their beloved pets.
#MyResignationAnnouncement was trending yesterday. Tweets included “When your company fires you they don’t give you a two week notice…so why do companies expect us to show THEM that courtesy?,” “It will be more polite than what I’m really thinking,” and “Direct and to the point.”
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HIT LIST
Former President DONALD TRUMP issued a statement Monday saying that his Florida residence was being raided by FBI agents.
“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said in part. He went on to call it the weaponization of the Justice System by Radical Left Democrats “who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024.”
Trump called this corruption never seen before in this country, noting that investigators even cracked Trump’s personal safe.
This will likely be a developing story for weeks to come . . .
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A Pentagon report suggests the Russian military has lost at least 70,000 soldiers since it began its invasion of Ukraine in February, and as many as 80,000.
Russia’s offensive remains largely stationary along the eastern borders of Ukraine.
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Gabby Petito’s family intends to file a lawsuit accusing local police officers of failing to act when they investigated a domestic fight between Petito and Brian Laundrie, eventually resulting in her wrongful death.
Police ordered the couple to spend the night apart but took no further action. At the time, Petito and Laundrie were on a cross-country roadtrip.
She went missing days later.
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Construction workers in New Zealand found an 85-year-old message in a bottle while dismantling a small war memorial as it was being prepared to be moved to a new site.
The find was fortuitous; a rep for the project management company says a big chunk of concrete broke off just right, so that the bottle was revealed but did not break.
Inside, they found a letter dated February 1937 that included a list of workers who originally built the monument. The letter will go into a time capsule at the memorial’s new site.
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Pfizer is working to get another vaccine on the market – this time for Lyme disease.
It’s the first vaccine candidate to treat the condition in twenty years, AP reports. There are approximately 476,000 people treated for Lyme disease every year in the U.S.
Pfizer is looking for about 6,000 candidates across the U.S. and Europe for the trial.
No word yet if this vaccine will prevent Lyme disease symptoms or just make the people who get Lyme disease grateful for the shot.
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Boeing has had to pause deliveries of its 787 jets for the last two years, after inspectors revealed unapproved parts were used in the design and gaps were visible between the aircraft’s exterior panels.
Now, they should be able to begin shipping again upon clearance from the FAA. About 120 such planes have been sitting idle until they can get approval to be updated and delivered.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 After a morning rally the Dow finished flat, adding only 29 points (0.089%) to close at 32,832. The S&P finished down 5 points (0.12%) to close at 4,140 while the Nasdaq lost 13 points (0.10%) to close at 12,644.
🛢 West Texas Intermediate traded at $90.59 Monday. Brent Crude was down to $96.52.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $4.05 on Monday.
₿ Bitcoin picked up $629.90 on Monday, trading around $23,800.
🛩 There were 4,818 flight delays within, into, or out of the United States on Monday and 614 such cancellations.
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CHARTS
Top 5 Songs on iTunes:
Beyonce, “Break My Soul”
Benny Blanco, BTS, Snoop Dogg, “Bad Decisions”
Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
Van Andrew, “Sad Cowboys and Rock Roll (ft. Victoria Bigelow)”
Cole Swindell, “She Had Me At Heads Carolina”
Top 5 Songs on Spotify:
Harry Styles, “As It Was”
Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
Rosalia, “Despecha”
Lizzo, “About Damn Time”
OneRepublic, “I Ain’t Worried”
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DEATHS
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN has died.
The actress, known best for her role as Sandy in “Grease,” passed away at her ranch in Southern California on Monday morning.
She had battled breast cancer for more than 30 years, though it is unknown if that is the cause of her death.
She was 73.
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DAVID MCCULLOUGH has died.
The best-selling author, American historian and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient passed away Sunday. No cause of death was shared.
He was 89.
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CLU GULAGER has died.
The actor, known for his roles in the NBC series “The Virginian” and “The Return of the Living Dead,” passed away last Friday from natural causes.
He was 93.
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RYAN FELLOWS has died.
The racer and star of “Street Outlaws: Fastest in America” passed away Sunday morning in a fiery crash while filming the Discovery show. A source told TMZ he was racing another driver at that time of the crash.
He was 41.
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THE SWAMP
A DailyMail report exposes that two Chinese energy executives met with then-Vice President JOE BIDEN in 2014. This meeting marked the fifteenth time Biden took a meeting with business associates of son HUNTER BIDEN. Biden still maintains he’s never discussed Hunter’s business dealings with him.
Four days after this meeting – which were confirmed by public-record visitor logs – one of these executives emailed Hunter, offering to fix Hunter’s $102,000 sports car. Here’s what the exec wrote: “Last Friday when we visited DC, I heard that your [vehicle] is out of order and could not get serviced. Sorry… It would be our honor to get your [car] fixed… I would like to give you a call to see what we could do as the next step.”
IT GETS WORSE: After the DailyMail published this story, the journalist who broke the news got an email from Hunter’s lawyer:
“Please quote me. Josh [the writer] you are a parasite who lives of [sic] other peoples [sic] difficulties. Your parents won’t mount [?] you. Pls include an explaination [sic] from “news corp’ [sic] lawyers of [sic] you exclude this comment this from your as to why you have done so after asking. Me fo [sic] my comment. Please”
And then it’s signed by Christopher J. Clark from Latham & Watkins.
WORTH ASKING: How much blow do you have to do to think sending an email like this on behalf of a client is a good idea?
THEN, GET A LOAD OF THIS: A note on Hunter’s laptop sheds some light on why he liked to film his sexual adventures so prolifically.
“I loved to be reassured that my 9-inch very big penis was actually big. It may sound funny to you but its [sic] body dysmorphia … I know my penis is almost twice the size of an average man’s penis,” he wrote, but it’s not clear who the note was addressed to.
One psychotherapist tells the New York Post, “In the past [Hunter] may have felt there was something lacking and it seems like he bases a lot of his internalized value with his penis.”
So, there’s that.
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Democrats say adding more IRS agents will generate more revenue for the federal government.
Best-case estimates show that over the next ten years, the increased audits will net the government an average of about $12.4 billion a year.
The country’s operating budget is around $4 trillion these days.
That means the increased enforcement will account for .003% of revenues.
WORTH ASKING: Is this really the most efficient way to increase revenue to the government?
ALSO WORTH ASKING: Is the policy really about increasing revenue or having more control over how Americans spend their money?
WORTH NOTING: Senator MIKE CRAPO introduced an amendment to the Inflation Reduction Act that would have barred audits on Americans who earn less than $400,000 a year.
Every Democrat voted against it.
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Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States can’t put on a coat:
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LOTTERY
No winner for Friday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $52 million jackpot or a $30.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
New footage shows ANNE HECHE’s blue Mini Cooper driving erratically through a Mar Vista neighborhood ahead of her fiery crash.
At one point in the clip, the actress almost hits a woman with her car.
Officers have obtained a warrant for a sample of Heche’s blood as investigators believe she may have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the wreck.
A rep for Heche tells PEOPLE magazine that she is in a coma and has not been conscious since shortly after the accident.
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JEWEL’s tour bus burst into flames on Sunday.
“We had a full bus fire. Nobody was hurt,” the singer said in a TikTok video, which also showed off the charred vehicle.
The blaze started when the bus was parked in a hotel parking lot on her band’s “off day,” she explained. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
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LORI LOUGHLIN needs to fly to Canada to shoot a new movie, but may not be allowed into the country due to her criminal status.
While she has gotten permission from a judge to leave the country -- remember she is on probation for two years -- the country itself may reject her visit.
Canada is super strict on allowing people with criminal records, and as many may remember, Loughlin pled guilty to a felony for her role in the college admissions scandal.
No details about the film are known.
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BEYONCE’s “Renaissance” album is the second-best when it comes to first-week numbers so far this year, trailing HARRY STYLES’ album “Harry’s House.”
According to Luminate Date, Bey’s album debut earned 332,000 equivalent album units, while Harry’s grossed 521,000 when it was released in June.
Coming in third is BTS’ “Proof” at 314,000.
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WHOOPI GOLDBERG once got into a “fart war” with BILLY CRYSTAL and the late ROBIN WILLIAMS.
Goldberg’s granddaughter Amara Skye Dean recalled the story involving the three celebs, telling Entertainment Weekly they all took turns farting on an elevator for a silly gag.
“My grandma got her name because she likes to fart a lot. So, whoopee cushions, farts. That’s how Caryn Johnson became Whoopi Goldberg,” Dean added.
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ASHTON KUTCHER says he had a super rare form of vasculitis two years ago that took away his ability to see, hear or walk.
He discussed the crazy diagnosis during last night’s episode of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge.”
Kutcher said it was about a year before he was able to gain back full function of his lost senses.
MAYO CLINIC SAYS: Vasculitis is a very rare autoimmune disorder that can cause inflammation of the blood vessels, resulting in restricted blood flow.
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Director PETER JACKSON was willing to try anything to forget everything about “The Lord of the Rings,” even hypnosis.
He told The Hollywood Reporter that he “seriously considered” using hypnosis to forget working on the film series, but not for the reason you may think. Jackson explained that he wanted to experience the films “as a regular fan,” which is impossible to do after being behind the camera.
ON A POSITIVE NOTE: Jackson will get to enjoy Amazon’s new series “The Lord of the RIngs: The Rings of Power” as a true fan because he has zero connection to the project.
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“Real Housewives of New Jersey” star TERESA GIUDICE tied the knot over the weekend, and while the ceremony was ultra-glamorous, all anyone wants to talk about is her skyhigh hair-do.
Hairstylist LUCIA CASAZZA spilled all the details on ANDY COHEN’s Sirius XM radio show on Monday morning. She said the up-do was put together with $7,000 worth of real human hair extensions and over 1,500 bobby pins, which took over two hours to remove after the ceremony.
Check out the look here:
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DUA LIPA has been named an honorary ambassador of Kosovo.
She received the title while performing at the Sunny Hill Festival in Pristina, Kosovo -- an event created by Lipa and her father Dukagjin Lipa.
THE CONNECTION: Lipa was born in London, but both of her parents are from Kosovo. The family returned to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo after it declared its independence in 2008. At 15 Lipa moved back to London to pursue her music career.
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NICKI MINAJ will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2022 MTV VMAs.
Past recipients include Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J and Missy Elliott.
Minaj will also perform for the first time since 2018.
The MTV VMAs will take place on Sunday, August 28.
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CASTING CALL
KALEY CUOCO will star in Peacock’s dark thriller “Based On a True Story.”
Based on true events, the series centers on a realtor, a plumber and a former tennis star whose lives unexpectedly collide.
Cuoco will play a woman named Ava Bartlett.
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KANYE WEST has lost another divorce attorney.
During a trial-setting conference last week, Ye’s divorce attorney, SAMANTHA SPECTOR, asked the judge to relieve her as counsel. She stated that her relationship with her client was “irretrievably broken.” She did not get into specifics as to what happened.
Spector was Ye’s fifth attorney to bail on his ongoing divorce with KIM KARDASHIAN.
SPEAKING OF CRAZ-YE: On Monday, Ye celebrated Kim and PETE DAVIDSON’s break-up news by sharing a fake headline that read, “SKETE DAVIDSON DEAD AT AGE 28.” He later removed the post after Kim was “livid” about him returning to his old “bullying” antics, a source told Page Six.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas…unless you're a royal.
A former stripper who spent a night with PRINCE HARRY at a Vegas hotel in 2012 is auctioning off his underwear.
CARRIE REICHERT told The Mirror that she hopes the black briefs are a reminder of the “fun Harry.” He “has become such a bore, it’s a real shame. At least these pants are a reminder of what he used to be like…when Harry was the fun prince,” she added.
Reichert had previously loaned the underwear to Vegas’ Erotic Heritage Museum for public display, but will now be selling them, along with the outfit she wore during their night together.
FOR A GOOD CAUSE: A portion of the proceeds will go to Harry and MEGHAN MARKLE’s charity, Archewell.
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SPORTS
The Seattle Mariners have a new teammate.
The MLB team announced that it has welcomed a Labrador retriever mix to its clubhouse. The pup was adopted from OkanDogs, a rescue center in Cashmere, Washington.
Tucker -- that’s the dog -- will make regular appearances at T-Mobile Park and will travel for the occasional road game, Mariners manager SCOTT SERVAIS told MLB.com.
You can follow Tucker’s journey with the team on his very own Twitter account.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Billiards and Pool Day
Book Lover’s Day
National Rice Pudding Day
National Veep Day
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ON THIS DATE
1483 - The Sistine Chapel opens for mass.
After nine years of work by some of the most renowned artists and architects in the world, the chapel was finally opened in Vatican City.
It is the official residence of the Pope.
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1831 - The first steam engine in the US takes off.
The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad made its first regular trip between Albany and Schenectady with an engine and three 10-passenger cars, which were stagecoaches mounted on trucks.
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1893 - The first bowling magazine — Gut Holz — is published in New York.
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1945 - The US drops a second atomic bomb, “Fat Boy,” on Nagasaki, Japan, destroying part of the city.
The exact death toll is unknown, but is estimated to be about 75,000.
The first bomb, “Little Boy,” was dropped on Hiroshima three days earlier.
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1965 - Singapore separates from Federation of Malaysia and becomes an independent and sovereign state.
The separation was the result of deep political and economic differences between the ruling parties of Singapore and Malaysia.
The differences led to race riots in July and September 1964.
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1974 - Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States and Vice President Gerald Ford is sworn in as the 38th President.
Nixon’s resignation comes after his part in the Watergate scandal.
He is the only US President to resign from office.
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2002 - Barry Bonds hits his 600th career home run while playing for the San Francisco Giants.
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2017 - A giant inflatable chicken resembling President Donald Trump is placed outside the White House as part of a political protest.
The 30-foot high bird was erected in Ellipse Park, just south of the White House, by artist and documentary filmmaker Taran Singh Brar.
Trump never saw the giant chicken as he was out of the office that day.
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2020 - Brazil reports over 100,000 COVID-19 deaths — the world’s 2nd highest — and more than 3 million recorded cases.
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BIRTHDAYS
Alexa Bliss - wrestler - 31
Adelaide Kane - “Reign” & “This Is Us” - 32
Bill Skarsgard - actor, “Hemlock Grove” & “It” - 32
Ayo Jay - world music singer - 33
Anna Kendrick - actress, “Pitch Perfect” & “Noelle” - 37
Ashley Johnson - actress, “Growing Pains” & “Recess” - 39
Dan Levy - actor, “Schitt’s Creek” - 39
Jessica Capshaw - actress, “Grey’s Anatomy” - 46
Kevin McKidd - actor, “Grey’s Anatomy” - 49
Chris Cumo - journalist - 52
Gillian Anderson - actress, “The X-Files” - 54
Deion Sanders - football player - 55
Hoda Kotb - TV show host, “Today” show - 58
Michael Kors - fashion designer - 63
Sam Elliott - actor, “Ghost Rider” & “The Ranch” - 78
Bob Cousy - basketball player - 94
Born On This Date
Whitney Houston - R&B singer - 1963 (d. 2012)
Elizabeth Hamilton - wife of Alexander Hamilton - 1757 (d. 1854)
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