9/20/2023: Lightbulb Hoarder 💡
Discover more from Morning Martini
9/20/2023: Lightbulb Hoarder 💡
PLUS: Missing Jet Found; BSB x NSYNC; and Royal CEO
Today is Wednesday, September 20, 2023.
It is the 263rd day of the year.
102 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
Another round of lawsuits in the FTX saga and threats of more strikes as no progress has been made between carmakers and UAW. More in HIT LIST.
BRITNEY SPEARS posts about her “darker” days and ERIC CLAPTON raises big bucks for RFK. More in SHOWBIZ.
VANNA WHITE isn’t going anywhere and MARK WAHLBERG wants more control over his acting roles. More in CASTING CALL.
KIM KARDASHIAN was spotted hanging out with a new guy -- and he’s an athlete. More in KARDASH.
Wills and Kate are bringing in a pro to manage their little slice of The Firm. More in ROYALS.
###
HIT LIST
The new management at FTX has slapped the parents of SAM BANKMAN-FRIED with a lawsuit that accuses them of benefitting from Sam’s ill-gotten gains.
In particular, the suit looks to claw back a one-time, $10 MILLION cash gift and the $16.4 MILLION home in the Bahamas that Sam gifted to his father and mother, JOE BANKMAN and BARBARA FRIED.
Other allegations charge Bankman – a tax law professor – with helping his son cover up complaints leveled against FTX and Fried with helping her son skirt public disclosure of his extensive political donations.
A rep for the folks say the suit is just an intimidation tactic in the weeks before SBF’s trial is set to begin. [via NYT]
###
The F-35 jet that went missing after its pilot ejected over South Carolina on Sunday has been found.
Recovery crews have created a perimeter around the debris field of whatever is left of the plane, which runs upward of $100 MILLION to build.
The pilot has been treated and is doing ok, but still no details on what forced him to eject in the first place.
###
United Auto Workers have threatened to expand their strikes if a deal is not reached by Friday.
Targeted strikes are currently affecting assembly plants for Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler-owned Stellantis.
UAW President SHAWN FAIN hasn’t announced where the expanded strikes would be, saying in an online video, “We’re not waiting around, and we’re not messing around.” [via WSJ]
###
An Australian man has lost his case against a hospital he claims caused him to develop a “psychotic illness” after witnessing his wife’s cesarean section.
Anil Kopplua was seeking 1 billion Australian dollars ($643 million) from Royal Women’s Hospital, who he says “failed in its duty of care to him by letting him watch the procedure.” He also claims that witnessing his wife’s “organs and blood” led to a “breakdown of his marriage.”
When the judge tossed the case last week, he explained that lawsuits seeking damages for non-economic losses require that an injury is “significant,” which this case did not show proof of. [via Insider]
###
A New Hampshire man has outsmarted the federal ban on incandescent light bulbs that went into effect at the start of the year.
25-year-old Kevin Szmyd tells the Washington Post he’s spent weeks scouring the internet for resale markets of these light bulbs. This year, he’s spent about $1700 to amass 4,800 lightbulbs. Szmyd estimates they’ll last him 75 years.
While plenty of people might roll their eyes at Szmyd’s obsession, he wryly tells the Post, “Nobody was an automobile collector before the first Model T went out of production.” [via Washington Post]
###
BREAKUPS
Just days after committing to stand by convicted-rapist-husband DANNY MASTERSON’s side, BIJOU PHILLIPS has filed for divorce.
In the formal filing, Phillips did not indicate a formal date of separation, but is seeking spousal support, attorneys fees. Phillips indicated she intends to allow their 9-year-old daughter to visit Masterson in prison as he serves his 30-years-to-life sentence.
Journalist Yashar Ali points out on X that as committed Scientologists, Phillips would have had to seek permission from a “Scientology ethics officer” in order to file for the split.
###
IT’S OFFICIALLY OVER: “Yellowstone” star KEVIN COSTNER is officially divorced from his wife of 18 years, CHRISTINE BAUMGARTNER.
What many thought was going to be a long, drawn out divorce, full of dispute and drama, is now over.
According to several outlets, a rep for the exes announced yesterday that they had reached a settlement agreement, though no details were shared.
###
BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 106 points (0.31%) to close at 34,517 on Tuesday. The S&P lost 9 points (0.22%) to close at 4,443 and the NASDAQ lost 32 points (0.23%) to close at 13,678.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $91; BRENT CRUDE at $94.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.88 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN ticked back up over 1% Tuesday, once again trading over $27,000.
🛩 There were more than 2,200 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 75 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $672 million jackpot or a $320.5 million cash payout.
###
SHOWBIZ NEWS
Swifties were in a tizzy on Tuesday after TAYLOR SWIFT dropped a new set of clues about her upcoming music.
“You can tell me when the *search* is over…if the high was worth the pain,” she captioned an Instagram post, featuring lyrics from her hit “Blank Space.”
Swift also enlisted Google’s help in the cryptic message, with an interactive puzzle search for hints about her upcoming album.
Remember, it was at her final Los Angeles “Era Tour” show that she announced her intentions to release “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on October 27. [via Instagram]
###
In her latest Instagram post, BRITNEY SPEARS wrote about the “darker” things she has experienced, noting how the “enemy” has often been “right in front of” her.
It is unclear if Spears detailed what she was alluding to in her forthcoming memoir, “The Woman in Me,” though a source told Page Six that “no topic was off limits.”
“The Woman in Me” hits shelves next month. [via Page Six]
###
ERIC CLAPTON’s recent private performance in Los Angeles raised over $2.2 million for ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR’s presidential campaign.
Tickets for the event started at $3,300 and went as high as $6,600 for those looking to meet up with Clapton backstage.
Of the money raised, $1 million went to Kennedy’s campaign and the rest went toward a PAC that is supporting him. [via Deadline]
###
In honor of 50 years of performing, the OAK RIDGE BOYS have announced an “American Made: Farewell Tour.”
The country/gospel band -- made up of DUANE ALLEN, JOE BONSALL, RICHARD STERBAN and WILLIAM LEE GOLDEN -- released their last album, “Front Porch Singin’,” in 2021.
Dates and locations will be announced later. [via People]
###
A collection of never-before-heard recordings from the BEATLES are hitting the auction block.
One of the tapes features a 45-minute interview where JOHN LENNON questions YOKO ONO’s intentions for being with him.
The six tapes are expected to fetch between $300,000 and $500,000, according to auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll. [via TMZ]
###
TOM DELONGE was planning to retire until he found out that his BLINK-182 bandmate MARK HOPPUS had cancer.
In a new clip, promoting the band’s upcoming album “One More Time,” DeLonge opened up about how his friend’s diagnosis changed his plans to retire.
Many may recall that Hoppus was diagnosed with Stage 4 Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma in April 2021. Just months later he announced he was cancer-free. [via Insider]
###
HOWIE DOROUGH -- of the BACKSTREET BOYS -- said he would be up for touring with the boys of NSYNC.
He told TMZ photogs that while he would be interested in a joint tour, he thinks that NSYNC should get their time in the limelight first…if they are in fact talking about a reunion tour. [via TMZ]
###
Actor BILLY MILLER's cause of death has been revealed.
His mom told Soap Opera Digest that her son died by suicide, adding that he “fought a long, hard, valiant battle with bipolar depression for years,” but in the end the disease was just too much.
As previously reported, Miller passed away Friday. He was 43. [via Soap Opera]
###
CASTING CALL
VANNA WHITE has extended her contract with “Wheel of Fortune” through the 2025-2026 season.
The extension means she will turn letters alongside RYAN SEACREST, when he takes over for PAT SAJAK next fall.
Specifics of the new deal were not shared, though insiders previously said White was looking for a significant pay increase. [via Deadline]
###
MARK WAHLBERG’s decision to pivot his attention from acting to producing was “out of necessity.”.
“I didn’t want to sit around waiting for Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise or whoever was already established before me and were the guys at the time,” he told Cigar Aficionado.
Wahlberg also said that he wants to have more creative control of what he stars in. [via Insider]
###
THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN was spotted hanging out with football player ODELL BECKHAM JR., and now some are wondering if he is her new man.
For those in the know, OBJ broke up with his longtime girlfriend Lauren Wood earlier this year, and with him being Kim’s type aka an attractive athlete, fans were quick to assume the hangout was a date.
As for Kim, she has been single since she and PETE DAVIDSON split in August 2022. [via TMZ]
###
WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCE WILLIAM and PRINCESS KATE are hiring someone to directly manage and run their household staff of 60-some employees, with a very corporate “Chief Executive Officer” title.
One palace insider says the role will report directly to the Waleses, and not the bureaucratic middle-men who usually control their own little internal fiefdoms of power and influence. Typically, household staff answer to some combination of private secretaries who have risen the ranks from within. Appointing a single person to manage all this is a “revolutionary” move, one insider tells DailyMail.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have enlisted a recruitment firm to find the perfect candidates for the job. [via DailyMail]
###
DAY OF THE YEAR
National Fried Rice
National Pepperoni Pizza Day
National Punch Day
National String Cheese Day
National Queso Day
###
ON THIS DATE
1519 – Ferdinand Magellan leaves Spain on a journey that would take his crew around the world.
It would be the first expedition on record to circumnavigate the earth.
Magellan would die during a tussle with Philippine natives two years later.
###
1806 – The Lewis and Clark expedition arrives at La Charette, a frontier village along the Missouri River.
It was the first White settlement they encountered since departing westward two years earlier.
The people at La Charette told the explorers they were assumed dead.
Lewis and Clark were the first American explorers to lay eyes on the Pacific Ocean from the west coast. They also confirmed there was no easy water route that would empty into the Pacific.
###
1881 – Chester Arthur is inaugurated as President.
He succeeded James Garfield, who died hours before after suffering from wounds inflicted during an assassination attempt more than two months prior.
This was the second time that three men held the nation's high office in one year -- in 1841, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, and John Tyler sat as president. Tyler succeeded William Henry Harrison, who died from pneumonia only 32 days after his inauguration.
###
1946 – The first Cannes Film Festival commences in France.
It was slated to begin September 1st, 1939, but the Nazi invasion of Poland derailed those plans.
It was restarted in part to encourage tourism to war-torn France.
###
1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in a historic tennis match dubbed The Battle of the Sexes.
Billie took on Bobby Riggs, a self-proclaimed chauvinist who said women were inherently inferior athletically.
The match was a perfect grist for the media mill: Riggs rode in on a platform lifted by men dressed as ancient Egyptians. King was carried in on a rickshaw helmed by supermodels.
50 million tuned in from around the world to watch King's victory.
###
2001 – President George W. Bush addresses Congress and the Nation in his first major address since the 9/11 attacks.
The president declares war on terrorism around the world in all its forms, and against all its allies.
He promised the fight would be long and costly. At the time, his approval ratings hit record highs.
###
2006 – Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez gives a rambling speech at the United Nations in New York.
He compares President Bush to the devil, and calls for peace and cooperation among the world’s socialist nations.
###
2011 - The US ends its “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy.
The move allows gay men and women to serve openly in the military for the first time.
###
2021 - A first edition of Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel “Frankenstein” sells for $1.17 million.
The first edition was one of 500 copies of the novel printed in 1818 and the first to be auctioned since 1985.
The sale set a new record for a printed work by a woman.
###
BIRTHDAYS
Charlotte Grant - soccer player - 22
Trevon Diggs - football player - 25
Phillip Phillips - pop singer - 33
Khabib Nurmagomedov - MMA fighter - 35
Yung Joc - rapper - 43
Jon Bernthal - actor, “The Walking Dead” & “The Punisher” - 47
Kristen Johnson - actress, “3rd Rock From the Sun” - 56
Lloyd Blankfein - CEO of Goldman Sachs - 69
Debbi Morgan - actress, “All My Children” - 72
George RR Martin - novelist, “Game of Thrones” - 75
Chuck Panozzo - bassist, Styx - 75
Sophia Loren - actress, “Two Women” & “Sunflower” - 89
Born On This Date
Red Auerbach - HOF basketball coach - 1917 (d. 2006)
Upton Sinclair - author, “The Jungle” - 1878 (d. 1968)
###