Today is Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
It is the 264th day of the year.
101 days remain.
TRENDING
#NationalVoterRegistrationDay landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends on Tuesday, with users reminding people to make sure they are registered to vote.
Adam Levine was trending yesterday. More on this in Showbiz.
Tim Allen was trending after tweeting, “Biden was on 60 minutes. I heard he asked how long the show was.”
#Nyquil landed in Twitter’s Top 10 Trends as the FDA warned people not to soak their chicken in the nighttime cold medicine. The ridiculously stupid idea is the latest TikTok challenge.
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HIT LIST
Hurricane Fiona headed toward the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands late Tuesday, threatening to leave similar damage as it did in Puerto Rico. Flood swells threatened to reach up to 8 feet.
Wind gusts exceeded 150 miles per hour with sustained winds around 115 miles per hour.
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Rumeysa Gelgi has set a few new world records. She’s the tallest living woman, due in part to the genetic disorder Weaver syndrome, which triggers consistent growth.
Now she’s tallied a few more records: first for having the longest finger on a living female (4.4 inches), the longest back on a living woman (23.58 inches), and widest hands (the right is 9.81 inches and the left is 9.55 inches).
WORTH NOTING: Gelgi is from Turkey, as is the tallest living man, the 8-foot-3-inch Sultan Kosen.
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The remains of fourteen sperm whales washed ashore in Australia Tuesday off its southeastern coast, on King Island.
Conservation teams are working to determine the cause of death.
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It sounds like a common email scam but was perpetrated in real life: An Ohio man has been convicted on multiple charges after pretending to be a prince from Ghana and collecting at least $800,000 from 14 people in recent years.
Daryl R. Attipoe and his stepfather posed as Ghanaian royalty on a mission trip to the United States who could earn investors a 33% return through their connections to African mining and trucking companies.
But those returns never materialized and the investment funds were used for their personal enrichment.
The conviction includes counts of mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and witness tampering.
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Usually when Amazon sends you the wrong item, you meant to order socks but instead get measuring cups, or something equally innocuous.
In the case of 78-year-old Don Thompson, he recently ordered screen mesh for a door – and instead received a .20 gauge Stoeger shotgun.
IT GETS WORSE: An investigation by CBS News reveals the gun he received had previously been reported stolen.
WORTH NOTING: Amazon doesn’t sell shotguns and reps say they’re looking into it. They also sent him $250.
GET THIS: Thompson formerly worked in law enforcement, and handed over the gun to local officials, who confirmed the gun had been previously reported stolen.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The Dow lost 312 points (1.01%) Tuesday, to close at 30,707. The S&P lost 43 points (1.13%) to close at 3,855 and the Nasdaq lost 109 points (0.95%) to close at 11,425.
🛢 West Texas Intermediate slipped to $84. Brent Crude settled at $90.62.
⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas was $3.67 on Tuesday.
₿ Bitcoin lost $590 on Tuesday, trading below $19,000 in the evening.
🛩 There were 1,690 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and 87 such cancellations.
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CHARTS
Top 5 Fiction & Nonfiction Books Currently on the New York Times Best Sellers List:
FICTION:
“Fairy Tale,” Stephen King
“Desperation In Death,” J.D. Robb
“Verity,” Colleen Hoover
“It Ends With Us,” Colleen Hoover
“Where The Crawdads Sing,” Delia Owens
NON-FICTION
“I’m Glad My Mom Died,” Jennette McCurdy
“The Body Keeps The Score,” Bessel van der Kolk
“Breaking History,” Jared Kushner
“The Daughter of Auschwitz,” Tova Friedman & Malcolm Brabant
“Solito,” Javier Zamora
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DEATHS
MAURY WILLS has died.
The former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop, who played on three World Series championship teams, passed away Monday night at his home in Sedona, Arizona. No cause of death was shared.
He was 89.
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BREAKUPS
Actor PAUL WESLEY, 40, and his wife, jewelry professional INES DE RAMON, 29, have split after three years of marriage.
A rep told PEOPLE magazine that “the decision to separate [was] mutual and occurred five months ago.” No word on what led to the separation.
They did not have any children.
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THE SWAMP
Leftwing illegal immigration activist group Alizana Americas has filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor RON DESANTIS and Florida’s Department of Transportation in relation to the 50 illegals who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard last week.
The suit seeks to bring a class action suit against DeSantis and alleges violation of Constitutionally-protected rights against unwarranted search and seizure. Three unidentified illegal immigrants on the plane are seeking to become lead plaintiffs in the suit.
WORTH NOTING: The suit is likely a desperate ploy to get a judge to halt any further flights until the matter is decided.
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Former President DONALD TRUMP says the 14th-row seat President JOE BIDEN had at the funeral of QUEEN ELIZABETH was an embarrassment.
“If I were president, they wouldn’t have sat me back there,” he said on Truth Social.
In a follow-up post, he added, “In Real Estate, like in Politics and in Life, LOCATION IS EVERYTHING!!!”
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ELTON JOHN is playing on the White House South Lawn Friday night – but it appears the special venue wasn’t explicitly coordinated to bolster President JOE BIDEN.
The concert is being produced by A&E Networks and the History Channel for a special called “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme.” No air date has been set.
WORTH NOTING: While it’s not a campaign event, The Bidens are expected to make remarks during filming.
BY THE WAY: A press release from the networks indicates the name of the event comes from a poem by Seamus Heaney called “The Cure of Troy,” which concludes, "That means someone is hearing // The outcry and the birth-cry // Of new life at its term. // It means once in a lifetime // That justice can rise up // And hope and history rhyme.”
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LOTTERY
No winner for Monday night’s Powerball drawing. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $251 million jackpot or a $135.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
Instagram model SUMNER STROH, 23, revealed on TikTok that she had an “emotional” and “physical” affair with Maroon 5 frontman ADAM LEVINE, 43, in 2021.
Levine has been married to former Victoria’s Secret Angel BEHATI PRINSLOO since 2014. They have two kids and baby #3 is on the way.
Speaking of the baby-on-the-way, Stroh shared screenshots of alleged direct messages Levine sent her, including one asking if he could name his unborn child after her.
“Ok, serious question. I’m having another baby and if it’s [a] boy I really wanna name it Sumner. You ok with that? DEAD serious,” the alleged message from Levine read.
In the TikTok video Stroh claimed that she had been “manipulated” by Levine and was so “naive” about the affair. She also explained that while she wanted to keep the matter private, she was being blackmailed by a friend who threatened to sell the story to tabloids, so she decided to get ahead of it.
DENY, DENY, DENY: Levine replied to the accusations on Instagram Tuesday, saying, “I used poor judgment in speaking with anyone other than my wife in ANY kind of flirtatious manner.” He also stated that he “did not have an affair,” but “crossed the line” by flirting with someone other than his wife via direct messages on Instagram.
In response to Levine’s denial, Stoh took to Instagram writing, “Someone get this man a dictionary.”
ALSO: Two more models came out Tuesday sharing their own screenshots of messages allegedly from Levine.
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CARLOS SAURA will not be at the San Sebastian International Film Festival this week for the premiere of his latest film, “The Walls Can Talk,” after suffering a fall.
Festival officials released a statement on the incident, explaining that Saura’s injuries were not serious, but that he is “no longer able to travel.” No further details about his fall were shared.
“The Walls Can Talk,” follows the evolution of art with walls as creative canvas. It is set to premiere at the festival today.
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ADAM SANDLER (“Big Daddy” & “Happy Gilmore”) was spotted walking with a cane over the weekend.
Sources told TMZ that the actor underwent hip surgery around Labor Day and is still in recovery mode.
The surgery was something Sandler pre-planned to have done between gigs.
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SARAH JESSICA PARKER is launching a wallpaper line with her longtime interior designer and friend ERIC HUGHES.
The Sarah Jessica Parker & Wallshoppe collection includes 15 prints in 193 variations that range in price from $68 to $299. All the designs were hand-curated by the actress and Hughes.
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CASTING CALL
ROSEANNE BARR will produce and perform in a new comedy special for Fox News’ streaming service, Fox Nation.
The comedy special will air in the first quarter of 2023, and “will feature [Barr’s] signature comedic take on a variety of topics, with no subject off limits,” according to the streamer.
It will be her first stand up special in over 16 years.
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CHRIS REDD is the latest cast member to leave “SNL.”
His exit is due to having other projects in the works -- a feature film, titled “Cyber Monday” for Universal and a stand-up special set at HBO Max, sources told Deadline.
Redd appeared on the sketch-comedy show for five seasons.
“SNL” returns on October 1 with its 48th season.
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JIMMY KIMMEL has extended his contract with ABC for three more years.
The deal comes after a year of speculation over whether Kimmel planned to continue with his late-night talk show.
He will now continue as host and executive producer of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” through its 23rd season.
WORTH NOTING: Kimmel’s extension means he will surpass JAY LENO, who hosted “The Tonight Show” at NBC for 22 years.
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ANA DE ARMAS says she went straight to the source to get “permission” to play the late MARILYN MONROE in Netflix’s “Blonde.”
Speaking with AnOther magazine, the actress said she left a handwritten card on Monroe’s grave in Westwood Village Memorial Park on the first day of production.
“Blonde” drops this Friday on Netflix.
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The “Phantom of the Opera” is leaving Broadway.
The show, which ran for 35 years, will have its last performance on February 18, 2023 at The Majestic Theater in New York.
It is the longest-running show in Broadway history.
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Could a fourth “Austin Powers” movie be in the works?
Star of the franchise, MIKE MYERS, opened up about the possibility of another “Austin Powers” flick, telling Fox News “I’m gonna put a big, firm, written maybe on that.”
The original film was released in 1997, with a sequel coming out shortly after in 1999. Powers and his nemesis, Dr. Evil -- both played by Myers -- returned in “Goldmember” in 2002, alongside BEYONCE as Foxxy Cleopatra.
WATCH (one of the best scenes in cinema):
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KANYE WEST says he has never read a book.
He made the revelation on Friday’s episode of the “Alo Mind Full” podcast, saying, “Reading is like eating Brussel sprouts for me.”
WORTH ASKING: Is that the motto for Ye’s Donda Academy? The one where parents must sign a nondisclosure and fork over $15,000 a year in tuition and fees in order to send their kids.
WORTH NOTING: The school’s website states that it aims to “provide the youth with the passion, purpose and spiritual foundations they need to thrive in tomorrow’s world.” Does this include reading, writing and arithmetic?
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KIM KARDASHIAN told MICHAEL STRAHAN on “Good Morning America” yesterday that the Season 2 premiere of her family’s Hulu show features them being “seriously vulnerable.”
She also told Strahan that they decided not to do any “promos” for the episode -- as she appeared on the morning show to promote the new season.
Season 2 of “The Kardashians” premieres this Thursday on Hulu.
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
MEGHAN MARKLE reportedly asked to have a “one-on-one” conversation with KING CHARLES before she and PRINCE HARRY leave for the US.
Entertainment correspondent NEIL SEAN reported on his YouTube show over the weekend that a royal expert claimed that Meghan wrote Charles a letter requesting a private conversation.
No word on whether the sitdown did or will happen.
WORTH NOTING: Harry and Meghan have been away from their children ARCHIE, 3, and LILIBET, 1, for almost two weeks, per The Sun. They are likely itching to return home ASAP.
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The sisters who played the infamous twins in “The Shining” were on hand to pay their respects to QUEEN ELIZABETH over the weekend.
LISA and LOUISE BURNS, who starred as the Grady twins in the flick, shared their miles-long journey to say goodbye to Her Majesty on social media.
They were in line for just over seven hours before reaching the Queen’s coffin, according to one of their Twitter posts.
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SPORTS
ROGER FEDERER says he will not follow in TOM BRADY’s footsteps and “un-retire” from tennis.
Speaking to SAVANNAH GUTHRIE in an interview that airs this morning on NBC’s “Today” show, the 20-time Grand Slam champion said he is “definitely done,” following this weekend's Laver Cup in London.
At the event, Federer shared that he will only play doubles.
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Pecan Cookie Day
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ON THIS DATE
1780 – Benedict Arnold discusses surrendering Continental fort West Point to British Major John André.
He was at the time in command of the fort, which was on the Hudson River in New York.
The Brits promised Arnold lots of money and a high rank in the British Army.
Andre was captured before the plan could be implemented. Arnold first commanded some British forces in Virginia. Later he fled to London, where British officials didn't hand over all the wealth they had promised.
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1792 – French revolutionaries abolish the monarchy, putting Louis XVI out of power for good.
The bloodthirsty fighters declare their new country a republic and adopt an array of strange reforms.
Among other things, the new National Convention designed a new calendar. It stripped French clergy of their allegiance to the Church. Anyone who dissented, or talked about disagreeing with the new government, or questioned whether killing everyone was a good idea -- was killed.
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1937 – George Allen & Unwin, Limited of London publishes the first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's “The Hobbit.”
The first run included 1,500 copies, and was sold out by the end of December. It included original sketches and drawings done by the author.
The story took off in the U.S. the next year, but soon paper rationing for the war made copies hard to find.
Since then, “The Hobbit” has been translated into more than 40 languages. Tolkien wrote “The Lord of the Rings” epic in response.
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1976 – Marcos Letelier is assassinated while in Washington, D.C.
He was a leading figure in the Salvadore Allende regime in Chile, which had been overthrown by fascist Augusto Pinochet 3 years earlier. Afterward, he sought refuge in America's capitol.
Agents for Pinochet are believed to have carried out the murder. A former CIA agent and American expatriate was ultimately put on trial and convicted. The agent linked Pinochet to the assassination, but no charges were ever leveled against the dictator.
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1981 – The U.S. Senate approves Reagan nominee Sandra Day O'Connor to sit on the Supreme Court. She's the first woman to hold a spot on the bench.
She received 60,000 letters during the first year of her term, more than any other justice.
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1981 – Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton strikes out André Dawson of the Montreal Expos.
It was his record-breaking 3,118th strikeout.
He would strike out 10 more batters that night. The game lasted 17 innings, until Andre Dawson batted in the winning run. So ironically, the Phillies lost anyway.
Carlton would retire with 4,136 strikeouts in 1988.
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2003 – NASA engineers send the Galileo orbiter plummeting into Jupiter's atmosphere after 14 years of service.
The probe studied the planet's atmosphere and its moons' geography.
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2021 - McDonald’s announces plans to reduce plastic in its Happy Meals by 2025.
The kids meals make the chain restaurant of the largest distributors of toys in the world.
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BIRTHDAYS
Jason Derulo - pop singer - 33
Tom MacDonald - rapper - 34
Lindsey Sterling - violinist - 36
Nicole Richie - reality star, “The Simple Life” & “Fashion Star” - 41
Liam Gallagher - rock singer, Oasis - 50
Alfonso Ribeiro - actor, “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” - 51
Luke Wilson - actor, “Old School” & “Legally Blonde” - 51
Billy Porter - stage actor - 53
Faith Hill - country singer - 55
Abby Lee Miller - reality star, “Dance Moms” - 57
Dave Coulier - actor, “Full House” - 63
Bill Murray - actor, “Groundhog Day” & “Ghostbusters” - 72
Steven King - novelist - 75
Born On This Date
Shinzo Abe - world leader, Japan - 1954 (d. 2022)
Larry Hagman - actor, “I Dream of Jeannie” & “Dallas” - 1931 (d. 2012)
H.G. Wells - author, “War of the Worlds” - 1866 (d. 1946)
Francis Hopkinson - designer of the first American flag - 1737 (d. 1791)
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