Today is Thursday, September 26, 2024.
It is the 270th day of the year.
96 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
META leans into A.I. voice technology and an injured surfer improvises. Details in HIT LIST.
D.L. HUGHLEY doubles down and TOMMY LEE’s dog gets snatched by a coyote. More in SHOWBIZ.
“Wheel of Fortune” is connecting to viewers and KATE WINSLET dishes on that highly-debated scene in “Titanic.” Details in CASTING CALL.
KIM doesn’t play when it comes to stalkers. More in KARDASH.
The PR war within the House of Sussex escalates. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
A Senate committee investigating the first attempted assassination of DONALD TRUMP published an interim report on Wednesday documenting the US Secret Service’s failures leading up to the July 13 tragedy. Many of the key findings validate what has been rumored in the last two months, but there are some new details that only raise more questions.
The report definitively establishes that it was a Secret Service counter sniper who took down the shooter. Previous reports suggested it was a local law enforcement agent. The July 13 rally was the first time such a counter sniper team was assigned to a Trump rally because it had received “credible intelligence” of a threat on that very day.
This makes the stunning breakdown in communication between local law enforcement and the Secret Service all the more unsettling. A combination of local police and secret service agents were aware of the shooter using a rangefinder at least 27 minutes before the first shots were fired — even before Trump took the stage.
Just 22 seconds before the first shots, a local officer radioed that an armed gunman was on the roof. This still should have been substantial time to get Trump off the stage had there been an effective communication strategy, but he should not have been allowed to take the stage in the first place, especially when the agency was aware of “credible intelligence” about a threat to Trump that day.
Local law enforcement and the Secret Service agents operated on two different radio channels. Their respective communication centers communicated only by cell phone, not real-time, over-the-air. And in an even more suspicious twist, the Secret Service’s radio channels were not recorded that day as is standard practice.
The report’s release coincided with news on Wednesday that the Trump campaign has been informed that Iran is actively trying to have him killed. [via Morning Martini]
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FACEBOOK parent company META thinks voice-based artificial intelligence is the future. At an event Wednesday, MARK ZUCKERBERG announced a new product feature that responds to user inquiries with the voices of well-known celebrities.
Among the voice options for Meta A.I. are AWKWAFINA, KRISTIN BELL, JOHN CENA, DAME JUDI DENCH, and KEEGAN MICHAEL-KEY. All of these celebs have authorized their voices to be used.
Earlier this year, the company behind ChatGPT drew fire for using a voice that sounds oddly similar to actress SCARLETT JOHANSSON in their own virtual voice program, though she never authorized the use of her likeness. [via CBS News]
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A quick-thinking, experienced surfer in Florida turned his surfboard leash into a tourniquet after getting bitten on his foot by a shark.
Charley Hajek hit the waves on Sunday, but had to cut his adventure short when he says he stepped on a small shark, which bit him in return. Hajek tells local media, “Man, I felt like I stepped my foot on a light socket.”
He was able to get back to shore, which is when he noticed all the blood he was losing: “it just opened up like a flower and blew blood out everywhere. Man, it was so gnarly,” he said. That’s when he wrapped up his leg using the surfboard leash — but instead of calling for help he drove himself to the hospital.
Hajek was stitched up and hopes to be back on the water in a few days. He says he’s most upset that the incident will break his 148-day surfing streak. [via WESH]
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Residents in a few blocks of a small Wisconsin town can’t quite figure out what stinks.
Multiple people in the southern section of Oshkosh have reported an unpleasant odor, described to local media like “corn,” a “sour smell,” and “almost like a dead rodent or whatever.” They’ve tried everything — calling plumbers, replacing carpets, killing mold, all to no avail.
“It’s horrid. It makes you sick to your stomach and you can’t breathe it in,” says the owner of a sports bar.
Even city officials can’t figure out what the big stink is all about. They’ve reached out to local industrial companies to see if something’s changed with their processes — but so far nothing. [via Fox 11]
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Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro, Pennsylvania is swamped with orders ahead of the upcoming election, thanks to the “cookie poll” it holds every election year.
The bakery sells 4-inch round sugar cookies, one with blue and white sprinkles and a Harris 2024 label on it and the other with red and white sprinkles with a Trump 2024 label on it.
Since its inaugural year in 2008, the cookie poll has accurately predicted the winner of the election -- except in 2020, but that’s a can of worms not to be opened here.
As of Tuesday, Trump is beating Harris — 12,558 cookies to 889. [via WFMZ]
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BABY NEWS
Actress MANDY MOORE and her husband, musician TAYLOR GOLDSMITH recently welcomed their third child, a daughter named LOUISE EVERETT GOLDSMITH.
She’s 40 and he’s 39.
In the announcement, Moore paid homage to her “This Is Us” character, writing that she now has her own “big three.”
Louise joins big brothers Gus and Ozzie.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW lost 293 points (0.7%) to close at 41,914 on Wednesday. The S&P lost 10 points (0.19%) to close at 5,722 and the NASDAQ increased 7 points (0.043%) to close at 18,082.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $69; BRENT CRUDE at $73.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.21 on Wednesday.
₿ BITCOIN ticked down Wednesday, trading around $63,400.
🛩 There were more than 3,340 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and more than 125 such cancellations.
💰Friday night’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $77 million jackpot or a $38.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
A clip of ASHTON KUTCHER refusing to speak about SEAN COMBS’ parties has resurfaced.
“I’ve got a lot I can’t tell,” he told SEAN EVAN, host of “Hot Ones” in 2019. “Diddy party stories, man -- that was some weird memory lane thing.”
Kutcher and Combs’ friendship goes way back, with the two of them co-hosting the latter’s annual white party in 2009.
DON’T FORGET: Kutcher came under fire last year for supporting “That ‘70s Show” co-star DANNY MASTERSON who was on trial for rape. The backlash led to him resigning from Thorn, the anti-sex trafficking organization he helped create.
ELSEWHERE: Rumors are circulating on social media that Kutcher’s wife, actress MILA KUNIS is living in a different home on the couple’s property, in order to separate herself from the drama.
DID BEN KNOW?: Other reports suggest that BEN AFFLECK became aware of estranged wife JENNIFER LOPEZ’s connection to Combs’ illegal activities, which is why he pulled away. Remember, she dated Combs from 1999 to 2001 -- plenty of time to witness a lot of what was happening. [via Page Six]
MEANWHILE: Since all anyone can talk about is the obscene amount of baby oil found during the raids at Combs’ home, his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, offered an explanation: Costco. [via TMZ]
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Former New York Jets “Game Day Host” JENN STERGER has no sympathy for former Jets QB BRETT FAVRE, who recently revealed he has Parkinson’s disease.
“PSA: Please don’t send me links to it. I’ve seen it. I can read,” she wrote on Instagram. “I don’t wish bad things on anyone, but I know Karma never forgets an address.”
Sterger’s bad blood stems from Favre’s only season with the team, at which point she says he sent her inappropriate and explicit texts. Two years later the NFL concluded that Favre didn’t violate the league’s workplace conduct policy, but did fine him $50,000 for not cooperating with the investigation. [via USA Today]
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D.L. HUGHLEY is doubling down on his claims that JANET JACKSON’s statement about KAMALA HARRIS not being Black are because she wishes to be White.
In his most recent interview, Hughley stated that he believes Jackson questioned Harris’ racial identity to “hurt the vice president.” He also accused her of “spreading far-right lies.” [via The Blast]
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TRAVIS SCOTT’s “Days Before Rodeo” is the highest-selling mixtape in history.
Released in 2014, it was made available for streaming last week in honor of its 10th anniversary.
Scott earned his fourth consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard charts with the rerelease, joining 2023’s “Utopia,” 2018’s “Astroworld,” and 2016’s “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight.”
The album is now also the highest-selling rap album of 2024, beating out EMINEM’s “The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace).” [via Forbes]
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A coyote swiped TOMMY LEE and BRITTANY FURLAN’s pup from their backyard and the whole thing was caught on home security footage.
Off camera, Furlan chased the wild animal, and after scaling a wall around their property, was able to save the dog, who wasn’t seriously injured.
She later shared the footage as a warning to neighbors about there being coyotes in the area. [via TMZ]
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Reality star JULIE CHRISLEY was resentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for her bank fraud and tax evasion charges.
Her attorney asked for a sentence of no more than five years, arguing that she was a minor player in the crimes and has behaved well in the 20 months she has already served.
Chrisley was resentenced after an error was discovered in how the initial trial judge calculated her original sentence.
MEANWHILE: Her husband, TODD CHRISLEY is currently serving his 12-year sentence for the crimes. [via AP]
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CASTING CALL
The season premiere of “Wheel of Fortune” with new host RYAN SEACREST, drew in 9.63 million viewers, the largest audience for a premiere episode of the game show since 2015, according to Nielsen.
The first week of shows averaged 8.31 million viewers, a 21% increase from last year’s premiere week.
FOR THE RECORD: Around 11 million people tuned in to watch PAT SAJAK’s final show. [via THR]
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KATE WINSLET spilled some tea about the highly-debated floating door scene from “Titanic,” telling People Magazine that it was filmed in a giant water tank with waist high water.
“Leo [DiCaprio], I’m afraid to say, was kneeling down,” she explained before suggesting that the film’s director JAMES CAMERON would be “ringing” her for sharing that detail.
Meanwhile, Winslet’s latest film, “Lee,” hits theaters this weekend. [via People]
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Actor JARED HARRIS says he doesn’t agree with Max’s decision to create a “Harry Potter” reboot for the small screen.
“I don’t understand. The films were fantastic -- leave them alone,” he quipped.
The series heading to Max is intended to be a new adaptation of the seven novels written by J.K. ROWLING. New actors will play the characters once helmed by DANIEL RADCLIFFE, EMMA WATSON and RUPERT GRINT.
BY THE WAY: Harris is the son of original Dumbledore, actor RICHARD HARRIS. [via Independent]
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50 CENT’s documentary series focusing on SEAN COMBS is a go at Netflix.
The series will address the music mogul’s recent charges and other allegations of abuse.
The streamer landed the rights to the doc earlier this year, before Combs’ arrest.
No word on an air date. [via Deadline]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
KIM KARDASHIAN is working with a private investigator to track down her alleged stalker, Melvin Jeffrey Conley.
He’s the guy who broke into actress EMMA ROBERTS’ home, called her from a landline and spoke about wanting to find a way to get to Kim. Roberts was granted a restraining order against Conley, while Kim was given a temporary order at the time.
Now, a judge has given Kim -- and her P.I. -- extended time to find Conley and serve him with the permanent restraining order. The issue is the guy is not easy to find.
“I have attempted to locate and serve him by various methods,” Kim’s P.I. told In Touch. “I attempted to reach Mr. Conley by telephone, and his phone went directly to message.”
In the filing, Kim claims Conley tried to access her mom, KRIS JENNER’s home, saying she was his manager and also tracked down the reality star’s hidden Malibu home, where he was caught scaling a fence. [via In Touch]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
The public relations war over MEGHAN MARKLE’s treatment of her staff for her various projects has intensified.
After The Hollywood Reporter published insider details that she earned the nickname “Duchess Difficult” for her tyrannical behavior, her allies called the accusations unfounded — because she’s never even in the office. Us Weekly reported Tuesday that she brings her staff home-produced eggs and bundles of freshly-cut flowers.
BUT NOW: More sources have spilled to The Daily Beast saying the rumors of her difficult behavior is just scratching the surface. One former staffer, described as a “courtier” who worked for Meg and PRINCE HARRY when they were still in the royal fold, says, “there definitely were bad, very bad, even psycho moments. I witnessed people being chewed up in person and over the phone and made to feel like [s—].” [via The Daily Beast]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
World Maritime Day
Human Resource Professional Day
Remember Me Thursday
Love Note Day
National Johnny Appleseed Day
National Day of Praise and Worship
National Alpaca Day
National Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day
European Day of Languages
Lumberjack Day
Shamu the Whale Day
National Chimichanga Day
National Dumpling Day
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ON THIS DATE
1580 - Sir Francis Drake arrives in England on board the Golden Hind and becomes the first Brit to sail around the world.
He set out to raid Spanish outposts on the West Coast of the New World and return with the riches to impress Queen Elizabeth.
In this he succeeded, pillaging and raiding villages in present-day California. On the way back, he tried to find a passage to the Atlantic that cut through North America -- but obviously came up short. He continued across the Pacific and around the southern tip of Africa, returning to England to much fanfare.
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1789 - John Jay is confirmed by Congress as the country's first Supreme Court Chief Justice.
Jay was a leading Federalist voice, and co-authored the Federalist Papers.
Later, he served as Governor of New York. Through his efforts, all slaves would be emancipated in the state in the early 1800s.
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1820 - Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson eats a bushel of tomatoes on the steps of the courthouse in Salem, New Jersey.
Many Americans feared the tomato to be poisonous, since they were not widely available. When Johnson took his first bites, the crowd thought he'd drop dead.
People quickly rallied around the Colonel, who showed no signs of even getting sick.
Since then, tomatoes have been a pretty common staple of the American diet.
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1918 - Allied forces begin a large-scale assault on German troops, marking the beginning of the end of World War One.
More than 700 tanks and hundreds of thousands of soldiers march on the Argonne Forest in France, supported by 500 American planes.
During the day-long fight, Allies captured more than 30,000 Germans and pushed the fighting lines six miles into enemy territory.
The Armistice would finally end major combat on November 11th.
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1960 - John Kennedy and Richard Nixon are the first presidential candidates to square off in a nationally televised debate.
JFK looked well-groomed and well…Nixon had spent a couple weeks in the hospital recovering from a knee injury and appeared tired and weak. He even sported a little bit of stubble.
Many of those who listened on the radio said Nixon won the debate. But JFK out-politicked Nixon in the modern age of television and won the support of many TV viewers.
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1969 - Here's the story of a sitcom that would become ingrained as a part of American pop culture: “The Brady Bunch” debuts on TV.
Critics hated the show, which never did very well in ratings, failing to reach the top 10 of Nielsen ratings.
But the show did have commercial success in its marketing spinoffs, including lunch boxes and records.
ABC would cancel “The Brady Bunch” after a 177-episode run in 1974.
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1981 - Nolan Ryan throws his fifth no-hitter, marking a new National League record.
He finished his career with seven and still holds the record in the MLB.
Ryan also finished his career with 5,714 strikeouts, another MLB record, and 800 ahead of Randy Johnson, who holds the #2 spot.
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2017 - Saudi Arabia’s King Salman announces there will no longer be a ban on women driving.
It is the only country in the world where women were still not allowed behind the wheel.
It would not go into effect until the following year.
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BIRTHDAYS
Zach Top - country singer - 27
Buddy Matthews - wrestler - 36
Nev Schulman - producer & reality TV star, “Catfish” - 40
Manny Montana - actor, “Good Girls” - 41
Zoe Perry - actress, “The Big Bang Theory” & “Young Sheldon” - 41
Damian Priest - wrestler - 42
Christina Milian - R&B singer - 43
Asuka - wrestler - 43
Serena Williams - tennis player - 43
Shawn Stockman - R&B singer, Boyz II Men - 52
Beto O’Rourke - politician - 52
Melanie Paxson - actress, “Descendants” films - 52
Jill Soloway - writer & director - 59
Melissa Sue Anderson - actress, “Little House on the Prairie” - 62
Linda Hamilton - actress, “Terminator” franchise - 68
Carlene Carter - country singer - 69
Born On This Date
Olivia Newton-John - actress, “Grease” - 1948 (d. 2022)
Albert Anastasia - mobster & crime boss, Murder Inc. - 1902 (d. 1957)
T. S. Eliot - poet - 1888 (d. 1965)
Ivan Pavlov - pioneer in psychology - 1849 (d. 1936)
Johnny Appleseed - missionary - 1774 (d. 1845)
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