Today is Friday, September 27, 2024.
It is the 271st day of the year.
95 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
ERIC ADAMS becomes the first sitting mayor of New York City to get hit with federal criminal charges and analysts fret about increased North Korean aggression. Details in HIT LIST.
DIDDY plans to testify and ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV is ready to move forward. More in SHOWBIZ.
JESSICA BIEL exits her latest project and VINCE MCMAHON speaks out on his Netflix doc. Details in CASTING CALL.
BIANCA covers up in KARDASH.
PRINCESS KATE orchestrates an olive branch. Details in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
Federal prosecutors announced their corruption case against New York City Mayor ERIC ADAMS on Thursday — in particular, taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from donors working on behalf of the Turkish government. The contributions came in the form of undisclosed travel benefits, getting free upgrades and accommodations for overseas travel. The DOJ’s case argues Adams acted on behalf of the Turkish government and businessmen in exchange for political favors.
In at least one incident, Adams allegedly helped a Turkish-funded construction project get completed by bypassing some regulatory hurdles.
For his part, Adams said in a Thursday statement he does not intend to resign, even as he becomes the first sitting mayor of the Big Apple to be charged with federal crimes. “My day to day will not change,” he said, adding, “I look forward to defending myself and defending the people of this city as I have done throughout my entire professional career.” [via Morning Martini]
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South Korea’s intelligence believes the KIM JONG JUNIOR regime has acquired substantial uranium to build an unspecified, “double-digit” number of powerful bombs.
The report comes from analysis of a report published by North Korean state media last week that showed Junior touring a weapons production facility two weeks ago. While the location of that facility was not published, analysts believe it’s near the capital city Pyongyang, one of at least two known uranium-enrichment sites.
Foreign policy analysts tell ABC News they expect Junior to conduct more missile tests in the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election. [via ABC News]
MEANWHILE IN FOREIGN POLICY: The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that China’s newest nuclear-powered submarine sank earlier this year but was never acknowledged by the Chinese Communist Party. The sinking occurred not while deployed but while at a shipyard near Wuhan, of all places, some time in late May or early June. [via Wall Street Journal]
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If you haven’t yet tried Coke’s new “permanent” flavor, Coca-Cola Spiced and its Diet cousin, you’re not alone — the company is phasing out the new flavor between now and the end of the year.
“We’re always looking at what our consumers like and adjusting our range of products,” the company said in a statement, but did not elaborate exactly on which marks the new flavor missed. The AP points out that the name itself could’ve been the problem, since the soda tastes like raspberries, not anything particularly spicy.
Reps say they’ll replace it with another, new flavor some time in 2025. [via AP]
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When archeologists discovered a 3600-year-old coffin in China twenty-one years ago, they found a strange substance around the subject’s neck, as if it were a necklace.
NOW: Analysis of that substance suggests it was cheese — the oldest cheese ever found. A lead researcher on the study says the dry climate in the Tarim Basin desert where the mummified remains were found made for ideal conditions to preserve the cheese.
DNA analysis of the very, very aged cheese suggests it included goat and cow milk fermented with kefir grains. [via NBC News]
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Florida is the place to go for fun, and not just in the sun!
The Sunshine State was named the “Most Fun State” by WalletHub, which compared all the states across 26 key indicators, such as movie costs, the number of amusement parks per capita and ease of access to national parks.
Following Florida, which ended with a total score of 65.51, was California (65.14) and Nevada (59.12).
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DEATHS
Team USA wrestler ALAN VERA has died.
He passed away Monday after sustaining an unexpected infection while recovering from a cardiac episode he experienced this summer.
In addition to being part of Team USA, Vera was also a member of USA Wrestling’s Greco-Roman National Team.
He was only 33.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW increased 260 points (0.62%) to close at 42,175 on Thursday. The S&P increased 23 points (0.4%) to close at 5,745 and the NASDAQ gained 108 points (0.6%) to close at 18,190.
🛢WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $67 on Thursday; BRENT CRUDE at $70.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.22 on Thursday.
₿ BITCOIN gained on Thursday, up over 2.5% and trading around $64,700.
🛩 There were significant delays and cancellations on Thursday amid hurricane activity: at least 3,500 FLIGHTS were delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Thursday and more than 1,200 such cancellations.
💰Tonight’s MEGA MILLIONS drawing will be for a $77 million jackpot or a $38.2 million cash payout. Saturday night’s POWERBALL drawing will be for a $243 million jackpot or a $122.2 million cash payout.
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SHOWBIZ NEWS
New Music Friday
Billy Stings, “Highway Prayers”
Crows, “Reason Enough”
Daughtry, “Shock to the System”
Dylan Marlowe, “Mid-Twenties Crisis”
The Fray, “The Fray Is Back”
Gavin DeGraw, “Chariot 20”
JD McPherson, “Nite Owls”
Lady Gaga, “Harlequin”
Luke Bryan, “Mind Of A Country Boy”
Mickey Guyton, “House on Fire”
Van Morrison, “New Arrangements and Duets”
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SEAN COMBS’ lawyer, Marc Agnifo, says the music mogul can’t wait to tell his side of the story at trial.
In a clip from TMZ’s upcoming doc, “The Downfall of Diddy: The Indictment,” Agnifo says that Combs plans to take the stand, explaining that while risky, “there’s no one better to defend Diddy than Diddy himself.”
Good luck with that one. [via TMZ]
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ARTEM CHIGVINTSEV is “relieved and grateful” that the domestic violence charges against him have been dropped.
In a statement, the former “DWTS” pro said he is also “thankful that the truth has prevailed,” and that moving forward his primary focus is his 4-year-old son Matteo, and getting an equal custody agreement settled with his estranged wife NIKKI GARCIA.
Specific details regarding the night Artem was arrested have not been revealed, though his lawyer says he was “not the primary aggressor.” [via NY Post]
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Basketball player DERRICK ROSE is retiring.
The former Knicks point guard announced his retirement on Instagram, writing, “The next chapter is about chasing my dreams and sharing my growth,” underneath a photo of him holding a newspaper.
The 35-year-old was the No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft, the 2009 Rookie of the Year, and the youngest MVP in NBA history in 2011. [via Instagram]
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“Million Dollar Listing” star JOSH FLAGG settled with real estate agent BRENTON DAVIS, who filed a suit against him last year.
According to court documents, Davis accused Flagg of fraud and breach of contract.
Per the deal, Flagg will pay Davis $30,000, in three $10,000 installments over a span of two months.
The dismissal came just weeks before the case was to head to trial. [via InTouch]
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BELLA HADID strutted down the runway this week at Saint Laurent’s Spring 2025 show after a two-year hiatus.
During her time away, the 27-year-old focused on her sobriety and long-term health struggles. She also worked on her non-alcoholic beverage, Kin Euphorics and launched her first fragrance collection, Orebella.
Hadid also moved during that time, taking up residence in Texas with her boyfriend. [via People]
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MACKLEMORE is no longer headlining the Neon City Festival in Vegas.
The exit comes after his “[Eff] America” chant at a recent pro-Palestine show in Seattle, though that is not the reason given for the boot, instead it was explained as being due to “unforeseen circumstances” -- yeah, like hating America. [via TMZ]
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CASTING CALL
JESSICA BIEL is no longer starring in or executive producing “The Good Daughter” for Peacock.
Biel was set to play Charlotte Quinn, who along with her sister Samantha, spent the last 28 years trying to piece together the lives that were destroyed after a single night of violence.
Details regarding her exit are not known. [via Deadline]
WORTH ASKING: Anyone suspect her bowing out is somehow connected to her husband, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE’s DWI incident, which happened while she was working on her other recently wrapped project, “The Better Sister”?
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VINCE MCMAHON is not thrilled with how the newly-released Netflix doc “misrepresents” him as a person.
Despite participating in the series, McMahon says that the streamer took “the predictable path of conflating the ‘Mr. McMahon’ character with [his] true self, Vince.”
The doc, which dropped this week, focuses on McMahon’s life, his ascension as the most powerful man in wrestling, and the controversy and lawsuits that led to him stepping away from the WWE.
In addition to McMahon, several wrestlers appear in the show, including HULK HOGAN, DWAYNE “The Rock” JOHNSON, JOHN CENA, “Stone Cold” STEVE AUSTIN and PAUL “Triple H” LEVESQUE, who is also McMahon’s son-in-law. [via Variety]
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HODA KOTB is leaving “Today.”
She announced her exit on Thursday morning, telling viewers that it will happen sometime early next year.
As for why Kotb is leaving, she said that turning 60 last month served as the catalyst for her to “move on,” as well as wanting to spend more time with her young daughters.
She has co-anchored the show alongside SAVANNAH GUTHRIE since 2018, but has been part of NBC for 26 years. [via Page Six]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
BIANCA CENSORI was recently spotted out and about, sans YE, wearing black leggings and a black hooded sweatshirt -- a stark comparison to the risque clothing she’s typically seen in.
The covered up look reignited speculation that Ye is calling the shots in the relationship and controlling every aspect of Censori’s life.
Remember, earlier this year, her parents flew to the US from their native Australia to save their daughter from Ye. Censori was ultimately able to convince her mom that she has the situation “under control.”
In the meantime, Ye has cooled it on the ranting, which has to put the in-laws at ease. [via Daily Mail]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
PRINCESS KATE orchestrated the official social media posts celebrating PRINCE HARRY’s 40th birthday last week, according to a report in Bella magazine.
”Kate was very much the driving force behind Harry’s birthday wishes,” they said, “as she slowly makes good on her vow to restore some kind of peace and forgiveness between the estranged royal and his family before it’s too late.”
Kate even reportedly called Harry on his birthday and sent him an unidentified but “thoughtful” gift. Part of the outreach intentionally coincides with the completion of Kate’s chemotherapy, which she reportedly calls, “not a time for resentment.” [via Independent]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
National Chocolate Milk Day
German Butterbrot Day
Native American Day
World Tourism Day
National Doodle Day
Cool Sword Day
Morning Show Hosts day
Save the Koala Day
National Corned Beef Hash Day
National Crush a Can Day
Ancestor Appreciation Day
National No Excuses Day
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ON THIS DATE
1779 - John Jay is appointed by the Continental Congress to be the minister to Spain. His mission was to rally the Spanish behind the cause of the American Revolution and to get Spain to acknowledge his new country's independence.
Though Spain never offered wholesale military support, the country did give America loans and occasional war provisions. The Spanish government did not want to encourage revolution among its holdings in the Americas.
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1854 - 322 ship passengers die in a collision off the coast of Newfoundland.
The ship called the Arctic collided with the Vesta. Heavy fog didn't help the situation that night, but the Arctic's captain refused to slow down or toot the ship's horn to alert other boats in the area.
Upon impact, the Arctic's crew sent lifeboats to those on the Vesta, which was an iron-hulled ship. But the iron provided good protection, and more damage was actually done to the Arctic.
Soon the Arctic's crew realized this, but many of the lifeboats had already been sent off. Many had capsized in the waters. The Arctic's captain tried to beach the sinking boat, and in doing so crushed the remaining lifeboats.
Only 1 person reportedly survived the sinking.
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1869 - Wild Bill Hickok shoots his second ruffian since starting as Sheriff in Hays City, Kansas, five weeks earlier.
His lack of restraint was certainly effective, but troubled the city's government.
The good people of Hays City stripped Hickok of his deputization and he moved West, where he would serve again as a successful law enforcer.
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1956 - Captain Mel Apt pilots the Bell X-2 rocket plane, making him the first to exceed Mach 3. The plane eventually reached 2,094 miles per hour.
When Apt attempted a banking turn, the jet spiraled out of control.
Apt fired his ejection chair, but never made it out.
The Air Force retired the X-2. It would be replaced by the X-15 three years later.
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1959 - Nikita Khrushchev ends his two-week trip to the United States, which was riddled with confusion and embarrassment.
Among the blunders were his verbal sparring match with a Twentieth Century Fox executive while visiting Hollywood. He was also denied access to Disneyland due to concerns over his safety.
Vice President Nixon took the premier to the airport, where a military band played America's and the Soviet Union's anthems.
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1995 - The defense in the O.J. Simpson murder trial makes its closing arguments.
Lead defense attorney Johnnie Cochran poked holes in the prosecution's case and pleaded that the jury treat Simpson with dignity.
On October 3rd, the jury would find Simpson not guilty of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
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1997 - NASA loses communication with the Mars Pathfinder probe.
The mission was only expected to last between a week and a month, but lasted three.
Pathfinder sent more than 16,500 pictures back to Earth and made millions of measurements of the Red Planet's atmosphere.
Fun fact: Pathfinder's on-board computer boasted a whopping 512 kilobytes of RAM and 176 Kilobytes of flash memory storage!
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2018 - The US Securities and Exchange Commission files a lawsuit against Elon Musk.
The lawsuit accused the SpaceX founder of securities fraud for a series of false and misleading tweets about a potential transaction to take Tesla private.
The issue is that Musk had not discussed deal terms with potential financing partners.
He would settle the suit two days later.
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BIRTHDAYS
Jenna Ortega - actress, “Wednesday” & “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” - 22
John Lannan - baseball player - 40
Avril Lavigne - pop singer - 40
Anna Camp - actress, “The Mindy Project” & “Pitch Perfect” - 42
Lil Wayne - rapper - 42
Jon Garland - baseball player - 45
Brad Arnold - singer, 3 Doors Down - 46
Ed Gray - basketball player - 49
Gwyneth Paltrow - actress, “A Perfect Murder” - 52
Mark Calderon - singer, Color Me Badd - 54
Patrick Muldoon - actor, “Days of Our Lives” - 56
Steve Kerr - basketball coach - 59
Mike Schmidt - HOF baseball player - 75
Born On This Date
Meat Loaf - rock singer - 1947 (d. 2022)
William Conrad - actor, “Gunsmoke” - 1920 (d. 1994)
Hiram R. Revels - 1st African American in Congress - 1827 (d. 1901)
Samuel Adams - politician, Boston Tea Party - 1722 (d. 1803)
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