9/29/2022: Hurricane Ian Hits Florida

PLUS: New M&M; The Dark Side of Barney; and Harry & Meghan’s New Low

Sep 29, 2022

Today is Thursday, September 29, 2022.

It is the 272nd day of the year.

93 days remain.

HIT LIST

At least 1.6 million people were without power on Wednesday night as Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 Hurricane – a downgrade from the Category 5 some feared it would reach.

Sustained winds also ebbed from 150 miles per hour to 115 miles per hour as it made landfall, with storm surges nearly 20 feet above ground level. Storm surge warnings remain in effect up the East Coast between northeast Florida and South Carolina.

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A Michigan family was saved from carbon monoxide poisoning in their home – thanks to the loud meows of their cat.

The gas accumulated in the home after a generator was mistakenly left running following a power outage, and the garage door was mistakenly shut, trapping the toxic fumes inside. The parents and their two kids, aged 13 and 11, then went to bed.

Carbon monoxide has no discernible odor or smell, so it’s impossible for humans to detect without the right sensors. Fortunately, Thor the kitten took notice and started crying loudly and was visibly sick, causing the mother to take her outside. When they returned inside, the mother fell unconscious, but Thor kept meowing, waking up the rest of the family. The kids called emergency services, and the family was treated at a nearby hospital, all thanks to a tenacious cat.

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Airline Virgin Atlantic is modifying its dress code to get with the times: While the options still include skirts, blouses, and suits, each employee will decide what to wear – no matter their gender.

Virgin is also expanding its ticketing technology, giving passengers the option to use gender-neutral marks “X” and “U” if they’re non-binary or identify as something else, like a tree or chocolate cake batter.

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The cartoony M&M’s characters you’ve seen in commercials are making a new friend: the Purple M&M, a lady-chocolate that is “Designed to represent acceptance and inclusivity” and “is known for her earnest self-expression,” the candymaker said in a statement.

The purple-lady M&M debuted as part of a new web ad, and the candy company says they’ll donate $1 for each stream the video gets – up to $500,000.

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An article in science journal “Nature” suggests researchers have found the oldest fossilized set of animal teeth ever.

They once belonged to some kind of prehistoric fish that swam the seas between 443 million and 419 million years ago. That’s about 14 million years older than the previously-oldest fossils.

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BY THE NUMBERS

📈 The Dow gained 548 points (1.88%) to close at 29,683. The S&P was up 72 points (1.97%) to close at 3,719. The Nasdaq earned 222 points (2.05%) to close at 11,052.

🛢 West Texas Intermediate was trading at $82 on Wednesday. Brent Crude closed at $87.

⛽ The national average price of a gallon of gas ticked up again Wednesday, to $3.76.

₿ Bitcoin added more than $450 on Wednesday, trading just over $19,530.

🛩 There were 2,855 flights delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Wednesday and 2,157 such cancellations.

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CHARTS

A video of good samaritans saving the life of one of the world’s fastest sharks has gone viral.

A pair of beachgoers stumbled across the shortfin mako -- which can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour -- stranded on a beach in Brazil.

Despite lots of thrashing from the five-foot shark, rescuers were able to safely get it back into the water.

WORTH NOTING: It's the same kind of shark that launched out of the water and onto a charter fishing boat off the coast of Maine earlier this month.

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DEATHS

HILAREE NELSON has died.

The world-famous ski mountaineer was found dead after falling from a mountain following an avalanche in Nepal this week.

She was 49.

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Rapper COOLIO has died.

TMZ reports that he was visiting a friend in Los Angeles when he likely suffered cardiac arrest. Paramedics were called and pronounced him dead at the scene. No official cause of death has yet been shared.

Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., Coolio found huge success in the ‘90s with hits like “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “C U When U Get There.”

He was 59.

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BABY NEWS

“Bachelor” alum SARAH HERRON is pregnant!

The 35-year-old is expecting her first child, a son, with fiance DYLAN BROWN.

Herron announced the exciting news on Instagram with a series of photos showing off an ultrasound picture.

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BREAKUPS

MACKENZIE SCOTT, the ex-wife of JEFF BEZOS, has filed for divorce from her second husband, DAN JEWETT, after less than two years of marriage.

According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, Jewett did not contest the divorce. Also, there is a prenup in place so dividing up property should be seamless.

No word on what led to the split.

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RELATIONSHIPS

KENAN THOMPSON’s ex-wife is in a relationship with one of his former “SNL” co-stars.

CHRISTINA EVANGELINE, 33, started dating CHRIS REDD, 37, earlier this year, sources told TMZ.

The insiders added that there is “no bad blood” between Thompson and Redd over the relationship. They also noted there was “no cheating or overlap in the relationships.”

Thompson and Evangeline, who share two young children, separated in 2019.

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THE SWAMP

Congress is once again kicking the can down the road on approving a budget for the government.

The Senate approved a procedural measure by a 72-23 vote to keep operations funded for about three more months, avoiding a shutdown that would’ve kicked in Friday. Once it officially passes, it’ll head to the House for a rubber-stamp before landing on President JOE BIDEN’s death.

WORTH NOTING: Neither party wants to touch the issue of approving or withholding any new or changed spending or cuts just before midterm elections.

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In August, Republican Indiana Rep. JACKIE WALORSKI died in a car accident. As President, JOE BIDEN sent out a public statement of sympathy for the family.

Then yesterday, while attending an event that Walorski helped organize in her capacity as co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus before her passing, Biden asked the crowd where she was.

“Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?” Biden asked.

Here’s how Biden White House Media Commissar KARINE JEAN-PIERRE addressed this monumental gaffe: “He was thinking about her as he was — as he was naming out and calling out the congressional champions on this issue — on this really critical issue that’s going to help millions of Americans.”

WORTH ASKING: How much longer will this be excused? Why doesn’t Biden take a cognitive test and commit to release the results to assuage public concerns? Remember all the bizarre whining about invoking the 25th Amendment to get former President DONALD TRUMP out of office? Where is that now – when the evidence is glaring the entire country in the face every day?

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LOTTERY

No winner for Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Friday night’s drawing will be for a $355 million jackpot or a $183.6 million cash payout.

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SHOWBIZ NEWS

LARA TRUMP, daughter-in-law of former president DONALD TRUMP, was slammed online Wednesday after posting a video on Instagram of her son driving a toy vehicle in the rain as Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida.

“Thought we had a clear window, turns out we did some character building instead. Stay safe everyone!” she captioned the clip.

The backlash was swift, with some social media trolls calling the video “child abuse.”

Lara’s husband, ERIC TRUMP, called the criticism “outrageous and ridiculous.”

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During her tour stop in D.C LIZZO played a few notes on a 220-year-old crystal flute that was once owned by former president JAMES MADISON.

The instrument was loaned to the pop star by the Library of Congress. She is the first and only person to play the flute.

According to the Library of Congress’ website, the crystal flute was made specifically as a present for Madison for this second inauguration in March 1813.

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KATIE COURIC, 65, revealed in a personal essay released yesterday that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She explained that the diagnosis came earlier this year after an abnormal scan led to a biopsy, which came back positive for cancer. Couric shared that she had a lumpectomy in July, and results showed the cancer was stage 1A, which was low enough for her to forgo chemotherapy.

Couric hopes her story will remind other women to get their annual mammograms.

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Despite appearing in more than 85 films, TOM HANKS thinks only four of them are “pretty good.”

The actor made the revelation while speaking to PEOPLE magazine about his new novel, “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece.”

“I’ve made a ton of movies, and four of them are pretty good, I think, and I’m still amazed at how films come together,” he said.

Hanks did not share which four films he was referring to.

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CASTING CALL

Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer series is a hit.

“Dahmer: Monster -- The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” drew in more than 196.2 million viewers since it dropped on September 21.

It now sits in the top tier of Netflix shows, falling just under “Squid Game,” “All of Us Are Dead,” Season 4 of “Stranger Things” and Season 2 of “Bridgerton.”

EVAN PETERS stars as the notorious serial killer from Wisconsin in the ten-part series, which is told from the point of view of Dahmer’s victims.

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A trailer for Peacock’s new docuseries centered on Barney, the beloved purple dinosaur, dropped Wednesday.

The show, titled “I Love You, You Hate Me,” does a deep dive into the disturbing rumors surrounding the popular children’s character, such as the one that claimed he stored drugs in his tail.

The two-part series also features interviews with actors who portrayed Barney, including BOB WEST, who says he received “violent and explicit” threats discussing “death and dismemberment of his family.”

The docuseries premieres on October 12 on Peacock.

WORTH NOTING: This is separate from the live-action film that DANIEL KALUUYA’s production company is working on.

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Cast members of “The West Wing” and “Veep” are reuniting in a show of support for democrats in Wisconsin.

The virtual reunion crossover event will feature BRADLEY WHITFORD, MARTIN SHEEN, ALLISON JANNEY, JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, TONY HALE, MATT WALSH and more.

“[...] winning Wisconsin this November is crucial to saving American democracy. And also because when MAGA Republicans are beaten and democracy thrives and flourishes, Veep seems much funnier and less sad,” Louis-Dreyfus told the Hollywood Reporter.

It will be livestreamed on October 9.

WORTH NOTING: Whitford is from Wisconsin.

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HUGH JACKMAN will reprise his Wolverine character in the highly anticipated film “Deadpool 3.”

“The role will be much longer than a cameo,” an insider told PEOPLE magazine.

Star of the flick, RYAN REYNOLDS, told the outlet that he has been “digging deep” over the years since the release of “Deadpool 2” in 2018 to come up with an equally “amazing” concept.

The movie is set to hit theaters in September 2024.

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MATTHEW BRODERICK has joined the cast of Sony’s comedy “No Hard Feelings.”

He will play the rich husband of LAURA BENANTI’s character. They are the parents of ANDREW BARTH FELDMAN’s character, who is befriended by JENNIFER LAWRENCE’s character.

The movie is set to hit theaters in June 2023.

No further details about the plot or characters have been shared.

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PAUL BETTANY will star opposite TOM HANKS and ROBIN WRIGHT in “Here.”

Based on Richard McGuire’s novel, the film is described as a “breathtaking and revolutionary odyssey through time and memory.” The story centers on a single location in New England, where “love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations,” per the official description.

No casting details were shared.

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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS

KANYE WEST has hired a new divorce attorney -- his sixth.

Insiders tell TMZ that Ye has retained ROBERT STEPHAN COHEN, who represented MELINDA GATES in her multi-billion dollar divorce from BILL GATES.

DIVORCE RECAP: Kim filed for divorce last November, and a judge declared her legally single in March. The exes are still trying to iron out custody and property details.

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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS

Following a revamp of the Royal Family’s website, PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE now sit near the bottom of the family list.

When they were still working royals, their dedicated pages were located just under PRINCE WILLIAM and KATE MIDDLETON’s. After they stepped down from their royal duties, their pages fell underneath PRINCESS ANNE’s.

Now that KING CHARLES has the throne, Harry and Meg’s pages are near the bottom, with only disgraced royal PRINCE ANDREW’s below them.

SPEAKING OF MEG: Her podcast “Archetypes” is set to return on October 4, following a brief hiatus out of respect for QUEEN ELIZABETH.

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SPORTS

The NFL Pro Bowl has a completely new format.

The full-contact game fans are used to has been replaced with a week of skills competitions, followed by a flag football game.

The new event will also be renamed “The Pro Bowl Games.”

For 2023, the event will be held in Las Vegas, with the flag football game set to take place at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, February 5 -- one week before the Super Bowl in Arizona.

The change comes amid years of concerns over players getting injured during the game.

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DAY OF THE YEAR

World Maritime Day

National Coffee Day

National Starbucks Day

World Heart Day

National Biscotti Day

Confucius Day

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ON THIS DATE

1780 – John André is found guilty of espionage against the Continental Army.

Andre was the British officer to whom Benedict Arnold surrendered secret plans. He was captured six days prior by Americans, who found Arnold's plans hidden in Andre's boot.

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1864 – General Grant organizes an attack against Robert E. Lee's defenses around Richmond, Virginia -- which fails to break through.

Though the Union troops could not get through the Confederates' heavy fortifications, there was some good news: the attack distracted Lee from reinforcing Confederate General Jubal Early elsewhere in Virginia.

The fighting would continue on and off for months.

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1913 – Rudolf Diesel disappears from a ship en-route to England.

Diesel is the inventor of his namesake engine. He was to oversee the groundbreaking ceremony for a construction factory that made diesel engines and discuss installing his invention on submarines with the British Navy.

But he was suddenly gone from the boat. Eleven days later, a Belgian sailor saw a body floating in the water, which was identified as Diesel's. Officially his death was a suicide, probably because he was headed to financial ruin.

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1962 – Canada launches its first satellite into space, using NASA's resources at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Alouette 1 studied the upper atmosphere for 10 years. After that, mission control shut it down intentionally.

It remains in orbit.

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1963 – Pope Paul VI opens the second period of the Second Vatican Council.

In the meeting Catholic officials sought to find ways to reconnect the Catholic church with the rest of the modern world.

Another big step forward was granting permission to celebrate Mass in local languages. Previously, Catholics had to participate in Mass performed in Latin.

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1988 – Space Shuttle Discovery takes to the skies and into space. It's the first manned NASA mission since Challenger exploded on liftoff in January 1986.

The ceremonial mission only lasted 4 days as a reminder to the country and the world that the shuttles were fit to fly.

On the mission, the crew conducted standard tests and also put a satellite into orbit.

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2008 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 777.68 points in one day. It's the greatest single-day loss in the stock market's history.

It followed the collapse of banking powerhouse Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual.

Two weeks later, on October 13th, the Dow Jones would see its biggest single-day gain ever, with the market gaining 936.42 points.

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2018 - Kanye West announces on Twitter that he is changing his name to Ye.

At the time, only those close to the rapper used the moniker.

Three years later he would file to legally change his name.

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BIRTHDAYS

Lilah Pate - actress, “Outer Banks” - 19

Halsey - pop singer - 28

Nicholas Galitzine - actor, “High Strung” & “Purple Hearts” - 28

Kevin Durant - basketball player - 34

Lo Bosworth - reality star, “Laguna Beach” & “The Hills” - 36

Calvin Johnson - football player - 37

Stephen Boss - dancer, “So You Think You Can Dance” - 40

Kelly McCreary - actress, “Grey’s Anatomy” - 41

Zachary Levi - actor, “Chuck” & “Heroes Reborn” - 42

Chrissy Metz - actress, “This Is Us” - 43

Kelly Robbins - golfer - 53

Matt Goss - pop singer - 54

Andrew Dice Clay - comedian - 65

Jerry Lee Lewis - rock singer - 87

Born On This Date

Larry Linville - actor, “M*A*S*H” - 1939 (d. 2000)

Bum Phillips - football coach - 1923 (d. 2013)

Stan Berenstain - children’s author, “The Berenstain Bears” - 1923 (d. 2005)

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