Good afternoon. It's Friday, May. 3, and we're covering hoarded cash, Hollywood in disarray, ruining MLB broadcasts, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here. | | American Fact of the Day! | Florida: Florida's oldest tree is 3500 years old and is located just north of Longwood in Big Tree Park. |
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| | Breaking Updates | | Sen. Bob Menendez's Attorneys Argue He Hoarded Cash, Gold Bars Because of 'Intergenerational Trauma' | Sen. Bob Menendez's (D-NJ) attorneys on Wednesday claimed the lawmaker, who is facing charges related to bribery and corruption, hoarded gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash because of "intergenerational trauma." This supposed trauma is related to his family's struggles as Cuban refugees.
The senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, allegedly traded political favors to the Egyptian government and three businessmen for financial gains. An FBI raid in September on the couple's $1.2 million house found $480,000 in cash—"much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe"—along with gold bars worth around $100,000.
"Senator Menendez suffered intergenerational trauma stemming from his family's experience as refugees, who had their funds confiscated by the Cuban government and were left with only a small amount of cash that they had stashed away in their home," the filing read.
If the court allows it, the psychiatrist who examined the lawmaker will testify at trial about Menendez's supposed condition. The prosecution has objected to the psychiatrist's testimony.
Menendez is accused of accepting bribes from businessmen in exchange for using his position to grant them favors and to assist the Egyptian government. His wife is also facing charges. The senator's lawyers recently indicated that they would attempt to shift blame for the crimes to his wife.
Menendez has repeatedly denied the charges. He will not be seeking reelection. | Read more updates here |
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| | A Sign Hollywood Is Still in Disarray – One Trade Outlet Cannot Say When the Blockbuster Summer Begins | The theatrical business in Hollywood has been notably different in just the past five years. Three significant interconnected alterations to the industry have led to a seismic shift in the business model of studios and movie theaters – the rise of streaming services, the pandemic, and dual strikes held by creative guilds last year. As a result, the motion picture landscape has been significantly altered as premiere platforms, production budgets, release schedules, and a number of other procedures are very different these days.
A sign of this still-evolving reality is evident this weekend. Today sees Ryan Gosling in the debut of "The Fall Guy," a loose adaptation of the long-running television action series from the 1980s. The film has mostly positive reviews, while advanced screenings have delivered hot word of mouth. To go with this, Gosling is coming off of last year's mega-hit "Barbie" and was expected to be a real draw in a fun, comedic action romp. And yet…
Projections for the film saw estimates between $30-40 million, and the Thursday previews delivered a return that sees it landing squarely in that window. This is a mediocre performance — not horrendous, not a smash hit — but it is bothersome all the same, as this movie was regarded as the kickoff to the summer blockbuster. Or was it?
In looking at this return, at Deadline they are indicating that there is an issue lingering in the industry. Anthony D'Alessandro declared that when looking at this from the perspective of launching the blockbuster season, "That's not your typical start." This might be as good an explanation as expected because after all of the major impacts experienced these past few years, "typical" is no longer in play when it comes to motion picture releases. D'Alessandro alludes to the strikes as having buggered the release schedules, and this is accurate to an extent.
Desperation creeps into the Deadline assessment when you learn why the film is debuting this weekend. It had previously been slated for a release two months earlier, but shifts in the plans of another tentpole release meant this week became available. But it is here that we get a sense that all is not right in Hollywood.
This…is a problem. By now the studios were normally kicking into high gear with major titles coming out each week. The pre-pandemic years saw Hollywood pushing the summer window out to begin earlier, with the "Fast & the Furious" franchise sometimes stretching back to even earlier release dates. (The eighth film debuted on April 12 that year.) Now, in looking over the release slate, it is said that the promised monster hit "Deadpool & Wolverine" – on July 26 – is the start of summer?! | Read more updates here |
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| | American Sports & Culture
|  | John Smoltz's constant blathering ruins MLB broadcasts | Why do Fox sports execs dare diminishing numbers of viewers to suffer three hours of John Smoltz as the nation's lead MLB analyst? |
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|  | NBA poised to exceed $75 billion mark in new deals | The NBA may be on the brink of exceeding its $75 billion bar. |
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|  | When will the 2024 NFL schedule be released? | With free agency and the draft in the rearview, when will the schedule for the 2024 NFL season come out? Here's what we know. |
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| | American Business & Markets
|  | Clinton Sparks Podcast: How T.I. Achieved Massive Entrepreneurship Success in Music and Life | Entrepreneur | This podcast is a fun, entertaining and informative show that will teach you how to succeed and achieve your goals with practical advice and actionable steps given through compelling stories and conversations with Clinton and his guests. |
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|  | 5 Big Companies That Suddenly Went Out of Business & Why | Even the greatest can fall from consumer grace. |
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|  | What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur—And Why It's Partly a Mind Game | We talk to a software company CEO and founder to find out what he thinks are the most important keys to success in entrepreneurship. |
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| | American Politics | |  | FBI Takes Possession of Lindsey Graham's Phone After He Gets a Strange Message from 'Chuck Schumer' | "Chuck Schumer isn't texting you from his flip phone. If you get a text message from Schumer, it probably isn't real." |
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|  | Weaker Than Expected: U.S. Hiring Slows With Economy Adding 175,000 Jobs in April and Unemployment Rose to 3.9% | Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 240,000 and the unemployment rate would hold steady at the prior month's 3.8 percent. | Economy |
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|  | Conor McGregor calls for lifetime ban of Ryan Garcia after reported positive drug test following victory | Conor McGregor has called for a lifetime ban of Ryan Garcia, saying Garcia "cheated the weight and was juiced" for his fight on April 20. |
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