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Christmas has come and gone, but holiday music continues to show up on the Billboard charts, with an album from 1963 moving to its highest chart position this week. "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector" jumps seven spots to number seven on the Billboard 200. The album features famous holiday tunes by Darlene Love, The Crystals, and The Ronettes. Among the listed session musicians on the album are Leon Russell on piano and Sonny Bono on percussion. The album went fairly unnoticed at the time. "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector" was released on November 22nd, 1963 -- the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Jimmy Kimmel is threatening Aaron Rodgers with legal action. The late night talk show host responded to Rodgers after the star NFL quarterback linked Kimmel to a list of people associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. During an appearance on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers said "There's a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who are really hoping the list doesn't come out." In a post on X, Kimmel said he never had any contact with Epstein, called Rodgers' words "reckless" and said he put his family in danger. He ended the post telling Rodgers, "Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court."
https://abcnews.go.com/US/jimmy-kimmels-threat-sue-aaron-rodgers/story?id=106070771
A former Texas congresswoman who is fighting to take back her seat is caught up in a bizarre scandal. Mayra Flores is accused of copying random pictures off the Internet and passing them off as her own. And the pictures are all about food. In her social media posts, the border Republican suggested that she made everything from homemade tortillas to fried eggs. Mayra Flores' critics have dubbed it "Grub-gate."
There's a new king studio at the global box office. Universal Studios overtook Disney to earn the top spot in 2023. It's the first time Disney has failed to take the number one spot since 2016. Led by "Oppenheimer" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," Universal's two dozen movies released last year brought in four-point-91-billion dollars at the global box office. That edged out the four-point-83-billion dollars earned by Disney films. Warner Bros., which released the year's top grossing film with "Barbie," took the number three spot for worldwide ticket sales.
A 13-year-old from Oklahoma is reported to be the first person ever to beat Tetris on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The boy, who goes by the nickname Blue Scuti on social media, posted a video on YouTube showing him appearing to defeat the famous falling-block puzzle game. He was about 38 minutes into playing Tetris when he realized he was close to beating it and finally reaching the "kill screen." The record was previously held by an AI bot.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67871775
Starbucks customers placing their drive-thru and mobile orders can now use their own clean, personal cups. The coffee chain made the announcement yesterday , saying it's part of the company's initiative to reduce waste by 50-percent by 2030. Customers wanting to use their own personal cup can either tell the barista when placing their order in the drive-thru or by selecting the option in the app for a mobile order. Those who choose to use their own cup will get a ten-cent discount and 25 Starbucks Rewards Bonus Stars.
https://fortune.com/2024/01/03/starbucks-use-own-cups-for-drive-through-app-orders/