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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jul 9, 2021
July 9, 2021
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He's back: NEIL DIAMOND's "Sweet Caroline" is now being used as the unofficial anthem of the English team at the European Soccer Championships. Of course, the song was written more than 50 years ago and is about CAROLINE KENNEDY, JFK's daughter. But people in the UK as well as the US are familiar with it --it hit number four on the US charts and number eight over in England. Neil himself, now 80 years old, told the London Telegraph he was "thrilled" at the crowds singing in the stands and also sent a good luck message to the players before Wednesday's semi-final.
Reminder: “Shark Week” begins Sunday on the Discovery Channel, with over 45 hours of all-things sharks. It's the 33rd year of all things shark on TV.
Another reminder that the Coronavirus has had an impact on everything, as the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics reaffirmed that the games will take place without spectators. As recently as last week, officials had said they thought it might be possible to admit some spectators, but Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the change is to prevent the city from becoming a mass distribution site for the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. The bigger problem is that much of Japan's population is still not vaccinated against COVID-19, which makes the possibility of spreading much greater. People will also be asked not to gather for events like the triathlon, or torch relay, both of which take place on public roads.
Movie news, take 1: SCARLETT JOHANSSON's new movie, “Black Widow,” from Disney and Marvel Comics, launched internationally on Wednesday and opens here in the US this weekend. It's the first Marvel film to debut since 2019. The movie is set between “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Avengers: Infinity War” and before Scarlett's character, Natasha Romanoff, became an Avenger.
Movie news, take 2: British Grammy winner DUA LIPA will be making her acting debut as part of MATHEW VAUGHN’s upcoming spy thriller, "Argylle." She's also doing part of the movie's score, and joining the cast which includes HENRY CAVILL, SAM ROCKWELL, BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD, BRYAN CRANSTON, CATHERINE O’HARA, JOHN CENA and SAMUEL L. JACKSON. The movie, about the world’s greatest spy, named "Argylle," is expected to be the first film in a trilogy.
Fast food: The folks at Beyond Meat have announced a new version of their meat-free chicken tenders, which were expected to roll out yesterday in nearly 400 restaurants across the US. The new tenders use an improved recipe that uses a mix of fava beans and peas for a total of 14 grams of protein per serving.
More fast food: McDonald's says this coming Tuesday, July 13th --usually known as National French Fry Day, will be renamed World Famous Fan Day, and they'll be giving out free fries for members of the brand-new MyMcDonalds Rewards program. There's also a contest in which 66 fans will win 1 million MyMcDonald’s Rewards points and one fan will win free fries for life, a prize valued at $19,685. To get your free fries, you'll need to download the McDonald’s app, opt-in to MyMcDonald’s Rewards and add the deal for medium fries to your cart.
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