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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jun 1, 2022
June 1, 2022
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Some criticism of Bradley Cooper’s makeup for his role as Leonard Bernstein in the upcoming movie “Maestro,” because some people say the reliance on such heavy prosthetics -- an obviously fake nose, thinning white wig, deep forehead wrinkles and prominent veins in his hands is to make Cooper --a non-Jewish actor-- look more Jewish.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s daughter, Simone Johnson, is going into the wrestling ring like her dad. But her professional name –Ava Raine-- is raising people’s ire on Twitter and other internet services, because they don’t like it. As one person put it, “I’m slightly disappointed she won’t be known as The Pebble.”
Looking to buy a house? Standard & Poors reports home prices rose 20.6 percent this year --the highest year-over-year price change in more than 35 years. The raises were highest in the South and Southeast, because there have been fewer homes for sale there, but every area has seen big increases. But the mortgage rates have also gone above 5% as well –the highest rates in 13 years. But this also means more people are increasingly unable or unwilling to buy a home under these conditions.
Fast food: Even though Taco Bell has brought back Mexican Pizza, the company says it’s already sold out in some locations because of the high demand –seven times higher than when it was first put on the menu two years ago. CNN reports one fan bought 180 Mexican Pizzas in a single order. The company says it may take a little longer to restock because they’ve been selling out.
Not-so-fast food: Would you wait 45 minutes to get a scoop of ice cream? Up in Massachusetts, Mark Lawrence, the owner of Polar Cave Ice Cream Parlor in Mashpee, says he hasn’t been able to hire employees to work at the shop for the summer and says that’s why there was a long wait during one weekend. The Parlor's website says the shop is accepting applications for summer jobs because of the shortage of available workers on Cape Cod.
Drug news, take 1: The United Nations reports more than one billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year, which shows a "staggering" increase in the regions synthetic drug trade. In fact, the meth trade has passed opium and heroin to become the dominant illegal drug for both use and export. CNN reports one of Asia's biggest-ever drug busts took place in Laos last October, when local police seized more than 55.6 million methamphetamine pills in a single raid.
Drug news, take 2: E-cigarettes have been outlawed in Mexico, as part of the government’s anti-vaping policy. Although the government hopes to discourage sales, many Mexicans reportedly import or buy vaping cartridges or fluid under the table or online domestically. The government estimates that at least five million Mexicans have tried vaping at least once, and Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López Gatell says industry claims that vaping is safer than smoking is “a big lie.”
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