Brain-eating amoeba causes rare infection in Missouri patient, first in 35 years – LINK

Don’t miss the biggest ‘supermoon’ of the year on July 13 – LINK

India is set to surpass China in 2023 as the world’s most populous nation – LINK

The US is Considering Universal Charger Standard for Consumer Electronics – LINK

A New Hangover Pill Just Went on Sale in the U.K. – LINK

Shark Week is pretty perfect as it is, but you know what could make it even MORE perfect?  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  This year, The Rock will be Shark Week’s first-ever Master of Ceremonies. In an Instagram post he said, quote, “I filmed exclusively in my home state of HAWAII, these beautiful predator AUMAKUA (gods) are deeply revered & respected in our Polynesian culture. And if you look closely at the details of my tattoo, shark teeth are throughout to protect my ancestors and our MANA.” This is the 34th annual Shark Week on Discovery.  It kicks off Sunday, July 24th.  You can keep up with the chaos at SharkWeek.com.

SPEAKING of Shark Week — Discovery has pulled some crazy stunts to get people to watch Shark Week.  Well, for its 34th edition, Shark Week has a handful of specials that sound like they’re probably more hype than science.  They include:

“Air Jaws: Top Guns”:  Just more jumping sharks, but with a title that tries to exploit the biggest movie of the year.

“Great White Serial Kill: Fatal Christmas”:  Forensic evidence and eyewitness accounts are used to identify the shark that killed a surfer off Morro Bay, California on Christmas Eve.

“Jaws vs. Kraken”:  Evidence suggests there is an undersea war between great whites and giant squids.  Who wouldn’t wanna see that?

“Pigs vs. Shark”:  Tiger sharks in the waters off the Bahamas may be acquiring a taste for the famous local swimming pigs.

“Island of Walking Sharks”:  This one sounds like a cheesy Syfy movie, but it’s an actual, supposedly-scientific look into whether or not sharks in Papua, New Guinea are evolving to walk on land.

Don’t expect to see Mickey Rourke in a Tom Cruise movie anytime soon.  In a recent interview, Mickey was asked how he feels seeing Tom make $1 billion with the new “Top Gun”movie. He replied, quote, “That doesn’t mean [crap] to me.  The guy’s been doing the same effin’ part for 35 years.  I got no respect for that.”  He added, quote, “I don’t care about money and power.  I care about when I watch Al Pacino work and Chris Walken and De Niro’s early work. That’s the kind of actor I want to be like.”

Asked if thought Tom was a good actor, Mickey said, quote, “I think he’s irrelevant in my world.”

Florence Pugh is putting on a display. The actress walked the red carpet at on Friday wearing a pink gown and seemingly addressed what everyone was thinking.  Her Barbie-pink gown became the talk on the internet for her exposed chest. “Technically they’re covered?” she wrote on Instagram featuring photos where her chest was on full display. Florence then took to IG Sunday to address the haters in a lengthy post. She says she knew that the dress would get a reaction of some sort and she didn’t care and wasn’t nervous about it at all.  “What’s been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see. … It isn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last time a woman will hear what’s wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what’s worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be.” Some of the vulgar words used apparently had to do with guys telling her/rhetorically asking her if she was embarrassed by her “tiny t***” or by the fact she was so “flat-chested.”

Good news podcast crime fans, Only Murders in the Building is returning for season 3. Hulu ordered a third season of the comedy series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. The renewal comes just three weeks after the second season debut of what Hulu says is its most-watched comedy! If you haven’t watched this thrilling series, add it to your binge-watching list soon! Only Murders follows the three leads, (Martin, Short, and Gomez), as they try to solve a murder in their New York apartment building and record a true-crime podcast about it.

Jamie Foxx is a vampire hunter in his brand new film, Day Shift, coming to Netflix next month! The trailer shows Jamie fighting and killing an elderly woman, who turns out to be a vampire! Here’s what we know about the movie: Jamie Foxx stars as a hard working blue collar dad who just wants to provide a good life for his daughter, but his pool cleaning job is a front for his real source of income, hunting and killing vampires. Look out for the film, hitting the streaming service on Friday, August 12 (LINK)

Before Disturbed drops their new single, “Hey You” this Thursday, they’ve offered a 30-second sample of the new track. Singer David Draiman said the band’s upcoming album “is somewhere between ‘The Sickness’ and ‘Ten Thousand Fists’. It’s meat-and-potatoes Disturbed.” The album’s release date hasn’t been announced at this time

Eminem is coming with the hits again.  On Monday, he announced the upcoming release of Curtain Call 2. The album will feature his biggest songs since 2009, including cuts from Eminem’s albums, guest appearances, soundtracks, and more.  The original Curtain Call album was released in 2005 and contained classics from the start of Eminem’s career.  Curtain Call 2 will be released on August 5th.

Actor and musician Jack Black (LINK) let slip that a new Tenacious D music is on the way. If you DON’T know…Tenacious D are the comedy rock duo of Black and fellow rocker-actor Kyle Gass. On Monday Jack was asked if he was still recording and touring with Gass. “I am playing music with Kyle Gass. We’re still touring and we got a very big project coming up that I can’t really tell you anything about. But we got a concept album coming down the pike.” Jack Black will also appear in that upcoming Mario film.

Monty Norman, who composed the iconic James Bond (LINK) theme is dead at 94. According to a statement on his his official website, “It is with sadness we share the news that Monty Norman died on 11th July 2022 after a short illness.” He sang in Big Bands in the 1950s and ’60s, composed music for Bob Hope among others, and in 1979, his musical The Moony Shapiro Songbook became one of the biggest hits of his career, earning him an Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

If anyone is going to light it up at the White House, Willie Nelson is the one to do it! ICYMI: A recently released documentary dove into the life and legacy of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Titled, Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President, the documentary chronicles former President Carter’s love of music, and his friendship with artists like Bob Dylan, Bono, Garth Brooks, and Jimmy Buffett, among others. And it also features Willie Nelson, who Carter called “one of his best friends.” Willie first talked about this smoke session back in his 1988 autobiography. He was let on the roof by an “anonymous servant” at the White House, describing it as being up there with “a beer in one hand and a fat Austin Torpedo in the other.” Carter confirmed it in this doc. “When Willie Nelson wrote his autobiography he confessed that he smoked pot in the White House and he says that his companion was one of the servants at the White House… actually it was one of my sons.”

Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” has entered Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the first time thanks to the “Stranger Things” effect. It debuted at #40, even though it’s been around since 1986.  It’s now their 17th song to hit the chart, and their first since 2008. As you know by now, the character Eddie shreds the song in the Season 4 finale.  Joseph Quinn did learn “Master of Puppets”, so he’s playing it right on the show.  But it’s not clear if any of that shredding you hear is actually his.

This year’s Rolling Loud Festival goes down in Miami from July 22nd to the 24th.  But even if you can’t make it, you’re not totally in the cold.  The majority of the show will livestream on Twitch. This year’s headliners are Kanye, Future, and Kendrick Lamar. The bill also includes Playboi Carti, Lil Durk, 2 Chainz, Three 6 Mafia, Saweetie, Lil Uzi Vert, DaBaby, Gucci Mane, Soulja Boy, Lil Baby, Kodak Black, and tons more.

BuzzFeed (LINK) made a list of 35 guys and asked readers to vote. People could choose “Yeah, I’m still crushing” or “Not for me anymore”.  There was also a third option called “I don’t know who that is”, so if the total doesn’t add up to 100% that’s why.  Here are the results for 5 of the guys:

1. Justin Timberlake:  not for me . . . 78% to 19%
2. Josh Hartnett:  not for me . . . 62% to 23%
3. Mario Lopez:  still crushing . . . 53% to 41%
4. Orlando Bloom:  still crushing . . . 62% to 36%

5.  The Rock:  not for me . . . 54% to 45%

CELEBRITIES CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY 

The star of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Rachel Brosnahan is 32.

Wrestler Sami Zayn is 38.

One of the stars of the Fast & Furious franchise, Michelle Rodriguez is 44.

Eric Forman from That 70’s Show, Topher Grace is 44.

The only person to hold a WWE world championship and UFC championship, Brock Lesnar is 45.

Olympic figure skating gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi is 51.

Legendary fitness guru Richard Simmons is 74.

Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac is 79.

Bill Cosby is 85.

Carrie Brooks

Today’s birthday girl has been in 44 fine films, including:

• Breaking In Carrie Brooks
• Casting Couch Amateurs 18
• Creepers and Peepers 1
• Look Dad I’m in Porn 7
• My Roommate’s a Dirty Whore
• Trophy Teens 2
• And who can forget her role in 2016’s The Ho in Headlights 7

Carrie Brooks is 28 years old!

• Naming rights have impacted a long-time stadium name again.
• Heinz Field in Pittsburgh will be renamed this fall. It will be called Acrisure Stadium.
• Heinz signed a naming rights deal with the Steelers before the stadium opened in 2001. The deal was worth $57 million, a tribute to Heniz’s old newspaper ads that boasted their “57 varieties” of products.
• Acrisure is a global insurance broker, and the company also has naming rights on a new arena in Palm Springs, California.
• The financial terms of the 15-year deal were not disclosed.

Miles Mikolas pitched effectively into the eighth inning, Albert Pujols passed Stan Musial on the career extra-base hits list, and Corey Dickerson and Lars Nootbar homered as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 Monday night. The teams split the four-game series and are tied for the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Cardinals have won two straight but are just 3-6 in their last nine games. Pujols doubled off the right field wall to lead off the seventh, just missing a home run, to take sole possession of third place with 1,378 extra base hits. He snapped a tie with Musial, passing the Cardinals great to join a top three including Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. “It’s really special,” Pujols said. “Doing it here in front of our fans is even better. I don’t have any words to describe my feelings, especially the respect I have for Stan and his whole family and his legacy he left behind through this organization and to myself.” Pujols revealed after the game that he’ll participate in the All-Star Home Run Derby this month, his fifth time in the event. Already named to the National League All-Star team by commissioner Rob Manfred, Pujols will be announced as a participant in the Home Run Derby ahead of next Monday’s Derby at Dodger Stadium, an official source said and Pujols described.

“I was excited to do it,” Pujols said, noting the announcement was supposed to be made official via Instagram on Thursday. “I don’t know how that got out,” he said. “It’s pretty exciting to be back in the All-Star Game and just have an opportunity to be asked to be a part of the Home Run Derby. It’s something that it’s going to be my fifth trip doing that. It’s pretty awesome. And I’m pretty blessed to be able to do it. Especially in a place (like) Dodger Stadium, where I spent a lot of my time last year, I think I’m just really blessed to be able to do that and go back and do that. So hopefully I can put a good show for the fans.” Cards play the Dodgers here at Busch tonight at 6:45pm.

Former Dallas Cowboys star Marion Barber III (LINK) died due to heat stroke, officials confirmed to TMZ Sports on Monday. According to the Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office, Barber’s death was ruled an “accident.” Barber was found dead by the Frisco Police Dept. in Texas on June 1. He was just 38 years old. The ex-running back, who was picked by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft, had shown no signs of trouble prior to his death, according to his attorney, Zoltan Papp. According to the full autopsy report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Barber died after he had appeared to have been exercising in “sauna-like conditions” in his apartment. In the documents, officials say Barber’s body was found in his residence where the thermostat was set at 91 degrees and the heat was set to “on.” Investigators noted there was exercise equipment present at the scene, and said that Barber did, in fact, have a “history of exercising during sauna-like conditions.” According to the report, there was no evidence of trauma or drug overuse found inside of Barber’s body, and “no clear evidence of natural disease found” either.  In a separate Frisco Police Dept. incident report, officers say Barber had not been seen for around 3 weeks prior to the discovery of his body on June 1.

In the docs, officers say multiple people told them they tried to make contact with Barber throughout May as there appeared to be a leak coming from his apartment — though all attempts were unsuccessful. On June 1, according to the docs, officials forced their way into Barber’s apartment, and found him dead inside the shower of his residence’s master bedroom. They noted water had been running in the tub in the guest bathroom (LINK)

The Department of Justice is investigating whether the PGA Tour — who punished players for signing with wealthy Saudi golf startup, LIV Golf — engaged in anticompetitive practices, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Agents of players have been contacted by the antitrust division of the DOJ in recent months, and asked about the Tour’s rules preventing players from playing in other golf events, and the punishment of players who signed with LIV, according to the report (LINK). Of course, many top players have signed with the new, Saudi Arabia-backed organization … Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and others have signed incredibly lucrative deals with LIV. TMZ Sports contacted the PGA Tour which acknowledged the investigation, but didn’t seem worried in the least. “This was not unexpected. We went through this in 1994 and we are confident in a similar outcome,” a spokesperson for the Tour told us.

FYI, PGA’s referring to a Federal Trade Commission investigation in the mid-90s that looked into the Tour’s rules barring players from participating in rival tournaments. The FTC dropped the investigation by 1995.

Video taken in the seconds after Kim Glass was attacked on the streets of Downtown L.A. has emerged … and it shows blood was spattered everywhere near the former volleyball star as she sat injured on the sidewalk. Glass, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had apparently been struck by a heavy object thrown by a homeless man who was standing near her in the street. You can see in the clips, there were several piles of blood near Glass, who was holding a bandage near her eye and yelling in pain.  The video also shows a guy holding down the man who was suspected of throwing the object. 37-year-old Glass said she suffered multiple facial fractures and needed several stitches to close the gashes on her face … though, thankfully, she added doctors were optimistic her vision would eventually return to normal. The suspect, meanwhile, was arrested by the LAPD … and booked on a charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon.

Perron and the Blues aren’t expected to reach a deal before Wednesday, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports.

Perron is slated to become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, though the Blues will likely try to stay in contact with him. The 34-year-old winger had 27 goals and 57 points through 67 games last year, giving him three straight seasons with at least 55 points. The Blues’ chances of re-signing Perron will likely be much lower Wednesday as he’s expected to garner plenty of interest on the open market.

The Blues extended six qualifying offers today (LINK): Niko Mikkola, Scott Perunovich, Klim Kostin, Hugh McGing, Will Bitten and Nathan Todd. The three names there that Blues fans will perk up at upon hearing are Niko Mikkola, Scott Perunovich, and Klim Kostin.