Hotness in the News by SociaLifeChicago is your daily intel for the morning’s hot news topics to get your day started. Make small talk, better.
PUTIN
Today, the Russian President and former head of the KGB was named as the person who ‘probably’ approved the fatal poisoning of former KGB spy turned-U.K. intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko. A little back story: Litvinenko who was interviewd by 60Minutes a few years back had always insisted that Putin ordered the hit and he thinks someone slipped a radioactive polonium-210 mickey into his cup of tea during a meeting at London’s Millennium Hotel, Putin had always said pish posh what fairy tales he weaves on the matter. Litvinenko died in 2006. The inquiry found that two men, Andrei Lugovoi and Dimitry Kovtun, deliberately poisoned Litvinenko, and were almost certainly working on behalf of the Russian intelligence agency FSB.
CHICAGO
There is a trial currently going on that involves John Bills, former managing deputy commissioner of transportation at Chicago’s Department of Transportation, who allegedly received kickbacks of more than $2million in the form of cash money, hotel stays, meals, rental cars, golf outings, computers and cigars from former Chicago red light camera vendor, Redflex. Through testimony from Redflex execs including former CEO Karen Finley, its laying bare some of the power politics that goes on behind the scenes…Last night’s Warriors-Bulls game was hard to watch. Golden State beat the Bulls 125-94 but on a more positive note Derrick Rose was in top form all night.
SNIPPETS
Turns out Sarah Palin just doesn’t have it like she used to, or at least to some supporters of GOP candidate Trump who were not swayed by her endorsement…The Buffalo Bills have hired Kathryn Smith as a special teams quality control coach making her the NFL’s first female full-time coach. She was the administrative assistant to head coach Rex Ryan this season after working for 12 years with the New York Jets; you’ll remember last summer the Arizona Cardinals announced they hired Jen Welter, the first female coach in the NFL but she was gone after 5 weeks…Britain and Germany have given their vote of confidence to Christine Lagarde to continue heading the IMF, which is one of the many things being discussed at Davos…A blizzard is coming! Some parts of the Northwest like Washington DC are expected to get hit with over 2 feet of snow and 50- to 60-mph winds; lets hope they are more prepared for it than the light dusting they had yesterday that left hundreds of accidents.
ENTERTAINMENT
It’s almost Sundace time and a few movies set to premiere, vying for studio money include ‘Equity’ a film on the modern world of investment banking described as one of the first films reflecting Wall Street after the 2008 financial crisis and also featuring a female lead “Breaking Bad” co-star Anna Gunn…Cats, the Sir Andrew Llyod Weber scored production is returning to Broadway this summer choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler… Elle’s Women In Television dinner was hosted last night at the Sunset Tower with guests including Tracee Ellis Ross, Kirsten Dunst, Jordana Brewster, Sarah Hyland, Malin Akerman, Priyanka Chopra, Yara Shahidi and more.
FASHION
When that “The Voice” check is really good. Producer, artist, designer and “The Voice” judge Pharrell Williams and his partners just made a big time business move by buying out Iconix Brands Group Inc.’s 50% stake in Billionaire Boys Club/ Ice Cream streetwear brands putting him back in full control.
“Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices–just recognize them.” ― Edward R. Murrow
LOOK OF THE DAY
Sarah Hyland @ Elle Women in Television dinner
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