NATIONAL HOT SAUCE DAY UPDATES

Tabasco? Chohula? Sriracha? Frank's? Whatever Your Taste, HERE'S TO YOU (passes water over)!

-If you were expecting Ex-President Trump XCI to come through on his promise to testify at the second E. Jean Carroll damages trial, you were disappointed. Turns out at least one jury member is ill (and there is fear said juror has Covid) (#CovidIsNotOver) and the motion to delay was astonishingly made by Alina "Is This a Vanky-Ish Blazer?" Habba - who also admitted she was starting to feel symptoms that could be Covid, though she did not call in sick herself today) and granted. Habba also filed a motion over the weekend to withdraw the case because reasons and was turned down in full, and another motion to delay Trump's appearance tomorrow because of the New Hampshire Primary was tabled - and Habba's motion for today's medical postponement was stupidly denounced as a deep-state fake by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-emora, NY), openly bucking for Trump's VP position given what appears to be an overwhelming belief the GOP primary will be all but over by next week in South Carolina, where former Governor and Last Challenger to Trump Standing Nikki Haley appears to be ready to be waxed by Trump.

-While Democrats continue to lament the press coverage of Trump and his ravings - or even better, of President Biden and his supporters (apparently no Democrats eat breakfast in diners!), another group appear to be taking a major hit from the press coverage: the press itself, particularly the political press, who the newsletter Semafor reports are lamenting the lack of a "Trump Bump" in buzz and ratings. The combination of no Democratic primary, a more-than-lackluster set of Republican primary challengers, the refusal of Trump to enter one televised GOP debate, and Trump rallies that the incoming CEO of the Washington Post compares to "an ageing rock band touring on a new album: (Trump)'ll try some new stuff, but largely (he is) just play(ing) the hits the crowd came to see." Given Trump's need to have his ego fed by rallies that are also seeing precipitous declines in attendance and the lowest Iowa caucus turnout in the 21st century, this may be something to watch in the weeks and months to come.

-Back to the courts, where an attempt by a defendant in the Fulton County GA RICO trial involving Trump's attempt to steal electoral votes away from Joe Biden in GA to taint Fulton County DA Fani Willis appears to have fallen flat - at least for now. The motion involved an accusation that Willis' appointment of Nathan Wade as lead prosecutor in the case, and the implication was that the appointment was made because of an 'inappropriate relationship' between the two. The genesis of the charge is apparently a result of Wade's still-unfinished divorce, which has been 'stalled' in court for over two years, and an attempt by attorneys representing Wade's estranged wife to depose Willis over two airline tickets Wade reportedly bought for he and - ALLEGEDLY - Willis.

-The attempt to depose Willis was struck down by a judge this morning, and it is important to note that there is zero accusation of malfeasance at this point by Willis - and no allegation whatsoever that any of this has any impact, positive or negative, on the case. The motion is starting to be used to try to taint Willis and apparently delay the trial - or, in more colloquial terms, Trumpers being Trumpy. Without more evidence on the issue (and the attorneys filing the motion admit they had no knowledge of any sort of misbehavior, much less anything that directly impacts the prosecution), the most we can expect is Trump yelling about it on social media, which to be honest is all he kind of does these days anyway ...

-In the Senate, negotiations to complete a compromise agreement involving fused together border security and Ukraine aid (SLAVA UKRAINI!) appears to be getting closer. The proposed legislation is angering activists on both aisles, but for very different reasons - progressives because fear of Biden accepting border security controls that were approved by Trump, and UltraMAGAts because any compromise is considered a win for Biden, which they do not want in an election year. The legislation first has to be released and passed in the Senate before being moved to the House, who will be back at work next week poised with a 1-2 vote margin and incurring the wrath of Dear Leader Trump, who clearly wants to talk about Biden tearing down the beautiful Wall Trump built (Trump never built a border wall in Mexico) between now and November as long as he remembers who the President is. Not a guarantee given recent public appearances ...

-The Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, and that can only mean one thing - IT'S RAZZIES TIME! Yes, in anticipation of the best of cinema (anticipate a massive Scorsese/BARBIE/Oppenheimer battle), the Golden Raspberry Foundation announced their list to dishonor the worst movies of 2023 - AND THE NOMINATIONS FOR THE WORST MOVIE OF THE YEAR ARE ...THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER ... EXPEND4BLES ... MEG 2: THE TRENCH ... SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS ... and WINNIE-THE-POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY. Notable nominations for 'acting' include Russell Crowe (for THE POPE'S EXORCIST), Chris Evans (for GHOSTED), Dame Helen Mirren (for SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS), and Michael Douglas and Bill Murray (for ANT MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA). Razzies are dispersed on March 9.

-On this date in 1905, troops opening fire on a group of workers protesting working conditions in St. Petersburg, Russia, sparked the first Russian Revolution. On this date in 1973, the Supreme Court ruled a woman had the personal right to choose whether to have an abortion in the first trimester of a pregnancy - a right taken away by a different Supreme Court in 2022. On this date in 1998, Ted Kacyznski pled guilty to writing an anti-technology manifesto under the name The Unabomber - and mailing letter bombs that killed 3 and injured more than 20 over a period of 17 years. And on this date in 2010, Conan O'Brien made his last appearance on NBC'S THE TONIGHT SHOW after the network announced Jay Leno would re-host the show.

-Notable openings: the first commercial TV station west of the Mississippi River (in Hollywood, CA, 1947); ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN (1968).

-Happy Birthday to Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Byron, August Strindberg, Conrad Veidt, Blind Willie Johnson, Sergei Eisenstein, George Balanchine, Ann Sothern, U Thant, Birch Bayh, Sam Cooke, Piper Laurie, Bill Bixby, Graham Kerr, Pete DuPont, Seymour Cassel, Joseph Wambaugh, Chef Jeff Smith, George Seifert, John Hurt, Malcolm McLaren, Steve Perry, Jim Jarmusch, Chriss Lemmon, Tully Blanchard, Charles White, Linda Blair, Michael Hutchence, Wayne Kirby, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Diane Lane, Steven Adler, Guy Fieri, and Greg Oden.

-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Queen Victoria, Marc Blitzstein, Lyndon B. Johnson, Telly Savalas, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Craig Claiborne, Bill Mauldin, Ann Miller, Rose Mary Woods, Heath Ledger, Jean Simmons, Ursula K. LeGuin, Hank Aaron, Thich Nhat Hahn, and today, Dexter Scott King and Norman Jewison.

-Feed the Worms: Captain William Kidd (YARR!) entered life on this date. Pedophile-enabling football coach Joe Paterno bought it on this date.

-Innovative-yet-racist-AF film director D.W. Griffith was born on this date. You decide if he gets a Happy Birthday or if he Feeds the Worms.