Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jun 25, 2018

Sucking the life out of the wire services:

The toxicology results from the late ANTHONY BOURDAINare back and a French prosecutor told the NY Timesthat he had no drugs in his system at his time of death, with the exception of a non-narcotic medication. The popular foodie was cremated in France after he died by suicide early this month and was quite candid about his past drug use. The celebrity chef admitted that he bought his first bag of heroin in 1980 and quit several years later. (Lee)

Grace notes from Vinny Marino:

A steamy love letterMADONNAwrote to model AMANDA CAZALETin 1991 is hitting the auction block. TMZ.comsays the two worked together on Madonna's music video for "Justify My Love" and apparantly the Material Mom wanted more of Amanda. Madonna wrote (quote), "I cannot explain my attraction --nevertheless it's there." The letter goes on sale July 11th with a starting bid of $15-thousand dollars. (Marino)

Taking everything much too seriously:

Not sure this is going to get him re-elected.
A public official in Washington County, Wisconsin, wore a clown costume to court to fight his $10 dollar seatbelt ticket.MARK McCUNEwas pulled over during a "Click It or Ticket" campaign by the local PD. Turns out McCune did have his seatbelt on but had the top strap lower than it should be worn. He told the officer that he had a shoulder problem so he didn't wear it up top. The officer told him that he couldn't let him off with just a warning and McCune was NOT happy, cursing a bit.
The whole thing happened over a year ago and he's still fighting the ticket. (Myers)

Diggin' History:

A 550 million year-old organism has been named after former President BARACK OBAMA's ears. Fossils of the organism have been dubbed Obamus coronatus. LiveScience.comsays the circular, wreath-shaped creature found in South Australia had raised, spiraled grooves that turned clockwise. It's believed the creature lived on the ocean floor during the Ediacara, a period lasting from about 35 million to 542 million years ago. The researchers named the organism for the former president in honor of "his passion for science and the likeness of [this] fossil morphology to his ears."
Other animals named after Obama include the coral-reef fish Tosanoides obama, the lichen Caloplaca obamae, the parasitic flatworm Baracktrema obamaiand the trapdoor spider Aptostichus barackobamai. Current president DONALD TRUMPhas some creatures named after him too: a threatened moth called Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, and a flannel moth caterpillar (Megalopyge opercularis) has been nicknamed the "Trumpapillar."Both were named for their resemblance to Trump's unique hairdo. (Bartha)