Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jul 14, 2021

Nominations for the Emmy Awards were announced yesterday morning, with "The Crown" and "The Mandalorian" getting the most --24 nominations apiece. Shows with the most nominations:
--The Crown and The Mandalorian - 24
--WandaVision - 23
--The Handmaid's Tale and Saturday Night Live- 21
--Ted Lasso - 20
--Lovecraft Country and The Queen's Gambit - 18
--Mare of Easttown - 16

Another EMMY note: MJ RODRIGUEZ made Emmy history yesterday, becoming the first out trans woman to be nominated in the outstanding lead actress category for her role in the FX drama, "Pose." Back in 2014, LAVERNE COX became the first transgender person to be nominated as outstanding guest actress for her role on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black." She won a Daytime Emmy in 2015.

More tube talk: HBO Max's broadcast of the "Gossip Girl" premiere was the network's most-watched original series over the weekend. The upcoming five episodes of the new series will debut on HBO Max every Thursday. There are six more episodes coming as well, but not until the fall.

Wanna see Venice, Italy? Don't take a cruise ship, since yesterday Italy's government passed a bill banning cruise ships from sailing directly into Venice or its lagoon. The government said the move was in order to protect a “national monument.”

Fast food: Yesterday was National French Fry Day, and you gotta love New York's Serendipity3 restaurant, which just reopened last Friday, and in the process, received its tenth Guinness World Record, for the most expensive French fries. The fries cost (...wait for it...) $200!!! The fries, which are cooked three times, are first soaked in Dom Perignon Champagne and J. LeBlanc French Champagne Ardenne Vinegar. The vinegar is aged in small oak barrels which is supposed to lower the starch content for crispier fries. Then, after cooling them down, the fries are cooked twice in pure goose fat from cage-free geese raised in Southwest France. The first cooking is done at 320˚F and then later at 375˚F. If you ever can afford it and hit the restaurant, ask for their (ahem) “Creme de la Creme Pommes Frites.” You'll get a plate which also comes with a batch of truffles and 23-carat edible gold dust besides the fries.

Meanwhile, for all you food freaks, look for the new Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Ice Cream in stores today. The Kraft company teamed up with Brooklyn's Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, which takes the powdered cheese from the macaroni boxes and puts it into their ice cream. Order it online at vanleeuwenicecream.com for $12 a pint starting today (Wednesday) at 11:00 am (Eastern). You can also pick up a pint at Van Leeuwen stores in NYC, LA & Houston while supplies last.