by John Walters

Starting Five

Papa Don’s Pizza*

*The judges will also accept “LoKKKer Room Talk”

Did Donald Trump use the N-word? Should any of us care?

The War of the Word heated up this morning after The Worst Wing’s lone black staffer (former, that is), Omarosa, released a tape in which three staffers discuss the fact that Trump used the N-word and that there is a tape of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COM7Vh1lIMw

Here’s what we know: As slimy as Omarasa can be, she DOES have a tape of three White House staffers (herself included) discussing Trump’s use of the N-word (years ago, it should be noted, while he was doing The Apprentice). One of them, Katrina Pierson, distinctly says, “He said it.”

Last night, BEFORE this tape was released, Pierson was asked about this and flatly denied any existence of the tape. This morning, we have confirmation that she is a liar.

Is anyone surprised by any of this? That Trump is a racist? That Pierson is a liar? That Omarosa is a snake? “All the best people…”

2. Bridge Collapse

In Genoa, Italy, a portion of the Morandi Bridge collapses during a heavy storm. The list of fatalities is still being put together, but it appears that at least 20 motorists have been killed. Some vehicles wound up in the Polcevera River below.

3. Amazon By The Months

Shares of Amazon (AMZN) are poised to jump more than another 1% this morning, or about $20 per share, to $1,917. Even the sharpest skeptics of FANG stocks are conceding that Amazon and Google remain solid BUYS. We took a look at what months Amazon has hit each new $100 milepost, beginning at the $500 mark, in the past three years. As you can see, the upward slope is getting steeper.

At this rate, AMZN should crash through the $2,000 barrier by early September if not sooner.

$500…..July, 2015

$600….October, 2015 (3 months)

$700….May, 2016 (7 months)

$800….September 2016 (4 months)

$900….October 2016 (1 month)

$1000….May 2017 ( 7 months)

$1100….October 2017 (5 months)

$1200….November 2017 (1 month)

$1300….January 2018 (2 months)

$1400….January 2018 (1 week)

$1500….February 2018 (1 month)

$1600…March 2018 (1 month)

$1700….June 2018 (3 months)

$1800….July 2018 (1 month)

$1900….August 2018 (1 month)

4. Paying Their Last R-E-S-P-E-C-T-S

By day’s end, the Queen of Soul may be up there in heaven’s choir. Aretha Franklin, 76, is gravely ill and in hospice care. Here she is from The Blues Brothers (1980):

Franklin, a Detroit native, was the first female to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

5. Dumb-Strzok*

*The judges will also accept “Bowen’s Arrow”

We’re not sure who got screwed worse, FBI agent Peter Strzok or L.A. Clippers analyst (and former NBA defensive stalwart, particularly with the San Antonio Spurs) Bruce Bowen. Both men were fired yesterday for speaking their minds while in an unofficial capacity.

Strzok was fired due to the texts he sent a fellow FBI agent/girlfriend about what a crook/nut-job then-candidate Trump was. Not that he was wrong. Bowen, who played for years under Gregg Popovich, was fired for appearing on a radio show and basically saying that Kawhi Leonard was acting like a spoiled brat and/or getting bad advice. Which he is.

But you see, the Clippers hope to land Leonard as a free agent a year from now and they don’t want anyone associated with them hurting Kawhi’s feelings. So they canned him.

Yes, neither man’s free speech was impugned: no one put them in jail. But it’s kind of sad to see power plays such as these when what the guys are saying is the truth. Then again, if it wasn’t the truth, there’d be no need to pull such a power play.

Music 101

Alone Again, Naturally

Is it possible to do worse than yesterday’s musical selection? We’re going to try. Here’s Irish musician Gilbert O’Sullivan with a song in which the narrator contemplates suicide after his bride leaves him at the altar, then goes on to discuss the deaths of both his parents. What’s more bizarre: that O’Sullivan wrote this song at the age of 21 or that none of it is autobiographical? Let’s go for Door No. 3: the strangest thing is that in 1972 this song spent six weeks at No. 1 (What is WRONG with people????).

Remote Patrol

Scorcese Fest

Goodfellas

7 p.m. AMC

The Wolf Of Wall Street

8 p.m. FX

Has Marty lost something off his fastball in the past two decades? You be the judge.