An "Apprentice" reboot with Don Jr.? Really?
It's National Oatmeal Cookie Day!
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The newsletter is published Monday through Thursday, holidays and medical procedures excepted. Have a great weekend… see you on Monday.
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 245 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 995 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
The latest on the Iran war from the Associated Press. (If the other link is dead, use this one until AP updates their live feed URL.)
Amazon discusses ‘Apprentice’ reboot—with Don Jr. as a potential host. Studio executives have held internal discussions about making new episodes of reality TV show. Time to rethink that Prime membership… (Wall Street Journal gift article)
Supreme Court limits key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act. The decision could touch off a scramble by Republicans to redraw majority-minority congressional districts, especially in the South, that could cost many Black Democrats their seats. (Washington Post gift article)
Republicans privately panicking about Trump’s revenge crusade. Trump’s focus on getting revenge against his perceived enemies is seriously worrying Republicans ahead of the midterms. (The New Republic)
In hostile hearing, Democrats accuse Hegseth of misleading public on Iran war progress. (Time)
PSA: How to get a passport without President Trump’s face on it. (Gizmodo)
Alligator mating season kicks off in Florida. It could prove deadly. (ClickOrlando.com)
A.I. induced existential despair inspiring items:
A.I. bots told scientists how to make biological weapons. Scientists shared transcripts with The Times in which chatbots described how to assemble deadly pathogens and unleash them in public spaces. “It was answering questions that I hadn’t thought to ask it, with this level of deviousness and cunning that I just found chilling.” (New York Times gift article)
A.I. is breaking the internet. It isn’t being taken over by bots. It’s being rewritten from the inside, by the very platforms that once depended on real people to survive. (Video)
Startup says it can read your brain signals using a pair of headphones. Whether they’re harvesting your data or serving you ads, consumer electronics brands have always wanted to get inside your head. Now, a hip neurotech startup says its devices can do exactly that. (Futurism)
Humanity’s report card: How bad is it, really? When humans and AI graded our species, they converged on the same diagnosis. (Psychology Today)
Late Night:
Shortly before canceling the The Late Show franchise, Stephen Colbert says CBS was trying to lock him up for much longer. “Less than two years before they called to say it’s over, they were very eager for me to be signed for a long time,” Colbert told the Times. “So, something changed.” (LateNighter)
This ABC showdown Is different. The network is now in a stronger position to defend itself against the FCC. (The Atlantic gift article)
The Daily Show: Trump indicts Comey over seashells and King Charles is king of Congressional comedy. (Video)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! Trump’s totally unhinged assault rifle pic, big night with King Charles and James Comey vendetta. (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Seth takes a closer look at Trump getting roasted by King Charles III over his $400 million golden ballroom, which Republicans are now insisting should be funded by taxpayers. (Video)
Keep scrolling… lots of interesting stuff in Quote of the Day, Holidays, On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn something new.
History highlight:
1952 – Hasbro’s Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. (Video)
Quote of the Day:
The gods do not protect fools. Fools are protected by more capable fools.
--Larry Niven (Wikipedia link)
(More Larry Niven quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, Bugs Bunny Day, Day of the Child, Hairstyle Appreciation Day, Honesty Day, International Day to End Corporal Punishment, International Jazz Day, National Animal Advocacy Day, National Bubble Tea Day, National Honesty Day, National Military Brats Day, National Mr. Potato Head Day, National Oatmeal Cookie Day, National PrepareAthon! Day, National Raisin Day, National Sarcoidosis Day, National Therapy Animal Day, Poland Syndrome Awareness Day, Spank Out Day, and Thank You Thursday.
On This Day:
2009 – Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
2004 – U.S. media released graphic photos of American soldiers committing war crimes against Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
1997 – Controversial “coming out” episode of “Ellen” aired on ABC. (Video)
1993 – CERN announced World Wide Web protocols will be free.
1992 – The final episode of “The Cosby Show” aired on NBC. (Video)
1979 – Eruption of Mount Marapi: Mount Marapi, a complex volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, erupted. Between 80 and 100 people were killed.
1977 – Over 2,000 protesters occupied the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant construction site.
1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gained control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon fired White House Counsel John Dean; other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, resigned.
1952 – Hasbro’s Mr. Potato Head became the first toy advertised on television. (Video)
1948 – Original Land Rover debuted at auto show.
1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam was renamed Hoover Dam.
1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide after being married for less than 40 hours.
1939 – The 1939–40 New York World’s Fair opened.
1939 – NBC inaugurated its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s N.Y. World’s Fair opening day ceremonial address.
1905 – Albert Einstein completed his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announced his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
1859 – Charles Dickens published the first edition of his literary magazine, All the Year Round, containing the first installment of his best-selling classic, A Tale of Two Cities.
1812 – The Territory of Orleans became the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
1803 – The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
1789 – George Washington took the oath of office to become the first President of the United States.
1492 – Spain gave Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration. He was named admiral of the ocean sea, viceroy and governor of any territory he discovered.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
2003 – Emily Carey, British actress
1988 – Ana de Armas, Cuban actress
1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress and singer
1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model
1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor
1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor
1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
1953 – Merrill Osmond, American singer and bass player
1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (died 2010)
1943 – Bobby Vee, American pop singer-songwriter (died 2016)
1940 – Burt Young, American actor and painter (died 2023)
1938 – Larry Niven, American author and screenwriter
1938 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (died 2012)
1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian (died 2021) (Video)
1925 – Johnny Horton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1960)
1924 – Sheldon Harnick, American lyricist (died 2023)
1921 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (died 2014)
1916 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and engineer (died 2001)
1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (died 1967)
1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician and physicist (died 1855)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2022 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1946)
2019 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (born 1944)
2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (born 1921)
2015 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1938) (Video)
2007 – Gordon Scott, American film and television actor (born 1926)
2007 – Tom Poston, American actor, comedian, and game show panelist (born 1921)
1994 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (born 1919)
1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1929)
1986 – Robert Stevenson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1905)
1983 – George Balanchine, Russian dancer and choreographer (born 1904)
1983 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader (born 1913)
1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (born 1900)
1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (born 1934)
1945 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-German politician and author, dictator of Nazi Germany (born 1889)
1945 – Eva Braun, German photographer and office and lab assistant, wife of Adolf Hitler (born 1912)
1900 – Casey Jones, American railroad engineer (born 1864) (Video)
1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (born 1832)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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