Boat bombing turmoil; Trump "enfeebled"; measles outbreak rages; Australia's 'first domino'; 2,397 golden retrievers
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Democrats push to ban Trump’s plan to put himself on a new $1 coin. “Trump’s self-celebrating maneuvers are authoritarian actions worthy of dictators like North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, not the United States of America,” one Senate Democrat said.
Trump accidentally sabotages case for bombings in new interview fiasco. The president’s claims about the boat killings and his pardon of the Honduran ex-president in a new Politico interview should finally convince Republicans that they, and we, must get to the bottom of it all.
Advocacy groups sue Trump administration seeking release of legal memo justifying boat strikes. The complaint argues that the deadly strikes on alleged drug boats, which have killed at least 87 people since early September, are illegal.
House panel plans to end its boat strike probe, GOP chair says.
The Enfeebling of the President. Trump is showing signs that he’s lost the physical stamina to do the job.
Bessent divests from soybean farmland ahead of Trump aid announcement for farmers. “I actually just divested it this week as part of my ethics agreement, so I’m out of that business.”
Judge grants Justice Department request to release Ghislaine Maxwell records in sex trafficking case.
Australia launches youth social media ban it says will be the world’s ‘first domino’. More than 1 million social media accounts held by users under 16 are set to be deactivated in Australia in a divisive world-first ban that is being closely watched elsewhere.
Over 250 people quarantined in South Carolina as measles outbreak rages. 16 cases are linked to a church, which followed exposures at four schools last week.
This is what happens when 2,397 golden retrievers gather in an Argentina park.
Late Night:
Why is there a Late Night section? Because late night comedians, unfettered by institutional journalistic and corporate inhibitions, often provide observations and analysis that are more thorough and comprehensive than network or cable news. And the humor helps.
Trump bails out farmers and Sean Duffy and RFK Jr. pitch airport “improvements” | The Daily Show (Video)
Why Trump flip-flopped on boat strike video | Sweatin’ at the airport | Paramount’s dictator money-Stephen Colbert (Video)
Donald Trump gets his very own lawn mower-Stephen Colbert (Video)
Trump calls affordability a scam, everyone treats him like a child and& MAGAland hawks christmas crap-Jimmy Kimmel (Video)
Letterman hails Kimmel as ‘leader of the resistance’ in a ‘crippled democracy’.
Trump meets with Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and “Amber Says What”-Seth Meyers (Video)
History highlight:
1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was published.
Bookmark KGB Report Notes and check periodically for cartoons, memes, news, commentary and other stuff that didn’t fit or broke between e-mail newsletter issues. It’s also a great place to comment and chat.
Keep scrolling down. 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.
Quote of the Day:
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.
--Thomas Merton (Wikipedia link)
(More Thomas Merton quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Alfred Nobel Day, Dewey Decimal System Day, Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales, Human Rights Day, International Animal Rights Day, International Aszú Day, National Lager Day, and World TRAP Awareness Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2021 – A widespread, deadly, and violent tornado outbreak slammed the Central, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.
2017 – ISIL was defeated in Iraq.
2017 – The film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” premiered in Los Angeles. (Video)
2016 – The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan.
2001 – The film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” premiered in London. (Video)
1993 – The video game “Doom” was released.
1978 – The film “Superman: The Movie” premiered in Washington, DC. (Video)
1974 – Sex scandal led to political fallout for Arkansas congressman.
1974 – Lucasfilm Ltd. was founded as a film and television production company by George Lucas.
1968 – Japan’s biggest heist, the still-unsolved “300 million yen robbery“, was carried out in Tokyo.
1967 – Soul legend Otis Redding died in a plane crash.
1967 – CBS officially renamed CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York (built in 1927 as Hammerstein’s Theatre), as “The Ed Sullivan Theater” in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his program.
1962 – The film “Lawrence of Arabia” was released. (Video)
1948 – The Human Rights Convention was signed by the United Nations.
1936 – Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication.
1927 – The phrase “Grand Ole Opry” was first uttered on radio.
1901 – O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” was published.
1901 – The first Nobel Prize ceremony is held in Stockholm on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
1898 – Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the conflict.
1869 – Wyoming granted women the right to vote.
1817 – Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.
1799 – France adopts the metre as its official unit of length.
1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was published.
1520 – Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg‘s Elster Gate.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
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Some Birthdays:
1985 – Raven-Symoné, American actress, singer, and dancer
1964 – Bobby Flay, American chef and author
1961 – Nia Peeples, American singer and actress
1960 – Kenneth Branagh, British actor director, producer, and screenwriter
1957 – Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (died 2012) (Video)
1956 – Rod Blagojevich, American lawyer and politician, 40th Governor of Illinois
1952 – Susan Dey, American actress
1946 – Douglas Kenney, American satirist (died 1980)
1941 – Tommy Kirk, American actor (died 2021)
1941 – Tommy Rettig, American child actor (died 1996)
1936 – Howard Smith, American journalist, director, and producer (died 2014)
1923 – Harold Gould, American actor (died 2010)
1922 – Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (died 2016)
1919 – Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (died 2008) (Video)
1914 – Dorothy Lamour, American actress and singer (died 1996)
1911 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (died 1974)
1830 – Emily Dickinson, American poet (died 1886)
1815 – Ada Lovelace, English mathematician and computer scientist (died 1852)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2024 – The Amazing Kreskin, American mentalist (born 1935) (Video)
2024 – Michael Cole, American actor (born 1940) (Video)
2021 – Michael Nesmith, American musician (The Monkees), songwriter, actor, producer, and novelist (born 1942) (Video)
2020 – Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr., American actor and wrestler (born 1958)
2019 – Philip McKeon, American actor (born 1964)
2017 – Charles M. Green Jr., American Internet personality (“Angry Grandpa”) (born 1950)
2006 – Augusto Pinochet, Chilean general and dictator, 30th President of Chile (born 1915)
2005 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1940) (Video)
2005 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet, academic, and politician (born 1916)
1990 – Armand Hammer, American businessman, founded Occidental Petroleum (born 1898)
1988 – Richard S. Castellano, American actor (born 1933) (Video)
1987 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-American violinist and educator (born 1901) (Video)
1982 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (born 1899)
1978 – Ed Wood, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1924) (Video)
1968 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (born 1915) (Video)
1967 – Otis Redding, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1941) (Video)
1946 – Damon Runyon, American newspaperman and short story writer (born 1884)
1896 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented Dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (born 1833)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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