'First Class Loser'; radioactive wasps; gerrymander madness; f-bomb freedom; yet another Florida man
It's National Avocado Day!
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Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Trump "haunted" by Epstein questions, says Epstein poached spa staff as polls crater: A Closer Look (Video)
Dropkick Murphys show video of “loser” Trump, Jeffrey Epstein at Warped Tour. (Video) (Lyrics)
South Park's Trump takedown joins a proud American tradition. This kind of satire has long been a potent antidote to political corruption in America.
Texas Republicans unveil gerrymandered House map, trying to please Trump. The Republican-dominated Legislature in Texas on Wednesday unveiled an aggressively redrawn map for the state’s U.S. House districts, proposing to carve up five Democratic seats so that Republicans would now be likely to win them in 2026.
Trump administration releases new plans to enforce birthright citizenship order. New USCIS documents outline how the administration would enforce the controversial executive order, but the policy remains blocked by federal courts.
Human brains rapidly aged in the pandemic, and it wasn't just the virus. During the pandemic, the average human brain aged five and a half months faster than it did before 2020.
Radioactive wasp nest found at site where US once made nuclear bombs. The nest was sprayed, destroyed, and disposed as nuclear waste. There’s no danger. Unless, of course, there are nests they haven’t yet discovered.
Let’s Ban More Nonexistent Things! Some notes on the Clear Skies Act, which seeks to ban weather modification.
Tampa struggles amid triple-digit temperatures for first time in recorded history: 'This is not our normal heat.” It was the first time ever in 135 years that the city hit 100 degrees.
'Universal' cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for 'all forms of cancer'. TLDR: “Could be useful.” Lots of caveats.
Scientists may have just solved the mystery of sleep. Mitochondria? Those things from Star Wars?
YouTube tells creators they can drop more F-bombs. Videos that use the F-word in the first seven seconds are now eligible for full ad revenue.
Why did National Geographic disappear its own documentary about a queer climate scientist? Take a wild guess.
Florida man dressed as Chuck E. Cheese mascot arrested in front of children on fraud charges.
Quote of the Day:
It's nice to elect the right people, but that isn't the way you solve things. The way you solve things is by making it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing.
--Milton Friedman (Wikipedia link)
(More Milton Friedman quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
ANE Awareness Day, Harry Potter's Birthday, International Digital Adoption (DAP) Professionals Day, International Lifeguard Appreciation Day, National Avocado Day, National Chili Dog Day, National Cotton Candy Day, National Intern Day, National Jump for Jelly Beans Day, National Mutt Day, National Raspberry Cake Day, National SPAM Day, Shredded Wheat Day, Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day, and World Ranger Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2022 – Died: Bill Russell, NBA Hall of Fame player and coach (born 1934)
2020 – Died: Alan Parker, English filmmaker (born 1944)
2019 – Died: Harold Prince, Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (born 1928)
2015 – Died: Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (born 1954)
2013 – Died: Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (born 1922)
2012 – Michael Phelps broke the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
2012 – Died: Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (born 1925)
2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, came to an end.
2006 – Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother, Raúl.
1992 – The nation of Georgia joined the United Nations.
1991 – The United States and Soviet Union signed the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles.
1987 – Died: Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
1971 – Apollo program: the Apollo 15 astronauts became the first to ride in a lunar rover.
1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned daily rum ration in the Royal Navy.
1970 –Chet Huntley retired from NBC, ending "The Huntley–Brinkley Report" (Video)
1964 –Ranger 7 sent back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
1964 – Died: Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (born 1923)
1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated.
1948 – USS Nevada was sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships. (Video)
1944 – Died: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and poet (born 1900)
1941 – Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question."
1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) won more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
1886 – Died: Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1811)
1784 – Died: Denis Diderot, French philosopher and critic (born 1713)
1875 – Died: Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (born 1808)
1874 – Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University.
1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand, was chartered as a city.
1790 – The first U.S. patent was issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieved a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserted, leading to his suicide.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
1966 – Dean Cain, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1965 – J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer
1963 – Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), English DJ and musician
1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer
1958 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality
1951 – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player
1947 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (died 2013)
1946 – Gary Lewis, American pop-rock musician (Video)
1944 – Sherry Lansing, American film producer
1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter
1943 – Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Video)
1940 – Stanley R. Jaffe, American film producer and director (died 2025)
1939 – France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress
1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (died 1979)
1929 – Don Murray, American actor (died 2024)
1924 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (died 2015)
1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (died 2006)
1916 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (died 1979)
1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American football player and journalist (died 2003)
1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2006)
1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist and publisher, founded Worldwide Church of God (died 1986)
1886 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (died 1965)
1867 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (died 1966)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
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