Guns in MN; ICE holding more kids; Epstein email revelations; degrees degraded, mass unemployment; "Melania" a hit with old white women.
It's National Tater Tot Day!
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—Kevin G. Barkes
February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 332 days remain until the end of the year. Unfortunately, as of this writing, 1,082 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
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Knee-deep in the hoopla:
Alex Pretti was part of a growing gun culture in Minneapolis. The blue city, now in a battle with the federal government, has seen a surge in armed citizens in the past several years. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
Judge ordered 5-year-old released, but data shows ICE is detaining more kids. As family detentions spike, the Trump administration is increasingly ensnaring the youngest, and most vulnerable, lawyers and advocates say.
The Winter Olympics are already overshadowed by the Epstein files. Casey Wasserman, chairman of the 2028 L.A. Olympics, exchanged suggestive emails with Ghislaine Maxwell.
The US is headed for mass unemployment, and no one is prepared.
For the first time in 50 years, college grads are losing their edge. Historically, U.S. workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher have enjoyed better employment outcomes. That’s starting to shift, labor data shows.
Johnson says no quick House vote to end partial shutdown and blames Democrats for their ICE demands.
The Melania Trump documentary is a disgrace. The exorbitant film captures the rotten state of the entertainment industry. (The Atlantic gift article.)
‘Melania’ documentary beats expectations at box office. Widely considered a flop by cultural critics, the film about the model-turned-political figure found its audience. Media analytics company Comscore reported that roughly 72% of Melania’s audience during opening weekend were women, and 72% were over the age of 55. The majority of the movie-goers were also white.
Kennedy Center to close for 2 years for renovations in July, Trump says, after performers’ backlash. Trump’s announcement on social media follows a wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups since the president ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building
‘The infrastructure just can’t bear it’: Weather veterans weigh in on the power of ice, wind. “Ice and wind loading can even bring concrete structures down.”
Disney forces 53 million Hulu subscribers to make one choice by Feb 5—migrate or lose everything.
Don’t you dare ‘misinterpret’ Elon Musk’s Epstein emails. Just the facts are bad enough.
From Elon Musk to the former Prince Andrew, a who’s who of powerful people named in Epstein files.
Punxsutawney Phil prepares to issue his Groundhog Day weather verdict from Gobbler’s Knob.
Cold snap gives Floridians a chance to turn in cold-stunned iguanas. Here’s how.
Late Night:
Don Lemon to Visit Jimmy Kimmel Live! following DOJ arrest.
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.
History highlight:
1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day was observed.
Quote of the day:
There is not past, no future; everything flows in an eternal present.
--James Joyce (Wikipedia link)
(More James Joyce quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
2FA Day, California Kiwifruit Day, Candlemas, Crêpe Day, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Job Shadow Day, Hedgehog Day, Lung Leavin’ Day, Marmot Day, National Change your Windshield Wipers Day, National Heavenly Hash Day, National Tater Tot Day, Rheumatoid Awareness Day, Self Renewal Day, Sled Dog Day, Tu BiShvat, World Ukulele Day, and World Wetlands Day.
On This Day:
2005 – The Government of Canada introduced the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announced the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
1980 – Reports surfaced that the FBI was targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
1974 – Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, her first #1 hit. (Video)
1959 – Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union died under mysterious circumstances.
1950 – Klaus Fuchs arrested for passing atomic bomb information to Soviets.
1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reached Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce was published.
1913 – Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City.
1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
1900 – Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Chicago and St. Louis, agreed to form baseball’s American League.
1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day was observed.
1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball was formed.
1709 – Alexander Selkirk was rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe‘s adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) was incorporated.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
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Some Birthdays:
1996 – Paul Mescal, Irish actor
1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1966 – Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian
1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (died 1996) (Video)
1954 – Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman
1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (died 2014)
1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor and singer
1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (died 2009)
1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist (died 2023)
1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor (died 2006)
1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor (died 2018)
1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (died 1991)
1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (died 2014)
1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author (died 2017)
1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (died 1988)
1923 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (died 1997)
1905 – Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum), Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (died 1982)
1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-American violinist and educator (died 1987)
1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson’s (died 1972)
1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (died 1941)
1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (died 1949)
1585 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s only son (baptised; (died 1596)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2024 – Carl Weathers, American football player and actor (born 1948)
2024 – Don Murray, American actor (born 1929)
2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1923)
2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (born 1967)
2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1918)
2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (born 1905)
1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (born 1912)
1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (born 1919)
1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (born 1914)
1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (born 1922)
1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (born 1957)
1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1872)
1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (born 1887)
1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (born 1858)
1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (born 1834)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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