Iran war looming; Trump warns of long speech tonight; GOP's Nazi problem; Elon gets religion; fun with antimatter
It's National Tortilla Chip Day!
(From Bert I. Gordon’s 1957 “The Amazing Colossal Man”, starring Glenn Langan)
My PET/CT scan is scheduled for 8 a.m. today. The procedure sounds like something from a ‘50s science fiction movie.
First I get the CT scan. That’s where they shoot ionizing x-ray radiation into my body so the machine can produce a 3D image of my internal anatomy.
Then, the PET scan. I get injected with a tracer that my body thinks is good ol’ glucose, which tricks my cells into absorbing it. The tracer contains, among other things, an unstable isotope of fluorine. A fluorine atom becomes stable by turning itself into an oxygen atom, which it does by converting one of the protons in its nucleus into a neutron. To maintain the atom’s stability, the conversion ejects two particles from the nucleus: a neutrino, to remove excess energy; and a positron, to carry away the former proton/now neutron’s positive charge.
Another name for positron is antielectron. As in antimatter. Yes, like in Star Trek’s warp drive.
So the positrons in the tracer and the electrons in my cells’ atoms annihilate each other, and before you can say e=mc^2, two 511 kiloelectronvolt gamma photons (aka soft gamma rays) shoot out of my body in opposite directions at light speed, into a ring of scintillation detectors (cameras) that sense the photons and pass the data along to a computer that generates a 3D image of my metabolic activity.
This firing of x-rays into my body and emission of gamma rays out of my body sounds like a combination Incredible Shrinking Man/Incredible Hulk situation. The whole thing’s supposed to be safe, although the small print says to keep my gamma ray-emitting self away from pregnant women and babies for a day. And not to worry about absorbing the equivalent of five to eight years’ worth of normal background radiation in a little over two hours.
Here’s hoping I don’t become the Amazing Colossal Substacker.
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—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 310 days remain until the end of the year. Unfortunately, as of this writing, 1,060 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
Anxiety builds as Iranians brace for looming war with U.S. A feeling the regime is vulnerable has revived protests, but some Iranians worry American strikes will make things worse.
Should you give into your masochistic urges to watch the State of the Union address tonight, be warned: Trump says “It's going to be a long speech because we have a lot to talk about."
The president is visiting Congress in a dramatically different place from where he was a year ago.
A federal grand jury in D.C. unanimously rejected the attempt to indict six lawmakers who told military and intelligence community members on social media not to obey unlawful orders. Jeanine Pirro's office has decided to drop the case.
How did the GOP become a haven for slogans and ideas straight out of the Third Reich? The Republican Party has a Nazi problem.
Huge snowstorm in the Northeast forces millions to stay home, disrupts flights and closes schools. National Weather Service said it is tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week. (The weather science behind this monster winter storm.)
Why tariffs aren’t shrinking the U.S. trade deficit. Trump’s tariffs are cementing global trade imbalances, with the U.S. trade deficit in goods reaching a record $1.24 trillion in 2025.
Viral doomsday report lays bare Wall Street’s deep anxiety about AI future. The “global intelligence crisis” is about to hit.
New AI agent logs directly into college platform Canvas to do your homework for you- streamlining the laborious, outdated process of having to copy-paste answers from ChatGPT.
Food delivery robot goes rogue, causes property damage at L.A. home. “We’ve got the Cocos, the Waymos and they’re coming for us.”
Elon Musk’s Jesus comment sparks theories that ‘something really bad is coming’.
Late Night:
The Olympics are over and the late night shows return with new episodes as well as heightened political pressure from Trump and the FCC.
The Daily Show: Team USA sweeps Canada for gold in Olympic hockey, Jon Stewart navigates how MAGA interprets this win as proof of America's democratic superiority, and Desi Lydic homes in on the U.S. Olympic team's secret weapon: superior political systems. Plus, Jon explains how the Supreme Court took a wrecking ball to Trump’s tariff strategy and examines why the U.S. is on the brink of war with Iran. (Video)
Jimmy Kimmel Live: RFK Jr. and Kid Rock released a sexy shirtless workout video, Trump sent a fundraising email directed at Jimmy and our “failing late night show,” the very conservative court ruled against Trump and his big beautiful tariffs, he is directing the Secretary of War to begin the process of releasing files related to aliens, Trump is going into the State of the Union tomorrow with his lowest approval rating yet, Kash Patel was in the locker room with the USA hockey team after their victory over Canada, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wants more “civic minded” programming in honor of America’s 250th Anniversary, we present our first ever edition of “This Day in American History,” the Department of Homeland Security is trying to buy Kristi Noem a $70 million jet, and we combed the internet for the many many people who have unfortunate names. (Video)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: A tumultuous snowstorm pummeled the Northeast, the United States won big in hockey and figure skating at the Olympics, and the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's tariffs.
Cold open: Patel parties with US hockey team because nothing can be entirely good anymore. (Video)
Last Week Tonight: “You can make money off pissed Americans staring at their phones…” John Oliver discusses how an already flawed Twitter got worse under Elon Musk and how it continues to impact us all. " (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Seth takes a closer look at the Supreme Court striking down Trump's tariffs and FBI Director Kash Patel partying with the U.S. men's hockey team instead of focusing on the Epstein sex trafficking scandal. (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:
1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States established the principle of judicial review.
Quote of the day:
You can’t buy love, but you can pay heavily for it.
--Henny Youngman (Wikipedia link)
(More Henny Youngman quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
International SCN2A Awareness Day, National Tortilla Chip Day, National Trading Card Day, Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake Day, Twin Peaks Day, World Bartender Day, and World Spay Day.
On This Day:
2022 –Days after recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
2008 – Fidel Castro retired as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He remained as head of the Communist Party for another three years.
1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops crossed the Saudi Arabian border and entered Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
1988 – The Supreme Court upheld the right to satirize public figures.
1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive was halted; South Vietnamese forces led by Ngo Quang Truong recaptured the citadel of Hué.
1946 – Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, was elected to his first term as President of Argentina.
1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25.
1920 – The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany.
1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom was given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledged to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declared war on the United States.
1868 – Andrew Johnson became the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He was later acquitted in the Senate.
1854 – A Penny Red with perforations became the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution.
1841 – John Quincy Adams began arguments in Amistad case.
1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States established the principle of judicial review.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1989 – Daniel Kaluuya, English actor
1971 – Gillian Flynn, American author, screenwriter, and producer
1968 – Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (died 2005) (Video)
1966 – Billy Zane, American actor and producer
1958 – Mark Moses, American actor
1956 – Paula Zahn, American journalist and producer
1955 – Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer and Pixar (died 2011)
1951 – Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and director
1951 – Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
1947 – Rupert Holmes, English-American singer-songwriter and playwright (Video)
1947 – Edward James Olmos, American actor and director
1945 – Barry Bostwick, American actor and singer
1942 – Joe Lieberman, American lawyer and politician (died 2024)
1940 – Pete Duel, American actor (died 1971)
1938 – Phil Knight, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Nike, Inc.
1938 – James Farentino, American actor (died 2012)
1932 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (died 2005) (Video)
1932 – Michel Legrand, French pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2019) (Video)
1931 – Dominic Chianese, American actor and singer
1922 – Steven Hill, American actor (died 2016)
1921 – Abe Vigoda, American actor (died 2016) (Video)
1890 – Marjorie Main, American actress (died 1975)
1885 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (died 1966)
1836 – Winslow Homer, American painter and illustrator (died 1910)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2025 – Roberta Flack, American singer and pianist (born 1937) (Video)
2020 – Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (born 1918) (Video)
2014 – Harold Ramis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1944) (Video)
2006 – Dennis Weaver, American actor, director, and producer (born 1924) (Video)
2006 – Don Knotts, American actor and comedian (born 1924) (Video)
2006 – Octavia E. Butler, American author and educator (born 1947)
2001 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician, cryptographer, and engineer (born 1916)
1998 – Henny Youngman, English-American comedian and violinist (born 1906) (Video)
1998 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban-American cartoonist (born 1921)
1994 – Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (born 1916) (Video)
1991 – George Gobel, American actor (born 1919) (Video)
1991 – John Daly, American journalist and game show host (born 1914)
1990 – Malcolm Forbes, American sergeant and publisher (born 1917)
1856 – Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and academic (born 1792)
1815 – Robert Fulton, American engineer (born 1765)
1810 – Henry Cavendish, French-English physicist and chemist (born 1731)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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Best of luck with your scans. I really enjoy your articles.