Maybe we want a dictator; more RFK insanity; home values falling; the wildfires are radioactive; 80th annual tomato street fight.
It's National Toilet Paper Day!
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Knee Deep in the Hoopla
Trump on militarized cities: ‘A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we’d like a dictator’. As the president suggests that “a lot” of people have voiced support for “a dictator,” it’s hard not to wonder who, exactly, he was referring to.
Trump calls for FCC retribution against “FAKE NEWS” ABC and NBC — while touting the “great man” who “just bought CBS”.
RFK Jr. is getting personal authority over who to kick off Medicaid. “It’s just a way of cutting people off of coverage and then blaming them for it.”
How the richest people in America avoid paying taxes.
Home values are falling in half of the top 50 metros, report finds.
Wilted lettuce. Rotten strawberries. Here’s what happens when you round up farmworkers.
Trump bans flag burning in direct threat to First Amendment. The Supreme Court has already ruled on this. Donald Trump doesn’t care. As Molly Ivins said, “I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag.”
As fires rage on Colorado’s Western Slope, some worry about the region’s radioactive history. Colorado’s history of uranium mining, milling and nuclear bomb testing adds a level of complexity to firefighting operations.
White Castle charges diner jaw-dropping $15,400 for $16 combo as store makes ‘annoying’ drive-thru change. The AI-powered drive-thru accidentally added over 100 extra meals to the order.
'Was 1995 30 years ago?' Google's AI overviews is having issues with a simple question. AI is struggling with simple math.
Eating meat may protect against cancer, landmark research shows. Enjoy yourself until next week’s “landmark research” is released claiming the opposite.
Thousands of people will paint a town red with tomato pulp Wednesday, flinging the fruit at one another in the 80th anniversary of Spain’s famous “Tomatina” tomato street fight.
Travel alert: TSA just banned these hair tools from checked luggage. TLDR: Curling irons or flatirons that contains gas cartridges; curling irons or flat irons fueled by butane; and spare gas cartridges for curling irons or flat irons. However- you can put them in your carryon bags as long as they have safety covers that prevent accidental activation.
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in today’s daily features.
Quote of the Day:
As long as a journalist tells the truth, in conscience and fairness, it is not his job to worry about consequences. The truth is never as dangerous as a lie in the long run. I truly believe the truth sets men free.
--Ben Bradlee (Wikipedia link)
(More Ben Bradlee quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Make Your Own Luck Day, Musical Yoga Day, National Cherry Popsicle Day, National Dog Day, National Got Checked Day, National McChicken Day, National Toilet Paper Day, National Webmistress Day, Touch-A-Heart Tuesday, and Women's Equality Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2011 – The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing's all-new composite airliner, received certification from the EASA and the FAA.
1980 – After John Birges planted a bomb at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, in the United States, the FBI inadvertently detonated the devive during a disarming attempt. (Video)
1978 – Papal conclave: Albino Luciani was elected as Pope John Paul I.
1978 – Frankie Valli’s “Grease” reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the second chart-topping hit from the album of the same name. (Video)
1972 – The Games of the XX Olympiad opened in Munich, West Germany.
1970 – The fiftieth anniversary of American women being able to vote was marked by a nationwide Women's Strike for Equality.
1920 – The 19th amendment to United States Constitution was certified, giving women the right to vote.
1883 – The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa began its final, paroxysmal, stage.
1791 – John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat.
1768 – Captain James Cook set sail from England on board HMS Endeavour.
1748 – The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, was founded in Philadelphia.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1993 – Keke Palmer, American actress and singer
1980 – Chris Pine, American actor
1980 – Macaulay Culkin, American actor
1976 – Mike Colter, American actor
1970 – Melissa McCarthy, American actress, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1960 – Ola Ray, American model and actress (the girlfriend of Michael Jackson in the music video Thriller). (Video)
1960 – Branford Marsalis, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
1956 – Brett Cullen, American actor
1951 – Bill Whitaker, American journalist
1949 – Leon Redbone, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 2019) (Video)
1946 – Mark Snow, American composer for film and television (died 2025) (Video) (X Files Theme)
1946 – Valerie Simpson, American singer-songwriter
1945 – Tom Ridge, American sergeant and politician
1940 – Don LaFontaine, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2008) (Video)
1935 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (died 2011)
1922 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (died 2009)
1921 – Benjamin C. Bradlee, American journalist and author (died 2014)
1918 – Katherine Johnson, African American mathematician whose work with NASA played a critical role in the US space program. (died 2020)
1911 – Otto Binder, American author and screenwriter (died 1974)
1910 – Mother Teresa, Albanian-Indian nun, missionary, Catholic saint, and Nobel Prize laureate (died 1997)
1906 – Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist, developed the polio vaccine (died 1993)
1898 – Peggy Guggenheim, American-Italian art collector and philanthropist (died 1979)
1873 – Lee de Forest, American engineer and academic, invented the Audion tube (died 1961)
1743 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (died 1794)
1740 – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, French inventor, invented the hot air balloon (died 1810)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2023 – Bob Barker, American television game show host (born 1923)
2018 – Neil Simon, American playwright and author (born 1927)
2017 – Tobe Hooper, American film director (born 1943)
2009 – Dominick Dunne, American journalist and novelist (born 1925)
2004 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1952) (Video)
1989 – Irving Stone, American author (born 1903)
1986 – Ted Knight, American actor (born 1923) (Video)
1980 – Tex Avery, American animator, director, and voice actor (born 1908) (Video)
1978 – Charles Boyer, French-American actor, singer, and producer (born 1899)
1977 – H. A. Rey, German-American author and illustrator, created Curious George (born 1898)
1976 – Lotte Lehmann, German-American soprano (born 1888)
1974 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (born 1902)
1930 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1883) (Video)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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This is a great set of stuff, I really like the content and the format.