Pope/Trump turmoil continues; fairness fail; Dems float 25th Amendment bill that won't pass; Oops... Florida doc removes guy's liver instead of spleen, gets manslaughter charge
It's National Banana Day!
The Daily Show: JD Vance's ill-prepared excuse for Trump’s Jesus AI, the VP telling Pope Leo how to pope, RFK Jr. utilizing his best asset for podcasting, and Trump saying he’ll “look into” FEMA head Gregg Phillips's Waffle House teleportation claims.
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The newsletter is published Monday through Thursday (holidays excepted).
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
April 15 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 260 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 1,010 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
The latest on the Iran war from the Associated Press. (Use this link if other is not working. Then check back later.)
Trump’s latest meltdown. Attacking the pope was only part of the president’s disturbing night on Truth Social. No one can say for sure what is causing the president’s bizarre behavior. (The Atlantic free article)
Vance warns the pope should ‘be careful’ when talking about theology. Vance, who is Catholic, said the pope was wrong in saying Jesus wasn’t on the side of those who wield the sword, pointing to the U.S.’ helping defeat the Nazis during World War I
Why Pope Leo is such a challenging opponent for Trump. “It’s wonderful for the church, all over the world, that he is the guy who can stand up to Trump.” (Wall Street Journal gift article)
Trump isn’t the first US president to have disputes with a pope. (ABC News)
Europe is accelerating a NATO fallback plan in case Trump pulls out. The Continent is drawing up a contingency for greater European involvement as tensions rise over Iran war. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
The IRS has shrunk. So has public trust in tax fairness. Rising numbers of people believe they are paying more than their fair share; 60% feel that way now, up from 51% in 2019, according to the Pew Research Center. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Democrats float 25th Amendment commission for Trump. Bill would establish a 17‑member panel authorized under Section 4 of the 25th Amendment. Unlikely to go anywhere, thanks to a GOP majority Congress, but it’s the thought that counts. (USA Today)
As a child of the ‘60s, it’s a question I ask myself daily: Why aren’t the kids out protesting against Trump? (New York Times gift article)
A matter of taste: Did Neanderthals really like sapiens women? (Phys.org)
Why do ChatGPT users keep committing mass shootings? The heated debate over the troubling relationship between the use of AI chatbots and deteriorating mental health, as well as the potential risk of violence. (Futurism)
Why Americans are building data centers, towers, and bunkers to survive attacks? Thousands of Americans are joining survival camps like Fortitude Ranch that are built to survive catastrophes, or even World War III. (Business Insider Video)
Florida doctor indicted after allegedly removing patient’s liver instead of spleen in fatal surgery. (CBS News)
RFK Jr. has tied fluoride with ‘stupider’ kids. No surprise, in-depth scientific study says that’s a crock.
Late Night:
The pope and Stephen Colbert are the only figures Americans like, poll says. (Yahoo News)
Jimmy Kimmel Live: Trump should be the new ayatollah, no one believes his Jesus pic lie and MAGA reacts to pope attacks. (Video)
Late Night with Stephen Colbert: Some of his most ardent supporters are concerned that President Trump may be the Antichrist, a top official at FEMA might have a substance abuse problem, and Stephen uses The Get It On Cam to encourage Americans to raise the fertility rate. (Video)
Cold Open: Anti-Christ Superstar (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:
1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive.
Quote of the day:
People are going to combine the computation thing and the genetic biological thing and going to start actually tinkering with people’s thought processes in an industrial way. And if you thought LSD was a lot of fun, wait until this really works.
--Bruce Sterling (Wikipedia link)
(More Bruce Sterling quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
American Sign Language Day, Income Tax Pay Day, International Biomedical Laboratory Science Day, International Microvolunteering Day, International Pompe Day, Jackie Robinson Day, McDonald’s Day, National Anime Day, National Banana Day, National Bookmobile Day, National Glazed Spiral Ham Day, National Griper’s Day, National Laundry Day, National Rubber Eraser Day, National That Sucks Day, School Librarians’ Day, Take a Wild Guess Day, Titanic Remembrance Day, World Art Day, and World Day of Culture.
On This Day:
2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France was seriously damaged by a large fire.
2013 – Two bombs exploded near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring over 500 others.
1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
1947 – Jackie Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
1923 – Insulin became generally available for use by people with diabetes.
1920 – Two security guards were murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,224 passengers and crew on board survive.
1892 – The General Electric Company was formed.
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln died after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth.
1755 – Samuel Johnson‘s A Dictionary of the English Language was published in London.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1997 – Maisie Williams, English actress
1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1979 – Luke Evans, Welsh actor and singer
1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
1955 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (died 1997)
1951 – Heloise, American journalist and author
1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor (died 2003)
1947 – Lois Chiles, American model and actress
1947 – Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
1942 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman and criminal (died 2006)
1940 – Robert Walker, American actor (died 2019)
1938 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress (died 2025)
1937 – Robert W. Gore, American engineer and businessman, co-inventor of Gore-Tex (died 2020)
1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer (died 1995)
1933 – Roy Clark, American musician and television personality (died 2018) (Video)
1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (died 2013)
1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (died 1982)
1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (died 1982)
1912 – Kim Il Sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (died 1994)
1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (died 1971)
1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (died 1983)
1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (died 1916)
1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (died 1919)
1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (died 1783)
1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (died 1519)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2025 – Wink Martindale, American DJ, radio personality, and TV personality (born 1933)
2022 – Liz Sheridan, American actress (born 1929)
2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (born 1944)
2017 – Clifton James, American actor (born 1920)
2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (born 1919)
2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (born 1938)
2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (born 1922)
2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (born 1917)
2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (born 1951)
2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (born 1925)
1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (born 1925)
1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (born 1905)
1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1905)
1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (born 1904)
1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1885)
1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (born 1868)
1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster:
Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (born 1873)[62]
John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (born 1864)
Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (born 1865)
Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (born 1875)
Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (born 1865)
Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (born 1866)
Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (born 1878)
Charles Melville Hays, American businessman (born 1856)
James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (born 1887)
William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (born 1873)
Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (born 1887)
Edward Smith, English Captain (born 1850)
William Thomas Stead, English journalist (born 1849)
Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (born 1849)
Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (born 1845)
John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (born 1862)
Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (born 1872)
1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (born 1809)
1764 – Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV (born 1721)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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