Trump now says release the files; deportation madness; Sizzler returns?; the em dash fix; racoons, and dogs, and spiders, oh my.
It's Homemade Bread Day!
Trump’s Republican Party insists there’s no affordability crisis and dismisses election losses.
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In reversal, Trump says House Republicans should vote to release Epstein files.
The dumb truth at the heart of the Epstein scandal. When QAnon meets Veep, one in which the wealthy and powerful appear not as master operators but as bumbling sycophants, eager to cozy up to influence no matter how villainous or depraved.
Trump got Venezuela intel from team behind 2020 election-theft “witness”. The two men who brought Sidney Powell her “holy grail” witness in 2020 are feeding Trump info to justify his Venezuela crusade.
Trump officials prepare to deport some Ukrainians despite conscription fears. Problem is, it includes those born under the Soviet Union and whose citizenship has been unclear for decades. “The U.S. can deport as many as they want,” said an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a policy matter. “We’ll find good use for them.”
‘I’m a US citizen!’ | Video shows CBP agents handcuffing woman in Charlotte.
“Once upon a time, a penny was money.” (from 1933)
Good news? Sizzler steakhouse making a comeback.
Boston Dynamics upgrades Atlas robot with high-precision, three-fingered hands. (Video) One more, and it can replace Mickey Mouse.
OpenAI says it’s fixed ChatGPT’s em dash problem. But it still hallucinates, right?
Generative AI’s perilous edge: cybersecurity, privacy, and the Black Friday onslaught.
Raccoons are showing early signs of domestication. City-dwelling raccoons seem to be evolving a shorter snout—a telltale feature of our pets and other domesticated animals.
Dog friendly button lets pets control appliances. Let me know when you’ve taught them to load the dishwasher.
Arachnid super-web reveals the surprising ‘constant party’ life of cohabiting spiders. At least they’re not getting small noses and spider friendly buttons.
Florida!
‘That’s not a mistake’: Florida sisters caught trying to steal nearly $2,500 worth of merchandise by covering their shopping carts with Target bags.
Late Night:
Why is there a Late Night section? Because late night comedians, unfettered by institutional journalistic and corporate inhibitions, often provide observations and analysis that are more thorough and comprehensive than network or cable news. And the humor helps.
Epstein White House briefing cold open - Saturday Night Live (Video)
Weekend Update: Government shutdown ends, Epstein email says Trump “knew about the girls” - Saturday Night Live (Video)
You know those creepy ads for AI-animated photos? SNL nailed it.
Trump renews attack on Seth Meyers, urges NBC to fire him.
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths.
Quote of the Day:
Longevity conquers scandal every time.
--Shelby Foote (Wikipedia link)
(More Shelby Foote quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Cervical Cancer Elimination Day of Action , Electronic Greeting Card Day, Homemade Bread Day, International Happy Gose Day, International Students’ Day, National Baklava Day, National Butter Day, National Farm Joke Day, National Take a Hike Day, National Unfriend Day, SMS Awareness Day , The Little Mermaid Day, World Peace Day, and World Prematurity Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2019 – The first known case of COVID-19 was traced to a 55-year-old man who had visited a market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
2013 – A rare late-season tornado outbreak struck the Midwest.
2003 – Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s tenure as the governor of California began.
1993 – United States House of Representatives passed a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement.
1989 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution began: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague was quelled by riot police. This sparked an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeded on December 29).
1981 – President Reagan gave the CIA authority to establish the Contras.
1973 – Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon told 400 Associated Press managing editors “I am not a crook.”
sports broadcasting in the U.S.
1969 – Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States met in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
1968 – Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States were denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcast Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.
1962 – President John F. Kennedy dedicated Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region.
1958 – The Kingston Trio brought folk music to the top of the U.S. pop charts.
1947 – The Screen Actors Guild implemented an anti-Communist loyalty oath.
1947 – American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observed the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.
1903 – The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two groups: The Bolsheviks (Russian for “majority”) and Mensheviks (Russian for “minority”).
1896 – The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh‘s Schenley Park Casino.
1869 – In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, was inaugurated.
1863 – Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee began.
1858 – Modified Julian Day zero was established.
1820 – Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)
1800 – The United States Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C
1777 – The Articles of Confederation (United States) were submitted to the states for ratification.
1603 – English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh went on trial for treason.
1558 – Elizabethan era began: Queen Mary I of England died and was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1978 – Rachel McAdams, Canadian actress
1978 – Tom Ellis, Welsh actor
1978 – Zoë Bell, New Zealand actress and stuntwoman
1971 – David Ramsey, American actor
1966 – Daisy Fuentes, Cuban-American model and actress
1966 – Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1997)
1965 – Pam Bondi, American politician and attorney, 87th U.S. Attorney General
1960 – RuPaul, American drag queen performer, actor, and singer
1958 – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, American actress and singer
1951 – Dean Paul Martin, American singer, actor, and pilot (died 1987)
1951 – Stephen Root, American actor
1949 – John Boehner, American businessman and politician, 53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1948 – Howard Dean, American physician and politician, 79th Governor of Vermont
1945 – Roland Joffé, English-French director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Lorne Michaels, Canadian-American screenwriter and producer, created Saturday Night Live
1944 – Danny DeVito, American actor, director, and producer
1943 – Lauren Hutton, American model and actress
1942 – Martin Scorsese, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
1942 – Bob Gaudio, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1938 – Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2023)
1937 – Peter Cook, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (died 1995)
1928 – Rance Howard, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2017)
1925 – Rock Hudson, American actor (died 1985)
1916 – Shelby Foote, American historian and author (died 2005)
1906 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, co-founded the Honda Motor Company (died 1991)
1901 – Lee Strasberg, Ukrainian-American actor and director (died 1982)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2013 – Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1919)
2006 – Ruth Brown, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1928)
2003 – Arthur Conley, American-Dutch singer-songwriter (born 1946)
2002 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli soldier and politician, third Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1915)
1998 – Esther Rolle, American actress (born 1920)
1988 – Sheilah Graham, English-American actress, author, and journalist (born 1904)
1929 – Herman Hollerith, American statistician and businessman (born 1860)
1917 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (“The Thinker”) and illustrator (born 1840)
1796 – Catherine the Great, of Russia (born 1729)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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Couldn't agree more. Your insights into the powerful as 'bumbling sycophants' are so spot on, really capturing the absurdity of it all. But the part about deporting Ukrainians, especially those with unclear citizenship, is chilling. From my corner of Europe, it feels like a profound disreguard for human rights.