Trump to release UFO files: "Things you wouldn't believe"; Rudy "critical"; Ford F-150 shortage
It's International Respect for Chickens Day!
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The newsletter is published Monday through Thursday, holidays and medical procedures excepted.
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 241 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 991 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
Trump says he’ll release UFO files: ‘Things you wouldn’t believe’. (Newsweek)
Rudy Giuliani hospitalized in critical condition, his spokesman says. The spokesperson didn’t say what sent Giuliani, 81, to the hospital, how long he’s been there or what his prognosis is. (AP)
Trump’s disapproval rating hits record high in new poll. In the latest Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, Trump's disapproval rating hit 62%, an all-time high from the survey's history throughout both terms in office. (USA Today)
Trump used shady crypto venture to triple his net worth as president. The president is now worth an estimated $6.5 billion, up from $2.3 billion. (The New Republic)
It’s not just ABC and Jimmy Kimmel—everyone seems less intimidated by Trump in 2026.
Doctor calls out Trump’s odd medical visit in Florida. “There’s been such lack of candor about the health of the president that even a visit to the dentist raises questions.” (The Daily Beast)
US hospitals brace for highly-infectious FIFA World Cup diseases as doctors warn of ‘migration event’. These include measles, hepatitis A, typhoid, malaria, SARS and even more life-threatening diseases like cholera and Ebola. (The U.S. Sun)
Scientists warn it’s probably too late to save the ‘luxury crops’ that are used to make coffee, chocolate, and wine. From small farms in Ghana to vineyards in France, rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns threaten both harvests and livelihoods. (Earth.com)
An aluminum crisis is roiling the auto industry. The auto industry faces an aluminum shortage and sharply higher costs due to the Iran war, a 50% U.S. tariff, and a major supplier outage. America’s top-selling vehicle, the Ford F-150, bears the brunt of metal-supply-chain woes. (Wall Street Journal gift article)
Deepfakes are coming for your bank account. OpenAI made the perfect tool for scammers. (The Atlantic gift article)
It’s illegal in China to lay someone off to replace them with AI, court finds. (Gizmodo)
Late Night:
Saturday Night Live
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:
1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opened fire, killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam. (Video)
Quote of the Day:
Creative semantics is the key to contemporary government; it consists of talking in strange tongues lest the public learn the inevitable inconveniently early.
--George F. Will (Wikipedia link)
(More George F. Will quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Anti-Bullying Day (Pink Shirt Day), Bird Day, Dave Brubeck Day, Great Lakes Awareness Day, Heterotaxy Syndrome Awareness Day, HoFH Awareness Day, International Firefighters’ Day, International Respect for Chickens Day, K.I.N.D. Day, Melanoma Monday, National Black Authors Day, National Candied Orange Peel Day, National Kids Fitness Day, National Meeting Planners Appreciation Day, National Orange Juice Day, National Weather Observers Day, Petite and Proud Day, Renewal Day, Star Wars Day, and World Give Day.
On This Day:
2007 – Greensburg, Kansas was almost completely destroyed by the 2007 Greensburg tornado, a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale. (Video)
1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gave “Unabomber“ Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1990 – Electric chair malfunctioned in Florida, leading states to change execution methods.
1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North was convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.
1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocked Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire. (Video)
1979 – Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1973 – The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago was topped out at 1,451 feet (442 m) as the world’s tallest building. (Video)
1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opened fire, killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam. (Video)
1961 – American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders“ began a bus trip through the South.
1959 – The First Annual Grammy Awards were held.
1953 – Ernest Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
1948 – Norman Mailer’s first novel, “The Naked and the Dead,” was published.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before. (Video)
1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was incorporated.
1924 – Paris hosted its second Olympic Games.
1904 – The United States began construction of the Panama Canal.
1886 – Haymarket Square riot: In Chicago, United States, a homemade bomb was thrown at police officers trying to break up a labor rally, killing one officer. Ensuing gunfire leads to the deaths of a further seven officers and four civilians.
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln was buried in Springfield, Illinois
1814 – Emperor Napoleon arrived at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
1776 – Rhode Island became the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1995 – Shameik Moore, American actor and musician
1979 – Lance Bass, American singer, dancer, and producer
1970 – Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer
1967 – Ana Gasteyer, American actress and singer (Video)
1959 – Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1958 – Keith Haring, American painter (died 1990)
1953 – Pia Zadora, American actress and singer (Video)
1951 – Jackie Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
1941 – George Will, American journalist and author
1940 – Robin Cook, American physician and author
1937 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (died 2019) (Video)
1930 – Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family
1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (died 1993) (Video)
1928 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (died 2006) (Video)
1907 – Lincoln Kirstein, American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (died 1996)
1889 – Francis Spellman, American cardinal (died 1967)
1796 – Horace Mann, American educator and politician (died 1859)
1655 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (died 1731)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2012 – Mort Lindsey, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1923) (Video)
2009 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, director, and producer (born 1933) (Video)
2008 – Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (born 1918)
2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American model, wife of Robert Blake (born 1956)
1987 – Cathryn Damon, American actress (born 1930)
1987 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (born 1942)
1984 – Diana Dors, English actress (born 1931)
1975 – Moe Howard, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (born 1897) (Video)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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