US shut down; Trump wants to use US cities as 'training ground' for military; Hegseth, Trump bomb at meeting; giant wave rippling through Milky Way.
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Stunts and props abounded as the Capitol braced for shutdown. Senators fought over a chart. The speaker displayed a big-screen TV. And hundreds of House Democrats took to the floor as the two parties blamed each other for the crisis.
Trump gave the military’s brass a rehashed speech. Until minute 44. It was at that moment that the president recounted a conversation with his defense secretary: “I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military.” We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, the president of the United States said.
“It’s a war from within.” If you were expecting Triumph of the Will, you were disappointed because what you got instead was fat, disoriented Elvis stumbling through his set. Except that it wasn’t funny. It was dangerous.
CNN fact-checker spends four minutes debunking Trump’s multiple ‘lies’ in his speech to US military top brass. The president spread falsehoods about his record on ‘settling’ wars, his predecessor, and the military itself.
Trump’s grand plan for a government shutdown. The Trump administration might use a shutdown to finish the job that DOGE started.
Republicans threatened with ominous ‘consequences’ if they defy Trump’s new ‘loyalty test’. Trump is reportedly putting pressure on Republicans to redraw district maps, warning that “there could very well be consequences” if they don’t take action.
Will our corporate media Godzillas Have the guts to defend democracy? Five companies—five—now control 90 percent of the media marketplace. TLDR: No.
Astronomers find giant wave rippling through the Milky Way. The galaxy is not a static disc of stars but rather an active environment where perturbations ripple outward, spiral arms rotate through, and dwarf galaxies occasionally crash through like wrecking balls.
Late Night:
Kimmel and Colbert, joined in New York, show a united front. The two late-night hosts shared stories on each other’s shows on Tuesday about their recent turmoil, and some criticism of President Trump.
Shutdown Eve | Hegseth To America’s enemies: FAFO | Trump to military brass: Fight the enemy within. - Stephen Colbert (Video)
The hottest military in the world- Colbert cold open (Video)
Trump and Hegseth lecture generals about being fat and a visit from ‘Gov. Gavin Newsom’ and Seth Meyers! (Video)
Hegseth lectures “fat generals” and Trump threatens war against U.S. cities | The Daily Show (Video)
Trump “very confident” on peace deal in Gaza - Seth Meyers (Video)
Florida: Florida officials vote to donate land to Trump library. There’s backlash.
Keep scrolling down. Lots of interesting stuff in On This Day, Birthdays, and Deaths.
Quote of the Day:
There are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party, and our country.
-John McCain (Wikipedia link)
(More John McCain quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Balloons Around the World Day, CACNA1C Awareness Day, CD Player Day, International Coffee Day, International Day of Older Persons, International Gaucher Day, International GNAO1 Awareness Day, International Music Day, International Raccoon Appreciation Day, International Walk to School Day, Less Than Perfect Day, Model T Day, National Black Dog Day, National BOOK IT! Day, National Fire Pup Day, National Green City Day, National Hair Day, National Homemade Cookies Day, National Kale Day, National Lace Day, National Pumpkin Seed Day, National Pumpkin Spice Day, Random Acts of Poetry Day, U.S.-ROK Alliance Day, Wolfram Syndrome Global Awareness Day, and World Vegetarian Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day from NASA.
On This Day:
2017 – Sixty people were killed and 867 others injured in a mass shooting at a country music festival at the Las Vegas Strip in the United States; the gunman, Stephen Paddock, later commited suicide.
2015 – The American cargo vessel SS El Faro sank with all of its 33 crew after steaming into the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin.
2003 – The popular and controversial English-language imageboard 4chan was launched.
1989 – Denmark introduced the world’s first legal same-sex registered partnerships.
1987 – The 5.9 Mw Whittier Narrows earthquake shook the San Gabriel Valley with a Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing eight and injuring 200.
1982 – Sony and Phillips launched the compact disc in Japan; on the same day, Sony released the model CDP-101 compact disc player, the first player of its kind.
1982 – EPCOT Center (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) opened at Walt Disney World in Florida.
1975 – Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
1974 – “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” premiered in Austin, TX.
1971 – Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida. (Video)
1971 – The first practical CT scanner was used to diagnose a patient.
1969 – Concorde broke the sound barrier for the first time.
1968 – “Night of the Living Dead” premiered in Pittsburgh, PA. (Video)
1964 – Japanese Shinkansen (”bullet trains”) began high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.
1964 – The Free Speech Movement was launched on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
1962 – James Meredith entered the University of Mississippi, defying racial segregation rules.
1962 – Johnny Carson hosted his first episode of “The Tonight Show”.
1962 – “The Lucy Show” premiered on CBS. (Video)
1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency was formed, becoming the country’s first centralized military intelligence organization.
1958 – The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was replaced by NASA.
1957 – The motto In God We Trust first appeared on U.S. paper currency.
1955 – “The Honeymooners” premiered on CBS. (Video)
1949 – The People’s Republic of China was established.
1946 – Nazi leaders were sentenced at the Nuremberg trials.
1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opened to traffic.
1931 – The George Washington Bridge in the United States was opened, linking New Jersey and New York.
1928 – Newark Liberty International Airport opened, becoming the first airport in the New York City metro area.
1915 – The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka was published in the German journal Die Weißen Blätter
1908 – Ford Model T automobiles were offered for sale at a price of US$825.
1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.
1890 – Yosemite National Park was established by the U.S. Congress.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
1989 – Brie Larson, American actress
1984 – Beck Bennett, American actor and comedian
1980 – Sarah Drew, American actress
1969 – Zach Galifianakis, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Jay Underwood, American actor and pastor
1950 – Randy Quaid, American actor
1947 – Stephen Collins, American actor and director
1945 – Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (died 1979)
1938 – Stella Stevens, American actress and director (died 2023)
1935 – Julie Andrews, English actress and singer
1930 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (died 2002)
1928 – George Peppard, American actor (died 1994)
1928 – Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-English actor, director, and producer (died 1973)
1927 – Tom Bosley, American actor (died 2010)
1924 – Roger Williams, American pianist (died 2011)
1924 – William Rehnquist, American lawyer and jurist, 16th Chief Justice of the United States (died 2005)
1924 – Jimmy Carter, American naval lieutenant, politician, 39th President of the United States, and Nobel Prize laureate (died 2024)
1921 – James Whitmore, American actor (died 2009)
1920 – Walter Matthau, American actor (died 2000)
1911 – Irwin Kostal, American songwriter, screenwriter, and publisher (died 1994)
1910 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (died 1934)
1903 – Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born American pianist and composer (died 1989)
1881 – William Boeing, American engineer and businessman who founded the Boeing Company (died 1956)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2018 – Charles Aznavour, French-Armenian singer, composer, writer, filmmaker and public figure (born 1924)
2013 – Tom Clancy, American author (born 1947)
2004 – Richard Avedon, American photographer (born 1923)
2002 – Walter Annenberg, American publisher and diplomat (born 1908)
1990 – Curtis LeMay, American general (born 1906)
1986 – Archie League, American air traffic controller (born 1907)
1985 – E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (born 1899)
1972 – Louis Leakey, Kenyan-English archaeologist and paleontologist (born 1903)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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