"We had whistles; they had guns"; ICE watchers; tragedy of The Purge; "the idiots have taken over; fleeing Florida; No, No Nobel (for Trump)
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January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 353 days remain until the end of the year. (Lots of classic television shows premiered on this date. Check out On This Day below.)
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Wife of Minnesota woman killed in ICE shooting: ‘We had whistles. They had guns’. Far from the worst-of-the-worst criminals President Donald Trump said his immigration crackdown would target, Good was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado who apparently was never charged with anything beyond a single traffic ticket.
Inside Minneapolis’s sprawling network of ICE watchers. Renee Nicole Good lived in a community where residents by the thousands are using text alerts, whistles and Google documents to shadow federal agents.
More federal officers headed to Minnesota; officials point fingers over ICE shooting. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem remained adamant that Renée Good was responsible for her own death, as Democrats insisted that on a full investigation before drawing conclusions.
After Minnesota shooting, ICE again limits congressional visits. The new guidelines for immigration facilities, issued by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, are virtually identical to a policy that a federal judge halted last month.
The Purged. Donald Trump’s destruction of the civil service is a tragedy not just for the roughly 300,000 workers who have been discarded, but for an entire nation.
Nobel Institute says Venezuelan leader Machado can’t give Peace Prize to Trump. “The decision is final and stands for all time,” the Norwegian Nobel Institute said.
Washington National Opera leaves Kennedy Center, joining slew of artist exits. The center's new business model, which requires productions to be fully-funded in advance, is incompatible with the usual mix of ticket sales, grants and donations that cannot all be secured ahead.
Buddhist monks and their dog captivate Americans while walking for peace. A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.
The dream of a Florida retirement is fading for the middle class. The Sunshine State used to be where all walks of life could afford to retire. That’s changing as it grows pricier.
AVOID moving to Florida at all costs (15 new reasons) (Video)
Out of spite, Trump used veto power to punish Florida tribe that opposed “Alligator Alcatraz”. The move quashed a bipartisan bid to transfer 30 acres of the Everglades to the Miccosukee.
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.
David Letterman slams Disney and CBS News over Jimmy Kimmel suspension and Bari Weiss hiring. “That mentality drove the integrity of CBS News,” he said while discussing [Edward R.] Murrow. “And it has been trampled on, pissed on, and eviscerated by these idiots that have taken it over.”
Jimmy Kimmel will return to Colbert’s Late Show on Monday (kinda).
Bookmark KGB Report Notes and check periodically for cartoons, memes, news, commentary and other stuff that didn’t fit or broke between e-mail newsletter issues. It’s also a great place to comment and chat.
Keep scrolling down. 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:
On this date in 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown as Tamla Records with an $800 loan from his family and royalties earned writing for Jackie Wilson. The company was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, has also become a nickname for Detroit. Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned record label that achieved significant crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels (including Tamla Motown, the brand used outside the US) were the most successful proponents of what came to be known as the Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a distinct pop influence. During the 1960s, Motown achieved spectacular success for a small record company: 79 records in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 record chart between 1960 and 1969. Its first hit was Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want)” (1959), which made it to number 2 on the Billboard R&B charts (released nationally on Anna Records).
Quote of the day:
There’s always somebody older, richer, more desperate than you.
--Kirstie Alley (Wikipedia link)
(More Kirstie Alley quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day, International French Onion Soup Day, International Kiss a Ginger Day, James Bedford Day, National Clean Off Your Desk Day, National Curried Chicken Day, National Glazed Doughnut Day, National Gluten-Free Day, National Hot Tea Day, National Marzipan Day, National Pharmacist Day, Stick To Your New Year’s Resolution Day, and Work Harder Day.
On This Day:
2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurred, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorized the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists were indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
1971 – “All in the Family” premiered on CBS. (Video)
1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeated the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
1967 – Dr. James Bedford became the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
1967 – “Dragnet: 1967”, a revival of the 1950s series, premiered on NBC. (Video)
1965 – “Hullabaloo” premiered on NBC. (Video) (Parody from “The Lucy Show”)
1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission and first American helicopter assault in the war, took place.
1932 – Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to require states to give women the right to vote.
1888 – Tragic blizzard in Northwest Plains.
1838 – Joseph Smith fled Ohio.
(For comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
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Some Birthdays:
1987 – Naya Rivera, American actress and singer (“Glee”) (died 2020) (Video)
1985 – Issa Rae, American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator
1974 – Melanie C, English singer-songwriter (aka Sporty Spice) and actress (Video)
1968 – Heather Mills, English businesswoman, activist and model
1968 – Rachael Harris, American actress and comedian
1968 – Farrah Forke, American actress (died 2022)
1965 – Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
1964 – Jeff Bezos, American computer scientist and businessman
1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian-American actor (Video)
1958 – Christiane Amanpour, English-Iranian journalist
1957 – John Lasseter, American animator, director, and producer
1954 – Howard Stern, American radio host, actor, and author
1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American talk show host and author (died 2021)
1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress and producer (died 2022)
1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer (died 2011)
1937 – Shirley Eaton, English actress (“Goldfinger”) (Video)
1935 – Kreskin, American mentalist (died 2024)
1930 – Glenn Yarbrough, American singer and actor (died 2016) (Video)
1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, founded Tim Hortons (died 1974)
1926 – Ray Price, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2013)
1923 – Ira Hayes, American marine who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima (died 1955)
1905 – Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (died 1974)
1893 – Hermann Göring, German commander, pilot, and politician, Minister President of Prussia (died 1946)
1884 – Texas Guinan, American entertainer and bootlegger (died 1933)
1876 – Jack London, American novelist and journalist (died 1916)
1856 – John Singer Sargent, American painter and academic (died 1925)
1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (died 1797)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2023 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter (born 1968)
2022 – Ronnie Spector, American singer (born 1943)
2017 – William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (born 1928)
2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1949)
2001 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (born 1913)
1990 – Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-American author and educator (the “Peter principle”) (born 1919)
1976 – Agatha Christie, English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright (born 1890)
1960 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (“On the Beach”) (born 1899)
1899 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club (born 1816)
1665 – Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (born 1601)
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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