You might be a Canadian; more think moon landing faked than Congress doing a good job; Trump plans dinner meltdown; judge blocks VA redistricting after one day; ballroom secrets
It's National English Muffin Day!
Subscriptions are free. There are no paywalls hiding stuff and links to paywalled sources are provided via gift articles (just close the popups asking for emails or subscriptions). That said, a paid subscription will help keep the lights on and, more importantly, keep the puppies and kitties in kibble and litter. If you don’t want to go the paid subscription route, please consider donating a buck or two.
The newsletter is published Monday through Thursday (holidays and medical procedures excepted).
—Kevin G. Barkes
(Most) everything you need to know for today:
April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 252 days remain until the end of the year. As of this writing, 1,002 days remain in Trump’s term of office.
Knee-deep in the hoopla:
The latest on the Iran war from the Associated Press.
So you want to be Canadian, eh? Changes in immigration law will make it easier for Americans. A 2025 law opened up citizenship to anyone born before that date who could prove they have a direct Canadian ancestor — a grandparent, great-grandparent or even more distant ancestor. (AP)
US CDC will not publish report showing COVID vaccine effectiveness. A report showing the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines has been blocked from being published in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's flagship scientific journal. (Reuters)
Top Trump counterterrorism official placed on leave after ex claims she solicited funds from ‘sugar daddies’. The complaint, filed with the DHS inspector general, was submitted by an executive identified as “Robert B,” who said he spent approximately $40,000 on the woman during the course of their three‑month relationship after they met on Hinge. (The Independent)
More Americans believe the moon landing was faked than those who think Congress is doing a good job, poll reveals. 12 percent of Americans believe the Apollo 11 moon landing was faked, 10 percent think the Earth is flat, and 10 percent think Congress is doing a good job. (The Independent)
Trump’s meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Trump will vent his spleen at the fake media, then bolt- probably so he doesn’t have to watch the Wall Street Journal get an award for revealing his Jeffrey Epstein birthday card. (Raw Story)
Senate rejects measures meant to lower the cost of gas, groceries. In a flurry of rapid-fire votes, most Senate Republicans spurned a group of measures Democrats said would lower everyday costs for Americans, while separately moving to approve billions of dollars for immigration enforcement. (USA Today)
Well, that didn’t last long: judge blocks Virginia from using new congressional maps, one day after redistricting vote passes. (CBS News)
Trump fought to keep the ballroom fundraising contract secret. The contract provisions, taken together, allow wealthy donors with business before the federal government to contribute anonymously to a sitting president’s pet project, while exempting the White House from key conflict of interest safeguards and limiting scrutiny by Congress and the public. (Washington Post gift article)
Trump faces a May 1 deadline on how he can continue the war. A decades-old law allows the president to wage war without congressional approval for 60 days, then limits his options for continuing. President Trump may seek to get around it. Some Republicans have already signaled they will not support any extension beyond 60 days. (New York Times gift article)
Prediction market mayhem: Kalshi fines and suspends three congressional candidates for wagering on their own elections.
Senators raise concerns about US bailout of Spirit Airlines. "This is an absolutely terrible idea," Senator Ted Cruz said on social media. He added that "the government doesn’t know a damn thing about running a failed budget airline."
(I guess he forgot about the Trump Shuttle. ) (Reuters)Trump’s chaos economy could trigger a debt crisis. Americans are struggling to repay their student and car loans, mortgages, credit card bills, and even “buy now, pay later”—an avalanche of debt that could bury the entire economy. (The New Republic)
UK passes bill that will eventually ban cigarette purchases. Children born after Dec. 31, 2008, will be banned from ever buying cigarettes under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. (AP)
Rogue group gains access to Anthropic’s dangerous new Mythos AI. The group was described as being interested in “playing around” with new A.I. models, rather than wreaking havoc. Oh well, then. Never mind.
Late Night:
The Daily Show: FBI Director Kash Patel's job might be like his drinks: on the rocks. Plus, as oil prices skyrocket and Trump shows no sign of being able to end the war with Iran or open the Strait of Hormuz, Michael Kosta gives the president an Earth Day shoutout for showing the world what happens when you don't invest in renewable resources. (Video)
Jordan Klepper gets MAGA’s take on the Iran War and Trump’s war with the Pope. (Video)
Jimmy Kimmel Live: Trump insists war is over, Kash Patel gets hammered and right-wingers blame Mamdani for Mets losing. (Video)
Late Night with Stephen Colbert: President Trump lashed out after Iran boasted that America is "the losing side" in the war, the war is causing price hikes in everyday goods like condoms, Finnish pilots are so immature, and FBI Director Kash Patel denies drinking on the job. (Video)
Cold Open: Introducing: Godorade (Video)
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Trump’s approval hits all-time low, Kash Patel’s “freakouts,” labor secretary resigns: A Closer Look. (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:
1985 – Coca-Cola changed its formula and released New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
The grim fact is that we prepare for war like precocious giants, and for peace like retarded pygmies.
--Lester B. Pearson (Wikipedia link)
(More Lester B. Pearson quotes from the KGB Quotations Database)
Today’s holidays:
English Language Day, FOP Awareness Day, German Beer Day, Impossible Astronaut Day, International Cava Day, International Creator Day, International Girls in ICT Day, International Nose Picking Day, International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, Lover’s Day, Love Your Thighs Day, Movie Theatre Day, National Cherry Cheesecake Day, National English Muffin Day, National Lost Dog Awareness Day, National Picnic Day, National Teach Children to Save Day, Saint George’s Day, Spanish Language Day, Take a Chance Day, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, Talk Like Shakespeare Day, World Book and Copyright Day, World Book Night, World Laboratory Day, and World Table Tennis Day.
On This Day:
2018 – “Avengers: Infinity War” premiered in Los Angeles. (Video)
2005 – The first YouTube video, titled “Me at the zoo“, was published by co-founder Jawed Karim. (Video)
2001 – Fatboy Slim released the single "Weapon of Choice". Its accompanying music video, directed by Spike Jonze and starring a dancing and flying Christopher Walken won multiple awards at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards and won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Music Video. (Video)
1999 – NATO bombed the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia, as part of their aerial campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
1985 – Coca-Cola changed its formula and released New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan received the death penalty for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. In 1972 the sentence was commuted to life in prison after California abolished the death penalty.
1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City took over administration buildings and shut down the university.
1965 – The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” was released. The single topped the Billboard R&B chart for nine weeks, became the Billboard R&B Song of the Year, and also peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks. (Video)
1961 – Judy Garland performed at Carnegie Hall. (Video)
1940 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, killed 198 people.
1931 – The pre-code gangster film “The Public Enemy” premiered. (Video)
1896 – The Vitascope system of movie projection was first shown at Koster & Bial's Music Hall in New York City. (Video)
1635 – The first public school in the United States, the Boston Latin School, was founded.
(For more comprehensive lists of the day’s historical events, check here, here, and here.)
Some Birthdays:
2018 – Prince Louis of Wales, British royal
2000 – Chloe Kim, American snowboarder
1990 – Dev Patel, English actor
1984 – Jesse Lee Soffer, American actor
1979 – Jaime King, American actress and model
1977 – Kal Penn, Indian-American actor
1977 – John Oliver, English comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (Video)
1977 – John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor
1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, Oklahoma City bombing co-perpetrator (died 2001)
1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress and comedian (died 2014)
1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
1954 – Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist
1953 – James Russo, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1946 – Blair Brown, American actress
1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (died 1993)
1942 – Sandra Dee, American model and actress (died 2005)
1941 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (died 2016)
1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (died 1988) (Video)
1932 – Jim Fixx, American runner and author (died 1984)
1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (died 1990)
1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (died 2014)
1926 – J.P. Donleavy, American-Irish novelist and playwright (died 2017)
1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer and bandleader (died 2007) (Video)
1921 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (died 2007)
1911 – Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (died 2010)
1904 – Duncan Renaldo, American actor (died 1985) (Video)
1858 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1947)
1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, 7th Illinois Secretary of State (died 1861)
1791 – James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (died 1868)
1621 – William Penn, English admiral and politician (died 1670)
1564 – William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (died 1616)
(A more complete list of today’s birthdays.)
Some Deaths:
2022 – Orrin Hatch, American politician, President pro tempore of the United States Senate (born 1934)
2015 – Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (born 1944)
2011 – Tom King, American guitarist and songwriter (born 1943) (Video)
2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, first President of Russia (born 1931)
2007 – Paul Erdman, Canadian-American economist and author (born 1932)
2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (born 1934)
2005 – John Mills, English actor (born 1908)
1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (born 1928)
1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian-English author and actress (born 1899)
1995 – Howard Cosell, American lawyer and journalist (born 1918) (Video)
1993 – Cesar Chavez, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers (born 1927)
1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (born 1910)
1986 – Otto Preminger, Ukrainian-American actor, director, and producer (born 1905)
1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (born 1905)
1985 – Sam Ervin, American lawyer and politician (born 1896)
1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (born 1908)
1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet and author (born 1770)
1616 – William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (born 1564)
303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and martyr
(A more complete list of today’s deaths.)
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.
Read for free with Kindle Unlimited!
If you like KGB Report, please share with a friend.
Subscribers get all content for free. If you sign up for a paid subscription, you get my eternal gratitude, and maybe some occasional photos of the dogs and cats here at the South Park Casa de Pelaje y Cajas de Arena.
Old KGBReport.com archives (not the stuff here on Substack), all the way back to the previous century.
Current weather in South Park, PA (Personal station on Weather Underground)
KGB Quotations Database Search (KGB Quote-A-Matic)
DCL Dialogue Online (an archive of my DCL Dialogue columns which appeared in DEC Professional (later renamed Digital Age) magazine from March, 1987 through December, 1995.)