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This week... a cold open about the situation in Gaza. The US House voted out Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and replacing him won't be easy. And Now: Jim Cramer Is Totally Untroubled By His Haters. The main story (Youtube, 20 minutes) involves food safety and the failings of the Food & Drug Administration in ensuring it. And Now: Check Out The Sexual Tension Between Fox Business' Liz Claman And Charlie Gasparino. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Oct 16, 2023 - 2 comments

This week.... Scotty Campbell, one of the Tennessee lawmakers who voted to expel two of his Democratic colleges for protesting against gun violence, was revealed himself to have sexually harassed at least one intern, and resigned his seat. The right flips out over an Instagram influencer promoting Bud Light because she was a trans woman. Main story: Cryptocurrency again, a look at three of the biggest collapses of recent months: Terra, Celsius and FTX. On Youtube (24 minutes). And Now: A Look At A Few More Of Jim Cramer's Great Calls. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Apr 25, 2023 - 10 comments

Welcome back, John Oliver! This week... Fox News is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for amplifying conspiracy theories involving them about Trump losing the election, revealing that privately, the people at Fox mocked Trump's lies. "Multiple Fox hosts seem to see telling the truth as a possible existential threat." The story after that was on the train derailment in East Palistine, Ohio and the burn from it, causing burning eyes and dead animals, despite not being termed a "high hazardous material train." And Now: Jim Cramer Will Not Shut Up About His Brioni Suits. Main story: Psychedelic drugs, like Psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, and their transformative use in therapy in treating conditions like depression and PTSD. The potential is vast, can we avoid stigma this time? And Now: A Retirement Tribute To NBC4 Washington's Beat Poet Pat Collins. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 22, 2023 - 4 comments

This week: still in the void, for (perhaps) four more weeks. A crisis is developing over the fate of translators in Afghanistan, who are experiencing difficulties in obtaining visas to enter the US as troops withdraw, a life-or-death situation for them. And Now: Jim Cramer Loves Chipotle. Main story (22 minutes): about ambulence service in the US, often staffed by the underpaid, and yet are still frequently extremely expensive. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Aug 2, 2021 - 8 comments

This week, from the void: Biden picks Kamala Harris as running mate, prompting the usual stupid attacks from right-wing media and President Trump. Marjorie Green may well become the first QAnon-believing member of Congress, making the world even dumber. And Now: Larry King, Master Salesman. Main story: Juries, and how the system is stacked against black jurors despite it being technically illegal to do so. YouTube (21m) And Now: Jim Cramer's Fun-Time Quarantine Activity Makes You Sad. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Aug 17, 2020 - 9 comments

• Donald Trump criticizes NFL players for taking the knee during the National Anthem to protest the treatment of black people by police in the US, because there is no issue of which he won't take the wrong side.
• A couple of Trump administration officials came under fire for their use of costly private jet flights. Tom Price reportedly made 24 such flights at a combined cost to US taxpayers of $400,000. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, worth $300 million, made a request (later withdrawn) to use a government jet, along the way being snide to the entire state of Kentucky.
• And Now: A Preview of Megyn Kelly's New Morning Show. (Quote from Megyn Kelly saying she hopes her show can be a "unifying force.")
• And Now: A Look At The "Unifying Force" That Is Megyn Kelly. (A quick selection of clips of her time at Fox News being anything but.)
• Main Story: Corporate consolidation. As we're reminded by clips from 34 politicians, "small businesses are the backbone of our economy." Despite rhetoric, the rate at which small businesses have been created has been falling since the 1970s, perhaps because large businesses have been getting larger and larger. YouTube (15m)
• And Now: All of Jim Cramer's Sound Buttons, Replaced With Fart Noises
• Finally, part two of the tale of the unreasonably large train set Last Week Tonight made for Scranton, PA channel WNEP's backyard train set. The station refused LWT's gift because it was just too dang big. (They had suspected it might be, but figured it'd just be more fun to build the thing anyway.) The train didn't go to waste however; it now lives in the Lackawanna County Electric City Trolley Station & Museum.

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Oct 2, 2017 - 3 comments