Print and broadcast media last week went bananas over a monkey "loose on a plane" report that resulted in police being called to greet a Frontier Airlines flight after it landed in Las Vegas, observed Grumpy Editor.
Turns out that the incident was a "big misunderstanding" since Gizmo, a tiny four-year-old marmoset monkey was certified to provide emotional support for Jason Ellis, 30.
Ellis said he has taken Gizmo with him "everywhere with me every single day" since the monkey was a few weeks old.
Marmosets are one of the smallest monkeys in the world, can make amazing pets and can fit into a pocket. They are about eight inches long.
The "monkey on the loose" saga started when a flight attendant saw Gizmo's head pop out of Ellis's clothing. Someone on the airplane contacted McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas to report a monkey was loose or got loose in the cabin.
Media jumped at a "monkey loose on a plane" story.
After all, we're in the "dog days of summer" and with a shortage of canine capers, a monkey on a flight stirs editors' interest.
The issue was resolved after landing when Ellis showed paperwork for the animal. He and Gizmo were cleared.
And editors were still searching for dog stories.
Most missed this one: Some dogs in the Detroit Police Department's canine unit were outfitted with bullet-resistant vests that cost $1,000 each.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...
Reporters covering politics often fail to ask "how." Example: Hillary Clinton at campaign rallies voiced among her priorities are a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants while providing better social security benefits to seniors (who were not granted an increase in monthly payments for this year).
Look for media to be hinting of an interest rate increase (followed each time by gyrations in the stock market) just before every Federal Reserve meeting through the end of the year even though most economists see no boost through December.
California's dairy farms were being blamed by the Golden State's Air Resources Board for methane emissions. To be exact, "cow manure and 'enteric fermentation (flatulence)' account for half of the state's methane emissions" affecting climate change, according to the ARB. The Wall Street Journal pointed out, "Democratic lawmakers want to mandate a 40 percent reduction in methane by 2030, and the board is pondering ways to do it." The battle over smog has been going on since the late 1940s in Southern California. The area from the Pacific Ocean to the Mojave Desert this summer was having its worst air quality since 2009. So maybe that's why the ARB is eyeing dairy cows as a major source.
Mike Huckabee, who had a weekly show on Fox News Channel before deciding to run for president, was back on the network Friday night filling in for Sean Hannity.
A New York Times editorial on Friday claimed Donald Trump, in his attacks against Hillary Clinton and President Obama, is appealing to "the mob."
Top leadership warned the Air Force will face a shortage of 1,000 fighter pilots in the next few years.
Washington-based Ron Fournier planned to leave the Atlantic as its senior political columnist to return to his hometown and help run Crain's Detroit Business. Earlier he spent more than two decades with the Associated Press.
Media trimming was hitting Canada, too, as the Toronto Star laid off 45 newsroom employees.
Be on guard with those dating ads.
An 80-year-old woman in Poland drugged and stole from a string of suitors she met through her local newspaper's dating ads. Authorities said that could put her behind bars for 20 years.
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